The rare lefty catcher

Something that I've failed to notice in all my years of watching baseball is how rare a left-handed catcher is. Think about it, when's the last time you saw someone throwing the ball back to the pitcher with their left hand? If you said anything more recent than 1989, you'd be wrong!

On May 14, 1989, in a game between Pittsburgh and Atlanta, the Pirates moved Benny Distefano from first base to catcher as part of a double switch. Distefano was a lefty, and no other team has had a left catcher in a game since then. In fact, no lefty catcher has started a game since 1900, when Jack Clements retired after playing 10 games behind the plate for the Boston Beaneaters.

This season, the Milwaukee Brewers have Logan Schafer as their emergency catcher. Schafer is a lefty, so although highly unlikely, we may get to see the first lefty catcher in 24 years!

Benny Distefano in 1989. Lefty!

The Upton Brothers

At the beginning of this week, B.J. and Justin Upton did something that had never been done before: they became the first brothers to end a baseball game with back to back home runs in the 9th inning.

Justin Upton's solo home run in the 9th tied the score 1 to 1 against the Chicago Cubs. One out later, B.J. hit a solo shot that ended the game. They also became the 25th tandem of brothers to homer in the same major league game.

This follows up another unique feat they achieves last year.

On August 3 2012, B.J. hit the 100th home run of his career. A mere 44 minutes later, Justin hit his 100th. So what were the odds of them both hitting No. 100 on the same day? Well, of the six brother acts to hit 100 apiece, there had only been one time before that that any of those brothers had hit any number on the same day. Who were they? Why the Uptons themselves had hit #99 on the same day as well!

How many baseballs are used on average in a season?

Opening Day Payrolls 2013

Alex Rodriguez's salary for the 2013 MLB season will be $29 million, making him the highest-paid player of 2013. The Houston Astros' estimated payroll for the entire team is $25 million.