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05/23/2004 Archived Entry: "MLB news: This week in milestones"
This week in milestones: May 17-22
Graves sets Reds saves record
By Michael Toeset
If you could choose one pitcher in the Reds’ long and storied history to close out a game, who would you pick? Nasty Boy Rob Dibble? Big Red Machine finisher Rawley Eastwick? Screwballer John Franco? Well, according to the Cincinnati record book, that man would be DANNY GRAVES.
The righty from Vietnam established a new Reds benchmark on May 20 with his 149th save. Graves, who attempted to turn his bullpen success into starting pitcher success last year, is currently leading the majors in saves with 20. Last season’s ill-fated attempt at switching roles sidetracked Graves’ march toward the Reds’ record, but he seems like a man on a mission this year. As of May 22, Graves has a 3.12 ERA with 20 saves in 24 chances.
Setting a new record for the oldest team in baseball was quite a humbling experience for Graves, who said he was as shaky as a rookie when he took the mound on his record-setting night. “I’ve never been so nervous in my life,” he said. “All I was thinking was, ‘Please hurry up and get this over with.’”
That night, Graves passed Franco for the Reds’ record. And two days later, Graves set another record: He became the fastest pitcher ever to record 20 saves.
The righty, who is No. 55 on the all-time saves list, has collected all his saves with the Reds (he pitched in 20 games for the Indians without a save at the beginning of his career). His career numbers read 40 wins, 39 losses, 151 saves, 423 games (30 of those are starts), 713 innings pitched, 385 strikeouts and a 3.85 ERA.
Along the way in setting the franchise record, Graves passed Franco (148 saves), Clay Carroll (119), Jeff Brantley (88), Rob Dibble (88), Tom Hume (88), Pedro Borbon (76), Wayne Granger (73) and Jeff Shaw (69).
While Graves’ stuff can hardly be described as “nasty,” a la the 1990 crew consisting of Dibble, Randy Myers and Norm Charlton, he has been indispensible for the Reds, and he has played a prominent role in the team’s amazing start this season.
It has been argued that the save is an incredibly overrated statistic, and I’m not going to refute that, but Graves still has earned himself a well-deserved reputation as a true stopper. And unless something unexpected happens with Graves, he’ll shatter his personal best 32 saves.
In other milestones, CHRIS HAMMOND pitched his 1,000th inning on May 18. For a guy who’s hung around to pitch 1,000 innings, Hammond is fairly anonymous (quick, name the team he currently plays for). But he’s been solid over the years, never spectacular but always decent. His career stats read 58-60 win-loss record, 328 games and a 4.14 ERA.
The answer to the trivia question: the A’s. He’s also played on the Yankees, Braves, Marlins, Red Sox and Reds.
PAUL KONERKO, who I’m convinced is the slowest player in baseball, drove in his 500th run on May 19. Konerko has had a strange career – hitting .304 in 2002, then .234 last year – but all told, he’s been a steady player, and he’s also bashed 137 home runs. He’s only had one season of 100 or more RBI, but he came close two other seasons, driving in 99 and 97 runs.
GREG MADDUX keeps adding to his Hall of Fame resume, and on May 20, he passed Cy Young on the all-time strikeout list. Strikeout No. 2,804 pushed him past Young to No. 15 on the list. Maddux has never been known as a strikeout pitcher (he’s only topped 200 K’s once), but he’s played a long time and averaged about 160 strikeouts a year. Just goes to show how beneficial longevity is. Next up on the K list is Mickey Lolich at 2,832 strikeouts.
On May 22, LUIS GONZALEZ collected hit No. 2,000. Without his 57-homer season in 2001, Gonzalez would probably not be all that well known, but over the years, he’s hit .287 with 287 home runs.
e-mail comments or questions to mtoeset@baseballguru.com
