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PITCHING, DEFENSE, AND ANTAGONISM ARE THE KEYS TO WINNING
Q: Has any manager ever won 500 games with three different teams?
-- Yajcssv
A: Leo Durocher is the only manager in history to win 500 games with three different clubs. Though remembered mostly for his aggressive nature and constant spats with umpires, Leo the Lip was one of the most successful skippers in history. His managerial career can be divided into three parts: eight years with the Dodgers, eight with the Giants, and seven with the Cubs. The former starting shortstop player-managed in Brooklyn, where he won 738 games overall and a pennant in 1941. In the spring of 1947 he temporarily defied his bad-boy reputation by crushing a players revolt against Jackie Robinson, but quickly made up for it by associating with mobsters and getting suspended for the year. Midway through 1948 he was fired by nemesis Branch Rickey, but replaced Mel Ott at the helm of the cross-town rival Giants. He brought two pennants to the Polo Grounds, including the 1951 title that culminated in the “Shot Heard Round the World.” Three years later he won 97 games and his only championship. He retired temporarily in 1955 with a 637-523 record in New York. He had a moderately successful return in 1966 with the Chicago Cubs, notching 535 victories but no playoff appearances.
Back to top	-- Jake Thomases

DING DONG, THE STREAK IS DEAD
Q: Who replaced Ripken when his consecutive games streak ended?
-- Jody Taylor
A: When Cal Ripken Jr. ended his streak on September 20, 1998, manager Ray Miller inserted prospect Ryan Minor into the lineup at third base. Ripken returned the next game. Minor, tabbed as Ripken’s eventual successor, has hit just .185 in limited duty since then, while old man Ripken just keeps rolling along, hitting .300 since that point.
Back to top	-- Jake Thomases

THAT CLASSIC REY ORDONEZ POWER STROKE
Q: Who holds the record for most runs-batted-in for a season without hitting a single home run?
-- Anthony Ventarola
A: Nowadays it's impossible to play a whole week without slamming one over the fence, but in the early part of the century it was not out of the ordinary to go an entire season without a homer. Since no one was hitting them in abundance, guys with zero home runs could easily be found batting near the middle of the lineup. One such player was third-baseman Lave Cross, who piled up 1,378 RBIs, more than Johnny Bench, Duke Snider, or Pete Rose. Cross knocked in all those runs with the benefit of only 47 home runs, far fewer than his fellows on the all-time RBI list. His best season came in 1894, when he knocked in a career-high 132 with seven homers, also a career-high. An impressive ratio, but not as impressive as his 1902 season. That year, with the Philadelphia Athletics, he pushed 108 men across the plate, good for third in the league. However, he did it without hitting a single home run. Even Boston pitcher Cy Young hit one out that year. Cross accumulated his many RBIs with the help of a .342 batting average (fourth in the league) and 39 doubles (third in the league). Since 1900, no other player has had as many RBIs without a home run.
Back to top	-- Jake Thomases

BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT COOKED ENOUGH
Q: Why are lefty catchers so rare?
-- Deliriumltd
A: Of the 30 current major-league starting catchers, not one of them throws left-handed. In fact there are several, like the Tigers’ Robert Fick and the Blue Jays’ Darrin Fletcher, that bat lefty but throw righty. No Hall-of-Fame backstop was a lefty thrower either, but Yogi Berra, Mickey Cochrane, and Bill Dickey all batted from the left side. The reason is basestealers. When there is a runner on second, as opposed to first, the pitcher is hard-pressed to pick them off. It is mostly up to the catcher to nail the runner at third should he attempt to steal. This is made a bit tougher by the fact that most hitters are right-handed, and stand in the batter's box directly between the catcher and third base. But as long as the catcher is a righty, he can jump forward and have a clear line to throw. Were he a lefty, he would have to jump backwards, taking all of his momentum out of the throw -- his ability to cut down runners at third would be severely hindered. So in the minors, coaches teach young lefty catchers to throw right-handed.
Back to top	-- Jake Thomases

BIG MAC, SLAMMIN' SAMMY, AND...UMM...ROGER...MARIS
Q: Has anyone ever struck out Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Maris?
-- Mike Leary
A: Roger Maris retired in 1968, and Sammy Sosa made his major-league debut in 1989. To K both of them, a pitcher would have had to last at least 22 years in the bigs, and still be striking people out well into his forties. Hmm, this sounds like a job for…Look! Up on the mound! It’s a pitcher, it’s a Southerner, it's…Strom Thurmond? No! It’s the slightly younger Nolan Ryan! The ageless wonder debuted with the Mets at the very end of Maris’s career, when he was playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. Ryan racked up 133 Ks in just 134 innings his rookie year, one of which was Maris. More than two decades later, Ryan joined young hacker Mark McGwire in the American League. McGwire’s propensity to whiff made him an easy victim. White Sox youngster Sosa, who had been a teammate of Ryan’s in Texas, also was a free swinger. Ryan, still throwing heat well into his 40s, quickly notched a strikeout against him as well.
Back to top	-- Jake Thomases

IT CAN BE DIFFICULT DEALING WITH LOSS(ES)
Q: What is the record for losses by a pitcher who has not started a game all year?
-- Lee Strub
A: Atlanta Braves closer Gene Garber holds the record for most losses by a reliever. In 1979 he went 6-16 for the Bravos, saving 25 games in the process. Because they were fourth-to-last in scoring, the team did not win its share of extra-inning battles, and Garber took some of those losses. He was no stranger to losing his share of relief appearances, however. Though he didn’t start a single game after 1973, he endured four seasons of double-digit losses.
Back to top	-- Jake Thomases

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