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Baseball license plate

Posted by Andy on March 29, 2011

Baseball is on my brain...

Today I encountered this license plate:

I immediately wondered if any batter has exactly 886 extra base hits or if any pitcher allowed exactly 886.

Answers

Batters:

Rk Player XBH From To Age G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Pos Tm
1 Todd Helton 895 1997 2010 23-36 1930 8234 6904 1270 2236 527 35 333 1239 1197 178 973 53 3 77 170 36 27 .324 .424 .555 .979 *3/79D COL
2 Harmon Killebrew 887 1954 1975 18-39 2435 9831 8147 1283 2086 290 24 573 1584 1559 160 1699 48 0 77 243 19 18 .256 .376 .509 .884 357D/49 WSH-MIN-KCR
3 Joe Carter 881 1983 1998 23-38 2189 9154 8422 1170 2184 432 53 396 1445 527 86 1387 90 10 105 132 231 66 .259 .306 .464 .771 7983D/45 CHC-CLE-SDP-TOR-TOT
4 Joe DiMaggio 881 1936 1951 21-36 1736 7671 6821 1390 2214 389 131 361 1537 790 0 369 46 14 0 130 30 9 .325 .398 .579 .977 *8/793 NYY
5 Steve Finley 877 1989 2007 24-42 2583 10460 9397 1443 2548 449 124 304 1167 844 69 1299 53 91 75 152 320 118 .271 .332 .442 .775 *89/7D1 BAL-HOU-SDP-ARI-TOT-LAA-SFG-COL
6 Harry Heilmann 876 1914 1932 19-37 2147 8960 7787 1291 2660 542 151 183 1539 856 0 550 40 277 0 0 113 64 .342 .410 .520 .930 *93/847 DET-CIN
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/29/2011.

Bobby Abreu (857) and Albert Pujols (849) should get there this year.

Pitchers:

Rk Player XBH From To Age G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+ HR BF IBB HBP BK WP Tm
1 Terry Mulholland 891 1986 2006 23-43 685 332 46 10 128 124 142 .466 5 2575.2 2833 1396 1262 681 1325 4.41 94 293 11060 65 70 3 64 SFG-TOT-PHI-NYY-CHC-ATL-CLE-MIN-ARI
2 Mark Langston 887 1984 1999 23-38 457 428 81 18 3 179 158 .531 0 2962.2 2723 1438 1306 1289 2464 3.97 108 311 12562 34 46 22 89 SEA-TOT-CAL-ANA-SDP-CLE
3 Mike Moore 885 1982 1995 22-35 450 440 79 16 6 161 176 .478 2 2831.2 2858 1516 1381 1156 1667 4.39 95 291 12203 61 55 11 135 SEA-OAK-DET
4 Jerry Reuss 878 1969 1990 20-41 628 547 127 39 41 220 191 .535 11 3669.2 3734 1700 1483 1127 1907 3.64 100 245 15582 118 59 23 107 STL-HOU-PIT-LAD-TOT-CHW
5 Rick Wise 875 1964 1982 18-36 506 455 138 30 15 188 181 .509 0 3127.1 3227 1455 1281 804 1647 3.69 101 261 13157 83 44 9 49 PHI-STL-BOS-CLE-SDP
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/29/2011.

So close, but not quite.

Related posts:

    Another license plate
    More baseball license plates
    BOS: 1192 Plate Appearances in 2007, with Any Baserunners – Baseball-Reference PI
    Plate appearances by relievers
    Most go-ahead plate appearances in 2011

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 at 12:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

18 Responses to “Baseball license plate”

  1. Larry R. Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 1:05 pm

    I don't know which is more surprising...24 triples or 19 SBs for Harmon Killebrew.

  2. DavidRF Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 1:16 pm

    @1
    I was curious, so I spot checked some of Killebrew's steals. Amusingly, he was a trail runner on several double and triple steals in 1969. He doesn't have to worry about himself getting thrown out if Carew or Tovar are screaming down the third baseline. So, there's a few freebies in there.

  3. Dennis Garone Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 1:16 pm

    I know it but I am always amazed.. Only 369 strike outs for DiMaggio.And a wonderful list of .500 pitchers (although Wise and Reuss had some success)..

  4. dukeofflatbush Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 1:35 pm

    Mike Moore gave up 885 XBHs and has exactly 1 XBH as a hitter.
    If my math is right that's 886.
    Despite being a career American leaguer and having only 1 official PA, he did come to the plate three times in the 1989 WS. He was 1-3, with a double.
    I don't know if he resides in the Commonwealth.

  5. John Autin Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 1:50 pm

    Duke, you got me thinking....
    Steve Finely does have 886 career extra-base hits, if you count the 9 he had in postseason games.

    I don't see any Massachusetts connection, though.

  6. John Autin Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 1:59 pm

    J.D. Drew has an .886 OPS.

  7. The DGs Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 2:00 pm

    Maybe it's this guy's car (and he's had the plate for a while):
    http://theeverymanblog.wordpress.com/2007/12/30/hall-of-fame-philosophy/

    886 XBH is the median amount for HOF left fielders. It looks like he was making a case for Jim Rice to be elected and since it's an MA plate...

    It sure is an obscure way to pull for Rice to be elected and it's time to change it.

  8. Andrew Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 2:11 pm

    Publishing a stranger's license plate number is a crime in Massachusetts.

    Hope you got a good lawyer.

  9. Andy Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    Not only ain't it a crime, it ain't a stranger.

  10. Mr. Dave Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    Strange that Helton has more XBH than Killebrew, but likely won't make it into the Hall. I wonder if that is due to the Coors Field bias....

  11. DavidRF Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    @10
    Really? The same chart has Finley ahead of Heilmann and DiMaggio on par with Carter.

  12. DoubleDiamond Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 8:53 pm

    Mulholland, Reuss, and Wise all pitched complete game no-hitters in the majors, while Langston was the starting pitcher on a combined no-hitter.

  13. John Autin Says:
    March 29th, 2011 at 10:56 pm

    Nice grab on the no-hit brigade, DoubleDiamond!

    Playing tack-on (and run-on)....
    Mike Moore never threw a no-hitter, but in 1993 alone he threw a pair of 1-hit shutouts and a 2-hitter. One of Moore's 1-hitters featured no other baserunners; perfection was marred only by a 6th-inning single off the bat of A's rookie RF Scott Lydy, who was hitting .196 before the game and finished with 23 hits in his only season in the bigs.

    Moore is one of the few pitchers in the divisional era who made 2 WS starts separated by just 1 game -- the catch being that it was the earthquake-interrupted 1989 Series. Moore won games 2 and 4, making him the last A's pitcher to win a WS game. He was also among the most durable pitchers of his time; from 1984-93, only Frank Viola topped Moore's 342 starts.

    Those 3 shutouts in 1993, the last of Moore's career, came in a season in which he had a 5.22 ERA / 82 ERA+. Which leads to the digression off my digression....

    The '93 Tigers must have been a fun team to pitch for. They were an offensive powerhouse, leading MLB in scoring by a margin of 52 runs, but without a superstar; they're the only team in modern history with 6 regulars (400+ PAs) at 130 OPS+ or higher, yet none topped 138. The barrage was built on HRs and walks, and was led by a couple of over-30 castoffs with no set position. Tony Phillips led the majors with 132 walks, had a .443 OBP and scored 113 runs, in the midst of an 8-year stretch averaging 107 walks and 104 runs (he led the AL in total runs in that stretch; only Bonds scored more). With 7 HRs in '93, Phillips is the only man since Eddie Stanky (1950) to draw more than 125 walks with less than 10 HRs in a season. Meanwhile, Mickey Tettleton added 109 walks and 32 HRs, his 3rd straight season of 30-100 since the Tigers heisted him from Baltimore.

    Despite leading the league in walks (by 110) and OBP and a not especially fleet lineup, the Tigers hit into fewer DPs than any other team -- one of the hidden benefits of their league-high K total.

  14. John Autin Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 12:24 am

    @10, Mr. Dave --
    When you say "Coors Field bias," are you talking about the massive park factor of Coors Field, and Helton's huge home/road split? (BA split is .356/.291, SLG is .628/.481, OPS is 1.082/.873.)

    Or do you believe that awards voters and HOF voters have a bias against players whose careers were centered in Coors Field?

  15. Doug Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 1:18 am

    @14.

    Joe D. on a par with Carter? Uh ... no !

    For starters, 200 points difference in OPS, 1000 difference in Ks, almost 1500 difference in PAs.

    They may have ended up with the same XBH, but Carter made a heck of a lot more outs to get his.

  16. Gerry Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 2:05 am

    Maybe you should be looking for someone who got the only XBH of his career in August of 1986 (8/86).

  17. dukeofflatbush Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 9:42 am

    @ john autin,

    Since you started a tangental on Mickey Tettleton and his productivity.
    Only 11 players have managed 30+ HR and 100+ BB while scoring less than 85 times a total of 15 times. Tettleton did it 4 of those years.
    He may have had 5 years in a row if it were not for the strike.
    I imagine this comes from hitting 5th with a weak 6th hitter.
    But someone who just missed the list who had a freak year was Mcgwire in 1997. He had 58 HRs + 101 BB, but scored only 86 times. Minus his HR from his R and you get 28 R with (258 - HR) 200 times on base. He was stranded 172 times.

  18. Another license plate » Baseball-Reference Blog » Blog Archive | Baseball Says:
    April 11th, 2011 at 5:44 am

    [...] posts: Baseball permit plate ← Number 5 Type Collection: 1976 Sportstix Baseball #5, Ted Simmons How To Choose The Right [...]

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