In 1978, J.R. Richard became just the fourth different right-handed hurler since 1893 to rocket to 300 strikeouts: a 303-K campaign that placed him alongside Walter Johnson (1910, 1912), Bob Feller (1946) and Nolan Ryan (1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977). It was an explosive outcome for the 28-year-old who, before […]
A year ago, Shohei Ohtani flirted with the exceptional achievement of clocking triple digits in extra-base hits, a feat that’s been managed only 15 times in this National Pastime’s history. Ultimately falling one shy of the century mark, Ohtani had to settle instead for a belt that was stitched with […]
From the time the 20th century got rolling through the year before Franklin D. Roosevelt captured his first presidential election, big offensive seasons from NL or AL second basemen weren’t all that rare. This is in thanks, just about exclusively, to the immortal trio of Nap Lajoie, Rogers Hornsby and […]
When Dave Kingman joined the Mets for the 1975 season, Cleon Jones possessed more home runs than any other player in the franchise’s history, with 93. Over 664 games with New York, Kingman would clobber 154, ending his tenure with the Mets in 1983 as the club’s career home run […]
Across 16 seasons, representing seven franchises, while manning first (a lot) and third (a little) and adding about equal time behind the dish and as a DH, Carlos Santana has drawn 1,315 walks in 9,094 plate appearances. “So what?” you might ask. Here’s what. There are 23 players in baseball […]
In 1963, outfielder Leon Wagner produced 26 home runs for his Angels club. It was a strong number, good enough to tie Daddy Wags for ninth in the AL, but was also a fairly steep drop from the previous season, when the first-time All-Star clocked 37. Wagner’s tally in ’63 […]
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 […]
The 2025 Tigers have scored 309 runs – an impressive output at this stage of the season but not really anything exceptional to trace through history. The worthiness of any exploration lies along a convergent path, one that places that runs scored tally alongside the team’s runs allowed (Detroit has […]
In the 149 NL seasons that have played out to a conclusion, a player representing the Phillies franchise has staked the claim as home run king in 29 of them. Curiously, only two of those who’ve worn the crown wore it only once. Mike Schmidt is king of all the […]