A while back, Ben Lindbergh wrote about players who share a name with Hall of Famers. In the comments there was a discussion of similarly named contemporary players such as the slick-fielding, lousy hitting shortstops known as Alex Gonzalez and the mediocre pitchers called Bobby Jones.
The latter played together for the New York Mets in 2000 and the San Diego Padres in 2002. Bobby M. Jones was a left-hander from New Jersey born in 1972, while Bobby J. Jones was a right-hander from Fresno born in 1970. Both appeared in the same game, for the same team, on four separate occasions. Here are their aggregate lines from each:
|
Date |
Team |
Opponent |
K |
||||||
|
9/6/00 |
Mets |
at Reds |
6.0 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
|
9/17/00 |
Mets |
at Expos |
7.0 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
|
9/28/00 |
Mets |
Braves |
9.0 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
|
8/6/02 |
Padres |
Phillies |
4.0 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
Their teams went 1-3 in these games, with Bobby J. going 1-2 and Bobby M. receiving no decisions. Bobby J. surrendered all five home runs. Here's the full breakdown:
|
Player |
K |
W-L |
|||||||
|
Bobby J. |
16.0 |
21 |
13 |
12 |
5 |
4 |
9 |
1-2 |
6.75 |
|
Bobby M. |
10.0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
6 |
0-0 |
0.00 |
Bobby M.'s career ERA in non-Bobby J. games was 5.95. One wonders what Bobby M. might have accomplished had he gotten to pitch with Bobby J. more often.
Bobby M. immediately followed Bobby J. in each of the Mets games, while the reverse was true in the Padres game. This proves that Bobby Valentine and Bruce Bochy had a sense of humor. Or they forgot which guy was which.
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