Trivia:
Of pitchers who have thrown at least 800 innings in the majors, who was the toughest to hit (that is, gave up the fewest hits per inning)? Herb Score is the answer. Yes, he gave up fewer hits per inning than Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, or Pedro Martinez!
What is the most homeruns hit in a single season by a hitter who struck out fewer times than he homered? Who did it? Johnny Mize, of the New York Giants, hit 51 homeruns in 1947, with only 42 strikeouts. Of course, playing his home games in the Polo Grounds helped bring up the homer total. In 1934, Lou Gehrig hit 49 homeruns, and only struck out 31 times! Roger Maris, by the way, only struck out 67 times when he hit 61 in '61.
Some impressive numbers on the other side of that ratio: Rick Monday hit 8 homeruns in 1968, and struck out 143 times! Benji Gil had 9 HR's with 147 K's in 1995, and Jóse Hernandez had 13 homeruns in 2003 - and 177 K's!
Who is the only player to pinch hit for Ted Williams? Carroll Hardy is the answer. Here's a more complete story, as found in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Hardy, a highly-recommended website.
Late in the 1960 season, Hardy was on the bench for the Boston Red Sox. Ted Williams, in the final days of his Hall of Fame career, fouled a ball off his foot in the first inning of a game on September 20. After he limped off the field, Hardy finished the at-bat for him, becoming the only player ever to do so. Hardy lined into a double play. On September 28 at Fenway Park, in his final major league appearance, Williams hit his 521st and last home run against Jack Fischer of the Baltimore Orioles. In the ninth inning, he was replaced by Hardy in left field. "They booed me all the way out and cheered him all the way in," Hardy later remembered. Then, on May 31, 1961, Hardy pinch-hit for rookie Carl Yastrzemski, making him the only player in major league history to go in for both future Hall of Famers.
Also in that Wikipedia article: Most die-hard baseball fans know that Hardy has the honor of being the only player ever to pinch-hit for Ted Williams, but few people know that Hardy's pinch-hit resume goes well beyond this claim to trivia immortality. A reserve for the majority of his career, he debuted with the Cleveland Indians in the 1958 season. On May 18, celebrating his 25th birthday, he pinch-hit for Roger Maris and belted his first major league homerun, a three-run blast off Billy Pierce, to lead Cleveland to a 7–4 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Who is the only MLB player to have a career (more than 5000 plate appearances) OBA more than .150 above his Batting Average? Max Bishop (2B, primarily for the Philadelphia A's, back in the 20s and early 30s) had a lifetime batting average of .271 and an OBA of .423. Gene Tenace (.241/.388/.147), Barry Bonds (.298/.444/.146), Eddie Stanky (.268/.410/.142), Eddie Yost (.254/.394/.140), Ted Williams (.344/.482/.138), Babe Ruth (.342/.474/.132), and Mark McGwire (.263/.394/.131) round out the OBA more than .130 above his Batting Average group. Now, THAT would be a lineup!
What player had a 5-year cumulative batting average over .400?! From 1921 through 1925, St. Louis Cardinal secondbaseman Rogers Hornsby maintained a 5-season average of .402! In 696 games, he had 2,679 at bats, 1,078 hits, 206 doubles, 66 triples, 144 homeruns, a .690 slugging percentage, and a .474 OBA (OPS of 1.164)!
What pitcher had the most consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins and 200 or more strikeouts? Walter Johnson accomplished that dual feat from 1910 through 1916 (7 years). He won 199 games during that stretch, and maintained an ERA of 1.56 - never exceeding 1.90!
What pitcher had the most consecutive seasons with at least 200 IP and an ERA lower than his league's ERA? He did it for 17 straight seasons! Warren Spahn did it from 1947 through 1963.
What hitter had the most consecutive seasons with at least 400 plate appearances, a batting average of at least .300 AND an On Base Average of at least .400? There's that number 17 again - Ty Cobb did it from 1909 through 1925.
One season (after 1913, when MLB started to keep track of hitter's strikeouts), a hitter had more than 220 hits, more than 25 homeruns, a batting average over .350, AND struck out fewer than 10 times! Name the player and the season. Boston Braves outfielder Tommy Holmes (224, 28, .352) did it in 1945. That was also the year that Holmes set the, then, NL record of getting a hit in 37 straight games. He led the league in hits, doubles, home runs, slugging average, and OPS that year, but finished second to the Cubs Phil Cavarretta (by .003) for the batting title. Cavarretta won the MVP award!
Who was the first switch hitter to hit a home run from each side of the plate in a single game, twice? The answer is Jim Russell. He did it for the Braves on June 7, 1948, and for the Dodgers on July 26, 1950. He hit only 67 homeruns in his career. Mickey Mantle had his third switch-hit-homer game on May 18, 1956, to set the new record.
What pitcher had the most combined wins and saves in his career? Dennis Eckersley had 390 saves and 197 wins for a total of 587.
What outfielder, with enough plate appearances to qualify for the title, had the lowest single-season slugging average in the last 30 years? That would be Astros Centerfielder Gerald Young's 1989 season. In 146 games, he had a slugging average of .276! His batting average was .233 and he had no homeruns. He DID steal 34 bases that year - in 59 attempts!
What pitcher, with at least 162 IP, had the highest single-season ERA in the last 30 years? José Lima "wins" that award with his 6.99 ERA in 2005 with the Kansas City Royals.
This sounds the same as the last question, but it's not: What pitcher, with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title, had the highest single-season ERA in the last 30 years? Jim Deshaies gets the honor here. His ERA with the Minnesota Twins in 1994 was 7.39. He only pitched 130 1/3 innings that year - but it was enough to "qualify" in that strike-shortened season.
What player had 30 triples (total - 16 one season, 14 the next) over two consecutive seasons - without any stolen bases? Johnny Mize had 16 triples in 1938 and 14 in 1939. He had no stolen bases.
The Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees competed in 44 World Series games. Name the only player who played in every one of them. Pee Wee Reese.
Who is the only player in (post-1900) MLB history to have at least 5000 PA with a lifetime batting average over .300 and an OBA under .340? Ralph Garr (.306/.339) , who played for the Braves, White Sox, and/or Angels from 1968 to 1980 wins that honor!
What player had the most Stolen Bases in a single-season in which he was caught more frequently than he was successful? He's better known, in baseball, for something other than playing the game. In 1914, Miller Huggins stole 32 bases; he was caught 36 times!
Of pitchers with more than 2000 IP, who had the fewest walks per inning in modern (1900 -) baseball history? Cy Young wins that honor. From 1900 through 1911, he walked 449 in 3,334 1/3 innings, an average of 1.11 walks per 9 innings. He won 244 and lost 165 in that period.
Of pitchers with more than 2000 IP, who had the fewest strikeouts per inning in modern (1900 -) baseball history? That would be Jack Russell, who struck out 418 hitters in 2,051 IP from 1926 to 1940 - an average of 1.83 strikeouts per 9 IP!
Since 1951, who had the most stolen bases in one season without being caught? Kevin McReynolds stole 21 straight bases for the Mets in 1988. Carlos Beltran, now with the Mets, stole 28 straight for the Astros in 2004, but he played for the Royals that season, as well. He was "only" 14 for 17 in stolen base attempts with Kansas City. 42 for 45 for the season - not too shabby!
Of pitchers with more than 2000 IP, who has the best SO/BB ratio in modern (1900 -) baseball history? It's Curt Schilling. He has 3,116 strikeouts, and 711 walks, for a ratio of 4.38 to one (through 2007)!
Of the hitters who have hit 400 or more homeruns, only 6 have fewer than twice as many strikeouts as homers. Name them. They are Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth.
Of the hitters who have hit 400 or more homeruns, only 5 have more than four times as many strikeouts as homers. Name them. Willie Stargell, Jim Thome, Dave Kingman, José Canseco, and Reggie Jackson.
We're compiling an XERA list of modern (post-1900) pitchers who won or saved 150 or more games. Name the two pitchers who won and saved at least 150 games each. Dennis Eckersley (197 wins, 390 saves) and John Smoltz (through 2008, he has 210 wins and 154 saves, all of his saves came in a 4-season stretch . . . 2001 - 2004 . . . 10, 55, 45, and 44, respectively).
Barry Bonds, in 2007, became the all-time MLB leader in career homeruns. He beat Hank Aaron's record. Hank Aaron beat Babe Ruth's record. What post-1900 player had the record prior to Babe Ruth? Gavvy Cravath. Cravath's career ended in 1920. At that point, he led Babe Ruth 119 to 103. Babe Ruth hit 59 home runs in 1921.
How many 20-win seasons have MLB pitchers achieved since 1900 (inclusive)? If a pitcher had more than one 20-win season, count each occurrence. 805! You can check out the complete list by clicking the 20W Seasons tab at Various XERA Stat Sheets.
What hitter had the most strikeouts in a season in which he walked more than he struck out? In 1998, Mark McGuire struckout 155 time - and walked 162 times.
Nine pitchers have won 100 or more games in both the American League AND the National League. See how many you can name. Cy Young (221 wins in the AL, 290 in the NL), Gaylord Perry (139, 175), Ferguson Jenkins (115, 169), Nolan Ryan (189, 135), Randy Johnson (164, 120 [as of May 1, 2008]), Kevin Brown (102,109), Jim Bunning (118, 106), Dennis Martinez (141, 104), and Al Orth (105, 100) were the pitchers to accomplish that feat.
Six players have hit 40 or more homeruns in a single season in both the American League AND the National League. See how many you can name. Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome, Mark McGwire, Darrell Evans, Shawn Green, and Dave Justice.
Nine pitchers since 1960 have won 20 or more games in a single season in both the American League AND the National League. See how many you can name. Gaylord Perry, Tommy John, Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson, Frank Viola, David Cone, Andy Messersmith, Bill Singer, and Ferguson Jenkins.
If you have a baseball stats trivia question, send it to xerastats@gmail.com. We'll be glad to research it, and send you the answer. If we think it'll be of general interest to baseball fans, we'll publish it on this site.