Things You Probably Don't Know, Don't Care to Know and Wish You had Those 10 Minutes Back
Some of us dig useless information. In fact, I own a book, "The Ultimate Book of Useless Information" by Noel Botham (2007) and The Useless Information Society. Information about everything you might not want to know is in the book, compiled by Botham, the chairman and founding member of The Useless Information Society (London).
For example, the book includes one bit -- "The difference between a nook and a cranny is that the nook is a corner and the cranny is a crack." Or another one -- "The coiffe is the metal wire basket that holds a champagne cork in place."
So there you go, an introduction to a blog about seemingly useless facts (this one is focused on baseball). When I was working at The University of South Dakota, I had an assistant who once told me: "You have more useless information stored in your head than a normal person has relevant knowledge." Maybe that wasn't her words, but close. I get it, she was saying, I wasn't normal (maybe some still feel that way).
With that as background, I will own up that I love the useless side of things, particularly baseball statistics and facts. It is stuff not for everyone, except maybe a true baseball stat freak.
Recently, after the loss of the personable and soft-spoken former major league star Harmon Killibrew, I learned that he had hit the most HRs during the 1960s with 393, which was 18 more than Henry Aaron. It got me thinking and investigating. I decided to dig in and spew out some stat findings about the "Decades" HR leaders. And, after that was done, I really dug in and found what I think are some unique baseball factoids (not everyone will agree, even avid, rabid baseball factniks) or really useless info.
So folks, get ready, this blog post is being called "Things You Probably Don't Know, Don't Care to Know and Wish I Had Those 10 Minutes Back." I think the name lays out what you need to know about what follows.
Home Run Leaders by Decades
As stated, I have put together a list of the leader of home runs by decades dating back to the 1870s. The listing includes the total HR by decades and for that individual's career, teams they played for, as well as a few odds and ends about these stars.
1870s --- Lipman "Lip" Pike -- 20 (20). Nine teams, including Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia A's. He has been identified as the first paid player in professional baseball.
1880s -- Harry Stovey -- 89 (122). Six teams, including Boston Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia A's. He was the major league's first 100-HR hitter.
1890s -- Hugh Duffy -- 83 (106). Six teams, including the Chicago White Stockings, Boston Reds, Boston Beaneaters. In 1894, he won the Triple Crown with 18 HRs, 145 RBIs, and a batting average of .440.
1900s -- Harry Davis - 67 (75). Four teams including the Philadelphia Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates. Davis is one of five players to lead the league in HRs four consecutive years. His best season was 1906 when he had 12 HRs and 96 RBI for the Philadelphia Athletics.
1910s -- Gavvy Cravath - 116 (119), Four teams including the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Stockings and Washington Senators. Gravath was one of the early pioneer hitters in the dead ball era. His best season was 1915 when he had 24. He led the league in HRs on six occasions.
1920s -- Babe Ruth - 467 (714). New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox. Ruth owns the all-time mark for HRs in a specific decade. Alex Rodriquez (2000s) is next with 435 then Jimmie Foxx (1930s) with 415 and Mark McGwire (1990s) with 405. Harmon Killibrew (1960s) is fifth with 393. Ruth left the game with a 1.164 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) and a .690 slugging percentage which are both major league records. Twelve times he led the league in HRs, hit 30 or more HRs 13 times and had 40 or more HRs 11 times. From 1926-32, he hit 346 home runs or an average of 49 per year. A 94-game winner as a pitcher, he played on seven World Series championship teams and hit .342 in his career.
1930s -- Jimmie Foxx - 415 (534). Philadelphia A"s, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. A lifetime .325 hitter, Foxx was the youngest player ever to reach 500 HRs (32) until Alex Rodriquez broke the record. A three-time MVP, he had 50 HRs and 175 RBI while hitting .360 in 1938.
1940s --- Ted Williams - 234 (521). Boston Red Sox. Nicknamed the "Splendid Splinter or Teddy Ballgame" among others, Williams was a two-time MVP and a 19-time All-Star. He finished his career with a .344 batting average and is the last player to hit .400 (.406) in 1941. He won the Triple Crown twice and was a six-time batting champion. However, he never played in or won a World Series.
1950s -- Duke Snider - 326 (407). Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants. The "Silver Fox" was on two World Series champions and was an eight-time All-Star. From 1953-57 (five straight years), he hit 40 or more HRs. He is the only player ever to hit four or more HRs in two different World Series (1952, 1955) and was one of two players with more than 1,000 RBIs in the 1950s (other was teammate Gil Hodges).
1960s -- Harmon Killibrew -- 393 (573). Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals. A 13-time All-Star, Killibrew, nicknamed "Killer or Hammering Harmon," played in one World Series (1965) and was the American League MVP in 1969. He finished his career with 573 HRs, which was fifth all-time when he retired and is now 11th. He hit 40 HRs eight times with a high of 49. Killibrew was well known for his long, high flies that disappeared over fences. He is one of four players to hit a HR over the roof at Tiger Stadium, and owns the longest HR at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore and Met Stadium in Minneapolis.
1970s -- Willie Stargell -- 296 (475). Pittsburgh Pirates. A seven-time All-Star, "Pops" played on two World Series championship teams (1971, 1979) and was the N.L. MVP in 1979. He hit the first HR at Shea Stadium in 1962 and is one of four players to hit a HR out of Dodger Stadium, which he did twice. Stargell hit the longest HR at Vet Stadium in Philadelphia and is the only player to hit a fair ball to the upper deck at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, measuring 535 feet.
1980s -- Mike Schmidt -- 313 (548). Philadelphia Phillies. A three-time MVP, he was a 12-time All-Star and a member of the 1980 World Series championship team. A 10-time Gold Glove winner at third base, Schmidt hit 12 HRs in the Phillies first 15 games of the 1976 season, including a four in one game, a feat accomplished just 15 times in baseball history. He is considered the greatest third baseman in baseball history and was one of two men to hit 300 HRs during the 1980s (Dale Murphy, Atlanta).
1990s -- Mark McGwire --- 405. Oakland/St. Louis. A 12-time All-Star, McGwire hit 30 or more HRs eight times. He is one of two players to hit more than 50 HRs four times. He had a two-year total of 135 HRs in 1998-99. McGwire set a rookie record in 1987 with 49 HRs and, later in 1998, set a major league record with 70 HRs (broke by Barry Bonds with 73 in 2001). He hit a HR every 10.61 at-bats, which is best in baseball history. He was a member of the 1989 Oakland World Series championship team.
2000s -- Alex Rodriquez -- 435 (621). Texas/Seattle/New York. "A-rod" ranks sixth all-time with 621 HRs and also owns a .302 batting average. A three-time MVP, he has been named to 13 All-Star teams and won 10 Gold Gloves. He was the youngest to hit 500 HRs, surpassing Jimmy Foxx (1939) and also youngest to hit 600, beating Babe Ruth by nearly a year. A member of the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees, he has 14, 100-RBI seasons, most in baseball history.
50-HR Club
In the history of baseball, just two players, Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire had four 50-home run seasons. Alex Rodriquez and Sammy Sosa both had three seasons with 50 home runs.
Only Two Gets Seven Hits in Nine
Only two players have had seven hits in a nine inning game. Wilbert Robinson, a baseball Hall of Famer, had his seven hits in leading the Baltimore Orioles (in the National League at that time) to a 25-4 win over the St. Louis Browns on June 10, 1892.
The only player in the 20th century to get seven hits in nine innings was Rennie Stennett of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stennett had his seven hits in Pittsburgh's 22-0 decision over the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 16, 1975. Stennett did not finish the game as manager Danny Murtaugh sent in Willie Randolph as a pinch hitter after Stennett's seventh hit. Randolph, drafted by Pittsburgh in 1972, played just one season with the Pirates before a long, successful career with the Yankees. He was traded with Ken Brett and Doc Ellis to the Yankees for Doc Medich in 1975.
Fast Fact: Cesar Gutierrez, a lifetime .235 hitter, also had seven hits in leading the Detroit Tigers to a 9-8 win over the Cleveland Indians on June 21, 1970. However Gutierrez had his seven hits in a 12-inning affair.
The Inside Job
Tom McCreery of the Louisville Colonels was the first and only player in major league history to hit three inside-the-park HRs when he did it against Philadelphia on July 12, 1897. 17 players have hit two inside-the-park jobs with the last being Greg Gagne of the Minnesota Twins in 1986.
Fun Fact: On July 18, 2010, Jhonny Peralta, then of the Cleveland Indians, had a three-run inside the park HR to help the Indians defeat Detroit as Tigers' outfielder Ryan Raburn crashed through the fence. What is interesting about this dinger is that it took Peralta 16.74 seconds to round the bases, which was the slowest of any inside-the-park jobs that season and slower than five regular HR trots. Later in 2010, Peralta was dealt to those same Tigers.
Four!!!
15 players have hit four home runs in one game with the most recent being Carlos Delgado of Toronto on Sept. 25, 2003.
Some More Oddities
~ 12 times a player has had 10 or more RBIs in a game.
~13 times a batter has hit for a natural cycle (1B, 2B, 3B, HR in order), including Gary Matthews of the Texas Rangers in an 11-3 win over Detroit on September 13, 2006.
~14 times a player has hit six singles in a nine inning game.
~15 times a player has scored six runs in a game.
Putting on a Quick Shine
Baseball has had 108 players hit a home run in their first career at-bat. It has been accomplished 46 times in the American League with J.P. Arencibia of Toronto the most recent in a 17-11 win over Tampa Bay on August 7, 2010. He ended up with four hits in five trips to the plate. Sixty-two National League players have hit a HR in their first at-bat, including Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs on May 7, 2010. Castro had two hits and six RBI in leading the Cubs to a 14-7 win over Cincinatti.
For example, the book includes one bit -- "The difference between a nook and a cranny is that the nook is a corner and the cranny is a crack." Or another one -- "The coiffe is the metal wire basket that holds a champagne cork in place."
So there you go, an introduction to a blog about seemingly useless facts (this one is focused on baseball). When I was working at The University of South Dakota, I had an assistant who once told me: "You have more useless information stored in your head than a normal person has relevant knowledge." Maybe that wasn't her words, but close. I get it, she was saying, I wasn't normal (maybe some still feel that way).
With that as background, I will own up that I love the useless side of things, particularly baseball statistics and facts. It is stuff not for everyone, except maybe a true baseball stat freak.
Recently, after the loss of the personable and soft-spoken former major league star Harmon Killibrew, I learned that he had hit the most HRs during the 1960s with 393, which was 18 more than Henry Aaron. It got me thinking and investigating. I decided to dig in and spew out some stat findings about the "Decades" HR leaders. And, after that was done, I really dug in and found what I think are some unique baseball factoids (not everyone will agree, even avid, rabid baseball factniks) or really useless info.
So folks, get ready, this blog post is being called "Things You Probably Don't Know, Don't Care to Know and Wish I Had Those 10 Minutes Back." I think the name lays out what you need to know about what follows.
Home Run Leaders by Decades
As stated, I have put together a list of the leader of home runs by decades dating back to the 1870s. The listing includes the total HR by decades and for that individual's career, teams they played for, as well as a few odds and ends about these stars.
1870s --- Lipman "Lip" Pike -- 20 (20). Nine teams, including Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia A's. He has been identified as the first paid player in professional baseball.
1880s -- Harry Stovey -- 89 (122). Six teams, including Boston Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia A's. He was the major league's first 100-HR hitter.
1890s -- Hugh Duffy -- 83 (106). Six teams, including the Chicago White Stockings, Boston Reds, Boston Beaneaters. In 1894, he won the Triple Crown with 18 HRs, 145 RBIs, and a batting average of .440.
1900s -- Harry Davis - 67 (75). Four teams including the Philadelphia Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates. Davis is one of five players to lead the league in HRs four consecutive years. His best season was 1906 when he had 12 HRs and 96 RBI for the Philadelphia Athletics.
1910s -- Gavvy Cravath - 116 (119), Four teams including the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Stockings and Washington Senators. Gravath was one of the early pioneer hitters in the dead ball era. His best season was 1915 when he had 24. He led the league in HRs on six occasions.
1920s -- Babe Ruth - 467 (714). New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox. Ruth owns the all-time mark for HRs in a specific decade. Alex Rodriquez (2000s) is next with 435 then Jimmie Foxx (1930s) with 415 and Mark McGwire (1990s) with 405. Harmon Killibrew (1960s) is fifth with 393. Ruth left the game with a 1.164 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) and a .690 slugging percentage which are both major league records. Twelve times he led the league in HRs, hit 30 or more HRs 13 times and had 40 or more HRs 11 times. From 1926-32, he hit 346 home runs or an average of 49 per year. A 94-game winner as a pitcher, he played on seven World Series championship teams and hit .342 in his career.
1930s -- Jimmie Foxx - 415 (534). Philadelphia A"s, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. A lifetime .325 hitter, Foxx was the youngest player ever to reach 500 HRs (32) until Alex Rodriquez broke the record. A three-time MVP, he had 50 HRs and 175 RBI while hitting .360 in 1938.
1940s --- Ted Williams - 234 (521). Boston Red Sox. Nicknamed the "Splendid Splinter or Teddy Ballgame" among others, Williams was a two-time MVP and a 19-time All-Star. He finished his career with a .344 batting average and is the last player to hit .400 (.406) in 1941. He won the Triple Crown twice and was a six-time batting champion. However, he never played in or won a World Series.
1950s -- Duke Snider - 326 (407). Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants. The "Silver Fox" was on two World Series champions and was an eight-time All-Star. From 1953-57 (five straight years), he hit 40 or more HRs. He is the only player ever to hit four or more HRs in two different World Series (1952, 1955) and was one of two players with more than 1,000 RBIs in the 1950s (other was teammate Gil Hodges).
1960s -- Harmon Killibrew -- 393 (573). Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals. A 13-time All-Star, Killibrew, nicknamed "Killer or Hammering Harmon," played in one World Series (1965) and was the American League MVP in 1969. He finished his career with 573 HRs, which was fifth all-time when he retired and is now 11th. He hit 40 HRs eight times with a high of 49. Killibrew was well known for his long, high flies that disappeared over fences. He is one of four players to hit a HR over the roof at Tiger Stadium, and owns the longest HR at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore and Met Stadium in Minneapolis.
1970s -- Willie Stargell -- 296 (475). Pittsburgh Pirates. A seven-time All-Star, "Pops" played on two World Series championship teams (1971, 1979) and was the N.L. MVP in 1979. He hit the first HR at Shea Stadium in 1962 and is one of four players to hit a HR out of Dodger Stadium, which he did twice. Stargell hit the longest HR at Vet Stadium in Philadelphia and is the only player to hit a fair ball to the upper deck at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, measuring 535 feet.
1980s -- Mike Schmidt -- 313 (548). Philadelphia Phillies. A three-time MVP, he was a 12-time All-Star and a member of the 1980 World Series championship team. A 10-time Gold Glove winner at third base, Schmidt hit 12 HRs in the Phillies first 15 games of the 1976 season, including a four in one game, a feat accomplished just 15 times in baseball history. He is considered the greatest third baseman in baseball history and was one of two men to hit 300 HRs during the 1980s (Dale Murphy, Atlanta).
1990s -- Mark McGwire --- 405. Oakland/St. Louis. A 12-time All-Star, McGwire hit 30 or more HRs eight times. He is one of two players to hit more than 50 HRs four times. He had a two-year total of 135 HRs in 1998-99. McGwire set a rookie record in 1987 with 49 HRs and, later in 1998, set a major league record with 70 HRs (broke by Barry Bonds with 73 in 2001). He hit a HR every 10.61 at-bats, which is best in baseball history. He was a member of the 1989 Oakland World Series championship team.
2000s -- Alex Rodriquez -- 435 (621). Texas/Seattle/New York. "A-rod" ranks sixth all-time with 621 HRs and also owns a .302 batting average. A three-time MVP, he has been named to 13 All-Star teams and won 10 Gold Gloves. He was the youngest to hit 500 HRs, surpassing Jimmy Foxx (1939) and also youngest to hit 600, beating Babe Ruth by nearly a year. A member of the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees, he has 14, 100-RBI seasons, most in baseball history.
50-HR Club
In the history of baseball, just two players, Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire had four 50-home run seasons. Alex Rodriquez and Sammy Sosa both had three seasons with 50 home runs.
Only Two Gets Seven Hits in Nine
Only two players have had seven hits in a nine inning game. Wilbert Robinson, a baseball Hall of Famer, had his seven hits in leading the Baltimore Orioles (in the National League at that time) to a 25-4 win over the St. Louis Browns on June 10, 1892.
The only player in the 20th century to get seven hits in nine innings was Rennie Stennett of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stennett had his seven hits in Pittsburgh's 22-0 decision over the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 16, 1975. Stennett did not finish the game as manager Danny Murtaugh sent in Willie Randolph as a pinch hitter after Stennett's seventh hit. Randolph, drafted by Pittsburgh in 1972, played just one season with the Pirates before a long, successful career with the Yankees. He was traded with Ken Brett and Doc Ellis to the Yankees for Doc Medich in 1975.
Fast Fact: Cesar Gutierrez, a lifetime .235 hitter, also had seven hits in leading the Detroit Tigers to a 9-8 win over the Cleveland Indians on June 21, 1970. However Gutierrez had his seven hits in a 12-inning affair.
The Inside Job
Tom McCreery of the Louisville Colonels was the first and only player in major league history to hit three inside-the-park HRs when he did it against Philadelphia on July 12, 1897. 17 players have hit two inside-the-park jobs with the last being Greg Gagne of the Minnesota Twins in 1986.
Fun Fact: On July 18, 2010, Jhonny Peralta, then of the Cleveland Indians, had a three-run inside the park HR to help the Indians defeat Detroit as Tigers' outfielder Ryan Raburn crashed through the fence. What is interesting about this dinger is that it took Peralta 16.74 seconds to round the bases, which was the slowest of any inside-the-park jobs that season and slower than five regular HR trots. Later in 2010, Peralta was dealt to those same Tigers.
Four!!!
15 players have hit four home runs in one game with the most recent being Carlos Delgado of Toronto on Sept. 25, 2003.
Some More Oddities
~ 12 times a player has had 10 or more RBIs in a game.
~13 times a batter has hit for a natural cycle (1B, 2B, 3B, HR in order), including Gary Matthews of the Texas Rangers in an 11-3 win over Detroit on September 13, 2006.
~14 times a player has hit six singles in a nine inning game.
~15 times a player has scored six runs in a game.
Putting on a Quick Shine
Baseball has had 108 players hit a home run in their first career at-bat. It has been accomplished 46 times in the American League with J.P. Arencibia of Toronto the most recent in a 17-11 win over Tampa Bay on August 7, 2010. He ended up with four hits in five trips to the plate. Sixty-two National League players have hit a HR in their first at-bat, including Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs on May 7, 2010. Castro had two hits and six RBI in leading the Cubs to a 14-7 win over Cincinatti.
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