Juan Gonzalez of the Texas Rangers became the 14th player in major-league history to amass 400 or more RBIs over a three-year span. The outfielder registered his 400th RBI on August 22. The feat has been accomplished a total of 48 times. Both Andres Galarraga of the Atlanta Braves and Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners need only two more to join the group while Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners needs just six and Albert Belle of the White Sox 22. Lou Gehrig holds the record for most RBIs over a three-year span with 509. In fact, four of the top 10 three-year RBI totals belong to the “Iron Horse.”
The top totals are:
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Players RBIs Total
Lou Gehrig 1930-32 174-184-151 509
Lou Gehrig 1929-31 126-174-184 484
Lou Gehrig 1931-33 184-151-139 474
Babe Ruth 1929-31 154-153-163 470
Hack Wilson 1928-30 120-159-190 469
Jimmie Foxx 1932-34 169-163-130 462
Babe Ruth 1927-29 164-142-154 460
Lou Gehrig 1932-34 151-139-165 455
Babe Ruth 1930-32 153-163-137 453
Jimmie Foxx 1931-33 120-169-163 452
Babe Ruth 1926-28 146-164-142 452
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ALSO RAN
The expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays have the unfortunate distinction of playing in the same division as the juggernaut known as the New York Yankees. With the Rays’ slump since the All-Star Break, they have slipped to 45 games behind the Yanks. The farthest behind a first-year expansion team has finished is 60.5 games posted by the 1962 New York Mets. The 1906 Boston Braves finished the farthest out of first when they ended up trailing the NL champion Cubs by 66.5 games. The 10 teams since 1901 who fell the farthest behind were: %%
Year Team GB
1906 Braves 66 1/2
1909 Braves 65 1/2
1939 Browns 64 1/2
1932 Red Sox 64
1906 Cardinals 63
1942 Phillies 62 1/2
1935 Braves 61 1/2
1962 Mets 60 1/2
1954 A’s 60
1927 Red Sox 59
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FAR AFIELD
Infielder Jeff Manto of the Cleveland Indians is in his third tour of duty with the club. He has played in 22 different cities in 14 years including stints with six major-league teams and one Japanese franchise. The towns in which Manto’s hung his spikes are Quad Cities, Iowa; Palm Springs, Calif.; Midland, Texas; Edmonton; Colorado Springs, Col.; Richmond, Va.; Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Norfolk, Va.; Rochester, N.Y.; Bowie, Md.; Frederick, Md.; Pawtucket, R.I.; Trenton, N.J.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Buffalo; Cleveland; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Boston; Seattle; Detroit and Tokyo.
A-MAYS-ING
On Sunday, Paul Molitor of the Minnesota Twins tied Willie Mays for ninth place on the career hits list with 3,283. Molitor’s hits include 2,342 singles, 598 doubles, 112 triples and 231 home runs. The “Say Hey Kid” compiled 1,960 singles, 523 doubles, 140 triples and 660 home runs.
ROAD WORK
Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves is having a good year at home but an unbelievable year on the road. Glavine is 7-4 with 3.52 ERA at Turner Field in Atlanta but is 10-1 with an 1.66 ERA on the road.
VALUE ADDED
Last year’s league MVPs, Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies and Ken Griffey Jr., of the Seattle Mariners have put up good numbers this season but not good enough to put them in the running for this year’s awards. Only 11 players have been chosen as their league’s Most Valuable Player in back-to-back seasons. They were: %%
Players Years
Jimmie Foxx 1931-32
Hal Newhouser 1944-45
Yogi Berra 1954-55
Mickey Mantle 1956-57
Ernie Banks 1958-59
Roger Maris 1960-61
Joe Morgan 1975-76
Mike Schmidt 1980-81
Dale Murphy 1982-83
Barry Bonds 1992-93
Frank Thomas 1993-94 %%
