Greatest Home Run Hitting Shortstop in the last century - 1900s. Baseball History. Ernie Banks holds the record for most home runs per games played at shortstop - no other shortstop comes close and Banks missed two years while serving in the army during the Korean War.

Ernie Banks is the most valuable shortstop in baseball history; two years in a row he won the Most Valuable Player Award, in 1958 & 1959. Banks was the first player in history to win the MVP while playing for a 5th place team.

Called "Mr. Cub", Ernie Banks' power hitting packed Wrigley Field with fans in the 1950's and 1960's. They came to see Ernie hit one onto Waveland Avenue.

Ernie Banks loved to play baseball and is often quoted as saying "Lets Play Two Today". From August, 1956 to 1961, Banks played in 717 consecutive games. In 1955, Ernie BAnks hit five (5) grand slams - still a National League Record. In 1957, 4 pitchers dared to knock down Banks and each time he hit the next pitch for a homer.

Hall of Famer Ernie Banks hit 512 career homers, drove in 1636 runs, had 2583 hits, 407 doubles, 90 triples and a lifetime batting average of .274.

Ernie Banks was a great player and is one of the nicest people you can ever meet. After he retired he came to Cubs' park and sat in the stands talking to fans and autographed freely for everyone. Fans lined up in the stands to get a chance to talk with Mr. Ernie Banks!

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Baseball Players

Around 70 percent of the men listed on American Heroes, including Ernie Banks, served in the US Military, and we are proud to call them American Heroes... many who served saw battle action during World War I or II, the Korean War or the Vietnam War or were veterans in other conflicts.

Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson joined the military in 1918, was sent overseas to the Western Front, got a whiff of poison gas which caused Tuberculosis in both lungs and died in 1925 at age 45.

Red Sox slugger Ted Williams flew 42 missions over Korea in 1951-52 after also serving during World War II.

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Kiner ranks second to Babe Ruth for the highest number of homers per time at bat. He hit 13 career grand-slams and three times clubbed 3 homers in one game. Hall of Famer played only 10 years but still whacked 369 home runs and posted 1015 RBI's and walked 1011 times with a lifetime batting of .279. Kiner spent 1943-45 in the military.

The Pirates retired his #4 uniform number. After he retired from baseball Kiner spent many years as a broadcaster on radio and TV

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In 1955, Pee Wee Reese's clutch hitting and fine all-around play, his speed on the base paths helped the Dodgers beat out the Giants and win the pennant. His playing led the Dodgers in their World Series victory over the fabulous New York Yankees. Pee Wee Reese rose to great heights as the Dodgers won 4 games to 3.

Reese proudly served three years for the U.S. Navy during World War II. When he returned, he led the league in stolen bases and in runs scored with 132.

Pee Wee Reese had a .269 career batting ave., scored 1,338 runs and collected 2170 hits. He played in 2166 games, with 8058 at bats and only struckout 890 times.

Fans: for more news about the Brooklyn Dodgers, please go to our Search on the Home Page and type in Brooklyn Dodgers

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A great defensive baseball catcher, Roy Campanella's handling of the Dodgers' pitching staff and his powerful hitting enabled the 'Bums' to win pennants in 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1957. And in 1950 & 1951, the Dodgers lost out on the last game of the season.

While still in his prime, on Jan. 28, 1958, Roy Campanella was driving slowly on an icy road, his car hit a telephone and flipped over. The accident left Campanella paralyzed in both arms and legs. Baseball fans all over the country, were shocked and sadden by this tragic news.

Baseball Historian notes: A special night was held for Roy Campanella on his birthday on 5/7/59 and the largest crowd in baseball history, over 95,000 fans packed Los Angeles Coliseum to cheer and honor this great individual.

In 1951, his first MVP season, Campy hit .325 , 30 doubles, 33 home runs and drove in 108 runs along with a .590 slugging pct. Again in 1953, his powerful hitting, 41 homers, 142 RBI's, .312 BA helped the Dodgers to win the pennant and Campy was the MVP.

Make no mistake about Roy Campanella's great leadership and clutching hitting, his feats place him as one of the best all-around NL players of all-time.

Roy Campanella career numbers are 1215 games, 4205 at bats, 242 homers, 856 RBI's. The above numbers do not include Campy's great play in the Negro League from 1940-47 - baseballhistorian.com All Rights Reserved 'Campy'

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Mike Garcia posted a 14-5 record in his rookie season in 1949, throwing 5 shutouts with a 2.36 ERA. He won 20 games in 1951 and again in 1952.

His 22-11 record, .667 pct in 1952 included 6 shutouts, 4 saves, in 292 innings, starting 36 games and completing 19 of them. He went 18-9 in 1953, pitching in 272 innings with a 3.25 ERA.

Garcia twice led the league in shutouts and in 1954 he led the league with a 2.64 ERA, the year the Tribe set the American League record by winning 111 games in a 154 game schedule.

In the 1954 World Series when the Giants swept the Indians in four games, Garcia started Game 3 but lasted only 3 innings giving up four runs. After the series, he said, "Sure, we were disappointed. We figured we'd win, but the Giants were too strong. But we were a team. We shared the credit and blame equally".

Mike Garcia career: 142-97, .594 pct, 3.27 ERA, 428 games, 281 GS, 111 GC, 27 shutouts, 23 saves, 2174 innings, 1117 K's and a low .319 on-base pct.

We honor Mike Garcia, one of the Indians' 'Big Four' during the 1950's. If not for the fact that big Mike Garcia spent three years in the U.S. Military prior to joining the Indians' starting rotation and because of the fact that he was in the pitching rotation along with three pitchers who did make the Hall of Fame, Garcia would have been elected to the 'Hall of Fame'. His outstanding lifetime record should serve to get consideration in future 'Hall of Fame' balloting. Baseballhistorian.com archives

April 22, 2001 - by staff @baseballhistorian.com - Internet Newspaper.

Who was it that said - 'Pitching is the name of the game!'

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The Minnesota Twins have chalked up the best record in baseball, 13-3, a .813 percentage - Wow! - last season they finished 69-93, 5th in the AL Central. Manager Tom Kelly says, 'this is the best pitching staff we've ever had.'

The Twins won 8 and lost only 1 in their opening Home-stand... and have come from behind 8 times already.

As a fact, last season (2000) Minnesota's pitching staff posted a 5.14 earned run average... this season after 16 games... their ERA is a fine 3.89. Brad Radke is off to a 4-0 start, 2.23 ERA and Eric Milton is 3-0, 2.70 ERA.

The Twins are second in the league with a .292 batting average. DH David Ortiz is hitting a torrid .396, with 13 RBIs, shortstop Christian Guzman, who possesses superior defensive range, is hitting .333 and leading all of baseball with 5 triples. Last year, Guzman led the majors with 20 triples.

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With Larry Bowa at the helm, the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies are leading the NL East by 2 1/2 games and have complied a 10-6 record - compared to a 65-97 finish in year 2000.

Their 3.30 ERA is third best in the NL and fourth best in the majors. Right-hander Wayne Gomes who finished last season at Scranton/W-B is 2-0 with a resounding 0.82 ERA. Yesterday, Robert Person out-pitched All-Star Greg Maddux to record s second win of the season. Person, who pitched most last year (2000) in the minors, fanned seven in six innings, giving him 24 Ks in just 25 innings of work, and to move to 2-1, 2.49 ERA for the year.

Leading the charge at the plate is shortstop Jimmy Rollins. He's hitting a nice .290, collecting 18 hits in 62 at bats. Unlike today's game with it's power bats... the entire Phillies team has rapped out only 12 homers in their first 16 games, but manager Larry Bowa said, 'We're for real. Our defense is playing great baseball, and that's enabling our pitching staff to produce wins.'

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The Boston Red Sox are dreaming of going all-the-way in 2001... and with the lowest ERA (2.04) in baseball they look poised to do it. The Red Sox are 13-5 in the AL East.

Pedro Martinez is 2-0, a 1.61 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 44 innings (and that's a lot of Ks). Frank Castillo, who started his career with the Cubs, seems to like his new digs in Fenway... he's 2-1, 3.60 ERA in 20 innings.

First baseman Brian Doubach was voted the AL Player of the Week. A native of Belleville, Illinois, he homered in three straight games, with 7 RBIs, during the Red Sox three-game sweep of Tampa Bay. The 29-year-old, left-handed batting Dauback has already crashed seven homers this season. DH Manny Ramirez is hitting a burning .403, with 4 HR, and has collected 19 RBIs in 18 games.

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The Chicago Cubs, relying on strong pitching from their starters and a relentless effort from closer Jeff Fassero, are setting the NL Central on fire with a red-hot 12-5 start. Sammy Sosa said it best, 'Our pitching and defense has been great, and we're hitting in the clutch.'

The Cubs look nothing like last year's squad who finished at 65-97 with a team ERA of 5.25. This year's mound masters have complied a NL leading 2.89 ERA after 17 games.

Jeff Fassero has saved 9 games already, Kevein Tapani is 3-0, with a mere 0.96 ERA, Kerry Wood looks dominating once again, Julian Taverez has vaulted out-of-nowhere and has posted a 2-0 record, 1.47 ERA... and Kyle Farnsworth, a 97-mph speed-ball reliever, has come on in 8 games and fanned 12 batters in 12 innings. Jon Lieber appears to be having another fine season. He's 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 30 innings... and Felix Heredia has posted a absolute 0.00 ERA in 11 relief games.

Sosa is still the Cubs' big-gun... he's hit 6 homers, including a grand-slam, and has driven in 17 runs. Left fielder Rondell White is among the NL's top-ten in batting with .346 and Catcher/First Baseman Randy Hundley came alive with a two-homer game yesterday.

Our Cubs' writer, Gene Siuda says, 'The Cubs pitching so far is better than I expected. The Cubs need offense, like the White Sox have. If (and it's a big IF) the Cubs can play like this, and win close games, it will be a great season to look forward to.'

Some ugly-stuff from long-time Cub fan, Don Siuda, - He's now on record as saying, 'THE CUBS WILL SUPRISE A LOT OF PEOPLE... just like the White Sox will the other way...

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Seattle Mariners - most pre-season polls picked them to be one the American Leagues best teams... and they certainly haven't disappointed their fans. The Mariners are playing at a 14-4 clip thru the first three weeks of 2001, have the third lowest ERA (3.73) in the league and hitting .271 as a team.

Left-hander John Halama stopped the Anahein Angels Friday night on six-hits thru 7-innings to go to 2-1, and closer Kazuhiro Sasaki gained his 9th save to lead the AL in this department. Freddy Garcia is 2-0, 3.37 ERA and Aaron Sele is 2-0, 3.00 ERA.

The Mariners are hitting .271, 7th in the AL. Setting-the-table by leading-off is Ichiro Suzuki, the seven-time Japanese batting champion, who's hitting a compelling .378. John Olerud, who won a Gold Glove last year (2000) is batting .375. DH Edgar Martinez is hitting .305 with 12 RBIs.

=============================================== San Francisco Giants are leading the ever tough NL West with a 10-7 mark with Barry Bonds stealing the show. Bonds was voted the NL's Player of the Week by becoming only the 17th player in history to blast 500 career homers... and the 36-year-old tied a NL record by hitting home runs in six consecutive games.

Although the Giants are 13th in the league with a 5.11 team ERA they've played mostly in hitter-friendly ballparks so far in 2001. Right-handed Russ Ortiz is 3-1, a 2.70 ERA, left-hander Aaron Fultz is 2-0, 4.76 ERA.

Giants' shortstop Rich Aurilia is leading the NL in batting with .368. Last season, Aurilia hit 20 homers to become the first shortstop in the NL to collect back-to-back 20 or more homer seasons since Ernie Banks did it way-back in 1960-61. As a team the Giants are only hitting .245, 10th in the NL but are riding the clutch-hitting of Barry Bonds to an early pace-setting NL West lead.

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So will any of the above teams make the playoffs? We don't know... but, their fans have been hootin' and rootin.'

May 21, 2001 - by staff @baseballhistorian.com - Internet Newspaper... Monday's News:

Who was it that said - 'Pitching is the name of the game!'

Dogfights in most Divisional races as we enter the Memorial Holidays.

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The Minnesota Twins have chalked up a compelling record of 29-13 - after finishing last season at 69-93, 5th in the AL Central. Manager Tom Kelly says, 'this is the best pitching staff we've ever had.'

The Twins won 8 and lost none in one-run games, are 11-2 in day games and a resounding 19-1 when leading after 7 innings. LaTroy Hawkins has caulked up 14 saves!

As a fact, last season (2000) Minnesota's pitching staff posted a 5.14 earned run average... this season after 41 games... their ERA is a fine 3.73. Brad Radke is off to a 7-1 start, 2.83 ERA and Joe Mays is 5-2, and his 2.30 ERA is second in the American League, and Eric Milton is 5-3, 3.43 ERA.

The Twins are eighth in the league with a .261 batting average. Former Olympic hero first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz is hitting a torrid .389 with 9 homers, 30 RBIs and shortstop Christian Guzman, who possesses superior defensive range, is hitting .293 and leading all of baseball with 8 triples. Last year, Guzman led the majors with 20 triples.

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The still red-hot Philadelphia Phillies are leading the NL East by 5 full games and have complied a 25-16 record - compared to a 65-97 finish in year 2000.

Their 4.00 ERA is fourth best in the NL. Yesterday, Robert Person out-pitched Alan Benes of the Cardinals in a complete game 3-2 win and, evened his 2001 mark to 4-4, and lowered his season ERA to 3.43. Person pitched most last year (2000) in the minors. Omar Daal has jumped off to a 5-0 record with his pin-point control. He's surrendered only 13 walks in 56 innings while posting a 3.70 ERA.

Unlike today's game with it's power bats... the entire Phillies team has rapped out only 39 homers in their first 40 games, but manager Larry Bowa said, 'We're for real. our defense is playing great baseball, and that's enabling our pitching staff to produce wins.'

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The Boston Red Sox are dreaming of going all-the-way in 2001... and with the lowest ERA (3.30) in baseball they look poised to do it. The Red Sox are 25-18, first place in the AL East.

Pedro Martinez is 6-0 and is leading the majors with an ERA of 1.52, a record-setting 96 strikeouts in just 63 innings. Frank Castillo, seems to like his new digs in Fenway... he's 5-2, and has posted an 3.88 ERA in 47 innings. Hideo Nomo is back to his old form, going 4-2 in 45 innings.

DH Manny Ramirez is hitting a burning .406, with 15 homers and has collected 54 RBIs in 43 games. In yesterday's action against the Royals, catcher Jason Varitek hit three yard/shots and had 7 RBIs, going 4-for-4. The homers were his 3rd, 4th and 5th of the year.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers aren't doing it with smoke and mirrors - but with pitching and defense. Their mound staff has the lowest ERA (3.74) in the league and has led them to first place in the NL West with a 24-20 record.

Right-hander Kevin Brown is 5-2 and his 1.86 ERA is the lowest in all of the National League. Chan Ho Park is 4-4 and has posted a fine 3.15 ERA and Reliever Jeff Shaw is leading the league with 13 saves.

Home run slugger Gary Sheffield became the first player ever in major league history to win three 1-0 games in a single season - and it's only the last week in May. The Dodgers are 13th in the NL in batting with a weak .242 average. Shawn Green is the active leader in consecutive games played with 303.

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Seattle Mariners - most pre-season polls picked them to be one the American Leagues best teams... and they certainly haven't disappointed their fans. The Mariners have the best record (32-11) in baseball, have the second lowest ERA (3.70) in the league and are hitting .277 as a team, fourth highest in the AL.

Aaron Sele is still unbeaten (6-0) after stopping the Yankees 6-2 on Sunday. His 2.84 ERA is fourth lowest in the league after pitching 56 innings. The Mariners have won 26-of-27 games after leading after seven innings and their main-man of the bullpen is closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, who gained his 17th save to lead the AL. Jamie Moyer is still strutting-his-stuff with a resounding 6-1 record.

The Mariners are hitting .277 as a team. Setting-the-table by leading-off is Ichiro Suzuki, the seven-time Japanese batting champion, who's hitting a compelling .375. John Olerud, who won a Gold Glove last year (2000) is batting .327. DH Edgar Martinez is hitting .290 with 30 RBIs. Second baseman Bret Boone, who's having a career year, is batting .317 with 43 RBIs.

=============================================== The St. Louis Cardinals are 25-17 and are leading the NL Central. The Red Birds pitching staff is third best in the NL with an 3.91 ERA and they're hitting .281, second in the NL.

Darryl Kile and Dustin Hermanson, who came over in an off-season trade for Fernando Tatis. Don't be surprised if both win 20 in 2001. Kile is already 6-2, an 3.19 ERA and Hermanson is 5-1, 4.14 ERA.

Rookie Pujois is hitting a lofty .367, with 14 homers, and center-fielder Jim Edmonds .363. Placido Polanco, who hit .316 last year, is off again - hitting .333. J. D. Drew has 15 yard/shots, 33 RBIs and is hitting .296.

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Leading the San Francisco Giants is future Hall of Famer, Barry Bonds. He was voted the NL Player of the Week back in April by becoming only the 17th player in history to blast 500 career homers... and the 36-year-old tied a NL record by hitting home runs in six consecutive games. This past week, Bonds clouted three homers in one game and followed up by hitting two the next day - 22 for the year.

Luis Gonzalez, of the Arizona Diamondbacks, was leading the majors with 20 homers until Bonds streaked on by. Gonzalez hit his 20 in the fastest time in major league history and was voted the NL Player of the Week, two weeks ago.

Pittsburgh - Ralph Kiner walloped his 54th home run of the season tonight and set a few more records as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2, before 9,416 fans. Bob Chesnes allowed only four hits, two of them in the ninth when the Reds scored both their runs.

Kiner's long drive, which cleared the scoreboard clock in left field, set a new National League record for the most home runs hit by a player in a month. The old mark of fifteen was set by Fred (Cy) Williams of Philadelphia in May, 1923. The American League mark of eighteen belongs to Rudy York of Detroit. He turned the trick in August, 1937.

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As a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Matty Alou led the league in batting at .342 in 1966.

Matty was the fastest and best hitter for average of the Alou brothers - Felipe and Jesus. As a late pickup by the Oakland A's in 1972, he hit .381 in the League Championship Series which helped the A's to their first ever World Title. Matty Alou's career stats: .307 BA, .346 on-base-pct, 1777 hits, 236 doubles and 156 stolen bases.

Bob Lemon proudly served in US Military during World War II otherwise his career totals would have been much higher. Bob Lemon had 207 wins and only 128 loses; .618 pct.

Bob played outfield in the minors but later switched to pitching. Good hitting pitcher, he was often used by Cleveland's manager Al Lopez as a pinch hitter.

After serving in the US Military during World War II Lemon joined the Indians in 1946. In 1948 he posted his first of seven 20 game win season, and helped the Indians to their last World Series win, 20-114, 2.82 ERA.

In 1949, Lemon won 22 games and lost 10. In 1954, he went 23-7 as the Cleveland won the pennant. Lemon's relentless curve ball and great control made him almost un-hittable in 1954 and he was voted the 'Pitcher of the Year.'

Lemon started 350 career games and completed 188. He pitched 31 career shutouts. After he retired as a player, he managed the New York Yankees and led them to the pennant. baseballhistorian.com All Rights Reserved Bob Lemon - Baseball Historian

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Mazeroski, a great fielding second baseman, was elected to baseball’s select group of Hall of Famers on March 7 2001.

Bill Mazeroski captured eight Gold Gloves and still holds the single season and career records for double plays. He had a .260 career batting average, lined 138 homers with 853 RBIs. From 1957-1967, he led all middle infielders with 714 RBIs and 7 years in a 10 year period he led all major league 2nd baseman in RBIs.

After the voting for the Hall of Fame Bill Mazeroski said, 'You can hit so many home runs and not play defense and still get into the Hall of Fame. But you can play defense and you still have to hit home runs. I think I saved as many runs as those guys drove in. That helps win games, and that is what we’re all about; winning baseball games.'

Bill Mazeroski stats: .260 BA, 294 doubles, 62 Ts,, 138 Hr, 769 Runs, 853 RBIs, 447 Walks, 706 Ks, 2,016 hits, 7735 at bats in 2,163 games, .302 on base pct, .983 fielding pct.

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