Archive for the 'Event Finders' Category

How can a hit lose a game you ask? Well what I am really after here are all the times in 2007 a hit was game-ending, but not game-winning.

Start right here, with all game-ending hits in 2007, of which there were 184. But you can see in the header than only 179 of those were go-ahead. Since the game can't end on a tie (unless it's the All-Star game...heh...or other very unusual cases,) if the hit is not a go-ahead hit, then the hitting team must have lost (or maybe not...see below.)

Well for starters, we see that one game-ending hit came when a team was up by 4 runs. This happens to be one of those rare instances:

   Yr#    G# Date          Batter            Tm   Opp Pitcher           Score       Result Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit RBI Play Desc.
+-------+---+-------------+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------------+
       1   1 2007-07-29    Damion Easley     NYM  WSN Chris Schroder    ahead  5-0  1B     b 5 ---   1 1-0   2   0 *ENDED GAME*:Single to LF (Ground Ball)

Damion Easley singled in the bottom of the 5th with the Mets already well out ahead. There must have been a rain delay, and eventually the game was called as a Mets victory. Nobody at the moment knew his hit was game-ending.

Now let's take a look at those 2 game-ending hits that came with the batting team down by 3 runs:

   Yr#    G# Date          Batter            Tm   Opp Pitcher           Score       Result Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit RBI Play Desc.
+-------+---+-------------+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------------+
       1   1 2007-05-13    Chase Utley       PHI  CHC Ryan Dempster     down   1-4  1B     b 9 ---   2 1-1   3   0 *ENDED GAME*:Single to LF (Line Drive); Utley out at 2B/LF-2B
       2   1 2007-09-29    Akinori Iwamura   TBD @TOR Brian Wolfe       down   2-5  1B     t 9 -2-   2 1-1   2   1 *ENDED GAME*:Single to RF (Line Drive); Harris Scores; Iwamura out at 2B

These are more along the lines of what you'd expect. Teams trying to rally in the last inning with 2 outs and a runner getting thrown out. On the surface, the Utley one looks like a major boner. With no other runners on, it seems like he was out simply trying to stretch a single into a double. Down 3 runs, that doesn't make a lot of sense (although it would make it slightly harder to record an out on the next batter if he safely got to second.)

So we have found 3 out of our 5 game-ending hits for losses.

Let's look at the 4 games that ended with a hit when the batting team was down by 2 runs:

   Yr#    G# Date          Batter            Tm   Opp Pitcher           Score       Result Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit RBI Play Desc.
+-------+---+-------------+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------------+
       1   1 2007-04-15    Marco Scutaro     OAK  NYY Mariano Rivera    down   2-4  HR     b 9 12-   2 0-2   3   3 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to LF); Walker Scores; Kendall Scores
       2   1 2007-04-18    Jose Vidro        SEA  MIN Joe Nathan        down   3-5  1B     b 9 12-   2 2-2   5   1 *ENDED GAME*:Single to RF (Ground Ball); Lopez Scores; Beltre out at Hm/RF-2B-C
       3   1 2007-06-22    John McDonald     TOR  COL Brian Fuentes     down   6-8  1B     b10 123   1 1-2   4   2 *ENDED GAME*:Single to LF (Line Drive); Stairs Scores; Hill Scores; Thigpen Scores/Adv on E2 (throw)/unER/No RBI; McDonald to 2B
       4   1 2007-09-05    Matt Diaz         ATL  PHI Brett Myers       down   6-8  2B     b 9 123   2 0-1   2   3 *ENDED GAME*:Double to RF (Fly Ball); Francoeur Scores; Prado Scores; Escobar Scores

A couple of these were memorable games. Scutaro nailing a 3-run homer off Rivera, which came early in the season, and Diaz' 3-run double to cap a huge comeback against the Phillies, which, at the time, seemed to knock the Phils out of the playoffs.

But only one of the above 4 games is a loss, and that's Adrian Beltre getting thrown out at home trying to score the tying run off Joe Nathan.

That's 4 out of our 5 game-ending hits for losses. The other one must be among the 20 games that game with the batting team down by 1 run:

  Yr#    G# Date          Batter            Tm   Opp Pitcher           Score       Result Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit RBI Play Desc.
+-------+---+-------------+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------------+
       1   1 2007-04-07    Alex Rodriguez    NYY  BAL Chris Ray         down   6-7  HR     b 9 123   2 1-2   4   4 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to CF); Cano Scores; Jeter Scores; Abreu Scores
       2   1 2007-04-19    Alex Rodriguez    NYY  CLE Joe Borowski      down   5-6  HR     b 9 -23   2 1-0   1   3 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to LF-CF); Jeter Scores; Abreu Scores
       3   1 2007-04-25    Stephen Drew      ARI  SDP Trevor Hoffman    down   1-2  HR     b 9 1--   2 3-1   5   2 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to RF); Tracy Scores
       4   1 2007-05-13    Julio Lugo        BOS  BAL Chris Ray         down   4-5  1B     b 9 123   2 3-2   7   1 *ENDED GAME*:Single to 1B (Ground Ball); Varitek Scores/Team unER; Hinske Scores/Adv on E1/unER/No RBI; Cora to 2B
       5   1 2007-05-17    Carlos Delgado    NYM  CHC Scott Eyre        down   4-5  1B     b 9 123   1 1-0   2   2 *ENDED GAME*:Single to RF (Ground Ball); Chavez Scores; Gotay Scores; Wright to 2B
       6   1 2007-05-28    Elijah Dukes      TBD  DET Todd Jones        down   4-5  1B     b 9 123   1 0-0   1   2 *ENDED GAME*:Single to LF (Ground Ball); Young Scores; Iwamura Scores; Norton to 3B
       7   1 2007-06-03    Vladimir Guerrero LAA  BAL Chris Ray         down   2-3  HR     b 9 1--   0 1-1   3   2 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to LF-CF); Figgins Scores
       8   1 2007-06-08    Olmedo Saenz      LAD  TOR Jeremy Accardo    down   2-3  HR     b10 1--   0 0-1   2   2 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to LF); Abreu Scores
       9   1 2007-06-25    Alfonso Soriano   CHC  COL Brian Fuentes     down   8-9  1B     b 9 123   2 1-0   2   2 *ENDED GAME*:Single to CF (Line Drive); Jones Scores/unER; Hill Scores/unER; Theriot to 2B
      10   1 2007-06-28    Carlos Lee        HOU  COL Brian Fuentes     down   4-5  HR     b11 123   2 0-0   1   4 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to LF); Biggio Scores; Pence Scores; Berkman Scores
      11   1 2007-06-29    Aramis Ramirez    CHC  MIL Francisco Corder  down   4-5  HR     b 9 1--   2 0-0   1   2 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to LF-CF); Fontenot Scores
      12   1 2007-06-29    Mark Loretta      HOU  COL Brian Fuentes     down   7-8  HR     b 9 1--   2 1-1   3   2 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to LF); Burke Scores
      13   1 2007-08-30    Nate McLouth      PIT  CIN Dave Weathers     down   4-5  1B     b 9 -2-   2 3-2   7   0 *ENDED GAME*:Single to 2B (Line Drive); Phelps out at Hm/2B-C
      14   1 2007-09-04    Jesus Flores      WSN  FLA Kevin Gregg       down   2-3  2B     b 9 1-3   2 1-1   3   2 *ENDED GAME*:Double to LF (Line Drive); Langerhans Scores; Pena Scores
      15   1 2007-09-08    B.J. Upton        TBD  TOR Jeremy Accardo    down   3-4  HR     b 9 1--   2 0-0   1   2 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to RF); Gomes Scores/unER; Upton Scores/unER
      16   1 2007-09-10    Magglio Ordonez   DET  TOR Casey Janssen     down   3-4  1B     b 9 123   2 0-0   1   2 *ENDED GAME*:Single to RF (Ground Ball); Granderson Scores; Polanco Scores; Sheffield to 2B
      17   1 2007-09-12    David Ortiz       BOS  TBD Al Reyes          down   3-4  HR     b 9 1--   1 3-1   5   2 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to RF); Lugo Scores
      18   1 2007-09-18(2) Todd Helton       COL  LAD Takashi Saito     down   7-8  HR     b 9 1--   2 1-2   4   2 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to RF); Holliday Scores
      19   1 2007-09-19    Scott Hairston    SDP  PIT Matt Capps        down   2-3  HR     b 9 12-   2 0-1   2   3 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to LF); Clark Scores; Kouzmanoff Scores
      20   1 2007-09-23    Rick Ankiel       STL  HOU Brad Lidge        down   2-3  3B     b 9 1-3   0 1-2   6   2 *ENDED GAME*:Triple to RF (Ground Ball); Ludwick Scores; Barden Scores

Most of these are happy walk-off wins. Which one is the loss? It's #13, and the recap is here. It was a great play by Brandon Phillips, who had himself a heck of a year.

This was fun, and it was just for 2007. Imagine what else we can find!

We had a discussion yesterday about the outcome in 2007 for all plate appearances with the bases loaded. Here is the batting summary. Click through for thrills, spills, chills, superior skills, and even a few twin bills. Read the rest of this entry »

Faithful reader kingturtle asked about how often a cleanup hitter hits a "natural" grand slam with the 1-, 2-, and 3-spot hitters on base ahead of him.

Click through to see what I could find. Read the rest of this entry »

I was just playing around with Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Batting Event Finder - looking at all IBB that were issued in the first innings of games in 2007 - when I noticed that Ben Sheets gave an IBB to Ryan Hanigan during the 1st inning of a game on September 14, 2007.  I found this one interesting because Sheets was losing this game, 4-0, at the time of the IBB, again, in the first inning.  And, it was Ryan Hanigan's second PA in his big league career!

This got me wondering as to how many batters had just one PA in their first big league game - and who were issued an IBB in that one PA.  Thanks to Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Batting Gamelog Finder, we know the answer - it's happened just 5 times since 1957:

  Cnt CarGm Player            Date          Tm   Opp GmReslt PA AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions
+----+-----+-----------------+-------------+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+
    1     1 Luis Lopez        2001-04-29    TOR  ANA W  2-0   1  0  0  0  0  0  0   0  1   1  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 8th PH        
    2     1 Steve Carter      1989-04-16    PIT  MON L  4-5   1  0  1  0  0  0  0   0  1   1  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 8th PH        
    3     1 Scott Reid        1969-09-10    PHI  CHC W  6-2   1  0  1  0  0  0  0   0  1   1  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 7th PH LF     
    4     1 Sandy Valdespino  1965-04-12    MIN  NYY W  5-4   1  0  0  0  0  0  0   0  1   1  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 9th PH        
    5     1 Rex Johnston      1964-04-15    PIT  CHC W  5-4   1  0  0  0  0  0  0   0  1   1  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 9th PH        
Games found: 5.

Man, that's alotta respect for some guys that never became stars.

OK, here is part two of yesterday's post. Read the rest of this entry »

Playing around with Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Post-Season Pitching Event Finder, looking at the final out recorded in deciding games for a post-season series,  I noticed that there have only been 4 times, to date, in baseball history where the deciding game ended on a double play.  See this list:

  Car#  G# Date          Series G Pitcher           Tm   Opp Batter            Score       Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit  R Play Desc. 
+-----+---+-------------+------+-+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---+--+-------------------------+ 
      1   1 1912-10-16    WS     8 Christy Mathewson NYG @BOS Larry Gardner     tied   2-2  b10 123   1   -      1 *ENDED GAME*:Flyball: RF/Sacrifice Fly; Yerkes Scores/unER 
      2   1 1921-10-13    WS     8 Art Nehf          NYG @NYY Frank Baker       ahead  1-0  b 9 1--   1   -      0 *ENDED GAME*:Double Play: Groundout: 2B-1B; Ward out at 3B/1B-3B 
      3   1 1947-10-06    WS     7 Joe Page          NYY  BRO Bruce Edwards     ahead  5-2  t 9 1--   1   -      0 *ENDED GAME*:Ground Ball Double Play: SS-2B-1B 
      4   1 1977-10-09    ALCS   5 Sparky Lyle       NYY @KCR Freddie Patek     ahead  5-3  b 9 1--   1 0-2   3  0 *ENDED GAME*:Ground Ball Double Play: 3B-2B-1B 
      5   1 2002-10-07    NLDS   5 Robb Nen          SFG @ATL Chipper Jones     ahead  3-1  b 9 1-3   1 0-1   2  0 *ENDED GAME*:Ground Ball Double Play: 1B-SS

You might be thinking here "Hey, you said there were four - but, there's five games on this list?!?"  Yes, that's correct.  I looked for "Outs by Batter Allowed in Postseason, Deciding Game, as last play of game, and 1 Outs" to try and find my DP list - and it also grabbed that World Series game from 1912 that ended on a SF in the 10th inning.  If I would have used another filter of "Ahead" when the outs were made, it would have only given me games where they ended in a twin-killing.  No biggie, in the end, as I still got the four games that I was looking for here.

Three of the four times, it involved the Yankees - no shocker there, as the Yankees have been in a ton of post-season series.  Also, three of the four times, the batter hit into the DP to end the game, and the series, when the game was being played in his home park.

It's a rare thing to see - where the deciding game of a post-season series ends on a double-play.  Look at it this way:  If you're under the age of 60, it's only happened TWICE in your lifetime.  Wow.

Using the Post-season Batting Event Finder, I searched for RBI events that ended a game when a team was behind. So for the most part, these are game-winning hits.

Believe it or not, there have been just 10 such hits in history:

  Car#  G# Date          Series G Batter            Tm   Opp Pitcher           Score       Result Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit RBI Play Desc.
+-----+---+-------------+------+-+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------------+
     2   2 1947-10-03    WS     4 Cookie Lavagetto  BRO  NYY Bill Bevens       down   1-2  2B     b 9 12-   2   -       2 *ENDED GAME*:Double to RF; Gionfriddo Scores; Miksis Scores 
     3   1 1953-10-03    WS     4 Mickey Mantle     NYY @BRO Clem Labine       down   2-7  1B     t 9 123   2   -       1 *ENDED GAME*:Single to LF; Woodling Scores; Martin out at Hm/LF-C; McDougald to 2B 
     4   1 1972-10-07    ALCS   1 Gonzalo Marquez   OAK  DET Chuck Seelbach    down   1-2  1B     b11 12-   1   -       1 *ENDED GAME*:Single to RF (Ground Ball thru 2B-1B); Hegan Scores; Tenace Scores/No RBI/Adv on E9 (throw to 3B)/unER 
     6   2 1985-10-26    WS     6 Dane Iorg         KCR  STL Todd Worrell      down   0-1  1B     b 9 123   1 1-0   2   2 *ENDED GAME*:Single to RF (Line Drive); Concepcion Scores; Sundberg Scores; Wathan to 2B 
     8   2 1986-10-11    NLCS   3 Lenny Dykstra     NYM  HOU Dave Smith        down   4-5  HR     b 9 -2-   1 0-1   2   2 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF Line); Backman Scores 
    10   2 1988-10-15    WS     1 Kirk Gibson       LAD  OAK Dennis Eckersley  down   3-4  HR     b 9 -2-   2   -       2 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Line Drive to Deep RF); Davis Scores 
    12   2 1992-10-14    NLCS   7 Francisco Cabrera ATL  PIT Stan Belinda      down   1-2  1B     b 9 123   2 2-1   4   2 *ENDED GAME*:Single to LF (Line Drive to Short LF); Justice Scores/unER; Bream Scores/unER; Berryhill to 2B 
    15   3 1993-10-23    WS     6 Joe Carter        TOR  PHI Mitch Williams    down   5-6  HR     b 9 12-   1 2-2   5   3 *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Deep LF Line); Henderson Scores; Molitor Scores 
    17   2 1995-10-08    ALDS   5 Edgar Martinez    SEA  NYY Jack McDowell     down   4-5  2B     b11 1-3   0 0-1   2   2 *ENDED GAME*:Double to LF (Line Drive); Cora Scores; Griffey Scores 
    19   2 2003-10-03    NLDS   3 Ivan Rodriguez    FLA  SFG Tim Worrell       down   2-3  1B     b11 123   2 1-2   5   2 *ENDED GAME*:Single to RF; Gonzalez Scores/unER; Pierre Scores/unER; Castillo to 2B 

Following are some notes & observations about this list. Read the rest of this entry »

Following up a bit on last night's post, here is a brand new stat for you folks. This isn't actually the career consistency score that I'm working on, but rather a way to look at consistency within one season for a given player. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know that there have been only 2 triples hit this season in the first inning of a game where the bases were loaded when the triple occurred?  Thanks to Play Index, it's easy to find unquie stats like this one.

Josh Willingham (a former catcher) and Jason Varitek (currently a catcher)  are the only two batters to pull this off this season, to date.  And, they did it within 20 days of each other back in May.

Just for the heck of it, I went back to see how many bases-loaded triples happened in the first inning, since 2000.  Basically, there's around 2-4 times that this occurs per season. 

And, in addition to the two this season, it's been done by Bobby Estalella in 2000, Jorge Posada in 2002, and Javy Lopez in 2003.  They're all catchers too.

Who says that catchers are slow?

Wow, yesterday was a very exciting day in baseball. I'll be back later today with a News & Notes post, but first I wanted to post on something cool I found.

Using the Team Batting Event Finder, I went on a hunt to see if a game has ever ended on a triple play. Read the rest of this entry »