Little time is required to recite the lineage of shortstops who’ve produced at least 50 doubles in a season. Boston’s Joe Cronin was the first to do this, reaching 51 two-base hits in 1938. Cronin was left all by himself for a long time, until a burst starting in the […]
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 […]
Casting an evaluative glance back 91 seasons, the choice for the AL’s starting pitcher in the 1934 All-Star Game appears as easy and devoid of controversy as any. 25-year-old Lefty Gomez entered the pause in regular season action pacing the circuit outright with 14 wins and a 2.03 ERA while […]
The 2025 Cubs – first in the NL Central, pouring out 5.49 runs per game (second best in the Majors) – can look themselves in the mirror and see four qualifying players with an OPS+ of at least 140: Kyle Tucker comes in with a 155, Michael Busch holds a […]
For the 1931 season, Lou Gehrig paced the AL in both homers and RBI, generated more hits than any other player in the league, tallied more total bases than anyone, scored more runs, had more extra-base hits and reached safely as much as anyone. The numbers – gazing at them […]
From 1973 through 1981, Richie Hebner participated in eight Opening Days. “Participated,” while accurate, fails to match the power of the corner infielder’s impact in those contests. He went 18-for-33 (.545), scored 13 runs and whammed his way to making a baker’s dozen of those safeties go for extra bases […]
Almost exactly one year ago, 27-year-old Tarik Skubal opened the Tigers’ season with six innings of three-hit, no-run ball. The 1-0 final in Detroit’s favor was, in a way, the initial abracadabra in what turned out to be a magical, fantastical year for both pitcher and team. Now, Skubal – […]