MLB: The Youngest Players to Hit a Home Run

Tommy Brown and Danny Murphy Hit Home Runs At Age 17

Only two pro baseball players hit a home run at the tender age of 17: the Brooklyn Dodgers‘ Tommy Brown and the Chicago Cubs‘ Danny Murphy.

Another 21 players hit a home run at age 18. That’s it. Only 23 times in MLB history has a player 18 or under gone deep – and that includes two-time markers Murphy and  the Cubs’ Phil Cavarretta (follow the asterisks).

A handful of Hall of Famers is amongst these teens listed below – a surprising, not-known-for-his-power Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, Mel Ott and the last 18-year old to knock one out, Robin Yount (in 1974 – 40 years ago).

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	PLAYER	AGE	BIRTH DATE	HR	SEASON	TEAM
1.	Tommy Brown	17	Dec. 6, 1927	2	1945	Brooklyn Dodgers
2.	Danny Murphy*	17	Aug. 23, 1942	1	1960	Chicago Cubs
3.	Phil Cavarretta*	18	Jul. 19, 1916	1	1934	Chicago Cubs
4.	Wayne Causey	18	Dec. 26, 1936	1	1955	Baltimore Orioles
5.	Al Kaline	18	Dec. 19, 1934	1	1953	Detroit Tigers
6.	Ty Cobb	18	Dec. 18, 1886	1	1905	Detroit Tigers
7.	Bill Southworth	18	Nov. 10, 1945	1	1964	Milwaukee Braves
8.	Ed Kranepool	18	Nov. 8, 1944	2	1963	New York Mets
9.	Lou Klimchock	18	Oct. 15, 1939	1	1958	Kansas City Athletics
10.	Ed Kirkpatrick	18	Oct. 8, 1944	2	1963	Los Angeles Angels
11.	Johnny Lush	18	Oct. 8, 1885	2	1904	Philadelphia Phillies
12.	Dave Duncan	18	Sep. 26, 1945	1	1964	Kansas City Athletics
13.	Larry Dierker	18	Sep. 22, 1946	1	1965	Houston Astros
14.	Robin Yount	18	Sep. 16, 1955	3	1974	Milwaukee Brewers
15.	Danny Murphy*	18	Aug. 23, 1942	2	1961	Chicago Cubs
16.	Pete Schneider	18	Aug. 20, 1895	1	1914	Cincinnati Reds
17.	Billy Consolo	18	Aug. 18, 1934	1	1953	Boston Red Sox
18.	Jerry Moses	18	Aug. 9, 1946	1	1965	Boston Red Sox
19.	Whitey Lockman	18/19	Jul. 25, 1926	3	1945	New York Giants
20.	Phil Cavarretta*	18/19	Jul. 19, 1916	8	1935	Chicago Cubs
21.	Lew Malone	18	Mar. 13, 1897	1	1915	Philadelphia Athletics
22.	Mel Ott	18	Mar. 2, 1909	1	1927	New York Giants
23.	Dick Schofield	18	Jan. 7, 1935	2	1953	St. Louis Cardinals

Photo: homage.tumblr.com / ootpdevelopments.com

MLB: Pitchers Who Have Hit the Most Career Home Runs

Wes Ferrell: Most Home Runs By a Pitcher

Wes Ferrell, who played mostly for the Cleveland Indians, but also the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators I, New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves, hit 38 home runs in his career – most by a pitcher ever.

Bob Lemon, a career Cleveland Indian, hit 37.

These are the top 20 pitchers with the most career home runs. One caveat: every one had to be an official pitcher (and only that primarily) during the season when they hit their home runs.

So hybrid pitcher/players, like Rick Ankiel (18th below) had to pass that test.

Which leaves the obvious question: What about Babe Ruth?

Babe Ruth was not only one of the greatest hitters in baseball history (and arguably the greatest player of all time), but he was a phenomenal pitcher as well.

Ruth began his career with the Boston Red Sox as a pitcher, but he also played the outfield regularly during those years. For his first four seasons (1914-1917), Ruth started more games at pitcher than any other position. During those years, he knocked just nine home runs.

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	PITCHER	CAREER HR
1.	Wes Ferrell	38
2.	Bob Lemon	37
3.	Red Ruffing	36
4.	Earl Wilson	35
4.	Warren Spahn	35
6.	Don Drysdale	29
7.	Hal Jeffcoat	26
8.	Carlos Zambrano	24
8.	Bob Gibson	24
8.	Walter Johnson	24
11.	Bucky Walters	23
11.	Smoky Joe Wood	23
13.	Reb Russell	22
14.	Jack Harshman	21
15.	Milt Pappas	20
15.	Dizzy Trout	20
17.	Gary Peters	19
18.	Schoolboy Rowe	18
18.	Rick Ankiel	18
20.	Early Wynn	17
20.	Jim Tobin	17

Photo: theconlonconnection.com

Clayton Kershaw, Mariano Rivera and the 20 Hardest Active Pitchers to Hit

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw Is the Hardest Pitcher To Hit in Baseball

What makes a great pitcher? ERA is one thing – giving up the fewest runs – but how about giving up the fewest hits in the first place?

These 20 pitchers are the hardest to hit in baseball today – they have given up the fewest hits per nine innings pitched, lifetime.

Lefty Clayton Kershaw, who won the Cy Young award in 2011, is having an even better 2013 (1.80 ERA, 0.851 WHIP, 182 K). Kershaw is also the hardest to hit of all active pitchers – the only one who has given up fewer than seven hits per nine innings over the course of his career.

Mariano Rivera, who has played three times as many years as Kershaw, is second. Amazing. Just over seven hits per nine innings over 19 years.

Some will say “unfair” – Mariano is a reliever, not a real pitcher – not a starting pitcher. Then again, he is the only reliever amongst the top 20. Another impressive feat by the Sandman.

The other 18 pitchers are all pretty impressive, too – the best pitchers of the century so far? Yes.

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	PLAYER	HITS PER 9 IP	CURRENT TEAM	ARM
1.	Clayton Kershaw	6.78	Los Angeles Dodgers	L
2.	Mariano Rivera	7.02	New York Yankees	R
3.	Matt Cain	7.47	San Francisco Giants	R
4.	Johan Santana	7.67	New York Mets	L
5.	Tim Lincecum	7.69	San Francisco Giants	R
6.	Jake Peavy	7.91	Boston Red Sox	R
7.	Jered Weaver	7.93	Los Angeles Angels	R
8.	Justin Verlander	7.94	Detroit Tigers	R
9.	C.J. Wilson	8.04	Los Angeles Angels	L
10.	Cole Hamels	8.05	Philadelphia Phillies	L
11.	Ubaldo Jimenez	8.08	Cleveland Indians	R
12.	A.J. Burnett	8.19	Pittsburgh Pirates	R
13.	Felix Hernandez	8.22	Seattle Mariners	R
14.	Barry Zito	8.27	San Francisco Giants	L
15.	Ted Lilly	8.29	Los Angeles Dodgers	L
16.	Oliver Perez	8.30	Seattle Mariners	L
17.	Yovani Gallardo	8.33	Milwaukee Brewers	R
18.	Adam Wainwright	8.35	St. Louis Cardinals	R
19.	CC Sabathia	8.37	New York Yankees	L
20.	Josh Beckett	8.38	Los Angeles Dodgers	R

Photo:  oregonherald.com