Saturday, April 2, 2016

FARRAGO

Baseball's Ten Oddest Occurrences of 2015

April 6:  Jon Lester  is the ninth consecutive starting pitcher to make his Chicago Cubs debut on Opening Day and lose.

May 17:  After being the last staring first baseman in the majors to hit a home run, Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants hits a home run in three straight games.

June 13:  The Oakland A's lose 1-0, dropping 14 games under .500 despite having outscored all of their opponents for the season.

June 18:  Minor achievement?  New York Yankees prospect Wes Wilson catches the first 15 innings of a game for Tampa, works two perfect innings on the mound and then hits the game-winning home run in the 17th inning against Bradenton.

June 29-July 1: The Cleveland Indians take a perfect game into the sixth inning in three consecutive games of a series in Tampa Bay.

July 12:  After reaching the 2014 All-Star break with a 10-3 record with 108 strikeouts, Sonny Gray of the Oakland A's reaches the 2015 All-Star break with a 10-3 record and 108 strikeouts.

July 20:  Colorado Rockies first baseman Ben Paulsen, having lost track of the outs, jogs to the dugout with the ball, allowing a runner to score. then atones for his gaffe with a walk-off hit.

Aug. 9:  Bartolo Colon of the New York Mets loses to the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that didn't exist when he made his major-league debut.

Aug. 11:  Home teams go 15-0--a first in major-league history.

Sept. 27:  Chris Young of the Kansas City Royals is the first pitcher in at least a century to  be removed from a no-hitter after pitching at least five innings twice in a season.

Thanks to Athlon Sports for these Calendar of the Weird gems.

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