Amazing MLB Factoids
Some Holiday Fun

Merry Christmas to Doc and the faithful 39 at SSI!

This morning, Christmas Eve, I happened upon a factoid that startled me:

I am winding down a 4-year project playing out the entire 1966 MLB schedule using Diamond Mind Baseball, every game for every team. It helps me relive my roots as a young baseball fan. I just completed all games for September 16th, and looking over my replay batting leaders in the American League I decided to pull up the Wiki page of Tigers star infielder Dick McAuliffe, and reading it I encountered the incredible factoid.

McAuliffe In 1968, playing for the World Series Champion Detroit Tigers, did not hit into any ground ball double plays at all. He played in 151 games and had 658 plate appearances. How many GIDP’s? None. Nada. ZILCH!

I had no idea this had ever been done. How does one DO that?

The lefty-batting 1960’s Tigers All-Star infielder remains the only AL player ever to accomplish this per Baseball Almanac. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_gidp.shtml

* Bonus factoid: Dick McAuliffe died this year on May 13th.

In the NL, only Augie Galan in 1935 and Craig Biggio in 1997 have matched the feat. Galan was a switch-hitter who had a whopping 758 plate appearances in his record-setting season. Biggio's accomplishment in 744 PA's was all the more amazing in that he was a right-handed batter, i.e., he finished his swings (1) farther from first base than LHB's or switch-hitters, and (2) the momentum of his swing did not aid his dash to first base.

Over the holiday week between Christmas and New Years, I though it might be a fun thing to solicit from our clan replies in this thread that contain such amazing factoids in MLB history. If you find the idea interesting and something occurs to you, join the fun!

Again, Merry Christmas!!

Comments

1

I am traveling so I don't have access to my databases...but I love stuff like this.   I also love the idea of replaying seasons with diamond mind...makes me want to try it on 1995.

2

Glad you like the idea, hope you come up with something to contribute. B-Ref will suffice.

Re: DMB replays, if you enjoy such things you should definitely try it.

I started in the early 2000's. Like many I started out playing out and managing only games involving my Dodgers teams. Over the years I replayed 1974, 1977 and 1978 this way. But in 2009 I decided to embark on my first every-game, every-team project, and opted to start with my first full-on year as a baseball fan, 1965. It took me until the fall of 2013 to complete. It was so enjoyable I moved right on to 1966.

This long-term project allows me to get to know players and teams in a way otherwise impossible. You learn what makes them "tick." You also learn the dilemmas faced by MLB managers over the course of a season, because your decisions aren't isolated to a single game or series. If you overuse your best relievers, then they aren't always available when you need them, so you need to manage for the long haul.

Since even a full-season replay is too small a sample size for even the best of game engines (like DMB) to make the results air-tight, you get a replay anchored in real-life but with the capability to drift into alternative results. Once you acccept the idea that results for players and teams will not necessarily exactly correspond to real life (again, not because of a fault in the engine but because of the inevitable statistical noise in a small sample set), you become freed from the frustration of anomalies and embrace them as an alternative reality.

3

McAuliffe was a heck of a player....those of us old enough to remember know.  OPS+ed 148 as a SHORTSTOP in '66.  Holy Ernie Banks!

But that '68 season was really when I cut my teeth on MLB.  I was 10 and began paying attention.  Game of the Week stuff.  McLain and Gibson caused themound to be lowered after that.  Well, more than anybody else, anyway.

McLain started 41 games that season and threw 28 CG's.  336 innings.  When men were men!  :) Followed it up with 325 in '69 and then was mostly done.  No wonder.  Gibson bettered him.  34 starts and 28 CGs.  Threw 13 shutouts in '68.  Gibson stayed bionic, however.

Fond memories, Daddy!

4

I'm going by memory here (never a smart thing) but those 6 games he didn't complete? He was lifted for a pinch-hitter. He was never replaced on the mound the entire season. 

5

I had never heard of the "never replaced" statement. The Bob Gibson Wikipedia article mentions it with a footnote linking to his game logs for 1968, but I can't tell how to verify his feat from those game logs. But if you have a memory of it, it must be documented somewhere.

I'm with you, Brent. I don't trust my memory 'tall any more. When I tell my wife I remember something, I always append, "of course I could be wrong."

6

And his exaggerated left-handed batting stance with his bat and hands extended upward and his crouching-tiger, bent back leg positioning.  His stance hypnotized me for whatever reason as I too was 11 and just beginning my love affair with baseball.   During that 1968 season with Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek along with Garagiola calling the games, Detroit, Boston, the Mets, Cubs and St Louis dominated NBCs weekend coverage.  An extremely formative time for me watching and playing baseball. 

7

My first reaction was like yours:  How is this possible?

Only suggestion ... Ichiro hit into a mere 3 GIDP's in 2001, led the league three other times, per your link.  In 2001 it was hard enough to throw Ichiro out on a SINGLE play ... to go over to a base and then get him, no way.  Had to be a fluke hard shot towards the bag for the SS who scooped, stepped, and fired.

My guess is, in 1968 the infielders weren't quite as defensively explosive as they are now, so ...

....

Good stuff DaddyO!

8

I think there's something to your guess, Doc. Although people were aware of range as a factor, most infielders were judged by fielding percentage, which is a better measurement of reliability on routine plays than of range.

Primary middle infielders (SS and 2B) in 1968 by team:

Baltimore - Mark Belanger, Davey Johnson. Belanger was considered top notch, Johnson above average at second as a young man.

Boston - Rico Petrocelli, Mark Andrews. Petrocelli was a bat-first SS.

California - Fregosi, Knoop. Fregosi when young had seasons where he was a defensive whiz, Knoop was pretty good but not great.

Chicago WS - Aparicio, Alomar The Original. Aparicio was considered one of the most rangy SS's of his time. Alomar better than average.

Cleveland - Larry Brown at short, cast of thousands at 2B. Brown was good but nothing special.

Detroit - (McAuliffe didn't play against his own team)

Minnesota - Cast of thousands including Cesar Tovar's clone, Rod Carew. Carew was somewhat good but a bat-first infielder. 

New York - Tom Tresh, Horace Clark. Tresh was an old 29, Clark did not distinguish himself, having started his career as a SS.

Oakland - Campy, Not Josh but John Donaldson. No doubt Campaneris was a rabbit, but I don't recall him being a precursor to Ozzie Smith.

Washington (Senators, not George) - Ron Hansen, Bernie Allen. Hansen was a terrific glove man, but not like today's rangy SS's.

Having toured de force, I have to agree with your reasoning. Sorta makes Biggio's accomplishment stand out even more.

9

I remember every one of those guys...except John Donaldson.  I must be getting old.

10

Sad, ain't it Moe?

I had to look up whether John was Josh's dad or granddad. Turns out he wasn't.

11

off the top of my head.   Of course everyone remembers the Boone/Cameron twice back to back in the same inning that's never happened otherwise.  Much like Ichiro hitting the only inside the park HR in All-Star game history.  So I searched and found that and 9 others feats that only happened once:

http://www.11points.com/Sports/11_Major_League_Baseball_Feats_That_Have_...

(the Bonds hat size one doesn't count for me)

Amazingly the Mariners made the list twice.  Not so amazingly, the other was due to horrifically bad baserunning.  If you were watching on Sep. 2nd 2008 you'll surely recall. Triple play without the bat touching the ball.

Another I recalled after finding it.  I just hadn't realized it was unique at the time.  Chris Hoiles of the Oriole's is the only player to ever hit a full count walkoff Grand Slam when down by 3.  May 17, 1996 off Norm Charlton.   Yup, Mariners again.  It was a great game that ended on the sourest note.  Possibly ever.

Ken Johnsons No Hit loss, Johnny Vander Meers consecutive No-hitters, Rennie Stennets 7 for 7 in 9 innings...events I assume most have memorized.   But Jerry Garvin picking off 4 runners in one game in 1970 was done only once before (that we know of; pickoffs were marked as caught stealing for a long time) but he also did it just 1 month after picking off 3 in a game.  3 or more has only been recorded 7 other times, most recently by Langston the year he went to Montreal for a HoF haul.  Mariners connection again.  Garvins 23 pickoffs in 1977 may as well be the record.  Can we get video of that pickoff move?  I'd like to see more pitchers taking pride in that ability again. 

Stennett going 7-7 in a 22-0 blowout is unique but 10 other times a player has reached safely 7 times in a 9 inning game.  Never has their team lost or failed to score 19 or more.  

Carl Crawford, Otis Nixon and Eric Young Sr. are the only players to steal 6 bases in a game since 1913.

12

Great find on the link, Wishhiker. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

The stealing of the same base twice in one inning is a new one to me. I had no idea you could legally reverse-steal a base behind you.

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