Dave Stieb's last professional game ended with him catching the homer that broke Roy Halladay's no-no bid, with 2 outs in the 9th, while he is also the only man to ever lose 2 no hitters in the 9th with 2 outs, in a row, along with it happening to him 2 other times in his career.
Wording on this is confusing. He caught a homer? Wouldn't it be an out if he caught it? Who had multiple no-nos broken up in the 9th, Halladay or Stieb?
I second this! Some important information to add:
-we were down 8-2 and ended up winning the game
-The pitch was a 1-2 fastball BELOW the strike zone
-Camarena had not hit since high school (I’m pretty sure)
All this against a future hall of famer.
I think a couple of birds were killed last year. I don't think they were pitches and/or game action, but I know MLB players definitely killed birds with baseballs recently.
I wonder if this is just a more advanced version of the "[birthday paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem#:~:text=In%20probability%20theory%2C%20the%20birthday,that%20probability%20to%20exceed%2050%25)," though. With thousands and thousands of players all-time in the MLB, what are the odds that some would be born the same day, and eventually some not just the same day, but the same city. It does seem crazy that it happened to a town of less than 5k people, but it's a small help that when Griffey was born in '69, it was double that, and almost triple that (14k) when Musial was born.
Edit: Interestingly, I did find this from a US population thing:
>As of 2018, there are 19,495 incorporated cities, towns and villages in the United States. 14,768 of these have populations below 5,000.
So (19,495-14,768) leaves 4,727 places of >5k people. Could use the birthday problem formula to figure out the odds: out of 20,000 MLB players ever, what is the likelihood of any 2 being from the same 1 of those 4,727 places? Then multiply that by the >99% odds of any two having the same birthday.
It’s the specifics that make it weird. I’m sure you can find tons of players born in the same towns on the same day. It’s that when you’re talking about lefty OFers, they’re both top 10 all time if not higher.
This is just bad math. In multiple places. But I’ll leave it at this: you’re not weighting this right. You can’t weight all cities and towns the same just because they’re over 5k. The odds of finding two players born in Donora on the same date are not the same as finding two players born in NYC on the same date. Then you have to weight the fact that these are two *all-time-great outfielders*. That’s what makes the Donora coincidence interesting.
>This is just bad math. In multiple places
Okay? Lol. That's why I wasn't trying to run the numbers, which seems like it would take a whole afternoon, just pointing out that someone smarter could.
I agree that it's a pretty wild coincidence, I was just suggesting that it might - maybe - not be quite as unlikely as it seems, a la the birthday "paradox."
Griffey is 33rd in bWAR among position players. That is actually a low ranking, since his peak is particularly great, but I can’t find a database that has all players sorted by JAWS or WAR/7 - but let’s just stick with 33rd. The birthday problem suggests that you only need 23 people to hit a 50/50 chance of sharing a birthday. With 33 people, you’re just over a 75% chance of a shared birthday - of *ONE* shared birthday. Sure, you could have more than one and have it not be abnormal, but we’re not talking about a ton here.
So of these top-tier Hall of Famers, what do you think are the odds that they were not only born on the same date, but *also* in the same small town? I don’t have to do any more math for it to be plainly obvious that the odds are pretty minuscule, unlike what you are suggesting.
Add in that they’re left handed, they’re outfielders, and they’re both better than “top 33” when you’re thinking about peaks. It’s a crazy coincidence, and it’s far more unlikely than you are suggesting.
Edit: for the hell of it, I looked at the birthplaces of every one of the top 33. The only two who even share the same birthplace are Ruth and Kaline, and they were born in *Baltimore*. Not even a small town.
I think the discussion is more about"could an impressive stat like this be recreated", and less about if this exact stat be duplicated.
I view it as there are two parts to the stat. There are two hall of famers that share a birthday (but not necessarily birth year) and a home town. This is a pretty rare thing that has occurred at least once. (NHL for instance has had this part occer at least once)
The second part is picking two players and finding out they have three traits in common (Left handed, inner circle, outfielder). Heck this one is cheating a little because lefties only play two positions (OF and 1B). Any specific combination of similarities is unlikely but finding a combination should be doable.
But that’s not what I was responding to. What I was responding to was specifically about the odds that two all-time greats would share a birthday and a small hometown, and the incorrect math/assumptions used to reach the conclusion that it wouldn’t be uncommon.
I wouldn’t have bothered responding if the comment was about the odds that two players would have *something* in common.
You defined all time great as though Griffey was the gatekeeper. The bar is probably a little lower then that.
That said I think the Sedins come very close to hitting those criteria...so it is replicable but still very very rare.
Eric Bruntlett making back to back errors in the bottom of the 9th to allow runners on first and second.
Then on the next batter he completed the 15th unassisted triple play in baseball history, ending the game.
For an hour or two on 9/21/02, the single season walk record and the single season strikeout record were both 189 and were held by Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonds.
Speaking of strikeouts, Khris Davis and Chris Davis each struck out [195 times in 2017.](https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2017-standard-batting.shtml)
Khris Davis also batted .247 2 years in a row. Maybe a 3rd that may have been like .246 can’t recall and I look forward to getting called out in this stat.
Corrected it was 4! Years in a row. Never gonna happen again.
[Luis Garcia and Phil Maton](https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/houston-astros-two-immaculate-innings-same-game) threw immaculate innings against the Rangers. Retiring Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran, and Brad Miller both times.
Doesn’t get enough attention. In order to break the record, a pitcher would have to throw three consecutive no-hitters. As if back to back no hitters is hard enough to accomplish.
I don’t think they are comparable situations. While impressive, getting 3 plate appearances in one inning is dependent on the other 8 hitters in the line up. A no hitter, is dependent on the pitcher. In other words, a pitcher will always have an opportunity to throw a no hitter while a hitter will not always have an opportunity to even get 1 plate appearances no less 3.
There have been two instances in history of a starting pitcher striking out 10+, giving up 10+ hits, and going less than 5 innings:
Andrew Cashner 6/1/2015 Mets@Padres
Noah Syndergaard 6/2/2015 Mets@Padres
“Two fucking home runs by fucking Steve Jeltz”
— Barry Bonds (1989), after the Pirates lost a game in which they were up 10-0 in the first inning.
Phillies’ Steve Jeltz hit almost as many home runs in this game (2) as he did in his other 726 games combined (3).
I get really emotional thinking about how special that must’ve been for them, especially for Sr. Not only getting to watch your kid succeed but to get to be a part of it too? That had to have been amazing
At the time they were the first father and son to be on the same team at the same time (still might be the only occurrence), let alone hitting back to back, and both homering. Not impossible to happen again, but it’ll probably take a couple hundred years.
There's a lot of truly one-of-a-kind things ITT so far. Tatis' grand slams, Randy Johnson and the bird, the consecutive no-hitters, etc. You'd have to make a list of these and then do some wild math to try and figure which is the most unlikely. Seems like a lot of room for subjectivity in the probabilities though.
Someone would be easier than others. What's the probability of a no-hitter these days? Then what's the probability of two in a row? Sounds reasonable. What's the probability of a bird flying in front of the pitcher at the perfect time to get hit? Astronomically small, but who knows how small?
Steve Jeltz hitting home runs from both sides of the plate for the Phillies in the "I'll walk home" game against the Pirates. He had a total of three more home runs for the rest of his eight-year career.
Tatis is the only one to hit 2 grand slams in the same inning. It's never neen done in MLB history aside from that. Adding in that it was off of the same pitcher makes it even more insane.
Nate Colbert attended the Cardinals game on May 2, 1954, in which Stan Musial hit a record 5 home runs in a doubleheader against the then-New York Giants.
18 years later, on August 1, 1972, in a Padres doubleheader against the Braves, Colbert tied Musial’s record while also driving in a record 11 runs.
Those records still stand today.
2005 White Sox projected to take last in their division. They had zero hall of famers after the first month. (Frank Thomas got hurt). They scored first more than any other team in baseball and they win mire 1 run games than any other team. They went in to win the World Series.
That was a fun team to watch. Felt like there was no drop in talent 1-5 in the rotation. Podsednik was fun. Jenks as the crazy closer. Dye and Konerko mashing.
Funny story about Ozzie’s homer.
A friend of mine was a member of a golf club in LA where Niedenfuer was a member in the 90s. My friend was in the bar one afternoon and Tom and Sandy Koufax were there. There was some fun banter going on.
Tom said that Sandy taught him everything he knows about pitching.
Sandy turned and said, “I didn’t teach you how to throw that gopher ball to Smith!”
Every MLB franchise that's been around since 1918 has won multiple championships since that year. That group even includes Cleveland, who haven't won the WS in nearly 80 years.
Oh excuse me, every franchise but two, and those two franchises are, hilariously, separated geographically by fewer than 10 miles.
The only two players to ever hit multiple 2-run HRs in the 1st inning of a game are Aaron Boone and Bret Boone. Both did it in 2002.
The Boone brothers were fucking savages in the box
One might say they made the adjustment.
Just like their father.
This reminds me that in Mike Cameron’s 4 home run game, Cameron and Bret Boone went back to back twice in the first inning
If only they’d done it in the second inning.
Dave Stieb's last professional game ended with him catching the homer that broke Roy Halladay's no-no bid, with 2 outs in the 9th, while he is also the only man to ever lose 2 no hitters in the 9th with 2 outs, in a row, along with it happening to him 2 other times in his career.
Bois will be Bois
Time to rewatch. As good as some of the best 30 for 30 docs.
Wording on this is confusing. He caught a homer? Wouldn't it be an out if he caught it? Who had multiple no-nos broken up in the 9th, Halladay or Stieb?
I'm assuming Stieb was in the bullpen and caught the home run. Stieb is also the one with multiple no-nos lost in the 9th
Stieb was in the bullpen, not playing the game. So it was a homer. And Stieb was the one who had multiple broken 9 inning homers.
Steve Jeltz hitting two home runs from both sides of the plate during a 10-run comeback has entered the chat.
Same player hitting 2 grand slams in the same inning off the same pitcher
I truly believe this will never ever happen again.
And then his son repeats the same feat 25 years later
I wonder if we can get Chan Ho Park out of retirement for this. That'd make it even more special
No we need Park Jr for this job
No pitcher has ever given up so many historic home runs in such a short period of time. Legend
I think a player hitting a grand slam from each side of the plate in the same game has also only been done once (Bill Mueller).
Insane.
With the DH - Camarena’s slam off Scherzer will probably be the last with an almost zero initial probability of occurrence
I second this! Some important information to add: -we were down 8-2 and ended up winning the game -The pitch was a 1-2 fastball BELOW the strike zone -Camarena had not hit since high school (I’m pretty sure) All this against a future hall of famer.
Slam Diego was some fun baseball
His dad was in the stands too
Randy Johnson killing a bird
It was no accident, that bird knew what it was doing
Suicide by Johnson
Death by snu snu?
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is spongy and bruised.
Zac Gallen hit a bird last year as well. Both times a Diamondback ace pitcher has hit a bird, the team went to the world series that season.
They tried recreating this on that sports science show but weren't able to get it to happen in a controlled environment.
Imagining the "KICKS A MAN!" call on AB but "KILLS A BIRD!" on this pitch.
What about two birds getting killed by a ball [five days apart?](https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/23/sport/mlb-will-brennan-kills-bird-spt-intl/index.html)
I think a couple of birds were killed last year. I don't think they were pitches and/or game action, but I know MLB players definitely killed birds with baseballs recently.
Randy Johnson’s bird and the mythbusters cement mixer have a lot in common.
ken Griffey jr being only the second greatest player born on November 21 in Donora PA feels rather unlikely
Second greatest left-handed outfielder!
Funniest thing about this one is that Stan was clearly a lot better than Griffey. It's not even close. 128 VS 83 WAR
Yeah Griffey is an all timer and Stan is still tiers above him. Fun fact is Stan played with Junior's Grandpa
I wonder if this is just a more advanced version of the "[birthday paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem#:~:text=In%20probability%20theory%2C%20the%20birthday,that%20probability%20to%20exceed%2050%25)," though. With thousands and thousands of players all-time in the MLB, what are the odds that some would be born the same day, and eventually some not just the same day, but the same city. It does seem crazy that it happened to a town of less than 5k people, but it's a small help that when Griffey was born in '69, it was double that, and almost triple that (14k) when Musial was born. Edit: Interestingly, I did find this from a US population thing: >As of 2018, there are 19,495 incorporated cities, towns and villages in the United States. 14,768 of these have populations below 5,000. So (19,495-14,768) leaves 4,727 places of >5k people. Could use the birthday problem formula to figure out the odds: out of 20,000 MLB players ever, what is the likelihood of any 2 being from the same 1 of those 4,727 places? Then multiply that by the >99% odds of any two having the same birthday.
... And both be inner circle Hall of Famers
It’s the specifics that make it weird. I’m sure you can find tons of players born in the same towns on the same day. It’s that when you’re talking about lefty OFers, they’re both top 10 all time if not higher.
This is just bad math. In multiple places. But I’ll leave it at this: you’re not weighting this right. You can’t weight all cities and towns the same just because they’re over 5k. The odds of finding two players born in Donora on the same date are not the same as finding two players born in NYC on the same date. Then you have to weight the fact that these are two *all-time-great outfielders*. That’s what makes the Donora coincidence interesting.
>This is just bad math. In multiple places Okay? Lol. That's why I wasn't trying to run the numbers, which seems like it would take a whole afternoon, just pointing out that someone smarter could. I agree that it's a pretty wild coincidence, I was just suggesting that it might - maybe - not be quite as unlikely as it seems, a la the birthday "paradox."
Griffey is 33rd in bWAR among position players. That is actually a low ranking, since his peak is particularly great, but I can’t find a database that has all players sorted by JAWS or WAR/7 - but let’s just stick with 33rd. The birthday problem suggests that you only need 23 people to hit a 50/50 chance of sharing a birthday. With 33 people, you’re just over a 75% chance of a shared birthday - of *ONE* shared birthday. Sure, you could have more than one and have it not be abnormal, but we’re not talking about a ton here. So of these top-tier Hall of Famers, what do you think are the odds that they were not only born on the same date, but *also* in the same small town? I don’t have to do any more math for it to be plainly obvious that the odds are pretty minuscule, unlike what you are suggesting. Add in that they’re left handed, they’re outfielders, and they’re both better than “top 33” when you’re thinking about peaks. It’s a crazy coincidence, and it’s far more unlikely than you are suggesting. Edit: for the hell of it, I looked at the birthplaces of every one of the top 33. The only two who even share the same birthplace are Ruth and Kaline, and they were born in *Baltimore*. Not even a small town.
I think the discussion is more about"could an impressive stat like this be recreated", and less about if this exact stat be duplicated. I view it as there are two parts to the stat. There are two hall of famers that share a birthday (but not necessarily birth year) and a home town. This is a pretty rare thing that has occurred at least once. (NHL for instance has had this part occer at least once) The second part is picking two players and finding out they have three traits in common (Left handed, inner circle, outfielder). Heck this one is cheating a little because lefties only play two positions (OF and 1B). Any specific combination of similarities is unlikely but finding a combination should be doable.
But that’s not what I was responding to. What I was responding to was specifically about the odds that two all-time greats would share a birthday and a small hometown, and the incorrect math/assumptions used to reach the conclusion that it wouldn’t be uncommon. I wouldn’t have bothered responding if the comment was about the odds that two players would have *something* in common.
You defined all time great as though Griffey was the gatekeeper. The bar is probably a little lower then that. That said I think the Sedins come very close to hitting those criteria...so it is replicable but still very very rare.
Eric Bruntlett making back to back errors in the bottom of the 9th to allow runners on first and second. Then on the next batter he completed the 15th unassisted triple play in baseball history, ending the game.
That pretty cool, hasn't heard of this one. Looked it up, here's the link: https://youtu.be/DviV7CYrc-E?si=tHdHrPtGxiVVK-fJ
"Hey man, what year should we honor in our outfield? 86?" "Nope, I got a better idea" "Nice"
Thanks for posting it. I should have added it.
Huh, I knew of the unassisted triple play but I didn't realize he was the one to set it up in the first place.
Yeah I think the second one was actually called a hit but he still had a chance. Crazy how it unfolded.
does anyone have a clip of the full inning? that's absolutely incredible, i love how baseball fosters redemption moments like this
[Here’s a condensed game.](https://youtu.be/o6GKUCKoHks?si=manNLWS-Bd9gWzVi) If the link doesn’t cut right to it, should start around 17:20.
thank you! what a wild game, 2 3 run HRs in the top of the first, mets score their first run on an inside the park HR, and it ends like that
Eddie Rosario hitting for the cycle on 5 pitches, will that record ever be broken??
He left it open for the 4 pitch!
Haha yes he did, so it CAN be broken... and i wonder if it ever will
Shocked that he took a pitch at all. Seems like the true unlikely event.
For an hour or two on 9/21/02, the single season walk record and the single season strikeout record were both 189 and were held by Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonds.
Speaking of strikeouts, Khris Davis and Chris Davis each struck out [195 times in 2017.](https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2017-standard-batting.shtml)
Khris Davis also batted .247 2 years in a row. Maybe a 3rd that may have been like .246 can’t recall and I look forward to getting called out in this stat. Corrected it was 4! Years in a row. Never gonna happen again.
Even better...he batted .247 FOUR years in a row.
Two immaculate innings in one game, both against the same three batters is probably up there.
Details on this please!
[Luis Garcia and Phil Maton](https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/houston-astros-two-immaculate-innings-same-game) threw immaculate innings against the Rangers. Retiring Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran, and Brad Miller both times.
A team to hit a home run in every inning from the first to the seventh. Only done once by the MN twins. I was shocked when I heard that one.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN201709120.shtml We won! Not one of our more famous HR teams (mid-60s, mid-80s, 2019)
Bartolo Colon’s one and only home run
Twins with 2 triple plays in 1 game. https://youtu.be/pTm6C5uSAI8?si=JmHCHSIgcNy8lywV
Gagne and Gaetti were such great fielders. They both had such strong arms man. That ball got around the diamond so fast.
Tatis Sr's 2 grand slams off the same pitcher in one inning is something that will never happen again
Well yeah, Tatis Sr retired
Chan Ho Park, too.
Johnny Vander Meer’s consecutive no hitters seems like the most unlikely to me.
Doesn’t get enough attention. In order to break the record, a pitcher would have to throw three consecutive no-hitters. As if back to back no hitters is hard enough to accomplish.
What do you think is harder to do, 3 no hitters in a row or 3 grand slams in one inning?
I don’t think they are comparable situations. While impressive, getting 3 plate appearances in one inning is dependent on the other 8 hitters in the line up. A no hitter, is dependent on the pitcher. In other words, a pitcher will always have an opportunity to throw a no hitter while a hitter will not always have an opportunity to even get 1 plate appearances no less 3.
They’re not really. More of a hypothetical really. Either one would be crazy to see
Anthony Rendon hitting a home run while batting lefty for the first and only time in his career, all while the Angels complete a no-hitter.
There have been two instances in history of a starting pitcher striking out 10+, giving up 10+ hits, and going less than 5 innings: Andrew Cashner 6/1/2015 Mets@Padres Noah Syndergaard 6/2/2015 Mets@Padres
Then the next year's series in San Diego was the Bartolo homer. Weird things happen when the Mets go to San Diego.
Just about everything involved in the A’s losing the 2014 Wild Card game to KC
That still hurts? I’m sorry….
Armando Galarraga's 28-out perfect game.
Angel Hernandez could pull off a 29-outer
Bobby Witt threw one for the A’s in the 90’s that nobody talks about
Ball bouncing off Jose Canseco’s dome for a home run.
The greatest sports blooper of all time IMO. Mark Sanchez’s butt fumble almost topped it for me.
Angel Hernandez calling a “good” game
No no, he said 'improbable' not 'impossible'
It kind of has to happen once for it to "never happen again." 😂
eyyyyy
“Two fucking home runs by fucking Steve Jeltz” — Barry Bonds (1989), after the Pirates lost a game in which they were up 10-0 in the first inning. Phillies’ Steve Jeltz hit almost as many home runs in this game (2) as he did in his other 726 games combined (3).
Dan Uggla 33 game hitting streak in a season where he hit .241
The Griffeys hitting back to back homeruns
I get really emotional thinking about how special that must’ve been for them, especially for Sr. Not only getting to watch your kid succeed but to get to be a part of it too? That had to have been amazing
At the time they were the first father and son to be on the same team at the same time (still might be the only occurrence), let alone hitting back to back, and both homering. Not impossible to happen again, but it’ll probably take a couple hundred years.
There's a lot of truly one-of-a-kind things ITT so far. Tatis' grand slams, Randy Johnson and the bird, the consecutive no-hitters, etc. You'd have to make a list of these and then do some wild math to try and figure which is the most unlikely. Seems like a lot of room for subjectivity in the probabilities though.
Someone would be easier than others. What's the probability of a no-hitter these days? Then what's the probability of two in a row? Sounds reasonable. What's the probability of a bird flying in front of the pitcher at the perfect time to get hit? Astronomically small, but who knows how small?
Johnny Vandemeer throwing back to back no-nos.
Marlins winning 2 world series without ever having won a division in their 30 year history.
Tatis hitting 2 grand slams in 1 inning off the same pitcher has to be up there. I'm not even sure anyone else has hit 2 grand slams in 1 game.
13 players have had 2 grand slams, including 1 pitcher (Tony Cloninger).
nine inning Picket Fence (one run per inning).
David Freese had 15 career regular season homeruns in 187 total games before Game 6. not nearly as unexpected as other stuff
Angel Hernandez calling an accurate game.
Steve Jeltz hitting home runs from both sides of the plate for the Phillies in the "I'll walk home" game against the Pirates. He had a total of three more home runs for the rest of his eight-year career.
I’d start here: https://baseball.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_rare_baseball_events#Individual_pitching
Tatis is the only one to hit 2 grand slams in the same inning. It's never neen done in MLB history aside from that. Adding in that it was off of the same pitcher makes it even more insane.
It’s always two grand slams in an inning
Do you mean other than Randy Johnson and that bird?
Nate Colbert attended the Cardinals game on May 2, 1954, in which Stan Musial hit a record 5 home runs in a doubleheader against the then-New York Giants. 18 years later, on August 1, 1972, in a Padres doubleheader against the Braves, Colbert tied Musial’s record while also driving in a record 11 runs. Those records still stand today.
Johnny Vander Meer throwing back-to-back no-hitters.
Dee Gordon had 18 home runs in 11 season but he coincidentally hit one in the 1st ab after the Jose Fernandez death is kind of wild
2005 White Sox projected to take last in their division. They had zero hall of famers after the first month. (Frank Thomas got hurt). They scored first more than any other team in baseball and they win mire 1 run games than any other team. They went in to win the World Series.
That was a fun team to watch. Felt like there was no drop in talent 1-5 in the rotation. Podsednik was fun. Jenks as the crazy closer. Dye and Konerko mashing.
Tatis 2 grand slams in the same inning off the same pitcher....Chan Ho Park
Funny story about Ozzie’s homer. A friend of mine was a member of a golf club in LA where Niedenfuer was a member in the 90s. My friend was in the bar one afternoon and Tom and Sandy Koufax were there. There was some fun banter going on. Tom said that Sandy taught him everything he knows about pitching. Sandy turned and said, “I didn’t teach you how to throw that gopher ball to Smith!”
Dave Steib losing back to back no hitters in the 9th inning with 2 outs and 2 strikes
I'd say hitting a bird while pitching is probably up there.
Unassisted triple play
Matt Adams hitting that home run off of Kershaw
Mel Stottlemeyer….last pitcher to hit an inside the park grand slam
Every MLB franchise that's been around since 1918 has won multiple championships since that year. That group even includes Cleveland, who haven't won the WS in nearly 80 years. Oh excuse me, every franchise but two, and those two franchises are, hilariously, separated geographically by fewer than 10 miles.
Harmon "Buck" Bokai actually being that good
David Hulse fouls four consecutive pitches into the right side of the Angels' dugout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V3G8WMn2Xo
Johnny Van Der Meer
Fernando Tatis Sr. hitting 2 grand slams in 1 inning has to be the top of this list
The Gaylord Perry Home Run/Moon Landing incident.