Comments on: Mets Made Of Iron, But Sink Anyway

By: Raphy

Raphy — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:10:45 +0000

Official tie games count toward player and team statistics, but not toward the standings.

Since 1956 there have been 209,010 team batting games. Since there are 2 teams in every game, this means that there have been 104,505 games. 104,401 of them have had a winner and a loser. That leaves 104 tie games since 1956. This is an average of 2 per year.
This is a lot more common than playing an extra game to settle a tie in the standings.

By: ZimJim

ZimJim — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:40:59 +0000

Look at his stats though, he played 163 games in 1979. It's a downright anamoly

By: gerry

gerry — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:38:23 +0000

If a tie game is treated like it never happened, then Rose didn't play in 163 games. I reckon that playing 163 games when your team plays 163 games is not as cool as playing 141 games when no team in the league even plays 140, even counting ties.

By: ZimJim

ZimJim — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:29:58 +0000

#15, the 79 Phils went 84-78. To the untrained eye, that 162 games.

Major League Baseball Rules state that a tie game is treated like it never happened.

By: gerry

gerry — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:25:34 +0000

Of course, you're both right about Play Index - I forgot that it's only the game search that goes back to 1957.

In 1901, American Leaguer Irv Waldron played 141 games. No American League team played more than 139 that year. My sources show the 1979 Phils playing 163 games, not 162.

By: Raphy

Raphy — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:50:48 +0000

#11 "Hint: Play Index won’t help."

I disagree.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/shareit/8gFc

By: ZimJim

ZimJim — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:04:44 +0000

Going back to whiz's list of guys who played 163+ games, I have a great statistical anamoly for you. How can a man play for more games in a year that his team played without being traded?

In 1979, Pete Rose played in 163 games for the Philadelphia Phillies, yet the Phils only played 162 games that year (they didn't play a one-game playoff or anything).
How can this be?

The answer is because on April 8, 1979, the Phils tied the Cardinals 2-2. His stats counted for that game, and he played every other game that year, including the make up double header later that year.

I think this is a really cool stat.

By: BunnyWrangler

BunnyWrangler — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:25:55 +0000

Jimmy Barrett - Bill James mentioned this about him in one of his books. Play Index can verify this with a pretty simple season search; only the game search doesn't go back before 1957.

By: gerry

gerry — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:52:38 +0000

Didn't the Dodgers miss out on the last day in both 1950 and 1951?

Trivia question: who was the first major leaguer to play 162 games in a season? Hint: Play Index won't help.

By: BunnyWrangler

BunnyWrangler — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:36:52 +0000

How many other teams have been eliminated from playoff contention in the regular season's final game in back-to-back years? The only one of which I can think is the '48-'49 Red Sox.