Without further delay here are five fascinating Chuck Knoblauch facts:
1. Knoblauch was by far the best second baseman in MLB over 1995-1996
Here are the the 2B with at least 200 games played over those 2 years:
Rk | Player | Age | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chuck Knoblauch | 140 | 26-27 | 289 | 1330 | 1116 | 247 | 376 | 69 | 22 | 24 | 135 | 176 | 169 | 91 | 32 | .337 | .437 | .503 | .940 |
2 | Craig Biggio | 130 | 29-30 | 303 | 1396 | 1158 | 236 | 341 | 54 | 6 | 37 | 152 | 155 | 157 | 58 | 15 | .294 | .396 | .447 | .843 |
3 | Roberto Alomar | 124 | 27-28 | 283 | 1276 | 1105 | 203 | 348 | 67 | 11 | 35 | 160 | 137 | 110 | 47 | 9 | .315 | .385 | .490 | .876 |
4 | Eric Young | 102 | 28-29 | 261 | 1067 | 934 | 181 | 300 | 44 | 13 | 14 | 110 | 96 | 60 | 88 | 31 | .321 | .397 | .441 | .838 |
5 | Luis Alicea | 93 | 29-30 | 261 | 958 | 799 | 118 | 211 | 46 | 6 | 11 | 86 | 115 | 139 | 24 | 13 | .264 | .359 | .378 | .737 |
6 | Carlos Baerga | 91 | 26-27 | 261 | 1144 | 1064 | 146 | 304 | 56 | 2 | 27 | 156 | 56 | 58 | 12 | 3 | .286 | .326 | .418 | .744 |
7 | Joey Cora | 91 | 30-31 | 264 | 1070 | 957 | 154 | 281 | 56 | 8 | 9 | 84 | 72 | 63 | 23 | 12 | .294 | .348 | .397 | .745 |
8 | Ray Durham | 90 | 23-24 | 281 | 1156 | 1028 | 147 | 274 | 60 | 11 | 17 | 116 | 89 | 178 | 48 | 9 | .267 | .331 | .396 | .727 |
9 | Mike Lansing | 88 | 27-28 | 286 | 1207 | 1108 | 146 | 302 | 70 | 4 | 21 | 115 | 72 | 150 | 50 | 12 | .273 | .323 | .400 | .723 |
10 | Mark McLemore | 88 | 30-31 | 276 | 1153 | 984 | 157 | 272 | 43 | 9 | 10 | 87 | 146 | 140 | 48 | 21 | .276 | .369 | .369 | .738 |
11 | Mickey Morandini | 87 | 29-30 | 267 | 1156 | 1033 | 129 | 275 | 58 | 13 | 9 | 81 | 91 | 167 | 35 | 11 | .266 | .335 | .374 | .708 |
12 | Bret Boone | 81 | 26-27 | 280 | 1138 | 1033 | 119 | 258 | 55 | 5 | 27 | 137 | 72 | 184 | 8 | 3 | .250 | .301 | .391 | .692 |
13 | Fernando Vina | 80 | 26-27 | 253 | 940 | 842 | 140 | 231 | 26 | 17 | 10 | 75 | 60 | 63 | 22 | 10 | .274 | .337 | .381 | .718 |
14 | Delino DeShields | 77 | 26-27 | 281 | 1135 | 1006 | 141 | 239 | 30 | 11 | 13 | 78 | 116 | 207 | 87 | 25 | .238 | .316 | .328 | .644 |
15 | Jody Reed | 76 | 32-33 | 277 | 1083 | 940 | 103 | 235 | 38 | 1 | 6 | 89 | 118 | 91 | 8 | 9 | .250 | .336 | .312 | .648 |
16 | Mark Lemke | 72 | 29-30 | 251 | 1015 | 897 | 106 | 228 | 33 | 5 | 10 | 75 | 97 | 88 | 7 | 4 | .254 | .324 | .336 | .660 |
Knoblauch led by a lot in OPS+ and also led in hits, runs, doubles, triples, walks, stolen bases, batting average, OBP, and SLG. Yeah...he was the best. He didn't even get an All-Star selection in 1995!
2. Knoblauch posted a rare 140 OPS+, 10 triple, 10 homer season for a 2B.
Since 1901, very few second baseman have ever posted a season with at least 10 triples, 10 homers, and an OPS+ of at least 140:
Rk | Player | Year | 3B | HR | Tm | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Roberto Alomar | 2001 | 150 | 12 | 20 | CLE |
2 | Chuck Knoblauch | 1996 | 143 | 14 | 13 | MIN |
3 | Jackie Robinson | 1949 | 151 | 12 | 16 | BRO |
4 | Snuffy Stirnweiss | 1945 | 144 | 22 | 10 | NYY |
5 | Bobby Doerr | 1944 | 165 | 10 | 15 | BOS |
6 | Charlie Gehringer | 1936 | 142 | 12 | 15 | DET |
7 | Tony Lazzeri | 1929 | 159 | 11 | 18 | NYY |
8 | George Grantham | 1929 | 140 | 10 | 12 | PIT |
9 | Tony Lazzeri | 1928 | 145 | 11 | 10 | NYY |
10 | Rogers Hornsby | 1925 | 209 | 10 | 39 | STL |
11 | Rogers Hornsby | 1924 | 222 | 14 | 25 | STL |
12 | Rogers Hornsby | 1923 | 187 | 10 | 17 | STL |
13 | Rogers Hornsby | 1922 | 207 | 14 | 42 | STL |
14 | Rogers Hornsby | 1921 | 191 | 18 | 21 | STL |
15 | Duke Kenworthy | 1914 | 157 | 14 | 15 | KCP |
16 | Larry Doyle | 1911 | 154 | 25 | 13 | NYG |
17 | Nap Lajoie | 1901 | 200 | 14 | 14 | PHA |
How would you like your name sandwiched between Alomar and Jackie Robinson? Not bad. Lotsa HOFers on this list aside from those two: Doerr, Gehringer, Lazzeri, Hornsby, and Lajoie.
The one guy you've probably never heard of is Duke Kenworthy, who appeared in what we consider the major leagues in just 4 seasons, and was in the Federal League in 1914.
3. Knoblauch had 4 multi-homer games
Despite hitting only 98 career homers, Knoblauch had 4 multi-HR games:
Rk | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | WPA | BOP | Pos. Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2001-09-22 | NYY | BAL | L 2-11 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -0.026 | 1 | LF |
2 | 1998-08-03 | NYY | OAK | W 14-1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0.167 | 1 | 2B |
3 | 1996-07-06 | MIN | KCR | L 5-8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0.152 | 1 | 2B |
4 | 1994-06-05 | MIN | DET | L 3-5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.297 | 1 | 2B |
Amazingly, his team lost 3 out of 4 of those games.
4. Knoblauch crushed the team he finished with, the Royals.
Over his career, Knoblauch hit the Royals hard. He performed the best against them out of all the teams he played at least 100 games against:
I | Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | tOPS+ | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anaheim Angels | 106 | 472 | 405 | 69 | 121 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 41 | .299 | .394 | .375 | .769 | 152 | .334 | 97 | |
Baltimore Orioles | 126 | 554 | 492 | 93 | 142 | 36 | 1 | 7 | 48 | .289 | .360 | .409 | .768 | 201 | .309 | 96 | |
Boston Red Sox | 132 | 597 | 529 | 87 | 149 | 27 | 9 | 8 | 59 | .282 | .352 | .412 | .764 | 218 | .311 | 95 | |
Chicago White Sox | 125 | 552 | 469 | 85 | 130 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 39 | .277 | .379 | .365 | .743 | 171 | .300 | 90 | |
Cleveland Indians | 126 | 593 | 514 | 89 | 145 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 48 | .282 | .367 | .368 | .734 | 189 | .311 | 88 | |
Detroit Tigers | 124 | 575 | 488 | 95 | 154 | 24 | 4 | 10 | 56 | .316 | .407 | .443 | .850 | 216 | .333 | 117 | |
Kansas City Royals | 113 | 505 | 424 | 83 | 137 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 52 | .323 | .427 | .476 | .903 | 202 | .346 | 130 | |
Oakland Athletics | 108 | 503 | 424 | 84 | 133 | 25 | 3 | 13 | 63 | .314 | .397 | .479 | .876 | 203 | .315 | 123 | |
Seattle Mariners | 104 | 481 | 424 | 74 | 106 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 35 | .250 | .331 | .361 | .692 | 153 | .277 | 76 | |
Texas Rangers | 118 | 528 | 457 | 91 | 137 | 25 | 4 | 11 | 40 | .300 | .385 | .444 | .829 | 203 | .309 | 111 | |
Toronto Blue Jays | 128 | 572 | 497 | 78 | 144 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 36 | .290 | .378 | .402 | .780 | 200 | .330 | 99 |
Check out that tOPS+ of 130--pretty stilted.
It's too bad that Knoblauch joined the Royals at the end of his career, because it wasn't Kaufman Stadium that produced his good numbers--it was his performance against the Royals' pitchers. At Kaufman Stadium over his entire career, he had just a .737 OPS and 88 tOPS+
4. Knoblauch had four infield triples.
I | Split | G | GS | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
To Infield | 1380 | 2701 | 2681 | 308 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 92 | ||
To Outfield | 1422 | 2897 | 2841 | 1516 | 307 | 61 | 98 | 503 | ||
Ball In Play | 1606 | 5615 | 5539 | 1742 | 322 | 64 | 1 | 451 | ||
Not in Play | 1119 | 1770 | 827 | 97 | 0 | 0 | 97 | 164 |
From the "weird but true" file, Knoblauch hit 3 infield triples. I have no idea how that happens.
Note, too, that he had 98 homers on balls hit to the outfield, but only 97 homers on balls out of play. That means he must have hit one inside-the-park homer.
5. Opposition should never have let Knoblauch hit twice against a relief pitcher.
Like every other player, Knoblauch hit a bit below his career averages the first time facing a relief pitcher in a game (since this includes a lot of plate appearances against closers). But check out his stats the second time facing a reliever in a game:
Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | TB | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs. RP, 1st | 1238 | 1911 | 1584 | 277 | 423 | 74 | 19 | 13 | 192 | 260 | 206 | .267 | .381 | .362 | .743 | 574 | .296 |
vs. RP, 2nd | 180 | 182 | 148 | 30 | 52 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 26 | 10 | .351 | .462 | .554 | 1.016 | 82 | .353 |
vs. RP, 3rd+ | 8 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .429 | .500 | .429 | .929 | 3 | .429 |
Yowza.