Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta received the pitching rubber at Dodger Stadium after his no-hitter here on Sunday. (Getty Images)
When Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta threw a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, he received a much larger memento: the actual pitching rubber from the Dodger Stadium mound.
The gesture is beginning to border on tradition.
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Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach took part in seven no-hitters as a player, but that isn’t quite a record. (Keith Birmingham/Staff photographer)
That left me wondering if that was a record. Nolan Ryan threw seven no-hitters as a pitcher, so Wallach could not hold the record outright.
Turns out the record is 11, held by former major league shortstop Bert Campaneris, who took part in the no-hitters with the A’s, Yankees, and Rangers between 1968 and 1983.
Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson was on the field for nine no-hitters and four other players took part in eight.
There could be other players who were on their team’s active roster for a no-hitter but did not appear in the game, like Wallach. Long story short, seven isn’t quite a record.
Thanks to Sean Forman of baseball-reference.com for doing the dirty work on this.
Two former Los Angeles Dodger All-Star pitchers will be honored on Friday.
Hideo Nomo will be inducted into the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame. Ceremonies will be held on the field to honor the 2014 inductees prior to the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game at Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, Japan.
Chan Ho Park will receive recognition during retirement ceremonies prior to the Korean Professional Baseball All-Star Game at Champions Field, Kwangju, South Korea. Park announced his retirement from baseball on November 30, 2012. He had a record of 124–98 in the Major Leagues with the Dodgers, Rangers, Padres, Mets, Phillies, Yankees, and Pirates.
The Dodgers and scouting director Logan White (right) lured Zach Lee (left) from LSU with a $5.25 million signing bonus in 2010. (Associated Press photo)
Maybe the most interesting line in that piece was about Drew Henson. You might recall that Henson was a star quarterback at Michigan, succeeding Tom Brady in 1998, then tried his hand at baseball and even got in a few games with the Yankees after climbing the minor-league ladder. Then he retired, tried his hand at football again, and was relegated to being a backup most of his career. Writes Jim Callis:
I still think Drew Henson could have been a star in baseball had that been his focus — one evaluator I highly respect compared Henson’s skills to those of Mike Schmidt — but doubling as a quarterback ultimately meant he didn’t realize his potential in any sport.
Maybe the Dodgers should count their lucky stars that Zach Lee has no intention of becoming the next Drew Henson.
Lee, the 2013 organizational pitcher of the year, was once a highly recruited quarterback out of McKinney (Texas) High School. He chose to attend Louisiana State University, and did for a time, and was anointed as a savior of the LSU football program in at least one headline. (Actually, read those whole first two paragraphs again in italics: The heavens part and there, riding on the clouds comes a gift from the gods, or perhaps planet Krypton. Yes, he is the one we’ve been waiting for. Zach Lee. If only this picture came replete with angelic purple wings and a shiny golden halo to signify his immaculate arrival. Well, we hope so anyways.)
As recently as last April, the New Orleans media opined about what might have been with Lee. Does Lee ever wonder “what if?”
“I don’t have any regrets about what I did, the decision I made,” Lee said Wednesday. “It’s really kind of more now going back and reflecting on memories, reflecting on the great times I had with some of my teammates. Not necessarily the on-field stuff, but more the experiences you get out of it.”
Lee said he didn’t feel any “twinges” while watching the bowl games, including Monday’s BCS championship game, when Florida State beat Auburn.
“I’m kind of an analytical person,” he said. “So I analyze football as well as having a background in it. I was a little disappointed the SEC couldn’t pull it off, but it was a great game.”
Some bullet points for a Vodoun Day:
Continue reading “Daily Distractions: Zach Lee, not the next Drew Henson, has no regrets about choosing baseball over football.” »
Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire is listed on the Hall of Fame ballot for the seventh time. (Associated Press photo)
The 2014 Hall of Fame ballot was announced today, and the window for eligibility has struck the Dodgers square in the 2000s. Hideo Nomo, Eric Gagne, Jeff Kent, Luis Gonzalez, Greg Maddux and Paul Lo Duca are all on the ballot for the first time.
They join Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, hitting coach Mark McGwire, former catcher Mike Piazza and several other holdovers on a crowded field. Only 10 players can be listed on a ballot. Voting results will be announced at 11 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2014, on MLB Network and the web sites of the Hall of Fame and the BBWAA.
Nomo was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1995 and no-hit the Colorado Rockies the following season at Coors Field. Gagne saved 161 games from 1999 to 2006 after converting to a reliever, including a record 84 in a row. Kent hit 75 home runs in a Dodgers uniform from 2005-08, finishing his career with 377 — 351 as a second baseman, an all-time record. Maddux made 19 starts as a Dodger in the twilight of a career that included 355 wins, eighth on baseball’s all-time list.
Lo Duca played seven of his 11 major-league seasons with the Dodgers, while Gonzalez spent one season (2007) in Los Angeles and was benched at midseason to make room for Matt Kemp.
Gagne and Lo Duca were both identified in the Mitchell Report as having been connected to performance-enhancing drug use. Their career numbers alone are enough to keep them out of the Hall, but the PED issue has proven impossible to overcome for even some of the best players on the ballot — McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa and possibly Piazza. They’ll need to be named on at least 5 percent of all ballots to remain eligible.
McGwire (listed on 16.9 percent of ballots last year) and Mattingly (13.2) are closer to 5 percent than the 75 percent needed for induction. Players can remain on the ballot for 15 years after their retirement, and this will be Mattingly’s 14th appearance.
MLB.com has Hall of Fame profiles on several of the top Hall candidates, including Mattingly, McGwire, Piazza and Kent.
Some bullet points for a Mongolian Independence Day:
Continue reading “Daily Distractions: Nomo, Gagne, Lo Duca, Gonzalez, Kent, Maddux join Mattingly, McGwire on HOF ballot.” »