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Solid thirdsacker for numerous teams, '61-'76. HIs best year was with the Reds in 1965 when he led the NL with 130 RBI and finished 4th in the MVP voting. He topped 30 homeruns twice and had 245 in his career.
Johnson was with the A's during their championship seasons of '73 and '74. He finished his career with Boston in '75, but was left off the post season roster.
Duane Kuiper - 2nd baseman with Cleveland and San Francisco. In a career that went from 1974-1985 he managed a .271 BA and 1 (one) HR which he belted on 8/29/1977 against the White Sox off of Steve Stone.
Fred McGriff: 2,490 hits, 493 HR's, 1,550 RBI's, .284 BA, .377 OBP. Roberto Alomar is in the HoF and Fred gets 17.9% of the vote. Am I missing something?
I'd vote for him. I don't think that 500 HRs would have helped his cause though as that voting percentage is just so far off. Maybe he's considered the Tommy John of power hitters. I'm really not sure what the rap is on Fred. He was a steady performer, no doubt, but perhaps just not enough of a standout. He never won a gold glove, batting title or an MVP. If the Yanks had kept him in his early days that might have been key, but then he would have been up against Mattingly in his prime for a playing spot.
Chris Nabholz. I seem to have had 20 of his rookie cards for some unexplained reason. He had a few decent years as a lefty starter with the Expos in the early 90s, but when he was traded to the Indians he just never was effective again and used primarily as a reliever. He also played for the Red Sox and Cubs and ended his career in 1995.
Lefty O'Doul was an outfielder with 6 clubs for 11 seasons between 1919 and 1934 but was an everyday player for only about half of those seasons. His best year was with the Phillies in 1929: 32 HR's, 122 RBI's, .398 BA and .465 OBP. His lifetime BA was .349.
Holder of the professional baseball career homerun record...868.
Oh had to overcome prejudice in Japanese society because he was of mixed Japanese /Chinese parentage. Like Babe Ruth, Oh began his pro career as a pitcher, unlike Ruth he wasn't very successful, so he switched to firstbase and spent three years learning how to hit.
He learned awfully well, in his 4th year he won the homerun crown, the first of 15 such titles. Oh hit 40 or more 13 times, and passed 50 three times. In 1964 Oh set the single season record for homers, 55, and three times as a manager, took steps to see that the record would not be passed.
In 1985, American Randy Bass went into the final game of the year with 54 homeruns. His team was playing the Yomiuri Giants, managed by Oh. Bass was intentionally walked in four of his plate appearances. In his fifth plate appearance, they again were walking him on purpose when a frustrated Bass reached across the plate and whacked a single.
In 2001, American Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes managed to reach 55 homeruns with three games left to play. For the final weekend series, Rhodes' team was playing against the Fukuoka Hawks, managed by...yup...Oh. Rhodes was walked in all of his plate appearances in all of the games.
The next season, Venezuelan Alex Cabrera reached 55 with five games left to play. His team ended the season against ....yup...the Oh managed Hawks. Cabrera walked...and walked..he walked like a man, he walked on by, he walked like an Egyptian..but never did he get a pitch to hit.
In his managing career which lasted 20 seasons, Oh's teams captured four pennants and two WS titles.
In 1974, the year he passed Ruth's record, Henry Aaron traveled to Japan that November and took part in a one on one homerun derby against Oh. Between the two of them they had more than 1300 homeruns at the time. Aaron prevailed in the contest, 10-9.
Jim Palmer - Orioles pitcher from 1965 to 1984 (minus 1968); played for a club that won 7 division titles, 6 league pennants and 3 World Series; 268-152, 2.86 lifetime; 8-3, 2.61 in postseason; won 20 or more games eight times; won 3 Cy Young awards; elected to HoF in 1990 with 92.6%.
Palmer attempted a failed comeback attempt in 1991. According to a Sports Illustrated story, he was working out at University of Miami when an assistant coach who apparently did not recognize him said, "You'll never make the Hall of Fame with those mechanics." Palmer replied, "I'm already in the Hall of Fame."
For several years Palmer worked with Al Michaels and Tim McCarver on Monday Night Baseball telecasts.
And he is probably the all-time MLB leader in men's underwear commercials.
George Quellich, an outfielder who got into 13 games for the Detroit Tigers in 1931. 12-for-54 (.222) with a home run and 11 RBIs. He also stole a base.
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