Most Hits in First 162 Career Games

Ichiro Suzuki

HHS reader JDV noted that Indians’ shortstop Francisco Lindor had recently played the 162nd game of his career and had recorded 198 hits over that first full season equivalent. That seemed like an interesting idea for a post, so I’ll look more at that question after the jump.

Lindor’s 198 hits ranks just outside the magic 200 level that these 51 players have reached since 1913.

Rk Player H ▾ 2B 3B HR XBH TB Tm
1 Ichiro Suzuki 248 34 8 8 50 322 SEA
2 Joe DiMaggio 242 48 17 33 98 423 NYY
3 Lloyd Waner 237 19 9 2 30 280 PIT
4 Chuck Klein 236 39 7 44 90 421 PHI
5 Johnny Frederick 235 55 6 24 85 374 BRO
6 Jim Bottomley 229 42 18 13 73 346 STL
7 Johnny Pesky 226 35 9 3 47 288 BOS
8 Kiki Cuyler 219 40 23 12 75 341 PIT
9 Dale Alexander 219 43 15 26 84 370 DET
10 Harvey Kuenn 217 32 9 2 43 273 DET
11 Billy Herman 216 48 6 1 55 279 CHC
12 Benny Kauff 216 44 13 9 66 313 NYY,IND,BTT
13 Kirby Puckett 215 16 8 1 25 250 MIN
14 Wally Moses 213 39 10 11 60 305 PHA
15 Roy Johnson 213 47 15 10 72 320 DET
16 Wally Moon 213 31 9 15 55 307 STL
17 Nomar Garciaparra 213 38 13 32 83 373 BOS
18 Barney McCosky 212 36 15 7 58 299 DET
19 Hal Trosky 212 45 11 35 91 384 CLE
20 Vada Pinson 211 51 9 18 78 334 CIN
21 Frank McCormick 209 43 5 5 53 277 CIN
22 Hunter Pence 208 43 10 24 77 343 HOU
23 Orlando Cepeda 208 44 5 30 79 352 SFG
24 Ike Boone 208 41 6 14 61 303 NYG,BOS
25 Joe Medwick 207 51 10 18 79 332 STL
26 Garry Templeton 207 23 13 6 42 274 STL
27 Richie Ashburn 206 21 6 3 30 248 PHI
28 Kevin Seitzer 205 33 7 15 55 297 KCR
29 Kiddo Davis 205 42 8 7 57 284 PHI,NYG
30 Jeff Heath 205 36 25 22 83 357 CLE
31 Earl Averill 204 46 13 18 77 330 CLE
32 Buddy Hassett 204 30 11 4 45 268 BRO
33 Juan Pierre 204 19 7 1 27 240 COL
34 Dale Mitchell 204 24 10 1 35 251 CLE
35 Ryan Braun 204 40 8 47 95 401 MIL
36 Danny Litwhiler 203 27 7 21 55 307 PHI
37 Carlos Beltran 203 31 10 22 63 320 KCR
38 Pablo Sandoval 203 47 4 24 75 330 SFG
39 Bob Meusel 203 53 12 16 81 328 NYY
40 Earle Combs 202 40 12 3 55 275 NYY
41 Tony Oliva 202 39 7 30 76 345 MIN
42 Ted Williams 202 48 13 33 94 375 BOS
43 Ross Youngs 201 29 13 2 44 262 NYG
44 Dick Wakefield 201 38 8 7 53 276 DET
45 Walt Dropo 201 33 8 35 76 355 BOS
46 Paul Waner 201 39 24 10 73 318 PIT
47 Smead Jolley 201 42 12 17 71 318 CHW
48 Whitey Lockman 201 32 10 19 61 310 NYG
49 Dave Stapleton 200 41 5 12 58 287 BOS
50 Pete Reiser 200 45 13 15 73 316 BRO
51 Lou Boudreau 200 55 11 9 75 304 CLE
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/24/2016.

The list is dominated by players from the high scoring 1920s and 1930s with only one (Tony Oliva) whose career began in the low run scoring environment of the mid 1960s. To adjust for run scoring environment, here are the lists for different time periods based on the debut season for each player.

[table id=287 /]

.

A few words about some of the lesser known names on the above lists:

  • Ike Boone was an outfielder who makes this list for his time with the Red Sox. He slugged .487 with 128 OPS+ through age 28, then hardly played after that.
  • Kiddo Davis was an outfielder with several NL clubs who didn’t play his rookie season until age 30. He batted .381 for the Giants in the 1933 and 1936 World Series.
  • Roy Johnson was an outfielder with almost 5000 career PA, mostly for the Tigers and Red Sox. His 45 doubles as a 26 year-old rookie were a career high and led the AL in 1929.
  • Smead Jolley was an outfielder who drove in 114 runs in his debut 1930 season, still the most for a White Sox rookie. The Hollywood Stars of the PCL traded for Jolley who batted .366 in two seasons in SoCal.
  • Barney McCosky was an outfielder who compiled almost 5000 career PA, mainly with the Tigers and Athletics. He is one of 5 players (all were contemporaries of each other) with 120 runs scored in each of their first two seasons.
  • Danny Litwhiler was an outfielder for several NL clubs. His 8th inning home run sealed a 2-0 Cardinal victory in the pivotal fifth game of a tied 1944 World Series.
  • Juan Bonilla and Luis Salazar were infielders and Padre teammates on the early 1980s San Diego teams. Bonilla was released before the Padres’ 1984 NL championship season while Salazar, no longer a regular, was traded after that campaign.
  • Terrence Long recorded 30 doubles, 80 RBI and 90 runs scored in two of his first three seasons to join HOFers Joe DiMaggio, Al Simmons and Earl Averill as the only center-fieders with that accomplishment.
  • Mike Caruso was the regular White Sox shortstop in 1998 and 1999 at age 21-22. He played just 12 MLB games after the latter season.

Breaking out by position gives the next two lists, for infielders and outfielders. It’s not always easy to deduce a player’s position from P-I’s seasonal results, so please let me know if I’ve got anyone listed in the wrong position.

[table id=288 /]

.

A few more of the lesser known players.

  • Ronny Paulino was the regular Pirate catcher in 2006 and 2007. His .310 BA in 400+ PA in 2006 is second only to Mike Piazza among expansion era rookie catchers.
  • Toby Hall‘s 44 career home runs for the Rays are the franchise high for catchers.
  • Ray Grimes (whose nickname was Bummer) played for the Cubs in the early 1920s. He and Benny Kauff (who played mostly in the FL) are the only players to slug over .500 with no more than 20 home runs in 1000+ PA over the first three seasons of a career.
  • Ed Morgan maintained a .300 career BA for all but 6 games of his 3000+ PA career. Morgan, George Sisler and Todd Helton share the distinction of being the only first basemen to bat .350 with .200 ISO in 1000+ PA aged 26-27.
  • Carl Lind led the AL in PA and AB in his 1928 rookie season, his only campaign as a regular. Lind’s 42 doubles that year are tied with Billy Herman for the most by a rookie second baseman.
  • Hughie Critz posted a very creditable .974 career fielding percentage and 130 Rfield (the third highest pre-expansion total) in 1453 games at second base, but committed an error in each of just two games at shortstop.
  • Brent Gates‘ 1993 debut season saw him record career highs in every traditional offensive category except triples and strikeouts.
  • Fresco Thompson‘s four seasons with 30 doubles and 75 runs scored are tied with Juan Samuel and Chase Utley for the most by a Phillie second baseman.
  • Tom Carey walked in only 4.1% of PA for his career, among the 10 lowest walk rates by a second baseman in a 1500 PA career.
  • Pinky Whitney‘s 98 OPS+ for the 1930 Phillies is the lowest mark, by 10 points, in a 600 PA season batting .340.
  • Pinky Higgins and Terry Pendleton are the only third basemen to twice start every game of a 7-game World Series for the losing team, both doing so for different teams in seasons six years apart.
  • Danny O’Connell‘s 30 doubles in 1961 were ten more than any other Senators’ player in that franchise’s inaugural season.
  • Jim Tabor was a teammate of Ted Williams in the latter’s .400 season in 1941. Tabor’s 539 PA that year were the fewest by a third baseman in a 100 RBI season until George Brett flirted with a .400 season in 1980.
  • Pete Ward was the first AL third baseman to reach 20 home runs, 80 RBI and 125 OPS+ in two of his first three seasons; only Evan Longoria has since matched that accomplishment in the junior circuit.

Here are the results for the outfield positions.

[table id=289 /]

.

Some more tidbits on the lesser lights:

  • Rip Radcliff‘s league-leading 200 hits for the Browns at age 34 in 1940 tie him with George Sisler and B.J. Surhoff as the oldest Browns or Orioles players to reach the 200 hit plateau.
  • Red Worthington‘s two stolen bases over his first two seasons in 1931-32 were then the lowest total by a left-fielder in 200+ games over that part of his career; only five players have since matched or lowered that mark with Pat Burrell the most recent of those.
  • Moose Solters is the first AL player to be traded during a 200 hit season. Quiz: which three NL players were traded during a 200 hit season to that year’s World Series champion?
  • Alex Metzler and Carl Reynolds each recorded 10 triples and fewer than 30 doubles for the 1928 and 1929 White Sox, the only pair of AL outfield teammates with that accomplishment in consecutive live ball era seasons.
  • Jimmy Welsh‘s 198 hits are the leading total by a Brave. Welsh was traded by Boston before the 1928 season to acquire Rogers Hornsby from the Giants. Rajah would play just that one year in Boston, teaming with shortstop Doc Farrell (another acquisition from New York who went bust with the Braves) to man the keystone positions that season. The next year, Boston dealt Farrell back to the Giants to reacquire Welsh.

Putting the previous sets of tables together yields the following table showing the leader in hits in the first 162 games of a career, for each position and time period.

[table id=291 /]

.

The only name in the above table that hasn’t previously appeared is that of Kent Hrbek whose relatively modest total of 173 hits is a surprise as the leading mark for first basemen in the 1961-85 period.

Breaking down these results based on debut age yields the following table.

[table id=292 /]

.

The uniformity in the above results would tend to suggest that major league teams are usually pretty astute in judging when a player is ready to make the jump to the big leagues (although one can always debate whether “older” players who make a splash in their majors debut could not have done so one or two years sooner). With only a couple of “busts” in the Under 21 (Dick Wakefield) and Age 21 (Mike Caruso; Jake Powell also qualifies as a bust but, despite his age 21 debut, his rookie season didn’t come until age 26) lists the Indians can be encouraged in contemplating Francisco Lindor‘s future development. Very young players who do well starting their major league careers often do have long, productive careers as they have more time to develop their talent to a higher level before their decline phase sets in (Bill James demonstrated this in one of his studies comparing groups of players with similar rookie seasons, one of 21 year-olds and the other of 22 year-olds; to his surprise James found that the younger group would go on to compile 50% more career value than the group just one year older when posting very similar rookie results).

To close, here is a table showing the Top 5 results for each franchise. The numbers shown here for some players may be slightly different than in previous tables that included all of each player’s first 162 games compared to just the subset of those games for one franchise as shown in this table.

[table id=290 /]

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The Rangers have not fared well in this regard, still looking for their first player with even the relatively modest total of 170 hits over his first 162 games. Some other surprises:

  • Ted Williams doesn’t even lead among outfielders on his own team
  • No Frank Robinson in the Reds list
  • Albert Pujols just misses the Cardinal list
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e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
7 years ago

Great post, Doug. The notes on lesser lights were, for me, the best part, but I’ll be poring over the lists for days.

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
7 years ago

Wonderful as ever, Doug. One correction: I, personally, would list Ryan Braun as a 3B. He played his whole rookie year there, and that was the first 112 games, with only the final 50 of the 162 coming in LF. He was a huge disaster as an infielder, but has actually turned into a decent outfielder, which was a big concern at the time.

Doug
Doug
7 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Thanks DD, I’ll make the change.

David P
David P
7 years ago

Bob Bailor is one of three players in MLB history to log 250+ games at shortstop and in rightfield. The others being Woody Held and Harvey Kuenn.

And he’s one of 5 players with 80+ games at short, second, third. right, left, and center. The others being Held, Tony Phillips, Jerry Hairtson, and Willie Bloomquist.

Hartvig
Hartvig
7 years ago

I’d heard of everyone in the top 51 list except for Johnny Frrederick.

Pretty amazing that a 22 year old who hit .353 with 102 extra-base hits in the PCL wouldn’t see his first major league PA for another 5 years. He also played 6 more years in the minors after leaving the Dodgers & wound up with over 3400 hits for his combined major & minor league career.

no statistician but
no statistician but
7 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Just a guess, but I doubt the Dodgers were paying much more in the Depression than the PCL teams, and Frederick—Smead Jolley also—may have preferred the west coast: long seasons, less pressure. We forget that until 1957, the PCL had a huge fan base and, while producing a lot of talent kept hold of quite a bit of it.

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
7 years ago

Frederick actually came up in ’29, before the Depression hit. But the PCL was certainly in a league of its own, so to speak. B-R indicates that he returned to the PCL not on his own initiative, but as a trade for Frenchy Bordagaray — that makes sense if you look at Frederick’s 1934 season in the context of the Bums’ outfield: he was less productive than the three regulars, and he was suffering from an injury. As a Brooklyn fan, I learned Frederick’s name and knew of his good seasons as a kid, but never really had a good… Read more »

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago

Jeff Heath later became 1 of 7 players to accumulate 20+ doubles, triples and home runs in 1 season. Dale Alexander’s career was cut short after a few years in the ML due to a badly burned leg from over-exposure in a diathermy machine. Joe DiMaggio had a similar experience but to a much lesser degree.

David P
David P
7 years ago

Raise your hand if you knew that Dave Stapleton had more career hits in his first 162 games than teammate Wade Boggs???

And who knew that there were two Dave Stapleton’s and that they played consecutively? The first Dave Stapleton, the one who appears above, played from 1980-1986. The second Dave Stapleton appeared in 10 games as a reliever for the Brewers in 1987-1988.

JDV
JDV
7 years ago

Interesting to see your note on Mike Caruso, whose career I always found very curious. It looks like he lost his starting job to Jose Valentin, and there were no other takers. I found this link to a story from about 2000: http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/rwas/index.php?id=2395.

Doug
Doug
7 years ago
Reply to  JDV

That link covers Caruso’s story very well. Those who don’t adapt will perish (figuratively speaking). Carl Lind is another in these lists who had a rookie season with some “wow” but couldn’t come close to backing it up. In Lind’s case it appears he contracted some significant illness after that rookie season and was never the same player again. Died aged only 42, though don’t know if that was related to his illness. Lind’s biographical details are courtesy of Tulane University where Lind was an alumnus and inducted into the “Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame” as a two sport star.… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar
7 years ago

David Ortiz is on pace for

72 doubles
2 triples
44 homers

That would be the record for doubles.
And the 118 XBH would sit right here:

119 … Ruth
118 … Ortiz
117 … Gehrig
107 … Bonds
107 … Klein

The (pace for) 149 ribbies and 413 total bases is pretty good, too.

Mike L
Mike L
7 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

When I see Ortiz numbers, and their improbability, the Yankee fan in me must discipline itself, suspend disbelief, and project a mindfulness that permits acceptance in the face of incredulity. It’s a constant struggle…..

David P
David P
7 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

Mike L – When I see Ortiz’s numbers, I think of this song from the 80s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p98PjtSfNWo

no statistician but
no statistician but
7 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Voomo:

Re the record-setting pace for 2-baggers:

1) Remember a guy named Chris Sabo? Twenty-nine doubles through game 63 of his rookie year? Finished with 40.

2) Ortiz—in his presumed final year, so there’s a symmetry here—has 25 doubles at home in 39 games, 5 road doubles in 27 games. If he keeps up this particular pace and misses games at his usual rate he’s more likely to end up at around 63-65. I’ll guess 57 if he stays healthy.

Lawrence Azrin
Lawrence Azrin
7 years ago

NSB; Actually, if you do a straight-line extrapolation, Ortiz will hit 67 doubles. The single-season record is – you guessed it – 67, by Earl Webb of the 1931 Red Sox. I doubt very much he’ll do that; he’ll probably ‘level off’ the rest of the season to a rate of about 40/45 doubles for a full season, and finish with 50-52 (still impressive). Curious diversion: no one has hit 60 doubles since 1936 (Charlie Gehringer/60). As a matter of fact, all six seasons of 60 or more doubles were between 1926 and 1936, and all but one 1931-1936. Todd… Read more »

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
7 years ago
Reply to  Lawrence Azrin

I also remember Lyle Overbay hitting 53 2B in 2004. It was one of the MANY sad summers for a Brewers fan in my youth, and we kept thinking, “If he just goes on a TEAR for a month, he can do it!” Needless to say, he was extremely consistent in his doubles-hitting that year, and was never even on pace for 60 (I don’t think). But those were sad days as a Brewers fan, and we had to get excited about what little was there to make our summers enjoyable.

JDV
JDV
7 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

In his first full season (2013), Manny Machado had 38 doubles through June (83 Games), a pace which, if sustained, would have seen him finish with 74+. He hit one in July, and finished with 51.

Doug
Doug
7 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Ortiz’s 49 XBH are already tied (with Sam Rice, Edgar Martinez and Barry Bonds) for the 8th highest total by a player aged 40+. Needs just 14 more to pass Dave Winfield for top spot.

Ortiz’s .697 slugging is a mere 189 points higher than Stan Musial’s current record for the age 40+ crowd in a qualified season. Among players 35 or older, only Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams have posted a higher qualified slugging mark.

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
7 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Ted Williams had a 1.096 OPS in his final season (190 OPS+ – exactly his career mark, incidentally). Will Clark’s final season had a 1.081 OPS, with a 167 OPS+. Barry Bonds had a 1.045 (169 OPS+) in his last go-round. I believe Dave Nilsson has the next best number, with a .954/141, but I’m just trying to think of guys with famous great last years – I’m not looking at anything official. David Ortiz’s OPS is 1.112 and his OPS+ is 188. The Red Sox are in first, and I will legitimately be unsurprised if he wins the MVP.… Read more »

no statistician but
no statistician but
7 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

There’s an asterisk to Williams’ *final season.

* In 390 plate appearances: 86 games started, 46 played in entirety, 26 pinch hitting attempts.

Will Clark? 197 PAs, not even in the same ballpark, so to speak.

Neither Bonds(477 PAs) nor Nilsson (404) qualified for the batting title either.

Ortiz, in contrast, has already started 63 games and had 291 PAs. Being a DH helps, of course.

Paul E
Paul E
7 years ago

Re: Ortiz – incredulity is an understatement…..

How about Braun with over 400 TB in those first 162 but not even close to DiMaggio and Klein?

Voomo Zanzibar
7 years ago

Lonnie Chisenhall had 5 hits and 2 SO in yesterday’s 19 inning game (Go Naps!)

5 hits and 2 punchouts?
Done before?
Yes.
Lonnie is the 14th since 1914 (so sayeth the Play Index).

Since 1985 it has happened 5 times.
Lonnie, Polanco, Parra, Zobrist, Bernie

I’d post all the boxscores, but the spam-police won’t let me.
The one from 1996 is interesting:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL199605010.shtml

Eleven hits from the Bronx WIlliams’.
Gerald had 6 hits and one strikeout.
That has happened only five times.

David P
David P
7 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Look like Chisenhall is the second person to go 5-8 with 0 runs and 0 RBIs. Not a PI subscriber, so no idea who the other person is.

Voomo Zanzibar
7 years ago
Reply to  David P

It was Bobby Estalella.

I’m not a subscriber, either, but I found it by having the search sorted by Runs Scored.

24 inning tie game.
And both teams played doubleheaders the day before and the day after!

Les Mueller pitched 19.2 innings.
His 122 Game Score is tied for 19th best all-time.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHA/PHA194507210.shtml

Doug
Doug
7 years ago
Reply to  David P

In Saturday’s game, Indian outfielder Rajai Davis hit for the cycle and added a stolen base. First searchable player to do that in a team loss, and only the second (after Lou Brock) to do so aged 35 or older.

David P
David P
7 years ago
Reply to  Doug

According to cleveland.com, Davis’ cycle was only the 6th ever “reverse cycle” as he went home run, triple, double, single.

oneblankspace
oneblankspace
7 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

The other interesting thing about that O’s-Yanks game:

Cal Ripken did not finish the game.

David P
David P
7 years ago
Reply to  oneblankspace

Ripken was pulled for a pinch runner. O’s down 6-5, in the bottom of the 8th, Bonilla leads off with a single. Ripken follows with a single, sending Bonilla to third. Manny Alexander comes in to pinch run for Ripken. The play-by-play then says “Alexander Caught Stealing (PO) 2B (P-SS)”. I’m trying to figure out what happened there. Hard to believe the O’s would be running in that situation. Does the “(PO)” mean he was actually picked off? But then why call it a caught stealing if he was actually picked off? Hmm….here’s the box score from Baseball-Almanac which shows… Read more »

David P
David P
7 years ago
Reply to  David P

Here’s a write-up from a few weeks after the game:

“Johnson stunned fans in Baltimore May 1 by removing Ripken for pinch runner Manny Alexander in the eighth inning of a one-run game against the Yankees. Johnson was trying to take the lead and spare his spent bullpen a long night. The move backfired when Alexander was caught stealing. ”

http://articles.courant.com/1996-05-26/sports/9605260265_1_cal-ripken-yankees-earl-weaver

So it sounds like the O’s were trying to steal. Still unclear on whether the ball was thrown to the catcher first or not.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago
Reply to  David P

It looks to me like the Baseball Almanac box score always reports the names of the pitcher/catcher battery whether or not the catcher actually made the throw to nab the base runner. And a pick-off is recorded as a CS.

David P
David P
7 years ago

Are you sure Richard? Wikipedia says that it depends:

“A baserunner is “picked off” base when that runner takes a lead off his base and the pitcher (or catcher) makes a quick throw to a fielder manning that base, resulting in the runner being tagged out. In this circumstance, the baserunner is not considered to have been caught stealing. However, if, during the play, the runner made any feint or motion toward the next base, then the runner is caught stealing, even if he is eventually caught trying to re-assume the base which he originally occupied.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caught_stealing

no statistician but
no statistician but
7 years ago

My guess from the play-by-play description is that Alexander broke for second prematurely, and the pitcher Jeff Nelson while paused became aware or was alerted, so he turned to second rather than first and threw the ball to the shortstop who put the tag on. An unusual but not unheard of sequence of events.

There’s probably video footage of the play somewhere that would settle the question, but “pick-off caught stealing” IS a stat at B-Ref and Jeff Nelson recorded one in 1996.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago

Reply to #35:

Actually I’m not 100% sure but I remember reading or hearing somewhere that a PO was recorded as a CS.

David P
David P
7 years ago

Thanks NSB and Richard. NSB – Your explanation makes sense. I was mostly confused by the difference between the two box scores. Unfortunately, ESPN doesn’t have a box score of the game to serve as a tiebreaker. As for how a pickoff is recorded, I’m still not sure. The Wikipedia article says that it depends. Even Baseball Reference doesn’t seem to agree with itself. From their article on pickoffs: “Alternatively, the runner may decide to try to run to the next base – if it is unoccupied – instead of returning to the base he is occupying. If he is… Read more »

no statistician but
no statistician but
7 years ago

Two comments, one directed, one random: David P: I think the distinction lies in whether the pitcher throws the ball to first and the first baseman relays the ball on, or whether the pitcher throws directly to whomever is covering second. The pitcher gets an assist in the first instance, a pick-off caught stealing in the second. Maybe. I started looking up famous baserunners about pick-offs and caught stealing, etc., and came across an incredible stat: Jackie Robinson stole home successfully 19 times, got caught 11. In contrast, Luis Aparicio was 0 for 5. Lou Brock 6 for 10, Rickey… Read more »

David P
David P
7 years ago

Here’s a complete list of players with 10+ steals of home in their career. (no idea re: caught stealings).

Since Robinson, only Carew (17) and Molitor (10) have accomplished the feat.

And I definitely wasn’t expecting to see Ruth (10) and Gehrig (15) on the list.

Gehrig was only a 50.5% base stealer for his career. And his 15 steals of home represent 14.7% of his career total. I’m guessing no one else is close to that.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_stbah.shtml

Voomo Zanzibar
7 years ago

According to this article, all of Gehrig’s pentagram thefts were on the front end of 2X steals.

And he did it to Mickey Cochrane 8 times:

http://research.sabr.org/journals/lou-who-stole-home-15-times

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
7 years ago

The last player to steal home twice in one game was Vic Power, on 8/14/58 for the Indians against the Tigers. Power stole home in the eighth to increase his team’s lead to 9-7, then stole home in the bottom of the tenth for the win, 10-9. He’d also been caught stealing home the day before against the Tigers. Those stolen-base attempts in the Tigers series were three of the five attempts he made over the entire 1958 season. Clearly, Power believed surprise was a crucial element of the plate swipe. He stole home in the first game of a… Read more »

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago

Some stealing home factoids:
From 1901-2006:

There have been 34 (pardon the expression) walk-off steals of home. Wally Moses did it twice.

There have been 46 steals of home by pitchers.

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
7 years ago

Baseball Almanac lists Doc Gautreau of the Braves as the last NL player to steal home twice in a game, in the first game of a 9/3/27 doubleheader against the Brooklyn Robins. The Retrosheet PBP, however, shows Gautreau stealing second and home in the first inning of that game, then scoring from third base in the fifth when pitcher Jesse Petty muffed a return throw from catcher Hank DeBerry. It looks as if that play may have been originally scored as a stolen base of home, then later changed to an E1. (Even without Gautreau’s phantom steal of home, Petty… Read more »

oneblankspace
oneblankspace
7 years ago

I’ve seen a few games where the runner misreads the pitcher and gets caught stealing 1-3-6 (or 1-3-6-1 in a rundown).

I’ve also seen a few steals of home where a suicide squeeze is combined with what would have otherwise been a wild pitch — if the runner breaks before the pitch goes wild, he gets credit for a steal.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago

I have a copy of “The SABR Baseball List & Record Book” published in 2007. This is their list of players with 2 steals of home in the same game.

6-20-1901….NL….Honus Wagner
9-30-1907….NL….Ed Konetchy
6-28-1910….NL….Joe Tinker
9-18-1911….NL….Larry Doyle
8-11-1912….AL….Joe Jackson
8-15-1912….AL….Guy Zinn
9-6-1913….AL….Eddie Collins
5-1-1924….AL….Bill Barrett
9-3-1927….NL….Doc Gautreau
8-14-1958….AL….Vic Power

JDV
JDV
7 years ago

Very general question…I assume that ‘Play Index’ was used to generate these lists. How did you set the parameters?

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago
Reply to  JDV

One way is to use the Players Game Finder, set it to Most Matching Games in Multiple Years, H>=1 and in Player’s first 162 career games. When the Result Sheet appears sort by Hits. As a precaution also check the second page of Results.

JDV
JDV
7 years ago

Thank you, but I’m still doing something wrong. I’m interested in expanding this topic to a player’s first 1,620 games (10 full-season equivalent).

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago
Reply to  JDV

All you have to do is to use the PI Game Finder as I explained but set it to the player’s first 1620 games. I just tried doing it but due to an excess of data to search, the PI timed out and left me with no results and I suspect you are having similar problems. I had to make adjustments such as making separate runs for RH batters, LH batters and switch-hitters. Also I had to play around with the years to be searched i.e. set the years from 1913 to 1930, then ran it again from 1913-1950 etc.… Read more »

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago

I realized that Cobb and Speaker’s hits in their first 1620 games can be calculated manually. Cobb had 2248 hits and Speaker had 2019 hits. The record holder has 2297 such hits. Can anybody guess who it is?

Mike L
Mike L
7 years ago

Probably Ichiro, but I’ll bet Paul Waner got close

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago

Not Ichiro, remember I said it was a bit of a surprise. Paul Waner was close. I only ran the searchable era, 1913-2016.

JDV
JDV
7 years ago

Yes, it was timing out.
How about Al Simmons at the top of the list?

JDV
JDV
7 years ago

I tried a variation of the search to get in the ballpark.
– Batting Season Finder
– Combined Seasons or Careers
– 1st – 11th Season of Career
– H > 1.2 * G
– Sort by H

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago

Reply to comment 56. Simmons it is.
Here are the top 6:

Simmons………2297
Ichiro…………….2286
Sisler……………..2259
Lajoie……………..2230+
Paul Waner…….2225
LLoyd Waner….2205

From 1896 to 1909 Lajoie had 2230 hits in 1614 games. Game logs for 1910 are not available. He and Wagner are the only players I searched who played prior to 1901.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago

Whoops, I left out Cobb with 2248 hits for post 58.

JDV
JDV
7 years ago

If Ichiro had known, he would have tried harder.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago

Quiz answers:
Irish Meuel in 1921
Red Schoendienst in 1957
Lou Brock in 1964

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
7 years ago

Should be Meusel.

JDV
JDV
7 years ago

With three hits yesterday against the Diamondbacks, Cory Seager now has 200 H in 160 career games.

JDV
JDV
7 years ago
Reply to  JDV

Some of Seager’s numbers through his first 162 games:
202 H / 343 TB / 28 HR / 83 RBI / 111 R
.321 / .386 / .540

JDV
JDV
4 years ago
Reply to  JDV

…and now add Jeff McNeil. His 162-game line includes exactly 200 hits with 40 doubles, 305 TB, and 98 R, to go with his .334 BA. A late bloomer at 27. I’m wondering if his career will more resemble Wade Boggs’ or Boggs’ former teammate Dave Stapleton’s.

JDV
JDV
2 years ago
Reply to  JDV

Another 162-game line is now in. It took parts of three seasons, but Fernando Tatis Jr has 185 H, 46 HR, 366 TB, 109 RBI, 130 R in his first full-season equivalent.

It will be interesting to see where Yordan Alvarez ends up, especially in the RBI column. Bo Bichette will also reach some impressive numbers.

JDV
JDV
2 years ago
Reply to  JDV

Yordan Alvarez reached 100 RBI in just his 114th MLB game last night.

JDV
JDV
2 years ago

Yordan Alvarez played his 162nd MLB game Friday, and Bo Bichette played his 162nd MLB game today. As with Fernando Tatis Jr earlier this year, the 162 G spanned parts of three seasons. Some more impressive numbers.

Alavarez: 183 H, 42 2B, 44 HR, 359 TB, 138 RBI, 113 R, .603 SA

Bichette: 203 H, 45 2B, 32 HR, 348 TB, 101 RB!, 121 R, .514 SA

Last edited 2 years ago by JDV