Two brother
pitchers win every World Series game for the winning team: In the
1934 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Detroit
Tigers 4 games to 3. Jerome “Dizzy” Dean and his kid brother Paul
“Daffy” Dean won two games each, accounting for all four Cardinal
wins.
Pitching a no-hitter and homering twice: On June 23, 1971, Phillies
Pitcher Rick Wise pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds at
Riverfront Stadium and hit two home runs in the same game.
Making the final out in two no-hitters against the same pitcher:
Harvey Kuenn made the final out of two no-hitters, both against
Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax. On May 11, 1963, Kuenn made the final out of
Koufax’s no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants. On September 9,
1965, Kuenn struck out to end Koufax’s perfect game against the
Chicago Cubs.
Eddie Gaedel was 26 year old, 3 feet, 7 inch tall. He was
signed by Bill Veeck to a Major League contract of $15,400 ($100 per
game), which was the set minimum one could pay a little person
performance act, per event. During his first (and last) game he
walked. Eddie took his base, stopping to take a bow twice on his
way, and was lifted for a pinch runner, Jim Delsing. Two days later,
American League President Will Harridge voided Gaedel’s contract and
he was out of a job. Further, Harridge officially banned midgets
from being able to play in the American League. Although he only
made $100 for the one game, it’s estimated he earned over $17,000
($140,000 today) in the few weeks following his lone Major League at
bat. Gaedel’s uniform had the number 1/8 on the back and it now sits
in the MLB Hall of Fame.
Four more people in the history of Major League Baseball had only
one plate appearance and drew a walk. The others were Dutch Schirick
on September 17, 1914, with the Browns; Bill Batsch on September 9,
1916, with Pittsburgh; Joe Cobb on April 25, 1918, with Detroit; and
Kevin Melillo on June 24, 2007, with the Oakland A’s.