Today’s high octane leadoff hitters are of a different makeup than those who dominated the role in the 20th century. Consider that going back to 1901, the single-year high marks for home runs, RBI, total bases and extra-base hits when batting leadoff all come from players in the 21st century, […]
Cast the script back to 1977 … The good: just 21 years old, Cardinals shortstop Garry Templeton bats .322 and amasses 200 hits (both top-three marks in the NL) and paces the Senior Circuit with 18 triples. The bad: somehow, despite coming to the plate 644 times, Templeton draws 15 […]
In 1925, Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett became the first player ever to position himself behind the dish for at least half his games and reach the 20-homer plateau, knocking the ball around for 24 four-baggers. Seemingly empowered by the feat, Hartnett then significantly raised the bar in 1930, producing […]
Major League Baseball’s story in the 21st century has been significantly devoted to single-season longball feats – a Major League record here, an AL record there, a shuffling of NL and AL rookie records, perhaps a new record for catchers this season. The narrative has been much less consumed by […]
Harold Baines drove in 1,628 runs in his 22-year career, more RBI than all but 33 players in Major League history. The number and ranking is/was an essential part of his narrative, even serving as the final statement on his Hall of Fame plaque. 10 of those 1,628 came in […]
Almost exactly 38 years ago, on July 20, 1987, the Yankees’ Don Mattingly tied the nine-inning, AL record for putouts as a first baseman, with 22. The landmark achievement, which had been accomplished twice before in the league (both occurrences coming in 1906), gave Mattingly a line in the record […]
Baseball Reference identifies 26 players as having a breadth and volume of skills and performance to have amassed – by the time all was said and done – at least 50.0 offensive WAR (oWAR) and at least 15.0 defensive WAR (dWAR). There are some inner, inner-circle all-timers here, some “If […]
In 1924, Herb Pennock went 21-9 for the Yankees to become the franchise’s first 20-game winning southpaw. The honorific would be handed off – one Hall of Famer to another – to Lefty Gomez, who rang up a quartet of 20-win seasons in the 1930s (including a pair of Triple […]
When Arizona hosted San Diego on August 7, 2010, the visitors were clearly the superior team: first in the NL West, a full 22 games ahead of the cellar-dwelling Diamondbacks. But, at least for this particular day, the Padres had little shot, for they didn’t have Chris Young (at least […]
The 1950 Red Sox scored runs at a volume almost unsurpassed in the World Series era, touching the plate 1,027 times (only three Yankees clubs from the 1930s made it home more often). The pinnacle of that season at the midpoint of the 20th century came on June 8, when […]