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ShareThisArchive for October, 2009
More wins than your team
If you like baseball cards, I recommend checking out a blog called Cardboard Junkie. Recently, the author posted this 1983 Topps Gaylord Perry card as part of his analysis of that particular set:
He also noted that Gaylord Perry had more career wins than the entire Mariners franchise when he joined the team. I mean--Perry had more wins than the Mariners in their entire history up until that point. A quick check confirms that before the 1982 season, Perry had 297 career wins while the Mariners had (1977-1981) just 290.
This got me to thinking about how often this happens, namely that a pitcher joins a team and has more career wins than his new franchise in its history. Of course it must happen pretty often. Virtually every pitcher with major league experience has more wins than an expansion team. Look for example at the 1993 Florida Marlins. They had zero franchise wins when the season started, but obviously most of the pitchers (such as Charlie Hough, Jack Armstrong, Bryan Harvey, etc) had at least 1 career win before 1993.
So we could find many examples of pitchers who fit this description. However--are they any who had more than Perry's 297 wins when he accomplished this "feat"? It would have to be a 300-game winner going to play for a pretty young franchise. The first guy who pops into mind is Randy Johnson, who joined the Diamondbacks in 1999 after they had won 165 games in their first 2 seasons. However, at that time, Johnson had only 143 career wins.
Anyway--can anybody come up with a pitcher who beats Perry's total of 297?
7 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
Bloops: Consecutive Games w/ a HR Quiz
Another Sporcle quiz -- Can you name the players who have hit a home run in 6 or more consecutive games?
5 Comments | Posted in Bloops
Zzz….
No, the title is not commentary on the post-season. In fact, so far I'm finding it pretty thrilling.
Rather, I'm wondering if the 2009 Phillies are the first playoff team to have a starting lineup featuring three players whose names end in "Z"?
Check out the box score of Game 1 of the NLCS and you'll see what I mean: Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz, and Carlos Ruiz all started.
If any other team has done it, I'd think it's been within the last 40 years, as names ending in "Z" are much more common in Spanish-speaking countries than any other. I thought that perhaps the Rangers playoff teams in the mid-1990s had done it--after all they had a Rodriguez and a Gonzalez, but no other "Z-ending" players I could find.
I've also been wondering for a while if any other team (besides the Phillies) has ever had two players whose last names ended in "iz" as with Ruiz and Feliz.
8 Comments | Posted in Bloops
Most Runs in a Postseason Shutout
The Phillies now lead the Dodgers 8-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh. If that score holds it would be tied for the 13th biggest blowout in a postseason shutout. Here the teams that scored at least 10 runs in a postseason game in which they shutout their opponent.:
Cnt Date Series G 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 +----+-------------+------+-+---+----+-------+----+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+--+--+--+------+------+ 44 1996-10-17 NLCS 7 ATL STL W 15-0 9 4 0 0 0 6 0 93 62 0 0 28 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 0.00 45 1996-10-14 NLCS 5 ATL STL W 14-0 9 7 0 0 2 9 0 135 91 0 0 35 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.00 70 1984-10-02 NLCS 1 CHC SDP W 13-0 9 6 0 0 5 8 0 130 73 0 0 37 31 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0.00 119 1960-10-12 WS 6 NYY PIT W 12-0 9 7 0 0 1 5 0 33 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0.00 66 1985-10-27 WS 7 KCR STL W 11-0 9 5 0 0 0 2 0 92 64 32 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 122 1959-10-01 WS 1 CHW LAD W 11-0 9 8 0 0 1 7 0 1 0 35 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0.00 149 1934-10-09 WS 7 STL DET W 11-0 9 6 0 0 0 5 0 34 34 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 75 1982-10-12 WS 1 MIL STL W 10-0 9 3 0 0 1 3 0 100 66 31 30 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 120 1960-10-08 WS 3 NYY PIT W 10-0 9 4 0 0 1 3 0 32 31 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.00
Nine times in history, including 2 teams ('96 Atlanta and '60 Yankees) which managed it twice in the same series. Also, out of the 9, three were game 7s and three were game 1s.
8 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
Worst Postseason Game Score
Hiroki Kuroda's game score of 19 tonight was the worst so far this postseason (oddly enough the second worst was by three pitchers all on the same day.). However, it was not even close to being the worst in postseason history. That honor belongs to Todd Stottlemyre who recorded an 8 in the 1996 NLCS. Here are the all time worst:
2 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
Consecutive Games with an RBI in the Postseason
With an RBI in each of his first 6 postseason games this season, Ryan Howard has tied a 24 year old record held by Carlton Fisk. Like Howard, Fisk also started off the 1975 postseason with 6 consecutive games with at least 1 RBI, but amazingly enough Fisk only accumulated 6 RBI in those games.Keeping in mind that not every postseason even had 6 games, here are the all time leaders in consecutive games with an RBI to start a postseason:
StreakStart Streak End Games AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SO BB SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Teams +-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Ryan Howard 2009-10-07 2009-10-16 6 22 5 9 4 0 1 9 5 3 0 1 .409 .462 .727 1.189 PHI Carlton Fisk 1975-10-04 1975-10-14 6 21 6 7 1 0 1 6 3 4 1 0 .333 .440 .524 .964 BOS Mike Lowell 2007-10-03 2007-10-13 5 17 2 6 3 0 1 9 1 2 0 0 .353 .381 .706 1.087 BOS Jim Leyritz 1998-09-29 1998-10-07 5 12 3 4 0 0 3 6 2 0 0 0 .333 .308 1.083 1.391 SDP Tony Perez 1976-10-09 1976-10-17 5 19 1 7 1 0 0 6 3 1 0 1 .368 .364 .421 .785 CIN Boog Powell 1970-10-03 1970-10-11 5 20 5 9 2 0 3 10 4 3 0 0 .450 .522 1.000 1.522 BAL Danny Murphy 1910-10-17 1910-10-23 5 20 6 8 3 0 1 9 0 1 1 0 .400 .429 .700 1.129 PHA
As for the regular record of consecutive postseason games with an RBI, Howard has already tied Fisk, Ivan Rodriguez and Bernie Williams for the single season record and is two games away from tying Lou Gehrig if you allow for multiple seasons.
StreakStart Streak End Games AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SO BB SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Teams +-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Lou Gehrig 1928-10-04 1932-10-02 8 28 14 15 2 0 7 17 1 8 0 0 .536 .649 1.357 2.006 NYY Bill Skowron 1958-10-06 1960-10-09 7 31 7 12 1 0 2 10 6 1 0 0 .387 .406 .613 1.019 NYY Clyde Barnhart 1925-10-12 1927-10-08 7 28 1 9 2 0 0 8 2 2 1 0 .321 .355 .393 .748 PIT Ryan Howard 2009-10-07 2009-10-16 6 22 5 9 4 0 1 9 5 3 0 1 .409 .462 .727 1.189 PHI Ivan Rodriguez 2003-10-10 2003-10-18 6 23 4 6 2 0 1 6 5 4 0 0 .261 .357 .478 .835 FLA Bernie Williams 1996-10-04 1996-10-12 6 22 9 12 2 0 5 10 4 5 1 1 .545 .607 1.318 1.925 NYY Tony Perez 1975-10-22 1976-10-17 6 24 2 8 1 0 1 8 3 1 0 1 .333 .333 .500 .833 CIN Carlton Fisk 1975-10-04 1975-10-14 6 21 6 7 1 0 1 6 3 4 1 0 .333 .440 .524 .964 BOS
4 Comments | Posted in Postseason, Streak Finders
Old Men With No Rest
After closing out game 1 for the Yankees, Mariano Rivera came back in game 2 and pitched 2 and 1/3 innings of shutout ball. Rivera is no longer a young kid, as he is well on his way to his 40th birthday. This made me wonder, what was the longest postseason appearance by a pitcher at least 39 years of age who was working on no rest. (I'll admit that it is a bit contrived, but I was curious.) Using the Pitching Gamelog Finder we get this list:
Cnt AgeY.D Player Date Series G 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 39.226 Pete Alexander 1926-10-10 WS 7 STL @NYY W 3-2 7-9f ,S 2.1 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 2 39.021 Tony Fossas 1996-10-14 NLCS 5 STL ATL L 0-14 5-6 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 20 12 0 0 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.50 3 39.045 Jerry Staley 1959-10-05 WS 4 CHW @LAD L 4-5 7-8f ,L 2 1 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.50 4 42.010 Dennis Eckersley 1996-10-13 NLCS 4 STL ATL W 4-3 8-9f ,W 1.1 1 0 0 0 2 0 16 11 1 0 5 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 5 39.172 Jesse Orosco 1996-10-10 ALCS 2 BAL @NYY W 5-3 7-8 ,H 1.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 19 14 2 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 6 40.167 Larry Andersen 1993-10-20 WS 4 PHI TOR L 14-15 7-8 1.1 2 3 3 1 2 0 26 14 0 0 7 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20.25
Rivera's age was 39.322. Of course, the chart is a bit misleading, as there is no comparison between Rivera's game and Alexander's. Alexander had pitched a complete game the day before and returned the following day to throw his 2.1 innings to save game 7 of the World Series! Not bad for an old man.
6 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
Extra Inning Game Tying Home Runs
Tonight (last night?), Alex Rodriguez's 11th inning round-tripper off of Brian Fuentes tied the game for the Yankees and extended the never-ending classic that is currently being played. A-rod became the 3rd player in postseason history to hit a game tying extra inning home run. Here are the previous 2:
Car# G# Date Series G Batter Tm Opp Pitcher Score Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit RBI Play Desc. +-----+---+-------------+------+-+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------------+ 1 1 1986-10-15 NLCS 6 Billy Hatcher HOU NYM Jesse Orosco down 3-4 b14 --- 1 3-2 6 1 Home Run (Deep LF Line) 2 1 1995-10-03 ALDS 1 Albert Belle CLE BOS Rick Aguilera down 3-4 b11 --- 0 2-2 7 1 Home Run (Line Drive to Deep LF)
Aguilera played in both of those games. He wasn't secretly singed by the Angels, was he?
Comments Off | Posted in Event Finders, Postseason
Long Postseason Games
As Game 2 of the ALCS heads to the 12th inning, here are all the previous postseason games that were 12 innings or longer:
1 Comment | Posted in Game Finders, Postseason
1981: When SP Ruled The Earth In October
In Game 1 of the 2009 ALCS, CC Sabathia went 8 innings and allowed just one run in the game. How many times, in a given post-season, do we see a starting pitcher go 8+ innings and allow just one run or less? Thanks to Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Post-Season Pitching Game Finder, we can find the answer. Here's the list, with 2009 being through October 16th:
Year Games Link to Individual Games +----+-----+-------------------------+ 1981 17 Ind. Games 2001 11 Ind. Games 1972 9 Ind. Games 1997 8 Ind. Games 1995 8 Ind. Games 1986 8 Ind. Games 1921 8 Ind. Games 1920 8 Ind. Games 2003 7 Ind. Games 1998 7 Ind. Games 1991 7 Ind. Games 1983 7 Ind. Games 1973 7 Ind. Games 1919 7 Ind. Games 1907 7 Ind. Games 1905 7 Ind. Games 1992 6 Ind. Games 1985 6 Ind. Games 1971 6 Ind. Games 1918 6 Ind. Games 1912 6 Ind. Games 1911 6 Ind. Games 1906 6 Ind. Games 2006 5 Ind. Games 2000 5 Ind. Games 1996 5 Ind. Games 1990 5 Ind. Games 1974 5 Ind. Games 1969 5 Ind. Games 1968 5 Ind. Games 1965 5 Ind. Games 1948 5 Ind. Games 1946 5 Ind. Games 1930 5 Ind. Games 1915 5 Ind. Games 1909 5 Ind. Games 1993 4 Ind. Games 1977 4 Ind. Games 1967 4 Ind. Games 1966 4 Ind. Games 1956 4 Ind. Games 1950 4 Ind. Games 1949 4 Ind. Games 1945 4 Ind. Games 1944 4 Ind. Games 1934 4 Ind. Games 1933 4 Ind. Games 1931 4 Ind. Games 1914 4 Ind. Games 1908 4 Ind. Games 2009 3 Ind. Games 2007 3 Ind. Games 1988 3 Ind. Games 1987 3 Ind. Games 1984 3 Ind. Games 1982 3 Ind. Games 1978 3 Ind. Games 1964 3 Ind. Games 1963 3 Ind. Games 1957 3 Ind. Games 1951 3 Ind. Games 1943 3 Ind. Games 1941 3 Ind. Games 1940 3 Ind. Games 1937 3 Ind. Games 1929 3 Ind. Games 1926 3 Ind. Games 1923 3 Ind. Games 1917 3 Ind. Games 1916 3 Ind. Games 1913 3 Ind. Games 1903 3 Ind. Games 2004 2 Ind. Games 1999 2 Ind. Games 1989 2 Ind. Games 1979 2 Ind. Games 1976 2 Ind. Games 1975 2 Ind. Games 1970 2 Ind. Games 1962 2 Ind. Games 1960 2 Ind. Games 1958 2 Ind. Games 1955 2 Ind. Games 1952 2 Ind. Games 1942 2 Ind. Games 1939 2 Ind. Games 1938 2 Ind. Games 1936 2 Ind. Games 1935 2 Ind. Games 1927 2 Ind. Games 1925 2 Ind. Games 2008 1 Ind. Games 2005 1 Ind. Games 2002 1 Ind. Games 1980 1 Ind. Games 1961 1 Ind. Games 1954 1 Ind. Games 1947 1 Ind. Games 1932 1 Ind. Games 1928 1 Ind. Games 1924 1 Ind. Games 1922 1 Ind. Games 1910 1 Ind. Games
Wow, what happened in 1981? Yes, they had an extra round of play-offs that season. But, it was no different than what we've seen in baseball since 1995. And, of course, before 1969, pitchers only had the World Series to work in during the post-season. So, you have to take that into consideration when looking at these numbers. And, thus, you have to give the post-seasons of 1920 and 1921 some props.
Nonetheless, is it safe to say that 1981 was the post-season where starting pitchers ruled the earth? Maybe, just maybe...no?
5 Comments | Posted in Game Finders
