Category / Baseball

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Padres All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the San Diego Padres.

The Padres began life in 1969, joining the National League along with the Montreal Expos.  I’ve seen 197 players wearing the Padres uniform in the 27 of their games that I’ve attended live at five different ballparks, first in 1985 at Wrigley Field and, most recently, this past September at Rate Field.  I had plans to take in the three-game series between them and the White Sox at PETCO Park in 2020, but that kind of fell apart for… reasons.

Home Runs

Name Total
Adrian Gonzalez 2
Ramon Hernandez 2
Mike Cameron 2
Khalil Greene 2

Hits

Name Total
Ryan Klesko 9
Sean Burroughs 9
Brian Giles 8

Runs

Name Total
Adrian Gonzalez 7
Mark Loretta 5
Ramon Hernandez 4
Mike Cameron 4
Fernando Tatis Jr. 4

RBI

Name Total
Khalil Greene 8
Ramon Hernandez 6
Ryan Klesko 6

Doubles

Name Total
Ryan Klesko 3
Adrian Gonzalez 3
Will Venable 3

Triples Continue reading →

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Wiping The Slate Clean

Removing the last link back to the Rick Hahn/Kenny Williams era, the White Sox shipped Luis Robert Jr., and the $22 million remaining on his contract, to the Mets on Tuesday in exchange for Luisangel Acuña, a 23-year-old infielder, and right-hander Truman Pauley, the 373rd overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

Robert, still only 28 years old, has spent six injury-filled seasons with the White Sox, debuting during the shortened 2020 season.  He was an All-Star in 2023, when he set career highs in games played, WAR, home runs, RBI, and doubles.  He has failed to build on his success that season, as injuries have continued to keep him out of the lineup.

Acuña, the younger brother of Braves star Ronald, is a former top-100 prospect who made his debut in 2024, to limited success.  He is an infielder by trade but is expected to compete for the now-vacant centerfielder.  His greatest value, however, is through his defense and speed and playing him out of position could eat away at that.  However, he did recently become the first player to hit four home runs in a Venezuelan Winter League game.

Pauley, drafted from Harvard last July, ironically spent much of his childhood receiving personal lessons from now-former White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz.  His fastball and slider show potential, but he has a poor history of throwing either for strikes.

Most importantly, the deal removes $22 million from the White Sox payroll, which now sits at just $67 million, the lowest in MLB.  “We’ve got some financial flexibility now to continue to bring in talent,” GM Chris Getz said, although I think we all know that they won’t.

Roberts’ numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →

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Rangers All Time Leaders – Through 2025

rangersTo paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers began life in 1961, joining the American League as the second incarnation of the Washington Senators after the original franchise moved to Minnesota to become the Twins.  Following the 1971 season, the team moved to Arlington, Texas and became the Rangers.  I’ve seen 255 players wearing a Rangers uniform in the 40 of their games that I’ve attended live across two states and four different stadiums.

Home Runs

Name Total
Hank Blalock 3
Ian Kinsler 3
6 tied with 2

Hits

Name Total
Michael Young 19
Elvis Andrus 17
Ian Kinsler 12
Mark Teixeira 12

Runs

Name Total
Michael Young 12
Elvis Andrus 8
Hank Blalock 6
Gary Matthews Jr. 6

RBI

Name Total
Mark Teixeira 13
Michael Young 11
Hank Blalock 8
Ian Kinsler 8
Elvis Andrus 8

Doubles

Name Total
Michael Young 7
Elvis Andrus 4
4 tied with 3

Triples Continue reading →

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Diamondbacks All Time Leaders – Through 2025

dbacksTo paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks began life in 1998, joining the league along with the Devil Rays. I’ve seen 152 players donning the Diamondbacks uniform in the 21 games I’ve seen them play live, starting in their inaugural season and most recently this past summer, including the final game of their 2007 sweep of the Cubs in the NLDS.

Home Runs

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 3
Steve Finley 3
Stephen Drew 3

Hits

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 10
Stephen Drew 7
Alex Cintron 7
Conor Jackson 7

Runs

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 11
Steve Finley 6
Troy Glaus 5

RBI

Name Total
Orlando Hudson 7
Steve Finley 6
Eric Byrnes 6

Doubles

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 4
Chad Tracy 3
6 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →

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Landing A Big Fish

With the city of Chicago focused on the Bears playoff game against the Packers on Saturday night, the Cubs tried to steal the spotlight, signing third baseman Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract.  It’s the third-largest overall contract in Cubs history, behind only Jason Heyward’s $184 million deal signed prior to the 2016 season and Dansby Swanson’s $177 million deal signed prior to 2023, but the average annual value, including deferrals, is higher than both of those contracts.  The deal also reportedly includes a no trade clause.

This is the second straight offseason that the Cubs have targeted Bregman, who will turn 32 shortly after Opening Day.  He signed with the Red Sox last year, but opted out of his contract and re-entered free agency after slashing .273/.360/.462 with 18 home runs in just 114 games. Adding Bregman to the lineup pushes second-year player Matt Shaw into a utility role, which should leave him free to attend any future MAGA rallies should, say, Alex Jones choke on a Cheddarwurst.

This move follows the acquisition of starting pitcher Edward Cabrera earlier last week, signaling that the Cubs are preparing to go all-in for 2026 after falling in the NLDS last fall and with a number of key players hitting free agency following this season.

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A’s All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  With a little more than a month until spring training camps open, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Oakland Sacramento A’s.

The A’s began life in Philadelphia in 1901, as one of the eight charter franchises of the American League, before moving to Kansas City in 1955, Oakland in 1968, and to Sacramento last year while waiting for a new stadium to be built in Las Vegas.  I’ve seen 235 players don the A’s uniforms in the 35 games of theirs that I’ve attended live, including two at their former home stadium in Oakland.

Home Runs

Name Total
Matt Olson 4
Jason Giambi 3
Shea Langeliers 3

Hits

Name Total
Adam Rosales 8
Rajai Davis 8
Matt Olson 8

Runs

Name Total
Coco Crisp 5
Adam Rosales 5
Matt Olson 5

RBI

Name Total
Matt Olson 7
Ramon Hernandez 5
Shea Langeliers 5

Doubles

Name Total
Coco Crisp 3
Jed Lowrie 3
JJ Bleday 3

Triples Continue reading →

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Rockies All Time Leaders – Through 2025

rockiesTo paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  With a little more than a month until regular season baseball, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies joined the National League as an expansion team, along with the then-Florida Marlins, in 1993.  I’ve seen 154 players don the Rockies uniforms in the 20 games of theirs that I’ve attended live, first in 2002 at Wrigley Field and, most recently, this past Memorial Day when I took the field to help hold the giant flag for the national anthem.

Home Runs

Name Total
Preston Wilson 2
Charlie Blackmon 2
16 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
Matt Holliday 9
Brad Hawpe 8
Willy Taveras 8

Runs

Name Total
Brad Hawpe 4
Garrett Atkins 4
Todd Helton 4
Charlie Blackmon 4
Brendan Rodgers 4

RBI

Name Total
Troy Tulowitzki 4
Preston Wilson 3
Jamey Carroll 3
Jay Payton 3
Luis Gonzalez 3
D.J. LeMahieu 3
Charlie Blackmon 3

Doubles

Name Total
Charlie Blackmon 3
Willy Taveras 2
Todd Helton 2
Jamey Carroll 2
Matt Holliday 2

Triples Continue reading →

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Yankees All Time Leaders – Through 2025

YankeesTo paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  With the winter meetings starting today, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the New York Yankees.

The Yankees began life in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles, moving to New York in time for the 1903 season.  I’ve seen 188 players don a Yankees uniform in the 33 games of theirs that I’ve attended live, first in 1997 and most recently this past August.

Home Runs

Name Total
Joey Gallo 4
Jorge Posada 3
Aaron Judge 3
Marcus Thames 3
Nick Swisher 3
Jacoby Ellsbury 3

Hits

Name Total
Derek Jeter 19
Jorge Posada 15
Aaron Judge 14

Runs

Name Total
Brett Gardner 13
Derek Jeter 10
Aaron Judge 10

RBI

Name Total
Jorge Posada 15
Melky Cabrera 9
Brett Gardner 8
Aaron Judge 8

Doubles

Name Total
Jorge Posada 7
Alfonso Soriano 5
Melky Cabrera 4
Aaron Judge 4

Triples Continue reading →

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Mets All Time Leaders – Through 2025

21st-CENTURY-METS_01To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  Now that 2026 is here, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the New York Mets.

The Mets began life in 1962, joining the National League following the abandonment of the New York market by both the Dodgers and Giants in 1957.  I’ve seen 174 players don the Mets uniforms in the 19 games of theirs that I’ve attended live, including Opening Day at Shea Stadium in 2003, Tom Glavine’s 300th career victory, their pennant clinching victory in the 2015 NLCS, and, most recently, in August of 2024 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Home Runs

Name Total
Pete Alonso 3
Cliff Floyd 2
Daniel Murphy 2

Hits

Name Total
David Wright 7
Pete Alonso 7
Daniel Murphy 6

Runs

Name Total
David Wright 7
Pete Alonso 5
Daniel Murphy 4
Carlos Beltran 4

RBI

Name Total
Pete Alonso 7
Lucas Duda 6
Cliff Floyd 5

Doubles

Name Total
Carlos Delgado 3
Lucas Duda 2
David Wright 2
Jeromy Burnitz 2
Pete Alonso 2

Triples Continue reading →

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Rays All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays began life in 1998 as the Devil Rays, dropping the Devil portion of their name in 2008.  I’ve seen 204 players wearing the Tampa Bay uniform in the 31 of their games that I’ve attended live, five as the Devil Rays and the remaining 26 as the Rays, including the 2008 ALDS and two games at their horrible home dome in 2021.

Home Runs

Name Total
B.J. Upton 5
Matthew Joyce 3
Ben Zobrist 2
Luke Raley 2
Isaac Paredes 2

Hits

Name Total
B.J. Upton 18
Ben Zobrist 16
Carlos Pena 9
Evan Longoria 9

Runs

Name Total
Ben Zobrist 11
B.J. Upton 9
Matthew Joyce 7

RBI

Name Total
B.J. Upton 11
Carlos Pena 8
Ben Zobrist 7
Evan Longoria 7

Doubles

Name Total
Wander Franco 4
Ben Zobrist 3
Evan Longoria 3
Jason Bartlett 3
Manuel Margot 3
Brandon Lowe 3

Triples Continue reading →