While it took more than 50 years for the second pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 career strikeouts (Bob Gibson in 1974 after Walter Johnson in 1923), eight more pitchers would join that illustrious club in less than a decade between 1978 and 1986. During an era when pitchers routinely threw more than 300 innings per season, nearly all of these new strikeout kings accumulated close to or more than 5,000 career innings pitched – this included a couple of foreign-born hurlers in Dutchman Bert Blyleven and Canadian Ferguson Jenkins. As true workhorse starters, each threw over 4,500 career innings and won over 280 career games to go with the 3,000+ strikeouts, thus making for an interesting comparison between these two Hall of Famers:
Who was better – Bert Blyleven or Ferguson Jenkins?
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Milwaukee Brewers had some of their best seasons to-date in the young franchise’s history, led by players such as sluggers Gorman Thomas and Cecil Cooper, catcher Ted Simmons, and pitchers Pete Vuckovich and Rollie Fingers. However, the cornerstones of the team were homegrown stars and future Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Robin Yount – members of the 3,000 career hit club, neither was a flashy star and each was probably a bit underrated, but both were nevertheless consistently great players. As the best players of the 1980s Brew Crew and arguably the two best players in franchise history, it is a natural comparison to make:
MLB has seen its share of great father-son duos over the years, from Bobby and Barry Bonds to Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. to Felipe and Moises Alou, just to name a few. However, in terms of pure hitting power, perhaps no father and son better exemplified the big basher than father Cecil Fielder and son Prince Fielder. Both powerfully built first basemen, the two were each among the top sluggers of their respective eras and each hit 50+ home runs in a season – moreover, father and son each finished his MLB career with exactly 319 home runs, thus prompting the obvious comparison:
As of the 2022 season, there are eight members of MLB’s exclusive 300-300 club, i.e. 300 career home runs and 300 career stolen bases. The first six names are highly recognizable stars of yesteryear: Willie Mays, Barry and Bobby Bonds, Andre Dawson, Alex Rodriguez, and Carlos Beltran. However, the last couple of names may be a bit of a surprise to the average baseball fan – Steve Finley and Reggie Sanders. Though never quite superstars, both were consistent and versatile players, the type of productive veteran every winning team needs; in comparing and contrasting the duo, this leads to a natural question:
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