The New York Yankees secured a playoff berth on August 29, the second earliest clinching in major-league history. The Yankees themselves were unaware of their feat, treating their victory over the Seattle Mariners as just another day at the office. Only after the players had showered, eaten and left the park did reporters check the numbers and realize the significance of the victory. Only two other teams, the 1918 Cubs and Boston Red Sox, clinched a trip to the postseason before September 1 and that season was shortened because of a flu pandemic. This year’s Braves, Padres and Indians all still have the potential to secure a playoff berth at one of the earliest dates ever. The 15 teams that earned trips to the postseason on the earliest dates were: %% %%
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Team Date
Cubs* Aug. 24, 1918
Yankees Aug. 29, 1998
Red Sox* Aug. 31, 1918
Yankees Sept. 4, 1941
Reds Sept. 7, 1975
Dodgers Sept. 8, 1955
Indians Sept. 8, 1995
Yankees Sept. 9, 1936
Dodgers Sept. 12, 1953
Yankees Sept. 13, 1927
Yankees Sept. 13, 1932
Red Sox Sept. 13, 1946
Yankees Sept. 13, 1963
Orioles Sept. 13, 1969
Braves Sept. 13, 1995
* – shortened season
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FLEET FOOTED
Pittsburgh Pirate catcher Jason Kendall needs one more stolen base to become only the eighth catcher since 1901 to steal 20 or more in a season. The last 20-steal backstop was Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros who stole 21 in 1989. John Wathan holds the record for most swipes by a catcher with 36 for the Kansas City Royals in 1982. The 20-steal seasons by catchers were:
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Catcher Team Year Steals
John Wathan Royals 1982 36
Ray Schalk White Sox 1916 30
John Wathan Royals 1983 28
John Stearns Mets 1978 25
Ray Schalk White Sox 1914 24
Johnny Kling Cubs 1903 23
Johnny Kling Cubs 1902 23
Benito Santiago Padres 1987 21
Craig Biggio Astros 1989 21
Red Donin Phillies 1908 20
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MATCHED SET
When pitcher Kirk Bullinger made his major-league debut for the Montreal Expos on August 30, he joined his brother Jim (an Expo in 1997) as the fourth set of siblings to play for Montreal. Brothers Wilton and Vladimir Guerrero both play for the team now. Other Expo brother acts were Carlos and Pascual Perez and Rick and Mickey Mahler.
CUTTING HIS LOSSES
On Wednesday, David Cone of the New York Yankees made his 93rd straight start without registering back-to-back losses. Cone tied Hal Newhouser and Randy Johnson for third place in this unique statistic. Farther up the list are Scott McGregor with 96 straight and Firpo Marberry with 100.
30 WEIGHT
Shawn Green and Jose Canseco of the Toronto Blue Jays are poised to become the first set of American League teammates to each collect 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season. Green entered play on Friday needing just one homer and one stolen base while Canseco needed just two steals to complete the feat. The two Jays would be only the third set of major-league teammates to go 30/30 in the same season. Darryl Strawberry (39 HR/36 SB) and Howard Johnson (36/41) of the 1987 New York Mets and Ellis Burks (40/32) and Dante Bichette (31/31) of the 1996 Colorado Rockies did it previously.
CHOIR OF ANGELS
Gary DiSarcina of the Anaheim Angels passed Bob Boone for fifth place on the franchise’s all-time games played list on August 28. Boone had played 968 games for the Angels. Next up for DiSarcina is Dick Schofield who was an Angel in the infield for 1,068 games. The major-leaguers who played the most games in Angel uniforms were:
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Player Games
Brian Downing 1,661
Jim Fregosi 1,429
Bobby Grich 1,222
Dick Schofield 1,086
Gary DiSarcina* 972
* – active %%
