BASEBALL ROUNDTABLE TRIVIA TEASER
Which three members of the 500-Home Run Club took to the mound during their careers – and which two of those three actually pitched after reaching 500 career long balls?
Here are your Trivia Teaser answers, followed by a bit of detail on each of the players – and some added information on position players who have taken to the major league mound.
The three members of the 500 home run club to also spend time on the mound in their careers are: Babe Ruth (no surprise); Jimmie Foxx; Ted Williams. The two who actually pitched after reaching the 500-HR mark are: Ruth and Foxx.
BABE RUTH
Babe Ruth is the unique member of this list, since he started his career as a pitcher. In fact, 158 of the southpaw’s 163 pitching appearances came in his first six MLB seasons (1914-19) – when he went 89-46, with a 2.19 earned run average, two 20+ win seasons and 105 complete games. During those same six campaigns, Ruth also appeared 169 games as an outfielder, 19 as a first baseman and 52 as a pinch hitter. He, of course, ended his career as the all-time home run leader (since surpassed) with 714 – and still holds the record for the most seasons leading his league in home runs at 12.
What qualifies Ruth as a position player who took the mound came later. From 1920 through 1935, The Bambino appeared in 2,112 games – but just five as a pitcher. His final pitching appearance came on the final day of the 1933 season, as his Yankees faced the rival Boston Red Sox (in a game that meant little in the standings, but a Ruth appearance on the mound would put some fans in the seats). In his only mound appearance of the season, the 38-year-old Ruth went the distance, scattering 12 hits (11 singles) and three walks (five runs) over nine innings in a 6-5 Yankees’ win. Ruth came into the game with 685 career home runs – the most ever for a pitcher to start (or even appear in) a game. He added one home run during the contest.
JIMMIE FOXX
Jimmie Foxx – a four-time league home run champion – ended his career (1925-1945) with 534 home runs (in 2,503) games and ten pitching appearances. (Foxx also won three league MVP Awards and the 1933 AL Triple Crown.) Foxx did not make his first mound appearance until August 6, 1939. It pretty much followed the current pattern – a position player in a mop-up role in a game out of hand. Foxx’ Red Sox were down 10-1 to the Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader and manager Joe Cronin may have wanted to save pitching staff arms for Game Two. The 31-year-old Foxx, in his 15th MLB season pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with one strikeout. Foxx had 456 career round trippers at the time. But there would be more home runs and more trips to the mound to follow.
Foxx did not pitch again until 1945, the then 37-year-old’s last MLB season. The big right-hander – known as “The Beast” for his tremendous power – also had a strong throwing arm and volunteered to help out on the mound whenever needed. He started two games and relieved in seven more that season, going 1-0, with a 1.59 earned run average in 22 1/3 innings. (Control may have been an issue. He walked 14 and fanned ten.) Foxx made his final career mound appearance on September 17 (two innings of four-hit, one-run relief as his Phillies lost to the Cardinals 7-3). Foxx had 534 career home runs at the time of that final pitching appearance.
TED WILLIAMS
The Splendid Splinter hit 521 long balls in his 19 seasons (1939-60, with three full seasons and parts of two others lost to military service). His lone pitching appearance came long before Williams approached 500 round trippers.
On August 24, 1940, the then 20-year-old (in his second MLB campaign) took the mound for the final two innings of a 12-1 Red Sox loss to the Tigers. (It was 11-1 when Williams moved from left field to the mound.) He didn’t fare too badly. Two innings pitched, three hits, one earned run and one strikeout. Williams had 49 career home runs at the time of his lone mound appearance. He joined the 500-Home Run Club in 1960. During his career, Williams won four home run crowns, six batting titles and the AL Triple Crown in 1942 and 1947.
A bit of info on other notable position players who pitched.
———————————————————————————
RECORD NUMBER OF POSITION PLAYERS PITCHING IN 2018
The impetus for the Trivia Teaser (and this post) was the record number of position players appearing as pitchers during the 2018 MLB season. According to Baseball-Reference.com, as of the end of play on Monday (August 20) a record 51 position players had made a record 64 MLB mound appearances this season. (Actually, the figures from the Baseball-Reference.com page would be slightly higher as they include the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani as a non-pitcher with pitching appearances, while Baseball Roundtable dropped him from the 2018 position-player pitching count.) Side note: To make the Baseball-reference.com list, the player must have at least five times as many games as a position player as he does as a pitcher.
How much more common is it becoming to see a non-pitcher on the mound? The Baseball-Reference list includes 600 players in baseball history (1871 to present, again not including Ohtani) – and 69 of those players (11.5 percent) were active during this baseball season).
—-MLB Position Players to Pitch in 2018 (Through August 20—-
If they pitched in more than one game, total mound appearances this season listed in parenthesis.
A’s … Jake Smolinski
Angels … Francisco Arcia
Astros … J.D. Davis
Blue Jays … Kendrys Morales
Braves … Charlie Culberson
Brewers… Hernan Perez (3); Eric Kratz (3); Nick Franklin
Cardinals … Jedd Gyorko; Greg Garcia
Cubs … Victor Caratini (2); Anthony Rizzo; Ian Happ; Tommy La Stella; Chris Gimenez
The only teams to not use a position player on the mound this season are the Tigers, Red Sox, Yankees, Pirates and Rockies.
Diamondbacks … Daniel Descalso (2); Jeff Mathis; Alex Avila
Dodgers … Enrique Hernandez
Giants … Pablo Sandoval; Chase d’Arnaud
Indians … Brandon Guyer
Mets … Jose Reyes
Mariners … Anthony Romine (3); Taylor Motter
Marlins … Bryan Holaday
Nationals … Mark Reynolds
Orioles … Danny Valencia; Ryan Flaherty. Chris Davis
Padres … Corey Spangenberg (2)
Phillies … Pedro Florimon (2); Roman Quinn; Jesmuel Valentin; Scott Kingery
Rangers … Ryan Rua; Carlos Tocci
Rays … Jesus Sucre (2); Daniel Robertson; Carlos Gomez; Johnny Field
Reds … Cliff Pennington; Brandon Dixon; Phil Ervin; Alex Blandino
Royals … Drew Butera
Twins … Ryan LaMarre; Eduardo Escobar; Mitch Garver; William Astudillo
White Sox … Matt Davidson (3)
The White Sox Matt Davidson has arguably the best record among position players taking the mound in 2018 – three appearances, three innings pitched, one hit, no runs, one walk and two strikeouts
Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; Society for American Baseball Research.
I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT
Like/Follow the Baseball Roundtable Facebook page here.
Member: Society for American Baseball Research; The Baseball Reliquary; The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
