Some fun via Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Pitching Game Finder...

Since 1954, there have been 122 "official" no hitters in the big leagues.   Yet, since 1954, there have only been 194 games where a major league starting pitcher has thrown at least 7 innings in a contest while not walking any batters and not registering any strikeouts.  So, does this mean pitching to contact is almost just as rare as pitching a no-hitter?  (Yes, I'm just kidding with this suggestion.  But, it's still a fun compare...no?)  Here's the list of starters since 1954 with 2 or more games with 7+ IP where BB and SO equal zero:

                   Games Link to Individual Games
+-----------------+-----+-------------------------+
 Bob Tewksbury         3 Ind. Games
 Bill Swift            3 Ind. Games
 Paul Splittorff       3 Ind. Games
 Lary Sorensen         3 Ind. Games
 Charlie Leibrandt     3 Ind. Games
 Bill Lee              3 Ind. Games
 Jim Kaat              3 Ind. Games
 Randy Jones           3 Ind. Games
 Tommy John            3 Ind. Games
 Ken Forsch            3 Ind. Games
 Mike Caldwell         3 Ind. Games
 Lew Burdette          3 Ind. Games
 Jim Barr              3 Ind. Games
 Warren Spahn          2 Ind. Games
 Scott Sanderson       2 Ind. Games
 Pedro Ramos           2 Ind. Games
 Andy Pettitte         2 Ind. Games
 Fritz Peterson        2 Ind. Games
 Joe Nuxhall           2 Ind. Games
 Don Newcombe          2 Ind. Games
 Bob Knepper           2 Ind. Games
 Bill Gullickson       2 Ind. Games
 Jeff Ballard          2 Ind. Games

Recently the Yankees became the first team of 2009 to give up 6 homers in a game at home:

  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 2009-04-18    NYY  CLE L  4-22  9   25 22 22  6 10  6 236 142  3  2  58  52  7  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  0  2      5  22.00

    2 2008-09-15    TBR  BOS L  5-13  9   11 13 13  9  6  6 177 102  2  2  46  35  3  0   0   2  0  0   2  0  1  0      4  13.00
    3 2008-07-10    CHC  CIN L  7-12  9   18 12 12  3  6  7 176 114  2  0  48  44  1  0   0   0  0  1   0  1  0  0      5  12.00
    4 2008-06-17    ARI  OAK L  1-15  9   15 15 15  9 13  6 193 114  0  0  49  39  5  0   1   0  0  1   1  2  0  0      5  15.00
    5 2008-04-11    HOU  FLA L  6-10  9   14 10 10  3  7  6 173 108  3  0  43  40  0  1   1   0  0  0   1  1  1  1      6  10.00

    6 2007-09-11(1) DET  TEX L  6-13  9   14 13 12  4  7  7 185 100  2  1  46  41  3  1   0   1  0  0   0  0  1  4      5  12.00
    7 2007-09-09    CIN  MIL L  5-10  9   13 10 10  4  8  6 129  77  2  1  42  37  2  0   0   0  0  1   1  1  0  1      7  10.00
    8 2007-08-22    COL  PIT L  2-11  9   17 11 11  2  2  6 140  94  0  0  43  41  2  0   0   0  0  0   2  0  0  0      4  11.00
    9 2007-08-22(1) BAL  TEX L  3-30  9   29 30 30  8 11  6 252 157  3  2  65  57  2  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  0  1      4  30.00
   10 2007-07-15    PHI  STL L  2-10  9   15 10 10  2  6  6 141  96  1  0  44  41  4  0   0   0  1  0   0  0  0  1      5  10.00
   11 2007-07-06(2) CHW  MIN L  0-12  9   15 12 12  7  7  6 187 112  3  0  48  40  2  0   0   0  1  0   1  0  0  0      4  12.00
   12 2007-05-20    HOU  TEX L  1-14  9   18 14 14  6  8  6 165 103  2  1  49  41  3  0   0   0  2  0   0  1  2  0      4  14.00
   13 2007-05-10    KCR  OAK L  3-17  9   18 17 15  7  8  6 212 131  3  0  54  47  3  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  0  1      6  15.00

There has been much discussion about the Yankees' new ballpark and whether it is going to continue to yield homers at a record pace. Time will tell on that.

The good news is that some of these teams were still playoff teams. An isolated bad game doesn't determine a team's fate for the season, of course.

Have you noticed that three players have already hit for the cycle this year?

  Cnt Player            Date          Tm   Opp GmReslt PA AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions
+----+-----------------+-------------+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+
    1 Orlando Hudson    2009-04-13    LAD  SFG W 11-1   5  5  3  4  1  1  1   2  0   0  1   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 2nd 2B
    2 Ian Kinsler       2009-04-15    TEX  BAL W 19-6   6  6  5  6  2  1  1   4  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  1  0 1st 2B
    3 Jason Kubel       2009-04-17    MIN  LAA W 11-9   5  5  2  4  1  1  1   5  0   0  1   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 4th LF

Here are all the times since 1954 that a player has hit for the cycle in his team's first 12 games of the season, grouped by year:

 Year Games Link to Individual Games
+----+-----+-------------------------+
 2009     3 Ind. Games
 2005     1 Ind. Games
 2002     1 Ind. Games
 1994     1 Ind. Games
 1989     1 Ind. Games
 1980     1 Ind. Games
 1978     1 Ind. Games
 1976     1 Ind. Games
 1972     1 Ind. Games

So, wow, it's happened only 11 times overall, and this year is the only time it's happened more than once.

Incidentally, the next-fewest number of games to start the season it took for 3 players to hit for the cycle was 54, in 1980. See the list here. That year it was done by Ivan DeJesus, Fred Lynn, and Mike Easler.

And finally, the record for most cycles in any full season since 1954:

 Year Games Link to Individual Games
+----+-----+-------------------------+
 2004     6 Ind. Games
 1976     6 Ind. Games
 2008     5 Ind. Games
 2006     5 Ind. Games
 2001     5 Ind. Games
 2000     5 Ind. Games
 1980     5 Ind. Games
 1970     5 Ind. Games
 2003     4 Ind. Games
 1991     4 Ind. Games
 1989     4 Ind. Games
 1987     4 Ind. Games
 1985     4 Ind. Games
 1984     4 Ind. Games
 1979     4 Ind. Games
 1972     4 Ind. Games
 1964     4 Ind. Games

We've got a decent shot at breaking the record this year.

In Andy's thread from yesterday, Tomepp asked: "Has there ever been an MLB game that was ended by a K/dropped 3rd strike?" I understood the question as meaning with 2 outs (otherwise the run scores because of the WP or PB and the K is irrelevant.) I quickly found 1 game, which I (sort of) posted in the comments of that thread, but with a little more research I decided that this game is worthy of a thread of its own.

There has only been 1 game since 1954 in which a pitcher has lost the game on the play in which he recorded a 2 out strike-out. Not surprisingly it was done by a knuckle-baller. Amazingly enough though, the loss was actually more painful that it sounds.

On June 16th, 1986, Chalie Hough had a  1-0 lead and was 2 outs away from a no hitter. However, a three base error by defensive replacement LF George Wright, followed by a single by Wally Joyner cost Hough both the no hitter and the lead.  A passed ball and  an intentional walk to Reggie Jackson sandwiched a strikeout and Hough was facing  1st and second with two outs and the game tied.  That set up that unique game-winning strike-out.

Hough struck out George Hendrick (according to the NY Times it was on a 3-2 pitch), but for the second time that inning Orlando Mercado couldn't catch the ball.  Hendrick was safe at first and  Joyner scored all the way from second.  Glory had agonizingly turned into misery for Charlie Hough.

For his career, Hough would only throw one other 1 hitter. He lost that one as well.

In case you missed it here is the link to the game. This is how I found it. (All other years came up empty.)

Here are the leaders since 1954 for most runs scored in a game (by a team, not a player) without anybody on the team getting credit for an RBI.

Full list here.

  Cnt Date          Tm   Opp GmReslt  PA  AB  **R**  H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS LOB Batrs
+----+-------------+---+----+-------+---+---+------+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+-----+
    1 1971-08-11    CIN  HOU W  5-1   34  29    5    5  1  0  0   0  3   1  5   1  1  0   2   1  0  1   5    10

    2 1995-08-07    CHW @SEA L  4-6   39  34    4    6  2  0  0   0  5   1  4   0  0  0   1   0  0  1   8    12
    3 1990-07-01    CHW  NYY W  4-0   31  26    4    0  0  0  0   0  5   0  3   0  0  0   3   0  1  1   3    11
    4 1981-05-06    CLE @TOR W  4-1   36  33    4    5  2  0  0   0  3   0  5   0  0  0   3   1  0  0   5    10
    5 1966-08-16    KCA @CHW W  4-2   34  32    4    6  0  1  0   0  1   0  8   0  1  0   0   0  3  0   3    11

In the 1971 game, the Reds scored 3 runs in the 6th on 2 plays that included errors. In the 7th, the same thing happened--two more plays with errors and two more runs.

I thought these games would include some runs scoring on GIDPs but none of them does.

Here's a curiosity more than anything else. The players with most games with a hit  in their teams first 10 games over the last 5 years:

                   Games Link to Individual Games
+-----------------+-----+-------------------------+
 David Wright         40 Ind. Games
 Vernon Wells         40 Ind. Games
 Jose Reyes           40 Ind. Games
 Carlos Beltran       39 Ind. Games
 Jason Bay            39 Ind. Games

5 players have hit in at least 39 of the 50 games and 3 of them have been Mets.

How can a team win a game when, as the very last play of the game, one of its own players strikes out?

I can only think of two examples. The first one I'm not sure even counts. Conceivably, a guy could strike out with fewer than 2 outs and a runner on third. If that pitch is wild or a passed ball, the runner from third could come home to score, and the game would end if that were the tie-breaking run in the bottom of the 9th or extra innings.

The second one is one we can find with the PI:

It happened most recently in this 2006 game between the Cubs and the Reds. (This game was found with a Pitching Game Finder search here.) It's quite simple really; Rich Aurelia of the Reds struck out to end the fifth inning in a game in which the Reds were already leading, and then the game was called due to rain. Reds win, despite making out in their last at-bat.

The most recent previous examples are 2 games from 2005 and one game from 2004.

Anthony Claggett made his major league debut  today for the New York Yankees.  That was the good news for him. Unfortunately, things didn't go too well after that as Claggett allowed  8 runs in only 1.2 innings.  Claggett became  just the  third pitcher since 1954 to allow 8 runs while pitching under 2 inning in his major league debut:

Read the rest of this entry »

Trying to get the suggestions thread up and running. Let us know what you'd like to see here.

Just got curious to find all walk-off walks from the last several years, meaning a walk that ended the game by forcing in a run. This is done with a simple team pitching event finder search of walks as the game-ending event.

A couple of days ago, the Dodgers won a game in such fashion:

  Yr#    G# Date          Pitcher           Tm   Opp Batter            Score       Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit  R Play Desc.
+-------+---+-------------+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---+--+-------------------------+
       1   1 2009-04-15    Brian Wilson      SFG @LAD James Loney       tied   4-4  b 9 123   1 3-2   6  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Ramirez Scores; Ethier to 3B; Martin to 2B

Here are the 2008 games:

   Yr#    G# Date          Pitcher           Tm   Opp Batter            Score       Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit  R Play Desc.
+-------+---+-------------+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---+--+-------------------------+
       1   1 2008-04-03    Jesus Colome      WSN @PHI Jayson Werth      tied   7-7  b10 123   1 3-0   4  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Rollins Scores; Utley to 3B; Howard to 2B
       2   1 2008-05-26    Bobby Seay        DET @LAA Garret Anderson   tied   0-0  b12 123   1 3-0   4  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Izturis Scores; Guerrero to 3B; Hunter to 2B
       3   1 2008-06-26    Mike Parisi       STL @DET Clete Thomas      tied   2-2  b10 123   2 3-2   7  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Granderson Scores; Guillen to 3B; Cabrera to 2B
       4   1 2008-08-03    Fernando Rodney   DET @TBR Carlos Pena       tied   5-5  b10 123   2 3-2   6  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Riggans Scores; Upton to 3B; Crawford to 2B
       5   1 2008-08-04    George Sherrill   BAL @LAA Chone Figgins     tied   5-5  b 9 123   2 3-2   6  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Hunter Scores; Kendrick to 3B; Mathis to 2B
       6   1 2008-08-30    Aaron Heilman     NYM @FLA Josh Willingham   tied   3-3  b 9 123   1 3-1   5  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Ramirez Scores; Cantu to 3B; Jacobs to 2B
       7   1 2008-08-30    Vladimir Nunez    ATL @WSN Elijah Dukes      tied   8-8  b10 123   2 3-2   8  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Hernandez Scores; Guzman to 3B; Zimmerman to 2B
       8   1 2008-09-28    Luis Vizcaino     COL @ARI Chris Young       tied   1-1  b 9 123   2 3-2   7  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Romero Scores; Ojeda to 3B; Salazar to 2B

And 2007:

   Yr#    G# Date          Pitcher           Tm   Opp Batter            Score       Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit  R Play Desc.
+-------+---+-------------+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---+--+-------------------------+
       1   1 2007-05-14    Michael Wuertz    CHC @NYM Carlos Delgado    tied   4-4  b 9 123   2 3-2  10  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Reyes Scores; Chavez to 3B; Beltran to 2B
       2   1 2007-05-16    Bronson Arroyo    CIN @SDP Kevin Kouzmanoff  tied   2-2  b 9 123   0 3-2   7  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Greene Scores/unER; Cameron to 3B; Bard to 2B
       3   1 2007-05-30    David Aardsma     CHW @MIN Torii Hunter      tied   6-6  b 9 123   2 3-0   4  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Tyner Scores/unER; Punto to 3B; Cuddyer to 2B
       4   1 2007-06-05    Tim Corcoran      TBD @TOR Aaron Hill        tied  11-11 b 9 123   1 3-1   5  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Stairs Scores; Thomas to 3B; Glaus to 2B
       5   1 2007-06-07    Jonathan Broxton  LAD @SDP Russell Branyan   tied   5-5  b 9 123   1 3-2   6  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Gonzalez Scores; Bard to 3B; Cameron to 2B
       6   1 2007-06-26    Scott Proctor     NYY @BAL Ramon Hernandez   tied   2-2  b 9 123   1 3-2   7  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Patterson Scores; Roberts to 3B; Markakis to 2B
       7   1 2007-08-30    Rick White        SEA @CLE Kenny Lofton      tied   5-5  b 9 123   2 3-2   7  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Barfield Scores; Garko to 3B; Gutierrez to 2B

And 2006:

   Yr#    G# Date          Pitcher           Tm   Opp Batter            Score       Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit  R Play Desc.
+-------+---+-------------+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---+--+-------------------------+
       1   1 2006-05-05    Dan Wheeler       HOU @COL Jamey Carroll     tied   4-4  b 9 123   1 3-2   7  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Barmes Scores/unER; Marrero to 3B; Sullivan to 2B
       2   1 2006-06-17    Jae Weong Seo     LAD @OAK Bobby Crosby      tied   4-4  b17 123   2 3-1   5  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Scutaro Scores; Swisher to 3B; Chavez to 2B
       3   1 2006-08-29    Ryan Dempster     CHC @PIT Jose Bautista     tied   6-6  b11 123   1 3-1   5  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Castillo Scores/unER; Randa to 3B; Duffy to 2B
       4   1 2006-09-02    Jesse Crain       MIN @NYY Bernie Williams   ahead  6-1  b 8 ---   0 3-1   5  0 *ENDED GAME*:Walk
       5   1 2006-09-02(1) Brandon Lyon      ARI @WSN Ryan Zimmerman    tied   6-6  b11 123   1 3-2   7  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Castro Scores; Soriano to 3B; Lopez to 2B
       6   1 2006-09-27    Fernando Cabrera  CLE  CHW Josh Fields       down   1-2  t 8 -23   2 3-1   5  0 *ENDED GAME*:Walk
       7   1 2006-09-29    Seth McClung      TBD @CLE Jhonny Peralta    tied   1-1  b 9 123   1 3-2   7  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Michaels Scores; Martinez to 3B; Choo to 2B

And 2005:

   Yr#    G# Date          Pitcher           Tm   Opp Batter            Score       Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit  R Play Desc.
+-------+---+-------------+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---+--+-------------------------+
       1   1 2005-04-07    Rick White        PIT @SDP Xavier Nady       tied   0-0  b12 123   1 3-0   4  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Blum Scores; Hernandez to 3B; Burroughs to 2B
       2   1 2005-05-04    Roberto Novoa     CHC @MIL Damian Miller     tied   3-3  b 9 123   2 3-2   7  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Hall Scores; Jenkins to 3B; Overbay to 2B
       3   1 2005-05-28    Giovanni Carrara  LAD @ARI Kelly Stinnett    tied   4-4  b 9 123   0 3-1   5  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Kata Scores/unER; Green to 3B; Terrero to 2B
       4   1 2005-06-02    Randy Flores      STL @COL Brad Hawpe        tied   7-7  b 9 123   0 3-1   5  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Relaford Scores; Helton to 3B; Holliday to 2B
       5   1 2005-07-26    Luis Ayala        WSN @ATL Andruw Jones      tied   2-2  b10 123   2 3-0   4  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Francoeur Scores; Furcal to 3B; Giles to 2B
       6   1 2005-08-02    Julio Santana     MIL @NYM Mike Piazza       tied   8-8  b11 123   1 3-0   4  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Wright Scores; Cameron to 3B; Mientkiewicz to 2B
       7   1 2005-08-16    Scott Proctor     NYY @TBD Jonny Gomes       tied   3-3  b11 123   2 3-0   4  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Crawford Scores; Perez to 3B; Huff to 2B
       8   1 2005-09-07    Jeff Nelson       SEA @OAK Nick Swisher      tied   7-7  b 9 123   2 3-2   6  1 *ENDED GAME*:Walk; Payton Scores; Johnson to 3B; Ginter to 2B

One interesting thing about these lists is that, with few exceptions, the batters are all good offensive players. That makes sense, of course--I guess pitchers would be more likely to throw strikes to a lesser hitter. Those at-bats may still have ended poorly for the pitchers, but at least they weren't walks.