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ShareThisArchive for January, 2009
Fewest homers 1990 to 1995
I'm reading "Birth of a Dynasty" by Joel Sherman right now, a book about the rise of the Yankees to eventually win 4 World Series titles in 5 years from 1996 to 2000. Much of the early part of the book is about the 1995 Yankees, Buck Showalter, and the decline of Don Mattingly.
Sherman points out that among players with as many AB as Mattingly over 1990 to 1995, only 8 players (including Mattingly) had as few as 58 HR. I found that stat shocking, until I looked at the list:
Cnt Player **HR** AB From To Ages G PA R H 2B 3B RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions Teams +----+-----------------+-------+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+---+---+----+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+----+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---------+-----------+ 1 Lance Johnson 17 3255 1990 1995 26-31 862 3489 444 941 94 74 305 187 16 223 6 23 18 71 204 66 .289 .327 .379 .706 *8/79D CHW 2 Brett Butler 18 3327 1990 1995 33-38 874 3946 543 1011 99 53 234 514 10 380 17 66 22 23 228 103 .304 .397 .382 .779 *8 SFG-LAD-TOT 3 Jody Reed 21 3055 1990 1995 27-32 822 3497 375 829 175 6 259 351 20 274 16 56 19 84 29 28 .271 .348 .353 .701 *4/6D BOS-LAD-MIL-SDP 4 Tony Fernandez 30 3091 1990 1995 28-33 815 3490 421 841 147 45 300 324 23 331 21 33 21 70 108 65 .272 .343 .378 .721 *6/54 TOR-SDP-TOT-CIN-NYY 5 Wade Boggs 39 3065 1990 1995 32-37 808 3571 464 944 175 17 341 459 75 259 6 3 38 73 5 8 .308 .395 .414 .809 *5/D3 BOS-NYY 6 Tony Gwynn 42 3066 1990 1995 30-35 770 3353 456 1047 192 29 388 243 77 111 5 9 30 95 64 28 .341 .387 .464 .851 *9/8 SDP 7 Steve Finley 45 3147 1990 1995 25-30 838 3487 451 881 127 53 267 247 20 360 15 59 19 45 168 61 .280 .333 .397 .730 *89/7 BAL-HOU-SDP 8 Don Mattingly 58 2981 1990 1995 29-34 770 3299 392 853 170 5 382 274 54 206 11 0 33 90 6 2 .286 .345 .405 .750 *3/D7 NYY
Right away I realized that these are all full-time players and most of them are leadoff guys. Mattingly makes the list because he didn't walk very much. The complete list is here and only 35 guys had at least Mattingly's 2,981 AB over that span. Correct reporting by Sherman, if a bit misleading.
Lowering the bar to 2000 AB over that span yields this list, with Mattingly having the 51st fewest homers among a field of 138, a much more intuitive measure of his relative performance.
I'm going to feature some other stats gleaned from Sherman's book. Incidentally I think the book is quite good and reveals a lot of interesting info about Buck Showalter, Joe Torre, Lou Piniella, and numerous others.
7 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
Wily Mo Pena
My friend Brian asked for a post about Wily Mo Pena so here it is.
Fewest walks for a player with at least 500 career strikeouts:
Cnt Player **BB** SO From To Ages G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions Teams +----+-----------------+--------+----+----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+---+---+---+---+---+----+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---------+-----------+ 1 Milt Pappas 36 510 1957 1973 18-34 527 1174 1073 72 132 13 3 20 67 0 8 52 5 13 1 0 .123 .157 .197 .354 *1/4 BAL-CIN-TOT-ATL-CHC 2 Miguel Olivo 79 557 2002 2008 23-29 640 2215 2092 239 505 110 13 73 265 12 22 12 10 43 32 17 .241 .275 .411 .686 *2/D3 CHW-TOT-FLA-KCR 3 Bob Feller 100 505 1936 1956 17-37 570 1485 1282 99 193 28 13 8 99 0 3 100 0 15 1 2 .151 .214 .211 .425 *1 CLE 4 Lefty Grove 105 593 1925 1941 25-41 619 1579 1369 119 202 27 5 15 121 0 2 103 0 1 1 1 .148 .209 .207 .416 *1 PHA-BOS 5 Wily Mo Pena 106 520 2002 2008 20-26 560 1725 1590 196 402 67 5 77 225 5 21 1 7 35 12 8 .253 .307 .447 .754 978/D5 CIN-BOS-TOT-WSN 6 Craig Paquette 120 620 1993 2003 24-34 814 2766 2591 304 620 128 10 99 377 6 12 17 26 70 27 13 .239 .274 .411 .685 *573/946D OAK-KCR-NYM-STL-DET 7 Charley Smith 130 565 1960 1969 22-31 771 2686 2484 228 594 83 18 69 281 19 14 38 20 60 7 12 .239 .279 .370 .649 *5/64 LAD-TOT-CHW-NYM-STL-NYY-CHC 8 Kurt Abbott 133 571 1993 2001 24-32 702 2227 2044 273 523 109 23 62 242 11 17 21 12 37 22 11 .256 .305 .423 .728 64/5739D8 OAK-FLA-TOT-COL-NYM-ATL 9 Jerry Kindall 145 535 1956 1965 21-30 742 2261 2057 211 439 83 9 44 198 17 8 36 15 45 17 11 .213 .266 .327 .593 *46/53 CHC-CLE-TOT-MIN 10 Russ Davis 146 503 1994 2001 24-31 612 2176 1980 261 508 108 6 84 276 7 16 18 16 42 16 11 .257 .310 .444 .754 *5/D376 NYY-SEA-SFG
That's right. Of the 4 guys ahead of Pena, three are pitchers and one is a catcher.
If we restrict the above list to just outfielders or DH, Pena looks really bad:
Cnt Player **BB** SO From To Ages G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions Teams +----+-----------------+--------+----+----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+---+---+---+---+---+----+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---------+-----------+ 1 Wily Mo Pena 106 520 2002 2008 20-26 560 1725 1590 196 402 67 5 77 225 5 21 1 7 35 12 8 .253 .307 .447 .754 978/D5 CIN-BOS-TOT-WSN 2 Junior Felix 158 509 1989 1994 21-26 585 2339 2132 309 562 105 24 55 280 10 19 7 23 35 49 40 .264 .317 .413 .730 *98/D7 TOR-CAL-FLA-DET 3 Bobby Darwin 160 577 1962 1977 19-34 646 2436 2224 250 559 76 16 83 328 13 37 3 12 75 15 9 .251 .311 .412 .723 *9/8D71 LAA-LAD-MIN-TOT 4 Corey Patterson 169 768 2000 2008 20-28 991 3728 3466 479 876 161 30 104 363 19 29 43 21 32 182 50 .253 .291 .407 .698 *8/79 CHC-BAL-CIN 5 Gerald Williams 180 530 1992 2005 25-38 1168 3323 3059 474 780 183 18 85 365 8 31 31 22 60 106 57 .255 .301 .410 .711 879/D NYY-TOT-MIL-ATL-TBD-NYY-FLA-NYM 6 Don Demeter 180 658 1956 1967 21-32 1109 3730 3443 467 912 147 17 163 563 31 42 33 32 65 22 25 .265 .307 .459 .766 *857/93 BRO-LAD-TOT-PHI-DET-TOT 7 Craig Monroe 181 567 2001 2008 24-31 780 2837 2612 360 661 144 9 112 417 11 11 3 30 66 19 18 .253 .301 .444 .745 *79/D8 TEX-DET-TOT-MIN 8 John Shelby 182 671 1981 1991 23-33 1036 3326 3090 389 739 128 24 70 313 15 4 32 18 51 98 40 .239 .281 .364 .645 *87/9D4 BAL-TOT-LAD-DET 9 Ruben Rivera 185 510 1995 2003 21-29 662 1818 1586 237 343 67 11 64 203 4 29 6 12 28 50 20 .216 .307 .393 .700 *89/7D NYY-SDP-CIN-TEX-SFG 10 Cito Gaston 185 693 1967 1978 23-34 1024 3339 3120 314 799 106 30 91 387 14 9 10 15 85 13 7 .256 .298 .397 .695 89/73 ATL-SDP-TOT
The next lowest guy had 50% more walks than Pena. Ouch.
Here are the guys (pitchers excluded) who have struck out the most with no more than 2000 career PA's (for the uninitiated...that's plate appearances...)
Cnt Player **SO** PA From To Ages G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions Teams +----+-----------------+--------+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+----+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---------+-----------+ 1 Dave Nicholson 573 1661 1960 1967 20-27 538 1419 184 301 32 12 61 179 219 7 7 4 12 13 6 10 .212 .318 .381 .699 *79/8 BAL-CHW-HOU-ATL 2 Wily Mo Pena 520 1725 2002 2008 20-26 560 1590 196 402 67 5 77 225 106 5 21 1 7 35 12 8 .253 .307 .447 .754 978/D5 CIN-BOS-TOT-WSN 3 Shane Andrews 515 1924 1995 2002 23-30 569 1704 196 375 76 4 86 263 191 17 7 3 19 35 7 10 .220 .298 .421 .719 *5/3D7 MON-TOT-CHC-BOS 4 Ruben Rivera 510 1818 1995 2003 21-29 662 1586 237 343 67 11 64 203 185 4 29 6 12 28 50 20 .216 .307 .393 .700 *89/7D NYY-SDP-CIN-TEX-SFG 5 Melvin Nieves 483 1392 1992 1998 20-26 458 1228 163 284 53 6 63 187 136 9 17 1 10 25 4 12 .231 .314 .438 .752 *9/7D83 ATL-SDP-DET-CIN 6 Todd Pratt 454 1869 1992 2006 25-39 662 1612 194 404 84 3 49 224 208 16 28 7 14 39 6 2 .251 .344 .398 .742 *2/3D7 PHI-CHC-NYM-TOT-PHI-ATL 7 Benji Gil 448 1767 1993 2003 20-30 604 1610 158 381 75 12 32 171 102 1 7 34 14 26 24 21 .237 .283 .358 .641 *6/43D58 TEX-ANA 8 John Buck 445 1914 2004 2008 23-27 525 1727 202 404 92 3 62 223 138 6 26 9 14 46 3 9 .234 .298 .398 .696 *2/D KCR 9 Rickie Weeks 425 1907 2003 2008 20-25 445 1615 306 395 72 18 51 158 215 8 59 8 10 25 78 14 .245 .352 .406 .758 *4/D MIL 10 Jayson Werth 424 1611 2002 2008 23-29 460 1394 229 367 66 12 57 222 188 4 16 4 9 17 44 5 .263 .355 .451 .806 *97/8D3 TOR-LAD-PHI
Wily Mo is saved by Dave Nicholson. This comparison doesn't look to good for Pena, or for #10 Jayson Werth either.
There ya go, Brian.
4 Comments | Posted in Season Finders
Papelbon
Jonathan Papelbon has had a fantastic career so far and appears likely to become one of the best closers of the next decade, taking over for Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman. But I have to say that the guy is a complete jackass. While I don't think it's his job to be a role model and do the job that parents are supposed to do, he has behaved like a complete idiot on numerous occasions. I think he would do better to shut his mouth and keep his inappropriate behavior limited to when there aren't TV cameras or journalists around. (FYI a few examples of his behavior are drunken rants after the Red Sox won the World Series in 2007, many public comments about how great it is to drink beer and get drunk, how "closers gotta get paid", and numerous other comments about how important money is.)
Anyway, during his recent negotiations with Boston that ended in a record contract for a relief pitcher with so little experience, I heard someone argue that Papelbon was overused by the Red Sox in 2008 and was lousy when he had to pitch on back-to-back nights. That's an easy thing to check just by looking at his 2008 pitching splits, specifically for pitching by number of days of rest.
I Split G GS GF W L S CG SHO IP ERA H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP +-+------------+---+---+--+--+--+--+--+---+-----+------+---+---+---+--+---+---+---+---+ 0 Days,GR 18 0 17 2 1 14 0 0 18 2.00 16 5 4 1 1 0 13 0 1 Day,GR 20 0 19 1 3 13 0 0 21 1.29 11 5 3 0 2 0 21 0 2 Days,GR 8 0 6 1 0 3 0 0 8.1 6.48 10 6 6 2 2 0 12 0 3 Days,GR 8 0 7 0 0 4 0 0 8.1 1.08 9 4 1 0 1 0 14 0 4 Days,GR 5 0 5 0 0 2 0 0 5 1.80 4 1 1 0 0 0 8 0 5 Days,GR 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1.2 0.00 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 6+ Days,GR 6 0 6 1 0 5 0 0 7 3.86 6 3 3 1 2 0 6 0
It's true that he was only a little worse on back-to-back days. He allowed 1 more earned run in 3 fewer innings, and his hit rate was higher, and his strikeout rate was lower. But his numbers with zero days rest were still excellent. Interestingly, his numbers with 2 days rest were pretty bad, thanks I'm guessing to those 2 HR he allowed. I doubt that has much to do with how much rest he had.
Going back to 2007, we can learn a few things:
I Split G GS GF W L S CG SHO IP ERA H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP +-+------------+---+---+--+--+--+--+--+---+-----+------+---+---+---+--+---+---+---+---+ 0 Days,GR 8 0 8 0 1 6 0 0 8 1.12 2 1 1 1 2 0 12 0 1 Day,GR 13 0 11 0 1 9 0 0 13 3.46 10 5 5 1 6 0 19 1 2 Days,GR 18 0 16 1 1 11 0 0 18 1.00 7 2 2 0 2 0 23 1 3 Days,GR 8 0 7 0 0 6 0 0 8.1 3.24 6 3 3 2 2 0 9 0 4 Days,GR 8 0 7 0 0 3 0 0 7 1.29 3 1 1 1 3 0 14 1 5 Days,GR 3 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 0.00 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 6+ Days,GR 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Firstly, he was used a lot less on back-to-back nights, although his pitching was awesome in those cases. He was used on 2 days' rest a lot more as well. My guess is that the Red Sox management felt that he had gotten stronger in 2008 (he had an arm injury previously) and were willing to pitch him more frequently last year.
Anyway, sorry about the rant on the guy. Great pitcher, just a total jerk. He may match Rivera and Hoffman in performance but I don't think he'll ever match either guy in class.
11 Comments | Posted in Splits
Albert Pujols
Statistically, Albert Pujols ranks as one of the greatest, or perhaps THE greatest, players in baseball history.
In a player's first 8 seasons, most qualified seasons with an OPS+ of at least 150:
From To Ages Seasons Link to Individual Seasons +-----------------+----+----+-----+-------+------------------------------+ Albert Pujols 2001 2008 21-28 8 Ind. Seasons Ted Williams 1939 1949 20-30 8 Ind. Seasons Frank Thomas 1991 1997 23-29 7 Ind. Seasons Hank Aaron 1956 1961 22-27 6 Ind. Seasons Mickey Mantle 1952 1958 20-26 6 Ind. Seasons Stan Musial 1942 1949 21-28 6 Ind. Seasons Johnny Mize 1937 1942 24-29 6 Ind. Seasons Rogers Hornsby 1916 1922 20-26 6 Ind. Seasons Tris Speaker 1909 1914 21-26 6 Ind. Seasons Ty Cobb 1907 1912 20-25 6 Ind. Seasons
Take a look at the names on this list. This ain't any old list. This list probably includes 8 or 9 of the 10 best offensive players ever.
Most homers through the first 8 seasons:
Cnt Player **HR** From To Ages G PA AB R H 2B 3B RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions Teams +----+-----------------+-------+----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+----+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+----+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---------+-----------+ 1 Ralph Kiner 329 1946 1953 23-30 1212 5223 4327 827 1214 167 34 888 870 0 613 22 4 0 101 20 2 .281 .404 .563 .967 *7/83 PIT-TOT 2 Albert Pujols 319 2001 2008 21-28 1239 5382 4578 947 1531 342 13 977 696 154 506 60 1 47 157 45 26 .334 .425 .624 1.049 *37/59D64 STL 3 Eddie Mathews 299 1952 1959 20-27 1177 5139 4346 821 1221 181 42 777 726 49 678 12 26 29 54 36 16 .281 .383 .548 .931 *5/7 BSN-MLN 4 Adam Dunn 278 2001 2008 21-28 1131 4749 3871 699 955 201 8 672 797 81 1256 58 2 21 57 59 19 .247 .381 .518 .899 *73/9D CIN-TOT 5 Ernie Banks 269 1953 1960 22-29 1078 4632 4159 676 1213 188 55 778 398 95 502 27 10 38 92 36 37 .292 .354 .557 .911 *6/5 CHC 6 Ted Williams 265 1939 1949 20-30 1184 5348 4221 1082 1488 314 56 1038 1101 0 376 21 5 0 99 16 13 .353 .488 .642 1.130 *79/1 BOS 7 Frank Robinson 262 1956 1963 20-27 1190 5073 4377 831 1327 247 39 800 549 91 622 91 13 43 109 125 43 .303 .389 .557 .946 *793/85 CIN 8 Frank Thomas 257 1990 1997 22-29 1076 4789 3821 785 1261 246 8 854 879 118 582 26 0 63 123 18 15 .330 .452 .600 1.052 *3D CHW 9 Hank Aaron 253 1954 1961 20-27 1194 5201 4717 829 1506 264 67 863 397 92 442 17 19 51 131 57 25 .319 .371 .565 .936 *987/45 MLN 10 Darryl Strawberry 252 1983 1990 21-28 1109 4549 3903 662 1025 187 30 733 580 108 960 26 1 39 45 191 75 .263 .359 .520 .879 *9/87 NYM 11 Todd Helton 251 1997 2004 23-30 1135 4798 4051 832 1372 328 22 836 667 109 542 31 2 47 97 30 23 .339 .432 .616 1.048 *3/79 COL 12 Willie Mays 250 1951 1959 20-28 1065 4629 4074 777 1291 204 79 709 505 69 435 14 1 35 89 179 53 .317 .391 .590 .981 *8/7 NYG-SFG 13 Mickey Mantle 249 1951 1958 19-26 1102 4770 3937 890 1238 185 50 766 799 48 773 7 11 16 37 77 22 .314 .430 .577 1.007 *89/645 NYY 14 Rocky Colavito 246 1955 1962 21-28 1006 4206 3608 580 979 167 12 712 537 27 526 15 12 34 94 10 20 .271 .365 .529 .894 *97/31 CLE-DET 15 Joe DiMaggio 244 1936 1946 21-31 1111 4984 4481 939 1495 263 90 1025 463 0 220 26 14 0 55 26 7 .334 .399 .596 .995 *8/79 NYY 16 Albert Belle 242 1989 1996 22-29 913 3922 3441 592 1014 223 16 751 396 49 622 37 4 44 114 61 25 .295 .369 .580 .949 *7D/9 CLE 17 Alex Rodriguez 241 1994 2001 18-25 952 4247 3758 760 1167 228 14 730 385 15 747 47 16 41 80 151 39 .311 .378 .571 .949 *6/D SEA-TEX 18 Mike Piazza 240 1992 1999 23-30 981 4075 3653 611 1200 173 4 768 381 83 563 13 0 28 114 13 13 .328 .391 .575 .966 *2/D3 LAD-TOT-NYM 19 Roger Maris 240 1957 1964 22-29 1073 4457 3878 678 1021 143 31 681 511 32 545 30 9 29 50 21 9 .263 .351 .502 .853 *98/7 CLE-TOT-KCA-NYY 20 Ken Griffey 238 1989 1996 19-26 1057 4558 3985 695 1204 227 21 725 504 119 634 25 6 38 75 108 44 .302 .381 .549 .930 *8/D39 SEA
Kiner played only 10 seasons total and if Pujols hits at least 33 HR in 2009, he'll pass Kiner on the list of most homers in the first 9 seasons. Overall, note how much less impressive this HR list is than the first list above. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling these guys shabby. I'll just take Ty Cobb over Darryl Strawberry.)
Pujols narrowly missed becoming the 4th player in history to amass 1000 RBI over his first 8 seasons:
Cnt Player **RBI** From To Ages G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions Teams +----+-----------------+--------+----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+----+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---------+-----------+ 1 Ted Williams 1038 1939 1949 20-30 1184 5348 4221 1082 1488 314 56 265 1101 0 376 21 5 0 99 16 13 .353 .488 .642 1.130 *79/1 BOS 2 Joe DiMaggio 1025 1936 1946 21-31 1111 4984 4481 939 1495 263 90 244 463 0 220 26 14 0 55 26 7 .334 .399 .596 .995 *8/79 NYY 3 Al Simmons 1005 1924 1931 22-29 1086 4752 4349 816 1580 315 89 173 292 0 327 13 98 0 0 61 45 .363 .405 .596 1.001 *78/9 PHA 4 Albert Pujols 977 2001 2008 21-28 1239 5382 4578 947 1531 342 13 319 696 154 506 60 1 47 157 45 26 .334 .425 .624 1.049 *37/59D64 STL 5 Earl Averill 892 1929 1936 27-34 1195 5378 4763 924 1547 309 95 190 550 0 345 28 37 0 0 56 48 .325 .398 .549 .947 *8/9 CLE 6 Ralph Kiner 888 1946 1953 23-30 1212 5223 4327 827 1214 167 34 329 870 0 613 22 4 0 101 20 2 .281 .404 .563 .967 *7/83 PIT-TOT 7 Jim Bottomley 885 1922 1929 22-29 1062 4690 4134 711 1354 261 104 146 406 0 337 24 126 0 0 40 15 .328 .391 .547 .938 *3/4 STL 8 Chuck Klein 880 1928 1935 23-30 1057 4677 4236 848 1467 287 56 232 385 0 347 11 45 0 19 58 0 .346 .402 .605 1.007 *97/8 PHI-CHC 9 Joe Medwick 873 1932 1939 20-27 1084 4706 4420 771 1492 353 81 145 241 0 376 18 27 0 106 28 0 .338 .374 .552 .926 *7/89 STL 10 Hank Aaron 863 1954 1961 20-27 1194 5201 4717 829 1506 264 67 253 397 92 442 17 19 51 131 57 25 .319 .371 .565 .936 *987/45 MLN
OK, how about best batting average, first 8 seasons, minimum 4000 PAs?
Cnt Player **BA** PA From To Ages G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS OBP SLG OPS Positions Teams +----+-----------------+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+----+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+-----------+ 1 Ty Cobb .366 4343 1905 1912 18-25 1021 3917 738 1433 230 109 43 684 286 0 0 37 103 0 0 398 0 .414 .513 .927 98/7 DET 2 Al Simmons .363 4752 1924 1931 22-29 1086 4349 816 1580 315 89 173 1005 292 0 327 13 98 0 0 61 45 .405 .596 1.001 *78/9 PHA 3 George Sisler .361 4574 1915 1922 22-29 1047 4155 732 1498 242 100 60 612 273 0 180 30 116 0 0 282 82 .404 .510 .914 *3/198745 SLB 4 Ted Williams .353 5348 1939 1949 20-30 1184 4221 1082 1488 314 56 265 1038 1101 0 376 21 5 0 99 16 13 .488 .642 1.130 *79/1 BOS 5 Jesse Burkett .353 4423 1890 1897 21-28 927 3863 940 1364 174 96 37 530 504 0 230 34 22 0 0 221 0 .432 .477 .909 *79/18 NYG-CLV 6 Wade Boggs .352 5371 1982 1989 24-31 1183 4534 823 1597 314 36 64 523 754 87 339 17 23 43 123 14 22 .443 .480 .923 *5/3D7 BOS 7 Rogers Hornsby .348 4281 1915 1922 19-26 1012 3807 641 1323 211 104 99 638 360 0 335 29 85 0 0 101 42 .408 .536 .944 465/3798 STL 8 Billy Hamilton .348 4378 1888 1895 22-29 901 3656 1039 1274 147 67 26 455 642 0 189 71 9 0 0 638 0 .455 .447 .902 789 KCC-PHI 9 Stan Musial .346 4747 1941 1949 20-28 1072 4133 815 1432 302 108 146 706 565 0 199 21 28 0 82 44 0 .428 .578 1.006 9378 STL 10 Chuck Klein .346 4677 1928 1935 23-30 1057 4236 848 1467 287 56 232 880 385 0 347 11 45 0 19 58 0 .402 .605 1.007 *97/8 PHI-CHC 11 Paul Waner .346 5429 1926 1933 23-30 1205 4753 901 1643 337 128 67 695 538 0 156 27 111 0 10 77 0 .415 .513 .928 *9/387 PIT 12 Lou Gehrig .342 4024 1923 1930 20-27 921 3327 774 1139 248 89 187 811 581 0 414 18 98 0 0 42 45 .443 .639 1.082 *3/97 NYY 13 Honus Wagner .342 4446 1897 1904 23-30 1031 4008 722 1372 275 102 41 750 326 0 0 58 54 0 0 311 0 .400 .493 .893 6953/8471 LOU-PIT 14 Heinie Manush .340 4311 1923 1930 21-28 1048 3865 674 1313 265 84 66 628 262 0 191 46 138 0 0 81 43 .388 .503 .891 *78/93 DET-SLB-TOT 15 Todd Helton .339 4798 1997 2004 23-30 1135 4051 832 1372 328 22 251 836 667 109 542 31 2 47 97 30 23 .432 .616 1.048 *3/79 COL 16 Joe Medwick .338 4706 1932 1939 20-27 1084 4420 771 1492 353 81 145 873 241 0 376 18 27 0 106 28 0 .374 .552 .926 *7/89 STL 17 Hugh Duffy .338 4702 1888 1895 21-28 1005 4256 1041 1438 219 76 73 766 414 0 192 16 16 0 0 413 0 .399 .477 .876 *89/675 CHC-CHI-BOS-BSN 18 Goose Goslin .337 4293 1921 1928 20-27 999 3793 635 1277 212 103 90 730 353 0 248 37 110 0 0 98 45 .399 .518 .917 *7/89 WSH 19 Albert Pujols .334 5382 2001 2008 21-28 1239 4578 947 1531 342 13 319 977 696 154 506 60 1 47 157 45 26 .425 .624 1.049 *37/59D64 STL 20 Joe DiMaggio .334 4984 1936 1946 21-31 1111 4481 939 1495 263 90 244 1025 463 0 220 26 14 0 55 26 7 .399 .596 .995 *8/79 NYY
There's Pujols at #19. He, Helton, and Boggs are the only players from the last 60 years to make the list, and both Helton and Boggs (though great hitters both) had a lot of help from theire home ballparks. Incidentally, just off the list at #21 is Tony Gwynn.
And finally, highest SLG, using the same criteria as BA above:
Cnt Player **SLG** PA From To Ages G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP OPS Positions Teams +----+-----------------+---------+-----+----+----+-----+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+----+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+-----------+ 1 Ted Williams .642 5348 1939 1949 20-30 1184 4221 1082 1488 314 56 265 1038 1101 0 376 21 5 0 99 16 13 .353 .488 1.130 *79/1 BOS 2 Lou Gehrig .639 4024 1923 1930 20-27 921 3327 774 1139 248 89 187 811 581 0 414 18 98 0 0 42 45 .342 .443 1.082 *3/97 NYY 3 Albert Pujols .624 5382 2001 2008 21-28 1239 4578 947 1531 342 13 319 977 696 154 506 60 1 47 157 45 26 .334 .425 1.049 *37/59D64 STL 4 Todd Helton .616 4798 1997 2004 23-30 1135 4051 832 1372 328 22 251 836 667 109 542 31 2 47 97 30 23 .339 .432 1.048 *3/79 COL 5 Chuck Klein .605 4677 1928 1935 23-30 1057 4236 848 1467 287 56 232 880 385 0 347 11 45 0 19 58 0 .346 .402 1.007 *97/8 PHI-CHC 6 Frank Thomas .600 4789 1990 1997 22-29 1076 3821 785 1261 246 8 257 854 879 118 582 26 0 63 123 18 15 .330 .452 1.052 *3D CHW 7 Joe DiMaggio .596 4984 1936 1946 21-31 1111 4481 939 1495 263 90 244 1025 463 0 220 26 14 0 55 26 7 .334 .399 .995 *8/79 NYY 8 Al Simmons .596 4752 1924 1931 22-29 1086 4349 816 1580 315 89 173 1005 292 0 327 13 98 0 0 61 45 .363 .405 1.001 *78/9 PHA 9 Manny Ramirez .592 4095 1993 2000 21-28 967 3470 665 1086 237 11 236 804 541 47 780 37 2 45 98 28 24 .313 .407 .999 *9/D CLE 10 Willie Mays .590 4629 1951 1959 20-28 1065 4074 777 1291 204 79 250 709 505 69 435 14 1 35 89 179 53 .317 .391 .981 *8/7 NYG-SFG
There's Pujols at #3.
The man is absolutely incredible.
I also note that Frank Thomas appeared on most of these lists. It seems that 2008, his 19th season, was his last. That means that he and Greg Maddux should be heading to Cooperstown in 5 years. It's a bit early, but not way early, to suggest that Albert Pujols will be joining them there one day.
29 Comments | Posted in Season Finders
Nontraditional Batters
Traditionally, certain types of players have been cast for specific positions in the batting order (speedy leadoff hitter, contact #2 hitter etc.). Here are some players who bucked the trend. All lists are 1956-2008.
Disclaimer: This is by no means meant to be worst of list. To make this list a player has to play a tremendous amount of games hitting in a particular slot in the batting order. Additionally, players who get their stats in bunches, as I suspect was the case with Billy Williams, will be penalized as well. Nevertheless, I thought that it would still be fun to take a look.
Most games in a season batting leadoff, but not recording a stolen base.
Pete Rose 1975 162 Ind. Games Chuck Schilling 1961 150 Ind. Games Dave Cash 1975 149 Ind. Games Pete Rose 1973 148 Ind. Games Pete Rose 1976 147 Ind. Games Pete Rose 1971 146 Ind. Games Pete Rose 1978 146 Ind. Games Don Kessinger 1969 146 Ind. Games Pete Rose 1968 145 Ind. Games Don Kessinger 1968 145 Ind. Games Pete Rose 1969 144 Ind. Games
Usually, the Batting Game tool is not perfect for searches like this, because it doesn't take into account playing time and games with multiple occurrences. However, when a player can go an entire season, play every single game and get shutout in them all, then you know he is the champ. In 1975 Pete Rose did just that. 162 games leading off and not 1 stolen base. In fact for his career Rose averaged 8.75 stolen bases per 162 games leading off.
Most games batting second and recording at least 1 strikeout.
Dan Uggla 2007 95 Ind. Games Jay Bell 1999 93 Ind. Games Jay Bell 1993 91 Ind. Games Royce Clayton 2004 90 Ind. Games Lou Brock 1964 90 Ind. Games Phil Bradley 1985 89 Ind. Games Dwight Evans 1982 87 Ind. Games Alex Rodriguez 1998 86 Ind. Games Dwight Evans 1984 86 Ind. Games Robby Thompson 1989 85 Ind. Games
If you look further down the list Jay Bell's name pops up a few more times. For his career, Bell averaged over 116 strikeouts per 162 games from the #2 hole.
Most games batting third without knocking in a runner.
Carl Yastrzemski 1975 110 Ind. Games Billy Williams 1968 110 Ind. Games Dale Murphy 1986 109 Ind. Games Billy Williams 1967 107 Ind. Games Tony Gwynn 1989 106 Ind. Games Ryan Zimmerman 2007 105 Ind. Games Carl Yastrzemski 1963 105 Ind. Games George Brett 1976 105 Ind. Games Carl Yastrzemski 1968 104 Ind. Games Cal Ripken 1984 104 Ind. Games
If you click on the link, you'll see that two names dramatically jump out from this search Carl Yastrzemski and Billy Williams. Yastrzemski averaged 91 RBI per 162 games as a number 3 hitter in his career. Williams's average was 100.5 per 162.
Most games batting fourth without hitting a homerun.
Joe Torre 1969 141 Ind. Games Bobby Murcer 1973 141 Ind. Games Bob Watson 1973 140 Ind. Games Justin Morneau 2008 140 Ind. Games Ron Santo 1963 139 Ind. Games Greg Luzinski 1982 139 Ind. Games Joe Torre 1971 138 Ind. Games Alex Johnson 1970 138 Ind. Games Bobby Bonilla 1989 138 Ind. Games Bobby Bonilla 1991 138 Ind. Games
The two names that appear most often on this list are Joe Torre and Bobby Bonilla. For his career Torre hit 20.25 home runs per 162 games batting fourth. Bonilla's career was a mixed bag. In all he hit 26.39 home runs per 162 games batting fourth.
I'm going to leave it at that. If anyone wants to pick it up, I'd be interested to see what you come up with. One word of caution: This doesn't work well on the career level. There are players who are so good at what they do that they dominate the playing time at their batting order postion and then by default finish at the top of the zero games as well. For example, the player with the second most career 0 SB games from the leadoff slot is Rickey Henderson. So try it with single seasons, I think that the top few names are revealing.
4 Comments | Posted in Leaders, Splits
Worst OPS+ in a season with 50 doubles
Here's another Mark Grudzielanek fact for you. Worst OPS+ values in a season with at least 50 doubles:
Cnt Player **OPS+** 2B Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions +----+-----------------+--------+--+----+---+---+--+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+---------+ 1 Mark Grudzielanek 81 54 1997 27 MON NL 156 688 649 76 177 3 4 51 23 0 76 10 3 3 13 25 9 .273 .307 .384 .691 *6 2 Brian Roberts 90 50 2004 26 BAL AL 159 734 641 107 175 2 4 53 71 1 95 1 15 6 3 29 12 .273 .344 .376 .720 *4/D 3 Luis Gonzalez 99 52 2006 38 ARI NL 153 668 586 93 159 2 15 73 69 10 58 7 0 6 14 0 1 .271 .352 .444 .796 *7/D 4 Jeff Cirillo 100 53 2000 30 COL NL 157 684 598 111 195 2 11 115 67 4 72 6 1 12 19 3 4 .326 .392 .477 .869 *5 5 Baby Doll Jacobso 101 51 1926 35 TOT AL 148 635 576 62 172 2 8 90 31 0 36 2 26 0 0 5 3 .299 .337 .436 .773 *89/7 6 Michael Young 108 52 2006 29 TEX AL 162 748 691 93 217 3 14 103 48 0 96 1 0 8 27 7 3 .314 .356 .459 .815 *6/D 7 George Burns 109 51 1927 34 CLE AL 140 607 549 84 175 2 3 78 42 0 27 7 9 0 0 13 11 .319 .375 .435 .810 *3 8 Craig Biggio 113 56 1999 33 HOU NL 160 749 639 123 188 0 16 73 88 9 107 11 5 6 5 28 14 .294 .386 .457 .843 *4/7D 9 Odell Hale 114 50 1936 27 CLE AL 153 693 620 126 196 13 14 87 64 0 43 0 9 0 0 8 5 .316 .380 .506 .886 *5/4 10 Brian Roberts 117 51 2008 30 BAL AL 155 704 611 107 181 8 9 57 82 3 104 2 3 6 8 40 10 .296 .378 .450 .828 *4 11 Freddy Sanchez 119 53 2006 28 PIT NL 157 632 582 85 200 2 6 85 31 6 52 7 3 9 12 3 2 .344 .378 .473 .851 *564 12 Pete Rose 119 51 1978 37 CIN NL 159 729 655 103 198 3 7 52 62 6 30 3 2 7 8 13 9 .302 .362 .421 .783 *5/73 13 Johnny Hodapp 120 51 1930 24 CLE AL 154 687 635 111 225 8 9 121 32 0 29 1 19 0 0 6 5 .354 .386 .502 .888 *4
I'm sort of dumbfounded about how anybody could have an OPS+ of 81 when hittin 54 doubles, which was the league-leading total that year. He must have been swinging for the foul lines, hitting lots of doubles and otherwise grounding out a lot. Bizarre.
8 Comments | Posted in Season Finders
Triples and Stolen Bases in the Same Game
I thought it might be fun to see which players were able to rack up the two main speed stats, triples and stolen bases in the same game. What intrigued me about this is that, except for the adventurous few, these stats are not interrelated, getting a triple will not increase your ability to steal a base.
Comments Off | Posted in Game Finders
So, You Had A Bad Day…You Must Be In Houston
A fun list via Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Batting Game Finder...
Since 1956, players who had 10+ PA in a single game without reaching base:
Cnt Player Date Tm Opp GmReslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB TOB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions +----+-----------------+-------------+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+ 1 John Shelby 1989-06-03 LAD @HOU L 4-5 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6th CF 2 Danny Thompson 1972-05-12 MIN MIL L 3-4 11 10 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2nd SS 3 Tommie Agee 1968-04-15 NYM @HOU L 0-1 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3rd CF 4 Ron Swoboda 1968-04-15 NYM @HOU L 0-1 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th RF
Three times it happened in Houston. Go figure.
Note that two Mets did it in the same game! Don Wilson and Jim Ray must have been dealing that day.
5 Comments | Posted in Game Finders
.320+ BA in Last Season
It is being reported that Sean Casey will be retiring after hitting .322 for the Red Sox. Here are all the players who have batted over .320 with at least 200 PA in their final seasons. It is interesting to note, that like Casey, 9 out of the previous 11 were under 35.
Cnt Player **BA** PA Year Age Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS OBP SLG OPS Positions +----+-----------------+---------+---+----+---+---+--+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+---------+ 1 Joe Jackson .382 649 1920 30 CHW AL 146 570 105 218 42 20 12 121 56 0 14 7 16 0 0 9 12 .444 .589 1.033 *7 2 Happy Felsch .338 613 1920 28 CHW AL 142 556 88 188 40 15 14 115 37 0 25 4 16 0 0 8 13 .384 .540 .924 *8 3 Buck Weaver .331 690 1920 29 CHW AL 151 629 102 208 34 8 2 75 28 0 23 6 27 0 0 19 17 .365 .420 .785 *56 4 Monk Sherlock .324 335 1930 25 PHI NL 92 299 51 97 18 2 0 38 27 0 28 0 9 0 0 0 0 .380 .398 .778 *3/48 5 Zack Wheat .324 276 1927 39 PHA AL 88 247 34 80 12 1 1 38 18 0 5 4 7 0 0 2 3 .379 .393 .772 *7/98 6 Walt McCredie .324 242 1903 26 BRO NL 56 213 40 69 5 0 0 20 24 0 0 2 3 0 0 10 0 .397 .347 .744 *9 7 Ty Cobb .323 393 1928 41 PHA AL 95 353 54 114 27 4 1 40 34 0 16 4 2 0 0 5 8 .389 .431 .820 *9 8 Chicken Hawks .322 366 1925 29 PHI NL 105 320 52 103 15 5 5 45 32 0 33 2 12 0 0 3 6 .387 .447 .834 *3 9 John Sullivan .322 274 1921 31 TOT NL 81 245 28 79 14 4 4 41 19 0 26 1 9 0 0 3 5 .374 .461 .835 10 Bill Keister .320 429 1903 31 PHI NL 100 400 53 128 27 7 3 63 14 0 0 6 9 0 0 11 0 .352 .445 .797 *9 11 Sam Dungan .320 610 1901 34 WSH AL 138 559 70 179 26 12 1 73 40 0 0 2 9 0 0 9 0 .368 .415 .783 *93/7
3 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
Worst OPS+ in a season with 200 hits
On a recent post, commenters discussed the relative merits of Mark Grudzielanek, who has stuck around in the majors for a long time. People forgoet that he had 200 hits in his first full season, and yet it wasn't all that impressive as he had an OPS+ of just 93 that year. Here are the worst OPS+ figures for a guy with 200 hits in a season since 1901:
Cnt Player **OPS+** H Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions +----+-----------------+--------+---+----+---+---+--+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+---------+ 1 Juan Pierre 82 204 2006 28 CHC NL 162 750 699 87 32 13 3 40 32 0 38 8 10 1 6 58 20 .292 .330 .388 .718 *8 2 Doc Cramer 84 200 1940 34 BOS AL 150 712 661 94 27 12 1 51 36 0 29 1 14 0 13 3 5 .303 .340 .384 .724 *897 3 Matty Alou 87 201 1970 31 PIT NL 155 718 677 97 21 8 1 47 30 3 18 4 4 3 9 19 11 .297 .329 .356 .685 *8/9 4 Taylor Douthit 88 201 1930 29 STL NL 154 748 664 109 41 10 7 93 60 0 38 4 20 0 0 4 0 .303 .364 .426 .790 *8 5 Juan Pierre 89 202 2001 23 COL NL 156 683 617 108 26 11 2 55 41 1 29 10 14 1 6 46 17 .327 .378 .415 .793 *8 6 Mark Grudzielanek 93 201 1996 26 MON NL 153 696 657 99 34 4 6 49 26 3 83 9 1 3 10 33 7 .306 .340 .397 .737 *6 7 Juan Pierre 94 204 2003 25 FLA NL 162 746 668 100 28 7 1 41 55 1 35 5 15 3 9 65 20 .305 .361 .373 .734 *8 8 Michael Young 97 204 2003 26 TEX AL 160 713 666 106 33 9 14 72 36 1 103 1 3 7 14 13 2 .306 .339 .446 .785 *4/6 9 Ralph Garr 97 200 1973 27 ATL NL 143 698 668 94 32 6 11 55 22 5 64 2 4 2 12 35 11 .299 .323 .415 .738 *97 10 Pinky Whitney 98 207 1930 25 PHI NL 149 662 606 87 41 5 8 117 40 0 41 1 15 0 0 3 0 .342 .383 .465 .848 *5 11 George Sisler 98 205 1929 36 BSN NL 154 686 629 67 40 8 2 79 33 0 17 4 20 0 0 6 0 .326 .363 .424 .787 *3 12 Fresco Thompson 98 202 1929 27 PHI NL 148 715 623 115 41 3 4 53 75 0 34 1 16 0 0 16 0 .324 .398 .419 .817 *4 13 Chick Fullis 99 200 1933 29 PHI NL 151 697 647 91 31 6 1 45 36 0 34 5 9 0 15 18 0 .309 .350 .380 .730 *8/5
Juan Pierre makes it 3 times onto this list, and interestingly played for 3 different teams.
For the most part, these guys all didn't hit with a lot of extra-base power. The differences among them are interesting, though. Michael Young struck out 103 times while George Sisler struck out only 17. Pinky Whitney had 117 RBI while in 2006 Pierre had only 40. One thing they all had, though, was a lot of runs scored.
15 Comments | Posted in Season Finders
