We continue on our journey through baseball history as we take a look at numbers 926-950. It is quite a diverse group as we have players representing just about every era as well as every position.
Be sure to check out the rest of our series: MLB 976-1,000 | 951-975 | 901-925 | 876-900 | 851-875 | 826-850 | 801-825 | 776-800 | 751-775
#950 - Johnny Antonelli - Left-handed Pitcher - 1948-1950, 1953-1961
Antonelli came up as an 18-year-old in 1948 with the Boston Braves. After pitching for three years and spending two years serving in Korea, Antonelli came back, and the Braves had moved to Milwaukee. He spent one season there and went to the New York Giants where he would make his mark. In 1954, the southpaw led the league with a 2.30 ERA and six shutouts helping the Giants win the World Series. In the postseason, Antonelli threw a complete game in Game Two and saved the clinching Game Four.
#949 - Mike Marshall - Right-handed Pitcher - 1967, 1969-1981
Marshall had an incredible three-year stretch from 1972-1974. He led the league in appearances all three seasons including 106 in 1974 which still stands as the major league record. He also won the Cy Young Award that season. In that span, he was 43-31 with 70 saves and a 2.36 ERA over 503.1 innings. Marshall had a brief resurgence in 1979 leading the league again with 90 appearances and 32 saves for the Minnesota Twins.
#948 - John Mayberry - First Base - 1968-1982
Mayberry spent his first four seasons with the Houston Astros only playing 105 games. They traded him after the 1971 season and Kansas City got a gem. Handed the first base job in 1972, Mayberry crushed it, slashing .298/.394/.507 with 25 home runs and 100 RBIs. He went on to lead the league in walks in 1973 and 1975. He also hit over 20 home runs eight times in the nine years from 1972-1980. Mayberry drove in over 100 runs three times and finished second in MVP voting in 1975.
#947 - Lindy McDaniel - Right-handed Pitcher - 1955-1975
McDaniel was a well-traveled pitcher. He also went from throwing 191 innings in 1957 and winning 15 games to leading the league in saves three times over the next six years. McDaniel played for five teams over 21 seasons, but the bottom line is he was a very effective pitcher winning 141 games and saving 174 while maintaining a 3.45 ERA over 2,139.1 innings.
#946 - Jason Thompson - First Base - 1976-1986
After a decent rookie season in 1976, Thompson broke out in 1977 for the Detroit Tigers. He slashed .270/.347/.487 with 31 home runs and 105 RBIs. Bookending his peak, Thompson had another outstanding season in 1982 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He slashed .284/.391/.511 and hit 31 homers with 101 driven in. He also walked 101 times and is still only the fifth player in Pirates history to have 30 home runs, 100 RBIs, and 100 walks in a season.
#945 - Huston Street - Relief Pitcher - 2005-2017
Street made a name for himself immediately upon his arrival to the majors. He is one of only three relievers in history to have a sub-2.00 ERA, 20+ saves, and win the Rookie of the Year award (Gregg Olson, Andrew Bailey). He saved 30 games five times in his career and finished with 324. Also impressive is his 2.95 ERA and his 3.63-to-1 K/BB rate.
#944 - Chris Hoiles - Catcher - 1989-1998
While hip and back problems led to only 894 games played for Hoiles, he produced well in that time. In 1993, he had his best season, slashing .310/.416/.585 with 29 home runs and 82 RBIs. From 1992-1998, Hoiles slashed .267/.377/.485 and averaged 20 home runs a season despite only averaging 108 games.
#943 - Kevin Seitzer - First Base/Third Base - 1986-1997
Seitzer's rookie year in 1987 was better than most as he slashed .323/.399/.470 and led the league in hits with 207. In most years he would've won the Rookie of the Year award, but in 1987 there was a tall kid who hit 49 home runs for Oakland. Seitzer had a productive career as he batted .300 five times and finished with a .295 average and .375 OBP.
#942 - Jeff Burroughs - Outfielder - 1970-1985
Selected first overall in the 1969 draft out of High School, Burroughs made his debut a year later. He struggled for three partial seasons with the Senators/Rangers until becoming a full-time player in 1973. He won the AL MVP in 1974 slashing .301/.397/.504 with 25 home runs and a league-leading 118 RBIs. In 1977 while playing for the Atlanta Braves, Burroughs blasted 41 homers and drove in 114. The following year he led the NL in walks (117) and OBP (.432). For a decade from 1973-1982, Burroughs slashed .263/.359/.453. His .812 OPS during that time was nearly .100 points higher than the league average (.720).
Nen struggled with injuries and wildness in 1993 with both Texas and Florida. In 1994, the Marlins moved him to the bullpen full-time and Nen found a home saving all 15 of his save opportunities and allowing only one of the 28 inherited runners to score that season. He continued to dominate for the remainder of his career saving at least 35 games seven years in a row including leading the NL with 45 in 2001. Nen recorded 314 saves in his career in nine seasons as he pitched his final game at 32 years old.
#940 - Alvin Davis - First Base - 1984-1992
Davis came up in 1984 and won the AL ROY award with an .888 OPS and a career-high 116 RBIs. Mr. Mariner as he became known would continue to hit over the next six years. From 1984-1990, Davis slashed .289/.391/.468 and averaged 21 home runs and 85 RBIs. Seattle's first homegrown star, Davis had an excellent eye at the plate walking 685 times to just 558 strikeouts.
#939 - Jim Gentile - First Base - 1957-1958, 1960-1966
Gentile was among the premier first basemen in the early 1960s. For a five-year stretch from 1960-1964, the slugger slashed .268/.378/.503 and averaged 34 home runs and 106 RBIs per 162. He finished third in AL MVP voting in 1961 when he blasted 46 home runs and tied Roger Maris for the lead in RBIs with 141.
#938 - Kent Tekulve - Relief Pitcher - 1974-1989
Tekulve was not your typical closer. In fact, he only saved 184 games. However, he appeared in 1,050 games which is good for ninth all-time. Tekulve was the definition of a workhorse out of the bullpen. From 1977-1983, the right-hander pitched in more than half of the Pirates' games (541 out of 1,075), leading the league three times. For the decade from 1975-1984, Tekulve averaged 100 innings a year and pitched to a 2.61 ERA.
#937 - Ben Oglivie - Outfielder - 1971-1986
Oglivie was a late bloomer. He started his career with the Red Sox and moved on to the Tigers but was primarily a platoon player, struggling against left-handers. At 29 years old, Ogilvie went to the Milwaukee Brewers and thrived. At his peak from 1978-1982, the slugger slashed .276/.343/.492 while averaging 32 home runs and 105 RBIs per 162 games. He led the American League in homers in 1980 with 41.
#936 - Dan Quisenberry - Relief Pitcher - 1979-1990
Quisenberry was a pioneer with a rubber arm, the likes of which we may not see again due to the way relievers are used now. In 1983, he became the first pitcher to have 40+ saves in a season when he saved 45. While that isn't earth-shattering as many have done it since, Quisenberry also tossed 139 innings. He is one of only three pitchers to have 40 saves and throw over 100 innings in a season. He did it twice and it was done by Bruce Sutter (1984) and Dave Righetti (1986). From 1980-1985, the submariner finished in the top 5 of CYA voting five times and logged a 2.45 ERA with 212 saves in 724.2 innings.
#935 - Amos Strunk - Outfielder - 1908-1924
Despite playing in the majors for 17 years, Strunk had fewer than 6,000 plate appearances. However, his six-year peak from 1912-1917 was very good. In that time, Strunk slashed .294/.372/.395 with a 132 OPS+. The centerfielder also averaged 26 stolen bases per 162. Strunk was considered a sure-handed fielder as his fielding percentage was .017 better than the league average for his career. He is also 31st all-time in assists from the centerfield position (115).
#934 - Garret Anderson - Outfielder - 1994-2010
Another outfielder who played in the league for 17 years was Anderson. However, the left-handed outfielder had over 9,000 plate appearances. Although he rarely saw a pitch he didn't like as he walked only 429 times, Anderson had a knack for doubles. from 1997-2003, he had at least 35 doubles each season, leading the league in 2002 and 2003 with 56 and 49 respectively. He finished his career with a .293 batting average and remains the Angels all-time leader in hits (2,368), total bases (3,743), and RBIs (1,292).
#933 - John Wetteland - Relief Pitcher - 1989-2000
From 1992-1998, Wetteland was the most dominant closer in the game. He was one of only five pitchers to have 200+ saves in that stretch. He also had the most strikeouts of those five closers with 550 and easily the lowest ERA at 2.38. He was the World Series MVP in 1996 for the Yankees appearing in five games and saving all four victories. Wetteland saved 40+ games four times and led the league with 43 in 1996.
Although Wertz may be more well-known for hitting the ball that Willie Mays famously caught in the 1954 World Series, he was an excellent player. At his peak from 1949-1957, Wertz slashed .281/.374/.488 while averaging 28 home runs and 114 RBIs per 162 while walking more than he struck out He was an All-Star four times as well as a top-10 MVP candidate four times. Despite being put out on the incredible catch by Mays, Wertz was 8-for-16 with a 1.493 OPS in the 1954 World Series.
#931 - Johnny Sain - Right-handed Pitcher - 1942, 1946-1955
There was a mantra for the Boston Braves in the late 40s, "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain". Sain was the right-handed half of the lefty-righty combo who accounted for 47.3 percent of the Braves games started from 1947-1950. While Sain wasn't nearly the pitcher Spahn was, he did have a very good three-year stretch from 1946-1948 going 65-41 with a 2.77 ERA while leading the league in wins, complete games, and innings pitched in 1948 finishing second in MVP voting. Sain would have a resurgence with the Yankees in the early fifties mostly as a relief pitcher. He even led the AL in saves in 1954 with 26.
#930 - Mario Soto - Right-handed Pitcher - 1977-1988
Soto did not have a long career as he threw only 1,730.1 innings in his career. However, 1390.2 of them came in an excellent six-year stretch from 1980-1985. In that time, Soto averaged 208 strikeouts per year and logged a 3.15 ERA while finishing top 9 in CYA voting four times including second in 1983. During that span, he completed 38 percent of his games and set the Reds single-season record for strikeouts at 274 in 1982.
#929 - Joe Carter - Outfielder - 1983-1998
Carter is remembered for one of the most iconic home runs in MLB history. He was also a prolific power hitter and an RBI machine. From 1986-1997, Carter drove in 100 runs 10 times and hit over 20 home runs each season, eclipsing 30 six times. He also stole 200 bases in that time and finished in the top 10 of MVP voting four times.
#928 - Vernon Wells - Outfielder - 1999-2013
Wells became the Blue Jays' starting centerfielder in 2002. From that year until 2010, he was a very good player. Wells won three Gold Gloves, hit .279 with and .808 OPS, and averaged 39 doubles and 27 home runs per 162. He had his best season in 2003 slashing .317/.359/.550 while leading the league in hits (215), doubles (49), and total bases (373).
#927 - Mike Scott - Right-handed Pitcher - 1979-1991
Not many pitchers completely turn their careers around at age 30. Nevertheless, that is exactly what Scott did. From 1985-1989, the right-hander was 86-49 with a 2.93 ERA and completed just under 10 percent of his games. His 1986 season remains as one of the best ever in Astros history. Scott was 18-10 with a league-leading 2.22 ERA and 306 strikeouts. He won the CYA and is one of only nine NL pitchers to strikeout 300 in a season since 1901.
#926 - Bill Lange - Outfielder - 1893-1899
Lange is certainly not a household name and only played in 813 games over seven seasons. He was still a premier outfielder. He was an excellent fielder as he made 46 more plays per 100 games than the average centerfielder and maintained a .012 advantage in fielding percentage over his contemporaries. For his short career, Lange slashed .330/.400/.458 and stole 400 bases, leading the league with 73 in 1897.
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