Editor’s note: This is a Weird and Wild short. To read this week’s full Weird and Wild column, go here.
Let us get this trade deadline nonsense out of the way: baseball has a strange thing that happens. The stars appear to be more radiant. Or perhaps they are simply more visible to us. Whatever it is, now is a fantastic moment to use our Weird and Wild History Watch Dept., which has always been a hit.
Everyone gets up. Aaron Judge is about to pull off an amazing feat. Furthermore, I have not seen anyone discussing it. Now let us carry that out.
Judge career HR — 298
Judge career hits — 976
Stated differently, he is on the verge of hitting his 300th home run prior to recording his 1,000th hit. I am aware that Blue Jays manager John Schneider mentioned the other day that it appears as though Judge hits a home run each time he makes contact. However, based on those figures, it appears that he was more correct than he likely realized.
Here you go. It’s your complete rundown of all the players who thumped their 300th homer before they got around to their 1,000th hit:
Mark McGwire
No need to keep reading. We’re done!
Thus, Big Mac is the only man in baseball history to have accomplished this. Harmon Killebrew was nearly there. Adam Dunn was almost there. Dave Kingman was almost there. Does close, though, matter? No, it does not in this column. How strange and bizarre is this statistic?
Kyle Schwarber has 42 career leadoff homers. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)
Kyle Schwarber: Leading Man Kyle Schwarber and Mookie Betts were the first leadoff hitters to ever hit three home runs in a game at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night at Chavez Ravine.
The big-hitting Phillies player also made history by becoming just the third leadoff hitter in modern history to get four extra-base hits and seven RBIs or more in a single game. (The others: Gee Walker at Tiger Stadium in 1936 and Matt Carpenter at Wrigley Field in 2018).
But now that we have that out of the way, that isn’t even what he’s doing in this section of this column. Ready? Here goes.
The Schwarbino is now up to 14 games in his career in which he hit a leadoff home run and at least one more homer. Does it seem like a lot? Well, maybe it does because it’s the most games like that of any player who ever lived. This took a while to investigate, but it’s not like my time is priceless. Here is the current leaderboard:
MOST GAMES, LEADOFF HR and SECOND HR
Kyle Schwarber — 14
George Springer — 12
Mookie Betts — 11
Alfonso Soriano — 9
(Source: Baseball Reference / Stathead)
But here’s the Weirdest/Wildest part: Schwarber has only started 457 games in the leadoff hole in his career. That’s over 300 fewer than Soriano, over 500 fewer than Springer and over 600 fewer than Mookie.
Thus, he will not ever make you think of Juan Pierre. But is Kyle Schwarber a game-changing first baseman? Yes seems to be the appropriate response to that.
Elly De La Cruz leads the majors with 59 stolen bases. (Katie Stratman / USA Today)
Control De La Cruz — Man, Elly De La Cruz. Have we seen many people who resemble him? Not if you are residing on the same globe as me. That is why I bring it up.
You know, he is the top in major league stolen bases. Then on Monday, he did something that a typical sprint champion should not do. In one game, he had four extra-base hits (all of which he crushed at 108 mph or more).
So I was curious. Maybe you were, too. How many times in a game has the MLB champion in stolen bases received four extra-base hits? I asked my STATS Perform friends. It won’t take long to name everybody in the current period.
Willie Mays — May 13, 1958
Snuffy Stirnweiss — Sept. 3, 1945
Billy Werber — July 17, 1935
So once in the last 79 years (Willie Mays) … and no times in the last 65 years … and then, well, Elly happened!
Shohei Ohtani joined yet another exclusive club. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)
It is Shoh Time – Shohei Ohtani no longer contributes to this column as frequently as he once did because he now solely swings lumber for a living. But let us make that mistake right!
Saturday night, he did something not often done by humans who have also spent time throwing pitches at 100 mph: He stole three bases in one game … to reach the 30-Homer, 30-Steal Club!
If I had not grown accustomed to these absurd Ohtani-isms by now, I would be wondering: How even? But let us respond to this query instead: How many men in the modern era have ever finished a game on the mound with 13 strikeouts and three steals?
Hey, this is not the first time it is happening. No, no, no. It was only 102 years ago, to be exact! Are you prepared for the other two modern-day icons who have accomplished both? They are approaching.
| PLAYER | 3-SB GAME | 13-K GAME |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Bill Donovan | 5/7/1906 | 8/7/1902 |
| Red Faber | 7/14/1915 | 5/17/1922 |
(Source: Baseball Reference / Stathead)
And Shohei! All he needs now is a nickname as on fire as “Wild Bill.”
Can Bobby Witt Jr. hit .350 … or more? (Jay Biggerstaff / USA Today)
At Witt’s End – Alright, one more please! These days, it would be impossible to discuss history without bringing up the Kansas City Royals’ shortstop. He is not too bad.
I am not sure why, after the past month and a half, people are still asking questions like: Can Bobby Witt Jr. hit.350? How about we find out if he can hit.500?
You think that question is absurd, then? Not too quickly, given that he had just done pounding.500 — during the course of 25 games.
Witt was 49-for-98 in those 25 games over 109 plate appearances. And pals, you do not get to witness this very often! Trent McCotter, my favorite streak expert, has been keeping track of this for a long time. Furthermore, he notes that only 14 players have averaged at least.500 over 100 at-bats or more since World War 2.
The longest: Ichiro — went 79-for-158 in 2004.
Most recent: Jose Altuve — went 56-for-112 in 2017.
Hall of Famers who did it: Stan Musial, Ted Williams, George Brett, Henry Aaron, Rod Carew, Dave Winfield.
Let me now pose the question: What is the number of shortstops on that list? And there is none to the answer!
So, what makes Bobby Witt Jr. unique? Without a doubt, the response is not what!
(Top photo of Aaron Judge: Adam Hunger / Getty Images)
