Guys talk baseball. It’s what we do, one of the great joys of being a man. I mean, when guys are out at the bar, what’s more fun that talking about America’s pastime? Well, picking up chicks is probably better but baseball is a close second. Picture it, you and your buddies, drinking beer, eating wings, it’s the best, at least until one of you starts talking about how you could have made the “bigs” and shortly thereafter wind up in the bathroom drunkenly sobbing. Anyway, baseball is so important to us men that even talking about it is a competition. Five minutes into the conversation, we’re quizzing each other and of course the guy who knows the most is the coolest or the saddest depending on how you look at it. Anyway here are 25 cool facts about Major League Baseball you can use to make your buddies look dumb.
Oakland’s Dave Stewart was the last pitcher to throw a shutout in Game 1 of the 1989 World Series vs. the Giants.
Pablo Sandoval was the last player with a multi-homer game in the World Series. He hit three in game 1 of the 2012 World Series vs. the Giants.
Brian Roberts was the last Orioles player to lead the American League in stolen bases.
Jeffrey Leonard was MVP of the 1987 National League Championship Series between the Cardinals and Giants.
Yogi Berra hit the first postseason pinch-hit homer in Major League history.
The St. Louis Cardinals have the second most World Series wins behind the Yankees with 11 but have never won back to back World Series.
Sammy Sosa hit over 60 homeruns in a season 3 times.
Ricky Henderson finished his career with an insane 1,406 stolen bases.
Alex Sanchez was the first major league player to be suspended under the steroid policy implemented in the 2005 season.
Brian Giles was the only Pirate to be selected to play in the 2001 All-Star game.
Ralph Kiner is the only player ever to lead the league in homers for seven years in a row, his first seven years as a major league player.
Jackie Mitchell, a 17-year-old female pitcher for the AA Chattanooga Lookouts, once played the New York Yankees in an exhibition game and struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back.
Cal Ripken Jr. played in 2,632 consecutive games from 1982 to 1998.
Matt Stairs holds the record for most career pinch-hit home runs with 20.
Kevin Kouzmanoff was the first player to hit a grand slam off the first major league pitch he ever saw.
Ken Griffey Jr. hit 630 Home runs in his career.
Frank Robinson has hit the most home runs on opening day, with 8 opening day home runs.
Lou Gehrig voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, the year he retired, the first player to do so.
Satchel Paige never had a 20 loss season in his career.
Randy Johnson won the NL Cy Young award in 2000.
Cy Young won 511 games as a pitcher.
Fenway Park in Boston is the oldest baseball stadium still in use.
Mickey Mantle has 18 home runs and 40 RBI’s in World Series games.
In 353 at bats, Joe Sewell only struck out three times during the entire 1930 season, two of which were in the same game.
Carlos Beltran was the first switch hitter to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases.
Article By: Jon DaBove
