Baseball Trivia - Flashes in the Pan, And Big Bats in the Small-Time

You may have heard in the past about playersthree times, and Mark McGwire has done it twice
who had great one-game careers, great seasons,in the big leagues, but the only player to turn the
great moments even, but has anyone intrick twice in the minors is Joe Hauser, a first
professional baseball ever had a greater INNINGbaseman for the Philadelphia Athletics of the
than Gene Rye? The diminutive outfielder of the1920's who ended his career in the bushes. In
1930 Waco club in the Texas League1930 he smacked 63 home runs for the
accomplished something no other player has,International League's Baltimore Orioles, then
before or since, by blasting out three home runscame back in 1933 to blast 69 for the Minneapolis
in one inning! Rye later went on to play for theMillers of the American Association.
Boston Red Sox, and went homerless in hisMcGwire beat that total by one four-bagger in
17-game big league career1998, but at the time he still had to settle for
Perhaps no one will beat the one-game pitchingsecond place on the all-time list in Organized
record of Ron Necciai, who in his regular turn forBaseball (until Barry Bonds' 73 of course). Local
Bristol of the Appalachian League on May 13, 1952fans must have thought they were seeing UFO's
actually threw a no-hitter where he struck out 27in 1954 when Joe Bauman, playing for Roswell
batters, an all-time record! Just to prove that was(N.M.) in the Class C Longhorn League, pumped
no fluke, Necciai turned around and fanned 24out 72 round-trippers, a mark which held up until
batters in his next start! Necciai was promoted toBonds' onslaught in 2001. You would think a feat
the Pittsburgh Pirates later that season, but onlylike that would have produced a swift ticket to
managed to compile a 1-6 record and 7.04 ERA.the majors, but in reality, Bauman never played
Sammy Sosa has topped the 60-homer markan inning of big league ball!