Tagged: George Burns
Doubles Machine
Yeah we all know chicks dig the long ball, but what about Doubles. The Braves’ Matt Olson is laying the foundation for a potentially historic season. Atlanta’s First Baseman has 23 Doubles through the first 55 games of the season. He is on pace to finish with 68 Doubles, one more than the single season record. Everyone loves dingers, but Doubles could be the biggest headline in Atlanta this summer.
The 1931 Red Sox were not a good team. Boston finished 62-90-1 and in sixth place in the eight team American League. The Red Sox finished 45 games behind the pennant winning Philadelphia Athletics. However, Boston’s Earl Webb had a career year. The Left Handed hitting Webb played in 151 of Boton’s 153 games and posted a career best .333 BA. The previous season Webb hit 30 Doubles, but in 1931 he more than doubled that total by hitting 67 two baggers. He broke George Burns’ five year old single season record of 64 Doubles. Webb was a hitting machine, collecting 0.44 Doubles per game played and 0.101 Doubles per Plate Appearance. He was not a power hitter, but he found the gaps.
Earl Webb’s Doubles record had several early challenges. There have been 100 seasons in which a player has hit 50 Doubles. There have been six 60 Double seasons. Webb’s record setting 1931 season and George Burns’ then record 1926 season. Hall of Famers Joe Medwick, Hank Greenberg, Paul Waner, and Charlie Gehringer hit 60 Doubles in a season during the 1930’s, but none topped Webb’s 67. Since integration in 1947, only three players have threatened the record. Todd Helton hit 59 Doubles in 2000 for the Rockies. Nick Castellanos hit 58 Doubles in 2019 with the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs. Carlos Delgado hit 57 Doubles in 2000 with the Toronto Blue Jays. That is it. In the 90 seasons since Webb set the Doubles record only a few Hall of Famers from his era and three modern All Stars have come remotely close to breaking the single season Doubles record.
Matt Olson is on pace to break Webb’s long standing record. There is still more than half of the season left to play. Olson has to stay healthy and productive to have a chance. He is hitting 0.42 Doubles per game played and 0.094 Doubles per Plate Appearance. Both are slightly lower than Webb’s pace, but Olson has the opportunity to play 11 more games due to the longer season. Olson is playing within the rules set by MLB. Much like Roger Maris’ Home Run record there will be no asterisks.
Injury or bad luck could derail Matt Olson’s assault on a nine decade old record. This Doubles chase will not garner national attention like a Home Run race. However, it does show how despite player improvement, a record set by a player who spent just seven seasons in the Majors and was out of baseball three years after setting the record has stood the test of time. Baseball is a funny game. No player, Hall of Famer or All Star, has matched Earl Webb’s 1931 season. Perhaps Matt Olson can stamp his name in the record books one Double at a time.
DJ
The Twelfth Lousy Day of Baseball Christmas
On the Twelfth Lousy Day of Baseball Christmas the baseball gods sent to me: the most Batters Faced without recording an out, the lowest Batting Average for a position player, the most Passed Balls in a game, the worst ERA, the worst ERA with a Win, the most Runners Left on Base in a season, the most times Caught Stealing without a Stolen Base, the most Hits without an RBI, the most Innings Pitched without a Win or Save, the most Games Managed without finishing first, the most Home Runs without a Triple, and the most Complete Games without a Shutout.
Bill Childers and Doc Hamann suffered through the worst possible days on a mound in Major League history. They each faced seven batters, retired none, and never returned. Childers’ horrific day occurred on July 27, 1895 in Louisville. He pitched for the Colonels against the Baltimore Orioles in a 22-6 loss. Childers faced 7 batters, allowed 2 Hits, 5 Walks, threw 3 Wild Pitches, allowed 6 Runs, all Earned, an infinite ERA and WHIP, and 3 ERA+. He stood alone as the king of ineptitude for nearly three decades.
Nothing is guaranteed in baseball or life. Cleveland trailed the Red Sox 9-5 entering the 9th Inning on September 21, 1922. Doc Hamann was summoned to finish the game. Boston’s Johnny Mitchell drew a lead off walk. Ed Chaplin also walked before Red Sox pitcher Jack Quinn was Hit By a Pitch to load the bases. Not great. Next, Mike Menosky drew the third walk of the Inning, forcing Mitchell home. Elmer Miller laced a bases clearing Triple, scoring Chaplin, Quinn, and Menosky. George Burns drove Miller in with an RBI Single. After a Wild Pitch, Del Pratt delivered an RBI Single, chasing Hamann from the game. He faced 7 Batters, allowed 3 Hits, 3 Walks, 1 Hit Batter, 1 Wild Pitch, 6 Runs, 6 Earned Runs, an infinite ERA and WHIP, and a 3 ERA+. Cleveland lost 15-5.
Bill Childers and Doc Hamann each faced 7 Major League batters and did not retire any of them. Success and failure are inches apart on a baseball field. The changes in baseball since the early live ball era makes it nearly impossible for another pitcher to join Childers and Hamann in their unenviable club. Everyone leaves a mark on the game, some wish their mark would remain hidden.
Happy Twelfth Lousy Day of Baseball Christmas.
DJ
The Winning Run 