A MLB record that will never be broken
Fanatics of major league baseball often talk about records that may never be broken. Records that seem unattainable include Pete Rose’s 4,256 career hits, Cal Ripken Jr.’s 2,632 consecutive games played, and of course, Cy Young’s 511 career wins. In 1884, Charles “Hoss” Radbourn, the work horse for the Providence Grays, won 59 games in a single season. This remarkable achievement is distinguished author’s Edward Achorn focus in “Fifty-Nine in ’84.”
Achorn takes the reader back to nineteen century baseball, where a coin flip determined which team would bat first. A single umpire would officiate a game, and as you might image, he was often under trained and scorned for making the wrong calls. It was certainly a different baseball landscape during this period, as pitchers stood a mere 50 feet from home plate surrounded by a rectangle.
During the 1884 season, Radbourn accepted the role as the primary pitcher after star hurler Charlie Sweeney was expelled from the club. Radbourn previously had a tirade of his own, but agreed to pitch the majority of starts in exchange for a pay increase and the ability to become a free agent at the end of the season. This was a significant concession granted by the Providence Grays, as players were locked to their teams under the dreaded reserve clause.
The author lists the mind boggling numbers Radbourn posted in 1884. Hoss, as he was commonly called, pitched 678 innings, in a single season. Radbourn faced 2,672 batters, and completed 73 games. The rubber armed thrower also struck out 441 batters, and posted a 1.38 earned run average (ERA). The future hall of famer led his team to a clean sweep of the New York Metropolitans, becoming World Series champions.
Achorn brilliantly details Radbourn’s single season record that will never be achieved again. “Fifty-Nine in ’84” makes for a great companion to Achorn’s “The Summer of Beer and Whiskey,” which relives the exciting 1883 American Association pennant race. If you are a fan of nineteen century baseball, there works are essential. Here’s hoping that the stories of “King” Kelly and the Delahanty brothers finally will be told in audiobooks!
By: Edward Achorn
Narrated by: Ax Norman
Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
Release date: 06-18-13
Publisher: Audible Studios