Total Baseball (1994 Edition)/Total_Baseball_1994_Edition_Creative_Multimedia_1994.iso/dp/0004/00049.txt

Text File | 1994-02-24 | 43KB | 701 lines

$Unique_ID{BAS00049}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{The Pinch Hitters}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Davids, L. Robert}
$Subject{Pinch Hitter Hitters Hitting substitute batter batters substitutes
batsmen Designated}
$Log{
Gibson, Kirk (with audio:  Gibson's 1988 home run while injured)*0023801.scf,58186040.aud}

Total Baseball:  The Players


The Pinch Hitters

L. Robert Davids


     Baseball rules were amended in 1891, to allow substitute batters for
other than emergency conditions. This officially sanctioned the role of pinch
hitters. Before that, substitute hitters were used only or primarily because
of an injury to a regular player. Research by several SABR members has
uncovered a number of earlier pinch-hitting efforts, some successful. This has
been a difficult task because pinch hitters were not usually included in the
box scores unless they later played in the field. Scrutinizing game accounts,
sometimes in several newspapers, was the necessary approach.
     In researching the National Association of 1871-75, Boston's Bob
Richardson identified a pinch-hitting appearance at Philadelphia on September
22, 1874. Levi Meyerle of Chicago, while scoring in the second inning, was hit
full force in the right arm by a ball thrown by third baseman Ezra Sutton.
When it was his turn to bat again in the seven-run inning, he was not able to
perform. The game was delayed twenty minutes so that infrequent player Fred
Treacey could put on his uniform. He proceeded to belt a two- run single which
became the margin of victory and then played the remainder of the game in the
outfield. The irony of this early pinch-hit performance was that Meyerle was
the National Association batting leader that season with a .403 mark and
Treacey, who delivered the clutch hit, batted .192.
     Baseball historian Al Kermisch has made a painstaking review of game
accounts of the 1876-90 period and has documented several pinch-hitting
appearances. He identifies the first probable first  National League pinch
hitter as Bobby Clack of Cincinnati in a game at St. Louis May 13, 1876.
Redlegs' catcher Dave Pearson was injured in the first inning. He shifted to
short but could not continue. Clack batted for him in the second inning and
struck out. He finished the game in right field.
     A year later, on August 28, 1877, a strange lineup shuffle took place in
a game between Louisville and Boston which is difficult to classify and even
to describe. In the third inning, Juice Latham, the large Louisville first
baseman, had his ankle stepped on by Boston baserunner Jim O'Rourke. Latham
had to leave the game and was replaced at first by Al Nichols. When the latter
was scheduled to bat the next inning, Latham, still lame, said he was well
enough to swing the bat. With George Hall running for him, Latham drove out a
single. Hall, who weighed 100 pounds less than Latham, then stole second.
Center fielder Bill Crowley, who had fanned prior to Latham's hit, took Hall's
place on the basepaths because it was the latter's turn to bat. Crowley scored
on Hall's hit.  At the beginning of the fourth inning, Nichols went back to
first base. Was Latham, who batted for his replacement, the first National
League "pinch hitter" to collect a hit? This is an example of how liberties
were taken with the rules under the restricted rosters of that early period.
     An indisputable pinch hit was achieved in the July 4, 1885, morning game
at Detroit. Joe Hornung of Boston entered the game in the first inning after
Ezra Sutton, the first batter in the game, was hit with his own foul ball and
had to withdraw. Hornung promptly singled and later went to the outfield
(where, during the 1880s, he was recognized as one of the great fielders).
     In 1889 two more pinch hits were batted. In the opening game of the
season at Pittsburgh on April 24, Al Maul batted for the injured Billy Sunday
in the sixth inning against the Phillies and scratched a single along the base
line in left. In Philadelphia on July 27, Kid Gleason batted in the second
inning for pitcher Dan Casey, who had been hit hard by Boston in the first. He
singled to left and then blanked the Beaneaters the rest of the game to earn a
5-4 victory.
     The first player to pinch hit successfully after the 1891 rule went into
effect probably was probably Jack Stivetts of St. Louis on June 5 of that
year. Batting for hurler Willie McGill in the sixth inning against Baltimore,
he blasted a triple and scored on Dummy Hoy's single. Stivetts then went in to
pitch and St. Louis won the game 8-6. He probably was also the first pinch
hitter to collect an extra-base hit and would build on this long ball ability
in later years.
     Charlie Reilly of Philadelphia and Jack Doyle of Cleveland came through
with pinch singles in the first part of 1892, and pitcher Frank Killen of
Washington produced a pinch RBI double on July 19. A more dramatic clutch hit
was achieved on May 14 with Brooklyn playing at Boston. The Boston Journal
described the circumstances as follows:

     Boston could do nothing in the ninth. Ward [Brooklyn manager John M.
     Ward] meant business in his turn at bat and instead of sending Collins
     [the left fielder] to bat he substituted Tom Daly. Hardly had the
     spectators recognized the newcomer when he lifted one of Clarkson's slow
     balls over the left field fence and the game was tied.

     That description is quoted to confirm that Hub Collins, who was not
feeling well, was replaced at bat in the ninth rather than in the field
one-half inning earlier. There was a tragic footnote to this first pinch home
run as it was soon learned that Collins had typhoid fever. He never returned
to the lineup and died a week later.
     In spite of those five successful pinch hits in the first six weeks of
the 1892 season, there was very limited use of substitute batsmen in that
period. In fact, in the middle of the 1892 season, roster sizes would be
reduced from 15 to 13. With a roster that small, most of the extra players had
to be pitchers. Consequently, those pitchers who could also fill in as
outfielders were the most available and most used in the early years. The
first player to collect two pinch hits in a season was Kid Gleason in 1894. He
was then a hurler with St. Louis and Baltimore. Jack Stivetts of Boston was
the second player to hit a pinch homer, on June 28, 1894, and he hit his
second pinch triple on August 15, 1895. We will include a separate section
later in this chapter on the contributions of pitchers as pinch hitters.
     Catchers also made an early contribution to pinch hitting. They were very
vulnerable to injury in those days and it was always necessary to have
available a second backstop. One or the other then could be used as a
substitute batter. Jack Clements, best known as the lefthanded catcher of the
Phillies, hit baseball's third pinch home run on May 5, 1896. However, he did
poorly off the bench after that, collecting only 1 hit in 12 at bats in 1898.
Duke Farrell of New York and Washington had much better success, going 10-4,
14-8, and 10-5 in 1896-97-98, and winding up with a 59-23 (.389) career mark
in 1904.
     In spite of Farrell's good record, there were still some low spots in
pinch hitting after 1900. In 1904, for example, which was the first year of
the 154-game schedule in this century, the AL leader in pinch hits had only
two for the season. There were seven tied with that number, and you had to
give the nod to catcher Jim McGuire, who was 2 for 2. The Deacon didn't do
particularly well as a substitute batter until he became forty years old. From
1904 through 1908 he was 9-6. While managing Boston in 1907, he inserted
himself as a pinch hitter against Detroit on July 27. He made quite a hit with
Boston fans by slamming a home run in the ninth to tie the game at 2-2. It was
only the second pinch homer hit in the American League. More significantly,
McGuire, at age 43 years and 8 months, was the oldest ever to hit a pinch
homer. Carlton Fisk of the White Sox came close when he connected July 2,
1991, at age 43 and 6 months.
     There was a significant change in the level of pinch hitter activity in
1908, when the St. Louis Browns acquired a big pitcher-first baseman named
Dode Criss. He did not pitch very well and his fielding was of the same
caliber, but he did bat .341 that first year as a substitute. He set new
records for pinch-hit at bats with 41 and hits with 12, and he led the AL in
both categories for the next three years as well. Since he pinch-hit in about
70 percent of his major league games, he logically could be described as the
first professional pinch hitter.
     The regular use of Criss as a substitute batter opened the doors for
several other "have bat, will travel" types. They included Moose McCormick,
Ted Easterly, Ham Hyatt, Doc Miller, and Bill Rumler. McCormick of the Giants
wasn't really the pioneer pinch hitter of this era as later described by New
York writers. Most of the stories on this subject stated that John McGraw
popularized pinch hitting by his use of McCormick. McCormick did not make much
impression until 1912, when he collected 11 hits in 30 at bats. Criss, who
played on a second-division team, had left the majors by that time. McCormick
played on pennant winners and gained additional publicity when he pinch-hit in
the 1912 and 1913 World Series. In seven appearances, he hit two singles and a
sacrifice fly, and knocked in one run. More about World Series pinch hitters
later.
     Ted Easterly was a catcher who came up with Cleveland in 1909. In 1912 he
set a new mark for hits when he collected 13 in 30 at bats (.433). He also
established career records with 152 at bats and 45 hits by 1915. That was good
for a pinch-hit average of .296, outstanding for the Dead Ball Era.
     Doc Miller, a Canadian-born outfielder, did practically no pinch hitting
in his first two years with the Boston Braves in 1910-11, but when he was
traded to the Phillies in 1912, he was called on frequently. In fact, in 1913
he set new marks for at bats with 56 and hits with 20 (.357). In 1917, catcher
Bill Rumler of the Browns, one of the few righthanded pinch-hit specialists in
this era, upped the at bats to 71 and slapped out 16 hits along the way. The
seventh-place Browns, still trying to get their act together, used a record 14
different pinch batters and averaged at least one appearance per game for the
154-game schedule.
     Ham Hyatt, a well-built outfielder-first baseman and a recognized hitter
in the minors, made his mark in the majors as a power hitter in the pinch. He
broke in with the Pirates in 1909 and his 9 pinch hits that year included 3
triples. This was a season record, since tied, and he also shares the career
mark with 5. In 1913 he became the first to hit three pinch homers in a season
and he was the first to hit four in a career. He also was the first to reach
the 50 level in hits. He closed out his major league career with the Yankees
in 1918 with 57 hits in 240 at bats.
     Hyatt's successor as career pinch-hit leader was even more sturdy in
appearance. In fact, at 5-10 and 230 pounds, he was fat. Bob (Fatty)
Fothergill also had fun poked at him by Catholic teammates because of his last
name. There was no kidding around, however, when the Detroit outfielder was at
bat as he compiled a career batting average (1923-33) of .326. In the pinch he
was at an even .300, based on 76 hits in 253 at bats.
     In 1933, while Fothergill was still an active player, he suffered the
embarrassment of being passed on the pinch-hit list by a National Leaguer, and
a pitcher at that. It was Charles "Red" Lucas, a dumpy-looking righthander who
pitched for the second-division Cincinnati Reds. But on the mound he was a
master craftsman with offspeed pitches and pinpoint control, and at the plate
he swung with confidence from the left side. In the five years from 1929 to
1933, he averaged 13 pinch hits a season. Traded to Pittsburgh, he was used
less as a pinch batter but went on to push the pinch-hit record seemingly out
of reach by 1937, at which time he had 114 career pinch hits.
     Lucas's hit record lasted almost thirty years; in fact, no one came close
in the next quarter century. Sam Leslie, Bill Terry's backup first baseman
with the Giants, had a big season in 1932, when he banged out 22 hits in 72
trips. Both were new season marks, but Leslie wound up in 1938 with only 59
career hits. The colorful and unpredictable Frenchy Bordagaray had one of the
great pinch-hit seasons with the Cardinals in 1938, when he produced 20 hits
in 43 at bats for a lofty .452 mark. However, when he finished his career with
the Dodgers in 1945 he had accumulated only 54 pinch hits.
     Pinch hitting expanded in general after World War II, a process enhanced
in part by Casey Stengel's success at platooning players. Peanuts Lowrey of
the Cardinals had two of the best back-to-back seasons when he had 14 hits in
28 at bats (.500) in 1952, and 21 hits in 59 at bats the next season. This
righthanded batter closed out in 1955 with 62 career hits. Switch hitters also
began to be used more in the pinch. Dave Philley of the Phillies was a primary
example. In 1958 he had 18 hits in 44 at bats (.409), and this included eight
in a row at the end of the season. In 1961 with the Orioles, he established a
new pinch-hit record with 24 in 72 at bats. When he retired the next year, he
had 93 career pinch-hits, the closest to Lucas's 114. Red Schoendienst was
another good switch hitter of this period. In 1962, he almost duplicated
Philley's great 1961 season with 22 hits in 72 at bats.
     Another leading pinch hitter of the post-World War II period was Elmer
Valo, a native of Czechoslovakia. Actually he was the leading "pinch walker."
He summed up his role in terms of "There are times when all a pinch hitter has
to do is to get a pass. In that sort of situation, the trick is to walk and
forget your temptation to go for a long hit." In 1960 with the Senators and
Yankees, he was on base 33 times with 18 walks, 14 hits, and 1 hit-by-pitch.
Over his career, he received a record 91 walks while collecting 90 pinch hits.
Research on this anomaly reveals that Harry McCurdy of the 1933 Phillies had
16 walks to go with 15 hits, and Dom Dallessandro of the 1946 Cubs had 15
walks and only 6 pinch hits. Dom's diminutive stature (5 feet, 6 inches) might
have been a contributing factor. More recently, Merv Rettenmund of the 1977
Padres had 16 walks and 21 hits in 86 appearances. No pinch hitter has been on
base more often.
     The major assault on Lucas's long-standing pinch-hit record of 114 came
in the mid-1960s. Catcher Smoky Burgess and outfielder Jerry Lynch both
reached the century level in 1965, and Smoky had enough momentum from a 20-hit
season to pass Lucas with his last hit of the year. Lynch finished his career
in 1966 with 116 hits--only two beyond Lucas. Since all of his career was
spent in the NL, he at least held that record. Burgess, on the other hand,
didn't look back. Essentially a full-time pinch hitter with the White Sox, he
had 21 hits in 1966 and 8 in 1967, and wound up his career with 145.
     Just as Lucas's pinch-hit total seemed secure at 114--and it was for 28
years--so did Smoky's grand total of 145. However, the man to break his record
was already hitting well for the Pirates. It was Manny Mota of the Dominican
Republic, one of the growing number of Latin Americans entering the major
leagues. Unlike most other players, who did their pinch hitting in their later
years, Mota was a substitute batter some 20-30 times a season in the first
part of his long career, slacked off somewhat in the middle, and pushed for a
record in the later years. He pinch-hit in every one of his 20 seasons,
passing Burgess' mark in 1979 and winding up with a round 150 in 1980. It
looked like Greg Gross might challenge his career mark, but the latter was
released after the 1989 season with 143 hits in a record 588 at bats.
Ironically, not one of Gross's 143 hits went for a home run. On the other
hand, not one of Burgess' 145 hits went for a triple.

Pinch Home Runs

Home runs, the most dramatic and productive of pinch hits, have played an
important role ever since the first pinch home run was hit by Tom Daly on May
14, 1892. National League pinch hitters had slammed ten homers by the time
the AL entered the majors in 1901, and had hit six more by the time Germany
Schaefer of Detroit hit the Junior Circuit's first on June 25, 1906, in
Chicago. Doc White, who had hit a pinch homer for the Phillies in 1902, was
on the mound for the White Sox and leading 2-1 in the ninth. With a Tiger on
base, Schaefer hit a long drive which skipped around in the outfield long
enough for both to circle the bases for a 3-2 win.
     In 1910, Beals Becker of the Giants was the first to hit 2 pinch homers
in a season, one coming with the bases loaded. Ham Hyatt was the first to hit
3 with Pittsburgh in 1913. Cliff Cravath of Philadelphia hit 2 that season,
the second off Christy Mathewson on July 4. The NL exploded for 11 pinch
four-baggers in all. Cravath again showed up the Giants on April 20, 1920,
when, as manager of the Phillies, he inserted himself as a pinch batter in a
scoreless game and hit a 3-run game-winner. It was his last in the majors and
his sixth in the pinch, a record that lasted until an old Phillies teammate,
Cy Williams, connected for his seventh on April 16, 1928. That round-tripper
also came against the Giants, when a young and not-so-fat Freddie Fitzsimmons
served up a knuckleball with two on base. Williams hit 3 pinch home runs that
season and 2 in 1929, to close out his career with 11. That mark was expected
to last for years and did.
     Johnny Frederick of Brooklyn had a good crack at it, but his six-year
career was too short. He concentrated most of his pinch-hit prowess in the
1932 season, when he collected 9 pinch hits in 29 at bats. However, a
spectacular 6 of those hits went the distance. When Ford Sawyer, an early
authority on pinch hitting, had this story published in The Sporting News in
October 1932, the bold headline read: FREDERICK'S SIX PINCH-HIT HOME RUNS
EPOCHAL ACHIEVEMENT OF MAJOR HISTORY. That might have sounded a bit
exaggerated, but the standing record after forty years of pinch hitting was
only 3 pinch homers. And even now, more than sixty years later, no one else
has hit more than five. Frederick, who went "downtown" off such notable
hurlers as Burleigh Grimes, Carl Hubbell, Lon Warneke, and Pat Malone, also
hit 2 pinch doubles, giving him 29 total bases in 29 pinch at bats for a 1.000
slugging mark. His short career ended with 8 pinch-hit homers.
     Red Sox manager Joe Cronin had an exceptionally productive year in 1943,
when he batted .429 (43-18), hit 4 doubles and 5 homers, and batted in a
record 25 runs, since tied. Six of the RBIs came in a June 17 twin-bill, when
he blasted a 3-run homer in each game. Ironically those 5 pinch homers became
his career total as well. Hal Breeden of Montreal was the only other to
duplicate this doubleheader feat. He apparently was not affected by
superstition because his twin blasts came on Friday the thirteenth of July,
1973, and resulted in a split with Atlanta.
     Cy Williams' record of 11 career pinch homers remained on the books for
31 years until George Crowe swept it away with a four-homer flourish in 1960
that raised his total to 14. Jerry Lynch then took over, not with four in a
season, but one each season for 1963-64-65-66. His total of 18 was passed by
Cliff Johnson, who was primarily a designated hitter, in 1985. Johnson's
record of 20 pinch homers in 277 at bats gives him a frequency factor of 1 per
13.9 at bats. Among players with ten or more pinch homers, only Joe Adcock's
12.8 (153-12) and Cy Williams' 12.9 (142-11) rank ahead of him.
     What about that ultimate dream hit, the pinch grand slam? It happens
anywhere from two to seven times a year now but was very rare in the early
days. More than 200 pinch slams have been hit, all in this century.
Ironically, the first was hit by a pitcher, Mike O'Neill of the Cardinals, in
a victory over the Boston NL team on June 3, 1902. Mike's brother Jack, one
of four O'Neills who played in the majors, caught this game and also rode home
on Mike's blast, which was inside the park in Boston. The second pinch slam
occurred just two months later, hit by catcher Pat Moral of Boston, but then
it was eight years before Beals Becker connected for the Giants. The first AL
pinch slam did not take place until September 24, 1916, when Marty Kavanagh, a
utility infielder for Cleveland, hit a hard liner off Hub Leonard of the Red
Sox. The ball rolled through a hole in the fence and everyone scored.
     Two playing managers looked good by inserting themselves in the box and
belting the ball. Rogers Hornsby hit a pinch slam for his Cubs in the
eleventh inning against the Braves on September 13, 1931. Phil Cavarretta
also hit one for the Cubs shortly after taking over the helm on July 29, 1951.
His came off Robin Roberts when the latter was a leading hurler. Pitcher
Early Wynn hit one for Washington on September 15, 1946. He was the only
player to experience both the ecstasy and the agony as he also served one up
to Bob Cerv on May 28, 1961.
     Jimmie Foxx was the first player to experience the emotional impact of
hitting two pinch grand slams. The first was for the Athletics on September
21, 1931. His memory had faded by the time he hit the next one, which was for
the Phillies on May 18, 1945, his last season. Ron Northey was the first to
hit the jackpot three times--for the Cardinals in 1947 and 1948, and with the
Cubs in 1950. Later Rich Reese did it three times for the Twins and Willie
McCovey connected twice for the San Francisco Giants and once for the Padres.
Chuck Klein is believed to have been the only player to hit two pinch-hit
triples with the bases loaded. He delivered for the Phillies on May 8, 1939,
and September 14, 1940.

Pitchers as Pinch Hitters

Pitcher Don Robinson's pinch home run for the Giants on June 19, 1990, the
first hit by a hurler in nineteen years, serves as a reminder that special
mention should be made of their contribution as substitute batters. They were
among the first used in 1891, when pinch hitters were officially allowed. Bob
Caruthers and Jack Stivetts made their initial efforts that season. On June
28, 1894, when Stivetts was with Boston, he went to the plate for Kid Nichols
in the ninth with Boston trailing St. Louis 10-7. The Boston Strong Boy
belted a home run with two on to tie the game. He then went in to pitch, and
the Beantowners won in the tenth, 11-10. He hit two more before closing out
his career in 1899.
     Pitchers used most frequently as pinch hitters at the turn of the century
were Jim Callahan, Win Mercer, Mike O'Neill, Jesse Tannehill, Al Orth, Frank
Kitson, and George Mullin. There was one game on July 17, 1901, when Vic
Willis was hurling for the Boston NL team, where two other Beantown hurlers
were called off the bench to pinch hit in the ninth. Kid Nichols hit a triple
and Bill Dinneen scored him with a single.
     A memorable highlight for pinch-hitting pitchers came on June 10-11,
1915, when Ray Caldwell of the Yankees hit pinch homers in consecutive games
against the White Sox. The second was a three-run shot against Red Faber.
This was the first time this feat was achieved by any pinch batter and was not
duplicated for twenty-eight years.
     Over the years, several hurlers led all substitute batsmen in season
pinch-hit average. Examples included Frank Lange in 1911, who had 8 hits in
19 trips; Clarence Mitchell, 6 for 18 in 1920; Jack Bentley, 10 for 20 in
1923; George Uhle, 11 for 26 in 1924; Ervin Brame, 10 for 21 in 1930; Red
Ruffing, 8 for 18 in 1935; and Chubby Dean, 10 for 26 in 1939.
     The major pinch-hitting role of Red Lucas has already been discussed.
However, there was another red-headed hurler over in the AL who made his
contribution. Red Ruffing was not as active as Red Lucas, but he had a longer
career. He banged out 58 hits as a substitute swinger. Teammates he batted
for included Joe Sewell, Bill Dickey, and Tommy Henrich. Red faced Lefty
Grove 15 times and hit him safely 5 times. He got his last pinch hit on August
8, 1947, when he was 43 years old. It was an RBI single off Hal Newhouser,
then at the top of his form. Ruffing was proud of his pinch-hitting prowess;
in fact, he wanted to be paid a little extra for that work and held out for a
while in the spring of 1937.
     Ranking after Lucas and Ruffing in pitcher pinch hits were George Uhle
with 44, Ray Caldwell 36, Dutch Ruether 34, Wes Ferrell 31, and Chubby Dean
and Bob Lemon with 30. Gary Peters was the hurler hitting the most pinch home
runs with 4, followed by Lynn Nelson with 3. Peters had only 16 career pinch
hits to his credit, but he made them count. His first homer, on July 19,
1964, came in the thirteenth inning and gave the White Sox a 3-2 win over
Kansas City. His fourth pinch homer came on September 4, 1971, and was the
last one until Don Robinson's recent clout.

Effects of the Designated-Hitter Rule

The introduction of the designated hitter in the AL in 1973 not only sharply
reduced hitting by pitchers, but disrupted a fairly balanced pinch-hitter
competition between the two leagues since 1901. Over that period, the level
of activity was about the same in each circuit, as were the pinch-hit batting
averages. The NL did show surprising superiority in pinch homers, even in the
AL power era of 1920-40. Apparently those sluggers like Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx,
and Greenberg were hitting all those home runs as regular players. For
whatever the reason, NL pinch batters hit 1,123 home runs from 1901 through
1972, and their AL counterparts hit 991.
     A review of pinch-hit stats in the two leagues in the four years
(1969-72) prior to the DH, and the four years after its introductory season
(1974-77), show that AL pinch-hitter activity was cut almost in half. The
reason, of course, is that the clubs' best substitute batters were already in
the batting order. In prior years, most pinch batters entered the game to bat
for the pitcher, but that role was usurped by the DH. It is true that
sometimes when opposing pitchers are changed, a new DH may be inserted, and
the first time he bats he is a pinch hitter. But that hasn't changed the
sharply reduced use of pinch batters in the AL. This disparity continued
through 1991. In the latter year, for example, the fourteen-team AL had 1,954
pinch-hit at bats and 474 hits (.243) while the twelve-team NL had 2,901 at
bats and 627 hits (.216). The AL is making up the difference with more home
runs per hit, belting 44 to 50 for the NL. In 1985 the AL actually surpassed
the NL in pinch homers, 47 to 41.

One Season Pinch-Hit Analysis

The ultimate success of a pinch batter is measured by his ability to knock in
the winning run in a close game. This should make him a hero in the eyes of
his manager, at least until the next game. The late John Tattersall, who was
an authority on pinch hitting as well as home runs, analyzed the 1962 season
to determine how many games were won by pinch hitters who came through in the
clutch. He found there were 33 such dramatic victories during the year, 17 in
the AL and 16 in the NL. All but 5 would be one-run victories, but 12 would
be come-from-behind triumphs. Ten of the 33 would be wins in extra innings.
Pinch singles won 17 games, doubles 2, and homers 12. A sacrifice fly and a
bases-loaded walk won 2 other contests. A brief discussion of some of these
games might flavor the analysis.
     Jim Lemon of the Minnesota Twins was the first to wear the halo on April
25, 1962, when he was sent in to hit in the ninth against Baltimore with the
score tied 1-1. He homered with a man on for a 3-1 victory.
     At the Polo Grounds on May 5, Cal Koonce of the Cubs walked Mets pinch
batter Hobie Landrith in the thirteenth with the bases full. Landrith got the
6-5 game-winning RBI.
     Three games were won by 1-0 scores. On June 6, a sacrifice fly by Tom
Burgess of the Angels with the bases full in the ninth drove in the only run
against the White Sox. At Baltimore on June 26, Charlie Lau, who would later
teach players how to hit, demonstrated with a pinch single off Johnny Buzhardt
of the White Sox in the ninth to give the Orioles the 1-0 win. At Cleveland
on Independence Day, Gene Green burned Hank Aguirre of the Tigers with a
single in the tenth to give Jim Perry a 1-0 squeaker.
     Canada's Pete Ward had an auspicious debut with Baltimore on September
21. With the Orioles trailing the Twins 2-1 in the seventh, he drove in two
Birds with a sharp single off Camilo Pascual to win the game 3-2.
     On August 11, Don Drysdale of the Dodgers had the Giants beaten 4-2 in
the sixth when Willie McCovey belted a 3-run homer for a 5-4 win. McCovey
would hit 12 of his career homers off Drysdale. The bases were loaded with
Cardinals on September 9 when Carl Sawatski swatted a homer in the ninth for a
5-3 come-from-behind triumph over the Reds.
     The New York Mets won only 40 games and lost 120 in 1962, but Marv
Throneberry won the nickname of "Marvelous Marv" with his energetic exploits.
He delivered a 2-run homer on July 7, and a 3-run homer on August 21, each
time in the ninth inning, to win come-from-behind games from the Cardinals and
Pirates. In the AL, Vic Wertz of the Tigers also won 2 games with pinch
blows. On May 1, he hit a tenth-inning single which drove in 2 runs to beat
the Athletics 3-2. His July 6 contribution was a ninth-inning homer off Hoyt
Wilhelm to beat Baltimore 5-4.

Pinch Hitters in the World Series

There have been some outstanding game or single Series exploits by pinch
hitters, but nothing very significant has been compiled by substitute batsmen
on a "career" basis. In fact, in the long history of World Series play, no
player has collected more than 3 pinch hits. Four players did that, two from
the Yankees. Bobby Brown had 7 pinch hit appearances in four World Series but
concentrated almost all his production in the 1947 classic. He had a single,
2 doubles, a walk, and 3 RBIs. Johnny Blanchard had 10 at bats in 5 World
Series between 1960 and 1964 and collected 3 singles. Nothing outstanding
there. Ken O'Dea, backup catcher for the Cubs and Cardinals in 5 World Series
between 1935 and 1944, never had more than one pinch hit in a Series but
knocked in 4 runs.
     Although Chuck Essegian hit 2 pinch homers for the Los Angeles Dodgers in
the 1959 World Series, both were solo shots and neither won a game. Bernie
Carbo of the Red Sox also hit two round-trippers for the Red Sox in the 1975
Series, one being a solo circling of the bases and the other a 3-run homer
which temporarily tied the game with the Reds.
     No pinch hitter dominated a World Series more than Dusty Rhodes with the
New York Giants in 1954. In the Fall Classic with Cleveland, which had won a
record 111 games during the season, he led the New Yorkers to a dramatic 5-2
opening-game victory on September 29 with a 3-run home run in the tenth. In
the second game he singled in the tying run (and then homered after going into
the lineup). Ironically, Rhodes, a .253 lifetime hitter, batted for future
Hall of Famer Monte Irvin in his first two appearances. In the third game he
knocked in 2 runs with a single. He didn't even have to get off the bench as
the Giants swept the fourth game and the Series. He had knocked in 6 runs
with his 3 pinch hits, not only a record for one Series but for all Series.
     For individual one-game dramatics, Kirk Gibson of the 1988 Dodgers
probably takes the cake. In the first game of the 1988 Series against the
powerful Oakland A's on October 15, the Dodgers were down 4-3 with two down in
the last of the ninth. With Mike Davis on base with a walk, Gibson, unable to
play in the regular lineup because of a leg injury, was called in to bat for
pitcher Alejandro Pena. On a 3-2 pitch from relief ace Dennis Eckersley, he
drove the ball into the right field bleachers for a 5-4 Los Angeles victory.
It was his only appearance in the Series, which was won by the Dodgers in 5
games.
     More recently, 1992 postseason play saw pinch hitters heroically succeed
in two crucial games. In the ninth inning of the final NLCS game on October
15, the Braves' Francisco Cabrera hit a two-out, two-run single to give
Atlanta a 3-2 come from-behind win over Pittsburgh. Then on October 18 in the
second game of the World Series between the Braves and the Blue Jays,
Toronto's Ed Sprague smashed a ninth-inning, two-run homer off Atlanta's Jeff
Reardon to provide the Blue Jays with a 5-4 victory. Both Cabrera and Sprague
were players of undistinguished reputation prior to entering the pantheon of
pinch-hit heroes.


Season Pinch Hitting Records
--------------------------------------------------------------
At Bats    Rusty Staub, Mets, 1983                81
Hits       Jose Morales, Expos, 1976              25
Doubles    Vic Davalillo, Cards, 1970              8
Triples    Ham Hyatt, Pirates, 1909                3
           Gene Robertson, Browns, 1926            3
           Vic Davalillo, Cards, 1970              3
Homers     John Frederick, Dodgers, 1932           6
Walks      Elmer Valo, Yanks-Senators, 1960       18
RBIs       Joe Cronin, Red Sox, 1943              25
           Jerry Lynch, Reds, 1961                25
           Rusty Staub, Mets, 1983                25
High BA    Bruce Boisclair, Mets, 1976          .571  (21-12)
           Peanuts Lowrey, Cards, 1952          .500  (28-14)
           Ed Kranepool, Mets, 1974             .486  (35-17)
           Frenchy Bordagaray, Cards, 1938      .465  (43-20)
--------------------------------------------------------------


Career Pinch Hitting Records
--------------------------------------------------------
At Bats     Greg Gross (1973-89)        588
Hits        Manny Mota (1962-82)        150
Doubles     Smoky Burgess (1949-67)      27
Triples     Ham Hyatt (1909-18)           5
            Gates Brown (1963-75)         5
Homers      Cliff Johnson (1972-86)      20
Walks       Elmer Valo (1940-61)         91
RBIs        Smoky Burgess (1949-67)     142
High BA     Gordon Coleman (1959-67)   .333  (120-40)
            Tommy Davis (1959-76)      .320  (197-63)
            Bob Fothergill (1922-33)   .300  (253-76)
            Dave Philley (1941-62)     .299  (311-95)
            Manny Mota (1962-82)       .297  (505-150)
--------------------------------------------------------

First Players to Collect 50 (or More) Pinch Hits
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
      50                         60                       70
1915 Ham Hyatt             1932 Bob Fothergill      1933 Red Lucas
1930 Bob Fothergill        1932 Red Lucas           1933 Bob Fothergill
1931 Red Lucas             1947 Ernie Lombardi      1958 Enos Slaughter
1934 Harvey Hendrick       1954 Peanuts Lowrey      1959 George Crowe
1937 Sam Leslie            1958 Enos Slaughter      1960 Elmer Valo
1941 Red Ruffing           1958 Smoky Burgess       1960 Smoky Burgess
1941 Billy Sullivan        1959 Elmer Valo          1961 Dave Philley
1945 Frenchy Bordagaray    1959 George Crowe        1961 Jerry Lynch
1945 Debs Garms            1960 Dave Philley        1970 Tito Francona
1945 Ernie Lombardi        1961 Julio Becquer       1970 Gates Brown


      80                         90                       100
1933 Red Lucas             1935 Red Lucas           1936 Red Lucas
1961 Elmer Valo            1962 Dave Philley        1965 Smoky Burgess
1961 Dave Philley          1962 Elmer Valo          1965 Jerry Lynch
1961 Smoky Burgess         1963 Jerry Lynch         1974 Gates Brown
1962 Jerry Lynch           1964 Smoky Burgess       1976 Manny Mota
1970 Tito Francona         1974 Gates Brown         1981 Mike Lum
1971 Gates Brown           1975 Manny Mota          1982 Jose Morales
1972 Dalton Jones          1979 Vic Davallilo       1982 Terry Crowley
1974 Manny Mota            1979 Ed Kranepool        1984 Steve Braun
1978 Vic Davallilo         1980 Mike Lum            1985 Rusty Staub


      110                        120                      130
1937 Red Lucas             1966 Smoky Burgess       1966 Smoky Burgess
1965 Smoky Burgess         1977 Manny Mota          1978 Manny Mota
1966 Jerry Lynch           1983 Jose Morales        1988 Greg Gross
1977 Manny Mota            1987 Greg Gross
1983 Jose Morales
1985 Steve Braun
1987 Greg Gross


      140                        150
1967 Smoky Burgess         1980 Manny Mota
1979 Manny Mota
1989 Greg Gross
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Evolution of Pinch Home Runs
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Seven                    Eight                    Nine
Cy Williams 1928         Cy Williams 1928         Cy Williams 1929
Johnny Frederick 1932    Johnny Frederick 1934    Bobby Hofman 1955
Ernie Lombardi 1946      Ernie Lombardi 1947      Ron Northey 1957
Bill Nicholson 1952      Bobby Hofman 1955        Gus Zernial 1958
Johnny Mize 1953         Ron Northey 1956         Smoky Burgess 1959
Bobby Hofman 1955        Gus Zernial 1958         George Crowe 1959
Ron Northey 1956         Smoky Burgess 1958       Jerry Lynch 1961
Ted Williams 1957        George Crowe 1959        Bob Cerv 1960
Gus Zernial 1958         Bob Cerv 1960            Yogi Berra 1962
Smoky Burgess 1958       Jerry Lynch 1961         Wally Post 1962


   Ten                      Eleven                   Twelve
Cy Williams 1929         Cy Williams 1929         George Crowe 1960
Smoky Burgess 1959       George Crowe 1960        Bob Cerv 1961
Gus Zernial 1959         Smoky Burgess 1960       Jerry Lynch 1963
George Crowe 1959        Bob Cerv 1961            Smoky Burgess 1964
Jerry Lynch 1961         Jerry Lynch 1962         Joe Adcock 1966
Bob Cerv 1961            Joe Adcock 1966          Gates Brown 1972
Wally Post 1962          Fred Whitfield 196       Willie McCovey 1976
Joe Adcock 1966          Gates Brown 1971         Cliff Johnson 1979
Fred Whitfield 1967      Willie McCovey 197       Jose Morales 1983
Gates Brown 1971         Cliff Johnson 1978       Graig Nettles 1988


   Thirteen                 Fourteen                 Fifteen
George Crowe 1960        George Crowe 1960        Jerry Lynch 1963
Jerry Lynch 1963         Jerry Lynch 1963         Smoky Burgess 1967
Smoky Burgess 1965       Smoky Burgess 1965       Gates Brown 1974
Gates Brown 1974         Gates Brown 1974         Willie McCovey 1979
Will McCovey 1977        Willie McCovey 1978      Cliff Johnson 1980
Cliff Johnson 1980       Cliff Johnson 1980


   Sixteen                  Seventeen                Eighteen
Jerry Lynch 1964         Jerry Lynch 1965         Jerry Lynch 1966
Smoky Burgess 1967       Cliff Johnson 1983       Cliff Johnson 1984
Gates Brown 1975
Willie McCovey 1979
Cliff Johnson 1981


   Nineteen                 Twenty
Cliff Johnson 1985       Cliff Johnson 1986

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Multiple Pinch Grand Slams
---------------------------------------
Jimmie Foxx       1931, 1945
Ron Northey       1947, 1948, 1950
Bill Skowron      1954, 1957
Vic Wertz         1958, 1960
Ed Bailey         1962, 1963
Willie McCovey    1960, 1965, 1975
Rick Reese        1969, 1970, 1972
Reggie Jackson    1970, 1976
Dave Johnson      1978, 1978
Mike Ivie         1978, 1978
---------------------------------------


Career Pinch Home Run Leader
------------------------------------
Jack Stivetts         3      1898
Ham Hyatt             4      1914
Cliff Cravath         5      1919
Cliff Cravath         6      1920
Cy Williams           7      1928
Cy Williams           8      1928
Cy Williams           9      1929
Cy Williams          10      1929
Cy Williams          11      1929
George Crowe         12      1960
George Crowe         13      1960
George Crowe         14      1960
Jerry Lynch          15      1963
Jerry Lynch          16      1964
Jerry Lynch          17      1965
Jerry Lynch          18      1966
Cliff Johnson        19      1985
Cliff Johnson        20      1986


Career Pinch Home Run Leader
------------------------------------
Jack Stivetts         3      1898
Ham Hyatt             4      1914
Cliff Cravath         5      1919
Cliff Cravath         6      1920
Cy Williams           7      1928
Cy Williams           8      1928
Cy Williams           9      1929
Cy Williams          10      1929
Cy Williams          11      1929
George Crowe         12      1960
George Crowe         13      1960
George Crowe         14      1960
Jerry Lynch          15      1963
Jerry Lynch          16      1964
Jerry Lynch          17      1965
Jerry Lynch          18      1966
Cliff Johnson        19      1985
Cliff Johnson        20      1986
-----------------------------------


Early Pinch Home Runs

May 24, 1892   Tom Daly, Brooklyn
June 28, 1894  Jack Stivetts, Boston
May 5, 1896    Jack Clements, Phi.
June 15, 1897  Bug Holliday, Cinc.
Sept. 16, 1897 Jack Stivetts, Boston
June 9, 1898   Harry Blake, St. L.
Sept. 28, 1898 Buck Freeman, Boston
April 19, 1900 Billy Sullivan, Boston
May 15, 1900   Mike Donlin, St. L.
Sept. 4, 1900  Mike O'Neill (P), St. L. (Slam)
June 3, 1902   Doc White (P), Phi. NY
Sept. 19, 1902 Pat Moran, Boston NL (Slam)
Aug. 12, 1903  Fred Clarke, Pittsburgh
Sept. 21, 1903 Germany Schaefer, Det.
June 25, 1906  Jim Schaefer, Boston AL
May 25, 1907   Sherry Magee, Phi. NL
July 6, 1907   Sam Strang, New York NL
July 26, 1907  Jim McGuire, Boston AL