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On July 17, 1914, the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates were engaged in a marathon 21-inning game. Having scored two runs to break a 1-1 tie, the Giants took the field hoping to end the drawn-out affair. The skies were dark and threatening. Giants outfielder Red Murray camped under a fly ball that would finally end the game! But after making the catch, Murray was struck by a bolt of lightning which rendered him unconscious. (He apparently hung on to the ball.)



Babe Ruth is credited with the invention of the modern baseball bat. He was the first player to order a bat with a knob on the end of the handle. Louisville Slugger produced the custom-made bat with which he hit a record 29 home runs in 1919. His previous season high had been 11.



Speaking of Louisville Sluggers, how did the name originate? Known as the "Louisville Slugger" for his impressive power, Pete Browning was the first player to purchase bats from the company and they adopted the name to capitalize on his fame. But alas, Browning was one of the worst fielders in major league baseball history. He did, however, have an excuse because he regularly played drunk! But Browning could apparently hit drunk, as his career batting average of .341 is one of the highest on record. He was r eported to have said: "I can't hit the ball until I hit the bottle!" Browning was also known as "The Gladiator," although sources differ as to whether the nickname applied to his struggles with ownership, the press, his drinking problem, or those elusive fly balls! When Browning signed with the Pittsburg franchise, he helped give it the nickname "Pirates" when other teams claimed it was an act of "piracy" for Pittsburg to sign free agents (a revolutionary idea at the time).



Speaking of free agents, Pete Rose became the first superstar free agent of the modern era when he signed a $3.225 million contract with the Phillies in 1978. But how did Rose get the catchy nickname "Charlie Hustle"? It was most definitely NOT a compliment. Mickey Mantle called Rose a "sissy" for hitting so many singles and was mocking him for running to first base on walks when he called him "Charlie Hustle." But Rose had the last laugh, as he finished with 1,241 more total bases than the Mick. As a matter of fact, Rose ended up with only 41 fewer career total bases than the Sultan of Swat himself, Babe Ruth. Rose had more total bases than Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx and Reggie Jackson. Furthermore, Rose had more than a thousand total bases more than Mantle, Rogers Hornsby, Ernie Banks and Mike Schmidt. And he had more than two thousand total bases more than Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Johnny Mize, Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra. Yes, all those singles and doubles really did add up, over time.



Should Pete Rose be in the Baseball Hall of Fame?



"Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is baseball's unofficial anthem, traditionally sung during the "seventh inning stretch" at ballparks far and wide. The song was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth and Albert von Tilzer, neither of whom had never been to a baseball game!

On July 17, 1914, the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates were engaged in a marathon 21-inning game. Having scored two runs to break a 1-1 tie, the Giants took the field hoping to end the drawn-out affair. The skies were dark and threatening. Giants outfielder Red Murray camped under a fly ball that would finally end the game! But after making the catch, Murray was struck by a bolt of lightning which rendered him unconscious. (He apparently hung on to the ball.)Babe Ruth is credited with the invention of the modern baseball bat. He was the first player to order a bat with a knob on the end of the handle. Louisville Slugger produced the custom-made bat with which he hit a record 29 home runs in 1919. His previous season high had been 11.Speaking of Louisville Sluggers, how did the name originate? Known as the "Louisville Slugger" for his impressive power, Pete Browning was the first player to purchase bats from the company and they adopted the name to capitalize on his fame. But alas, Browning was one of the worst fielders in major league baseball history. He did, however, have an excuse because he regularly played drunk! But Browning could apparently hit drunk, as his career batting average of .341 is one of the highest on record. He was r"I can't hit the ball until I hit the bottle!" Browning was also known as "The Gladiator," although sources differ as to whether the nickname applied to his struggles with ownership, the press, his drinking problem, or those elusive fly balls! When Browning signed with the Pittsburg franchise, he helped give it the nickname "Pirates" when other teams claimed it was an act of "piracy" for Pittsburg to sign free agents (a revolutionary idea at the time).Speaking of free agents, Pete Rose became the first superstar free agent of the modern era when he signed a $3.225 million contract with the Phillies in 1978. But how did Rose get the catchy nickname "Charlie Hustle"? It was most definitelya compliment. Mickey Mantle called Rose a "sissy" for hitting so many singles and was mocking him for running to first base on walks when he called him "Charlie Hustle." But Rose had the last laugh, as he finished with 1,241 more total bases than the Mick. As a matter of fact, Rose ended up with only 41 fewer career total bases than the Sultan of Swat himself, Babe Ruth. Rose had more total bases than Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx and Reggie Jackson. Furthermore, Rose hadthan Mantle, Rogers Hornsby, Ernie Banks and Mike Schmidt. And he hadthan Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Johnny Mize, Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra. Yes, all those singles and doubles really did add up, over time."Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is baseball's unofficial anthem, traditionally sung during the "seventh inning stretch" at ballparks far and wide. The song was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth and Albert von Tilzer, neither of whom had never been to a baseball game!

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On July 12, 2019 we may have seen the most amazing and mysterious baseball game ever played. This was the game in which every Angel wore number 45 in honor of their lost teammate, Tyler Skaggs. In Mike Trout's first at-bat, he hit a 454-foot homer. That's 45 forwards and backwards! The Angels scored 7 runs in the first inning, the number of heavenly perfection. Tyler was 27, in his 7th season in the majors, and his record was 7-7. But that's just the beginning. In the Angels' first home game since Tyler passed away, pitchers Taylor Cole and Felix Pena threw a combined no-hitter . According to STATS, it was the first combined no-no in California since July 13, 1991, the day Tyler Skaggs was born . The Angels scored 13 runs, which might seem unlucky, but not so. In this case, 7 and 13 go together perfectly, because 7*13=91 and Tyler was born on 7/13/91. As Trout told reporters: "Tyler's birthday is 7/13. Tomorrow. They'd tell you to rewrite this script to make it more believable if you turned this in!" (And because the game started at 10pm EST, by the time it ended, it actually was Tyler's birthday for most of the world.) Tyler's mother Debbie threw out the first pitch, and it was a perfect strike. We all know how rare that is. Cole and Pena almost threw a perfect game, but faced 28 batters, one more than the minimum. A tiny flaw? No, because it was Tyler's 28th birthday. "This is all for him," Pena said in Spanish after the game. "I feel like we have an angel looking down on us." Did this wonderfully mysterious game just confirm that our departed loved ones are watching over us, and that all is well with them? Trout reflected everyone's amazement: "I'm speechless. This is the best way to honor him."



JOINED AT THE HIP, PART I: Mike Trout and Bryce Harper may be the Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays of their generation. And they seem to be inextricably linked, because the day Harper debuted in the majors, April 29, 2012, was the very day Trout was called up from Triple A, never to return. In 2012, they both played 139 games and were Rookie of the Year and all-stars in their respective leagues. They both became MVP in their age 22 seasons, the two youngest unanimous MVPs ever. In their best offensive seasons they shared a stratospheric 198 OPS+ (the best of their era to date). Was it all written in the "stars"?

On July 12, 2019 we may have seen the most amazing and mysterious baseball game ever played. This was the game in which every Angel wore number 45 in honor of their lost teammate, Tyler Skaggs. In Mike Trout's first at-bat, he hit a 454-foot homer. That's 45 forwards and backwards! The Angels scored 7 runs in the first inning, the number of heavenly perfection. Tyler was 27, in his 7th season in the majors, and his record was 7-7. But that's just the beginning. In the Angels' first home game since Tyler passed away, pitchers Taylor Cole and Felix Pena threw a. According to STATS, it was the first combined no-no in California since July 13, 1991,. The Angels scored 13 runs, which might seem unlucky, but not so. In this case, 7 and 13 go together perfectly, because 7*13=91 and Tyler was born on 7/13/91. As Trout told reporters: "Tyler's birthday is 7/13. Tomorrow. They'd tell you to rewrite this script to make it more believable if you turned this in!" (And because the game started at 10pm EST, by the time it ended, it actuallyTyler's birthday for most of the world.) Tyler's mother Debbie threw out the first pitch, and it was a perfect strike. We all know how rare that is. Cole and Pena almost threw a perfect game, but faced 28 batters, one more than the minimum. A tiny flaw? No, because it was Tyler's 28th birthday. "This is all for him," Pena said in Spanish after the game. "I feel like we have an angel looking down on us." Did this wonderfully mysterious game just confirm that our departed loved ones are watching over us, and that all is well with them? Trout reflected everyone's amazement: "I'm speechless. This is the best way to honor him." Popular hashtags included #goosebumps #wow #45 #Skaggs#45 and #RIP45.: Mike Trout and Bryce Harper may be the Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays of their generation. And they seem to be inextricably linked, because the day Harper debuted in the majors, April 29, 2012, was the very day Trout was called up from Triple A, never to return. In 2012, they both played 139 games and were Rookie of the Year and all-stars in their respective leagues. They both became MVP in their age 22 seasons, the two youngest unanimous MVPs ever. In their best offensive seasons they shared a stratospheric 198 OPS+ (the best of their era to date). Was it all written in the "stars"?

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REVENGE OF BASEBALL'S BEAN COUNTERS



THE REVENGE OF BASEBALL'S BEAN COUNTERS: We've been told that Pete Rose is a "special case" who can never enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. But it's no hall of angels! Ty Cobb beat his son with a whip, got into bloody fights with umpires, honed his spikes to intimidate opponents, jumped into the stands to attack a disabled heckler, and told Al Stump: "In 1912—and you can write this down—I killed a man in Detroit." Is gambling baseball's unforgiveable sin? If so, Cobb was accused of conspiring with Tris Speaker to fix a game in order to get his Tigers performance bonuses. Cobb and Speaker only avoided being banned for life by baseball commissioner Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis after Cobb threatened to expose how prevalent such "fixes" were at the time. Rogers Hornsby was sued by his bookie for not paying nearly $100,000 in losses, and was traded several times because of his out-of-control gambling. Dizzy Dean, another heavy gambler, was an unindicted co-conspirator in a mob case involving the notorious game-fixer Donald "Dice" Dawson. John McGraw was arrested for public gambling in 1904; his bookie was Arnold Rothstein of Black Sox infamy. The perpetually broke Rube Waddell was accused of taking a $17,000 bribe to sit out the 1905 World Series. (That was more than his annual salary.) Mickey Mantle was banned from baseball in 1983 for his association with gambling, but remains in the Hall of Fame. Leo Durocher was accused of "slimy underhand transactions" with gamblers. Bookies roamed Durocher's clubhouse; it was described as an "open sewer." Durocher's shady friends included Meyer Boston, Memphis Engelberg, Sleepout Louie, Cigar Charlie and the Dancer. And there are worse things than gambling. Cap Anson refused to play with blacks and helped perpetuate the color barrier. Anson, Cobb and Hornsby were accused of belonging to the KKK. Juan Marichal clubbed John Roseboro over the head with a bat, opening a gash that required 14 stitches. Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Paul Waner and Hack Wilson were notorious drinkers accused of playing under the influence of alcohol. (Casey Stengel called Waner "graceful" because he could slide without breaking the liquor bottle in his hip pocket.) Tim "Rock" Raines lived up to his nickname by stashing a cocaine rock in his uniform. (He would slide headfirst to avoid breaking it.) Ferguson Jenkins was arrested with cocaine in his luggage. Orlando Cepeda did time for smuggling 150 pounds of pot. Kirby Puckett, Roberto Alomar and Hornsby were accused of domestic abuse. How many steroid users will end up in the Hall of Fame? How many amphetamine users already belong, since Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt and others have been linked to "greenies"? What did Pete Rose do to warrant eternal damnation, really? He bet on his own team, is that so terrible? Why not let him be where he belongs, with other stars who were judged strictly by their performance on the field!



Should Pete Rose be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? : We've been told that Pete Rose is a "special case" who can never enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. But it's no hall of angels! Ty Cobb beat his son with a whip, got into bloody fights with umpires, honed his spikes to intimidate opponents, jumped into the stands to attack a disabled heckler, and told Al Stump: "In 1912—and you can write this down—I killed a man in Detroit." Is gambling baseball's unforgiveable sin? If so, Cobb was accused of conspiring with Tris Speaker to fix a game in order to get his Tigers performance bonuses. Cobb and Speaker only avoided being banned for life by baseball commissioner Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis after Cobb threatened to expose how prevalent such "fixes" were at the time. Rogers Hornsby wasfor not paying nearly $100,000 in losses, and was traded several times because of his out-of-control gambling. Dizzy Dean, another heavy gambler, was an unindicted co-conspirator in a mob case involving the notorious game-fixer Donald "Dice" Dawson. John McGraw was arrested for public gambling in 1904; his bookie was Arnold Rothstein of Black Sox infamy. The perpetually broke Rube Waddell was accused of taking a $17,000 bribe to sit out the 1905 World Series. (That was more than his annual salary.) Mickey Mantle was banned from baseball in 1983 for his association with gambling, but remains in the Hall of Fame. Leo Durocher was accused of "slimy underhand transactions" with gamblers. Bookies roamed Durocher's clubhouse; it was described as an "open sewer." Durocher's shady friends included Meyer Boston, Memphis Engelberg, Sleepout Louie, Cigar Charlie and the Dancer. And there are worse things than gambling. Cap Anson refused to play with blacks and helped perpetuate the color barrier. Anson, Cobb and Hornsby were accused of belonging to the KKK. Juan Marichal clubbed John Roseboro over the head with a bat, opening a gash that required 14 stitches. Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Paul Waner and Hack Wilson were notorious drinkers accused of playing under the influence of alcohol. (Casey Stengel called Waner "graceful" because he could slide without breaking the liquor bottle in his hip pocket.) Tim "Rock" Raines lived up to his nickname by stashing a cocaine rock in his uniform. (He would slide headfirst to avoid breaking it.) Ferguson Jenkins was arrested with cocaine in his luggage. Orlando Cepeda did time for smuggling 150 pounds of pot. Kirby Puckett, Roberto Alomar and Hornsby were accused of domestic abuse. How many steroid users will end up in the Hall of Fame? How many amphetamine users already belong, since Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt and others have been linked to "greenies"? What did Pete Rose do to warrant eternal damnation, really? He bet on his own team, is that so terrible? Why not let him be where he belongs, with other stars who were judged strictly by their performance on the field!

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How's the experiment going? So far, so good. Two days after recording his first MLB win as a pitcher, Ohtani went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. He became the first player since Babe Ruth to win a game, then homer in a start as a non-pitcher. Ohtani then hit dingers in his next two games, for three consecutive. Move over, Babe, there's a new Sultan of Swat! Only 711 more to go!



BTW, Ohtani also became the first pitcher since Babe Ruth to start a game hitting cleanup. Toward the end his rookie season, he was regularly hitting cleanup and had 20 homers in only 280 at-bats. At the time I wrote this Ohtani had a higher slugging percentage than Aaron Judge, Jose Ramirez, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Nelson Cruz, Bryce Harper ... and every MLB player not named Mike Trout, Mookie Betts or J. D. Martinez!



Jacob deGrom's lack of run support became historic in 2018. Toward the end of the season, he was about to become just the first qualified pitcher since 1937 to have more WAR than wins. While deGrom had a dazzling 1.71 ERA, his punchless New York Mets had an abysmal 12-17 record in games he started. Things got so bad that deGrom had to take matters into his own hands, driving in the only runs in two 2-1 losses to the Braves and Cubs. Shades of the Babe!



In 1972, the Philadelphia Phillies won only 59 games. But where would they have been without Steve Carlton, who won nearly half of them? Carlton won 27 games with a 1.97 ERA, 310 strikeouts and 30 complete games.



Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction is now called Tommy John surgery, after its first famous recipient. How successful was the surgery? Well, Tommy John pitched in the majors for 26 years, with three 20-win seasons after the surgery (versus none before). With his 26th season, he tied the major league record for longevity.



So who later broke Tommy John's record? Nolan Ryan, who at age 40 was recommended to have Tommy John surgery by Dr. Frank Jobe, the surgeon who invented the procedure and performed it on its namesake. Ryan decided to pitch through the pain, continued to throw extreme heat, led the league in strikeouts for four consecutive years, and ended up playing 27 years. Ryan had more strikeouts in his forties than a number of Hall-of-Fame pitchers had in their entire careers, including Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, Bob Lemmon and Dizzy Dean.



Gaylord Perry was widely known for doctoring baseballs throughout his career, which led former manager Gene Mauch to say: "He should be in the Hall of Fame with a tube of K-Y Jelly attached to his plaque." Despite his checkered reputation (or perhaps because of it), Perry finished his career with 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts and a 3.11 ERA. Other famous (or infamous) spitballers include Preacher Roe (the Beech-Nut slider), Joe Niekro (caught red-handed on the mound with an emery board and sandpaper), Tommy John ("the elegant Rhett Butler of outlaws"), Jay Howell (pine tar) and Kenny Rogers (dirt). Perhaps the two "baddest" pitchers were Whitey Ford (who "cheated" by scuffing balls with his wedding ring) and squeaky-clean choirboy Orel Hershiser (who, true to his pristine image, used water!).



The spitball was outlawed in 1920, but it was "grandfathered" in for known spitballers who were active at the time. So who threw baseball's last legal spitball? Burleigh Grimes (slippery elm) on September 10, 1934. Ol' Stubblebeard, as Grimes was called, won 270 games and was pretty fair hitter (for a pitcher) with a career .248 average and 168 RBI.



DUBIOUS RECORDS, PART I: Steve Carlton is the undisputed King of the Balkers, with 90, which is double that of the second-place finisher, Bob Welch.



JOINED AT THE HIP, PART II: "Brothers in Arms"



In the 1934 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers. Jerome "Dizzy" Dean and his kid brother Paul "Daffy" Dean won two games each, accounting for all four Cardinal wins.



Outfield Arms



Giancarlo Stanton was once hit by his own home run ball! Are we living in the Twilight Zone? It happened when Stanton crushed a homer high over Fenway's fabled Green Monster. A disgruntled fan threw the ball back into the field and it hit Stanton as he rounded second. BTW, the fan has been credited with having a much stronger, more accurate throwing arm than Red Sox outfielders Johnny Damon, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jim Rice, Hanley Ramirez, Manny Ramirez and Jose Tartabull.



Conversely, Glen Gorbous may have had the strongest throwing arm in baseball history. Gorbus played parts of three seasons for Reds and Phillies, recording 10 assists in only 70 games. While playing for the Omaha Redbirds of the American Association, Gorbous made two ridiculous throws. First, standing at home plate, he threw a ball over the center field wall, 410 feet away. Gorbous then launched a ball 445 feet, setting a world record that stands to this day.



In 1905 doctors wanted to amputate Tris Speaker's arm because it had been injured so badly in a football game. Speaker refused, worked out like a madman, then went on to set a still-standing MLB record for outfield assists with 449.



But the best outfield arm of all time probably belonged to Roberto Clemente, who was nicknamed "El Howitzer." As the immortal Vin Scully put it: "Clemente could field the ball in New York and throw out a guy in Pennsylvania."



A trio of brothers made history on September 15, 1963 by playing together in the outfield for the San Francisco Giants. They were Felipe, Jesus and Matty Alou.



Positional Surprises



C - Johnny Bench has been called the greatest offensive and defensive catcher of all time. But he was a pretty good base stealer too, going 24-2 from 1975 to 1976.

1B - Joey Votto's .426 OBP is the third highest of all time at his position; Ferris Fain at fourth with .424 is a much bigger surprise.

2B - Cupid Childs' .416 OBP is higher than that of Eddie Stanky, Jackie Robinson, Charlie Gehringer, Rod Carew and Joe Morgan.

SS - Mark Belanger's defense was almost as good as Ozzie Smith's, according to Fangraphs' DEF stat.

3B - Brooks Robinson had twice the Fangraphs DEF of Graig Nettles, Scott Rolen and Mike Schmidt.

RF - Larry Walker's .565 slugging percentage is higher than that of Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Mel Ott and Vladimir Guerrero.

CF - Andruw Jones' 278.8 DEF is more than 100 points higher than Willie Mays' 170.1, according to Fangraphs.

LF - Albert Belle's .564 slugging percentage is is higher than that of Ralph Kiner, Al Simmons, Willie Stargell and Shoeless Joe Jackson.

P - According to Fangraphs, the two best fielding pitchers of all time were teammates: Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.



Miscellanea



There are some questionable members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, perhaps none more questionable than catcher Rick Ferrell, who was not even the best player in his immediate family! Rick Ferrell finished his career with only 29.8 WAR, a .363 slugging percentage and a less-than-stellar OPS+ of 95. Wes Ferrell was a pitcher whose 61.6 WAR vastly eclipsed his brother's. And according to baseball metrics, despite being a pitcher, Wes was the better hitter as well, with a .446 slugging percentage and OPS+ of 100!



Only two players in the history of major league baseball have made the exclusive 30-30 Club five times. The first to do it was Bobby Bonds. Who was the second? His son, Barry Bonds! The power-speed genes obviously run in that family!



But now things get a bit eerie. Only two major league baseball players have made the 20-20 Club ten times. The first to do was Bobby Bonds, and the second was Barry Bonds. They both had their last 20-20 season at age 33. The next season they both dropped to 15 steals. Were they father and son, or doppelgangers?



In 1902 when William "Dummy" Hoy batted against pitcher Luther "Dummy" Taylor, it marking the first time in MLB history that two deaf players faced each other.



Carlos May made sure fans didn't forget his birthday, by wearing "May 17" on his uniform.



Effa Louise Manley (1897–1981) is the first and only woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. She was the co-owner and an executive of a Negro League franchise, the Newark Eagles.



There has been a player since Ted Williams to hit .400, after all! Wade Boggs had a stretch of 162 games from 6/9/1985 to 6/6/1986 where he batted .401. He had 257 hits in 641 at-bats with 12 HR, 92 RBI, 125 runs scored and 109 walks. He had a .489 OBP and slugged .541.



Ron Cey was called the "Penguin" because of his odd gait. According to Richard Shellhorn, the author of Balls and Stripes, Cey had tiny shin disease, which left his knees just four inches from his ankles. That makes Cey's accomplishments all the more impressive: six All-Star teams, a World Series MVP award, 316 homers, and 1,139 RBI. But his 24-29 record on stolen base attempts does suggest that Cey was handicapped in terms of speed.



Brooks Koepka won four major golf tournaments in the blink of an eye, but says his true love is baseball. He told Golf Digest: "If I could do it over again, I'd play baseball—100 percent, no doubt." And baseball is in his genes. He's the nephew of Dick Groat, an NL MVP and eight-time all-star shortstop for the Pittsburg Pirates. Groat is the only athlete to be elected to both the college baseball and basketball halls of fame. He was a two-time All-American at Duke in both sports. In 1952 he was the UPI and Helms national basketball player of the year, after averaging 25.2 points per game. Groat was the third overall pick in the 1952 NBA draft and played one NBA season, averaging 11.9 points per game, before deciding to concentrate on baseball. He never played a game in the minors, and finished third in the 1952 NL rookie of the year voting with a .284 batting average.



DUBIOUS RECORDS, PART II:



Caleb Joseph set a major league record for futility, by going 132 at-bats without an RBI in 2016.

Tony Mullane had the most wild pitches in MLB history, with 343.

But Mullane has a rival in the wildness category, since Gus Wehing holds the record for the most hit batters, with 277.

Nolan Ryan was either one of the wildest pitchers, or the most generous, since he served up a record 2,795 walks.

Jamie Moyer was generous in an even more charitable way, serving a record 522 home runs.

Ron Hunt holds the modern era record for being hit by a pitch, with 50 in 1971.

Hunt led the NF in HBPs for seven years in a row, from 1968-1974.

Hughie Jennings holds the all-time record with 51 HBPs in 1896.

Craig Biggio holds the career record for HBPs with 285.



Uniform Attire? The first official uniforms date back to the New York Knickerbockers in 1849. The uniforms included stylish straw hats.



MULTI-SPORT MADNESS: Kyler Murray is the first athlete to be a top ten pick in the MLB draft (#9) and NFL draft (#1). "Bullet" Bob Hayes is the only man with an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. Bob Gibson won two Cy Young awards, nine Gold Gloves, and played with the Harlem Globetrotters. Wilt Chamberlain was the NBA's most dominant force, but he also starred in track & field, played for the Harlem Globetrotters, was a professional volleyball player, and co-starred in the movie Conan the Destroyer. Deion Sanders is the only player to hit a major league home run and score an NFL touchdown in the same week. He is also the only person to play in a World Series and a Super Bowl. Jackie Robinson lettered in baseball, basketball, football and track. He won the NCAA long jump crown and also broke baseball's color barrier! Jim Brown may have been the best football player of all time and the best lacrosse player of all time. He also lettered in basketball and track. Bo Jackson is the only player to be named to the NFL Pro Bowl and MLB All-Star game in the same year, and he also set two state high school records in track & field. Danny Ainge is the only athlete to be a high school All-American in baseball, basketball and football. Charlie Ward won the Heisman trophy, was a first-round NBA pick, and was also drafted by the Yankees. Cap Anson is in the Baseball Hall of Fame and was also a champion balkline billiards player and bowler. Dave Winfield was drafted by MLB, the NFL, the NBA, the ABA, and was invited to join the Harlem Globetrotters. Chuck Connors played for the Boston Celtics, the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, and also starred in TV's The Rifleman! But who can top Jim Thorpe? He excelled in football, baseball, basketball and track & field, won Olympic gold medals in the Pentathlon and Decathlon, and even waltzed to an intercollegiate ballroom dancing championship! Well, perhaps Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who may have been the best female baseball player, softball player, basketball player, golfer and track athlete of her day. She won won two Olympic gold medals and one silver, to go with ten major LPGA titles. She was also an expert diver, roller-skater, billiardist and bowler. Hell, she won the 1932 AAU Track & Field Championships despite being the only member of her team, taking five out of eight events on her lonesome!



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Joe DiMaggio had a 56-game hitting streak in 1941. But Pete Rose came close, at 44 games, so the most famous record may be the most breakable.

The Chicago Cubs went 108 years without winning a World Series. But the Indians are working hard on this one!

Johnny Vander Meer threw back-to-back no-hitters in 1938. It could be done again, but who is going to throw a third consecutive no-hitter?

Hack Wilson drove in 191 runs in 1930. But Manny Ramirez did have 165 in 1999.

Pete Rose had a record 4,256 hits; to break it someone would have to average 213 hits for 20 years!

Nolan Ryan threw seven no-hitters and had 5,714 career strikeouts.

Chief Wilson hit 36 triples in 1912.



Rickey Henderson stole 130 bases in 1982 and had 1,406 steals for his career.

Cal Ripken played in 2,632 consecutive games.

Hugh Duffy hit .440 in 1894.

Kid Nichols was the youngest pitcher to join the 300 wins club at age 30, by averaging 30 wins per year for a decade.

Walter Johnson threw 110 shutouts. Modern comparisons: Clayton Kershaw (15), Justin Verlander (8), Max Scherzer (5).

Cy Young finished his career with 511 wins and 749 complete games.

Jack Taylor pitched 202 consecutive games without being relieved once.

Charley "Old Hoss" Radbourn won 59 games in 1884. No modern pitcher will ever start 59 games!



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Babe Ruth was the greatest power hitter in World Series history, with 15 homers in 167 plate appearances (Mickey Mantle had 18, but it took him more than 100 additional plate appearances). But Ruth may have also been the best pitcher in World Series history, with a 3-0 record and a miniscule .87 ERA. He pitched 29 2/3 scoreless innings, a World Series record that would stand for 42 years.







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— Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto — could be considered legitimate stars. It truly was an upset for the ages. Perhaps we should call them the Miracle Gnats!



KING for a DAY?



Stephen Strasburg became baseball's highest-paid player on December 9, 2019 when he inked a seven-year contract for $245 million with the Washington Nationals. That's a cool $35 million per year, but it turned out to be relatively cheap. The very next day, Gerrit Cole signed a $324 million deal with the New York Yankees for nine years, or $36 million per year. Apparently, Cole and his agent wanted to make sure he was the highest-paid player and thus waited for Strasburg to sign first.