18 Responses to “3+ Games With 2B/3B/HR Since 1920”

1. Dr. Doom Says:
   January 25th, 2011 at 11:18 am

   Arky Vaughan... wow.

2. John Autin Says:
   January 25th, 2011 at 11:19 am

   Whaddaya know, there's Lou Whitaker again....

   -- Did it in '83 batting leadoff (2B-HR-2B-3B-SO), in '89 hitting 3rd (HR-3B-GO-BB-2B).
   -- Never did get a cycle; had 14 games where he lacked the triple, 4 where he lacked the HR, 1 where he lacked the double.

3. Tmckelv Says:
   January 25th, 2011 at 2:10 pm

   I think we found Babe Ruth's weakness.

   On the first list he has the worst batting average in such games (those w/ 2B, 3B, HR) at "only .600, and no cycles.

4. Andy Patton Says:
   January 25th, 2011 at 2:50 pm

   Magglio? seems odd he'd have that many games with a triple and no singles. always fun to find stats like these!

5. topper009 Says:
   January 25th, 2011 at 2:59 pm

   Just wondering if anyone has any stories of something you cant look up with the play index, a case of a guy "stopping" on first to secure the cycle when they could have easily had a double?

6. John Autin Says:
   January 25th, 2011 at 3:24 pm

   Going off on a tangent (should that be my screen name?) --

   In the game-searchable era (1920-present):

   -- There have been only 7 cycles that featured 2 HRs. Joe DiMaggio did it twice, 11 years apart (1937, '48). The last to do it was Gregg Colbrunn (2002). Yaz is the only one to do it in a loss; he homered in the 1st and 2nd innings, walked in the 4th, tripled in the 6th, singled in the 8th and doubled in the 10th.
   http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS196505140.shtml

   -- The most total bases in a game without a run or an RBI: 9, by Stan Musial. On May 5, 1943, Musial had 4 hits and a walk in 6 trips -- two 3Bs, a 2B and a 1B. The Cards lost the game to the Cubs, 2-1, in 14 innings.
   http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN194305050.shtml
   Three others have had 8 total bases without a run or RBI: Cecil Espy (4-5, two 3Bs), Mickey Rivers (4-5, two 2Bs and a 3B), and Joe Medwick (5-5, 3 2Bs).

7. John Autin Says:
   January 25th, 2011 at 4:09 pm

   Topper009 -- I found this note on Baseball-Almanac:

   "On June 3, 1932, Tony Lazzeri had a natural cycle that was also completed with a grand slam; however, this amazing event is often overlooked because it was the same game in which Lou Gehrig hit four home runs."

   Here's the box score:
   http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHA/PHA193206030.shtml

   The Yanks beat the A's, 20-13, at Shibe Park. It was a back-and-forth game until the Yankees nailed up a 6-spot in the 9th, including Lazzeri's grand slam.

8. Lawrence Azrin Says:
   January 25th, 2011 at 4:23 pm

   #7/.. John Autin Says: "Topper009 -- I found this note on Baseball-Almanac: {"On June 3, 1932, Tony Lazzeri had a natural cycle that was also completed with a grand slam; however, this amazing event is often overlooked because it was the same game in which Lou Gehrig hit four home runs."}"

   ..and in turn, Lou Gehrig's 4-HR game was not exactly overlooked, but overshadowed by John McGraw's retirement announcement the same day... McGraw died less than two years later.

9. Dr. Doom Says:
   January 25th, 2011 at 5:13 pm

   @7 & 8

   Nice finds!

10. LJF Says:
    January 25th, 2011 at 5:18 pm

    Manny Trillo above Babe Ruth on both lists. Nice.

11. John Autin Says:
    January 25th, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    Certainly one of the most statistically unlikely cycles was turned in by Charlie Moore on Oct. 1, 1980. Moore went 4 for 5 and stole 2 bases.

    -- It's the only cycle from 1920-present that included 2+ SB. Moore had just one other multi-SB game in his long career; he finished with 51 SB and 57 CS.

    -- Each of Moore's 4 hits came off a different pitcher, as did his lone out in the 9th inning.

    -- It was Milwaukee's 160th game of the year. To that point in the season, Moore had 1 HR and 1 triple in 346 PAs that season, with 8 SB in 13 tries.

    -- Moore batted .261 for his career, with 36 HRs (0.8% of PAs) and 43 triples (0.96% of PAs). This was the only time he had a HR and a triple in the same game. It was also the only time he had 3 or more extra-base hits in a game.

12. Kahuna Tuna Says:
    January 25th, 2011 at 6:22 pm

    "Statistically unlikely cycles" — Charlie Moore was practically a lock compared to Otis Clymer and his two career major-league homers. Clymer hit for the cycle on October 2, 1908, while playing for Washington in a 12-2 road win against New York. (He'd have done better to achieve the feat a day earlier, when Walter Johnson lost 2-1 to Jack Chesbro.)

    Here is Clymer's Wikipedia page.

13. dukeofflatbush Says:
    January 25th, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    Baseball is one of the few games where it is difficult to 'pad' stats.
    I know one can argue that a guy who selfishly swings for the fences, regardless of game situation or count (Mark Reynolds) - which you can say they are padding their HRs. But that is tough to prove.
    I guess the modern save has become a stat that the whole of baseball seems to have invented and padded, especially Billy Beane, whom seems to use closers as currency.
    But individually, I guess it would be hard to pad any stat, except the SB. I once pointed out that Rickey Henderson, for all his speed and exceptional baseball IQ, had a very low total of doubles and triples.
    For instance, Jim Rice, in 600 fewer hits had more triples than Rickey, and Craig Biggio, with a nearly identical hit total had over 150 more doubles than Rickey. But it would be pretty hard to prove that conclusively.
    But then there is the cycle. If a guy was missing the single, have you ever heard of an instance of him pulling up at first, for the sake of the cycle's rarity?
    Or, if the season or game seemed out of reach, would you begrudge a player for doing so? Especially a player who may not achieve much through the course of his career?

14. John Autin Says:
    January 25th, 2011 at 10:11 pm

    @13, Dukeofflatbush: "would you begrudge a player for [stopping at first to achieve a cycle]?"

    Duke, if it was clear that he had done so, then yes, I would. Since "the cycle" is just a freak stat -- it's obviously a greater accomplishment to hit a HR, 3B and two 2Bs -- so why compromise the integrity of your play.

    On the other hand, Cesar Tovar playing all 9 positions in a game, for the sole reason of setting that "record," doesn't fill me with righteous indignation. So maybe I haven't thought this all the way through.

    In any case, if I overheard him telling his grandkids about hitting for the cycle, I wouldn't jump in to debunk his story.

15. John Autin Says:
    January 25th, 2011 at 10:32 pm

    @12, Kahuna Tuna --

    Otis Clymer! Kahuna, you are the best.

    BTW, you think his parents considered naming him Ivy?
    (Or maybe Centennial?)

    P.S. His "similar" players sounds like a fictional baseball team: Chet Chadbourne? Lefty Davis? Billy Zitsmann? Bunk Congalton?? Benny "Earache" Meyer???

    P.P.S. Otis Clymer hit .342 for the Minneapolis Millers in the 1911 American Association, placing 5th in the batting race. The big star in the league was his teammate, Gavvy Cravath, who not only copped the batting crown at .363, but hit 29 HRs -- more than the #2 & #3 sluggers combined -- next 2 players combined; shades of things to come once he got back to the big leagues. Those 1911 Millers had a number of former & future MLB stars, especially in the pitching staff: "Deacon" Sam Leever, Rube Waddell, Red Faber, Nick Altrock....

16. dukeofflatbush Says:
    January 25th, 2011 at 10:42 pm

    Sorry Topper,
    Didn't see you brought up the topic first.
    It does make me recall Robin Ventura's walk-off Grand Slam single.

17. Kahuna Tuna Says:
    January 26th, 2011 at 1:39 pm

    John @#15, as long as we’re talking about the minor-league career of Otis Clymer, here’s a small item from the Philadelphia Evening Ledger of Sept. 25, 1914, pg. 12 (link):

    "From August 5 to September 2, inclusive, Bunny Brief [born Anthony John Grzeszkowski], who was tried out by the St. Louis Browns last season, made a hit in every game. Bunny is now with the Kansas City club of the American Association. He made hits in 30 consecutive games, breaking the record formerly held by Otis Clymer."

18. John Autin Says:
    January 27th, 2011 at 1:01 am

    "KA-HUUUUUUUUU-NAAAAAA!!!!!"

    Really, now, my cup runneth over. Bunny Brief?!? Now that's giving ol' Stubby Clapp III a run for his money!

    And to top it off, Bunny Brief (whom I'd never heard of until you dropped his name) was a HUGE minor-league star -- 342 career HRs, .331 BA, still holds the American Association HR record with 256.

    Oh, and that 1914 sports page -- classic! "First of the Series of Golf Contests Likely to Be Very Interesting" -- why, if I ever found golf interesting, I'm sure it would have been those contests.

    And Hank O'Day noting his opposition to the emery ball, while at the same time virtually teaching us how to throw one?

    Good stuff.