Baseball History

[67RedSox]

I'm not so sure that's a dig, Silas. I think as far as both Candlestick and Bonds goes it's simply stating the truth. I always like to hear personal comments about baseball parks people have visited. When you say that Candlestick Park is the worst ballpark that you ever attended does mean at the ML level or would it include, say, PCL parks as well. From location to a design that just didn't work, to the wind gusts and cold damp conditions it couldn't have been much of a treat for fan or player. I remember a story about a gust of wind blowing Stu Miller off the mound once. I know Miller wasn't a big guy but that does speak about what one had to contend with playing there. I had never heard of the "Cardiac Hill" feature of the ballpark before...interesting comments.
Later this morning I'm doing a bit on the Union Grounds in Brooklyn, the first enclosed ballpark which goes back almost 100 years before Candlestick was built. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a better place to play than Candlestick.

 

[67RedSox]

I do admit that part of my fascination with the game is the ground that it’s played on…Baseball’s ballparks. I love that Baseball caught the bug to build retro-style ballparks and demolish those abominations like Three Rivers Stadium, Veterans Stadium and Riverfront Stadium. Today we’re going to go a long way back but it was on this date in 1862 that the Union Grounds in Brooklyn opened for business and for Baseball it was pretty significant as it was the first baseball facility to be completely enclosed by a fence and that was a turning point in the still then very young history of the game.
A baseball park being enclosed served a few purposes. First by having the ballpark fenced you could control access to the ballpark and therefore a baseball game became a revenue stream. Until then baseball games were played in open spaces which anyone could stroll up to and watch from pretty much any vantage point they wanted. If the ballpark was fenced and entrance to it controlled then if you wanted to watch the game an admission price could be charged. The owner of the Union Grounds was William Cammeyer and the field was available to baseball teams who wanted to play there and rather than charge the team rent for the use of the field he charged admission to the spectator who wanted to watch the game. When the Union Grounds first opened admission was 10 cents. Today that concept is standard but for Baseball in the 1860’s it was almost a novel idea. At the Union Grounds stands were built for the comfort of paying customers. The stands consisted of rows of benches and initially built for women who attended games. There was a seating capacity of 1,500 and one could still watch the game standing in areas that were well out of play. Non-paying customers had to find high ground outside the park, if there was any, if they wanted to watch the action.
An enclosed ballpark, like marrying into royalty, enhanced one’s social standing significantly and that was something Baseball very much needed in the 1860’s. An enclosed ballpark meant you could control entrance to the field and thereby keep certain elements out such as “roughs”, “riff-raff” and “blackguard boys” or, in other words, the undesirables. In 1867 admission was increased to 25 cents to ensure a better class of spectator. Now that might seem as being a bit elitist but in those days it was common for the roughs to disrupt ballgames. They would wander across a game, stay a while, disrupt the game, get bored and move on and a new wave of disruptors would move in and so on. The goal was to have baseball games attended by people who knew how to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion and take the unruly or gutter aspect out of it
Enclosed ballparks introduced capitalism into the game. Owners of parks like Cammeyer with the Union Grounds saw an economic opportunity. They acquired property, enhanced and maintained the property, attracted professional teams and spectators and by doing so had the opportunity to make money. I won’t argue that’s pretty much been taken to an extreme today.
The Union Grounds did host NL play for a couple of seasons before it was demolished in the 1880’s and it was pretty unique in that it had a three story pagoda in Centre Field. The pagoda served a useful purpose in the winter time when the field was flooded and used as an ice skating rink for a skating club. There’s a drawing of the Grounds below:

Google Image Result for http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_U2fOR6iqi3s/TJ07RCRqHlI/AAAAAAAAFn0/S9mJjFaMU3w/s1600/brooklyn+baseball+depiction+of+union+grounds.jpg

 

[Silas]

That's a nice piece, RS67, about The Union Grounds. Quite an interesting design. The layout reminds me a little of The Polo Grounds where the New York Giants and Yankees used to play.

I haven't been to many Minor League Ballparks, but the two I've attended the most are the ones in Las Vegas and Sacramento. The Park in Las Vegas appears old and dirty and is located in a pretty rough area of town, even by Las Vegas standards.

The Ballpark in Sacramento, Raley Field, is a beautiful Park and better than anything Candlestick Park ever had to offer except for the talent playing there.

I have a friend who played for the Giants during his career, and he told me most of the players hated playing in Candlestick Park. So, it wasn't just the fans.

The one good thing that can be said about Candlestick Park is that it provided a long running venue for major league baseball in San Francisco and, whether you're a fan of the Giants or not, that is a good thing.

 

[67RedSox]

I have to admit that I have no idea who this Patrick Corbin is that smf52 is making so much hay with... much to the chagrin of her opponents but on this date in 2012 he pitched against the Rockies at Coors Field and although he didn't pitch poorly he didn't pitch well enough to win because the Rockies defeated the D'backs 6-1. The significance of that game is that it was Jamie Moyer's last Win in his 25 year ML career. (I'm expecting there will not be more but you never know because ML teams always seem desperate for a Lefty come July and August).
I may have been incorrect several days ago when I suggested our favourite Rockies' fan, Jordyn, attended that game. I was thinking it was Moyer's historic Win making him the oldest ML pitcher to win a game but that might have occurred in April. In any event I know Jordyn was there for one of those wins...wish I was.

It was on this date in 1939 that the first night game was played in the AL at Shibe Park (Connie Mack Stadium). I loved Shibe Park but I rambled about an even older stadium yesterday, the Union Grounds, so I can't bore you with that sort of stuff again. For some reason (perhaps WWII) there were three AL cities Yankees (1946), Red Sox (1947) and finally the Tigers (1948) who didn't play their first night game until after the War. In the NL the Boston Braves (1946), other than the Cubs, were the last to do so. God love the Cubs who held off until 1988. I say that because it allowed me to listen to so many Cubs games on SW radio from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s. Whatever I am as far as a baseball fan goes is directly attributable to that.

It was on this date in 1920 that Dave Philley, pinch-hitter extradonaire, was born (he just died last year at age 91). His ML career began in 1941 and ended with the Red Sox in the 1960s losing 3 years to WWII. He once collected 9 consecutive pinch-hits which will probably be a record never broken. He also holds the ML record for most ABs in a single day...with 13.

 

[4thefences]

Jordyn was at the game in April when Moyer became the oldest winning pitcher.
Okay and this is no joke. For the 1st time in baseball history 2 deaf mutes face each other for the 1st time. Reds Dummy Hoy leads off against Giants pitcher Dummy Taylor in 1902. I didn't make that up either.

 

[67RedSox]

Great Post, 4thefences. Dummy Hoy, I knew of. He was a pretty good player who collected over 2,000 hits in his career and stole a ton of bases but in those days if you went from 1st to 3rd or 2nd to Home on a single you were credited with a SB. He is also one of only 3 OFers who have thrown out three runners at Home Plate in a game. He was all of 5'4" and 150 lbs but must have had a pretty strong arm. At the age of 99 he tossed out the ceremonial first pitch in Game 3 of the 1961 World Series in Cincinnati. However, as for from Dummy Taylor, I was not familiar with but am now. I also now know that these two guys hooked up together 40 years after that initial confrontation when they were battery mates...Taylor pitching and Hoy catching at a softball tournament in Ohio in 1942. Neither objected to their nickname and both did a lot of good work to enhance the the quality of life for the hearing impaired. An amusing antidote about Taylor...he couldn't speak but he could make a high squeaking sound which teammate Mike Donlin likened to the "crazed shrieking of a jackass". After his playing days he coached at 1B and used to make the sound to rattle opposing pitchers. Umpire Charlie Zimmer ran him from a game for doing it once and it's probably the only time a deaf mute was tossed from a game for making too much noise. Ironically, after his playing and coaching career ended he umpired for over 20 years (not in the majors).

 

[Silas]

Dummy Taylor was a pretty fair pitcher for quite a few years for John McGraw's Giants. He teamed with the great Christy Mathewson and Joe McGinnity, among others.

Umpires showing the pitching count with their hands has been credited to Dummy Taylor' deafness, so he'd know the count.

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1971 that Tom McCraw hit maybe the shortest HR in ML history. He hit a short pop-up that travelled just beyond 2B into the OF grass where three Cleveland Indians converged on the ball but instead of someone catching it they ran into each other. They all went arse over tea kettle while McCraw, who could scoot, circled the bases.

May 17th is a date of significance for HOFers Tris Speaker and Hank Aaron. On this date in 1925 Speaker collects his 3,000th Hit and on this date in 1970 Aaron becomes the first player with 500 HRs to also collect his 3,000 Hit.

You've heard of batters hitting for the cycle. How about pitchers throwing for the cycle. It was on this date in 2005 that Ervin Santana makes his ML debut pitching for the Angels. On the first 10 pitches he throws in his ML career four different Indians touch him up for a triple, double, single and Homerun...welcome to the Majors.

Finally, I know this is a Baseball Board but allow me to tell you a football story. It was on this date in 1979 that the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Chicago Bears 23-22 in a NFL game played in Chicago...er, what's that...really?..O.K., I'll let everyone know...allow me to correct myself. It was on this date in 1979 that the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Chicago Cubs 23-22 in a MLB game at Wrigley Field.
Imagine going to a game where 127 men go to the plate, 50 Basehits, 15 Walks and 45 Runs. I've never kept score at a game but if I was going to I would not want my first time to be in a game like that. There were 11 HRs hit in the game...what's the chances the wind was blowing out that day. Now the most incredible stat for the game...it only took 4:03 to play. Try that today and it would be the equivalent of a twi-nighter.

 

[67RedSox]

Well I notice that on this date in 1910 Lou Chiozza was born. Now, I’m guessing when you hear Lou’s name you don’t immediately think of Babe Ruth. In fact, when you read Lou Chiozza’s name in this Post it may be the first time his name has ever crossed in front of you but it was likely he who had more to do with Babe Ruth retiring than anyone else and the story is not all that pleasant.
Lou was a decent player, for the most part a 2nd Baseman. He was pretty good with the glove and could run. He also hit .304 as a rookie with the Phillies in 1934. He held the ML record (tied) for the most assists in a single game by a 2nd Baseman with 11 until Junior Gilliam of the Brooklyn Dodgers broke it with 12 in 1955. He has the distinction of being the first player to come to bat in a ML night game when the Phillies travelled to Cincinnati on May 24, 1935 to play the Reds in MLB’s first game played under the lights. His brother, Dino also played with the Phillies very briefly and Lou and Dino were one of the first sets of brothers to play together on the same team.
O.K., O.K. I can hear the yawns so I’ll get to the good stuff. In a game played on July 15, 1935 between the Phillies and Cubs something happened in a MLB game that had never been seen before. When Pretzel Pezzullo came into the game in the 9th inning to pitch for the Phillies it marked the first time three players with ZZ in their name were on the field at the same time. Lou Chiozza at 2B, Dino Chiozza at SS and Pretzel Pezzullo. Now if you honestly knew that please contact dgonaz directly and he will arrange travel and accomodations for you and a guest to this year's World Series along with the use of a private box...entirely at his expense. If he calls you crazy it's because he doesn't know anything about this yet.
Now to how Chiozza and the Babe are linked. After the 1934 season Ruth’s 21 year ML career was over except for one thing…Babe wanted to keep playing. The Yankees owner, Jacob Ruppert, not wanting Ruth to return in any capacity in 1935, worked out a secret deal with Boston Braves owner Emil Fuchs. Fuchs would offer Ruth a contract that included the titles of “assistant manager” and “vice president”. Ruth loved the idea and when he informed Ruppert, the Yankee owner said he wouldn’t stand in Ruth’s way. At spring training in 1935, Ruth learned that the Yankees had already assigned his #3 to George Selkirk. They were also using his locker to store firewood.
Ruth ended up playing in 28 games for the Braves, batting .181. The one bright spot came on May 25 in Pittsburgh. Ruth belted the final three home runs of his career, and drove in six runs. Career home run #714 disappeared over the right field roof—the longest home run ever hit at Forbes Field. Too bad it didn’t end there. On May 29, 1935, the Phillies were playing against the Boston Braves at Baker Bowl, the old cracker-box park of the old Philadelphia Nationals. Babe Ruth, playing left field at age 40 for the Braves, had nothing left but was still being exploited for his name. Chiozza, who had just been brought up from the Memphis Chicks, hit a short fly ball down the left field line that would have ordinarily, at best, been a double. Due to his advanced age and decreased mobility, Ruth stumbled after the ball in the outfield. The shortstop ran out, retrieved the ball and threw the ball home to barely stop Chiozza from an inside-the-park home run. Many in the park believed that the umpire felt sorry for the aging star and called an obviously safe Chiozza out at home plate. After Ruth realized that he was so slow that Lou almost made a home run on an ordinary base hit, he stood for a minute, folded his glove and walked off the field into the clubhouse. The Babe knew he was done and he officially retired a few days later on June 2, 1935.

 

[67RedSox]

Do you remember your ‘coming out’ year as far as Baseball is concerned…that year when you really started following the game. For me it was 1962. Roger Maris chasing down and passing Babe Ruth’s HR record in 1961 awakened my interest but it was really 1962 when I was hooked, and thank heavens for that.
I know there’s a couple of HOFers celebrating birthdays today…Brooks Robinson was born on this date in 1937 and Mr. October was born on this date in 1946 however because 1962 was such a fine year I’ll yak about someone who was front and centre that season.
Although, as a fan, I was an ALer it was the National League where all the excitement was as far as pennant races were concerned. There were 4 teams that year that won at least 93 games…the Pirates with 93, the Reds with 98 but neither was enough. In fact both the Dodgers and Giants who won 101 games discovered that wasn’t even enough. It would take a 3 game playoff between the two to crown a Pennant winner and that even went down to the final inning. The Dodgers went into the 9th inning of Game 3 leading by a 4-2 score and were playing at Home however the Giants scored 4 times in the 9th to win 6-4 and head off to the W.S. (Sorry, Silas)
During the 1960’s the five pitchers who were voted the best of the decade were 1- Sandy Koufax, 2- Bob Gibson, 3- Juan Marichal, 4- Jim Bunning, 5- Don Drysdale. Not there was a guy who was the Giants big Winner in 1962 and as much a reason for their winning the NL Pennant as anyone, Jack Sanford who won 24 games that year. It was on this date in 1929 that Jack Sanford was born. He came up with the Phillies and was the NL ROTY in 1957 going 19-8 and leading the League in K’s. For seven years he was one of the most durable pitchers in Baseball averaging about 230 innings and 16 Wins a year.
Over the past 50 seasons I can’t think of too many games, if any, that were more memorable than Game 7 of the 1962 World Series. 24 game Winner, Sanford versus 23 game Winner, Ralph Terry. Terry and the Yanks win by the narrowest of scores 1-0, and maybe the most nervous 9th inning you could imagine.

1962, it was quite a year.

 

[Silas]

I would rather hear about 1963!!!

 

[4thefences]

My "coming out" year for baseball would have been '67. Although I can remember watching the "game of the week" on the black and white prior to that with my dad and focused on the likes of Mantle, Mays, Drysdale and Koufax, '67 was the big year. Our family friends came out from Cape Cod and of course were huge Red Sox fans. Thus Yaz became my hero and the following year I was able to see him in person at Fenway against Frank Howard and the Washington Senators.

 

[67RedSox]

1967 was a great season, Fences, especially for the Red Sox and their fans. Personally, I consider it a far more exciting season for them and their fans then when they finally overcame the curse and won the WS in 2004.
Of course, Yaz had the super season. Everyone knew he could hit because he had already won a Batting Crown back in '63 but he had never hit more than 20 HRs or driven in 100 so the Triple Crown was huge. The Red Sox in 1966 were, in a word, horrible. They finished a half game out of last place with no expectations to be much better in 1967 but Yaz and the other guy who won the Cy Young that year who grew up and played ball in San Luis Obispo, a stone's throw from Morro Bay, had other ideas. The WS was about as good as it could get except for Game 7...of course. There was no way Lonborg, on 2 days rest, was going to beat Gibson.
Frank Howard was the most intimidating batter I ever saw. He was huge and the bat in his hands looked like a toothpick...1968 when you got to first see him was his 'coming out' season, in a way, when he cranked 40+ HRs for the first time and won his first HR Crown.
One of the things thing I remember about our old friend, Randy, was he considered the 1968 WS to be the last great World Series of that era.
If '67 and '68 didn't hook you... nothing would.

 

[67RedSox]

vvvv

HowStuffWorks "1967 Baseball Season Headlines"

HowStuffWorks "More 1967 Baseball Headlines"

 

[67RedSox]

Here's some light reading on 1967 in Baseball. Warning...open at your own risk because like an At Bat for Mike Hargrove it goes on and on and on...didn't know there was that much happened in 1967 but I loved the walk down memory lane:

HowStuffWorks "1967 Baseball Season Recap"

HowStuffWorks "1967 Baseball Season Headlines"

HowStuffWorks "More 1967 Baseball Headlines"

HowStuffWorks "1967 Baseball Season Highlights"

HowStuffWorks "More 1967 Baseball Season Highlights"

 

[67RedSox]

It was over before it started. On this date in 1952 the Brooklyn Dodgers score 15 runs in the 1st inning on route to a 19-1 victory over the Reds at Ebbetts Field. The two stats that blow my little mind about this game are…first, the game is played in 2:26. Can you imagine if that was today the 1st inning alone would take that long, and second…are you ready for this – 19 straight Dodgers came to the plate and got on base. The first batter in the inning, Billy Cox grounds out to 3rd and the last batter in the inning, Duke Snider strikes out but all 19 batters in between reach base…10 hits and 9 walks (one runner was caught stealing). Billy Cox, Pee Wee Reese and Snider all had thee At Bats in the first inning.
It was on this date in 1920 that the Chicago police, dressed as soldiers and farmers, raid the Wrigley Field bleachers arresting two dozen Cub fans for gambling. Of course, that was too early for smf52 to have been caught up in shenanigans like that but if it was 1970 in her young and wild days…who knows.
It was on this date in 1962 that Cubs 2nd Baseman, Ken Hubbs who would be NL Rookie of the Year and Gold Glove winner, at age 20, collects 8 base hits in a double-header against the Phillies. Not bad for a day’s work. He would die tragically just after his 22nd birthday.
On this date last year the Rockies were in one of their prolonged slumps of the year and in a game in front of 37,000 faithful at Coors Field Homer Guthrie coughs up 3 HRs to the visiting Mariners and the Rockies lose 6-4.
On this date two years ago the Rockies play the Brewers in a game that lasts 14 innings before Huston Street blows a save and Felipe Paulino loses the game. Tracy tried everything to win the game including running out to the mound Matt Reynolds, Matt Lindstrom, Matt Belisle and Matt Daley before the disastrous duo of Street/Paulino.
On this date ten years ago the LA Dodgers managed by Jim Tracy defeat the Clint Hurdle Rockies 3-1 at Chavez Ravine. That was the year that the trio of Belliard, Uribe and Stynes manned the Rockie infield west of Helton and that Preston Wilson had his huge year (36 HR / 141 RBIs ). Preston’s step-father (and Uncle) is the guy who hit the ball through Buckner’s legs and allowed the winning run to score in the 1986 WS, Mookie Wilson. Preston has a difficult job these days…he’s a TV colour analyst for the Marlins, the AAA team that plays out of Miami.
On this date twenty years ago the Rockies lose to the Padres, 5-4. Tony Gwynn leads the Padres with 3 Hits in a season which sees him hit .358 but finish 2nd to the Rockies’ Andres Galarraga who leads the League with a .370 average but finishes 10th in the MVP voting behind such luminaries as the .257 hitting Darren Daulton.

 

[C U Buff Fan1]

wow, 20 yo Rockies history. Has it really been that long?

Love the history lessons 67RedSox.

 

[67RedSox]

How many MLB parks have you managed to visit. My guess is the average fan can probably count them on one hand. How many MLB parks do you think Jamie Moyer has pitched in. The answer is 50 and, yes, that’s a record. It was on this date in 2012 that Moyer pitched in his 50th different park (Miami's new one)…it only took him 25 years to do it.
You likely think the above blurb on Moyer is all I had on him but since his name came up I may as well mention another Moyer…Ed Moyer, is the only other ‘Moyer’ to ever play in the Majors and he did so with the 1910 Washington Senators. They called him up in August of that year and he pitched in a total of six ML games. His career spanned the final six weeks of the season. Any rumour you’ve heard that Jamie Moyer saw Ed pitch in a MLB game is not true.
Wait…I’m not quite done with the Moyers. Jamie Moyer was born on November 18, 1962 the very day that Ed Moyer died.
In MLB it’s not uncommon for there to be back-to-back HRs hit in a game…we’ve all seen it happen more than once but how often have you seen back-to-back HRs caught by the same fan. It was on this date last year that 20 year old Cincinnati fan Caleb Lloyd catches both home run balls hit in consecutive at-bats, just three pitches apart, by starter Mike Leake and shortstop Zack Cozart during the fourth inning of the Reds' 4-1 victory over Atlanta at Great American Ball Park. Now that’s what you call being in the right place at the right time.
In 1915 Jake Ruppert and a partner, Tillinghast L’Hommedieu Huston, (say that name 3 times fast), bought the NY Yankees for $480,000.00 or the equivalent of $10.9M today. He would eventually buy out Huston’s interest in the team on this date in 1923 and how does he celebrate…Ruppert does the unthinkable…he buys an extra two sets of uniforms for his players so that they can play every game with a clean uniform, and that ladies and gentlemen, marked a first for any ML team.
It was on this date in 1893 that “Harvard” Eddie Grant was born. He came up to the Majors to stay in 1907 with the Phillies and played his last game with the Giants in 1915. Eddie Grant was a typical Deadball Era third baseman: mediocre offensively (as attested by his lifetime .249 batting average and .295 slugging percentage) but defensively reliable, particularly against the bunt. In his playing days "Harvard Eddie" was best known for his Ivy League diplomas. In an era when most of his teammates played poker while travelling by train, the intellectual Grant generally could be found smoking his pipe and reading a book. Today, however, he is remembered as the most prominent Major Leaguer killed in combat during World War I. When the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, he became the first Major Leaguer to enlist (Hank Gowdy was the first active major leaguer). Arriving in France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces, Grant's division saw some combat before being assigned to the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the final great American drive of the war. On October 2, 1918, the 307th Regiment launched an attack in the Argonne Forest, a rugged, heavily wooded area with thick underbrush, deep ravines, and marshes. Later that day the 307th was moving forward when Major Jay, as he was carried past on a litter, ordered Captain Grant, the highest-ranking officer left in his battalion, to assume command. The major had hardly spoken when a shell came through the trees, wounding two of Grant's lieutenants. Eddie was waiving his hands and calling out for more stretcher bearers when a shell struck him. It was a direct hit, killing him instantly. Eddie Grant was buried in the Argonne Forest, only a few yards from where he fell. A few years ago I got very close to that area but didn’t know the Eddie Grant story, wish I had…would have visited and paid my respects.
On this date in 1943 there was a ballgame in Chicago between the White Sox and the Senators. The White Sox won 1-0 but there must have been something really big going on that the ball players wanted to get to because the game only took 1:29 to play, the shortest 9 inning AL game ever played.

 

[67RedSox]

As a post script to the blurb on Eddie Grant above here's some WWII Baseball pictures...evidence that you can take the boy out of action and send him 000's of miles away but you can't take the game out of the boy:

...a game in England

ETO/Baseball at Kenilworth Road London in 1944

...playing in Guam

Pacific/Pee Wee Day Guam 1945

Pacific/Ray Champagne Pacific 1944

...India

CBI/1st Transport Squadron - India

...France

ETO/Camp New Orleans France

 

[67RedSox]

On this date last year the Rockies were defeated for the second game in a row by the Marlins, 7-6 in Miami. In that game, one of Tulowitzki’s last games before going down for the count, Tulo drove in his 19th run and Rosario his 15th of the season. Fast forward one year…Tulo has 38 (ah, to be healthy) and Rosario has 27 (so much for the sophomore jinx)
It was on this date in 1992 that Tom Runnells MLB managing career comes to an end when the Montreal Expos fire him and replace him with Felipe Alou. He’s still around and likely contributing to the Rockies success this season.
It was on this date in 2010 that Matt Stairs hits a HR for the San Diego Padres. It was just another one of the 265 he hit in his career but with that HR he tied the record (Todd Zeile) of hitting a HR with 11 different ML teams. Quite a feat when you think about it. Other useless HR records include…
Most 40 HR seasons – Ruth, 11
Most 30 HR seasons- Aaron, 15
League Leader in HRs- AL-Ruth, 12, NL- Schmidt, 8
Only Player to lead League in three different decades – Ruth
Only Player to win HR Crown with 3 different teams- Reggie Jackson (Athletics, Yankees, Angels)
Most Walk-Off HRs – Thome, 12

In the August 19, 1996 issue of Sports Illustrated there’s a story on the 1929-1931 Philadelphia Athletics entitled, The Team That Time Forgot and argues that the 1929 Athletics and not the 1927 NY Yankees may have been the greatest team ever assembled. I suppose the answer to that question depends on whether you’re from New York or Philadelphia. The Athletics went to the World Series as AL Champions those three years in a row winning in 1929 ( vs. Cubs ) and 1930 ( vs Cards ) and losing in 7 games in 1931 ( vs. Cards ). My favourite line in the story is…The A's of '29 to '31 left a generation of Philadelphians with memories of what it was like to have a team that ate the great Yankees for dinner, with Cubs on the side. I didn’t mean to get into the A’s of those days but to mention that it was on this date in 1902 that the guy who led those Philadelphia Athletics on the field, Aloys Szymanski, was born. He played under the name of Al Simmons and is a Hall of Famer and like the team that time has forgotten Al Simmons is the Baseball great that has been forgotten. His mistake was having a career that happened to coincide with Ruth, Gehrig and the Yankees of the 1920s and 1930s. He was an extraordinary hitter. He spent his first 9 seasons in the Majors with the Athletics until after the 1932 season. The success of the Athletics led to Connie Mack not being able to afford to keep the team together and Simmons was sold to the White Sox for $100,000.00. In those 9 seasons with the Athletics he averaged .357 and 130 RBIs. Incidentally, Simmons wasn’t hung up on wearing a certain uniform number…during his career he wore 11 different numbers.