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ShareThisArchive for October, 2011
Tony LaRussa retires
I hope we can all be half as successful as Tony LaRussa, who just announced his intent to retire.
He won 3 World Series championships and 3 more pennants and he managed in every single season from 1979 to 2011.
It's certainly interesting--LaRussa got a lot of heat this post-season for some gaffes (most notably having the wrong guy warming in the bullpen)--and I suppose it makes a lot of sense for him to go out on top.
Congrats, Tony, to a wonderful career!
Now here's an interesting thought--if you are a prime managerial candidate, are you more interested in Boston, St. Louis, or Chicago Cubs (if they replace Quade)?
92 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween to those of you celebrating today.
Some associations:
and, of course, everybody's favorite:
Young, Frank, and Stynes (Reds' starting outfield)
I'm sure you can come up with some more, right?
70 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
Pitching In 5+ Games Within Single World Series
We had five guys join the club in this past World Series -
| Rk | Player | Year | #Matching | W | L | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darold Knowles | 1973 | 7 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1.42 | |
| 2 | Tim Worrell | 2002 | 6 | Ind. Games | 1 | 1 | .500 | 3.18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0.88 |
| 3 | Felix Rodriguez | 2002 | 6 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 | .000 | 4.76 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.88 |
| 4 | Dan Quisenberry | 1980 | 6 | Ind. Games | 1 | 2 | .333 | 5.23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10.1 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.26 |
| 5 | Alexi Ogando | 2011 | 6 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 10.12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 5.25 | |
| 6 | Rollie Fingers | 1972 | 6 | Ind. Games | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1.74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10.1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0.77 |
| 7 | Rollie Fingers | 1973 | 6 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0.66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13.2 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1.24 |
| 8 | Hugh Casey | 1947 | 6 | Ind. Games | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.87 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10.1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.58 |
| 9 | Pedro Borbon | 1972 | 6 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 | .000 | 3.86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1.29 |
| 10 | John Wetteland | 1996 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 2.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4.1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1.15 | |
| 11 | Kent Tekulve | 1979 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2.89 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9.1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0.75 |
| 12 | Julian Tavarez | 1995 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1.15 | |
| 13 | Mike Stanton | 1991 | 5 | Ind. Games | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0.95 |
| 14 | Mike Stanton | 2001 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 3.18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.71 | |
| 15 | Bob Stanley | 1986 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.95 | |
| 16 | Deacon Phillippe | 1903 | 5 | Ind. Games | 3 | 2 | .600 | 3.07 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 44.0 | 38 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 0.93 |
| 17 | Jason Motte | 2011 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 | .000 | 6.23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.15 |
| 18 | Jose Mesa | 1997 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2.20 | |
| 19 | Tug McGraw | 1973 | 5 | Ind. Games | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13.2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 1.24 |
| 20 | Will McEnaney | 1975 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0.75 | |
| 21 | Roger McDowell | 1986 | 5 | Ind. Games | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 4.91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2.18 |
| 22 | Bob McClure | 1982 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 2 | .000 | 4.15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1.85 |
| 23 | Mike Marshall | 1974 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0.78 |
| 24 | Ryan Madson | 2009 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 2.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1.85 | |
| 25 | Lance Lynn | 2011 | 5 | Ind. Games | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 6.35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1.76 |
| 26 | Scott Feldman | 2011 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2.20 | |
| 27 | Rawly Eastwick | 1975 | 5 | Ind. Games | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1.13 |
| 28 | Octavio Dotel | 2011 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 | .000 | 4.91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1.09 |
| 29 | Brendan Donnelly | 2002 | 5 | Ind. Games | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.65 |
| 30 | Clay Carroll | 1972 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1.59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5.2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1.76 |
| 31 | Clay Carroll | 1975 | 5 | Ind. Games | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1.06 |
| 32 | Hank Behrman | 1947 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 7.11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2.21 | |
| 33 | Paul Assenmacher | 1997 | 5 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1.25 |
.
Amazing we haven't seen someone do all seven games since 1973 - given the way relief pitchers, especially LOOGY's, are used today.
44 Comments | Posted in Game Finders
Most Rings Since American “I’ll Never Forget Where I Was When” Moments
How many teams have won 4+ World Series rings since the assassination of John F. Kennedy? That would be just the Yankees (7), Cardinals (5) and the A's (4). Honorable Mention to the Dodgers, Orioles and Reds who won 3 each since 1964.
How many teams have won 2+ World Series rings since the September 11 Attacks (in 2001)? That would be just the Cardinals (2) and the Red Sox (2).
When it comes to the last half-century or so, Cardinals fans have a right to tell the rest of the world "Count the rings!," don't they?
82 Comments | Posted in Game Finders
Most anticipated off-season issues
Well, well, well....another season has come and gone. Congrats to the Cardinals, the one team I said we couldn't make an excellent argument for winning the World Series. Right again.
As we head into the off-season, I'm curious to hear what issues you are most interested in.
Here are a few possibilities:
- Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder: two big first basemen who may be switching teams. There were a lot of rumors about Pujols going to the Cubs, and with all the changes in that organization, I wouldn't be surprised to see them make a big splash of that type. It's hard to imagine Phat Albert wearing blue, though.
- Playoffs: it seems likely that a second wild-card playoff spot will be added, and perhaps the leagues will be re-aligned (although the re-alignment part definitely cannot happen for 2012 since there's not enough time to re-work the schedule.)
- Jamie Moyer: he turns 49 next month and is rehabbing to attempt to return to the majors. Will he do it, with the Phillies or at all?
- Who might retire this off-season? Newly-crowned champion Arthur Rhodes? Other possibilities include Jason Giambi, Ivan Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Tim Wakefield, Omar Vizquel, and Jim Thome if he can't find a team.
- What will happen with the Red Sox? Right now they seem like a team in turmoil, but in truth they were a team with high expectations in 2011 that missed the playoffs by one game. I'm not sure that all the rumored stuff--beer & chicken in the clubhouse, a manager with marital and substance abuse issues, some players that aren't gamers, a back-stabbing ownership--aren't quite common with most teams. With John Lackey out of the picture for 2012, it may just be a quiet winter for this team once they hire a new manager.
- CC Sabathia: he'll almost certainly opt out of his contract. If he leaves, the Yankees' rotation is in shambles. Last year they got huge surprise contributions from Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon--that cannot be expected again. That leaves them with Ivan Nova, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, and...? I hear the Red Sox are in the market for a starter, and CC didn't look slim in those pinstripes.
What else is going on this off-season? Which big issues are most interesting to you? If you are a fan of a particular team, I'd like to hear about your particular concerns for that team.
76 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
Bloops: #11 In ’11 For The Cardinals!
Congrats to the St. Louis Cardinals for winning the 2011 World Series.
On September 24th, per CoolStandings.com, the Cards had a 6.8% chance of just making the post-season. Just over a month later, they were the kings of baseball.
The story of the '11 Cardinals should go down in baseball history as one of the best comeback stories of all-time, no?
49 Comments | Posted in Bloops
David Freese breaks the all-time single-season post-season RBI record
With his 2-run double in the 1st inning of Game 7 tonight, David Freese now has 21 RBI this post-season, an all-time record. This particular stat of course favors players on good teams from the wild card era, who tend to have more games each post-season.
Before tonight's games, here were the all-time leaders:
| Rk | Player | Year | RBI ▾ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Spiezio | 2002 | 19 |
| 2 | David Freese | 2011 | 19 |
| 3 | Sandy Alomar | 1997 | 19 |
| 4 | David Ortiz | 2004 | 19 |
| 5 | Alex Rodriguez | 2009 | 18 |
| 6 | Ivan Rodriguez | 2003 | 17 |
| 7 | Ryan Howard | 2009 | 17 |
| 8 | Rich Aurilia | 2002 | 17 |
| 9 | John Valentin | 1999 | 17 |
| 10 | Barry Bonds | 2002 | 16 |
| 11 | Manny Ramirez | 2007 | 16 |
| 12 | B.J. Upton | 2008 | 16 |
| 13 | Fred McGriff | 1996 | 16 |
| 14 | Benito Santiago | 2002 | 16 |
| 15 | Nelson Cruz | 2011 | 16 |
| 16 | Albert Pujols | 2011 | 16 |
23 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
Live Tweeting the World Series
Baseball Reference (baseball_ref) on Twitter.
We've been live tweeting the World Series games this year and will be wrapping up our coverage tonight. See our timeline (linked above) for some of the notes we pulled from our databases for last night's game.
5 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
World Series Game #7s – Baseball-Reference.com
World Series Game #7s - Baseball-Reference.com.
Complete list of World Series Game #7's. Where do you expect tonight's game to rate?
17 Comments | Posted in Postseason
David Freese: now THAT was the best World Series performance in history
Forget Pujols' 3 homers already. Last night, David Freese put together the greatest single-game offensive performance in World Series (and all post-season) history:
| Rk | Player | Date | Series | Gm# | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | WPA | RE24 | BOP | Pos. Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Freese | 2011-10-27 | WS | 6 | STL | TEX | W 10-9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.969 | 3.117 | 2.306 | 6 | 3B |
| 2 | Kirk Gibson | 1988-10-15 | WS | 1 | LAD | OAK | W 5-4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.870 | 1.796 | 4.830 | 9 | PH |
| 3 | Steve Garvey | 1984-10-06 | NLCS | 4 | SDP | CHC | W 7-5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.854 | 4.682 | 1.814 | 3 | 1B |
| 4 | Lance Berkman | 2011-10-27 | WS | 6 | STL | TEX | W 10-9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.832 | 3.655 | 2.546 | 4 | RF |
| 5 | Charlie Keller | 1941-10-05 | WS | 4 | NYY | BRO | W 7-4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.826 | 3.545 | 2.234 | 5 | LF |
| 6 | Cookie Lavagetto | 1947-10-03 | WS | 4 | BRO | NYY | W 3-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.822 | 1.881 | 6.750 | 1 | PH |
| 7 | Michael Tucker | 1998-10-12 | NLCS | 5 | ATL | SDP | W 7-6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.812 | 4.119 | 1.760 | 8 | RF |
| 8 | Brian Jordan | 1999-10-08 | NLDS | 3 | ATL | HOU | W 5-3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.806 | 4.271 | 2.742 | 4 | RF |
| 9 | Stan Hack | 1945-10-08 | WS | 6 | CHC | DET | W 8-7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.806 | 3.905 | 1.551 | 1 | 3B |
| 10 | Jimmy Rollins | 2009-10-19 | NLCS | 4 | PHI | LAD | W 5-4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.754 | 1.635 | 2.368 | 1 | SS |
| 11 | Francisco Cabrera | 1992-10-14 | NLCS | 7 | ATL | PIT | W 3-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.737 | 1.674 | 10.750 | 9 | PH |
| 12 | Gary Carter | 1988-10-04 | NLCS | 1 | NYM | LAD | W 3-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.724 | 2.042 | 2.020 | 7 | C |
| 13 | Devon White | 1993-10-20 | WS | 4 | TOR | PHI | W 15-14 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.719 | 4.189 | 1.767 | 2 | CF |
| 14 | Thurman Munson | 1978-10-06 | ALCS | 3 | NYY | KCR | W 6-5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.718 | 2.719 | 1.582 | 3 | C |
| 15 | Ivan Rodriguez | 2003-10-03 | NLDS | 3 | FLA | SFG | W 4-3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.717 | 2.463 | 3.302 | 3 | C |
| 16 | Gonzalo Marquez | 1972-10-07 | ALCS | 1 | OAK | DET | W 3-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.710 | 1.646 | 6.990 | 8 | PH |
| 17 | Dave Henderson | 1986-10-12 | ALCS | 5 | BOS | CAL | W 7-6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.703 | 1.208 | 2.480 | 8 | CF |
| 18 | Erubiel Durazo | 2003-10-01 | ALDS | 1 | OAK | BOS | W 5-4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.701 | 2.659 | 2.837 | 2 | DH |
| 19 | Lenny Dykstra | 1986-10-11 | NLCS | 3 | NYM | HOU | W 6-5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.685 | 1.382 | 3.380 | 9 | PH CF |
| 20 | Alex Rodriguez | 2004-10-06 | ALDS | 2 | NYY | MIN | W 7-6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.684 | 3.182 | 2.105 | 2 | 3B |
Move over, Kirk Gibson. Freese now has the highest single-game Win Probability Added in any post-season game.
By the way, Lance Berkman himself made #4 on that list, also from last night's game.
I don't know what will happen in the rest of Freese's career, but he has etched himself quite a place in the baseball history books. His totals so far this post-season: 17 games, 5 homers, 19 RBI, and a 1.235 OPS. Simply incredible.
97 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized
