It's been a while since I wrote about our National Pastime, so as the dog days of August roll in, here are a couple of oddball sidelights on baseball.
The Organized Baseball Career Home Run Record…Which is to say, who has hit the most, Major and Minor League careers combined? The subject of Minor League home runs is an interesting one. You would think that any farm-hand who showed notable power would be promoted fairly quickly…and sure enough, among players who hit 400+ in the Majors, hitting 50+ in the Minors is unusual. But prior to the 1960s, the Minors were a popular form of local entertainment, and a player could be a "career" Minor Leaguer, with just a cup of coffee in the Bigs, or not even that. This was especially true in the Pacific Coast League, where salaries were high and the weather appealing.
Nationally televised games turned the Minors into the "prospect-driven" enterprise they are today, altho the Mexican League, while technically part of the system, remains a viable option for lifetime employment. Sure enough, the top 4 on the all-time Minor League home run list played virtually their entire careers there, lead by Hector Epsino's 484. But of 51 minor leaguers with 300+ career dingers, the top 3 Major League totals are 80, 76, and 46. This tells me most were indeed farm-hands "for life," lacking either the talent or the inclination to go any higher.
At the other end of the spectrum, I added in Minor League home runs for all players with 400+ in the Majors. None under 500 reached as high as 600, altho Carlos Delgado's Major/Minor split of 473/125 put him just 2 shy. Of those with 500+, their new position on the list changed by no more than one or two places…with only Willie McCovey's 512/105 jumping him from 18th to 12th. But significantly, Hank Aaron is back on top, his 755/31 beating Barry Bonds' 762/20 by 4. Babe Ruth had just 1 homer in the minors, Willie Mays just 12.
Then there are the half-and-half players like Steve Balboni 181/239, Hank Sauer 288/157, Jim Gentile 179/245, the original Frank Thomas 286/100, Vince DiMaggio 125/273, Ripper Collins 135/193, and Zeke Bonura 119/132. This bunch is lead by Dick Stuart and his 228/222 split…it's believed that Dr. Strangeglove is the only player in Organized Ball history with 200+ home runs in both the Majors and the Minors. Russell Branyon is closing in, at 190/210 coming into this season. But looking over an entire career, hitting 200 homers down on the farm appears to be the kiss of death. Of the 166 players I've found with 200+ in the Minors, only 4 had 100+ in the Majors, and only 8 more had between 50 and 99. I suppose the moral is: Whether you play in the Bronx or Paducah…you only have so many in ya.
The Grand-Daddy of All Bar Bets…A player sees a total of 15 balls and strikes in a game but is credited with just one plate appearance. Sounds impossible, right? You get a full count, 3-and-2, then the payoff pitch, for at most 6 balls and strikes…unless there's a trick to it. And in this extreme case, there are TWO tricks to it!
The first trick is obscure rule 10.15b, which states that if a player is unable to complete his at bat, the pinch-hitter is charged with whatever the outcome is, except if the count was 0-and-2, in which case a strikeout would be charged to the original batter, with the pinch-hitter getting credit for nothing, not even an at bat.
So let's say its 1962, and Diamond Jim Gentile is up. He takes a savage swipe, and knocks himself silly. Dick Williams…yes, the recently departed skipper of the 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox…assumes his at bat with the count 0-and 2, takes 3 balls, then strikes out. K charged to Gentile, Williams' total: balls and strikes 4, at bats 0.
His next time up, he works the count full, then Whitey Herzog is caught stealing to end the inning…running total: balls and strikes 9, at bats 0. Third time up, another full count, then he strikes out…final total: balls and strikes 15, at bats 1. Which just goes to show you, never take a bet in a bar!
Has Anyone Ever Batted .500?…The Major League record for highest batting average for a season is Nap Lajoie's .426 with the A's in 1901. In the Minors, the record is Gary Redus' out-sized .462…that's 117 for 253…with Billings of the Rookie level Pioneer League in 1978. Their season was only 68 games, and they went 50-18…but Gary played in every one of them. Occasionally you have a player who bats 1.000 for a season, going 1/1 or 2/2…pitcher Bruce Chen had 3 1/1 seasons! But Majors or Minors, what's the longest extended period a player has hit .500? Does a data base exist of every game ever played, at every level, day to day? If so, and if the server doesn't crash, maybe we'll day find out some day.
But for now, the record to beat has to be Joe Wilhoit. With the Class A Wichita Jobbers of the Western League, from June 14 to August 19, 1919, he hit in 69 consecutive games, the Organized Ball record, at an astonishing .515 clip…that's 153 for 297. Think of it…for over 2 months, he essentially got a hit every other at bat! It would surprise me if anyone at any level has ever been that hot for that long. After all, baseball is a game where even the best of them can end his work day having accomplished absolutely nothing.
Shamsky's Category-Busting Record…Art Shamsky was a run-of-the-mill outfielder for the Reds, and later the Mets. But over 2 games in 1966, he was simply amazing, hitting 4 home runs in 4 consecutive at bats, one of only 7 players to ever do that. What's more, with each one, the Reds either tied the score or took the lead…and his streak started with a pinch at bat in the 8th inning!
August 12, 1966, Reds hosting the Pirates, behind 7-6, Shamsky pinch hits for pitcher Joe Nuxhall and blasts a 2-run homer to give the Reds the lead. But the Bucs score in the top of the 9th to send to it extra innings. They score again in the 10th, but Shamsky, now playing left field, hits a solo shot to keep the Reds in it. In their next ups, the Pirates score 2 this time, and sure enough in the bottom of the 11th Shamsky hits a 2-run dinger to tie it up again! But despite his heroics, Cincinnati eventually lost 14-11 in 13 innings.
2 days later, Shamsky gets another pitch hit opportunity, and again homers, a game the Red would also lose. But no other non-starter has ever hit 3 homers in one game. And only 2 other payers have hit 2 extra-inning home runs in the same game…the St. Louis Browns' Vern Stephens in 1943, and Cleveland's Willie Kirkland in 1963. End result: Art Shamsky's bat is in the Hall of Fame, even if he isn't. There's no getting around it, baseball really is a funny game.
On another note, if you want to read past "Stolf's Oldies" columns, a number of them are posted at travelingcyst.blogspot.com. Also, there are my daily blogs at stolf.wordpress.com and deepfriedhoodsiecups.wordpress.com. And if you miss Cool Daddy, we're together on 2 podcasts: stolfpod.podbean.com and thewholething.podbean.com. Till next month, my friend, take a moment and rock on!
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