Two catchers homering in the same game for the same team
Posted by Andy on April 9, 2011
In today's Phillies-Braves game, Philly starting catcher Brian Schneider homered. Later, Carlos Ruiz hit a pinch-hit grand slam and then moved to catcher, replacing Schneider.
That doesn't happen all that often--namely that two guys play catcher and homer for the same team in the same game.
Here are the 36 previous occurrences since 1919:
| Rk | Tm | Opp | Date ▾ | #Matching |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | BOS | CLE | 2009-10-03 | 2 |
| 3 | KCR | HOU | 2009-06-24 | 2 |
| 4 | CHC | DET | 2006-06-18 | 2 |
| 5 | ATL | WSN | 2006-05-13 | 2 |
| 6 | SDP | COL | 2000-09-19 | 2 |
| 7 | CIN | PHI | 1999-09-04 | 2 |
| 8 | SFG | LAD | 1998-09-19 | 2 |
| 9 | SDP | CHC | 1996-06-22 | 2 |
| 10 | BAL | DET | 1992-04-18 | 2 |
| 11 | HOU | ATL | 1989-09-20 | 2 |
| 12 | CHW | OAK | 1987-10-04 | 2 |
| 13 | CIN | SDP | 1987-07-30 | 2 |
| 14 | OAK | TEX | 1986-10-01 | 2 |
| 15 | SFG | ATL | 1986-09-14 | 2 |
| 16 | NYM | CHC | 1986-06-20 | 2 |
| 17 | DET | CLE | 1981-09-12 | 2 |
| 18 | DET | BAL | 1980-05-25 | 2 |
| 19 | OAK | DET | 1975-07-22 (1) | 2 |
| 20 | OAK | TEX | 1974-07-30 | 2 |
| 21 | CAL | OAK | 1974-05-26 | 2 |
| 22 | LAD | CIN | 1973-05-16 | 2 |
| 23 | CIN | LAD | 1972-09-04 (1) | 2 |
| 24 | SFG | PHI | 1971-08-18 | 2 |
| 25 | CHW | DET | 1970-07-25 | 2 |
| 26 | SDP | SFG | 1970-05-23 | 2 |
| 27 | ATL | HOU | 1967-08-11 | 2 |
| 28 | KCA | DET | 1967-06-17 (2) | 2 |
| 29 | ATL | PHI | 1966-06-20 | 2 |
| 30 | CIN | NYM | 1965-05-02 (2) | 2 |
| 31 | NYY | MIN | 1961-06-24 | 2 |
| 32 | BRO | PIT | 1953-08-15 | 2 |
| 33 | PHI | PIT | 1948-08-28 (2) | 2 |
| 34 | BSN | CIN | 1948-06-12 (2) | 2 |
| 35 | BRO | CHC | 1935-07-22 | 2 |
| 36 | PHI | NYG | 1928-06-27 | 2 |
| 37 | NYG | PHI | 1921-05-30 (2) | 2 |
I'd have to look at each game manually to see how many of them (unlike today's game) feature the homers when each guy was actually playing catcher. I presume the case today with Ruiz--hitting the HR as a pinch-hitter and then switching to catcher--is pretty common.
April 9th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
In the most recent of these games (2009 Boston), both Victor Martinez and Dusty Brown homered as catchers, occupying the same spot in the order. Martinez (like Ruiz) hit a grand slam. Dusty Brown's HR was the only one of his brief MLB career so far.
In the '72 Cincy game, Bench started (and homered) at 3B; Bill Plummer started at catcher.
April 9th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Nice info here. Schneider and Ruiz are the first catcher duo to both hit home runs with men on since Bo Diaz and Terry McGriff in 1987.
April 9th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Krukker, that's a fascinating email address you have. (The readers can't see it but I can.)
April 9th, 2011 at 4:18 pm
There's an unlikely but welcome name involved in this one:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL196708110.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool
Also a lot of drama in the HRs, plus a further twist.
Our man (I won't spoil the fun by revealing his name just yet) started for the Braves at catcher, batting 8th (he was lucky he didn't bat 9th); he homered in the 5th, tying the game. The game went into extra innings, and the Braves fell behind in the 13th when their former hero Eddie Mathews singled home a run after an intentional walk to Rusty Staub. The next batter also singled, but Staub was thrown out on the play, which was recorded as "LF-P-C".
That play loomed large in the bottom half, when Felipe Alou pinch hit for our man leading off and hit a game-tying HR. Joe Torre moved in from 1B to catch the rest of the game, and in the bottom of the 16th, he won it with a HR -- redeeming himself for the 2 DPs he'd hit into in the 8th and 11th, each with the potential winning run on 2nd.
BTW, "our man" was Bob Uecker.
April 9th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
@ 3
Can you give us a hint here Andy? That is a way to pique our curiosity - mentioning that something is interesting but not being able to reveal it to the rest of the crowd. Maybe Krukker could share his email address with us.
Incidentally, is there a way to send you an email Andy? I have an idea for a topic that I think would generate some nice discussion.
April 9th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
andy
at
baseball
dash
reference
dot
com
April 9th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
"Bring out your scrubs!" The two Oakland games from 1974-75 both featured third-stringer Larry Haney taking over the catching duties from Gene Tenace after the A's opened a big lead. The 2 HRs Haney hit in these games accounted for 2/3 of his HR production in those two seasons, including the last HR of his career; he had just 5 hits in 1975. Haney played 12 years, but never got as many as 200 PAs in a season, finishing with less than 1,000 PAs and a 58 OPS+.
P.S. I'd forgotten that Larry Haney's son, Chris, pitched in the majors for parts of 11 seasons. In his only full year as a rotation starter (1996, KCR), Chris Haney led the majors in hits allowed, but also led the AL in lowest walk rate
April 9th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
In the '81 Detroit game, both Bill Fahey and Lance Parrish homered with a man aboard; Parrish's HR was a 12th-inning game-winner.
April 9th, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Oh, I have my own domain name so I use the part before the @ to know where email comes from.
April 9th, 2011 at 7:37 pm
23 in the NL, only 13 in the AL. Braves, Reds, and Giants, 4 times each. Yet the Tigers were victims 5 times (the Phillies, 4).
April 9th, 2011 at 9:41 pm
Ruiz entered the game in the 7th, yet ended the game with 5 RBI. I was wondering what the record was for most RBI in a game in which the player did not start. That got me wondering about what the best single-game offensive performances were in general for players who did not start the game. Could Ruiz's performance today inspire more than one post perhaps?
April 9th, 2011 at 9:48 pm
I'm too young to "remember" the 1986 Giants-Braves game, but every Giants fan worth anything knows about Bob Brenly's adventures at 3B and redemption at the plate. Very cool to see that game on this list (Bob Melvin).
April 9th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Shamsky
April 9th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
@11.
The RBI record for subs is 7, done twice, both in blowout games. Both times, the player pinch-hit in the #6 spot in the order and then played first base.
John Mayberry 1978-06-26 TOR BAL W 24-10
Roy Sievers 1961-06-21 (1) CHW CLE W 15-3
In the Mayberry game (I remember watching this one), the Orioles predictably used a couple of non-pitchers on the mound, including catcher Elrod Hendricks who twirled 2.1 scoreless innings of 1-hit ball.
April 9th, 2011 at 10:30 pm
But in how many of these games - if any - did 2 guys hit homers while actually batting as a catcher?
April 10th, 2011 at 12:05 am
Interesting that the Royals-Astros game in 2009, both homers were in extra innings.
April 10th, 2011 at 12:20 am
@12, Aaron -- Wow, I knew about Brenly's 4-error game, but didn't know that he won the game with his bat. Ironically, he scored the highest WPA of his career in that game, 0.819. That's cool -- I love redemption stories!
April 10th, 2011 at 12:33 am
If Ruiz wasn't the catcher when he hit the grand slam than who was? Schneider had already been pitch hit for earlier in the inning.
April 10th, 2011 at 12:37 am
@11, Aaron -- By "Shamsky," Andy is not invoking some mysterious mantra, but rather, referring to this game, the highest WPA ever for a substitute batter (1.503):
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN196608120.shtml
Art Shamsky pinch-hit in the bottom of the 8th and hit a 2-run HR, giving the Reds a 1-run lead. They fell behind in the 10th; Shamsky tied it with another HR. They went down by 2 in the 11th; Shamsky tied it again, with a 2-out, 2-run HR. Despite his Herculean efforts (did Hercules come off the bench?), the Reds lost in 13 innings; Shamsky was 2 batters away when Leo Cardenas hit into a DP to end the game.
April 10th, 2011 at 12:41 am
@18, Travis -- Ruiz was a pinch-hitter when he hit the grand slam. The fact that Schneider had been removed earlier in the inning is irrelevant, as is the fact that Ruiz went out to catch after he batted. No one has a defensive position until he takes the field. Formally, the manager tells the umpire that X is batting for Y; defensive positions are not officially declared, they simply become official when the player goes to that position in the field.
April 10th, 2011 at 1:05 am
The 1935 Dodgers game featured HRs by Babe Phelps and Al Lopez from the same spot in the order.
-- Phelps hit .364 that year as a part-timer. In '36 he took over the regular job and batted .367, still the highest qualifying BA by a modern catcher.
-- Lopez held the career record for games caught (1,918) for over 40 years until Bob Boone broke it in 1987. Lopez made the HOF as a manager, with a lifetime .584 W%, 2 pennants and the 1959 championship; his '54 Indians held the AL wins record until the 1998 Yankees, and their .721 W% is still the AL record.
(Pun alert: That game also featured 3B Joe Stripp, who of course had once been a teammate of Charlie Dressen....)
April 10th, 2011 at 1:22 am
The 1953 Dodgers game featured HRs by Roy Campanella and Rube Walker, both as catchers. Walker took over behind the plate in the 5th, Brooklyn having opened up a big lead by scoring 3 runs in each of the first 4 innings, and he homered in the 6th.
The 1961 Yankees game saw HRs by the starting catcher Johnny Blanchard and by Elston Howard, pinch-hitting for him. For good measure, Yogi Berra was also in the lineup that day in LF, but he didn't go deep. That was some catching corps on the '61 Yanks: Howard, the regular, batted .348 with 21 HRs and a 153 OPS+; Blanchard hit .305 with 21 HRs in 243 AB and a 168 OPS+; and Yogi had his last good year, hitting 22 HRs mostly in LF but he did catch in 15 games. Howard had a weird power split; in 38 games through June 16, he was hitting .354 but without a HR, slugging just .423; from there on out he hit 21 HRs in 91 games and slugged .601.
April 10th, 2011 at 1:35 am
The May 2, 1965 Reds-Mets game had HRs by Reds starting C Don Pavletich and substitute catcher Johnny Edwards (who tripled as a pinch-hitter, then homered as a catcher), as well as a 3-run shot by Mets catcher Hawk Taylor.
Three weeks later, Hawk Taylor started behind the plate and hit a pair of 2-run HRs. Taylor started only 7 games that year and collected 7 hits, 4 of them HRs. His 2nd HR gave the Mets a 7-0 lead after 7 innings. The Cardinals tied it up in the 9th and won in the 12th; their catcher Tim McCarver had a HR, 2B and SB in the game.
April 10th, 2011 at 1:44 am
The 1967 A's game had HRs (as catcher) by Phil Roof in the 3rd inning and Dave Duncan's game-winner in the 19th, off Tigers rookie Mike Marshall, making Marshall a loser in the first decision of his career.
This was the 2nd game of a doubleheader, and took 5 hrs. 40 minutes. Neither team scored from the 8th through the 14th innings; they both scored a run in the 15th. Duncan's game-winner in the 19th, his only AB of the game, redeemed himself from a miserable performance in the 1st game of the doubleheader, 0 for 5 with 4 Ks (against 4 different pitchers), including the A's last out with the go-ahead run on 3B.
April 10th, 2011 at 1:57 am
The 1970 Padres-Giants game saw HRs by SD catchers Chris Cannizaro and Ron Slocum (who entered the game as a pinch-runner); it was the last HR of Slocum's brief career. That game also had 2 HRs by Willie Mays, one of the last multi-HR games of his career. Catching for the Giants was Dick Dietz, who that year became the 2nd catcher ever with 100+ walks and 100+ RBI in the same season. (Mickey Cochrane was the first; it was later done by Johnny Bench, Darrell Porter and Darren Daulton.) The Padres won, 17-16 in 15 innings; each team had 33 baserunners on walks + hits.
April 10th, 2011 at 1:59 am
Andy -- Fun set of games here! 🙂
April 10th, 2011 at 8:48 am
The first thing I thought of when I first saw this topic was that I once saw Jorge Fabregas and Mike Piazza hit back to back homers for the Mets in 1998, but Piazza appeared as a one-and-done PH in that game....
April 10th, 2011 at 9:22 am
Taking note of Stu @12 and Travis @18, the uniqueness of the event is slightly diluted by including games where the homering pinch hitter is then assigned the catcher's spot defensively.
How rare would is it be if the two catchers had already at least oneopposition batter faced before they came to bat later and homered?
However, still an interesting list arising out of yesterday's game!
April 10th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
I just noticed a game on the list above that features an even rarer feat....
The 9/19/98 Dodgers/Giants game featured all 18 starting players getting at least one base hit in the game. This game is stored away in my head because I witnessed the next such National League game in which this was accomplished on 5/26/04 (Pirates/Cardinals), and was shocked when they mentioned that feat had not happened in 6 years. Not sure if it's happened since then, or if it's researchable here, but thought I'd throw that out....
April 10th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
On a tangent ...
Catcher Russell Martin hit 2 HRs yesterday while batting 9th. It was the second 2-HR game this year by a #9 hitter; the other was also by a catcher, J.P. Arencibia, on April 1.
Over the previous 3 seasons combined, there were nine 2-HR games by #9 hitters, including one by Arencibia last year in his debut. Another Blue Jay, Travis Snider, had 2 such games in 2009.
April 10th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
@29, Evil Squ. -- Interesting theme, and it can be searched with the Play Index.
It has happened once in the NL since the game you saw, almost exactly a year later, with the Padres and D-Backs each collecting 15 total hits:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ARI/ARI200505240.shtml
The feat is much more common in the AL, naturally. In the past 3 years (2008-10), it was done 5 times in 9-inning games, most recently by Cleveland & Detroit a year ago tomorrow; 8 of the 9 Indians starters in that game had exactly one hit.
April 10th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
@Doug
Thanks!
April 10th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Both of the White Sox games on here are legit. Fisk took over from Hassey and then homered in the 1987 game; in the 1970 game, the second catcher singled as a pinch-hitter and stayed in the game until he hit his HR.
I would wonder if there are more AL players who started at DH and moved to catcher on this list. (Fisk did that at one game I saw in 1985).
April 10th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
@31 Thanks John Autin!
Interesting that Russ Ortiz was the SP in two of the three such games since 1998....
April 11th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Liking that the only career HR by Dusty Brown and the one inning of catcher Phil Nevin played for the Cubs are represented on this list. Who knew?