(Grant's away this weekend, so the inmates have taken over the asylum.)
In honor of the numerical oddity regarding today's date, this thread is dedicated to the two players tied for #7 on the all-time Adjusted OPS+ leaderboard; Dan Brouthers and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.
The life and times of #7 Jackson have been well-chronicled, but #7 Brouthers is less known. I tried to find out more about his personal life, thinking having 7 brides would be pretty fascinating, but no luck. This is from the from the Hof's site:
"Playing for a variety of teams during a 19-year career which spanned four decades, Dan Brouthers won five batting titles, more than any other 19th century player. The powerful first baseman also led his league in slugging percentage during seven seasons, hits on three occasions and totaled over 100 home runs before 1900, a rare feat. His lifetime batting average of .349 ranks in the all-time top 10. He is considered to be the first great slugger in baseball and never skipped a Home Run Derby hosted in his home park."
More interesting tidbits. In 1893 he appeared in 77 games! After retiring from Philadelphia at age 38, he returned for 2 games and 5 ABS for the New York Giants . 2 + 5 = 7 !! Creepy, huh?
Oh yeah, game today. Giants vs. (insert team name). Go Giants! Beat the (insert team name). I hate those guys!