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05/30/2004 Archived Entry: "MLB news: Milestones 5.23-5.29"

Milestones 5.23-5.29

By Michael Toeset

JORGE POSADA collected his 500th walk on May 23. The catcher has always been a good OBP player for the Yankees, and this year, he’s getting on base at a .446 clip. Not only has Posada upped his OBP this season, however, he’s also cut down on the strikeouts; he’s on pace to record his first season where he collects more walks than strikeouts.

Speaking of strikeouts, strikeout king JIM THOME hit his 300th double on May 26. Thome also has 392 home runs to go along with those doubles. As was noted in a previous article, Thome is one of those rare players who has more strikeouts than hits, and this season, he’s pretty much keeping to that trend: As of the 29th, he has 46 hits and 40 strikeouts.

ESTABAN LOAIZA recorded his 1,000th strikeout on May 26. The righty, who’s having a decent year but not nearly as good of a season as he had in 2003, has struck out 40 in 70 innings this season. Last year, he struck out 207 in 226 innings, the first time he struck out more than 200 in a season, and the first (and it looks, only) time his strikeout-to-inning ratio was nearly even.

On May 26, something happened that has never before taken place in baseball: DARYLE WARD joined his dad, Gary, as the only father-son combination to hit for the cycle. It seems odd that the Bondses or Griffeys never accomplished the feat, but it’s true. In the history-setting game, the younger Ward had four hits, three runs and six RBI. Oh, and he also recorded a walk, making it a cycle-plus. About the only thing he didn’t do in the game was steal a base.

On May 28, DAVID ORTIZ slugged his 100th home run. The girthy first baseman-DH came into his own last year as far as homers go, hitting 31. His next highest totals: 20, 18 and 11 (this season’s number). Assuming he doesn’t pull a Mo Vaughn, Ortiz should be able to reach 30 again this year and for the foreseeable future. (Don’t count on him being around for more than maybe five seasons, though: History shows that larger, slower players don’t have as lengthy careers as fast, svelte players).

And here’s a player who fits that profile: JOHNNY DAMON. Despite abandoning his Grizzly Adams look, Damon’s play hasn’t dropped off any, and on May 28, he registered his 500th walk. On the season, Damon is batting .283 with three home runs, five steals and a .387 OBP.

MARIANO RIVERA just might hang around long enough to crack the top five saves leaders of all time. It seems like he’s been closing for the Yankees since the heyday of Don Mattingly, but Rivera is actually only in his eighth season as full-time closer. On May 28, he saved his 300th game, becoming the 17th pitcher ever to do so. (He beat Troy Percival to the mark: At the beginning of the season, the closers were tied with 283 saves). Another 20 saves will move Rivera to No. 9 on the list, right behind John Wetteland, his bullpen buddy in the 1996 World Series.

ERIC CHAVEZ batted in his 500th RBI on May 29. The third baseman’s career numbers read: .275 average, 772 hits, 447 runs, 500 RBI and 147 home runs.

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