August’s AL Pitcher of the Month was the Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis. If you’ve never heard of him, you’re not alone. Despite that lack of notoriety, Francis, whose career totals prior to August included just 81⅓ IP and four starts, has turned in two of the more remarkable months of pitching of the modern era. More after the jump.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Records and Milestones
Ohtani! Oh My! Shohei shows off, again!
Shohei Ohtani showed us how superstars mark milestones, again! Four weeks ago, it was a walk-off grand slam to mark his joining the 40/40 club, Yesterday, it was a game for the ages as he became the first member of the 50/50 club. More after the jump.
Continue readingRemembering Willie Mays (1931-2024)
Willie Mays‘ passing last month serves to remind baseball fans of his spectacular and singular career. Widely regarded as baseball’s most complete player, Mays excelled at all facets of the game, playing at a high level for almost the entirety of a career spanning 23 years. His passing also reduces to a very slender thread our connection with those still living who graced major league ballparks in the 1950s. More on Willie and 1950s baseball are after the jump.
Continue readingStarting Fast: Baseball’s Best Hitters Out of the Gate
Pitchers tend to hold the upper hand to start the season, with batters warming up with the weather. But, some batters buck that trend and are hot to start the season, including some who do so on a regular basis. So, who are April’s heroes? Spoiler alert: they’re also the heroes in the other months of the season. More after the jump.
Continue readingBlanco Blanks Blue Jays
Ronel Blanco lived up to his name, turning in the young season’s first no-hit game as the Astros romped 10-0 over Toronto. Blanco walked the first batter of the game and the next-to-last (both former Astro George Springer) but retired everyone else, as no Blue Jay reached second base. It was the 13th no-hit game by an Astro pitcher (11th at home), and the second time Houston has no-hit Toronto. More after the jump.
Continue readingAll-Star Break Diversion
To tide us over for the next couple of days, here’s a quick quiz. Not very hard, but some of the names may surprise you. So, what accomplishment can be claimed only by these players?
Rk | Player ▲ |
---|---|
1 | Richie Ashburn |
2 | Rod Carew |
3 | Corbin Carroll |
4 | Joe DiMaggio |
5 | Mark Fidrych |
6 | Ron Hansen |
7 | Frank Robinson |
8 | George Scott |
9 | Fernando Valenzuela |
10 | Dick Wakefield |
11 | Jerry Walker |
Perfect 10 Streaks: Pitchers Who Owned an Opponent
On April 23rd this season, Clayton Kershaw pitched 6 innings for the win against the Mets. And, on June 14th, Jose Berrios went 7⅔ against the Orioles and also collected the W. What do these two games have in common? Find out after the jump.
Continue readingWinning 20 Games for the First Time
This past season, Braves’ right-hander Kyle Wright won 20 games for the first time. His majors-leading total of 21 wins came in his 5th major league season, though it was really Wright’s first opportunity to win 20 games as he did not appear in more than 8 games in any of his four preceding seasons. In winning 20 games in his first opportunity to do so, Wright became the 87th such pitcher since 1901 and the second in as many seasons, after Julio Urias recorded the same feat in 2021. More after the jump.
Continue reading2022 Post-Season: World Series UPDATED!
The 118th World Series is underway, the first contested by this season’s league champions. The 19 game difference in the regular season records of the the Astros and Phillies is the largest since the 22½ game spread between the Cubs and White Sox way back in the 3rd World Series in 1906. More after the jump.
Continue reading2022 Post-Season: League Championship Series UPDATED!
The NL is featuring two wildcard teams in its championship series, while the #1 and #2 seeds square off in the AL. More after the jump.
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