Cross my heart and hope to die, what I am about to write is from memory: Bill Wambsganss did it in a world series game.
Not only are a lot of these people not “obscure”, a lot of the feats mentioned here aren’t “records”.
There is no greater expected chance of the greatest fielder ever making an unassisted triple play than a recent callup from AA ball. It is all about the game situation and having the ball hit in just the right place.
To a lesser extent, no-hitters fall into the same category.
Really, anything less than a seasonal record is questionable. You can’t get 12 RBI in a game unless you come up to base with at least 8 men on ahead of you, and that is assuming you hit 4 home runs (for the most part). That doesn’t happen that often. Glenn Beckert once left 12 runners stranded in a game, but he was a Cub, so there you go.
Whiten hit four home runs that day. I’d say he’s better known for that than the RBI record.
Who can ever forget Hard Hittin’ Mark Whiten?
I sure haven’t. You can’t forget a guy with a nickname that good.
As for Youngs, his batting average looks superficially impressive but in context he was, to use a quickie comparison, not as good a hitter as Bobby Abreu. If Bobby Abreu died tomorrow, would anyone seriously consider him a Hall of Fame candidate? Brian Giles is a much better player than either Abreu or Youngs, in a career (so far) of essentially the same length; would you elect him?
I mean, Youngs was a really good player and all, but a Hall of Famer?
As to Maranville, hey, I’m not saying the Frisch selections are the only bad ones. In defense of those choices, though, I would point out that the perception of Maranville during his career, as well as at the time he was voted in, was that he was a defensive genius of unparalleled proportions, the Ozzie Smith of his day. A shortstop of that level of defensive skill who played for 23 years WOULD be a Hall of Famer.
The Win Shares method credits Maranville with 302 shares, which is something like 16th or 17th all time among shortstops, putting him essentially at the cusp. You can construct an argument that Maranville is in fact a better choice than the Frisch selections; you could also construct one that he’s not. Maranville’s contribution to baseball is not easily seen in the stat line; he was primarily a defensive whiz, and the stats such as we have them do appear to support the belief that he was a brilliant defensive player, but that’s hard to judge for sure now. Maranville was also a character of considerable importance, and indeed was one of the most beloved players of all time, and that’s worth something I think, but how much, who knows? Anyway…
I think what’s important here is that whether or not you agree with the Maranville choice, at least he was a consensus pick by the bulk of the baseball media in 1954. Maranville, unlike the Frischies, was elected by the BBWAA, whose opinion at the time was entirely in keeping with what everyone said about him when he was playing. So at least Maranville got his plaque the hard way; by convincing about 84% of hundred of eligible voters that he should be in. The Frisch selections got in through a back door process due almost entirely to one man’s nepotism and force of will.
The Bresnahan choice - well, there’s the Veterans Committee again.
Former New Orleans Saint Tom Dempsey holds the NFL record for longest field goal, at 63 yards. He did it with only half a foot, too. Had a special shoe, and everything.
Think somebody may have tied the record out in Denver, but that doesn’t really count. Dempsey’s kick was in New Orleans, right at sea level, not in that thin air they have in Denver…
Jason Elam tied the record; he was mentioned earlier. If Elam loses credit for thin air, Dempsey ought to lose credit for using a special shoe (which the NFL banned after his record kick).
FWIW, IIRC game films show that Elam’s kick was techincally a few inches farther than Dempsey’s.
But he only shares the RBI record with one other guy. He shares the HR record with 14 other guys!
Five pitchers have thrown no-hitters in both leagues. Three are in the Hall of Fame: Cy Young, Nolan Ryan and Jim Bunning. One is on his way, Randy Johnson. And the last will get into the Hall of Fame only when he buys a ticket, Hideo Nomo. (OK, he’s not obscure since he is contemporary, but in time his name will be the one that sticks out on this list.)
Rennie Stennett holds the record for most hits in a nine-inning game (7).
My favorite obscure player is Ron Neccai. In 1952, playing for the Bristol Twins (minor league baseball) he not only pitched a no-hitter, but he struck out all 27 men he faced.
His next outing, he struck out 24.
Record for most no-hitters thrown in Denver is one- by Hideo Nomo.
I can’t see this ever being tied, let alone surpassed.
Sure it could; no-hitters are just luck of the draw.
I agree, in a regular ballpark, but in Denver, where routine shallow pop-ups become homers, I think Nomo’s feat should count double or something.
It was unusual. There was a long rain delay. (So long that I almost talked my ex-wife into going. They were getting ready to start shortly after nine while we were driving home from work.) So the game was played entirely in the dark, in cold, wet, nasty conditions. Yes, Nomo pitched extremely well - you don’t get a no-hitter otherwise - but the conditions were luck.
Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in one inning, off the same pitcher, in 1999.
He did this in twenty minutes, to please his wife, Rio.
You recall incorrectly, with one exception – the pitcher is credited with an assist if he somehow picks up a dropped third strike, then “makes a throw which results in a putout.”
To clarify my preceding post, the part about the catcher getting credit for the putout on a strikeout is correct (unless, of course, he drops the third strike and throws to a teammate, in which case the catcher gets an assist and the putout is credited to the teammate who steps on the bag or makes the tag to retire the batter or other runner).