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Although former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald was hired as the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, the organization will have to figure out which key free agents they need to prioritize. The Ravens had one of the top defensive units in the NFL as they were a huge reason why they were one victory away from a Super Bowl berth. The Ravens defense held opposing quarterbacks to the 5th lowest completion percentage, were tied for 1st in yards per attempt by opposing quarterbacks and ranked 2nd in the NFL in touchdown passes allowed. What was most impressive about the Ravens vaunted defense was that they allowed the fewest points per game at 16.5 and they also led the NFL in sacks with 60 total. With Macdonald taking the Seahawks job, there exists a strong possibility that some of the Ravens free agents could follow him to Seattle. But there also exists the possibility that some of these players will remain in Baltimore as inside linebackers coach Zach Orr was promoted as the Ravens new defensive coordinator. Since the hiring was done in house, there isn’t expected to be much change to the defensive scheme and Orr’s familiarity with the players strengths should help keep at least some of them in a Ravens jersey. As we approach the NFL’s free agency period in the coming weeks, let’s take a look at some of the players the Ravens should bring back.

Patrick Queen

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta must do everything in his power to keep the duo of Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith together. This was one of the best linebacker pairings in the league and both played huge roles as leaders. Smith led the team in total tackles with 158 and Queen was second on the team with 133. As the saying goes, iron sharpens iron and these 2 dynamic linebackers just made each other better. Queen brings an element of speed from his linebacker position and he also packs a punch for the Ravens pass rush. Being able to provide a frequent pass rush from the 2nd level of the defense is what made the Ravens unique and Queen was a major reason why. He has always shown flashes of potential since arriving in Baltimore but he played at another level last season as he developed consistency. His sideline to sideline pursuit of ball carriers was on an elite level and it appeared that Queen had a 6th sense about where a play was going. Signing Queen long term would solidify their linebacker corps for the next couple of seasons.

Justin Madubuike

It’s been one heck of a breakout season for Justin Madubuike. He led all NFL defensive linemen with 13 sacks, made his 1st Pro Bowl and was named to the NFL’s All-Pro 2nd Team. Madibuke also made history as he tied the NFL record with at least a half sack in 11 consecutive games. The interior pass rush is so important  in the NFL as it gives defenses schematical advantages if they can constantly bring pressure from the inside. Madibuke has drawn comparisons to future Hall of famer Aaron Donald and the Ravens have to prioritize getting him signed long term as he should be considered a foundational piece on the Ravens interior defensive line because pass rushing defensive tackles who can collapse the pocket are often difficult to find. He has been a menace for opposing offensive linemen and doesn’t mind doing the dirty work. Madibuke is fast, strong and plays with violent intentions and embodies what it means to be a Raven. He is so strong that he tosses offensive linemen like toys and if he adds more pass rush moves to his arsenal, he will be even more effective. Madibuke has a high motor and never gives up on plays. Explosiveness is a huge part of his game and that combined with added push moves could lead to another terrific season but hopefully it will be as a member of the Ravens.

Geno Stone

If any player on the Ravens defense earned and deserves a new contract it’s free safety Geno Stone. When the Ravens drafted Stone in the 7th round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the knock on him coming out of the University of Iowa was that he lacked ideal height for the position and that he also lacked top end speed. His positives was his high football IQ, being a strong downhill tackler and having a nose for the football. Stone is the perfect example of a player taking full advantage of an opportunity. He didn’t become a starter until Week 6 in his 3rd season when fellow teammate Marcus Williams went on injured reserve and hasn’t looked back since. Stone finished with 7 interceptions which was good for 2nd in the NFL. The main thing that makes this Ravens defense special are that their defensive back ups  at every position are used to playing as they have developed a true “next man up” mentality. They are not players who sit at the end of the bench and never expect to play. Stone benefitted from this as he just continued to develop and improve. A lot of defensive backs have instincts but can’t catch. Stone can do both as he seems to be a magnet to the football always being in the right position to make the big play. He understands that the Ravens can get to the quarterback quickly and keep him under duress and Stone realized that equals interception opportunities and just capitalized on what was an outstanding season. Stone is also adept at coming downhill and helping out with stopping the rushing attack. He is nimble for a safety but can be just as violent as a linebacker. He may be the odd man out since the Ravens already have a starter with Williams. Other teams may pursue Stone with lucrative deals that could lure him away. But there still exists a glimmer of hope that Stone could return depending on the volatility of the market. If all else fails, Stone could return to the Ravens on a one year, team friendly deal as a backup safety or nickel back role.

Jadeveon Clowney

Jadeveon Clowney has always been known as a force and opposing coaches are forced to diversify their game plan just to keep him under wraps. That’s the kind of effect Clowney has and the Ravens must decide whether bringing him back for another season is a priority or will they decide to go in another direction? Clowney normally doesn’t get a lot of sacks but this past season he tied his career high sack total with 9 and a half. Even though he is constantly double teamed, he can still get pressure on the quarterback and running backs have no chance if the play is run on the side of the field he is occupying. With the amount of talented players playing alongside Clowney in Baltimore, it only makes him better because opposing teams have to account for the other talent surrounding him and can’t just focus on solely stopping him. Playing on a team friendly, one year $2.5 million contract, it’s a real possibility Clowney returns for another run with this defense. By Clowney not trying to break the bank by commanding an absurd amount of money, it helps the Ravens front office by allowing them to focus on other key free agents.

48 years ago in Chicago, the Pittsburgh Pirates had an afternoon game against the Chicago Cubs. It was a record setting day in several ways. What stood out about that game was not just the lopsided final score that resulted in a Pittsburgh victory as they scored 22 runs and shut out the Cubs.

Moreso however was the play of Rennie Stennett. On that day, the Pirates second baseman came to the plate that afternoon seven times and with each at-bat he stroked a hit. Seven at-bats and seven hits. He became the only player since 1900 to achieve seven hits in a nine-inning game. One curious fact about the game is that the Cubs sent Rick Reuschel to the mound as a pitcher and later in the game his brother Paul pitched in relief and Stennett had a hit against both.

The final 22-0 score was the largest margin in a shutout in Major League history dating back to 1900. Prior to 1900 the Baltimore Orioles Wilbert Robinson duplicated the feat of seven hits in a single game and while there was one other player with seven hits, Stennett remains the only player to do it in a nine-inning game.

Of Stennett’s seven hits, two were doubles and he added a triple. His batting average after the close of this game was .287. In addition to the seven hits, Stennett has 11 total bases and scored five times as well as knocking in two runs. On the field he added four putouts. But Stennett was not the only Pirate with a big day. Star right fielder Dave Parker had a career day at the plate as well.

“The Cobra” as Parker was known had four at-bats and banged out just two hits, but they resulted in five RBIs, and he scored three times. Parker, like Stennett, also came to the plate seven times, one of which resulted in him being walked. Parker was hit by a pitch on one plate appearance and scoring a sacrifice hit on another. One of Parker’s hits was a home run. Incredibly, there were just two home runs in the game, Parker’s blast and one by Richie Hebner.

Hall of famer Willie Stargell contributed to the massacre with three hits in four at-bats with two runs scored and three RBIs. Aside from Hebner’s home run, he added two more hits and knocked in three runs, also scoring thrice. As a team, the Pirates hit Chicago pitchers around for 24 hits while scoring those 22 runs and their team batting average for the game was an incredible .453. Cubs’ pitchers walked six Pirates batters while striking out only five.

Light hitting shortstop Frank Taveras managed to have three hits in six at-bats all while carrying an average that rose to just .213 following this blowout. Every other starter had at least one hit as Al Oliver and Bob Robertson were the only starters with just one hit not counting starting pitcher John Candelaria. The Pirates in the end left 12 men on base.

For Chicago, their only three hits came off the bats of Jose Cardenal, Andre Thornton, and Dave Rosello. All three hits were singles. As for Cubby pitchers they had a disastrous day. Starter Rick Reuschel who took the loss to drop his season record to 10-16 lasted just 1/3 of an inning in the first as the visiting Buccos scored nine times in the opening frame. Unable to get anyone out, Reuschel surrendered six hits and gave up eight earned runs as well as walking two batters.

Relieving Reuschel was Tom Dettore who lasted 3 2/3 innings but gave up seven hits and another eight runs, seven of them earned. One of the hits he gave up was a round tripper and he walked two. After Dettore came Oscar Zamora, who pitched for just one inning and gave up two more runs. There would be two more Chicago pitchers making an appearance and they were Buddy Schultz as the Pirates hit him hard with six hits and four runs, two of them earned. Finally, there was the starting pitcher’s brother Paul Reuschel who pitched the final two innings and unlike the pitchers before him, did not surrender any runs.

In breaking down the inning-by-inning scoring, Pittsburgh scored nine in the first, two in the third, another in the fourth, six in the fifth, and two in each of the sixth and seventh innings. Perhaps Chicago Cubs fans had a premonition of what was going to take place because there were only 4,932 fans in attendance where for most games the crowds are much bigger.

The game took two hours and 35 minutes to complete and with the victory Pittsburgh improved to a season record of 86-64 and found themselves six games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League’s East Division. This was the same division the Cubs were in and Chicago on this day remained in fifth place in the East with a record of 72-80 15 games behind Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh’s 22-0 victory may have been the largest margin of victory in baseball history when it resulted in a shutout, but it pales in comparison to what the Texas Rangers accomplished in 2007 when they defeated the Baltimore Orioles 30-3. That sounds like a football score! Here are some other notable blowouts:

• June 4, 1911. The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Boston Rustlers 26-3. For Cincinnati they set a record by having all 13 players who stepped to the plate to score at least once. No team has ever accomplished the feat in a single game since.
• May 24, 1936. New York Yankees 25 Philadelphia A’s 2. I guess you could say Philadelphia scored a safety. That is if this was football. While hall of famers Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, and Joe DiMaggio were not the big hitters in this game, it was Tony Lazzeri who smacked four hits in five at-bats that included three home runs and an incredible 11 RBIs.
• August 12, 1948. Cleveland Indians 26 St. Louis Browns 3. The common theme here continues that the losing team hardly scored while getting their butts whooped.
• April 23, 1955. Chicago White Sox 29 Kansas City Athletics 6. After just two innings the score here was already 11-3 in favor of Chicago.
• July 7, 1923. Cleveland Indians 27 Boston Red Sox 3. The second appearance on this list by the Indians and the city of Boston again. With Cleveland ahead 8-0 the Indians brought in Lefty O’Doul as a relief pitcher who proceeded to surrender 16 runs in just three innings.
• June 8, 1950. Boston Red Sox 29 St. Louis Browns 4. The Red Sox finally made it to the winning side of a blowout and this one preceded the Pirates 22-0 victory over Chicago as the most lopsided score in a Major League Baseball game.
• June 24, 2023. Los Angeles Angels 25 Colorado Rockies 1. Team records for the Angels were set on this night putting into their record books the most runs scored in a single game as well as most hits ever with 28. They also set the team mark for largest margin of victory and single game record for runs scored and home runs in one game. On the flip side, the 13-run third inning by the Angels was the most runs given up in one inning in history by the Colorado Rockies, a dubious team record.

All other blowouts in professional baseball took place pre-1900 and the results were:

• 5/13/1876: Hartford Dark Blues 28 New York Mutuals 3
• 5/27/1876: New York Gothams 24 Buffalo Bisons 0
• 7/24/1882: Chicago White Stockings 35 Cleveland Blues 4
• 6/20/1883: Boston Beaneaters 29 Philadelphia Quakers 4
• 7/3/1883: Chicago White Stockings 31 Buffalo Bisons 7
• 7/6/1883: Cincinnati Red Stockings 23 Baltimore Orioles 0
• 8/21/1883: Providence Grays 28 Philadelphia Quakers 0
• 6/24/1886: Brooklyn Grays 25 Baltimore Orioles 1
• 6/11/1887: New York Giants 26 Washington Nationals 2
• 6/15/1887: New York Giants 29 Philadelphia Quakers 1
• 6/28/1887: Philadelphia Quakers 24 Indianapolis Hoosiers
• 8/25/1891: Chicago Colts 28 Brooklyn Grooms 5
• 9/10/1891: Milwaukee Brewers 30 Washington Senators 3
• 8/1/1893: Pittsburgh Pirates 25 St. Louis Browns 2
• 8/17/1894: Philadelphia Phillies 29 Louisville Colonels 4
• 6/29/1897: Chicago Colts 36 Louisville Colonels 7

Harv Aronson

Harv currently writes for Abstract Sports, the Sports History Network, and the magazine Gridiron Greats. Harv wrote the published book “Pro Football’s Most Passionate Fans” and as a professional writer has had articles published in an array of sports publications.