In the famed 1941 season, the one that peaked with an historic hitting streak and a legendary batting title, neither the streaker (Joe DiMaggio) nor the titleist (Ted Williams) paced the AL in hits. Instead, that overshadowed accomplishment belonged to Washington’s shortstop, Cecil Travis. With his 218 knocks, Travis became […]
Baseball Reference’s accounting delivers a list of 58 position players who generated at least 20.0 WAR through their age-24 seasons. There are three who are credited with a number above 40.0, with the Angels’ Mike Trout (47.5) ahead of the Tigers’ Ty Cobb and the Yankees’ Mickey Mantle. The Seattle […]
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 […]
A jubilant Ted Williams almost galloping around the basepaths in the aftermath of his swing against Claude Passeau in 1941. Stan Musial thrilling the crowd at County Stadium with his typically understated trot from home to home in 1955. Johnny Callison taming The Monster – Dick Radatz – with a […]
Even with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx in its corner, the AL has played second fiddle to its older sibling when it comes to producing players to reach 400 total bases in a season, with the Junior Circuit having 12 to the NL’s 18. From 1921 (when […]
The Aaron Judge carnival of wonders, the thumping by Cal Raleigh and Kyle Schwarber, the walloping and run-scoring fusillade from Shohei Ohtani. In a sense, the 2025 campaign has been largely consumed with the bombers, whether their explosions have been confined to four-baggers or just an integral part of the […]
When the 1965 season came to a close, so too did Warren Spahn’s career. The dazzling tallies from the graceful genius included 2,583 strikeouts, more than all but two other pitchers in history (Walter Johnson and Cy Young). The 2,500-strikeout club was an exclusive affair in those days with just […]
Among the many (some may say myriad?) remarkable pulls from Barry Bonds’ career is his ability to step inside the left side of the batter’s box, take his stance against a southpaw and, in that traditionally unbalanced equation in favor of the pitcher, do some serious damage. Since 1969, there […]
Currently, Édgar Rentería ranks in a tie with Chris Coghlan for 43rd on the all-time Marlins games played list, with 393. Despite that relatively minimal participation, the 1997 Fall Classic hero ranks first on the franchise’s list when it comes to walk-off hits, with seven (and that’s NOT counting his […]
As the NL’s Rookie of the Year in 2023, Corbin Carroll produced 30 doubles, 10 triples and 25 homers. Last year, the doubles and home runs columns each saw the Diamondback ink in ‘22’ while adding another 14 three-base hits. This season (his age-24 campaign), he’s on pace to again […]