Strange but true: baseball stories, facts, and figures.

ONLY TWO PENNANT-WINNING TEAMS since 1900 in the American or National League led their league in errors and one even won the World Series that season despite the shoddy defense.

The 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates committed 224 errors but still beat out the New York Giants by eight and one-half games for the pennant. In the World Series, the Bucs defeated Hall of Famer Walter Johnson and the Washington Senators, four games to three, and committed two less errors than the American League champions.

In 1965, the Minnesota Twins, who had finished seventh the season before, committed 172 errors but beat out the Chicago White Sox by seven games. In the World Series that year, the Twins committed only five errors but lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had six miscues.

Counting the Federal League, three champions led in errors. Indianapolis led the league in 1914 with a whopping 289 miscues but edged Chicago by one and one-half games.

All three championship teams made up for their poor defense by leading their league in both runs scored and batting average.

When the Philadelphia Phillies won their first National League pennant in 1915, they used only 23 players. That same season, the Philadelphia A's, the defending American League champions, employed 58 players, finishing last with only 43 victories.

One of the most unusual victories by a pitcher happened on July 27, 1930, at Cincinnati. Right-handed rookie Ken Ash, a 28-year-old hurler from West Virginia relieved and made only one pitch.