Records no player wants

A hall of shame as it were. Some years ago, striking out was a very negative thing. Before he was a star with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Duke Snider was thought to strike out way too much. Owner Branch Rickey had the coaches make Snider stand in the batter's box and call pitches as they were thrown by the pitching staff. He was not allowed to swing. The exercise was supposed to make the Duke recognize pitches. Duke spent 18 years in the majors; he struck out 1,237 times. Which means over a 162-game schedule, he averaged 94 Ks a year. He never played more than 153 games. He also struck out 100 or more times in a season just twice. 1956 when he led the league in runs, homers, slugging, OPS, OPS+ and in 57 when he hit 40 homers for the fifth straight season. Shows how times have changed.

Strikeouts: Although there is less stigma attached to striking out in this era of the game, it is still a record no player would care to have. Right now, the most strikeouts in a season are 188 set by Teo in 2024. Ohtani struck out 187 times last year. Neither will come close to that this season. James Outman is the only other Dodger to have 180 or more, he struck out 181 times in 23. The career strikeouts leader is Matt Kemp. Kemp struck out 1,179 times as a Dodger. Max Muncy who has a year left on his deal is just 159 Ks shy of Kemps mark. LA has 39 games left, so Max, who is at 106 this year will be closer to that mark by the end of the season.

GIDP: This season, the Dodgers have grounded into 102 double plays. The team leader is Freddie with 18. Betts, Teo and Pages are the other players with more than 10. The all-tine single season leaders are Carl Furillo and Eric Karros. Both had seasons where they grounded into 27 double plays. Freeman could possibly tie or pass that record with 39 remaining games, but I have to think he won't. The most DPs by a Dodger in a career is Furillo. He hit into 207 double plays, 31 more than Pee Wee who is second on the list.

Caught Stealing: A player would have to have a lot of attempts to own this record, so it is little surprise that Maury Wills was caught 171 times, far more than Sax who is the #2 with 126. Wills also holds the single season record being caught 31 times in 1965. Sax was caught 30 times in 1983.

Errors: No player wants to lead his team in errors. Neither do they want to lead the league. With today's gloves, manicured fields, and the athleticism of today's athletes, errors are nowhere near the levels they were in years past. The last time the Dodgers as a team made 100 errors or more was in 2018-19 when they had back-to-back seasons of 100 or more. As of today, they have 68 this year. The last LA Dodger to lead the league in errors was Adrian Beltre in 1999 when he had 29. Jose Offerman led the NL in errors 3 times in 4 years. For the purposes of this post, I am going to choose the SS position for comparisons.

Pee Wee Reese, who was considered an excellent defensive SS in his era made 388 errors in his career at SS. He made another 19 at third. 407 in his 16-year career. Keep in mind there were no gold gloves awarded until 1957. Maury Wills, who won 2 gold gloves, made 284 errors as a SS in his career. The two seasons he won gold gloves he had 29 and then 36 errors. Bill Russell made 339 errors in his time as the Dodger SS.

Offerman made 136 in parts of six seasons. Over the next several seasons, LA did not have a SS that played more than five years in a row at the position. Their next full-time SS was Seager, and he made 68 errors in 7 years. Maury Wills is still the only Dodger SS to win a gold glove. The most errors in a season I could find by a SS in the organization was 78, by Ollie O'Mara in 1915.

Home Runs Allowed: Sutton holds the career record with 309 as a Dodger. Big D is second with 280. Sutton also holds the single season record for LA of 38. Jeff Weaver came close in 2005 giving up 35.

Bases on Balls: As I stated in the post about unbreakable records, Ed Steins 170 walks in a single season are pretty safe. The most in a season by an LA Dodger is Chan Ho Park who walked 124 in 2004 and Valenzuela who walked the same number in 1987. Brickyard Kennedy's 1130 for his career is untouchable. Sutton had 996 as an LA Dodger.

Wild Pitches: Since the team joined the league in 1890, the most wild pitches in a season is 27, al, thrown by Adonis Terry in 1890. Hideo Nomo had 19 in 1995 for the most ever by a LA Dodger. Dreifort and Koufax tied with 17 each. Terry had 165 in his career. Kershaw has the most by an LA Dodger with 108. Valenzuela was second with 94.

Hit By Pitch: Drysdale far and away the leader in hitting batters for a career. He plunked 154 hitters in his career. No other pitcher in the organization hit more than Terry's 84. The single season record is 40 by Joe McGinnity in 1900. Drysdale and Park hold the LA Dodger record at 20.

Well, there are the records most of those players probably wished they did not hold. Not sure about Big D though, he loved intimidating hitters.

Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado) 4 – OKC Comets 2 

This was RHSP Tyler Glasnow’s 3rd rehab start, 2nd for OKC, and it went very well.   Albuquerque was not making contact and they were not chasing.  Glasnow was around the zone, but without the chase, his pitch count grew.  He got up to 67, 39 for strikes.  

He was at 56 after 3.0 IP and came back out in the 4th.  He struck out the first batter, and was at 62, but he was left in for another.  He struck out the next batter and he was then pulled.  He faced 13 batters, struck out 8, walked 2, got 2 groundouts, and 1 fly out.  

He threw 24 4-seamers, 20 sinkers, 10 sliders, 9 knuckle curves, and 4 curves.  His curve was fantastic, but it sure looked like he was trying to work on the command of his fastballs.  Both fastballs were sitting 95-97. 

Without any direct knowledge (duh), I am guessing that he will get one more rehab start to work up to 5.0 innings and 75 pitches.  

OKC scored in the 3rd.  SS Noah Miller and C Chadwick Tromp both singled.  This was Tromp’s first PA in the LAD organization and his first hit. After two outs, DH Ryan Ward doubled home Miller and Tromp moved to 3rd.  Tromp scored on a WP and a 2-0 lead.  

With 2 outs in the 4th, RHRP Christian Romero entered to relieve Glasnow.  He gave up a single and HBP but got the 3rd out.  

In the 4th, Romero gave up a single, and then a bouncer right back to him.  For whatever reason he looked to 2nd, did not make the throw and before he could throw to first, he just dropped the ball for an error.  A single loaded the bases, and a BB brought in 1 run.  He got 2 Ks but then a 2-run single giving the Isotopes a 3-2 lead.  All 3 runs were unearned, but they count just the same. 

Albuquerque scored another in the 7th.  A BB, single, F8, and Sac Fly gave Albuquerque a 4-2 lead. 

After the 3rd, all OKC could do was 2 singles and 2 BB. 

In his first game with OKC Chadwick Tromp was the only OKC batter with 2 hits, and Ward’s RBI double was the only XBH. 

Box Score 

Tulsa Drillers 4 – Arkansas Travelers (Seattle) 1 

This was a game I would have like to have seen.  Pitching for Arkansas was the best pitching prospect in MiLB, LHSP Kade Anderson.  

I was also looking forward to seeing LHSP Luke Fox as well.  But Fox pitched to two batters, allowing a double and RBI single.  On his first pitch after the single, Fox motioned to the Drillers dugout, and after a brief visit with the athletic trainer and manager Eric Wedge, Fox departed the game.  The lefthander has missed over three months of the season with a hamstring issue, but the reason for his departure was unclear. 

Anderson was as advertised.  He completed 5.2 innings, allowing 2 singles, 1 BB, and registered 7 K. 

Four Tulsa relievers pitched 9.0 scoreless after Fox was removed.  RHP Aidan Foeller entered in the 1st in relief of Fox.  He inherited a runner on 1st and nobody out and retired the side with no runs.  He completed 5.0 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 BB, and 6 K. 

RHRP Cameron Day pitched 2.0 innings and struck out 4.  RHP Jacob Kmatz pitched 1.2 innings allowing 1 hit with 2 K.  LHRP Christian Suarez entered the 9th needing one out, and he got it for the save (2). 

After shutting down Tulsa batters for 5.2 innings by Anderson, he was relieved by RHRP Ty Cummings after his pitch count reached 79.  Cummings hit CF Mike Sirota and 1B/2B Jake Gelof hit a 2-run HR (24) to take the lead.  

Catcher Nelson Quiroz hit a solo HR (1) in the 7th.  1B Joe Vetrano hit a solo HR (7) in the 8th. 

·      Jake Gelof – 2-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (24)

·      Nelson Quiroz – 2-3, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (1)

·      Joe Vetrano – 1-1, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (7) 

Box Score

South Bend Cubs 6 – OKC Comets 2 

RHP Will Gagnon was making his 1st start for Great Lakes.  He gave up a solo HR to the 2nd batter he faced.  

In the 3rd, Gagnon allowed a single and issued 2 BB with 2 Ks.  He had the bases loaded with 2 outs but in a position to get out with no runs.  However, Gagnon walked the next batter for a run, and then catcher’s interference and a fielding error scored 3 for a 5-0 lead.  

With LHRP Matt Latzendorfer on the mound in the 6th, he gave up a solo HR. 

Great Lakes had 4 singles and 3 BB over the first 8.0 innings.  In the 9th, GL put together 3 singles and 2 BB for 2 runs to avoid the shutout.  

·      Eduardo Quintero – 2-3, 1 BB, 1 run

·      Eduardo Guerrero – 2-3, 1 BB 

Mairo Martinus and Jaron Elkins had the other 2 singles. 

Box Score 

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (LAA) 9 – Ontario Tower Buzzers 6 

Ontario jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after two batters.  2B Kellon Lindsey doubled, moved to 3rd on a WP, and scored on a SF from SS Joendry Vargas.  

RHSP Jack O’Connor had a miserable start.  In his 2.2 IP he gave up 6 hits, including 1 HR, 2 triples, and a double. He walked 2, hit a batter, 3 WP.  All that led to 8 runs. 

Ontario tried to make a game of it in the 5th.  C Frank Espinoza and CF Abel Lorenzo led off with singles. Both runners moved up on a throwing error on the play.  Espinoza scored on a WP, and Lorenzo scored on a Vargas single.  DH Ching-Hsien Ko slugged a 2-run HR (17) tightening the score to 8-5. 

RHRP Jholbran Herder retired all 4 batters he faced, 3 via K. 

RHRP Joel Cruz pitched the final 4.0 innings.  He allowed an unearned run with 3 hits, no BB, and 6 K. 

Lindsey hit an inside the park HR (6) in the 7th to finish the scoring. 

·      Kellon Lindsey – 2-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI, double (7), HR (6)

·      Joendry Vargas – 2-3, 1 run, 2 RBI, SF

·      Ching-Hsien Ko – 1-3, 1 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (17) 

Box Score