10/54 days

February 4, 2011

10 days until pitchers and catchers
54 days until Opening Day

Retirement Trivia: Andy Pettitte is going to announce his retirement today. My favorite part of watching Pettitte pitch always was waiting for the pickoff. You knew it was coming, so did the runner, so did half the stadium. Yet he kept nabbing napping baserunners. He will retire as the second most prolific picker off of baserunners (well, since 1920 anyway, when they started keeping track of such things) with 94 pickoffs. Who is number one on the list?

Bonus Lunch Trivia!: There have been 27 pitchers with at least 50 career pickoffs. Only six of them were right-handed. If you can name three of the six I will buy you lunch.

Betcha Didn’t Know “Cy” Was Actually a Nickname: On this day in 1956 the Cy Young Award is established. Denton True “Cy” Young died in 1955 and Baseball felt an award in his honor was an appropriate way to honor the man who holds several unbreakable records, the most ballyhooed of which is his untouchable 511 wins. From 1956-1966 one award was given for both leagues; Don Newcombe won the first.

After 22 years of pitching he went home to toil on his farm, not unlike George Washington. Young is tied in first place for most career perfect games thrown (1) with Dallas Braden, among others.

Not So Surprising From a Guy Who Once Banned Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle: On this day in 1971, Takoma Park, MD native and baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, in one of the biggest publicity flubs in the history of not thinking things through, proclaims that former Negro League players will have a separate (but equal, surely) wing in the Hall of Fame. The predictable controversy that ensued led to the Negro League players’ rightful inclusion in the Hall alongside everyone else.

Speaking of Banned Players: On this day in 1991 the Hall of Fame board of directors voted unanimously to ban Pete Rose from the ballot.

Maybe Better Than Charlie Hustle: On this day in 2004 the St. Louis Cardinals give Albert Pujols a deal of $100 million for the next seven years. Little do they know that exactly seven years later they will wish they had signed him for $250 million for 15 years, which would have been a huge bargain.

Got 'em.

Retirement Trivia Answer: Steve Carlton is in first place with 144 pickoffs.

Bonus Lunch Trivia Answer: Charlie Hough (73 pickoffs), Rick Sutcliffe (56), Jamey Wright (53), Phil Niekro (51), Don Drysdale (51), Jack Sanford (50).