30 Responses to “The 2011 Mets and the Longest Team Homerless Streaks”

1. John Autin Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 2:08 pm

   Just for symmetry, the Mets also have not homered in their last 10 home games.

   Of course, 2 of their top 3 power hitters (Ike Davis and David Wright) have been on the DL for over 2 weeks; Jason Bay hasn't looked like a power hitter since 2009; and besides Beltran, no one else on the team is really expected to hit HRs. Reyes has just 1 this year (career avg. 12 HR per 162 games), but nobody's complaining about Reyes.

   The homerless streak isn't really that troubling. If they could get a hit from the 7th inning on (their .203 BA for innings 7-9 is last in the NL), or with a runner on 3rd base (.189 true BA with a man on 3rd), they'd be over .500.

2. BSK Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 2:14 pm

   1991 Angels managed a meager 2 runs per game on a 198/268/244 slash line. The 1988 Giants outdid them on the slash line (187/279/224) but put a few more runs across the plate (27 in 12 games).

   On the other end of the spectrum, you have the 1983 Braves, who pushed 4.53 runs across, just off their season average (inclusive) of 4.60. Interestingly enough, the Braves led the NL in runs that year and were 4th in HRs.

   I can't see a way other than manually to see if any of the other teams were above average offenses.

3. Dennis Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 2:47 pm

   This has been bothering me forever but I never thought it was worth sending an e-mail. Nobody calls Daniel Murphy "Dan." Not the media and not the fans. Only B-R. Also, Jon Niese is called "Jonathon" maybe once in ten times. Not sure why B-R uses the long form of Niese's name and the short form of Murphy's name.

4. Jeff H Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 3:12 pm

   The 1991 Cardinals only hit 68 homers all year and had a team OPS+ of 91.

5. jiffy Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 3:14 pm

   I have to agree with #3- I had no idea who Dan Murphy was.

6. Richard Chester Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 3:16 pm

   The old Washington Senators were on the list that goes back to 1919 many times.
   I thought perhaps most of those streaks occurred during long home stands. I checked one such streak, the 40 game one in 1924. 36 of those games were in Griffith Stadium, all as part of one home stand in which they faced every other AL team.

7. Richard Chester Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 3:25 pm

   @6

   I should have mentioned that Griffith Stadium was a difficult park for home runs, something most of you already know.

8. Doug Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 3:35 pm

   @1.

   Agree with John that Mets homerless streak may not be that troubling.

   Mets have a Team OPS of 0.724 during this streak, which is not a terrible number and is higher (mostly a lot higher) than all of the other teams on both lists, except the '85 Braves.

9. Artie Z Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 4:01 pm

   The "hitless wonder" era White Sox teams probably hold the all-time record.

   1905 - 11 HR in 158 games
   1906 - 7 HR in 154 games
   1907 - 5 HR in 157 games
   1908 - 3 HR in 156 games
   1909 - 4 HR in 159 games
   1910 - 7 HR in 156 games

   There are a few other teams from that era (usually Washington and Cubs teams) with less than double digit HRs in 150+ games, but the White Sox are the most consistent. I believe that mathematically the 1908 team has to have a streak longer than the 1942-1943 Cubs.

   Since they only had 3 total HRs hit for them that year I checked the HR log - Ed Walsh homered on July 4th, Frank Isbell homered on July 16th, and Fielder Jones homered on July 18th (hitters warm up in the summer, right?). Looking at their schedule, Walsh homered in the team's 68th game, Isbell in the 81st, and Jones in the 83rd - and then they went 73 games the rest of the season without hitting a HR. So they had a streak of 67 games to start the season and a streak of 73 games to end it.

   Walsh was the only White Sox player to hit a HR at home - Isbell and Jones both homered in Boston.

   They only extended their 73 game streak by one, as Gavvy Cravath homered in the White Sox 2nd game in 1909. They would put together an 80 game streak from June 15-September 2 in 1909.

   They only extended their 67 game streak to start the 1908 season by 3, as George Rohe homered on October 2nd 1907.

   I know it's completely different eras, but it's interesting to see how infrequent some events used to be.

10. ctorg Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 4:43 pm

    @3 and @5 -

    Yes, this irks me, too. I'm a Mets fan and I can't recall anyone calling him Dan, except on this site for some reason.

11. JR Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 4:47 pm

    3, 5, AND 10

    Who really cares anyway. The Mets are a joke of a franchise. You should be more concerned about the quality of the team rather than calling Daniel Murphy Dan.

12. BSK Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 6:00 pm

    I wonder if it is subconscious due to Dale Murphy. If you are used to talking about Dale Murphy, you might just turn Daniel into Dan. Now, if only he hit like Dale Murphy, the Mets might be on to something.

13. Raphy Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 6:07 pm

    I never heard of Dan Murphy, either. Its funny though, once I saw it in print it just sounded right.

    I'll tell you what, stop calling me Ralphy and I'll stop calling him Dan. OK? 😀

14. Evan Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 7:43 pm

    I've never heard Murphy called "Dan", but I've always called Niese "Jonathan". So has MLB Network and ESPN, from what I've seen.

15. Evan Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 7:44 pm

    I should add, the same goes for "Mike" Young, although that one is at least excusable. I've heard him called Mike once in a blue moon.

16. Neil L. Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 10:42 pm

    @12
    BSK, 🙂 !

    @1
    JA, you are all over the Mets "new" park. Is it the house that David Wright built or the house that Jose Reyes built?

    Citi Field is an XBH factory, is it not!??

    Just to weigh in, I agree with Doug @8 that there is no cause for concern about the Mets' HR drought. The "streak" is a moot point after tonight's game anyway.

17. DoubleDiamond Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 10:52 pm

    Yet those 1924 Senators that went 40 straight games without homering won the only World Series title that any Washington team has ever won!

18. DoubleDiamond Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    I am having trouble keeping my Murphys straight right now. There are three Murphys who have appeared in the major leagues this year, and all have the first initial of D, plus two of them have Biblical first names that start with Da. And two are in the NL East.

    Dan/Daniel with the Mets, who was born on the day that Villanova upset Georgetown for the NCAA championship. (Why do I remember such trivia connected to a sports event I always claim I don't follow?)

    David with the Rangers. I remember that the Red Sox had a prospect named Da-something Murphy a few years ago who couldn't crack their starting line-up and was generally stuck in the minors, and I wondered if Dan/Daniel Murphy with the Mets was this guy. No, it's David Murphy of the Rangers.

    Donnie with the Marlins.

    There was similar confusion in the late 1970s/throughout the 1980s/very early 1990s with the overlapping careers of Dale Murphy, Dale Murray, and Dwayne Murphy. Here's a trivia question that some fans may get wrong: Which of these three ended his U.S. major league career with the Phillies? Many may say it was Dale Murphy, but it was actually Dwayne Murphy. Dale Murphy played a few games with the Colorado Rockies at the end. (I said "U.S. major league career" because Dwayne Murphy played in Japan at the end of his career.)

19. John Autin Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 11:24 pm

    @16, Neil -- What I've said about the Mets' park is that Mets hitters have had a higher HR rate and higher slugging average at home over 2+ years in the new park.

    The "park factors" show it as decreasing HR and 2B rates, because in 2010 and so far this year, Mets pitchers have allowed far more HRs and somewhat more 2Bs on the road.

    Given this dichotomy, I find it hard to draw a clear picture of the park's impact on Mets hitters.

    The only thing that seems clear is that the park does increase triples.

    The Mets have far bigger problems than a low HR total, as was screamingly obvious in tonight's defensive disaster of a 5-run 7th inning, when they yielded 5 infield "hits." I was glad to hear Terry Collins express his anger with their play during his postgame comments. I'm under no illusion that his outburst will make them play any better; I'm just sick of hearing managers sugarcoat the failures of major-league players to execute basic plays.

20. Neil L. Says:
    June 1st, 2011 at 11:45 pm

    @19
    "I'm just sick of hearing managers sugarcoat the failures of major-league players to execute basic plays."

    JA, how would a manager like Ozzie Guillen play out with the Mets in the NY media? ~sorry, couldn't resist~

    Yeah, I was "watching" that Mets' 7th inning vs the Pirates on MLB gameday and thought it was a strange one. Was the official scorer pulling a "Phil Rizzuto" or were the balls in play legitimate hits? Five "hits" without a ball leaving the infield?

    The Play Index is no help in searching for a similar precedent.

21. ctorg Says:
    June 2nd, 2011 at 1:06 am

    #11 -

    I can't do anything about them being a joke of a franchise. I wish I could refute that, but I can't. But I can contribute somewhat to the discussion of whether to say Dan or Daniel, irrelevant though that may be to the ineptitude of the Mets.

22. Kevin B Says:
    June 2nd, 2011 at 8:50 am

    Wow, I had to go look at that 1980 Mets team - 61 HR total. The only two players with more than 8 HR were Lee Mazzilli (16) and Claudell Washington (10). Their most regular starters at three positions were homerless: C Alex Trevino, 2b Doug Flynn, and SS Frank Taveras. In fact, it appears that no Mets catcher homered that year! Their manager must have been a real chump. Joe somebody.

23. w.k.kortas Says:
    June 2nd, 2011 at 9:26 am

    @22:

    That 1980 Mets team was awful, and nobody wanted to go see them. I remember some friends and I went to Shea for a day game against the Cubs (who didn't exactly set the world on fire that season either). There were so few cars in the Shea parking lot that one of my buddies said "You stupid sonofabitch! You got the start time wrong!" It was a day game, alright, but it was definitely one of those friends-and-family only types of crowd. There couldn't have been more than 3,000 or so in the place.

24. panrell Says:
    June 2nd, 2011 at 10:54 am

    @22. Hey, at least they tied Maris' record of 61 hr. They had 5 pitchers who gave UP as many or more hrs then Mazzilli's 16. The team was out-homered 140-61.

25. Tmckelv Says:
    June 2nd, 2011 at 12:10 pm

    Do not ask me why, but my wife's favorite player growing up was Frank Taveras (Mets version - she refuses to acknowledge his Pirate days).

    Frank joined the Mets in 1979 - the trade that sent Tim Foli to the Pirates to "aid" in the Championship run. So Frank's first full season with the Mets was 1980 and I am sure he contributed GREATLY to each of the Mets' top 3 Homerless streaks which all came that year.

26. panrell Says:
    June 2nd, 2011 at 12:57 pm

    @25 Just had to look this up-Taveras has the least hrs [2] of any player with 4000 + pa since 1946. Third is Bud Harrleson and Doug Flynn tied with 7. Sensing a trend here.

27. Tmckelv Says:
    June 2nd, 2011 at 4:58 pm

    I think we should take the #5 streak (09/1969 thru 04/1970) with a grain of salt. They hit some HRs in the World Series which kind of "ruins" the drought.

28. John Autin Says:
    June 2nd, 2011 at 5:52 pm

    @20, Neil -- I'll recap those infield hits as best I can. (I had to avert my eyes at some moments.)

    1. Andrew McCutchen (RHB) hit a cue shot to the right side with heavy english. 1B Dan'l Murphy, playing one of the many positions he plays poorly, ranged too far to his right; it would have been pretty easy play for the 2B if Murphy had stayed home, but he poached it, so the pitcher had to cover, and I think Murph may have juggled it a moment, and the timing was off, and McCutchen wound up safe. Legit hit by today's scoring standards, but a mental error by Murphy.

    (BTW, this was McCutchen's 2nd IF hit of the game. In the 1st inning he hit a high-arcing one-hopper to 3B Willie Harris, who apparently didn't realize McCutchen's speed; Harris waited for the ball, and since he doesn't have a cannon arm, it was too late.)

    2. Neil Walker surprised everyone by dropping a good bunt towards 3B; no play was made, and Walker is now 4 for 5 on bunts for his career (plus 2 sacrifices).

    3. Matt Diaz took a mighty cut and dribbled one towards the no-man's-land between the mound and 3B. Capuano usually fields his position well, but this was do-or-die and he didn't pick it up cleanly. Bases loaded.

    4. Chris Snyder hit a grounder to the SS hole. With no chance to turn 2, SS Ruben Tejada made a smart play and threw to 3B. Harris was in position and did have his foot on a corner of the bag when he took the throw in time for the out, but for some reason he also tried to make a tag play, and it seemed to convince the ump that he was off the bag (he wasn't) -- and since the tag was late, the ump called safe. Official scorer gave Snyder a benefit of the doubt; Snyder is a RHB catcher and plenty slow, and I think Tejada would have got him at 1B.

    So that's 4 straight infield hits to start the inning, cutting a 2-0 lead in half. Then Overbay lined one to CF that tied the score and sent Capuano to the showers. Then a strikeout for out #1. Then Xavier Paul lines another hit into RF that Beltran almost played into a triple; he awkwardly short-hopped it and the ball shot way up in the air, but stayed close enough to Carlos to keep the runners from advancing more. Pirates up 3-2, bags still loaded, 1 out.

    And then came the most brutal misplay of an inning that had no official errors. Speedster Jose Tabata hit a medium-pace grounder straight at 3B Harris, who was playing even with the bag. With no chance to turn two, Harris should have thrown home for the easy forceout. But he was probably trying to atone for his first boo-boo, so he tried to make the great play instead of the routine one, and while he got the out at 2nd, the relay wasn't close and a 4th run scored.

    5. The next batter, Josh Harrison, hit a grounder into the SS hole that Tejada backhanded but had to eat. With perfect symmetry, the 5th infield hit scored the 5th run of the inning and brought up McCutchen, the man who started it all. He whiffed ... but the Bucs scored 4 more in the next inning, which started with a walk, a double by the lifetime .171-hitting Brandon Wood, and a HBP. The next reliever allowed single-walk-single, and the rout was officially on.

29. Todd Says:
    June 2nd, 2011 at 8:37 pm

    Interesting that over the current homerless streak, the Mets have hit .307 as a team, while the highest batting average for any of the other streaks was .261.

30. Neil L. Says:
    June 2nd, 2011 at 9:06 pm

    @28
    JA, you must have a photographic memory to recreate the at bats so vividly.

    The upshot of the Mets' Wednesday night defensive 7th inning is Venus aligned with Mars, Saturn aligned with Jupiter, the Mets were the victim of a bad call on Chris Snyder's ball in play and presto, five infield hits.

    Based on your descriptions, I agree that the official scorer wasn't negligent in not assigning errors. On a defensive mental gaffe, one cannot assume an out when scoring.

    But what are the chances of an inning like that ever unfolding again? Bleeders, bloops, bad defensive decisions .......

    There isn't any curse on the Mets organization that we know of, is there? 🙂