Despite starting only 10 games so far this month, Aaron Rowand (PHI NL) has already had one of the most interesting months in hitting history.

Just check out these batting lines:

July 6: 3-for-4, 3 doubles
July 14: 4-for-4, 3 doubles, home run
July 17: 5-for-6, 3 doubles, home run

That gives him three separate 3-double games this month.  Rowand joins Mike Lowell (2006) as the only guys since 1957 to have three 3-double games in an entire season, but note that all of Rowand’s games have been in a 12-day stretch!  Lowell's games were:

Apr 11, May 5, Jul 11, 2006

This gives Rowand four career 3-double games; the only active players with that many are:

6-Mike Lowell
5-Miguel Tejada
4-Ray Durham
4-Marcus Giles
4-Eric Hinske


Also, with three doubles and a homer on both July 14 and July 17, Rowand has two games with 4 extra-base hits (XBH) this season.  Only a handful of other players have ever matched this (including Adrian Beltre, who added his name to this list just 13 days ago) :

MULTIPLE 4-XBH GAMES IN A SEASON:
2-Henry Larkin, PHI AA, June 16, July 29, 1885
2-George Burns, CLE AL, June 19(1), July 23, 1924
2-Jimmie Foxx, PHI AL, Apr 24, July 2(2), 1933
2-Joe Medwick, STL NL, May 12, Aug 4, 1937
2-Billy Williams, CHI NL, Apr 9, Sep 5, 1969
2-Paul O’Neill, CIN NL, May 11, Sep 13, 1991
2-Rafael Palmeiro, TEX AL, July 15, Sep 6, 1993
2-Albert Belle, BAL AL, Aug 29, Sep 23(2), 1999
2-Shannon Stewart, TOR AL, Jun 9, Jul 18, 2000
2-Jim Edmonds, STL NL, Apr 4, Jun 28, 2003
2-Alfonso Soriano, WAS NL, Apr 21, Jul 22, 2006
2-Adrian Beltre, SEA AL, May 28, Jul 6, 2007
2-Aaron Rowand, PHI NL, Jul 14, Jul 17, 2007

As you can see, Rowand is the only player in MLB history have two separate games with 4XBH in a single month.

Rowand’s also got 11 doubles already this month.  I can’t say for certain, but I believe the Phillies record is 18 doubles in a month–by Hall of Famer Chuck Klein in July 1930.


A Century of Cobb
Ty Cobb's Batting Line from 100 years ago:
July 19, 1907: at home vs. PHI; 0-for-3 with a sac. bunt; oppposing starter: Dygert