Originally Published: August 26, 2003

Royals' pitching: Quantity over quality

The Royals' amazing playoff run is truly astounding considering their pitching staff statistically defies all logic.

Print Share
Stark By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com
Archive

Useless Historic Information
Just because nobody is chasing 73 home runs, nobody is hitting .400 and nobody is threatening to hit in 56 games in a row, it doesn't mean there is no history in the making this season. You just have to look a little harder to find it. That's all.

But hey, here at Useless Info Central, that's our job. So in this week's edition of the Useless Information Department, we'll look at some of the team records that could topple in the season's final month.

Jose Lima
Getty ImagesJose Lima has reached double-digit wins twice in his career.

CAN A ROYAL HANG 10?

In case you haven't noticed, the Kansas City Royals aren't your normal, every-day playoff contender. They've already used 27 pitchers -- which would be the most ever by a team that made the playoffs. And they just added No. 28 -- Brian Anderson. But that's mere trivia, compared to the other "record" they could set:

They can be the first team in history to finish in first place (over a full season) without any pitchers winning 10 games.

Check this out. Their leading winner, Chris George (9-6) is back in the minor leagues, thanks to a 7.11 ERA. They just traded for another nine-game winner (Anderson), but he doesn't count, because he has zero wins as a Royal.

And of their three seven-game winners, one (Runelvys Hernandez) is now in Double-A, another (Jose Lima) hasn't won since July 27, and the third (Darrell May) has now made 50 big-league starts -- and won 11 of them.

Oh, it's certainly possible that one of those three could get to 10 wins -- or even that George could resurface. But there's still going to be no comparison between this team and the only other club that even made a run at this "record" -- the 1987 Cardinals.

No pitcher on those Cardinals won more than 11 games. But they had three 11-game winners (Bob Forsch, Greg Mathews and Danny Cox) and a 10-game winner (John Tudor). So that's four double-figure winners. Which would be four more than these Royals -- at least so far. But stay tuned.

THE DODGER WAY

But as unorthodox as the Royals may be, keeping them company is one of the strangest contenders of modern times -- the Dodgers. They've scored almost 300 fewer runs than the Braves. Yep, 300. But they've also allowed 300 fewer than the Rockies.

That's because these Dodgers are not going to score 600 runs this year. They're also not going to give up 600. No team has done both in a non-strike season in 15 years -- since the 1988 Padres (594 scored, 583 allowed, in 161 games). But wait. There's more.

At their current rate, the Dodgers would score 562 runs this season. That would be the fewest by any team, in a full season, since the 1992 Dodgers (who scored 548 -- and lost 99 games). And it would be the fewest by a team with a winning record, in a non-strike season, since the 1967 Indians (scored 516, went 86-75).

But there's still more. In the age of 162-game seasons, no team has ever done that little scoring and made the playoffs. But even if you go to the 154-game season, the last time any team scored 562 runs or fewer and made the postseason was (gulp) 1915 -- when the pre-Curse Red Sox scored 550 runs, went 91-63 and won the World Series. So at least history says it can be done -- uh, as long as Babe Ruth is on your team.

THE WHIFFY CITY

You may hear people talk a lot about the Cubs and their dominating pitching. Here's why:

At their current rate, they're going to obliterate the all-time record for strikeouts in a season -- which was set way, way, way back last season, when the 2002 edition of the Cubs punched out 1,344.

But this year's Cubs are on pace to blow that record away by almost 50 whiffs (1,393). And that isn't even their most spectacular achievement.

They've already accumulated 72 more strikeouts than they've allowed hits. So they have a shot to wind up with 100 more strikeouts than hits. And that, of course, is totally unheard of.

No National League staff has ever racked up more strikeouts than hits. And only one staff in major-league history ever did it -- the 1968 Cleveland Indians, featuring Sudden Sam McDowell, Luis Tiant and a cast of fellow fan-aholics. That group had 1,157 whiffs, 1,087 hits allowed -- a difference of 70.

So unless something changes, these Cubs ought to go down as the most unhittable staff in history. And if that can't get them into the postseason, there can only be one explanation: They're the Cubs.

MORE TO WATCH

  • The Rockies' pitchers are on pace to drill 86 hitters -- which would break a National League record for hit batters that has stood since the 1895 Pirates nailed 85. The post-1900 record is only 77, by the 1997 Reds. And the Rocks are already at 71.

  • The Red Sox continue to mash away. They're still on pace to wipe out the '27 Yankees' record for highest team slugging percentage. (Red Sox .496 through Monday, '27 Yankees .489 and holding.) They're also on pace to thump an incredible 673 extra-base hits -- a jump of more than 10 percent from the previous all-time record (607, by the 1996 Mariners).

  • One thing you can't call those Blue Jays is sacrificial. They've laid down a whopping five successful sacrifice bunts this year -- which is 11 fewer than Tigers shortstop Ramon Santiago, and as many as the Indians had in one game (July 27). So unless those Jays go bunt-crazy in September, they're going to demolish the all-time record for fewest sacrifices in a season. That record: 16, by 1998 Tigers and 2001 Yankees.

  • Finally, we hate to pick on the Tigers. But they have all kinds of historic pursuits going, although "pursuits" probably isn't the right word. You all know about the '62 Mets. We won't even get into that. But these Tigers also are still not completely out of the running to become the first team since the 1979 Blue Jays to have no pitchers with a winning record. (Reliever Jerry Walker is 3-2 after a miracle win Sunday, and Steve Avery was somehow at 2-0 -- despite a 5.63 ERA -- when he was shipped back to Toledo.)

  • And one more: The Tigers are on pace to finish 132 runs behind the next-lowest scoring team in the AL (Cleveland) -- which would be the biggest margin in the history of their league. Current record: 101, by the 1932 Red Sox. The modern major-league record is 142, by the 1922 Braves.

    Useless Tigers Info

  • Unless they get really, really hot, the Tigers are going to become the third team in history to lose 100 games before flipping their calendars to September. The others, according to Retrosheet.org: the '62 Mets (34-102 through August) and the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (19-100 through August).

  • The Tigers got to 60 games under .500 in only 122 games (31-91) -- the sixth-fewest games ever. The amazing Spiders got there in only 92 (16-76) on the way to 114 under -- at 20-134). The 1890 Pittsburgh Infants needed 99 (19-79-1). The 1916 A's made it in 104 (22-82). The 1904 Senators reached 60 under in 116 games (28-88). And the '62 Mets got there in 120 (30-90).

  • The Detroit Free Press' John Lowe reports that since the 1962 Mets called it a year, all the teams that have played baseball in the 42 seasons since had combined to spend a combined four days at 60 games under .500 (or worse) until these Tigers came along. That comes to one day for the '63 Mets, two for the '65 Mets and one for the '69 Padres. Barring a hot streak, the 2003 Tigers will spend six weeks at 60 under (and below).

  • The Tigers allowed 10 runs or more four times just in the 11-game losing streak they stopped Sunday. Even counting the miraculous 10-9 win that ended it, they've scored 10 or more themselves just three times in their last 303 games.

  • Finally, how unlikely was the Tigers' 10-9 down-to-their-last-strike win over Anaheim on Sunday? Well, as Booth Newspapers' Danny Knobler reports, the Tigers hadn't come back to win a home game they trailed in the final three innings since July 15, 2002. They had lost 14 in a row to the Angels. And Troy Percival, who gave up the game-winning two-run homer to Brandon Inge, had allowed one run to the Tigers in his career (38 innings).

    Useless Bobby Bonds Information
    Bobby Bonds wasn't the player his famous son turned out to be. But he was better than a lot of people think. Just a few examples:

    Bobby Bonds
    Bobby Bonds was ahead of his time as a player.

  • Before Bobby Bonds joined the 30-30 Club in 1969, it had only three other members -- Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Ken Williams. It's now up to 27 members -- and growing.

  • Before Bonds came along, the record for most career games led off with a home run was only 28. Bonds inflated that to 35. Rickey Henderson has since taken it to 81. But only one other player has gone past Bobby Bonds -- Brady Anderson (44).

  • Bonds stole 40 bases or more seven times. And how many active players have done that? Exactly one (Henderson). Kenny Lofton and Eric Young are at six.

  • The heck with those 30-30 seasons. Bonds had four seasons of 30 homers-40 steals. His son has had two. So that's six for the Bonds family. All of the other players in history combined have seven.

  • And speaking of the Bonds family, Bobby and Barry should be regarded, without question, as the greatest father-son combo ever. They're the only father-son duo in which each stole at least 400 bases. They're the only father-son duo in which each hit at least 300 home runs. And while no other father-son duo has one 30-30 season apiece, the Bonds family has five apiece.

  • And since Jesse Orosco recalled (correctly) that he gave up Bobby Bonds' final homer, we present the five pitchers who served up home runs to both halves of the Bonds family, courtesy of SABR's David Vincent:

    Rick Reuschel
    Frank Tanana
    Dennis Martinez
    Mike Morgan
    Jesse Orosco

    From The Elias Vaults

  • When Shea Hillenbrand broke up Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter in the eighth inning Friday, it made two no-hitters Hillenbrand has undone in the eighth this year. (He also got in the way of an Odalis Perez no-hitter July 5.) Not to suggest it had been a while since anyone else broke up two no-hitters that late in a game, but the last time it happened, Nolan Ryan (one of the victims) had only thrown five of his seven no-hitters.

    Strange But True Feats
  • The Phillies managed to get five straight hits last Wednesday in Milwaukee without scoring a run. (They had one runner thrown out at the plate, another nailed at second trying to stretch a single and a third turn the wrong way after crossing first base and get tagged out.)

    Ramirez
    Ramirez

  • Manny Ramirez got thrown out Saturday while advancing from first to second on a walk. (He was running on a 3-2 pitch, lost his helmet when he slid, walked off the bag to retrieve it and forgot to call time.)

  • The Twins turned a bases-loaded double play last Thursday against Kansas City in which they got both outs at home. (Doug Mientkiewicz caught a Brent Mayne ground ball and went home for the force. A.J. Pierzynski's throw back to first hit the runner. Luis Rivas picked up the ball and threw out Ken Harvey at home.)

  • Toby Hall drew the toughest walk of the year off C.C. Sabathia on Aug. 15 -- because Sabathia only threw three balls. (Ump Dale Scott lost count).

  • And the Twins scored two runs on a strikeout Aug. 12. (Second and third. One out. Mientkiewicz whiffed on a pitch in the dirt that skipped up the line. Mientkiewicz took off, and Indians catcher Josh Bard threw him out. Cristian Guzman broke for home. Ben Broussard made a wild throw home, allowing Guzman and Shannon Stewart to score.) Hard to do, folks. But Retrosheet's Dave Smith reports that while this was the 21st time since 1972 that a team had scored two runs on a strikeout, the Blue Jays once scored three runs on a strikeout (of Mookie Wilson), on July 26, 1990. (Wild throw into left field by the catcher).

    		•

    According to our friends at the Elias Sports Bureau, Hillenbrand was the first since 1989, when two players did it:

    Brook Jacoby (vs. Nolan Ryan on June 25 and Greg Cadaret on Aug. 7).

    Nelson Liriano (also vs. Nolan Ryan on April 23 and then against Kirk McCaskill five days later).

  • If Kevin Appier felt like Bill Murray in Ground Hogs Day in the last month, you could understand why. Every time he woke up, he was about to pitch against the Yankees.

    He faced them three times in a span of four starts -- in three different ballparks (in Anaheim on July 29 in his final start as an Angel, in Kansas City on Aug. 13 and in Yankee Stadium on Aug. 19).

    Since 1990, according to Elias, only two other pitchers have faced the same team three times in no more than four starts in three different stadiums:

    John Thomson last year vs. Arizona (in three straight) -- July 18 at Coors Field, July 23 at the BOB, Aug. 3 in his first Mets start at Shea Stadium.

    Jose Mesa in 1992 vs. the Royals -- June 28 at Camden Yards in his final start as an Oriole, July 16 in Kansas City in his first start as an Indian and two starts later, on July 26 in the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

  • Texas' R.A. Dickey had quite the eventful trip to Detroit last week. In the same series, he saved a 16-inning game Aug. 18, then threw a complete-game shutout two days later. Elias reports that only one other pitcher has done that in the division-play era -- Gary Waslewski, of the 1969 expansion Expos. He saved Game 2 of a July 4 doubleheader against the Phillies, then shut out those same Phillies two days later in Game 2 of another doubleheader.

    Of course, let's not forget that Orel Hershiser also did that in the 1988 playoffs against the Mets -- saving Game 4 of the NLCS and shutting out the Mets three days later in Game 7.

  • The Giants went 0-6 on their last road trip, to New York and Montreal, and still came home with an 8½-game lead. They're the first first-place team to go winless on a trip of six games or more this late in a season and still have a lead that large when it was over, according to Elias, since the 1980 Royals. They'd already clinched first place when they headed off on a six-game trip to Seattle and Minnesota from Sept. 22-28. They then lost all six games but still led by 12½ when they headed home for the final week of the season.

  • The Dodgers and Diamondbacks keep playing like they think this is 1963, not 2003. They've each won 11 games this year in which they scored just two runs or one. The Twins and Blue Jays, by contrast, haven't won any games like that. If they can get to 15, according to Elias, it will be the most since the 1992 Braves (who won 16).

  • In Seattle, Gil Meche is one of the most astounding stories of the year. He already has 13 wins, after missing two straight seasons with arm injuries. Elias reports that in the last 45 years only one other pitcher has missed two straight seasons, then come back to win 13 games -- Jose Guzman (13-7 for the 1991 Rangers). If Meche gets to 14 wins, he would be the first to do that since Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell went 14-14 for the 1956 Cardinals after serving in the military in 1954-1955.

  • Finally, on Tuesday, we reached the first anniversary of Eric Gagne's last blown save. Perhaps it puts that streak in perspective to know that, according to Elias, 220 different pitchers have blown a total of 559 saves since the last time Gagne blew one, on Aug. 26, 2002.

    More Useless Info

  • There was a very cool event Aug. 13 that you probably didn't notice: The Twins and Indians were tied at 0-0 after nine innings in the Metrodome -- with the Indians eventually winning, 5-0, in the 14th. But the big news was, it was the first time the Metrodome scoreboard read "0-0" in the 10th inning since John Smoltz-Jack Morris, Game 7, 1991 World Series, in one of the great Game 7's of all time.

  • Steve Trachsel just threw a one-hitter in which the opposing pitcher (Chin-Hui Tsao) got the only hit. Well, you don't see that much. According to Dave Smith of retrosheet.org, this was only the fifth game in the last 32 seasons in which a pitcher got his team's only hit. Here are the others:

    Date Visitor-Home Pitcher Batter Hit
    6-29-1974 Cardinals-Mets Jon Matlack John Curtis, StL Single
    9-21-1986 Padres-Astros Randy Jones Bob Knepper, Hou Triple
    9-13-1989 Pirates-Cardinals Jose DeLeon Doug Drabek, Pit Double *
    6-08-1992 Mets-Expos Ken Hill Anthony Young, NYM Single
    8-18-2003 Rockies-Mets Steve Trachsel Chin-Hui Tsao, Col Double

    (* - game rained out in top of sixth)

  • Loyal reader David Hallstrom suggests that those new speedup rules shouldn't have to apply to Mark Mulder and Mark Buehrle. Their three meetings this year have lasted 1 hour, 53 minutes, 1:54 and 1:49.

  • One of baseball's most seldom-seen events took place last week -- a stolen base against Indians anti-theft specialist Terry Mulholland. It was the first steal against Mulholland in more than two years and only the fourth (in 11 attempts) over the last five seasons. So how did this one happen? Carl Crawford stole second in the 13th inning, in a first-and-third situation in which the Indians weren't holding him on. How else?

  • Think the Orioles have seen about enough of Jose Contreras? Counting his two appearances against them in the Orioles' 1999 exhibition games against the Cuban National Team, Contreras' career numbers against them after his seven shutout innings Sunday: 16 2/3 innings, 6 hits, 3 earned runs (1.62 ERA).

  • The Brewers just ripped off their first six-game winning streak since June 22-27, 1998. In between Brewers streaks, the Yankees had 19 winning streaks of six or more.

  • How strange is baseball? The Rangers hadn't allowed a grand slam all year until July 29 -- the night they gave up two slams in two innings to Bill Mueller. And the A's hadn't hit a slam all year until Sunday, when they hit two in one game for the first time in the three-city history of the franchise.

  • In their Aug. 16 visit to Wrigley Field, the Dodgers actually scored 10 runs in one game -- more than they'd scored in the first seven games of their previous road trip (to Arizona, Philadelphia and Atlanta) combined. But the big news of the day, according to Elias, was that it was the first time in 102 games the Dodgers had scored 10 or more runs in a game. And that was the longest streak by any team in the same season since the 1992 Dodgers went 146 games in a row without reaching double digits.

  • The Braves have been shut out twice this year -- by Curt Schilling on Aug. 17 and by Vicente Padilla on April 19. And what do those two pitchers have in common? They were traded for each other.

  • The amazing thing about Russ Ortiz's win in Colorado last weekend was that John Smoltz didn't save it. Smoltz has saved 13 of Ortiz's 18 wins. One more, according to Elias, and he'll break the National League record for most saves by one reliever for one starter in a season.

  • Loyal reader David Hammer watched the Braves lose in the game in which Rafael Furcal turned his unassisted triple play, and he wondered if those unassisted triple plays normally inspire a team to actually win. Well, we're goofballs, so we looked. Here goes:

    Aug. 10, 2003 -- Rafael Furcal, Braves vs. Cardinals, LOSS
    May 29, 2000 -- Randy Velarde, A's vs. Yankees, LOSS
    July 8, 1994 -- John Valentin, Red Sox vs. Mariners, WIN
    Sept. 20, 1992 -- Mickey Morandini, Phillies vs. Pirates, LOSS
    July 30, 1968 -- Ron Hansen, Senators vs. Indians, LOSS
    May 31, 1927 -- Johnny Neun, Tigers vs. Indians, WIN
    May 30, 1927 -- Jimmy Cooney, Cubs vs. Pirates, WIN
    May 7, 1925 -- Glenn Wright, Pirates vs. Cardinals, LOSS
    Oct. 6, 1923 -- Ernie Padgett, Braves vs. Phillies, WIN
    Sept. 14, 1923 -- George Burns, Red Sox vs. Indians, WIN
    Oct. 10, 1920 (WS) -- Bill Wambsganss, Indians vs. Dodgers, WIN
    July 19, 1909 -- Neal Ball, Indians vs. Red Sox, WIN

    So there you have it, David. It was a great thing until 1927 (6-1). It's a jinx since (1-4). Thanks for asking.

    Useless Farm Land Information

  • Loyal reader Clinton Pinyan passes along this gem -- about Lynchburg first baseman Chris Shelton. He just broke Lenny Dykstra's franchise record for highest batting average in a season (.359, to Dykstra's .358). But what was notable was -- Shelton wasn't even in Lynchburg at the time. The Pirates promoted him to Double-A Altoona on July 28, at which time his average was only .3578. But 18 days later, Lynchburg completed a suspended game with Winston Salem, a game in which Shelton had gone 1-for-2 before a power failure. So his stats for that game then become official, hiking his average a point and breaking the record. Sorry, Lenny.

  • The inimitable Rob Stratton (167 strikeouts in 104 games this year, up to more than 400 more career strikeouts -- 974 -- than hits -- 569) just performed an all-time feat for Albuquerque. According to our buddies at SportsTicker, he struck out in 16 consecutive trips to the plate, from Aug. 11-16, then busted out with his 31st homer the next day.

  • Lenny Harris' brief visit to Albuquerque, between getting released by the Cubs and getting called up by the Marlins, didn't go so hot. He was playing first base Aug. 17 against Omaha and committed an error with two outs in the ninth inning -- that led to nine unearned runs, and a 13-8 loss.

  • And look out, Curt Schilling. Lowell Spinners right-hander Jarrett Gardner, a 19th-round pick by the Red Sox this June out of Arkansas, has started his pro career by going 50 consecutive innings and facing 207 hitters without walking anybody. So his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 21 to zilch.

    Injury of the Week
    Twins reliever J.C. Romero had allowed five runs in his previous 2 2/3 innings when he got conked in the head by a line drive in batting practice last Wednesday. It didn't look particularly therapeutic at the time. But by the eighth inning, Romero was able to march in and mow down two straight hitters in a 4-3 win over the Indians. After which manager Ron Gardenhire announced: "We really, honestly, think that straightened him out."

    The Sultan's Corner

  • You may have heard that Montreal's Brad Wilkerson just became the first player to hit for the cycle and hit a walkoff grand slam in the same season since Jim Hickman did that for the 1963 Mets. But that's not all, according to the Sultan of Swats Stats, SABR home run historian David Vincent. Only one other player in history ever had a walkoff slam and a cycle in the same year -- Jackie Robinson, in 1948.

  • But that's not all, either. Wilkerson's walkoff slam, off the Giants' Tim Worrell, came with his team one strike away from being shut out. According to the Sultan, only one other player ever hit a walkoff slam that turned a shutout loss into a win -- Reds centerfielder Sammy Byrd, against the Pirates on May 23, 1936. That, by the way, was only the fifth walkoff slam in history.

  • Speaking of walkoffs, last Thursday was the second day in history, according to the Sultan, in which four different players hit game-ending home runs. Those four: Barry Bonds, Jim Edmonds, Todd Helton, Tony Batista.

    The only other day it happened: Aug. 6, 1989. The game-enders that day: Mike Devereaux, Eric Davis, Kevin McReynolds, Jeff King.

    But there have been only four other days that featured three walkoffs. So because the names are so much fun to read, here they are:

    July 7, 1970 -- Brooks Robinson, Elliott Maddox, Ted Savage.

    Sept. 12, 1981 -- Lance Parrish, Chris Chambliss, Julio Gonzalez.

    May 13, 1986 -- Pat Tabler, Hal McRae, Dave Kingman.

    April 7, 2002 --Marcus Giles, Daryle Ward, Pat Burrell.

  • And one more note on game-enders -- because Barry Bonds just hit two extra-inning game-ending homers in the same series last week. The only other men to do that:

    Albert Belle, Indians, Aug. 30-31, 1995, vs. Toronto.
    Ron Santo, Cubs, May 28-29, 1966, vs. Atlanta.

    And by the way, the first player in history to hit two game-ending home runs in the same series was (who else?) Babe Ruth, against the White Sox, on Aug. 18-20, 1922.

  • Kevin Millar just hit the 10,000th home run in Fenway Park history. So the Sultan checks in with the three other men to hit a 10,000th home run in any ballpark:

    Tiger Stadium -- June 5, 1994 (Chuck Knoblauch off Mike Moore)
    Wrigley Field -- Aug. 25, 1999 (Glenallen Hill off Felix Rodriguez)
    Yankee Stadium -- May 21, 2002 (Rondell White off Luke Prokopec)

  • Reggie Sanders' two-homer inning last Wednesday was especially cool, because it made him one of only 10 players who have hit a slam and another home run in the same inning. The others, according to the Sultan:

    Fernando Tatis, Cardinals vs. Dodgers, April 23, 1999 (2 slams)
    Mark McGwire, A's vs. Mariners, Sept. 22, 1996
    Jeff King, Pirates vs. Reds, April 30, 1996
    Von Hayes, Phillies vs. Mets, June 11, 1985
    Ray Knight, Reds vs. Mets, May 13, 1980
    Willie McCovey, Giants vs. Reds, June 27, 1977
    John Boccabella, Expos vs. Astros, July 6, 1973
    Jim Lemon, Senators vs. Red Sox, Sept. 5, 1959
    Ed Cartwright, Browns vs. Athletics, Sept. 23, 1890

  • Curt Schilling gave up two home runs in one game to Sammy Sosa last weekend. And you don't see that much. Only 10 players in 16 seasons have hit two in a game off Schilling. And Sosa was only the second guy to do it twice. The other: Barry Bonds.

  • Reds rookie Ryan Freel hit his first two career homers this month -- off the Big Unit (Randy Johnson) and the Little Unit (Billy Wagner). Wagner hadn't allowed a run in 20 2/3 innings, a span of 48 days, at the time. The only other active players with home runs against both Johnson and Wagner:

    Geoff Blum
    Vinny Castilla
    Brian Giles
    Jeffrey Hammonds
    Andruw Jones
    Javy Lopez
    Phil Nevin
    Eric Owens
    Mike Piazza
    Aramis Ramirez
    Eric Young

  • Finally, Pat Burrell and Jim Thome already have homered in the same game eight times since Thome joined the Phillies. They need four more to tie the single-season franchise record, which we'll count even though it was set in the ridiculous Baker Bowl:

    12 -- Don Hurst/Chuck Klein 1929
    11 -- Greg Luzinski/Mike Schmidt 1980
    9 -- Chuck Klein/Lefty O'Doul 1929
    9 -- Del Ennis/Willie Jones 1949
    9 -- Rico Brogna/Mike Lieberthal 1999
    8 -- Scott Rolen/Pat Burrell 2002
    7 -- Greg Luzinski/Mike Schmidt 1977
    7 -- Richie Hebner/Greg Luzinski 1977

    Triviality
    Question: Javy Lopez is closing in on becoming the fifth catcher in history with a 40-homer season. Can you name the other four?

    Answer: Johnny Bench (1970, '72), Mike Piazza (1997, '99), Roy Campanella (1953) and (of course) Todd Hundley (1996).

    Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Send your Useless Info to uselessinfodept@yahoo.com.

    • MORE MLB HEADLINES

    Insider

    MOST SENT STORIES ON ESPN.COM

    Most Sent »

    TOP STORIES FROM ABC NEWS