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September 11 is a day no one in America will forget for a long, long time. So why should baseball forget it?
The response by everyone in this sport since that tragic Tuesday morning has been sensitive, powerful and heartwarming. But that response shouldn't stop when the season does.
Our feeling is that Sept. 11 should never be just another day in baseball again. And Bud Selig agrees.
"I think that's absolutely true," the commissioner said. "It's something we should be thinking about."
What better time to remind ourselves that, even though mid-September may be the most important part of the baseball year, in life's big picture window, there are many things far more important?
And what better time for baseball to grieve, to remember the day a season stopped and to honor the true heroes in our world?
"Baseball should always take that day to honor all the lives lost, from people in the towers to all the police and firemen who lost their lives," said Cubs reliever David Weathers.
"That's a day that should be remembered, in whatever manner we think is appropriate," said Indians GM John Hart. "What happened in our country that day is so much bigger than our game."
So how should baseball remember? Here are a few suggestions:
Take Weathers' suggestion and let policemen and firemen in free every Sept. 11.
Admit immediate family members of victims for free.
Donate a dollar from every ticket sold that day to a scholarship fund for the children who lost a parent on Sept. 11.
Give half-price tickets that day to fans who donate blood in a baseball-sponsored blood drive.
Allow the Mets and Yankees to wear those police, fire and rescue-worker caps every Sept. 11.
Play Diana Ross' poignant, inspiring and defining rendition of "God Bless America," from Shea Stadium last Friday, on every Jumbotron.
And follow Curt Schilling's suggestion -- keep those flags on every uniform for the foreseeable future: "The one thing the country has always had is the ability to rally together during a crisis," Schilling said. "And the American flag has always been the symbol to rally behind."
What a week
Moments to remember from last week:
The Mets and Braves spontaneously hugging after Friday's pregame ceremonies at Shea.
Blue Jays pitching coach Mark Connor seeking out a kid in the stands in the first game in Toronto, then trading him a baseball for a miniature American flag.
The poetry of Jack Buck and the eloquence of Vin Scully, soothing us one more time when we needed it most.
Greg Maddux losing to the Phillies in the first game after the tragedy, but still calling it "a privilege" to have held the baseball in his hands on such a powerful, passionate night.
Scott Rolen pounding two magical home runs off Maddux, taking an emotional curtain call at the pleading of his manager, then saying: "That wasn't a baseball game to me. It was something different."
A group of Mets players and coaches heading for Ground Zero on their off day Thursday -- of their own volition, with no camera crews or press entourages around -- to visit rescue workers and grieving families.
The most visible Blue Jay -- Carlos Delgado -- being asked to show photo identification on his way into SkyDome.
Two fans spotted by the New York Post's Joel Sherman, standing side-by-side in Chicago, summing up the divergent emotions of returning fans perfectly -- one (a man) holding up a sign that read "We love America," the other (a woman) holding another sign which read "I love Derek."
Indians reliever Paul Shuey forecasting there would be some moments where players found themselves not concentrating on baseball by predicting: "There will be some Manny-isms going on." (The Manny Ramirez Fan Club can fill you in if you need details.)
Pirates rookie Jack Wilson telling the Pirates he now wanted Springsteen's "Born in the USA" to be played every time he comes to bat.
So many baseball people singing along heartily during those playings of "God Bless America" -- especially managers. "I'm a terrible singer, but I sang," said Tigers manager Phil Garner. "You wouldn't mike me. They'd think I'm bird-calling."
And Mike Piazza's electrifying home-run trot on a had-to-be-make-believe evening Friday at Shea.
Miscellaneous rumblings
The Mets' loss Sunday to the Braves may have shown exactly how little margin for error they have if they're dreaming those playoff dreams. But that isn't what this team's story is all about, anyway.
Reality tells us that no team has made the playoffs while finishing last in the major leagues in runs scored. Reality tells us that only two previous teams -- the '84 Royals and '73 Mets -- ever had three consecutive losing calendar months and made it to the postseason.
But the story of the 2001 Mets isn't about math. It's about life.
The passion this team has played with reflects the genuine heart and humanity of its players -- Mike Piazza, Todd Zeile, Robin Ventura, Joe McEwing, Al Leiter, John Franco, C.J. Nitkowski, etc., etc. So who cares what the math says? This is a team more concerned with the people of its city than its magic number.
"These guys feel like they're playing for something," says assistant GM Jim Duquette. "But that something isn't necessarily for the playoffs. It's for the workers."
Before everybody starts looking forward to the Mariners matching up with the A's or Yankees in the ALCS, don't forget Cleveland.
"Just go around the horn, position by position, and compare the Indians and Mariners," says one AL scout. "The only positions you'd give the Mariners are Ichiro, Edgar (Martinez) and (Mike) Cameron.
"Seattle's got better pitching. But the schedule for that series is made to order for the Indians -- game, off day, game, off day, then the last three games. They'll only need three starting pitchers. And the Mariners have never faced C.C. Sabathia. So if Chuck Finley wins a game, I think Cleveland could pull a big upset."
As Albert Pujols rolls toward rookie records for home runs, RBI and extra-base hits -- a year after playing in the Class A Midwest League -- no one should look at this as any kind of fluke.
One NL scout calls him "a young Manny Ramirez." Another says: "His concept of the strike zone is the best I've ever seen in a guy this young. He has such an ability to work the count and then get a fastball to hit. A lot of guys play 10 years in the big leagues and don't have that feel."
Whether or not the Mets make the playoffs, they can walk off into the winter feeling good about themselves and good about their season. And six weeks ago, that would have seemed impossible.
It was just last month that Scott Rolen was getting booed in Philadelphia and hearing lots of grumbling from the front office and his manager. Now, after leading the Phillies back to the precipice of first place, he might rank behind only Donovan McNabb and Allen Iverson among the most popular pro athletes in Philadelphia.
But while Rolen can feel the tone of everyone and everything around him changing, it's still no sure bet that he's willing to conveniently forget all that happened earlier this summer and reopen talks on a long-term deal to stay in Philadelphia.
Rolen isn't discussing anything related to his contract these days. But he clearly knows a number of teams would be interested in making a big push to deal for him this winter if he puts the Phillies in a position in which they have to trade him or risk losing him as a free agent in a year. Among those clubs, Colorado (Jeff Cirillo) and Cincinnati (Aaron Boone) have third basemen they could send to the Phillies return.
When the season is over, Rolen will head home to Florida and mull the three factors he's always said would determine whether he wants to stay in Philadelphia -- the organization's commitment to winning, his quality of life in Philadelphia and, last in the pecking order, how much money it would take to forego free agency after 2002 and sign now.
A happy ending to this Phillies season could influence all three of those factors, obviously. And his teammates have begun to openly campaign for management to do anything and everything it needs to keep him.
"We need him," said Pat Burell. "I can't believe the plays at third that guy makes. And it's every day, every night. He could have his own highlight film. All the slides, the dives. He's just incredible."
Curt Schilling may not be able to out-stat Randy Johnson in the Cy Young derby. But he may have injected himself into the top five in the MVP voting. What starting pitcher has come up bigger this year when his team needed him most?
He's 13-1, with a 1.72 ERA in starts after a Diamondbacks loss (including 8-0, 1.26 since the All-Star break). And against the NL West, he may have been the difference in a tight three-team race. He's 10-1 against the NL West, with a 2.43 ERA, and 7-1, 1.16 against the Giants and Dodgers.
If Toronto lets GM Gord Ash go, the Blue Jays are said to be interested in current Texas GM Doug Melvin, a Canada native, if the Rangers decide to make a change.
Charles Johnson's name doesn't appear on any of those lists of prospective free agents this winter because this was his first year of a five-year, $35-million contract with the Marlins. But that contract gave him the right to ask out if the Marlins didn't work out a deal for a new ballpark.
So speculation is that Johnson will ask for a full no-trade clause to stay. The Marlins almost certainly would reject that request. And Johnson could head for the market, looking for another $7-million-a-year deal, if not more.
The odds that Tino Martinez will return to the Yankees go up with every home run he hits. But where would that leave Nick Johnson, a guy the Yankees adamantly refused to trade all summer?
"We like Nick," says GM Brian Cashman. "We like everything about Nick. He'd have arrived in the big leagues already, if this were any other major-league club. Whether he has to go back to Triple-A, or he's our first baseman, or our DH, depends on a variety of things. But we have no doubt he'll be a productive everyday player."
It hasn't begun to dawn on people yet that if they're staying in a hotel this October or have a limited cable system, there may be a bunch of Division Series playoff games they can't see on television.
Unlike in previous years, Fox has exclusive rights -- and will funnel all cable games to its Fox Family Channel, which is available in many homes but very few hotels nationwide.
If all four Division Series are alive on Sunday, Oct. 14, three of the four games would wind up on the Family Channel, because Fox has NFL commitments all afternoon. It's possible all four of those games could decide series.
On the other hand, without Fox's willingness to be flexible about moving the entire playoff schedule back a week, baseball might not have been so easily able to wait until Monday to resume play and still play a 162-game schedule.
True fact: Despite 25 years as a general manager, six first-place finishes and eight teams that made the playoffs, these Mariners are the first Pat Gillick team to win 100 games.
"Only other time I even came close was '85 in Toronto," Gillick said. "We went 99-62. We had one game we didn't play. And we lost the last game of the season."
This is how life has gone for the Tigers: one year before Bud Smith was drafted by the Cardinals, he was taken by Detroit in the ninth round in 1997. The Tigers offered him $125,000. But he turned it down, went back into the draft and was signed by the Cardinals for (yep) $125,000. The scout who signed him was Chuck Fick, whose brother is Tigers catcher Robert Fick.
Triviality
The current RBI leaders, Juan Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa, are both headed for the second RBI titles of their careers. Can you name the only active player who has led his league in RBI more than once? (Answer at bottom.)
Useless information dept.
This just in: Barry Bonds needs four homers in his last 12 games to get to 70. To find the last 12-game stretch in which he didn't hit at least four homers, you have to go all the way back to the two weeks after the All-Star break -- July 14 to 25 (when he hit just two).
If you don't know by now that Roger Clemens is the first pitcher ever to go 20-1 to start a season, you've been watching way too much "RPM Tonight." What you may not know is that Clemens is the fifth pitcher in modern history to go 20-1 in any stretch of any season.
The others, courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau's Randy Robles:
1912: Smokey Joe Wood (Red Sox)
1931: Lefty Grove (Philadelphia A's)
1961: Whitey Ford (Yankees)
1985: John Tudor (Cardinals)
Another first for Clemens: He's now the first pitcher in history to have 15-game winning streaks in two different seasons. (He also did it in 1998.) Clemens also started 14-0 in 1986, so he's the first to have three streaks of 14-plus, too.
The only other pitchers with more than one streak of 14 or more: Walter Johnson (16 in 1912, 14 in 1913), Lefty Grove (16 in 1931, 14 in 1928) and, before 1900, Jim McCormack (16 in 1886, 14 in 1884).
Since Clemens started his career in 1984, no other pitcher has won 15 straight games in the same season, but he's done it twice.
He also has as many streaks of 14 or more as all the other pitchers in that era combined. The only three other pitchers since '84 with 14-game streaks: Rick Sutcliffe in '84, Dwight Gooden in '85 and John Smoltz in '96.
Finally, if you count winning streaks over two seasons, Clemens is now the only pitcher ever with two 16-game winning streaks.
We can't wait to see what reasons the Hall of Fame voters come up with for why this guy isn't a unanimous pick.
Maybe it's some sort of cosmic tribute to The Babe, but has anyone noticed that all but one of the thirteen 60th and 61st home runs ever hit were launched during day games? In an age in which the overwhelming majority of games are played at night, what were the odds of that?
Here's the rundown:
1927 -- Ruth's 60th: day
1961 -- Maris' 60th: night, 61st: day
1998 -- McGwire's 60th and 61st: day
1998 -- Sosa's 60th-61st: day
1999 -- McGwire's 60th and 61st: day
1999 -- Sosa's 60th and 61st: day
2001 -- Bonds' 60th and 61st: day
Here's a fun development to watch: We've never had a wild-card team in one league that had a better record than any team in the other league. But the A's were 92-58 through Sunday -- 2 ½ games better than the Astros (89-60), owners of the best NL record. So should Oakland go on to win the World Series, trash those asterisks, please.
The closest any wild-card team has come to this feat: the 2000 Mets were 94-68, barely shy of the AL win leader White Sox (95-67). And the '99 Mets were 97-66 -- a game and a half behind the AL leaders, the Yankees (98-64).
The A's were 47-15 since the All-Star break, through Sunday. So they have a chance to become just the seventh team in the division-play era to go 30 games over .500 in the second half. Here's a look at how the other six fared in the postseason, courtesy of Elias' Ken Hirdt:
1977 New York Yankees (50-20, .714) -- won World Series
1980 Baltimore Orioles (58-26, .690) -- despite 100 wins, missed playoffs
1983 Chicago White Sox (59-26, .694) -- lost in ALCS
1993 Atlanta Braves (54-19, .740) -- lost in NLCS
1994 Cleveland Indians (54-23, .701) -- lost World Series
1999 Arizona Diamondbacks (52-21, .712) -- lost in NLDS
That looks like an ominous trend. But the A's might be a different case, because they had a worse first half (44-43) than any of those clubs. Only the '83 White Sox (40-37 at the break) were in danger of having a sub-.500 first half. So there's no exact precedent for Oakland's amazing season.
Meanwhile, what will the Mariners' great season mean when they get to the postseason? It sure doesn't guarantee them a parade. Loyal reader Lee Sinins, of baseballimmortals.net, reports that of the 82 previous teams that won 100 games or more, only 33 won the World Series.
But what about teams that won 110 or more? Well, only five teams have ever done that -- and three won the World Series. Here's the list. (Clip and save for October.)
Won the World Series
1998 Yankees 114-48
1909 Pirates 110-42
1927 Yankees 110-44
Didn't win the World Series
1906 Cubs 116-36 (lost WS in 6)
1954 Indians 111-43 (lost WS in 4)
The Boone brothers -- Bret and Aaron -- were up to 193 RBI between them through Sunday. If they get seven more in the final two weeks (and they'll all have to come from Bret, since Aaron is out for the year), they'll be the fifth brother duo ever to drive in 200 runs in the same year and just the second in the last half-century.
The others:
Lee and Carlos May -- 201 in 1973
Joe and Dom DiMaggio -- 242 in 1948
Joe and Vince DiMaggio -- three times (236 in 1937, 201 in 1938, 225 in 1941)
Bob and Irish Meusel -- five times (222 in 1921, 216 in 1922, 216 in 1923, 222 in 1924, 249 in 1925).
Shawn Green's remarkable season has been lost in all the Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez home run hoopla. But if Bonds weren't heading for Mark McGwire Country, Green's year would be regarded as one of the great left-handed power eruptions in National League history.
Before Bonds and Gonzalez came along, remember, only one left-handed slugger had ever had a 50-homer season in the NL -- and that was more than 50 years ago (51, by Johnny Mize, in 1947). And since the '50s, just three left-handed NL hitters had even made it to the 47-homer plateau Green resides at now -- Bonds, Larry Walker and Wilver D. Stargell.
Here are all the seasons of 47 or better in the NL by left-handed hitters:
2001 -- Bonds 66 (and counting)
2001 -- Gonzalez 53 (and counting)
1947 -- Mize 51
2000 -- Bonds 49
1997 -- Walker 49
1954 -- Ted Kluszewski 49
1971 -- Stargell 48
1955 -- Kluszewski 47
1953 -- Eddie Mathews 47
2001 -- Green 47 (and counting)
And while we're on this topic, Jim Thome is up to 48 homers -- a total reached by only two other left-handed hitters in the American League since Roger Maris. Those two are Ken Griffey Jr. (four times) and, of course, Brady Anderson (1996).
Adrian Beltre's game-winning hit for the Dodgers on Saturday came against a pitcher who started his career 10 months before Beltre was born -- Mike Morgan.
Beltre's birth date: April 7, 1979
Morgan's big-league debut: June 11, 1978
Mike Hampton has his batting average back up to .293, and two of his last three starts will be at Coors Field. So Hampton has a great shot to become only the third pitcher in the last half-century to hit .300 in two different seasons (of at least 50 at-bats). The other two, courtesy of Elias' Ken Hirdt:
Don Newcombe
1955: .359
1958: .361
1959: .305
Rick Rhoden
1976: .308
1984: .333
Brewers pitcher Jamey Wright just ended the weirdest 10-game hitting streak of the year. Until going plunkless Sept. 10, he'd managed to hit at least one batter in 10 games in a row. And because HBP records get a little fuzzy as we head back in time, all we know about this streak is this:
1) It's the longest HBP streak since at least 1970, according to Elias.
2) Among the pitchers who never hit 10 batters in their whole careers were Herb Score (five, in eight seasons), Dan Quisenberry (seven, in 12 seasons) and Todd Worrell (five, in nine seasons).
3) And it's the most spectacular streak by a Brewers pitcher since the legendary Jaime Cocanower threw wild pitches in eight straight games between June 19 and July 25, 1985 -- seven of those games in relief.
While we're on the subject of bizarre numbers, it's tough to top Damian Jackson's in San Diego. It isn't every year you find a guy with 119 strikeouts -- and four home runs. But Jackson has no shot at the fewest home runs by a 120-strikeout man, because that record is one, believe it or not. The distinguished record holders, according to Elias:
Gary Pettis, 1985 -- 125 K, 1 HR
Gary Pettis, 1987 -- 124 K, 1 HR
Pat Listach, 1992 -- 124 K, 1 HR
It's hard to believe the Astros once lost eight games in a row this year. They've now gone 92 straight games without losing more than two in a row.
The A's had to give up Jose Ortiz to get Jermaine Dye before the deadline. The Rockies aren't complaining. Home runs since that deal: Ortiz 13, Dye 12.
Mark McGwire isn't real happy with himself. But don't argue he hasn't contributed to the Cardinals' tremendous finish. They've won 10 straight games in which he's hit a home run.
Derek Lowe's start for the Red Sox, after closing for four months, wasn't unprecedented -- but it was close. ESPN research genius Jeff Bennett reports that the last pitcher to save 20 games in one season and then start a game was Mike Marshall, for the 1979 Twins.
If what happened to the Red Sox after Joe Morgan took over in 1988 (a 19-1 streak) was "Morgan Magic," what's the term for what's happened to them since poor Joe Kerrigan took over? Kerrigan's Kurse?
No manager of any team has taken over in midseason and had a nine-game losing streak within his first 18 games since Jim Snyder of the '88 Mariners. But Snyder was only an interim manager for a last-place team that finished 35½ games out of first.
And the Elias Sports Bureau reports that the 7-16 record by the Red Sox in their first 23 games under Kerrigan ties him with Hal McRae, of this year's Devil Rays, for the worst 23-game start by a midseason replacement manager since Dallas Green went 7-16 with the '93 Mets.
It's a good thing for Mets pitcher Steve Trachsel that the Phillies are in the league. Until he beat the Braves on Saturday, he had as many wins against the Phillies (four, in four starts) as he had against the other 14 National League teams combined (four, in 18 starts).
Had his season ended that way, according to Elias, he would have been the first starting pitcher to do that (while winning that many games against one team) since fabled Mets-killer Randy Tomlin, of the '91 Pirates (4-0 vs. Mets, 4-3 against the rest of the league).
Until this weekend, the Phillies were also the only team Tampa Bay's Bryan Rekar had beaten all year in 23 starts. Then he beat Toronto on Friday, saving him from joining Jack Nabors (1-20 for the 1916 A's) as the only pitchers in history to make that many starts in a season and win just once.
We doubt that even Nelson Doubleday would have guessed a month ago that the only NL East team to go 22-5 in any 27-game stretch this year would be the Mets. But there's a good reason for that: Their offense finally woke up.
Loyal reader Jerry Beach, Mets beat writer for e-sportsnation.com, reports that in that 21-5 blitz, the Mets scored five runs or more 18 times in 27 games (once every 1.5 games). In the 122 games before that streak, they'd scored five runs or more only 38 times (once every 3.2 games).
It will take some doing for this to happen. But the San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami recently noticed that Barry Bonds has at least a chance to pull off a very cool feat: He could be the first National League player ever to have more home runs in a season than his team has losses.
That race at the moment stands this way: Bonds 66 home runs, Giants 68 losses. So if Bonds gets to 70, the Giants would need to go 12-2 (and finish with 93 wins) to put this feat in the books, alongside three American Leaguers:
Babe Ruth (three times)
Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961 (when the Yankees lost 53)
Albert Belle in 1995 (when the Indians lost 44)
The left side of the Oakland infield -- Miguel Tejada and Eric Chavez -- got to 100 RBI apiece over the weekend. And you don't see that much. Lee Sinins, of baseballimmortals.net, reports that Chavez and Tejada are the first third baseman-shortstop teammates to drive in 100 each since Ken Keltner and Lou Boudreau did it for the 1948 Indians. The complete list:
1925 Pirates: Glenn Wright 121, Pie Traynor 106
1927 Pirates: Glenn Wright 105, Pie Traynor 106
1937 Red Sox: Joe Cronin 110, Mike Higgins 106
1948 Indians: Lou Boudreau 106, Ken Keltner 119
2001 A's: Miguel Tejada 100, Eric Chavez 101
If Randy Johnson wins one more game and Curt Schilling keeps his ERA below 3.00, they will become just the fifth set of teammates since 1900 with 20 wins, 200 strikeouts and sub-3.00 ERAs. The others, according to Elias:
1904 New York Highlanders -- Jack Chesbro, Jack Powell
1905 Philadelphia A's -- Eddie Plank, Rube Waddell
1965 Los Angeles Dodgers -- Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale
1966 San Francisco Giants -- Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry
But there seems to be no end to the history Johnson and Schilling can make. They're also about to become the ninth set of teammates in the last 50 years to finish 1-2 in their league in strikeouts. The others, courtesy of Lee Sinins:
1953 White Sox -- Billy Pierce 186, Virgil Trucks 149**
1960 Dodgers -- Don Drysdale 246, Sandy Koufax 197
1961 Dodgers -- Sandy Koufax 269, Stan Williams 205
1962 Dodgers -- Don Drysdale 232, Sandy Koufax 216
1976 Angels -- Nolan Ryan 327, Frank Tanana 261
1987 Astros -- Nolan Ryan 270, Mike Scott 233
1990 Rangers -- Nolan Ryan 232, Bobby Witt 221
1990 Mets -- David Cone 233, Dwight Gooden 223*
* tied for 2nd
** Trucks started the year with the Browns and was traded to the White Sox.
He had 42 strikeouts with the Browns and 102 with the White Sox.
But why stop there? Johnson and Schilling can also become the first set of teammates to win 20 games apiece and finish in the top five in ERA since Warren Spahn and Lew Burdette did it for the 1958 Braves.
And still more prospective Johnson-Schilling achievements, courtesy of the East Valley Tribune's Ed Price:
-- They could become the first teammates to finish 1-2 in the major leagues in ERA since 1981 (when Nolan Ryan and Bob Knepper did it for Houston).
-- If Johnson wins three more times and Schilling wins one more, they would be the first NL teammates to each win 22 games since Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax of the 1965 Dodgers.
-- And if they finish 1-2 in the Cy Young voting, they would be only the third set of teammates to do that. The others: Don Newcombe and Sal Maglie of the '56 Dodgers and Mike Marshall and Andy Messersmith of the '74 Dodgers.
You probably missed it. But just before all the minor-league playoffs were called off, Scranton and Buffalo played what is believed, by SportsTicker's Howe Sportsdata, to be the longest deciding game of any postseason series ever in either the major or minor leagues.
They went 19 innings on Sept. 9, in Game 5 of the International League semifinals. Scranton finally scored four runs in the 19th to win it, 6-2.
The Sultan's Corner
You have to give Arizona manager Bob Brenly credit for one thing: He wasn't afraid to pitch to Barry Bonds this year. Bonds hit nine home runs against the Diamondbacks this year.
That's not the most by a 60-homer man against one team. It's not even the most any team has allowed to Bonds this year. (The Rockies have served up 10.)
But it is the most in a rivalry between the top two teams in the standings since Babe Ruth hit nine against the second-place Athletics in 1927. (Although the A's finished 19 games behind the Yankees that year.)
Here are all the 60-homer guys, and the team they hit the most home runs against in the season they hit 60, courtesy of the Sultan of Swat Stats, SABR's David Vincent:
1927 -- Babe Ruth, 11 vs. Red Sox (who finished last, 59 games out)
1961 -- Roger Maris, 13 vs. White Sox (finished 4th, 23 games out)
1998 -- Mark McGwire, 7 vs. Marlins and Cubs (Cardinals finished 3rd, 6½ behind wild-card winners, the Cubs. Marlins finished last in NL East)
1999 -- McGwire, 8 vs. Padres (Cardinals finished 4th, Padres last)
1998 -- Sammy Sosa, 12 vs. Brewers (Cubs won wild card, Brewers finished fifth)
1999-- Sosa, 9 vs. Rockies (Cubs and Rockies both finished last).
But the Sultan reports that those Diamondbacks-Giants duels produced an even better oddity. Arizona allowed nine homers this year to both Bonds and Rich Aurilia -- the most by two teammates against one team in 40 years.
The complete list of teammates with nine homers or more against one team:
1961 -- Mickey Mantle (11), Roger Maris (9), Yankees vs. Senators
1956 -- Hank Bauer (10), Mantle (9), Yogi Berra (9), Yankees vs. A's
1956 -- Ed Bailey (9), Frank Robinson (9), Reds vs. Dodgers
1953 -- Gus Bell (11), Ted Kluszweski (9), Reds vs. Dodgers
1949 -- Ted Williams (12), Vern Stephens (9), Red Sox vs. White Sox
1929 -- Chuck Klein (9), Don Hurst (9), Phillies vs. Pirates
1927 -- Babe Ruth (11), Lou Gehrig (11), Yankees vs. Red Sox
1927 -- Babe Ruth (9), Lou Gehrig (10), Yankees vs. A's
Sammy Sosa is the first player to hit three homers in a game three times in one year. But he's the third player to be on the losing end of two different three-homer games in one year. The others:
Dave Kingman, 1979 -- May 17 (loss to Phillies) and July 28 (loss to Mets)
Johnny Mize, 1938 -- July 13 (loss to Braves) and July 20 (loss to Giants)
Aurilia has just become the eighth shortstop to have three consecutive seasons of 20-plus home runs. (Vern Stephens did it twice.) Five of the eight are active players. Three of the eight streaks are current streaks. The complete list:
Cal Ripken (1982-1991) 10
Ernie Banks (1955-1961) 7
Alex Rodriguez (1996-2001) 6
Nomar Garciaparra (1997-2000) 4
Woodie Held (1959-1961) 3
Vern Stephens (1943-1945) 3
Vern Stephens (1948-1950) 3
Rich Aurilia (1999-2001) 3
Miguel Tejada (1999-2001) 3
Trivia answer
Andres Galarraga (1996-97)
Jayson Stark is a Senior Writer for ESPN.com.
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