Archive for the 'Postseason' Category

Charlie Manual has already announced that Pedro Martinez is going to start Game 2 of the World Series against the Yankees. That's pretty fascinating to me as Pedro was a big part of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry from 1998-2004, including 5 ALCS starts against the Bombers during that span.

Below, I talk a little about what we might expect from Pedro in this start. First, however, I want to get a poll out of the way. Is Pedro's start the most compelling storyline in this World Series? Let's hear what you think, then please read on below.

Firstly, let's look at Pedro's career post-season appearances against the Yankees:

  Cnt Date          Series G 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 1999-10-16    ALCS   3 BOS  NYY W 13-1  GS-7  ,W   7    2  0  0  2 12  0           83       25 23  0  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  0  0  0  0   0.00

    2 2003-10-11    ALCS   3 BOS  NYY L  3-4  GS-7  ,L   7    6  4  4  1  6  1  98  63   54       28 26  2  0   0   1  0  0   1  0  0  0  0  0   5.14
    3 2003-10-16    ALCS   7 BOS @NYY L  5-6  GS-8       7.1 10  5  5  1  8  2 123  77   45       33 32  4  0   0   0  0  0   0  0  0  0  0  0   6.14

    4 2004-10-13    ALCS   2 BOS @NYY L  1-3  GS-6  ,L   6    4  3  3  4  7  1 113  64   55       27 22  0  0   0   1  0  0   0  1  0  0  0  0   4.50
    5 2004-10-18    ALCS   5 BOS  NYY W  5-4  GS-6       6    7  4  4  5  6  1 111  62   43       31 24  1  0   0   2  0  0   1  0  0  0  0  0   6.00
    6 2004-10-20    ALCS   7 BOS @NYY W 10-3   7-7       1    3  2  2  0  1  0  20  15       0  0  6  6  2  0   0   0  0  0   0  1  0  0  0  0  18.00

His first ever game against them in the playoffs was a gem, a start in the 1999 ALCS. This was the only game the Red Sox won in that series. Pedro was the Game 3 starter--can you name the starters in Games 1 and 2? I bet not. The answers are Kent Mercker in Game 1 and Pedro's brother Ramon in Game 2.

Anyway, after that first game in 1999, Pedro's performances against the Yankees in the playoffs have been pretty dismal, totaling 30 hits and 18 earned runs in 27.1 IP. The gopher ball has been his biggest problem, having given up 5 homers (although 4 were solo shots) over those 27.1 innings. Only 3 pitchers have given up more playoff homers to the Yankees. If you can guess those 3, you are amazing. (Click here for the answers.)

Pedro's career regular season numbers against the Yankees are as follows:

11-11 record, 3.20 ERA over 216.2 IP (32 games and starts, more than against any other team.) His K/BB ratio is 4.14 and OPS against is .603.

Compare those to his overall career numbers:

219-100, 2.93 ERA, K/BB ratio of 4.15 and OPS against .613.

Other than a slight edge in OPS, his numbers are all below his own averages against the Yankees. HOWEVER, keep in mind that he's played against the Yankees primarily when they have been a powerhouse team. They have hit very well against most of the league and Pedro's numbers against them are much better than nearly all other pitchers over the same span.

The real question, of course, is: does any of this history actually matter? We're talking about a player who turned 38 a few days ago and who was already on the down side of his career when he faced the Yankees in the playoffs 5 years ago. Pedro usually tops out at 91-92 MPH now and is not the same type of pitcher he was before.

However, in the regular season with the Phillies this year, Pedro struck out 37 and walked just 8 in 44.2 innings. Those numbers sure sound like the old Pedro even if he's not throwing nearly as hard as he used to. (But, just to remember how good Pedro was in 1999 and 2000---his K/BB ratio this season is an excellent 4.63 which is just over half of what it was those seasons--8.46 and 8.88!!!)

A better question might be: how have guys this old fared in the post-season before? When Pedro takes the mound in Game 2, it will rank 128th on the list of oldest starters in a post-season game, right ahead of himself against the Dodgers last week and behind Orel Hershiser's start in the 1996 ALDS for the Indians. He'll be the 42nd-oldest World Series starter. By my count, the 41 starts ahead of him have seen the starters go 14-16 with 11 no-decisions. Teams were 17-24 overall in these 41 games.

I did a little math and in the 41 games, the total stats are a 3.84 ERA over 248.1 IP with 92 BB, 170 K, and 20 HR allowed. These numbers are drawn over such a long period of time that off the top of my head I don't know how they compare to younger (average) pitchers over the same span, but my gut instinct is that they are not likely to be all that different. In summary, while it's fairly rare for such an old pitcher to start a World Series game, the ones who do it are usually among the few older pitchers who are still pitching effectively.

Anyway, what do I expect in the game started by Pedro? If I had to guess, we won't see a dominant performance but we also won't see him get hammered. He's already pitched pretty well in many important games this year and there's no reason o think he won't do so again in Game 2. Also, since he's facing the inconsistent A. J. Burnett, anything can happen. I wouldn't be surprised to see Pedro come away with the win.

Incidentally, I'm picking the Yankees in 7 games.

Here are a few lists and links to get you prepared for Game 1 of the World Series:

Starting with a Blast

• Chase Utley's 1st inning home run off Scott Kazmir in Game 1 of last year's World Series was the first 1st inning home run by a visiting player in Game 1 of the World Series since Frank and Brooks Robinson did it in 1966. Utley and the Robinsons are joined by Mickey Mantle (1956) and Roger Maris (1960) as the only players to accomplish this feat.
• Home players have been much more successful with a total of 12 1st inning game 1 home runs. However, this is a somewhat "recent" development. When the Robinsons hit their home runs in '66, visiting players had a 4 to 1 edge in this category.
• Teams that hit game 1 first inning home-runs were 12-4 in those games also won the whole series 12 times. In fact, the last 8 teams to hit a game 1 1st inning home run have gone on to win the World Series.

Multiple Home Runs

In World Series history, 8 players have hit 2 home runs in a game 1. Their teams have combined for a 5-3 record. In all other WS games, there have been 38 multiple home run games. Those teams went 35-3. (34-3 if you don't double count the game in which Ruth and Gehrig both did it.) Here are the players who went yard twice in a game 1:

  Cnt Player            Date          Series G Tm   Opp GmReslt PA AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions
+----+-----------------+-------------+------+-+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+
    1 Troy Glaus        2002-10-19    WS     1 ANA  SFG L  3-4   4  4  2  2  0  0  2   2  0   0  1   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 5th 3B

    2 Greg Vaughn       1998-10-17    WS     1 SDP @NYY L  6-9   4  4  3  2  0  0  2   3  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   1  0  0 3rd LF

    3 Andruw Jones      1996-10-20    WS     1 ATL @NYY W 12-1   4  4  3  3  0  0  2   5  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 7th LF

    4 Willie Aikens     1980-10-14    WS     1 KCR @PHI L  6-7   4  4  2  2  0  0  2   4  0   0  1   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 4th 1B

    5 Davey Lopes       1978-10-10    WS     1 LAD  NYY W 11-5   5  5  2  2  0  0  2   5  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 1st 2B

    6 Gene Tenace       1972-10-14    WS     1 OAK @CIN W  3-2   3  3  2  2  0  0  2   3  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 7th C

    7 Ted Kluszewski    1959-10-01    WS     1 CHW  LAD W 11-0   4  4  2  3  0  0  2   5  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 4th 1B

    8 Joe Collins       1955-09-28    WS     1 NYY  BRO W  6-5   4  3  3  2  0  0  2   3  1   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 5th 1B

1-0 in Game 1:

The first game of the World Series has been won 1-0 of five occasions. Three of them occurred in consecutive years (1948-1950).:

  Cnt Date          Series G Tm   Opp GmReslt  PA  AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS LOB Batrs
+----+-------------+------+-+---+----+-------+---+---+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+-----+
    1 1986-10-18    WS     1 BOS @NYM W  1-0   36  31  1  5  0  0  0   0  5   2  8   0  0  0   1   1  0  0   8    12

    2 1950-10-04    WS     1 NYY @PHI W  1-0   37  31  1  5  1  0  0   1  4   1  0   0  2  0   1   0  0  0   9    11

    3 1949-10-05    WS     1 NYY  BRO W  1-0   29  29  1  5  2  0  1   1  0   0 11   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   4     9

    4 1948-10-06    WS     1 BSN  CLE W  1-0   29  24  1  2  0  0  0   1  3   1  2   0  2  0   0   0  1  0   4    11

    5 1918-09-05    WS     1 BOS @CHC W  1-0   33  28  1  5  0  0  0   1  3   1  6   0  2  0   0   0  0  1   5     9

Trivia: Winning Game 1 More Than Once

12 pitchers have won game 1 of the World Series more than once. If you would like to test yourself, I have created this Sporcle quiz. Otherwise, you can click here for the information.

Throughout the history of baseball, there have been post season stars. Usually these players grabbed hold of the spotlight with a single huge play, a historically big game, or a series of really good games. However, it occurred to me that there could be another type of star, a player  who  consistently produces when his team wins. How many World Series winning players have scored a run, had a hit or drove in a run in all of their team's postseason wins?  Obviously, the more postseason wins needed, the more difficult this becomes, so we will have to look at this data in stages.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mike Scioscia's decision to intentionally walk Alex Rodriguez with the bases empty has worked out well so far. However, it is interesting to note that historically this has been a pretty risky proposition. Prior to this year, a post-season bases-empty intentional-walk was successful in preventing a run in only four of the seven times it was tried. Including Arod's walks, there have now been 9 bases empty post-season IBB. Here they are with their results:

                                       Mangers Who Looked Like Geniuses
 Car#  G# Date          Series G Batter            Tm   Opp Pitcher           Score       Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit RBI Play Desc.
+-----+---+-------------+------+-+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------------+
     1   1 1978-10-07    NLCS   4 Greg Luzinski     PHI @LAD Rick Rhoden       tied   3-3  t 8 ---   2 3-0   4   0 Intentional Walk
           Luzinski was singled to second, but stranded there. The Dodgers won in 10.
     4   1 2003-10-03    NLDS   3 Barry Bonds       SFG @FLA Ugueth Urbina     tied   2-2  t 9 ---   2 3-0   4   0 Intentional Walk
           Bonds was singled to third, but stranded there. The Marlins won in 11. 
     5   1 2003-10-04    NLDS   4 Barry Bonds       SFG @FLA Carl Pavano       tied   5-5  t 8 ---   2 3-0   4   0 Intentional Walk
           Bonds was forced at second to end the inning. The Marlins scored 2 runs in their half of the 8th and won the game 7-6. 
     7   1 2006-10-19    NLCS   7 Albert Pujols     STL @NYM Aaron Heilman     tied   1-1  t 8 ---   2 3-0   4   0 Intentional Walk
           Pujols was stranded at first. However,the Cardinals scored 2 in the 9th and won 3-1. 
     8   1 2009-10-19    ALCS   3 Alex Rodriguez    NYY @LAA Brian Fuentes     tied   4-4  t 9 ---   2 3-0   4   0 Intentional Walk
           A-rod was stranded at first. The Angels won in 11.
     9   1 2009-10-22    ALCS   5 Alex Rodriguez    NYY @LAA Brian Fuentes     down   6-7  t 9 ---   2 3-0   4   0 Intentional Walk
           A-rod's IBB was followed by a BB and HBP. However, Nick Swisher popped up and the Angels won. 


                                         Managers Who Looked Foolish
  Car#  G# Date          Series G Batter            Tm   Opp Pitcher           Score       Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit RBI Play Desc.
+-----+---+-------------+------+-+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------------+
      2   1 2002-10-13    NLCS   4 Barry Bonds       SFG  STL Rick White        tied   2-2  b 8 ---   2 3-0   4   0 Intentional Walk
            Benito Santiago drove in Bonds with a 2 run homer. The Giants won 4-3.
      3   1 2003-09-30    NLDS   1 Barry Bonds       SFG  FLA Chad Fox          ahead  1-0  b 8 ---   2 3-0   4   0 Intentional Walk
            Bonds stole second and scored on an Edgardo Alfonzo double. The Giants won 2-0
      6   1 2006-10-06    ALDS   3 Frank Thomas      OAK  MIN Dennys Reyes      ahead  4-2  b 7 ---   2 3-0   4   0 Intentional Walk
            Thomas's IBB was followed by a BB,E3,BB,2B. The A's scored 4 runs in the inning and won 8-3.

Jayson Werth has hit two home runs and a single in what should be the pennant clinching game for the Phillies.  Since the start of LCS play in 1969 only 4 other players have had as many as 9 total bases in their team's pennant clinching game.

  Cnt Player            Date          Series G Tm   Opp GmReslt PA AB  R  H 2B 3B HR **TB** RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions
+----+-----------------+-------------+------+-+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+------+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+
    1 Adam Kennedy      2002-10-13    ALCS   5 ANA  MIN W 13-5   4  4  3  4  0  0  3   13     5  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 9th 2B        

    2 Steve Garvey      1974-10-09    NLCS   4 LAD  PIT W 12-1   5  5  4  4  0  0  2   10     4  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 4th 1B        
    3 Paul Blair        1969-10-06    ALCS   3 BAL @MIN W 11-2   6  6  1  5  2  0  1   10     5  0   0  1   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 2nd CF        

    4 Johnny Damon      2004-10-20    ALCS   7 BOS @NYY W 10-3   6  6  2  3  0  0  2    9     6  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   1  1  0 1st CF        

It it interesting to note that there have been 2 players with 9 total bases on the opposing team in 2 pennant clinching games:

  Cnt Player            Date          Series G Tm   Opp GmReslt PA AB  R  H 2B 3B HR **TB** RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions
+----+-----------------+-------------+------+-+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+------+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+
    1 Alex Rodriguez    2000-10-17    ALCS   6 SEA @NYY L  7-9   5  5  2  4  2  0  1    9     2  0   0  1   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 3rd SS        
    2 Reggie Jackson    1971-10-05    ALCS   3 OAK  BAL L  3-5   4  4  2  3  0  0  2    9     2  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0 3rd RF        

Tonight's mlb Game Notes mentions that Scott Kazmir has not won in his last 5 post-season starts. UPDATE: Make that 6. (Teammate John Lackey snapped a six game streak at the start off this year's playoffs.) This made me wonder who had the longest win-less postseason streak. Here are the results from the PI streak finder.

                   StreakStart  Streak End Games   W   L   GS  CG SHO  GF  SV   IP     H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR   ERA  HBP  WP  BK Teams
+-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 Al Leiter          1997-10-01  2000-10-26    11    0   3  11   0   0   0   0   66     60   37   32   31   58   6   4.36   3   2   0 FLA-NYM

 Dwight Gooden      1986-10-08  1998-10-10     9    0   4   9   0   0   0   0   52     51   24   22   23   46   6   3.81   2   2   1 NYM-NYY-CLE
 Gary Nolan         1970-10-10  1976-10-12     9    0   2   9   0   0   0   0   43.2   37   20   20    9   24  10   4.12   0   1   0 CIN

 Randy Johnson      1995-10-13  2001-10-10     8    0   7   8   1   0   0   0   58.2   52   28   25   15   66   9   3.84   0   0   0 SEA-HOU-ARI
 Charles Nagy       1995-10-13  1997-10-21     8    0   2   8   0   0   0   0   49     53   30   28   21   34  11   5.14   3   0   0 CLE

Clearly to own such a streak, your team has to be winning and to keep pitching you have to be doing pretty well also. However, a combination of inconsistency and bad luck left these players on this undistinguished list. As a group, during these games they made 45 starts and went 0-18 with 27 no decisions. They averaged 5.96 innings per start and had an ERA of 4.26 and a WHIP of 1.31. Yet their teams won a lot of pennants and championships during these streaks. (I'm not putting a number on it because there are too many variables to know what to count). A few more interesting fact come to light when you take a closer look.:

• Al Leiter recorded more postseason wins as a reliever for the Blue Jays and Yankees (1 each) than he did as a starter for the Mets and Marlins (0).
• Doc Gooden never won a postseason game. In the '86 playoffs he went 0-3 with a no decision.
• Gary Nolan won his first postseason game and his last (the '76 clincher), but none in between.
• From when he broke the Yankees hearts in '95 until the LCS before he dominated the Yankees in 2001, Randy Johnson went 0-7 with 1 no decision. The 7 losses were in consecutive starts.
• Charles Nagy pitched in 5 postseasons. In each one he earned a decision in the first game he started. He only earned 1 more decision in any of the other nine postseason game that he started.

With Ryan Howard's outstanding performance so far this post-season, you've probably already heard that he just tied Lou Gehrig for most consecutive playoff games with an RBI:

                   StreakStart  Streak End Games    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  SO   BB   SB   CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS  Teams
+-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 Ryan Howard        2009-10-07  2009-10-19     8     29    7   11   4   1   2   14    7    5    0   1  .379  .457  .793 1.250 PHI                                         
 Lou Gehrig         1928-10-04  1932-10-02     8     28   14   15   2   0   7   17    1    8    0   0  .536  .649 1.357 2.006 NYY                                         

 Alex Rodriguez     2007-10-08  2009-10-19     7     28    7   10   0   0   5   10    5    3    0   0  .357  .406  .893 1.299 NYY                                         
 Bill Skowron       1958-10-06  1960-10-09     7     31    7   12   1   0   2   10    6    1    0   0  .387  .406  .613 1.019 NYY                                         
 Clyde Barnhart     1925-10-12  1927-10-08     7     28    1    9   2   0   0    8    2    2    1   0  .321  .355  .393  .748 PIT                                         

 Ivan Rodriguez     2003-10-10  2003-10-18     6     23    4    6   2   0   1    6    5    4    0   0  .261  .357  .478  .835 FLA                                         
 Bernie Williams    1996-10-04  1996-10-12     6     22    9   12   2   0   5   10    4    5    1   1  .545  .607 1.318 1.925 NYY                                         
 Tony Perez         1975-10-22  1976-10-17     6     24    2    8   1   0   1    8    3    1    0   1  .333  .333  .500  .833 CIN                                         
 Carlton Fisk       1975-10-04  1975-10-14     6     21    6    7   1   0   1    6    3    4    1   0  .333  .440  .524  .964 BOS                                         

Howard's not the only player with an RBI in every game during these playoffs. A-rod has done the same, and he has a streak of 7 going back to the Yankees' last playoff game in 2007.

Notice that the Iron Horse's numbers were incredible in those 8 games--an OPS of 2.006 and 17 RBI.  On this list, only Bernie Williams has numbers comparable to Gehrig's.

Incidentally, by limiting the streak to just League Championship Series games, one guy stands out above all others:

                   StreakStart  Streak End Games    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  SO   BB   SB   CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS  Teams
+-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 Manny Ramirez      2007-10-16  2009-10-15    10     33    7   14   3   0   4   13    6   11    0   0  .424  .556  .879 1.435 BOS-LAD                                     

 Ryan Howard        2008-10-13  2009-10-19     6     21    7    9   1   1   2   10    3    6    0   0  .429  .556  .857 1.413 PHI                                         
 Derek Jeter        2004-10-18  2009-10-19     6     31    3    7   1   0   2    8    5    1    0   0  .226  .250  .452  .702 NYY                                         
 Kevin Youkilis     2007-10-16  2008-10-11     6     27    9   16   3   1   4    9    1    2    0   0  .593  .621 1.222 1.843 BOS                                         
 Ivan Rodriguez     2003-10-10  2006-10-10     6     25    5    8   2   0   2    6    6    4    0   0  .320  .414  .640 1.054 FLA-DET                                     
 Mark McGwire       1988-10-06  1989-10-06     6     21    6    9   1   0   2    6    5    2    0   0  .429  .458  .762 1.220 OAK                                         

Streaks like these are quite impressive. Remember that when playing in the post-season, batters are usually facing quite good pitchers. Driving in runs in 10 straight games is amazing.

For just World Series games:

                   StreakStart  Streak End Games    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  SO   BB   SB   CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS  Teams
+-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 Reggie Jackson     1977-10-14  1978-10-14     8     29   11   15   2   0   6   14    5    3    0   0  .517  .588 1.207 1.795 NYY                                         
 Lou Gehrig         1928-10-04  1932-10-02     8     28   14   15   2   0   7   17    1    8    0   0  .536  .649 1.357 2.006 NYY                                         

 Bill Skowron       1958-10-06  1960-10-09     7     31    7   12   1   0   2   10    6    1    0   0  .387  .406  .613 1.019 NYY                                         
 Clyde Barnhart     1925-10-12  1927-10-08     7     28    1    9   2   0   0    8    2    2    1   0  .321  .355  .393  .748 PIT                                         

Gehrig's streak shows up again, since all his post-season games were World Series games. He's joined by REG-GIE REG-GIE from 1977-1978.

                   StreakStart  Streak End Games    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  SO   BB   SB   CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS  Teams
+-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 Reggie Jackson     1977-10-14  1978-10-14     8     29   11   15   2   0   6   14    5    3    0   0  .517  .588 1.207 1.795 NYY                                         
 Lou Gehrig         1928-10-04  1932-10-02     8     28   14   15   2   0   7   17    1    8    0   0  .536  .649 1.357 2.006 NYY                                         

 Bill Skowron       1958-10-06  1960-10-09     7     31    7   12   1   0   2   10    6    1    0   0  .387  .406  .613 1.019 NYY                                         
 Clyde Barnhart     1925-10-12  1927-10-08     7     28    1    9   2   0   0    8    2    2    1   0  .321  .355  .393  .748 PIT                                         

With an RBI in each of his first 6 postseason games this season, Ryan Howard has tied a 24 year old record held by Carlton Fisk. Like Howard, Fisk also started off the 1975 postseason with 6 consecutive games with at least 1 RBI, but amazingly enough Fisk only accumulated 6 RBI in those games.Keeping in mind that not every postseason even had 6 games, here are the all time leaders in consecutive games with an RBI to start a postseason:

                   StreakStart  Streak End Games    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  SO   BB   SB   CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS  Teams
+-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 Ryan Howard        2009-10-07  2009-10-16     6     22    5    9   4   0   1    9    5    3    0   1  .409  .462  .727 1.189 PHI                                         
 Carlton Fisk       1975-10-04  1975-10-14     6     21    6    7   1   0   1    6    3    4    1   0  .333  .440  .524  .964 BOS                                         

 Mike Lowell        2007-10-03  2007-10-13     5     17    2    6   3   0   1    9    1    2    0   0  .353  .381  .706 1.087 BOS                                         
 Jim Leyritz        1998-09-29  1998-10-07     5     12    3    4   0   0   3    6    2    0    0   0  .333  .308 1.083 1.391 SDP                                         
 Tony Perez         1976-10-09  1976-10-17     5     19    1    7   1   0   0    6    3    1    0   1  .368  .364  .421  .785 CIN                                         
 Boog Powell        1970-10-03  1970-10-11     5     20    5    9   2   0   3   10    4    3    0   0  .450  .522 1.000 1.522 BAL                                         
 Danny Murphy       1910-10-17  1910-10-23     5     20    6    8   3   0   1    9    0    1    1   0  .400  .429  .700 1.129 PHA                                         

As for the regular record of consecutive postseason games with an RBI, Howard has already tied Fisk, Ivan Rodriguez and Bernie Williams for the single season record and is two games away from tying Lou Gehrig if you allow for multiple seasons.

                   StreakStart  Streak End Games    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  SO   BB   SB   CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS  Teams
+-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 Lou Gehrig         1928-10-04  1932-10-02     8     28   14   15   2   0   7   17    1    8    0   0  .536  .649 1.357 2.006 NYY                                         

 Bill Skowron       1958-10-06  1960-10-09     7     31    7   12   1   0   2   10    6    1    0   0  .387  .406  .613 1.019 NYY                                         
 Clyde Barnhart     1925-10-12  1927-10-08     7     28    1    9   2   0   0    8    2    2    1   0  .321  .355  .393  .748 PIT                                         

 Ryan Howard        2009-10-07  2009-10-16     6     22    5    9   4   0   1    9    5    3    0   1  .409  .462  .727 1.189 PHI                                         
 Ivan Rodriguez     2003-10-10  2003-10-18     6     23    4    6   2   0   1    6    5    4    0   0  .261  .357  .478  .835 FLA                                         
 Bernie Williams    1996-10-04  1996-10-12     6     22    9   12   2   0   5   10    4    5    1   1  .545  .607 1.318 1.925 NYY                                         
 Tony Perez         1975-10-22  1976-10-17     6     24    2    8   1   0   1    8    3    1    0   1  .333  .333  .500  .833 CIN                                         
 Carlton Fisk       1975-10-04  1975-10-14     6     21    6    7   1   0   1    6    3    4    1   0  .333  .440  .524  .964 BOS                                         

Tonight (last night?), Alex Rodriguez's 11th inning round-tripper off of Brian Fuentes tied the game for the Yankees and extended the never-ending classic that is currently being played. A-rod became the 3rd player in postseason history to hit a game tying extra inning home run. Here are the previous 2:

  Car#  G# Date          Series G Batter            Tm   Opp Pitcher           Score       Inn RoB Out Cnt Pit RBI Play Desc.
+-----+---+-------------+------+-+-----------------+---+----+-----------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------------+
     1   1 1986-10-15    NLCS   6 Billy Hatcher     HOU  NYM Jesse Orosco      down   3-4  b14 ---   1 3-2   6   1 Home Run (Deep LF Line)
     2   1 1995-10-03    ALDS   1 Albert Belle      CLE  BOS Rick Aguilera     down   3-4  b11 ---   0 2-2   7   1 Home Run (Line Drive to Deep LF)

Aguilera played in both of those games. He wasn't secretly singed by the Angels, was he?

As Game 2 of the ALCS heads to the 12th inning,  here are all the previous postseason games that were 12 innings or longer:

Read the rest of this entry »