Welcome to “Who Knew?”, a weekly roundup of fun statistical oddities and fun facts in Chicago Baseball. Every Monday, I'll dig into the previous week’s games (Monday-Sunday) to present a collection of things you may not have noticed and answers to questions you may have never thought to ask. Let’s get started!
Double Digit Delight
Monday at Oakland, Reynaldo López recorded ten punchouts, the first 10+ K game by a White Sox pitcher this season. Prior to López, the last Sox hurler to reach double-digits was Lucas Giolito back on Sept. 3, 2016 against the Rays.
So, as it stands, the last two White Sox 10+ K games were by pitchers acquired in the same Dec. 7, 2016 trade:
Reynaldo López, Lucas Giolito & Dane Dunning acquired from Nationals for Adam Eaton.
Also interesting about the López & Giolito games – each of the last two 10+ K games by White Sox pitchers have been by righties. Prior to Giolito, each of the Sox’ previous 48 10+ K games had been by southpaws (all by Sale, Danks, Quintana and Rodón). The previous 10+ K game by a White Sox righty had been Jake Peavy April 14, 2013.
(Un)Lucky Seven?
MLB
Tuesday at Wrigley Field, Tyler Chatwood posted a rare statline:
4.2 IP, one hit, two runs, seven walks, seven strikeouts.
It was a fairly good job of damage control, all things considered. And it was the first time a Cubs pitcher posted seven-plus walks and seven-plus strikeouts since Kerry Wood did it twice – two months apart – in 2001.
But Chatwood did it while allowing only one hit. The last time a Cubs pitcher allowed seven-plus walks and seven-plus strikeouts with one or fewer hits allowed?
Burt Hooton’s no-hitter (with seven walks and seven strikeouts) April 16, 1972.
Go On, Yoán
Wednesday was another wild one at the Oakland Coliseum. The White Sox used 10 pitchers in a game for the first time in their 118-year history, but let’s focus on Yoán Moncada.
It was his second game in a row with a home run and a stolen base, something no White Sox player had accomplished two games in a row since Ray Durham in September 1998.
Furthermore, Moncada’s home run on Wednesday was a grand alam. At age 22 years, 326 days, he is the youngest Sox player to hit a 4-run 4-bagger since Kevin Bell (20 years, 345 days) on June 22, 1976. But since Bell’s was an inside-the-park home run (and the first homer of his career), you could go even further back and say Moncada is the youngest Sox player to hit a grand slam over the fence since Carlos May (age 21 years, 16 days) on June 2, 1969.
Overall, he’s the fifth youngest player in White Sox history to hit a grand slam.
| 20 years, 198 days | Johnny Callison | September 26, 1959 at Detroit |
| 20 years, 345 days | Kevin Bell | June 22, 1976 at Kansas City |
| 21 years, 16 days | Carlos May | June 2, 1969 at Boston |
| 22 years, 115 days | Bibb Falk | May 22, 1921 vs Washington |
| 22 years, 326 days | Yoán Moncada | April 18, 2018 at Oakland |
| 22 years, 331 days | Carlos Lee | May 17, 1999 vs Cleveland (off Bartolo Colón!) |
Double Duty
Friday, James Shields started the game after relieving in the 14th inning of the previous game.
He was the first White Sox pitcher to start:
- after relieving the previous game since Matt Albers on July 23, 2016
- after relieving and finishing the previous game since Gene Nelson April 29, 1986
- after relieving the previous game with a decision in both since Tom Seaver May 9, 1984
(Seaver earned a Win in the completion of a 25 inning marathon prior to his win in the May 9 start)
Thanks to STATS LLC for the Nelson/Seaver notes.
Big start for Báez
166 players have at least 15 hits this season (entering Monday, April 23).
Of those 166, here are the highest percentage of extra-base hits:
| Player | Hits | Extra Base Hits | Percent |
| Javier Báez | 21 | 15 | 71.4 percent |
| A.J. Pollock | 20 | 14 | 70 percent |
| Eric Thames | 15 | 10 | 66.7 percent |
| Gregory Polanco | 15 | 10 | 66.7 percent |
| Didi Gregorius | 22 | 14 | 63.6 percent |
The extra-base output for Báez isn’t just confined to home runs. He has seven home runs and three triples through the Cubs’ first 19 games this season.
Through the team’s first 19 games of a season:
He’s the first Cub to have three triples and three home runs since Ernie Banks (three of each) in 1964
He’s the first Cub to have three triples and six home runs since Andy Pafko (three triples, six home runs) in 1951
He’s the ONLY Cub to have three triples and seven home runs since at least 1900!
His 23 RBI is the highest total by a Cub since Billy Williams (26) in 1970
Two of a kind
On Sunday, José Quintana became the first Colombian-born pitcher to reach 1,000 career strikeouts. Next to do it will most likely be the Braves’ Julio Teherán. But take a minute to compare the two pitchers:
| José Quintana | 1,004 strikeouts | 59 career wins | Career 3.60 ERA | MLB Debut: May 7, 2012 |
| Julio Teherán | 887 strikeouts | 59 career wins | Career 3.60 ERA | MLB Debut: May 7, 2011 |
Going Forward
The Cubs are 10-9 this season and have been 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, and 9-9. Back in 2011, they continued the pattern all the way to 10-10.
That’s as far as they have ever gone, and they have been in the National League since 1876. We’ll keep our eyes out for that.
Until next week…