By Jason Beck
SportsLine Staff Writer

What a Bash

It's early to suggest that Jose Canseco -- of the 10-homers-so-far-in-April fame -- could make a run at Mark McGwire's single-season mark. But it's nice to see the Bash Brothers being mentioned in the same company again.

At least six teams have boasted two 400-homer players (or players who would go on to hit 400 homers) at the same time. The Atlanta Braves had three -- Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Darrell Evans -- from 1972-74. But few tandems blossomed into their prime together like McGwire and Canseco in Oakland.

McGwire's and Canseco's numbers together don't approach what the above duos accomplished for a career, but their first two full seasons as a tandem produced numbers that match up with the best. The 1987 season featured McGwire's 49-homer burst onto the American League scene; the next year saw Canseco become the first 40-40 player.

Just as interesting, McGwire and Canseco paired up very early in their careers. While Mays slugged his way through the 1960s, injuries and platoons didn't allow McCovey to play full seasons as a starter until 1963 and '65, his fifth and seventh years in the majors. Lou Gehrig also had to wait his turn to team with Babe Ruth on a regular basis. In his second full season, however, he complemented Babe Ruth's 60-homer season with 47 of his own.

Canseco and McGwire combined for 446 homers as Athletics from 1986-92 -- 226 from Canseco, 220 for Big Mac. And that's not the only close stat they share over their careers. While McGwire pulled away in the mid-1990s in the power department and holds a 55-homer lead through Tuesday, he has kept pace with Canseco in several other categories despite having almost 1,000 fewer at-bats.

Despite Canseco's consecutive seasons batting under .240 in '97 and '98, his career hitting clip of .266 tops McGwire by three points. However, McGwire's slugging (.575) and on-base (.391) percentages easily make up the difference (Canseco has a .519 slugging and .350 on-base mark). Mac's runs and runs batted in trail Canseco's by less than 100 in each category -- 1036 to 954 in runs, 1231 to 1138 in RBI.

For those who have had enough of pairs, check out these numbers that can stand out on their own:

1 -- Number of wins the Reds have posted while wearing red sleeves, red caps with black bill, and red belts. They've lost six times under such conditions.

4 -- Consecutive World Series appearances for the Dodgers in years that end in repeating digits. They last won the World Series in 1988. They lost it in 1977 and '66, and won it in '55.

5 -- Mariners who have filled in at shortstop for injured Alex Rodriguez (Carlos Guillen, Domingo Cedeno, Russ Davis, Charles Gipson, Giomar Guevara). Their combined batting average during that time is .179.

6 -- Consecutive wins Cardinals pitcher Jose Jimenez has posted to start his career. The NL and major-league record to start a career is 12 straight wins by the Giants' George Wiltse in 1904.

7 -- Tom Glavine's longest losing streak, set during his 7-17 campaign of 1988. At 0-3 entering Wednesday's game against the Pirates, he's nearly halfway there. Counting last year's postseason, he had lost five consecutive games.

7 -- More consecutive victories Roger Clemens needs to match the major-league record of 24 by the Giants' Carl Hubbell in 1936-37.

7 -- Consecutive appearances Pirates reliever Mike Williams had made without surrendering an earned run entering Wednesday.

91 -- Victories needed by Indians manager Mike Hargrove to pass Lou Boudreau for first on the all-time list. Hargrove entered Wednesday with 638.