“The great Tom Seaver.”
So often described as such.
“THE FRANCHISE”.
He certainly was that. But some guys nonetheless owned him, as hard as it is to believe, even if briefly.
Guess which 4 hitters combined to go 25 for 49 against Tom Seaver? (source for all stats…Baseball Reference)
Ray Sadecki, Steve Ontiveros, Daryl Sconiers, and Chico Ruiz, the 4 of whom also walked 13 times vs. 8 Ks vs. the Franchise.
Domination from very unlikely hitter sources.
And there were 7 other mostly nondescript hitters (so nondescript I won’t name them here) who combined to go 21 for 35 against him. They owned Seaver, even if just for a few at bats each. Also…
Terry Puhl was 20 for 45 vs. Seaver.
Damaso Garcia, Jesse Barfield, Clay Dalrymple, and Tim Teufel combined for a rip-roaring 26 for 56 with just 2 Ks. Owned Seaver, one might say.
Speedy Willie Davis? .389 in 108 at bats.
Rick Monday? .349 with 11 HRs and 17 walks in 104 PAs. Who exactly is your daddy?
So, you can’t be great against everybody, no matter how great you are.
Record of 12-20 against the super tank known as the Big Red Machine, too.
Moving on…
Jerry Koosman?
Dave Winfield in 61 at bats hit .410, with 7 HRs and 20 RBIs off the Kooz. To Jerry’s credit though, he only surrendered as many as 7 HRs to two hitters…Winfield and Willie Stargell.
5 guys (Willie McGee, Gary Roenike, Bob Bailor, Brian Downing, and Dwight Evans) went 57 for 107 (.500+) with 11 HRs vs. Koosman. Ouch. Full ownership.
Jake deGrom was pretty stingy, but Christian Yelich got to him for 15 for 37 (.405).
Sandy Koufax? The GOAT?
Hank Aaron hit .362 with 7 HRs in 116 at bats off him, and had just 12 Ks in 130 PAs. And Bill Virdon hit .404 against Sandy in 52 at bats. Against those 2, Sandy wasn’t especially dandy.
Dwight Gooden?
Chili Davis hit .444, and Hubie Brooks hit .392, against Doc.
Nolan Ryan?
Dick Allen completely owned Ryan:
16 for 44 with TWENTY TWO walks, 7 extra base hits, and 16 RBIs, and just 11 Ks.
(Anyone remember the screaming high line drive that hit 1/3 of the way up the Shea light tower? STRONG dude. I once remember Allen in the old Phillies stadium in a sequence of 3 at bats.)
1) Flew out to the 447 sign in dead center.
2) Flew out to the 447 sign in dead center.
3) 500 foot bomb to 447 dead center, easily clearing the 20 foot high fence.
Carl Yazstremski ditto. 17 for 50, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 12 BB, just 7 Ks.
Jack Clark? His 11 for 44 included 9 extra base hits; he walked 12 times.
Joe Morgan? Just 5 for 28, BUT 14 walks vs. just 6 Ks.
Mike Schmidt? Just 9 for 50, but 5 HR, 15 RBI, and a whopping 21 walks.
On the other hand, I saw a guy who posted on Facebook a list of truly impressive hitters who couldn’t hit a lick against Ryan. Roughly, the 25 top hitters went something 20 for 357. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
I copied his full list at the end of my article below, unverified as to statistical accuracy by me.
Babe Ruth?
He was a fine pitcher, but household name Ping Bodie was 11 for 24 with 3 walks and no Ks vs. the Bambino. Ping, as I am sure you all know, was an outfielder who hit .275 in over 4,000 plate appearances, while missing a few years for World War 1 service.
Every time the Babe pitched to Ping, the ball went PONG.
Ty Cobb, though?
He was just 4 for 17 vs. the Babe, and Cobb was in his prime at the time.
Amazing, huh?
Some guys, both great and marginal, can somehow hit the greats like they were facing Anthony Young.
One of the wonders of baseball. The unexpected, when immortals are mortal.
Don’t forget to look at that list below. But as far as last night goes:
“HAIL! HAIL! ALL IS WELL!”
“SIR EDWIN, LORD OF METSVILLE, HAS RETURNED!”
Edwin Diaz was relying primarily on killer sliders last night, mixed with the occasional fastball in the high 90s. Of course, if you hadn’t looked, you could guess of course that Edwin faced 3 batters and struck out three batters. Nasty. It was good to hear Tommy trumpet music again, too.
Tylor Megill was excellent for four innings, allowing just a homer. Rest of the pictures put up zeros. Sadly, all the Mets put up offensively was zeros.
Baty had a 75 foot infield dinker hit. Joe Suozzi had a lined single on a hanger that outfielder played into a double. Phil Bickford, who I’m pulling for, faced two hitters and fanned them both.
Mets lose 1-0. Keith said the park plays big…don’t ALL Mets parks?
I did not watch the entire game, but the wind was blowing in heavily from right field, so that was probably a factor. Lastly, Francisco Alvarez now lifts up his knee when he sees a runner going, so that he’s quicker to throw to second with the cannon he has. He probably now can be considered a superior defensive catcher.
OK, on the list:
HITTERS WHO STRUGGLED MIGHTILY AGAINST RYAN, IN TERMS OF BA:
From a Facebook poster, unverified by me:
16 comments:
Darryl Strawberry on Instagram last night: “ Praising God for His amazing grace and loving mercy in saving my life this evening from a heart attack. I am so happy and honored to report that all is well. So thankful for the medical team and staff at St. Joseph West in Lake St. Louis for responding so quickly and bringing me through a stent-procedure that has brought my heart to total restoration!!! Your prayers are so absolutely appreciated as I continue to recover, in Jesus Name!”
Prayers for Darryl’s speedy and full recovery. He has got ministering (and living) left to do.
My brother's best friend, Andy Carra, used to be the driver that picked up Seaver at his home and drove him to the games to play.
Andy wrote about that on the site years ago before he sadly passed
Great story on Andy. Sorry he passed.
Mr Lyndon,coho used to live a few hundred yards from our house in Bellerose, looked a little like Abe Lincoln in height and stature. He was George Steinbrenner’s driver.
Mr Lydon, who used…
Team ERA 2.52. Boston next at 3.32.
Interesting post by a man named CW Key:
#Astros Justin Verlander was in the league with Julio Franco, who was intentionally walked by Jim Kaat, who allowed a pair of hits to Ted Williams, who made his big league debut against Lou Gehrig, who hit four home runs off Walter Johnson, who once beaned Cy Young, who debuted in 1890, the final season played by Deacon White, who had the first hit in MLB
history.
Look for more spring cuts this week
cuts this week
Talked to Jerry's Familia last night.
He is NOT retired and still is looking to sign with an MLB team this spring
Interesting. Wish him well. Mets seem loaded, so unless he signed a minors deal with the Mets, that seems a closed door
Him and I got close in Savannah and we always stayed in touch.
Very nice guy who was always respectful of our craft
What do these "cuts" mean, anyway? Those who were cut last week are still playing for the ML team.
I hope he finds a job soon. Maybe if he doesn't, he can be the closer for the LI Ducks and have a chance to inpress.
I did see 18 y/o Marco Vargas get up with tying and go-ahead runners on in the 8th. He ripped a grounder past the pitcher but the SS was right there for the 3rd out. A base hit if shaded more normally defensively.
According to Baseball Reference, today is Darryl's 62nd birthday.
Hellava birthday present
I'd say being successfully treated, after being hospitalized the day before, is cause for happiness. 😆
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