Fun random sports facts
doubledragon
Posts: 23,269 ✭✭✭✭✭
in Sports Talk
It's time for some fun facts about sports.
1
Comments
MLB umpires are required to wear black underwear in case they split their pants. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I've heard this rumor many times.
Golf is the only sport to be played on the surface of the moon, when Astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on February 6th, 1971.
The 1912 Olympics was the last time that gold medals were solid gold. Since then, they've been made of silver with gold plating. 😂😂
Heck, why not just give them great job buttons.😂😂
Silver with gold plating.
Wade Boggs had a superstition of only eating chicken the day of a game.
That chicken better look out, Wade has that crazy look in his eye!
Silver with gold plating.
.
Right after the 2017 NFL draft, this is what USA today had to say about the
Chiefs picking Mahomes as the 10th overall pick. With an MVP in his first year
as a starter, and a Super Bowl win his second year, this just looks silly now.
Grade: C-
Analysis: Calling Mahomes a project is a major understatement. He’s nowhere near ready to play in the NFL. And, honestly, he may never be. Between his inconsistent accuracy due to poor mechanics, his tendency to bail from clean pockets and his lack of field vision, he’s going to leave as many big plays on the field as he creates. This was a risky pick.
The Dallas Cowboys hired the NFL's first professional cheerleading squad in 1972.
Too bad there's not much for them to cheer for these days.
The experts really know what they're talking about. By the way, Tom Brady also sucked.😂😂😂😂
I always wondered what that card was all about, and now it makes sense.😂😂😂😂
Former MLB catcher Harry Chiti was once traded for himself. True story. Here's the link explaining this bizarre story.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/calltothepen.com/2016/04/25/cleveland-indians-harry-chiti-is-traded-for-himself/amp/
The NFL estimates that more than 100 children are conceived each year as a result of tailgating parties in the Super Bowl parking lot. This gives a new meaning to the term "tail" gating.😂😂😂😂
Jimmy Chitwood, the hero in the movie "Hoosiers" only has four lines in the entire movie. That kind of reminds me of Arnold Schwarzenegger, his movie lines aren't too technical either.
Yeah, he's working hard.
Mike Trout will make $426,500,000 playing baseball.
The Northwestern Wildcats still hold the record for the longest losing streak in college football history, when they lost 34 games in a row.
Silver with gold plating.
Shaquille O Neal only made one 3 pointer his entire career.
Wilt Chamberlain is in the Volleyball Hall of Fame.
No, I can't see why he was good at volleyball.😂😂
>
Here's a fun fact to go along with that.
Mike Trout rarely swings on a 3-0 pitch.
He recently swung on 3-0 for just the 16th time in his career, and it was the first time since 2016.
Apparently, he was playing the long game, lulling the opposing pitchers into a false sense of security. He waited almost 4 years to finally unleash a rip, the pitch he swung at was grooved right down the middle, and he smashed a 3-run homerun!
It was his first ever career homerun on a 3-0 pitch!
Way to go Mike!
Of course, he picked a situation where his team was already down 5-0 at the time, his gambit was wasted, and once again the Angels ended up losing the game, anyway.
He's the best player alive when nothing is on the line, but when the pressure is on, they usually throw him fastballs up in the zone, and more often than not, he flails away. Or, knowing he can't do much with it, he takes a called 3rd and meekly protests to the umpire as he heads back to grab some pine. I don't need any fancy schmancy stats to tell me what my eyes see.
Fastball up in the zone. Remember that. Watch what he does with a fastball up, when it matters.
@countdouglas , I hear you brother. A lot of good that $426 million is doing for the Angels, considering they haven't made the playoffs since 2014, and they were swept in that 2014 appearance.
Yeah.
.
Trout went 1 for 11 in that 2014 series. The one hit was a homerun, so there's that little token for all the fanboys. Trout struck out swinging for the final out to end both Game 2 and Game 3 in that series, and I'll never forget the little Angels fan sitting across the aisle at the end of Game 3, wailing, "It's like he just GAVE UP!" I felt like offering some consoling words like, "Kid, he wasn't gonna touch Holland's fastball up in the zone, no matter how hard he tried.", but I didn't (because what the boy said was obviously true to anyone watching).
Here's a fun fact. Billy Butler has more career postseason stolen bases than Mike Trout. Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know it's hard to steal a base in the postseason if you hardly play any postseason games, and harder yet if you never actually get on base, but let's not use that excuse to take anything away from Billy Butler's amazing accomplishment. He plodded his way to second in a blazing 6.7 seconds, then got up and rubbed it in by REVVING IT UP!
Joey Gallo reached 100 career home runs before 100 career singles.
The team leader for the 2019 Angels had 102 IP.
@countdouglas 1-11 That's pathetic. 😂😂😂😂
In 1949, boxer Gus Waldorf boxed a bear, and the bear was given a muzzle so it couldn't bite him, and the bear was also given gloves. The bear mopped the floor with him.
The bear lands a left.
The bear puts Gus down.
still my favorite....
Stan Musial played 22 years. 3,026 games. he struck out 3 times in a game.................once.
(July 28, 1963 by Cubs' lefty Dick Ellsworth)
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
I've shared this before but the Detroit Tigers drafted a Super Bowl winning QB before the Detroit Lions did
Randall Cunningham has one of the longest punts in NFL history
Most Quality Starts, Career (Top 7)
The name that jumps out at me is Don Sutton. I had no idea he was this high up on the list. Very consistent pitcher for a long time. He's a HOFer but rarely gets mentioned. Amazing that he's 2nd on this list. Warren Spahn is 14th with 426 and Randy Johnson is 15th with 404.
Love this thread!
I can’t believe I
Missed this one 😂😂😂
I always found it interesting that Babe Ruth's lifetime BA (.342) is only two points lower than Teddy Ballgame's. He also won both a batting title and an ERA title in his career. Finally, it is rumored that while he loved both beer and hot dogs, he absolutely despised kale and wheat grass smoothies.
Joe Sewell averaged 607 at bats a season and only 10 strikeouts per year. He has 7,132 career at bats and only 114 strikeouts.
email bcmiller7@comcast.net
Little known fact - the Los Angeles Dodgers read the sports talk forum for advice on how to pitch Mike Trout in late game, high leverage situations.
Here's Friday night's 7th inning at bat against Kershaw. You can see Kershaw thinking, "I'm Clayton Freaking Kershaw! I know The Count said nothing but high fastballs, but I'll try to sneak this breaking in there on 0-2." It almost cost him, but he wised up and went back to high fastball. As usual, Trout watched it go by.
.
.
On to Saturday night. 10th inning, tying runner placed on second, 2 outs, they go out to the mound to talk about what they want to do with Mike Trout. With no fans in the stands, you could hear what they were saying, even though they were covering their mouths for the camera.
"What do you think, wanna pitch around him?"
"Nah! No way bro! I got this! I remember what The Count said - nothing but high fastballs!"
.
.
.
Anyone that thinks these are just fluke at bats just hasn't REALLY been paying attention to Mike Trout's career. Either he can't hit the ball up in the zone, or he just won't. For a guy that is lauded at being such an on base machine, it is uncanny how many times he comes up and makes the 3rd out of an inning, and especially the final out in a game. And if guys can make the Hall of Fame at being the best at taking called 3rd strikes, then Trout is an inner circle HOFer already.
@countdouglas, Awesome writeup. If I were a pitcher, I would definately take your advice and pitch to Trout up in the zone. That's his weak spot, and I would make him pay for it.
I’m sure a lot of you have seen/read this, but every time I see/read this, it completely blows my mind!
Maddox was AWESOME
Mookie Betts is now tied for most career games with 3 homeruns. He's done it 6 times! Mike Trout has yet to do it once! Even Tuffy Rhodes has hit 3 homeruns in a game before! Rhodes only had 13 career MLB homeruns. Mike Trout is closing in on 300. Apparently, Mike gets 2 homeruns in a game, and goes up to bat the next time looking for a walk.
Heck, even Lorenzo Cain has a 3 homerun game. Of course, Cain has several other things that Mike Trout doesn't, like an ALCS MVP and a World Series ring, and most importantly, heart.
.
.
.
The San Diego Padres became the first National League team since 1895 to hit grand slams in 3 consecutive games. Tatis on Monday, Myers on Tuesday, and Machado on Wednesday.
As an aside, it looks like the San Francisco Giants have joined the many MLB teams that now read the sports talk forum for "The Count's Mike Trout Scouting Report". Once again they had a mound conference with Mike Trout coming up to remind Cueto to finish him with a fastball up. It doesn't have to even be particularly fast, just in the top of the strike zone. I really have no idea why Trout constantly takes that pitch for strike 3 called. Over and over and over again. (I do actually...he's still traumatized by Greg Holland striking him out swinging, with fastballs up in the zone, to end both 2014 ALDS Games 2 & 3. He knows he can't hit that pitch, so might as well take it and hope he gets the call.)
.
This is from memory so correct me if I’m wrong. Ron Mix, San Diego Chargers in his 12 year career was only flagged for holding once.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
countdouglas- I think you're just used to seeing Brett, Hosmer, Cain, etc. come through in
the clutch with the game and season and post season glory on the line. You've become jaded.
The San Diego Padres are now the first team in history to hit grand slams in four consecutive games:
Monday - Fernando Tatis Jr
Tuesday - Wil Myers
Wednesday - Manny Machado
Thursday - Eric Hosmer
Steve
Wow that’s a stat that doesn’t get broken too often
Another fact about this that you might find of interest:
The last time a National League team hit grand slams in three consecutive games was in 1895, when the Cleveland Spiders did it against the Boston Beaneaters.
Steve
Crazy!
In a sport where the entire game is 48 minutes long, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 48.53 minutes played per game in the 1962 NBA season.
The actual time in a 60 minute NFL game taken up by plays being run is about 11-12 minutes.
If the full 60 minutes was used to run plays most players would not make it through a season due to injuries; and a player's career would be much shorter.
Further the time required for a full game (with the clock stopped after every play and with time outs, tv breaks, half time, etc.) would be about 6-7 hours.