- March 28 marked the Opening Day of Major League Baseball 2025, and Tidbits pays tribute to some of the greatest baseball players of all time with some on- and off-diamond facts.
- When Willie Mays passed away at age 93 in 2024 as the oldest living Hall of Famer, only five other MLB players had hit more home runs than he had. With 660 homers and 3,293 hits, after 23 seasons, the Alabama-born Mays retired with a batting average of .301. Mays was the 1951 Rookie of the Year, played in 24 All-Star games and four World Series, and led the National League in home runs four times. The only player to do so, Mays earned a combination .300+ career batting average with 600 home runs and 12 Gold Gloves.
- Carl Yastrzemski is in second place for the most career MLB games played with 3,308, and third place overall for number of at-bats, at 11,988. He played his entire career with the Boston Red Sox from 1961at age 21 until his retirement at age 44 in 1983, during which he achieved 3,419 hits (8th place in career hits), 452 home runs, and 18 selections to the All-Star Game. He remains the Red Sox’s all-time leader in career RBIs, runs, hits, singles, doubles, total bases, and games played, and also has the record for the most games with a single team.
• In his 27 seasons in the MLB, Nolan Ryan pitched in four different decades, racking up a record number of strikeouts, at 5,714, and a record 7 no-hitters.
He played first for the New York Mets, followed by the California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers. The Angels, Astros, and Rangers have retired Ryan’s uniform number. His first no-hitter was in 1973 while pitching for the Angels. His final no-hitter came along in 1991 when as a Ranger. In 1979, Nolan Ryan was the highest-paid MLB player, with a four-year, $4.5 million contract with the Astros. The Mets drafted Ryan when he was 19 and he retired at age 46 with the Rangers in 1993. He still holds 51 MLB records.
- Lou Gehrig was the first MLB player to have his uniform number retired. The New York Yankees retired No. 4 six months after the slugger’s retirement following his diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis , now commonly referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” During his 17 seasons with the Yanks, he played in 34 World Series games as winner in 6 out of 7 Series. Gehrig still holds the record for the most seasons with at least 400 total bases, a feat achieved five times. In 1932, he was the first 20th-century player to hit four home runs in a game. He was a seven-time All-Star, a two-time MVP, and had a career batting average of .340. Gehrig began experiencing symptoms of ALS midway through the 1938 season, and his performance began to steadily decline. By the end of April, 1939, he had an astounding record of 2,130 consecutive games, (the previous record was 1,307), but on May 2, he benched himself, in his words, “for the good of the team.” He never played another game. ALS claimed Gehrig’s life in 1941, 17 days before his 38th birthday.
- Not only did the legendary Ty Cobb hit .300 in 23 consecutive seasons and reached .400 three times, his record career batting average of .367 still stands. There was only one year that Cobb didn’t bat .300, his rookie year (.238) when he was mourning the death of his father. Cobb’s father named him after the ancient city of:Tyre, now part of modern-day Lebanon.
Cobb played 24 seasons in the majors, 22 of them with the Detroit Tigers. During that time, he set 90 MLB records, and still held 43 of them when he retired in 1928. His combined total of runs scored and RBI’s (4,065) remains the highest, as does his record of 54 times stealing home.
• Hank Aaron was 40 years old when he broke the career home run record set by Babe Ruth in 1935. Ruth’s record of 714 was shattered by Aaron on April 8, 1974 when the famed Milwaukee Brave hit his 715th before a crowd of 53,775 spectators, an attendance record for the Braves stadium. During the previous off-season, “Hammerin’ Hank” had received hate mail and death threats from fans who did not want to see Ruth’s revered record broken. Aaron ended his 23-year MLB career with 755 homers, including 16 grand slams, a record that would endure for 33 years. He continues to hold the record for the most RBIs with 2,297, extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856), as well as the most All-Star selections with 25.
- With 2,654 hits, 521 home runs, and a career batting average of .344, it’s no surprise that Ted Williams is considered one of the best hitters in the history of baseball. Williams played his entire career, 1939 to 1960, with the Boston Red Sox. In 1941, he achieved a batting average of .406, and is the last player to have a batting average over .400 in a single season, a feat that remains unsurpassed to this day.
- Ted Williams’ baseball career was voluntarily interrupted twice, the first time to serve as a Marine Corps pilot during World War II, and then again as a combat aviator in the Korean War when he successfully landed a burning, shot-up plane. In 1958, at age 40, this 19-time All-Star was the AL batting champion for the sixth time. Following his retirement from baseball, Williams became a renowned fisherman, authoring three books on the subject and hosting numerous TV shows. Upon his death in 2002, Williams donated his body to science.
One week after his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners, Ken Griffey, Jr. hit the first of his 630 home runs. He had been the first overall pick in the 1987 MLB draft. When Junior was 3, the Griffey family had moved to Cincinnati where Ken Griffey Sr. was playing for the Reds. In 1989, Ken Griffey Sr. joined the Seattle Mariners, creating the first father/son duo to play side-by-side in MLB. The pair were teammates for 51 games between 1990 and 1991, and hit back-to-back home runs in a 1990 game against the California Angels. Junior became a Cincinnati Red in 2000 and remained there until 2008. He finished his career back with the Mariners, after a 22-year career of honors, including 13 times as an All-Star selection, 10 Gold Glove Awards, 1992 MVP of the All-Star Game, and 1997 AL MVP. When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016, he achieved 99.3% of the vote on his first ballot.
• Fifteen-time All-Star Roberto Clemente had recorded 3,000 hits, two World Series championships, and four NL batting championships by the end of the 1972 season, during 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. On Dec. 31 of that year, the 38-year-old set out on a humanitarian mission to Nicaragua, which had been hit by a devastating earthquake. His plane, loaded with supplies for the victims, crashed shortly after takeoff, taking the lives of all five aboard.
• Babe Ruth, born George Herman Ruth Jr. on February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland, is widely regarded as one of the most iconic figures in baseball history. Known for his prodigious power at the plate, Ruth’s career revolutionized the game and helped popularize baseball as America’s pastime. Ruth’s journey to baseball superstardom began with the Baltimore Orioles before making a name for himself with the Boston Red Sox, and later, the New York Yankees.
• Ruth’s professional career began in 1914 when he was signed by the Baltimore Orioles, a minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. His remarkable pitching skills caught the attention of the Red Sox, who called him up to the majors. Early in his career, Ruth was primarily a left-handed pitcher, achieving significant success. He helped lead the Red Sox to three World Series titles (1915, 1916, and 1918). In fact, Ruth’s pitching prowess was one of the primary reasons the Red Sox were so successful during this period, but it was his hitting that would later define his legacy.
• In 1919, Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees, a move that would alter the course of baseball history. Ruth’s transition from pitcher to full-time outfielder marked the beginning of the “live-ball era” and was a key factor in the rise of the home run as the centerpiece of baseball’s offense. Over the next 15 seasons with the Yankees, Ruth became the most dominant power hitter the game had ever seen. He led the Yankees to four World Series titles (1923, 1927, 1928, and 1932) and set numerous records that still stand today.
• Ruth’s statistics are nothing short of remarkable. He finished his career with 714 home runs, a record that stood for nearly four decades until Hank Aaron surpassed it in 1974. He also batted an impressive .342 over his 22-season career, with 2,214 RBIs and 2,873 hits. In 1927, Ruth set a record by hitting 60 home runs in a single season, a milestone that remained unmatched until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. Ruth also led the American League in home runs 12 times and won seven AL batting titles.
• Beyond his statistics, Ruth’s personality and charisma made him a larger-than-life figure. His power on the field was matched only by his larger-than-life presence off it. Ruth was a national celebrity, known for his flamboyant lifestyle, charity work, and his role in popularizing the game of baseball. His influence extended beyond sports, and he became a cultural icon.
• Babe Ruth retired in 1935 with an enduring legacy as one of the greatest players to ever step onto a baseball diamond. His combination of power, personality, and influence has made him a symbol of the sport, and his name is still synonymous with greatness in baseball today.
MLB HALL OF FAME
Situated at the southern tip of New York State’s Otsego Lake, the small village of Cooperstown, population about 3,000, is home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, one of America’s most popular destinations.
• The Hall became an idea in 1935, when plans were formed to celebrate the upcoming centennial celebration of baseball in 1939. At that time, Cooperstown was considered the birthplace of baseball, the site where American army officer and Cooperstown native Abner Doubleday had developed the game in 1839. (That story was later discredited by historians.) The Hall was established by Stephen Carlton Clark, heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Clark’s idea was to bring tourists to the community that had been deeply affected by the Great Depression and Prohibition. He was responsible for its construction, and the building was dedicated on June 12, 1939.
- The first five inductees into baseball’s Hall of Fame were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson, all chosen in 1936. About 20 more were selected before the Hall’s official opening. Ty Cobb received more votes than any of the other first four inductees, with 98.2% of the votes. Ruth and Wagner collected 95.1%, Mathewson 90.7%, and Johnson at 83.6%. No other inductee received as high of a percentage as Cobb until Tom Seaver received 98.84% in 1992. Ken Griffey passed up Seaver’s record in 2016 with 99.32%,
- Only about 0.6% of MLB players have been elected to the Hall of Fame since 1936. It’s not always an easy task to be elected – it took Joe DiMaggio three times on the ballot.
- The Baseball Writers Association of America is the organization responsible for electing Hall of Fame members. About 450 writers participate every year. Each writer may vote for up to 10 players. As of January, 2025, there are 351 members of the Hall, including 277 former players. 118 members have been inducted after their death, including four who died after their selection was announced. Players, managers, umpires, executives, and baseball pioneers are all eligible for induction.
- A player must be named on at least 75% of the voters’ ballots. If a candidate is named on at least 5% of the ballots cast, he is eligible to be named again, but will be removed if he has been on the ballot 10 times without election. The player’s name is also removed if he has been retired 15 years.
- Up until 1945, all players were eligible, including active ones. In 1946, a waiting period of one year after retirement was instigated. Since 1954, a player must be retired five years and have 10 years of major league experience to be eligible for the Hall of Fame. The five-year waiting period was waived for Roberto Clemente, who had played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 18 seasons. Clemente was elected to the Hall of Fame in March, 1973, about 2 ½ months after his death in a plane crash en route to Nicaragua on a humanitarian mission following a devastating earthquake there.
- Yankee slugger Lou Gehrig was elected to the Hall of Fame in a special election in 1939 following his diagnosis of ALS.
• Only one baseball player has ever been elected unanimously, Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera in 2019. Eight others have achieved over 98% -- Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr., Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken Jr., Ty Cobb, George Brett, and Ichiro Suzuki. Suzuki was elected in 2025 with 99.7%, just one vote shy of unanimous.
MORE BASEBALL FACTS
- Although Pete Rose holds the record for the most at-bats (14,053), the most games played (3,562), and most hits (4,256), the Cincinnati Reds slugger nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” was permanently banned from baseball, including induction into the Hall of Fame for gambling on baseball. During his career from 1963 to 1986, Rose was Rookie of the Year, a 17-time All-Star, and 3-time World Series winner. Pete Rose and Ty Cobb are the only MLB players with more than 4,000 hits. In 1990, Rose pleaded guilty to tax evasion and served five months in a Marion, Illinois minimum security prison. Pete Rose was banned from Hall of Fame induction, but the Hall contains several exhibits of Rose’s baseball career.
- Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,130 consecutive games held for 56 years. Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr., broke it in September, 1995. Between 1981 and 2001, Ripken played in 3,001 games, and set the record of 2,632 consecutive games, a record he still holds.
- The Yankees drafted shortstop Derek Jeter out of high school, and he played four seasons in the Minors before his MLB debut in 1995. Jeter is in 6th place in career hits with 3,465. During his 20-year career with the Yanks, the team qualified for the postseason 17 times, and Jeter played 158 postseason games, an MLB record. During his 2000 season, he was both the All-Star Game MVP and the World Series MVP. When this five-time World Series champion was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020, he received 396 of 397 possible votes.
- Only five MLB players have hit five home runs in one game –Pete Schneider (1923), Lou Frierson (1934), Cecil Dunn (1936), Dick Lane (1948), and Parker DePasquale (2023).
- In 1974, Nolan Ryan recorded MLB’s fastest pitch, 100.9 mph, a record that would hold until 2010, when it was broken by Cincinnati Reds’ Aroldis Chapman.
• The record for all-time home runs in a single season is held by Barry Bonds, with 73. Bonds also has the record for career home runs with 762, although several observers dispute this due to speculation that Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. Bonds surpassed Hank Aaron’s record of 755 in 2007. Only two other players have surpassed 700 – Babe Ruth and Albert Pujols. Yankee slugger Aaron Judge broke Roger Maris’ 1961 record of 61 single-season home runs in 2022. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa had beaten Maris’ record in 1998 and 1999, but the two were also named in baseball’s steroids scandal.
- In 1975, Pittsburgh Pirate Rennie Stennett made history when he had seven hits in his seven at-bats in a nine-inning game. The Pirates trounced the Chicago Cubs 22-0 that day. In 2016, another player, Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants, had a seven-hit game, but the game went into extra innings, leaving Stennett’s record intact.
- Only two MLB players have spent their entire career with one team for at least 23 seasons – Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox and Brooks Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles.
- Three players have a record of hitting a home run in eight straight games – Pittsburgh Pirate Dale Long in 1956, New York Yankee Don Mattingly in 1987, and Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey Jr. in 1993.
- Only “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Happy Birthday” outrank “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” as America’s most-recognizable songs. It was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer, neither of whom had ever attended a baseball game. Fans still sing along during the seventh-inning stretch of MLB games
