12/4: Deacon White, a 2013 member of the Baseball Hall of Fame (selected by the Pre-Integration Committee that examined candidates from 1869-1947), played catcher without the use of a mask or glove
12/5: O-Swing% gauges the percentage of pitches a batter swings at outside of the strike zone. The top pitcher at having batters chase balls was soft tossing lefty, Bruce Chen at 35.2% (.2% higher than Justin Verlander).
12/6: Sammy Sosa hit sixty or more home runs on three separate occasions. However, during those years, he never once lead the league (McGwire hit more in 1998, 1999 and Bonds hit more in 2001)
12/7: Lou Gehrig was the first player to have his number retired
12/9: During 2012, reliever Koji Uehara walked only three batters. On April 21 alone, Alfredo Aceves walked four batters without retiring a single hitter.
12/10: In 1930, Lefty Grove lead the Majors in wins (28) and saves (9)
12/11: Larry Hesterfer is the only MLBer to hit into a triple play in his first major league at bat
12/12: In 1987, Nolan Ryan led the NL in ERA (2.76), but had an 8-16 record with the second most losses in baseball
12/13: In 2012, the San Francisco Giants only hit 103 home runs, which ranked last in Major League Baseball. The Giants then went on to win the World Series
12/14: Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader, began his career by going 0-11 in the Majors
12/17: Germany Schaefer is the only player in major league history to steal the same base twice in one inning without reaching base a second time. In 1920, it was legal to steal bases in reverse order (i.e. steal first base from second). During the September 4th, 1908, game between the Tigers and Cleveland Indians, Schaefer was on first and a teammate was on third. The Tigers wanted to do a double steal -- Schaefer would break for second, and, when the Indians tried to throw him out, his teammate would steal home. But when Schaefer broke for second, the Indians' catcher didn't make the throw, so Schaefer stole the base without the run scoring. That wasn't the plan, so, on the next pitch, he broke back for first... and successfully stole it without a throw. Then, on the following pitch, he broke for second AGAIN, to try to make the double steal work... but again, the Indians didn't throw
12/18: Eddie Matthews is the only Brave to play for the club when it was in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta
12/19: Ryne Sandberg’s final game at Wrigley Field was also Harry Caray’s final performance of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at Wrigley
12/20: Right-handed pitcher Don Sutton has the most plate appearances without hitting a home run with 1,559
12/21: Sam Crawford (1899-1917) holds the record for most career inside-the-park home runs with 51
12/24: Pud Galvin (played from 1875-1892) was the first player to use performance-enhancing drugs. In 1889, he openly used an elixir containing monkey testorone. Ironically enough, Galvin was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965
12/25: Lou Gehrig was the first athlete to appear on the Wheaties box
12/26: Rick Wise is the only player to hit two home runs while throwing a no-hitter; truly one of the all-time great single game performances
12/27: Tim Salmon has hit the most home runs without ever making an All-Star team (299 home runs)
12/28: Sam Crawford (1899-1917) holds the record for most career inside-the-park home runs with 51
12/31: In 1999, Rafael Palmeiro won the Gold Glove despite only playing 28 games at first base
12/5: O-Swing% gauges the percentage of pitches a batter swings at outside of the strike zone. The top pitcher at having batters chase balls was soft tossing lefty, Bruce Chen at 35.2% (.2% higher than Justin Verlander).
12/6: Sammy Sosa hit sixty or more home runs on three separate occasions. However, during those years, he never once lead the league (McGwire hit more in 1998, 1999 and Bonds hit more in 2001)
12/7: Lou Gehrig was the first player to have his number retired
12/9: During 2012, reliever Koji Uehara walked only three batters. On April 21 alone, Alfredo Aceves walked four batters without retiring a single hitter.
12/10: In 1930, Lefty Grove lead the Majors in wins (28) and saves (9)
12/11: Larry Hesterfer is the only MLBer to hit into a triple play in his first major league at bat
12/12: In 1987, Nolan Ryan led the NL in ERA (2.76), but had an 8-16 record with the second most losses in baseball
12/13: In 2012, the San Francisco Giants only hit 103 home runs, which ranked last in Major League Baseball. The Giants then went on to win the World Series
12/14: Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader, began his career by going 0-11 in the Majors
12/17: Germany Schaefer is the only player in major league history to steal the same base twice in one inning without reaching base a second time. In 1920, it was legal to steal bases in reverse order (i.e. steal first base from second). During the September 4th, 1908, game between the Tigers and Cleveland Indians, Schaefer was on first and a teammate was on third. The Tigers wanted to do a double steal -- Schaefer would break for second, and, when the Indians tried to throw him out, his teammate would steal home. But when Schaefer broke for second, the Indians' catcher didn't make the throw, so Schaefer stole the base without the run scoring. That wasn't the plan, so, on the next pitch, he broke back for first... and successfully stole it without a throw. Then, on the following pitch, he broke for second AGAIN, to try to make the double steal work... but again, the Indians didn't throw
12/18: Eddie Matthews is the only Brave to play for the club when it was in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta
12/19: Ryne Sandberg’s final game at Wrigley Field was also Harry Caray’s final performance of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at Wrigley
12/20: Right-handed pitcher Don Sutton has the most plate appearances without hitting a home run with 1,559
12/21: Sam Crawford (1899-1917) holds the record for most career inside-the-park home runs with 51
12/24: Pud Galvin (played from 1875-1892) was the first player to use performance-enhancing drugs. In 1889, he openly used an elixir containing monkey testorone. Ironically enough, Galvin was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965
12/25: Lou Gehrig was the first athlete to appear on the Wheaties box
12/26: Rick Wise is the only player to hit two home runs while throwing a no-hitter; truly one of the all-time great single game performances
12/27: Tim Salmon has hit the most home runs without ever making an All-Star team (299 home runs)
12/28: Sam Crawford (1899-1917) holds the record for most career inside-the-park home runs with 51
12/31: In 1999, Rafael Palmeiro won the Gold Glove despite only playing 28 games at first base
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