Most Career PA, Zero Triples

Admittedly I don't watch him all that often, but Ryan Howard doesn't seem like a very fast ballplayer to me. Call it an assumption about large first basemen. Howard hit a triple in tonight's NLCS game and I figured it had to be one of only a few in his career. It turns out it was his first in postseason play, but twelfth overall in his major league career. Not only that, but he stole eight bases this year. You learn something new every day, I suppose.

It seems as though if a player plays long enough, he'll wind up hitting a triple. Cecil Fielder had six triples by the time he swiped his first base, over 1000 games into his career. Javier Valentin may never have attempted to steal a base but he legged out five triples in his career. Bill Schroeder, a run-of-the-mill 1980s catcher, brags about how his only career triple, also his first major league hit, must have screwed up scouting reports on him for a while.

But not every player is lucky enough to accomplish the career cycle. The following players just couldn't hit it far enough away from the defense to run 270 feet.

Most Career PA, Zero Triples
(position players)

1. Johnny Estrada, 2244
   
2. Jason Phillips, 1537
3. Mark Parent, 1428
4. Craig Worthington, 1423
5. Ramon Castro, 1400*
6. Sal Fasano, 1245*
7. Earl Averill, 1217
8. Aaron Guiel, 1099
9. Kelly Shoppach, 1043*
10. Doc Edwards, 973
11. Jim Traber, 897
12. Geronimo Gil, 887
13. Chris Coste, 885*
14. Jeff Mathis, 861*
15. Troy Neel, 861
16. Bob Uecker, 843
17. Brian Giles, 791
18. Hawk Taylor, 766
19. Bob Burda, 723
20. Scott Hemond, 687

* - active player (majors or minors in 2009)

Worthington (3B), Guiel (RF), Traber (1B), Neel (1B), Giles (2B), and Burda (1B) are the non-catchers on the above list. Giles, not related to the current Padre, actually stole seventeen bases one season. Of course, he was caught ten times that year. The active non-catcher leader is Scott Thorman, with 440. Thorman spent 2009 in AAA with Kansas City and Texas. Among players who appeared in the majors in 2009, Paul Janish is the active leader with 381. Robert Andino is seven behind Janish.

Most Career PA, Zero Triples
(pitchers)

1. Gaylord Perry, 1220
2. Whitey Ford, 1208
3. Tommy John, 1030
4. Lefty Gomez, 1024
5. Bob Buhl, 952
6. Burt Hooten, 913
7. Curt Davis, 904
8. Andy Benes, 880
9. Larry Dierker, 876
10. Sandy Koufax, 858
11. Dave McNally, 848
12. Rick Rhoden, 830
13. Andy Messersmith, 826
14. Mike Krukow, 819
15. Dick Donovan, 801
16. Darryl Kile, 786
17. Ken Raffensberger, 779
18. Dean Chance, 759
19. Pat Malone, 752
20. Mike Scott, 743

No active players are in the top twenty. The active leader is Jason Schmidt with 712. Randy Johnson is at 691 and Roy Oswalt is third with 670. One notable in the above list: Bob Buhl's 0 for 70 in 1962 is a record for hitting futility.