Weird & Wild: MLB manager firings, Murakami’s epic start and a minor-league classic

When a workforce’s bullpen coughs up 17 runs on eight hits, 18 walks and eight wild pitches, is that bizarre (and wild) sufficient to make this column? … When a first baseman’s mitt goes floating via the air, with the baseball nonetheless inside, does that sound like our form of materials? … When a participant leans all the way down to play together with his children and wants surgical procedure when he will get up, can we really feel his ache — and write all about it?

If you’re accustomed to this column, you recognize the reply. But on this version of Weird and Wild, we have to kick off the festivities with two groups which have already achieved max weirdness — all as a result of they’re …

Under new administration

One of the issues I love to do on this column is theorize about stuff. I most likely don’t want to elucidate my subsequent concept to, say, Alex Cora or Rob Thomson. But right here it comes anyway:

Modern managing is overrated!

Heck, it’s not even Mother’s Day but, and Cora and Thomson are each getting paid not to handle. So it looks like I would have already got proved this concept. But how uncommon is it for 2 managers as completed as them to get fired in April? As all the time, the Weird and Wild column is right here to assist with that.

REMEMBER OCTOBER? As not too long ago as seven months in the past, Cora was managing the Red Sox within the postseason, and Thomson was managing the Phillies within the postseason. Seems like a signal they have been truly form of good at their jobs, proper?

So naturally, earlier than they’d even flipped the calendars to May, they’d each misplaced these jobs, as a result of … baseball!

And that made me ask:

How many different instances have two managers been fired in April after making the postseason the 12 months earlier than?

As all the time, zero is an astute guess! Baseball Reference’s superb Kenny Jackelen appeared into it and discovered that not solely had two managers by no means been fired in any April after managing within the earlier postseason, but in addition …

Only one different manager in historical past had ever been gonged in April after a go to to the earlier 12 months’s Octoberfest — and George Steinbrenner hit that ejector button, due to course he did. Bob Lemon took the Yankees to the World Series in 1981. He was the ex-manager of the Yankees by April 26 (14 video games) the subsequent 12 months.

HANG 10 … THEN WAVE GOODBYE — In the final inning that Alex Cora managed the Red Sox, on April 25, a loopy factor occurred.

See that ninth inning? A Red Sox lineup that hadn’t scored 10 runs in any sport all season then scored 10 runs in a single inning in Baltimore … after which … the manager acquired fired.

This appeared bizarre to me (and additionally wild). So how bizarre (and wild) was it?

According to Jackelen, the whole listing of managers in historical past whose groups scored 10 runs of their last inning on the job consists of …

Alex Cora … and that’ll do it.

And to search out the earlier file for many runs in a last inning by a manager who acquired fired in midseason, you’d have to return a mere 92 years. Bob O’Farrell’s 1934 Reds put up “only” 5 runs within the ninth and he acquired canned anyway — presumably as a result of his workforce was 30 video games below .500 and 28 out of first in July.

BITTERSWEET 16 — Then once more, you recognize what else is nearly remarkable? Managing a sport wherein your workforce wins, 17-1, and then getting fired anyway. Which additionally occurred to Cora that loopy day in Baltimore.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the final manager to get fired after successful a sport by that many runs was a dude named Bob “Death to Flying Things” Ferguson, who was dumped by the 1887 New York Metropolitans after an 18-2 win. Could it have been due to that nickname? Can’t rule it out.

Since I by no means lined Ferguson, I appeared into his story. It’s nuts. He’d as soon as gotten fired from a earlier job because the player-manager in Philadelphia, however solely from the manager half. That workforce nonetheless stored him round because the second baseman — and additionally as the enterprise manager.

After he moved on, he went into umpiring. But then the Metropolitans employed him to handle, which suggests they employed an umpire because the manager. Take a second right here and think about Steinbrenner hiring Joe West, and you’ll get that image. Then they, too, fired Ferguson and … he went again to being an umpire. I do know that has nothing to do with Alex Cora, however hey, it’s the Weird and Wild column.

READY, AIM, FIRE (AGAIN) — Now, let’s take a look at the Phillies’ first eight video games after their final two midseason managerial firings:

2022: 8-0 (below Rob Thomson)
2026: 7-1 (after firing Rob Thomson)

So does firing the manager truly work? Not for many groups, however for some cause, it does in Philadelphia. I don’t know what you’ve been pondering, however I do know what I’ve been pondering:

Has any workforce been higher at altering managers in midseason than Dave Dombrowski’s Phillies?

Jackelen appeared into that one, too. And that reply is … nope! Only one different workforce in historical past has even matched them within the “first eight games” standings.

(Source: Kenny Jackelen / Baseball Reference)

The bizarre (and wild) a part of that chart is that in all three instances, it was Don Mattingly who changed Thomson, Jeff Torborg who changed Dave Garcia and Bill Norman who changed Jimmy Dykes. In different phrases, all three of them have been clearly The Answer till they grew to become Not The Answer. Whereupon they wound up on this column. Baseball is one thing, isn’t it?

Special managing trivia query

In our last Weird and Wild, we debuted Weird and Wild trivia — a hopefully common function of this column, which I can’t verify nor deny could also be in right here to supply incentive so that you can learn all the best way to finish. Here’s this week’s query:

Don Mattingly is one among solely 5 males in historical past who’ve gained each an MVP award and a Manager of the Year award. Can you title the opposite 4?

(Answer on the backside of the column.)

Stuff I can’t consider occurred

WHILE THE FIRST NIGHT OF THE NFL DRAFT WAS GOING ON … two gamers who have been as soon as taken with the primary decide within the baseball draft acquired walk-off hits on the identical day! And we’d like to specific our due to Dansby Swanson and Spencer Torkelson for making that be aware attainable.

IF THE GLOVE DON’T FIT … OK, that’s not truly what occurred to Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel final Sunday. His first-base mitt match effective. But when the baseball Juan Soto had simply chopped to him acquired caught in his glove, Schanuel remembered these magic phrases we must always all stay by at instances like that:

All you want is glove!

So he flipped the entire glove, baseball included, to his pitcher, Jack Kochanowicz, for a very bizarre out at first base.

LITERAL GLOVE FLIP

Nolan Schanuel made the last word adjustment when the baseball acquired caught within the webbing of his mitt pic.twitter.com/0eImqlUFVT

— MLB (@MLB) May 3, 2026

Kochanowicz appeared fairly pleased with that out. But he additionally missed a once-in-a-lifetime alternative. As the good Mike Krukow as soon as instructed his first baseman, Bob Brenly, after Giants pitcher Terry Mulholland had the identical factor occur and lobbed his glove to first: “You blew it. You should have whipped the glove around the infield.”

DON’T WALK THIS WAY! Ever heard of a sport wherein an precise skilled pitching employees did this: 21 walks, 24 outs?

It occurred final Saturday within the Weird and Wild column’s favourite minor league, the Arizona Complex League. Final rating: ACL Mariners 24, ACL Dodgers 6, in a rookie-league classic wherein hits have been positively non-obligatory. Ready for the “highlights”?

24 runs on solely 14 hits? Yeah, that occurred.

Rough day for that ACL Dodgers bullpen? Oh, man. You don’t know.

17 runs on 8 hits, 18 walks and 8 wild pitches? Yep, that bullpen did that, with seven relievers combining for that zany line.

Four relievers who tallied extra walks than outs? Uh-huh, that additionally transpired.

191 pitches by that Dodgers ’pen — and 88 strikes? Does it appear exhausting to throw 103 pitches out of the strike zone in a single sport, simply by the bullpen alone? Well, that occurred, too.

A ten-run inning on three hits? We don’t make any of this up. That can even transpire, for those who additionally combine in seven walks, two wild pitches, a hit batter and a handed ball.

Do you want proof this was a actual sport? You ought to. So right here’s visible proof.

STRANGE BUT TRUE INJURY OF THE YEAR ALERT! How did Cubs pitcher Matt Boyd tear his meniscus this week? Playing with his kids, of course.

Somewhere between hanging out on the ground with them and making it again into the upright place, probably the most Cubbies factor ever occurred to poor ol’ Boyd. Should have aborted that takeoff!

Cubs manager Craig Counsell used the phrase “unexplainable” to … clarify it. But we’ve a means higher clarification. It’s …

Baseball! (And additionally … Cubs!)

This Week in Useless Information

FELIZ CINCO DE MAYO — Don’t ask me why I maintain observe of this each darned 12 months. But as soon as once more this season, not a single participant went 5-for-5 on Cinco de Mayo. Last to get all these cincos lined up: Omar Vizquel, in 2002!

DON’T CHANGE THAT SONG — Don’t inform Bruno Mars or Lady Gaga, however is there any query what track has been sung probably the most in 2026? It’s “Go Cubs Go,” naturally. And because the Cubs by no means lose, 34,000 Chicago followers have been warbling it on the high of their lungs each darned day.

So do you know … that Steve Goodman wrote that track in 1984 … and the Cubs then gained eight in a row at Wrigley Field a few weeks after WGN radio first began enjoying it? True story. But there’s additionally this.

Current Cubs Wrigley successful streak — 15 in a row
Longest Wrigley streak in Goodman’s lifetime — 10 in a row

Hey Chicago, what do you say? When you down that subsequent frosty beverage, how ’bout a toast to Steve Goodman.

Nick Kurtz drew a stroll in 20 consecutive video games. (Scott Marshall / Imagn Images)

MEET ME OUT IN THE STREAK — Nobody has taken a lengthy, severe run at Joe DiMaggio in a long time now. But what the heck. Just this month, we had Nick Kurtz.

More than three weeks in the past, the A’s first baseman drew a first-inning stroll in opposition to the Mets’ Clay Holmes. It didn’t appear to be a massive deal within the second. But it kicked off the good strolling streak in a lengthy, very long time.

Kurtz wound up drawing a minimum of one stroll in 20 video games in a row. Incredibly, that was a longer streak than Babe Ruth (17 video games) or Ted Williams (19 video games) ever had. And as soon as Kurtz acquired to twenty, he had our full consideration — and his personal.

That’s as a result of streaks are an superior, on a regular basis, baseball-y particular — and it’s been years since any hitter challenged one of many actually vital streak information.

In the previous couple of a long time, no person has gotten to inside two weeks of DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. And for all of the speak about Shohei Ohtani’s 50-game on-base streak, no hitter has ever made it to inside 20 of Williams’ historic 84-game on-base streak.

But Kurtz made all of it the best way to inside two video games of Roy Cullenbine’s 79-year-old file of drawing a stroll in 22 video games in a row. Except then …

The unhealthy information is, Kurtz’s streak stopped at 20. The excellent news is, 20 nonetheless tied him with Barry Bonds’ longest stroll streak. And that, Kurtz instructed the Weird and Wild column, is a title he’ll be dropping for the remainder of his life.

“Maybe a few years down the line,” he quipped, “I’ll inform my children: ‘Yeah, me and Barry — we did that.”

STREAK SMART — Speaking of streaks, Matt Olson’s ironman streak is as much as 820 video games performed in a row. And I carry that up as a result of, within the 813th sport of this streak, he did this.

MATT OLSON WALK-OFF HOMER! pic.twitter.com/U6i57D6BgR

— MLB (@MLB) April 30, 2026

That walk-off bomb acquired me pondering: Who was the final man, who had performed (a minimum of) that many video games in a row, to hit a walk-off homer earlier than Olson did it?

I’d have guessed Cal Ripken. But … nope! Ripken thumped two walk-offs within the early days of his streak and hit two after it was over. But by some means, he by no means hit a walk-off dwelling run between Games 800 and 2,632.

What about Miguel Tejada, who as soon as performed 1,152 in a row? No sir. His final mid-streak walk-off got here in Game 746. I additionally checked Steve Garvey … and Billy Williams … and Stan Musial. But amazingly, it wasn’t any of them both. So …

Olson simply hit the primary walk-off dwelling run by a man with that many consecutive video games performed since …

Lou Gehrig!

On Sept. 8, 1937, in sport No. 1,936 of his fabled 2,130-game streak, Gehrig broke a 6-6 tie in opposition to the Red Sox with a walk-off three-run homer with two outs within the ninth. It scored Joe DiMaggio and Red Rolfe. And almost 90 years later, it simply roared again to life, right here within the Weird and Wild column. We can all thank Matt Olson.

ON WITH THE SHOH — Here’s a (trick) query for you: Who has extra Pitcher of the Month awards — Tarik Skubal or Shohei Ohtani?

OK, in order that they’re tied, at one apiece. But what the heck. You know that dude who hit 55 homers final 12 months (yep, Ohtani)? He’s now the reigning pitcher of the month.

Incredibly, meaning a man who owns extra 50-homer seasons (two) than Henry Aaron and Barry Bonds mixed (one) now additionally owns as many Pitcher of the Month awards as Skubal … or Paul Skenes … or Garrett Crochet … or Cristopher Sánchez  … or Logan Gilbert … or Kevin Gausman … or … you get the concept!

ROOKIE POWER — I do know we’re nonetheless six months from handing out any of these prestigious baseball award trophies, however …

In an April 25 Reds-Tigers sport, Kevin McGonigle homered for the Tigers within the high of the primary … and Sal Stewart homered for the Reds within the backside of the primary. And in the event that they each go on to win the Rookie of the Year awards this 12 months, they’ll be a part of a actually enjoyable listing, dug up for us by the good Katie Sharp of Baseball Reference.

(*gained award in that season)
(Source: Katie Sharp / Baseball Reference)

LEGENDS FIELD — For three a long time, you by no means needed to ask: Who’s calling the Yankees sport on the radio tonight — as a result of the late, great John Sterling broadcast 5,060 of them in a row!

As a tribute to Sterling, who died this week, I wished to place that streak in perspective. This man by no means missed a day within the sales space, between Opening Day 1989 and July 3, 2019. So I assumed you’d need to know that in Sterling’s streak of 5,060 regular-season video games in a row …

Derek Jeter acquired 3,465 hits* … and 9 totally different Yankees acquired a minimum of 1,000 hits.

Alex Rodriguez launched 351 A-bombs* … and seven totally different Yankees hit a minimum of 200 homers.

Jeter stole 358 bases* … and 9 totally different Yankees stole a minimum of 100.

Andy Pettitte began 438 video games* … and two different Yankees began a minimum of 200. (Fun trivia query!)

Mariano Rivera saved 652 video games* … however as a result of he did it for thus lengthy, just one different Yankees reliever saved as many as 90. (Another enjoyable trivia query!) And …

The Yankees gained 2,763 regular-season video games, plus one other 108 postseason video games … and after each one among them, for those who have been listening at dwelling, you all the time knew THEEEEE YANKEES WON!

*common season

(Special trivia solutions: CC Sabathia and Mike Mussina have been the opposite Yankees to start 200 video games … and Aroldis Chapman was the one Yankee not named Mariano to save lots of 90.)

This Week in Strange But Trueness

HAPPY NEW YEAR — Jackson Chourio lastly got here off the Brewers’ injured listing this week. So what’s so Strange and True about that? Check out Chourio’s first sport of the season the final two years:

2025 — made it to the plate 5 instances, struck out in all 5 of them (0-for-5, 5 Okay)

2026 — made it to the plate 5 instances, reached base in all 5 of them (4-for-4, BB)

Baseball! Such a unusual and mysterious sport. And sure, that’s a praise!

OUCH, OUCH AND ALSO … OUCH — There are so some ways in baseball to attain a run … or three. The means the White Sox and Angels picked to do this Wednesday isn’t one I’d suggest … except you’ve gotten numerous ice packs loaded up and prepared for motion.

The final three runs in White Sox vs Angels have all scored due to hit-by-pitches pic.twitter.com/kvt2woFVY1

— Skubal’s Burner (@SkubalsChangeup) May 6, 2026

They mixed for three bases-loaded hit-by-pitches in the identical sport, all proper. And you don’t see that a lot — by which we imply ever.

Reliable HBP information goes again 70 years. Want to guess what number of video games, in all that point, have produced three run-scoring hit-batter debacles? Zero remains to be the most effective guess of the day. (Hat tip: Elias Sports Bureau and the good Sarah Langs of MLB)

But wait. We have extra bases-loaded HBP fodder on your enjoyment.

Over the final two seasons … there hasn’t been a single sport with two run-scoring HBPs — and these groups managed to mix for 3 of them.

Osvaldo Bido of the White Sox is in his fourth season within the massive leagues. He’d by no means drilled a single batter with the bases loaded. Naturally, he nailed two in a row on this sport.

Drew Pomeranz of the Angels is in his thirteenth season within the massive leagues. He, too, had by no means plunked even one hitter with the bases jammed in all that point. But who capped off the HBP trifecta on this sport? You guessed it!

And the White Sox went via the whole 2025 season and hit only one batter with the bases loaded. Then, on this sport, Bido drilled two of them on back-to-back pitches.

Baseballs … are exhausting!

GOOD INTENTIONS — Guardians phenom Travis Bazzana was the primary participant taken within the 2024 beginner draft. That’s not the one trace that he’s going to be a playuh. There was additionally this:

In the ninth inning of Bazzana’s very first sport within the massive leagues, Rays manager Kevin Cash deliberately walked him. Does that appear Strange But True sufficient to get him into this column?

I requested Katie Sharp what number of different No. 1 total picks have gotten the intentional-BB respect therapy within the first big-league sport they ever performed. Excellent query.

Chipper Jones? No! Ken Griffey Jr.? Sorry! Bryce Harper? Fraid not! Joe Mauer? A-Rod? Darryl Strawberry? You can guess all day. Only one No. 1 has ever had that occur. His title is …

Travis Bazzana.

DOUBLE TROUBLE — The honorable Munetaka Murakami hit a double Monday. We can show it.

The first 14 extra-base hits of Munetaka Murakami’s profession have been dwelling runs. He snapped that streak by recording his first profession double tonight.

[image or embed]

— Brent Maguire (@bmags94.bsky.social) May 4, 2026 at 11:06 PM

So what’s so Strange But True about that? Oh, solely the half the place he’d already hit 14 dwelling runs this season, however no doubles or triples. And sure, that might be a file, for the start of anyone’s profession, as a result of how on earth may it not be?

That places Murakami on tempo for this completely hilarious season:

62 homers
4 doubles
0 triples
241 strikeouts
123 walks

So that’s 426 journeys to the plate wherein the ball would by no means even land on the sphere. But we’ll revisit that half down the street. The 62-homer, four-double half? Now that’s Strange But True materials.

This is the place we roll out the three gamers in historical past with the fewest doubles in a season with a minimum of 40 dwelling runs (not to mention 60). You’ve heard of them.

Harmon Killebrew, 1964 — 49 HR, 11 doubles
Henry Aaron in 1973 — 40 HR, 12 doubles
Babe Ruth in 1932 — 41 HR, 13 doubles

Munetaka Murakami. He is probably not the subsequent Killebrew, Aaron or Bambino. But he is perhaps a minimum of the subsequent Adam Dunn. And we’re all in on that.

THE NEW COMEBACK KINGS — Let’s play two is not what you name each trendy participant’s favourite motto. But final Thursday, the Phillies performed a doubleheader anyway. And because the Giants may now testify … a lot for that coma Philadelphia spent the primary month snoozing via.

They trailed within the ninth inning of Game 1 — and roared from behind to stroll it off in that sport.

They trailed within the ninth inning of Game 2 — and additionally wound up strolling it off in that sport.

So was that Strange But True sufficient for you? Let’s discover out. I ran a bunch of questions previous Katie Sharp. Here’s what she reported.

Only three groups within the final 38 seasons have trailed within the ninth inning of each video games of a doubleheader — and nonetheless willed their option to walk-off wins in each video games. Two of these groups are referred to as the Phillies. They additionally did that on July 24, 1998. (The solely different workforce on that listing: Jason Kendall’s 2004 Pirates.)

How about these three at-bats, again to again to again — Also that day, the Phillies had a three-batter span that went this fashion:

Walk-off hit by Justin Crawford to finish Game 1 … leadoff homer by Trea Turner to start Game 2 … then one other homer by Kyle Schwarber 4 pitches later.

That appeared to me like a Strange But True factor — presumably as a result of … it had by no means occurred in every other doubleheader within the Baseball Reference/Retrosheet database, which matches again greater than a century.

Two spoonsful of Shugart — Then there was Phillies reliever Chase Shugart, who pitched in two video games that day and merely grew to become … the primary pitcher to get a win, by way of walk-off, in each video games of a doubleheader since Jesse Orosco did that for the Mets, at sun-baked Shea Stadium, on July 31, 1983. (Hat tip: Ryan Spaeder.)

But additionally … Shugart grew to become the primary pitcher in 50 years to win two video games like that, despite the fact that his workforce was trailing within the ninth in each video games. The different: John Hiller, for the Tigers on June 1, 1976.

Oh, and yet one more factor — How about that Crawford household!

April 8, 2014 – Carl Crawford will get walkoff hit for the Dodgers. His manager: Don Mattingly

April 30, 2026 – Justin Crawford will get walkoff hit for the Phillies. His manager: Don Mattingly

Baseball! pic.twitter.com/bWc1NDLB0r

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) April 30, 2026

VIVA LA FRANCE — Has France ever been larger in Mexico?

No, that’s not a query for the United Nations. That’s a query the Weird and Wild column was virtually invented to reply, all because of this.

Two dwelling runs, by a man named France (Ty), in Mexico? You don’t know how a lot that upended my theoretically regular life.

France launched these two lengthy balls April 25, when the Padres journeyed to Mexico City to play a couple of video games in opposition to Arizona. So in fact I acquired out my (digital) atlas and launched into the standard crazed analysis. The query of the day was easy:

Has every other participant, whose final title was additionally the title of a nation, ever hit a dwelling run in a nation that wasn’t the United States or Canada? Yeah, I appeared … at Mark Portugal … and Esteban German … and Jonathan India … and all the standard suspects. I even allowed Todd Hollandsworth (who as soon as scored a run in Puerto Rico) a particular cross.

But after I was completed, it was official. The champion of the world is … Ty France. His world domination is unmatched by any of these different nationwide heroes. And you may inform your pals the Weird and Wild column appeared it up.

COME WHAT MAY — Finally, you may have your Cinco de Mayo. You can have fun the heck out of May Day from daybreak to midnight. Go proper forward. We gained’t cease you. But you’ll by no means beat this.

Cardinals Pitcher Dustin May pitching on May third led to this tremendous uncommon title, jersey, and date combo. pic.twitter.com/J9REKaEfbL

— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) May 3, 2026

Dustin May wears No. 3 for the Cardinals. And who pitched for these Cardinals final Sunday, on May 3? Yup. That man.

It was the Strangest But Truest calendar photograph op in baseball historical past. And yeah, I do know as a result of I spent means an excessive amount of time wanting this up too.

Wouldn’t you assume that simply as soon as, another pitcher named May would have pitched on a day that matched his uniform quantity? Ha. If you’re a regular particular person, you wouldn’t assume that in any respect.

But for those who have been a one that wrote a column referred to as Weird and Wild, that’s all you’d have considered. So did I test each pitcher named May I may discover within the annals of Baseball Reference? Um, I might need.

I can definitively inform you who by no means did what Dustin May simply did. That could be pitchers named Trevor May … and Rudy May … and Scott May … and Darrell May … and additionally Jakie May. All the opposite pitchers named May, greatest I may inform, pitched in a time earlier than gamers even wore numbers.

So that left just one May who has ever pitched on the identical day because the again of his uniform … yep, Dustin.

Which additionally meant it’s the primary time ever for any title, month or quantity, as a result of if there has ever been a pitcher who wore APRIL, MAY, JULY, AUGUST or SEPTEMBER on the again of his jerseys, he slipped previous my means too industrious analysis.

So right here’s a tip of the cap to Dustin May. Now he can inform his grandkids how the celebs, the planets, the calendar and whoever assigns numbers in St. Louis all lined up — to permit him to do one thing by no means earlier than achieved in …

Baseball!

Trivia Answer

Kirk Gibson, Joe Torre, Frank Robinson, Don Baylor