Red Sox History Lesson
Joe Cronin was a tremendous clutch hitter.
According to the baseball Hall of Fame website, Hall of Fame manager Connie Mack once said: ”Oh, my yes, Joe is the best there is in the clutch. With a man on third and one out, I’d rather have Cronin hitting for me than anybody I’ve ever seen.”
The Hall of Fame website states “that on June 17, 1943, Joe Cronin connected for two pinch-hit home runs, one in each game of a doubleheader, becoming the first of only two players to ever accomplish the feat.”
A player/manager for the Red Sox from 1935 through 1945, Cronin mainly served as a pinch hitter from the 1942 season onward and he set the record for the most pinch hit home runs in a season (5) in 1943, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
He had a career .289 batting average and .386 on-base percentage in games that he didn’t start.
Tomorrow I will write more about Cronin and sum up his career as both a player, manager, general manager and President of the American League.
Videos of the Day
Interesting video on Mickey Mantle:
MLB Hall of Famer of the Day
Mickey Mantle.
Mantle played all 18 seasons with the New York Yankees, who signed him as an amateur free agent.
He won three MVP awards (1956, 1957 and 1962). In 1956, he hit for the Triple Crown, leading the American League in home runs (52), RBIs (130) and batting average (.353). He also led the league that year in runs (132), slugging percentage (.705), OPS (1.169) and total bases (376).
He batted for a remarkable .365 average in 1957.
He bashed 54 home runs in 1961 but finished second in the MVP voting to teammate Roger Maris who blasted 61 home runs.
A switch hitter, he finished his career with .536 home runs, 2,415 hits, 1,509 RBIs, 1,677 runs scored and a .298 batting average.
He helped the Yankees win 12 pennants and seven World Series championships in his first 14 seasons, according to the baseball Hall of Fame website and his plaque in Cooperstown states that he set World Series records for home runs (18), runs (42), RBIs (40), total bases (123) and walks (43).
Check out his page on the baseball hall of fame here.
Check out this Mickey Mantle website.
MLB Statistic of the Day
Like or not, agree with it or not, Barry Bonds has hit the most home runs in MLB history with 762.
- 1. Barry Bonds 762
- 2. Hank Aaron 755
- 3. Babe Ruth 714
- 4. Willie Mays 660
- 5. Ken Griffey 630
- 6. Alex Rodriguez 613
- 7. Sammy Sosa 609
- 8. Jim Thome 589
- 9. Frank Robinson 586
- 10. Mark McGwire 583
Trivia Question of the Day
What year did Nomar Garciaparra win the Rookie of the Year?
Answer to yesterday’s trivia question: No. 4.
