Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 04/10/2026In 1909, Cobb won a Triple Crown before it had a name. In 1925, he earned a save before it existed. Baseball spent a surprising amount of time inventing statistics for things Ty Cobb had already done. 7/ 000
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 04/10/2026Darkness ended the game after eight innings with Detroit ahead, 11-6. Decades later, when baseball went back and applied the save statistic retroactively, Cobb's perfect final inning qualified. The only save of his career. 6/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 04/10/2026Browns player-manager George Sisler took the mound and threw two scoreless innings. Then Tigers player-manager Ty Cobb answered with a perfect eighth. This wasn't even their first pitching duel. Cobb and Sisler had both pitched in the same game back in 1918. Apparently, once wasn't enough. 5 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 04/10/2026His teammates reportedly suggested Heilmann sit out Game 2 and protect the batting title. He played. He went 3-for-3 with a home run and five RBIs. Heilmann finished the season hitting .393 and won his third AL batting championship. But this game was not finished being strange. 4 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 04/10/2026The Tigers and Browns were finishing the season with a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park. The real drama belonged to Harry Heilmann, chasing Tris Speaker for the AL batting title. After going 3-for-6 in Game 1, Heilmann had essentially caught him. He could have stopped there. 3/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 04/10/2026Yesterday, we met 22-year-old Ty Cobb winning the 1909 Triple Crown before the Triple Crown was really a thing. Today, October 4, 1925, we find 38-year-old Cobb near the other end of his career. And he's about to earn a save before saves were a thing. 2/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 04/10/2026Steve Drumwright @drummerwrites.bsky.social rubs it in about Cleveland's loss with his MLB Playoffs News and Notes. pitcherlist.com/mlb-news-mom... The @pitcherlist.com List Wayback Machine once again lands in Ty Cobb's timeline. 1/pitcherlist.comMLB News & Moments: Strange Brew In Game 1 VictoryMLB morning news in one place: injuries, roster moves, lineup notes and callups, plus what each item means for your fantasy baseball team today. 110
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 03/10/2026So Ty Cobb's 1909 Triple Crown is wonderfully Deadball Era. He won an award that wasn't really an award yet, with an RBI total historians would have to reconstruct, while leading baseball in home runs without hitting one over the fence. Baseball records are tidy. Rarely is history. 6/ 000
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 03/10/2026And then there are those 9 home runs. Cobb led not merely the American League, but all of Major League Baseball. He did it without hitting a single home run over an outfield fence. All nine were inside-the-park home runs. 5/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 03/10/2026RBI didn't become an official statistic until 1920. So researchers had to reconstruct Cobb's 1909 total later, and they haven't always agreed on it. Ernie Lanigan's research credited Cobb with 115 RBI. David Neft's later research gave him 107, the number generally used today. 4/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 03/10/2026What we know is remarkable enough. Cobb hit .377 and led the American League with 9 home runs. Modern records also credit him with 107 RBI, giving him what we now recognize as the Triple Crown. But about those RBI... 3/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 03/10/2026In 1909, Ty Cobb won baseball's Triple Crown. Except, not really. The "Triple Crown" wasn't yet the celebrated achievement we know today. And one of its three statistics, RBI, wasn't even officially recorded. Cobb won a prize baseball hadn't quite invented yet. 2/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 03/10/2026The always insightful Joe Landolina has this week's history notes for you. pitcherlist.com/this-week-in... I'll pick something he missed about a player winning something before it existed. 1/pitcherlist.comThis Week in Baseball History – 10-2-26Take a trip down memory lane with This Week in Baseball History and uncover stories that shaped the game. 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 27/09/2026Lajoie joined Cap Anson and Honus Wagner in the 3,000-hit club and said he was "pretty close to being the happiest man in Cuyahoga County." The milestone remains The exact hit does not Because baseball history is often less a record book than an archaeological dig with box scores and confusion 6/ 000
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 27/09/2026So which hit was actually Nap Lajoie's 3,000th? That depends on which reconstruction of records more than a century old you accept. What we DO know is that on September 27, 1914, baseball believed Lajoie had reached 3,000 hits and celebrated accordingly. 5/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 27/09/2026Later researchers complicated things. Statistical revisions used by the 1969 Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia shifted Lajoie's totals, making his FIRST double that afternoon No. 3,000. Then researchers found still more missing hits from 1901. Those potentially moved No. 3,000 back even further. 4/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 27/09/2026That day at League Park, Lajoie doubled twice against New York's Marty McHale. Contemporary accounts called the first hit No. 2,999 and the second No. 3,000. When Lajoie reached second, he was presented with the baseball as the Cleveland crowd celebrated the milestone. 3/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 27/09/2026On September 27, 1914, Cleveland celebrated Nap Lajoie as the third player in major-league history to reach 3,000 hits. There's only one problem. He may have reached 3,000 before September 27. Welcome to the wonderfully messy world of early baseball statistics. 2/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 27/09/2026Ben Solow continues to apply PLV to playoff teams' offenses (Go Guards!) pitcherlist.com/plv-decision... The @Pitcherlist Wayback Machine lets you revisit advanced stats when records may be questionable. 1/pitcherlist.comPLV Decision Value Weekly: Playoff Offenses (Part 2)A weekly pitch level value breakdown: the pitchers whose arsenals are trending up or down, the hitters showing gains, and what PLV says comes next. 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 26/09/2026Jesse Burkett had been given the chance to sit down, protect his average, and finish safely above .400. He refused because he didn't want anyone calling him a quitter. Then he collected three more hits anyway. There are easier ways to make a point. But this was the Cleveland Spiders. 6/ 000
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 26/09/2026And .410 was only part of the absurdity. Burkett led the National League in batting average, hits (240), runs (160), and total bases (317), while also leading in games, plate appearances, and at-bats. He played constantly. He hit constantly. 5/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 26/09/2026It was Burkett's second straight season over .400. Modern statistical sources differ slightly on his 1895 average, generally listing it as .405 or .409. There is no argument about 1896. Burkett hit .410. 4/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 26/09/2026Naturally, Burkett went 3-for-4. Apparently, the safest way to protect a .400 average was simply to keep getting hits. His three-hit afternoon against Louisville left Burkett with a .410 batting average and 240 hits for the 1896 season. 3/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 26/09/2026On September 26, 1896, Cleveland Spiders captain Patsy Tebeau offered Jesse Burkett a deal. Sit out the season finale and protect his .400 batting average. Burkett refused. "I'll play it out. I don't want to be called a quitter." So he played. 2/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 26/09/2026Why is Andrew Fisher still in the minors, like The Shadow, Ben Kafka (@benkafka35) knows! pitcherlist.com/what-does-mi... The @Pitcherlist Wayback Machine travels so far back that Cleveland is in the NL! 1/pitcherlist.comWhat Does Milwaukee Do With Andrew Fischer?In-depth fantasy baseball analysis from our Going Deep series: pitch-level data, mechanical changes and the player deep dives that move your roster. 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 20/09/2026Bill Bergen's career reminds us that baseball has never been simply about hitting. For 11 seasons, his glove and arm kept him in the majors despite a bat that rarely cooperated. He couldn't buy a hit, but he earned his place behind the plate. And that, friends, is a baseball. 6/ 000
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 20/09/2026In 1911, his final season, Bergen hit just .132. Yet he led National League catchers with a .981 fielding percentage. The man who struggled to make contact with a baseball was remarkably good at preventing everyone else from doing anything useful with one. 5/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 20/09/2026Then came 1909. Bergen hit .139 for the Superbas and endured a remarkable 45 consecutive at-bats without a hit. For perspective, he approached the plate with roughly the same offensive promise as a folding chair. Brooklyn kept him behind the plate anyway. 4/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 20/09/2026Bergen debuted with the Cincinnati Reds in 1901 before joining Brooklyn in 1903. His bat was a liability, but his throwing arm was something else entirely. He recorded 100+ assists in nine seasons, making baserunners think twice about wandering too far from the bag. 3 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 20/09/2026On September 20, 1911, Bill Bergen played his final MLB game for the Brooklyn Superbas. After 11 seasons, he retired with a .170 batting average and .194 OBP. One of baseball's worst hitters had somehow enjoyed a remarkably long career. His secret? He could catch just about anything. 2/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 20/09/2026Josh Shaw catches you up on the MLB News and Notes you may have missed! pitcherlist.com/mlb-news-mom... Follow the @pitcherlist.com Wayback Machine to 1911 to look at a unique "hitter." 1/pitcherlist.comMLB News & Moments: Texas Atop The WestMLB morning news in one place: injuries, roster moves, lineup notes and callups, plus what each item means for your fantasy baseball team today. 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 19/09/2026Across 14 major-league seasons, Sewell struck out only 114 times in 7,132 at-bats. Some hitters conquered pitchers. Sewell spent a career treating strike three as an unconfirmed rumor. 6/ 000
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 19/09/2026Sewell finished 1929 batting .315 with 182 hits, 38 doubles, 7 home runs, and 73 RBI. In 578 at-bats, he struck out four times: once every 144.5 at-bats. He also walked 48 times, twelve walks for every strikeout. 5/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 19/09/2026The spell broke the next day. Boston's Danny MacFayden struck him out in the sixth inning on September 20. For most hitters, a strikeout is Tuesday. For Joe Sewell, it was a rumor. 4/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 19/09/2026Sewell had last struck out on May 17 against George Blaeholder of St. Louis. Between that strikeout and the next, he went 442 at-bats without another, including 115 complete games. He treated strike three as an administrative error. 3/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 19/09/2026On September 19, 1929, Cleveland's Joe Sewell completed his 115th consecutive game without striking out, a Major League record that still stands. Baseball offered three outcomes: hit, walk, or make the defense do something. 2/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 19/09/2026The well-coiffed Scott Chu (@scottchu.pitcherlist.com) has the hitting guide for your fantasy baseball playoffs. pitcherlist.com/hitter-list-... The @pitcherlist.com Wayback Machine looks at a statistically unique batting season. 1/pitcherlist.comHitter List 9/18: Your Hitting Guide For The PlayoffsYour hitting guide for the fantasy baseball playoffs 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 18/09/2026So Johnson watching a 33–28 ballgame outside the White House wasn't just a curiosity. It was baseball becoming part of American life: played by government clerks, watched by thousands, with the White House looming just beyond the outfield. 6/ 000
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 18/09/2026Johnson wasn't new to Washington baseball. In 1865, the Nationals hosted clubs including Philadelphia's Athletics and Brooklyn's Atlantics on the White Lot. Thousands came to watch as baseball took hold in the capital, including President Johnson. 5/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 18/09/2026One was Arthur Pue Gorman, a young Senate employee who helped organize the Nationals and became an important early player. He eventually found another strange American game to play: politics. Gorman became a U.S. Senator from Maryland. 4/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 18/09/2026The White Lot, roughly today's Ellipse, was one of Washington's baseball centers. The Nationals and Potomacs had played there since around 1860, and many players were federal employees. Baseball and government bureaucracy grew up together. This explains much. 3/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 18/09/2026On September 18, 1866, President Andrew Johnson walked out to the White Lot behind the White House to watch some baseball. The Washington Nationals were playing the Brooklyn Excelsiors. Brooklyn won 33–28. Apparently pitching had not yet reached Washington. 2/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 18/09/2026Steve Drumwright (@drummerwrites.bsky.social) has your MLB News and Notes for today! pitcherlist.com/mlb-news-mom... Meanwhile, the @PitcherList Wayback Machine visits 1866! 1/pitcherlist.comMLB News & Moments: Another Munetaka Murakami Shot Has White Sox TiedMLB morning news in one place: injuries, roster moves, lineup notes and callups, plus what each item means for your fantasy baseball team today. 110
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 14/09/2026His final MLB appearance came October 14, 1998, for Atlanta in the NLCS. At age 44, Martínez threw 1⅓ perfect innings. From Nicaragua's first major leaguer in 1976 to 245 wins and a perfect game. Twenty-two years later, he left the same way he arrived: Nobody reached base. 6/ 000
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 14/09/2026His masterpiece came July 28, 1991. Pitching for Montreal, Martínez retired all 27 Dodgers he faced in a 2–0 victory at Dodger Stadium. The first Latin American-born pitcher to throw a perfect game in Major League history. "El Presidente" was perfect. 5/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 14/09/2026And he did quite a bit with them. 23 seasons. 245 wins. 2,149 strikeouts. 3,999⅔ innings. Yes, after pitching from 1976 through 1998, Martínez finished exactly ONE OUT short of 4,000 career innings. Baseball has a wonderful sense of humor. 4/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 14/09/2026Martínez pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings that afternoon, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out five. Baltimore won 9–7. Martínez got the win. The 21-year-old had arrived. He would stick around for another 22 years. 3/ 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 14/09/2026On September 14, 1976, Dennis Martínez made his MLB debut for Baltimore, becoming the first Nicaraguan-born player in Major League history. He entered in relief against Detroit. Then he struck out the first three batters he faced. Not a bad introduction. 2 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 14/09/2026White Sox and Guardians' battle for the AL Central, as previewed by the always insightful @baseperspective (Justin Alston) pitcherlist.com/mlb-series-p... The @pitcherlist Wayback Machine goes looking for a perfect president! 1/pitcherlist.comMLB Series Preview: Guardians Host White Sox in Huge AL Central ClashA massive three-game series in Cleveland takes this week's top spot. 100
Mat Kovach @siddfinch.xyz · 12/09/2026According to Elias, it was the first time a team swept a doubleheader 1–0 with both winning runs driven in by its starting pitchers. "Holy Cow," Gil Hodges said. "I never saw anything like that before." The Mets' NL East lead was now 2½ games. The miracle continued. 6/ 000
