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July 26, 2008
Lowest WHIP, minimum 38 years old, minimum 40 IP
Cnt Player **WHIP** IP Year Age Tm Lg G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV 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 Mariano Rivera 0.669 46.1 2008 38 NYY AL 42 0 0 0 40 4 3 .571 26 27 6 6 4 57 1.17 353 2 169 161 4 0 0 2 1 1 1 5 1 0 0 0 .168 .196 .230 .426 14 653 453
2 Hoyt Wilhelm 0.824 81.1 1966 43 CHW AL 46 0 0 0 30 5 2 .714 6 50 21 15 17 61 1.66 190 6 308 281 6 0 2 1 7 2 4 9 1 0 0 3 .178 .226 .263 .489 48
3 Hoyt Wilhelm 0.833 144 1965 42 CHW AL 66 0 0 0 45 7 7 .500 20 88 34 29 32 106 1.81 176 11 545 502 12 3 7 2 8 5 10 9 1 1 0 10 .175 .226 .277 .503 51
4 Cy Young 0.867 320.2 1905 38 BOS AL 38 33 31 4 5 18 19 .486 0 248 99 65 30 210 1.82 148 3 1238 10 0 6 0
5 Dick Hall 0.883 65.2 1969 38 BAL AL 39 0 0 0 17 5 2 .714 6 49 14 14 9 31 1.92 187 3 246 230 9 0 6 1 4 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 .213 .244 .291 .535 53
6 Doug Jones 0.884 80.1 1997 40 MIL AL 75 0 0 0 73 6 6 .500 36 62 20 18 9 82 2.02 231 4 307 289 11 1 1 3 1 5 5 2 3 0 0 2 .215 .242 .301 .543 41
7 Cy Young 0.893 299 1908 41 BOS AL 36 33 30 3 3 21 11 .656 2 230 68 42 37 150 1.26 194 1 1143 2 0 4 0
8 Randy Johnson 0.900 245.2 2004 40 ARI NL 35 35 4 2 0 16 14 .533 0 177 88 71 44 290 2.60 177 18 964 898 34 9 1 10 7 5 4 17 10 1 1 3 .197 .241 .315 .556 44 3629 2505
9 Joe Berry 0.907 111.1 1944 39 PHA AL 53 0 0 0 47 10 8 .556 12 78 32 24 23 44 1.94 179 4 445 2 0 1 0
10 Russ Springer 0.909 66 2007 38 STL NL 76 0 0 0 18 8 1 .889 0 41 18 16 19 66 2.18 201 3 257 226 6 2 1 3 3 6 4 3 3 0 0 1 .181 .248 .265 .513 37 1068 682
Best ERA+, minimum 38 years old, minimum 40 IP
Cnt Player **ERA ** IP Year Age Tm Lg G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV H R ER BB SO ERA HR BF AB 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS Pk BK WP BA OBP SLG OPS OPS Pit Str
—-+—————–+——–+—–+—-+—+—+–+—+–+–+—+–+–+–+—–+–+—+—+—+—+—+——+–+—-+—-+–+–+—+—+—+—+—+—+–+–+–+–+—–+—–+—–+—–+—-+—-+—-
1 Mariano Rivera 353 46.1 2008 38 NYY AL 42 0 0 0 40 4 3 .571 26 27 6 6 4 57 1.17 2 169 161 4 0 0 2 1 1 1 5 1 0 0 0 .168 .196 .230 .426 14 653 453
2 Marv Grissom 241 80.2 1956 38 NYG NL 43 2 0 0 20 1 1 .500 7 71 15 14 16 49 1.56 3 323 295 9 3 3 1 8 3 2 0 3 1 0 2 .241 .279 .322 .601 56
3 Doug Jones 231 80.1 1997 40 MIL AL 75 0 0 0 73 6 6 .500 36 62 20 18 9 82 2.02 4 307 289 11 1 1 3 1 5 5 2 3 0 0 2 .215 .242 .301 .543 41
4 Hoyt Wilhelm 229 89 1967 44 CHW AL 49 0 0 0 30 8 3 .727 12 58 21 13 34 76 1.31 2 360 317 8 0 4 4 4 1 3 8 6 0 0 2 .183 .270 .227 .497 57
5 Ellis Kinder 227 107 1953 38 BOS AL 69 0 0 0 51 10 6 .625 27 84 30 22 38 39 1.85 8 441 2 1 1 0
6 Roger Clemens 226 211.1 2005 42 HOU NL 32 32 1 0 0 13 8 .619 0 151 51 44 62 185 1.87 11 838 761 26 3 5 3 9 3 16 8 4 2 1 3 .198 .261 .284 .545 46 3200 2036
7 Takashi Saito 203 41.1 2008 38 LAD NL 39 0 0 0 34 3 3 .500 17 34 11 10 12 53 2.18 1 170 154 9 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 .221 .282 .299 .581 56 728 469
8 Mike Timlin 202 80.1 2005 39 BOS AL 81 0 0 0 27 7 3 .700 13 86 23 20 20 59 2.24 2 342 311 24 2 5 2 3 6 6 6 1 1 0 3 .277 .319 .386 .705 84 1169 778
9 Russ Springer 201 66 2007 38 STL NL 76 0 0 0 18 8 1 .889 0 41 18 16 19 66 2.18 3 257 226 6 2 1 3 3 6 4 3 3 0 0 1 .181 .248 .265 .513 37 1068 682
10 Terry Leach 200 73.2 1992 38 CHW AL 51 0 0 0 21 6 5 .545 0 57 17 16 20 22 1.95 2 292 265 9 3 5 4 2 1 4 7 3 1 0 0 .215 .279 .294 .573 62
Thanks, David in Toledo.
July 25, 2008
A reader asked about this on another post, and I had forgotten the answer until I looked it up.
Fewest IP in a 20-win season:
Cnt Player **IP** W Year Age Tm Lg G GS CG SHO GF L W-L% SV 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 Bob Grim 199 20 1954 24 NYY AL 37 20 8 1 8 6 .769 0 175 78 72 85 108 3.26 105 9 825 3 0 4 0
2 Pedro Martinez 199.1 20 2002 30 BOS AL 30 30 2 0 0 4 .833 0 144 62 50 40 239 2.26 202 13 787 726 35 3 1 15 2 4 10 8 5 2 0 3 .198 .254 .309 .563 47 3086 2052
3 Josh Beckett 200.2 20 2007 27 BOS AL 30 30 1 0 0 7 .741 0 189 76 73 40 194 3.27 145 17 822 772 45 3 0 5 3 2 12 14 6 1 0 3 .245 .286 .377 .663 69 3088 2041
4 Tim Hudson 202.1 20 2000 24 OAK AL 32 32 2 2 0 6 .769 0 169 100 93 82 169 4.14 113 24 847 746 32 3 5 7 5 7 17 24 3 1 0 7 .227 .306 .374 .680 75 3227 1918
5 Scott Erickson 204 20 1991 23 MIN AL 32 32 5 3 0 8 .714 0 189 80 72 71 108 3.18 134 13 851 762 39 5 3 6 5 7 22 4 10 0 0 4 .248 .314 .364 .678 83
6 David Cone 207.2 20 1998 35 NYY AL 31 31 3 0 0 7 .741 0 186 89 82 59 209 3.55 124 20 866 784 41 2 1 15 4 4 9 21 6 0 0 6 .237 .302 .371 .673 77
7 John Smiley 207.2 20 1991 26 PIT NL 33 32 2 1 0 8 .714 0 194 78 71 44 129 3.08 117 17 836 774 38 6 0 3 11 4 11 18 13 0 1 3 .251 .292 .381 .673 94
8 Andy Pettitte 208.1 21 2003 31 NYY AL 33 33 1 0 0 8 .724 0 227 109 93 50 180 4.02 109 21 896 835 34 6 3 1 5 5 18 13 1 0 0 5 .272 .312 .402 .714 89 3383 2185
9 Jamie Moyer 209.2 20 2001 38 SEA AL 33 33 1 0 0 6 .769 0 187 84 80 44 119 3.43 121 24 851 781 34 3 4 10 5 11 14 12 7 1 0 1 .239 .285 .383 .668 79 3093 1940
10 Russ Ortiz 212.1 21 2003 29 ATL NL 34 34 1 1 0 7 .750 0 177 101 90 102 149 3.81 112 17 912 793 41 3 7 4 6 7 9 22 5 2 0 5 .223 .312 .347 .659 76 3567 2102
11 Randy Johnson 213 20 1997 33 SEA AL 30 29 5 2 0 4 .833 0 147 60 54 77 291 2.28 196 20 850 758 32 1 2 10 4 1 11 13 16 3 0 4 .194 .277 .318 .595 56
12 Pedro Martinez 213.1 23 1999 27 BOS AL 31 29 5 1 1 4 .852 0 160 56 49 37 313 2.07 243 9 835 780 38 0 1 9 3 6 11 21 10 0 0 6 .205 .248 .288 .536 35
13 Jamie Moyer 215 21 2003 40 SEA AL 33 33 1 0 0 7 .750 0 199 83 78 66 129 3.27 132 19 897 810 39 1 3 8 7 6 19 11 6 4 0 0 .246 .307 .367 .674 81 3440 2134
14 Johnny Beazley 215.1 21 1942 24 STL NL 43 23 13 3 15 6 .778 3 181 67 51 73 91 2.13 162 4 890 3 0 7 0
15 Matt Morris 216.1 22 2001 26 STL NL 34 34 2 1 0 8 .733 0 218 86 76 54 185 3.16 137 13 909 823 45 2 3 13 14 5 18 11 5 2 1 5 .265 .318 .372 .690 82 3331 2162
16 Rick Helling 216.1 20 1998 27 TEX AL 33 33 4 2 0 7 .741 0 209 109 106 78 164 4.41 109 27 922 827 44 5 6 1 6 10 7 11 12 0 0 10 .253 .314 .416 .730 85
17 Bob Forsch 217.1 20 1977 27 STL NL 35 35 8 2 0 7 .741 0 210 97 84 69 95 3.48 111 20 915 835 33 2 2 3 4 4 21 15 6 2 1 9 .251 .310 .368 .678 88
18 Derek Lowe 219.2 21 2002 29 BOS AL 32 32 1 1 0 8 .724 0 166 65 63 48 127 2.58 177 12 854 787 30 3 0 12 5 2 28 19 7 0 0 5 .211 .266 .302 .568 49 3068 1956
19 Ray Sadecki 220 20 1964 23 STL NL 37 32 9 2 2 11 .645 1 232 104 90 60 119 3.68 104 16 935 850 32 4 4 1 16 8 22 7 7 2 1 7 .273 .319 .376 .695 94
20 Roger Clemens 220.1 20 2001 38 NYY AL 33 33 0 0 0 3 .870 0 205 94 86 72 213 3.51 128 19 918 833 44 3 1 5 4 4 21 34 6 3 0 14 .246 .309 .375 .684 78 3590 2274
21 Tommy John 220.1 20 1977 34 LAD NL 31 31 11 3 0 7 .741 0 225 82 68 50 123 2.78 138 12 906 842 34 4 3 3 10 1 32 8 10 0 0 6 .267 .310 .360 .670 84
22 Andy Pettitte 221 21 1996 24 NYY AL 35 34 2 0 1 8 .724 0 229 105 95 72 162 3.87 129 23 929 844 37 3 2 3 7 3 23 10 11 10 1 6 .271 .330 .404 .734 83
23 Bartolo Colon 222.2 21 2005 32 LAA AL 33 33 2 0 0 8 .724 0 215 93 86 43 157 3.48 122 26 906 847 42 5 0 3 9 4 21 2 4 0 1 2 .254 .291 .407 .698 85 3236 2200
24 Dave McNally 224.1 21 1971 28 BAL AL 30 30 11 1 0 5 .808 0 188 75 72 58 91 2.89 116 24 899 822 36 3 2 5 10 4 24 1 4 4 0 5 .229 .282 .367 .649 90
25 Tom Glavine 225 20 1992 26 ATL NL 33 33 7 5 0 8 .714 0 197 81 69 70 129 2.76 133 6 919 839 37 4 7 2 2 6 18 13 10 0 0 5 .235 .293 .310 .603 72
Mike Mussina is on pace to turn the trick this year, although odds are that he won’t achieve it.
July 23, 2008
Here are the most complete game losses anybody has had since 2003:
Games Link to Individual Games
+—————–+—–+————————-+
Roy Halladay 8 Ind. Games
Randy Johnson 7 Ind. Games
Livan Hernandez 7 Ind. Games
Jake Westbrook 6 Ind. Games
Bartolo Colon 5 Ind. Games
Tim Wakefield 4 Ind. Games
Javier Vazquez 4 Ind. Games
Ben Sheets 4 Ind. Games
Mark Redman 4 Ind. Games
Mark Mulder 4 Ind. Games
Barry Zito 3 Ind. Games
C.C. Sabathia 3 Ind. Games
Brad Radke 3 Ind. Games
Jamie Moyer 3 Ind. Games
Matt Morris 3 Ind. Games
Kevin Millwood 3 Ind. Games
Derek Lowe 3 Ind. Games
John Lackey 3 Ind. Games
Ryan Franklin 3 Ind. Games
Mark Buehrle 3 Ind. Games
Joe Blanton 3 Ind. Games
Halladay’s got 3 already this year and had 3 last year as well. Can you imagine if he’d been healthy so far in his career? He’d probably be considered the best starting pitcher over the last 10 years.
And here are all compete game no-decisions since 2003:
Games Link to Individual Games
+—————–+—–+————————-+
Mike Mussina 1 Ind. Games
Pat Hentgen 1 Ind. Games
Trivia question: how does one get a complete game no-decision? Can you figure it out? If not, click on the “Ind. Games” links above and you’ll see how.
July 22, 2008
Mariner second baseman Jose Lopez is tied for the American League lead in sacrifice flies with 9. He is also one off the league lead in sacrifice bunts with 6. I thought that these two statistics combined were an interesting mix, so I wondered if Lopez’s season is common. The answer is not usually, but this year may be different.
Since 1954 when baseball started keeping separate SH and SF records there have been 11 players to have 10 or more sacrifice flies and bunts in the same season. Here is the list.
Cnt Player Year SH SF Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions
+—-+—————–+—-+—+—+—+—+–+—+—+—+—+—+–+–+–+—+—+—+—+—+—+—+–+—–+—–+—–+—–+———+
1 Juan Uribe 2005 11 10 25 CHW AL 146 540 481 58 121 23 3 16 71 34 0 77 4 7 4 6 .252 .301 .412 .713 *6
2 Ricky Gutierrez 2001 17 11 31 CHC NL 147 606 528 76 153 23 3 10 66 40 0 56 10 13 4 3 .290 .345 .402 .747 *6
3 Roberto Alomar 1999 12 13 31 CLE AL 159 694 563 138 182 40 3 24 120 99 3 96 7 13 37 6 .323 .422 .533 .955 *4/D
4 Kevin Elster 1996 16 11 31 TEX AL 157 596 515 79 130 32 2 24 99 52 1 138 2 8 4 1 .252 .317 .462 .779 *6
5 Omar Vizquel 1995 10 10 28 CLE AL 136 622 542 87 144 28 0 6 56 59 0 59 1 4 29 11 .266 .333 .351 .684 *6
6 Jerry Browne 1990 12 11 24 CLE AL 140 610 513 92 137 26 5 6 50 72 1 46 2 12 12 7 .267 .353 .372 .725 *4
7 Wally Joyner 1986 10 12 24 CAL AL 154 674 593 82 172 27 3 22 100 57 8 58 2 11 5 2 .290 .348 .457 .805 *3
8 Rob Wilfong 1979 25 10 25 MIN AL 140 485 419 71 131 22 6 9 59 29 3 54 2 2 11 4 .313 .352 .458 .810 *4/879
9 Bert Campaneris 1976 18 11 34 OAK AL 149 631 536 67 137 14 1 1 52 63 0 80 3 4 54 12 .256 .331 .291 .622 *6
10 Brooks Robinson 1962 10 10 25 BAL AL 162 697 634 77 192 29 9 23 86 42 3 70 1 18 3 1 .303 .342 .486 .828 *5/64
11 Johnny Temple 1959 11 13 31 CIN NL 149 696 598 102 186 35 6 8 67 72 2 40 2 11 14 3 .311 .380 .430 .810 *4
As rare as this seems, Lopez is not alone yet. Here are the players who have amassed 6 of each so far this season.
Cnt SH SF Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions
+—-+—————–+—+—+—+—-+—+—+–+—+—+—+—+—+–+–+–+—+—+—+—+—+—+—+–+—–+—–+—–+—–+———+
1 Freddy Sanchez 6 6 2008 30 PIT NL 92 403 376 42 88 14 0 6 39 12 0 48 3 9 0 1 .234 .259 .319 .578 *4/D
2 Jose Lopez 6 9 2008 24 SEA AL 96 425 394 49 117 26 1 6 51 15 2 36 1 11 4 1 .297 .317 .414 .731 *4/D
3 Ian Kinsler 6 6 2008 26 TEX AL 97 469 413 84 134 34 4 14 59 38 1 56 6 7 24 1 .324 .384 .528 .912 *4
Last Night Miguel Cabrera had 5 hits and 6 RBI. He is the 45th player since 1956 to do this.
What intrigues me are the dates for the last 4 times that this has been accomplished.
Cabrera accomplished his feat on July 21, 2008.
Before him Willie Harris did it on July 21, 2007.
Before that Andruw Jones did it on July 18, 2006.
Before that Craig Monroe did it on July 22, 2005.
In 4 consecutive years the feat has been accomplished on almost the same date and in the last 3 of those years (so far) it wasn’t done on any other date.
Some of you will tell me that I’m nuts, but I found this intriguing.
July 21, 2008
As the older pitchers of the 80s and 90s begin to fade away, there are still some who are going strong. For a while, it became common for older pitchers to win a lot of games, but this year it doesn’t look like there will be all that many. However, there is this one thing. The 2 pitchers age 36 or older (Defined by June 30) with the most wins are both on the same team. Mike Mussina, with his resurgence at age 40, has 12 wins and Andy Pettitte, who makes the age 36 cutoff by 2 weeks, has 11. Is this a big deal? Probably not. However, I would like to point out that no team in the history of major league baseball has had two pitchers 36 or older win 18 games and the only team to have two such pitchers win 17 games is the 1915 Chicago Whales.
Other than the Whales, there have been 5 teams with 2 pitchers 36 or older who each won at least 15 games. All 5 of those made the playoffs. However, their stays there were not all that successful. The teams combined to go 2-5 in their postseason series, with both series victories going to the 2003 Yankees.
Here are the players with their regular season stats and their playoff stats:
(more…)
I just got curious about the most recent seasons in which a guy started 40 or more games. Here they are:
Cnt Player Year GS Age Tm Lg G CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV 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 Charlie Hough 1987 40 39 TEX AL 40 13 0 0 18 13 .581 0 285.1 238 159 120 124 223 3.79 119 36 1231 1069 42 5 1 19 5 14 12 36 13 5 9 12 .223 .311 .372 .683 80
2 Jim Clancy 1982 40 26 TOR AL 40 11 3 0 16 14 .533 0 266.2 251 122 110 77 139 3.71 121 26 1100 1012 43 7 1 2 5 4 24 10 10 1 0 6 .248 .301 .381 .682 79
3 Phil Niekro 1979 44 40 ATL NL 44 23 1 0 21 20 .512 0 342 311 160 129 113 208 3.39 120 41 1436 1290 50 6 8 11 14 7 25 40 11 2 4 18 .241 .306 .384 .690 88
4 Phil Niekro 1978 42 39 ATL NL 44 22 4 1 19 18 .514 1 334.1 295 129 107 102 248 2.88 142 16 1389 1254 42 10 5 13 13 6 13 34 12 4 3 11 .235 .298 .323 .621 71
5 Dennis Leonard 1978 40 27 KCR AL 40 20 4 0 21 17 .553 0 294.2 283 125 109 78 183 3.33 116 27 1218 1114 62 5 7 9 11 6 26 18 11 1 0 12 .254 .307 .391 .698 92
6 Mike Flanagan 1978 40 26 BAL AL 40 17 2 0 19 15 .559 0 281.1 271 128 126 87 167 4.03 87 22 1160 1053 52 4 2 3 10 5 30 11 11 5 1 8 .257 .314 .377 .691 99
7 Steve Rogers 1977 40 27 MON NL 40 17 4 0 17 16 .515 0 301.2 272 122 104 81 206 3.10 122 16 1235 1121 44 10 3 5 18 9 23 24 13 4 1 14 .243 .294 .343 .637 77
8 Phil Niekro 1977 43 38 ATL NL 44 20 2 1 16 20 .444 0 330.1 315 166 148 164 262 4.03 111 26 1428 1236 44 9 12 8 11 8 26 47 32 4 3 17 .255 .344 .368 .712 88
9 Randy Jones 1976 40 26 SDP NL 40 25 5 0 22 14 .611 0 315.1 274 109 96 50 93 2.74 120 15 1251 1173 40 3 9 4 15 9 34 15 3 2 1 0 .234 .265 .311 .576 74
10 Jim Palmer 1976 40 30 BAL AL 40 23 6 0 22 13 .629 0 315 255 101 88 84 159 2.51 130 20 1256 1140 35 8 5 8 10 14 20 33 15 3 0 5 .224 .278 .321 .599 80
11 Wilbur Wood 1975 43 33 CHW AL 43 14 2 0 16 20 .444 0 291.1 309 148 133 92 140 4.11 95 26 1245 1136 53 10 5 5 6 6 24 31 17 11 2 6 .272 .328 .405 .733 105
12 Andy Messersmith 1975 40 29 LAD NL 42 19 7 2 19 14 .576 1 321.2 244 92 82 96 213 2.29 149 22 1276 1148 29 3 2 5 20 7 24 14 7 2 0 8 .213 .275 .301 .576 67
13 Jim Kaat 1975 41 36 CHW AL 43 12 1 1 20 14 .588 0 303.2 321 121 105 77 142 3.11 125 20 1279 1172 51 6 0 9 11 10 31 4 12 2 2 0 .274 .321 .379 .700 95
14 Jim Bibby 1974 41 29 TEX AL 41 11 5 0 19 19 .500 0 264 255 146 139 113 149 4.74 75 25 1134 1001 52 9 4 9 5 6 21 24 10 0 1 11 .255 .334 .400 .734 113
15 Vida Blue 1974 40 24 OAK AL 40 12 1 0 17 15 .531 0 282.1 246 118 102 98 174 3.25 103 17 1159 1040 28 6 7 1 7 12 35 12 8 0 0 9 .237 .300 .324 .624 84
16 Joe Coleman 1974 41 27 DET AL 41 11 2 0 14 12 .538 0 285.2 272 160 137 158 177 4.32 87 30 1262 1070 47 6 13 12 16 6 26 46 9 5 0 13 .254 .355 .393 .748 113
17 Catfish Hunter 1974 41 28 OAK AL 41 23 6 0 25 12 .676 0 318.1 268 97 88 46 143 2.49 134 25 1240 1171 43 7 2 4 9 10 15 14 19 1 0 1 .229 .258 .342 .600 76
18 Fergie Jenkins 1974 41 31 TEX AL 41 29 6 0 25 12 .676 0 328.1 286 117 103 45 225 2.82 126 27 1305 1231 56 2 3 8 9 12 17 18 10 0 2 4 .232 .262 .347 .609 76
19 Mickey Lolich 1974 41 33 DET AL 41 27 3 0 16 21 .432 0 308 310 155 142 78 202 4.15 91 38 1263 1155 48 10 11 3 17 10 24 16 32 5 0 10 .268 .314 .426 .740 109
20 Nolan Ryan 1974 41 27 CAL AL 42 26 3 1 22 16 .579 0 332.2 221 127 107 202 367 2.89 118 18 1392 1165 38 6 3 9 12 4 24 28 21 3 0 9 .190 .313 .279 .592 76
21 Don Sutton 1974 40 29 LAD NL 40 10 5 0 19 9 .679 0 276 241 111 99 80 179 3.23 106 23 1148 1051 40 8 2 6 9 2 14 16 4 0 2 4 .229 .287 .348 .635 86
22 Wilbur Wood 1974 42 32 CHW AL 42 22 1 0 20 19 .513 0 320.1 305 143 128 80 169 3.60 105 27 1316 1201 50 7 8 9 14 12 33 29 16 6 0 5 .254 .303 .375 .678 91
Watching Andy Pettitte throw a gem in the Bronx yesterday got me thinking “How many ‘older’ left-handed starting pitchers in the A.L. have recently thrown really good games?” So, I turned to Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index Pitching Game Finder and set the controls for: “From 1956 to 2008, Playing in the AL, Throws LH, as Starter, (requiring Age>=36 and game_score>=80).” And, this is what I found:
Cnt AgeY.D Player Date 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 38.079 Mike Cuellar 1975-07-26 BAL @MIL W 4-0 SHO9 ,W 9 1 0 0 3 10 0 92 29 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
2 36.044 Frank Tanana 1989-08-16 DET BAL W 4-0 SHO9 ,W 9 2 0 0 2 10 0 136 81 91 32 28 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00
3 41.319 Randy Johnson 2005-07-26 NYY MIN W 4-0 GS-8 ,W 8 2 0 0 0 11 0 97 71 89 26 25 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
4 36.052 David Wells 1999-07-11 TOR @MON W 1-0 SHO9 ,W 9 2 0 0 1 7 0 103 74 89 31 29 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
5 37.015 Tommy John 1980-06-06 NYY @SEA W 3-0 SHO9 ,W 9 2 0 0 0 6 0 89 29 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
6 39.325 David Wells 2003-04-10 NYY MIN W 2-0 SHO9 ,W 9 3 0 0 0 6 0 96 72 87 32 30 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
7 38.361 David Wells 2002-05-16 NYY TBD W 13-0 SHO9 ,W 9 3 0 0 0 6 0 112 79 87 31 30 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
8 40.115 Tommy John 1983-09-14 CAL KCR L 0-1 GS-13 13 13 0 0 0 6 0 87 47 47 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 2 0 0 0 0.00
9 36.255 Jerry Koosman 1979-09-04 MIN KCR W 5-1 CG 9 ,W 9 2 1 1 0 7 1 86 29 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.00
10 38.023 Mike Cuellar 1975-05-31 BAL @CAL W 1-0 SHO9 ,W 9 1 0 0 1 2 0 86 30 27 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
11 36.167 Chuck Finley 1999-05-12 ANA @NYY W 1-0 GS-8 ,W 8 3 0 0 2 11 0 127 75 85 30 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0.00
12 44.078 Tommy John 1987-08-08 NYY @DET W 7-0 SHO9 ,W 9 2 0 0 1 3 0 85 29 27 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
13 36.330 Tommy John 1980-04-16 NYY @CHW W 6-0 SHO9 ,W 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 85 28 27 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0.00
14 39.043 Mike Cuellar 1976-06-20 BAL @TEX W 2-0 SHO9 ,W 9 3 0 0 2 6 0 85 31 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
15 38.095 Mike Cuellar 1975-08-11 BAL KCR W 4-0 SHO9 ,W 9 2 0 0 2 4 0 85 30 28 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0.00
16 36.253 Jim Kaat 1975-07-18 CHW DET W 4-0 SHO9 ,W 9 4 0 0 1 7 0 85 31 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00
17 37.117 Mike Cuellar 1974-09-02(2) BAL BOS W 1-0 SHO9 ,W 9 2 0 0 2 4 0 85 29 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0.00
18 36.072 Mike Cuellar 1973-07-19 BAL @CAL W 3-1 CG 11 ,W 11 9 1 1 2 12 1 85 44 41 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.82
19 36.213 Whitey Ford 1965-05-22 NYY WSA W 6-0 SHO9 ,W 9 3 0 0 4 8 0 85 33 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0.00
There’s a lot of “Mike Cuellar” in there. Known as “Crazy Horse,” Cuellar’s name doesn’t come up these days as much as guys like Tommy John, Jim Kaat, and David Wells in the conversation of ol’ crafty lefties in the American League. But, he deserves to be there.
July 20, 2008
This has very little to do with B-R.com but since a few people out there seem to think I know a thing or two about baseball, here are my predictions for division winners and wild card winners.
AL EAST: Boston, though behind Tampa Bay at this writing, they have a much better run-scoring differential than the Rays, and that’s with Big Papi sitting on the sidelines.
AL CENTRAL: Chicago should run away with this one in what is a pretty bad division. Only Minnesota’s good performances by young pitchers have kept them alive, and Detroit and Cleveland are too far buried already to make it back.
AL WEST: I’m going with Oakland, although this is a very tough pick. The Angels are a pretty good team who got extremely lucky in close games in the first half. Oakland has just as much offense and slightly better pitching, but is 7 games out at the moment. That’s a very tough gap to close, but I’m picking them to do it.
AL WILDCARD: Tampa Bay, or if the Rays do squeak past Boston, then the Red Sox will be the WC.
NL EAST: Philadelphia will win out here, thanks in large part to an excellent offense and excellent bullpen. Picking up Joe Blanton was odd, except that he should get them deeper into games and help keep that bullpen fresh late into the season.
NL CENTRAL: Chicago, like their AL counterparts, will run away and hide. The Cubs have by far the best offense and pitching in the division, and Sabathia alone cannot put Milwaukee over the top.
NL WEST: With all the teams here under .500, it’s unpleasant to even think about somebody “winning” the division. I’ll go with Los Angeles, who have been just .500 at home so far and will probably improve on that a bit the rest of the way, beating out Arizona by a few games.
NL WILDCARD: It will comes down to St Louis vs Milwaukee, and here is where I think the addition of Sabathia will put Milwaukee on top, and the Cardinals will be the most deserving team in baseball not to make the playoffs.
July 19, 2008
I’ve always felt that Garret Anderson was very overrated. Even at the peak of his career, 2000 to 2003 when he had at least 28 HR and 116 RBI each season, I felt his performances lacked punch and his numbers were, for the most part, a product of the offensive era he played in.
OPS+ is one of the most valuable stats we have today. OPS alone is incredibly useful, and correcting for yearly averages and park effects (which is basically what OPS+ is) lets us very easily compare players from different eras. True it involves some simplifications, including ignoring how style of game play may differ from team to team and era to era, but it’s a much better metric than comparing just raw numbers.
Anyway, here are all players with at least 250 career HR, ranked by lowest OPS+
Cnt Player **OPS+** HR From To Ages G PA AB R H 2B 3B RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Positions Teams
+—-+—————–+——–+—+—-+—-+—–+—-+—–+—–+—-+—-+—+—+—-+—-+—+—-+—+—+—+—+—-+—+—–+—–+—–+—–+———+———–+
1 Vinny Castilla 95 320 1991 2006 23-38 1854 7384 6822 902 1884 349 28 1105 423 64 1069 60 8 71 224 33 43 .276 .321 .476 .797 *56/43 ATL-COL-TBD-TOT-ATL-WSN
2 Gary Gaetti 97 360 1981 2000 22-41 2507 9817 8951 1130 2280 443 39 1341 634 57 1602 96 32 104 236 96 65 .255 .308 .434 .742 *53/D67149 MIN-CAL-TOT-KCR-STL-TOT-CHC-BOS
3 Bret Boone 101 252 1992 2005 23-36 1780 7432 6683 927 1775 366 28 1021 552 32 1295 69 55 73 168 94 53 .266 .325 .442 .767 *4/5D SEA-CIN-ATL-SDP-SEA-TOT
4 Tim Wallach 102 260 1980 1996 22-38 2212 8908 8099 908 2085 432 36 1125 649 89 1307 77 6 77 192 51 66 .257 .316 .416 .732 *5/39D7164 MON-LAD-TOT
5 Todd Zeile 103 253 1989 2004 23-38 2158 8649 7573 986 2004 397 23 1110 945 47 1279 42 8 81 223 53 51 .265 .346 .423 .769 *532/D71 STL-TOT-LAD-TEX-NYM-COL
6 Tony Armas 103 251 1976 1989 22-35 1432 5502 5164 614 1302 204 39 815 260 37 1201 15 11 52 149 18 20 .252 .287 .453 .740 987/D36 PIT-OAK-BOS-CAL
7 Steve Finley 104 304 1989 2007 24-42 2583 10460 9397 1443 2548 449 124 1167 844 69 1299 53 91 75 152 320 118 .271 .332 .442 .774 *89/7D1 BAL-HOU-SDP-ARI-TOT-LAA-SFG-COL
8 Brooks Robinson 104 268 1955 1977 18-40 2896 11782 10654 1232 2848 482 68 1357 860 120 990 53 101 114 297 28 22 .267 .322 .401 .723 *5/46 BAL
9 Garret Anderson 105 266 1994 2008 22-36 1954 8242 7763 995 2295 475 34 1257 387 99 1091 6 12 74 174 77 45 .296 .327 .468 .795 *78D9 CAL-ANA-LAA
10 Ruben Sierra 105 306 1986 2006 20-40 2186 8782 8044 1084 2152 428 59 1322 610 102 1239 7 1 120 193 142 52 .268 .315 .450 .765 *9D7/8 TEX-TOT-OAK-CHW-TEX-SEA-NYY-MIN
11 Joe Carter 105 396 1983 1998 23-38 2189 9154 8422 1170 2184 432 53 1445 527 86 1387 90 10 105 132 231 66 .259 .306 .464 .770 7983D/45 CHC-CLE-SDP-TOR-TOT
12 Dante Bichette 106 274 1988 2001 24-37 1704 6855 6381 934 1906 401 27 1141 355 32 1078 41 5 73 176 152 73 .299 .336 .499 .835 *97/D85 CAL-MIL-COL-TOT-BOS
13 Lance Parrish 106 324 1977 1995 21-39 1988 7797 7067 856 1782 305 27 1070 612 62 1527 37 23 58 197 28 37 .252 .313 .440 .753 *2D/397 DET-PHI-CAL-TOT-CLE-PIT-TOR
14 Tom Brunansky 106 271 1981 1994 20-33 1800 7169 6289 804 1543 306 33 919 770 43 1187 30 8 72 146 69 70 .245 .327 .434 .761 *9/78D3 CAL-MIN-TOT-STL-BOS-MIL-TOT
15 Eric Karros 107 284 1991 2004 23-36 1755 7100 6441 797 1724 324 11 1027 552 21 1167 31 0 76 181 59 30 .268 .325 .454 .779 *3/D LAD-CHC-OAK
16 Dean Palmer 107 275 1989 2003 20-34 1357 5513 4902 734 1229 231 15 849 502 21 1332 54 4 51 95 48 31 .251 .324 .472 .796 *5D/736 TEX-TOT-KCR-DET
17 Larry Parrish 107 256 1974 1988 20-34 1891 7450 6792 850 1789 360 33 992 529 79 1359 42 31 56 187 30 36 .263 .318 .439 .757 *59D/376 MON-TEX-TOT
18 Frank Thomas 107 286 1951 1966 22-37 1766 6916 6285 792 1671 262 31 962 484 55 894 51 26 70 191 15 22 .266 .320 .454 .774 7583/94 PIT-CIN-CHC-TOT-NYM-CHC
19 Graig Nettles 110 390 1967 1988 22-43 2700 10226 8986 1193 2225 328 28 1314 1088 94 1209 50 12 90 197 32 36 .248 .329 .421 .750 *5/739D68 MIN-CLE-NYY-SDP-ATL-MON
20 Vada Pinson 110 256 1958 1975 19-36 2469 10403 9645 1366 2757 485 127 1170 574 69 1196 54 52 78 164 305 122 .286 .327 .442 .769 *897/3D CIN-STL-CLE-CAL-KCR
Just as I suspected, Anderson checks in high on the list at #9. Three other guys who have also been hugely overrated–Vinny Castilla, Bret Boone, and Steve FInley–also make it ahead of Garret. And before you freak out, Frank Thomas at #18 is old-school Frank Thomas, not the current player. Current Frank Thomas has the 13th best OPS+ ever for a player with 250+ HR. The full list is right here.
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