{"id":9540,"date":"2010-11-15T15:55:14","date_gmt":"2010-11-15T22:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=9540"},"modified":"2010-11-15T19:27:59","modified_gmt":"2010-11-16T02:27:59","slug":"doubles-two-baggers-halfway-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/15\/doubles-two-baggers-halfway-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Doubles, Two-Baggers, Halfway Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The 2011 season will mark the 80th<\/sup> anniversary of one of Major League Baseball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s longest standing records and least likely individuals to accomplish the feat.<\/p>\n

Earl Webb, of the Boston Red Sox, established the single-season doubles record with 67, in 1931.\u00c2\u00a0 How did a player with only 155 doubles over a seven-year career manage to set such a lofty figure?\u00c2\u00a0 He was a left-handed batter with below-average running speed but astonishingly, hit 43.2% of his career total in one season.\u00c2\u00a0 Baseball is filled with unlikely scenarios and record holders but this is one for the books.\u00c2\u00a0 It is definitely one of the great anomalies in the history of the game.<\/p>\n

William Earl Webb was born on September 17, 1897 in the small coal-mining community of White County, Tennessee.\u00c2\u00a0 He began his professional baseball career in 1921, as a right-handed pitcher, for the Clarksdale Cubs of the Mississippi State League.\u00c2\u00a0 After toiling in the minors for four seasons, he was converted to a left-handed hitting outfielder before making his MLB debut on August 13, 1925 for the New York Giants.<\/p>\n

During the next four years, Webb shuffled between four organizations via trades, the waiver wire, and the Rule 5 draft.\u00c2\u00a0 His career appeared at a crossroads before settling in the Boston Red Sox lineup in 1930, batting .323, with 30 doubles in 127 games.\u00c2\u00a0 This modest batting display could not be identified as a harbinger of records to follow.<\/p>\n

Webb played his home games during his record-setting 1931 season at Fenway Park.\u00c2\u00a0 However, the friendly dimensions of the famous \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGreen Monster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 did not aid his historic total since it was not constructed until 1934.\u00c2\u00a0 However, the right centerfield portion of the ballpark was tailored for extra-base hits, especially the robust 468 feet centerfield fence and the deep niche of 493 feet in the power alley.\u00c2\u00a0 Webb took full advantage of the spacious confines and produced 39 doubles at home.<\/p>\n

A torrid first-half start propelled Webb to a record-setting pace.\u00c2\u00a0 His 36 doubles through 77 games, positioned himself to break George Burns\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 mark of 64, set the previous season in 1930.\u00c2\u00a0 Webb remained consistent throughout the remainder of the campaign.\u00c2\u00a0 On September 17th<\/sup>, during the second game of a double-header, he lashed the historic two-bagger off of Cleveland Indians pitcher, Pete Appleton, on his 34th<\/sup> birthday.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The reason he hits so many doubles is that he hits a long, hard ball, and he’s too darned slow on the bases to get to third.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Manager, Shano Collins<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a>Prior to the 1931 season, Webb amassed 55 doubles in 924 at-bats or every 16.8 times to the plate.\u00c2\u00a0 During his record-setting campaign, he inexplicably collected a double every 8.8<\/em> at-bats.\u00c2\u00a0 Meanwhile, he averaged a double every 19.6 at-bats (33 doubles in 648 AB) during the final two seasons of his short career. \u00c2\u00a0It mirrors the 1912 season, as John \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chief\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Wilson established the long-standing triples record.\u00c2\u00a0 He legged out a mind-boggling 36 triples, nearly one-third of his career total.<\/p>\n

Only six players in MLB history have hit at least 60 doubles in a season.\u00c2\u00a0 Since 1936, no player has accomplished this feat.\u00c2\u00a0 In 2000, Todd Helton, collected 59 doubles for the Colorado Rockies at cavernous Coors Field in Denver.\u00c2\u00a0 This is the highest total any player has attained in recent history.<\/p>\n

Webb finished his playing career following the 1933 season with a lifetime .306 batting average over 650 games.\u00c2\u00a0 With each passing year, his astounding total of 67 doubles in 1931, remains as one of the most difficult records to break set by a player that almost nobody could identify.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earl Webb: Doubles anomaly withstands history<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":773,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,9,5],"tags":[12131,12130,6909,12092,12133,12132,11262],"class_list":["post-9540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-general","category-statistical-analysis","tag-doubles","tag-earl-webb","tag-george-burns","tag-josh-robbins","tag-pete-appleton","tag-shano-collins","tag-todd-helton"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t