Selective summary for Sunday 8/28/2011
Posted by John Autin on August 29, 2011
-- David Price went 7 innings and set a Tampa Bay record with 14 strikeouts, breaking the mark shared by James Shields and Scott Kazmir. It was just the 5th game in the majors this year with at least 5 IP and 2 Ks per inning. The Blue Jays fanned 18 times in all, matching their franchise high for a 9-inning game. (Care to guess who started against Toronto in the other 18-K game? The year was 1989, the team was Texas; yep, you got it. And our man took the loss despite 14 Ks in 6 IP.)
- Desmond Jennings (5-3-4-3) homered in each of the first 2 innings, the 2nd a back-to-back affair, and added his 14th SB. He's the first in Tampa history to swipe a bag in a multi-HR game. (Take that, "Perfect Storm!" Carl Crawford, better known for speed than for power, hit 2 HRs 5 times with the Rays, but never added a steal.)
- He may be hitting over his head, but so far Jennings is hitting opponents over their heads -- .354 BA/.440 OBP/.646 SLG in 34 games.
- For the record, the fewest games played by a non-pitcher Rookie of the Year is 52, by Willie McCovey in 1959. Stretch's slashes: .354/.429/.656. League scoring average: 4.40, same as the 2011 AL. Hmmm....
-- In the opener of a doubleheader, Zach Britton shut down the Yankees for 7 in a 2-0 win, Baltimore's 6th straight. They allowed 11 total runs during the streak.
- It was the 6th shutout thrown by the O's and the 6th suffered by the Yanks, but the first for either team since June 10 and June 13, respectively.
- Mark Reynolds went 3 for 3 with a double, and has 54 extra-base hits among his 99 hits, the highest percentage in the majors this year. If he doesn't get another hit this year, he would have the 2nd-most XBH ever in a season of less than 100 hits, trailing only Barry Bonds, 1999.
-- With their wild card lead down to 6, New York got the power restored quickly in the nightcap, ripping 5 HRs. Two came from Curtis Granderson, each off a lefty, as he seized the MLB lead with 38 dingers.
- The other 3 HRs were back-to-back-to-back jacks by Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones. Swisher reached 20 HRs for the 7th straight year, covering all of his full seasons.
- Rookie Ivan Nova improved his record to 14-4. There's no question that Nova has been a valuable performer this year, especially given the troubles in the Yankee rotation. But as of now, he shouldn't be the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year. His ERA is 3.96, a smidge below the AL average and almost a run higher than that of Tampa's Jeremy Hellickson, whose underlying stats are also better. Nova has a 2.98 ERA in his wins, a full run above the AL average; the Yanks have averaged 7.5 R/G in his wins.
- Granderson has hit 15 HRs off lefties this year, nearly 1 per 10 ABs, with an OPS near 1.000. His previous high against southpaws was 5 HRs and a .739 OPS.
- David Robertson fanned 3 out of 4 batters, giving him 79 Ks in 52.1 IP; his 13.6 K/9 is tops in the AL (min. 40 IP). Say, was Robertson toying with the O's when he came on with 2 aboard and no outs in the 8th, and immediately allowed a single to load the bases -- then whiffed 3 in a row swinging? As noted by B-R sage Johnny Twisto, Robertson has been almost untouchable with the sacks full this year; his "123" line now reads 16 PAs, 1 hit, 13 Ks, no walks.
-- Six straight for the streaky Snakes, who gained a game on the gentle Giants.
- Ian Kennedy (1 run in 7 IP) earned his 9th QS-Win in 10 starts, raising his NL-best record to 17-4. He would need at least 3 more wins and no losses to set the Arizona season mark for W%; Randy Johnson went 24-5 in 2002.
- Collin Cowgill's career was off to a rough start -- 7 for 51 this year, 1 for his last 25 with 10 Ks -- but the rookie erupted with 4 for 4, including his 1st big-league HR and 2B. Aaron Hill had his 1st AZ HR among his 3 hits, with 3 RBI.
-- San Francisco split their 4-game home set with the worst team in the majors, scoring 8 runs in 38 innings. Time is running out for the champs, now 4 games back; they had a 4-game lead exactly 1 month ago, but are 10-18 since then. They have 6 games left with Arizona, starting this coming weekend.
-- Tonight's start in Texas -- on short rest, with a chance to pull his team within a game of the leaders -- could have revived Jered Weaver's Cy Young chances. Instead, it sunk them. Weaver was not sharp, allowing 2 HRs and 4 walks, with just 2 Ks; he gave up leads of 4-1 and 5-4, and was charged with 7 runs in 6 IP as the Halos fell, 9-5.
- Two "disaster starts" in his last 4 outings has raised Weaver's ERA half a run (1.78 to 2.28), erasing most of his one edge on Justin Verlander (2.38 ERA).
-- With a chance to gain ground on Detroit for the first time in 11 days, Cleveland instead got dominated by Bruce Chen, who extended his career-best streak by winning his 5th straight start.
-- To the generally anomalous character of Zack Greinke's season -- his record is much better than his ERA, but so are his underlying stats; he's unbeaten in Miller Park, where he had never started a game before this year -- add this: He's now the only pitcher in almost a year to steal a base and score a run in the same game. Leading 1-0 in the 5th, he singled with 1 out and then, as Andy noted in another thread, took advantage of the Cubs' inattention by swiping 2ndwithout a throw. Corey Hart homered 2 pitches later, and Greinke had enough runs for his 13th win.
- The last pitcher with a SB and a run was Greinke's current teammate, Randy Wolf, on August 30, 2010. Who drove him? -- Corey Hart.
- Greinke also started a DP by snaring a liner from Alfonso Soriano.
- Milwaukee is 50-16 at home.
-- ChiSox catcher Tyler Flowers hit the team's 1st grand slam of the year, the 2nd HR of his career. Chicago was the only AL club without a salami; they were also hitting a league-low .216 with all cushions populated.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:29 am
Nolan " Fu--in" Ryan was the man. 6 innings 14 k's
O MY Lord
August 29th, 2011 at 1:54 am
@1
Don't forget the rest of his line. 6IP, 31 batters faced, 132 pitches, but only 3 BBs. That is a lot of throwing going on there.
By comparison, Dave Steib "only" threw 86 in his 5.2 innings, facing 20.
Funny old game, isn't it?
August 29th, 2011 at 2:33 am
I agree that Nova is not the rookie of the year, but I'm a bit perplexed as to why that became the focus of his recap. He pitched a solid game, and he's become stronger as the year progressed. Rookie of the Year discussion? Best saved for another day.
August 29th, 2011 at 4:29 am
We got Tommy Stone on the piano!
August 29th, 2011 at 7:44 am
McCovey received all the NL votes for ROY finishing first in HR for all first year players in NL, 2nd in RBI, 3rd in hits.
August 29th, 2011 at 8:23 am
@5 Charles - I was surprised McCovey was a unanimous winner. Where can I find a list of who else was eligible that year?
August 29th, 2011 at 8:26 am
When does Andruw Jones get out of the part-time doghouse? Hasn't his performance over the last 3 years and 800+ at-bats justified him getting a real job somewhere next year?
August 29th, 2011 at 9:05 am
There was an interesting event in Sunday's Reds-Nationals game. In the bottom of the Twelfth inning, Nats reliever Henry Rodriguez struck out Reds reliever Jose Arredondo. And in the top of the 13th inning, Jose Arredondo struck out Nats reliever Henry Rodriguez.
I'm wondering, how often does this happen? A reliever from each team strikes out the opposing team's reliever? I imagine it doesn't happen too much, because so much needs to fall into place. (Pitchers need to be left in the game, not be pinch-hit for, batting orders match up correctly, things like that.)
August 29th, 2011 at 9:35 am
In 1959, the voters only voted for 1 player so there was no 2nd place. I used the play index to search for 1st year players in 1959, but there may have been players who played a few games from previous years eligible for ROY.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:11 am
@3, MilesT -- Yeah, that's a fair point. I got caught in my own train of thought -- drafting a piece on the AL ROY race, then noticed Nova's latest win, ended up making a point here that was totally out of context.
I praise Ivan Nova. As shown many times this year -- oh, hi, A.J.! what's up, Phil! -- getting solid run support does not guarantee any pitcher a win, not even a Yankee.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:19 am
@7, Tristram -- Maybe when he starts hitting righty pitchers? Even with yesterday's HR, he's 7 for 37, with a .718 OPS vs. RHPs. Small sample, so let's check last year: .219 BA, .781 OPS vs. RHPs. The year before, .210/.793.
Posada seems like the right choice to DH against RHPs.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:26 am
Vada Pinson should have won the 1959 ROY....however the Reds brought him up early in 1958 and he took too many AB's to qualify.....about a few extra over the limit.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Nova is solid. He's not a #2 yet, but he seems to know what he's doing. If he were on a different team, and, say were 11-7 instead of 14-4, he wouldn't come in for as much scrutiny, but likely just thought of as a good young arm. To me, the real story is Ian Kennedy. Yankees had Kennedy, Joba and Hughes. I would not say that this year's results for the three would have been easily predicted. I still think Hughes can pitch.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:41 am
BTW, for anyone who didn't see the highlight -- in that Nats game, Rick Ankiel made a sick throw from deep right-center to nail a runner trying for a triple:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_08_28_wasmlb_cinmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=was&partnerId=rss_was
August 29th, 2011 at 10:51 am
At the age of 19, he went to bat 96 times in 1958, thereby disqualifying himself from being a 1959 rookie by some six times at bat. The six surplus appearances were acquired in two brief trips to the majors in April/May and September going 14 for 34 in September
August 29th, 2011 at 10:51 am
Has anyone figured out the Brewer's home/away splits? OK, they are 50-16 at home and 31-38 on the road.
They bat .280/.345/.460 at home versus just .245/.304/.380 on the road.
They have a 3.24 ERA and 1.179 WHIP at home versus a 4.13 ERA and 1.305 WHIP on the road. 50 HR allowed at home and 69 HR allowed on the road.
They have out homered their opponents 83 to 50 at home and have been outhomered 69 to 63 on the road.
How is that possible to be so much better at hitting AND pitching at home?
August 29th, 2011 at 10:53 am
Yes Charles....exactly.
Pretty much sums up Vada's career.......he always seemed to be overshadowed and overlooked. Between 1959-1967...his numbers stack up pretty good against most players in baseball.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:54 am
@8, Dan -- Good find on those relievers batting against each other in the Nats-Reds game.
Another puzzling play from that game: Top of the 10th, 1 out, Nats loaded the bases, Ian Desmond hit a line drive that was caught by the SS, who stepped on 2nd to double off Jesus Flores. Did anyone see this play?
I can't find any video or account of the play, so I can only wonder -- what the hell was Flores doing? His run is fairly insignificant, so he should be ultra-cautious on line drives. He couldn't have been running on the pitch, right?
Maybe there's an angle that I'm overlooking. But assuming it was a blunder, it's one that's all too common in the majors.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:59 am
There have been a couple of threads of late about triples, so JA, your mention of McCovey reminded me of his first game, where I remember him hitting two triples.
So I looked at the box score -http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN195907300.shtml
- which I have to say was a very strange game.
Each team had 3 future HOFers. 6 total in the game - a record?
Willie Mays batted second? McCovey third then Cepeda fourth.
How many guy's debuted batting 3rd? Seriously, just curious.
Not to mention between two HOFers.
Mays only batted 2nd in 130 games in his career, 46 of them in '59 McCovey's rookie year.
In his second at bat, third inning, McCovey was up with 2 outs and Mays on first and Bressoud on third. Mays steals second, then Bressoud breaks for home, the second baseman throws home and is charged with an error, but Mays (committing one of the worse baseball sins) gets thrown out trying for third for the last out, stranding McCovey at the plate, leaving him to lead off the next inning.
Next inning, McCovey leads off with his first triple of the game, then scores on a SAC FLY - to the second baseman?
He then goes first to third on a single, scores on a wild pitch next at bat.
Just seemed McCovey did everything right that game.
On the other hand the Phillies committed 4 errors, had 2 CS and ended the game grounding into a DP.
Just a strange game all around
August 29th, 2011 at 11:12 am
On the video of Yonder Alonso's game-tying pinch-HR, the announcer wonders why he hasn't seen more playing time. Alonso has been with the club over a month, and has hit from the get-go, but has just 36 PAs and started just 5 games.
Does anyone get that? I know that Alonso's natural position, 1B, is spoken for. But he played mainly LF in the minors this year, presumably for that very reason, and I don't see any stars in LF for the Reds this year.
I don't think he's a great prospect, but he's got some power, he'll take a walk, and he doesn't strike out a lot -- all of which he's already shown in his limited time at the big-league level. What's the point of having the guy up here if you're never going to try and find out if he can help the club as a corner OF? Is it just Dusty being Dusty, or are there other aspects?
August 29th, 2011 at 11:31 am
@19, Duke, re: 6 HOFers in a game -- Sorry, but it's not even close to the record. I don't know what the record is, but here's a game where the Yankees used 8 HOFers all by themselves:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET193206100.shtml
7 starters -- Earle Combs, Joe Sewell, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig (top 4 in the order), Bill Dickey, Tony Lazzeri, Herb Pennock. Lefty Gomez relieved in the 9th and got the win.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Supposedly Alonso is a terrible outfielder. Doesn't really explain why they'd bring up a good prospect just to let him rot.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:43 am
Yeah, JT, I guess that view is widespread. Found some derisive comments pointing to this play, which became an inside-the-park HR:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=17663983&partnerId=aw-5115298127087249146-1023
I don't see that particular play as clear evidence of incompetence -- seen dozens of worse OF plays this year alone -- but it's not a good sign.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:48 am
@16 Genis26:
Maybe they're stealing sign! 🙂
August 29th, 2011 at 11:49 am
@24, BJSG -- That's it! And it's none other than Bernie Brewer!!!
August 29th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
JA-
Regarding Desmond's liner/DP, the play description describes it as a "weak" line drive. I don't know if that is simply a function of the distance it traveled, being caught by the SS, or if it was actually hit weakly. I wonder if it was a little flub that was snagged as the SS ran towards 2B and he just beat the runner back. The runner might have thought it was going to drop, in which case he certainly wants to advance. It is also possible that the SS was positioned in such a way that, even on a hard liner, he was closer to the bag than the runner AND in a spot the runner didn't expect him to be in, so he didn't immediately retreat to the bag.
Hard to know without seeing, obviously, but those are a few possibilities.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
BSK --
The runner might have thought it was going to drop, in which case he certainly wants to advance.
-- Fair enough.
It is also possible that the SS was positioned ... in a spot the runner didn't expect him to be in.
-- Can't buy this one. A runner on 2nd base has to know where the SS is -- that's Baseball 101, right?
August 29th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
I'm not sure how often it happens, but in the Jays/Rays game the game winning RBI was on the first pitch of the game.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
@21
Gehringer played for Detroit in that game, as well, so make it 9 total in the game.
But in this game ( http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHA/PHA192904270.shtml ) there were ELEVEN HOFers!!! Six for the Yankees (Combs, Ruth, Gehrig, Lazzeri, Durocher, Dickey) and five for the A's (Cochrane, Simmons, Foxx, Grove, Collins).
By the way, it was only the second game I checked (I also checked the one from the day before, which included Herb Pennock for the Yanks, but not Grove nor Collins for the A's). I figured a 1929 matchup between the Yanks and A's would be rife with HOFers, and I guess I was right. Anyone care to try and top it?
August 29th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
@28, BJSG -- As I recall, the dynasty Yankees used to win games just by throwing their gloves on the field. 🙂
August 29th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
BSK-
Yes, he SHOULD know where the SS is. But, guys do shift around back there. While a runner on 2B should visually confirm the location of the OFs, SS, 2B, and 3B before the pitch, he ultimately has to rely on his ears for the few moments once the pitcher comes set. If he takes his eyes of the pitcher/ball, he is apt to get picked off or not know where the ball is hit. I know when I used to play SS, we learned all sorts of crafty ways to disguise where we were. To either make it sound like we were going somewhere OR to go somewhere without making a sound. A bit of a cat and mouse game. So, it's possible that the SS sneaked in behind him. It is also possible that he should have know where the SS was and simply didn't. A mental error, to be sure, but probably slightly less egregious than breaking for 3rd on line drive with 1 out. My hunch is far more players fail to always pick up where the defenders are; they just aren't always caught with their pants down afterward.
Again, I'm just hypothesizing. I didn't see the play either.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
That last one was obviously intended for JA... not myself.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
JA@28. So true. Even lions in their dens trembled when the Horace Clarke/Jerry Kenny marched by.
Ah, the good old days.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Votto's GW HR in the bottom of the 14th yesterday matched the latest inning for a HR in the last 2 seasons.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
By the way, am I reading that Play Description correctly? Does a "weak" line drive take into account how hard the ball was hit? Or only how far it traveled (thus making any line-out to an infielder a "weak" one)?
August 29th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Here's a play you won't find in the scorebook every day:
Eli Whiteside, in the process of earning a Golden Sombrero on Sunday, waived at a strike three in the dirt as Aubrey Huff was breaking for second base. Houston catcher Carlos Corporan threw down to second instead of trying to tag Whiteside for the third out. Second baseman Jose Altuve took the throw and threw to Matt Downs at first for the force out on Whiteside, making in a 2-4-3 strikeout.
August 29th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Bob-
Did they nail Huff?
August 29th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
BSK -- All I can say from the play-by-play is that Huff was not tagged out, nor did he get a SB.
The play happened in the 9th inning; MLB is the only site I've found whose play-by-play mentions the unusual nature of the putout on Whiteside. BTW, they have it going 2-6-3.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_08_28_houmlb_sfnmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=sf&partnerId=rss_sf
August 29th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
Dr Doom and JA,
That '27 Philadelphia Athletics team was so strange. Besides having the 6 HOFers (and the side story of Cobb convincing all those veterans to jump ship and play with him), you have the mighty Jack Quinn.
Although I heard of Quinn and know he won close to 250 games, I either forgot or never knew how interesting he was. According to several sources, he signed to play semi-pro at age 14, supposedly because a coach saw him throw a foul back onto the field. It must of been some throw! Although he started baseball so young at 14, he didn't make it to the majors until 25, but still -managed to pitch 23 years, which is more of an achievement, once you see he missed two years (1916-17), which I think was to early for WWI (?), but he was born in Austria, so maybe he left to fight for them? His wikipedia page makes no mention of his time lost.
He also played till he was 50! For the 1931-32 seasons he was 47-48 years old, but managed to lead the NL in GF and saves (which I know weren't an official stat), but he had a combined ERA+ of 127 those two years.
And if that was not enough of a bio, he was either the last or one of the last pitcher to be legally allowed to throw a spitball. Along with his age, what was so strange for his era was he played for 9 teams. A record that stood for several decades.
Then you have Max Bishop, who I knew to be a Eddie Yost type hitter, but I hadn't realized that in 12 years playing MLB, 8 of those seasons, Bishop had more BBs than hits, and finished terribly close to having BB > H for a career (1216-1156), and if you count his 31 HBP he is at .976 BB+HBP per H.
Then for good measure, the team had a Rube, an Ike, a Chick, a Buzz, a Jing, a Dud, a Rusty and a Baby Doll.
August 29th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Not sure where to post this, but the pressure is on your boy Jose Reyes today JA. Entering today Ryan Braun is at .334 with the day off and Reyes is at .336 with a doubleheader to play. Not sure if Reyes will play both games or not, but Braun may wake up tomorrow with another bold number in his season's MVP stat line.
August 29th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
BTW,
Just checking to see if Max Bishop had the highest ratio of BB+HBP to H, for players with at least 1,000 hits.
At .75 there are just 13 players.
Bonds, Thome, Mcgwire, Williams, Dunn, Tettelton, Tenace, Yost, Joost, Cullenbine, Fain, Bishop, Stanky.
At .875 just Tenace and Bishop. But Tenace, with HBP added, reached base more times with a BB or HBP (1075) than a hits 1060, is the King.
I then ran another search for guys with an .800 or greater OBP, to see who had the lowest BA. And it was a tie at .241, between Tenace and….?
Any guesses?
August 29th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
@40, Topper009 -- Braun very well might have another bold number by tomorrow.
Season doesn't end for a while, though. No pressure on Jose today.
August 29th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
@41, Duke -- You lost me with the ".800 OBP." Did you mean not OBP, but the ratio you were talking about earlier?
August 29th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Wasn't there an incredibly high percentage of hall of famers in the 29-30-31 period. I seem to remember 28% of all regulars due I assume to the inflated offensive numbers of those days. I imagine there were many games with many Hall of Famers.
Incidentally, the Post Season Odds calculator at baseball prospectus, for the first time, gives AZ a better chance of winning the division than SF.
August 29th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Also -- For the rest of the year, I expect Terry Collins to manage Reyes so as to maximize his shot at the title.
August 29th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
@44, Stan -- That calculator's running a little behind schedule, I'd say.
August 29th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
@41, I assume you mean who is the other player besides Tennace that had a .241 career average with an OPS above .800? I know its not a HOFer since Ray Shalk has the lowest average in the hall at around .250. I am thinking between Rob Deer and Dave Kingman, but I think a lofty .241 would be too high for Deer, so Ill guess Kingman.
@45, well then Braun will have to win it using the Ted Williams style then
August 29th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
@44, a lot of that is due directly to the Friends of Frankie Frisch HOFers who are mostly all undeserving.
From his Giants days (career WAR):
Bill Terry (55.4, including .401 ave in 1930) borderline
Larry Doyle (47.2) borderline
Dave Bancroft (46.4)
Travis Jackson (43.3)
Ross Youngs (36.2 in only 10 seasons, died "Young"s)
High Pockets Kelly (24.3)
Freddie Lindstrom (29.2)
Cardinals days:
Burleigh Grimes (37.2, famous as the last spitballer)
Jesse Haines (33.8)
Jim Bottomley (32.4, did win the 1928 NL MVP)
Chick Hafey (29.5)
However some players he only played briefly with are not in but had similar career to some of Frisch's other teammates he played with for longer, including George Burns (45.1) and Hienie Groh (46.4).
August 29th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
I see Reyes is not starting game 1, booo
August 29th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
@49, Topper -- Yeah, if Jose had any guts, he would have driven right through that hurricane....
http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/6906653/new-york-mets-activate-jose-reyes-florida-marlins-nightcap
August 29th, 2011 at 4:49 pm
Good point, he should have drove. At least he could have taken a canoe down the Hudson or something. Anyways, it seems pretty obvious the Mets brass have instructed Collins to help Reyes win the batting title which is pretty weak.
Maybe fitting on the 101th anniversary of the conspiracy to give the AL batting crown to Lajoie over Cobb? OK not really but still pathetic if the only way the Mets can win the batting title is to get Reyes up to 500 PAs and force Tejada to face all the tough pitchers.
August 29th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Sorry JA -
I meant for all players with 1000 + hits and a career OPS greater than .800, who has the lowest career BA? Kinda like Bill James' secondary average Tenace was tied with another individual?
@ Topper, thanks for catching that, and that was my initial guess - Kong, but his career OBP of .302 kinda makes it hard. One of my guesses was Darrel Evans, but he had a .792 OPS, hung around too long.
A clue - they both came up as catchers with the same club.
And they are each others # 1 similarity score.
But Tenace has a much higher OPS+. In fact Tenace has one of the highest OPS+s in the group I just mentioned, due to playing in a less offensive era. Most of the other players on the list are from the 1990-2010 period.
August 29th, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Topper, I can't tell whether you're just bantering, or you're so caught up in your pro-Braun zeal that you honestly think it's "weak" that a team should look to protect a player with chronic hamstring problems.
I'll take BSK's recent advice and assume the best. 🙂
August 29th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Why is he off the DL if he can't play? Its fine if you want to rest him for his hammy but in a month from now he better start every game the last week of the season.
I have to keep up all the Braun love or the only player anyone around here would think is having a great season is Jacoby Ellsbury. (Mostly kidding)
August 29th, 2011 at 5:26 pm
@55 -- Just know that you have set yourself up to take a massive and relentless verbal pranging if Braun should miss even one potential AB against any pitcher with ERA+ over 100. 🙂
August 29th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Fine, but Braun is going rest at the end of the year to be fresh for the playoffs, totally different than "resting" if you have the batting title in hand.
August 29th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
@21
The Yankees used 3 pitchers in that game. Their names were Herb, Jumbo, and Lefty.
Interesting.
@41
I love those players with .800 OBP's.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
Funny thing about Swisher's 7th 20 HR seasons. Has anyone else had 7 consecutive 20+ HR seasons without ever having 100 RBI? Swisher's all time high is 95.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
@58, Andy Cahn -- Welcome, and good point. But while it sounded unusual to me, too, it's actually not that rare.
At least 4 players had a longer streak of years with 20+ HRs and less than 100 RBI, and at least one other had 7 straight:
-- 9 years by Raul Mondesi, 1995-2003. Mondesi hit 30+ HRs 3 times but never had a 100-RBI season; he averaged 27 and 85 in the 9 years.
-- 8 years by Norm Cash, 1962-69, averaging 27 and 79. He had a 134 OPS+, though; it was just a low-scoring era.
-- 8 years by Tom Brunansky, 1982-89; no 100-RBI seasons in his career.
-- 8 years by Rob Deer (of course!), 1986-93, averaging 27 and 71.
-- 7 years by Kent Hrbek, 1985-91, averaging 25 and 86, with a 131 OPS+.
A few other notables:
-- Alfonso Soriano has an active streak of 6 years.
-- Reggie Sanders had 8 years of 20+ HRs in his career and never had 100 RBIs.
-- Eddie Mathews did it 5 straight years, 1961-65.
-- HOFer Billy Williams had a stretch of 8 out of 9 years with 20+ HRs and less than 100 RBI, also during the '60s, but a max of 4 straight.
-- Dave Kingman had 10 years with 20+ HRs and only twice reached 100 RBI, but his max was 4 straight. (He averaged 32 HRs and 83 RBI in that span.)
-- Graig Nettles did it 8 times in a 10-year span, but again, no more than 4 in a row.
-- Mickey Mantle had a 4-year streak averaging 37 HRs and just 90 RBI, 1957-60.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
@ 10 JA - Thanks for the response. Not sure if my question led to Andy's article, but I posted my thoughts there as well. Posada may be right for the Yanks this year, but it would be nice if a 35-year old Andruw got a full-time gig next year. Would be nice to see him complete a full comeback.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:09 pm
@52 - Duke; started at the same position, same team...gotta be Mickey Tettleton!
August 30th, 2011 at 12:42 am
@59 Thanks! And Mondesi would have started his career with 10 if not for the 94 strike.
August 30th, 2011 at 10:24 am
@59 JA, that's an odd list. You would have thought it would have been more prevalent in the 154 game season era. Mantle's run is really interesting, because he had only one "poor" year in there, 1959 (OPS+ of only 151) and he led the league is scoring three of those four years.
August 30th, 2011 at 10:52 am
@63, Mike L -- I'd guess there is a strong connection between Mantle's lowish RBI totals and high Runs totals, both in those specific seasons and in his career generally.
The 4 seasons referenced followed his amazing 1956 triple crown year, and I think it's safe to say that the league decided en masse not to give him anything to hit with men on base.
For example, in 1957, he came up 11 times with men on 2nd and 3rd, and got 9 intentional walks. Overall, in 299 PAs with anyone on base, he drew 86 walks. (He also hit .362, leading to a .542 OBP, and justifying the pitchers' attitude.)