In 1988, Kirby Puckett was the most Kirby Puckett of all: more hits in a season (234) than any other in his career before or after; a higher batting average (.356) than in any other campaign across his 12-year career; a 3.33 walk rate that was (okay, fine) the second […]
The 2007 Devil Rays finished the year 30 games below .500 and posted their 10th losing season in as many years of existence (it was also the ninth time in those 10 seasons the club had failed to reach even 70 victories). Pretty bleak, for certain. But on September 5 […]
When Reggie Jackson hit 37 home runs before the 1969 All-Star break, that explosive first half saw the youngster (he turned 23 that May) wallop in bunches, with eight multi-home run games. Imagine that – before the Midsummer Classic that year, Jackson already had more multi-homer games than any other […]
To watch Paul Skenes apply the foundational brushstrokes to his self-portrait is to be constantly reminded of the exceptional and electric zaps that come with witnessing a newcomer stride to the mound and redistribute the balance of power between batter and pitcher so thoroughly in his favor. It’s to be […]
Since 1994 when baseball structured each league to provide three divisional buckets for its teams, there have been two occasions where a single division – right from the start – turned into an extended, dueling banter of “Whatever you can do (in this case, win), I can do too.” In […]
When it comes to Dodgers kapowing a ballgame with a walk-off home run over the last half century, Andre Ethier is king. 2008 saw the first example of this flair, kind of a supporting role in the team’s drama that season. The following year, the 27-year-old grabbed hold of the […]
To anyone equipped with access to Baseball Reference and a healthy combination of curiosity and affection for the numbers, rabbit holes can appear with a time-destroying frequency and head-spinning expansiveness. Recently, one came a-calling in a most – seemingly – benign form: Bernie Williams’ headshot on BR’s homepage. The image […]
When Barry Bonds drew 232 walks in 2004 to annihilate the previous single-season record and set a standard which feels unbreakable, he didn’t exactly erupt from the outset. On Opening Day, he drew one free pass and then in the following contest, collected another (this one of the intentional variety). […]
Since 1901, no Dodgers starting pitcher has accumulated more Opening Day wins than Don Drysdale and his five. The Hall of Fame right-hander owed some of that success to the Cubs, whom he bested in both 1960 and 1963. Drysdale went the distance in both of the victories, with the […]
Naturally and appropriately, Hideo Nomo carries a banner for introducing a “first” to the magic of season openers. The historic event occurred on April 3, 2000, when the right-hander became the first Japanese-born hurler to make an Opening Day start. Nomo allowed three runs over seven innings that Monday in […]