MLB’s 20 most mind-blowing hitting, pitching feats of 2023 — with Kyle Schwarber leading off

It’s essentially the most fantastic time of the 12 months … aside from one factor:

It’s now not baseball season!

However that’s the place we are available in. It’s our not-so-solemn responsibility to get you thru these lengthy, chilly, baseball-free months by serving to you relive one of the best of the Unusual However True baseball season of 2023. Don’t inform us you already forgot that …

An unforgettable on-base streak ended regardless that the person who compiled that streak was standing on first base. … And we actually did see an actual human being steal third base and residential on the identical pitch. … And a staff pitched a no-hitter regardless of the minor hindrance of additionally permitting seven runs — in the identical inning!

We’re not making any of that up. We spend the entire 12 months retaining observe of wacky stuff like this so that you don’t need to. So be part of us now as we relive The Unusual However True Feats of 2023 … in 5 elements. At the moment’s installment: the hitters … the pitchers … and that Shohei man who apparently does each of the above!

The Strangest However Truest Hitter of 2023: The Schwarbino

“Are you able to do me a favor?” Kyle Schwarber requested us someday in late September, although not completely severely. “Are you able to write a narrative that tells individuals I really had a good 12 months?”

Certain. Why the heck not? It may be onerous to know what to make of a leadoff hitter who completed the season hitting .197 with 215 strikeouts. So enable the Unusual However True Feats of the Yr column to assist with that. It beats calculating these December wind-chill components.

He’s essentially the most distinctive leadoff monster of all time! Does it appear kinda Unusual However True to see a staff take a look at a .197 hitter who leads the league in strikeouts and resolve: “Right here’s a great way to win the World Collection. Let’s have that man lead off?”

Effectively, that’s what the Phillies did with the Schwarbino. On one hand, it allowed him to develop into the primary man within the fashionable period to roll up no less than 500 leadoff plate appearances in a season during which his common by no means made it to the Mendoza Line. (Earlier file for lowest full-season common: .211, by Eddie “Sparky” Lake, for the 1947 Tigers.)

However wait. Alternatively, after the Phillies moved Schwarber into that leadoff spot to remain on June 2, they went 65-41 in video games during which he led off. Which suggests they performed like a 99-win staff when he occupied the highest slot of their lineup. So no matter. That labored! Right here’s an ideal Unusual However True instance of how …

He was a leadoff earthquake ready to occur! For 108 video games in 2023, Schwarber was the primary Phillies hitter to step into the field. He bought a success to guide off precisely 21 of these video games. He hit a single to guide off solely six of these video games. So that you assume that was an issue?

Um, not a lot. His OPS main off video games nonetheless wound up at 1.056. Does that sound good? It ought to, because it was merely the very best OPS, as the primary batter of the sport, within the historical past of a franchise that has been round since 1883 … as a result of, apparently, all these leadoff walks (21) and leadoff Schwarbombs (11) can be useful. Which reminds us: If we simply discuss his whiffs and his common, we’re leaving out some stuff!

He was additionally Ruthian! what else apparently may be useful? Piling up huge quantities of homers (47), RBIs (104), runs scored (108) and walks (126). who has had that season? Oh, solely Babe Ruth (six occasions), Mark McGwire (twice), Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Barry Bonds and Aaron Choose (as soon as). And likewise …

Kyle Schwarber.

Which meant much more all-time Unusual However True stuff was doable. Comparable to …

He was just about as productive as a man who hit .306! Let the file present that, in accordance with Baseball Reference, Schwarber completed with an OPS+ of 122. And the way Unusual However True is it for a man who batted .197 to have an OPS that was nonetheless 22 p.c higher than league common? Effectively, it’s the very best OPS+ in historical past by a qualifying hitter whose common began with a “1.” So there’s that. However there’s additionally this:

Bo Bichette in 2023 — .306 AVG, 123 OPS+
Schwarber in 2023 — .197 AVG, 122 OPS+

How can that be doable? Wonderful query. I’m not answerable for OPS+ calculations, however I’m guessing it has one thing to do with this: The man who hit .197, amazingly, had the next on-base share (.343) than the man who hit .306 (.339)! That may occur when one man attracts 99 extra walks than the opposite man. However however, right here come extra Schwarbarian shockers. …

He hit .197 … and nonetheless led his staff in runs scored! Does that appear onerous to do? It is best to reply sure, as a result of right here’s the entire listing of gamers since 1900 who’ve finished that, on any staff, with a median beneath .200, over any full season:

Kyle Schwarber, 2023 Phillies
Record ends right here — however not this listing …

He had 100 extra whiffs (215) than hits (115) … however nonetheless led his staff in runs scored! You’ll love the rundown of all of the particular offensive forces who’ve ever completed a season with no less than 100 extra strikeouts than hits:

Adam Dunn (twice) … Joey Gallo (3 times) … Chris Davis (2018) … and Schwarber (2023). What. A. Group. However … what number of of these legendary whiffers additionally had 108 runs scored or led their staff in runs (or each)? Right here’s that full listing:

Kyle Schwarber, 2023 Phillies
Record ends right here

Keep out of the WAR Zone — Not surprisingly, Schwarber says even his teammates had all types of enjoyable messing with him over his wacky stat line.

“There was a time,” he recalled fondly, “in some unspecified time in the future this 12 months, that I used to be a damaging WAR participant. So we had been all laughing about that.”

Hey, his excellent news was that, by season’s finish, he did in reality climb out of that negative-WAR zone. The unhealthy information was, because of glovemanship points that the WAR gods couldn’t ignore, he climbed to a last determine of solely 0.6 WAR. Which meant …

Was it actually doable for a person to mash 47 homers and surpass 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored, but nonetheless be value lower than one win above substitute? Eh, we guess so. However had it ever appeared doable earlier than? That will be no.

Extremely, the one earlier, related monster season to result in a WAR quantity underneath 3.0 was produced by one other Phillies masher of some renown — Ryan Howard, in 2008. By some means, the Baseball Reference WAR room checked out that Howard season — which included a staggering 48 homers, 146 RBIs and 105 runs — and calculated that to be value simply 1.8 WAR. Clearly, WAR may be complicated like that typically.

So ultimately, did Kyle Schwarber care about his common or his whiffs or his WAR? Nope!

“I imply, did I image myself doing this, hitting what I’m hitting? No,” he mentioned. “I’m the primary to let you know it’s all type of fascinating. … However you understand what? On the finish of the day, for me, if we’re getting a win, I’m pleased.”

Our favourite Unusual However True Ohtani-isms of 2023

It’s virtually a reflex motion to start out each Unusual However True column with the recurrently scheduled Shohei Ohtani spotlight reel. However because you’ve been handled to, like, 988 different Ohtani tales prior to now week and a half, we’ll let him hit second on this lineup.

Oh, and in addition: We’ve already dug deep into the wildness and weirdness of that $700 million contract … and in contrast him to Mookie Betts/Gerrit Cole … and reminded you what number of consecutive hits he’d have to surrender earlier than his profession batting common would drop beneath the common of Sad Hitters Who Should Face Ohtani. So no want to do this once more.

Which suggests we are able to simply use this area to shake our heads once more over our favourite Unusual However True Ohtani moments from 2023. Prepared? So … on with the Shoh.

He by no means stopped making Tungsten Arm O’Doyle jokes doable — Do we have to re-tell, for the ultimate time, the origin of the hilarious saga of Ohtani/Tungsten Arm O’Doyle? OK, we’ll make it fast. It started two years in the past, with this then-innocent tweet.

each time I see an Angels spotlight it is like “Mike Trout hit three houses runs and raised his common to .528 whereas Shohei Ohtani did one thing that hasn’t been finished since ‘Tungsten Arm’ O’Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, because the Tigers defeated the Angels 8-3”

— ℳatt (@matttomic) May 18, 2021

Now, 2 trillion references later, Tungsten Arm O’Doyle can go down as one of many twenty first century’s best fictitious legends. And Ohtani now can go up the freeway to Chavez Ravine to go away him within the mud. However in 2023, his final season in Orange County, the Angels saved Tungsten Arm on all of our radar screens, with stuff like this:

• Opening day — Ohtani the pitcher: six shutout innings, 10 strikeouts. Ohtani the hitter: reaches base twice. Tungsten Arm subplot: Angels nonetheless lose, 2-1, as a result of … Tungsten!

• Aug. 18 — Ohtani the slammer: Hits a single within the first inning and whomps a grand slam an inning after that. Ohtani the teammate: Watches his staff flip its first triple play since 1997 to maintain this recreation tied within the ninth. Tungsten Arm subplot: Angels get an Ohtani slam and a game-saving triple play … and nonetheless lose to the Rays, 9-6, as a result of … see above.

• Sept. 3 — Ohtani the observe star: Steals his twentieth base of the season, in what turned out to be the ultimate time he reached base this 12 months. Ohtani the historian: Turns into the primary man in Nationwide League/American League historical past to hitch the 20-Steal/10-Win Membership for the reason that unforgettable Adonis Terry did it for the 1890 Brooklyn Bridegrooms. Tungsten Arm subplot: Angels nonetheless lose, 10-6, to an Oakland staff that was 54 video games underneath .500, as a result of, clearly, this was their last probability to get Tungsten Arm O’Doyle into the pretend headlines … so the baseball gods demanded they make it rely.

Ohtani, the tri-cyclist — Again on Might 9, 1918, somebody named Babe Ruth went 5-for-5, with a triple, a single and three doubles, whereas pitching into further innings earlier than lastly shedding to Walter Johnson. The Babe by no means had one other recreation with a single, double, triple and any pitches thrown. However on April 27, Ohtani had a recreation like that, in a win over Oakland. Right here’s why we point out it:

He was the primary pitcher with a single, double and triple in any type of recreation in 36 years (since Danny Darwin did it in 1987) — and solely the third prior to now six a long time. who didn’t have any video games with a single and double and triple this 12 months, although they weren’t distracted by having to throw a single pitch? Oh, solely Ronald Acuña Jr., Mookie Betts, Julio Rodríguez, Bobby Witt Jr. and about 1,000 different guys who in any other case seem severely multi-talented.

Ohtani, the box-score filler-upper — Then there was June 27. Ohtani the pitcher: Faces 24 White Sox and strikes out 10 of them. Ohtani the hitter: Takes three swings all evening … and will get three hits, two of them homers.

Right here, at no further cost, is your handy-dandy listing of dudes within the division-play period with a double-digit strikeout recreation and a multi-homer eruption in the identical recreation: Rick Smart (1971), Madison Bumgarner (2017), Zack Greinke (2019) and … Ohtani.

Ohtani, the 493-foot supply man — Then, three days after that two-homer, 10-Ok recreation, a person who had a greater strikeout ratio than Gerrit Cole this 12 months launched a house run that was projected by Statcast at 493 toes, however really, in accordance with NASA scientists we simply made up, reached Earth’s orbit. Don’t consider us? You may watch it! (And you must.)

Ohtani, the all-time twin-bill king — Lastly, what do you say we salute the best doubleheader efficiency in baseball historical past (as declared by Unusual However True World HQ, acclaimed as the last word authority on this topic, as of two sentences in the past)?

July 27 in Detroit. Ohtani the pitcher: Throws a one-hit shutout in Recreation 1 of this doubleheader. Ohtani the hitter: Mashes two dwelling runs in Recreation 2 of this doubleheader.

Query from these of us who write Unusual However True Feats of the Yr columns: Who the heck does this? Who the heck has ever finished this?

The reply, in accordance with the Elias Sports activities Bureau (by way of MLB.com’s resident Ohtani historian, Sarah Langs): That will be no one, after all. What number of males have ever thrown any type of shutout in a single recreation of a doubleheader and hit even one homer within the different recreation of a doubleheader? One man — named Shohei.

However a one-hit shutout in Recreation 1 and two dwelling runs in Recreation 2? That’s not one thing you’d anticipate to see within the main leagues. That’s out of the Marvel Superhero League.

Particular bonus word from Langs: The final human earlier than Ohtani who twirled a shutout in a single recreation of a doubleheader after which began at another place within the different recreation? George H. (Bambino) Ruth, on July 17, 1918. However no dwelling runs for the Bambino that day!

Christmas particular Unusual However True Ohtani video deal with — What can’t Shohei Ohtani do? For those who watch this video, it’ll be apparent that the reply is: Not a freaking factor.

Good Catch Sho! ✅
Shohei Ohtani catches his personal helmet whereas at bat in Anaheim. Atta Boy! 🤩#大谷翔平 #Ohtani #Angels #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/5m2Hy0lDvG

— Anaheim Sports activities (@AnaheimSports1) May 7, 2023

Our 10 favourite Unusual However True Hitting Feats of 2023

WITHOUT A TRAYCE — Simply as all of us anticipated, the primary three-homer recreation of 2023 didn’t come rocketing off the bat of Aaron Choose or Matt Olson. As an alternative, it was the work of the Dodgers’ Trayce Thompson, a person whose brother (Klay) is barely extra well-known for his 3-pointers than he’s.

However, in his first begin of the season, on April 1, Trayce grew to become the primary Dodger in historical past to stuff a grand slam, three-run homer and solo homer into the identical field rating … after which … to verify columns like this stay in enterprise … that very same man went 40 days between hits (April 19 to Might 30) … batted .148 over the remainder of the season … and hit as many big-league dwelling runs over the following six months as he hit that someday … as a result of baseball!

THEIR SECOND FIRST ACT — In an April 13 go to to Yankee Stadium, the Twins simply may need fired off the Strangest However Truest back-to-back homers ever. what their Nos. 1-2 hitters, Edouard Julien and Carlos Correa, did that day? They went back-to-back within the first inning. However that’s not the Unusual However True half … as a result of that has occurred earlier than.

what had by no means occurred earlier than? That will be a staff’s 1-2 hitters going back-to-back within the first inning … however to not lead off the sport. Seems it’s useful to feats like this if their teammates work a handy little nine-run first-inning bat-around into their busy schedule. Whaddaya know.

FEEL THE PINCH — In baseball, as in life, it’s by no means nearly the way it begins. It’s about what occurs whenever you enter the sport. For extra proof of that profound, age-old saying, which the nice philosophers have been sharing since, oh, about half a paragraph in the past, you must take a look at the 2023 tales of Elias Díaz and Andrew Knizner.

• Elias Díaz is a catcher for the Rockies. He turned 33 years previous final month. And for the reason that guidelines required someone on the Rockies to be an All-Star, that someone was him.

Keep in mind his big All-Star second? How ’bout a game-winning, lead-flipping pinch dwelling run handy the NL the All-Star recreation. Superior. However right here comes the Unusual However True half:

Pinch-hit All-Star dwelling runs — one … in a single swing.

Pinch-hit regular-season dwelling runs … in 15 professional seasons, 9 big-league seasons and a pair of,166 journeys to the plate — zero!

Timing really is every part.

• Andrew Knizner has spent most of his five-year big-league profession as Yadi Molina’s backup catcher in St. Louis. However on Might 17, fairly the Unusual However True plot line busted out. One minute, he was pinch operating for Paul Goldschmidt (look it up!) within the eighth inning of a 9-1 recreation. Subsequent minute, the Cardinals had been batting round … after which this occurred.

What you simply noticed was A Man With No Place smoking a grand slam. And solely two different gamers prior to now 65 seasons have finished that. One was Rajai Davis in 2008. The opposite (Gene Stephens) did it in 1959 after pinch operating for Ted Williams. However that isn’t even the Unusual However True half.

The Unusual However True half was that Andrew Knizner, a person who has by no means hit a slam whereas really enjoying a place, hit this slam off Mike Brosseau, who doesn’t usually give these up as a result of he’s an infielder. Which suggests … a man with no place pounded a grand slam off a place participant. And when you’re no more grateful than ever now for these Unusual However True Feats of the Yr columns, I don’t understand how you made it this far into this one.

PLEASE IGNORE THE VIDEO EVIDENCE — A basic Unusual However True factor occurred to Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts on Might 3: His career-high 30-game on-base streak was damaged regardless of the bizarre technicality that he was standing on first base when it ended.

Geez, it positive wasn’t his fault. He hit what appeared like a single to proper subject. It wasn’t caught within the air by an outfielder, similar to most hits. However sadly for him, essentially the most confused man in San Diego occurred to be his teammate Juan Soto. … Who missed the half the place the baseball bounced … and hustled again to first base … the place he discovered Bogaerts wasn’t as pleased as normal to see him.

And that’s how a person who was standing on a base noticed his on-base streak disappear, proper earlier than his eyes. Nonetheless many occasions Bogaerts questioned in 2023 why he ever left Boston, we’re guessing that was considered one of them!

NICKEL BACKS — Is 5 Hit Fever one thing a man might catch simply hanging across the batting cage? We ask as a result of Marlins hit machine Luis Arraez undoubtedly caught it this June. How Unusual However True is that this:

Arraez in June: three five-hit video games in 16 days.

Miguel Cabrera in his 21-year profession: two five-hit video games in 2,797 video games.

Unusual however one hundred pc true.

However we additionally requested about 5 Hit Fever due to …

The Angels: They mysteriously went 5 years — regardless of using Mike Trout and Ohtani for all 5 of them — with out having any stinking hitter on the roster work out tips on how to get 5 hits in a recreation … till Hunter Renfroe lastly unfurled their first quintuple since 2018 in a June 24 blowout of the Rockies. How even? However wait, Right here comes the …

Unusual However True Epilogue: So how lengthy after that would it not take for an Angel — any Angel — to ship their subsequent five-hit recreation? It was fairly the wait … of two batters … till Mickey Moniak bought his fifth hit of the day in that very same inning. As a result of … 5 Hit Fever! Catch it.

THE WILD BLUE YAN-DER — For those who’re accustomed to the work of Cubs catcher Yan Gomes, you’re most likely conscious he’ll by no means be confused with Usain Bolt, not to mention Dee Unusual-Gordon. However within the Unusual However True world we reside in, something is feasible, even for a person who ranked 449th within the majors this 12 months in common “dash” pace.

So naturally, on July 20, at age 36, Gomes did one thing no catcher his age (or older) had finished prior to now 95 years: He hit two triples in a single recreation! However that’s not all, as a result of he really hit triples in two plate appearances in a row. Now listed below are two causes we may be all in favour of one thing like that:

1) What number of different catchers hit two triples in a recreation not simply this 12 months, however the 12 months earlier than that … and the 12 months earlier than that … and the 12 months earlier than that? Anyone on the market guess none? Wonderful guess!

2) What number of triples has Gomes hit on any of the 201 different days he has been allowed to play baseball by the Cubs over these previous two seasons? That, too, can be none … in 708 journeys to the plate.

However in the midst of all that, this identical man smacked a triple in two at-bats in a row? C’mon. How will you not love the overall random wackiness of …

Baseball!

IT’S ALL CYCLICAL — We might have labored the Reds’ human device package, Elly De La Cruz, into this column about 12 alternative ways. Do you know he hit a baseball this 12 months tougher (119.2 mph) than any ball hit by Aaron Choose? That looks as if a cool factor to do for the quickest dude on the sphere.

However that’s not even what De La Cruz is doing on this sentence you’re at the moment studying. Nope. How about this:

On June 23, he hit for the cycle — within the 15th recreation of his profession.

On July 8, he stole for the cycle — by stealing second, third and residential in the identical inning.

And regardless that stealing for the cycle is a factor we simply invented, it’s nonetheless a factor you might want to be in awe of, if solely as a result of he additionally stole third and residential on the identical pitch.

3D monitoring — Elly De La Cruz steals third and residential on the identical pitch

Elly strobed each 1 second beginning with the pitcher’s first transfer pic.twitter.com/bjbmgjnk5H

— David Adler (@_dadler) July 9, 2023

Final Purple to steal for the cycle — Greasy Neale, in 1919!

Final Purple to hit for the cycle — Eric Davis, in 1989, which meant all the opposite groups had match 110 cycles in between Reds’ cycles!

Gamers within the live-ball period to do each 15 days aside (or faster) — Elly De La Cruz … and that’ll do it for that listing.

Different gamers prior to now 98 seasons who did each in the identical 12 months — Precisely one, and it was … um … Wil Myers? He did it in 2017. However that, on this case, is just not the Unusual However True half.

As a result of you understand what else occurred the day De La Cruz hit for the cycle and began all this? The Reds launched a man named … Wil Myers!

VLAD YOU STOPPED BY — Don’t ask us how Vlad Guerrero Jr. didn’t make this column only for fielding a groundball in Might, getting the baseball caught within the webbing after which flipping the entire glove to the pitcher for an out that proved, as soon as once more, your glove is not going to allow you to down. Besides that wasn’t even his Strangest However Truest feat of that week.

Simply your bizarre, tremendous informal 3-1 groundout 😅 pic.twitter.com/ZVeDIMwBb6

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 1, 2023

For his best Unusual However True basic, we take you to Might 23 in Tampa Bay, when one of many goofiest video games of the season busted out … largely because of Vlad.

Ever heard of a staff scoring 9 runs in a single inning — all towards place gamers masquerading as pitchers? That. Actually. Occurred. Within the ninth inning of that recreation. For the primary time within the historical past of this sport.

And the “pitcher” who was chargeable for most of that carnage was Rays first baseman Luke Raley. However within the midst of all these rockets Raley was serving up, he no less than shared this nutty little second with the fearsome Vlad Guerrero Jr., proper after taking the mound within the eighth.

Luke Raley strikes out Vlad Guerrero Jr.! pic.twitter.com/d856XYH5tW

— Bally Sports activities Solar: Rays (@BallyRays) May 24, 2023

So Vladdy might have made the Unusual However True Feats of the Yr only for that, besides … have we talked about there was a nine-run ninth inning on this recreation? … So what had been the chances of the Jays’ lineup turning and turning and turning … till right here got here Vlad to bat once more within the ninth inning … solely to search out Raley nonetheless pitching, with the bases loaded? Need to guess what occurred within the rematch? Yeah, it did.

Does it get a lot Stranger However More true than a man putting out and mashing a slam in the identical recreation towards the identical place participant? That will be onerous seeing how it had by no means, ever occurred … till Guerrero confirmed up at dwelling plate.

SUSPENDED ANIMATION — What’s even stranger (however more true) than a Mookie Betts 5-for-5 recreation? How a few suspended Mookie Betts 5-for-5 recreation!

That’s a factor that occurred through the Dodgers’ August go to to Cleveland. And right here’s the half that propelled it into this column:

Aug. 23 — Mookie goes 2-for-2 (with two singles) earlier than half a billion raindrops trigger a slight intermission in his sizzling streak.

Aug. 24 — Mookie will get three extra hits (single, single, double) after the sport lastly resumes.

All proper, now right here’s what makes {that a} Unusual However True all-timer: For the remainder of time, historical past will attempt to persuade us that Mookie had a five-hit recreation on Wednesday the twenty third … regardless that many human witnesses exist who might let you know that three of these hits really met the bat on the “fallacious” day (Thursday the twenty fourth).

So how Unusual However True was that? So unusual that, in accordance with our mates from STATS Carry out, just one different participant since 1901 has ever gotten 5 hits or extra in a suspended recreation … with greater than half of them approaching the “fallacious” day. However the different (Tom Paciorek) did it in a 26-inning recreation (on Might 8-9, 1984). Which might be 17 extra innings than it took Mookie Betts — our official Unusual However True Time Traveler of 2023.

WE’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER — The Braves’ complete season might have made this listing, as a result of in case you missed it, they one way or the other had the next slugging share as a staff (.501) than bashers like Bryce Harper (.499), Rafael Devers (.500) and José Ramírez (.478) had by themselves. However as an alternative, we’re going to zone in on Aug. 12, our favourite Braves Unusual However True day of the 12 months.

They scored 21 runs in Recreation 1 of a doubleheader towards the Mets that day. However that wasn’t the Unusual However True half. The Unusual However True half was how they divvied up these 21 runs. By which we imply that they had …

One man with one RBI (Ronald Acuña Jr.).

One other with two RBIs (Sean Murphy).

One other with three RBIs (Austin Riley).

One other with 4 RBIs (Matt Olson).

One other with 5 RBIs (Nicky Lopez).

And yet one more with six RBIs (Ozzie Albies).

Which meant everybody else who performed had no RBIs. And that triggered manner too a lot of you to say to yourselves: Hmmm, might that ever have occurred? And likewise: who we must always ask? The Unusual However True column!

So we reached out to the nice Katie Sharp of Baseball Reference to look into that very query. On one hand, she did discover one staff that ran off that 1-2-3-4-5-6 RBI box-score trick. Alternatively, that staff was Kiki Cuyler’s 1925 Pirates (towards St. Louis on June 22, 1925). Which suggests it occurred as just lately as 98 years in the past.

However wait. That staff really had two gamers with two RBIs and two gamers with one RBI. So you understand what which means? It signifies that, since RBIs grew to become an official stat in 1920, this Braves recreation was the primary time in historical past that six hitters on one staff went 1-2-3-4-5-6 within the RBI column … whereas no one else on their staff was driving in any runs. And that, for all of you who performed 1-2-3-4-5-6 within the Powerball that evening, is why we love …

Baseball!

Our 10 favourite Unusual However True Pitching Feats of 2023

FOUNTAINS OF WAINO — We’ll miss Adam Wainwright. That is, in any case, a column devoted to mixing enjoyable with all of the beauties of baseball. And we are able to’t consider any participant, over the previous twenty years, who bought that idea any higher than the Cardinals’ curveball king.

So what was extra completely Unusual However True than the two hundredth and last win of Wainwright’s fantastic profession? Right here’s what made it the type of recreation Unusual However True Feats of the Yr columns latch onto:

• He spun seven shutout innings — for his solely scoreless begin of the 12 months.

• He gained this recreation, 1-0 — for his first 1-0 win in 9 years.

• His catcher, Willson Contreras, hit a house run to drive in the one run — the primary time he’d ever finished that as a Cardinal. However now let’s hold going, as a result of we’ve barely scratched the floor of the Unusual However Trueness.

• Again on Opening Day of the 2014 season, Wainwright gained the one centesimal recreation of his profession. He went seven shutout innings in that recreation, too. However maintain on. There’s extra.

• How do you assume the one run scored in that one centesimal win? Would you consider on a house run by his catcher, Yadi Molina? Yep, the identical manner he gained No. 200.

• However wait. There’s nonetheless extra. What number of different pitchers in historical past have ever gained their two hundredth recreation 1-0 on a house run by their catcher? Proper. That will be none.

• And what number of different 1-0 video games in Wainwright’s profession did he win on any type of RBI by his catcher? Proper. That will even be none.

Baseball. It’s one of the best.

NUMBER SCRUNCHING — In baseball, we love large numbers. However right here at Unusual However True World HQ, we additionally love little numbers. The littler the higher, in reality. So right here’s a toast to those tiny numbers from 2023.

1 — Does it appear unattainable for a pitcher to file a one-pitch strikeout? Ha. Are you accustomed to the weirdness of baseball? All it took for Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman to tug that off, again on July 28, was about three trillion raindrops in Pittsburgh. Then he marched in after a rain delay, inherited a 1-2 rely on Jared Triolo, bought him to swing by way of a slider and voila!

We have now a one-pitch strikeout in Pittsburgh for Jeff Hoffman, because of all these raindrops! pic.twitter.com/VdSspudMmm

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 29, 2023

3 — Do first innings get any neater or cleaner than the three pitches it took Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani to zip by way of his first inning on Might 28 towards the Pirates? Wait. Don’t reply that too swiftly.

Three pitches. Three outs. But additionally … one extra-base hit (by Tucupita Marcano, on the primary pitch of the sport). Fortunately, the following two pitches went: Line-drive out … fly-ball double play. Probably the most baseball factor ever.

0 — Lastly, onerous as we’ve been making an attempt to not choose on the Mets on this column, it doesn’t get a lot Stranger Than More true than a walk-off balk, issued by a pitcher (Josh Walker) who threw zero pitches. However that was the Mets season in wonderful micro-Met-rocosm.

Right here’s that deal. Walker rolls in to alleviate Grant Hartwig in an Aug. 1 tilt with the Royals. Tie recreation. Two outs within the tenth. Leans in for the signal. His PitchCom glitches out. And … oh no!

The umps referred to as a balk to attain the walkoff run in extras regardless of the Mets arguing that they had been having pitch on points pic.twitter.com/mJvCHmrIjp

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 2, 2023

We’ve been retaining observe of pitch counts for the previous 36 seasons. Within the 80,000 video games or so in these 36 seasons, just one different pitcher has ever managed a no-pitch “balk-off” to finish any recreation: Mike Stanton, for the Nationals, on July 15, 2005. However no matter it took in 2023, it felt as if the Mets had been gonna discover a approach to Met!

CRAZY EIGHTS — Who had a Stranger However More true 2023 than Lucas Giolito? It was wacky sufficient that he ping-ponged from the White Sox to the Angels to the Guardians in a mere 36 days. However that wasn’t even the Unusual However True half.

The Unusual However True half was he discovered a approach to enable no less than eight runs in a recreation for all three of these groups. The “excellent news” for Giolito: He was not the one man ever to do this for 3 totally different groups. However the unhealthy information was, the final pitcher to do it was Invoice McGee … in 1899!

DOMINGO’S PERFECT STORM — If baseball made any sense, all excellent video games can be thrown by true aces. So if Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander or Clayton Kershaw are ever within the temper to go 27-up, 27-down some day, we’re cool with that. We’d even log off on occasional visitor perfectos by Corbin Burnes and Max Scherzer — as a result of no less than we might perceive how that’s doable.

As an alternative, we’re regularly reminded that baseball is senseless. And will there be any extra proof than this: The one excellent recreation of the previous decade was authored this season by world-famous non-ace Domingo Germán of the Yankees. And may all of us agree that’s simply ridiculous?

Six days earlier than Germán’s perfecto (June 22 versus Seattle) — He faces 23 hitters, provides up 10 runs, will get solely 10 outs and by no means even retires three in a row! (The engaging box-score line: 3 1/3 IP — 8 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4 Ok, 4 HR, 93 pitches to get 10 outs!)

Six days later (June 28 at Oakland) — The identical human faces 27 hitters, will get all 27 of them out! (The way more presentable line: 9-0-0-0-0-9, 97 pitches to get 27 outs!)

We had been so befuddled by this, how might we not ask our mates from STATS if it was as illogical and unprecedented as we suspected? The reply: Effectively, you can most likely guess the reply.

This was baseball’s twentieth excellent recreation since 1909. There was one slight distinction between German’s gem and the opposite 19: He was the one one who confronted no less than 23 hitters within the earlier begin and by no means as soon as retired three in a row … due to course he was!

THE LORENZEN EXPRESS — No less than Domingo Germán didn’t throw another no-hitters this 12 months … however Michael Lorenzen did … as a result of why the heck not! He was traded by the Tigers to the Phillies on Aug. 1. He no-hit the Nationals eight days later.

No want to say that after the no-hitter, his ERA over the ultimate two months was 8.01. Doesn’t matter. He no-hit his manner proper into the Unusual However True Feats of the Yr column. Right here’s why:

Steve Carlton — spent 15 years pitching for the Phillies, gained 4 Cy Younger awards, led all left-handers in baseball in WAR over these 15 seasons, made the Corridor of Fame … and pitched zero no-hitters.

Michael Lorenzen — had spent eight days as a Phillie, had by no means thrown a pitch for the Phillies in Philadelphia earlier than that evening, was out of the rotation 5 weeks later … however has achieved trivia immortality as the reply to a model of this query: Who’s the one Phillie to pitch a no-hitter in Philadelphia since Roy Halladay?

Wow. Baseball. Is it wonderful, or what?

DREAM WEAVER — It is best to know that Luke Weaver didn’t throw any no-hitters for the Reds this 12 months (or for his different two groups — the Mariners and Yankees — both). However he, too, did exemplary work in proving our recurring thesis about baseball: It. Makes. No. Sense.

On one hand … From Might 31 to July 8, Weaver made eight begins for the Reds. You resolve how that went.

• His ERA: 8.66

• Slash line of hitters he confronted: .342/.392/.613

• What which means: He mainly turned all the league into 2012 Miguel Cabrera (who hit .330/.393/.606 that 12 months).

In order that was a catastrophe, huh? Um, don’t reply but, as a result of …

Alternatively … how’d the Reds make out in these eight begins? Would you consider …

They went 8-0!

You’d assume we had been making that up, proper? And then you definitely’d bear in mind … that is the Unusual However True Feats of the Yr column!

BOX-SCORE CORNER — You don’t want us to level out that sure journeys to the mound are Unusual However True materials. You simply must seek the advice of the field scores. They let you know all you might want to learn about video games like this …

Ben Energetic, Aug. 1 at Wrigley — Within the Cubs’ 20-9 thrashing of the Reds, Energetic was extra like Ben Lethal:

4 IP, 13 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 2 BB, 2 Ok, 4 HR, 1 HBP, 94 pitches to get 12 outs!

So what’s up with that? You understand how onerous it’s to surrender 13 hits and 13 earned runs however not even get 12 outs? No one had finished that since Les (not a McDonald’s entrée) McCrabb … on April 16, 1942! … However you know the way a lot tougher it’s to surrender 13 earned runs and 4 homers? So onerous that, since earned runs grew to become an official stat greater than a century in the past, only one pitcher has finished that. His identify: Ben Energetic.

Luis Cessa, April 16 versus the Phillies — We’re undecided how this column changed into a Reds Rotation’s Best Hits assortment. However it wouldn’t have been doable to compile these Unusual However True Pitching Feats of the 12 months with out this glowing begin by Cessa:

3 IP, 14 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 3 BB, 0 Ok, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 88 pitches to get 9 outs.

So what’s up with that? Earlier than we might even look this up, loyal reader Allan Wooden beat us to it. You understand how many pitchers since 1900 have given up that many runs and that many hits however not even gotten 10 outs? Only one. Proper … Luis Cessa.

Josh Fleming, Might 28 versus the Dodgers — In the meantime, in non-Reds box-score developments, Fleming’s last begin of the 12 months for the Rays was a basic in additional methods than one:

6 IP, 12 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ok … and 5 HR!

So what’s up with that? Ha. Trick query. You gained’t consider it. Sure, this man gave up 12 hits, 10 runs and 5 looonnnggg balls — nevertheless it was all value it. Not simply because he saved the bullpen, but additionally as a result of … his staff gained (11-10)! He’s the primary pitcher to get bruised for that many runs, hits and homers in a recreation his staff gained for the reason that legendary Dodger, Ralph Branca, was allowed to stay round for all 9 innings in a scenic 17-10 recreation in Pittsburgh on June 25, 1949.

CUT TO THE CHASE — Each journey to the mound at Coors Subject is a chance, all proper — a chance to wind up within the Unusual However True Feats of the Yr column. So congratulations to Chase Anderson, for doing his half in a messy little 25-1 loss to the Angels on June 24.

Right here is how he kicked off a enjoyable little 13-run third inning that day:

First pitch — Mike Trout dwelling run.

Second pitch — Brandon Drury dwelling run.

Third pitch — Matt Thaiss dwelling run.

That’s three pitches, three dwelling runs. And also you don’t see that a lot. In truth, dwelling runs on three pitches in a row, at any level in any inning, is a factor that’s occurred just one different time to any energetic pitcher … and it was the identical pitcher.

No kidding. Again on Sept. 17, 2020, when Anderson was a Blue Jay, he served up three in a row to the Yankees within the fourth inning. And that may make no sense in any respect, besides it’s …

Baseball!

NO-HIT PANDA-MONIUM — We don’t ordinarily take these Unusual However True expeditions into the wilds of the minor leagues. However we’re making an exception right here for the beloved Rocket Metropolis Trash Pandas, of the always-entertaining Double-A Southern League, as a result of …

The excellent news: On April 9, the Trash Pandas did a type of issues which might be alleged to really feel like a dream come true — by throwing a no-hitter, in an all-time minor-league basic, towards Chattanooga. However now comes …

The not fairly pretty much as good as that information: They managed to throw that no-hitter and lose, which doesn’t occur a lot, even within the Southern League. And that isn’t even the Unusual However True half, since you ought to undoubtedly learn on to …

The not even pretty much as good as that last item information: They pulled off the rarified feat of throwing a no-hitter … and permitting seven runs … but additionally … permitting all seven of these runs in the identical inning.

How Unusual However True is it to surrender seven runs in a no-hitter? Oh, you understand. No big-league staff has ever finished it. And the one different time it’s recognized to have occurred within the minor leagues was Aug. 31, 1948, within the late, nice Pony League, when Louis Blackmore of the Wellsville Purple Sox did it in a recreation during which there wasn’t a lot want for anyone to get a success … since he additionally sprinkled in 17 walks that day!

So is that how the Trash Pandas did it? Eh, not precisely. Their engaging seven-run inning … in the midst of a no-hitter, bear in mind … went like this:

Stroll … stroll … infield-fly rule popup (one out) … stroll … strikeout (two outs) … stroll (one run) … three-run error on the middle fielder (4 runs – oops!) … new pitcher … hit-by-pitch … hit-by-pitch … hit-by-pitch (5 runs) … stroll (six runs) … run-scoring wild pitch (seven runs) … hit-by-pitch … strikeout (three outs).

So what are the chances of giving up seven runs in a no-hitter, irrespective of what number of innings it takes? This took some math. However right here goes …

Within the final 105 big-league video games during which a staff gave up no hits, you know the way many runs these 105 groups gave up? That will be six — in all 105 of these video games mixed! However one way or the other, the Trash Pandas gave up seven … in a single inning. And when you’ve by no means seen something like that, we may help with that too!

90 seconds of tips on how to NO HIT a staff…however quit 7 RUNS and lose. 😳 pic.twitter.com/aClXzUfyJS

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 9, 2023

THE GHOST OF HARVEY HADDIX — However the Milwaukee Brewers don’t must verify in with any Trash Pandas to know that throwing a no-hitter may be overrated. They lived it Sept. 10 — in one of many Strangest However Truest video games of any 12 months.

For 9 innings that day, Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams no-hit the Yankees within the Bronx. Then reliever Abner Uribe stomped out of the bullpen and made it 10 hitless innings. If the Brewers had simply remembered to attain a run or 12 in these 10 innings, they’d have had a manner higher time.

As an alternative, this recreation saved going — by way of the eleventh inning, by way of the twelfth inning, into the thirteenth inning — throughout which … the Yankees went from getting no hits in any inning to getting no less than one hit … and scoring … in each inning, from the eleventh by way of the thirteenth, as a result of … it’s baseball … and … it is senseless.

So on a day when the Brewers gave up no hits for 10 innings, they nonetheless misplaced, 4-3. And the way Unusual However True was that? You’ve come to the fitting place.

On one hand … groups that spin off 9 hitless innings are likely to win quite a bit. Within the division-play period (1969-2023), 150 groups have pitched precisely 9 innings of hit-free, run-free domination in both a regular-season or postseason recreation. The file of these groups is an ideal 150-0. OK, positive.

Or 10 can be cool … as a result of no staff within the fashionable period has pitched precisely 10 hitless, scoreless innings in a recreation and misplaced, both. The file of groups that try this: 4-0 … as we’d all anticipate. Nonetheless …

Alternatively … right here comes the Strangest However Truest no-hitter truth ever: No staff has ever taken a no-hitter into the eleventh inning … and gained that recreation! That is true. These groups are actually 0-4. Actually.

So in case your favourite staff ever finds itself throwing a no-hitter within the eleventh inning, don’t say we didn’t warn you. It could seem to be a lovely factor when you’re watching it. However in actuality, it’s extra harmful than you assume, simply because it’s …

Baseball!

(Prime picture of Kyle Schwarber: Wealthy Graessle / Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Photographs)