Weird Facts About Baseball: Strange, Wacky & Hilarious Stories

Baseball…it is a game of statistics, but it is also a game of errors, bloopers and crazy moments. Weird Facts about Baseball is a collection of the most ridiculous, funny, and wacky moments that have happened in the history of the game: • In one of the craziest trades in baseball, Cy Young, one of the greatest pitchers of all time, was actually traded for a suit• The great Babe Ruth's big mistake—with two outs in the ninth inning of the seventh game of the World Series, he tried to steal a base against veteran pitcher Peter Alexander• The record for the most home runs in a season goes to the 1997 Seattle Mariners with 264—Ken Griffey Jr. (56), Alex Rodriguez (23), Jay Buhner (40) and Paul Sorrento (31)• In the 1970s, the average salary of a pro ball player was $25,000, and in 2008, it was in the neighborhood of $3.1 million• Ball players are a superstitious lot—Craig Biggio never washed his helmet during the season; Wade Boggs ate chicken before every game; and Vic Davalillo would pet baby chicks before each game• The 1926 New York Giants hold the record for the longest consecutive winning streak with 26 games in which they beat every National League team.Plus a bundle more stories from the lighter side of the game.

J. ALEXANDER POULTON is a writer, photographer and genuine sports enthusiast. He's even willing to admit he has ''called in sick'' during the broadcasts of major sports events so that he can get in as much viewing as possible. He has earned his BA in English literature and his graduate diploma in journalism.