Round One S11


rickey henderson sliding in to third base

Round One continues with the greatest leadoff hitter in history as the top seed. Hall-of-Famer Rickey Henderson matches his offensive output with Rusty Staub, Gary Gaetti, 19th-century star Bill Lange, fellow speedster Juan Pierre, Hall-of-Famer George Kell, Jermaine Dye, and Billy Shindle.

Image result for rickey henderson
Speed and a superb batting eye make Rickey Henderson a player to watch in this tournament.
PlayerWinsLossesPct.GB
Rickey Henderson10252.662*WON*
Bill Lange9559.6177.0
George Kell9064.58412.0
Juan Pierre8470.54518.0
Jermaine Dye7282.46830.0
Rusty Staub6787.43535.0
Gary Gaetti5896.37744.0
Billy Shindle48106.31254.0
Image result for bill lange baseball
Bill Lange hit .330 in a marriage-shortened career

Although George Kell led the league in batting with .247, as I surmised would happen, Rickey Henderson more than made up the difference with walks and stolen bases. The league as a whole only batted .201, with five of the eight teams on the interstate.

Image result for george kell baseball

The George Kells had a 20-hit game in which they shutout the Jermain Dyes 13 – 0 and three different Rickey Hendersons had 6-SB games. Two Rickey Hendersons and one Juan Pierre managed over 130 SBs on the season. There were no no-hitters but one Walter Johnson threw 11 no-hit innings until he made way for Sandy Koufax, who was tagged with the loss in the 13th.

Pierre holds the record for most career hits – 2,217 – without making an All-Star team

Henderson, Kell, and Pierre are joined by Bill Lange (who?) in Round 3. The others get a second chance in Round 2.

Tim Bruno

Tim has been a baseball fan for most of his life and has played a great deal of baseball and softball over the years. Although his playing days are long behind him, he remembers back when he was an extremely fast catcher with an extremely bad arm. He has been playing Strat-o-Matic baseball since he was 14. Tim is currently living in southwest France and writes A LOT about coffee at Procaffeination.com. He has also written Procaffeination: A Coffee Lover's Dictionary, which will be available soon. You can find out more about Tim's writing at TimothyBruno.com and if you want to contact him about the tournament, drop him an email at Tim@BaseballsGreatestPlayerPlayoff.com

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