Here’s a fun little list via Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index Post-Season Pitching Game Finder…
The only pitchers who have allowed 8 earned runs, or more, in a post-season game:
Games Link to Individual Games
+—————–+—–+————————-+
Jay Witasick 1 Ind. Games
David Wells 1 Ind. Games
Chien-Ming Wang 1 Ind. Games
C.C. Sabathia 1 Ind. Games
Steve Reed 1 Ind. Games
Jake Peavy 1 Ind. Games
Greg Maddux 1 Ind. Games
Matt Clement 1 Ind. Games
Guy Bush 1 Ind. Games
Pete Alexander 1 Ind. Games
Paul Abbott 1 Ind. Games
Games found: 11.
Now, if you really want to get fancy, look at each of these outings ranked by fewest batters faced:
Cnt 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 Jay Witasick 2001-11-03 WS 6 NYY @ARI L 2-15 3-4 1.1 10 9 8 0 4 0 49 36 2 2 14 14 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 54.00
2 Steve Reed 1999-10-10 ALDS 4 CLE @BOS L 7-23 4-5 1.1 7 8 8 1 1 1 34 18 0 0 14 11 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 54.00
3 Pete Alexander 1928-10-05 WS 2 STL @NYY L 3-9 GS-3 ,L 2.1 6 8 8 4 1 1 10 17 12 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30.86
4 Matt Clement 2005-10-04 ALDS 1 BOS @CHW L 2-14 GS-4 ,L 3.1 7 8 8 0 0 3 64 41 14 18 15 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 21.60
5 Paul Abbott 2001-10-13 ALDS 3 SEA @CLE L 2-17 3-6 3 9 8 8 5 3 3 81 43 0 0 22 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24.00
6 Greg Maddux 1989-10-04 NLCS 1 CHC SFG L 3-11 GS-4 ,L 4 8 8 8 1 3 2 83 54 16 22 19 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 18.00
7 Jake Peavy 2005-10-04 NLDS 1 SDP @STL L 5-8 GS-5 ,L 4.1 8 8 8 3 3 2 70 44 15 23 20 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 16.62
8 C.C. Sabathia 2007-10-12 ALCS 1 CLE @BOS L 3-10 GS-5 ,L 4.1 7 8 8 5 3 0 85 44 15 24 17 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 16.62
9 David Wells 2002-10-05 ALDS 4 NYY @ANA L 5-9 GS-5 ,L 4.2 10 8 8 0 0 1 59 43 12 24 23 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 15.43
10 Chien-Ming Wang 2007-10-04 ALDS 1 NYY @CLE L 3-12 GS-5 ,L 4.2 9 8 8 4 2 2 94 58 12 25 20 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 15.43
11 Guy Bush 1932-09-28 WS 1 CHC @NYY L 6-12 GS-6 ,L 5.1 3 8 8 5 2 1 27 26 20 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 13.50
Games found: 11.
Jay Witasick and Steve Reed really did something special, huh? They allowed 8 earned runs in their games while facing less than 15 batters. Well, if you ever need someone to kick-off an October Conga Line, these two have the resumes to apply for the job.
Last night, Chris Coste pinch-hit in the 8th inning of the game for the Phillies, and stayed in to eventually get the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 13th. Overall, he went 4-for-4 despite not starting the game.
Nine guys have done exactly that since 1956:
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 Chris Coste 2008-08-26 PHI NYM W 8-7 4 4 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9th PH C
2 Shawn Wooten 2002-08-05 ANA @DET W 6-3 4 4 1 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7th PH 1B
3 Randy Milligan 1991-06-23(2) BAL @KCR W 9-8 4 4 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th PH DH
4 Paul O’Neill 1990-04-18 CIN SDP W 11-7 4 4 2 4 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6th PH RF
5 Rufino Linares 1982-04-13 ATL @CIN W 8-5 4 4 3 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3rd PR LF
6 Claudell Washingt 1979-07-04 CHW @CLE W 16-4 4 4 2 4 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd RF
7 Jay Johnstone 1970-04-12 CAL @KCR W 7-5 4 4 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5th CF
8 Felix Mantilla 1962-05-25 NYM @LAD L 8-17 4 4 1 4 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7th SS
9 Matty Alou 1961-07-25 SFG @PIT W 16-7 5 4 1 4 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3rd LF
I suspect that most of these performances happened as injury replacements, where the guy who got the 4-for-4 came into the game fairly early on to replace an injured player. I notice that #3, Randy Milligan, was not like that, however. Milligan pinch-hit in the 7th inning for Sam Horn, and the game went into extra innings, just like last night’s Phillies-Mets game.
Here are all the games since 1956 where a sub got 4 or more hits:
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 Chris Coste 2008-08-26 PHI NYM W 8-7 4 4 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9th PH C
2 Quinton McCracken 2005-07-18 ARI FLA W 8-7 5 5 1 4 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 9th CF
3 Shawn Wooten 2002-08-05 ANA @DET W 6-3 4 4 1 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7th PH 1B
4 Chad Fonville 1995-06-17 LAD @CHC W 12-5 5 5 1 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1st 2B
5 Randy Milligan 1991-06-23(2) BAL @KCR W 9-8 4 4 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th PH DH
6 Paul O’Neill 1990-04-18 CIN SDP W 11-7 4 4 2 4 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6th PH RF
7 Kelly Gruber 1988-04-11 TOR NYY W 17-9 6 6 3 4 1 0 2 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6th 3B
8 Tom Paciorek 1984-05-08 CHW MIL W 7-6 10 9 1 5 0 0 0 3 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6th LF 1B
9 Julio Gonzalez 1982-10-03 STL @CHC W 5-4 5 5 3 4 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1st 2B
10 Rufino Linares 1982-04-13 ATL @CIN W 8-5 4 4 3 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3rd PR LF
11 Jim Wohlford 1980-05-24 SFG @PIT W 10-9 6 6 1 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7th PH LF
12 Claudell Washingt 1979-07-04 CHW @CLE W 16-4 4 4 2 4 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd RF
13 Jay Johnstone 1970-04-12 CAL @KCR W 7-5 4 4 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5th CF
14 Hawk Taylor 1964-06-20 NYM PHI W 7-3 5 5 2 4 0 0 2 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7th C
15 Felix Mantilla 1962-05-25 NYM @LAD L 8-17 4 4 1 4 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7th SS
16 Matty Alou 1961-07-25 SFG @PIT W 16-7 5 4 1 4 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3rd LF
17 Harry Simpson 1958-05-30(1) NYY WSH L 8-13 5 5 0 4 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1st PH RF
There are some really cool games in there.
The Chicago White Sox currently lead the majors with 4 pitchers who have thrown 150 innings or more. The team is continuing a run of getting the most out of their starters that began 3 years ago. In 2007 they led the majors with 3 pitchers who pitched at least 200 innings. They also led in 2006 and 2005 with 4 in each of those years.
Here are the teams with the most 150 IP pitchers this season:
Year Lg Team Number Players Matching
—-+–+———————————+——+—————————————–
2008 AL Chicago White Sox 4 Mark Buehrle / Javier Vazquez / John Danks / Gavin Floyd
2008 AL Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3 Ervin Santana / Jon Garland / Joe Saunders
2008 NL Chicago Cubs 3 Ryan Dempster / Ted Lilly / Carlos Zambrano
2008 NL Cincinnati Reds 3 Johnny Cueto / Edinson Volquez / Bronson Arroyo
2008 AL Detroit Tigers 3 Kenny Rogers / Justin Verlander / Nate Robertson
2008 NL Los Angeles Dodgers 3 Chad Billingsley / Derek Lowe / Hiroki Kuroda
2008 NL New York Mets 3 Oliver Perez / Johan Santana / Mike Pelfrey
2008 AL Tampa Bay Rays 3 Andy Sonnanstine / James Shields / Matt Garza
2008 NL Arizona Diamondbacks 2 Brandon Webb / Danny Haren
2008 AL Baltimore Orioles 2 Jeremy Guthrie / Daniel Cabrera
2008 NL Colorado Rockies 2 Ubaldo Jimenez / Aaron Cook
2008 NL Florida Marlins 2 Ricky Nolasco / Scott Olsen
2008 NL Houston Astros 2 Brandon Backe / Roy Oswalt
2008 AL Kansas City Royals 2 Gil Meche / Zack Greinke
2008 AL New York Yankees 2 Mike Mussina / Andy Pettitte
2008 NL Philadelphia Phillies 2 Cole Hamels / Jamie Moyer
2008 NL Pittsburgh Pirates 2 Zach Duke / Paul Maholm
2008 NL San Francisco Giants 2 Matt Cain / Tim Lincecum
2008 NL St. Louis Cardinals 2 Kyle Lohse / Braden Looper
2008 AL Toronto Blue Jays 2 A.J. Burnett / Roy Halladay
2008 NL Atlanta Braves 1 Jair Jurrjens
2008 AL Boston Red Sox 1 Jon Lester
2008 AL Cleveland Indians 1 Cliff Lee
2008 NL Milwaukee Brewers 1 Ben Sheets
2008 AL Minnesota Twins 1 Nick Blackburn
2008 NL San Diego Padres 1 Greg Maddux
2008 AL Seattle Mariners 1 Felix Hernandez
2008 NL Washington Nationals 1 Tim Redding
Mike Pelfrey pitched his second consecutive complete game win for the Mets yesterday. He has a way to go for the franchise record, though:
StreakStart Streak End Games W L GS CG SHO GF SV IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HBP WP BK Teams
+—————–+———–+———–+—–+————————————————————————————————————————+
Tom Seaver 1969-08-26 1969-09-27 8 8 0 8 8 3 0 0 72 39 9 8 16 50 2 1.00 2 1 0 NYM
Tom Seaver 1970-06-09 1970-07-09 7 7 0 7 7 0 0 0 63 40 19 18 15 59 4 2.57 0 0 0 NYM
Tom Seaver 1971-08-16 1971-09-11 6 6 0 6 6 2 0 0 54 33 6 4 15 50 2 0.67 0 1 0 NYM
Jerry Koosman 1976-07-30 1976-08-21 5 5 0 5 5 2 0 0 45 28 7 7 11 36 2 1.40 0 1 0 NYM
Tom Seaver 1975-05-26 1975-06-15 5 5 0 5 5 2 0 0 45 25 6 6 12 32 1 1.20 0 0 0 NYM
Jerry Koosman 1969-09-08 1969-09-26 5 5 0 5 5 3 0 0 45 26 5 5 15 34 1 1.00 1 1 0 NYM
Dwight Gooden 1988-04-15 1988-05-01 4 4 0 4 4 2 0 0 33 20 6 5 4 29 1 1.36 0 1 0 NYM
Dwight Gooden 1985-07-25 1985-08-10 4 4 0 4 4 1 0 0 36 26 7 6 7 31 2 1.50 0 0 0 NYM
Jerry Koosman 1976-09-01 1976-09-16 4 4 0 4 4 1 0 0 36 18 6 5 9 33 2 1.25 0 0 0 NYM
Jon Matlack 1976-05-31 1976-06-15 4 4 0 4 4 1 0 0 36 22 4 4 8 22 2 1.00 0 1 0 NYM
Tom Seaver 1973-07-18 1973-08-01 4 4 0 4 4 1 0 0 36 26 5 4 5 37 1 1.00 1 0 0 NYM
Tom Seaver 1970-04-17 1970-05-01 4 4 0 4 4 1 0 0 36 20 3 3 6 43 2 0.75 0 0 0 NYM
Dwight Gooden 1985-09-26 1986-04-08 3 3 0 3 3 1 0 0 27 23 4 4 7 23 1 1.33 0 1 0 NYM
Craig Swan 1979-06-04 1979-06-15 3 3 0 3 3 1 0 0 27 15 3 3 2 17 3 1.00 1 0 0 NYM
Jerry Koosman 1974-06-15 1974-06-25 3 3 0 3 3 0 0 0 27 22 3 3 3 13 1 1.00 0 0 0 NYM
Tom Seaver 1973-05-07 1973-05-18 3 3 0 3 3 1 0 0 27 15 5 4 5 18 2 1.33 0 0 0 NYM
Jerry Koosman 1973-04-19 1973-04-29 3 3 0 3 3 1 0 0 27 15 3 2 5 10 1 0.67 0 0 0 NYM
Jerry Koosman 1969-07-08 1969-07-18 3 3 0 3 3 0 0 0 27 22 8 8 9 20 3 2.67 1 0 0 NYM
Tom Seaver 1969-04-30 1969-05-10 3 3 0 3 3 0 0 0 27 18 4 4 11 17 1 1.33 1 3 0 NYM
Jerry Koosman 1968-04-11 1968-04-23 3 3 0 3 3 2 0 0 27 15 1 1 7 24 0 0.33 0 0 0 NYM
Tom Seaver 1967-09-13 1967-09-23 3 3 0 3 3 1 0 0 27 15 3 3 10 23 0 1.00 1 0 0 NYM
Al Jackson 1963-09-02 1963-09-11 3 3 0 3 3 0 0 0 27 21 9 8 8 15 3 2.67 0 0 0 NYM
Carl Willey 1963-04-24 1963-05-10 3 3 0 3 3 1 0 0 27 15 4 1 5 15 1 0.33 0 0 0 NYM
That Tom Seaver…he was pretty good.
While nobody can deny that Francisco Rodriguez is having a great season, it’s interesting to note that he’s never been as dominant, at least in terms of WHIP, as the typical closer who racks up 45 or more saves.
Here’s the complete list of 46 pitchers to reach 45 saves in a season (which already includes K-Rod this year, but nobody else from 2008 since nobody else has more than 35 saves at the moment.) Currently, Rodriguez has the 6th-worst WHIP for such a season, and his two previous 45-save seaons (2004 and 2005) come in at #13 and #17. Dennis Eckersely in 1990 (0.61 ERA AND 0.61 WHIP…wow!) he’s not.
Cnt Player **WHIP** SV Year Age Tm Lg G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% IP H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+ HR BF AB 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS Pk BK WP BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ Pit Str
+—-+—————–+———+–+—-+—+—+–+—+—+–+—+–+–+–+—–+—–+—+—+—+—+—+——+—-+–+—-+—-+–+–+—+—+—+—+—+—+–+–+–+–+—–+—–+—–+—–+—-+—-+—-+
1 Antonio Alfonseca 1.514 45 2000 28 FLA NL 68 0 0 0 62 5 6 .455 70 82 35 33 24 47 4.24 104 7 311 282 13 2 3 1 3 1 10 2 0 0 2 0 .291 .347 .426 .773 105 1074 731
2 Joe Borowski 1.431 45 2007 36 CLE AL 69 0 0 0 58 4 5 .444 65.2 77 39 37 17 58 5.07 91 9 292 266 12 0 4 2 3 4 1 9 2 1 0 2 .289 .332 .436 .768 98 1179 761
3 Jose Mesa 1.374 45 2002 36 PHI NL 74 0 0 0 64 4 6 .400 75.2 65 26 25 39 64 2.97 130 5 331 281 15 0 7 4 6 1 6 2 0 0 0 9 .231 .332 .338 .670 86 1265 789
4 Rod Beck 1.320 51 1998 29 CHC NL 81 0 0 0 70 3 4 .429 80.1 86 33 27 20 81 3.02 144 11 349 320 14 3 4 2 2 5 3 8 1 0 0 2 .269 .311 .434 .745 97
5 Francisco Cordero 1.284 49 2004 29 TEX AL 67 0 0 0 63 3 4 .429 71.2 60 19 17 32 79 2.13 237 1 304 265 12 0 2 1 5 1 4 5 2 2 2 3 .226 .311 .283 .594 51 1285 827
6 Francisco Rodrigu 1.270 49 2008 26 LAA AL 60 0 0 0 54 2 2 .500 54.1 40 18 16 29 60 2.65 162 4 228 198 12 0 4 0 1 0 3 6 0 0 0 6 .202 .304 .323 .627 67 942 556
7 Bob Wickman 1.258 45 2005 36 CLE AL 64 0 0 0 55 0 4 .000 62 57 17 17 21 41 2.47 170 9 257 231 8 0 3 1 2 2 11 11 0 0 1 0 .247 .310 .398 .708 90 933 582
8 Mike Williams 1.223 46 2002 32 PIT NL 59 0 0 0 59 2 6 .250 61.1 54 24 20 21 43 2.93 144 6 258 232 8 1 3 1 4 0 3 6 0 0 0 2 .233 .299 .353 .652 74 975 601
9 Randy Myers 1.208 53 1993 30 CHC NL 73 0 0 0 69 2 4 .333 75.1 65 26 26 26 86 3.11 128 7 313 283 15 1 2 1 1 2 8 1 1 0 0 3 .230 .295 .364 .659 83
10 Randy Myers 1.156 45 1997 34 BAL AL 61 0 0 0 57 2 3 .400 59.2 47 12 10 22 56 1.51 291 2 241 217 7 1 2 0 2 0 6 0 1 2 0 3 .217 .289 .286 .575 53
11 Lee Smith 1.155 46 1993 35 TOT ML 63 0 0 0 56 2 4 .333 58 53 25 25 14 60 3.88 103 11 239 222 9 3 2 0 0 3 1 12 2 0 0 1 .239 .280 .455 .735 101
12 Dave Righetti 1.153 46 1986 27 NYY AL 74 0 0 0 68 8 8 .500 106.2 88 31 29 35 83 2.45 168 4 435 389 15 0 7 2 5 4 13 4 3 0 0 1 .226 .291 .296 .587 60
13 Francisco Rodrigu 1.144 45 2005 23 LAA AL 66 0 0 0 58 2 5 .286 67.1 45 20 20 32 91 2.67 158 7 279 245 7 2 3 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 8 .184 .277 .314 .591 59 1107 677
14 Lee Smith 1.137 47 1991 33 STL NL 67 0 0 0 61 6 3 .667 73 70 19 19 13 67 2.34 157 5 300 281 8 3 5 0 5 1 3 10 2 0 0 1 .249 .281 .352 .633 82
15 Jose Valverde 1.119 47 2007 27 ARI NL 65 0 0 0 59 1 4 .200 64.1 46 21 19 26 78 2.66 177 7 265 235 8 1 1 3 0 1 5 4 2 0 0 1 .196 .283 .328 .611 58 1065 701
16 Jeff Shaw 1.106 48 1998 31 TOT NL 73 0 0 0 69 3 8 .273 85 75 22 20 19 55 2.12 198 8 339 312 8 0 5 1 5 2 10 7 0 1 0 0 .240 .284 .343 .627 69
17 Francisco Rodrigu 1.096 47 2006 24 LAA AL 69 0 0 0 58 2 3 .400 73 52 16 14 28 98 1.73 264 6 296 264 18 0 5 1 3 0 4 2 1 1 0 10 .197 .276 .333 .609 57 1209 769
18 Mariano Rivera 1.081 53 2004 34 NYY AL 74 0 0 0 69 4 2 .667 78.2 65 17 17 20 66 1.94 231 3 316 289 7 0 3 5 2 0 11 5 1 0 0 0 .225 .287 .280 .567 50 1141 781
19 Bruce Sutter 1.076 45 1984 31 STL NL 71 0 0 0 63 5 7 .417 122.2 109 26 21 23 77 1.54 229 9 477 445 15 1 4 1 4 4 18 9 3 0 0 2 .245 .281 .344 .625 82
20 Eddie Guardado 1.049 45 2002 31 MIN AL 68 0 0 0 62 1 3 .250 67.2 53 22 22 18 70 2.93 153 9 270 247 11 0 2 1 2 2 3 4 2 2 0 0 .215 .269 .368 .637 67 1052 735
21 Bobby Thigpen 1.038 57 1990 26 CHW AL 77 0 0 0 73 4 6 .400 88.2 60 20 18 32 70 1.83 210 5 347 307 8 2 3 1 4 3 12 3 0 0 0 2 .195 .271 .283 .554 56
22 Jason Isringhause 1.035 47 2004 31 STL NL 74 0 0 0 66 4 2 .667 75.1 55 27 24 23 71 2.87 149 5 308 276 16 1 4 2 6 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 .199 .265 .319 .584 53 1177 734
23 John Smoltz 1.033 55 2002 35 ATL NL 75 0 0 0 68 3 2 .600 80.1 59 30 29 24 85 3.25 128 4 314 287 12 2 1 0 2 1 9 2 1 0 1 1 .206 .266 .303 .569 52 1169 793
24 Duane Ward 1.033 45 1993 29 TOR AL 71 0 0 0 70 2 3 .400 71.2 49 17 17 25 97 2.13 203 4 282 254 6 0 2 1 0 2 7 3 0 0 0 7 .193 .266 .264 .530 43
25 Jose Mesa 1.031 46 1995 29 CLE AL 62 0 0 0 57 3 0 1.000 64 49 9 8 17 58 1.12 415 3 250 227 4 0 2 0 4 2 8 3 1 0 0 5 .216 .268 .273 .541 40
+—-+—————–+———+–+—-+—+—+–+—+—+–+—+–+–+–+—–+—–+—+—+—+—+—+——+—-+–+—-+—-+–+–+—+—+—+—+—+—+–+–+–+–+—–+—–+—–+—–+—-+—-+—-+
Cnt Player **WHIP** SV Year Age Tm Lg G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% IP H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+ HR BF AB 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS Pk BK WP BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ Pit Str
+—-+—————–+———+–+—-+—+—+–+—+—+–+—+–+–+–+—–+—–+—+—+—+—+—+——+—-+–+—-+—-+–+–+—+—+—+—+—+—+–+–+–+–+—–+—–+—–+—–+—-+—-+—-+
26 Robb Nen 1.030 45 2001 31 SFG NL 79 0 0 0 71 4 5 .444 77.2 58 28 26 22 93 3.01 133 6 312 286 8 2 6 1 0 3 3 17 1 0 0 2 .203 .260 .308 .568 55 1173 801
27 Tom Gordon 1.008 46 1998 30 BOS AL 73 0 0 0 69 7 4 .636 79.1 55 24 24 25 78 2.72 173 2 317 288 8 1 1 0 2 2 4 7 0 0 0 9 .191 .254 .247 .501 30
28 Jeff Montgomery 1.008 45 1993 31 KCR AL 69 0 0 0 63 7 5 .583 87.1 65 22 22 23 66 2.27 203 3 347 316 14 2 4 2 5 1 3 7 1 0 0 3 .206 .263 .291 .554 45
29 Chad Cordero 0.969 47 2005 23 WSN NL 74 0 0 0 62 2 4 .333 74.1 55 24 15 17 61 1.82 224 9 300 278 3 0 2 2 2 1 3 1 2 0 0 0 .198 .248 .306 .554 52 1206 805
30 Trevor Hoffman 0.968 46 2006 38 SDP NL 65 0 0 0 50 0 2 .000 63 48 16 15 13 50 2.14 189 6 248 234 8 0 1 1 0 0 5 2 0 0 0 2 .205 .250 .316 .566 55 922 629
31 Dan Quisenberry 0.928 45 1983 30 KCR AL 69 0 0 0 62 5 3 .625 139 118 35 30 11 48 1.94 210 6 536 515 18 4 2 0 6 4 19 3 1 1 0 0 .229 .243 .315 .558 52
32 Dennis Eckersley 0.913 51 1992 37 OAK AL 69 0 0 0 65 7 1 .875 80 62 17 17 11 93 1.91 196 5 309 294 11 1 6 1 3 0 3 9 1 0 0 0 .211 .242 .306 .548 57
33 Eric Gagne 0.911 45 2004 28 LAD NL 70 0 0 0 59 7 3 .700 82.1 53 24 20 22 114 2.19 187 5 326 293 9 0 3 5 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 .181 .248 .263 .511 39 1264 867
34 Mariano Rivera 0.905 50 2001 31 NYY AL 71 0 0 0 66 4 6 .400 80.2 61 24 21 12 83 2.34 191 5 310 292 4 0 2 1 4 1 5 3 3 0 0 1 .209 .242 .274 .516 34 1160 836
35 Kazuhiro Sasaki 0.885 45 2001 33 SEA AL 69 0 0 0 63 0 4 .000 66.2 48 24 24 11 62 3.24 129 6 261 246 16 1 2 4 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 4 .195 .241 .341 .582 56 987 669
36 Mariano Rivera 0.884 45 1999 29 NYY AL 66 0 0 0 63 4 3 .571 69 43 15 14 18 52 1.83 259 2 268 245 7 1 3 3 0 2 5 4 0 0 1 2 .176 .239 .237 .476 24
37 Rod Beck 0.882 48 1993 24 SFG NL 76 0 0 0 71 3 1 .750 79.1 57 20 19 13 86 2.16 180 11 309 284 5 0 4 3 6 3 3 1 0 0 0 4 .201 .241 .335 .576 58
38 John Smoltz 0.870 45 2003 36 ATL NL 62 0 0 0 55 0 2 .000 64.1 48 9 8 8 73 1.12 383 2 244 235 12 0 1 0 0 1 6 1 1 0 0 2 .204 .230 .281 .511 36 893 648
39 Dennis Eckersley 0.867 45 1988 33 OAK AL 60 0 0 0 53 4 2 .667 72.2 52 20 19 11 70 2.35 162 5 279 263 4 0 2 1 1 3 3 3 1 0 2 0 .198 .230 .270 .500 42
40 Bryan Harvey 0.864 46 1991 28 CAL AL 67 0 0 0 63 2 4 .333 78.2 51 20 14 17 101 1.60 256 6 309 286 7 0 3 1 3 2 3 12 0 0 2 2 .178 .225 .266 .491 36
41 Eric Gagne 0.862 52 2002 26 LAD NL 77 0 0 0 68 4 1 .800 82.1 55 18 18 16 114 1.97 192 6 314 291 11 2 4 2 3 2 4 2 3 0 0 1 .189 .235 .302 .537 49 1235 864
42 Trevor Hoffman 0.849 53 1998 30 SDP NL 66 0 0 0 61 4 2 .667 73 41 12 12 21 86 1.48 263 2 274 249 6 2 2 1 3 0 7 7 0 0 0 8 .165 .232 .229 .461 30
43 Bryan Harvey 0.841 45 1993 30 FLA NL 59 0 0 0 54 1 5 .167 69 45 14 13 13 73 1.70 253 4 264 242 1 0 2 0 3 6 3 15 0 0 1 0 .186 .222 .240 .462 25
44 Armando Benitez 0.818 47 2004 31 FLA NL 64 0 0 0 59 2 2 .500 69.2 36 11 10 21 62 1.29 317 6 262 237 7 0 4 0 3 1 3 9 0 0 0 0 .152 .220 .257 .477 29 1032 696
45 Eric Gagne 0.692 55 2003 27 LAD NL 77 0 0 0 67 2 3 .400 82.1 37 12 11 20 137 1.20 335 2 306 279 6 0 2 3 4 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 .133 .199 .176 .375 4 1187 824
46 Dennis Eckersley 0.614 48 1990 35 OAK AL 63 0 0 0 61 4 2 .667 73.1 41 9 5 4 73 0.61 606 2 262 257 9 1 1 0 0 1 3 1 2 0 0 0 .160 .172 .226 .398 13
Over at 88 Topps Cards, we just saw Steve Balboni’s card and a reader noted that he still holds the single-season record for HR for the Royals franchise.
Indeed here are the top 20 seasons by HR count for Kansas City:
Cnt Player **HR** Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions
+—-+—————–+——+—-+—+—+–+—+—+—+—+—+–+–+—+—+—+—+—+—+—+—+—+–+—–+—–+—–+—–+———+
1 Steve Balboni 36 1985 28 KCR AL 160 662 600 74 146 28 2 88 52 4 166 5 0 5 14 1 1 .243 .307 .477 .784 *3
2 Gary Gaetti 35 1995 36 KCR AL 137 578 514 76 134 27 0 96 47 6 91 8 3 6 7 3 3 .261 .329 .518 .847 *53/D
3 Dean Palmer 34 1998 29 KCR AL 152 639 572 84 159 27 2 119 48 3 134 6 0 13 18 8 2 .278 .333 .510 .843 *5D
4 Danny Tartabull 34 1987 24 KCR AL 158 667 582 95 180 27 3 101 79 2 136 1 0 5 14 9 4 .309 .390 .541 .931 *9/D
5 John Mayberry 34 1975 26 KCR AL 156 683 554 95 161 38 1 106 119 16 73 4 1 5 8 5 3 .291 .416 .547 .963 *3D
6 Jermaine Dye 33 2000 26 KCR AL 157 679 601 107 193 41 2 118 69 6 99 3 0 6 12 0 1 .321 .390 .561 .951 *9D
7 Bo Jackson 32 1989 26 KCR AL 135 561 515 86 132 15 6 105 39 8 172 3 0 4 10 26 9 .256 .310 .495 .805 *7D/8
8 Danny Tartabull 31 1991 28 KCR AL 132 557 484 78 153 35 3 100 65 6 121 3 0 5 9 6 3 .316 .397 .593 .990 *9/D
9 Chili Davis 30 1997 37 KCR AL 140 567 477 71 133 20 0 90 85 16 96 1 0 4 15 6 3 .279 .386 .509 .895 *D
10 George Brett 30 1985 32 KCR AL 155 665 550 108 184 38 5 112 103 31 49 3 0 9 12 9 1 .335 .436 .585 1.021 *5/D
11 Carlos Beltran 29 2002 25 KCR AL 162 722 637 114 174 44 7 105 71 1 135 4 3 7 12 35 7 .273 .346 .501 .847 *8D
12 Mike Sweeney 29 2001 27 KCR AL 147 632 559 97 170 46 0 99 64 13 64 2 1 6 13 10 3 .304 .374 .542 .916 *3D
13 Mike Sweeney 29 2000 26 KCR AL 159 717 618 105 206 30 0 144 71 5 67 15 0 13 15 8 3 .333 .407 .523 .930 *3D
14 Steve Balboni 29 1986 29 KCR AL 138 562 512 54 117 25 1 88 43 2 146 1 0 6 8 0 0 .229 .286 .451 .737 *3
15 Jeff King 28 1997 32 KCR AL 155 647 543 84 129 30 1 112 89 4 96 2 1 12 9 16 5 .238 .341 .451 .792 *3/D
16 Bo Jackson 28 1990 27 KCR AL 111 456 405 74 110 16 1 78 44 2 128 2 0 5 10 15 9 .272 .342 .523 .865 *87D
17 Steve Balboni 28 1984 27 KCR AL 126 488 438 58 107 23 2 77 45 5 139 4 0 1 9 0 0 .244 .320 .498 .818 *3/D
18 Jermaine Dye 27 1999 25 KCR AL 158 673 608 96 179 44 8 119 58 4 119 1 0 6 17 2 3 .294 .354 .526 .880 *9/D
19 Hal McRae 27 1982 36 KCR AL 159 676 613 91 189 46 8 133 55 7 61 5 1 2 8 4 4 .308 .369 .542 .911 *D/7
20 Bob Oliver 27 1970 27 KCR AL 160 662 612 83 159 24 6 99 42 4 126 3 2 3 15 3 3 .260 .309 .451 .760 *35
It’s amazing how low the leading totals are, plus how few seasons from the Steroids Era make the top 20. I joked over on the other blog that the Royals suck even at taking steroids 
I’ve been trying to find a way with the PI to easily list the single-season HR leaders by franchise, but haven’t found a way to do that. I’m pretty sure that Balboni’s total is the lowest for all teams, ever since Carlos Pena hit 46 for the Rays last year.
This is a guest post from Martin Abramowitz, creator to the Jewish Ballplayers card set.
Ian Kinsler has hit the 2500th homer by a Jewish player in the history of the Game. The historic blow came in the 9th inning off Scott Kazmir on May 26 this season. The Texas second-baseman, who was leading the American League in hits and runs this season before going on the DL on August 18, also hit number 2499 a day earlier, this one coming off C.C. Sabbathia at Cleveland. Getting a good start toward the next milestone, Ryan Braun hit number 2501 May 30 against the Astros.
These calculations were reported yesterday by Jewish Major Leaguers, Inc., a Boston-based not-for-profit organization which produces Jewish baseball cards as part of its mission to “document American Jews in America’s Game. The Kinsler/Braun milestones will be commemorated in next season’s cards. When asked to explain the three-month delay in reporting this historic finding, Jewish Major Leaguers President Martin Abramowitz could only respond, “it took a while to comb through all of Baseball-Reference.Com’s box-scores.”
Overall, coming into the 2008 season Jewish players had tallied 2, 467 of the 245, 898 homers hit since the 1870’s. “That happens to be almost precisely one percent of all home runs, while 158 Jewish players were about nine-tenths of one percent of the roughly 16,700 players who have played the game, so we’ve clearly held our own..and with Kinsler,Braun, Youkilis, Kapler, and Ausmus this year, the prospects are encouraging.”
Here are the leaders so far this year in walk-off wins. The Reds (!) have done it 10 times followed by the Rays, Cardinals, and Marlins with 9. The Cardinals have also lost the most walk-off games, with 10, followed by the Mariners and Orioles with 9 each.
Five players have 3 walk-off plate appearances so far this year: Andre Ethier, Skip Schumaker, Miguel Cabrera, Jason Bay, and Gabe Gross.
An event in a minor league game last night made me wonder about this unusual line. A pitcher who allows only one run via homerun and yet its unearned. This can occur if the batter who homers has his at-bat extended by a dropped foul ball.
Here are the pitchers with this line since 1956.
Through August 18, Marcus Thames had 21 homeruns and 58 hits. Only 2 players in history have completed a season with more than 20 homeruns and less than 60 hits.
Cnt Player Year HR H Age Tm Lg G PA AB R 2B 3B RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions
+—-+—————–+—-+–+—+—+—+–+—+—+—+—+–+–+—+—+—+—+—+—+—+—+—+–+—–+—–+—–+—–+———+
1 Art Shamsky 1966 21 54 24 CIN NL 96 271 234 41 5 0 47 32 1 45 0 3 2 5 0 2 .231 .321 .521 .842 79
2 Mark McGwire 2001 29 56 37 STL NL 97 364 299 48 4 0 64 56 3 118 3 0 6 7 0 0 .187 .316 .492 .808 *3
Of course, Thames still has a little less than a quarter of the season left.
(more…)