5 New and somewhat wacky rules (all designed to speed up the game and make it more entertaining) used by the Savannah Bananas, an independent baseball team in Georgia:
*If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out.
*If a batter steps out of the batter’s box, it’s an automatic strike.
*If a batter walks, he can advance as far as he wants until all the players on the opposing team have touched the ball.
*Mound visits by the catcher or manager are prohibited.
*Bunting is not allowed.
And no inning can start after an hour and 55 minutes. Faster. Better?
5 Players who have won MVP awards with two different teams:
*Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia A’s, 1932-33, Boston Red Sox, 1938.
*Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds, 1961, Baltimore Orioles, 1966.
*Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1990, 1992, San Francisco Giants, 1993, 2001-2004.
*Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers, 2003, New York Yankees, 2005, 2007.
*Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals, 2015, Philadelphia Phillies, 2021.
5 pitchers who won 20 games and lost 20 games in the same season:
*Phil Niekro, Braves, 1979: 21-20
*Wilbur Wood, White Sox, 1973: 24-20
*Walter Johnson, Senators, 1916: 25-20
*Joe McGinnity, Orioles, 1901: 26-20 and Giants, 1903: 31-20
*Cy Young, Cleveland Spiders, 1894: 26-22, 1891: 27-22
Other notable 20-game losers in one season: Robin Roberts, Steve Carlton and Red Ruffing, all in the Hall of Fame as is Niekro.
5 Teams managed by Hall of Fame bound Dusty Baker
*San Francisco Giants, 840 wins
*Chicago Cubs, 322 wins
*Cincinnati Reds, 509 wins
*Washington Nationals, 193 wins
*Houston Astros, 147 wins (through Monday)
That’s 2,010 wins, 10th most in history. The top 9 are all in the HOF, but Dusty is the only one of the 10 to not have won a World Series as manager. He won one as a player with the 1981 Dodgers.
The next 5 African-Americans to make it to the majors after Jackie Robinson in April of 1947:
*Larry Doby, Indians, 1947. First black player in American League.
*Hank Thompson, St. Louis Browns, 1947. Signed mostly to help boost attendance.
*Willard Brown, Baltimore Orioles, 1947. Signed same day as Thompson. He hit .358 in his minor league career, .178 in the majors.
*Dan Bankhead, Dodgers, 1947. First Black pitcher in the majors.
*Roy Campanella, Dodgers, April, 1948. Won three MVP awards in Brooklyn.
Note: Doby and Campanella both became members of the Hall of Fame as did Robinson.
Pete Donovan is a Palm Desert resident and former Los Angeles Times sports reporter. He can be reached at pwdonovan22@yahoo.com
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