February 23, 2011
Position players have joined the pitchers and catchers at spring training
35 days until Opening Day
Bad knees trivia: Which player has the most seasons in which he played at least 140 games at catcher? (It’s probably not who you think it is.)
Baseball birthday: Today is Elston Howard’s birthday. Howard won the AL MVP in 1963 for the Yankees. For much of his career he split time among the outfield spots and backstop, but during the period of 1960-1967 he spent most of his time catching (previous to 1960 he was splitting time with an old-timer named Yogi). That MVP year was one of his years behind the plate, as he played 132 games there.
I looked up his numbers for that season and frankly they aren’t that impressive. He hit .287 with 140 hits, 28 homers, 85 RBI, and 257 total bases. He didn’t lead the league in any offensive category, but he did win his first Gold Glove.
That season Bob Allison of Minnesota had 143 hits, 35 homers, and hit .271. Yastrzemski had 183 hits and averaged .321. Killebrew had 45 home runs. Howard’s teammate Whitey Ford was 24-7 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.099 WHIP.
I ran some of Howard’s key offensive stats: 140 hits, 28 homers, 257 total bases, .287 batting average. 292 players have had seasons in which they at the bare minimum hit all of those numbers. Hank Aaron did it 13 times (as did Mays). Even Fernando Tatis and Ryan Klesko and Brad Hawpe are in on this accomplishment. So why Howard?
When you run those stats and include playing 132 games at catcher, the number of players with matching season dwindles to 12. Only three catchers have had multiple seasons that match Howard’s 1962 (Piazza, Campanella, Berra). Howard’s 1963 season was the first of its kind for a catcher since Berra seven years earlier.
Including when he was first base coach for the Yankees in the 1970s, Howard gathered six World Series rings. He also lost six World Series as a player, a record he shares with Pee Wee Reese. He was the first black player to play for the Yankees and the first black coach in the American League.
Howard is credited with inventing the batting donut.
Did you know who Bob Allison was without looking him up? Really? He moved to Minnesota and became a Twin when the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961.
Trivia answer: The player with the most seasons playing at least 140 games at catcher is none other than Jason Kendall, with 9 such seasons. Somewhat surprisingly, only 72 players ever have played even a single season that meets that criterion. Some notables:
Gary Carter – 7
Tony Pena – 6
Yogi Berra – 5
Mike Piazza – 4
Ted Simmons – 4
Pudge Rogriduez – 3
Johnny Bench – 3
Carlton Fisk – 2
Position players have joined the pitchers and catchers at spring training
35 days until Opening Day
Bad knees trivia: Which player has the most seasons in which he played at least 140 games at catcher? (It’s probably not who you think it is.)
Baseball birthday: Today is Elston Howard’s birthday. Howard won the AL MVP in 1963 for the Yankees. For much of his career he split time among the outfield spots and backstop, but during the period of 1960-1967 he spent most of his time catching (previous to 1960 he was splitting time with an old-timer named Yogi). That MVP year was one of his years behind the plate, as he played 132 games there.
I looked up his numbers for that season and frankly they aren’t that impressive. He hit .287 with 140 hits, 28 homers, 85 RBI, and 257 total bases. He didn’t lead the league in any offensive category, but he did win his first Gold Glove.
That season Bob Allison of Minnesota had 143 hits, 35 homers, and hit .271. Yastrzemski had 183 hits and averaged .321. Killebrew had 45 home runs. Howard’s teammate Whitey Ford was 24-7 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.099 WHIP.
I ran some of Howard’s key offensive stats: 140 hits, 28 homers, 257 total bases, .287 batting average. 292 players have had seasons in which they at the bare minimum hit all of those numbers. Hank Aaron did it 13 times (as did Mays). Even Fernando Tatis and Ryan Klesko and Brad Hawpe are in on this accomplishment. So why Howard?
When you run those stats and include playing 132 games at catcher, the number of players with matching season dwindles to 12. Only three catchers have had multiple seasons that match Howard’s 1962 (Piazza, Campanella, Berra). Howard’s 1963 season was the first of its kind for a catcher since Berra seven years earlier.
Including when he was first base coach for the Yankees in the 1970s, Howard gathered six World Series rings. He also lost six World Series as a player, a record he shares with Pee Wee Reese. He was the first black player to play for the Yankees and the first black coach in the American League.
Howard is credited with inventing the batting donut.
Did you know who Bob Allison was without looking him up? Really? He moved to Minnesota and became a Twin when the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961.
Trivia answer: The player with the most seasons playing at least 140 games at catcher is none other than Jason Kendall, with 9 such seasons. Somewhat surprisingly, only 72 players ever have played even a single season that meets that criterion. Some notables:
Gary Carter – 7
Tony Pena – 6
Yogi Berra – 5
Mike Piazza – 4
Ted Simmons – 4
Pudge Rogriduez – 3
Johnny Bench – 3
Carlton Fisk – 2
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