New Scaratings

Which is exactly why you hate every single team in baseball, given their decades upon decades of racist exclusionary practices. Good for you, LJ!
Oh, wait...
Zing!

I remember when the first regular-season game each year, traditionally took place at Cincinnati, in honor of their first MLB team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, as they were called at the time. Somehow, and for some strange reason, MLB got away from that.

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"My mechanic told me, 'I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder'." - comedian Steven Wright

Who was the greatest Latino baseball player of all time...?

Right now you are all thinking that this is a very subjective question, because there are so many. However, after you hear my answer, I think most of you will agree that I am right, and you will learn something that very few know.

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"The game is afoot."

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/```\
(o\_!_/o)

Even though I'm a San Francisco Giants fan, my vote would go to the Pittsburgh Pirates great, Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.

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"My mechanic told me, 'I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder'." - comedian Steven Wright

My answer is Ted Williams. Ted's mother was Mexican, a fact that he kept to himself, because of his concern about prejudices at the time.

Ted Williams could be the best baseball hitter of all time.

p.s. Sorry Liljol, even though Ted Williams came from California, he was a lifelong Boston Red Sox player.

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"The game is afoot."

Unintended duplicate post deleted.

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"The game is afoot."

I had a feeling you were going to go there.
I've used a variant on this one for years asking who the greatest native American baseball player was and not a single person has ever suggested the Splinter, who would certainly qualify.
Gotten a crapload of Jim Thorpe answers though, as you would expect.
Sadly, no one has offered Louis Sockalexis for an answer.
That would be a great name drop.
I'd tell them they were right just on sheer principle.

Is there anything about baseball that SPOTES dosen't know...?

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"The game is afoot."

I didn't know Ted Williams was more Mexican than Linda Ronstadt (who is 3/8ths).

Take a look at the "Trivia Chain" thread. Earlier tonight I put a baseball trivia question up there. It's about the 1955 Bowman Milt and Frank Bolling baseball cards.

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"The game is afoot."

Yep.
Loads o' stuff from the last few years or so.

But, to be honest, you were talking about the Kid, one of my faves.
Gosh, I've only read three bios on Ted and multiple Red Sox books that go into his background as well.
That question just might fall right into my wheelhouse.

Kind of like questions about sports card errors...

Deleted...

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"The game is afoot."

Sports card errors... Hmm...

SPOTES, from what you said, I'm pretty sure you know the answer to my "Trivia Thread" question. Better get off of your butt, get over there, and post the answer, before someone Googles it, and answers it before you do.

p.s. Earlier tonight I left a clue to the answer in my reply to PENGWN.

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"The game is afoot."

Who scored the 1,000,000th run in major league history?

The complete answer to this story is interesting. The player, who did it, won the distinction by a mere 4 seconds.

p.s. I do question this, because of a baseball rule that tells me the other guy should be credited with it.

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"The game is afoot."

Bob Watson, Houston Astros. Back when they were a decent team in the National League. I do recall that one of the Cincinnati Reds (Geronimo?) hit a home run right after Run #999,999 had been scored, and many thought he had the millionth only to find out later that Watson was credited with the millionth run. I think there was another home run hit at almost exactly that time, but I don't recall who or what team that was. The year most likely (and I did not Google this) would have been 1975.

-- RWM

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"...It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED...."

You're right, but the problem I have with it is that Dave Concepción hit a solo homerun at virtually the same time. Watson started sprinting from second base, while Concepción started sprinting from home plate, and Watson touched home plate 4 seconds before Concepción. However, I have a problem with giving Watson the the honor of being the 1,000,000th run. As I understand it, if a batter hits a homerun over the wall, he is immediately awarded all of the bases, and doesn't even have to run around them. If that is correct, I think Dave Concepción actually was the guy, who did it.

p.s. I suspect that SPOTES will jump in on this.

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"The game is afoot."

Yes, I wan't sure if it was Concepcion or Geronimo, but I knew that a Red had hit a home run at just about the same time as Watson's run, altough at the time I thought he had hit a home run as well. There was also a third scoring play as I recall, right at that time. This was why it took MLB a few minutes to decide who actually scored the millionth run.

If a batter hits a home run, he still has to touch all the bases, can't pass an existing baserunner, etc. On rare occasion that should be a routine home run, that play is messed up due to a player not following these basic rules; one famous example would be the play that ended Harvey Haddix's near-perfect game in 1959. So to me it makes perfect sense that on any run-scoring play, the run counts only when the baserunner touches home plate. And there may be nitpicking exceptions to that last sentence but I don't think they applied with regard to Concepcion or Watson in 1975.

-- RWM

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"...It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED...."

"The fact a runner is awarded a base or bases without liability to be put out does not relieve him of the responsibility to touch the base he is awarded and all intervening bases."

When McGwire hit his 62nd in '98 he missed first base and had to go back to make sure he touched it or else the homer would have been disallowed and an out recorded instead.
Dave's run became official when he crossed home plate within the rules and not a second sooner. If that's four seconds behind Watson, them's the breaks.

Thank you, SPOTES. I knew you would know the answer. I was wrong, but that's good, because you don't learn anything new, when you're right.

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"The game is afoot."

This reminds me of Robin Ventura when he hit the grand slam vs the Braves in Game 5 of the NLCS. He hit it over the fence, but was mobbed by his teammates after touching first. He only touched first so it was a single.

Who is the only major league player to get three hits in one inning?

I'm sure that SPOTES knows the answer. However, knowing SPOTES, he will most likely lean back, laugh to himself, and see how long it takes the common folks to Google the answer.

p.s. Here's a clue: I used to have his baseball card. Now, that should be a big help.

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"The game is afoot."

SPOTES is probably going to tell you your question is very flawed and somewhat incomplete.

BO, I hear you, man, but I don't think we need to worry about that this time.

(Dang, the more I think of it, you've got me worried... Perhaps I should have added "in the modern era".)

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"The game is afoot."

Now, if you had asked us to name the three Chicago players from the 19th century that all had three hits in an inning not only in the same game, but in the same INNING... that would have been some sweet action. I only recall two of their names. Ned Williamson and Tommy Burns.
I'll leave the player you're looking for up in the air for others to discover, but you are probably unaware that a player from the same franchise also had three hits in an inning about 10 years ago.
So, two modern players have done it.

Edit: Googled the third 1883 guy. He was the eminently unforgettable Fred Pfeffer. Sometimes I have no idea where my head's at...