Playing Both Sides of the Field
From Paul Hagen at the Philly Daily News on October 3, 2011:
Hunter Pence started the season with the Houston Astros, who ended up losing 106 games. He finished with the Phillies, who finished with a franchise-record 102 wins.
That got Clem Comly, a pressbox pal and member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), wondering how many players had been with both a 100-win and 100-loss team in the same season. And it was more than might have been expected.
Through 2010, he found 45 men who had personally experienced those highs and lows in one year. From 1999 through 2010, it only happened twice: Carlos Pena (Oakland and Detroit) and Jeff Weaver (Yankees and Detroit), both in 2002. Nine players did it in 1961. It happened to Hall of Famer Herb Pennock (Philadelphia Athletics and Red Sox) in 1915.
The only 19th-century player was Philadelphia native Harry Stovey in 1892, with the Boston Beaneaters and Baltimore Orioles. Stovey was an interesting guy. When he retired a year later, he was baseball’s all-time leader in home runs (122) and stolen bases (509).
Read the full article here: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20111003_Paul_Hagen__Patience_is_the_key_for_Howard.html
Originally published: October 3, 2011. Last Updated: October 3, 2011.