This is a very special entry to the Stat of the the Day blog (at least for me.)

I didn't become a baseball fan until I was a teenager. From then on, I have been to many games in many different parks (I think the full list for major league home teams is Phillies, Mets, Yankees, Orioles, Royals, Rockies, Giants, A's, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Mariners, Cubs, and White Sox...whew!)

However, I went to my very first game when I was a kid. I went with my late grandfather (and possibly my brother or cousin), and nobody else remembers the details of when we went.

A couple of years ago, I tried to find the game by sifting through the Retrosheet box scores. But there were too many and I couldn't figure it out.

However, through the power of the Play Index, I've figured it out.

This is how I did it:

All of MLB: 165 Home Runs in All-Star Game History - Baseball-Reference PI

I've just added event finders for the All-Star Game to get to these, go to the Play Index main page, and select "All-Star Game Batting or Pitching Event Finder" on the left side.  Using these you can then view all of the instances where an event occurred in All-Star Game history.  <a href="/pi/shareit/ZkZR">Here are all 31 HBP</a>. No one has plunked two batters in their HOF history.

OK, OK, I know I should probably wait until tommorrow to do this entry.  I know I should wait because tonight's game won't go in Sean Forman's server until then.  But I can't help it.

Today, Craig Biggio entered the 3000 hit club in memorable fashion, gaining 5 hits on the night.  What's the most hits he's ever had in one game.  Well, prior to today, he never had more than 5, and he only had 5 once  So not only did he get 3000 hits, but he did it while tying a personal best for most hits in a game.

Neat trick, eh?

Youngest Players to Homer in an All-Star Game - Baseball-Reference PI

As the All-Star Game approaches, I'll be rolling out more Play Index All-Star Game features.  Right now, only the player batting and pitching game finders have an All-Star game option, but we'll be adding more next week.

Random question: Who are baseball's oldest rookies?  Using PI, you can find out.

Go to Player Season Finder, set for seasons from 1876-2007, look for first year for people ages 40 or older (first year players and ages are options in the left column). Look for players with 1 or more games played.

Going by Batting Season Finder these are the oldest rookies ever.

I did it with pitchers too, but it didn't quite work.  Most of the new entries are position players who tossed a few innings in their geriatric years.

The oldest rookie of them all pitched his first MLB game 2 days after his 42nd birthday, and still made the Hall for his on-field achievements.

Now that I am paying attention to zero-strikeout starts by pitchers, I have learned that it's not as rare as I thought.

Roger Clemens pulled it off last night, and Peter Abraham writes in the LoHud Yankees blog with some interesting notes about Clemens' history of no-K starts. (Incidentally, if you are interested in Yankees news, whether an actual Yankees fan or not, Abraham's blog is simply the best there is. He's got great information but is an unbiased a beat reported as I have ever seen.)

This is a bit off-topic, but I wanted to point out some of the hard-luck pitchers so far this year. These are using B-R.com's PI Pitching Game Finder.

First, most times so far in 2007 that a starter has gotten the loss in a game where he pitched at least 7 innings and allowed 2 or fewer earned runs:

                 Year Games Link to Individual Games

+-----------------+----+-----+-------------------------+

 Noah Lowry        2007     3 Ind. Games
 Matt Cain         2007     3 Ind. Games
 Carlos Silva      2007     2 Ind. Games
 Johan Santana     2007     2 Ind. Games
 Andy Pettitte     2007     2 Ind. Games
 Matt Morris       2007     2 Ind. Games
 Derek Lowe        2007     2 Ind. Games
 Doug Davis        2007     2 Ind. Games
 Mark Buehrle      2007     2 Ind. Games
 Joe Blanton       2007     2 Ind. Games

Jayson Stark wrote recently about just how good Matt Cain has been this year. He probably deserves at least 3 more wins.

And now, the same criteria, but where the starter got a no-decision:

 Jeremy Guthrie    2007     5 Ind. Games
 Ian Snell         2007     3 Ind. Games
 James Shields     2007     3 Ind. Games
 Jake Peavy        2007     3 Ind. Games
 Roy Oswalt        2007     3 Ind. Games
 Joe Kennedy       2007     3 Ind. Games
 Tim Hudson        2007     3 Ind. Games
 Danny Haren       2007     3 Ind. Games
 Aaron Harang      2007     3 Ind. Games
 Jon Garland       2007     3 Ind. Games
 Zach Duke         2007     3 Ind. Games
 Erik Bedard       2007     3 Ind. Games
 Bronson Arroyo    2007     3 Ind. Games

How about Jeremy Guthrie? He's flown under the radar because he has only 4 wins, but he deserves at least 3-4 more. He's got a WHIP of 0.92 so far this year, and he's making "only" $380,000. As Abraham pointed out in the link above, Clemens makes more than twice that per start.

The Yankees lost to the Orioles today, by a score of 4-0.  This made me wonder:  How many games have the Yankees lost this season, to date, where their pitchers have held their opponent to 4 earned runs or less? 

Using the Baseball-Reference.com Play Index Team Pitching Game Finder, and setting it for "For 2007, Playing for NYY, Team Lost, (requiring ER<=4)" shows us that this has happened 14 times (this season, to date) prior to this evening.  

  Cnt Date          Tm   Opp GmReslt  IP   H  R ER BB SO HR Pit Str IR IS  BF  AB 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS Pk Ptchrs   ERA

+----+-------------+---+----+-------+----+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+--+--+--+------+------+

    1 2007-06-26    NYY  BAL L  2-3   8.1 10  3  3  8  3  0 153  90  0  0  40  31  1  0   0   0  1  0   1  2  1  0      3   3.24

    2 2007-06-21    NYY  COL L  3-4   8   10  4  4  3  8  2 154  93  3  1  37  32  1  0   0   1  0  1   0  2  1  0      5   4.50

    3 2007-06-19    NYY  COL L  1-3   8    8  3  3  4  7  1 136  90  3  0  36  30  0  0   0   1  1  0   1  2  0  0      4   3.38

    4 2007-06-15    NYY  NYM L  0-2   9    7  2  2  3  9  1 143  88  1  0  35  32  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  5  2  0      4   2.00

    5 2007-05-29    NYY  TOR L  2-3   8    6  3  1  1  3  0 114  73  1  1  29  25  1  0   0   0  2  1   2  2  0  0      2   1.12

    6 2007-05-27    NYY  LAA L  3-4   9    8  4  4  4  8  0 148  94  4  2  36  30  1  0   0   1  0  1   1  0  2  0      4   4.00

    7 2007-05-26    NYY  LAA L  1-3   9    6  3  3  4  7  0 118  78  0  0  36  32  2  1   1   0  0  0   1  0  0  0      2   3.00

    8 2007-05-18    NYY  NYM L  2-3   8    5  3  3  1  6  1 101  64  0  0  29  27  2  0   0   0  0  1   1  0  0  0      2   3.38

    9 2007-05-17    NYY  CHW L  1-4   8    7  4  4  6  4  1 144  87  3  1  36  26  2  0   1   1  1  1   2  2  1  0      4   4.50

   10 2007-05-13    NYY  SEA L  1-2   8    9  2  2  2  2  0 109  69  1  0  33  30  1  0   0   0  0  1   2  0  1  0      2   2.25

   11 2007-05-11    NYY  SEA L  0-3   8    8  3  3  4  2  1 118  75  0  0  35  31  3  0   0   0  0  0   0  2  1  0      3   3.38

   12 2007-05-07    NYY  SEA L  2-3   9    6  3  3  3  1  1 111  71  0  0  35  32  1  0   0   0  0  0   1  2  0  0      3   3.00

   13 2007-04-15    NYY  OAK L  4-5   8.2  8  5  4  2  6  1 132  85  0  0  36  33  1  1   0   0  0  1   1  1  0  0      3   4.15

   14 2007-04-13    NYY  OAK L  4-5  10.1  7  5  4  6  6  2 196 111  0  0  48  39  1  1   2   2  1  0   0  0  0  0      6   3.48

Of these 15 losses (including tonight to bring it to 15), there are 9 games where the Yankees lost the game by one-run.

Let's take the 9 and the 15 and use an average of the two.   That's 12 games.  Using this, it's not a reach to say that there are 12 games that the Yankees have lost this season, so far, that could have been wins if their reported offense had decided to show up that day.

Make those 12 losses into 12 wins.  That would change the Yankees record this season to 48-17 (instead of 36-39).  A record of 48-17 would put the Yankees in first place now, in the A.L. East - one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

If Yankees fans want to know why their team is having issues this season, it's because of their batters, not their pitchers.  Blame Cano, Matsui, Damon, Cabrera, Abreu and the cast of thousands who have played first base for the Yankees this season.  Blame Giambi for getting hurt - again. 

If some of these guys were having better seasons with the sticks, then perhaps life in Yankeeland would be a little sweeter these days.

Sean's last post about saves reminded me of this equally rare feat: getting a win without facing a batter. Here's all 15 times it's been done since 1957:

  Cnt Player            Date          Tm   Opp GmReslt App,Dec    IP   H  R ER BB **SO** HR Pit Str GmSc IR IS BF AB 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS Pk BK WP   ERA
+----+-----------------+-------------+---+----+-------+---------+----+--+--+--+--+------+--+---+---+----+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+--+--+--+--+--+------+
    1 Chad Paronto      2007-05-06    ATL  LAD W  6-4   7-7  ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0   1   0       1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  1  0  0  0   0.00
    2 Tyler Johnson     2006-09-27    STL  SDP W  4-2   8-8  ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0   6   3       2  1  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  0  0  0  1   0.00
    3 Bill Bray         2006-06-03    WSN @MIL W  4-3   8-8  ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0   1   1       1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  1  0  0  0   0.00
    4 Tyler Walker      2005-09-17    SFG  LAD W  2-1   8-8  ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0   3   2       1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  1  0  0  0   0.00
    5 Paul Shuey        2003-07-24    LAD  COL W  1-0  11-11f,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0   3   2       1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  0  0  0  0   0.00
    6 Kyle Farnsworth   2003-07-02    CHC @PHI W  1-0   8-8  ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0   1   0       1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  1  0  0  0   0.00
    7 B.J. Ryan         2003-05-01(1) BAL @DET W  5-2   7-7  ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0               1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  1  1  0  0   0.00
    8 Scott Bailes      1998-05-21    TEX  SEA W  9-8   9-9f ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0   2   1       1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  1  0  0  0   0.00
    9 Derek Lilliquist  1994-04-13    CLE @CAL W  6-5   9-9  ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0   5   3       1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  1  0  0  0   0.00
   10 Gary Wayne        1993-05-25    COL @HOU W  7-5   7-7  ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0   3   1       1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  1  0  0  0   0.00
   11 Al Osuna          1990-09-28    HOU  ATL W  2-1  10-10f,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0               1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  1  0  0  0   0.00
   12 Larry Andersen    1986-06-23    HOU  CIN W  7-6   9-9f ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0               2  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  0  0  0  0   0.00
   13 Greg Garrett      1970-07-01    CAL @MIL W  4-3   6-6  ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0               1  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  1  1  0  0   0.00
   14 Frank Carpin      1966-05-05    HOU  CHC W  4-3  13-13f,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0               2  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  2  1  0  0  0   0.00
   15 Jim Coates        1965-08-28    CAL  DET W  4-3   7-7  ,W   0.1  0  0  0  0    0    0               2  0  0  0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  0  0  0

Chad Paronto did it several weeks ago. He came into the game, then Juan Pierre was caught stealing, and Edgar Renteria hit a 2-run double next inning to get Paronto the win.

Last year, Tyler Johnson pulled off a doozie. Top of the 8th, runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs,  game tied at 1. Johnson comes in the face Mark Bellhorn and throws a wild pitch. Runner from 3rd scores, and the runner from 2nd tries to score but gets nailed it home to end the inning. An Albert Pujols 3-run homer later, Johnson is the winner.

Take a look at some of the other games on this list. Lots of weirdness.

From 1957 to 2007, Saves without a batter faced - Baseball-Reference PI

Randy Flores back in 2002 is the last pitcher to record a save without a batter faced.  He entered and after one pitch picked off Richard Hidalgo to end the game.  Perhaps the most amazing thing about this list is that Mitch Williams did it twice in 1989.

To generate this list, I used the pitching game finder, selected Save, set BF=0 for the criteria and sorted on date.

OK, I admit this is a little late, but what the hell.

Recently Roger Clemens made his first relief appearance since Gorbachev (remember him?) took power in the Soviet Union (remember that?) He did it at age 44. How many others pitched in relief at that age?

Simple to figure: go to Pitcher Season Finder, and say you want to find for relievers 44. (that's in the left column, towards the bottom - set both from & to at age 44) from 1876-2001. Turns out the Rocket is one of the 20 men to come out of the bullpen at that age. A lot of greats on that list, and some guy named Diomedes Olivo, whoever the hell he was.