A pitcher recording four strikeouts in an inning is relatively rare.  It’s happened just 90 times in MLB history (There was also one instance of two pitchers combining for four strikeouts in a single frame.) By contrast, there have been 265 official single-pitcher MLB no-hitters, as well as 12 no-hitter spun by multiple pitchers.

This Trivia Teaser will focus on those four-strikeout innings.

Baseball Roundtable Trivia Teaser

Only three pitchers have recorded multiple four-strikeout innings and only one pitcher has recorded three such frames.  Your question:  Who was that pitcher? Hints:  All three were for American League Teams.  The last one on April 16, 2000.

The answer is Chuck Finley. 

On May 12, 1999, starting against the Yankees (at New York) for the Angels, Finley’s third inning went: Single to left by Yankees’ LF Shane Spencer; three-pitch strikeout  (looking) of 3B Scott Brosius; C Joe Girardi safe on an error; (wild pitch advances both runners); strikeout (swinging) of Yankees’ 2B Chuck Knoblauch on a 2-2 pitch; strikeout (swinging) of SS Derek Jeter on a 3- 2 wild pitch, with Jeter safe at first; strikeout (swinging) of RF Paul O’Neill on a 2-2 pitch.  No runs scored, three left on base, two wild pitches, one error.  Finley went eight innings, giving up no runs on three and two walks, with eleven strikeouts. He got the win in a 1-0 ball game.

On August 15, 1999, Finley faced off (again for the Angels) against the Tigers in Detroit. In the bottom of the first, he gave up a ground ball single to CF Kimera Bartee, followed by: a swinging strikeout (on a 1-2 wild pitch) of SS Deivi Cruz, Cruz out and Bartee going to second; a swinging strikeout (on a 2-2) pitch of LF Juan Encarnacion; a swinging strikeout on a 1-2 wild pitch to 3B Dean Palmer, with Palmer safe at first and Bartee going to third; a swinging strikeout of Tony Clark on a 1-2 pitch.  No rusn scored on a hit and two wild pitches, with two men left on base. Finley went 6 2/3 innings to get the win, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks, with 12 whiffs.

In 1999, Chuck Finley led the American League with 15 wild pitches. 

On April 16, 2000, Finley – pitching for the Indians against the Rangers in Cleveland – tossed his third four-whiff inning. It came in the top of the third and went like this: a single by Rangers’ 2B Luis Alicea; a strikeout of 3B Tom Evans (swinging on a 2-2 pitch); a strikeout of SS Royce Clayton (swinging on a 1-2 pitch); a stolen base by Alicea; a strikeout of LF Chad Curtis on a 2-2 pitch, with Curtis reaching on a passed ball and Alicea going to third; a run-scoring single by C Ivan Rodriguez; and a strikeout looking (on a 3-2 pitch) by Rafael Palmeiro.  One unearned run scored on two hits and a passed ball. Finley got the win by a 2-1 score, going the full nine innings, giving up five hits, the one unearned run, with four walks and 13 strikeouts.

On April 14, the Blue Jays’ Tom Pannone threw the second “immaculate inning” – nine pitches/three strikeouts – of 2019. For the story and some immaculate inning trivia, click here.

Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; Baseball-Almanac.com

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In 2014, Baseball Roundtable launched the John Paciorek Award (JPA). The JPA recognizes players who have had short, often very short, major league careers, but whose accomplishments, nonetheless, deserve recognition.  Past winners have included a player whose every MLB hit (three in nine career at bats) were home runs;  a player who had only MLB bat, but won a World Series Ring and a Purple Heart; a player who had just two home runs in 61 MLB at bats (for the vaunted Yankees and Dodgers), but whose “body of work” made him one of just two players in MLB history to homer in their first and final official appearances in a major league batter’s box;’ and more.  

(Note: Information on John Paciorek’s career – the inspiration for the JPA – can be found at the end of this post. Paciorek’s day in the sun constitutes arguably the best one-game MLB career ever.)

For an interesting take on topics related to baseball’s past, present and future, BBRT also recommends a visit to BaseballHappenings.net.  Click here to take a peek.

________________ 2019 JPA Winner – Harley Parnell Hisner  _______________

Harley Hisner.
Photo: Courtesy of BaseballHappneings.net

This year’s JPA honoree did, indeed, have a short MLB career (just six innings).

Harley Hisner‘s MLB tenure encompassed the day of September 30, 1951 – when the Red Sox called upon the 6’1″, 180-pound, 24-year-old righty to face the New York Yankees.    It was also, in some way historic. He earns his spot here, as much for his love of the game, as for his place in MLB history.  But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with a look at how Hisner got to the Yankee stadium mound.

Hisner, whose nickname was “Jim,” grew up on a farm near Fort Wayne, Indiana. The youngest of four brothers, Harley was an solid athlete (basketball and baseball). In fact, the Hisner brothers seemed naturals and three of the four boys were signed to contracts by the Red Sox. (Only Harley would make it to the big club.) Harley was signed in 1945, for a $5,000 bonus, right after graduating from high school.  He was also, however, drafted into the U.S. Army at about the same time. World War II was winding down and Hisner did not leave the states and, in fact, was able to keep his baseball skills sharp playing the game at Fort Benjamin Harrison.

Hisner’s minor league career was a bit up-and-down, due in part to recurring arm/shoulder issues.  In 1947, the 20-year-old Hisner went 7-14, 5.21 for the Class C San Jose Red Sox and the Class A Scranton Red Sox.   Then, in 1948, he helped Scranton win the Eastern League title with an 11-3, 2.48 record (although Hisner missed a portion of the season with chronic bursitis).  The following  season, was down again – as Hisner went 6-11, 4.47 in stop at Scranton and Triple A Louisville.  More of the same in 1950 (5-6, 4.65 at Louisville).  In 1951, Hisner struggled early and ended up 7-13, 6.26 at Louisville.  However,  he came on strong at the end of the season; winning his last four starts.  That earned him  a late-season call up to the Red Sox – and a big-league start in the final game of the season.

HARLEY HISNER’S BIG GAME

Taking the MLB mound for  the first (and, as it would turn out, final) time, Hisner found himself facing a daunting challenge – a first-place Yankee lineup that included five future Hall of Famers: Mickey Mantle in RF; Joe DiMaggio in CF; Phil Rizzuto at SS; Johnny Mize at 1B; and Yogi Berra behind the plate.  In retelling the tale, however, Hisner often said he was made more nervous by the size of the partisan crowd (35,814)  than the Yankee lineup.

Hisner got off to a good start.  The first MLB batter he faced was rookie RF Mickey Mantle, who went down on strikes. He then gave up a single to SS Phil Rizzuto, before getting LF Hank Bauer to hit into a short to second fielder’s choice.  That brought up Yankee icon Joe DiMaggio, who hit an infield single – putting Hisner into the baseball history books.  That single was DiMaggio’s the final regular-season hit of DiMaggio’s great career.  Hisner, by the way pitched out of the jam, getting 1B Johnny Mize to fly out to right.  So, in his first MLB inning – a scoreless one at that – Hisner faced five batters; four of them future Hall of Famers. He went on to pitch a total of six frames, giving  up three runs on seven hits and four walks (with three strikeouts). He faced Mickey Mantle four times and it went like this:  First inning – strikeout; second inning – strikeout; fourth inning – walk; sixth inning – pitcher to short to first double play.

Hisner’s final career stat was 0-1, 4.50, with six innings pitched, seven hits, three earned runs, four walks and three strikeouts.

Harley Hisner batted twice in his lone MLB appearance, collecting a ground out to first (unassisted) and a single to right field – finishing his MLB career with a .500 average. 

The following year, Hisner was cut from the Red Sox on the final day of Spring Training and never made it back to the major leagues.  He played two more years of professional ball – going 3-7, 3.86 in two minor league stops in 1952 and, in 1953, helping the Wichita Falls Spudders capture the Big State League (Class B) title by going 14-5, 3.87. At this point, Hisner (tired of the travel and dissapointed with his progress) retired from professional baseball to pursue a career as a machinist.

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME

After leaving the professional ranks, Hinser did not lose he passion for the game. Hisner played semi-pro baseball through 1961; before becoming a youth coach. He was a member of the Fort Wayne team that won the 1956 National Baseball Congress Championship and Global World Series. Then, in 1957, as the Fort Wayne team finished second in the National Baseball Congress Tournament, Hinser tied Satchel Paige’s tourney record  with four wins, while  throwing 38 innings in 11 days.  The following year, Hinser threw a no-hitter for the Anderson, Indiana squad in the tournament.  Hisner also was a long-time board member of the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association.

In 1976,  Harley Hisner was inducted into the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association Hall of Fame and in 2010 he received the organization’s Colin Lister Award for “dedication to the game of baseball and its historic legacy.” 

Primary Resources: Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players: A biographical dictionary 1871-2014 (by Pete Cava); The Society for American Baseball Research; Baseball-Reference.com.

________________________________________________________

PAST JOHN PACIOREK AWARD WINNERS:

2014 – Brian Scott Dallimore

In his first start (not his first game) for the 2004 Giants, Dallimore had two singles, a Grand Slam (his first MLB hit and only MLB home run), a walk and a hit by pitch.  For the full JPA take on Dallimore’s 27- game MLB career, click here.

2015 – Roy Gleason

Gleason played in just eight MLB games, had a double in his only MLB at bat – but also earned a World Series ring (1963) and a Purple Heart. Ultimately, he was the only ballplayer with MLB experience to serve on the front lines in Vietnam. For the full JPA take on Gleason, click here. Note: Gleason’s life is detailed in the book “Lost in the Sun – Roy Gleason’s Odyssey from the Outfield to the Battlefield.”

2016 – John Allen Miller

Miller played just 32 MLB games (during the 1966 and 1969), taking the field (at 1B/LF/3B/2B) for the Yankees and Dodgers. Miller collected ten hits in 61 MLB at bats (.164 average) and hit just two home runs – but he made those long balls count.  Miller made his MLB debut with the Yankees on September 11, 1966 and hit a two-run homer in his first big league at bat –  making him (surprisingly) the first Yankee ever to homer in his first MLB at bat. (Little did Miller know he would not get another home run or RBI until the final at bat of his MLB career.)  Miller’s final at bat came as a Dodger (September 23, 1969) and he stroked a solo home run.  That narrow “body of work” made Miller one of just two players in MLB history to homer in their first and final official appearances in a major league batter’s box. For more on Miller, click here.

2017 – Chris Saenz

RHP Chris Saenz’ big day came on April 24, 2004 – when he was called up from Double A Huntsville (where he was 1-1, 3.86) to make a spot start against the Saint Louis Cardinals, whose powerful lineup included the likes of Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds and Reggie Sanders.   The rookie went six innings, giving up just two hits, three walks and no runs, while fanning seven. There was some speculation (primarily among sportswriters and fans) that Saenz’ performance might earn him another start or two, but two days after his debut, he was on his way back to Huntsville.  Unfortunately, his minor league season included a September elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery and he never returned to the majors. Statistics before 1900 can be sketchy, but baseball-reference.com shows that Saenz is the only pitcher to complete a one-game MLB career of at least five innings pitched, without giving up a single run (earned or unearned). For more details on this JPA honoree, click here.

2018 – Keith McDonald

Keith McDonald’s MLB career (Cardinals 2000-2001) covered just eight games and 11 plate appearances (nine at bats) and three hits – but he made them count.  All of McDonald’s safeties were home runs – making him the only MLB player with more than one career hit who can look back on major league career in which  his every hit was a home run.  McDonald is also one of only two players – and the only National Leaguer – to homer in his first two major league plate appearances.  For the full story, click here.

—–INSPIRATION FOR THE JPA—-–

John Paciorek – signed out of Saint Ladislaus High School in Hamtramck, Michigan (where he had starred in football, basketball and baseball) – appeared in his first major league game on the final day of the 1963 season (September 29) at the age of 18.  The 6’ 1”, 200-pound outfielder had spent the 1963 season with Class A Modesto Colts. The Colts’ parent club, the Houston Colt .45s (that was the current Astros’ franchise name back then), was suffering through a difficult season. The team was 65-96 going into that final game.  Looking to the future, Houston had, in fact, fielded an all-rookie lineup (average age 19) on September 27. Youth was still being served two days later when John Paciorek started his first MLB game. The results were surprising – and worthy of recognition.

Playing right field and batting seventh in a 13-4 win over the NY Mets, Paciorek ended up with three hits and two walks in five plate appearances, with four runs scored and three runs batted in.  Perhaps equally surprising is that it was not only Paciorek’s first major league appearance, it was to be his only MLB appearance.  Back pain the following spring, followed by surgery (he played 49 minor league games in 1964 and missed all of the 1965 season), put an end to his MLB playing days. (Paciorek did play in four more minor league seasons.)  Still, you will find John Paciorek in the Baseball Encyclopedia and his is arguably the greatest one-game MLB career ever.  Among one-gamers, he holds the record for times on base and runs scored, and shares the record for batting average, on base percentage and RBIs.

Paciorek, by the way, went on to become a high school teacher and multi-sport coach and is the author of three books (Plato and Socrates – Baseball’s Wisest Fans; The Principles of Baseball: And All There Is To Know About Hitting; and If I Knew Then What I Know Now.  You also can enjoy Paciorek’s prose (and expertise) directly at his blog “Paciorek’s Principles of Perfect Practice” by clicking here. You can find out even more about Paciorek in Steven Wagner’s 2015 book “Perfect: The Rise and Fall of John Paciorek, Baseball’s Greatest One-Game Wonder.”  (See the review of “Perfect” by clicking here.)

A final note. John Paciorek’s insight into the national pastime should come as no surprise. Paciorek comes from a true “baseball family.”  He was the first born of eight siblings and was followed to the big leagues by younger brothers Jim and Tom Paciorek.  (Like John, Jim’s MLB career was short – 48 games for the Brewers in 1987. Brother Tom, however, achieved a .282 average over an 18-season MLB career.)

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Records (we’re talking vinyl; here) have two-sides.  Yesterday (April 8, 2019), a couple of MLB hitting records were broken or tied – and they were, figuratively, on both sides of the offensive album.  On one side, the Orioles’ Chris Davis set a new record for futility in the batter’s box, while on other side the Mariners’ Edwin Encarnación tied an MLB record for success beyond the reaches of the ball field.

Photo by Keith Allison

Let’s start with Davis. Yesterday, Davis went zero-for-five, with two strikeouts, as the Orioles pounded out 15 hits in a 12-4 thrashing of the A’s in Oakland.  In the process, Davis set a new MLB record for consecutive at bats without a base hit at 49 (and still counting).  Davis’ streak started after the second inning of a game on September 14, 2018 (when he doubled off James Shields). Since then, he has played in another 14 games, collected 32 plate appearances and 49 at bats – with no hits, six walks, 29 strikeouts, one run and two RBI.  As Sonny and Cher might sing on vinyl – “And the streak goes on.”

Last season, Chris Davis set the MLB record for the lowest batting average by a player qualifying for the batting title, when he hit .168 (79-for-470).    To be fair, Davis is also one of only 29 MLB players to hit 50 home runs in a season. In 2013, Davis hit .286, and led the AL with 53 home runs and 138 RBI.

The previous record of 46 consecutive at bats without a hit was held by Eugenio Vélez – who went hitless from a game on July 20, 2010 until his final MLB game on August 20, 2011.  Over that time, Vélez played in 29 MLB games, getting 52 plate appearances, 46 at bats) – with no hits, three walks and 12 whiffs.  He did score one run and drive in one. Vélez started his streak as a Giant and it ended as a Dodger.  (Well, it didn’t really end, Vélez’ streak was still active when he was released by the Dodgers.  He has since played in the U.S. Minor Leagues, the Dominican Winter League, The Mexican League and Mexican Pacific Winter League – but has not made it back to the majors. In 2018-19, he went a combined .281-1-9 in 27 games in the Dominican and Mexican Winter Leagues.  Maybe someone should give the 36-years-old another shot at extending or breaking the streak.

____________________________________________

Now, for the other side of the record book.

Photo by james_in_to

Yesterday, the Mariners’ Edwin Encarnación hit his third and fourth home runs of the 2019 season. For the day, Encarnación was two-for-four with two runs scored and four RBI. Of importance is the fact that they both came in the sixth inning of Seattle’s 13-5 win over the Royals.  Of, perhaps, even more importance is that it was the second time in his career that Encarnacion has gone deep twice in one inning.  And, that ties an MLB record.  Fifty-six different players have hit two home runs in one MLB inning (MLB.com) – but only five players have accomplished the feat twice.

A few other two-home run inning tidbits:

• Fernando Tatis of the Cardinals is the only player to hit two Grand Slams in one inning – the third frame of a Cardinals’ 12-5 win over the Dodgers on April 23, 1999. Maybe a greater surprise is that Dodgers’ starter Chan Ho Park was on the mound for both long balls.
• On May 2, 2002, as the Mariners beat the White Sox 15-4, Seattle’s Brett Boone and Mike Cameron both hit two home runs in the first inning. It’s the only time two teammates have hit two home runs in an inning in the same game – and they did it back-to-back. Boone was hitting third and Cameron fourth.
• Only three players have hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same inning:  Carlos Baerga, Indians (versus Yankees) – April 8, 1993; seventh inning; Mark Bellhorn, Cubs (Brewers) – August 29, 2002; Fourth inning; and Kendrys Morales, Angels (versus Rangers) – July 30, 2012; sixth inning.

Primary Resources:  MLB.com; Baseball-Almanac.com; Baseball-Reference.com

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