The 1925 Athletics roster featured four future Hall of Famers, with three of them in their debut seasons – Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove and Mickey Cochrane. The fourth, Al Simmons, was experiencing his second go-round and did he ever make a splash: a league-leading 253 hits, a league-leading 392 total […]
In 1978, the lanky, towering right-hander J.R. Richard became the first Astros pitcher to lead the NL in any one of the three Triple Crown categories, pacing the Senior Circuit with 303 strikeouts. As a follow-up, Richard ticked off another box, the first ERA title for Houston (that same season, […]
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 […]
In 1987, homers ruled. Mark McGwire launched 49 to obliterate the existing rookie record. Over in the NL, Andre Dawson matched that tally, making the ’87 season the first since 1961 to see multiple players climb so high. In all, 28 players hit at least 30 home runs, more than […]
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 […]