With the universal Designated Hitter in effect this season – and some (sadly, from BBRT’s view) predicting it will remain in the National League after 2020, there are some things we are going to miss. Okay, maybe most fans won’t miss futile swings by pitchers who just can’t handle a bat (although I do get a kick out of that sometimes). I, for one, will miss good-hitting pitchers that deliver offense, hurlers that know how to lay down a bunt and, even more so, poor-hitting pitchers that surprise us by going on “rampages” at the plate. This post is intended to explain what I’m talking about here (and is part of BBRT’s ongoing #WhyIHateTheDH” stream of thought. So, let’s look at some at-the-plate thrills provided by pitches over the years. The kind of performances we may not see in the future.
In the theme of Don’t Tell this Guy Pitchers Can’t Hit, let start with Guy Hecker.
Guy Hecker, Louisville, Colonels (American Association) … Only pitcher to win a batting title
Okay, it was a different game back in 1886, but Guy Hecker remains the only pitcher to win a batting title, the only pitcher to collect six hits in a game, the only pitcher to score seven runs in a game, the only hurler to collect 15 total bases in a contest and one of just two MLB pitchers to hit three home runs in a game. Hecker won the American Association (considered a major league) batting crown in 1886 with a .341 average (117-for 343). Hecker appeared in 84 games that season (of 136 played by Louisville) and took the mound in 49 (57 percent) of them (48 starts/45 complete games). He also took the field at first base and in the garden. On August 15 of that season, in contest against the Baltimore Orioles, Hecker collected six hits (three singles and three home runs) and was safe on error once – scoring seven times in the 22-5 victory. He also tossed a compete game.
Clearly, Guy Hecker earned his spot at the top of this post.
Guy Hecker still holds the overall (any position) major-league record for runs scored in a game at seven.
Hecker had a nine-season MLB career, going 175-146, 2.93 on the mound (four times winning 20+ games, with a high of 52 wins in 1884) and hit .283, with 19 home runs and 278 RBI in 705 games.
Mike Hampton …. Five Silver Slugger Awards
You couldn’t do this post without including Mike Hampton, who won five Silver Slugger Awards as the National League’s best-hitting pitcher. (The Silver Slugger Awards were established in 1980.) Hampton earned his handful of Silver Slugger recognitions in five consecutive seasons – from 1999 through 2003. Notably, he won them with four different teams: Astros (1999); Mets (2000); Rockies (2001 & 2002); and Braves (2003). Now, we may never see another pitcher hoist a Silver Slugger Award. Note: In 2003, Hampton was a leather and lumber – or heavy metal – guy, winning both a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove. For more on players to win a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove in the same seasons, click here.
Hampton was two-time All Star during his 16-season (1993-2005, 2008-2010) MLB career. He retired with a 148-115, 4.06 record on the mound and a .246-16-79 batting line (423 games). He hit over .300 in four seasons (a high of .344 in 2002). His best campaign as a hitter was 2001, when he went .291-7-16 in 42 games for the Rockies.
Walk It Off, Jim
With pitchers not coming to the plate, we miss out not only on heavy-hitting performances (like Guy Hecker’s), but also on some pitchers’ at-the-plate oddities. For example, Hall of Famer Jim Palmer is the only player (any position) ever to draw two bases-loaded walks in a single World Series Game. They came in the fourth and fifth innings of an Orioles’ 11-3 win over the Pirates on October 11, 1971. (Palmer walked only three times – versus 41 strikeouts – while hitting .196 during the regular season.) Palmer was a career .174 hitter in the regular season and hit .086 in 20 post-season games. Those two bases-loaded free passes were his only walks in 38 post-season plate appearances. Palmer won 20 or more games in eight of his 19 MLB seasons.
Walter Johnson, Washington Senators … nine-game hitting streak, .433 season average (1925)
You can make a pretty good case for Hall of Famer Walter Johnson being the greatest pitcher of all time: 417 victories; 12 times leading the league in strikeouts; an MLB-record 110 shutouts … and I could go on and on. But this post is about hitting, and the “Big Train” carried a pretty big bat.
Consider the 1925 season, when the 37-year-old Johnson went 20-7, 3.07 on the mound. At the plate, Johnson started the campaign by collecting at least one base hit in his first nine games (appearing in two of those contests as a pinch hitter). After those nine contests, Johnson was hitting a nice round .500 (13-for-26), with one double, one triple, one home run and nine RBI. On the hill, he was 6-1, 1.77. And Johnson didn’t slow down much as the season wore on. He ended up with a .433 average (42-for-97), with three walks (.455 on-base percentage) and just six strikeouts. He also had two home runs and 20 RBI in 36 games. Johnson’s splits were pretty impressive as well. He hit .429 at home and .438 on the road and .529 versus right-handers and .414 versus lefties. He also hit .571 with runners in scoring position (12-for-21) and .500 with runners in scoring position and two out (four-for-eight. Johnson was a career (21 seasons) .235 hitter, with 24 home runs and 255 RBI.
You’ve been “Catfished”
On May 8, 1968, Jim “Catfish” Hunter threw a perfect game against the Minnesota Twins – a 4-0 win in Oakland. Not only did he dominate the Twins from the mound (11 whiffs in the perfect outing), he also roughed them up at the plate. Hunter had a double, two singles, and three RBI in the contest. Note: There have been 23 perfect games in MLB history, the pitchers twirling those gems have recorded at least one base hit in six of them. Hunter is the only one with more than one safety while pitching “perfecto.”
Don Newcombe. Dodgers … .359 average, seven home runs, 23 RBI (1955)
In 1955, the Dodgers’ Don Newcombe became a 20-game winner (20-5, 3.20) for the second time. He also hit .300+ for the second of seven times (in ten seasons) he would reach that mark.
In 1956, Don Newcombe went 27-7, 3.06 on the mound – earning Cy Young AND MVP honors.
Newcombe got his 1955 season at the plate off to a good start. On April 14, in his first appearance of the campaign, he went two-for-four, with two runs, three RBI and two home runs – and he needed to succeed at the plate. Newcombe got the win (10-8 over the Giants), despite giving up eight runs (five earned) in 7 1/3 innings. For the season, Newcombe hit .359 (42-for-117), with seven home runs and 23 RBI. Newk was used 23 times as a pinch-hitter that season, going 8-for-21 (.381) with two walks. For the season, he hit .353 with runners in scoring position. For his career, Newcombe hit .271 (238-for-878) with 15 home runs and 108 RBI. On the bump, the four-time All Star was 149-90, 3.56.
Another Big Don
Don Newcombe was a solid hitting pitcher for the Dodgers – and so was another Big Don – Drysdale. In 1965, when the Dodgers faced the Twins in the World Series, the LA squad had only one hitter with at least 100 at bats and a .300 or better average. That was Don Drysdale at an even .300 (39-for-130). In fact, the most at bats for any other Dodger that hit .300 or better that season was 13. Drysdale was seventh on the team in home runs (seven) and tenth in RBI (19).
Micah Owings, Diamondbacks … Four hits, two home runs, six RBI (August 18, 2007)
Micah Owings did not have the pitching stats of some of the hurlers in this post (six MLB seasons, 32-33, 4.86) – but he could rake. As a rookie, in 2007, Owings had quite a mid-August day against the Braves. He threw seven solid innings (three runs on seven hits, with no walks and seven whiffs. At the plate, his day went like this: two-run double in the second inning; solo home run in the fourth; two-run home run in the sixth; RBI single in the seventh; line out in the eighth. For the season, the 24-year-old rookie hit .333-4-15 in 60 at bats. For his career, Owings hit .283, with nine home runs and 35 RBI in 205 at bats.
A Wise Man Once Put It All TWOgether
Okay, Rick Wise was not a terror at the plate, sporting just a .195 average over 18 MLB seasons. He did, however, put it all together on June 23, 1971. Facing the Reds in Cincinnati, Wise tossed a no-hitter (one walk, three whiffs) in a Phillies’ 4-0 win. He also became the first (and still only) MLB hurler to hit two home runs while pitching a no-no. Wise connected in the fifth (two-run) and eighth (solo) to complete a two-for-four day. 1971 was actually a solid year for Wise, who went 17-14, 2.88 and hit .237 with career highs in home runs (6), RBI (15) and runs scored (14) – in 39 games. In his pitching career, Wise went 188-181, 3.69 and won 15 or more games in six seasons.
Wes Ferrell … 37 home runs as a pitcher, nine in one season
Wes Ferrell was a good (great?) hitting pitcher, holding the record for single-season home runs as pitcher (nine) and career home runs as a pitcher (37 out of 38 career long balls). His career (15 seasons, 1927-41) line was .280-38-208 in 548 games. In 1931, Ferrell hit .319-9-30 in 48 games for the Indians – hitting .389-9-29 as a pitcher (he was also used as a pinch-hitter). On the mound, he went 193-128, 4.04 – winning 20 or more games in six seasons.
Two Grand Slams – One Grand Game
Braves’ right-hander Tony Cloninger got the Independence Day fireworks started early in 1966. On July 3 of that season, Cloninger became the first (and still only) pitcher – as well as the first National Leaguer (any position) – to hit two Grand Slam home runs in a game. In the Braves 17-3 win over the Giants (in San Francisco), Cloninger hit a Grand Slam in the top of the first, added a second Grand Slam in the fourth and poked an RBI single in the eighth. He ended the day three-for-five, with an MLB one-game record (for pitchers) nine RBI. He also pitched a complete-game, seven-hitter. That season, Cloninger hit .234, with five home runs and 23 RBI in 111 at bats. On the mound, he was 14-11, 4.12.
For his career (1961-72), Cloninger was 113-97, 4.07 on the mound and .292-11-67 at the plate. Tony Cloninger’s best season on the hill was 1965, when he went 24-11, 3.29 (yet, somehow manage to lead the league in walks and wild pitches.) Side note: After retiring from MLB, Cloninger became a World-Class Slow-Pitch softball player. In 1978, playing for the United States Slow-pitch Softball Association Major Slow Pitch World Series Champion Howard & Carroll team, Cloninger was selected as the third baseman on the Series’ All World Team. For more on Cloninger, click here.
Jim Tobin, Braves …. Three home runs in a game
The Boston Braves’ Jim Tobin shares the record (with Guy Hecker) for the most home runs in a game by a pitcher at three. In a May 13, 1942 game against the Cubs, Tobin flied out to deep right field in the third inning; homered to lead off the fifth; homered again to lead off the seventh; and hit a two-run home run with two outs in the eighth (to break a 4-4 tie in a game the Braves won 6-5). On the mound, he earned the victory (a complete game – five runs, three earned, five hits and three walks) – as the Braves topped the Cubs 6-5. Notably, the day before, Tobin was used as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning of a Braves’ 9-8 loss to the Cubs and delivered a two-run homer. So, he had homered four times in the space of five at bats.
Tobin went 105-112, 3.44 in nine MLB seasons (1937-45). As a hitter, he hit .230 (183-for-796, with 17 home runs and 102 RBI. He was used as pinch hitter more than 100 times.
Grandiose Post-Season Visions
Dave McNally – a three-time All Star – racked up a career 184-119, 3.24 record on the mound, winning 20 or more games in four of fourteen MLB seasons. He was also 7-4, 2.49 in 14 post-season appearances. McNally was less effective at the plate, with a .133-9-43 regular-season stat line and a .148 post-season batting average.
In the 1970 post-season, however, McNally turned his bat into a weapon. He went two-for-five with a double in an American League Championship start against the Twins – a complete-game 11-3 win. He then went one-for-four in a World’s Series start against the Reds – his one hit being the first (and still only) World Series Grand Slam hit by a pitcher.
Madison Bumgarner, Giants … Active leading home runs by a pitcher (19), two home runs on Opening Day (2017)
On Opening Day (April 2) 2017, the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner shone on the mound and at the plate. On the mound, he went seven innings (no decision) and gave up three runs on six hits, with no walks and eleven strikeouts. At the plate, he was (arguably) even more effective – becoming the first (and still only) pitcher to hit two home runs in an Opening Day game. His day as a hitter went like this:
- Walk in the second inning (on a 3-2 pitch);
- Solo home run leading off the fifth;
- Solo home run with one out in the seventh;
While Madbum has just a. 177 career average (12 seasons), his 19 long balls are number-one among active pitchers. His career stat line at the plate: .177-19-62. On the mound, Bumgarner is 119-94, 3.16. He is a four-time All Star and has four times won 15 or more games in a season. Bumgarner signed (free agent) with the Diamondbacks before the 2020 season.
Terry Forster … .397 career average
Terry Forster didn’t show much power – no home runs in his 78 regular-season at bats – but he did put the bat on the ball. In 16 MLB seasons (1971-86 … White Sox, Pirates, Dodgers, Braves, Angels), Forster went 31-for-78, putting up a nifty.397 average. Five of his 31 hits went for extra bases – four doubles and a triple. His best season as a hitter was 1972 (White Sox), when he was 10-for-19 (.526), all singles – with one run and three RBI. His final career line at the plate was .397-0-7. On the mound, Forster went 54-65, 3.51, with 127 saves – leading the AL in saves with 24 in 1974. Forster saved 20+ games in three seasons and had an earned run average under 2.50 in five campaigns. In 1978, for the Dodgers, he went 5-4, 1,93, with 22 saves, in 47 appearances. That season he hit .500 (four-for-eight), with a double and two RBI.
Terry Forster made it to the major leagues (White Sox) at the age of 19 – after appearing in just ten games in the minor leagues (Class A).
Primary Resources: Stathead.com; Baseball-Almanac.com; “August 15, 1886: Guy Hecker: Hitting Pitcher,” Society for American Baseball Research, by Bob Bailey; “Wes Ferrell” bio, Society for American Baseball Research, by Mark Smith.
Primary Resources: Stathead.com; NationalPastime.com
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