The recent series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers was a battle of double-letter teams, double-E Milwaukee and double-N Cincinnati. The two teams combined to field 14 players with double-letter surnames, seven for each. The 1964 Minnesota Twins may have been the double-letter team with the most double-letter starters. Their lineup routinely featured seven double-lettered men including Bobby Allison, Harmon Killebrew and Zoilo Versalles. More recently, the Reds produced what may be the ultimate double-letter box score when, in a single game on July 27, 1997, they fielded Curtis Goodwin (CF), Pokey Reese (SS), Willie Greene (3B), Eddie Taubensee (C), Joe Nunnally (LF), Mike Kelly (PH/LF), Hal Morris (1B), Bret Boone (2B), Lenny Harris (PH) and pitcher Scott Sullivan in one game.
A MERRY MONTH
Designated hitter Jose Canseco of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays recently struck out for the 1,700th time in his career to pass Harmon Killebrew (1,699) and move into 10th place on the all-time whiff list. Next up on the list for Canseco, who, by the way, leads the majors with 27 homers entering the weekend, is Mickey Mantle at 1,710. The nine whiff masters ahead of Canseco are:
Player Strikeouts
Reggie Jackson* 2,597
Willie Stargell* 1,936
Mike Schmidt* 1,883
Tony Perez 1,867
Dave Kingman 1,816
Bobby Bonds 1,757
Dale Murphy 1,748
Lou Brock* 1,730
Mickey Mantle* 1,710
* Hall-of-Famer
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PHILLIE CREAM CHEESE
Philadelphia Phillie starters Paul Byrd (10-4) and Curt Schilling (10-4) could become the first set of Phillie teammates each to win 18 games or more in the same season since Steve Carlton and Larry Christenson did it in 1977.
CAUGHT, STEALING
Jason Kendall of the Pittsburgh Pirates stole his 20th base Friday night to join John Wathan and Johnny Kling as the only major-league catchers to steal 20 bases in back-to-back seasons. It is just the 12th time in major-league history that a catcher has stolen 20 or more. The 20-steal campaigns by backstops were:
Player Team Year SBs
Johnny Kling Cubs 1902 23
Kling Cubs 1903 23
Red Dooin Phillies 1908 20
Ray Schalk White Sox 1914 24
Schalk White Sox 1916 30
John Wathan Royals 1982 36
Wathan Royals 1983 28
John Stearns Mets 1978 25
Benito Santiago Padres 1987 21
Craig Biggio Astros 1989 21
Jason Kendall Pirates 1998 26
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A WHIFF OF POWER
Cleveland Indians slugger Manny Ramirez could become the first major leaguer since Tommy Davis in 1962 to finish the season with more RBIs than the number of strikeouts recorded by the batter with the most whiffs in the majors. In ’62, Davis drove in 152 runs while Harmon Killebrew struck out 142 times. Through Friday’s games, Ramirez had a one-RBI lead on Jose Hernandez of the Cubs who had struck out 78 times.
WINGED VICTORY
Manager Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals needs only three more victories to pass Fred Clarke and become the 12th winningest manager in major-league history. Clarke finished his career with 1,602 triumphs and only 1,181 losses. Next on the list is Ralph Houk at 1,619.
FLIRTING WITH .400
Tony Fernandez is just the eighth major-leaguer in the last 20 years to hit higher than .400 after the middle of June with enough at bats to qualify for the batting lead. The last batters to hit .400 so late in the season were Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies and Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres in 1997. The year-end batting averages of the previous seven:
Batter Team Year Final Avg.
George Brett Royals 1980 .390
Rod Carew Angels 1983 .339
Andres Galarraga Rockies 1993 .370
John Olerud Blue Jays 1993 .363
Paul O’Neill Yankees 1994 .359
Larry Walker Rockies 1997 .366
Tony Gwynn Padres 1997 .372
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