Fewest walks while qualifying for the batting title – Baseball-Reference PI
Posted by Sean Forman on August 25, 2007
Fewest walks while qualifying for the batting title - Baseball-Reference PI
Slim Rodriguez is at 5 BB so far this year. Can he beat Dunston's modern record of 8 in 1997?
To do this, I used the Batting Season Finder, selected "Qualified for Batting Title" in minimum playing time and then Sorted by BB and checked ascending.
August 25th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Check out the Ozzie Guillen seasons all over that list. There's a surprise.
August 25th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
He just got his 6th walk last night, shortly after Polanco ended his errorless streak.
Also, it's interesting how a good majority of those guys on the list are catchers.
August 26th, 2007 at 12:03 am
Wait, I just heard on ESPN that they decided to give Polanco's error to Marcus Thames after all. That was my thought when I first saw the play, so I think they got it right this time.
August 26th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Are you able to do errorless streaks with the PI yet?
August 26th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I don't believe so.
Errors as a defensive stat don't come close to telling the whole picture anyway. I mean--long errorless streaks are impressive, but if the player's range is below league average, then it's not all that valuable.
August 26th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Wait, another correction, Pudge got walked twice that game... once was intentional...
August 27th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Haha! Thanks for the cute response about fielding stats. And can I ask what a Sac Fly streak tells us about a batter? 😉
In all seriousness, errorless streaks might actually help support our so-called "nerdy" distaste for traditional fielding states (namely E's and Fielding % - ESPN still uses these exclusively on Sunday Night Baseball!)! You'd get a list of errorless streaks, but alongside the streak, you'd be able to compare chances and zone ratings and everything, and see how, for example, one aggressive shortstop's shorter errorless streak had more value than a longer one from a rangeless guy. Or maybe Ozzie Smith would never appear with a super long streak, and Derek Jeter would... Statistical anomalies and stuff like that. Isn't that what the PI is good for?