Trivia/History thread

[Scraps 13,561]

20 hours ago, YGIFS said:

What slugger is the only MLB player in history to lead his league in Home Runs for 7 straight seasons?  Fun fact-they were also his first seven seasons in the Show.  No peaking.  

I looked it up, but I am surprised someone hasn't gotten this yet.  

[Huckleberry 32,861]

That one is Kiner, missed the question. The latest question I have no clue. Logically trying to think of someone who was injured during the first half of the season to hit both requirements but can't come up with anyone. Seems like Kirk Gibson was always gimpy so I'll guess him. 

[dcar00 14,210]

3 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

That one is Kiner, missed the question. The latest question I have no clue. Logically trying to think of someone who was injured during the first half of the season to hit both requirements but can't come up with anyone. Seems like Kirk Gibson was always gimpy so I'll guess him. 

Gibson is a good guess but no.

[dcar00 14,210]

3 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

That one is Kiner, missed the question. The latest question I have no clue. Logically trying to think of someone who was injured during the first half of the season to hit both requirements but can't come up with anyone. Seems like Kirk Gibson was always gimpy so I'll guess him. 

I had to look up Kiner.  never would have gotten that one.  My first thought was Frank Robinson.  look at Kiner stats the guy is a probable top 5 "what if" player.  missed a good 3 years(maybe more) due to WWII on the front end of his career and maybe 6 or 7 on the back end due to career ending back injury.  10 years and 369 HR's 1015 RBI 1451 hits 48 WAR is strong.

[YGIFS 19,450]

This is a fucking tough one.  I wanted to say Kirk Gibson '88 right off the bat, but that was actually his second highest career total for GP and PA, I always pictured him gimpy and injured the whole year because of that famous HR.  Then I thought about somebody who had a lot of PA's, but walked so fucking much, it brought down their AB #'s.  Then I thought it was a trick in that every now and again some pitcher will come in as PH like Zambrano and stick in the OF for an inning so maybe that counts for some badass pitcher who won MVP and played 3 innings in the field with 2 AB's.  

So when I was done failing at that, figured think about the standout "Least Most Valuable" guys over the years.  The ones who won the award who probably should not have because they got hot at the end of the year and recency bias kicks in.  Even still, most of the those guys are pitchers or still made the All-Star team in the field.  Searched Dave Parker, Terry Pendleton, et. al.  But all batted well over 550 times.  

But in the list of "probably shouldn't have been an all-star, let alone an MVP"...one man stands alone in the field.  

1979 Willie Stargell.  No all-star game.  Just 424 AB's, Just 119 hits and 82 RBI.  Didn't finish in the Top 5 in any offensive category except strikeouts.  And played a lackluster 1b after moving in from the OF after he got older.  Stargell stays red hot in October, taking home the NLCS MVP and the Pennant, and then the WS MVP and the Ring.  

Fun fact---though many writers feel his teammate deserved the MVP more than Willie, in Dave Parker.  Stargell actually was technically co-MVP of the NL that season, tying votes precisely with someone you also know as the 1979 NL MVP, Keith Hernandez.  

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

4 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

1979 NL MVP, Keith Hernandez. 

Nice season, pretty boy!

[YGIFS 19,450]

If you watch archival footage of then Commissioner Kuhn handing Stargell and Hernandez each their trophies and shaking their hands for the photographers...you can clearly see Stargell mumble to himself, "Who does this guy think he is?" and you can see, on the other side of Kuhn-the other winner mumbling, "I'm Keith Hernandez."  

[dcar00 14,210]

That was going to be my follow up. Only time in baseball for co mvps award.

[YGIFS 19,450]

This one is gonna read a little clunky:

What NL hitter holds the record for most at-bats versus one pitcher without ever having struck out against him?  

Hint: both were amazing HOF'ers but this is just fucking sick.  

[Scraps 13,561]

First thought is Tony Gwynn v Greg Maddux

[WBT 20,572]

Gwynn had great numbers against all 3 of the Braves guys if I'm remembering right

[YGIFS 19,450]

^

Yep.  39-91 v. Maddux.  With the 0 K's/.982 OPS/6 IBB's in just 91 at-bats for a guy who never hit a home run off of him.  

versus Smoltz: 30-65

versus Glaving: 29-93

absolutely ridiculous.  

Fun fact, Gwynn's worst performance versus any pitcher with over 20 PA's was against Frank DiPino.  23 PA's, 1 walk, 1 sac hit, 1 sac fly.  Otherwise 1-20, .050 BA.  Not great, Bob! 

  

[Huckleberry 32,861]

Tris Speaker is the all time leader in doubles with 792. Miguel Cabrera leads active players with 617 and ranks 14th on the all time list.

Who is second among active players and where does he rank on the all time list +/- 20 spots?

[Scraps 13,561]

My initial guess is Freddie Freeman

No clue on all time list...230th?

[Huckleberry 32,861]

15 minutes ago, Scraps said:

My initial guess is Freddie Freeman

No clue on all time list...230th?

He's 3rd on the active list so excellent guess 

[YGIFS 19,450]

Whoever it is has to be like 100 spots below Cabrera.  Miguel's been churning out 30-35 doubles on the reg for almost 20 years straight.  Since MLB over course-corrected for the shift single/homer v. walk/strikeout model nearly a decade ago...the double has become a lost art.  Whoever it is, has to be as old as Cabrera.  Cruz is the only one I can think of without looking.  But he's a little more swing for the upper deck kinda guy last several years.  

[WBT 20,572]

Yeah, is Cruz still considered active?  If so, that would probably be my guess.  Somewhere in the 175 range on rank?

[Beau Vine 54,230]

1 hour ago, Huckleberry said:

Tris Speaker is the all time leader in doubles with 792. Miguel Cabrera leads active players with 617 and ranks 14th on the all time list.

Who is second among active players and where does he rank on the all time list +/- 20 spots?

I actually heard this a couple of weeks ago when Paul hit his 400th double.  He was in 5th place active and something like 50 back of 2nd, so Cabrera will retire with something like a 200 double lead.

[Huckleberry 32,861]

It's Joey Votto in 103rd place. Only one current player in the all time top 100 and it's not like doubles are as rare as sac bunts and stolen bases these days. Pretty crazy to me. 

[Huckleberry 32,861]

Followup question - who is the active career leader in triples and where does he rank +/- 40 spots? 

[Scraps 13,561]

Future Astros player Andrew Mccutchen?

200th

[Scraps 13,561]

Dumb...i actually thought of the leader, but ended up going with wrong guy

[Huckleberry 32,861]

He's 6th active. Not as close on the rank of the active leader. 

[Beau Vine 54,230]

2 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

Followup question - who is the active career leader in triples and where does he rank +/- 40 spots? 

About the only place you regularly see triples now is Coors Field, so I'll take the longest-tenured Rockie for the active leader, and that would be Blackmon.  

[Huckleberry 32,861]

Correct. His 60 triples rank 519th on the all time list. 

[dcar00 14,210]

there is one color picture on the baseball reference all time triples leaders.  Stan Musial, 177.

begs the question on unbreakable records.  Ryan's K's and 309 career triples Sam Crawford are certainly 2 because parks(no crazy deep CF) and game play(starters go 6 or maybe 7 on average) has changed dramatically.

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

Cy Young's 511 wins will stand until Robot Pitcher 3.0 comes along. 

20 wins per season is rare. To do it in 25 seasons would be superhuman. 

[Scraps 13,561]

29 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Cy Young's 511 wins will stand until Robot Pitcher 3.0 comes along. 

20 wins per season is rare. To do it in 25 seasons would be superhuman. 

Na long after we are all dead and gone some dumbass people will change the rule to "all a pitcher has to do is start the game and if their team wins they win!" 

Some dude will pitch like 100 innings in the season and end up with 50 wins 

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

Did you throw in the bullpen at any time during the game? That's a win.

[YGIFS 19,450]

There's a win, that's a win.  

-How is that a win?

Yeah, nobody is touching Cy Young for Games Started, Wins, Innings Pitched, or Complete Games.  

I would posit that if the game keeps dicking around with this HR at all costs mantra, and these insane high strikeout rates persist, it's only a 5% change...but Ryan's K record could fall.  Somebody would have to start 30-35 games starting at 20 years of age.  And go 20-25 seasons at 225 K's/year.  Not unheard of, Randy Johnson did that pace in an era where guys were still trying to hit liners for singles and doubles.  Very improbable but with the changes in the game, not completely impossible like it used to be.  Other issue though would be managers comfortable with letting their guy go 7+-8 as S.O.P. instead of 5+-7 as it is now.  

And yeah, although the average hitter is faster on the bases now than in Crawford's day, the immutable laws of physiology wrt arm strength and physics of the ballpark's dimensions---nobody's gonna get anywhere close to that triples record.  

Unless hitting it out of the ballpark becomes an out like beer league co-ed softball, Henderson's stolen base record is safe for centuries.

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

16 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

There's a win, that's a win.  

-How is that a win?

It's a league about NOTHING.

[Helobious 9,454]

Dimgaggios hit streak record is unbreakable as well. 80 years and no one has gotten remotely close. 

[Beau Vine 54,230]

2 hours ago, Scraps said:

Na long after we are all dead and gone some dumbass people will change the rule to "all a pitcher has to do is start the game and if their team wins they win!" 

That's not any dumber than the current rule.

[Beau Vine 54,230]

46 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

And yeah, although the average hitter is faster on the bases now than in Crawford's day, the immutable laws of physiology wrt arm strength and physics of the ballpark's dimensions---nobody's gonna get anywhere close to that triples record.  

The triples record is almost entirely the result of ballpark construction.  If the Rockies replaced Coors Field with an even bigger park and drafted someone like Elly/Witt/Carroll/Trea and kept him his whole career, the triples record would go down.

[Huckleberry 32,861]

Yep, but the infatuation with home runs isn't going anywhere any time soon. Maybe if I luck out into a few huge Powerball jackpots in a three year span. If I ever owned a MLB team I promise you the ballpark would be all about balls in play and gap hits. And if I had that much money the fan and batter complaints wouldn't make a shit to me. 

[Beau Vine 54,230]

23 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Yep, but the infatuation with home runs isn't going anywhere any time soon. Maybe if I luck out into a few huge Powerball jackpots in a three year span. If I ever owned a MLB team I promise you the ballpark would be all about balls in play and gap hits. And if I had that much money the fan and batter complaints wouldn't make a shit to me. 

I salute you! 

If they ever put a team in Mexico City, we'd see the triples record challenged.

[Beau Vine 54,230]

This isn't trivia, but I figure if you're in this thread, you probably have a lot of love for BRef, and I just found my favorite thing ever in BRef...  CC Sabathia's "Most Similar By Ages" for age 20 is... Cool Papa Bell!

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sabatc.01.shtml

[Helobious 9,454]

31 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Yep, but the infatuation with home runs isn't going anywhere any time soon. Maybe if I luck out into a few huge Powerball jackpots in a three year span. If I ever owned a MLB team I promise you the ballpark would be all about balls in play and gap hits. And if I had that much money the fan and batter complaints wouldn't make a shit to me. 

One of my favorite Cheap Seats moments was when they interviewed the Cardinals owner and presented him with their own design for the new Busch stadium which was being built at the time. It was 700 ft to dead center and 400 ft down the lines or something ridiculous like that.

[WBT 20,572]

Bring back foul territory while we're at it.

That's been a pet theory of mine to speed up games.

[dcar00 14,210]

1 hour ago, Helobious said:

Dimgaggios hit streak record is unbreakable as well. 80 years and no one has gotten remotely close. 

the number of AB's per game hasn't really changed.  It is way more possible than the records we have talked about but is extremely unlikely.  shift rules may actually help.

[dcar00 14,210]

2 hours ago, YGIFS said:

There's a win, that's a win.  

-How is that a win?

Yeah, nobody is touching Cy Young for Games Started, Wins, Innings Pitched, or Complete Games.  

I would posit that if the game keeps dicking around with this HR at all costs mantra, and these insane high strikeout rates persist, it's only a 5% change...but Ryan's K record could fall.  Somebody would have to start 30-35 games starting at 20 years of age.  And go 20-25 seasons at 225 K's/year.  Not unheard of, Randy Johnson did that pace in an era where guys were still trying to hit liners for singles and doubles.  Very improbable but with the changes in the game, not completely impossible like it used to be.  Other issue though would be managers comfortable with letting their guy go 7+-8 as S.O.P. instead of 5+-7 as it is now.  

And yeah, although the average hitter is faster on the bases now than in Crawford's day, the immutable laws of physiology wrt arm strength and physics of the ballpark's dimensions---nobody's gonna get anywhere close to that triples record.  

Unless hitting it out of the ballpark becomes an out like beer league co-ed softball, Henderson's stolen base record is safe for centuries.

I suppose another Ryan could show up.  RJ was a) LH and b) could throw seeds and still could barely get within 1000 K's of Ryan.  zone is smaller.  you aren't getting Maddux corners anymore.  very rare for a guy to even get to 300 K's these days.  just not enough innings for starters.  RJ didn't even average 7 innings per game and he was a starter his whole career. but yes it is more probable than triples or wins or complete games.

[dcar00 14,210]

On 7/17/2023 at 11:36 AM, Beau Vine said:

About the only place you regularly see triples now is Coors Field, so I'll take the longest-tenured Rockie for the active leader, and that would be Blackmon.  

It is interesting because a triple is one of the most exciting plays in baseball IMO.  Play at the plate, HR stealing catch being the others.

[Beau Vine 54,230]

Only pitcher with World Series wins in 3 decades?

Bonus: What was special about his first win?

[VirginiaLonghorn 4,771]

19 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Only pitcher with World Series wins in 3 decades?

Bonus: What was special about his first win?

Jim Palmer .. first WS W was against Sandy Koufax (I think).

[Beau Vine 54,230]

1 hour ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

Jim Palmer .. first WS W was against Sandy Koufax (I think).

Bingo, and it was a shutout.  Palmer was 20.  And it was Koufax's last game.  I knew you'd get this.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Beau Vine

[VirginiaLonghorn 4,771]

7 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Bingo, and it was a shutout.  Palmer was 20.  And it was Koufax's last game.  I knew you'd get this.

That 4 game sweep put the O’s on my baseball radar.  Good pitching really does beat good hitting.

[WBT 20,572]

Just looked that series up.  The Orioles allowed 2 runs all series and used 4 total pitchers.

[Beau Vine 54,230]

29 minutes ago, WBT said:

Just looked that series up.  The Orioles allowed 2 runs all series and used 4 total pitchers.

Orioles beat Drysdale 5-2 in G1 and then threw 3 straight shutouts.  

(I'm reading Kepner's new book now.)

Edited July 23, 2023 by Beau Vine

[YGIFS 19,450]

The lines on that World Series are fucking insane.  Orioles use 4 pitchers total.  3 CG's and a seriously long relief stint in game #1 (6.33 IP) to sweep.

Orioles hit a whopping .200 for the series, .267 OBP/.  What you'd expect from a Dodger pitching staff that featured 3 future HOF'ers.  Dodger bats had an OPS .260+ points below their season effort.  Also, Baltimore makes no errors to Dodgers 1. Crazy ass series.  Never be another one like it for the rest of our lives.  All the hitting on both teams, only guy overall hit over .286  

An entire World Series took 542 minutes to complete, 9 hours.  That's it, it was all over.  

 

[WBT 20,572]

1 hour ago, Beau Vine said:

(I'm reading Kepner's new book now.)

How is it?  Both of his books look good but I haven't gotten around to them.