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Most hits in a season by a pitcher??

Morning Trivia for you guys to help me out with. 3 more words

i have searched and searched  to try and find the record for most hits in a season by  a pitcher but couldn't find any where on any site. does anyone know how many hits is the record for most by a pitcher in one season and who holds that record?

also note: carlos zambrano has 16 hits so far this season

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Don't Know If It's A Record, But...

Don Drysdale had 39 hits for the Dodgers in 1965. I looked at this article.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Jun 10, 2008 12:06 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

I wonder...

... if the record holder is some guy they call Babe. I don’t know for sure, but he had 317 at bats that year, and won 13 games as a pitcher. Now I am sure he played other positions that years besides pitcher, but I have no idea how many of his 95 hits that season came while playing pitcher or another position.

in 1919, he won 9 games, pitched in 133 innings, yet played in 130 games, and had 432 at bats. That season he had 139 hits and 29 home runs.

Ever notice how Zambrano physically resembles the Babe? Maybe Z should play the outfield on days he doesn’t pitch! Haha. Wouldn’t his next contract look great with numbers as 18 wins, 30 homers, and a .325 batting average. Haha… he’d have softball like stats!

by TheHawkRules on Jun 10, 2008 12:15 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Babe Had 40 Hits in 1917

In 1917, Ruth played no games in the outfield. He got 40 hits in 123 AB. He must have done some pinch-hitting. He pitched in 41 games. Yet, his batting record shows he appeared in 52 games. I don’t know how many of those 40 hits were pinch hits. In 1965, Drysdale got 39 hits in 130 AB’s. He, too, must have done some pinch-hitting. He pitched in 44 games. Yet, his batting record shows he was in 58 games. I don’t know how many of his 39 hits were pinch hits. I hope this helps.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Jun 10, 2008 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I believe the answer to this is...

... Walter Johnson. In 1925 – when he was 37, of all things – he hit .433/.455/.577, going 42-for-97. He had six doubles, a triple, 2 HR and 20 RBI.

The ML record for HR in a season by a pitcher is 9, set by Wes Ferrell in 1931, when he hit .319/.373/.621 (37-for-116) with six doubles and a triple in addition to the 9 HR, and 30 (!) RBI.

The NL record for HR by a pitcher in a season is 7, set by Drysdale in 1965. The team record is 6, set by Fergie Jenkins in 1971 and tied by Z in 2006. When Z hit the 6 HR, he had only five other hits that entire season.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jun 10, 2008 1:40 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

FWIW

Mike Hampton also hit 7 homeruns in 2001 for the Rockies (he only had 23 total hits that season)

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Jun 10, 2008 1:49 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yabbut...

4 of those were at Coors…and his last one of that season was at Wrigley off Felix Heredia (blech) with the wind blowing straight out in this game.

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Jun 10, 2008 2:01 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

OT

In 1916 Babe Ruth PITCHED 323.7 innings and gave up ZERO home runs with an era of 1.75. He himself hit 2 home runs in 3 home runs.

Sorry this is random, but whenever on baseball reference I always find myself checking out his REMARKABLE stats. Unreal.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ruthba01.shtml

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Jun 10, 2008 2:05 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

"3 home runs in 136 at bats"

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Jun 10, 2008 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Dude

I just spent about an hour on that site amazed at some stats. Some of them are mind boggling. Look at Bonds’ On-Base Percentage from 2004.

Unreal!!!

"Please move away from this vector and get into another coordinate pronto. There's no access for you in this quadrant." Mike Donnelly

by McRipper on Jun 10, 2008 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

cool

after im finished looking at Brant Brown, Tyler Houston, Fred McGriff and Mickey Morandini. Honestly I just looked at those-—-—-——-Hammer GET TO WORK

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Jun 10, 2008 2:10 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Try the grog, me hearties!

Nanika Ga Okoru!

Oh, and remember, folks: Alfonso Soriano is NOT batting leadoff. He's batting first.

by dat cubfan daver on Jun 10, 2008 2:14 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Great site

Check out the post season pitching stats – 3 starts, 3 wins, and a 0.87 ERA Best Post season pitcher EVER.

Cubs Win!! Cubs Win!

by Ihatethecards on Jun 10, 2008 3:38 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I Believe You're Right

I looked at Drysdale’s batting logs from 1965. If i’m counting right, he had 3 pinch hits in 14 pinch AB’s. That would mean 36 out of his 39 hits that year were as a pitcher. I don’t know how I can find out how many of the Big Train’s hits in 1925 were pinch hits. I don’t know how I could do the same for the Babe in 1917. Baseball-reference.com doesn’t give player specific game logs before 1956.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Jun 10, 2008 2:17 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Johnson played in six games other than those he pitched.

Don’t have any idea how many hits, if any, he had in those games.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jun 10, 2008 2:18 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Wes Ferrell

would’ve been my guess, off the top of my head. He’s probably the best all-around hitter among pitchers that were not coverted to other positions (i.e. Babe Ruth). Ferrell did have 52 hits in 1935 but had a lot of pinch hit appearances that year. He had over thirty hits in all but one season between 1930 and 1937. Ferrell’s career line was .280/.351/.446 …not too bad, even in a high-offense ERA.

by LaddieRenfroe on Jun 10, 2008 3:13 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

amos rusie

hit 57 hits in 1893 all as a pitcher. That is the most I have found by someone who was a pitcher only. He did start 64 games and went 31-31. He had 212 at bats.

by nks6911 on Jun 10, 2008 2:40 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

That's Some Amazing Research

Amos Rusie got all those hits as a pitcher. After 1900, I think Walter Johnson has the record. As Al has written, Johnson had 42 hits in 1925. He must have had six pinch-hit AB’s. I do see that Don Newcombe had 42 hits in 1955. However, Newcombe must have had 23 pinch-hit AB’s. I doubt seriously that Newcombe had more hits as a pitcher in 1955 than the Big Train had as a pitcher in 1925. BTW, Ruth must have had 11 pinch-hit AB’s in 1917, when he got 40 hits. I also doubt he had more hits as a pitcher in 1917 than the Big Train had as a pitcher in 1925.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Jun 10, 2008 2:59 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Good research indeed.

You definitely have to differentiate the 19th-Century pitchers from the post-1900 pitchers. Totally different way of playing the game.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jun 10, 2008 3:14 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

technically...

The technical record holder is almost certainly a pitcher from the 1870s or 80s, when teams would A) only use one or two pitchers for the entire season and B) the drop-off between pitcher’s hitting and those of the position players wasn’t quite as pronounced.

But it was a different game then, and comparing Old Hoss Radbourn to Mike Hampton doesn’t make much sense on any level.

by LaddieRenfroe on Jun 10, 2008 3:07 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

About this year...

.... Z has 16 hits in 14 starts as a pitcher and 5 pinch-hitting appearances. He is 1-for-5 as a PH, so he has 15 hits as a pitcher. He’ll likely get 20 more starts. If he continues his average, about 1 hit per start, he’ll wind up with about 35 hits, which is quite a few. His career high, set in 2005, is 24.

Don’t know where that ranks among Cub pitchers. In 1971, when Fergie Jenkins had his 6-HR season, he had 28 hits.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jun 10, 2008 3:19 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Wes Ferrell Might Have Modern Record

Wes Ferrell had 52 hits overall and 34 pinch-hit AB’s in 1935. He was a .223 career pinch-hitter according to this article. For sake of argument, had Ferrell gotten 8 hits in his 34 pinch-hit AB’s, he still would have had 44 hits as a pitcher in 1935. I can’t verify how many of those 52 were pinch hits. I wish I knew where the Hardball Times people got the career pinch-hitting statistics.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Jun 10, 2008 3:32 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

And the winner is...

I ran the numbers through baseball reference’s play index, using percentage of games played at pitcher to eliminate some of the misleading results. At around 80%, most of the two-way players are weeded out.

The technical record holder is in fact Old Hoss Radbourn, who had 108 hits during the 1884 season. He completed all 73 of the games that he started that year although he did play a handful of games at other positions.

The Cub record holder is Al Spalding, from the first NL season in 1876. Spalding started 60 of the teams 66 games, getting 91 hits.

The “modern” record holder is George Uhle, who had 52 hits for Cleveland in 1923. While Wes Ferrell had also had 52 hits in a season, Uhle only appeared in 4 games in which he didn’t pitch whereas Ferrell had far more pinch hit appearances. Uhle hit .361 that year and won 26 games which makes for all-around season.

by LaddieRenfroe on Jun 10, 2008 3:40 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

your second paragraph is awesome

except for pitching the whole game, they were little leaguers, pitch then go to the outfield or whatever.

Thanks

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Jun 10, 2008 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

OK...

... now do it for the expansion era. Who has the most hits for a pitcher since 1961?

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jun 10, 2008 3:45 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Drysdale in 1965.

by LaddieRenfroe on Jun 10, 2008 3:47 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

you, my friend, are fast

2 minutes!!

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Jun 10, 2008 3:51 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Actually...

As somebody mentioned above, Drysdale had three pinch hits in 1965 out of a total of 39. Catfish Hunter had 36 hits in 1971, all of them as a pitcher. So I guess that they’re tied.

Don Newcombe had 42 hits in 1955 but a number of pinch-hit at-bats. We don’t have game logs for that season so he may, or may not, have had more hits than Drysdale and Hunter.

by LaddieRenfroe on Jun 10, 2008 4:00 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'd say Z has a shot at that.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jun 10, 2008 4:03 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

21st Century Record

Jason Marquis might have that record with 24 hits as a pitcher with the Cardinals in 2005. He had 3 pinch hits that year. Would that be the modern modern modern record?

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Jun 10, 2008 3:59 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

It's probably the record since 2005.

:)

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jun 10, 2008 4:03 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

He's tied...

...with Zambrano who also had 24 hits in 2005, but didn’t pinch-hit during that season. Looks like Carlos might have that record all to himself by later this year.

by LaddieRenfroe on Jun 10, 2008 4:04 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

But that's in the 'roid era...

so his numbers must be adjusted for inflation.

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Jun 10, 2008 4:10 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

oh, Mark McGwuire!

see what thou hath wrought…h…

"We expect to win. We go out to win. So we're just living up to our own expectations." Derrek Lee, 5/29/08

by drewishdrewid on Jun 11, 2008 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

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