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Post by inger on Aug 5, 2024 0:04:14 GMT -5
Gehrig belted 23 grand slams during his career, which stood as an MLB record for more than 70 years until Alex Rodriguez eclipsed the mark in 2013. Rodriguez finished his career with 25. Manny Ramirez is third on the all-time list with 21…
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Post by inger on Aug 5, 2024 0:42:20 GMT -5
• Gehrig tallied at least 400 total bases in five different seasons, peaking at 447 in 1927 -- the third-highest single-season figure of all-time. Only six other players in MLB history have even recorded more than one season with at least 400 total bases, with Chuck Klein’s three such campaigns representing the next highest collection behind Gehrig. The last time any player topped 400 total bases was back in 2001, when Bonds, Luis Gonzalez, Todd Helton and Sammy Sosa all reached the benchmark. There was a bit of cheating involved for some of those fellows.
Imagine also adding well over 100 walks the those total bases…
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Post by inger on Aug 5, 2024 0:44:23 GMT -5
• Gehrig’s prime stands as a stupefying example of consistent excellence. In the 11-season span from 1927-37, Gehrig not only played in every single game, but also hit the following benchmarks in each season: A .300 average, a .424 OBP, a .583 slugging percentage, a 1.015 OPS and a 166 OPS+.
How many other players have produced 11 qualifying seasons with an OPS+ of at least 165? Just three: Ty Cobb, Ruth and Bonds, the cheater…
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Post by inger on Aug 5, 2024 0:46:08 GMT -5
• Gehrig is one of only 10 different players to win a batting Triple Crown since RBIs became an official statistic in 1920. And he's one of only four players during that time to win the MLB Triple Crown -- that's leading not just his league, but the Majors, in batting average, home runs and RBIs. Gehrig did it in 1934, when he batted .363 with 49 homers and 166 RBIs. The other three to do it: Hornsby (1925), Williams (1942) and Mickey Mantle (1956).
Extraordinary
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Post by fwclipper51 on Aug 5, 2024 17:23:42 GMT -5
August 8,1920-The New York Yankees would lose shortest game in AL history by the score of 1-0 that was played in just 1 hour and 13 minutes to the Tigers behind Starter Howard Ehmke. Yankees CF Ping Bodie added to embarrassment by falling for the hidden ball trick, when Yankees had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs in 5th inning.
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Post by inger on Aug 5, 2024 19:27:37 GMT -5
There’s so much that’s head and shoulders above every one that I could go on and on about Gehrig. I decided to sum up some of his odds and ends and then calll it a day so I can move on to other players:
Extraordinary odds and ends
• As great as he was in the regular season, Gehrig was maybe even greater in the World Series. Consider this: he had a career .340 batting average and .632 slugging percentage in the regular season, both among the best all-time. In the postseason? He had a .361 batting average and .731 slugging percentage. Both of those are second-best among all players with 100 or more career playoff plate appearances, trailing only Paul Molitor (.368) in average and Ruth (.744) in slugging. The Yankees won six of the seven World Series Gehrig played in.
• Although he’s not among the all-time top 20 in World Series games played -- his 34 games are tied for 24th -- Gehrig is tied for fifth in Fall Classic homers (10) and ranks third in RBIs (35). Gehrig recorded a 1.214 OPS in seven career World Series, tying him with Ruth for third in World Series history (min. 50 plate appearances) behind David Ortiz and George Springer.
• Gehrig played in a very different era than today. One sign of that? He rarely struck out, even while hitting for power.
The peak example was 1934, when Gehrig led the Majors in homers (49) and struck out just 31 times in 690 plate appearances. That’s 1.6 times as many homers as K’s. No other player in history has put together a season with more than 32 homers and at least 1.5 times as many big flies as K’s.
• Gehrig led the AL, if not all of the Major Leagues, in nearly every significant offensive category over the course of his career. Just in terms of the AL, he led in games played (seven times), plate appearances (twice), runs scored (four times), hits (once), doubles (twice), triples (once), home runs (three times), walks and intentional walks (three times each), batting average (once), OBP (five times), slugging (twice), OPS and OPS+ (three times each), total bases (four times), position player WAR (four times) and win probability added (six times).
• Gehrig’s star might have been born in 1920, when he hit a clutch, late-game grand slam over the fence at Chicago’s Wrigley Field for his Commerce (N.Y.) High School team that inspired newspapers to call him “The Babe Ruth of the High Schools in New York” -- three years before he joined the mighty Ruth in the Yankees lineup.
• On the day Yankee Stadium opened -- April 18, 1923 -- Gehrig was pitching for Columbia University against Williams College and struck out 17 batters to set a school record that stood for nearly half a century.
• Gehrig never hit 50 homers in a season, but he came close several times, socking 49 homers in 1934 and ‘36, 47 in ‘27 and 46 in ‘31. Gehrig and fellow Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew are the only players with multiple seasons in which they hit exactly 49 homers. Killebrew never had a 50-homer season, either. Gehrig also fell seven homers shy of 500. When he retired, his 493 homers put him second in MLB history behind Ruth…
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Post by chiyankee on Aug 5, 2024 21:07:20 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Aug 5, 2024 22:25:50 GMT -5
One other Gehrig note coms to mind. In 1934 When Mickey Cochran won the MVP, Cochran totaled 4.5 WAR. Gehrig finished fifth despite a walloping 10.0 WAR, out-homering Cochran 46-2…
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Post by inger on Aug 6, 2024 8:02:35 GMT -5
On 11-Jun-2005,Raphael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa & Ken Griffey Jr. all played in the G in Cincinnati when the Reds thrashed the Orioles 10-1.
That was the first time three 500+ homer guys appeared in the same game…
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Post by inger on Aug 6, 2024 8:05:37 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Aug 6, 2024 8:08:55 GMT -5
Doc Gooden broke a 25-year old record when he was only 19…
When he started the 1959 ASG for the AL, Jerry Walker was 20 years old. Gooden was 19 years, 7 months & 24 days old on 10-Jul-1984...
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Post by inger on Aug 6, 2024 8:25:48 GMT -5
The day Doc Gooden only lasted 1/3 of an inning in post season play:
Pitching for CLE on 30-Sep-1998 in G 2 of the ALDS, Gooden K’d former MVP Mo Vaughn, the G’s 4th batter. It was the only batter Doc retired that day...
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Post by inger on Aug 6, 2024 10:44:39 GMT -5
During the Eisenhower Presidency, Mickey Mantke led the AL with 283 HR. Eddie Matthews lad the NL with 313…
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Post by chiyankee on Aug 6, 2024 10:57:11 GMT -5
During the Eisenhower Presidency, Mickey Mantke led the AL with 283 HR. Eddie Matthews lad the NL with 313… Matthews has become one of the games most underappreciated players, you rarely hear his name mentioned among the great power hitters. |
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Post by inger on Aug 6, 2024 13:28:23 GMT -5
Insight into the career of a cup of coffee player:
Harvey Shank, the Major League Baseball player, was born on Monday, July 29, 1946, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Shank was 23 years old when he broke into the major leagues on May 16, 1970, with the California Angels.
Harvey Shank played baseball at Stanford University in 1967 and 1968, posting a career 1.10 ERA, the second best in Cardinals history at the time of his retirement. Harvey, when asked about his time in Stanford, often quips, "At Stanford, I majored in baseball and got a degree in political science."
Harvey Shank made his lone Major League Baseball appearance on May 16, 1970, pitching for the California Angels in an away game against the Oakland
In this game, Shank entered in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Angels trailing 7-2. He pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out one batter. Shank left the game in the top of the eighth inning when Chico Ruiz replaced him as a pinch hitter.
A frame-by-frame look at the thirteen batters who faced Harvey Shank:
5th Inning: Don Mincher, walked. Dave Duncan, grounded out to the shortstop, who threw to first for the out, Mincher advanced to second. Dick Green, popped out a high flyball that was cleanly fielded by the shortstop, out number two. Chuck Dobson, another flyball, deep to right field, easily caught for the third and final out. 0 runs, 0 hits.
6th Inning: Bert Campaneris recorded the first hit against Shank, a clean single past the first first baseman. Rick Monday, hard grounder towards first, who threw to second getting Campaneris (out number one), then tried for the double play, Monday safe at first. Felipe Alou, singled past the shortstop, runners on first and second. Reggie Jackson came to the plate with both runners on, but was walked, loading the bases. Sal Bando hit a high flyball into foul territory that was fielded by the third baseman, out number two. Bases still loaded, Don Mincher at the plate, but he grounded out to the shortstop, who threw to second for the third and final out. 0 runs, 2 hits.
7th Inning: Dave Duncan, was caught looking, giving Harvey Shank his first and only career strikeout. Dick Green hit a shallow flyball to right field that was cleanly fielded for the second out. Chuck Dobson hit a weak grounder towards third, but a sharp throw to first caught him easily, third and final out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 strikeout.
Shank did not pitch the eighth. Shank did not get another call from the bullpen. Shank's performance was commendable, three scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and two walks while striking out one batter, but he was sent down to the minors, and never pitched in the majors again — a sparkling career ERA of 0.00
After his brief stint in Major League Baseball, Harvey Shank transitioned to a successful career in the business side of sports. He joined the Phoenix Suns of the NBA as a sales and marketing executive, where he worked for over 40 years. His role involved various responsibilities, including promoting the team and managing relationships with sponsors and partners. In addition to his work with the Suns, Shank also pursued his passion for photography. His work was even featured on the cover of Nature Photographer magazine…
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