Baseball Facts:Baseball Facts are a combination of Facts, Follies, Superstitions, and of course detailed information and records pertaining to the game of Baseball and its’ Players, past, present & future. Today the amount of information available at the fingertips of a Baseball Analysis is totally unbelievable. There rarely is a televised game anymore, when an announcer will throw in some bit of incredible little known fact, such as “the last time this type of event happened was Sunday, August 8th 1943, in Ebbets Field on a cloudy day.”---Baseball Facts How in the world did they find that tiny morsel of information and so quickly? Obviously, professional statisticians are privy to an enormous amount of baseball & player information far beyond us mere mortals, but we’re going to explore some funny, unusual and in many cases, surprising Baseball Facts. Baseball Facts - Fun and Crazy 1. The Manager with the Most Career Wins … Connie Mack, with 3,755 victories.
2. Prior to the 1859 baseball season, Home Plate Umpires sat in padded chairs located behind the catcher and called balls and strikes. 3. The First World Series was played in 1903, between Pittsburg and Boston, and was a 9 game series, which Boston won 5 games to 3. 4. The Average life span of a Major League baseball is 7 pitches before being replaced due to hitting a foul ball, ball hitting the dirt, pitcher requesting another ball or other reason.---Baseball Facts 5. Baltimore Orioles shortstop / third baseman, Cal Ripken, Jr. played 16 years in the Major League and Never missed playing in a single game, 2,632 total, from April 30, 1982 - September 19, 1998. A truly remarkable and most likely unbreakable record. 6. The New York Yankees Baseball Team has won more World Series,26, than any other team in baseball. 7. Speaking of the Yankees, Reggie Jackson was known as “Mr. October” because of his World Series hitting success, but another Yankee, Mickey Mantle, holds the record for most Homes Runs (16) & RBIs (40) in World Series History. 8. Former major league umpire, Cal Hubbard, is the only person elected to the Baseball And Football Hall of Fame. 9. In the entire history of baseball, only Fourteen (14) players have hit 4 Home Runs in 1 Game. Bobby Lowe, Ed Delahanty, Mike Cameron, Shawn Green, Rocky Colavito, Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt, Bob Horner, Chuck Klien, Pat Seerey, Joe Adcock, Gil Hodges and Lou Gehrig. 10. The First All-Star Baseball game was played in 1933, currently the American League leads the series 41-39, with Two Ties. In 1961 the game was rained out prior to extra innings, tied 1-1, and in 2002 the game was called after the 11th inning because both sides ran out of pitchers.----Baseball Facts 11. Nolan Ryan, known for his blazing fastball, known as the “Ryan Express”, pitched 27 years in the majors and Struck Out More Batters(5714) than any other pitcher in major league history, finishing with a 3.19 ERA. 
12. Before being accused of betting on baseball games while being a manager, Pete Rose held the All-time Record for Hits (4,256) and games played (3562). 13. The National Baseball Hall of Fame, located in Cooperstown, NY was constructed in memorial of Baseball’s 100th Anniversary. 14. The National and American League ended their division rivalry in 1997 when they agreed to Inter-League play during the regular season. Sometimes Baseball Facts and Figures can be quite deceiving, which is why I’ve always discouraged Coaches from relying solely on statistics when evaluating a player and his ability to help the team improve. --- Baseball Facts I realize I’ll have Coaches and Scouts want to argue this point with me, so allow me to put forth some examples of what I mean by saying “ You Can’t Always Believe The Stats.” Relief Pitchers : -------Baseball Facts The Saved Game has totally changed the game of baseball and has perhaps become the most influential, and yet most misunderstood, stat in sports.
The size of the paycheck of a football defensive player is measured in Sacks just as Hockey goalies are judged by Shots Blocked. However, these stats imply and verify the players are exceptional athletes at their position, while this is not necessarily true in baseball. There are 2 distinct ways to view a relief pitcher. Either he’s an exceptional expert in his job of throwing 1 inning of scoreless baseball or ; he lacks the skill to learn a 3rd pitch, has little to no stamina or can not get hitters out twice in 1 game. Mariano Rivera, is arguably the Greatest relief pitcher in history. However, do you know Dan Quisenberry led the league in saves 5 Times, while Rivera only accomplished it 3 times. The stats dictate Quisenberry was a better relief pitcher than Rivera, however most would vehemently disagree with that conclusion.
Better Hitter ? ------Baseball Facts Aubrey Huff, (345) who most would ask “Who is he,” hit more doubles than Mickey Mantle(344) during his career. In fact, in 1954 Mantle only hit 17 Doubles, yet led the league in runs scored and in 1961 hit 16 Doubles while hitting 54 Home Runs. Stats would indicate Huff was a better power hitter, based on slugging percentage and extra base hits, yet we know this is a statistical quirk, created by Mickey’s ailing knee problems. If you can’t run, or don’t want the risk involved in running, you can’t stretch singles into doubles. However, if we didn’t have prior knowledge of this, based on the numbers, we may draft Huff ahead of Mantle. Consistent Home Run Power : We know Babe Ruth’s record of hitting 60 Home Runs in one season, stood for decades and appeared unbreakable until Roger Maris hit 61 Home runs. Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench and many, many other power hitters throughout baseball history are quick to pop into your mind when Home Run Hitters are discussed. Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and others began hitting 60 + home runs on what seemed to be a yearly basis. Did anyone ever hit 60 + Home Runs more than once? Yes. Sammy Sosa did it 3 times! That’s right … 3. He hit 66 in 1998, 63 in 1999 and 64 in 2001. Three times Sosa hit more home runs than Babe Ruth in a single season, yet will never be grouped with the likes of Ruth, Aaron or Maris. As a last little quirk, you’d assume hitting 60 + home runs, he would have led the league in home runs each of the three years, but did not. McGwire out hit him in 1998 & 1999, while Bonds did it in 2001. Baseball Facts - Odd Rules : Baseball is filled with what appears to be Odd Rules today, but there was a reason for the rules at that time, although some were quite silly. For Example: Until the 1930 American League Baseball Season and prior to the 1931 National League Season starting, “ Fly balls hit over or thru the fence on a fly or one bounce, were considered a Home Run.” Specifically, a ball hit on a fly either over the fence or at least 250’ in the air before bouncing, and clears or goes thru the fence, while in FAIR territory, was considered a home run. Rule 6.09(d)-(h) of the MLB rule book, changed the rule for a ball which bounces over or through the fence to a “Ground Rule Double,” instead of a home run. Reportedly Babe Ruth never hit a home run which bounced over the fence, but Lou Gehrig and Roger Hornsby had some. Foul Lines Forever: --------Baseball Facts Home runs weren’t as easy to come by as one may think with the thru or bounce over the wall homers. Why not ? The rules were specific, a fly ball home run had to land in Fair 
Territory in order to be considered a home run, which meant if a fly ball went over the fence Fair, but twisted and landed Foul, it was considered a foul ball, not a home run, but it was more complicated than that. Photos of the old Polo Grounds showed ropes tied to the foul poles and extending to the ends of the stadium, which helped the umpire decide if the ball landed fair or not, and if the ball disappeared over the confines of the stadium, the ball was called Fair or Foul based on “When Last Seen.” Baseball historians estimate Babe Ruth lost between 75 & 100 Home runs due to this rule. For instance, on August 21, 1920, Ruth hit a Fair ball far over the right field grandstand roof at the Polo Grounds, which disappeared from sight.----Baseball Facts Ruth rounded the bases and as he approached home plate he was informed by the umpire the home run was voided because in his opinion, although he could not see the ball after it cleared the grandstand roof, the ball landed Foul somewhere out in Manhattan Field. Rule 6.09(d) changed the rule to “the ball had to leave the park fair, but if it twisted and landed foul, it was still a home run.” Historical Time Table of Baseball Facts: We are so accustomed to the modern day “Baseball Rules,” we seldom realize not all of these rules were original, but changed through out baseball history. Here’s a few examples of rule changes and the @ dates they occurred. 1. The Pitcher is restricted to a 6 foot square and must pitch underhanded. The batter can request the ball be thrown high or low and it was only a strike if the batter swung and missed. - 1876 If an umpire was not sure a player caught a fly ball before it hit the ground, he could confer and discuss the matter with spectators or players who may have seen what happened. - 1876 2. If a fielder caught a Foul Ball on a fly or after it bounces Only One time, the batter is out. - 1877 ----Baseball Facts 3. All pitched balls must be called either a Ball, Strike or a foul ball. - 1879 The number of strikes required to record a strike out, was set at 3. 4. The number of called balls required to walk a batter was reduced to 8. - 1880 The catcher is now required to catch the Third strike for the batter to be out on strikes. - 1880 5. Base on Balls was reduced to 7. - 1881 A pitcher will be fined for Intentionally hitting a batter. - 1881 6. Pitching distance was increased to 50 feet. - 1882
Umpires can no longer confer or consult with spectators and players. 7. A foul ball caught on a bounce, is no longer an out. The ball must be caught before hitting the ground. - 1883 A pitcher may now raise his arm to Shoulder Height when delivering a pitch. 8. Base on balls was reduced to 6. - 1884 A pitcher could raise his arm any height when delivering a pitch, more or less lifting all restrictions on pitching motions. 9. Home Plate could be made out of Marble or Whitened Rubber. - 1885 Baseball bats were allowed to have One flat side. (Rule only lasted 1 year) Umpires & catchers were allowed to wear chest protectors. - 1885 10. Base on balls is reduced to 5. - 1886 The size of the Pitcher’s box is reduced from a 6 foot square to 4 foot by 7 foot area. 11. A batter could no longer request a pitch as high or low. - 1887 A batter was awarded first base safely if hit by a pitch. Home plate could no longer be made of Marble. 12. A base on balls (walk) was no longer considered a hit and the batter is not charged with a time at time. - 1888 A batter is awarded first base and credited with a hit if he’s hit by a pitch. If the outfield fence is 210 feet or less from home plate, a batted ball going over the fence on a fly is No longer considered a Home run, but is a Ground Rule Double. - 1888 This rule was changed to 235 feet or less from home plate. - 1892 13. The pitching distance was increased to 60 feet 6 inches from 50 feet. - 1893 The pitching box is eliminated and replaced with a 12” X 6” rubber slab. The pitcher must have his rear foot in constant contact with the pitching rubber throughout his entire windup. - 1889 14. Foul bunts are classified as a strike if the batter has less than 2 strikes. - 1894 A Foul bunt attempt by a batter with 2 strikes is now considered a Strikeout. - 1909 As you can see Baseball Facts can be a learning experience, a laughing experience, or a “What were they thinking” experience.
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