BaseballReference.com oddities

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Drunken Overseas Bettor
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In reply to W • 12:40p, 8/18/25
W said:
I looked up another knuckleballer...

Charlie Hough had a respectable 3.75 career ERA

for his 216 career wins

as much as I dislike Chris Berman, his call of Charlie Hough striking out the first batter he faced in the first game of the Florida Marlins history is an all-timer.

The crowd went ballistic and Berman called, "And the Marlins have won the World Series".

Them beating the Dodgers with Hershiser on the mound and Tommy LaSorda's fat ass in the dugout - the team and manager Hough had played for - in the first game of franchise history is a helluva thing.
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AgRyan04
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9:00p, 8/18/25
Wait, Hough only had 216 career wins after pitching for a hundred years?!?

I didn't realize he didn't become a starter until his mid-30s
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W
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In reply to Drunken Overseas Bettor • 9:09p, 8/18/25
AG
as an aside...

I read that Tawny's memorial service was held at Chuck's California home
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Drunken Overseas Bettor
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1:20a, 8/24/25
In 1968, Carl Yazstremski set the MLB record for the lowest batting average to win the batting titles: .301. This was the so-called year of the pitcher and led to the mound being lowered from 15 inches to 10, and shrunk the strike zone was lowered from knees-to-shoulders to knees-to-armpits.

1968 was the year that Bob Bigbson went 22-9 with a 1.12 ERA and Denny McLain went 31-6 for the TIgers. The entire AL hit .230 with the A's the top batting average team at .240 and the Yankees hitting .214 as a team.

I bring this up because whoever wins the NL batting title this year might be challenging Yaz's record. Currently Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner are tied for the lead at .301.

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jja79
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6:14p, 8/25/25
AG
I forgot to post this last Thursday on the actual anniversary. 50 years ago superior athletes Rick and Paul Reuschel became the first and only brothers to combine on a shared shutout when Rick went 6.2 innings and Paul 2.1 to beat the Dodgers 7-0.

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AgRyan04
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In reply to jja79 • 6:25p, 8/25/25
Go Cubs go!
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jja79
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In reply to AgRyan04 • 6:39p, 8/25/25
AG
I had forgotten how good Rick was. He won 214 games. Also a pretty good hitter with 187 hits.
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McInnis
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In reply to Drunken Overseas Bettor • 8:54a, 8/26/25
AG
Drunken Overseas Bettor said:
In 1968, Carl Yazstremski set the MLB record for the lowest batting average to win the batting titles: .301. This was the so-called year of the pitcher and led to the mound being lowered from 15 inches to 10, and shrunk the strike zone was lowered from knees-to-shoulders to knees-to-armpits.

1968 was the year that Bob Bigbson went 22-9 with a 1.12 ERA and Denny McLain went 31-6 for the TIgers. The entire AL hit .230 with the A's the top batting average team at .240 and the Yankees hitting .214 as a team.

I bring this up because whoever wins the NL batting title this year might be challenging Yaz's record. Currently Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner are tied for the lead at .301.



The 1968 All Star game was played in the Astrodome that year, the least friendly park to hitters. I guess it should have been a foregone conclusion that the final score would be 1-0. It was. Willie led off with a single and got to 3rd by being Willie, then scored on a double play ground out.

Bob Gibson who was superhuman all year finally became human in the 7th inning of Game 7 of the WS, giving up 4 runs in one inning. He had only given up four runs in a game twice that season during 34 starts.
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jja79
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In reply to McInnis • 12:09p, 8/26/25
AG
My dad and I drove from Fort Stockton to Houston to watch that All Star game.
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McInnis
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2:24p, 8/26/25
AG
On this day in 1951 the New York Giants were in the midst of their epic comeback in which they won 50 of their last 62 games to tie Brooklyn and force the legendary three game playoff vs the Dodgers.

On August 26 they swept a doubleheader against the Cubs. Sal "the Barber" Maglie of New York, known for intimidating National League batters with his inside pitches, couldn't intimidate this young Cubs first baseman who hit a 3 run homer to tie the first game before the Giants went on to win. Chuck Connors retired from baseball with two career home runs and a WAR of -0.8. But he's still only one of 13 players to have played in both mlb and the NBA.

He still makes regular appearances at Olsen Field.


Edited to reflect jk's correction about the playoff series. I've had that wrong for a long time.
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AgRyan04
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9:17p, 8/26/25
In 1993 Jose Rijos had a WAR of 9.2 and finished 5th in NL Cy Young voting. Maddux won it with a WAR of 5.8....but looking at their stat lines I'm not sure how there was such a huge disparity in WAR.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1993.shtml#all_NL_CYA_voting
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McInnis
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9:09a, 8/27/25
AG
Brian McTaggart has the story below in today's newsletter. In 2006 Willie Taveras set the Astros consecutive game hitting streak at 30 games. During that streak he had an amazing 0 for 11 slump. McTaggart explains how below.

"Aug. 27, 2006

Willy Taveras became the only player in franchise history to hit safely in 30 consecutive games, breaking Jeff Kent's previous record of 25 games set in 2004. Taveras hit .349 during the streak and remarkably had an 0-for-11 slump during it. How did he achieve that? Taveras singled in his first at-bat in an 86, 18-inning loss to the Cubs and went 0-for-8 the rest of the game. The next game he was hitless in his first three at-bats before beating out a bunt single in the seventh inning to extend the streak."
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jkag89
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In reply to McInnis • 12:04p, 8/27/25
Three game playoff. The NL had a three game series to decide the pennant when the season ended in a tie prior to divisional play in 1969. There are two other NL Pennants decided by a three game "extra series" and they also involved the Dodgers but after the move to LA:

1959 when LA defeated Milwaukee 2-0
1962 when SF defeated LA 2-1

Oddly enough the only time an AL season ended in a tie prior to divisional play, they only had a single extra game with Cleveland defeating the BoSox in 1948.
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W
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In reply to AgRyan04 • 12:51p, 8/27/25
AG
Jose Rijo actually hit .268 in 1993 with .648 OPS including 12 sac bunts

that boosted his overall WAR a bit
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AgRyan04
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In reply to W • 2:45p, 8/27/25
Now that is what this thread is all about!
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jja79
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4:30p, 8/29/25
AG
Randy Moffit, brother of Billie Jean King, died today. He pitched for the Astros in 1982. Spent most of his career with the Giants.

Must have pushed the emoji inadvertently.
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jja79
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11:03p, 8/29/25
AG
Thursday Taylor Rashi went 3 innings to save the game for the Diamondbacks against the Brewers. He became the 16th Diamondbacks pitcher to save a game this year setting a new MLB record.
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AgRyan04
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3:21p, 9/2/25
Don Baylor won the 1979 AL MVP with the 6th best WAR on his own team
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McInnis
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In reply to AgRyan04 • 9:17a, 9/3/25
AG
AgRyan04 said:
Don Baylor won the 1979 AL MVP with the 6th best WAR on his own team


Of all the incredible things I've read on this thread, this one has to rank near the top. I checked out Baylor's numbers for that year. He lead the league in runs scored (120) and rbis (139), and had an OPS of .901. But his WAR was only 3.7.

So what explains this? I know we've talked about how Lou Brock's horrendous defense pulled his career WAR way down, was Baylor even worse? I've never heard anything about this.
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Corporal Punishment
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In reply to McInnis • 10:26a, 9/3/25
AG
I don't understand much nuance about WAR but I do remember Don Baylor playing for the Angels and winning the MVP. Might his low WAR be due to him playing DH in over a third of their games?
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McInnis
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In reply to Corporal Punishment • 6:11p, 9/3/25
AG
I found this:

https://dailymcplay.com/2021/07/19/mlb-monday-1979-awards-analysis/

Baylor had a dWAR of -2.4 that year which is kind of hard to imagine for an outfielder/DH. The author argues that George Brett should have won MVP. His WAR was 8.6.
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Drunken Overseas Bettor
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8:03p, 9/3/25
'79 was was the first year the Angels made the playoffs after 19 years of sucking, so that was probably the real tipping point in the MVP race. '79 Brett is a master-class in all-around stat threat, but the Angels won the division by 3 games so that probably sealed the deal. Brett finished third behind Fred Singleton (BAL).

Really seems like Brett or Freddy Lynn was the real MVP - Lynn led the league in BA / OBP / SLG

That year also was Nolan's only game pitched in the post-season as an AL player despite playing 13 seasons in the league between the Angels and Rangers.


In true Nolan fashion - he was dominant - 7 innings, 1 ER, 8 K, and his bullpen blew it, they lost 6-3 to the Orioles.
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AgRyan04
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In reply to Drunken Overseas Bettor • 8:06p, 9/3/25
Having a second MVP would have rightfully put Lynn in the HOF a decade or two ago
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Drunken Overseas Bettor
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In reply to AgRyan04 • 8:09p, 9/3/25
AgRyan04 said:
Having a second MVP would have rightfully put Lynn in the HOF a decade or two ago

I only saw him play twice, but what an athlete.

After 7 years with Boston from age 22-28, Lynn had a career OPS of .902, hitting .308 and slugging .520 But even in those early years he only got to 150 games once.
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AgRyan04
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In reply to Drunken Overseas Bettor • 8:14p, 9/3/25
Something I didn't realize until I was looking at his stats today was he played only 5% fewer games than Jim Rice
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McInnis
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In reply to Drunken Overseas Bettor • 10:45p, 9/3/25
AG
Drunken Overseas Bettor said:
'79 was was the first year the Angels made the playoffs after 19 years of sucking, so that was probably the real tipping point in the MVP race. '79 ...


There were four expansion teams in the early 60s. Baseball was rough on expansion teams then. There was no free agency then so teams couldn't buy a roster like they can now. So they struggled. It took Houston and New York 8 years before breaking .500 for the first time, and Washington (now Texas) 9 years. But improbably the Angels did it in their second year finishing in 3rd place with a record of 86-76.
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McInnis
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In reply to agsalaska • 7:41a, 9/4/25
AG
agsalaska said:
Not sure if this thread will have any legs or not. Maybe I am the only person that can spend hours on baseballreference.com combing thru baseball statistics that will have zero positive influence on my life. But I do it all of the time.

Il give you an example of an oddball I discovered recently(I feel like I have typed this already once somewhere)

Babe Ruth made 147 starts as a pitcher, but only 4 of those were with the Yankees and there is a 9 year gap between starts 2 and 3 and a 3 year gap between 3 and 4. His last two starts were both against the Red Sox and both on the last day of the season.

1930 he thru a complete game for the 3rd place Yankees on the last day against a 100 loss Red Sox team
1933 he thru a complete game for the 2nd place Yankees against an 86 loss Red Sox team.

Won both games.

Both games were one game makeups for I am assuming rainouts and were split between Fenway in 30 and Yankee Stadium in 33.

I assume the start in 33 was to sell tickets. He was 38 years old and in his second to last season with NYY.

Odd.



In the OP agsalaska wondered if this thread would have legs. That was five years ago today and this is surely one of the longest running threads on Texags, so there's the answer.

My contribution for today is from something that happened this week in 1947 (Sept. 3) to be exact.

The Yankees beat the Red Sox in Fenway 11-2. They had 18 hits, every one of them a single. Joe Dimaggio and Tommy Henrich each had 4 hits. That year the Yankees won the WS, starting a run that would see them win it 10 times in the next 16 years.
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Drunken Overseas Bettor
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In reply to McInnis • 10:47a, 9/4/25
McInnis said:
Drunken Overseas Bettor said:
'79 was was the first year the Angels made the playoffs after 19 years of sucking, so that was probably the real tipping point in the MVP race. '79 ...


There were four expansion teams in the early 60s. Baseball was rough on expansion teams then. There was no free agency then so teams couldn't buy a roster like they can now. So they struggled. It took Houston and New York 8 years before breaking .500 for the first time, and Washington (now Texas) 9 years. But improbably the Angels did it in their second year finishing in 3rd place with a record of 86-76.

I think I posted earlier this year about how the Mets have never reached .500 as a franchise because of how bad they were from 62-68. It's also ironic that the year that the Angels finally made the playoffs was the year that Nolan was a free agent. He walked to the Astros and was then on the Astros' first-ever playoff team the next year (80). That has probably happened again, but was I'm sure a rarity back in that era.
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AgRyan04
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In reply to Drunken Overseas Bettor • 1:09p, 9/4/25
That's crazy - I didn't realize that Ryan was on each of those teams first ever playoff rosters!
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Drunken Overseas Bettor
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In reply to AgRyan04 • 2:18p, 9/4/25
AgRyan04 said:
That's crazy - I didn't realize that Ryan was on each of those teams first ever playoff rosters!

I didn't make the connection until I was typing my post, but it really is pretty staggering.
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McInnis
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In reply to Drunken Overseas Bettor • 2:23p, 9/4/25
AG
Drunken Overseas Bettor said:
McInnis said:
Drunken Overseas Bettor said:
'79 was was the first year the Angels made the playoffs after 19 years of sucking, so that was probably the real tipping point in the MVP race. '79 ...


There were four expansion teams in the early 60s. Baseball was rough on expansion teams then. There was no free agency then so teams couldn't buy a roster like they can now. So they struggled. It took Houston and New York 8 years before breaking .500 for the first time, and Washington (now Texas) 9 years. But improbably the Angels did it in their second year finishing in 3rd place with a record of 86-76.

I think I posted earlier this year about how the Mets have never reached .500 as a franchise because of how bad they were from 62-68. It's also ironic that the year that the Angels finally made the playoffs was the year that Nolan was a free agent. He walked to the Astros and was then on the Astros' first-ever playoff team the next year (80). That has probably happened again, but was I'm sure a rarity back in that era.


And Nolan was on the Met's first playoff team as well.
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Drunken Overseas Bettor
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In reply to McInnis • 2:35p, 9/4/25
McInnis said:
Drunken Overseas Bettor said:
McInnis said:
Drunken Overseas Bettor said:
'79 was was the first year the Angels made the playoffs after 19 years of sucking, so that was probably the real tipping point in the MVP race. '79 ...


There were four expansion teams in the early 60s. Baseball was rough on expansion teams then. There was no free agency then so teams couldn't buy a roster like they can now. So they struggled. It took Houston and New York 8 years before breaking .500 for the first time, and Washington (now Texas) 9 years. But improbably the Angels did it in their second year finishing in 3rd place with a record of 86-76.

I think I posted earlier this year about how the Mets have never reached .500 as a franchise because of how bad they were from 62-68. It's also ironic that the year that the Angels finally made the playoffs was the year that Nolan was a free agent. He walked to the Astros and was then on the Astros' first-ever playoff team the next year (80). That has probably happened again, but was I'm sure a rarity back in that era.


And Nolan was on the Met's first playoff team as well.

Wow that is nuts and he was on that Ranger team that .... oh, nevermind.
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McInnis
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In reply to Drunken Overseas Bettor • 3:02p, 9/4/25
AG
Drunken Overseas Bettor said:
McInnis said:
Drunken Overseas Bettor said:
McInnis said:
Drunken Overseas Bettor said:
'79 was was the first year the Angels made the playoffs after 19 years of sucking, so that was probably the real tipping point in the MVP race. '79 ...


There were four expansion teams in the early 60s. Baseball was rough on expansion teams then. There was no free agency then so teams couldn't buy a roster like they can now. So they struggled. It took Houston and New York 8 years before breaking .500 for the first time, and Washington (now Texas) 9 years. But improbably the Angels did it in their second year finishing in 3rd place with a record of 86-76.

I think I posted earlier this year about how the Mets have never reached .500 as a franchise because of how bad they were from 62-68. It's also ironic that the year that the Angels finally made the playoffs was the year that Nolan was a free agent. He walked to the Astros and was then on the Astros' first-ever playoff team the next year (80). That has probably happened again, but was I'm sure a rarity back in that era.


And Nolan was on the Met's first playoff team as well.

Wow that is nuts and he was on that Ranger team that .... oh, nevermind.

You went there! Had the same thought, but thought better of it.

Edited to be fair. If Nolan had pitched just three more years he would have been part of the first playoff team of all four expansion franchises of the early 60s.
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jja79
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In reply to McInnis • 3:20p, 9/4/25
AG
The amount of young pitching talent The Mets produced in.a short time was ridiculous. Seaver, Koosman, Gentry, Ryan, McGraw, McAndrew. Nuts.
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