Quiz – HOF Sluggers … and some other guys (solved)

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What do three HOFers have in common with several other less celebrated players? In fact, all of them share the distinction of a certain seasonal batting accomplishment of which no others can boast. What is it?

Congratulations to Voomo Zanzibar! He knew that these players have hit the most home runs in a season from each of the nine batting order positions.

The list of players is after the jump.

Here are those record home run seasons.

Rk	Player	Split	Year	G	HR	GS	PA	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Alfonso Soriano	Batting 1st	2006	131	39	131	610	541	102	159	81	58	130	.294	.368	.588	.956
1	Eddie Mathews	Batting 2nd	1959	145	46	145	668	582	117	180	114	78	70	.309	.392	.601	.994
1	Mark McGwire	Batting 3rd	1998	152	69	152	678	506	128	150	145	162	155	.296	.469	.745	1.214
1	Hack Wilson	Batting 4th	1930	155	56	155	709	585	148	207	191	105	84	.354	.453	.721	1.174
1	Jimmie Foxx	Batting 5th	1932	154	58	154	702	585	151	213	168	117	96	.364	.470	.749	1.219
1	Troy Glaus	Batting 6th	2000	134	39	134	567	473	102	135	85	93	143	.285	.404	.605	1.009
1	Howard Johnson	Batting 7th	1987	124	28	123	505	437	68	117	81	61	90	.268	.362	.503	.866
1	Del Crandall	Batting 8th	1955	114	22	109	428	384	48	93	55	33	50	.242	.300	.464	.764
1	Kevin Elster	Batting 9th	1996	146	21	145	557	479	72	123	92	50	130	.257	.323	.459	.782

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/21/2016.

The seasons by Mathews, McGwire and Foxx figured prominently in the team records below.

Rk	Team	Split	Year	HR	PA	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
1	BAL	Batting 1st	1996	45	794	149	192	42	3	103	98	106	.288	.390	.562	.953	375
1	MLN	Batting 2nd	1959	47	721	126	193	19	8	117	81	75	.306	.386	.586	.972	369
1	STL	Batting 3rd	1998	71	742	136	164	22	0	154	176	167	.295	.466	.718	1.184	399
1	OAK	Batting 4th	1996	61	720	137	173	31	1	142	123	141	.296	.424	.666	1.090	389
1	PHA	Batting 5th	1932	58	705	152	214	33	9	168	117	96	.364	.470	.747	1.216	439
1	CIN	Batting 6th	1956	47	655	88	165	20	0	115	54	88	.282	.348	.556	.904	326
1	OAK	Batting 7th	1996	37	678	88	155	25	1	101	66	127	.260	.341	.491	.832	293
1	TOR	Batting 8th	2010	34	624	74	137	26	1	90	40	134	.242	.297	.471	.768	267
1	BAL	Batting 9th	1987	24	618	79	129	21	2	58	54	110	.233	.303	.409	.711	226
1	BOS	Batting 9th	2003	24	657	89	167	37	1	93	48	119	.284	.338	.472	.810	278
1	CLE	Batting 9th	2005	24	627	82	160	36	3	69	45	133	.282	.338	.483	.821	274

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/1/2016.

Big Mac, with 52 home runs in only 130 games, was also a primary contributor for the 1996 Athletics in claiming two spots in the above table.

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Voomo Zanzibar

7 years ago

Stabbing at what could be a swerve of a piece of it:

They all had season in which they batted no higher than .212 with no more than 74 PA.

Author

Doug

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

I’m pretty sure LOTS of other players did that, so that’s not it.

David P

7 years ago

Is it something that was done during a qualified batting season? Crandall only had 3 of those so that might help narrow things down.

Author

Doug

7 years ago

Reply to David P

Yes, all of these seasons qualified for the batting title.

Richard Chester

7 years ago

Reply to Doug

But they did not have to be qualifying seasons, it just turned out that way. Crandall had 5 qualifying seasons.

David P

7 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Yeah that part threw me off a bit. That, plus I always think that “qualified for batting title” means 502 PAs. So I skipped right by Crandall’s ’55 season.

no statistician but

7 years ago

Doug:

This quiz is a stinker. The odd men out here are are Crandall and Elster. Crandall didn’t strike out much and had three or at most four qualifying seasons which look almost identical to one another. Elster showed no power except in one of his two qualifying seasons, but at least he struck out quite a bit. You ought to be able to compare their few qualifying seasons and come up with some idea, but it’s beyond me. Looks like a Richard Chester special.

Richard Chester

7 years ago

Reply to no statistician but

Thanks for the compliment but in recent months I have not been doing well on Doug’s quizzes.

Doug

7 years ago

Here’s a hint. The number of players in the list is a clue.

Voomo Zanzibar

7 years ago

Most HR in a season from each batting order position.

Elster in the 9-hole in 1996:
21 HR

Crandall from the 8-hole in 1955:
22 HR

HoJo from the 7-hole in 1987:
28 HR

Glaus from the 6-hole in 2000:
39 HR

Foxx from the 5-hole in 1932
58 HR

Hack from the 4-hole in 1930:
56 HR

McGwire from the 3-hole in 1998
69 HR (happy birthday today)

Mathews from the 2-hole in 1959
46 HR

Soriano had 1-hole in 2006.
39 HR

Voomo Zanzibar

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Soriano had one hole?
Way to double check your work, buddy.

no statistician but

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Voomo:

Do we call you Richard Chester II from now on?

Voomo Zanzibar

7 years ago

Reply to no statistician but

Well, I wasn’t likely to get there without Doug’s hint.

Richard Chester

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Voomo, you did a great job. Everybody else had the same hint. BTW if Foxx had been hitting third or fourth when he hit 58 HR he would have had an extra 18 to 36 or so PA and a much better chance for 60 HR.

David P

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Yeah, I really don’t understand why Mack had Foxx batting 5th all year long. Weird.

John

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Connie Mack was a very very strange dude. He gutted his 1914 AL Champs immediately, claiming he couldn’t afford to pay them what they wanted, and finished last 7 straight years. The Federal League went out of business after the 1915 season, and a lot of really good players were available very cheap, but he chose to stay in last place. At the end of that, he paid $100,000 (or whatever, a colossal sum now, all the moreso in the 1920’s) for Lefty Grove and some others, was the Series again, and gutted the team again. Again, claiming he couldn’t… Read more »

no statistician but

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

In reply to #s 12, 15, 16:

The A’s lineup had Mickey Cochrane batting third, Al Simmons fourth, Jimmie Foxx fifth, not exactly a stupid or quirky arrangement when you consider that the previous year Cochrane batted .349, OPS .976; Simmons .390, OPS 1.085; Foxx .291, OPS .947. Foxx was only 24 years old in 1932, whereas the others were 29 and 30. The lineup had worked for three consecutive pennant winners, too. In ’32, despite Foxx’s 58 dingers, the team finished a distant second.

Author

Doug

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Mack was running his team as a business and selling his assets when their value was at a maximum. When his team was winning pennants, Mack wanted to cash in before those assets started to decline in performance, and value.

In modern terms, Mack was trying to win with young, less expensive talent and stay away from pricey free agents on the wrong side of 30.

David P

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

NSB – I agree that it the beginning of the year, it made sense to have Foxx bat 5th but at some point during the season you’ve got to move him up in the lineup.

And look at the following year. In 1933, Foxx hit 4th for the first 17 games. He was then dropped to 5th for the next 60 games.

Who batted 4th during this time? Ed Coleman. Coleman was a 31 year old nobody who had about 40 games of MLB experience when Mack decided to bat him 4th and Foxx 5th. That’s very weird.

John

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

You make a good point, nsb, but I was not referring to his obvious talent as a manager. It was more his quirky psyche on how he obtained/retained his players. After the 1915 season, he could have gotten a large number of very good players cut loose by the FL cheaply, but he didn’t. That is all I was trying to say.

Dr. Doom

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

This answer is awesome, but got me thinking about some of the other big HR seasons, and why they weren’t on here. Bonds in ’01 hit 66 from the 3rd spot, 6th from the 4th spot hit 6, and his other came as a PH, batting 9th. McGwire is probably the weirdest. He batted 3rd all but three games in ’98. Once, he batting 9th (PH). But his lone HR from another spot came from batting FIRST. He actually led off the game twice for the Cards in ’98, once homering, and doubling the other time. Maybe the Cards could’ve… Read more »

oneblankspace

7 years ago

Reply to Dr. Doom

MCGwire’s appearances in the 1-hole were essentially first-inning pinch-hitting appearances on the road after he had hit #62. The crowds in the other cities wanted to see him, and LaRussa wanted to give him the day off. He might have DHed had that been an option.

Dr. Doom

7 years ago

Reply to oneblankspace

That’s what it seemed like. It reminds me of how Lou Gehrig got a couple of “starts” at “shortstop” in order to keep his streak alive, batting in the first inning and then sitting down.

Voomo Zanzibar

7 years ago

On 7.13.34, Gehrig started at 1st, played one defensive inning, singled to lead off the 2nd, then came out.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET193407130.shtml

The following day, the 14th, was the “start at SS”.
He led off the game with a single, at was PR for by Rolfe.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET193407140.shtml

The following day, well rested, he went 4-4 with 3 doubles:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET193407150.shtml

Richard Chester

7 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Gehrig had an episode of lumbago.

Luis Gomez

7 years ago

Does anyone know ho was hitting 6th for 1996 Athletics?

Luis Gomez

7 years ago

Reply to Luis Gomez

Check that, batting 7th.

Dr. Doom

7 years ago

Reply to Luis Gomez

Well, whether the question is 6th or 7th, the answer is the same: Terry Steinbach. He batted 6th 73 times, and 7th 26 times, both of which led the team. You can find the info here:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/OAK/1996-batting-orders.shtml
May I ask: what caused you to ask this question?

Luis Gomez

7 years ago

Reply to Dr. Doom

I ask because it was hard to believe that a batter could do so much damage from the 7th spot in the order, and not be moved up. That’s were I was wrong. I never imagined that all those homers were hit by so many batters.

By the way, DD, I’v been reading the MVP re-voting project, I haven’t voted yet but I will as soon as I make a full return to this site.

Richard Chester

7 years ago

Reply to Luis Gomez

Records for players hitting from the #7 spot (400 PA min.):

Stat…..#……Year……Player
R………83……..1933…..Pinky Higgins
H………177…..1933…..Pinky Higgins
2B…….34……..1933….Pinky Higgins
3B…….17……..1921…..Charlie Grimm
HR……28………1987…..Howard Johnson
RBI……111…….1938…..Ken Keltner
BB……..83……..1925…..Willie Kamm
BA……..361……1923…..Charlie Grimm
OBP……422……1930…..Gabby Hartnett
SLG…….636……1930…..Gabby Hartnett
OPS…….1.058….1930…..Gabby Hartnett
SB………28……….1913…..Jack Graney
SB……….28………1923…..Cliff Heathcote

Richard Chester

7 years ago

Here are the starting players who batted 7th for the 1996 A’s listed by number of games:

Steinbach-26
Plantier-25
Giambi-20
Brosius-15
Stairs-15
Williams-15
Young-9
Spiezio-7
Lovullo-7
Lesher-6

Author

Doug

7 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

And here’s how they finished in home runs. Definitely a team effort.

Rk	Player	Games	HR ▾
1	Terry Steinbach	28	10
2	Scott Brosius	15	7
3	Matt Stairs	18	4
4	George Williams	17	3
5	Brian Lesher	8	3
6	Phil Plantier	25	2
7	Jason Giambi	20	2
8	Geronimo Berroa	8	2
9	Scott Spiezio	7	2
10	Ernie Young	13	1
11	Torey Lovullo	9	1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/6/2016.

Richard Chester

7 years ago

Reply to Doug

The list in my post #28 was extracted from BR’s Batting Order page for the 1996 A’s and evidently only the top 10 starters are listed in the summary column at the bottom of the page. In reality a total of 19 players batted from the #7 position of whom 15 started at least 1 game.