During our interview with baseball-reference.com’s Sean Forman, we got talking about his Cup of Coffee feature. That lists all players who have played in exactly one game in the bigs.
No one has hit a homer in their only appearance in the majors. However, some have made the most of their short time. John Paciorek comes to mind. John had a pretty good game in his only MLB appearance in 1963.
John Paciorek’s linescore:
3 for 3, 4 runs, 3 rbis, 2 BB
There is actually a web page at astroland.net dedicated to John’s efforts. Which is probably good because stats tell only part of the story.
Paciorek had had problems with his back throughout 1963, and sometime during his 1964 season (spent at Durham and Statesville) had back surgery performed. He was inactive in ’65, then tried to come back in 1966. But bad back or no, it looks like Paciorek had a problem hitting for any kind of average, although the power seems to have been there.
Tom Paciorek was rumored to quip that John was the better player in the family.
George Brett will tell you that he is the SECOND best hitter in his family.
“Brother” often exaggerate the skills and good qualities of their brothers.
Example: I always say that my brothers are better looking than I am.
No one believes me, of course. But I say it anyway.
DonS, for at least two of you its a tallest midget contest.
Back on the point at hand-is there a list of the people who had true “walk off” home runs? I know Ted Williams did, anyone else?
And while we’ve got DonS here, any word from Texas on the newest addition to their minor-league program? The sportswriters better get used to loud salsa music; either that or have the Rangers trade for Kerry Wood. :-)