Who am I? And, dang it, why wasn't this SABR crud around back when I was playing?

[PianoMonkey]

I am a player of significant trivial importance. (So to speak.)
How many of the following clues do you need to guess my name without outside help?

1- There is a pitcher credited for winning two of the most storied 12-inning games in history; I hit the final home run in one of those games.
2- I was passed over for the starting job every season I played but one, and never had even 300 AB in any one season.
3- I never had a negative RCAP for a season, while none of the players who started in place of me have positive RCAP for their careers.
4- My consecutive seasons with fewer than 300 AB and non-negative RCAP is nearly the record; I played the most such seasons among players who *only* played such seasons.
5- Since 1939, I am one of only 6 players who reached base as many times as I did, and who stole as few bases, but nonetheless grounded into fewer than 20 double plays. Two of the others were Lloyd Waner and Bob Lemon.
6- In one crazy season, I played for 4 different cities, and changed rosters 5 times, while playing for three different organizations.
7- In my career, I had a HR% twice that of the league, and in the two decades I played only one player at my position had a higher career mark. I still have one of the 10 highest HR% amonst career players at my position.
8- I got on base more often than the league-average, and out-slugged it, too; but I have the lowest career batting average among players who did the same.
9- I am one of the very few players with more career walks than hits.
10- Of those players, I played the longest.
11- I played for a Dick, a Splinter, a Lip, a Major, and a Secretary of Defense.
12- I hold the record for most career walks more than hits.
13- I was a catcher.

Well? I don't think it's difficult to check your own answers, so you might just post how many clues you needed.

[Nuclear Dish]

I am a player of significant trivial importance. (So to speak.)
How many of the following clues do you need to guess my name without outside help?

two of the most storied 12-inning games in history

I'm not afraid to admit that I needed outside help to figure this one out.

However, my one question is this:

What makes you call the game in 1971 one of "the most storied 12-inning games in history"?! It seems pretty standard, other than it was a complete game. The teams involved were in 4th and 6th place at the time. There weren't any special achievements in it. Sure, the winning pitcher pitched a great game, but there are certainly a lot of 12-inning games that are just as dramatic or storied.

Obviously, in comparison with the other 12-inning game that the pitcher won, this one pales. But to me it just doesn't seem especially "storied" at all. I never even knew about it, which tells me that there weren't many stories about it when and where I was growing up.

[KCBOOMER]

The guy must be one of the all-time Three True Outcome hitters with 71% TTO versus PA's.

[PianoMonkey]

In regards to the game mentioned above, one only has to look a little closer at the play by play, perhaps for an all-time record by a something for most consecutive somethings in a something, when the something somethinged the game.

Oh yeah, and did I say most storied? Because, after trying just now to find it referenced, anywhere on the web, as being what it clearly is, I must change that to most *under*-storied. *I* can barely find it on Google, and I know everything about it!

It was, you might discover, a performance surprisingly on par with that pitcher's other fantastic game in '71.

Oh, and seeing as I can only find two different pages about it on Google anyway, I might as well reveal what was significant:

Most consecutive batters retired in a game, when the pitcher won the game.
It's also one of the answers to a never-solved trivia question here at NSF dating back to 2002.

Also the most consecutive batters retired in a game that has an actual retrosheet play-by-play. Sorry Harvey, I'm not buying it without more evidence.

[PianoMonkey]

The guy must be one of the all-time Three True Outcome hitters with 71% TTO versus PA's.

That's got to be the record for that long a career, doesn't it?

[Nuclear Dish]

In regards to the game mentioned above, one only has to look a little closer at the play by play, perhaps for an all-time record by a something for most consecutive somethings in a something, when the something somethinged the game.

Oh yeah, and did I say most storied? Because, after trying just now to find it referenced, anywhere on the web, as being what it clearly is, I must change that to most *under*-storied. *I* can barely find it on Google, and I know everything about it!

It was, you might discover, a performance surprisingly on par with that pitcher's other fantastic game in '71.

Oh, and seeing as I can only find two different pages about it on Google anyway, I might as well reveal what was significant:

Most consecutive batters retired in a game, when the pitcher won the game.
It's also one of the answers to a never-solved trivia question here at NSF dating back to 2002.

Also the most consecutive batters retired in a game that has an actual retrosheet play-by-play. Sorry Harvey, I'm not buying it without more evidence.

Gotcha. Thanks for enlightening me. That's 3 very impressive games for one pitcher to be involved with!

[pjl7]

OK, speaking for the ignorant and/or lazy. Please let us know who this is when you are ready. As I read it, I started thinking of guys like Mickey Tettleton and Gene Tenace, but neither appears to be correct.

[PianoMonkey]

I suppose this has gone on long enough.
I am "Broadway" Frank Fernandez.

Clues:
1-Rick Wise is the pitcher; he won the 12-inning classic game 6 of the '75 WS and also, in 1971, pitched a 12-inning gem during which he retired 32 consecutive batters (from 2nd hitter in the 2nd inning through the 2nd hitter in the 12th) and drove in the winning run. Retrosheet.org. (http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09180PHI1971.htm)

4-ALL LEAGUES & TEAMS
ALL YEARS
Non P
RCAP >= 0
AT BATS < 300

T1 Hank Gowdy 1919-25 7
T1 Les Mann 1921-27 7
T3 John McGraw 1901-06 6
T3 Roger Bresnahan 1909-14 6
T3 Jack Lapp 1909-14 6
T3 Bill Carrigan 1911-16 6
T3 Earl Smith 1919-24 6
T3 Jack Hiatt 1964-69 6
T3 Frank Fernandez 1967-72 6<----
T3 Luis Aguayo 1980-85 6
T3 Kevin L. Brown 1997-02 6
5-CAREER
1939-2005
REACHED BASE >= 315
STOLEN BASES <= 4
GIDP < 20

GIDP GIDP RB SB
1 Bob Lemon 9 369 2
2 Lloyd Waner 13 364 4
3 Bill Renna 15 324 2
4 Frank Fernandez 16 315 4<----
5 Don Newcombe 17 328 2
6 Rod Barajas 19 382 1
6-This was the 1971 season, during which Fernandez made the following journey: Oakland to Washington (trade), Washington to Iowa (A's minor-league squad), Iowa to Oakland, Oakland to Iowa, Iowa to Chicago (traded to Cubs).

[PianoMonkey]

7-Fernandez had a career HR% of 5.36%, vs. a league average of 2.57%.
The catcher with a higher mark (and more than 40 PA) from 1960-79 was Johnny Blanchard, who was *also* a Yankee catcher. With a minimum 50 PA, Fernandez has the 6th best career HR% among all catchers (the others being Rudy York, Mike Piazza, Blanchard, Roy Campanella, and Francisco Cabrera).

8-Career:
OBP: .350 League: .326
SLG: .395 League: .380
BA: .199

9-There are a fair number of guys with more than 10 walks more than hits, but Frank takes the cake, particularly with such a significant amount of playing-time.
Career:
Walks: 164
Hits: 145
Difference: 19

11-Dick Williams (A's), Ted Williams (Senators), Leo Durocher (Cubs), "Major" Ralph Houk (Yankees), and John McNamara (A's) (not an actual nickname).

All of the numerical information is taken from Lee's SBE, managerial information is from baseball-reference.com (http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/fernafr01.shtml), and Fernandez's travels in '71 were found in an old Cooperstown Confidential (http://www.oaklandfans.com/coopconf22.html).

[UtterChaos]

In regards to the game mentioned above, one only has to look a little closer at the play by play, perhaps for an all-time record by a something for most consecutive somethings in a something, when the something somethinged the game.

Oh yeah, and did I say most storied? Because, after trying just now to find it referenced, anywhere on the web, as being what it clearly is, I must change that to most *under*-storied. *I* can barely find it on Google, and I know everything about it!

It was, you might discover, a performance surprisingly on par with that pitcher's other fantastic game in '71.

Oh, and seeing as I can only find two different pages about it on Google anyway, I might as well reveal what was significant:

Most consecutive batters retired in a game, when the pitcher won the game.
It's also one of the answers to a never-solved trivia question here at NSF dating back to 2002.

Also the most consecutive batters retired in a game that has an actual retrosheet play-by-play. Sorry Harvey, I'm not buying it without more evidence.I asked a similiar question on another web site last year. It was "which 3 pitchers have retired at least 30 consecutive batters in a game?"

My answer was:
"Waite Hoyt - 33 consecutive batters retired, September 24, 1919
Harvey Haddix - 36 consecutive batters retired, May 26, 1959
Rick Wise - 32 consecutive batters retired, September 18, 1971

Wise was the only one that won his game and interestingly enough he had the game winning single in the 4-3 victory over the Cubs in the 12th.

Hoyt was perfect from the 2nd to the 12th but lost his game in the 13th 2-1. Boston tied the game in the 8th at one on Babe Ruth's 28th home run which enabled Babe to break Ed Williamson’s 35-year old single season home run record.

Of course everybody knows about Haddix's game."

[PianoMonkey]

I was actually completely unaware of Hoyt's game. And, as made apparent above, very few people are aware of Wise's, despite many of us actually being alive for it. This kind of semi-perfect game comes up all the time on trivia forums, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of complete record or authority on them anywhere online.

Perhaps it's time for a thorough research project of this topic?

[UtterChaos]

On June 12, 1982 Jerry Reuss gave up a lead off single to Eddie Milner then retired the next 27 batters in a row.