It’s that time again for what I like to call Wild and Crazy Sports Stats. They are just crazy, interesting , things that make you go hmmmm, and yet put a smile on your face all at once.
First up is Ron Washington. Ron became only the third manager in MLB history to be ejected on his birthday. He had just turned 60. The other two you may ask? Bobby Cox on his 62nd, and Felipe Alou on his 61st.

Box-score line of the week — A.J. Burnett, Wednesday versus the Cardinals: 2 2/3 IP, 12 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, 72 pitches to get 8 outs. So what’s up with that? (A) According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he’s the first starting pitcher since the invention of earned runs to give up 12 earned runs in under three innings; (B) he’s the first Pirates pitcher to give up 12 earned runs in 70 years (since Glenn Spencer on April 24, 1932; and C) that made Wednesday the first day in the live-ball era in which one pitcher (Jered Weaver) threw a no-hitter while another pitcher gave up 12 runs.

When Jon Rauch, all 6-feet-11 of him, faced Jose Altuve, all 5-feet-5 of him, on Tuesday, it wasn’t just the biggest height discrepancy in baseball since Tim Kurkjian interviewed Randy Johnson. It was the biggest ever. All we have to go on is listed heights, which can get a little shaky. But loyal reader/researcher Trent McCotter reports that, if we trust all the reported heights in Lee Sinins’ Complete Baseball Encyclopedia, it was the first time any hitter in history (non-Eddie Gaedel division) faced a pitcher who was 18 inches taller than he was.