April 12, 2011

Fuld Not Stopping

In regards to Sam Fuld not stopping at first on his last hit Monday night to get the cycle, I found four instances of players in the Day by Day Database who did not stop at second when they needed a double for the cycle. If you stop at first, you’ll be criticized for not playing the game hard, but trying to stretch a double into a triple can be a risky proposition.

On April 18th, 2008, Conor Jackson hit a triple, homer run and single, then did not stop at second as he hit another triple.

On May 6, 2003, Dmitri Young did not stop at second needing a double for the cycle, and picked up a second triple.

On Sept. 23, 1962, Eddie Mathews did the same thing.

On May 13, 1958, Willie Mays did the same thing.

The Willie Mays game is particularly impressive.

2 thoughts on “Fuld Not Stopping

  1. rbj

    Actually, if you get thrown out at third stretching a double into a triple, don’t you still get credit for the double? I’ve seen guys get credit for a single when they got thrown out at second. It wasn’t your batting that got you out, but rather your base running.

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  2. David Pinto Post author

    rbj » Yes, that is correct. But the out still counts for the team. In other words, it’s often a good strategy to stop at second if there is a small probability of getting thrown out at third, while taking second really helps.

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