Baseball Digest

25/07/2024

Former Cubs shortstop Don Kessinger once said of his longtime teammate, “Billy Williams is the best hitter, day in and day out, that I’ve ever seen. He’s unbelievable. He didn’t hit for just one or two days, or one or two weeks. He hit all the time.”

After brief stints with Chicago in 1959 and ’60, Williams beat out Joe Torre of the Braves for NL Rookie of the Year in ’61 by batting .278 with 25 home runs and 86 RBI in 146 games for the Cubs. Between 1962 and ’73, the gifted outfielder appeared in more than 160 games eight times and at least 155 games three other years.

The six-time All-Star was twice runner-up to Cincinnati’s Johnny Bench in balloting for the NL MVP Award -- in 1970 and ’72. Williams tied Pete Rose of the Reds for the major-league lead in hits (205) in 1970 and won his only batting title in '72 when he compiled a .333 mark to lead the majors. His cumulative statistics in 16 seasons as a Cub included 2,510 hits, 392 home runs, 1,353 RBI and a .296 batting average.

Williams was a quiet and humble star, which once prompted Chicago sports columnist Bill Gleason to write, “Billy Williams, who seldom speaks in a voice that can be heard beyond his own cubicle -- who wouldn’t say ‘Rah! Rah!’ if (Cubs owner) Phil Wrigley promised him $10,000 for each ‘Rah!’ -- is the man to whom the Cubs look for leadership.”

Williams finished his 18-year Hall of Fame career with the Oakland A’s (1975-1976) and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.

23/07/2024

Of the baseball-related bobbleheads you have, which one do you consider to be the prize of your collection? And which one that you don't have would you most like to add to the group? Photos welcome.

20/07/2024

Jim Leyland, who will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this Sunday, always felt that when it comes to managing, strategy is sort of -- well, overrated. He never felt it was about outsmarting the guy in the other dugout.

"Don’t get me wrong, strategy is important," Leyland said. "But as a manager you have options and you make decisions, and they either work out or they don’t. Managers make a lot of decisions that don’t work out, but they pick the option that they think gives their team the best chance to win.

“But I think the biggest thing is how you deal with the players. I always wanted the clubhouse to be a fun place to come and a great place to work. I wanted to get the temperature of the clubhouse just right. Getting that temperature just right and getting everyone with one heartbeat, that’s what you strive to do as a manager.”

17/07/2024

Resetting after the All-Star Game in Arlington last night -- which the American League won, 5-3, on a two-run homer by Boston’s Jarren Duran off Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene in the fifth inning:

Division Leaders

AL East -- Baltimore (58-38) -- 1.0 game over New York
AL Central -- Cleveland (58-37) -- 4.5 games over Minnesota
AL West -- Seattle (52-46) -- 1.0 game over Houston

NL East -- Philadelphia (62-34) -- 8.5 games over Atlanta
NL Central -- Milwaukee (55-42) -- 4.5 games over St. Louis
NL West -- Los Angeles (56-41) -- 7.0 games over Arizona & San Diego

Wild Card Leaders

AL -- New York (58-40), Minnesota (54-42) and Boston (53-42)
NL -- Atlanta (53-42), St. Louis (50-46) and New York (49-46)

Statistical Leaders

Batting -- AL -- Steven Kwan/Cleveland -- .352
Batting -- NL -- Christian Yelich/Milwaukee -- .326

HR-- AL -- Aaron Judge/New York -- 34
HR -- NL -- Shohei Ohtani/Los Angeles -- 29

RBI -- AL -- Aaron Judge/New York -- 85
RBI -- NL -- Marcell Ozuna/Atlanta -- 77

SB -- AL -- Jose Caballero/Tampa Bay -- 24
SB -- NL -- Elly De La Cruz/Cincinnati -- 46

Wins -- AL -- Seth Lugo/Kansas City -- 11
Grayson Rodriguez/Baltimore -- 11
Wins -- NL -- Chris Sale/Atlanta -- 13

IP -- AL -- Logan Gilbert/Seattle -- 132.1
IP -- NL -- Logan Webb/San Francisco -- 124.1

SO -- AL -- Garrett Crochet/Chicago -- 150
SO -- NL -- Dylan Cease/San Diego -- 149

SV -- AL -- Emmanuel Clase/Cleveland -- 29
SV -- NL -- Ryan Helsley/St. Louis -- 32

Any comments about what happened prior to the All-Star break or predictions regarding what will transpire the rest of the way here in 2024, feel free to share.

13/07/2024

As a senior at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minn., Joe Mauer became the first athlete ever to be named USA Today Player of the Year in two sports in the same academic year. How did he accomplish the feat?

In the fall of 2000, Mauer completed 66 percent of his passes (178 of 269) for 3,022 yards and 41 touchdowns as the quarterback of the football team. In the spring of 2001, the left-handed-hitting catcher batted over .600 as the star of the baseball team and did not strike out all season.

Mauer committed to play football for Coach Bobby Bowden at Florida State -- with a plan to play baseball as well. However, he later signed with the Minnesota Twins after they selected him with the first overall pick in the 2001 MLB draft -- ahead of University of Southern California pitcher Mark Prior, who went second overall to the Chicago Cubs.

The gifted Mauer also played basketball during his days at Cretin-Derham Hall and was an All-State performer.

Mauer spent his entire 15-year big-league career (2004-2018) with Minnesota and was a six-time All-Star. He captured three American League batting titles in a four-year span (2006-2009) and compiled a .306 lifetime average. Mauer was voted A.L. MVP in 2009 when he posted career highs in batting (.365), home runs (28) and RBI (96).

Next weekend, he will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame along with Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Jim Leyland. Mauer will become the fourth former No. 1 overall draft pick to be enshrined in Cooperstown -- following Harold Baines, Ken Griffey Jr. and Chipper Jones.

09/07/2024

The very first home run in the very first Major League Baseball All-Star Game was hit by Babe Ruth on July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

Ruth, who was 38 years old at the time, smacked a two-run homer off National League starter Bill Hallahan in the third inning. The blast gave the American League a 3-1 lead in what turned out to be a 4-2 victory.

“The Bambino” started in right field that day for the A.L., who got 3.0 scoreless innings each from Lefty Gomez (first three) and Lefty Grove (last three). Ruth went on to hit .301 with 34 homers and 104 RBI in 137 games that year, his next-to-last with the Yankees.

The N.L. scored both of its runs off General Crowder in the sixth inning -- one of which was a home run by Frankie Frisch.

05/07/2024

On July 5, 1991, MLB owners voted unanimously to have two new expansion franchises -- the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies -- join the National League and begin play in 1993.

Both teams played their first official game on April 5, 1993 -- the Marlins against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Joe Robbie Stadium and the Rockies at Shea Stadium against the New York Mets.

Here are the starting lineups the newbies used that day:

Florida Marlins
Scott Pose, cf
Bret Barberie, 2b
Junior Felix, rf
Orestes Destrade, 1b
Dave Magadan, 3b
Benito Santiago, c
Jeff Conine, lf
Walt Weiss, ss
Charlie Hough, p

Colorado Rockies
Eric Young Sr., 2b
Alex Cole, cf
Dante Bichette, rf
Andres Galarraga, 1b
Jerald Clark, lf
Charlie Hayes, 3b
Joe Girardi, c
Freddie Benavides, ss
David Nied, p

That afternoon, with the 45-year-old Hough on the mound, Florida beat Orel Hershiser and the Dodgers, 6-3. Colorado, meanwhile, was shut out by Dwight Gooden and the Mets, 3-0, with Nied, the top pick in the 1992 expansion draft, taking the loss.

The 1993 Marlins finished sixth in the NL East with a record of 64-98 under manager Rene Lachemann, and the Rockies were sixth in the NL West at 67-95 with Don Baylor at the helm. Florida finished 5.0 games ahead of New York, and Colorado concluded the season 6.0 games ahead of the San Diego Padres in the last year before MLB switched to three divisions per league.

04/07/2024

Sharing something interesting our friends at Major League Baseball posted earlier today.

The 94th MLB All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

These players were mainstays at the Midsummer Classic! ⭐️

03/07/2024

The July-August edition of Baseball Digest is now available at newsstands all across the country. In addition to the cover story on New York Yankees star Juan Soto, the issue contains features on Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow, a Q&A with Cleveland Guardians first-year skipper Stephen Vogt, and much more. It also includes a piece from the Baseball Digest archives where Willie Mays reminisces about his four-homer game against the Milwaukee Braves on April 30, 1961. Pick up a copy today and enjoy!!

03/07/2024

On this date…

*In 1947, the Cleveland Indians purchased the contract of outfielder Larry Doby from the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League and made him the first black player in the American League. He appeared in his first game for Cleveland two days later, as a pinch hitter, in a game against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. Doby batted only .156 in 29 games for the Indians that season, but improved to .301 in 121 games in 1948, and went on to become a seven-time A.L. All-Star. In 1954, he batted .272, led the league in home runs (32) and RBI (126), and was the runner-up to Yogi Berra of the New York Yankees for the MVP award in a close race.

*In 1966, Atlanta Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger became the first National League player to hit two grand slams in one game. He also singled and finished with nine RBI while pitching a complete game in a 17-3 triumph over the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park. Cloninger’s first grand slam came off Bob Priddy during Atlanta’s seven-run first inning. The other was off Ray Sadecki in the fourth. Sadecki also homered off Cloninger in that contest -- and Joe Torre, Rico Carty and Henry Aaron had additional home runs for Atlanta.

02/07/2024

Snapshot From 61 Years Ago Today…

On July 2, 1963 at Candlestick Park, the San Francisco Giants defeated the Milwaukee Braves, 1-0, on a home run by Willie Mays in the bottom of the 16th inning.

But that wasn’t the most remarkable aspect of the game. What was?

The starting pitchers -- Juan Marichal of the Giants and Warren Spahn of the Braves -- both went the distance. Their lines:

Marichal (W, 13-3) -- 16.0 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, 59 BF.
Spahn (L, 11-4) -- 15.1, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 56 BF.

Marichal, who was 25 years old at the time, was enroute to his first 20-win season (finished 25-8; tied Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers for major-league lead in victories). Spahn, then 42, was headed toward his final 20-win campaign (finished 23-7; tied Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds for second-highest win total among National League pitchers).

Spahn cracked a double off Marichal in the seventh inning for one of Milwaukee’s eight hits.

Mays had gone 0-for-5 in the contest before connecting for the walk-off homer in the 16th. In the 14th inning, Spahn intentionally walked Mays after a lead-off double by Harvey Kuenn, then worked his way out of trouble, despite an error by third baseman Denis Menke that loaded the bases.

Mays also threw Norm Larker of the Braves out at home plate to end the top of the fourth and keep the game scoreless.

Time of the game was four hours and 10 minutes.

27/06/2024

Hall of Famers Ozzie Smith and Eddie Murray were teammates at Locke High School in Los Angeles in 1973…Murray, easily the more heralded prospect of the two, was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the third round that year…Meanwhile, Smith received a partial academic scholarship to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, walked on to the baseball team, and played four seasons there…Ozzie, who’s a year older than Eddie, signed with the San Diego Padres as their fourth-round pick in 1977 and was in the majors a year later…Murray made his big-league debut with Baltimore in 1977 after four seasons in the minors…Not surprisingly, the baseball-softball complex at Locke High School was later renamed Eddie Murray and Ozzie Smith Field.

23/06/2024

Hack Wilson produced a whopping 191 RBI for the Chicago Cubs in 1930 when they won 90 games and finished second to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League standings. Ninety-four years later, that’s still the major-league record for RBI in a single season.

Wilson, an outfielder who mostly patrolled center field, stood only 5’6” tall but was powerfully built, weighing at least 190 pounds during his career, and often more. During the 1930 campaign, he led the majors in home runs (56) and RBI and posted a .356 batting average. Wilson edged Frankie Frisch of the Cardinals and Bill Terry of the New York Giants in a close race for NL MVP that year.

Additional Notes: Word is that Lewis Robert Wilson was nicknamed “Hack” because he resembled a professional wrestler named George Hackenschmidt…In second and third place, respectively, on the all-time list for RBI in a single season are Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees (185 RBI in 1931) and Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers (184 in 1937)…In 1930, two other members of the Cubs had well over 100 RBI -- outfielder Kiki Cuyler (134) and catcher Gabby Hartnett (122)…Wilson led the majors with 159 RBI in 1929…The last player to reach the 150-RBI plateau in a single season was Alex Rodriguez, who had 156 for the Yankees in 2007…The active player with the highest single-season RBI total is Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves (139 in 2023).

19/06/2024

Today Baseball Digest joins everyone in the baseball world in mourning the passing of one of the game's all-time greats -- Willie Mays -- who was the recipient of our inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award back in 2021. RIP to the "Say Hey Kid," a true legend of the game who will never be forgotten.

18/06/2024

In 1934, brothers Dizzy Dean and Paul Dean combined to notch 52 percent of the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals’ 95 regular-season victories. Dizzy went 30-7 in 50 games (33 starts) and was voted National League MVP. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Paul compiled a 19-11 mark in 39 games (26 starts) in his first season in the majors.

In the World Series that year, Dizzy and Paul (also known as Daffy) both beat the Detroit Tigers twice to lead the Cardinals to a four-games-to-three triumph. Dizzy, who was roughly two and a half years older than Paul, won Game 1 and Game 7 (and lost Game 5) -- while Paul registered victories in Game 3 and Game 6.

In 1934, the Dean brothers were backed by a St. Louis offense that led the NL in runs scored (799) and batting average (.288) and was second in home runs (104). First baseman Ripper Collins (.333, 35 HR, 128 RBI) and outfielder Joe Medwick (.319, 18 HR, 106 RBI) led the way in that regard.

Sidenote: Dazzy Vance also pitched for the Cardinals that season. So, the staff featured Dizzy, Daffy and Dazzy.

In the photo, Paul is on the left and Dizzy on the right.

14/06/2024

A selection of interesting baseball quotes to peruse and enjoy:

"You could be a kid for as long as you want when you play baseball." - Cal Ripken Jr.

"There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened." - Tommy Lasorda

"If you have a bad day in baseball and start thinking about it, you will have 10 more." - Sammy Sosa

"They give you a round bat, they throw you a round ball, and then they tell you to hit it square." - Willie Stargell

"People ask me what I do in the winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers Hornsby

"Fans don't boo nobodies." - Reggie Jackson

"Baseball is like church. Many attend, but few understand." - Leo Durocher

"I've come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen." - Bob Lemon

"If you're going to play at all, you're out to win. Baseball, board games, Jeopardy, I hate to lose." - Derek Jeter

"Baseball is a lot like life. It's a day-to-day existence, full of ups and downs. You make the most of your opportunities in baseball as you do in life." - Ernie Harwell

11/06/2024

Many longtime baseball fans remember Ted Kluszewski as the man who regularly cut the sleeves off the shirts he wore underneath his team jersey. But he didn’t do that to show off his muscular arms. “Big Klu” believed his mighty swing was more fluid without the restriction of sleeves.

And, oh yeah, Kluszewski was a heck of player.

The 6’2” and 225-pound first baseman was a National League All-Star four straight seasons for the Cincinnati Reds between 1953 and 1956. His finest year came in 1954 when he batted .326, led the majors in home runs (49) and RBI (141), and finished second to Willie Mays of the New York Giants in balloting for the NL MVP Award.

In 15 seasons in the big leagues -- 11 of which he spent with Cincinnati -- Kluszewski hit .298 with 279 homers and 1,028 RBI. To a degree, he was an underappreciated star. In his only appearance in postseason play, he batted .391 with three homers and 10 RBI for the Chicago White Sox against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1959 World Series (which LA won four games to two).

At Indiana University in 1945, Kluszewski hit .443 and played center field for the baseball team. He was also a tight end and linebacker on the football team that went 9-0-1 and captured the Big 10 Conference title that year.

07/06/2024

The expansion New York Mets played their first-ever game on April 11, 1962 against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Mets’ starting lineup that night was:

Richie Ashburn, CF
Felix Mantilla, SS
Charlie Neal, 2B
Frank Thomas, LF
Gus Bell, RF
Gil Hodges, 1B
Don Zimmer, 3B
Hobie Landrith, C
Roger Craig, P

New York lost that game, 11-4, and would go on to compile a 40-120 record under manager Casey Stengel in its first season as an NL franchise. The Mets finished last in the league, a whopping 60.5 games behind the pennant-winning San Francisco Giants.

Additional Notes on the '62 Mets: They lost their first nine games before beating the Pirates, 9-1, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh on April 23…Their longest winning streak was three games and longest losing streak was 17 games…They played their home games at the Polo Grounds (moved to Shea Stadium in 1964)…Four of their pitchers suffered more than 15 losses -- Roger Craig (10-24), Al Jackson (8-20), Jay Hook (8-19) and Craig Anderson (3-17)…35-year-old Richie Ashburn hit .306 and was the team’s All-Star representative in what turned out to be the final season of his career…Frank Thomas (34 HR, 94 RBI) was by far New York’s top run producer.

Final Note: The Mets averaged 105 losses in their first seven seasons before going 100-62 and defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series in 1969.

04/06/2024

52 Years Ago Today...

On June 4, 1972, 16 games were played across Major League Baseball and a record eight of them resulted in shutouts. The scores were:

Oakland 2, Baltimore 0 -- Game 1
Oakland 2, Baltimore 0 -- Game 2
Detroit 3, Minnesota 0
Boston 4, Kansas City 0 -- Game 2
St. Louis 4, Los Angeles 0
Texas, 10, Milwaukee 0
Houston 5, Montreal 0
Cincinnati 2, Philadelphia 0

Three of those were combined shutouts. The five pitchers who went the distance and blanked the opposition that day were Catfish Hunter of the A's (pictured), Tom Timmermann of the Tigers, John Curtis of the Red Sox, Bob Gibson of the Cardinals, and Don Wilson of the Astros.

01/06/2024

Batting Titles By “Mr. Padre” -- Tony Gwynn (eight)

1984 -- .351 Runner-Up: Lee Lacy/PGH (.321)
1987 -- .370 Runner-Up: Pedro Guerrero/LA (.338)
1988 -- .313 Runner-Up: Rafael Palmeiro/CHI (.307)
1989 -- .336 Runner-Up: Will Clark/SF (.333)
1994 -- .394 Runner-Up: Jeff Bagwell/HOU (.368)
1995 -- .368 Runner-Up: Mike Piazza/LA (.346)
1996 -- .353 Runner-Up: Ellis Burks/COL (.344)
1997 -- .372 Runner-Up: Larry Walker/COL (.366)

Notes: In 1993, Gwynn (.358) was the runner-up to Andres Galarraga of Colorado (.370) for the batting crown...Gwynn finished third in the NL batting race twice -- 1986 (.329) and 1991 (.317)...His lifetime batting average in 20 years in the major leagues was .338.

26/05/2024

Stan Musial played his final game in 1963 yet he remains the St. Louis Cardinals’ all-time leader in runs scored (1,949), hits (3,630), singles (2,253), doubles (725), triples (177), home runs (475), total bases (6,134) and RBI (1,951).

That’s the case because “Stan the Man” was an outstanding player who spent his entire 22-year career in a St. Louis uniform (1941-44, 1946-63). His 3,026 games played (at first base and all three outfield positions) is another franchise record. In fact, the only other Cardinals who even surpassed 2,000 games played were Lou Brock (2,289) and Yadier Molina (2,226).

Musial, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969, was a three-time National League MVP and seven-time batting champion. The .331 lifetime hitter was a member of the NL All-Star team in all but one of his 21 full seasons in the majors (1942). He also finished second in balloting for the MVP award four times, including three years in a row (1949-51).

Musial -- who passed away in 2013 at age 92 -- was such a tremendous hitter, Joe Garagiola once said of him, “He could have hit .300 with a fountain pen.”

22/05/2024

On This Date in 1977…

The Red Sox and Brewers tied the major-league record for combined home runs in a single contest by hitting 11 in Boston’s 14-10 victory at Fenway Park in the first game of a doubleheader on May 22, 1977.

That total included six by the Red Sox -- Fred Lynn (pictured) had two and Butch Hobson, Carl Yastrzemski, Dwight Evans and George Scott one each. Milwaukee hit five -- Don Money (2), Sixto Lezcano, Mike Hegan and Von Joshua.

The current major-league record for home runs in a single game by both teams is 13. That happened on June 10, 2019, in Arizona’s 13-8 triumph over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.

The D-backs went deep eight times that night -- Eduardo Escobar (2), Ildemaro Vargas (2), Jarrod Dyson, Ketel Marte, David Peralta and Alex Avila. Meanwhile, the Phillies blasted five homers -- Scott Kingery (2), Jean Segura, Rhys Hoskins and Jay Bruce.

Philadelphia starter Jerad Eickhoff was tagged for five of Arizona’s eight homers in three-plus innings (he faced four batters in the fourth).

20/05/2024

Last year’s World Series participants -- the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks -- have done some sputtering during the first two months of the 2024 campaign. Their records after the games of May 19 this year stood at 24-24 and 22-25 respectively.

Of course, there’s a lot of season left to play, but…

The last time both teams that made it to the World Series posted losing records the following year was the pandemic-shortened 2020 season when the Washington Nationals (26-34) and Houston Astros (29-31) finished below .500 after meeting in the 2019 Fall Classic.

Interestingly, it also happened during the strike-shortened 1994 season when the Toronto Blue Jays (55-60) and Philadelphia Phillies (54-61) struggled after meeting in the 1993 World Series.

It hasn’t happened in a full season since 1986 when the Kansas City Royals (76-86) and St. Louis Cardinals (79-82) finished with losing records after squaring off against each other in the 1985 World Series.

16/05/2024

59 years ago today…

On May 16, 1965, 19-year-old Jim Palmer earned his first major-league victory in Baltimore’s 7-5 triumph over the New York Yankees at Memorial Stadium. That day, he pitched 3.2 innings of one-run ball in relief of Dave McNally. Palmer also hit his first major-league home run in that contest, a two-run shot off Jim Bouton in the fourth.

Palmer went on to win 268 games during his Hall of Fame career (1965-1984), all with the Orioles. And for the record: Before the American League adopted the designated hitter in 1973, he hit two more home runs, one in 1966 and the other in 1970.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner registered 20 or more victories eight times in a nine-year span between 1970 and 1978. He was a member of Orioles’ World Championship clubs in 1966, 1970 and 1983. Shortly before he turned 21, Palmer beat Sandy Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-0, in Game 2 of the 1966 World Series (which Baltimore swept, four games to none).

14/05/2024

Davey Lopes, who spent 10 of his 16 seasons in the major leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was a terrific base stealer. The four-time All-Star (1978-1981) swiped more than 40 bags in a single season seven times. He accomplished the feat for the final time as a member of the Chicago Cubs in 1985 when he collected 47 steals at age 40 and was caught only four times.

LA’s second-round draft pick out of Washburn (KS) University in 1968 stole 557 bases in the majors (in 671 attempts) -- including 418 (in 503 attempts) as a Dodger. Lopes’ career success rate (.830) is higher than that of other noted base stealers such as Rickey Henderson (1,406 in 1,741 attempts -- .808), Lou Brock (938 in 1,245 attempts -- .753) and Maury Wills (586 in 794 attempts -- .738).

During his Dodger days, Lopes led the majors with 77 stolen bases in 1975 and the National League with 63 in 1976.

12/05/2024

Paul Skenes made his major-league debut for the Pirates yesterday in their rollercoaster, 10-9, victory over the Cubs at PNC Park. As the No. 1 overall pick in last summer’s MLB draft, much is expected of the 6’6” right-hander who will turn 22 years old on May 29.

Skenes and his LSU teammate -- outfielder Dylan Crews -- were selected one-two in the 2023 draft, marking the first time a pair of teammates had ever done that. Crews, taken by the Nationals immediately after Skenes, is currently playing for Double-A Harrisburg in the Eastern League.

Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer of UCLA came close, going No. 1 and No. 3 overall in the 2011 draft -- to Pittsburgh and Arizona respectively.

In 2021, Skenes and Crews shared college baseball’s Freshman of the Year award, while Skenes was pitching for the Air Force Academy. Skenes earned a save against LSU that season and faced Crews in that contest.

What happened?

“Dylan was the second hitter, I think, and he hit a home run off me,” Skenes said. “It was his first college home run. It was a nuke. He killed it. Hit it 110 (mph) and probably 430 (feet). It was amazing.”

LSU went 54-17 and won the national championship last year with Skenes (13-2, 209 K in 122.2 IP) and Crews (.426 AVG, 18 HR, 70 RBI) leading the way.

Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Pirates

09/05/2024

Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench hit three home runs in a single game against Steve Carlton -- twice.

It first happened in Cincinnati’s 12-5 triumph over St. Louis at Riverfront Stadium on July 26, 1970. Bench played left field that day (with Pat Corrales behind the plate) and was 4-for-5 with three homers, a single and seven RBI. He hit a three-run shot in the opening frame, a two-run homer in the second, and a solo shot in the fifth. Meanwhile, Carlton surrendered 10 runs in four-plus innings (he faced three batters -- including Bench -- in the fifth).

The other time was 51 years ago today -- May 9, 1973 -- at Veterans Stadium. That night, Bench homered off “Lefty” in the first inning (two-run shot), fifth inning (three-run shot) and the seventh (two-run shot) to help propel Cincinnati to a 9-7 victory over the Phillies. The three blasts accounted for all seven runs Carlton allowed in 6.2 innings in that game. Davey Concepcion provided the winning runs with a two-run homer off Barry Lersch in the ninth.

Carlton won 329 games during his Hall of Fame career but led the National League in losses those two years -- with 19 in 1970 and 20 in 1973. No player had more lifetime home runs off Carlton than Bench did (12). In 1970, he led the majors in homers (45) and RBI (148) and was voted National League MVP at age 22.

06/05/2024

Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who is celebrating his 93rd birthday today, won two National League MVP awards -- 11 years apart -- with the Giants.

The first came in 1954, when he earned the batting title with a .345 mark and collected 87 extra-base hits (33 doubles, 13 triples and 41 home runs) at age 23. That was after Mays missed the '53 campaign while serving in the U.S. Army. His second MVP award was in 1965 when he hit .317 and smacked a career-high 52 homers.

Mays was the runner-up for the NL MVP award twice -- finishing second to Ernie Banks of the Cubs in 1958 and Maury Wills of the Dodgers in 1962.

04/05/2024

Pitcher Edwin Jackson played for a major-league record 14 different franchises during his 17-year big-league career (2003-19). He debuted with the Dodgers on his 20th birthday -- September 9, 2003 -- and later spent time as a member of the Rays, Tigers, D-backs, White Sox, Cardinals, Nationals, Cubs, Braves, Marlins, Padres, Orioles, Athletics and Blue Jays.

Pitchers Octavio Dotel (1999-2013) and Rich Hill (2005-23) are next on the list, having played for 13 different teams. Hill got to 13 by making appearances for the Pirates and Padres last year at the age of 43, but he became a free agent after the season and went unsigned.

The position player who spent time with the most major-league franchises was first baseman-outfielder Matt Stairs -- with 12 in his 19-year career (1992-93 & 1995-2011). Pitchers Mike Morgan (1978-2002) and Ron Villone (1995-2009) also played for 12 different teams.

29/04/2024

Hoyt Wilhelm was 29 years old when he made his major-league debut with the New York Giants on April 18, 1952. He was primarily a starting pitcher in the minors, but Giants manager Leo Durocher decided to utilize Wilhelm and his knuckleball -- which he threw almost exclusively -- out of the bullpen. The results were extraordinary.

That season, Wilhelm went 15-3 with 11 saves and a 2.43 ERA in 71 games for New York. He led the majors in winning percentage (.833) and appearances, and the National League in ERA. In addition, Wilhelm was the runner-up to Joe Black of the Brooklyn Dodgers for N.L. Rookie of the Year, and he finished fourth in N.L. MVP balloting behind Hank Sauer of the Chicago Cubs, Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies, and Black.

After pitching a season of pro ball as a 19-year-old in 1942, Wilhelm served in the U.S. Army for three years during World War II. He received a Purple Heart after being struck by shrapnel from a German artillery blast. The final appearance of Wilhelm’s 21-year major-league career was on July 10, 1972, with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he was a couple weeks shy of his 50th birthday. He pitched his entire career with a piece of metal from the artillery blast lodged in his back.

Wilhelm, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, had only 52 starts among his 1,070 lifetime appearances in the majors. However, one of them was a no-hitter. He accomplished the feat as a member of the Baltimore Orioles on September 20, 1958, vs. the New York Yankees at Memorial Stadium. His mound opponent that day was Don Larsen.

Seven seasons in the minors and a three-year stint serving his country delayed the start of Wilhelm’s major-league career. Nonetheless, he went on to become one of the best relievers and best knuckleballers in baseball history.