Stark: Wilson Ramos and the record that was made to be unbroken
From SABR member Jayson Stark at The Athletic on September 6, 2019:
Records are made to be broken. They aren’t normally made to be unbroken. But that’s where the Mets’ always-innovative catcher, Wilson Ramos, comes in.
He has now done both of those things — broken an all-time record and then unbroken the same record. But of course, he had no idea at the time that he’d done either of those things. And this is so crazy but so definitively baseball-y, you have to admit that it’s pretty much the most Useless Info thing ever.
It was midway through last season that Ramos broke the all-time record for most times coming to home plate without ever stealing a base. Russ (I Am Not A Crook) Nixon, a journeyman catcher in the 1950s and ‘60s, used to hold that record, with 2,715 SB-free plate appearances. It was the only record Nixon ever held, best we can tell — although he did finish second in the American League in passed balls one year.
But now, just a year after Ramos booted him out of the record book, Nixon has wriggled his way right back in. And it’s all thanks to a weird development in the Mets’ 14-inning loss to the Braves back on Aug. 23.
Read the full article here (subscription required): https://theathletic.com/1189173/2019/09/06/stark-the-useless-info-dept-records-are-made-to-be-unbroken-edition/
Originally published: September 9, 2019. Last Updated: September 9, 2019.