Nolan Ryan Gets 5,000th Strikeout

On August 22, 1989, Texas Rangers great Nolan Ryan strikes out the 5,000th batter of his career. The batter would be another future Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics

Ryan although with the Rangers in 1989, he enjoyed the best years of his career with the California Angels, where he threw four of his MLB record seven no-hitters. The seven are three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for most one-hitters, with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters. Despite the seven no-hitters, he never threw a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award.

Only Ryan, Sandy Koufax (four), Cy Young (three), Bob Feller (three), and Larry Corcoran (three) have pitched more than two no-hitters. Corcoran was the first pitcher to throw a second no-hitter in a career (in 1882), as well as the first to throw a third (in 1884).

Ryan is one of only 29 players in baseball history to have appeared in Major League baseball games in four decades and the only pitcher to have struck out seven pairs of fathers and sons. While his lifetime winning percentage was .526, Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, with 324 wins and 292 losses. With a career 3.19 earned run average.

Ryan would finish his career with 5,714 career strikeouts, which rank first in major league baseball history by a significant margin. He leads the runner-up, Randy Johnson, by 839 strikeouts. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962; walking over 50 percent more hitters than any other pitcher in Major League history.

The list of current 3000 strikeout pitchers includes in this order from most to least, Nolan Ryan, 5,714, Randy Johnson, 4,875, Roger Clemens, 4,672, Steve Carlton, 4,136, Bert Blyleven, 3,701, Tom Seaver, 3,640, Don Sutton, 3,574, Gaylord Perry, 3,534, Walter Johnson, 3,509, Greg Maddux, 3,371, Phil Niekro, 3,342, Ferguson Jenkins, 3,192, Pedro Martinez, 3,154, Bob Gibson, 3,117, Curt Schilling, 3,116 and John Smoltz, 3,084.

Ryan and Koufax are the only two pitchers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched. Other than Jackie Robinson (whose number was retired by the entire MLB), Ryan is currently the only major league baseball player to have his number retired by at least three different teams: the Angels, Astros, and Rangers.

Ryan was inducted into Cooperstown Hall of Fame in 1999 with 98.79 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared.

While Henderson helped Ryan set an MLB record with strikeout 5,000, he would also go on to have a great career.

Henderson was a left fielder who played in Major League Baseball for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four stints with his original team, the Oakland Athletics.

Nicknamed "The Man of Steal", he is widely regarded as the sport's greatest leadoff hitter and base runner/ holding the record for most career leadoff home runs with 81, and winning three Silver Slugger awards in 1981, 1985 and 1990. His 1,406 career steals are almost double the previous record of 938 by Lou Brock, and more than 700 above the current active leader in stolen bases, Juan Pierre, who has 611 as of Aug. 21, 2013.

Henderson is the all-time stolen base leader for the Oakland A’s and previously held the New York Yankees' franchise record from 1988-2011.

He also holds the major league records for runs scored and unintentional walks.

Henderson also holds the single-season record for stolen bases (130 in 1982) and is the only player in AL history to steal 100 bases in a season, having done so three times.

A 12-time stolen base champion, Henderson led the league in runs five times and was among the league's top ten base stealers in 21 different seasons.

Henderson was named the AL's Most Valuable Player in 1990, and he was the leadoff hitter for two World Series champions: the 1989 Oakland A's and the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays.

At the time of his last major league game in 2003, the ten-time American League (AL) All-Star ranked among the sport's top 100 all-time home run hitters and was its all-time leader in base on balls.

His 25-year career elevated Henderson to the top ten in several other categories, including career at bats, games, and outfield putouts and total chances.

His high on-base percentage, power hitting, and stolen base and run totals made him one of the most dynamic players of his era.

He was further known for his unquenchable passion for playing baseball and a buoyant, eccentric and quotable personality that both perplexed and entertained fans.

Once asked if he thought Henderson was a future Hall of Famer, statistician Bill James replied, "If you could split him in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers.

In 2009, he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot appearance with 94.8 percent of the vote.

The Oakland Athletics also retired Henderson’s no. 24 jersey in 2009.

Texas Rangers' Nolan Ryan Earns Final MLB Win

On August 15, 1993, Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, earns win 324, his final victory as the Rangers beat the Indians 4-1.

Ryan, who enjoyed the best years of his career with the California Angels, where he threw four of his MLB record seven no-hitters. The seven are three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for most one-hitters, with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters. Despite the seven no-hitters, he never threw a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award. 

Only Ryan, Sandy Koufax (four), Cy Young (three), Bob Feller (three), and Larry Corcoran (three) have pitched more than two no-hitters. Corcoran was the first pitcher to throw a second no-hitter in a career (in 1882), as well as the first to throw a third (in 1884).

Ryan is one of only 29 players in baseball history to have appeared in Major League baseball games in four decades and the only pitcher to have struck out seven pairs of fathers and sons. While his lifetime winning percentage was .526, Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, with 324 wins and 292 losses. With a career 3.19 earned run average.

Ryan would finish his career with 5,714 career strikeouts, which rank first in major league baseball history by a significant margin. He leads the runner-up, Randy Johnson, by 839 strikeouts. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962; walking over 50 percent more hitters than any other pitcher in Major League history. 

The list of current 3000 strikeout pitchers includes in this order from most to least, Nolan Ryan, 5,714, Randy Johnson, 4,875, Roger Clemens, 4,672, Steve Carlton, 4,136, Bert Blyleven, 3,701, Tom Seaver, 3,640, Don Sutton, 3,574, Gaylord Perry, 3,534, Walter Johnson, 3,509, Greg Maddux, 3,371, Phil Niekro, 3,342, Ferguson Jenkins, 3,192, Pedro Martinez, 3,154, Bob Gibson, 3,117, Curt Schilling, 3,116 and John Smoltz, 3,084.

Ryan and Koufax are the only two pitchers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched. Other than Jackie Robinson (whose number was retired by the entire MLB), Ryan is currently the only major league baseball player to have his number retired by at least three different teams: the Angels, Astros, and Rangers.

 

Ryan was inducted into Cooperstown Hall of Fame in 1999 with 98.79 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared.

Boston Red Sox Legend Carlton Fisk Ties MLB Record

On Aug. 8, 1990, Boston Red Sox legend Carlton Fisk ties Johnny Bench for hitting the home most home runs by a catcher with home run number 327, albeit with the Chicago White Sox.

Fisk would go on to pass Bench for home runs hit by a catcher, finishing his career with 351 home runs in line up as a catcher, and with 376 total. However he would not pass the total amount of home runs Bench hit, 389; he would also be passed by Mike Piazza who hit 396 as a catcher and 427 in his career.

Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his six foot two inch, 220 lb. frame, was the first player to be unanimously voted American League Rookie of the Year, in 1972.

Fisk is best known for "waving fair" his game-winning home run in the twelfth inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.

Fisk held the record for most games played at the position of catcher with 2,226 games behind the plate, until June 17, 2009 when he was surpassed by another "Pudge", Iván Rodríguez.

Fisk still holds the American League record for most years served behind the plate with 24 seasons under his belt. As well several other records including being the oldest catcher in Major League history to hit 20 home runs in 1987. Being the oldest player to record a hit in an All-Star game in 1991. Holding the record for most home runs hit after the age of 40, 72.

Fisk is one of only seven players in history who have caught more than 150 games in a season multiple times (Jim Sundberg, Randy Hundley, Ted Simmons, Frankie Hayes and Gary Carter).

Fisk is one of only sixteen catchers elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Among those, Fisk has the most hits with 2,356, and runs scored with 1,276.

Over his 24-year career Fisk totaled 11 All-Star appearances, including three consecutive appearances from 1972-1974, 1976-1978 and 1980-1982. He would earn three Silver Slugger Awards in 1981, 1985 and 1988. He was a Gold Glove Winner in 1972.

Fisk finished his career with a .269 batting average with 2,356 hits with 421 doubles, 47 triples, and 375 home runs. He has 849 walks to go along with 1,330 RBIs and 1,276 runs scored. He struck out 1,386 times.

Seven times over his career Fisk was in the MVP conversation, and four times was in the top 10 in voting.

The Chicago White Sox retired his no. 72 jersey in 1997.

The Boston Red Sox retired his no. 27 jersey in September of 2000.

Also in 2000 Fisk was inducted into Cooperstown Major League Baseball Hall of Fame with 79.6 percent of the vote.

Nolan Ryan And Dave Winfield Scuffle

On Aug 4, 1993, Nolan Ryan gets into an altercation with Dave Winfield.

Ryan was one of the most intimidating pitchers of his time. He was the only man to strike out 5,000 batters and was synonymous for his wicked fastball and propensity to pitch inside. 

But in 1980, he was involved in an altercation with Dave Winfield after beaming him with a fastball. Winfield, a notorious seagull murderer, rushed the mound to take a few swings at Ryan, who protectively huddled on the ground to shield his pitching arm. 

The reaction Ryan received was poor and he vowed to do better the next time he got in a fight.

He didn't get a chance to redeem himself until August 4, 1993, when a young Robin Ventura charged the mound in the third inning.

By then Ryan was 46 years old and pitching in his final season. When he nailed Ventura in the ribs, the 26-year old third baseman blitzed the Hall of Fame pitcher. "I decided I was going to be the aggressor," Ryan said. "I wasn't going to just take it." Nolan was more than prepared and wrapped him in a head lock, landing six blows to the top of Robin's head as the benches cleared. Both Ventura and White Sox manager Gene Lamont were ejected, while Ryan, who barely moved off the pitcher's mound, stayed in the game. He then retired twelve of the next thirteen batters and earned his 322nd career win.

"It's no secret that he was throwing at me, and I have to do what I have to do to protect myself and I don't care who it is," Ventura said after the game. "I'm all right. He gave me a couple of noogies, but that was about it."

Ventura went on to have a terrific career in the big leagues, good enough to make it on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2010. He finished with 18 career grand slams, the third most in history, and six Gold Gloves. Yet he could never surpass the lasting image of his career: getting worked by 46 year-old Nolan Ryan.

Texas Rangers' Kenny Rogers Pitches A Perfect Game

On July 28, 1994, Texas Ranger Kenny Rogers pitches the fourteenth perfect game in MLB history against the California Angels 4-0.

Rogers followed Lee Richmond, Monte Ward, Cy Young, Addie Joss, Charlie Robertson, Don Larsen, Jim Bunning, Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, Len Barker, Mike Witt and Dennis Martinez in throwing perfect games.

Since Rogers’ perfect game David Wells, David Cone, and Randy Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Dallas Braden, Roy Halladay, Phillip Humber, Matt Cain and Felix Hernandez have all achieved perfect game status.

The shortest span of time between perfect games throw was just five days between Richmond’s perfect game on June 12, 1880 and Ward’s perfect game on June 17, 1880. The longest span between perfect games is just under 24 years, between Ward’s perfect game on June 17, 1880 and Young’s perfect game on May 5, 1904.

The American League has seen 14 prefect games while the National League only nine times.

No single player has ever thrown more than one perfect game.

The most perfect games for a single team is three as the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees have had perfect games pitched. However, only two of the Yankees perfect games came in the regular season, with Larsen’s perfect game coming in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, meaning the Chicago White Sox have more regular season perfect games.

Larsen’s perfect game in the World Series was the first and last time a perfect game has been thrown in the playoffs, let alone the World Series.

The team with the most perfect games pitched against them is the Tampa Bay Rays, with three. All of them coming since 2009 with Chicago White Sox Buehrle, Oakland Athletics Braden, and Seattle Mariners Hernandez all doing the feat against the Rays.

The 2012 season saw the most perfect games in a single season as Cain, Hernandez and Humber all pitched perfect games in one season, the most since 2010 when Braden and Halladay both pitched perfect games.

Rogers would finish his career four All-Star appearances including three consecutive from 2004-2006. He was a five-time Gold Glove winner including three consecutive from 2004-2006.He was honored with a Fielding Bible Award in 2008 as the top fielding pitcher in MLB.

Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane stated that Rogers "Was the best fielding pitcher he ever saw. It's like having an extra infielder".

He was a World Series Champion in 1996 with the New York Yankees and was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2011.

Rogers ended his 20-season career with 219 wins and 156 losses and 28 saves in 762 games with 474 starts in 3,302.2 innings pitched. He totaled a 4.27 ERA with 1,968 strikeouts and just 1,175 walks. Rogers would throw 36 complete games, with his highest single season total coming in 1998 with the Oakland Athletics, with seven. He also had nine shutouts, with his highest single season total coming in 1994 with the Texas Rangers, he threw two that season, one being the perfect game against the California Angels.

Rogers led the league in games pitched in 1992 with 81 games, and led the game in games started in 2004 with 35.

Rogers is second all-time in pickoffs with 93 in his career. On May 9, 2008 against the New York Yankees, Rogers picked off Wilson Betemit in the second inning for his ninty-second pick-off, passing Mark Langston.

The all-time leader in pickoffs is Dodgers great Sandy Koufax, another member of the perfect game crew.

Check out the final three outs from Rogers' perfect game:

Philadelphia Phillies' Ed Delahanty Hits Four Home Runs

On July 13, 1896, Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty, becomes just the second major leaguer to hit four home runs in a game.

The feat now has been reached 16 times, with Josh Hamilton being the last to do so on May 8, 2012.

In chronological order of players hitting four home runs in a game: Bobby Lowe (1894), Delahanty (1896), Lou Gehrig (1932), Chuck Klein (1936), Pat Seerey (1948), Gil Hodges (1950), Joe Adcock (1954), Rocky Colavito (1959), Willie Mays (1961), Mike Schmidt (1976), Bob Horner (1986), Mark Whiten (1993), Mike Cameron (May 2, 2002), Shawn Green (May 23, 2002), Carlos Delgado (2003) and Hamilton (2012).

Of the players who hit four home runs in one game Delahanty, Gehrig, Klein, Mays and Schmidt are in the Hall of Fame, and only Hamilton is still an active player.

The gap of time between Cameron’s four home run day and Green’s four home run day is the shortest being only 21 days apart, while the gap between Delahanty and Gehrig, 36 years is the longest between such feats.

Almost every player who hit four home runs in one game on this list helped their team win except for Delahanty, as his Phillies lost to the Chicago Colts 9-8, and Homer’s Atlanta Braves lost to the Montreal Expos 11-8.

Of the players to hit four home runs in a single game Lowe has the lowest career total for home runs with 71, follower by Seerey, 86, and Delahanty 101. The most home runs on the list for a player to hit four home runs in one game is Mays with 660, followed by Schmidt with 548, and Gehrig with 493.

While Delahanty was not the first player to complete the feat he was just the second, and had a Hall of Fame career in doing so. Delahanty, nicknamed "Big Ed", was a Major League Baseball player from 1888 to 1903 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Infants and Washington Senators, and was known as one of the game's early power hitters. Delahanty won a batting title, batted over .400 three times, and has the fifth-highest batting average in MLB history with a .346 average, behind only Ty Cobb (.366), Rogers Hornsby (.359), Joe Jackson (.356). and Lefty O'Doul (.349).

Delahanty led the league in batting average twice in 1899 with a .410 average, and in 1902 with a .376 average. He led the league in home runs twice, in 1893 with 19 home runs, and in 1896 with 13 home runs. Of those 13 home runs, four of those came in a single game. He led the league in RBIs three times, 1893 with 146, 1896 with 126 and 1899 with 137. Delahanty also led the league in stolen bases once with 56 in 1898.

Delahanty finished his career with a life time .346 batting average, 2,597 hits, 522 doubles, 186 triples, 101 home runs, 741 walks, 1464 RBIs, 1600 runs, 455 stolen bases, and a career on base percentage of .411.

He was elected to the Cooperstown Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945 by

A fun fact in Delahanty’s career was that he was also the victim behind one of "The Most Shameful Home Runs of All Time" according to the third edition of Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo's series, "The Baseball Hall of Shame."

In July 1892, when Delahanty's Phillies hosted Cap Anson's Chicago White Stockings at Philadelphia's Huntingdon Street Grounds (aka National League Park), Anson hit a fly ball to center in the top of the eighth inning. The ball hit a pole and landed right in the "doghouse," a feature unbeknownst to everyone then until that moment; it was used to store numbers for the manually run scoreboard.

Delahanty tried to get the ball (it was still in play) by first reaching over the doghouse, then crawling down into it, but on the latter attempt, he got stuck, and by the time teammate Sam Thompson had freed Delahanty from the area, Anson crossed home plate on what the "Baseball Hall of Shame" book calls an "inside-the-doghouse home run."

Nolan Ryan Records 3,000th Strikeouts

On July 4, 1980, Hall of Famer and then Houston Astros ace Nolan Ryan becomes the fourth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to strikeout 3,000 batters.

Ryan enjoyed the best years of his career with the California Angels, where he threw four of his MLB record seven no-hitters. The seven are three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for most one-hitters, with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters. Despite the seven no-hitters, he never threw a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award.

Ryan is one of only 29 players in baseball history to have appeared in Major League baseball games in four decades and the only pitcher to have struck out seven pairs of fathers and sons. While his lifetime winning percentage was .526, Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, with 324 wins and 292 losses. With a career 3.19 earned run average.

Ryan would finish his career with 5,714 career strikeouts, which rank first in major league baseball history by a significant margin. He leads the runner-up, Randy Johnson, by 839 strikeouts. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962; walking over 50 percent more hitters than any other pitcher in Major League history. Ryan and Sandy Koufax are the only two pitchers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched.

Other than Jackie Robinson (whose number was retired by the entire MLB), Ryan is currently the only major league baseball player to have his number retired by at least three different teams: the Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers.

Ryan was inducted into Cooperstown Hall of Fame in 1999 with 98.79 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared.

The list of current 3000 strikeout pitchers includes in this order from most to least, Nolan Ryan, 5,714, Randy Johnson, 4,875, Roger Clemens, 4,672, Steve Carlton, 4,136, Bert Blyleven, 3,701, Tom Seaver, 3,640, Don Sutton, 3,574, Gaylord Perry, 3,534, Walter Johnson, 3,509, Greg Maddux, 3,371, Phil Niekro, 3,342, Ferguson Jenkins, 3,192, Pedro Martinez, 3,154, Bob Gibson, 3,117, Curt Schilling, 3,116 and John Smoltz, 3,084.

Texas Rangers' Nolan Ryan Sets MLB Strikeout Record

On July 2, 1990, Texas Rangers ace Nolan Ryan strikes out batter 100 on the season, setting an MLB record of 22 seasons with at least 100 strikeouts. Ryan started the streak in 1978.

The record was previously held by Don Sutton, who had done it in 21 consecutive seasons.

Ryan, who enjoyed the best years of his career with the California Angels, where he threw four of his MLB record seven no-hitters. Those seven no-hitters are three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for most one-hitters, with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters. Despite the seven no-hitters, he never threw a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award.

Only Ryan, Sandy Koufax (four), Cy Young (three), Bob Feller (three), and Larry Corcoran (three) have pitched more than two no-hitters. Corcoran was the first pitcher to throw a second no-hitter in a career (in 1882), as well as the first to throw a third (in 1884).

Thirty men in all have thrown more than one no-hitter. Randy Johnson has the longest gap between no-hitters: he threw a no-hitter as a member of the Seattle Mariners on June 2, 1990, and a perfect game as an Arizona Diamondback on May 18, 2004.

The pitcher who holds the record for the shortest time between no-hitters is Johnny Vander Meer, the only pitcher in history to throw no-hitters in consecutive starts, while playing for the Cincinnati Reds in 1938. Besides Vander Meer, Allie Reynolds (in 1951), Virgil Trucks (in 1952), and Ryan (in 1973) are the only other major leaguers to throw two no-hitters in the same regular season.

Five pitchers have thrown a no-hitter in both the American League and the National League: Cy Young, Ryan, Jim Bunning, Nomo, and Randy Johnson. Only four catchers have caught a no-hitter in each league: Gus Triandos, Jeff Torborg, Darrell Porter and Ron Hassey. Triandos caught Hoyt Wilhelm's 1958 no-hitter and Jim Bunning's perfect game, Torborg caught Koufax's perfect game and Ryan's first no-hitter, Porter caught Jim Colborn's 1977 no-hitter and Bob Forsch's second no-hitter in 1983, and Hassey caught Len Barker's and Dennis Martínez's perfect games.

 

Ryan is one of only 29 players in baseball history to have appeared in Major League baseball games in four decades and the only pitcher to have struck out seven pairs of fathers and sons. While his lifetime winning percentage was .526, Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, with 324 wins and 292 losses. With a career 3.19 earned run average.

Ryan would finish his career with 5,714 career strikeouts, which rank first in major league baseball history by a significant margin. He leads the runner-up, Randy Johnson, by 839 strikeouts. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962; walking over 50 percent more hitters than any other pitcher in Major League history. Ryan and Sandy Koufax are the only two pitchers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched.

Other than Jackie Robinson (whose number was retired by the entire MLB), Ryan is currently the only major league baseball player to have his number retired by at least three different teams: the Angels, Astros, and Rangers.

Ryan was inducted into Cooperstown Hall of Fame in 1999 with 98.79 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared.

Rangers' Rafael Palmeiro Records Hit 2,000

On May 2, 1999, Texas Rangers first baseman Rafael Palmeiro gets his 2,000 hit of his career. He would end his career with 3,020 hits.

Palmeiro getting his 2,000th MLB hit.

Palmeiro would finish his career with two marks, which used to be an automatic bid into Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame; he hit over 500 home runs, finishing his career with 569 and marked over 3,000 hits.

On top of that he had 1,835 RBI’s and a career batting average of .288 going along with two Silver Slugger Awards in 1998 and 1999, three Gold Glove Awards in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and was a four-time All-Star selection in 1988, 1991, 1998 and 1999.

Palmeiro was inducted into the Mississippi State University Hall of Fame on October 11, 2008. 

In 2009, he was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Despite his qualifications to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Palmeiro was in the middle of the Mitchell Investigation that put baseball at the forefront of steroid use in the last 1990s and early 2000s. During the congressional hearings Palmeiro lied in court and said he did not do steroids, something he later admitted to doing.

With that Palmeiro’s numbers are now tainted and he will likely not be elected into the Hall of Fame because of the controversy surrounding his name and steroid use.

 

Palmeiro as a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

Palmeiro became eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. He received 64 votes, or 11.0 percent of total ballots cast; the threshold for entry is 75 percent.

According to Barry M. Bloom on Major League Baseball's official website: "Palmeiro should have been a sure-fire first-ballot inductee, as a member of the 500-homer, 3,000-hit club, but many believe because he was suspended in 2005 after testing positive for steroid use, that was the reason why he only 11 percent of the vote."

San Francisco Giants Sign Zito

On Dec. 27, 2006, that the San Francisco Giants signed free agent starting pitcher Barry Zito to a seven-year deal worth $126 million.  Zito’s contract made him the highest paid pitcher in Major League history at the time of the signing.

Barry Zito had a terrific season in 2002 when he had a 23-5 record with a 2.75 ERA in 35 starts and went on to win the American League Cy Young as a member of the Oakland Athletics.  However, his next four seasons in Oakland were up and down, as he compiled a rather mediocre 55-46 record.  The Giants felt that a change of scenery would help resurrect his career, so they signed him to be the ace of their pitching staff.  Unfortunately for San Francisco, Zito is not the pitcher he once was as he put together an ugly 40-57 record during his first four years as a Giant.

Things had gotten so bad for Zito that the Giants left him off their post-season roster last year.  The move turned out to be the right decision, as they went on to defeat the Texas Rangers to capture the World Series Championship.

2011 proved to be another disastrous year for Zito as injuries left him sidelined for most of the season after he started off the season with a 3-4 record in nine starts, putting up a 5.87 ERA.

However, Zito would begin to turn around in the eyes of Giants’ fans and baseball fans alike in 2012 as the Giants made their run for their second World Series Championship in three years.

The 2012 season would see Zito post his best record since leaving the Oakland Athletics in 2006. He would post a 15-8 record in 32 regular season starts with a 4.15 ERA in 184 and one-third innings. During the season Zito earned his 150^th major league win, becoming the 246^th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to hit the mark.

Zito also pitched amazing down the final stretch of the season, as he did not lose a single start after Aug. 2, while the Giants won his final 14 starts of the season.

But it wasn’t his regular season outings that put him the graciousness of San Francisco baseball fans. It was his post-season performances.

Back on the post-season roster was a big thing for Zito, and he proved it against the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Divisional Series. Zito wasn’t up to par though in his start against Cincinnati as he was pulled after in the third inning after allowing two runs. However, the Giants rebounded in the series and would move on to the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the Championship Series against St. Louis Zito would shine. Pitching arguably his best game ever, Zito pitched seven and two-third shutout innings in Game 5 against the Cardinals, leading the Giants to a major victory. The victory would be Zito’s first in the playoffs since 2006 as a member of the Oakland Athletics when he won a showdown against former Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana in the American League Divisional Series.

The Giants would up beating the Cardinals and head to the World Series to face off against the Detroit Tigers, a team that beat Zito when he was on the A’s in 2006 in the American League Championship series.

Detroit would eventually go to the World Series in 2006 and lose to the Cardinals.

But it was 2012, and the Giants, with Zito were in the World Series, and who was better to pitch the first game of the World Series in San Francisco, none other than Zito. He earned the win while outpitching Detroit’s Justin Verlander, who was up for another American League CY Young award.

Zito pitched five and two-third innings of one run ball, and even helped his cause with the bat on the offense side of the game with an RBI single to help the Giants take Game 1 of the World Series 8-3.

The Giants would go on to sweep the Tigers, leaving Zito a perfect 1-0 in World Series appearances, and giving him an amazing 2-0 record with a 1.69 ERA in three post season appearances in 2012, while earning his second World Series Championship ring, but the first in which he helped the Giants in the post-season.

At the end of the season Zito was awarded the 2012 HUTCH Award, which is given annually to an active Major League Baseball player who "best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire" of Fred Hutchinson, by persevering through adversity.

The award was created in 1965 in honor of Hutchinson, the former MLB pitcher and manager, who died of lung cancer the previous year.

 2013 would be another mediocre year for Zito with the Giants. After starting the year with a 1-0 shutout win of the St. Louis Cardinals, he would end the season with just a 5-11 record, in 25 starts.

Following the end of the season, Zito took out a full-page add in the San Francisco Chronicle thanking Giants fans for their support^. The Giants declined Zito's 2014 option, buying it out for $7 million.

Giants Win World Series

On Nov. 1, 2010, the San Francisco Giants defeated the Texas Rangers 3-1 in Game 5 of the World Series. The win gave the Giants their first championship since 1954 when they defeated the Cleveland Indians.

The Giants continued their legacy in San Francisco as they won the World Series last year, sweeping the Detroit Tigers. 

 The San Francisco Giants now have seven World Series championship titles dating back to their time in New York, and have two since moving to San Francisco in 1954.

Sosa Hits 60 Home Runs Again

On Sept. 18, 1999, Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa records hits home run number 60 of the season. The home run also marked the first time a player had reached 60 home runs in back-to-back seasons, 1998 and 1999.

Sosa would hit 60 home runs again 2001, but would never hit that many again after that season. He would finish his career with 609 home runs, putting him in the top six of all-time at the time of his retirement. Since than Alex Rodriguez and Jim Thome have passed him, and now Sosa is currently ranked eighth all time.

Sosa won the MVP in 1998, the year he hit 66 home runs, was a seven time All-Star, and six time Silver Slugger in the National League.

Thought Sosa has so many home runs and was the first player and only player to hit back-to-back 60 home run seasons, his name was drug through the steroid issues of the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Along with an issue of using a corked bat, Sosa will likely not make Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame.