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January 31
January 31 Rogers Hornsby amazing streak
January 31 1927 – National League President John Heydler rules that Rogers Hornsby cannot continue to both hold stock in the St. Louis Cardinals and play for the New York Giants. Seemingly oblivious, the Cards’ board of directors, meeting in St. Louis, votes stockholders a 10% dividend, earning Hornsby $2916 for his 1167 shares.
Hornsby had a fabulous stretch from 1921-1925. For that five-year period, his average season included a .402 batting average, 120 RBI, 123 runs scored, 216 hits, 41 doubles, 13 triples, and 29 home runs. If injuries in 1923 hadn't kept him from playing only 107 games, those yearly averages would look even more impressive. He won two Triple Crowns and hit over .400 three times in four years, peaking at .424, the highest average in the past hundred years. Nobody could rain base hits all over a ballpark like Hornsby, and he stayed hotter than hot for five straight years.
1921: Hornsby had 33 games with at least three hits, including five times in six games in July. In August he had 49 hits, and on September 25 he raised his average to .404. But he went only 5-for-22 the rest of the way, going hitless in his final two games to drop to .397. That's how close he came to hitting .400 four times in five years.
1922: This was Hornsby's best year, when he won the Triple Crown by hitting .401 with 42 home runs and 152 RBI. Late in the season, he put together a 33-game hit streak, batting .466 with 68 hits. He had multiple hits in 22 of the 33 games. Like Ted Williams in 1941, he was technically hitting .400 going into the last day of the season, with an average of .39967. Like Williams, he chose to play rather than protect his average. He banged out three singles to finish at .401.
1923 : After missing several weeks early in the season, Hornsby came back strong in July, batting .488 with a mind-boggling 61 hits. That included a stretch of 13 straight multi-hit games, when he went 33-for-56 (.589). Hobbled by injuries in September, he saw his average drop from .396 to .384 before missing the final 19 games.
1924: Hornsby started fast, hitting .429 in April, and dipped below .400 only briefly, in June. He got hot in July, including five three-hit games in one week. But that was nothing compared to what he did from August 20-26, arguably the best week any hitter has ever had. His Cardinals played three doubleheaders that week, so he played 10 games, starting with back-to-back twin bills. Against the Phillies on August 20, he went 6-for-7 with three doubles. The next day, facing the Giants, he went 7-for-7, giving him 13 hits in two days! The week ended with a 4-for-4 performance (three doubles and a home run) against Hall of Fame pitcher Burleigh Grimes of the Dodgers. Can you imagine someone getting 27 hits in a week? That's what Hornsby did. He went 27-for 39 (.692), with eight doubles, one triple, six home runs, 16 runs scored, 12 runs batted in, and a slugging percentage of 1.410. That sounds more like some bopper in a slow-pitch softball league. No, it was Rogers Hornsby at his best. He got six hits the next two days, but that was another week. For the month of August, he was 54-for 106, a .509 average.
1925: The hits kept on coming for "The Rajah" as he ran away with his second Triple Crown, hitting .403 with 39 home runs and 143 RBI. A cold July, when he missed a week and hit only .326, forced him to finish fast to surpass .400 again. On September 15, his average stood at .389, and it's tough to gain points that late in the season. No problem for Mr. Hornsby. He got 18 hits in his final 29 at-bats. Before a September 27 doubleheader, he was hitting .399. He went 2-for-5 in the opener to stay at that mark, then had a single, a triple, a home run and a walk in the nightcap. The next day, he fouled a ball off his foot in batting practice, splitting open a toenail. That forced him to sit out the final four games of the season.
Todays Podcast features Roger, listen.
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Trivia:
In 1924, Jim Bottomley set a record with 12 RBIs in one game, who tied the mark in 1993?
A. Paul Molitor
B. Albert Belle
C. Mark Whiten
D. Jeff Bagwell
Hint: The answer is below
COOL FACT . . . If we highlight an event, player milestone there is an audio vault on Classic Baseball Broadcast. Games, interviews and more to take a deeper dive.
January 31 1898 - Cap Anson is released after 19 years as first baseman/manager with the Chicago National League teams. Strong-minded Cap, with a record of 1,288 victories and five NL pennants, was enormously popular in Chicago. Former infielder Tom Burns takes over as manager of the teams which is now dubbed the "Orphans" by reporters.
Born - January 31, 1919, future Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson is born to Jerry and Mallie Robinson in Cairo, Georgia. Robinson will become the first black player in 20th century major league history when he debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
Born - January 31, 1947, Hall of Famer - Lynn Nolan Ryan is born in Refugio, TX . He will make his major league debut in 1966 with the New York Mets, kicking off a major league record 27-year career. Ryan will win 324 games with the Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers and pitch 7 No Hitters and set the record for strikeouts in a career.
January 31 1953 - The New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Red Sox retaliate at Bill Veeck, forcing the St. Louis Browns to play afternoon games to avoid sharing TV revenues. Veeck takes his plan to the American League office to make them pay. The plan is rejected.
January 31, 1959, former major league star Joe Cronin succeeds Will Harridge as president of the American League. A Hall of Fame shortstop who played for Pittsburgh, Washington, and Boston, Cronin batted .301 over a 20-year playing career. Cronin will remain in office until his retirement in 1973.
Cooperstown Calls; Lots of great interviews click to listen.
2002 Gene Elston (Ford Frick Award); 1977 -- Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie, and Al Lopez; 1971 Jake Beckley, Joe Kelley, Harry Hooper, Rube Marquard, Chick Hafey, Dave Bancroft, executive George Weiss; 1965 Pud Galvin; 1952 Harry Heilmann and Paul Waner
January 31 1980 - The Houston Astros sign free agent second baseman Joe Morgan. Houston was the first major league team the two-time National League MVP played with before he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds and became a force in the Big Red Machine.
January 31, 2000 -- "I would retire first. It's the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the [Number] 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you're [riding through] Beirut next to some kid with purple hair next to some queer with AIDS right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing." - JOHN ROCKER, commenting in a Sports Illustrated article on his feelings about playing for a New York team. Commissioner Bud Selig suspends John Rocker until May 1, a span of 73 days, due to the Braves closer's racial and ethnic insensitive remarks reported in a Sports Illustrated article written by Jeff Pearlman. The 25 year-old reliever from Georgia, who is also fined $20,000 and ordered to attend sensitivity training, becomes the first player to be disciplined for comments made publicly.
Quote of the day:
"Hitting was my dish, not fielding. These modern hitters take their eyes off the ball. I followed the ball so closely that I could see it strike the bat."
Hall of Famer - Rogers Hornsby
MILESTONES
Birthday Boys!
Bob Apodaca, Duke Maas, Ernie Banks, Fred Kendall, Hank Aguirre, Jackie Robinson and Nolan Ryan
Passings.
Al McBean, Bill Voiselle, Harry Chiti, Norm Zauchin, Oscar Gamble and Ossie Bluege
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Trivia Answer: Mark Whiten, September 7, 1993 Whiten hit 4 homeruns vs the Reds. His 4th HR came against Rob Dibble. Here is the call:
“Do you think Dibble will come after him? Do you think Dibble will let him swing the bat?… Runner at first, one out. Here’s the pitch. Swing and a long one. Looks like he did it! Four home runs for Mark Whiten. He powered one over the center-field fence, and the Cardinals lead 15 to 2, 12 runs batted in in the game. Man, what a blast that was. What a blast this is.… Nice going. Wow! Excuse my while I applaud. … Wasn’t that something? Man oh man, what a thrill that is!” — Jack Buck, Cardinals Broadcaster, KMOX radio
