By Tom Ruane
A while back, I started collecting my Retrosheet posts in a place on the web-site. This series eventually grew to encompass several articles. Here are the others:
Fun With Retrosheet Data Fun With Retrosheet Data, the Sequel Fun With Retrosheet Data, Episode 3 Fun With Retrosheet Data, Episode 4 Fun With Retrosheet Data, Episode 5 Fun With Retrosheet Data, Episode 7
I hope at least some of this is of general interest and, as always:
Thanks for your patience.
A note on the scope of the data presented in these articles:
As of this writing, the data used in these articles does not include any of the Negro Leagues that are now considered by MLB to be part of the "Major Leagues" as of December 2020. These leagues are the Negro National League from 1920 to 1931 and 1933 to 1948, the Eastern Colored League from 1923 to 1928, the 1929 American Negro League, the 1932 East-West League, the 1932 Negro Southern League, and the Negro American League from 1937 to 1948.
This omission is not in any way a reflection upon the major league status of those leagues (or for that matter any additional leagues that may come under the Major League umbrella in future years), only that I did not have access to data associated with these leagues while I was researching and writing these articles. In light of this, any data presented in this article, as well as my use of the term "major leagues," should be viewed in light of this omission.
List of Articles (starting with most recent)
Three-Out Innings with No Official At-Bats (April 16, 2023) ERA Qualifiers and the Number of Batter-Pitcher Matchups (November 7, 2021) Fun With Batting Orders (August 5, 2021) Most Consistent Pitchers (May 11, 2021) The Most Homogeneous Batting Orders (May 6, 2021) Most Consistent Hitters (April 25, 2021) Pitchers Doing Random Things In The Most Consecutive Games (February 2, 2021) Players Doing Random Things In The Most Consecutive Games (January 24, 2021) Extra-Inning Season and Career Batting Records (October 19, 2019) Extra-Inning Single Game Batting Records (September 29, 2019) Second (and third) Generation Major League Players (September 14, 2019) Perhaps the Most Improbable Comebacks From 1901 to 2018 (May 13, 2019) Runs Produced By The Most and Fewest Hits (September 12, 2018) Changes In Pitch Outcomes: 1988-2016 (July 2, 2017) Fun with a Team's OPS (June 20, 2016) A Look at Run Differentials (June 18, 2016) Starting Pitching Lines (May 24, 2015) The Greatest Incomplete Starts (May 20, 2015) Most Surprising Pitching Performances (July 5, 2014) Both Starting Pitchers Making MLB Exits (May 26, 2014) Both Starting Pitchers Making MLB Debuts (May 19, 2014) The Age of Starting Lineups (May 5, 2014) Hot Starts to Careers, the Pitching Edition (April 29, 2014) Hot Starts to Careers, the Batting Edition (April 28, 2014) Hard to Hit Pitchers (April 5, 2014) Unique Batting Lines (August 26, 2012) Come-From-Behind Wins and Losses (July 8, 2012) A Tour of Team Pitching Logs (July 7, 2012) A Tour of Team Batting Logs (July 5, 2012) Consecutive Winless Starts (June 23, 2012) Low-Hit Clusters (June 19, 2012) When Winning Streaks Collide (June 14, 2012) Defensive Juggling (May 8, 2012) Incomplete Games By Position (April 8, 2012) A Look at Triple-Crown Leaders (December 19, 2011) Do Only Slow Runners Ground into a Lot of DPs? (December 15, 2011) The Homering-est Teammates (and Multiple Debuts) (December 12, 2011) Multiple Hitting Streaks (November 29, 2011) The Most Exciting Games (October 28, 2011) League Leaders With the Fewest Games Played (October 14, 2011) Nelson Cruz Made Me Do It (October 15, 2011) Players With The Highest Percentage of Post-Season Homers (October 7, 2011) Doubling Their Home Runs (September 27, 2011) Top Hitting Streaks By Batting Order and Defensive Position (September 27, 2011) Come-From-Behind Batting Champions, An Update (September 26, 2011) Best Career Marks By Park (September 24, 2011) Come-From-Behind Batting Champions (September 23, 2011) Best Career Hitters By Lineup Position (September 18, 2011) Best Hitters By Lineup Position (September 16, 2011) More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About 1-0 Games (September 15, 2011) Best/Worst Month for a Team's Pitchers (September 14, 2011) Batters Supporting Starting Pitchers (September 10, 2011) Most Strikeouts Between Hits Allowed... And Then Some (September 5, 2011) Double-Digits In Strikeouts and Hits Allowed (September 3, 2011) Bases-Loaded Plate Appearances (August 31, 2011) Palindromic At-Bat Line (August 27, 2011) Most At-Bats With the Bases Loaded (August 25, 2011) Starting Infields, Then And Now (August 24, 2011) Easy schedule runs (July 15, 2011) Parity Comes to MLB (May 29, 2011) Two .400 Hitters on a Team (May 3, 2011) Pitcher versus Team (July 22, 2010) Expected Pitcher Match-Ups (July 21, 2010) Consecutive Starts With IPs greater than or equal to Hits (July 19, 2010) Consecutive Starts With Ks greater than or equal to IPs (July 17,2010) Pitcher Match-Ups (July 16, 2010) Most Blown Saves Combo (June 3, 2009)
In light of the debuts of Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in Toronto this year, SABR member and Retrosheet volunteer Bruce Fleming asked me if I knew the record for the most sons of major leaguers to appear in the same game. This made me realize that I'd never really done anything with our data on baseball relatives. So I figured I'd play around with it for a while and see what I could find.
(And apologies in advance if any or much of this is already well-known to everyone but me.)
Before answering Bruce's question, I thought I'd take a quick look at the history of second-generation major leaguers. Here are the first ten of these sons to make it to the majors:
Date Son Father 7- 2-1903 Jack Doscher Herm Doscher 7- 9-1904 Ed McNichol Bob McNichol (umpire) 8-15-1908 Queenie O'Rourke Jim O'Rourke 8-22-1910 Bob Meinke Frank Meinke 10- 5-1910 Earle Mack Connie Mack 5-31-1915(1) Lew Malone J.R. Malone (umpire) 9-22-1917 Jimmy Cooney Jimmy Cooney 4-19-1921 Johnny Cooney Jimmy Cooney 7-18-1921 Joe Berry Joe Berry 6-15-1925 Charlie Berry Charlie Berry
As you can see, the first player to follow in his father's footsteps to the majors was left-hander Jack Doscher, who started for the Cubs and lost on July 2, 1903. That would be his only appearance for Chicago before moving on to Brooklyn and then Cincinnati, ending his career in 1908 with a 2-10 record. His father, Herm Doscher, had a similarly undistinguised career for five different clubs over parts of six seasons, mostly as a weak-hitting third-baseman.
You probably noticed that two of the first ten players were sons of umpires, which probably don't belong in this study, but I thought they were interesting and so decided to leave them in, at least at the start. They won't be included below, so removing the McNichols and Malones above require these additions:
Date Son Father 4-16-1927 Art Mills Willie Mills 7- 4-1928(1) Ed Walsh Ed Walsh
With the exception of the two Hall of Fame fathers, this is not a distinguished group of pairings. The Joe Berry father-son duo combined for 10 at-bats in the majors, while the Mills pitchers failed to win a single major league game. Of course, you wouldn't expect to find two Hall of Famers in ten random pairs of players and I suspect the accomplishments of the ten sons, which include one (Johnny Cooney the Younger, who lasted in the majors for twenty years), are not much worse than you'd get from a random draw.
Removing non-playing fathers from the mix, here are the number of second generation major leaguers each year since 1900:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
190x 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 2 0
191x 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
192x 0 2 2 1 2 3 2 4 6 5
193x 4 4 3 5 3 6 6 5 11 11
194x 12 15 11 11 12 10 13 10 10 9
195x 7 7 6 5 5 6 7 8 11 8
196x 7 9 7 10 12 11 12 12 9 13
197x 11 8 11 14 12 11 13 16 18 16
198x 15 17 19 16 20 19 24 23 22 27
199x 29 31 31 33 29 33 34 35 36 38
200x 38 36 35 30 31 29 33 33 30 32
201x 33 35 37 35 38 37 34 27 28
I thought it might be interesting to look at a chronology of the record for the most sons of major leaguers to appear in a game.
1 PHI N(0) @ BRO N(1) 4-17-1905 Jack Doscher 2 STL N(1) @ BOS N(1) 6- 7-1924 Jimmy Cooney, Johnny Cooney 3 WAS A(0) @ CHI A(3) 9-11-1932(2) Billy Sullivan, Charlie Berry, Ed Walsh 4 PHI N(1) @ BRO N(3) 9-30-1939(1) Del Young, Dixie Walker, Gene Moore, Bill Crouch 5 CHI A(3) @ CAL A(2) 6-13-1984 Vance Law, Joel Skinner, Bob Boone, Dick Schofield, Jerry Hairston 6 CAL A(2) @ CHI A(4) 9- 8-1984 Dick Schofield, Bob Boone, Jerry Hairston, Roy Smalley, Vance Law, Joel Skinner 7 CAL A(3) @ TOR A(4) 9-10-1993 Eduardo Perez, Kurt Stillwell, Roberto Alomar, Ed Sprague, Todd Stottlemyre, Stan Javier, Dick Schofield 7 TOR A(3) @ CLE A(4) 10- 2-1999 Jose Cruz, David Segui, Darrin Fletcher, Roberto Alomar, Sandy Alomar, Jaret Wright, Chris Haney 7 TOR A(3) @ SEA A(4) 8- 7-2001 Jose Cruz, Darrin Fletcher, Bret Boone, David Bell, Pedro Borbon, Stan Javier, Ed Sprague 7 NY N(2) @ SD N(5) 6- 2-2010 Ike Davis, Jerry Hairston, Scott Hairston, Will Venable, Gary Matthews, Tony Gwynn, Ryan Webb 7 SD N(4) @ PIT N(3) 7-23-2010 Jerry Hairston, Scott Hairston, Neil Walker, Will Venable, Andy LaRoche, Tony Gwynn, Bobby Crosby 7 SD N(5) @ PIT N(2) 7-25-2010 Jerry Hairston, Will Venable, Scott Hairston, Neil Walker, Ryan Webb, Tony Gwynn, Bobby Crosby 7 SD N(4) @ ARI N(3) 8- 7-2010 Will Venable, Tony Gwynn, Adam LaRoche, Rusty Ryal, Bobby Crosby, Scott Hairston, Jerry Hairston
The number in parenthesis following each team name is the number of sons on the team in that game. I showed all seven instances of the current record holders.
Two teams have had five sons of major leaguers appear in the same game. One team, the 2010 Padres, did it 13 times. The first and last:
5 SD N(5) @ HOU N(0) 5- 9-2010 Tony Gwynn, Will Venable, Scott Hairston, Jerry Hairston, Ryan Webb 5 FLA N(0) @ SD N(5) 7-31-2010 Jerry Hairston, Will Venable, Scott Hairston, Tony Gwynn, Ryan Webb
The other was the 2012 Dodgers, who did it 5 times. Again, the first and last:
5 STL N(0) @ LA N(5) 5-20-2012 Tony Gwynn, Justin Sellers, Ivan De Jesus, Scott Van Slyke, Dee Gordon 6 LA N(5) @ COL N(1) 6- 1-2012 Tony Gwynn, Ivan De Jesus, Jerry Hairston, Scott Van Slyke, Dee Gordon
The 2012 Dodgers had six sons play for them that season, but the record for the most second generation sons on a team's roster is seven for the 2000 Indians. The sons included Roberto Alomar, Sandy Alomar, Chris Haney, Jaime Navarro, David Segui, Justin Speier and Jaret Wright, but no more than four played together in any one game.
Next, I'd like to look at how these sons did in various statistical categories. To give you some idea of what I mean, here are the sons of major leaguers who combined for the most hits in a game:
Hits: 8-4 CHI N( 5-2) @ STL N( 3-2) 4-28-1946(1) Don Johnson(4), Charlie Gilbert(1), Harry Walker(2), Dick Sisler(1) 7-2 BOS N( 3-1) @ BRO N( 4-1) 8-21-1937 Gene Moore(3), Johnny Cooney(4) 7-2 PHI N( 0-0) @ BRO N( 7-2) 9-30-1939(1) Dixie Walker(3), Gene Moore(4) 7-2 BOS N( 7-2) @ CHI N( 0-0) 9-14-1941(1) Johnny Cooney(3), Gene Moore(4)
The first number in each rown is the total number of hits by the sons in the game, while the second number is the number of sons with at least one hit. That is followed by the breakdown for each team, the game date, and a list of all the contributing players.
Not only did the sons in the first game above combined for the most hits in game, but it was also the only time that four sons had one or more hits in the same game.
Here are similar lists for doubles, triples, homers, RBIs, walks and strikeouts:
Doubles: 5-3 SF N( 3-2) @ MON N( 2-1) 5-31-1996 Stan Javier(1), Barry Bonds(2), David Segui(2) 5-3 STL N( 0-0) @ SF N( 5-3) 6- 9-1996 Barry Bonds(1), Mark Carreon(3), Stan Javier(1) 5-2 OAK A( 5-2) @ CLE A( 0-0) 8-29-1998 Ben Grieve(3), Scott Spiezio(2) 5-3 TEX A( 0-0) @ SEA A( 5-3) 4-14-1999 David Bell(2), David Segui(2), Ken Griffey(1) 5-3 SD N( 0-0) @ SEA A( 5-3) 7-15-1999 David Bell(3), David Segui(1), Ken Griffey(1) 5-3 SF N( 4-2) @ HOU N( 1-1) 4-20-2002 David Bell(2), Barry Bonds(2), Daryle Ward(1) 5-3 DET A( 1-1) @ CLE A( 4-2) 8- 7-2013 Nick Swisher(2), Prince Fielder(1), Michael Brantley(2) 4-4 OAK A( 2-2) @ SEA A( 2-2) 4-11-1999 David Bell(1), David Segui(1), Scott Spiezio(1), Ben Grieve(1) 4-4 LA N( 4-4) @ COL N( 0-0) 6- 1-2012 Tony Gwynn(1), Ivan De Jesus(1), Jerry Hairston(1), Scott Van Slyke(1)
While the first groups shows the games with the most total hits, the second grouping shows the games with the most contributing players.
Triples: A whole lot of teams with two triples and two sons.
Homers: 4-3 SEA A( 4-3) @ TB A( 0-0) 4-24-1999 David Segui(1), Ken Griffey(2), David Bell(1) 4-3 SD N( 2-1) @ CIN N( 2-2) 5-11-2000 Bret Boone(2), Ken Griffey(1), Aaron Boone(1) 4-2 SD N( 3-1) @ CIN N( 1-1) 6-23-2000 Ken Griffey(1), Bret Boone(3) 4-2 TOR A( 4-2) @ TEX A( 0-0) 8-27-2000 Darrin Fletcher(3), Jose Cruz(1) 4-2 TOR A( 2-1) @ SEA A( 2-1) 5- 6-2001 Darrin Fletcher(2), Bret Boone(2) 4-3 SF N( 2-2) @ PIT N( 2-1) 5- 1-2005 Moises Alou(1), Lance Niekro(1), Daryle Ward(2) 3-3 MON N( 1-1) @ SF N( 2-2) 9- 5-1995 David Segui(1), Barry Bonds(1), Mark Carreon(1) 3-3 TOR A( 2-2) @ BOS A( 1-1) 7-23-1998 Darrin Fletcher(1), Ed Sprague(1), Damon Buford(1) 3-3 SEA A( 3-3) @ COL N( 0-0) 6- 9-1999 David Bell(1), Ken Griffey(1), David Segui(1) 3-3 CIN N( 2-2) @ HOU N( 1-1) 5-15-2000 Ken Griffey(1), Aaron Boone(1), Daryle Ward(1) 3-3 CHI N( 2-2) @ SF N( 1-1) 4-29-2001 Barry Bonds(1), Damon Buford(1), Gary Matthews(1) 3-3 PIT N( 2-2) @ HOU N( 1-1) 8-17-2001 Moises Alou(1), Jason Kendall(1), Gary Matthews(1) 3-3 MIL N( 1-1) @ STL N( 2-2) 10- 1-2006 Prince Fielder(1), Chris Duncan(1), Scott Spiezio(1) 3-3 PIT N( 1-1) @ CIN N( 2-2) 6-30-2008 Jerry Hairston(1), Adam LaRoche(1), Ken Griffey(1) 3-3 LA N( 1-1) @ PIT N( 2-2) 7-22-2014 Neil Walker(1), Ike Davis(1), Scott Van Slyke(1)
RBIs: 11-2 MON N(11-2) @ COL N( 0-0) 4-28-1996 David Segui(6), Darrin Fletcher(5) 10-3 PHI N( 7-2) @ CHI N( 3-1) 5-17-1979 Del Unser(2), Bob Boone(5), Jerry Martin(3) 10-2 SD N( 6-1) @ CIN N( 4-1) 6-23-2000 Ken Griffey(4), Bret Boone(6) 10-3 TEX A( 0-0) @ SEA A(10-3) 6- 4-2001 Stan Javier(1), Bret Boone(7), David Bell(2) 10-4 SF N( 7-2) @ MIL N( 3-2) 9-22-2006 Barry Bonds(6), Moises Alou(1), Prince Fielder(1), David Bell(2) Several other games had four different sons with RBIs.
Walks: 7-3 PIT N( 2-1) @ CIN N( 5-2) 5-18-2000 Jason Kendall(2), Ken Griffey(4), Aaron Boone(1) 7-3 LA N( 3-1) @ SF N( 4-2) 4-13-2003 Todd Hundley(3), Barry Bonds(3), Jose Cruz(1) 4-4 CAL A( 2-2) @ CHI A( 2-2) 9- 7-1984 Dick Schofield(1), Bob Boone(1), Vance Law(1), Jerry Hairston(1) 5-4 NY N( 2-1) @ MON N( 3-3) 9- 9-1995 Damon Buford(2), David Segui(1), Darrin Fletcher(1), Moises Alou(1) 6-4 OAK A( 3-2) @ TOR A( 3-2) 8- 8-1998 Ben Grieve(2), Jose Cruz(2), Ed Sprague(1), Darrin Fletcher(1) 4-4 SF N( 2-2) @ SD N( 2-2) 7- 5-2003 Barry Bonds(1), Jose Cruz(1), Sean Burroughs(1), Gary Matthews(1) 4-4 SF N( 2-2) @ SD N( 2-2) 9-11-2003 Sean Burroughs(1), Barry Bonds(1), Jose Cruz(1), Gary Matthews(1) 4-4 CLE A( 1-1) @ OAK A( 3-3) 7-27-2005 Jason Kendall(1), Nick Swisher(1), Bobby Crosby(1), Aaron Boone(1) 4-4 OAK A( 3-3) @ NY A( 1-1) 5-13-2006 Nick Swisher(1), Robinson Cano(1), Bobby Crosby(1), Jason Kendall(1) 4-4 PIT N( 2-2) @ MIL N( 2-2) 4-27-2009 Adam LaRoche(1), Andy LaRoche(1), Prince Fielder(1), Jason Kendall(1) 4-4 MIL N( 1-1) @ SD N( 3-3) 4-30-2010 Tony Gwynn(1), Prince Fielder(1), Will Venable(1), Jerry Hairston(1)
Strikeouts: 10-4 TOR A( 5-2) @ NY N( 5-2) 9- 2-1997 Jose Cruz(3), Brian McRae(3), Todd Hundley(2), Ed Sprague(2) 5-5 CAL A( 2-2) @ KC A( 3-3) 9-26-1991 Ruben Amaro(1), Brian McRae(1), Dick Schofield(1), Danny Tartabull(1), David Howard(1) 5-5 SF N( 2-2) @ MIL N( 3-3) 9-23-2006 Barry Bonds(1), Moises Alou(1), Prince Fielder(1), David Bell(1), Tony Gwynn(1) 7-5 SD N( 6-4) @ NY N( 1-1) 6- 8-2010 Scott Hairston(2), Ike Davis(1), Will Venable(1), Jerry Hairston(2), Tony Gwynn(1) 8-5 LA N( 5-3) @ PIT N( 3-2) 7-23-2014 Dee Gordon(1), Scott Van Slyke(3), Neil Walker(2), Ike Davis(1), Drew Butera(1)
Switching over to pitchers, here are the sons combining for the most innings pitched in a game:
16.1-2 CLE A(7.1-1) @ BOS A(9-1) 6-17-1955(2) George Susce(7.1), Ray Narleski(9) 16 -2 DET A(8-1) @ TEX A(8-1) 4-23-1997 Darren Oliver(8), Omar Olivares(8) 15.2-2 OAK A(7.1-1) @ KC A(8.1-1) 5-20-1995 Chris Haney(7.1), Todd Stottlemyre(8.1) 15 -1 BRO N( 0-0) @ BOS N(15-1) 6-21-1929 Johnny Cooney(15) 15 -2 KC A(8-1) @ WAS A(7-1) 7-26-1967 Joe Coleman(8), Lew Krausse(7) 8.1-3 TOR A(8-2) @ OAK A(.1-1) 4-26-2000 Omar Olivares(6), T.J. Mathews(2), Pedro Borbon(.1) 3.1-3 DET A(1.1-2) @ ANA A(2-1) 7-28-2007 Jason Grilli(2), Justin Speier(.1), Darren Oliver(1) 9.1-3 ANA A(6.2-1) @ KC A(2.2-2) 5- 6-2008 Brian Bannister(6.2), Darren Oliver(1.2), Justin Speier(1) 3 -3 ANA A(1-1) @ TEX A(2-2) 6-29-2009 Darren Oliver(1), Jason Grilli(1), Justin Speier(1)
And the sons with the most hits allowed, walks and strikeouts:
Hits allowed: 19-2 MIL A( 8-1) @ KC A(11-1) 6- 6-1993 Chris Haney(8), Jaime Navarro(11) 19-2 CHI A( 9-1) @ TEX A(10-1) 8-22-1997 Darren Oliver(9), Jaime Navarro(10) 18-2 MIL A(11-1) @ TOR A( 7-1) 5-27-1992 Todd Stottlemyre(11), Jaime Navarro(7) 17-2 CHI A(10-1) @ CLE A( 7-1) 8-31-1980(2) Ross Grimsley(10), Steve Trout(7) 17-2 CLE A( 9-1) @ TEX A( 8-1) 8- 1-1997 Darren Oliver(9), Jaret Wright(8)
Walks: 10-1 BAL A(10-1) @ DET A( 0-0) 10- 1-1974 Joe Coleman(10) 10-2 STL N( 4-1) @ FLA N( 6-1) 9-26-1993 Omar Olivares(6), Robb Nen(4) 9-1 BRO N( 0-0) @ BOS N( 9-1) 6-21-1929 Johnny Cooney(9) 9-2 BOS A( 0-0) @ NY A( 9-2) 9-22-1957 Dave Sisler(8), George Susce(1) 9-1 TEX A( 9-1) @ OAK A( 0-0) 9-23-1977 Matt Keough(9) 4-3 TOR A( 3-2) @ OAK A( 1-1) 4-26-2000 Omar Olivares(2), T.J. Mathews(1), Pedro Borbon(1)
Strikeouts: 15-1 KC A(15-1) @ OAK A( 0-0) 6-16-1995 Todd Stottlemyre(15) 14-1 WAS A(14-1) @ DET A( 0-0) 9-15-1971 Joe Coleman(14) 13-1 STL N( 0-0) @ FLA N(13-1) 5-15-1996 Todd Stottlemyre(13) 13-1 MIL N(13-1) @ STL N( 0-0) 5-11-1998 Todd Stottlemyre(13) 12-1 KC A(12-1) @ BOS A( 0-0) 9-15-1964 Ed Connolly(12) 12-1 CAL A(12-1) @ OAK A( 0-0) 9-20-1995 Todd Stottlemyre(12) 12-2 FLA N( 6-1) @ ATL N( 6-1) 4-16-2004 Jaret Wright(6), Darren Oliver(6) 12-1 CHI A(12-1) @ HOU A( 0-0) 7- 6-2018 Lance McCullers(12) 6-3 ANA A( 3-1) @ KC A( 3-2) 5- 6-2008 Brian Bannister(3), Darren Oliver(2), Justin Speier(1)
So much for sons of major leaguers. How about looking at this in reverse: what games had the most fathers of future major leaguers in a game? Well, here are the first ten fathers (and some of these will be familiar):
Date Father Son(s) 4-26-1872 Jim O'Rourke Queenie O'Rourke 9- 5-1872 Herm Doscher Jack Doscher 4-30-1884 Charlie Berry Charlie Berry 9-27-1884 Charlie Ganzel Babe Ganzel 5- 1-1884 Frank Meinke Bob Meinke 9-11-1886 Connie Mack Earle Mack 8- 3-1888 Willard Mains Jim Mains 4-19-1890 Jimmy Cooney Jimmy Cooney, Johnny Cooney 9-13-1899 Billy Sullivan Billy Sullivan 7-13-1901 Willie Mills Art Mills
And here's a similar chart showing the number of fathers of major leaguers by year:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
187x 0 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 2
188x 1 2 2 1 4 3 3 3 4 3
189x 4 5 4 3 2 2 3 1 0 1
190x 1 2 3 2 3 4 5 6 8 10
191x 9 7 13 7 10 12 9 9 8 6
192x 11 12 15 11 12 8 9 7 6 9
193x 9 7 9 7 7 7 7 8 11 14
194x 14 13 15 14 13 8 13 12 13 12
195x 15 16 14 12 12 13 16 18 17 16
196x 24 21 29 28 33 33 32 29 34 38
197x 43 40 42 39 42 42 43 42 35 37
198x 37 34 38 38 33 40 41 39 37 36
199x 30 26 24 23 21 23 19 15 12 11
200x 9 11 8 5 5 5 4 3 2 2
201x 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Obviously, the data for the last few decades will look quite a bit different years from now. At the start of the 2019 season, the last father with a major league son was Ivan Rodriguez whose son Dereck Rodriguez debuted in 2018. But Vladimir Guerrero tied him this year, since he and Ivan both played their last game on September 28, 2011.
And the record chronology:
1 TRO n(1) @ MAN n(0) 4-26-1872 Jim O'Rourke 2 ??? 3 CHI A(2) @ WAS A(1) 7-19-1906(1) Billy Sullivan, Ed Walsh, Howard Wakefield 4 CHI A(2) @ PHI A(2) 7-10-1912 Wally Mattick, Ed Walsh, Eddie Collins, Harl Maggert 5 PHI A(2) @ CHI A(3) 8- 9-1912 Harl Maggert, Eddie Collins, Wally Mattick, Ernie Johnson, Ed Walsh 6 CHI A(3) @ CLE A(3) 7- 4-1921(2) Ernie Johnson, Eddie Collins, Earl Sheely, Smoky Joe Wood, Jim Bagby, Guy Morton 7 CIN N(5) @ SF N(2) 5-18-1972 Pete Rose, Hal McRae, Julian Javier, Chris Speier, Bobby Bonds, Pedro Borbon, Ed Sprague 8 CIN N(5) @ SD N(3) 5-21-1972(2) Pete Rose, Hal McRae, Johnny Jeter, Ed Spiezio, Fred Kendall, Pedro Borbon, Julian Javier, Ed Sprague 8 CIN N(5) @ SF N(3) 9-20-1973 Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Bobby Bonds, Gary Matthews, Chris Speier, Ed Crosby, Ken Griffey, Pedro Borbon
It seems very likely that the first occurrence of two fathers in the same game occurred prior to the start of our game coverage in 1905. And as before, I showed all instances of the current record holders, the two games played by the Reds in 1972 and 1973.
Now the lists above in this section counted any player who at some point fathered a future major leaguer, but what if you only counted those players whose son had been born on or before the game in question? Obviously, this would dramatically alter these lists. Anyway, that's what I went and did and here are the results.
The first ten fathers:
Date Father Son(s)
1881 Herm Doscher Jack Doscher
1884 Jim O'Rourke Queenie O'Rourke
1890 Connie Mack Earle Mack
9- 4-1902 Joe Berry Joe Berry
5- 9-1905 Ed Walsh Ed Walsh
4-16-1908 Patsy O'Rourke Joe O'Rourke
9-22-1908 Ralph Savidge Don Savidge
9-28-1909 Gene Moore Gene Moore
7-12-1910 Bill Crouch Bill Crouch
9-25-1910(1) Dixie Walker Dixie Walker, and 8 years later, Harry Walker
Dixie Walker's game above came the day after his first son was born. He lost 2-1.
And here's the adjusted chart of fathers by year.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
187x x 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
188x 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
189x 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0
190x 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 3 3
191x 4 3 5 1 3 3 5 6 6 4
192x 6 9 11 8 8 6 5 4 3 4
193x 3 3 3 1 3 2 5 5 6 7
194x 7 6 7 8 9 6 7 8 9 8
195x 8 10 9 8 6 7 10 13 10 10
196x 12 10 17 16 16 17 19 16 20 26
197x 29 25 26 22 27 23 25 27 22 24
198x 22 23 26 26 26 27 30 32 32 30
199x 23 21 22 21 20 23 19 15 12 11
200x 9 11 8 5 5 5 4 3 2 2
201x 1 1
And finally, the record chronology, starting with the first game with three fathers:
3 DET A(0) @ CHI A(3) 9- 3-1912(2) Billy Sullivan, Ernie Johnson, Ed Walsh 4 CHI A(3) @ STL A(1) 4-18-1921 Ernie Johnson, Eddie Collins, Earl Sheely, George Sisler 5 CLE A(2) @ CHI A(3) 4-30-1921 Smoky Joe Wood, Jim Bagby, Ernie Johnson, Eddie Collins, Earl Sheely 6 STL N(3) @ PIT N(3) 5-15-1965 Tito Francona, Julian Javier, Dick Schofield, Vern Law, Bob Skinner, Ozzie Virgil 7 MON N(1) @ CIN N(6) 6-20-1972 Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Clyde Mashore, Ed Sprague, Pedro Borbon, Julian Javier, Hal McRae 7 CHI N(2) @ CIN N(5) 7- 9-1972(1) Don Kessinger, Randy Hundley, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Pedro Borbon, Ed Sprague, Hal McRae 7 CHI N(1) @ CIN N(6) 7- 9-1972(2) Don Kessinger, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Julian Javier, Pedro Borbon, Ed Sprague, Hal McRae 7 LA N(2) @ CIN N(5) 8- 8-1972 Manny Mota, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Maury Wills, Hal McRae, Julian Javier, Pedro Borbon 7 CIN N(5) @ LA N(2) 9- 4-1972(1) Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Hal McRae, Manny Mota, Pedro Borbon, Maury Wills, Ed Sprague 7 LA N(2) @ CIN N(5) 9-30-1972 Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Hal McRae, Manny Mota, Julian Javier, Pedro Borbon, Maury Wills 7 CIN N(4) @ SF N(3) 9-19-1974 Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Ken Griffey, Bobby Bonds, Gary Matthews, Chris Speier, Pedro Borbon 7 CIN N(4) @ SF N(3) 9-21-1974 Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Ken Griffey, Bobby Bonds, Gary Matthews, Chris Speier, Pedro Borbon 7 SF N(3) @ CIN N(4) 9-27-1974 Bobby Bonds, Gary Matthews, Chris Speier, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Ken Griffey, Pedro Borbon 7 SF N(3) @ CIN N(4) 9-29-1974 Bobby Bonds, Gary Matthews, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Ken Griffey, Chris Speier, Pedro Borbon
I listed all ten of the games in which seven fathers took part, every one of them involving the Reds from 1972 to 1974.
Like above, let's look at the combined stats of the fathers, again only counting those who children had arrived prior to the game in question. Here are the same batting categories as above.
Hits: 12-4 CHI A( 8-3) @ STL A( 4-1) 6- 2-1922 Ernie Johnson(3), Eddie Collins(2), Earl Sheely(3), George Sisler(4) 12-4 STL A( 3-1) @ CHI A( 9-3) 8-12-1922 George Sisler(3), Ernie Johnson(2), Eddie Collins(3), Earl Sheely(4) 11-4 STL A( 5-1) @ CHI A( 6-3) 8-30-1921 George Sisler(5), Ernie Johnson(1), Eddie Collins(3), Earl Sheely(2) 10-3 DET A( 0-0) @ CHI A(10-3) 9- 9-1921 Ernie Johnson(3), Eddie Collins(2), Earl Sheely(5) 10-4 CHI A( 7-3) @ STL A( 3-1) 9-30-1922 Ernie Johnson(3), Eddie Collins(2), Earl Sheely(2), George Sisler(3) 10-4 ATL N( 7-2) @ PIT N( 3-2) 6- 2-1968(1) Felipe Alou(4), Tito Francona(3), Maury Wills(2), Manny Mota(1) 8-5 CHI A( 6-3) @ CLE A( 2-2) 7-23-1922 Ernie Johnson(3), Eddie Collins(1), Earl Sheely(2), Smoky Joe Wood(1), Jim Bagby(1)
Doubles: 5-2 NY A( 5-2) @ CHI A( 0-0) 7-22-1975 Bobby Bonds(2), Sandy Alomar(3) 5-4 SF N( 1-1) @ CIN N( 4-3) 4-16-1976 Gary Matthews(1), Pete Rose(1), Ken Griffey(2), Tony Perez(1)
Triples: 3-2 NY N( 0-0) @ PHI N( 3-2) 6- 2-1981 Pete Rose(2), Gary Matthews(1) There were lots of games in which two fathers combined to hit two triples.
Homers: 4-2 CIN N( 4-2) @ CHI N( 0-0) 5- 8-1970 Tony Perez(2), Hal McRae(2) 4-3 CIN N( 4-3) @ CHI N( 0-0) 5- 9-1976 Pete Rose(1), Ken Griffey(1), Tony Perez(2) 4-2 CIN N( 4-2) @ NY N( 0-0) 4-29-1978 Pete Rose(3), Ken Griffey(1) 3-3 SF N( 1-1) @ LA N( 2-2) 7-13-1969 Bobby Bonds(1), Maury Wills(1), Manny Mota(1) 3-3 SF N( 0-0) @ CIN N( 3-3) 4-17-1970 Pete Rose(1), Tony Perez(1), Hal McRae(1) 3-3 SF N( 1-1) @ CIN N( 2-2) 9-26-1971 Bobby Bonds(1), Pete Rose(1), Tony Perez(1) 3-3 STL N( 1-1) @ CIN N( 2-2) 6-13-1976(2) Don Kessinger(1), Pete Rose(1), Tony Perez(1) 3-3 CIN N( 2-2) @ ATL N( 1-1) 7- 6-1977 Pete Rose(1), Ken Griffey(1), Gary Matthews(1) 3-3 OAK A( 2-2) @ BOS A( 1-1) 8-30-1982 Tony Armas(1), Dave McKay(1), Tony Perez(1)
RBIs: 11-2 PHI A( 0-0) @ CLE A(11-2) 6-18-1950(2) Ray Boone(5), Jim Hegan(6) 10-4 CLE A( 5-2) @ KC A( 5-2) 5-21-1977 Hal McRae(4), Buddy Bell(4), Fred Kendall(1), John Wathan(1) There were 13 other games in which four different fathers had at least one RBI.
Walks: 8-4 CHI N( 2-1) @ SF N( 6-3) 8-25-1974 Don Kessinger(2), Bobby Bonds(1), Gary Matthews(2), Chris Speier(3) 7-4 SD N( 2-1) @ SF N( 5-3) 10- 2-1974 Bobby Bonds(1), Gary Matthews(3), Chris Speier(1), Fred Kendall(2) 7-3 HOU N( 3-1) @ SF N( 4-2) 5- 4-1975(2) Jose Cruz(3), Gary Matthews(1), Chris Speier(3) 7-2 MON N( 7-2) @ CIN N( 0-0) 4-11-1984 Pete Rose(4), Tim Raines(3) 5-5 SF N( 2-2) @ CIN N( 3-3) 9-28-1974 Bobby Bonds(1), Gary Matthews(1), Pete Rose(1), Tony Perez(1), Ken Griffey(1) 5-5 HOU N( 2-2) @ CIN N( 3-3) 7- 2-1976(1) Jose Cruz(1), Pete Rose(1), Ken Griffey(1), Tony Perez(1), Jerry DaVanon(1)
Strikeouts: 9-3 DET A( 6-2) @ NY A( 3-1) 8- 2-1990 Cecil Fielder(5), Gary Ward(1), Jesse Barfield(3) 7-5 CIN N( 2-2) @ SF N( 5-3) 9-21-1974 Tony Perez(1), Bobby Bonds(2), Gary Matthews(1), Chris Speier(2), Ken Griffey(1) 7-4 BOS A( 2-2) @ NY A( 5-2) 9-22-1990 Jesse Barfield(3), Tony Pena(1), Wayne Tolleson(2), Kevin Romine(1) 7-3 DET A( 4-2) @ NY A( 3-1) 10- 1-1990 Cecil Fielder(3), Gary Ward(1), Jesse Barfield(3) 6-5 CIN N( 3-3) @ SF N( 3-2) 9-22-1974 Pete Rose(1), Gary Matthews(2), Tony Perez(1), Chris Speier(1), Ken Griffey(1)
And shifting over to the pitchers:
Innings pitched: 17.1-2 STL N(8.1-1) @ PHI N(9-1) 7-14-1949 Max Lanier(8.1), Ken Heintzelman(9) 16.1-2 STL N(7.1-1) @ PHI N(9-1) 6-14-1950 Ken Heintzelman(7.1), Max Lanier(9) 16 -1 CHI A(16-1) @ PHI A(0-0) 7-11-1908 Ed Walsh(16) 16 -1 PHI A(0-0) @ CHI A(16-1) 8- 4-1910 Ed Walsh(16) 8.1-3 BOS A(3.1-2) @ OAK A(5-1) 7-15-1968 Dick Ellsworth(5), Diego Segui(.1), Ed Sprague(3) 6 -3 STL N(3.2-2) @ CIN N(2.1-1) 6-12-1973 Pedro Borbon(1.2), Ed Sprague(2), Diego Segui(2.1) 6 -3 KC A(3-2) @ DET A(3-1) 5- 4-1993 Mark Leiter(1.2), Tom Gordon(3), Dave Johnson(1.1)
Hits allowed: 17-2 PIT N( 8-1) @ CHI N( 9-1) 8-19-1966 Dick Ellsworth(8), Vern Law(9) 17-2 NY A( 6-1) @ BOS A(11-1) 5-16-1968 Dick Ellsworth(6), Mel Stottlemyre(11) 5-3 STL N( 3-2) @ CIN N( 2-1) 6-12-1973 Pedro Borbon(2), Ed Sprague(1), Diego Segui(2)
Walks: 11-1 NY N( 0-0) @ STL N(11-1) 7-17-1952 Max Lanier(11) 11-2 NY A( 5-1) @ BOS A( 6-1) 5-16-1968 Dick Ellsworth(5), Mel Stottlemyre(6) 11-1 WAS A(11-1) @ NY A( 0-0) 5-21-1970 Mel Stottlemyre(11) 4-3 STL N( 3-2) @ CIN N( 1-1) 6-12-1973 Pedro Borbon(1), Ed Sprague(2), Diego Segui(1)
Strikeouts: 15-1 CHI A(15-1) @ CLE A( 0-0) 10- 2-1908 Ed Walsh(15) 15-1 BOS A( 0-0) @ CHI A(15-1) 8-11-1910 Ed Walsh(15) 14-2 DET A( 4-1) @ BAL A(10-1) 10- 5-1991 Dave Johnson(4), Mark Leiter(10) 5-3 BOS A( 2-2) @ OAK A( 3-1) 7-15-1968 Dick Ellsworth(3), Diego Segui(1), Ed Sprague(1) 10-3 KC A( 5-2) @ DET A( 5-1) 5- 4-1993 Mark Leiter(3), Tom Gordon(5), Dave Johnson(2)
Now I expect that this has probably gone on far too long already, but I thought I'd take quick look at grandsons before we go. Here are the first ten grandsons of major leaguers to appear in a game:
Date Grandson Grandfather 8-25-1946(2) Lee Possehl George Rooks 9- 1-1967 Ed Herrmann Marty Herrmann 9- 7-1968 Jim Spencer Ben Spencer 5-17-1972 Bob Gallagher Shano Collins 9-16-1983 Dennis Rasmussen Bill Brubaker 4-11-1987 Matt Williams Bert Griffith 4-12-1989 Matt Merullo Lennie Merullo 8-19-1992 Bret Boone Ray Boone 9- 8-1993 Roger Salkeld Bill Salkeld 5- 3-1995 David Bell Gus Bell
Here are the number of third generation major leaguers each year since 1940:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
194x 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
195x 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
196x 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2
197x 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1
198x 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3
199x 2 3 4 5 4 5 5 5 7 6
200x 7 6 7 7 7 6 4 5 4 5
201x 6 6 6 7 7 4 5 7 4
And here's a chronology of the record for the most grandsons of major leaguers to appear in a game.
1 PHI N(1) @ CIN N(0) 8-25-1946(2) Lou Possehl 2 CHI A(1) @ CAL A(1) 6-20-1969(2) Ed Herrmann, Jim Spencer 3 CIN N(2) @ SF N(1) 5- 4-1996 Bret Boone, Roger Salkeld, Matt Williams 3 MIA N(2) @ WAS N(1) 9-17-2015 Derek Dietrich, Jarred Cosart, Jayson Werth
Three grandsons have appeared in a major league game 41 times. The first and last are shown above. No one team has fielded more than two grandsons of major leaguers in a game, since no team has ever had more than two on their roster.
Note: our data on relatives does not presume to be complete, and while I suspect we are missing very few father-son relationships, we are probably missing more of the others.
Having said that, let's look at the first ten grandfathers. This time around, we're not going to require that the grandson be born by game-time (since that's never happened). Here are the first ten grandpas:
Date Grandfather Grandson 5-12-1891 George Rooks Lee Possehl 4-21-1910 Shano Collins Bob Gallagher 9- 8-1913 Ben Spencer Jim Spencer 7-10-1918(1) Marty Herrmann Ed Herrmann 4-13-1922 Bert Griffith Matt Williams 9- 8-1932 Bill Brubaker Dennis Rasmussen 9- 7-1935(2) Bobby Estalella Bobby Estalella 9-15-1935 Sam Narron Sam Narron 9- 2-1937 Red Barkley Brian Barkley 9-12-1941 Lennie Merullo Matt Merullo
The number of grandfathers of future major leaguers each year since 1890:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
189x 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
190x 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
191x 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1
192x 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0
193x 0 0 1 1 1 3 2 2 1 3
194x 1 2 4 6 3 4 4 5 5 5
195x 6 6 4 6 6 6 4 4 4 6
196x 6 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2
197x 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
198x 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The last grandfather to appear in a game prior to 2019 was Lee May (grandfather of Jacob May) in 1982, but Carl Yastrzemski extended that to 1983 this year when his grandson Mike Yastrzemski joined the Giants.
And here's a chronology of the record for the most grandfathers of major leaguers to appear in a game.
1 CHI A(1) @ STL A(0) 4-21-1910 Shano Collins 2 CHI A(1) @ WAS A(1) 9-13-1913 Shano Collins, Ben Spencer 3 CLE A(1) @ PHI A(2) 8- 7-1949(2) Ray Boone, Bobby Estalella, Joe Coleman 3 CIN N(1) @ MIL N(2) 4-20-1960 Gus Bell, Lew Burdette, Ray Boone 3 MIL N(2) @ PIT N(1) 4- 9-1963 Lew Burdette, Dick Schofield, Gus Bell
I've shown all three times that three future grandfathers of major league players appeared in the same game.
Now a man wiser than me would cease and desist at this point, but please bear with me for just a few more lists about... nephews. With the caveat that our data on uncle and nephews is probably not complete, here are the first ten nephews to appear in the major leagues:
Date Nephew Uncle 4-25-1901 Bill Hallman Bill Hallman 9- 1-1902 Johnny Evers Tom Evers 9-27-1902 Jesse Whiting Ed Whiting 8-15-1908 Queenie O'Rourke John O'Rourke 4-25-1910 Hugh Bradley Foghorn Bradley 4-24-1913 Joe Evers Tom Evers 7-17-1914 George McAvoy Scoops Carey 8-18-1915 High Pockets Kelly Bill Lange 4-20-1921 Tex Jeanes Tris Speaker 9-18-1923(1) Ren Kelly Bill Lange
Bill Hallman's entry above was the first AL game played by Milwaukee and Detroit. Hallman's Brewers led 13-4 heading into the bottom of the 9th only to lose 14-13.
Here are the number of nephews each year since 1900:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
190x 0 1 2 2 1 1 3 3 2 1
191x 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 0 1
192x 1 2 3 2 1 2 2 3 2 2
193x 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 2
194x 5 5 3 6 4 3 5 4 4 5
195x 4 4 5 4 5 6 5 5 3 2
196x 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 0 3
197x 2 3 3 3 3 3 5 6 5 7
198x 8 9 8 11 9 9 9 8 8 7
199x 10 8 9 8 9 10 8 11 15 15
200x 16 17 19 20 21 21 20 20 22 20
201x 18 18 15 17 19 15 13 13 14
And here's a chronology of the record for the most nephews to appear in a game.
1 MIL A(1) @ DET A(0) 4-25-1901 Bill Hallman 2 PIT N(1) @ CHI N(1) 9-16-1906 Bill Hallman, Johnny Evers 3 CHI A(1) @ WAS A(2) 6-11-1950(1) Chico Carrasquel, Sam Mele, Sherry Robertson 4 MON N(2) @ STL N(2) 4-25-1992 Ray Lankford, Gerald Perry, Moises Alou, Mel Rojas 5 ATL N(2) @ FLA N(3) 4-12-2002 Gary Sheffield, Kevin Millar, Derrek Lee, Charles Johnson, Wes Helms 5 ATL N(2) @ FLA N(3) 7-24-2002 Gary Sheffield, Wes Helms, Kevin Millar, Derrek Lee, Charles Johnson 5 FLA N(3) @ ATL N(2) 9-20-2002 Kevin Millar, Derrek Lee, Charles Johnson, Gary Sheffield, Wes Helms 5 PIT N(4) @ MIL N(1) 9-27-2011 Josh Harrison, Derrek Lee, Neil Walker, Matt Pagnozzi, Jerry Hairston 5 PIT N(2) @ LA N(3) 4-11-2012 Neil Walker, Clint Barmes, Jerry Hairston, Juan Uribe, Tony Gwynn 5 PIT N(3) @ LA N(2) 4-12-2012 Josh Harrison, Clint Barmes, Juan Uribe, Neil Walker, Tony Gwynn 5 PIT N(3) @ WAS N(2) 7-24-2013 Neil Walker, Clint Barmes, Scott Hairston, Jayson Werth, Josh Harrison 5 PIT N(3) @ WAS N(2) 7-25-2013 Josh Harrison, Clint Barmes, Jayson Werth, Neil Walker, Scott Hairston 5 WAS N(2) @ PIT N(3) 5-23-2014 Jayson Werth, Josh Harrison, Neil Walker, Clint Barmes, Scott Hairston
I have shown all nine times that five nephews of former major leaguers have appeared in the same game. Four nephews have appeared in a game for the same team 27 times.
Well, I think I'll spare you an investigation into cousins and sons-in-law and so on.
Hopefully some of this was of general interest and thanks for your patience.
A while back on SABR-L, Dennis Dillon was wondering if Rocky Colavito held the record with his 5 extra-inning hits on June 24, 1962. My answer was "probably" after looking through Retrosheet's collection of play-by-play games. This collection is currently complete (at least when we include deduced games) back to 1934 (155,986 games) and also includes 79% (14,545 of 18,370) of the games from 1919 to 1933.
So here are the leaders in extra-inning game performances in a couple of statistical categories:
At-bats: AB Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 8 Dave Stegman CHI A 5- 8-1984 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 7 Rowdy Elliott BRO N 5- 1-1920 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 Leon Cadore BRO N 5- 1-1920 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 Tony Boeckel BOS N 5- 1-1920 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Doc Cramer DET A 7-21-1945 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 Bob Maier DET A 7-21-1945 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Irv Hall PHI A 7-21-1945 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 Ted Sizemore STL N 9-11-1974 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 John Milner NY N 9-11-1974 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 7 Wayne Garrett NY N 9-11-1974 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 Dave Schneck NY N 9-11-1974 7 0 2 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 7 Jim Gantner MIL A 5- 8-1984 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 Harold Baines CHI A 5- 8-1984 7 1 2 1 0 1 1 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 Cecil Cooper MIL A 5- 8-1984 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 Julio Cruz CHI A 5- 8-1984 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Carlton Fisk CHI A 5- 8-1984 7 1 3 1 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 0
All of the entries on this list played in one of only four games, the shortest one lasting 24 innings.
Runs: R Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 3 Stan Hack CHI N 8- 9-1942(1) 3 3 3 1 0 0 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 Howard Johnson NY N 7- 4-1985 4 3 2 0 0 1 2 5 1 1 0 1 0 0 200 players with 2
For the most part, scoring three runs in an extra-inning game requires having a team score in three different innings (as both teams above did), which in turn, requires that the home team team match the number of runs scored by the visitors in the first two of these. In the games we looked at, a team required three (or four) non-scoreless extra-innings to settle the contest on 35 occasions. Here's the breakdown of the number of runs scored in each of those matched innings:
1 - 57 2 - 12 3 - 3 Tot - 72
The one game in which teams continued to play on after scoring in three extra-innings was the one played on September 10, 1974, between the White Sox and Twins. That 15-inning contest saw five scoreless half-innings and seven in which a team scored a single run.
The last time there were three different extra-innings with runs scored was the game on April 10, 2015 between the Red Sox and Yankees. Again, each of those innings featured just a single run scored.
In our collection of games, both teams have scored five runs in an extra-inning once and a matching four runs in an inning on four other occasions:
Runs Inn Teams Game 5 14 CHI A @ SEA A 6- 5-2013 4 10 TOR A @ NY A 9-17-1980 4 10 SD N @ ATL N 5-23-1991 4 10 DET A @ CHI A 9-18-2004 4 13 OAK A @ NY A 9-22-2012
And here are games where a visiting team scored four or more runs in an extra-inning only to lose in the bottom half:
Top Bot Inn Teams Game 5 6 11 CHI N @ PIT N 4-21-1991 5 6 10 LA N @ ARI N 9-27-2011 4 5 10 PIT N @ PHI N 9-16-1930 4 5 10 NY N @ CHI N 8-31-1932 4 5 10 DET A @ STL A 7- 3-1938 4 5 10 CIN N @ BRO N 7-22-1952 4 5 11 PIT N @ PHI N 5- 6-1966 4 5 12 HOU N @ SD N 7- 5-1969 4 5 10 FLA N @ ATL N 9-17-2006
Hits: H Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 5 Rocky Colavito DET A 6-24-1962 6 0 5 0 1 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Sam Chapman PHI A 5-28-1941 4 1 4 1 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 Eddie Waitkus PHI N 9-15-1950(2) 5 1 4 2 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Mike Heath OAK A 7- 1-1979 4 0 4 1 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Tom Paciorek CHI A 5- 8-1984 6 0 4 0 0 0 2 4 1 1 0 2 0 0 4 Brant Brown CHI N 6-22-1996 4 1 4 1 0 1 2 8 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 Alex Rios CHI A 6- 5-2013 5 1 4 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Xander Bogaerts BOS A 4-10-2015 4 1 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 137 players with 3
In case you're wondering, when Johnny Burnett had nine hits in the Indians' historic 18-17 18-inning loss to the Athletics in 1932, he already had six of them before the game went into overtime. Colavito finished his game with seven hits, the first batter with that many in a game since Burnett. It has happened three times since, once in a nine-inning game.
Four of these players (Chapman, Heath, Rios, and Bogaerts) were hitless in regulation. Prior to the 10th inning, the players on the list above were a collective 5-32.
Doubles: 2B Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 3 Kiki Cuyler CHI N 9- 8-1928 3 0 3 3 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 71 players with 2
Cuyler's last double drove home the winning run in the bottom of the 14th.
Triples: 3B Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 2 Harry Simpson CLE A 5- 1-1952 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Herm Winningham CIN N 8-15-1990 2 1 2 0 2 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1551 players with 1
In his game, Herm Winningham had already hit a double and triple in regulation and his three triples would have been the most in game in over nine years, had not Shawon Dunston done it two and a half weeks earlier.
Neither of Simpson's triples resulted in a run (he was picked off of third following his last one) as the Indians lost to the Senators when Frank Campos singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 13th. Campos was in his second year with Washington after a brief trial the previous September, and entered the game with a .404 career batting average (19-47). His five hitless prior at-bats that day were a glimpse of things to come, however, as he would hit only .220 (with a .523 OPS) over the remainder of his short career. In his 71 major league games, he had as many hit by pitches (two) as walks, The next non-pitcher with a career as long as his without having more walks than HBPs is Joe Cannon, who played from 1977 to 1980 and had one of each. And the only two players with more than 1000 at-bats and more HBPs than walks are Jay Faatz who played from 1884 to 1890, and Whitey Alpermann who was with Brooklyn from 1906 to 1909.
Alpermann is also the last player with 1000 career at-bats and more triples than walks. But I digress.
Home Runs: HR Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 2 Vern Stephens STL A 9-29-1943(1) 2 2 2 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Willie Kirkland CLE A 6-14-1963(2) 4 2 2 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Art Shamsky CIN N 8-12-1966 2 2 2 0 0 2 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Ralph Garr ATL N 5-17-1971 2 2 2 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Mike Young BAL A 5-28-1987 2 2 2 0 0 2 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 John Mayberry PHI N 6- 4-2013 2 2 2 0 0 2 5 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Matt Adams STL N 9- 4-2013 3 2 2 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Curtis Granderson NY N 9-17-2016 2 2 2 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Chris Davis BAL A 5-16-2017 2 2 2 0 0 2 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 5199 players with 1
Art Shamsky didn't enter his game until the top of the 8th inning but he is still the only player on the list above to have three home runs in their game. He is also the only player on the list whose team lost, his two extra-inning homers merely re-tying the game, keeping things going until the Pirates could score three runs and win in the 13th. The two teams combined to hit 13 home runs in the game.
RBIs: RBI Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 5 Clyde Vollmer BOS A 7-28-1951 4 1 3 1 0 1 5 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 John Mayberry PHI N 6- 4-2013 2 2 2 0 0 2 5 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 207 players with 4
Clyde Vollmer's RBIs came via a 15th inning single (to re-tie the score) and a 16th inning game-ending grand-slam. Both hits came off of Bob Feller, who was making his only relief appearance of the year. It would be one of only two relief outings he would make from 1950 to 1954. His other, the year before, was also against Boston, also resulted in a loss, and featured another Vollmer RBI.
John Mayberry's big day also culminated in a game-ending grand-slam homer, coming after he'd led off the inning before with a home run to extend the game.
Total Bases: TB Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 8 Vern Stephens STL A 9-29-1943(1) 2 2 2 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Harry Simpson KC A 6-12-1956 3 2 3 0 1 1 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Willie Kirkland CLE A 6-14-1963(2) 4 2 2 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Art Shamsky CIN N 8-12-1966 2 2 2 0 0 2 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Ralph Garr ATL N 5-17-1971 2 2 2 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Mike Young BAL A 5-28-1987 2 2 2 0 0 2 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Brant Brown CHI N 6-22-1996 4 1 4 1 0 1 2 8 0 0 0 0 1 1 8 John Mayberry PHI N 6- 4-2013 2 2 2 0 0 2 5 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Matt Adams STL N 9- 4-2013 3 2 2 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Curtis Granderson NY N 9-17-2016 2 2 2 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Chris Davis BAL A 5-16-2017 2 2 2 0 0 2 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0
We've seen all of these games on lists above with the exception of Harry Simpsons's, which featured his bases-loaded triple in a six-run 15th inning. Simpson played for the Athletics from 1955 to 1959, but 1956 was his only full year with the team, one which saw him tie for the league lead in triples and appear in the All-Star game. After coming there from the Indians in May of 1955, he was called up to the Yankees as part of Billy Martin's exile in June 1957, sent back down to the Kansas City a year later only to be dispatched to the White Sox in early 1959.
Walks: BB Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 4 Ted Kluszewski CIN N 9- 7-1951 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 4 Dick Allen CHI A 8-10-1972 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 1 1 4 Derrek Lee FLA N 6-10-2002 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 4 Adam Dunn CHI A 6- 5-2013 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 0 4 Melky Cabrera TOR A 8-10-2014 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 71 players with 3
After being intentionally walked for the 4th time, Kluszewski ended the 15th inning by getting hit by a batted ball. At the time, he wasn't the power hitter he would later become, finishing 1951 with only 13 homers in 607 at-bats. He would hit 16 in 1952 before turning into the Klu we remember, hitting 40, 49, 47 and 35 in the following four years.
Derrek Lee had homered in his two plate appearances prior to his game going into extra-innings, so the Royals pitched very carefully to him the rest of the way. His last walk came with the bases loaded, forcing home the fourth of the seven runs the Marlins would score in the top of the 14th.
Intentional Walks: IBB Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 4 Ted Kluszewski CIN N 9- 7-1951 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 3 Eddie Miller BOS N 7- 5-1940 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 1 0 0 3 Larry Doby CLE A 7- 1-1952 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 Jim Wynn HOU N 7-11-1970 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 Claudell Washington NY N 8-26-1980 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 1 0 0 3 Terry Kennedy SD N 9-13-1982 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 Andre Dawson CHI N 5-22-1990 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 0 0 1 0 3 Paul Molitor MIL A 5- 1-1991 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 Vince Coleman NY N 8-10-1992 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 Jeff Bagwell HOU N 5-21-1997 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 1 0 3 Manny Ramirez BOS A 6- 5-2001 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 Mike Lowell FLA N 4-27-2003 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 Rafael Palmeiro BAL A 7- 2-2004 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 Ryan Howard PHI N 8-11-2006 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 Adam Dunn CHI A 6- 5-2013 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 0
Dawson's three extra-inning intentional walks were part of a record-setting five he received in that game. A free-swinger throughout his career, half of his 42 walks that year were intentional.
Intentional walks are often a common strategy for the visiting team to use when a single run will end a game. In Kluszewski's game above, for example, the Reds received six intentional walks in extra-innings. The first visiting player to draw as many as three extra-inning intentional walks in the games we have was Terry Kennedy in 1982. While he was the Padres cleanup hitter, by the time the game reached the tenth inning, he was followed by the pitcher's spot in the batting order. A visiting player wouldn't get three intentional passes in extra-innings again until Rafael Palmeiro in 2004.
Hit By Pitches: HBP Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 2 Cookie Rojas PHI N 9-23-1966 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Phil Roof KC A 6- 2-1967 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Augie Ojeda CHI N 5-28-2001 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Miguel Olivo KC A 5- 2-2009 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1794 players with 1
Cookie Rojas was only hit by two other pitches in 1966 (out of 679 plate appearances).
Strikeouts: SO Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 5 Dave Stegman CHI A 5- 8-1984 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 4 Ernie Koy BRO N 6-27-1939 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Sandy Valdespino MIN A 8- 9-1967 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Graig Nettles MIN A 7-19-1969 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Don Mincher SEA A 7-27-1969 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Roy Smalley MIN A 8-28-1976 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Adam Rosales OAK A 6-13-2013 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Mike Napoli BOS A 4-10-2015 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 113 players with 3
Neither Dave Stegman, Sandy Valdespino, Graig Nettles, or Adam Rosales started the games above. And Stegman, Valdespino and Smalley all finished their games with five strikeouts apiece.
Stolen Bases: SB Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 4 Luis Polonia CAL A 6-10-1992 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 3 Eddie Miksis BRO N 5-17-1949 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Rich Amaral SEA A 7-30-1998 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Carlos Beltran STL N 8-19-2012 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 132 players with 2
The only runner on the list above to score as a result of his stolen bases was Eddie Miksis, who singled after Roy Campanella's home run with one out in the top of the 11th had given the Dodgers a 5-2 lead. His run (which came after his steal of second and third) turned out to matter when the Cubs came back to score three time in the bottom half. Those were his only stolen bases of the season.
And the Dodgers were the only team of the four above to win their game.
Caught Stealing: CS Player Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 2 Alex Kampouris CIN N 4-21-1935 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Mickey Vernon WAS A 6- 8-1947(1) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 Sheldon Mallory OAK A 5-17-1977 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 Dave Parker PIT N 7- 6-1980 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 Bip Roberts SD N 9-28-1988 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 Brad Ausmus DET A 6-12-1999 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 Jose Tabata PIT N 8-19-2012 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 2152 players with 1
Alex Kampouris was caught stealing to end the 10th and 12th inning, the second time after his team had already scored four runs. Rookie Sheldon Mallory was the only player on the list above to risk a third extra-inning caught stealing, when he set off for second base in the 14th after having been previously thrown out in the 10th and 12th. He was successful this time, but was left stranded.
I thought I might follow those up with similar lists for teams.
At-bats: AB Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 61 CHI A 5- 8-1984 61 4 17 3 0 1 4 23 3 2 0 10 0 0 58 NY N 9-11-1974 58 0 11 2 0 0 0 13 7 4 0 10 0 0 56 STL N 9-11-1974 56 1 13 0 0 0 0 13 4 3 1 7 1 1 54 BRO N 5- 1-1920 54 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 4 1 0 54 BOS N 5- 1-1920 54 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 5 0 0 53 MIL A 5- 8-1984 53 3 14 1 0 1 3 18 5 1 0 9 1 2 51 DET A 7-21-1945 51 0 7 1 0 0 0 8 6 0 0 5 0 1 51 PHI A 7-21-1945 51 0 9 0 0 0 0 9 3 0 0 4 0 0 51 HOU N 4-15-1968 51 1 10 0 0 0 1 10 7 4 0 12 0 2 50 NY A 6-24-1962 50 2 10 1 0 1 2 14 2 1 0 10 1 0
The same four games that dominated the player list occupy the top eight slots here as well. I was struck by how similar the two teams' lines for the record-setting 26-inning game in 1920 was, only differing by two walks and a single strike out and stolen base.
Runs: R Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 12 TEX A 7- 3-1983 29 12 12 3 1 0 10 17 7 2 0 2 0 0 11 NY A 7-26-1928(1) 19 11 12 4 1 0 11 18 2 1 0 1 0 0 11 MIN A 6-21-1969 12 11 8 0 0 1 8 11 4 0 0 1 1 0 10 CIN N 5-15-1919 20 10 9 1 2 0 10 14 4 0 0 1 2 1 10 SD N 6-28-1994(2) 12 10 7 1 0 0 6 8 2 1 3 1 0 0 9 CHI N 7-23-1923 18 9 8 1 1 0 7 11 3 0 0 0 0 0 9 NY N 6-15-1929 24 9 11 4 1 0 9 17 3 1 0 3 0 0 9 CLE A 8- 5-1933(1) 20 9 8 1 0 0 9 9 3 0 0 0 1 0 9 NY N 5-30-1940(2) 20 9 11 1 0 1 9 15 1 1 0 1 0 0 9 CIN N 8-24-1947(1) 11 9 8 1 0 0 9 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 9 BOS A 7- 8-1973(2) 10 9 8 2 0 1 9 13 2 1 0 0 0 0 9 SD N 5-28-1995 8 9 6 1 0 0 8 7 5 1 0 0 1 0 9 FLA N 6-10-2002 20 9 7 1 0 0 9 8 11 3 0 1 2 0 9 ANA A 8-16-2009 21 9 11 1 0 1 9 15 3 0 1 2 1 0
It's probably not too surprising that all of the entries on this list are visiting teams. All but four of these entries were the result of the scoring in a single inning.
From this list, you can create a chronology of the record for the most runs in an extra-inning. It was tied at ten by the Reds in 1919, extended to eleven by the Yankees in 1928, tied by Twins in 1969, before the 1983 Rangers set the current mark with twelve.
The record the Reds had tied had been previously set on July 21st, 1886 by the Kansas City Cowboys, and on June 17th, 1887 by the Boston Beaneaters. The Cowboys' victory that day in 1886 was quite an upset: they'd started that day with a 13-42 record and beat a Detroit team who came in with a 48-13 mark. Kansas City had lost eight straight before that win and would lose another six after it. Detroit's loss would be their only one in a sixteen-game span. 1886 would be the Kansas City franchise's only year in the National League, but at least they departed with a record that would stand for 42 years.
In both the 1919 and 1928 games, the opposing pitcher (and starter) was left in to take the entire beating. Al Mamaux, the Reds opponent, had battled Hod Eller to a scoreless draw until blowing up in the thirteenth (nine of the runs were unearned), and Detroit rookie Vic Sorrell saw a pretty good game (one run through eleven) go horribly wrong in the final frame against the Yankees.
For Steve Kealey, who was on the mound for the last seven runs of the 1973 Red Sox game, as well as Ben Callahan, who suffered through the last nine runs of the record-setting Rangers game, those would be their last major league appearances.
Before we move on, here are the most runs scored by a home team in our extra-inning games:
R Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 6 BOS A 7-28-1951 24 6 9 4 0 1 6 16 6 2 0 2 0 0 6 SD N 7- 5-1969 16 6 11 2 0 0 5 13 1 1 0 2 0 0 6 PIT N 4-21-1991 9 6 6 3 0 0 6 9 4 1 0 2 0 0 6 ARI N 9-27-2011 6 6 3 0 0 1 5 6 2 0 0 0 0 0
Three of these games appeared on an earlier list of teams that had scored four or five runs in the top of an extra-inning only to lose in the bottom. The other is the product of two visiting team runs and a game-ending grand-slam.
Hits: H Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 17 CHI A 5- 8-1984 61 4 17 3 0 1 4 23 3 2 0 10 0 0 14 MIL A 5- 8-1984 53 3 14 1 0 1 3 18 5 1 0 9 1 2 13 NY N 7-16-1920 35 7 13 1 3 0 7 20 1 0 0 1 0 0 13 KC A 6-17-1967(2) 41 2 13 1 0 1 1 17 3 0 0 4 1 1 13 STL N 9-11-1974 56 1 13 0 0 0 0 13 4 3 1 7 1 1 13 NY N 4-19-1976 33 1 13 0 0 1 1 16 1 1 0 2 0 0 13 CHI A 6- 5-2013 32 7 13 2 0 0 7 15 7 4 0 8 2 0 12 NY A 7-26-1928(1) 19 11 12 4 1 0 11 18 2 1 0 1 0 0 12 CIN N 9- 7-1951 34 4 12 4 0 0 4 16 8 6 0 2 0 0 12 TEX A 7- 3-1983 29 12 12 3 1 0 10 17 7 2 0 2 0 0 12 LA N 8-23-1989 49 1 12 1 0 1 1 16 0 0 0 10 1 1 12 BOS A 9-15-2017 31 8 12 3 0 0 7 15 3 2 1 6 0 0
Once again, visiting teams dominate this list, even though several of the entries come from long games with little scoring. One seemingly high-scoring game, the 1920 Giants game, was scoreless for 16 innings before they exploded for seven runs and eight hits, including back-to-back-to-back triples, against what we can assume was a tiring Earl Hamilton. He had a three-hitter through the first ten innings, but much of his earlier dominance was overshadowed by the ending.
The 1967 A's game took 19 innings to conclude, thanks to a Dave Duncan home run. It was the first (and only) win in Bill Edgerton's major league, but it was also the first career loss for future Cy Young Award winner Mike Marshall.
Doubles: 2B Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 5 BOS A 9- 5-1927(1) 31 4 7 5 0 0 4 12 1 0 0 4 0 0 5 ARI N 6- 7-2009 33 3 8 5 0 1 3 16 6 4 0 9 0 0 4 NY A 7-26-1928(1) 19 11 12 4 1 0 11 18 2 1 0 1 0 0 4 NY N 6-15-1929 24 9 11 4 1 0 9 17 3 1 0 3 0 0 4 STL A 5-12-1934(1) 28 1 6 4 0 0 1 10 4 1 0 8 0 1 4 BRO N 5- 8-1935 9 1 5 4 0 0 1 9 2 1 0 1 0 0 4 NY A 8-11-1937(1) 20 4 5 4 0 0 3 9 5 1 0 7 0 0 4 BOS A 7-28-1951 24 6 9 4 0 1 6 16 6 2 0 2 0 0 4 CIN N 9- 7-1951 34 4 12 4 0 0 4 16 8 6 0 2 0 0 4 CAL A 4-20-1984 17 5 7 4 0 0 5 11 3 1 0 2 1 0 4 SF N 9-28-1986 32 3 11 4 0 0 3 15 7 4 0 2 1 0 4 ARI N 7- 8-1999 9 3 5 4 0 0 3 9 1 1 0 2 0 0 4 TEX A 4-16-2008 21 2 6 4 0 0 1 10 4 3 0 6 0 0 4 PHI N 8-24-2013 33 0 6 4 0 0 0 10 5 3 0 9 0 0
The 1927 Red Sox game, tied for the top spot on this list, probably deserves an asterisk. Like other games of this era (and earlier), the high number of doubles was a result of a ground rule. Sometimes the rule was temporary, as in this case, when an overflow crowd spilled into the outfield and any batter hitting a ball into the fans there was credited with a cheap double. And sometimes the rule lasted for an entire season, as was the case with the Chicago White Stockings' home games in 1883, when any ball hit over the ridiculously short fence at Lake Front Park (196 feet down the right field line, 300 feet to center-field) was good for two-bases. On July 3rd of that year, Chicago hit 14 doubles, including four each by Cap Anson and Abner Dalrymple on their way to a 31-7 victory over Buffalo. (The ground rule there was worse the next year, when balls hit over that fence were home runs.)
Triples: 3B Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 3 NY N 7-16-1920 35 7 13 1 3 0 7 20 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 PHI A 7-10-1931 19 2 5 1 3 0 2 12 1 0 0 1 0 0 47 teams with 2
As I mentioned above, the three triples hit in the Giants game came in a seven-run 17th inning and were consecutive.
Home Runs: HR Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 4 MIN A 5- 2-1964 10 4 4 0 0 4 4 16 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 MIL N 6- 8-1965 8 6 7 0 0 4 6 19 1 0 0 0 0 1 16 teams with 3
Like the Giants triples, the four home runs hit by the 1964 Twins were consecutive. This was only the third time a team had hit four homers in a row, the first by the Braves in 1961 (a game they lost, by the way), and the second by the Indians in 1963. While the Braves the next year didn't quite duplicate the Twins' feat, they did homer in four consecutive at-bats, as the string was interrupted midway by a walk to Eddie Mathews.
RBIS: RBI Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 11 NY A 7-26-1928(1) 19 11 12 4 1 0 11 18 2 1 0 1 0 0 10 CIN N 5-15-1919 20 10 9 1 2 0 10 14 4 0 0 1 2 1 10 TEX A 7- 3-1983 29 12 12 3 1 0 10 17 7 2 0 2 0 0 9 NY N 6-15-1929 24 9 11 4 1 0 9 17 3 1 0 3 0 0 9 CLE A 8- 5-1933(1) 20 9 8 1 0 0 9 9 3 0 0 0 1 0 9 NY N 5-30-1940(2) 20 9 11 1 0 1 9 15 1 1 0 1 0 0 9 CIN N 8-24-1947(1) 11 9 8 1 0 0 9 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 9 BOS A 7- 8-1973(2) 10 9 8 2 0 1 9 13 2 1 0 0 0 0 9 FLA N 6-10-2002 20 9 7 1 0 0 9 8 11 3 0 1 2 0 9 ANA A 8-16-2009 21 9 11 1 0 1 9 15 3 0 1 2 1 0
Not a particularly interesting list, since it maps pretty closely to the data on team runs shown earlier, but I figured if I skipped it, someone would wonder why, so here it is.
Total Bases: TB Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 23 CHI A 5- 8-1984 61 4 17 3 0 1 4 23 3 2 0 10 0 0 20 NY N 7-16-1920 35 7 13 1 3 0 7 20 1 0 0 1 0 0 19 NY A 7-20-1941 33 6 10 3 0 2 6 19 2 1 0 3 0 0 19 BOS A 4-29-1951 20 6 8 0 1 3 6 19 3 0 0 1 0 0 19 MIL N 6- 8-1965 8 6 7 0 0 4 6 19 1 0 0 0 0 1 19 PIT N 8-19-2012 38 4 11 3 1 1 4 19 6 2 1 7 0 2 18 NY A 7-26-1928(1) 19 11 12 4 1 0 11 18 2 1 0 1 0 0 18 SEA A 5-16-1969 12 6 6 1 1 3 6 18 1 0 0 1 0 0 18 CIN N 6-29-1976 22 8 9 1 1 2 8 18 4 1 0 4 2 0 18 MIL A 5- 8-1984 53 3 14 1 0 1 3 18 5 1 0 9 1 2 18 HOU N 6-16-1995 30 5 10 2 0 2 5 18 1 0 0 7 2 0 18 BAL A 7- 7-2014 13 6 8 1 0 3 6 18 0 0 0 1 0 0
In their 1941 game, the Yankees had collected only four singles through seven scoreless frames before erupting for six runs in the 17th, including three doubles and two homers, all but a leadoff homer coming with two out. And the 1951 Red Sox homered in three straight innings to help earn their place on the list, solo shots by Dom DiMaggio in the 11th and Tom Wright in the 12th (his first in the majors), before Ted Williams capped the team's four-run 13th inning with a two run blast.
We've seen the 2012 Pirates-Cards game on two earlier lists, one because of three stolen bases by the Cards' Carlos Beltran and the other due to Jose Tabata's two caught stealing. And it's nice to see the original Seattle Pilots make a list for something other than Don Mincher's four extra-inning strikeouts. This time they hit for the cycle, with two extra homers, while scoring six runs in the top of the 11th and then, in true expansion team fashion, giving up five in the bottom before John O'Donoghue struck out Carl Yastrzemski to ensure the victory.
Walks: BB Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 13 MIN A 7-19-1969 30 5 6 3 0 0 4 9 13 2 0 9 2 0 13 KC A 6- 6-1991 28 1 8 1 0 0 0 9 13 6 0 2 1 0 12 WAS A 9-14-1971(2) 36 3 4 0 0 0 2 4 12 1 0 4 3 0 11 BOS N 7- 5-1940 36 0 7 3 0 0 0 10 11 6 0 4 0 0 11 FLA N 6-10-2002 20 9 7 1 0 0 9 8 11 3 0 1 2 0 11 FLA N 4-27-2003 32 0 4 1 0 0 0 5 11 3 0 9 1 0 10 LA A 6-25-1961 16 1 3 2 1 0 1 7 10 4 0 1 0 0 12 teams with 9
The 13 extra-inning walks the Twins received in that 1969 contest were part of a record 19 they collected in the 18-inning game, tying the mark originally set in nine innings by Louisville on September 21st, 1887.
Well, that's one version. My out-of-date (2007) Sporting News Record book has Louisville's mark being broken on September, 17, 1920, when the Red Sox walked 20 times. But the official team dailies that day credit Boston with only 18 walks, matching the total of walks charged against the Tigers' pitchers. In addition, according to the same record book, the modern National League record was set by the Phillies in 16-innings on July 2, 2004 when they joined the Twins in the 19-walk club. But it looks like that might be a simple mistake on the Sporting News' part, since all other accounts give them 18 walks.
In the 1991 Royals game, the team had walked only once heading into overtime, and their place alongside the Twins at the top of this list is due in large part to Gerald Alexander, who managed to hold the Kansas City scoreless for over four innings despite walking eight batters (and allowing four hits). The game came to an end in the bottom of the 16th when Kenny Rogers gave up a single and a walk before his error on a sacrifice bunt to send everyone home.
Intentional Walks: IBB Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 7 HOU N 7-15-1984 25 1 7 1 1 0 1 10 7 7 0 3 0 0 6 CHI A 8-21-1933 30 2 8 0 0 0 2 8 7 6 0 2 0 1 6 BOS N 7- 5-1940 36 0 7 3 0 0 0 10 11 6 0 4 0 0 6 CIN N 9- 7-1951 34 4 12 4 0 0 4 16 8 6 0 2 0 0 6 NY N 5- 2-1956 28 1 6 2 0 0 1 8 9 6 0 5 0 0 6 LA N 4-24-1970 18 1 5 1 0 0 1 6 7 6 0 2 0 0 6 NY N 8-26-1980 32 0 6 2 0 0 0 8 7 6 0 9 0 0 6 KC A 6- 6-1991 28 1 8 1 0 0 0 9 13 6 0 2 1 0 12 teams with 5
I mentioned earlier that intentionally walking batters is a strategy that make sense more often for visiting managers in extra-inning games. And noticing that only one of the teams on the list above (the 1956 Giants) were a visiting team, I decided to show some recent data to demonstrate what seemed to me a pretty obvious fact. But rather than present a huge table showing the year-by-year home and away extra-inning intentional walks, I figured that data from last year would suffice. So here it is:
Year Away Home 2018 62 60
So much for common sense. As it turns out, home teams are generally more likely than visiting teams to be passed in this manner, especially as you go back in time, but these days it's a very subtle difference indeed. Here's the breakdown by decade from 1934 to 2018:
Decade Away Home PctH 1930s 112 218 66.1 1940s 245 429 63.7 1950s 308 433 58.4 1960s 489 699 58.8 1970s 653 881 57.4 1980s 712 849 54.4 1990s 618 710 53.5 2000s 596 678 53.2 2010s 535 578 51.9
I'm sure there are very good reasons why the gap has been steadily narrowing over time, but in four of the past nine seasons, visiting teams have received more intentional walk than home teams.
Hit By Pitches: HBP Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 4 TEX A 6- 8-2013 27 0 3 2 0 0 0 5 4 1 4 6 1 1 3 CAL A 8-21-1968 19 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 1 3 3 0 1 3 SD N 6-28-1994(2) 12 10 7 1 0 0 6 8 2 1 3 1 0 0 3 CHI N 5-28-2001 15 3 4 1 0 1 3 8 0 0 3 3 0 0 77 teams with 2
Second-year reserve infielder Augie Ojeda entered the 2001 Cubs game as part of a double-switch in the sixth inning and ended up getting hit in both of his extra-inning appearances. It was the first two times he'd reached base that way in the major leagues.
Strikeouts: SO Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 15 NY N 4-15-1968 47 0 6 1 0 0 0 7 2 1 0 15 2 0 14 NY N 5-31-1964(2) 46 0 9 0 0 0 0 9 1 0 0 14 0 1 14 SD N 8-15-1980 41 0 10 0 0 0 0 10 6 3 0 14 4 0 13 CAL A 7- 9-1971 38 0 5 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 13 0 0 13 CHI A 8-10-1972 32 1 5 0 1 0 0 7 8 1 0 13 1 2 13 HOU N 6- 3-1989 43 1 9 1 1 0 1 12 4 2 0 13 0 0 13 DET A 9- 7-1997 19 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 13 1 0 13 MIL N 6- 8-2004 28 1 5 1 0 0 1 6 4 0 1 13 3 0 13 SD N 5-25-2008 31 5 6 2 0 1 5 11 4 0 0 13 2 0 13 CHI N 5- 7-2017 30 0 3 1 0 0 0 4 6 3 0 13 0 0
With the notable exception of the 2008 Padres game (which they won 12-9 in 18 innings), these are mostly long low-scoring games. And even the Padres game featured a four-inning nine-strikeout performance by Aaron Harang, who was making his only relief appearance of the year (although he didn't get the loss in that game, he would tie for the NL lead in losses that year with 17).
The other games include the 1968 Mets-Astros 24-inning 1-0 game (which, along with the 1-0 All-Star game that summer, seemed emblematic of the Year of the Pitcher), the 1971 A's-Angels game that finished in the early hours of the morning when Curt Blefary scored in the bottom of the 20th (and was followed by a bizarre news conference where Tony Conigliaro announced his retirement from baseball), and a 17-inning 1-0 game in 2004 between the Brewers and Angels. That 1971 contest set the major league record for the most strikeouts by one team in a game (26) and both the 2004 and 2017 games on this list tied it. It was tied again a few weeks later in 2017, that game lasting only twelve innings (and featuring 19 strikeouts in regulation).
Although it wasn't scoreless until the end, the 1964 Mets-Giants game did set a record for the longest contest by time in major league history, one that would last until 1984. Gaylord Perry pitched the last ten innings for the Giants to pick up the win, during which, at least according to a later autobiography, he threw his first spitball in a major league game.
Stolen Bases: SB Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 5 CAL A 6-10-1992 11 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 2 2 0 3 5 0 5 SEA A 7-30-1998 33 3 9 1 0 1 3 13 6 3 0 5 5 0 4 PIT N 6- 7-1972(2) 35 1 8 1 0 0 1 9 4 2 0 10 4 0 4 PHI N 5-29-1978 17 1 3 0 0 0 1 3 4 1 0 4 4 0 4 SD N 8-15-1980 41 0 10 0 0 0 0 10 6 3 0 14 4 0 4 LA N 9-28-1986 24 2 3 0 0 0 2 3 2 1 0 2 4 0 4 TEX A 6- 6-1987 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 0 6 4 0 4 CHI N 5-22-1990 25 2 4 0 0 1 2 7 8 4 0 11 4 0 72 teams with 3
We've seen the two games at the top of this list in the player's section, since they include Polonia's four extra-inning steals in 1992 and Amaral's three in 1998. (And the 1980 Padres game just appeared on the most strikeouts list.) In the 1972 Pirates game, Willie Stargell stole second base in the 18th on the back-end of a double steal. It was his only stolen base between 1969 and 1976. Al Oliver, who was on the front-end, would steal only one other base that year. I suspect that they were counting on the element of surprise.
Caught Stealing: CS Team Game AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB IBB HBP SO SB CS 3 CHI A 6-12-1967 42 1 7 2 0 0 1 9 3 1 1 9 0 3 3 WAS A 6-12-1967 38 2 8 0 0 0 2 8 6 2 0 4 0 3 3 CLE A 9-13-1967 23 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 5 1 0 4 0 3 3 PIT N 7- 6-1980 29 1 3 0 0 0 1 3 7 1 0 11 1 3 3 PHI N 9-21-1981 25 0 5 1 0 0 0 6 4 0 1 3 1 3 3 KC A 6-12-1985 15 1 4 1 1 0 1 7 3 1 0 1 0 3 3 SD N 7-12-1990 18 0 4 1 0 0 0 5 3 0 0 5 0 3 3 STL N 4- 4-2003 9 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1 1 0 3 107 teams with 2
I'm pretty sure some teams from the Deadball Era will eclipse these marks once we have their play-by-play data, but for the time being, I think it's interesting that when the White Sox' Walt Williams was caught stealing second in the 17th inning of the game at the top of the list above, Chicago became the first team to be caught stealing three times in an extra-inning game since at least 1933, a "record" that would be tied an inning later when the Senators Ken McMullen was also thrown out at second.
And you have to admire the persistence of the 2003 Cardinals, who had a runner caught attempting to steal in all three of their extra-innings that day, the last failed attempt, by Fernando Vina, was part of a "strike em out, throw em out" double-play that ended the game.
Well, that pretty much does it for me this time. As always, thanks for your patience.
While writing my article on extra-inning single game batting records I noticed the appearance of Harry Simpson in two different games on the player lists and that got me wondering about season and career extra-inning performances. Was Harry Simpson, a decent enough hitter overall, some kind of monster once a game shifted into overtime? (Spoiler alert: he wasn't.)
So what is presented from here on out is done with the realization that what follows will probably exhaust the modest interest that most reasonable people will have in this very arcane subject.
Unlike the lists in the previous article, which were based on partial data from 1919 to 1933, the data in this article will only cover the years with complete data, 1934 to 2018.
So here are lists like the previous ones but for individual seasons:
At-bats: AB Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 34 Ray Mack 1943 CLE A 34 4 7 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 7 0 0 .206 .294 33 Leo Cardenas 1969 MIN A 33 3 6 1 1 0 2 2 2 0 6 0 0 .182 .273 32 Tony Lupien 1943 BOS A 32 3 10 2 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 2 1 .312 .375 31 Bobby Doerr 1943 BOS A 31 2 6 1 0 0 3 2 1 0 4 3 0 .194 .226 31 Oris Hockett 1943 CLE A 31 1 7 0 0 0 3 4 0 0 1 0 1 .226 .226 31 Luis Aparicio 1968 CHI A 31 3 12 2 0 0 4 1 0 0 2 2 1 .387 .452 31 Ted Uhlaender 1969 MIN A 31 4 10 0 0 0 2 4 1 0 2 0 1 .323 .323 31 Martin Prado 2013 ARI N 31 2 4 1 0 0 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 .129 .161 30 Irv Hall 1945 PHI A 30 4 8 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 4 1 0 .267 .267 30 Max Alvis 1967 CLE A 30 3 7 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 5 0 1 .233 .367
Obviously, the players above were regulars on teams that appeared in a lot of extra-inning games. One thing to keep in mind is that, unlike at-bats in entire games, batting order position has little to do with making this list, since the first batter up in the tenth inning isn't predictable. For example, the two players from the 1943 Indians include Ray Mack, who primarily batted eighth that season, and Oris Hockett, who hit first. or second.
Four of the entries above come from 1943, the year that the "balata ball," a new baseball introduced that spring to conserve the war-time supply of rubber, caused a dramatic drop in scoring. I doubt it was a coincidence that 1943 had the highest percentage of extra-inning games in any year since at least 1905:
Year Total ExG Pct 1943 1238 171 13.81 1957 1235 162 13.12 1916 1247 157 12.59 1918 1016 125 12.30 1942 1224 146 11.93 1944 1242 141 11.35 1960 1236 140 11.33 1920 1234 138 11.18 1965 1623 180 11.09 1917 1247 135 10.83
The years with the lowest:
Year Total ExG Pct 1948 1237 88 7.11 1939 1231 91 7.39 1947 1243 93 7.48 2005 2431 182 7.49 2017 2430 182 7.49 2006 2429 185 7.62 2016 2428 185 7.62 1999 2428 191 7.87 2012 2430 192 7.90 1950 1238 98 7.92
Here are the teams with the most extra-inning at-bats (again, from 1934 to 2018):
AB Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 284 2013 ARI N 25 17 8 76 284 34 74 21 1 3 33 40 12 2 58 2 2 .261 .373 273 1969 MIN A 19 11 8 74.1 273 36 70 10 1 5 32 47 15 0 46 4 5 .256 .355 255 1943 CLE A 27 13 14 70 255 28 63 9 2 4 28 35 6 0 27 1 3 .247 .345 252 1945 PHI A 24 10 11 68 252 20 64 8 2 2 19 30 5 0 21 3 1 .254 .325 249 1973 LA N 23 15 7 63.1 249 31 75 10 1 6 28 36 20 1 33 4 2 .301 .422 245 1943 BOS A 31 15 14 67.2 245 21 55 9 1 2 16 22 4 1 32 7 1 .224 .294 240 1967 CLE A 25 16 9 66 240 32 59 10 1 9 32 22 7 1 44 0 8 .246 .408 236 1980 CHI N 17 4 13 68.2 236 21 46 5 1 3 19 31 12 1 47 3 1 .195 .263 232 1944 CLE A 24 13 11 64 232 19 50 9 0 6 19 25 6 1 23 3 1 .216 .332 232 1977 MON N 19 8 11 62.2 232 17 56 10 1 1 17 25 11 0 36 4 1 .241 .306
The only player above whose team was not on this list was Luis Aparicio and his White Sox were tied for 34th place (with 215 at-bats).
The 31 extra-inning games by the 1943 Red Sox was easily the record, with the 1943 Browns and 1957 Tigers tied for second place with 28. By the way, the 1943 Red Sox and Browns faced each other in eight extra-inning games, including four in a row on May 31st and June 2nd.
But what about the teams with the fewest extra-inning at bats?
AB Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 23 2017 CLE A 6 4 2 5.2 23 7 6 3 0 2 7 6 1 0 5 1 0 .261 .652 28 1994 OAK A 6 3 3 7.2 28 5 8 1 0 0 5 6 2 0 5 1 0 .286 .321 29 1936 STL A 3 1 2 8.1 29 1 5 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 5 0 0 .172 .172 30 2016 ANA A 4 0 4 9 30 1 4 1 1 0 0 3 2 0 11 0 1 .133 .233 31 1945 CHI N 6 4 2 7.1 31 8 11 3 0 0 7 6 3 0 6 0 0 .355 .452 32 1939 NY A 7 3 4 9.1 32 6 8 1 1 0 5 10 3 0 2 1 0 .250 .344 32 1995 BAL A 5 2 3 10 32 2 5 0 0 1 2 4 1 2 8 1 1 .156 .250 32 1998 ATL N 6 2 4 9.2 32 4 9 1 0 1 4 7 1 2 5 0 0 .281 .406 32 2005 NY A 8 4 4 8.2 32 7 8 1 1 2 7 8 1 0 8 0 0 .250 .531 4 teams with 33
The three extra-inning games played by the 1936 Browns and the four by the 2016 Angels are the fewest since 1934. Only one of the Browns' games that year went past the 10th inning.
Runs: R Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 8 Pee Wee Reese 1942 BRO N 15 8 6 0 1 0 3 5 1 0 2 0 0 .400 .533 8 Adam Jones 2012 BAL A 24 8 7 1 0 4 10 1 0 3 2 0 0 .292 .833 17 players with 7
Pee Wee Reese accounted for more than a third (8 out of 23) of the extra-inning runs scored by the 1942 Dodgers. And Adam Jones will be showing up on three other lists below (home runs, RBIs and hit by pitches).
And the teams scoring the most runs:
R Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 42 1991 TEX A 24 14 10 56.1 222 42 71 15 0 5 42 30 7 0 33 7 5 .320 .455 39 1988 MON N 25 18 7 56 213 39 63 6 5 7 39 25 12 0 41 7 3 .296 .469 36 1969 MIN A 19 11 8 74.1 273 36 70 10 1 5 32 47 15 0 46 4 5 .256 .355 36 1973 CIN N 21 12 9 42.1 169 36 51 5 2 6 34 25 5 0 32 3 5 .302 .462 34 2013 ARI N 25 17 8 76 284 34 74 21 1 3 33 40 12 2 58 2 2 .261 .373 33 2005 MIN A 23 15 8 45 181 33 55 13 1 5 31 29 13 2 36 3 1 .304 .470 33 2012 BAL A 18 16 2 57 210 33 49 9 0 8 33 27 5 4 47 3 1 .233 .390 32 1967 CLE A 25 16 9 66 240 32 59 10 1 9 32 22 7 1 44 0 8 .246 .408 32 1998 SF N 20 12 8 44.1 171 32 49 12 1 5 29 31 9 1 33 4 1 .287 .456 32 2017 BOS A 18 15 3 54.2 219 32 60 10 0 3 30 32 10 5 46 5 0 .274 .361
I was a little surprised that the 1991 Rangers had one of the poorer records on the list above, but half of their runs were scored in four road wins, including eight runs in the top of the 11th on September 23rd. The 2012 Orioles went 16-2 while scoring nine fewer runs in the same amount of innings, helped along by allowing only 5 runs in overtime compared to 22 for Texas.
This article is not in general dealing with pitching or defense, but here are the most extra-innings runs allowed since 1934:
Runs Allowed: RA Year Team G W L INN RS RA 39 2002 KC A 19 7 12 37 18 39 36 1969 OAK A 22 10 12 59 24 36 34 1953 DET A 20 6 10 41 17 34 34 1967 LA N 27 10 17 57.2 17 34 34 1970 STL N 21 5 16 49.2 12 34 34 1978 NY N 25 8 17 42.1 13 34 33 1984 PIT N 26 9 17 52 27 33 32 1957 DET A 28 13 15 63.1 18 32 32 1975 MON N 26 12 14 60.1 20 32 32 1979 STL N 24 10 14 56.1 29 32 31 1980 SEA A 19 9 9 41 16 31 31 1987 BOS A 15 3 12 28 6 31
And since runs scored and allowed are the basic components of wins and losses, here are the leaders in those areas as well:
Wins: W Year Team G W L INN RS RA 19 1959 PIT N 21 19 2 35 31 10 18 1949 CLE A 19 18 1 31.2 28 1 18 1988 MON N 25 18 7 56 39 23 17 1999 ATL N 22 17 5 41.2 27 6 17 2013 ARI N 25 17 8 76 34 18 16 1957 STL N 26 16 10 49.2 24 16 16 1967 CLE A 25 16 9 66 32 20 16 1970 BAL A 25 16 9 47.1 31 16 16 1991 PHI N 25 16 9 42.1 25 16 16 1992 HOU N 21 16 5 41.1 25 10 16 1992 STL N 26 16 10 59 25 20 16 2012 BAL A 18 16 2 57 33 5
The Pirates great hitting in extra-innings helped them to a 19-2 overtime record in 1959, with Roy Face winning 11 of them without a loss. On two occasions, on August 30th and September 19th, he gave up the go-ahead run in the top of an extra-inning only to have his team score two in the bottom half to win.
The 1949 Indians allowed only a single run in 19 extra-inning games. It came on April 23rd, and cost them their only overtime loss of the season. Their streak of 17 straight extra-inning wins would end on the opening day of their 1950 season.
Only five of the teams above had winning records in regulation games.
Losses: L Year Team G W L INN RS RA 18 1943 STL A 28 10 18 55.1 14 29 17 1942 CIN N 26 9 17 62 16 26 17 1967 LA N 27 10 17 57.2 17 34 17 1978 NY N 25 8 17 42.1 13 34 17 1984 PIT N 26 9 17 52 27 33 16 1944 PHI N 22 6 16 49.2 7 20 16 1965 HOU N 23 7 16 48.2 12 25 16 1966 BOS A 22 6 16 44.1 14 23 16 1970 STL N 21 5 16 49.2 12 34 16 1974 NY N 20 4 16 51.1 6 22 16 1984 SF N 22 6 16 50.2 11 24
I thought it was interesting that a total of 27 runs were scored in the 1944 Phillies' 22 extra-inning games. Absent ties (and they had none) that is only 5 over the minimum. I was wondering if that was unusual. It turns out that the 1972 Cubs went 6-9 in 15 extra-inning games and scored, you guessed it, 6 runs and allowed 9. Among teams playing 20 or more overtime games (ignoring ties), the closest to the minumum number of runs was the 1976 Royals, who went 13-7 while scoring 14 runs and allowing 8.
The highest ratio of runs to decisions was turned in by the 1994 Rockies, who were in only 5 extra-innings games, but had a combined 19 runs scored in the extra frames.
Hits: H Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 12 Luis Aparicio 1968 CHI A 31 3 12 2 0 0 4 1 0 0 2 2 1 .387 .452 12 Vladimir Guerrero 2002 MON N 17 5 12 1 0 2 3 2 2 0 1 1 1 .706 1.118 11 Harry Walker 1943 STL N 22 4 11 2 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .727 11 Johnny Callison 1963 PHI N 15 5 11 1 1 2 4 4 2 0 1 0 0 .733 1.333 11 Chuck Hinton 1967 CLE A 25 7 11 2 0 2 6 4 2 0 6 0 1 .440 .760 11 Horace Clarke 1970 NY A 21 3 11 1 1 0 4 2 2 0 0 2 0 .524 .667 11 Larry Bowa 1971 PHI N 23 6 11 1 1 0 3 1 0 0 3 3 1 .478 .609 11 Gary Carter 1985 NY N 25 4 11 0 0 2 5 5 3 0 2 0 0 .440 .680 11 Ryne Sandberg 1992 CHI N 25 6 11 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 6 1 0 .440 .480 11 Chipper Jones 1999 ATL N 22 7 11 0 0 4 5 3 3 0 4 0 0 .500 1.045 11 Andrew McCutchen 2018 SF/NYA 18 7 11 2 0 1 3 3 1 1 3 4 0 .611 .889
Vladimir Guerrero led his league in hits in the first nine innings as well in 2002, but the gap was considerably narrower (194 to Jeff Kent's 193). And while no other player on this list led their league in hits, both Clarke and Bowa topped their circuit in at-bats. Clarke also led in regulation at-bats, but Bowa would have trailed both Willie Davis and Lou Brock were it not for his advantage in overtime.
At the other end of the spectrum, here are the players with the most extra-inning at-bats in a season without a hit:
AB Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 22 Ron Fairly 1967 LA N 22 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 4 0 0 .000 .000 21 Don Gutteridge 1945 STL A 21 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 18 Bill Melton 1974 CHI A 18 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 .000 .000 16 Milt Byrnes 1943 STL A 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 16 Sam Jethroe 1952 BOS N 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 1 0 .000 .000 16 Jesus Figueroa 1980 CHI N 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 .000 .000 7 players with 15
Ron Fairly's string of hitless at-bats reached 33 before his single in the 12th inning on August 10, 1968. He also had a string of 20 straight hitless extra-inning at-bats from 1969 to 1973. Wartime replacement Milt Byrnes' string was from the start of his career before it was finally broken after 18 hitless at-bats on May 16, 1944. Jethroe's streak had reached 17 by the end of his short career, while Figueroa retired still looking for his first extra-inning hit.
The teams with the most hits:
H Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 75 1973 LA N 23 15 7 63.1 249 31 75 10 1 6 28 36 20 1 33 4 2 .301 .422 74 2013 ARI N 25 17 8 76 284 34 74 21 1 3 33 40 12 2 58 2 2 .261 .373 71 1991 TEX A 24 14 10 56.1 222 42 71 15 0 5 42 30 7 0 33 7 5 .320 .455 70 1969 MIN A 19 11 8 74.1 273 36 70 10 1 5 32 47 15 0 46 4 5 .256 .355 67 1996 SD N 24 13 11 59.2 229 26 67 16 0 4 24 30 12 2 47 5 4 .293 .415 64 1945 PHI A 24 10 11 68 252 20 64 8 2 2 19 30 5 0 21 3 1 .254 .325 63 1943 CLE A 27 13 14 70 255 28 63 9 2 4 28 35 6 0 27 1 3 .247 .345 63 1959 PIT N 21 19 2 35 156 31 63 8 1 4 31 20 8 2 12 1 0 .404 .545 63 1988 MON N 25 18 7 56 213 39 63 6 5 7 39 25 12 0 41 7 3 .296 .469 63 1992 STL N 26 16 10 59 226 25 63 7 1 4 24 23 10 1 50 7 5 .279 .372
These are a combination of teams that either hit very well or played in a lot of these games, with the two war-time teams, who combined to score a little more than 3 runs per nine extra-innings, examples of the latter.
Looking at the highest batting averages (minumum 25 hits)...
AVG Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG .431 1938 BOS A 10 9 1 13 58 14 25 6 1 1 13 7 2 0 4 1 0 .431 .621 .425 2009 ANA A 11 7 4 16.2 73 20 31 2 0 2 20 13 3 1 14 4 0 .425 .534 .415 1985 CHI A 15 11 4 22 94 21 39 6 0 3 20 12 5 2 10 4 2 .415 .574 .407 1983 TOR A 17 11 6 28.1 118 27 48 6 4 4 26 18 7 1 14 0 3 .407 .627 .404 1959 PIT N 21 19 2 35 156 31 63 8 1 4 31 20 8 2 12 1 0 .404 .545 .403 1989 MIN A 12 8 4 15.2 72 11 29 5 0 1 11 4 4 0 16 0 1 .403 .514 .400 1996 NY A 10 4 6 17.1 75 17 30 5 0 3 17 14 4 1 17 1 1 .400 .587 .397 1934 DET A 14 12 2 17.2 78 23 31 12 0 2 23 16 4 1 4 1 0 .397 .628 .397 2004 SD N 11 7 4 15.1 63 13 25 2 0 0 11 5 3 3 8 0 1 .397 .429 .394 2011 LA N 11 8 3 16.2 71 22 28 6 1 5 20 12 4 2 15 2 2 .394 .718
The 1938 Red Sox made short work of their ten extra-inning games, with seven of them lasting an inning or less. Jimmie Foxx reached base in all but one of his eight plate appearances, including two doubles and a homer, scoring the winning run in three of their wins.
The 2011 Dodgers converted their hits into the most runs per inning (edging out the 1934 Tigers). They scored in all but one of their extra-inning games, losing one of them despite taking a five-run lead in the top of the 10th.
And the highest slugging percentages (minumum 35 total bases):
SLG Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG .718 2011 LA N 11 8 3 16.2 71 22 28 6 1 5 20 12 4 2 15 2 2 .394 .718 .656 2013 LA N 15 10 5 23 93 21 32 8 0 7 20 11 2 0 17 2 0 .344 .656 .644 1959 BOS A 13 7 6 18 73 14 20 3 0 8 14 10 2 0 5 0 0 .274 .644 .639 2003 PHI N 13 10 3 24 97 21 35 9 0 6 20 16 5 1 19 0 2 .361 .639 .635 2006 NY A 10 7 3 15.1 63 15 19 3 0 6 15 9 0 0 18 3 1 .302 .635 .634 2000 OAK A 13 8 5 16.1 71 14 24 2 2 5 13 16 5 2 20 1 0 .338 .634 .630 2001 CLE A 15 9 6 23.1 92 19 31 4 1 7 19 14 4 3 16 1 1 .337 .630 .629 2015 WAS N 11 9 2 15 62 14 21 6 0 4 13 11 5 0 14 1 0 .339 .629 .628 1934 DET A 14 12 2 17.2 78 23 31 12 0 2 23 16 4 1 4 1 0 .397 .628 .627 1983 TOR A 17 11 6 28.1 118 27 48 6 4 4 26 18 7 1 14 0 3 .407 .627 .627 2003 KC A 9 5 4 13.1 59 11 24 4 0 3 11 2 0 2 6 0 0 .407 .627
Two Dodgers teams two years apart top this list. They were also above average in between:
SLG Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG .433 2012 LA N 15 8 7 26.2 104 17 30 4 1 3 17 17 7 1 22 2 0 .288 .433
Here are the worst team averages, with a 60 at-bat minimum:
AVG Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG .111 2010 WAS N 13 3 10 24.2 81 3 9 2 0 1 3 9 0 3 22 1 0 .111 .173 .113 1951 STL A 14 2 12 31.1 106 3 12 2 0 1 3 15 0 1 20 0 0 .113 .160 .126 2015 TB A 15 2 13 32 103 4 13 2 0 1 4 16 3 0 37 1 0 .126 .175 .129 1995 DET A 12 4 8 26.2 93 8 12 3 0 1 6 12 4 3 26 1 1 .129 .194 .130 1948 PHI N 10 2 8 22.2 77 3 10 1 2 1 3 13 6 0 14 4 0 .130 .234 .133 1974 CLE A 12 2 10 27.1 90 3 12 1 0 0 3 5 1 0 11 2 0 .133 .144 .140 1999 LA N 16 4 12 35 114 12 16 2 0 3 10 22 4 0 31 0 2 .140 .237 .142 1999 SF N 14 7 7 35 120 9 17 2 0 4 8 17 6 2 28 2 0 .142 .258 .143 1970 CHI A 10 2 8 26 84 4 12 1 0 1 2 4 1 0 13 0 2 .143 .190 .145 1979 TOR A 12 2 10 18.1 62 4 9 1 0 2 4 6 1 0 12 1 1 .145 .258 SLG Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG .144 1974 CLE A 12 2 10 27.1 90 3 12 1 0 0 3 5 1 0 11 2 0 .133 .144 .147 1952 PHI A 15 4 11 31.1 102 4 15 0 0 0 4 13 1 0 12 0 0 .147 .147 .160 1951 STL A 14 2 12 31.1 106 3 12 2 0 1 3 15 0 1 20 0 0 .113 .160 .172 1961 PIT N 8 1 7 19 64 2 11 0 0 0 1 7 1 0 10 0 0 .172 .172 .173 1968 NY N 15 2 13 58.2 196 5 31 3 0 0 3 12 2 0 51 4 2 .158 .173 .173 2010 WAS N 13 3 10 24.2 81 3 9 2 0 1 3 9 0 3 22 1 0 .111 .173 .175 2015 TB A 15 2 13 32 103 4 13 2 0 1 4 16 3 0 37 1 0 .126 .175 .181 2012 HOU N 12 1 11 22 72 1 12 1 0 0 1 9 1 0 18 2 2 .167 .181 .189 1994 PHI N 8 2 6 21.2 74 3 13 1 0 0 3 15 5 0 13 1 0 .176 .189 .190 1970 CHI A 10 2 8 26 84 4 12 1 0 1 2 4 1 0 13 0 2 .143 .190
These were all pretty bad teams for the most part, the three biggest exceptions being the 1952 Phillies (75-64 in regulation), the 1999 Giants, who managed to split their 14 extra-inning decisions despite their poor hitting on their way to a 86-76 mark, and the 2015 Rays, who had a 78-69 record apart from their extra-inning woes.
The 1961 Pirates, a year removed from a World Championship and two years from their outstanding 19-2 extra-inning mark, scored only two runs in overtime, one on a bases-loaded walk and the other on an error. That was twice as many runs as the 2012 Astros, however, whose only run in their 12 extra-inning games was a walk-off single by Scott Moore on their final overtime play of the year.
Doubles: 2B Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 5 Charlie Gehringer 1934 DET A 11 7 8 5 0 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 .727 1.455 5 Gene Moore 1941 BOS N 10 2 8 5 0 0 3 4 1 0 0 0 1 .800 1.300 5 Jeff Kent 1998 SF N 18 4 8 5 0 2 7 1 1 1 3 0 0 .444 1.056 14 players with 4
Gehringer was a big reason for his Tigers' appearance on the highest team batting average and slugging percentage lists above. His doubles were part of 50 he would hit that year for the Tigers, a distant second in the league to teammate Hank Greenberg's 63.
In his other 387 at-bats in 1941, Gene Moore hit only 12 doubles.
The team list:
2B Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 21 2013 ARI N 25 17 8 76 284 34 74 21 1 3 33 40 12 2 58 2 2 .261 .373 16 1996 SD N 24 13 11 59.2 229 26 67 16 0 4 24 30 12 2 47 5 4 .293 .415 15 1991 TEX A 24 14 10 56.1 222 42 71 15 0 5 42 30 7 0 33 7 5 .320 .455 14 1949 CIN N 24 14 9 46.1 195 28 62 14 4 1 26 18 5 2 22 0 1 .318 .446 13 1951 BOS A 16 12 4 53.2 204 30 50 13 4 8 29 35 4 1 22 0 1 .245 .466 13 2005 MIN A 23 15 8 45 181 33 55 13 1 5 31 29 13 2 36 3 1 .304 .470 13 2018 ARI N 14 5 9 38.2 146 12 37 13 0 2 11 21 7 0 38 6 2 .253 .384 12 1934 DET A 14 12 2 17.2 78 23 31 12 0 2 23 16 4 1 4 1 0 .397 .628 12 1940 BOS A 20 13 7 36 140 16 41 12 0 5 16 26 7 1 15 2 0 .293 .486 12 1992 CLE A 18 10 8 52 187 18 46 12 0 4 18 22 10 1 26 4 3 .246 .374 12 1998 SF N 20 12 8 44.1 171 32 49 12 1 5 29 31 9 1 33 4 1 .287 .456
Thirteen different players on the 2013 Diamondbacks had one or more extra-inning doubles, led by Cody Ross, Gerardo Parra, and Adam Eaton with three each.
Triples: 3B Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 3 Stan Musial 1943 STL N 17 3 7 0 3 0 2 5 3 0 0 0 0 .412 .765 3 Harry Simpson 1952 CLE A 12 0 4 0 3 0 1 7 3 0 1 1 1 .333 .833 3 Wally Moon 1954 STL N 19 6 10 0 3 1 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 .526 1.000 3 Joe Morgan 1966 HOU N 9 4 6 0 3 0 5 2 0 0 1 0 0 .667 1.333 3 Jose Reyes 2012 MIA N 12 4 8 1 3 1 4 5 4 0 0 0 0 .667 1.500 55 players with 2
Every player on this list would, at one time or another, lead his league in triples, Musial a total of five times and Reyes four.
The team list:
Triples: 3B Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 6 1952 CLE A 16 9 6 41.2 153 15 39 7 6 3 15 25 9 1 18 5 4 .255 .438 5 1968 STL N 23 15 8 46 174 22 49 10 5 4 20 19 7 2 24 2 0 .282 .466 5 1974 CHI N 20 9 11 51 186 16 43 3 5 2 15 28 12 0 29 3 2 .231 .333 5 1988 MON N 25 18 7 56 213 39 63 6 5 7 39 25 12 0 41 7 3 .296 .469 18 teams with 4
The 1952 Indians owe their spot at the top in large part to Harry Simpson, who was tied at the top of the player list. His three extra-inning triples included two in one game. Those two triples for Simpson were the first of his major league career and came after he'd played in 136 games. He would triple in each of his next two games as well.
Home Runs: HR Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 5 Charlie Maxwell 1960 DET A 17 5 6 0 0 5 7 2 1 0 3 0 0 .353 1.235 5 Nelson Cruz 2010 TEX A 9 5 6 0 0 5 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 .667 2.333 4 Willie Mays 1955 NY N 15 7 7 0 0 4 6 4 1 0 1 0 0 .467 1.267 4 Mark McGwire 1998 STL N 12 5 5 0 0 4 8 8 6 0 6 0 0 .417 1.417 4 Ron Gant 1995 CIN N 7 4 5 0 0 4 6 3 2 0 0 1 0 .714 2.429 4 Jim Thome 2001 CLE A 9 5 4 0 0 4 7 3 2 0 3 0 0 .444 1.778 4 Chipper Jones 1999 ATL N 22 7 11 0 0 4 5 3 3 0 4 0 0 .500 1.045 4 Adam Jones 2012 BAL A 24 8 7 1 0 4 10 1 0 3 2 0 0 .292 .833 4 Khris Davis 2018 OAK A 15 4 5 0 0 4 7 2 1 1 5 0 0 .333 1.133 60 players with 3
Charlie Maxwell had a reputation for doing most of his power-hitting on Sundays, one that began when he hit four homers in a row in a double-header on May 3, 1959. Despite this, none of his extra-inning homers came on that day, with one coming on Tuesday and two each on Friday and Saturday.
It occurred to me that many of these homers could have ended their game. My initial feeling was that close to half of them could, since an large majority of home runs in the bottom of an extra-inning would have decided the contest. But then I realized that while the visiting teams bat in each inning until they record three outs, the home team stops once they get the lead. As a result, visiting teams from 1934 to 2018 have scored 57.5% of all extra-inning runs (15,084 vs. 11,128), but have a much narrower edge in home runs (52.3% or 2,600 vs. 2,370).
Anyway, here are the season leaders in game-ending extra-inning homers from 1934 to 2018 (all with 3):
Player Year Team Games Andre Ethier 2009 LA N 6- 6 6-29 9-15 Roy Sievers 1957 WAS A 6-30(2) 8- 3 9-14 Mickey Mantle 1959 NY A 6-18 7-16(1) 9-13(1) Joe Ferguson 1980 LA N 6-19 8- 1 10- 3 Jim Thome 2001 CLE A 4-21 6-13 7- 7 Nelson Cruz 2010 TEX A 7-27 8-13 9-10
So Nelson Cruz and Jim Thome are on both lists.
But usually when people talk about game-ending hits, they also mean those that occur in the bottom of the 9th as well. So here are are the leaders if you include the 9th (all with 4):
Player Year Team Games Jimmie Foxx 1940 BOS A 6- 2(2) 6- 6 7- 3 8-16 Roy Sievers 1957 WAS A 4-23 6-30(2) 8- 3 9-14 Andre Ethier 2009 LA N 6- 6 6-29 8- 6 9-15
If you include game-ending hits of any kind, Andre Ethier's 2009 season is still at the top of the list with six, adding a game-ending single on May 2nd and double on June 5th.
By the way, only one player has had more than one "walk-off" triple (and I realize that few people do much walking during these plays), and that was Jack Clark in 1980. He hit them on June 19th and July 26th. Both times he knocked in Joe Strain with the winning run.
The team HR list:
Home Runs: HR Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 9 1962 WAS A 16 8 7 34 127 15 28 3 1 9 15 10 1 1 21 0 3 .220 .472 9 1966 PIT N 18 7 11 42.2 165 29 44 7 0 9 27 24 9 0 38 3 1 .267 .473 9 1967 CLE A 25 16 9 66 240 32 59 10 1 9 32 22 7 1 44 0 8 .246 .408 9 1992 HOU N 21 16 5 41.1 163 25 50 8 0 9 24 30 16 0 30 4 2 .307 .521 24 teams with 8
Despite their extra-inning home runs, the 1962 Senators had the poorest offense in the league that year, scoring 53 fewer runs than the next worst team, and only the 1966 Pirates (second best in the NL) had above average hitters.
None of these teams had a player with more than three extra-inning homers, and the ones with three each are Bob Bailey and Willie Stargell with the Pirates, and Jeff Bagwell with the Astros.
Given the sometimes dramatic changes in home run rates, I was surprised that all four of the teams on this chart came from years and leagues with rates lower than those from this decade. The leagues represented above had HRs per 100 at-bats of 2.8, 2.5, 2.2 and 1.9, while the rates from 2015 to 2018 were 3.0, 3.4, 3.7 and 3.4. In addition, expansion has given more teams opportunities, with 30 teams since 1998, as opposed to 20 teams from 1962 to 1968.
RBIs: RBI Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 11 Tim Wallach 1982 MON N 17 2 6 2 0 2 11 0 0 0 2 0 0 .353 .824 11 Juan Gonzalez 1991 TEX A 27 4 10 2 0 2 11 2 0 0 2 1 2 .370 .667 10 Clyde Vollmer 1951 BOS A 17 4 8 1 0 2 10 1 0 0 1 0 0 .471 .882 10 Bob Bailey 1966 PIT N 16 5 5 1 0 3 10 2 0 0 3 0 0 .312 .938 10 Jim Presley 1986 SEA A 13 5 5 2 0 2 10 1 0 0 3 0 0 .385 1.000 10 Matt Kemp 2009 LA N 19 2 6 1 0 1 10 2 0 0 6 2 0 .316 .526 10 Adam Jones 2012 BAL A 24 8 7 1 0 4 10 1 0 3 2 0 0 .292 .833 9 players with 9
In 1991 Juan Gonzalez played four overtime games between May 15th and 25th and knocked in two extra-inning runs in each of them. His efforts helped the Rangers to the top spot on the runs scored list shown above.
The obligatory (and not particularly interesting) team RBIs list:
RBI Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 42 1991 TEX A 24 14 10 56.1 222 42 71 15 0 5 42 30 7 0 33 7 5 .320 .455 39 1988 MON N 25 18 7 56 213 39 63 6 5 7 39 25 12 0 41 7 3 .296 .469 34 1973 CIN N 21 12 9 42.1 169 36 51 5 2 6 34 25 5 0 32 3 5 .302 .462 33 2012 BAL A 18 16 2 57 210 33 49 9 0 8 33 27 5 4 47 3 1 .233 .390 33 2013 ARI N 25 17 8 76 284 34 74 21 1 3 33 40 12 2 58 2 2 .261 .373 32 1967 CLE A 25 16 9 66 240 32 59 10 1 9 32 22 7 1 44 0 8 .246 .408 32 1969 MIN A 19 11 8 74.1 273 36 70 10 1 5 32 47 15 0 46 4 5 .256 .355 31 1959 PIT N 21 19 2 35 156 31 63 8 1 4 31 20 8 2 12 1 0 .404 .545 31 2005 MIN A 23 15 8 45 181 33 55 13 1 5 31 29 13 2 36 3 1 .304 .470 30 1939 CIN N 18 14 4 29 136 31 53 10 1 3 30 24 10 1 11 3 0 .390 .544 30 1977 BAL A 23 15 8 34.1 138 30 41 6 1 5 30 19 8 1 20 5 2 .297 .464 30 2017 BOS A 18 15 3 54.2 219 32 60 10 0 3 30 32 10 5 46 5 0 .274 .361
Actually, I thought that perhaps one (sort of) interesting thing is how few of these teams' runs were scored without an RBI being credited. Over the last 30 years, about 5% of all runs were RBI-less, while only 3% of the runs above were. Okay, so maybe that wasn't so interesting after all..
Walks: BB Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 11 Preston Wilson 2002 FLA N 10 2 1 0 0 0 1 11 3 1 4 2 0 .100 .100 11 Paul Goldschmidt 2015 ARI N 10 5 6 2 0 1 3 11 5 0 1 0 0 .600 1.100 10 Dick Allen 1972 CHI A 9 3 3 0 0 1 2 10 3 0 1 1 2 .333 .667 10 Fred McGriff 1996 ATL N 16 0 2 1 0 0 0 10 5 0 6 0 0 .125 .188 12 players with 9
McGriff didn't score after any of his ten walks in 1996, which was typical of the Braves that year. They're tied for seventh on the team walks chart below with 38 and only two of those came around to score. I was wondering if the odds against a walk or intentional walk scoring was markedly different in extra-innings. Here's what I found:
Regulation:
Total Scored Pct
Walks 793240 197304 24.9
Int. Walks 69161 11136 16.1
Extra-Innings:
Total Scored Pct
Walks 18253 4073 22.3
Int. Walks 8682 900 10.4
The Walks category does not include intentional walks.
So walks of both varieties score less often in extra-innings, in part because home innings may end before trailing runners get an opportunity to score. Another thing is that the intentional walk rate goes up dramatically as they constitute 8% of walks during regulation and 32% of walks after the 9th. Not that this is surprising given the sudden-death nature of extra-innings, but I was a little surprised that the rate quadrupled.
Intentional Walks: IBB Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 7 Bobby Bonilla 1988 PIT N 11 5 4 0 0 1 3 9 7 1 0 0 0 .364 .636 7 Barry Bonds 2004 SF N 8 4 3 0 0 0 2 8 7 0 0 0 0 .375 .375 7 Ryan Howard 2006 PHI N 10 1 3 0 0 1 2 7 7 0 6 0 0 .300 .600 11 players with 6
One of the players in the group with six is Roger Maris in 1962, a year after he famously hit 61 home runs without a single intentional walk. Mickey Mantle, who batted behind Maris for most of the previous season, was not on deck for any of those six walks.
The same categories for teams:
BB Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 47 1969 MIN A 19 11 8 74.1 273 36 70 10 1 5 32 47 15 0 46 4 5 .256 .355 46 2002 FLA N 17 5 12 47.2 159 17 36 7 1 1 17 46 18 1 31 8 3 .226 .302 41 1976 TEX A 26 13 13 56.1 204 18 45 6 1 1 16 41 13 0 28 4 1 .221 .275 40 1974 KC A 21 10 11 49 177 17 45 10 0 1 17 40 15 0 23 4 3 .254 .328 40 2013 ARI N 25 17 8 76 284 34 74 21 1 3 33 40 12 2 58 2 2 .261 .373 39 1986 STL N 24 11 13 56.2 204 29 49 10 4 2 25 39 10 0 40 8 5 .240 .358 38 1978 CHI N 20 12 8 43.1 161 25 41 9 1 2 23 38 11 2 31 4 3 .255 .360 38 1996 ATL N 14 6 8 49.1 167 9 25 6 0 1 9 38 10 0 57 3 1 .150 .204 37 1957 STL N 26 16 10 49.2 196 24 55 8 0 5 23 37 17 1 35 1 1 .281 .398 37 1967 CHI A 20 12 8 64.1 225 23 51 7 0 4 21 37 12 1 46 2 10 .227 .311
Led by Preston Wilson, the 2002 Marlins walked nearly once an inning after the 9th. It was a strategy that worked well for their opponents, as they went only 5-12 in those games, compared to a 74-71 mark in regulation. I mentioned the 1996 Braves above, but their poor performance in extra-inning games (a .150/.307/.204 slash line and a losing record) is also in stark contrast to their performance in the rest of their games (90-58).
A slight digression: when I looked up the 1996 NL team batting totals to see how the Braves' overall offense ranked, I noticed that, ignoring the Coors-enhanced Rockies, the top five teams all scored between 771 and 778 runs, with the second group of five teams all grouped between 741 and 759 runs. So the difference between those ten teams was less than a quarter run per game.
IBB Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 20 1973 LA N 23 15 7 63.1 249 31 75 10 1 6 28 36 20 1 33 4 2 .301 .422 19 1982 SD N 21 10 11 50.2 189 17 49 8 2 2 16 32 19 0 32 5 2 .259 .354 18 2002 FLA N 17 5 12 47.2 159 17 36 7 1 1 17 46 18 1 31 8 3 .226 .302 17 1957 STL N 26 16 10 49.2 196 24 55 8 0 5 23 37 17 1 35 1 1 .281 .398 16 1949 CLE A 19 18 1 31.2 131 28 49 9 3 3 26 36 16 0 10 0 1 .374 .557 16 1965 SF N 16 11 5 36 140 23 38 6 1 3 19 23 16 0 25 1 2 .271 .393 16 1968 CIN N 22 12 10 55 213 18 60 11 2 0 17 26 16 0 31 5 0 .282 .352 16 1974 STL N 17 13 4 58 213 25 62 7 0 2 23 32 16 2 27 5 2 .291 .352 16 1992 HOU N 21 16 5 41.1 163 25 50 8 0 9 24 30 16 0 30 4 2 .307 .521 5 teams with 15
Cliff Floyd had six extra-inning intentional walks for the 2002 Marlins, all on or before June 14th. At that point, he was hitless in his six other overtime plate appearances.
Hit By Pitches: HBP Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 3 Phil Roof 1967 KC A 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 1 0 0 .125 .125 3 Larry Parrish 1984 TEX A 13 2 8 2 0 1 2 3 2 3 1 0 0 .615 1.000 3 Mark Loretta 1999 MIL N 7 1 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 3 3 0 0 .143 .286 3 Adam Jones 2012 BAL A 24 8 7 1 0 4 10 1 0 3 2 0 0 .292 .833 3 Danny Espinosa 2016 WAS N 13 4 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 4 2 0 .231 .231 69 players with 2
Hit By Pitches: HBP Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 7 1963 LA A 18 11 7 48.1 172 17 41 7 1 1 14 27 12 7 32 2 3 .238 .308 6 2011 WAS N 20 12 8 37.2 148 30 43 11 1 6 27 19 7 6 45 5 1 .291 .500 6 2013 MIA N 20 7 13 49.2 168 13 33 3 0 2 11 18 5 6 34 5 0 .196 .250 5 1952 NY A 12 6 6 26 99 10 29 6 0 0 9 13 8 5 10 1 1 .293 .354 5 1966 CHI A 23 14 9 44 164 20 40 4 2 1 16 24 8 5 36 4 3 .244 .311 5 1991 CLE A 15 5 10 33.1 121 12 29 4 1 2 10 12 2 5 22 3 1 .240 .339 5 1992 CHI N 23 8 15 53.1 194 17 52 4 0 2 17 23 10 5 35 3 0 .268 .320 5 2007 HOU N 19 9 10 49.2 179 17 42 8 1 4 16 30 8 5 38 1 1 .235 .358 5 2009 PHI N 16 11 5 31 116 22 28 3 0 5 21 20 3 5 25 4 0 .241 .397 5 2012 TB A 12 5 7 33 119 10 24 4 1 1 10 15 3 5 31 4 0 .202 .277 5 2013 TEX A 12 3 9 27.1 92 8 15 3 0 3 7 11 2 5 23 3 1 .163 .293 5 2017 BOS A 18 15 3 54.2 219 32 60 10 0 3 30 32 10 5 46 5 0 .274 .361
None of the players on the first list played for teams on the second. No one other than Phil Roof on the 1967 A's was hit by a pitch in extra-innings (and all of his came within a two-week period in the first half of June).
Danny Espinoso was hit in three consecutive extra-inning appearances on May 8th, June 15th, and July 1st. And while Espinoso's 2016 Nationals aren't on the team list, he was hit twice in overtime for the 2011 team, helping them to their second-place tie.
Strikeouts: SO Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 11 Ken Henderson 1974 CHI A 20 0 3 0 0 0 2 4 3 0 11 1 0 .150 .150 10 Tommie Agee 1967 CHI A 19 3 4 1 0 1 2 2 1 0 10 0 0 .211 .421 10 Darryl Strawberry 1985 NY N 19 1 6 1 0 1 3 3 0 0 10 1 1 .316 .526 10 Ken Caminiti 1996 SD N 23 3 5 2 0 1 8 3 1 1 10 0 0 .217 .435 10 Yan Gomes 2014 CLE A 19 1 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 10 0 0 .211 .316 11 players with 9
Darryl Strawberry had half of those ten strikeouts in two games: an 18-inning victory over the Pirates as well as the famous 19-inning July 4th win over the Braves. And Ken Caminiti won the MVP award despite his appearance on this list.
SO Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 64 2014 CHI N 18 8 10 50.2 183 14 44 7 2 4 14 25 5 1 64 5 2 .240 .366 58 2013 ARI N 25 17 8 76 284 34 74 21 1 3 33 40 12 2 58 2 2 .261 .373 57 1996 ATL N 14 6 8 49.1 167 9 25 6 0 1 9 38 10 0 57 3 1 .150 .204 56 2014 CLE A 21 13 8 47.2 172 25 42 10 3 8 24 28 8 1 56 4 1 .244 .477 54 2011 ATL N 26 14 12 52.2 195 24 53 7 0 4 23 31 6 1 54 2 0 .272 .369 52 2013 CIN N 22 13 9 51.2 182 22 40 7 0 3 22 29 8 2 52 5 1 .220 .308 51 1968 NY N 15 2 13 58.2 196 5 31 3 0 0 3 12 2 0 51 4 2 .158 .173 51 1997 ATL N 20 10 10 36.1 131 12 29 3 0 2 10 22 7 2 51 5 2 .221 .290 51 2018 SF N 21 11 10 46 181 18 46 6 3 3 17 16 5 3 51 7 0 .254 .370 4 teams with 50
As expected, teams from the current decade dominate. Of the three teams before 2011, the 1968 Mets owe their appearance to 15 strikeouts in their 24-inning 1-0 loss to the Astros, while the 1996 and 1997 Braves were curiously awful in overtime, despite being a dominant team otherwise. We discussed the 1996 team earlier, but the from 1995 to 1998, the Braves went 21-31 in extra-inning games despite easily winning their division each season, reaching the World Series twice and winning once.
Stolen Bases: SB Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 7 Bert Campaneris 1969 OAK A 19 2 8 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 1 7 1 .421 .421 6 Jacoby Ellsbury 2013 BOS A 8 3 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 6 0 .375 .375 5 Willie Davis 1964 LA N 19 1 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 5 1 .211 .263 5 Matty Alou 1971 STL N 18 7 10 2 0 0 4 0 0 1 1 5 1 .556 .667 5 Tim Raines 1985 MON N 20 5 7 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 2 5 0 .350 .400 5 Eric Davis 1986 CIN N 13 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 5 1 .154 .154 5 Eric Yelding 1990 HOU N 15 4 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 5 0 .200 .200 26 players with 4
Except for Matty Alou, who stole 19 bases in 1971, these were all elite base stealers, the six of them stealing between 42 and 80 stolen bases, and averaging 62 in these seasons.
Jacoby Ellsbury had six steals in 2013 while apparently reaching base only five times (three singles and two walks). In addition to stealing second and third after a walk on June 10th, he also stole second while reaching base on catcher's interference on June 13th, and after reaching on a force-out on August 13th.
Eric Davis also made the most of his opportunities. He reached base three times (via two singles and a walk), where he stole second base twice and was caught stealing once. He also pinch-ran twice, including his two steals against the Mets in a wild tenth inning on July 22nd, a game that saw Davis ejected in that inning and ended with pitchers Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell alternating between the mound and the outfield before Howard Johnson hit a three-run homer in the top of the 14th.
SB Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 12 1985 CIN N 15 12 3 25.2 111 19 39 3 1 3 17 21 12 0 17 12 1 .351 .477 12 1990 HOU N 27 14 13 36.1 143 23 40 7 2 3 21 24 9 2 29 12 2 .280 .420 11 1969 OAK A 22 10 12 59 227 24 60 6 1 3 21 29 13 3 43 11 1 .264 .339 11 1986 CIN N 18 8 10 42.2 161 18 44 3 2 3 18 21 4 0 31 11 3 .273 .373 11 1991 CHI N 23 12 11 51 191 24 48 5 0 5 23 26 6 3 37 11 1 .251 .356 11 1995 HOU N 21 11 10 49.2 185 21 53 9 2 6 19 27 11 3 43 11 2 .286 .454 10 1976 CAL A 25 13 12 59 220 24 60 6 1 3 21 30 13 0 31 10 5 .273 .350 10 1980 SD N 13 6 6 45.2 158 9 32 4 1 1 8 26 13 0 35 10 2 .203 .259 10 1990 MON N 21 9 12 50.2 186 17 46 3 0 2 13 23 7 1 28 10 4 .247 .296 10 2013 BOS A 16 10 6 33.1 117 17 27 3 0 2 17 21 7 1 31 10 0 .231 .308
It took the 1985 Reds only 25 2/3 innings to steal their 12 bases. They started by stealing three bases in the 10th inning of their first extra-inning game on April 18th, and stole their last two when Gary Redus walked, stole second and third before scoring on a wild pitch on September 16th.
Caught Stealing: CS Player Year Team AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 3 Luis Aparicio 1959 CHI A 18 2 5 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 3 3 .278 .278 3 Joe Morgan 1972 CIN N 16 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 3 .125 .125 3 Chico Salmon 1965 CLE A 9 2 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 1 3 .444 .444 3 John Stearns 1979 NY N 21 0 7 1 0 0 3 3 1 1 1 0 3 .333 .381 3 Joe Simpson 1982 SEA A 18 1 6 2 0 0 0 3 1 0 4 0 3 .333 .444 3 Carney Lansford 1981 BOS A 12 1 4 0 0 0 4 3 0 1 2 1 3 .333 .333 3 Josh Barfield 2007 CLE A 5 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 .800 .800 115 players with 2
Luis Aparicio in 1959 (81.2%) and Joe Morgan in 1972 (77.3%) had high stolen base success rates the years they were caught three times in extra-innings, stealing 56 and 58 bases respectively. None of the others on the list stole more than 15 bases in their seasons, ranging from Josh Barfield, who was successful on 14 of 16 attempts in 2007 during regulation, to Joe Simpson, whose success rate was a woeful 36.4%.
Caught Stealing: CS Year Team G W L INN AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 10 1967 CHI A 20 12 8 64.1 225 23 51 7 0 4 21 37 12 1 46 2 10 .227 .311 8 1967 CLE A 25 16 9 66 240 32 59 10 1 9 32 22 7 1 44 0 8 .246 .408 8 1982 SEA A 21 9 12 61.1 219 17 49 8 0 4 16 24 5 0 36 6 8 .224 .315 6 1959 CHI A 16 12 3 50 173 16 37 4 0 4 15 29 11 1 25 4 6 .214 .306 6 1968 CLE A 16 12 4 43 151 17 34 5 0 4 16 24 12 3 27 8 6 .225 .338 6 1978 CIN N 15 11 4 31.1 118 16 34 4 0 4 16 25 7 1 22 6 6 .288 .424 21 teams with 5
While the 1967 White Sox and Indians were spectacularly unsuccessful in their extra-inning stealing attempts, that didn't stop them from winning the majority of their games. The 1967 and 1968 Indians, who were caught stealing 14 times over the two years, spread them among ten different players, and none of them were nabbed more than twice.
Well that brings us, after an over-long journey, to our career leaders. L ike the first part of this article, we'll be using data from 1934 to 2018.
The leaders in at-bats:
AB Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank Pct 292 Willie Mays 292 57 87 11 6 22 45 58 28 1 40 6 2 .298 .603 12 2.68 283 Pete Rose 283 43 83 19 2 2 27 66 30 4 32 7 1 .293 .396 1 2.01 279 Brooks Robinson 279 23 73 13 1 7 32 30 15 0 33 1 1 .262 .391 15 2.62 264 Andre Dawson 264 27 71 10 2 8 35 33 23 4 46 9 3 .269 .413 26 2.66 258 Carl Yastrzemski 258 30 57 12 2 8 20 65 22 0 48 6 2 .221 .376 3 2.15 254 Hank Aaron 254 38 76 13 4 14 38 63 29 0 29 7 3 .299 .547 2 2.05 253 Lou Brock 253 33 77 8 2 5 27 35 14 1 48 15 12 .304 .411 20 2.45 250 Frank Robinson 250 45 76 7 1 16 44 60 23 4 49 12 5 .304 .532 24 2.50 242 Willie Davis 242 30 52 8 2 4 15 21 14 4 23 11 2 .215 .314 51 2.64 237 Dave Winfield 237 36 51 10 0 9 20 42 23 0 37 7 4 .215 .371 9 2.15
The two columns after the slugging percentage:
Rank - the overall rank in at-bats from 1934 to 2018. Pct - the percentage of the player's total at-bats for those years that took place in extra-innings.
Highest ranked player not on list: Cal Ripken (11,551 at-bats). His extra-inning stats:
Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank Pct Cal Ripken 192 25 49 11 1 4 21 27 13 2 34 0 1 .255 .385 4 1.66
Not surprisingly, these are all players with long careers and their percentages of extra-inning at-bats range from 2.01 to 2.68. I was wondering what the range would look like if we looked at all players with 40 or more at-bats. Here's are the two ends of the spectrum:
Pct Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 10.85 Lindy McDaniel 41 5 5 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 19 0 0 .122 .195 10.85 9.49 Hoyt Wilhelm 41 2 4 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 18 0 0 .098 .098 9.49 5.43 Harry Spilman 44 3 13 5 0 1 7 3 2 0 10 0 0 .295 .477 5.43 5.06 Byron Browne 44 1 5 1 0 0 2 7 2 0 12 0 0 .114 .136 5.06 4.96 Chico Ruiz 57 5 18 2 0 0 1 4 1 0 10 2 1 .316 .351 4.96 . . . 1.28 Carlos Lee 102 15 33 7 0 5 21 19 10 0 15 3 0 .324 .539 1.28 1.25 Jason Giambi 91 20 29 0 0 9 18 28 6 2 19 0 0 .319 .615 1.25 1.25 Nolan Arenado 42 7 11 1 0 2 3 8 1 1 8 0 0 .262 .429 1.25 1.24 Elvis Andrus 70 10 21 1 0 0 4 4 0 1 6 3 1 .300 .314 1.24 1.10 Hideki Matsui 49 3 9 1 1 1 4 16 6 0 13 1 0 .184 .306 1.10
At the top of the list we have two relief pitchers and players who pinch-hit frequently. I'm not sure what to make of the bottom of the list.
Raising the minimum to 100 at-bats eliminates the relievers and adds a Hall of Famer:
Pct Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 3.78 Vic Davalillo 152 20 49 9 2 1 14 10 7 0 10 8 1 .322 .428 3.78 3.73 Manny Mota 141 20 42 5 3 1 19 27 15 0 14 2 1 .298 .397 3.73 3.72 Russ Snyder 135 17 22 4 2 1 9 9 2 1 21 2 1 .163 .244 3.72 3.67 Tommy McCraw 145 14 39 5 3 1 14 22 10 1 22 6 3 .269 .366 3.67 3.52 Elliott Maddox 100 4 23 4 0 1 6 13 2 0 16 3 2 .230 .300 3.52 . . . 1.42 Paul Konerko 119 11 24 1 0 6 15 31 16 2 25 1 0 .202 .361 1.42 1.41 Kirby Puckett 102 19 37 8 0 1 9 12 7 1 15 2 1 .363 .471 1.41 1.40 Orlando Cabrera 106 15 34 5 1 5 17 8 3 0 15 3 0 .321 .528 1.40 1.34 Todd Helton 107 19 33 6 0 4 12 32 11 0 21 0 0 .308 .477 1.34 1.28 Carlos Lee 102 15 33 7 0 5 21 19 10 0 15 3 0 .324 .539 1.28
Here are the career leaders in runs scored and hits:
R Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank 57 Willie Mays 292 57 87 11 6 22 45 58 28 1 40 6 2 .298 .603 5 48 Barry Bonds 195 48 51 9 3 11 28 90 42 1 38 15 2 .262 .508 2 45 Frank Robinson 250 45 76 7 1 16 44 60 23 4 49 12 5 .304 .532 10 44 Rickey Henderson 205 44 56 10 3 4 22 50 11 2 28 27 1 .273 .410 1 44 Tim Raines 223 44 76 11 1 3 23 50 24 1 16 29 0 .341 .439 31 43 Pete Rose 283 43 83 19 2 2 27 66 30 4 32 7 1 .293 .396 4 43 Rod Carew 219 43 73 15 1 2 22 41 17 1 22 10 6 .333 .438 47 41 Jack Clark 179 41 58 5 2 18 41 52 20 1 41 3 4 .324 .676 157 40 Joe Morgan 227 40 65 12 3 3 31 55 12 1 19 11 9 .286 .405 20 39 Mickey Mantle 122 39 44 8 1 14 28 40 8 0 19 4 2 .361 .787 15 39 Don Baylor 201 39 66 12 0 10 33 21 6 6 21 8 3 .328 .537 95
Highest ranked player not on list: Hank Aaron (2,174 runs, good for 3rd place).
H Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank 87 Willie Mays 292 57 87 11 6 22 45 58 28 1 40 6 2 .298 .603 7 83 Pete Rose 283 43 83 19 2 2 27 66 30 4 32 7 1 .293 .396 1 81 Tony Perez 230 36 81 14 1 10 34 31 19 0 45 3 0 .352 .552 37 81 Tony Gwynn 206 33 81 13 0 3 20 43 29 0 13 15 5 .393 .500 13 77 Lou Brock 253 33 77 8 2 5 27 35 14 1 48 15 12 .304 .411 21 76 Hank Aaron 254 38 76 13 4 14 38 63 29 0 29 7 3 .299 .547 2 76 Frank Robinson 250 45 76 7 1 16 44 60 23 4 49 12 5 .304 .532 26 76 Tim Raines 223 44 76 11 1 3 23 50 24 1 16 29 0 .341 .439 50 73 Brooks Robinson 279 23 73 13 1 7 32 30 15 0 33 1 1 .262 .391 30 73 Rod Carew 219 43 73 15 1 2 22 41 17 1 22 10 6 .333 .438 20
Highest ranked player not on list: Stan Musial (3,630 hits). His extra-inning stats:
Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank Stan Musial 188 30 66 9 6 11 31 48 23 2 8 2 2 .351 .638 3
Many of these players are on both lists, although Mickey Mantle had by far the fewest at-bats of anyone else here. So let's look at batting average and slugging percentage. First, batting average (minimum 35 hits):
AVG Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG .400 Hanley Ramirez 115 22 46 10 0 5 21 14 8 2 20 3 0 .400 .617 .394 Nick Markakis 137 32 54 10 0 3 12 27 12 1 19 2 1 .394 .533 .394 Dante Bichette 104 16 41 7 0 7 30 10 5 2 15 2 2 .394 .663 .393 Tony Gwynn 206 33 81 13 0 3 20 43 29 0 13 15 5 .393 .500 .384 Jerry Lumpe 99 18 38 7 2 3 12 13 4 0 5 0 0 .384 .586 .381 Ken Griffey Sr. 168 23 64 9 2 1 17 16 5 0 21 8 5 .381 .476 .378 Jesse Barfield 98 13 37 7 0 5 15 15 4 1 20 4 1 .378 .602 .377 Horace Clarke 106 17 40 2 2 2 15 14 2 1 5 8 2 .377 .491 .375 Vladimir Guerrero 120 15 45 6 0 6 17 21 15 1 14 2 1 .375 .575 .372 Dick Groat 145 19 54 10 1 0 19 7 1 1 10 0 0 .372 .455
Dante Bichette's totals above are split pretty evenly between his years with the Rockies and those with other teams. When not based in Colorado, his batting average was .333 (17-51), while his Colorado average was .453 (24-53).
And in case you're wondering, Ken Griffey Jr. did not fare as well as his father in extra-innings:
AVG Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG .257 Ken Griffey Jr. 183 25 47 6 0 9 21 40 24 3 34 5 4 .257 .437
And slugging percentage (minimum 50 total bases):
SLG Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG .787 Mickey Mantle 122 39 44 8 1 14 28 40 8 0 19 4 2 .361 .787 .762 Justin Upton 84 26 30 8 1 8 19 23 3 0 24 2 0 .357 .762 .745 Jeff Heath 98 21 36 9 2 8 24 15 7 0 10 0 3 .367 .745 .736 Ted Williams 129 29 47 9 0 13 32 37 11 2 7 0 0 .364 .736 .727 Jimmie Foxx 88 20 34 6 0 8 15 15 5 0 11 1 0 .386 .727 .704 Carlos Pena 81 18 27 3 0 9 21 18 8 1 24 1 1 .333 .704 .676 Jack Clark 179 41 58 5 2 18 41 52 20 1 41 3 4 .324 .676 .665 Albert Pujols 155 27 47 9 1 15 37 34 18 0 14 3 2 .303 .665 .663 Dante Bichette 104 16 41 7 0 7 30 10 5 2 15 2 2 .394 .663 .639 Adam Dunn 108 20 35 7 0 9 25 26 7 4 31 2 0 .324 .639
From 1959 to 1963, Mickey Mantle homered eight times in 39 extra-innning at-bats.
The chart above doesn't include the first nine seasons of Jimmie Foxx's career, including 1932 and 1933, when he hit a combined 106 home runs.
Albert Pujols had a .765 extra-inning slugging percentage with the Cardinals, and up through 2018, a .491 percentage with the Angels. If he drops off the list eventually, another Cardinal is waiting to take his place: Stan Musial and his .638 slugging percentage.
Now for the flip side of the coin, the worst batting averages and slugging percentages (minimum 100 at-bats):
AVG Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG .160 Mike Cameron 131 16 21 0 2 3 12 22 3 0 41 9 0 .160 .260 .163 Russ Snyder 135 17 22 4 2 1 9 9 2 1 21 2 1 .163 .244 .164 Chet Lemon 134 16 22 5 1 1 7 18 3 1 22 4 1 .164 .239 .167 Steve Yeager 114 10 19 3 0 3 13 11 3 0 26 0 0 .167 .272 .176 Mookie Wilson 125 16 22 2 2 2 8 16 6 0 27 11 0 .176 .272 .178 Rajai Davis 107 19 19 5 1 0 8 9 1 1 30 12 1 .178 .243 .179 Joe Pepitone 117 10 21 4 1 3 13 8 7 1 10 1 1 .179 .308 .181 Jose Bautista 127 11 23 5 0 4 16 37 7 0 32 1 0 .181 .315 .182 Jeff Francoeur 110 14 20 4 0 2 13 13 5 2 20 4 0 .182 .273 .183 Bud Harrelson 126 12 23 4 2 0 5 18 3 0 17 5 0 .183 .246
Earlier, we saw that Russ Snyder had the third highest percentage of at-bats in extra-innings (among those with 100 or more at-bats). A large reason behind his appearance on that list was his role as a late-inning pinch-hitter, while he makes this list because of his awful performance in that role. While he hit for a decent average for his era (.279) when playing in the outfield, he managed to get only 50 hits in 281 pinch-hit at-bats over the course of his career.
SLG Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG .205 Jeff Burroughs 112 11 22 1 0 0 6 26 13 1 35 0 0 .196 .205 .214 Ron Hunt 112 9 22 2 0 0 6 22 7 5 7 2 1 .196 .214 .227 Dave Martinez 110 10 22 3 0 0 5 18 2 1 22 5 1 .200 .227 .235 Terry Puhl 115 10 25 2 0 0 4 22 7 0 20 4 0 .217 .235 .239 Mark Belanger 134 19 30 2 0 0 14 22 3 1 15 7 2 .224 .239 .239 Chet Lemon 134 16 22 5 1 1 7 18 3 1 22 4 1 .164 .239 .240 Deron Johnson 129 8 25 3 0 1 11 19 7 0 31 0 0 .194 .240 .243 Rajai Davis 107 19 19 5 1 0 8 9 1 1 30 12 1 .178 .243 .244 Russ Snyder 135 17 22 4 2 1 9 9 2 1 21 2 1 .163 .244 .246 Bud Harrelson 126 12 23 4 2 0 5 18 3 0 17 5 0 .183 .246
Jeff Burroughs won an MVP award with the 1974 Rangers and later hit 41 homers for the Braves, but he was helpless after the ninth inning, with only one career extra-base hit and a sub .200 batting average. He did manage to collect nearly twice as many intentional walks as anyone else on this list, but that was about the only nice thing you could say about his batting line.
And Terry Puhl is most famous for his success against Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, but unfortunately never faced him in extra-innings.
2B Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank 19 Pete Rose 283 43 83 19 2 2 27 66 30 4 32 7 1 .293 .396 1 16 Dave Parker 236 24 67 16 1 3 12 37 26 0 48 1 5 .284 .398 33 16 George Brett 190 34 64 16 1 7 27 51 30 0 16 4 1 .337 .542 4 15 Rod Carew 219 43 73 15 1 2 22 41 17 1 22 10 6 .333 .438 81 15 Craig Biggio 228 36 64 15 1 3 13 37 14 7 48 12 1 .281 .395 3 14 Tony Perez 230 36 81 14 1 10 34 31 19 0 45 3 0 .352 .552 44 14 Ted Simmons 216 27 65 14 1 8 32 39 21 1 13 0 0 .301 .486 61 11 players with 13 2B Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 19 Pete Rose 283 43 83 19 2 2 27 66 30 4 32 7 1 .293 .396 6.71 16 George Brett 190 34 64 16 1 7 27 51 30 0 16 4 1 .337 .542 8.42 13 Johnny Ray 132 17 38 13 1 2 15 6 4 0 7 0 2 .288 .447 9.85 12 Charlie Gehringer 67 16 28 12 0 3 9 17 7 0 2 0 0 .418 .731 17.91 6 Nelson Santovenia 29 6 12 6 0 1 8 1 0 0 4 0 0 .414 .724 20.69 5 Bob Zupcic 20 4 8 5 0 0 4 5 1 0 0 0 0 .400 .650 25.00 3 Larry Raines 4 3 4 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.750 75.00 28 players with 1 double in 1 at-bat
Highest ranked player not on list: Stan Musial (725 doubles, good for 2nd place).
For this and the next several categories, I'll present both the top totals as well as the highest percentage of the event per at-bat at each level. So, in the second chart, Pete Rose has the highest rate of doubles per at-bat for every player with 17 or more doubles (he's the only one in that category), George Brett has the highest rate for those with 14-16 doubles, and so on.
Like Foxx above, the line for Gehringer is missing the beginning of his career, including several great seasons. We discussed his performance in 1934 above, but during the first five years we have (1934 to 1938), he was incredible in extra-innings (23-41 with ten doubles and three homers).
Larry Raines had a short career with the Indians in the late 1950s, but he was perfect in his four extra-inning games (all in 1957), doubling in his first three and singling in his last.
3B Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank 8 Joe DiMaggio 106 16 31 3 8 4 19 13 10 1 3 1 0 .292 .585 10 6 Stan Musial 188 30 66 9 6 11 31 48 23 2 8 2 2 .351 .638 1 6 Willie Mays 292 57 87 11 6 22 45 58 28 1 40 6 2 .298 .603 6 6 Wally Moon 124 26 41 3 6 3 15 26 8 0 11 1 2 .331 .524 193 5 Del Ennis 147 18 44 7 5 6 25 19 10 1 21 1 0 .299 .537 125 16 players with 4 3B Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 8 Joe DiMaggio 106 16 31 3 8 4 19 13 10 1 3 1 0 .292 .585 7.55 2 Albert Hall 16 3 7 1 2 0 2 3 0 0 3 1 2 .438 .750 12.50 1 Jamal Strong 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 3.000 100.00
Highest ranked player not on list: Roberto Clemente (166 triples). His extra-inning stats:
Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank Roberto Clemente 212 26 57 5 3 3 22 28 19 1 36 4 1 .269 .363 2
Only Del Ennis on the first chart didn't lead his league at least once in triples, and he had ten or more on two occasions. Jamal Strong had only a few callups with the Mariners in the mid-2000s, but is the only player in our database to triple in his only extra-inning at-bat. It came leading off a six-run tenth inning for Seattle and was his first major league hit and only career extra-base hit.
Fun fact: if Joe DiMaggio had tripled during the first nine innings at the same rate he did after, he would have hit 515 triples in his career.
HR Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank 22 Willie Mays 292 57 87 11 6 22 45 58 28 1 40 6 2 .298 .603 4 18 Jack Clark 179 41 58 5 2 18 41 52 20 1 41 3 4 .324 .676 95 16 Frank Robinson 250 45 76 7 1 16 44 60 23 4 49 12 5 .304 .532 9 15 Albert Pujols 155 27 47 9 1 15 37 34 18 0 14 3 2 .303 .665 5 14 Mickey Mantle 122 39 44 8 1 14 28 40 8 0 19 4 2 .361 .787 17 14 Hank Aaron 254 38 76 13 4 14 38 63 29 0 29 7 3 .299 .547 2 13 Ted Williams 129 29 47 9 0 13 32 37 11 2 7 0 0 .364 .736 18 12 Willie Stargell 188 23 53 7 2 12 32 38 18 3 65 1 2 .282 .532 28 12 Mark McGwire 110 21 30 2 1 12 30 37 21 2 30 0 0 .273 .636 10 12 Rafael Palmeiro 178 36 58 10 0 12 37 44 24 0 18 1 0 .326 .584 12 12 Jim Thome 153 29 37 8 0 12 26 41 14 0 56 1 0 .242 .529 7 12 David Ortiz 139 17 36 9 0 12 26 26 17 0 23 0 0 .259 .583 16 HR Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 22 Willie Mays 292 57 87 11 6 22 45 58 28 1 40 6 2 .298 .603 7.53 18 Jack Clark 179 41 58 5 2 18 41 52 20 1 41 3 4 .324 .676 10.06 14 Mickey Mantle 122 39 44 8 1 14 28 40 8 0 19 4 2 .361 .787 11.48 6 Eric Hinske 50 10 13 1 0 6 11 19 4 0 15 4 1 .260 .640 12.00 5 Chris Jones 33 11 11 3 0 5 11 4 0 0 11 2 0 .333 .879 15.15 4 Chris Herrmann 21 7 7 0 0 4 10 4 0 0 3 0 0 .333 .905 19.05 3 Bud Zipfel 10 3 6 1 0 3 4 1 0 0 2 0 0 .600 1.600 30.00 2 Earl Wilson 3 2 2 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667 2.667 66.67 6 players with 1 home run in 1 at-bat
The top chart is the first occasion were the overall leader in the category (Barry Bonds) is missing. He would've shown up in the next group of seven players tied for 13th place with 11 homers. Still, it's odd to see him in a tie with players like Lance Parrish and Graig Nettles. We'll see later that part of the problem was how often pitchers refused to let him swing the bat in extra-innings. But he also had a much lower home run rate in these situations when he did get the opportunity to him (5.64 / 7.73) and a slugging percentage nearly 100 points lower (.508 / .607).
Bud Zipfel played for the expansion Senators in their first two seasons and managed to hit three of his ten career home runs in extra innings. The last (and the last of his major league career) came after he had already singled in the 11th and 13th and provided the margin of victory in a 16-inning 2-1 win that today is remembered because Tom Cheney, the starting pitcher for Washington that day, went the distance, striking out 21 men.
Earl Wilson batted twice in extra-innings in 1966. In the first, his tenth inning home run off of Jim Palmer helped him to a complete-game 3-2 victory over the Orioles. The next, also against the Orioles but this time in a Tigers' uniform, resulted in a game-winning three-run pinch-hit homer in the 13th inning off of Stu Miller.
RBI Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank 45 Willie Mays 292 57 87 11 6 22 45 58 28 1 40 6 2 .298 .603 7 44 Frank Robinson 250 45 76 7 1 16 44 60 23 4 49 12 5 .304 .532 14 41 Jack Clark 179 41 58 5 2 18 41 52 20 1 41 3 4 .324 .676 129 38 Hank Aaron 254 38 76 13 4 14 38 63 29 0 29 7 3 .299 .547 1 38 Johnny Bench 182 28 50 8 1 8 38 32 11 1 26 5 1 .275 .462 63 37 Tommy Davis 177 19 64 9 2 7 37 18 12 0 16 3 1 .362 .554 192 37 Rafael Palmeiro 178 36 58 10 0 12 37 44 24 0 18 1 0 .326 .584 11 37 Albert Pujols 155 27 47 9 1 15 37 34 18 0 14 3 2 .303 .665 4 35 Andre Dawson 264 27 71 10 2 8 35 33 23 4 46 9 3 .269 .413 30 35 Lance Parrish 168 23 49 9 1 11 35 21 12 2 40 1 0 .292 .554 183 35 Matt Kemp 125 21 39 7 1 8 35 13 5 0 33 4 4 .312 .576 217 RBI Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 45 Willie Mays 292 57 87 11 6 22 45 58 28 1 40 6 2 .298 .603 15.41 44 Frank Robinson 250 45 76 7 1 16 44 60 23 4 49 12 5 .304 .532 17.60 41 Jack Clark 179 41 58 5 2 18 41 52 20 1 41 3 4 .324 .676 22.91 37 Albert Pujols 155 27 47 9 1 15 37 34 18 0 14 3 2 .303 .665 23.87 35 Matt Kemp 125 21 39 7 1 8 35 13 5 0 33 4 4 .312 .576 28.00 30 Dante Bichette 104 16 41 7 0 7 30 10 5 2 15 2 2 .394 .663 28.85 23 Dick Stuart 78 10 21 5 1 5 23 12 3 0 18 0 0 .269 .551 29.49 17 Joe Crede 55 8 14 2 0 4 17 3 0 0 7 0 0 .255 .509 30.91 13 Hector Sanchez 27 3 12 0 0 2 13 2 1 0 7 0 0 .444 .667 48.15 10 Robinson Chirinos 16 2 8 1 0 1 10 5 0 0 6 0 0 .500 .750 62.50 9 Frank Secory 5 2 3 1 0 2 9 0 0 0 1 0 0 .600 2.000 180.00 5 players with 2 RBIs in 1 at-bat
Highest ranked player not on list: Alex Rodriguez (2,086 RBIs). His extra-inning stats:
Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank Alex Rodriguez 156 25 44 9 1 9 33 31 13 2 42 10 4 .282 .526 2
In addition to noticing the highest ranked player missing from these lists, I was also interested in seeing the outliers who made the cut. And one of the most notable has been Jack Clark, who is appearing on his third list (not counting slugging percentage), despite an overall ranking of 157th (runs), 95th (homers), and 129 (RBIs).
Frank Secory is most well-known for his 19-year umpiring career, where he set an NL record (since broken) by umpiring in nine no-hitters, the last being Dock Ellis' famous LSD no-hiiter against the Pirates in 1970. But before that he was a left-fielder in small parts of five seasons from 1940 to 1946. He batted five times in extra-innings, the last three resulting in a bases-clearing double, a walk-off grand-slam, and a game-ending two-run homer. He would get one more single (in regulation the next day), before ending his playing career by going hitless in his last 14 at-bats, spread over 13 games. By 1948, he would be umpiring in the West Texas-New Mexico league, four years away from reaching the National League.
BB Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank 90 Barry Bonds 195 48 51 9 3 11 28 90 42 1 38 15 2 .262 .508 1 66 Pete Rose 283 43 83 19 2 2 27 66 30 4 32 7 1 .293 .396 12 65 Carl Yastrzemski 258 30 57 12 2 8 20 65 22 0 48 6 2 .221 .376 5 63 Hank Aaron 254 38 76 13 4 14 38 63 29 0 29 7 3 .299 .547 22 60 Frank Robinson 250 45 76 7 1 16 44 60 23 4 49 12 5 .304 .532 20 58 Willie Mays 292 57 87 11 6 22 45 58 28 1 40 6 2 .298 .603 18 57 Mark Grace 191 32 58 11 1 6 23 57 23 1 14 3 3 .304 .466 74 56 Mike Schmidt 175 25 40 6 2 9 27 56 26 1 46 4 0 .229 .440 15 55 Joe Morgan 227 40 65 12 3 3 31 55 12 1 19 11 9 .286 .405 4 54 Frank Thomas 123 22 41 3 0 7 21 54 15 3 26 0 3 .333 .528 8 BB Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 90 Barry Bonds 195 48 51 9 3 11 28 90 42 1 38 15 2 .262 .508 31.47 18 Kal Daniels 38 10 14 1 0 4 8 18 1 1 8 1 0 .368 .711 31.58 13 Ken Phelps 23 2 4 0 1 1 2 13 4 0 10 1 0 .174 .391 36.11 8 Len Koenecke 9 0 3 0 0 0 0 8 4 0 2 0 0 .333 .333 47.06 5 Dave Silvestri 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 4 0 0 .000 .000 50.00 4 Jeff Tackett 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 66.67 3 players with 2 walks in 2 plate appearances
Highest ranked player not on list: Rickey Henderson (2,190 walks, good for 2nd place).
For this and the next two categories, I used at-bats plus walks and hit by pitches as the denominator in the percentage chart.
Barry Bonds so out-distanced the field in drawing walks that you have to get all the way down to Kal Daniels (with only 57 plate-appearance) to find a player with a higher walk rate. Here is the breakdown of Bonds' extra-inning performance between the first and second half of his career:
Years AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 1986-1996 120 20 30 3 2 4 12 38 18 0 24 9 2 .250 .408 24.05 1997-2007 75 28 21 6 1 8 16 52 24 1 14 6 0 .280 .707 40.63
IBB Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 42 Barry Bonds 195 48 51 9 3 11 28 90 42 1 38 15 2 .262 .508 30 Pete Rose 283 43 83 19 2 2 27 66 30 4 32 7 1 .293 .396 30 George Brett 190 34 64 16 1 7 27 51 30 0 16 4 1 .337 .542 29 Hank Aaron 254 38 76 13 4 14 38 63 29 0 29 7 3 .299 .547 29 Tony Gwynn 206 33 81 13 0 3 20 43 29 0 13 15 5 .393 .500 28 Willie Mays 292 57 87 11 6 22 45 58 28 1 40 6 2 .298 .603 27 Jeff Bagwell 156 30 49 7 1 9 25 51 27 1 31 7 2 .314 .545 26 Mike Schmidt 175 25 40 6 2 9 27 56 26 1 46 4 0 .229 .440 26 Dave Parker 236 24 67 16 1 3 12 37 26 0 48 1 5 .284 .398 25 Duke Snider 151 26 39 5 1 4 23 40 25 1 34 3 1 .258 .384 25 Rusty Staub 222 25 70 13 0 6 25 41 25 3 20 1 1 .315 .455 IBB Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 42 Barry Bonds 195 48 51 9 3 11 28 90 42 1 38 15 2 .262 .508 14.69 21 Paul Goldschmidt 84 15 29 8 0 2 7 36 21 2 17 2 1 .345 .512 17.21 11 Jose Abreu 45 5 11 2 1 1 6 12 11 0 14 0 0 .244 .400 19.30 6 Reggie Jefferson 25 0 5 1 0 0 4 6 6 0 7 0 0 .200 .240 19.35 4 Len Koenecke 9 0 3 0 0 0 0 8 4 0 2 0 0 .333 .333 23.53 3 Chuck Hostetler 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 0 .500 .750 37.50 2 Kim Allen 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 66.67 9 players were intentional walked in their only plate appearance.
I didn't list rankings for either intentional walks or caught stealing below because we don't have these statistics complete for the period covered, but Albert Pujols (second among the years covered with 310 intentional walks) is not on the list above (18 of his free passes came during extra-innings).
Kim Allen had brief trails in both 1980 and 1981 with the Seattle Mariners. A weak-hitting utility player, Allen received only two intentional walks in his career. They came in an extra-inning game against the Royals, with Dan Quisenberry on the mound for both. Allen turned his second free pass into the go-ahead run in the top of the 14th only to have George Brett's three-run homer win the game for Kansas City with none out in the bottom half.
HBP Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank 7 Craig Biggio 228 36 64 15 1 3 13 37 14 7 48 12 1 .281 .395 1 7 Chase Utley 158 30 43 12 1 5 17 34 15 7 30 4 1 .272 .456 5 7 Danny Espinosa 67 13 16 2 0 1 4 8 5 7 24 5 2 .239 .313 125 6 Don Baylor 201 39 66 12 0 10 33 21 6 6 21 8 3 .328 .537 2 6 Derek Jeter 167 21 50 4 0 1 12 26 7 6 35 7 0 .299 .341 12 6 Jason Kendall 125 17 44 5 1 3 15 13 4 6 18 2 1 .352 .480 3 6 Rickie Weeks 74 9 17 1 0 0 8 10 2 6 19 7 1 .230 .243 24 14 players with 5 HBP Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 7 Danny Espinosa 67 13 16 2 0 1 4 8 5 7 24 5 2 .239 .313 8.54 4 Rougned Odor 33 5 12 1 0 3 9 1 0 4 6 0 0 .364 .667 10.53 2 Ed Coleman 9 2 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 .333 .556 18.18 7 players were hit by a pitch in their only plate appearance.
We talked earlier about Danny Espinosa's 2016 season, when he was hit in three straight extra-inning appearances. Not that anyone was following things like this, but it looked like either Espiniosa or Rickie Weeks would breeze past the rest of the names on the list above, but neither has played in a major league game since 2017.
SO Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank 68 Reggie Jackson 202 27 41 8 0 10 21 39 12 5 68 6 2 .203 .391 1 65 Willie Stargell 188 23 53 7 2 12 32 38 18 3 65 1 2 .282 .532 8 56 Jim Thome 153 29 37 8 0 12 26 41 14 0 56 1 0 .242 .529 2 54 Sammy Sosa 195 29 48 5 0 10 30 26 15 0 54 2 0 .246 .426 4 51 Fred McGriff 155 13 33 2 0 7 25 44 24 1 51 1 1 .213 .361 11 49 Frank Robinson 250 45 76 7 1 16 44 60 23 4 49 12 5 .304 .532 58 48 Carl Yastrzemski 258 30 57 12 2 8 20 65 22 0 48 6 2 .221 .376 101 48 Lou Brock 253 33 77 8 2 5 27 35 14 1 48 15 12 .304 .411 31 48 Dave Parker 236 24 67 16 1 3 12 37 26 0 48 1 5 .284 .398 57 48 Craig Biggio 228 36 64 15 1 3 13 37 14 7 48 12 1 .281 .395 24 SO Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 68 Reggie Jackson 202 27 41 8 0 10 21 39 12 5 68 6 2 .203 .391 33.66 65 Willie Stargell 188 23 53 7 2 12 32 38 18 3 65 1 2 .282 .532 34.57 56 Jim Thome 153 29 37 8 0 12 26 41 14 0 56 1 0 .242 .529 36.60 43 Mark Reynolds 107 14 20 4 0 6 18 12 3 3 43 4 0 .187 .393 40.19 38 Jeromy Burnitz 92 15 18 3 1 3 16 26 8 1 38 2 0 .196 .348 41.30 35 Gorman Thomas 84 8 13 2 0 4 16 14 3 0 35 1 0 .155 .321 41.67 26 Alejandro de Aza 52 8 12 3 2 0 7 9 1 1 26 1 0 .231 .365 50.00 21 Dave Nicholson 41 5 5 0 0 1 3 8 0 0 21 0 0 .122 .195 51.22 17 Jack Cust 28 1 4 2 0 0 1 6 1 0 17 0 0 .143 .214 60.71 12 Aaron Judge 18 1 1 0 0 1 2 6 1 0 12 1 1 .056 .222 66.67 9 Billy Ashley 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 9 0 0 .000 .000 75.00 8 Bobby Hughes 10 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 .100 .100 80.00 8 Zach Walters 10 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 8 0 0 .100 .400 80.00 5 Chad Wallach 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 .000 .000 100.00
I went back to using at-bats as the denominator in the percentage chart for this category.
Highest ranked player not on list: Adam Dunn (2,548 strikeouts). His extra-inning stats:
Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank Adam Dunn 108 20 35 7 0 9 25 26 7 4 31 2 0 .324 .639 3
Only Sammy Sosa, Fred McGriff and Dave Parker from the top chart are not in the Hall of Fame, and they each have an MVP award on their resume. So despite this being a unflattering category, this is an impressive collection of offensive talent. Still, just counting their performances in extra-innings, only Willie Stargell, Frank Robinson, and Lou Brock hit as expected, and Reggie Jackson, McGriff, and Carl Yastrzemski hit quite a bit worse.
After the first three entries on the percentage list, there's a collection of low-contact power hitters. Mark Reynolds came within 7 strikeouts of fanning 1000 times in a five-year period (2008-2012), but also hit 164 homers. Gorman Thomas struck out 175 and 170 times in a season back when that was something unusual while combining to hit 83 homers, and so on. Alejandro de Aza is the outlier in the group, with a higher overall batting average than most of the others on the list (.260), the lowest strikeout rate in regulation, and not a lot of power. Still, he earned his place above by fanning in exactly half of his extra-inning at-bats.
SB Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank 29 Tim Raines 223 44 76 11 1 3 23 50 24 1 16 29 0 .341 .439 3 27 Rickey Henderson 205 44 56 10 3 4 22 50 11 2 28 27 1 .273 .410 1 19 Maury Wills 187 19 49 4 1 0 10 29 6 0 19 19 7 .262 .294 11 17 Eric Davis 113 21 39 7 1 4 14 22 10 0 28 17 3 .345 .531 52 16 Willie Wilson 126 26 36 1 4 2 17 11 4 1 28 16 2 .286 .405 6 15 Lou Brock 253 33 77 8 2 5 27 35 14 1 48 15 12 .304 .411 2 15 Cesar Cedeno 182 25 50 8 2 5 21 29 12 1 24 15 7 .275 .423 15 15 Tony Gwynn 206 33 81 13 0 3 20 43 29 0 13 15 5 .393 .500 70 15 Barry Bonds 195 48 51 9 3 11 28 90 42 1 38 15 2 .262 .508 17 14 Brett Butler 164 22 52 3 2 1 9 30 3 0 24 14 6 .317 .378 13 14 Juan Samuel 121 20 33 4 2 1 9 17 5 2 26 14 4 .273 .364 39 14 Marquis Grissom 173 28 52 4 1 6 25 35 11 0 37 14 2 .301 .439 30 SB Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 29 Tim Raines 223 44 76 11 1 3 23 50 24 1 16 29 0 .341 .439 23.39 27 Rickey Henderson 205 44 56 10 3 4 22 50 11 2 28 27 1 .273 .410 25.96 17 Eric Davis 113 21 39 7 1 4 14 22 10 0 28 17 3 .345 .531 29.82 16 Willie Wilson 126 26 36 1 4 2 17 11 4 1 28 16 2 .286 .405 34.78 12 Rajai Davis 107 19 19 5 1 0 8 9 1 1 30 12 1 .178 .243 41.38 11 Jarrod Dyson 49 8 12 1 1 0 1 5 1 0 6 11 1 .245 .306 64.71 9 Bobby Brown 38 6 8 1 0 1 3 5 1 0 11 9 0 .211 .316 75.00 6 Matt Alexander 8 7 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 6 0 .250 .250 200.00 3 Allan Lewis 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 .000 .000 undef
Highest ranked player not on list: Vince Coleman (752 stolen bases). His extra-inning stats:
Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Rank Vince Coleman 118 14 33 3 0 1 8 18 6 2 19 11 6 .280 .331 4
For this and the next category, I'm using hits plus walks plus hit by pitches minus home runs (a very rough approximation of stolen base opportunities) as the denominator in the percentage chart. You'll probably notice that my approximation doesn't handle pinch-runners like Matt Alexander and Allan Lewis.
Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson combined to steal 56 bases while being caught only once. That one came on June 22, 1996, when Henderson was thrown out trying to steal third in the 15th inning of the Padres 9-6 loss to the Cubs. Scott Servais was the catcher.
The first six players on the top chart above all had at least one season with 80 or more steals, and the others all had at least one 50+ steal season.
CS Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG 12 Lou Brock 253 33 77 8 2 5 27 35 14 1 48 15 12 .304 .411 9 Joe Morgan 227 40 65 12 3 3 31 55 12 1 19 11 9 .286 .405 8 Mickey Vernon 191 22 53 8 1 5 26 28 11 0 18 1 8 .277 .408 7 Maury Wills 187 19 49 4 1 0 10 29 6 0 19 19 7 .262 .294 7 Cesar Cedeno 182 25 50 8 2 5 21 29 12 1 24 15 7 .275 .423 7 Dave Collins 118 13 38 4 0 0 9 10 2 2 19 11 7 .322 .356 8 players with 6 CS Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Pct 12 Lou Brock 253 33 77 8 2 5 27 35 14 1 48 15 12 .304 .411 11.11 7 Dave Collins 118 13 38 4 0 0 9 10 2 2 19 11 7 .322 .356 14.00 6 Bernard Gilkey 81 11 24 7 0 2 8 13 1 1 17 2 6 .296 .457 16.67 5 Chico Salmon 70 11 13 0 0 0 7 6 1 0 11 2 5 .186 .186 26.32 3 Joe Pittman 18 4 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 3 .222 .222 60.00 2 Lee Richard 15 4 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 .067 .200 200.00 2 Sheldon Mallory 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 .143 .143 200.00 2 Henry Mateo 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .250 .250 200.00
With the notable exception of Mickey Vernon, all the players on the first chart had good to excellent success rates, and were probably running in riskier situations due to one-run strategies often employed late in tie games. And even Vernon was not a horrible base stealer early in his career. When he left for World War Two at the age of 25, he'd stolen 59 bases in 77 attempts, a very good success rate for his era. But he was 42 when he retired, and although he rarely attemped to steal a base over his last several years, when he did the results were seldom good. He was thrown out 12 times in his last 14 attempts, including all 3 in extra-innings.
And finally, a long time ago (at the beginning of this article), I mentioned how Harry Simpson's appearance on two "best-game" lists had sent me down this path. So how did he perform over the course of his career in extra-innings? Well, wonder no more:
Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SO SB CS AVG SLG Harry Simpson 64 13 19 1 4 2 8 12 4 0 8 4 2 .297 .531
So he did better than his career .266 batting average and .486 slugging percentage, but not by as much as we'd suspected, given that the two games that introduced us to his extra-inning prowess saw him get three triples, a homer and a single in five at-bats. Take those away and the above line has him with three extra-base hits (one of each variety) in 59 at-bats. Of course, the results will usually be unimpressive once you take away anyone's two best games from such a small sample size.
That's all for this time, and to those of you still with me, thanks for your patience.