Joe Nuxhall

In 1944, with World War II raging, a 15-year-old P, two 16-year-old IF, and four 17-year-olds played for various ML teams. And one of the 17-year-olds was in his second season in the bigs.

• In the spring of 1944, Joe Nuxhall was a 15-year-old hurler for Hamilton (OH) High School. The Reds, desperate for talent, signed the youngster for their farm system. Then, trailing the defending NL champion St. Louis Cardinals 13-0 on June 10, manager Bill McKechnie sent the lefty Nuxhall out to pitch the 9th inning. He walked the first batter, then retired the next two. Admittedly nervous and scared, Joe walked four more, uncorked a wild pitch, and gave up two singles and five runs before being removed. That was Nuxhall's only NL appearance until 1952 when he joined the Reds for good.
• Tommy Brown was 16 years and 8 months old when he was called up from the minors by the Dodgers and played SS in both games of a doubleheader against the Cubs in August 3, 1944. He doubled and scored in the first game and committed an error. He played regularly with the Dodgers for the rest of the 1944 season. However, having hit only .164 in 46 games, he was optioned to St. Paul the following spring. The 1944 Dodgers roster also included 17-year-old Eddie Miksis and 18-year-old Gene Mauch, as well as 18-year-old P Ralph Branca and Cal McLish.

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Tommy Brown

Frank Thomas

The record for most HRs by both teams in a nine inning game is 12. The feat was accomplished by the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox on May 28, 1995, at Tiger Stadium.

• The Tigers hit seven dingers while Chicago smashed five.
• Nevertheless, Gene Lamont's White Sox defeated Sparky Anderson's Tigers 14-12.
• Detroit's seven round-trippers were hit by only four players: 1B Cecil Fielder (2), DH Kirk Gibson (2), CF Chad Curtis (2), and 2B Lou Whittaker. Sox starter James Baldwin gave up four of the HRs in the first two innings as the Tigers jumped out to a 7-1 lead.
• Chicago's five HRs came from: C Ron Karkovice (2), 2B Ray Durham, 1B Frank Thomas, and SS Craig Gerbeck. Three came off starter David Wells.

Thomas tied for second in the AL that season with 40 HRs.

Cecil Fielder

Time, March 30, 1925

George Sisler

Time magazine began publication in 1923. Who do you think was the first baseball player to appear on the cover of the magazine? Babe Ruth? Good guess but wrong. It was George Sisler, the great 1B of the St. Louis Browns.

• After hitting .285 in 81 games with the Browns in 1915 and .305 in his first full season in 1916, Sister went on a tear from 1917-1922. During that time he hit at least .341 and twice hit over .400 – .407 in 1920 and .420 in 1922 when he won the AL MVP Award and led St. Louis to second place, only one game behind the Yankees.
• George didn't report to spring training in 1923 because of a serious sinus infection that led to double vision. As a result, he missed the entire season. J. Roy Stockton noted in March 1924 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Sisler's "eye was noticeably crossed" and that George said he "couldn't see one baseball."
• Sisler returned in 1924 to hit .305. During that season, pitchers picked up something about George that they used against him. Bob Shawkey of the Yankees: "When he was up at the plate, he could watch you for only so long, and then he'd have to look down to get his eyes focused again. So we'd keep him waiting up there until he'd have to look down and then pitch. He was never the same hitter again after that."
• "Never the same" is true if you mean "never hit .400 again." However, he reached .345 in 1925. The next year, at age 33, he slumped to .290 before rebounding to .327 in 1927.
• Even his 1925 production did not satisfy Sisler. He said his numbers "never gave me much satisfaction. That isn't what I call real good hitting." He was referring to his loss of power as illustrated by the fact that his slugging percentages in his heyday from 1919-1922 were .530, .632, .560, and .594. After his eye problems, he never slugged more than .479.
• Before the 1928 season, the Washington Senators purchased Sisler for $25,000. After 51 games in which he hit only .245, he was sold to the Boston Braves, with whom he averaged .340, .326, and .309 before he retired after the 1930 season.
• Sisler entered the Hall of Fame in 1939 as part of its fourth "class" of inductees. Many rank him the equal of any 1B ever, including Lou Gehrig. If he hadn't gotten that sinus infection, there would be no doubt of his supremacy among first sackers.

The major league record for double plays in one season is 217. It was set by the 1949 Philadelphia Athletics.

• The infield for most of the 154 A's games that year was 3B Hank Majeski (114 games), SS Eddie Joost (144), 2B Pete Suder (118), and 1B Ferris Fain (150). Future HOFer Nellie Fox, in his first full season in the majors, also appeared in 77 games at 2B.
• To set a DP record, it helps to have pitchers who put numerous runners on base. The Philly staff had a 1.55 WHIP [(Walks + Hits) ÷ IP], which translates to three runners on base every two innings. That figure (which wasn't introduced until decades later but has been retroactively calculated) ranked sixth in the eight-team league.
• Connie Mack's Athletics finished with an 81-73 record for fifth place, 16 games behind the New York Yankees.
• Only 12 teams have turned 200 DPs in a season. The last was the 2001 Kansas City Royals with 204.

Philadelphia Athletics' 1949 infield (L-R) Eddie Joost, Hank Majeski, Ferris Fain, Pete Suder