More Baseball

WELCOME
I am back with my favorite trivia subject, baseball.   Here are twenty
trivia tidbits that I hope you will enjoy whether you are a baseball fan or not.



.....1.....
Nolan Ryan was one on baseball's greatest pitchers.   He won over 300
games, struck out more batters than anyone else in baseball history, threw an
unprecedented seven no-hitters but NEVER won the Cy Young Award.



.....2.....
Murray Dickson pitched for the St Louis Cardinals in the 5th game of the
1943 World Series while he was on furlough from the Army during World
War II.



.....3.....
Ron Wright played in only one MLB game in his career.  It was for the Seattle
Mariners in 2002.    He only batted three times.  He struck out, He hit into a
double play and hit into a triple play.



.....4.....
Perhaps the poorest season anyone ever had at the plate happened to pitcher
Bob Buhl in 1962 while with the Cubs.   During that year he went 0 for 70.  
He actually had more stolen bases(1) than hits.



.....5.....
Football quarterbacks Archie Manning, Joe Theisman, Steve Barkowski, Dan
Marino, John Elway, Curt Warner, Dan Pastorini, and Jay Schroeder are
among those drafted at one time by Major League Baseball. 



.....6.....
On April 16, 2005, Kenny Lofton of the New York Yankees grounded out for
the cycle.  In his five at bats he grounded to first base, second base, shortstop,
third base and then the pitcher.



.....7.....
There has only been one no-hitter pitched in the history of Coors Field in
Denver, it was by Hideo Nomo (1996).    There has only been one no-hitter
ever pitched at Camden Yards in Baltimore, it was by Hideo Nomo(2001).



.....8.....
Nolan Ryan pitched no hitters in three different decades while Hideo Nomo
pitched no hitters in two different centuries.



.....9.....
In 2004, while playing for the St Louis Cardinals, Reggie Sanders hit his 11th
home run of the season, hit his 11th double of the season and stole his 11th
base of the season all in the same game.  It was on June 11th !!




.....10.....
This has to play on your mind.  In 1982 catcher/outfielder Wayne Nordhagen
was traded five times, twice on  the same day, June 15th.



.....11.....
Talk about bat control !!  On September 23, 2006, Jay Gibbons of the
Baltimore Orioles hit a line drive foul ball into the stands and hit his wife,
Laura, causing minor bruises.



.....12.....
Pee Wee Reese played in 44 World Series Games.   All 44 were against the New York Yankees.



.....13.....
The largest attendance for a MLB game was 92,708 for the 5th game of the
1959 World Series in Los Angeles where Billy Pierce, of the White Sox,
out-dueled Sandy Koufax 1-0.   Compare that to the 1935 St Louis Browns
who drew 80,922 for the ENTIRE SEASON !! 



.....14.....
Talk about a late-bloomer.  Phil Niekro won ninety more games in his
forties(121)  than he did in his twenties(31).



.....15.....
If you like the underdog than March 30, 1993, had to be a glorious day.
That was the day that the talented pen of creator Charles Schultz allowed
Charlie Brown to hit his one and only game winning home run.



.....16.....
Bill Virdon was the New York Yankees manager for two seasons and never
won a game at Yankee Stadium.  Although he did win 142 games in 1975
and 1976 they played their home games at Shea Stadium while their house
was being remodeled.



.....17.....
Put this under the category of  "I've got your number".    In 1966 St Louis
Cardinals pitcher Larry Jaster threw five shutouts.  Oddly enough all five
were against the same team, the Los Angeles Dodgers.



.....18.....
On August 4, 1982, Joel Youngblood played in an afternoon game at Wrigley
Field for the New York Mets.  After the game he was traded to the Montreal
Expos whom he was able to join in time to  play for them that evening.
He was the first player to ever play for two different teams on the same day.



.....19.....
Moe Berg was a MLB catcher from 1923 to 1939 and left the game with a
modest .243 batting average.   Moe, however, was a little different.
He was a graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Law School.
After he left baseball he became a spy for the Office of Strategical Services
(OSS) during World War II and served his country well.  He was awarded
the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1945.



....20.....
The most runs ever scored in a single half-inning was17 by the Boston Red
Sox on June18, 1953.  It went something like this.   Sammy White singled,
Gene Stephens singled, Tommy Umphlett singled, Johnny Lipon struck out,
George Kell doubled, Billy Goodman walked, Jimmy Piersall singled, Dick
Gernert homered. Ellis Kinder singled, Sammy White walked, Gene Stephens
doubled, Tommy Umphlett walked, Johnny Lipon singled, George Kell lined
out.   Billy Goodman singled, Al Zarilla walked, Dick Gernert walked, Ellis
Kinder singled, Sammy White singled, Gene Stephens singled, Tommy
Umphlett singled scoring Sammy White for the 17th run. Johnny Lipon
walked then Kell flied out to left leaving the bases loaded.   The Red Sox
won 23-3.


All these can be found in my unpublished book "1001 Baseball Trivia Facts,
Oddities, Lists, Records And Other Vital Information You Can Use To
Impress Others"