Four Strikeouts : One Inning

During today's game between New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, a rare feat happened... Phil Hughes of the Yankees struck out four Blue Jays in one inning!

Hughes struck out J.P. Arencibia for the first out, then also fanned Adeiny Hechavarria; however, the last pitch of the at-bat tipped catcher Russell Martin’s glove and became a passed ball, allowing Hechavarria to reach first safely on the dropped third strike rule, which occurs when a catcher fails to cleanly catch the ball that led to the third strike.

The right-hander then went on to strike out Anthony Gose swinging and got Brett Lawrie on a called third strike to end the fourth inning.

Famous Bat

The year was 1891, and Johnny Plessey was having a career year for the Cleveland Spiders. His batting average of .331 was one of the highest in the league. What was most remarkable about all this? He did it using a rolled-up, lacquered copy of the Toledo Post-Dispatch as a bat!

The Garbark brothers

In 1944, two brothers, Bob and Mike Garbark were both playing in the Major Leagues. That in itself is a pretty amazing feat, but one that is not uncommon in baseball. The DiMaggio brothers, the Alou brothers, and the Ripken brothers are among the most well known. What was unique were the similarities they shared while playing.

During that year, both had the exact same batting average, .261. Over their career, they both threw out 39% of players attempting to steal. Bob played 145 games in his 7 year career, while Mike played in 149 games in his two year career.

Mike Garbark

Bob Garbark

1963 MVP

In 1963, Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers was the National League MVP, while Elston Howard was the American League MVP while playing for the New York Yankees. That same year, Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League won the MVP. What was remarkable about all of this? All three players wore the number 32!

Sandy Koufax 

Elston Howard

Jim Brown