Trivia questions are supposed to be difficult and make people think.
Recently, I posted a question and received several responses, but none of the answers were correct. With that in mind, I decided to post the answer in a story.
Question: What do Baseball Hall of Fame pitchers Jim Bunning, Catfish Hunter, Fergie Jenkins and Gaylord Perry have in common?
Hints: The answer has nothing to do with their pitching efforts. Eventually, another clue was added that revealed that what they shared did occur on the field.
Answer: Nolan Ryan had 5,714 strikeouts in his 27-year career, but he never fanned Bunning, Hunter, Jenkins or Perry. This quintet is among the 200 players in the big leagues who stepped into the batter’s box against Ryan and managed not to whiff. The sample size is very low, but in eight place appearances against Ryan this group reached base five times.
Hunter was 2-for-3, while Jenkins was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Bunning and Perry both walked in their only time at the plate against a fellow Cooperstown legend.
Both Ends of the Spectrum
To add some perspective, Claudell Washington was victimized the most by Ryan as he was struck out 39 times in 102 plate appearances that led to a .144 batting average.
Julian Javier may have been successful at avoiding a strikeout against Ryan in 18 chances, but he was only 2-for-16 with a pair of walks for a .125 average.
The Meetings
- Ryan was pitching for the New York Mets when he and Bunning squared off at Shea Stadium on April 18, 1970. The contest against the Philadelphia Phillies marked the first of a major league record 12 one-hitters as the Mets won 7-0. Philadelphia’s Denny Doyle led off the affair with a single and then Ryan was on his way to matching the standard established by fellow Hall of Fame hurler Bob Feller. Ryan had 15 strikeouts and six walks. At the plate, Ryan was struck out by Bunning before getting a hit later in the game off Lowell Palmer.
- Of the group of four pitchers, Jenkins in the only one to face Ryan twice. The first time was when the Mets visited Wrigley Field on May 3, 1969. Ryan left the game in the seventh with chance to win, but the Mets bullpen couldn’t hold the advantage as the Chicago Cubs went on to win 3-2. Jenkins didn’t get a hit in two at bats, while Ryan didn’t get a hit in three trips. The second contest was also in Chicago as the Cubs 9-3 on April 25. 1971. Jenkins had a two-run single in the fifth inning against Ryan.
- Hunter and Ryan met on May 22, 1972. The Oakland A’s behind a complete game effort from Hunter beat the California Angels 6-3 as Ryan suffered the loss. Ryan was ousted in the seventh inning with one out as he allowed five runs on five hits with seven walks and six strikeouts. Two of the hits were singles by Hunter. Ryan also had two hits off Hunter, including a double.
- As a member of the San Francisco Giants, Perry faced Ryan one time in Candlestick Park on June 11, 1969. The Giants would win 7-2 as Ryan faced two batters in relief as one of them ended with a walk to Perry.
