Month: May 2021

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #76 Carl Hubbell

At #76 on our list is New York Giants ace Carl Hubbell. When it came to baserunners, nobody was stingier than King Carl. He led the league in WHIP six times which is the most in MLB history (Cy Young predated MLB). Hubbell’s four consecutive seasons leading the league in WHIP are tied for the most all-time, and he’s the only player in MLB history to lead the league in WHIP six times over an eight-year span. Hubbell won the National League MVP in 1933 and 1936, becoming one of only three pitchers to win two MVP awards.  Hubbell led the league in K/BB ratio five times, and wins and ERA three times. He was at his best in the 1933 World Series when he pitched a shutout in game 1 and came back to throw an 11-inning shutout in game 4, becoming only the second pitcher in history to throw at least 20 innings in a single World Series without allowing a run.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #77 Hal Newhouser

Joining the list at #77 is Tigers legend and Detroit native Hal Newhouser. Prince Hal’s career is most notable for his incredible run from 1944-1948 in which he joined Lefty Grove as the only two pitchers since the dead-ball era with three consecutive 25-win seasons. In 1944 and 1945, Newhouser became the only pitcher in history to win back-to-back league MVP awards and he nearly won a third in 1946 finishing runner-up to Ted Williams. Newhouser is the only pitcher since the dead-ball era to have back-to-back seasons of at least 25 wins and an ERA under two. He’s also the only pitcher in history with three consecutive seasons of at least 25 wins and fewer than 10 losses. Newhouser helped lead the Tigers to the 1945 World Series championship, pitching a complete game to go along with 10 strikeouts against the Cubs in a victorious game 7.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #78 Mark McGwire

Thundering in at #78 is A’s and Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire. Depending on what statistics we focus on, we can say Big Mac is—without hyperbole—the most prolific home run hitter in baseball history. McGwire’s at-bat per home run ratio of 10.6 is by far the best of all time. He owns the records for most home runs over a two-year, three-year, and four-year period. He is the only player in history with a 70 and a 60-home run season. He’s tied with Babe Ruth and Sammy Sosa for most 50-home run seasons. McGwire and Sosa are the only players in history with four consecutive 50-home run seasons. McGwire joins Ruth as the only two players with five seasons of at least 49 home runs. McGwire is 7th all-time in slugging percentage and his .588 mark is the second-best since 1960. His adjusted OPS+ of 163 is 11th all-time and 4th since 1960. McGwire led the league in home runs, slugging %, and OPS+ four times and walks and on-base percentage twice each. His 162-walk total in 1998 is the 5th highest single-season mark in history.  Big Mac finished among the top-7 in MVP voting five times, including a runner-up finish in 1998 after breaking Roger Maris’s single-season home run record.