I'm one of those baseball fans who prefers watching pitchers racking up strikeouts to batters belting the horsehide all over the park. Maybe it's because I couldn't hit the darn thing when I was a kid.
At any rate, I was enjoying tonight's Pirates game, watching Ian Snell work his way through the Houston lineup. After five innings, Snell had fanned 10, given up only two hits and walked none. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a Jason Lane home run to the short left-field porch at Minute Maid Park, and the score was tied, 1-1.
Snell wasn't quite as sharp in the sixth, surrending a bloop single (or Texas Leaguer, if you will) to a struggling Carlos Lee, bringing in the go-ahead run for Houston. Still, Ian upped his strikeout total to a career-high 11.
His reward? With two outs in the top of the seventh, he was out of the game. Pittsburgh manager Jim Tracy sent Nate McClouth up to pinch-hit for Snell, even though McClouth probably burned up his pinch-hitting karma for the year with his home run last night. Nate promptly popped up to end the inning, something Snell very well could have done.
I left the TV for the computer when I saw journeyman John Wasdin come in for the Pirates and promptly get lit up a bit.
As you've probably gathered by reading some of these posts, I grew up in an era when starting pitchers still finished the game, particularly when they were blowing batters away. Now, I don't expect any of today's Pirates to throw 300 innings and 30 complete games -- they'd have Tracy committed if he tried anything like that -- but can't a guy have a go at, say, 14 or 15 strikeouts? You don't see anything like that anymore, particularly when it comes to the Pirates (although Oliver Perez whiffed 14 a few years ago, also against Houston, before they started messing with his delivery and ruined him for the time being).
I'm not nearly the fan I used to be, and watching what Tracy did in tonight's game reminds me why.
Trivia question 8: What pitcher struck out the most batters in a Major League game?
You cringe when you hear it: "Baseball ... it's so boring." Don't tell that to the people who help set new records each year attending games in the majors and minors. There's something about baseball that keeps folks coming back for more, even if football is harder-hitting, basketball is faster-paced, and you might see a wreck at a NASCAR race. Join me for various observations and history lessons about America's pastime. -- Harry Funk
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- Harry Funk
- • Online editor, The Observer-Reporter, Washington, Pa. • Member, Society for American Baseball Research • Guitar & bass player
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Trivia answers
- 56. Dallas and Chicago
- 55. On Oct. 1, 1933, Babe Ruth pitched a complete game for the Yankees against the Red Sox. According to Boston Post writer Paul Shannon, "though hit hard at times, and seemingly very tired toward the end, [Ruth] was able to steer his hard-hitting teammates to a 6-5 win in the season's final contest."
- 54. Gaylord Perry, San Francisco Giants, April 27, 1971
- 53. Rolando Arrojo went 14-12 for the Devil Rays in 1998, the team's first season. That represented 22.2 percent of the Rays' total victories.
- 52. Chester "Red" Hoff (1891-1998), who pitched for the New York Highlanders from 1911-13 and St. Louis Browns in 1915
- 51. George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees, 1974
- 50. Barry Lamar Bonds, 2002, age 38, breaking the previous record held by another ex-Pirate, Al Oliver
- 49. Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jay Baller and Jerry Willard
- 48. Dean Stone. In the eighth inning of the 1954 All-Star Game, the Washington rookie came in to pitch with two outs and runners on first and third. As Stone wound up, Red Schoendienst raced toward home. Stone threw to the plate to catch Schoendienst stealing. The American League scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to take an 11-9 lead, and Stone got the win in his only All-Star appearance.
- 47. Carlton Fisk, 1972
2 comments:
Without lookin' it up my guess is -- Kerry Wood? You didn't ask how many. I'm thinkin' 21.
Being a longtime Mets fan, I can appreciate the K, too. Dwight Gooden was a master and a joy to watch!
But you cannot deny that when your team's down and they knock out a homer or three to tie it up and then win it all because of the longball, that's some sweet baseball!!!
Gotta remember -- chicks dig the longball!
Absolutely, Kerry Wood, with 20. Sorry to see the way his career has gone since.
I don't mind seeing a home run here and there. I just don't like the way the record books have been skewed in recent years. That's just me talking as a "purist."
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