Homers off HOFers

Today, I was running a log of all multi HR games by Harold Baines in a White Sox uniform (is it really a log if there are only eleven?) and I found that on June 8, 1989, Baines homered twice off the Ryan Express.

I wondered how many players have hit two in a game off of Ryan. Couldn't be many, I would assume. I assumed correct. Only eight. Dick Allen, Jimmy Wynn, Johnny Briggs, Graig Nettles, John Mayberry, Duane Walker, Mike Greenwell, and of course, Harold Baines.

I couldn't help myself. I needed to gauge that against other pitchers. Roger Clemens was next (Why? because the next White Sox HR log I ran was Carlton Fisk, who evidently hit two off Roger Clemens August 26, 1987. Ten other players managed the same.

I repeated with Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux. And Cy Young (only Fred "bonehead" Merkle?!?!).

It was very interesting comparing the list of who hit two in a game off of Clemens and who did the same off of Johnson or Maddux.

Maddux: Kal Daniels, Luis Gonzalez (twice), Benito Santiago, Eric Karros, Scott Rolen, Pat Burrell, Steve Finley, Javier Valentin, Wily Mo Pena, and Charles Thomas.

Nobody really great. Rolen very good. Gonzalez good, Burrell, Finley, Karros, Santiago decent. Overall unimpressive.

How about Johnson: Glenn Wilson, Jesse Barfield, Dave Henderson, Gerald Williams, John Valentin, Jim Edmonds, Greg Norton, Juan Gonzalez, Javy Lopez, Kevin Young, Chipper Jones (Twice... exactly a year apart on Sept. 5, 1999 and 2000!), Marquis Grissom, Eduardo Perez, JJ Hardy, Shane Victorino, and Albert Pujols.

Better. Pujols, two time MVP Gonzalez, MVP Jones, Grissom, Lopez, Edmonds, and a few other all stars.

But compare this to the Clemens list.

Robin Yount, Eddie Murray, Carlton Fisk, Ivan Rodriguez, Fred McGriff, Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey Jr, Jim Thome, Albert Belle, Damian Rolls, and Josh Phelps.

OK. Toss out Rolls and Phelps. But you have three hall of famers, three other 500 home run club members, another certain Hall of Famer in Ivan Rodriguez, and two incredible players in Albert Belle and Fred McGriff.

Equally impressive is the Lefty Grove list.

Gehringer, Ruth, Greenberg (twice), Simmons, and a pair of all stars in Pinky Higgins and George Selkirk. Wow.

The Walter Johnson list is comprised of Jack Fournier (would have been a monster had he not played primarily in the deadball era) and Lou Gehrig.

Back to Ryan. How about the 8/10/90 game I stumbled across. He gave up two homers to White Sox batters. The 1990 White Sox included Carlton Fisk, Sammy Sosa, Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura, and Ron Kittle, but the two homers were to Craig Grebeck and Ozzie Guillen, whose careers spanned over 8500 at bats and 47 home runs.

I love trivia like this.