Meet the history makers

If you're a major league history buff, a la Tim Kurkjian or some other members of the "Baseball Tonight" crew, Sunday was one of those golden baseball days. Sure, the NFL season got back in full swing, but there were memorable moments throughout the majors.

The day started with Curtis Granderson joining one of the most elite clubs in baseball history. Though the Tigers lost to the Mariners, Granderson became only the third player with 20 homers, 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 stolen bases in a season.

Continuing along later in the afternoon, Pedro Martinez won his second straight start for the Mets. He now has the best winning percentage in history among pitchers with 300 career decisions.

Not long thereafter, Todd Helton achieved a milestone that has been somewhat overlooked in this season of glory. He became the first player to hit at least 35 doubles in 10 straight seasons, and his team got a much-needed win.

Individual accomplishments figure to be in the spotlight this week, and we haven't even mentioned the biggest of the bunch. With home runs in three straight games, Jim Thome is now two away from becoming the sixth active player with 500. And with home runs in five straight games, perhaps Alex Rodriguez will make his own historic chase toward the major league record of eight straight, a mark Yankees hitting coach Don Mattingly owns a share of.

20-DOUBLE, 20-TRIPLE, 20-HOMER, 20-STEAL CLUB
Player	Team
Curtis Granderson	2007 Tigers
Willie Mays	1957 Giants
Frank "Wildfire" Schulte	1911 Cubs

BEST WIN PERCENTAGE (MINIMUM 300 DECISIONS)*
Pedro Martinez	.693 (208-92)
Whitey Ford	.690 (236-106)
Lefty Grove	.680 (300-141)
Christy Mathewson	.665 (373-188)
Roger Clemens	.658 (354-184)
*Since 1900

MOST 35-DOUBLE SEASONS IN HISTORY
Tris Speaker	14
Pete Rose	12
Stan Musial	11
Todd Helton*	10
Craig Biggio	10
*Only player with 10 straight seasons of 35 or more doubles

• Orioles OF Jay Gibbons received performance-enhancing steroids and human growth hormone after both substances were banned by baseball, SI.com reported. Gibbons is the latest athlete to be linked to the Florida pharmacy under investigation for illegally distributing prescription medications. MLB asked Friday to meet with St. Louis' Rick Ankiel and Toronto's Troy Glaus after two reports said they received performance-enhancing drugs from Signature Pharmacy several years ago.

• Jeremy Bonderman's season might be over. The Tigers will probably shut down the right-hander because of a nagging elbow injury that is not getting better. "This guy is a trooper and wanted to go out there for us," manager Jim Leyland said after a 14-7 loss to the Mariners. "But he's not right." Bonderman (11-9) gave up six runs and seven hits in 1 1/3 innings in what might end up being his final outing of the season. Bonderman was 10-1 after beating Seattle on July 13, but he is 1-8 since and has given up at least six earned runs in five of his past nine starts.

• Pirates OF Jason Bay (right knee) will have an MRI exam on Monday. Bay did not play in the Pirates' 10-5 win over the Cubs after leaving Saturday night's game in the fourth inning. Bay, who had minor left knee surgery during the offseason, has been dealing with soreness on and off for the entire season, according to MLB.com. "It's the worst that it's been," he told the Web site.

• The Orioles placed AL strikeouts leader Erik Bedard on the 60-day DL, opting to end his season rather than wait for him to rebound from a strained muscle near his right rib cage. Bedard finishes 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and a club-record 221 K's. He has not pitched since Aug. 26, when his career-record nine-game winning streak was snapped. Bedard was on course to become the first Oriole to win the AL strikeout crown since Bob Turley in 1954, and had an outside shot at winning the Cy Young Award. Now he's probably out of the running for both.

• Frank Coonelly, MLB's chief labor counsel, has emerged as the top candidate to become the Pirates' president. Coonelly, who coordinates the arbitration process, would oversee the Bucs' day-to-day operations -- the job held by Kevin McClatchy since 1996. McClatchy, once the Pirates' primary owner, announced in July he would resign as CEO at season's end.