The Baseball Maniac's Almanac (Baseball Maniac's Almanac: Absolutely, Positively & Without)

369 Pages·2005·4.43 MB·English

by  Bert Randolph Sugar

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THE BASEBALL
MANIAC’S
ALMANAC
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Also by Bert Randolph Sugar
Baseball’s 50 Greatest Games
Baseball Picture Quiz Book
The Baseball Trivia Book
The Baseball Trivia Book to End All Baseball Trivia Books, Promise!
The Great Baseball Players from McGraw to Mantle
Rain Delays
Who Was Harry Steinfeldt? & Other Baseball Trivia Questions
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THE BASEBALL
MANIAC’S
ALMANAC
The ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY,
and WITHOUT QUESTION
GREATEST Book of Baseball
FACTS, FIGURES, & Astonishing
LISTS Ever Compiled!
Ber t Sugar
Editor
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Copyright © 2005 by Bert Randolph Sugar. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States
of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this
publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database
or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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DOI: 10.1036/0071442669
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C O N T E N T S
Preface xxvii
Part 1 Individual Statistics 1
1 Batting 3
Base Hits 3
Most Hits by Decade 3
Evolution of Singles Record 4
Base Hit Leaders by State of Birth 4
Players with 200 Hits and 40 Home Runs, Season 5
Players with 200 Base Hits and Fewer Than 40 Extra-Base Hits,
Season (Post-1900) 5
Players with 3000 Hits, Career 6
Most Hits by Position, Season 6
Most Times at Bat Without a Hit, Season 6
Players with 200 Hits in Each of First Three Major League Seasons 7
Players with 200-Hit Seasons in Each League 7
Players with 200 Hits in Five Consecutive Seasons 7
Rookies with 200 or More Hits 7
Teammates Finishing One-Two in Base Hits 7
Players Getting 1000 Hits Before Their 25th Birthday 8
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vi Contents
Players with 10000 At Bats and Fewer Than 3000 Hits, Career 8
Players with 200 Hits, Batting Under .300, Season 8
Players with 2500 Hits and Career .300 Batting Average, Never
Winning Batting Title (Post-1900) 8
Players with 2500 Career Hits, Never Having a 200-Hit Season 9
Most Hits by Switch-Hitter, Career 9
Most Hits by Catcher, Career 9
Most Singles, Career 9
Fewest Singles, Season (Min. 150 Games) 10
Most Singles, Season 11
Largest Differential Between League Leader in Hits and Runner-Up 12
Batting Average 12
Evolution of Batting Average Record 12
Highest Batting Average by Position, Season 12
Highest Batting Average by Decade (2000 At Bats) 13
Top 10 Rookie Batting Averages, Each League (Min. 100 Games) 14
Lifetime Batting Averages of 20-Year Players (Not Including Pitchers) 14
Players Never Hitting Below .270 in Career (Min. 10 Years) 15
.400 Hitters and How Their Team Finished 15
.400 Hitters Versus League Batting Average (Post-1900) 16
Players Hitting .370 Since Ted Williams’s .406 Season (1941) 16
Players Hitting .300 in Rookie and Final Seasons (Post-1900; Min.
Five Years) 16
Players Hitting .300 in Their Only Major League Season (Post-1900;
Min. 100 Games, 300 At Bats) 16
Players 40 or Older Hitting .300 (Min. 50 Games) 17
Batters Hitting .325 for Two or More Different Clubs (Post-1945) 17
Batting Title 19
Closest Batting Races 19
Teammates Finishing One-Two in Batting Race 19
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Contents vii
Switch-Hitting Batting Champions 20
Catchers Winning Batting Titles 20
Batting Champions on Last-Place Teams 20
Batting Title Winners Without a Home Run 21
Batting Champions Driving in Fewer Than 40 Runs 21
Batting Champions with 100 Strikeouts in Year They Led League 21
Lowest Batting Averages to Lead League 21
Highest Batting Average Not to Win Batting Title 21
Runners-Up for Batting Titles in Both Leagues 22
Players Winning Batting Title in Season After Joining New Club 22
Players Changing Team in Season After Winning Batting Title 23
Largest Margin Between Batting Champion and Runner-Up 23
Champions Whose Next Season’s Batting Average Declined the Most 24
Lowest Lifetime Batting Averages for Players Who Led League 24
Two-Time Batting Champions with Lifetime Batting Averages
Below .300 25
Years in Which Right-Handed Batters Won Batting Titles in Both
Leagues 25
Home Runs 26
Evolution of Home Run Record 26
Most Home Runs by Decade 26
Career Home Run Leaders by Zodiac Sign 27
All-Time Home Run Leaders by First Letter of Last Name 27
Home Run Leaders by State of Birth 28
Most Home Runs in First Three Seasons in Majors 29
Most Home Runs for One Club 29
Most Home Runs by Position, Career 29
Most Home Runs Not Leading League, Season 30
Most Home Runs, Never Leading League, Career 30
Most Inside-the-Park Home Runs, Career (Post-1898) 31
Players with 10 or More Letters in Last Name, Hitting 40 or More
Home Runs in Season 31
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viii Contents
Most Home Runs, Month by Month 31
Most Home Runs by Position, Season 31
Players Leading League in Home Runs for Different Teams 32
Players Hitting a Total of 100 Home Runs in Two Consecutive Seasons 33
Players with First 20-Home Run Season After 35th Birthday 33
Shortstops with at Least Seven Consecutive 20-Home Run Seasons 33
Players Hitting Four Home Runs in One Game 34
Players with Three Home Runs in One Game, Fewer Than 10 in Season 35
Rookies Hitting 30 or More Home Runs 35
Players with 50 Home Runs, Batting Under .300, Season 35
Players Hitting 49 Home Runs in Season, Never Hitting 50 36
Most Consecutive Seasons Hitting Grand Slams 36
Most Home Runs by Age 36
Teenagers Hitting Grand Slams 36
Oldest Players to Hit Grand Slams 36
Oldest Home Run Champions 37
Most Career Home Runs by Players Hitting Home Run on First Pitch
in Majors 37
Players Hitting Home Run in First At Bat, Never Hitting Another 38
Most At Bats, No Home Runs, Career 38
Most Consecutive At Bats Without a Home Run 38
Lowest Batting Average for Home Run Leaders, Season (Post-1900) 38
Players Hitting 30 or More Home Runs in First Three Seasons 39
Reverse 30–30 Club: Players with 30 Home Runs and 30 Errors,
Season 39
Players Increasing Their Home Run Production in Seven Consecutive
Seasons 39
Most Home Runs by Switch-Hitters, Career 40
Most Home Runs by Catcher, Season 40
Most Home Runs by Catcher, Career 40
100 Home Runs, Both Leagues 41
Most Home Runs Hit in One Ballpark, Career 41