IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
I have today off. I had big plans. Do some laundry. Pack for a 10-day road trip that begins with a morning flight to Atlanta tomorrow. Fill out the health care enrollment form that was due two days ago. But then e-mailer Bob Volkert decided to hit me up with a question:
When Jayson Werth hit his grand slam in the seventh inning last night, three men were on base: Raul Ibanez, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. All three of those men, plus Werth, have hit at least 30 home runs this season. So, Bob wondered, was this the first time in MLB history that one 30-home-run-hitter drove in three others with a grand slam?
Thanks to the wonderful folks at Baseball-Reference.com, who have made it their life's mission to catalog every inning, home run, and crotch grab (OK, they haven't gotten around to crotch grabs yet) in baseball history, answering Bob's question was possible.
So while my cold-water dark clothing sat idle in a laundry basket, I spent an hour combing through the 12 other teams in baseball history with four 30-home-run hitters.
The conclusion?
Bob was on to something. And now Jayson Werth has a place in MLB history: the first 30-home-run hitter to drive in three other 30 home-run hitters with a grand slam.
In 2006, the White Sox's Joe Crede hit one with Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye on base, but it was only his 14th home run of the season. In 2000, the Angels' Garrett Anderson hit his 10th with Mo Vaughn, Darrin Erstad and Tim Salmon on base. And in 2000, Toronto's Tony Batista hit his 14th with Raul Mondesi, Carlos Delgado and Brad Fullmer on base.
But, alas, Werth's grand slam was the first in major league history that came at a point in the season when all four players involved had already reached the 30 home-run plateau.
Was this little bit of information worth its own blog entry? Probably not. But 1/24th of my day off is now gone, so I damn well am going to get some play out of it.
But if useless trivia is not enough to satisfy you, here is how the Phillies rotation will set up for the rest of the season if they were to keep it in order:
9/17 vs. WAS - Cole Hamels (Five days rest)
9/18 at ATL - J.A. Happ (injury)
9/19 at ATL - Pedro Martinez (Five)
9/20 at ATL - Cliff Lee (Four)
9/21 at OFF - OFF DAY
9/22 at FLA (DH) - Blanton (Five)/Moyer (spot)
9./23 at FLA - Hamels (Five)
9/24 at MIL - Happ (Five)
9/25 at MIL - Martinez (Five)
9/26 at MIL - Lee (Five)
9/27 at MIL - Blanton (Four)
9/28 vs. HOU - Hamels (Four)
9/29 vs. HOU - Happ (Four)
9/30 vs. HOU - Martinez (Four)
10/1 vs. HOU - Lee (Four)
10/2 vs. FLA - Blanton (Four)
10/3 vs. FLA - Hamels (Four)
10/4 vs. FLA - Happ
10/5 vs. OFF - OFF DAY
10/6 vs. OFF - OFF DAY
10/7 vs. ??? - NLDS Game 1 (Cliff Lee, Five)
10/8 vs. ??? - NLDS Game 2 (Cole Hamels, Four)
10/9 vs. OFF - OFF DAY
10/10 vs. ?? - NLDS Game 3
10/11 vs. OFF - NLDS Game 4
10/12 vs. OFF - OFF DAY
10/13 vs. ?? - NLDS Game 5 (Hamels/Lee)
Just throwing this out there:
Cole Hamels/Cliff Lee on Four Days of Rest vs. Five Days of Rest:
Lee on Four Days in 09 (19): 2.98 ERA, 1.231 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 3.39 K/BB
Lee on Five Days in 09 (10): 2.59 ERA, 1.178 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 5.90 K/BB
Hamels on Four Days in 09 (14): 3.65 ERA, 1.229 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 4.93 K/BB
Hamels on Five Days in 09 (10): 4.14 ERA, 1.295 WHIP, 9.1 K/9, 4.21 K/BB
Lee on Four Days in 08 (15): 3.07 ERA, 1.202 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 4.37 K/BB
Lee on Five Days in 08 (12): 2.48 ERA, 1.115 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 4.57 K/BB
Hamels on Four Days in 08 (19): 2.68 ERA, 1.084 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 3.83 K/BB
Hamels on Five Days in 08 (12): 4.03 ERA, 1.133 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 3.58 K/BB
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