Which teams have fielded the same 4 infielders for the most games in a season? Click through to find out.
These 5 teams had each infielder play at least 154 games:
Rk | Year | Tm | Lg | #Matching | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2009 | Philadelphia Phillies | NL | 4 | Pedro Feliz / Ryan Howard / Jimmy Rollins / Chase Utley |
2 | 1999 | New York Mets | NL | 4 | Edgardo Alfonzo / John Olerud / Rey Ordonez / Robin Ventura |
3 | 1964 | St. Louis Cardinals | NL | 4 | Ken Boyer / Dick Groat / Julian Javier / Bill White |
4 | 1963 | St. Louis Cardinals | NL | 4 | Ken Boyer / Dick Groat / Julian Javier / Bill White |
5 | 1904 | Boston Americans | AL | 4 | Jimmy Collins / Hobe Ferris / Candy LaChance / Freddy Parent |
Among them, it’s the 1963 Cardinals that actually rank first. From their team fielding totals, you can see that Bill White started all 162 games at 1B, Julian Javier started 158 at 2B (and appeared in 161 at 2B), Ken Boyer started 159 games at 3B, and Dick Groat started 157 at SS. That’s a minimum of 157 starts for each of the 4 infielders.
In 1964, the same group did almost as well: White (159 starts), Javier (149 starts), Boyer (all 162), Groat (160 starts).
For the 2009 Phillies, Ryan Howard started 155 games at 1B, Chase Utley started 154 at 2B, Pedro Feliz started 150 games at 3B, and Jimmy Rollins started 152 games at SS.
The 1999 Mets got 159 starts from John Olerud at 1B, 158 starts from Edgardo Alfonzo at 2B, 157 starts from Robin Ventura at 3B, and 151 starts from Rey Ordonez at SS.
And then there are the 1904 Boston Americans. The franchise was a few years away from renaming itself the Red Sox. The team played 157 games that year, going 95-59-3. First baseman Candy LaChance appeared in all 157 games at 1B (there is no data on game starts, but nobody else is credited as having played a single inning for the team at 1B.) Hobe Ferris played 156 games at 2B. Jimmy Collins played 156 games at 3B. Freddy Parent played 155 games at SS. On a percentage basis, this team seems to take the cake.