Musings on Jose Miranda's Hitting Streak
PLUS: TEN TOP MEN LEFT OUT OF COOPERSTOWN
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Say what? Max Fried, Chris Sale, Charlie Morton and López have combined for a 3.03 ERA this season and the Braves, entering Wednesday, had gone 47-31 in their starts. Nine other pitchers combined to make 34 starts for the Braves and have logged a 6.11 ERA. The Braves are 13-21 in those contests.
No wonder the Phillies lost six in a row: Bryce Harper suffered through the worst slump of his career, with one hit in 34 times at bat . . .
So what if he has a girl’s name? Angels rookie Ben Joyce got the final out against the Mets Saturday night with a fastball timed at 104.7 mph — the fastest thrown by anyone since tracking began in 2008. It was the third time this year he’s reached 104 mph . . .
Speed demon: Yosei Kikuchi retired 16 of the final 20 he faced, including striking out a franchise-record-tying eight consecutive batters, to lead the Astros to a victory over the Rays at Minute Maid Park in his Houston debut . . .
Paul who? Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach is the only rookie pitcher of the modern era to strike out 8+ batters without a walk in 3 consecutive starts. He's also the only rookie in the modern era with 25+ strikeouts and no walks over a 3-start span . . .
Poor return on investment: Except for a solitary RBI single, neither Jorge Soler nor Cool-Hand Luke Jackson has been the least bit impressive since donning Braves uniforms again after the trade deadline.
Leading Off
Jose Miranda did not match Kling and Dropo
By Andrew Sharp
When Twins’ third-baseman Jose Miranda reached 12 hits in 12 at-bats on July 6, he was widely credited with becoming the fourth player to do so. Indeed, he joined Pinky Higgins of the Red Sox, who in 1938 similarly had 12 hits in 12 at-bats, one of the four players mentioned in every news story.
Neither Miranda nor Higgins, however, got their 12 hits in consecutive plate appearances. Miranda was hit by a pitch after his first 10 straight hits. Because he walked twice, it took Higgins 14 plate appearances.
In fact, just two players -- 50 years apart -- have had base-hits in 12 consecutive times up: Johnny Kling of Chicago in the National League in 1902 and Walt Dropo of the Detroit Tigers in the American League in 1952.
A technicality, you say? Then consider that Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game streak would have ended sooner if he had walked but didn’t get a hit in any of those games.
Until 2009, Dropo's consecutive hit record was thought to stand alone. That year, Trent McCotter of Retrosheet uncovered Kling's mark as part of the group's on-going effort to determine as accurately as possible the play-by-play accounts of every major- league game.
What Miranda achieved still is amazing. Just two players since the expansion era began in 1961 have had 11 hits in 11 official at-bats: Bernie Williams of the Yankees in 2002 and Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox in 2016, although both of those players reached base with walks during their hit streaks. No player in the expansion era, including Miranda, has had 11 hits in 11 straight plate appearances.
Miranda’s streak, which included a team-record 13 consecutive times on base, began with an eighth-inning single on July 3. On July 4, he was 5-for-5 with three doubles and three RBIs against the Tigers. On July 5 against the Astros, he was 4-for-4 with a double, a homer and two RBIs. He was hit by a pitch in the first inning on July 6 before singling in his next two at-bats.
The streak ended in the sixth inning when Miranda flied out. The crowd at Target Field gave him an ovation. All four games in the streak were at home.
Miranda, a 26-year-old Puerto Rican, is in the midst of a breakout season, a year after having been demoted to the minors. At the time of his hit streak, he needed a handful of appearances to be second in the league in batting average. He’s well on his way to topping the 15 homers and 66 RBIs from his 2022 rookie season.
Weirdly, no account of Miranda’s achievement that I could find noted the distinction between what he and Higgins did and what Kling and Dropo did.
Dropo, a first baseman and 1950 rookie of the year with the Red Sox, had the last seven of his 12 straight hits during a double-header against the Senators on July 15, 1952. After going 5-for-5 at Yankee Stadium on July 14, Dropo went 4-for-4 in the first game in Washington on July 15. His first nine hits in a row were singles. Then he tripled, singled and doubled in the second game. The fifth-inning double was his 12th hit in 12 times up.
Kling, the top N.L. defensive catcher in the first decade of the 20th Century, played in Chicago before the team was known as the Cubs. His 12 consecutive hits came in three games, August 24-26, 1902.
After being retired in his first at-bat in the second game of an August 24 double-header in Chicago, he had four hits, including a double and a triple in a win over Brooklyn.
On August 25, he was 5-for-5 with a double in a loss to Boston. On August 26 in Pittsburgh, he had hits in his first three times up with two doubles before being retired in his last plate appearance.
When will a player get 13 hits a row, even interrupted by a walk or being hit by a pitch? Perhaps it will be another 72 years, if ever.
Andrew C. Sharp is a retired daily newspaper journalist and a SABR member who lives in New Jersey and blogs about D.C. baseball at washingtonbaseballhistory.com
Cleaning Up
Top 10 Who Should Be In Hall of Fame But Aren’t
By Dan Schlossberg
Voters view the Hall of Fame election process from many different angles.
Some use analytics, specifically WAR (Wins Against Replacement), before casting their ballots. Others bank on statistical comparisons. And still others count on the good old Eye Test, going by what they saw over years of watching the game.
I am one of those guys, an Old School writer who’s been covering the game professionally since 1966, the year the Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta.
That being said, these are the 10 men most overlooked for Cooperstown, with the steroids and gambling groups deliberately excluded:
1. Dale Murphy – A catcher who became a gifted centerfielder, he won five Gold Gloves, seven trips to the All-Star Game, and back-to-back MVP awards – joining Roger Maris as the only consecutive winners not named Barry Bonds and not in Cooperstown. The soft-spoken icon led the majors in total bases in the ‘80s, finishing second in both home runs and runs batted in during that decade. Bad knees curtailed his career and crushed his career batting average to .265 but several incumbents finished below that mark. Had he hit two more homers to reach 400, Murphy would be a proud Hall of Famer today.
2. Charlie Finley – An absentee owner who teamed with cousin Carl Finley to run an innovative but bare-bones front office, he was a visionary in the tradition of Lee MacPhail and Bill Veeck, other outspoken owners already enshrined. Before the advent of free agency destroyed his team, it was arguably baseball’s best, winning three straight World Series sandwiched by a pair of divisional titles. Finley, alone among owners, foresaw the dangers of free agency and arbitration, fought Bowie Kuhn, and introduced the ideas of colored uniforms, night World Series games, and the designated runner – as well as the designated hitter. Like Murphy, he’d need 75 per cent of the vote from one of the new veterans committees.
3. Gary Sheffield – Fresh off the ballot after he failed to draw 75 per cent of the vote from the baseball writers, he’s a virtual lock to win election from the veterans. Although he bounced around the majors like a human yoyo, he hit 509 home runs with a .292 batting average and .902 OPS (on-base plus slugging). The nine-time All-Star won a batting title and World Series ring, as well as a reputation as the man pitchers most hated to face. Sheffield not only hit the ball hard but always made contact, never fanning more than 83 times. He also had more walks than strikeouts by a wide margin.
4. Steve Garvey – Nicknamed “the Senator” because he always seemed to be campaigning for something, he’s actually running for a U.S. Senate seat (in a California race against Adam Schiff) at age 75. He has a much better shot at Cooperstown after crafting a career that included league, All-Star, and post-season MVP trophies, four Gold Gloves, a World Series ring, and ten All-Star invitations. The durable first baseman also held the National League record for most consecutive games played.
5. Tommy John – Another player best known for his work with the Dodgers, this lefty has more wins (288) than anyone not suspected of steroids but also not enshrined in Cooperstown. A four-time All-Star whose career extended for 26 seasons, he fell short of 300 wins because of time missed with the original elbow reconstruction surgery that bears his name. He maintains to this day that he’d rather have that time back – and those 12 wins – than have a surgery named after him. He also insists that a dozen more on his record would have taken him to Cooperstown years ago.
6. Luis Tiant – A big-game pitcher remembered for his back-to-the-plate windup, El Tiante had four 20-win seasons and won a pair of ERA titles. He had a 1.60 ERA in 1968, helping him finish with a compact career mark of 3.30 over 19 seasons. Pitching for the Boston Red Sox, the Cuban righthander beat the Cincinnati Reds twice in the 1975 World Series. He won three of his four post-season starts. Tiant had 229 victories – far behind Tommy John but ahead of such Hall of Famers as Don Drysdale and Roy Halladay.
7. Dave Parker – A lethal and large left-handed hitter called The Cobra by rivals, Parker hit .290 with 339 home runs plus three more in the post-season. He showed off a powerful throwing arm while playing right field, primarily for the Pirates and Reds. Alleged involvement in the Pittsburgh drug scandal probably has hurt him with both the voting writers and veterans.
8. Keith Hernandez – Arguably the best defensive first baseman in the history of the game, Hernandez once shared National League MVP honors with Parker. The .296 career hitter also won 11 Gold Gloves, two World Series rings, and a batting title. A long-time broadcaster for the Mets, Hernandez kept his name alive for Hall of Fame voters by starring in several Seinfeld episodes. Known more for his clutch hitting than his power, Hernandez hit 162 career homers – a low total when compared with other first basemen.
9. Lou Whitaker – Unlike Hernandez, who did not produce enough power for his position, Sweet Lou produced more. The long-time second baseman of the Detroit Tigers hit 244 home runs in 19 seasons, spent entirely in the Motor City. He and Hall of Fame shortstop Alan Trammell were together longer than any double-play combination. Whitaker won Rookie of the Year honors in 1978 and went to five All-Star games while winning three Gold Gloves and a World Series ring. He was better offensively than Trammell but race could have delayed his Cooperstown candidacy.
10. Lou Piniella – A star outfielder who later became a successful manager and general manager, he twice missed election by a single vote, generating 11 of the 12 needed from the Eras Committee considering non-playing candidates. A three-time Manager of the Year, he won a pennant and World Series title with the 1990 Cincinnati Reds, then won three division crowns but no pennants with the Seattle Mariners. A fiery temper led to lots of ejections and possible recriminations from Hall of Fame voters.
Honorable Mention: Lew Burdette, Darrell Evans, Dwight Evans, Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Roger Maris, Leo Mazzone, Joe Niekro, Johnny Sain, Rusty Staub, Joe West.
Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is promoting his 40th book, Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron. To book a talk live or on Zoom, email ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: Return Of The “Black Sox”
Take away their two historic losing streaks (a combined 35 losses) and the 2024 Chicago White Sox would still have the worst winning percentage in baseball . . .
It’s hard to believe the Sox actually reached the American League Division Series just three years ago . . .
The first team to lose 20 games in a row since the 1988 Orioles, the Chisox fell to 60 games under .500 by the first week of August . . .
Amazingly, Pedro Grifol hasn’t been fired as manager, though the ice must be getting pretty thin in broiling-hot Chicago . . .
When he was hired three years ago, the runner-up was Ozzie Guillen, who led the 2005 White Sox to a world championship . . .
Guillen is an outspoken personality whose political views cost him jobs in both Chicago and Miami but might be the kind of motivator this moribund club needs.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.