Posted by Andy on November 4, 2009
While I'm still captivated by the World Series that's going on, anybody who isn't is already thinking about this year's crop of free agents.
(As an aside, how could you not be captivated by tonight's game? One of two things is likely: the Yankees might beat Pedro to win the World Series or Pedro might beat the Yankees to push the series to a seventh and final game...how could you NOT tune in?)
Anyway, it's a pretty thin class for this year's free agents. We'll get into it more during the off-season, but I caught wind of an interesting fact pointed out by an agent. Can you name the only 3 players to have 4 seasons with 30+ HR, 100+ RBI and 100+ runs over the period 2005-2009?
I'll spot you the first two--Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez. Can you name the third? Answer is below...
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Posted in Season Finders | 10 Comments »
Posted by Neil Paine on November 3, 2009
Posted in Site Features, Tutorial Videos, Tutorials | 2 Comments »
Posted by Sean Forman on November 3, 2009
B-R User Survey
Most all of the good ideas on Baseball-Reference.com have come from user suggestions or comments. It's been awhile since we ran a survey to get user feedback on what you think of the site and what things you would like to see added. So I would like to take this time to ask you for your feedback. The survey should take 5-10 minutes, and you should feel free to leave anything you want blank.
Users with a sponsorship account will get a $2 bonus upon the completion of a survey.
Posted in Administration, Announcements, Power Users, Site Features, Suggestions | 2 Comments »
Posted by Sean Forman on November 3, 2009
It was noted by an Arkansan on SABR-L that Lee and Burnett were both from Arkansas and were born within a year of each other, Burnett from North Little Rock and Lee from Benton. This was the 38th time that the two WS starters from the same state in the Union. The most recent was Kevin Appier and Russ Ortiz, both from California, faced each other twice in the 2002 World Series.
Surprisingly, at least to me, no foreign country has boasted two native sons starting in a World Series game.
Full List after the jump
Here is the full list.
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Posted in Postseason, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Posted by Andy on November 3, 2009
Chase Utley did it again last night, hitting two homers in a World Series game.
Check out the most recent multi-homer games in the playoffs:
Cnt Player Date Series G Tm Opp GmReslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions
+----+-----------------+-------------+------+-+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+
1 Chase Utley 2009-11-02 WS 5 PHI NYY W 8-6 4 3 3 2 0 0 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3rd 2B
2 Jayson Werth 2009-10-31 WS 3 PHI NYY L 5-8 4 4 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5th RF
3 Chase Utley 2009-10-28 WS 1 PHI @NYY W 6-1 5 4 2 2 0 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3rd 2B
4 Jayson Werth 2009-10-21 NLCS 5 PHI LAD W 10-4 4 4 3 3 0 0 2 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5th RF
5 Ryan Howard 2008-10-26 WS 4 PHI TBR W 10-2 5 4 2 3 0 0 2 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th 1B
6 Dustin Pedroia 2008-10-11 ALCS 2 BOS @TBR L 8-9 6 5 4 3 0 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd 2B
7 B.J. Upton 2008-10-06 ALDS 4 TBR @CHW W 6-2 5 4 2 2 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd CF
8 Pat Burrell 2008-10-05 NLDS 4 PHI @MIL W 6-2 4 4 2 3 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5th LF
9 Mike Napoli 2008-10-05 ALDS 3 LAA @BOS W 5-4 6 5 3 3 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7th C
10 Evan Longoria 2008-10-02 ALDS 1 TBR CHW W 6-4 4 3 2 3 0 0 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4th 3B
11 Carlos Beltran 2006-10-15 NLCS 4 NYM @STL W 12-5 5 3 4 3 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3rd CF
12 Magglio Ordonez 2006-10-14 ALCS 4 DET OAK W 6-3 5 4 2 2 0 0 2 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th RF
13 Carlos Delgado 2006-10-13 NLCS 2 NYM STL L 6-9 5 5 2 2 0 0 2 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th 1B
14 Milton Bradley 2006-10-11 ALCS 2 OAK DET L 5-8 5 5 2 4 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3rd RF
15 Frank Thomas 2006-10-03 ALDS 1 OAK @MIN W 3-2 4 4 2 3 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th DH
16 Manny Ramirez 2005-10-07 ALDS 3 BOS CHW L 3-5 4 3 2 2 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th LF
17 A.J. Pierzynski 2005-10-04 ALDS 1 CHW BOS W 14-2 4 3 4 3 1 0 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7th C
18 Johnny Damon 2004-10-20 ALCS 7 BOS @NYY W 10-3 6 6 2 3 0 0 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1st CF
19 Hideki Matsui 2004-10-16 ALCS 3 NYY @BOS W 19-8 6 6 5 5 2 0 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th LF
20 Scott Rolen 2004-10-14 NLCS 2 STL HOU W 6-4 4 4 2 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th 3B
21 Carlos Beltran 2004-10-11 NLDS 5 HOU @ATL W 12-3 5 5 3 4 0 0 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd CF
22 Shawn Green 2004-10-09 NLDS 3 LAD STL W 4-0 4 4 2 3 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5th 1B
23 Larry Walker 2004-10-05 NLDS 1 STL LAD W 8-3 4 4 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd RF
Players for the Phillies have the last 5 such games, which is pretty amazing. They're players have done it a total of 6 times in the last 2 seasons. (Keep in mind I'm talking about a single player having at least 2 homers in a game, not the team hitting at least 2 homers, which of course happens quite frequently.)
This year, Chase Utley and Jayson Werth have joined this pretty exclusive club of players with at least 2 multi-homer playoff games.
Games Link to Individual Games
+-----------------+-----+-------------------------+
Babe Ruth 4 Ind. Games
Manny Ramirez 3 Ind. Games
Bernie Williams 2 Ind. Games
Jayson Werth 2 Ind. Games
Chase Utley 2 Ind. Games
Jim Thome 2 Ind. Games
Duke Snider 2 Ind. Games
Mickey Mantle 2 Ind. Games
Jeff Kent 2 Ind. Games
Eric Karros 2 Ind. Games
Chipper Jones 2 Ind. Games
Reggie Jackson 2 Ind. Games
Troy Glaus 2 Ind. Games
Lou Gehrig 2 Ind. Games
Steve Garvey 2 Ind. Games
George Brett 2 Ind. Games
Carlos Beltran 2 Ind. Games
Willie Aikens 2 Ind. Games
Those two guys are half of the total group to have at least 2 multi-homer playoff games in the same post-season:
Year Games Link to Individual Games
+-----------------+----+-----+-------------------------+
Jayson Werth 2009 2 Ind. Games
Chase Utley 2009 2 Ind. Games
Troy Glaus 2002 2 Ind. Games
Willie Aikens 1980 2 Ind. Games
Finally, here's a nice piece of playoff trivia. Can you recall the last guy to hit THREE homers in a single playoff game? I couldn't. It's been done a total of six times in history (by five different players)...how many of those guys can you name? The full list is after the jump.
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Posted in Game Finders, Postseason | 1 Comment »
Posted by Steve Lombardi on November 2, 2009
Using Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Pitching Game Finder, for the both the regular season and the post-season, I decided to look at starting pitchers employed by the Steinbrenner family to see which were the most "Jack Morris-like" in both the regular and post-season for the Yankees since 1973. (By, "Jack Morris-like" I mean going at least 7 innings in a start and allowing four earned runs or less while doing it.)
And, here's what I found...first...the regular season stats leaderboard:
From 1973 to 2009, Playing for Yanks, as SP, (requiring IP>=7 and ER<=4),
sorted by greatest number of games matching selected criteria in a regular season
Year Games Link to Individual Games
+-----------------+----+-----+-------------------------+
Catfish Hunter 1975 32 Ind. Games
Doc Medich 1974 27 Ind. Games
Tommy John 1979 27 Ind. Games
Mel Stottlemyre 1973 25 Ind. Games
Melido Perez 1992 25 Ind. Games
Catfish Hunter 1976 25 Ind. Games
Ron Guidry 1978 25 Ind. Games
Ron Guidry 1985 24 Ind. Games
C.C. Sabathia 2009 23 Ind. Games
Ed Figueroa 1976 23 Ind. Games
Ed Figueroa 1978 23 Ind. Games
Pat Dobson 1974 23 Ind. Games
Mike Mussina 2001 21 Ind. Games
Doc Medich 1975 21 Ind. Games
Tommy John 1980 21 Ind. Games
Andy Pettitte 1997 20 Ind. Games
Mike Mussina 2003 20 Ind. Games
Doc Medich 1973 20 Ind. Games
Ron Guidry 1979 20 Ind. Games
Ron Guidry 1983 20 Ind. Games
And, next...the post-season stats leaderboard:
From 1973 to 2009, Playing for Yanks, as SP, (requiring IP>=7 and ER<=4),
sorted by greatest number of games matching selected criteria in a post-season
Year Games Link to Individual Games
+-----------------+----+-----+-------------------------+
Orlando Hernandez 1999 4 Ind. Games
David Wells 2003 3 Ind. Games
David Wells 1998 3 Ind. Games
C.C. Sabathia 2009 3 Ind. Games
Andy Pettitte 2003 3 Ind. Games
Andy Pettitte 1996 3 Ind. Games
Orlando Hernandez 2000 3 Ind. Games
Mike Torrez 1977 2 Ind. Games
Andy Pettitte 2000 2 Ind. Games
Andy Pettitte 2001 2 Ind. Games
Andy Pettitte 1998 2 Ind. Games
Andy Pettitte 1999 2 Ind. Games
Mike Mussina 2001 2 Ind. Games
Mike Mussina 2003 2 Ind. Games
Jon Lieber 2004 2 Ind. Games
Catfish Hunter 1976 2 Ind. Games
Orlando Hernandez 1998 2 Ind. Games
Ron Guidry 1981 2 Ind. Games
Ron Guidry 1978 2 Ind. Games
Ron Guidry 1977 2 Ind. Games
David Cone 1995 2 Ind. Games
David Cone 1999 2 Ind. Games
Roger Clemens 2003 2 Ind. Games
Roger Clemens 1999 2 Ind. Games
Roger Clemens 2000 2 Ind. Games
There's a lot of imports on these lists - as far as the Yankees are concerned. Note: Catfish Hunter, Tommy John, Ed Figueroa, Mike Mussina, Orlando Hernandez, David Wells, Mike Torrez, David Cone and Roger Clemens...and...of course, there's CC Sabathia. (Note that Sabathia's post season numbers, here, are only through Game 4 of the 2009 World Series.)
So, is CC Sabathia the most "Jack Morris-like" pitcher...or, "ace"...that the Yankees have imported, overall, including both the regular season and post-season, since Mike Mussina and, before that, Catfish Hunter?
Looking at these leaderboards, what would you say?
Posted in Game Finders | 1 Comment »
Posted by Raphy on November 2, 2009
Last week I mentioned the 12 players who won the first game of more than one World Series. Here are the nine pitchers have won the final game of more than one World Series. Only Bob Gibson appears on both lists:
Posted in Game Finders, Postseason | Comments Off on Winning It All
Posted by Sean Forman on November 2, 2009
Crowd watching "playograph" at Herald Bldg., World Series, 1911 (LOC) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Interest in the WS has always been high. The picture above is from the 1911 World Series. Gameday Circa 1911.
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by Raphy on November 2, 2009
Chase Utley's World Series Career has been relatively brief. Utley's 9 career World Series games tie him for 37th among second baseman. Yet, no second baseman has hit more World Series home runs. Utley's Game 4, 7th inning blast was his 5th, tying him with Billy Martin for most ever by a second baseman. It should be noted that it took Martin 27 games at second to reach that total. Here are the leaders:
If 5 home runs doesn't sound like enough to be the all-time leader in a category, check out the leaders at third base and shortstop. Here are the World Series Home Run leaders at the other positions:
Pitcher: Dave McNally , Bob Gibson 2
Catcher: Yogi Berra 9
1st Base: Lou Gehrig 10
Shortstop: Derek Jeter 3
3rd Base: Gil McDougald , Scott Brosius 4
Left Field: Babe Ruth 9
Center Field: Mickey Mantle 15
Right Field: Frank Robinson 8
DH: Ryan Klesko 3
Pinch hitter: Chuck Essegian , Bernie Carbo 2
Posted in Event Finders, Home Runs, Leaders, Postseason | 3 Comments »
Posted by Raphy on November 1, 2009
A-rod's home run was the most talked about play of tonight's game. However, Rodriguez also tied a World Series record by being hit by 2 pitches. Rodriguez should be happy he escaped with a win. All of the previous 5 players who suffered through this fate also had to deal with their team losing :
Cnt Player Date Series G Tm Opp GmReslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO **HBP** SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions
+----+-----------------+-------------+------+-+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+--+-------+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+
1 Jeff Bagwell 2005-10-22 WS 1 HOU @CHW L 3-5 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6th DH
2 Todd Pratt 2000-10-21 WS 1 NYM @NYY L 3-4 5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8th C
3 Frank Robinson 1961-10-08 WS 4 CIN NYY L 0-7 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th RF
4 Yogi Berra 1953-10-02 WS 3 NYY @BRO L 2-3 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4th C
5 Max Carey 1925-10-07 WS 1 PIT WSH L 1-4 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2nd CF
Posted in Game Finders, Postseason | 3 Comments »
