Jason Giambi: On the Verge of History
Posted by Chris J. on April 22, 2008
Turns out, Giambi is not having a very good year in the Bronx.
One-eigthth the way through, he's barely hitting .100, with only 5 hits. Even more impressive, only one of those hits is a single.
He's got 59 PA. Has anyone ever had that many PA in a season with only one single? Let's leave pitchers out of this one.
Turns out, Jason Giambi is on the verge of history. The record is 61 PA with only 1 single in a season, held by former shortstop Lyn Lary.
Best part of that list? Giambi used to be teammates with John Jaha, #4.
'course there's a problem with the above logic. Giambi could go 60, 70, 100, 500 PA without another single, but the moment he does, he's off the list.
My advice: take 3 more PA, Jason, and then go wash Jeff Kent's truck. My settle for futility when history is right around the corner?
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:35 am
Since 1 is a rather arbitrary number (unlike, say, zero), Giambi could conceivably set a record for most at-bats at any given number of singles.
Maybe we would be served better by identifying seasons by other players that followed a comparable pattern. One that comes to mind is Eli Marrero in 2005. In 138 AB, he mustered 25 hits for a .181 BA; of those 25 hits, sixteen went for extra bases (7-2-7), resulting in a more respectable .413 SA
That same year, Frank Thomas had 12 HR, 3 doubles and 8 singles (.219 BA)
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
The last lumbering ex-first baseman who was "On the Verge Of History" (Stat O' The Day, April 11) and wasn't hitting his weight got cut the next week. Watch out for the precedent, Jason.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Thus, for example, Luis Pujols holds the record for most at-bats by a player with 10 or fewer singles. In 1978, he hit .131, 20 for 153, with 8 doubles, a triple, a home run, and only 10 singles.
20 or fewer singles: Gorman Thomas, 1975, 43-for-240, .179, 12 doubles, 2 triples, 10 homers, 19 singles.
50 or fewer singles: Barry Bonds, 2001, 156-for-476, .328, 32 doubles, 2 triples, 73 homers, 49 singles. Everyone was paying attention to the home runs - who knew he set the record for most AB, 50 or fewer singles?
April 28th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Lyn Lary is safe. Giambi choked. He singled on 4/23 and 4/24. As of the end of play on 4/27 he's got 3 singles in 79 plate appearances. At that rate, he'll have 23 singles in 600 plate appearances, potentially challenging Bonds' 2001 season.
Write that up as a headline: Giambi On Pace to Challenge Bonds' 2001 Record.