List of rare baseball events
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The following is a list of rare baseball events. The following criteria are used for inclusion:
- Only Major League Baseball events (1876-present for the National League and 1900-present for the American League) are listed.
- Only events occurring within a single plate appearance, inning, or game are included; cumulative or aggregate records achieved over more than one game are not listed.
- Events occurring during post-season play are included, but events occurring during an All-Star Game are not included.
Contents |
[edit] Individual batting/hitting
[edit] Collective batting/hitting
| Event | # of occurrences | References |
| Two inside the park grand slams by two teammates in a game | 1d | Baseball Almanac |
| 2 pinch-hit grand slams (by batters on different teams) in a game | 1e | Baseball Almanac |
| 10 home runs by the same team in a game | 1l | Baseball Almanac |
| 5 sacrifice flies by the same team in a game | 2m | CBS Sportsline |
| 9 or more home runs by the same team in a game | 2 | Baseball Almanac |
| 3 grand slams by both teams in a game | 2 | Baseball Almanac |
| 3 sacrifice flies by the same team in a single inning[4] | 3 | Baseball Almanac |
[edit] Individual pitching
| Event | # of occurrences | References |
| Perfect game bid lost on the 37th batter As unusual as this number may seem, the bid for the perfect game on May 26, 1959 was |
1p | Wikipedia article |
| 4 consecutive home runs surrendered in a single inning | 1q | Baseball Almanac |
| 7 home runs surrendered in a game | 1r | Baseball Almanac |
| 21 strikeouts in a game | 1s | Baseball Almanac |
| 10 consecutive strikeouts in a game | 1t | Baseball Almanac |
| 20 or more consecutive scoreless innings pitched in a game | 2 | Baseball Almanac |
| First 27 batters retired without a perfect game[5] | 2 | Wikipedia article |
| Intentional base on balls with the bases loaded[6] | 4 | Baseball Almanac |
| Base on balls given to the first 4 batters | 4 | Baseball Almanac |
| 6 or more home runs surrendered in a game | 4 | Baseball Almanac |
| 20 strikeouts pitching 9 innings or less in a game | 4 | Baseball Almanac, Wikipedia article |
| Home run surrendered on first pitch in the major leagues | 5 | Baseball Almanac |
| 8 or more consecutive strikeouts in a game | 6[7] | Baseball Almanac |
| Perfect game bid lost on the 27th batter | 9 | Wikipedia article |
| 4 consecutive strikeouts in a single inning[8] | 16[9] | Baseball Almanac |
| Perfect game | 17[10] | Wikipedia article |
| 9 pitches — 9 strikes — side retired | 39 | Baseball Almanac |
| 4 strikeouts in a single inning[8] | 47 | Baseball Almanac |
[edit] Fielding
| Event | # of Occurrences | References |
| Two triple plays by the same team in a game | 1k | Wikipedia article |
| Shortstop goes entire doubleheader without touching a ball in play | 1u | Wikipedia article, MLB.com |
| Unassisted triple play | 12[11] | Baseball Almanac, Wikipedia article |
[edit] Baserunning
| Event | # of occurrences | References |
| Two triple steals by the same team in a game | 1n | Baseball Almanac |
| A single baserunner caught stealing 4 times in a game | 1o | Baseball Almanac |
| 8 stolen bases by a team in a single inning | 2 | Baseball Almanac |
| Home stolen 3 times by the same team in a game | 5 | Baseball Almanac |
| A single baserunner caught stealing twice in a single inning | 10 | Baseball Almanac |
| Home stolen twice by a single baserunner in a game | 11 | Baseball Almanac |
| Stealing second, third, and home in a single plate appearance | 48[12] | Baseball Almanac |
[edit] Unique events
Letters identify the individuals or teams that accomplished the feat.
- a. Fernando Tatis, St. Louis Cardinals, 3rd inning, April 23, 1999
- b. Bill Mueller, Boston Red Sox, July 29, 2003
- c. Tom McCreery, Louisville Colonels, July 12, 1897
- d. Jimmy Sheckard and Joe Kelley, Brooklyn Superbas, September 23, 1901
- e. Pat Crawford (New York Giants) and Les Bell (Boston Braves), May 26, 1929
- f. Tony Lazzeri, New York Yankees, June 3, 1932
- g. Johnny Burnett, Cleveland Indians, July 10, 1932
- h. Bill Joyce, New York Giants, May 18, 1897
- i. Andre Dawson, Chicago Cubs, May 22, 1990
- j. Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants, May 1, 2004
- k. Minnesota Twins, July 17, 1990
- l. Toronto Blue Jays, September 14, 1987
- m. Seattle Mariners, August 7, 1988; Colorado Rockies, June 7, 2006
- n. Philadelphia Athletics, July 25, 1930
- o. Robby Thompson, San Francisco Giants, June 27, 1986
- p. Harvey Haddix, Pittsburgh Pirates, May 26, 1959
- q Paul Foytack, Los Angeles Angels, July 31, 1963
- r. Charlie Sweeney, St. Louis Maroons, June 12, 1886
- s. Tom Cheney, Washington Senators, September 12, 1962
- t. Tom Seaver, New York Mets, April 22, 1970
- u. Toby Harrah, Texas Rangers, June 25, 1976
[edit] See also
List of obscure baseball records
[edit] Notes
- ^ This unique feat has been overshadowed by the fact that during the very same game, Lou Gehrig became the first player in the American League to ever hit 4 home runs in a single game.
- ^ As of 2002. This event was much more common before the modern era (i.e. the turn of the 20th century); there have been only 40 inside-the-park grand slams since 1950.)
- ^ As of September 16, 2006.
- ^ This may seem impossible. However, a sacrifice fly can be awarded without an out being recorded, if the fielder in question commits an error.
- ^ This may seem impossible. However, by definition a perfect game requires more than simply retiring the first 27 batters in order; it also requires that the pitcher's team's wins, and that the pitcher complete the entire game. See perfect game for more details.
- ^ These four events may be the only times in the history of baseball when a team has deliberately and with premeditation allowed a run to score by the opposing team for strategic purposes. It is true that there are cases where a particular choice of defensive alignment may make scoring more likely, and there are cases where decisions made in the moment of play allow a run to score in exchange for other strategic purposes, but intentionally walking in a run is clearly in a different class of strategic maneuver. This may also have occurred if a pitcher was instructed to deliberately hit a batter with the bases loaded, but in this case, intention is not provable.
- ^ The Baseball Almanac reports the most consecutive strikeouts as 8 in the American League, achieved by 5 pitchers, and as 10 in the National League. This does not exclude the possibility other National League pitchers achieved 8 or 9 strikeouts.
- ^ a b This may seem impossible. However, a strikeout can be recorded on a batter who reaches first base safely under a dropped third strike. If strike three is recorded on the batter but the catcher does not catch the ball to complete the putout (likely due to a wild pitch or passed ball, and first base is unoccupied, the batter may advance to first. The pitcher is credited with a strikeout, but no out is recorded.
- ^ The Baseball Almanac states that 16 pitchers have accomplished this feat. Of these, all but Chuck Finley have only once struck out 4 batters in a single inning (consecutively or otherwise). Finley however did it 3 times, but the Baseball Almanac does not state how many of those were consecutive strikeouts (ie, whether it was once, twice, or all 3 times).
- ^ Some sources do not include the two perfect games thrown in the 19th century, due to differences in the rules of play, and thus list only fifteen perfect games.
- ^ There is some debate about whether a 13th unassisted triple play occurred in 1878. Under modern rules, the play was simply a double play, but at the time, it was considered a triple play. See unassisted triple play for more details.
- ^ The Baseball Almanac states that this event has occurred 46 times, but it lists 48 occurrences. Presumably, the total of 46 was taken before 1996 and this number has not been updated since.
