In 2011, a player in the NL East had a two-piece statistical combination that had only been done twice before in MLB history.

• Both stats are basic counting stats that you would have found on the back of a 1950s baseball card.
• Both stats are of the “more is better” variety; the combination was a “good news, bad news” story.
• One of the two previous players did it as a rookie; the other was a grizzled veteran.

Who did what?

(Note: The mystery has been solved — congrats to jsg — click “Read the rest…” for the answer.)

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From Tim Kurkjian’s appreciation of Gary Carter:

“People ask me who is the best catcher I ever threw to, and the answer is always Gary Carter,” said Ed Lynch, who pitched for the Mets when Carter was with the team. “I don’t say that because he was a great caller of games, or that he blocked every ball in the dirt, or that he caught every game. I say that because every game I pitched, he hit a three-run homer.”

Now, that’s obvious hyperbole; he doesn’t mean that Carter hit a 3-run HR literally every game that Lynch pitched. But I had to chuckle on discovering that Carter never hit a 3-run HR or grand slam in a game that Lynch pitched.

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1975 Topps #1: Hank Aaron Highlights

On August 8, 2007, Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run in the major leagues, passing Hank Aaron as the all-time leader.

Those are the facts….but does public perception match? Continue reading →

Here’s a quick look at the best MLB players named “Gary” or “Carter”.

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Hall of Fame Expos: Gary Carter, flanked by Andre Dawson and future Hall-of-Famer Tim Raines / Icon SMI

The inevitable has happened, with Gary Carter’s passing today from cancer.

Carter had a very large personality and had a million-dollar smile. Just this past Saturday I posted a recent picture of him, and it’s hard not to smile when looking at him.

I know that some criticized Carter, saying that his happy-go-lucky persona was engineered to curry favor with the public and increase his endorsement revenue. If so, he was damned good at faking it, because he always had that same enthusiasm and charm, and he did it all while earning himself a spot in the Hall of Fame as one of the game’s best catchers.

Click through for some stats on Carter’s career.

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This is my last animation for a while…enjoy. Continue reading →

Ross Ohlendorf / Icon SMI

The Red Sox have signed Ross Ohlendorf, who pitched for the Pirates over the last few years.

Numerous reports about the signing have cited the fact that Ohlendorf has a 2-14 record over the last 2 seasons. That’s true, but what does it really mean? Continue reading →

In 1993, both Mike Fetters and Paul Gibson did something really unusual. Continue reading →