# Each franchise's Ohtani? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [July 1, 2023, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402 "2023-07-01T14:11:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/1 "2023-07-01T14:11:17Z")
The Angels now have the best Pitcher/Batter combination in Shohei Ohtani, and the Red Sox are IMO second-best with Ruth, but every franchise has had, I think, some player who turned in their best combo of the two roles. Can we nominate one player for each franchise who best filled both roles? To qualify, he must have been successful in BOTH roles–that is, a batter who threw a few innings or a pitcher who did some okay hitting wouldn’t qualify, unless (and this is probably true for some franchises that got started in the past five decades) they simply don’t have any legitimate Pitcher/Batter combos, in which case I guess we’d have to go with a good-hitting pitcher or a batter who threw some effective innings. But I’m looking for the one best from each franchise–if you want to mention several candidates, fine, but select one. Franchises extend backwards through time–so the Orioles include the St. Louis Browns, etc. In fact, I’ll start the game there, with the Orioles/Browns, and pick George Sisler. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/2 "2023-07-01T16:11:29Z")
SF Giants used Madison Bumgarner as a pinch hitter on occasion, so he would be there nominee. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/3 "2023-07-01T16:19:06Z")
For the Yankees, if we don’t include Babe Ruth (who only pitched 31 innings in pinstripes), it’d probably be [Red Ruffing](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruffire01.shtml). Ruffing won 231 games for the Yankees in the 1930s and early '40s, and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting three times. He was considered to be among the best hitting pitchers of his era, hitting .270 as a Yankee, and was regularly used as a pinch-hitter. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/4 "2023-07-01T16:24:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > For the Yankees, How about [Johnny Lindell?](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lindejo01.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/5 "2023-07-01T16:24:22Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > To qualify, he must have been successful in BOTH roles–that is, a batter who threw a few innings or a pitcher who did some okay hitting wouldn’t qualify, unless (and this is probably true for some franchises that got started in the past five decades) they simply don’t have any legitimate Pitcher/Batter combos, in which case I guess we’d have to go with a good-hitting pitcher or a batter who threw some effective innings. Indeed, for a lot of franchises, there simply isn’t going to be a guy like this, mostly any AL team which primarily, or exclusively, played after the implementation of the DH in the AL in 1973. That last thought in the above, “a batter who through some effective innings” is probably going to be even rarer, as position players who come into pitch pretty much only do so in a blowout – they aren’t really expected to be “effective;” they’re just there there to get the game over with and not further stress the team’s actual pitching staff. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/6 "2023-07-01T16:26:31Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > mostly any AL team which primarily, or exclusively, played after the implementation of the DH in the AL in 1973 Yeah, this is tougher–I’m sure the post-1973 expansion teams will have to pick from position players in blowouts, or maybe those pitchers who batted in games vs. NL teams before the universal DH. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/7 "2023-07-01T16:28:53Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > How about [Johnny Lindell?](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lindejo01.shtml) I wasn’t aware of him; it looks like he was an OK relief pitcher later in his career, when he learned a knuckleball, but he wasn’t nearly as good a pitcher as Ruffing, and he was OK, but not great, as a batter – and his two best years as a batter were 1943 and 1944, when baseball’s talent pool was thin due to the war. Ruffing was a star pitcher, who also batted pretty well; Lindell was a fairly good batter, who also pitched a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/8 "2023-07-01T21:33:22Z")
The Senators’ Walter Johnson hit a respectable .235 for his career. And, oh yeah, there’s the 417 career wins, for a usually lousy team. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/9 "2023-07-01T21:36:44Z")
Mike Hampton is a five-time Silver Slugger winner. He hit seven home runs with the Rockies in 2001 Over 16 seasons, he had a .294 batting average and a .650 OPS. He won five consecutive Silver Sluggers awards. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/10 "2023-07-01T21:40:16Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Over 16 seasons, he had a .294 batting average and a .650 OPS. His on-base percentage was .294; his batting average was .246. Even so, by modern pitchers-who-bat standards, .246 is Tony Gwynn levels. 😉 > **[Mike Hampton Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |...](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hamptmi01.shtml)** > > Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Mike Hampton. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/11 "2023-07-01T22:18:19Z")
I read a biography of George Sisler this winter. I’ll say he qualifies for the St Louis Browns, now the Baltimore Orioles. > **[George Sisler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Sisler?wprov=sfti1)** > > As manager > George Harold Sisler (March 24, 1893 – March 26, 1973), nicknamed "Gorgeous George", was an American professional baseball first baseman and player-manager. From 1915 through 1930, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, and Boston Braves. He managed the Browns from 1924 through 1926. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/12 "2023-07-01T22:22:05Z")
Schoolboy Rowe was a solid pitcher for the Tigers way back in the day, and put up solid batting numbers as well, with the Tigers, Phillies and in the Navy. > **[Schoolboy Rowe](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolboy_Rowe)** > > Lynwood Thomas "Schoolboy" Rowe (January 11, 1910 – January 8, 1961) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Detroit Tigers (1932–42) and Philadelphia Phillies (1943, 1946–49). He was a three-time All-Star (1935, 1936 & 1947), and a member of three Tigers' World Series teams (1934, 1935 & 1940). > Born in Waco, Texas, and brought up in El Dorado, Arkansas, the 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Rowe was an all-around athlete, competing in tennis, golf, and football, as w... ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/13 "2023-07-01T22:30:50Z")
Max Scherzer was, of course, a phenomenal pitcher for the Nationals, and I remember him being a decent batter (as pitchers go). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/14 "2023-07-01T22:42:40Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Max Scherzer was, of course, a phenomenal pitcher for the Nationals, and I remember him being a decent batter (as pitchers go) That last bit is the key, I suppose. [Scherzer](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/scherma01.shtml) has a .168 career average, and other modern pitchers who have been known as “good hitters, as pitchers go,” such as Greg Maddux (.171), Tom Glavine (.186), and Zach Greinke (.225) have struggled to get to, or much over, the Mendoza Line. I suspect that, due to the DH becoming more pervasive in lower levels of baseball over the decades, promising young pitchers likely had less and less opportunity to work on hitting, and those who came up to the NL had far less practice at hitting, compared to guys prior to the '70s. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/15 "2023-07-02T01:32:20Z")
Facing a lefty, Hampton (who batted righty) was usually more dangerous than at least one batter in his own lineup: per 162 games vs. lefties, he hit 15 HRs, drove in 70 runs, and batted .254. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/16 "2023-07-02T01:44:05Z")
As a kid, I remember that Don Drysdale was considered both one of the Dodger’s best pitchers (he won a Cy Young) and one of the best hitters (for a pitcher). I don’t know what his career batting average was, but his Wiki page has this: > In 1965, he was the Dodgers’ only .300 hitter and tied his own National League record for pitchers with seven home runs. That year, he also won 23 games and helped the Dodgers to their third World Series title in Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/17 "2023-07-02T01:54:32Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > I don’t know what his career batting average was, but his Wiki page has this: Drysdale had a career .186 average (again, putting him in the “good for a pitcher” range); he had that one season where he hit exactly .300, but otherwise, only hit over .200 in one other season. > **[Don Drysdale Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |...](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/drysddo01.shtml#all_batting_standard)** > > Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Don Drysdale. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/18 "2023-07-02T02:38:51Z")
If the Red Sox don’t want to claim him, the Royals will. Ken Brett made history by becoming the youngest pitcher to ever appear in a World Series when he debuted for the Sox. He was a good-definitely-not-great pitcher for about 10 years, playing mostly for American League teams in the post-DH world. But as a hitter, his oldest brother claimed he was the most talented hitter in the family. His career playing alongside George in Kansas City was nearly non-existent, but I think he’s our guy. (Greinke was a decent hitter for a pitcher, but I bet Ken would’ve done well in an Ohtani role.) ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/19 "2023-07-02T02:51:17Z")
[Wes Ferrell](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/ferrewe01.shtml) would be my pick for the franchise now known as Guardians. He had an overall MLB record of 193-128 on the mound (including 102-62 with the Indians) and hit .280 with 38 homers for his career, .274 with 19 homers for Cleveland. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402/20 "2023-07-02T03:50:01Z")
Nominating: Bob Gibson for the Cardinals (batted .206 and 24 HR) Walter Johnson for the Senators/Twins (batted .274 and 24 HR and 41 Triples) Many of his HR is before the “Ruth” era. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-franchises-ohtani/986402.md?page=2)