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1/28/18

Tom Brennan - AMAZING HITTING PITCHERS

 
Tom Brennan - AMAZING HITTING PITCHERS

Some friends of mine and I were talking about relievers that got away, like former Mets Jeff Reardon, Jason Isringhausen, and Rick Aguilera, and I noted that Aguilera could hit, too – in fact, .203, 3 HR, 11 RBI in 139 career at bats, with only one career at bat after leaving the Mets. 

 
It started me thinking about good hitting pitchers.  Here’s some really good hitting pitchers (excluding Babe Ruth), more or less in era order:

 
Walter Johnson - in 2,525 plate appearances(!), he had 91 doubles, FORTY ONE TRIPLES, 24 HRs, and 255 RBIs. In 1925, at age 37, he hit an astonishing .433/.455/.577 - 42 for 97!  BIG TRAIN!!

Red Ruffing - .269/.306/.389 in 2084 PAs, with 98 doubles, 13 triples, 36 HRs, and 273 RBIs. In 1930, he hit .364, one of 8 seasons he hit over .300! 
 

Wes Ferrell – 1,176 ABs, .280/.351/.446 with 38 HRs and 208 RBIs from 1927-1941.  He had 30 RBIs in 116 at bats in 1931 and 32 in 150 at bats in 1935. It had to have helped him finish his career at 193-128.

 
Warren Spahn – 1872 at bats!  57 doubles, 6 triples, 35 HRs, 186 RBIs, .194.  He was above .200 but only hit .178 (88 for 492) after he turned 39.  He missed his age 22, 23, and 24 seasons in the military, too.

 
Bob Lemon – Hall of Famer hit .232/.288/.386, with 37 HRs and 147 RBI.  He was NO LEMON!
 

Don Newcombe - 988 PA, .271/.338/.367, with 33 doubles, 15 HR, and 108 RBIs.  He also missed his age 26 and 27 years to the military.
 

Big Earl Wilson – 740 at bats, 35 homers, an amazing 111 RBIs, and .195.
 

Gary Peters - .222, 31 doubles, 7 triples, 19 HRs and 102 RBIs in 807 ABs.
 

Bob Gibson – 1328 at bats, 44 doubles, 5 triples, 24 HRs, 144 RBIs, .206.
 

Don Drysdale - .186/.228/.295, with 26 doubles, 7 triples, 29 HRs, and 113 RBIs in 1,169 ABs. In 1965, he had 7 HRs and a slash of .300/.331/.508.
 

Ken Brett – 347 career at bats, 18 doubles, 10 HRs, 44 RBIs, and .262.
 

Mike Hampton - career .246/.294/.356, with 16 HRs.
 

Micah Owings - .283/.310/.502 line in 219 PAs. He couldn't pitch well enough to stick very long. Why he did not try his hand as a position player is unclear to me.
 

Dontrelle Willis - Career .244/.287/.378 in 447 PAs, with just 69 Ks!  Last season in the bigs was at age 29, so I’m surprised he did not try to come back as a hitter.
 

Victor Zambrano – 26 doubles, 24 HRs, 71 RBIs in 693 ABs, .238 BA.
 

Wow, what a list!
 
Question: Will Noah Syndergaard and Jake deGrom hit well enough over their careers to join this memorable list?
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15 comments:

  1. Mack AdeJanuary 28, 2018 at 12:09 PM

    I have followed the draft for over 15 years and I can tell you that EVERY high school and college weekend starter plays another position during the rest of the week.

    They all start off as decent hitters and seem to diminish their skills as they bat less times over their career.

    Shame.

    Waste of some really good bats.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tom BrennanJanuary 28, 2018 at 12:23 PM

    True, Mack.

    You don't see pitchers who can hit, for the most part, any more. Some of those old timers clearly could have had really successful big league position player careers rather than pitching careers, not just Babe Ruth.

    ReplyDelete
  3. HobieJanuary 28, 2018 at 1:00 PM

    Don Newcomb's 1955 season was really special.

    20-5 (3.20) 17 CG
    and
    .359/.395/'632 (1.027) with 7 HR and 23 RBI in 117 AB.

    Present one night when he lined one over the RF fence (only 318 ft out but 40 ft up & gone in an eyelash), then later, at about the same spot albeit lower, hit one THROUGH the fence mesh for a GRD.

    One of my all time favorites.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. bill metsiacJanuary 28, 2018 at 9:48 PM

      Big Nooook was truly amazing. He once pitched a complete Game 1 of a DH, then went 7+ in Game 2.

      And he missed 2 prime years in the military, but still had a great career.

      Delete
  4. Tom BrennanJanuary 28, 2018 at 1:01 PM

    Hobie, nice memory of the Nuke.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Reese KaplanJanuary 28, 2018 at 1:08 PM

    As much as it pains me to say it given the horror show he was in a Mets uniform...how about Rick Ankiel?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tom BrennanJanuary 28, 2018 at 2:20 PM

    Rick was one who was surely successful for a while, but fanned like crazy. Again, without looking into why, I am surprised the superior contact hitter Dontrelle Willis did not try it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tom BrennanJanuary 28, 2018 at 2:26 PM

    Wonder how these guys would have ranked in the 2018 draft as HITTERS?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Chuck RothmanJanuary 28, 2018 at 4:36 PM

    Ned Garver. Hit .305 in 1951, the same year he was probably the best pitcher in the AL, winning 20 games a team that only won 52. Batted as high as third in the order and had a better OPS than all the other regular hitters.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Tom BrennanJanuary 29, 2018 at 12:01 AM

    Chuck, that Garver is a new name to me! Good stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  10. TexasGusCCJanuary 29, 2018 at 1:28 AM

    Where is Rick Rhodes and Robinson on this list?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Tom BrennanJanuary 29, 2018 at 7:36 AM

    Rhoden? Nice. Definitely belongs on the list...38 doubles, 9 homers, 75 RBI, .238. JUST 114 Ks in 830 plate appearances.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tom BrennanJanuary 29, 2018 at 9:16 AM

    TexasGus, Don Robinson was also a nasty hitter - more K prone than Rhoden, but nasty nonetheless.

    ReplyDelete
  13. UnknownJanuary 29, 2018 at 1:17 PM

    Don't forget old double D Don Drysdale he could hit: both opposing batters and opposing pitchers.

    ReplyDelete