On this day in baseball – Eddie Murray makes history

Phil Gurnee ♦ May 9, 2017 ♦ 1 Comment

I’ve always loved switch hitters who could hit from both sides of the plate. Most can’t but the ones who can and who can hit with power are a rare breed. Eddie Murray was a rare breed and one of the greatest switch-hitters in baseball history.

On May 8th, 1987 Eddie Murry puts his stamp on baseball history.  Murry hit 65 home runs as a LAD and rumor has it, that he is Eric Stephens favorite player.  Possibly one of my favorite players Reggie Smith sits right below Eddie Murray on the all-time bWAR chart for switch hitters. One was an easy HOF player, the other wasn’t.  Guess those RBI and Home runs had something to do with it. You have to love just how much better Mickey Mantle was compared to his switch-hitting peers. Here is a list of every switch-hitter to ever hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game. 

Eddie Murray becomes the first major leaguer to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in consecutive games when he connects connects off left-handed Bob James in the sixth inning of the Orioles’ 9-6 victory over Chicago at Comiskey Park. In yesterday’s contest, the Baltimore first baseman also homered off southpaw Ray Searage and righty José DeLeón.

Player             WAR/pos OPS+ From   To  HR  RBI   BB
Mickey Mantle        109.6  172 1951 1968 536 1509 1733
Chipper Jones         85.0  141 1993 2012 468 1623 1512
Carlos Beltran        70.1  121 1998 2017 423 1546 1054
Tim Raines            68.9  123 1979 2002 170  980 1330
Eddie Murray          68.0  129 1977 1997 504 1917 1333
Reggie Smith          64.5  137 1966 1982 314 1092  890
Mark Teixeira         51.9  126 2003 2016 409 1298  918
Lance Berkman         51.8  144 1999 2013 366 1234 1201
Bernie Williams       49.2  125 1991 2006 287 1257 1069
Roy White             46.7  121 1965 1979 160  758  934
Jorge Posada          42.6  121 1995 2011 275 1065  936
Ken Singleton         41.7  132 1970 1984 246 1065 1263
Augie Galan           40.9  122 1934 1949 100  830  979
Chili Davis           38.0  121 1981 1999 350 1372 1194
Victor Martinez       34.2  123 2002 2017 228 1095  671
Roy Cullenbine        32.0  132 1938 1947 110  599  853
Bobby Bonilla         30.0  124 1986 2001 287 1173  912
Mickey Tettleton      29.3  122 1984 1997 245  732  949
Ripper Collins        23.5  126 1931 1941 135  659  356
Carlos Santana        21.2  121 2010 2017 154  526  655

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/9/2017.

Woo Hoo, Carlos Santana makes the top 20 switch-hitting bWAR cut.

On May 8th, 1998 old friend Jerry Ruess gets his 200th win while pitching for the White Sox. Ruess would end winning 220 games and 86 of those came as a LAD.

With the White Sox’ 3-0 victory over Baltimore at Memorial Stadium, 38 year-old Jerry Reuss becomes the 86th pitcher to record his 200th major league career win. The southpaw joins Milt Pappas as the only other pitcher to reach the milestone without the benefit of a 20-win season.

May 8th, 1961 – No Dodger connection here, but Fernando Tatis scoffs at two grand slams in one game.

In a 13-5 victory over the Twins, Jim Gentile becomes the fourth major leaguer to hit two grand slams in the same game. The Orioles’ first baseman, the first to accomplish the feat in consecutive at bats, goes deep in the first two innings of the contest.

May 8th, 1943
Who knew?

Due to poor grade of rubber cement used to make baseballs because of wartime rubber shortages, a different type of baseball is put into play today, with dramatic results. In eight games, six home runs are hit, compared to a total of nine homers tallied in the season’s first 72 games.