60 Fun Facts About Hard MLB Baseball

Which pitcher holds the MLB career record with 511 wins, a total 94 ahead of second place?

He also holds the records for most career losses, innings pitched and complete games, which is what happens when you pitch from 1890 to 1911.

Nolan Ryan's career strikeout record of 5,714 is how far ahead of the runner-up, Randy Johnson?

Ryan also holds the record for fewest hits allowed per nine innings, at 6.56.

Cal Ripken Jr. voluntarily ended his consecutive-games streak in 1998 at what number?

He surpassed Lou Gehrig's mark of 2,130 by 502 games and stopped only before the final home game of the season.

Which Cleveland third baseman's backhand stops helped end DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak?

DiMaggio then began a new streak of 16 games, meaning he hit safely in 72 of 73 games.

What batting average did Ted Williams finish with in 1941, still the last .400 season?

He could have sat out the doubleheader to protect a rounded .400 but insisted on playing.

Rickey Henderson's 1,406 career stolen bases broke the record of 938 held by which player?

Henderson's total is nearly 50 percent higher than Brock's, and he also holds the career records for runs and leadoff home runs.

Which Pirates left-hander retired 36 straight Braves in 1959, only to lose the game in the 13th inning?

A Don Hoak fielding error ended the perfect game in the 13th, and the Pirates lost on an unearned run.

Which Cincinnati Reds pitcher is the only man to throw no-hitters in two consecutive starts?

He did it in June 1938, and 14 years later threw another no-hitter in the Texas League for Tulsa.

Bob Gibson's live-ball-era record ERA in the 1968 'Year of the Pitcher' was what?

Despite it, he lost nine games that season because the Cardinals barely scored for him, and he struck out 17 in Game 1 of the World Series.

Denny McLain, the last pitcher to win 30 games in a season, finished 1968 with what record?

Three years later, after a second straight Cy Young, he was out of baseball at age 29 amid suspensions.

Which showman owner sent 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel to the plate for the St. Louis Browns in 1951?

Gaedel walked on four pitches and was replaced by a pinch-runner; the owner later called him 'the best darn midget who ever played big-league ball'.

Disco Demolition Night in 1979 forced the White Sox to forfeit a game to which team?

Shock jock Steve Dahl blew up a crate of disco records between games of a doubleheader and the field was wrecked by rioting fans.

Cleveland's infamous Ten Cent Beer Night in 1974 ended in a forfeit to which visiting team?

Umpire Nestor Chylak declared the forfeit after fans stormed the field; the club had run beer promotions since 1971 without incident.

In the 1983 Pine Tar Incident, George Brett's bat had tar beyond how many inches from the handle?

Yankees manager Billy Martin had spotted the tar; the umpires measured it against the 17-inch width of home plate, and the ruling was later overturned.

Fred Merkle's famous 1908 base-running blunder came in a game between the Giants and which team?

The tie was replayed at season's end, and the winners took the pennant by exactly one game.

Who was appointed the first Commissioner of Baseball in the aftermath of the Black Sox Scandal?

Despite acquittals at a 1921 trial, he permanently banned all eight implicated White Sox players.

Old Hoss Radbourn's untouchable single-season wins record, set with Providence in 1884, is how many?

He threw 678.2 innings that year, then pitched every inning of the three-game 1884 World Series.

Whose 1960 blast remains the only walk-off home run to clinch a World Series in Game 7?

The Pirates second baseman was known mainly for his glove; his 138 career homers were the most by any second baseman between 1944 and 1974.

Which pitcher gave up Joe Carter's 1993 World Series-winning home run?

Carter had been 0-for-4 lifetime against him, and it was the first Series-ending homer hit by a team that was trailing at the time.

Dock Ellis said he threw his 1970 no-hitter under the influence of LSD against which team?

It came in the first game of a doubleheader; he had used the drug 'two or three times' the day before while visiting a friend in Los Angeles.

Jim Abbott, born without a right hand, threw a 1993 no-hitter for the Yankees against which team?

He would switch his glove from his right forearm to his left hand after each pitch to field the ball.

Which outfielder refused a 1969 trade and took the reserve clause to the Supreme Court?

He lost the case but the fight galvanized the players' union and led toward free agency a few years later.

Joe Nuxhall, the youngest player in MLB history, debuted for the Reds in 1944 at what age?

He pitched two-thirds of an inning, then spent 40 years as a Reds broadcaster.

Satchel Paige played his last major league game in 1965 at what age, a record for any pro sport?

He had already been the oldest debutant ever when he joined Cleveland at 42 in 1948.

Under what official name did the Astrodome open in 1965?

It was nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World and housed the Astros until 1999.

Which Yankee was MLB's first designated hitter, walking on five pitches from Luis Tiant in 1973?

The bat he carried to the plate is now in Cooperstown, and the AL owners had approved the DH by an 8-4 vote for a three-year trial.

Which umpire's blown call at first base cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game in 2010?

It was the 27th batter, Jason Donald; the umpire tearfully apologised afterward and the two later co-wrote a book.

Tom Cheney's single-game record of 21 strikeouts in 1962 came in a game that lasted how many innings?

The Washington Senators pitcher gave up one run in the whole game and won 2-1 over Baltimore.

Rennie Stennett went 7-for-7 in a nine-inning game in 1975 as the Pirates beat the Cubs by what score?

The only other player with seven hits in a nine-inning game was Wilbert Robinson in 1892.

Fernando Tatís hit two grand slams in the same inning in 1999, both off which Dodgers pitcher?

The eight RBIs in one inning remain the MLB record, and Tatís is the only player to do it.

Hack Wilson's 1930 single-season RBI record, still unapproached, stands at what number?

Lou Gehrig came closest the very next year with 185; Wilson also hit 56 homers, an NL record for 68 years.

Which Negro leagues star holds MLB's highest career batting average since the statistics were integrated in 2024?

His .466 mark for 1943 also became the highest single-season average on record.

Ichiro Suzuki set the MLB single-season hits record in 2004 with how many?

It broke George Sisler's 84-year-old mark of 257, and gave Ichiro the single-season record in both MLB and Japan's NPB.

Barry Bonds hit his record 73rd home run of 2001 off which pitcher?

It came on October 7, the last day of the season, against the Dodgers knuckleballer.

Don Larsen's 1956 World Series perfect game was which perfect game in MLB history?

It remains the only perfect game in World Series history and one of just three postseason no-hitters.

Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout one-hitter in 1998 came in which start of his career?

It tied Roger Clemens' nine-inning record and broke Bill Gullickson's rookie mark of 18.

Ferguson Jenkins was the first Canadian in the Baseball Hall of Fame; who was the second, in 2020?

Jenkins was also the first Canadian and first Cubs pitcher to win a Cy Young, matched among Canadians only by Éric Gagné.

Masanori Murakami became the first Japanese player in MLB in 1964 with which team?

He debuted on September 1, 1964, three decades before Hideo Nomo made the crossing famous.

Bartolo Colón, 42, became the oldest to hit a first career homer in 2016. Off which pitcher?

It came at Petco Park in San Diego and was the only home run of his 21-year career.

Julio Franco became the oldest player ever to homer in 2007, at what age?

He debuted in 1982 and was the oldest active player in the majors when he last appeared.

The 1994-95 players' strike, which cancelled the World Series, lasted how many days?

A total of 948 games were wiped out, and it was the first time a North American postseason was lost to a labor dispute.

Who was the first overall pick in the inaugural MLB draft in 1965?

The Kansas City Athletics took the Arizona State outfielder, who is now better remembered for rescuing an American flag from protesters in 1976.

Fenway Park's Green Monster was completed at what height?

It replaced a 10-foot slope called Duffy's Cliff and an original 25-foot wall; seats were added on top in 2003.

Randy Johnson's fastball killed a dove during a 2001 spring training game against which team?

After retiring, Johnson's photography company adopted a dead bird as its logo.

How many consecutive hitless at-bats did Chris Davis go in 2019, an MLB record for a position player?

The streak began in September 2018 and carried into the following April with the Orioles.

Which franchise was the first MLB team located outside the United States?

They joined the NL East for 1969 and failed to post a winning record in any of their first ten seasons.

The Seattle Pilots played a single season in 1969 before moving to become which team?

They finished last at 64-98 in Sick's Stadium, where only about 18,000 seats were ready on Opening Day.

Bobby Thomson's 1951 'Shot Heard Round the World' came off which Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher?

The pennant-winning three-run homer capped a Giants comeback from 13 games back in August.

Roberto Clemente's 3,000th and final regular-season hit in 1972 was a double off which Mets pitcher?

He died in a plane crash three months later while flying relief supplies to Nicaragua.

Willie Mays' famous 1954 World Series catch robbed which Cleveland hitter?

The over-the-shoulder grab about 425 feet from home plate at the Polo Grounds preserved a tie in Game 1.

Which Cy Young winner gave up Kirk Gibson's limping walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series?

Gibson had been named the NL MVP that season and did not bat again in the Series.

Between 1956 and 1966, how many Cy Young Awards were handed out each year?

Commissioner Ford Frick created it in 1956; only after his retirement did each league get its own award in 1967.

Miguel Cabrera's 2012 Triple Crown was the first since which player did it in 1967?

Cabrera hit .330 with 44 homers and 139 RBIs, and remains the only Triple Crown winner since 1968.

What is Madison Bumgarner's career World Series ERA, the lowest ever with at least 25 innings and three starts?

He broke Jack Billingham's mark of 0.36 while carrying the Giants to the 2014 title with five shutout relief innings in Game 7.

In which year did MLB redefine the no-hitter, retroactively erasing Harvey Haddix's 1959 gem?

The 1991 definition retroactively struck Haddix's gem from the list; his response was 'It's O.K. I know what I did.'

Harvey Haddix's nickname 'The Kitten' compared him to which Cardinals left-hander known as 'The Cat'?

Columbus GM George Sisler Jr. likened the undersized lefty to Harry 'The Cat' Brecheen and mused about pairing them in a doubleheader.

How much did Connie Mack's Athletics pay for Shoeless Joe Jackson's contract in August 1908?

Jackson had been earning $75 a month with the Greenville Spinners, hitting .346 to lead the Carolina Association.

Per Jackson, why was he playing in his socks in the mill game that earned him his nickname?

He took the painful new cleats off before batting; a heckler shouted 'You shoeless son of a gun, you!' as he ran to third.

What was Jackie Robinson's batting average in his only baseball season at UCLA?

He hit just .097 despite going 4-for-4 and twice stealing home in his first game; he won the 1940 NCAA long jump title.

Which trade did the young Babe Ruth learn at St. Mary's Industrial School?

Ruth became a shirtmaker and a proficient carpenter at St. Mary's, where boys worked from age 12.