Eddie Robinson, 1955 New York Yankees

If I had to describe journeyman slugger Eddie Robinson to someone, I'd say he's like Wally Gerber, but with power. Then I'd explain Gerber. For some reason it just seems easier that way. A multiple-time MVP candidate and All Star, Robinson played first base for 13 seasons with a variety of teams, most notably the the Indians and White Sox. So how is this Paris, Texas native, who reached 20 home runs four times and 100 runs batted in thrice, similar to Gerber? Well, he's not. Robinson's 1955 season, however, showed a truly Gerber-like antipathy for total bases, as Eddie became the only player to ever hit 15 or more home runs (he had 16) while collecting 90 or fewer total bases (finishing with 85). That is one tricky feat. Robinson plugged 16 home runs in 215 plate appearances, but was otherwise Alex Cole without the speed, gaining just one (one!!!) extra base hit that wasn't a homer. In turn, Robinson finished with a .208/.358/.491 slash line that, if a few of those home runs died on the warning track, could have looked really, really ugly.

Record:
15+ home runs, 90- total bases

Wally Gerber, 1926 St. Louis Browns

Wally Gerber's success in Major League baseball is a mystery to me. In 1923, Gerber came fourth in AL MVP voting after having racked up 1 home run, 62 ribbies, and a .281/.342/.339 slash line. For some reason, that put him just behind Babe Ruth, Eddie Collins, and Harry Heilmann in voting, and ahead of Cleveland's Joe Sewell (109 RBI, .935 OPS) and teammate Ken Williams (29 HR, 1.062 OPS), who finished 15th. Three years after his first flirtation with the MVP, Gerber came 23rd in MVP voting in what many sensible people would call a truly awful season. It may be that I'm missing something in retrospect, but usually I don't think of a shortstop from a 62-92 team, who has 8 double, 37 runs scored, and 0 stolen bases as MVP material. The icing on the cake was that Gerber became the only player in history to collect 110+ hits (111) and fewer than 120 total bases (119). How hard is that? Well, it required Gerber to get all of 8 extra-base hits in 473 plate appearances. In what may be history's least amazing twist of fate, perennial MVP candidate Gerber was out of baseball by 1930.

Record:
110+ hits, 120- total bases