Major League Baseball thread

[Ennath]

The most difficult "unbreakable" record is Johnny Vandermeers' two consecutive no-hitters in 1938. To break it, a pitcher would have to throw three straight no-hitters. I don't care how good a pitcher is, no one's doing that.

[tygrkhat40]

According to Bleacher Report, these are the most difficult feats in baseball.

10. Complete game shutout
9. Inside-the park home run
8. No-hitter
7. Hitting for the cycle (A natural cycle is even harder)
6. Four strikeouts in an inning
5. Perfect game
4. Unassisted triple play
3. Stealing home
2. Four home runs in a game
1. Triple crown of hitting

IIRC, Bob Horner once hit four homers in a game. He said of the feat, "I had a pretty good week today."

[bigtrain45]

I don't think difficult is the right word. Unusual or rare would maybe be better, especially in the case of the unassisted triple play. It seldom happens because the circumstances under which it is likely are so rare. Complete game shutouts were common in the dead ball era, and there were actually two pitched this past Saturday, April 15.

[tsunamiSD]

From the May 4th issue of the Union-Tribune...


40 years ago today: Padres and Phillies played a nine-inning game in 89 minutes

This is going to sound like legend. A fairy tale. Mythology. But it’s all true. Swear.It’s from a time when baseball games didn’t require three hours (or four hours in the postseason) to play.

And it was before TV broadcasts were so prevalent that each half inning was interrupted for two minutes for a few words from each sponsor.
It was a game between the Padres and the Phillies, with left-handers Randy Jones and Jim Kaat opposing each other at San Diego Stadium. The Padres’ 4-1 win came on a Wednesday night in front of 10,021 fans.
It took only 1:29 to complete.


Eighty-nine minutes!

I was at that game - the Phillies were always free-swingers back then, there were lots of times when they would walk back to their bench, mumbling to themselves...

[Arturo2nd]

Originally Posted by tsunamiSD

From the May 4th issue of the Union-Tribune...


40 years ago today: Padres and Phillies played a nine-inning game in 89 minutes



I was at that game - the Phillies were always free-swingers back then, there were lots of times when they would walk back to their bench, mumbling to themselves...

Going farther back, didn't Grover Cleveland Alexander complete at least one 9-inning game in less than an hour? The story was that the traveling secretary was worried about the team having to catch a train.

It is true that games last much longer, thanks to television commercials and Tony Larussa.

[ultimatewarlord]

I tried and failed to get into baseball but yesterday evening I watched the Home Run Derby. Great fun.

[Arturo2nd]

Baseball has been very lax in applying the character standard to Hall of Fame honorees. I still believe that Pete Rose threw games as a player and manager to win gambling bets he made against his own team.

This latest revelation is pretty disgusting, but probably not a unique occurrence among players. Pedro Ramos tells a story in We Played the Game of discovering a girl in tears in the hotel hallway because Mickey Mantle wouldn't let her into his room. When Ramos asked Mantle about it, he said she was too young. The Mick was a good old country boy. Some players are dogs and would not be as responsible.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...m_campaign=mlb

[Arturo2nd]

Interesting but not unexpected development with Giancarlo Stanton being dealt to the Yankees. The first choice of the Southern California native was the was the Dodgers. But the Dodgers already in possession of Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor, several hot outfield prospects knocking on the door, and a ton of dead money on the books weren't all that eager to deal for an oft-injured 28-year old player.

The prospect of facing Aaron Judge, Stanton, and Gary Sanchez in a modern day Murderers Row cannot be thrilling for pitchers around the league, but things could be worse. Judge was a 25-year old rookie. 25-year old rookie power hitters are not known for having long careers. Ryan Howard, who declined steeply after age 29 is the latest cautionary tale. Sanchez was 24 last season, but catchers usually take longer to mature. The other issue is that all three sluggers bat right handed in a park notorious for being tough on right handed power hitters. Judge and Stanton have such monstrous power that they will still hit a lot of home runs, but the park will hurt them. And the Stanton trade eats up a lot of cap room while doing nothing to improve the Yankees pitching. The Yankees should know about this problem. The team scored 1062 runs in 1930 and an AL record 1067 runs in 1931, but finished third and second respectively due to pitching and fielding issues.

[tsunamiSD]

Back in the early 1980s I was talked into helping one of my father's friends coach a Little League team. In preparation, I took a short course from the San Diego School of Baseball. Among the instructors were Tony Gwynn (outfield play), Ned Yost (catching), Randy Jones (pitching) and Alan Trammell (infield). What are the chances that two of the few players who spent their entire careers with one team would be on a staff like that? Bob Cluck (who ran the school) sure knew how to pick them.

It's good to see that he made it into the Hall of Fame, even if he wasn't directly voted in.

Trammell Gets His Call to Hall

Alan Trammell, who starred in baseball and basketball at Kearny High, has been voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, it was announced Sunday.Trammell’s former teammate with the Detroit Tigers, Jack Morris, also was voted in by the Modern Baseball Era Committee.
The two will be joined in the 2018 Hall of Fame Class by any electees from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting, which will be announced Jan. 24. Former Padres closer Trevor Hoffman is one of the favorites in that voting. The 2018 ceremony is July 29 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

[tsunamiSD]

Back in the early 1980s I was talked into helping one of my father's friends coach a Little League team. In preparation, I took a short course from the San Diego School of Baseball. Among the instructors were Tony Gwynn (outfield play), Ned Yost (catching), Randy Jones (pitching) and Alan Trammell (infield). What are the chances that two of the few players who spent their entire careers with one team would be on a staff like that? Bob Cluck (who ran the school) sure knew how to pick them.

It's good to see that he made it into the Hall of Fame, even if he wasn't directly voted in.

Trammell Gets His Call to Hall

Alan Trammell, who starred in baseball and basketball at Kearny High, has been voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, it was announced Sunday.Trammell’s former teammate with the Detroit Tigers, Jack Morris, also was voted in by the Modern Baseball Era Committee.
The two will be joined in the 2018 Hall of Fame Class by any electees from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting, which will be announced Jan. 24. Former Padres closer Trevor Hoffman is one of the favorites in that voting. The 2018 ceremony is July 29 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

****

On another note, it's a bummer that Shohei Ohtani didn't select the Padres...

Padres turned down by Shohei Ohtani

For reasons that remain ambiguous, Shohei Ohtani chose the Los Angeles Angels over six other clubs that now must face a reality without a potential two-way star. People continued to wonder Monday as the winter meetings officially opened and the runners-up trained their attention on alternative plans. Ohtani has provided little explanation aside from the “connection” he felt with the Angels.

I wonder what that 'connection' is?