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BARTENDER, GIMME AN OUT...AND MAKE IT A DOUBLE
Q: What is the record for double plays in a season?
-- John Flanagan
A: Only 10 teams in history have turned 200 double plays in a season. Amazingly, the Philadelphia Athletics did so in back-to-back-to-back seasons. In 1949 the A’s turned a record 217, followed by 208 in 1950 and 204 in 1951. The trend did not continue, as they finished with the second-fewest in the league the next year.
Connie Mack’s 1949 crew featured Hank Majeski at third, Eddie Joost at short, Pete Suder at second, and defensive specialist Ferris “Burrhead” Fain as the anchor at first. Joost and Fain stayed on the next two seasons, but Majeski was traded to the White Sox and Suder was hurt for much of 1950. Suder returned at full strength the next year and Majeski was traded back the A’s, restoring their infield of 1949. So although there was some consistency in the personnel, it doesn’t fully explain why those teams turned so many double plays. More likely it has to do with the pitching staff, which was quite poor over that three-year span. In 1949, A’s pitchers put opponents on base 36% of the time, third-worst in the majors. In 1950 they were even worse, allowing a .376 on-base percentage, absolute last in baseball. In 1951 they had improved to .347, though that was still third-worst in the American League. With all those baserunners, ground balls, were more likely to become double play balls. Still, there have been plenty of bad-pitching teams that did not turn nearly as many DPs, so the Philadelphia infield must be given some credit.
Q: Who was the youngest player to win a batting title?
-- Jennifer Gronau
A: The battle to be the youngest player ever to win a batting title was much like a batting race itself – it came down to the last day. For a long time, 38 years to be exact, Hall-of-Famer Ty Cobb held the distinction. When he won his first batting title in 1907, he was but a child at 20 years old. Of course, the Georgia Peach went on to prove his worth with 11 more crowns in 21 years. Twenty-five years after his retirement, another Tigers outfield phenom rose to challenge Cobb’s mark. Al Kaline made his debut for Detroit in 1953, at the tender age of 18. Though he treaded water for two years, he made his presence felt in 1955, hitting .340 and winning the batting title. Like Cobb, Kaline was 20 years old at the time. Like Cobb, Kaline’s birthday was in December. The race to be the youngest batting champ in history did indeed come down to one day. In a photo finish, Kaline’s December 19th birthday beat out Cobb’s December 18th birthday by the smallest of margins. Kaline’s record stands to this day, probably until another Tigers outfielder with a December 20th birthday breaks it.
RUTH USED THESE ONLY AFTER HIS FAVORITE BAT, FRED, BROKE
Q: What did Babe Ruth call his bat?
-- James W. Brown
A: Ruth had three bats, all of which had names. They were easily identifiable, as each had a different color. Black Betsy was, obviously, black. Ruth, who supposedly modeled his swing after Shoeless Joe Jackson’s, also borrowed that bat name from the banned Black Sox outfielder. The Babe’s other bats were an ash blond named Big Bertha and a titian named Beautiful Bella. On September 30, 1927, Bella was at her most beautiful, crushing home run #60 into Yankee Stadium's right-field bleachers.
Q: How many games played in a previous season exclude a player from eligibility for Rookie of the Year?
-- Cynthia French
A: Originally, baseball writers were told to use their own guidelines in determining rookie status. In 1950, Cleveland youngster Al Rosen did not get a single vote, despite his league-leading 37 homers. Boston’s Walt Dropo, who was certainly deserving, won the award instead. However, the determination that Rosen was ineligible based on his 58 previous at-bats, while Dropo’s 41 at-bats were acceptable, did raise some eyebrows. So, in 1957, official specifications were handed down by the league. A player was only a rookie if he had less than 75 at-bats or 45 innings pitched to his credit. He was also disqualified if he had been on a major-league roster between May 15 and September 1. These rules were slightly altered soon after, and the commissioner’s office handed down its final ruling in 1971. Those guidelines state that a player must have less than 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched, and 45 days on the roster to be eligible for the Rookie of the Year.
A: After signing that huge 10-year, $189 million contract in the offseason, it would appear
that Derek Jeter will be the last Yankee to ever wear #2. When Torre retires in the next few years, his #6 will also be hung from the rafters, so to speak. When Jeter eventually hangs up his cleats, then, it will leave no single-digit numbers left for future pinstripers. A few notable Yanks have donned #2 before him. Gehrig-era third baseman Red Rolfe, loooooong-time coach Frank Crosetti, and current TV announcer Bobby Murcer all wore numero dos.
THEIR HABITAT OVERRUN BY MAN, THE SENATORS SOON DIED OUT
Q: What year was the last All-Star Game at RFK Stadium? Who played in that game?
-- Al Williams
A: Though the All-Star Game had been played there just seven years earlier, major league baseball decided that Washington D.C. should also host the 1969 centennial game as a symbolic gesture. Plenty of festivities were planned, and President Nixon was to throw out the first ball, but torrential rains pushed the event back two days. As a result, Nixon had to miss it in order to greet the astronauts returning from a certain giant leap for mankind. Many of the ticketholders too had prior engagements, reducing attendance to one of the lowest ever.
Meanwhile, the National League was in the midst of their complete domination of the Midsummer Classic that lasted 23 years. During that time, the NL went 23-2-1 (two All-Star games were played each year from 1959-62). The 1969 showcase at RFK was no different. The Senior Circuit triumphed by a 9-3 score, tallying all nine runs in the first four innings. Matty Alou, Willie McCovey, Cleon Jones, and Johnny Bench all had two hits. Bench had a homer, but McCovey had two, earning MVP honors. It was a portent of things to come, as Stretch had a career-high 45 home runs and 126 RBI that year, narrowly beating out pennant-winning Tom Seaver for the regular-season MVP. Steve Carlton, still with the St. Louis Cardinals at that time, started the game and got the win. Detroit’s Denny McLain was supposed to start for the American League, but did not want to reschedule a dentist’s appointment made weeks earlier. He arrived at the ballpark in time to pitch the fourth, where he gave up McCovey’s second dinger. The Yankees' Mel Stottlemyre started in his place. Hometown hero Frank Howard made a costly error in the game, but walked and homered in his two plate appearances. Here are the starting lineups for both squads.
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