Comments on: The 3,000 hit club (but not the one you think)

By: JR

JR — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:01:45 +0000

How about the fact that Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling are the only two pitchers to strike out 3,000 batters and give up less than 3,000 hits. Schilling gave up 2,998 hits and Pedro a ridiciulous 2,221.

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:03:20 +0000

I think it's down to 2 points, including the one you named, specifically that guys who give up tons of home runs don't typically last very long and getting to 500 HR is just about impossible. The other point is that for much of baseball history, the top pitchers in the league accumulated more hits than the top batters. Roughly speaking, top batters each year get 200 hits whereas top pitchers each year give up 300 hits. So, all things being equal, getting to a distant total like 3000 is 'easier' for pitchers.

By: Spartan Bill

Spartan Bill — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:00:31 +0000

Why is it that the pitchers outnumber the hitters in the 3000 hit club 124 to 27, yet the hitters outnumber the pitchers in the 500 HR club 25 to 1.

Another way of looking at this is the 3000 H club and the 500 HR club are practically the same size for hitters, yet for pitchers, the disparity is 124 to 1. (likely 124 to 2 soon)

I understand that you can survive as a pitcher giving up singles more easily than you can giving up HR's, but still these ratios are astounding to me.

By: Spartan Bill

Spartan Bill — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:39:44 +0000

I just heard about Robin Roberts passing. had I known about it a couple of hours ago, i would not have made the light-hearted post (number 1) above.

He was the only HOFer to come out of MSU, and was also a starter on their basketball team.

By: Baseball-Reference Blog » Blog Archive » Robin Roberts 1926-2010

Baseball-Reference Blog » Blog Archive » Robin Roberts 1926-2010 — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:33:10 +0000

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By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:28:55 +0000

It's a shame that Vazquez, who showed how good he can be last year, could be lucky to finish as a .500 pitcher. He is good at piling up numbers though. He'll probably be the next to 3000 H and 3000 SO.

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:15:52 +0000

Crap, Robin Roberts' death was just announced.

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:52:45 +0000

JT, I'm not sure you have interpreted that stat in the way it was meant. 🙂

By: Johnny Twisto

Johnny Twisto — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:49:15 +0000

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I hereby withdraw my HOF vote for Cy Young.

By: Alan

Alan — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:47:16 +0000

Keep an eye on Jamie Moyer. He joins the 500 HR allowed club with two more long balls.