Just a few players in this quiz, with an unusual career distinction involving three counting stats. What is their unusual career accomplishment, and which active player may be the next to join this group?
| Rk | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Edgar Martinez |
| 2 | Brian Giles |
| 3 | Norm Cash |
| 4 | Bob Johnson |
Doug:
As batters these guys are all of a type, and their career stats are very similar, given some variation that can usually be ascribed to the era in which each guy played. I can see ways to cram them into a three stat category—runs, RBIs, and walks, for one—but the four’s totals are hardly exclusive to that range, I suspect.
Sorry no one is following this up like Richard Chester, who has the stats tools and talent.
Now that I am back on-line to the internet I have no excuses for not trying to solve it.
Doug: Is the active player Albert Pujols or Miggy Cabrera?
nsb has the right three stats.
Neither Albert nor Miggy is the active player. In fact, they are about as far as possible from being in this group.
I fouled this one up. I thought comment #1 was a hint supplied by Doug, not nsb. I read not too carefully. Also, by skimming through a list of all players with 1000+ R, RBI and BB, there are others such as John Olerud. And Yaz has a close match in those categories with 1816, 1844 and 1845 but at a higher level.
The solution to this quiz is that these are the only players to record 1000 runs, walks and RBI after having fewer than 100 of each through their age 25 seasons. The active player who may join this group is Jose Bautista who has reached 1000 runs and walks, and needs just 43 more RBI for 1000 of those.