Nice game Chone, nice game...

Watching the battle between the LA Angels and the Boston Red Sox today. Chone Figgins, who is playing CF and is in my fantasy pool, did well in the 11-inning game that just ended with a 7-6 Red Sox win.

First offensively: a hit and two walks in 3 official at-bats, with two stolen bases in a single inning. (He stole 2nd, and then was involved in a double steal where he moved to 3rd). He sacrifice bunted later in the game.

Defensively he was Man on Fire: 11 times Red Sox batters flied out to Figgins at center, in just 6 innings. Sadly, he was unable to get a couple more in the subsequent 5: the Major League record for outfielder putouts in a single game is 12. I couldn't find who set it, but Ruppert Jones did it in CF for the Mariners on May 16, 1978; fellow Angel Darin Erstad acheived it July 24, 2000 but in exra innings; Ricky Henderson in LF took extra innings to do it on 9/11/88; Tom McBride did it on July 2, 1948 but also needed extra innings; Lyman Bostock only needed 9 innings at CF to tie the 12 on May 25, 1977; Lloyd Merriman tied the 12 on September 7, 1951 playing for Cincinatti. You might find reference to Cubs outfielder Phil Cavarretta getting 12 putouts in a game September 25, 1934: however, what you won't find is that he was playing 1B at the time: NYY Roy Weatherly set the MLB outfielder putout record at 10 in 1943. The first outfielder of the 20th century to reach 12 putouts in a game was Earl Clark for the Boston Braves on May 10, 1929. Apparently one 19th century OF (in the AL, obviously) also reached this mark. A google search of Baseball Library fails to produce a name (though Lou Bierbauer at 2B got 12 putouts in a single game in 1888).

Bonus quip: In the first inning as Chone Figgins rounds second on a hit to deep left by Maicer Izturis, the playing conditions at Fenway actually required Angels 3rd base coach Dino Ebel (pronounced "Eee-Bill") to step briefly into fair territory to judge what to do with Figgins. The call was to hold up at third: Fenway is awfully unforgiving of players who try to score a run from 2B on a hit to left field (just ask Mike Napoli who may have cost the Angels a win when he tried to make it from second to home on a hit to LF, and was putout by a cannon throw by Manny Ramirez in the 11th inning with 1 out). Ebel had to step back out of bounds to get Figgins' attention, causing Figgins to almost run him over. FOX Sports announcers (Joe Buck and Tim McCarver I assume, I never can catch announcer's names) immediately declare "see no Ebel, hear no Ebel". Funny stuff.