Goodman played in 11 MLB seasons (1935-44 \u2026 Reds Cubs), hitting .281-95-515 in 1,107 games. He was a two-time\u00a0 All Star and twice led the National League in triples. \u00a0His best season was 1938, when he went .292-30-92 for the Reds.<\/p>\n
Goodman played football, basketball and track in high school (his high school did not field a baseball team) and was recruited off a townball team. He was\u00a0 known more for his speed and defense than his power (he had 85 career triples and 95 career home runs).\u00a0 \u00a0Over his career, Goodman averaged one home run per\u00a0 every 46.7 at bats – against Hubbell he laced one home per every 10.6 at bats.<\/p>\n
Ival \u00a0Goodman drove in the first run in the first night game in MLB history. It came in the bottom of the first frame of a Reds 2-1 win over the Phillies on May 22, 1935.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nNote: I also looked at Paul Waner (.318-0-24), whose 67 hits were the most of any batter versus Hubbell (Waner\u2019s .318 average was below his career average and there were those zero home runs) and Jack Rothrock (.350-2-9 in 11 games versus Hubbell).<\/em><\/p>\nPitcher(s) – Harry Gumbert, Jim Tobin, Fred Frankhouse and Red Lucas<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nFor obvious reasons, individual opposing pitchers did not rack up significant numbers of plate appearances versus Hubbell.\u00a0 With that disclaimer, here are a few who hit him well.<\/p>\n
Harry Gumbert<\/strong> … Righty Harry Gumbert was a career .184 hitter (with five home runs and 45 RBI) in 708 at bats. However,\u00a0 he hit .600 (in three\u00a0 games) versus Carl Hubbell.\u00a0 \u00a0As a pitcher, Gumbert went 143-13 over 15 MLB seasons (1935-44, 1946-50 … Giants, Cardinals, Reds, Pirates). He appeared in 508 games (235 starts). Gumbert’s best season as a hitter was 1941, when he .292 (17-for-64), with two home runs and six RBI (for the Giants and Cardinals). His best season on the mound was 1937, when he went 18-11, 4.32 for the Giants (as a teammate of Hubbell). Gumbert won ten or more games in eleven seasons.\u00a0 In the three games in which he pitched and batted\u00a0 against Hubbell, Gumbert went 2-1, 2.53, while Hubbell went 101, 3.92.<\/a><\/p>\n________________________________________<\/p>\n
Jim Tobin<\/strong> … No surprise to find right-hander Jim Tobin here.\u00a0 He was one of the best-hitting pitchers of all-time (in fact, appearing as a pinch-hitter 108 times). Tobin played in the major leagues from 1937 through 1945 (Pirates, Braves, Tigers). At the plate, his career stat line was .230-17-102 (in 796 at bats). As a pitcher, he went 105-112, 3.44 in 287 games (227 starts). As a moundsman, Tobin finished over .500 in just three of nine seasons.\u00a0 His best season as a batsman was his 1937 rookie campaign, when he hit .441 (15-for-34) in 21 games. (He had a five-homer, 17-RBI season in 1945 (his final MLB season), but hit just .137. In the games in which Tobin both pitched and batted against Hubbell (he was used as a pinch hitter versus Hubbell twice), Tobin went 2-1, with a 1.70 earned run average to Hubbell’s 2-2, 1.68.<\/p>\nJ<\/strong>im Tobin is one of only two MLB pitchers to hit three home runs in a game.\u00a0 On May 13, 1942 – in a 6-5 Braves’ win over the Cubs – Tobin pitched a complete-game five-hitter (three earned runs) for the Braves and smacked three home runs (four RBI). Pitcher\u00a0 Guy Hecker hit three home runs for the Louisville\u00a0 Colonels in a 22-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles on August 15, 1886.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n