There are 185 instances of a postseason batter – perhaps surrounded by bunting, perhaps hearing extra jeers or cheers from a crowd feeling the intensity, perhaps extra-energized by the heightened tension that seems to come with every delivery from mound to dish – generating at least two home runs in […]
The 1929 Cubs featured a quartet of fearsome right-handed hitters, a foursome of .500 or better sluggers named Rogers Hornsby (slugged .679 that year), Hack Wilson (.618), Riggs Stephenson (.562) and Kiki Cuyler (.532). They all posted on-base percentages above .400 that year, Wilson’s .345 batting average was the lowest […]
In his farewell season in 2016, David Ortiz positively scoffed and sneered and even snarled at that old figure, Father Time. Playing his final game of the year just a couple of months shy of his 41st birthday, Ortiz concluded his age-40 campaign with 38 round-trippers and a .620 slugging […]
Over his past 25 games, Phillies shortstop Trea Turner is batting .330, with 36 knocks over 109 at-bats. This stretch won’t be regarded as scintillating or historic or any other word, expression or phrase generally reserved for the upper tier levels of “wow” on a big league diamond. But, Turner’s […]
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 […]
On May 25, 2008, in front of more than 46,000 folks at Dodger Stadium, Clayton Kershaw struck out seven Cardinals batters, including three in the first inning. That Sunday afternoon, Kershaw was just a couple of months past his 20th birthday and wearing #54 on the back of his Dodger […]
Among the more robust RBI men in the game this year, there are four who belong to a family of sorts: let’s call it the Al Simmons Club (you’ll see why later on). Among other notables both hidden inside and blaring out of his Hall of Fame statistical record, Simmons […]
The Dodgers’ top-10 leaderboard for runs scored in a single season is littered with names from long ago: three players from the 1880s, six from the 1890s (including the top Dodger dog, Hub Collins and his 148 runs in 1890) and one from the 1930s. There is one name from […]
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 […]
Joe Carter is probably best remembered for a certain three-run home run to end the 1993 World Series and likely fosters many remembrances for his knack of assembling 100-RBI seasons and his significant disinterest in accepting four balls in a plate appearance (of the 162 players with at least 300 […]