Notable Achievements

From BR Bullpen

The heading Notable Achievements is a standard part of biographies in the BR Bullpen. Under the heading is a list of awards, honors, and statistical achievements particular to the subject of the biography.

General Principles[edit]

The list follows a standard order and format which is detailed below. The list is meant to be strictly comparable from one player to another and entirely objective: either an item meets the criteria, or it doesn't. If it does, it is included; if not it is left out. That said, an item that does not meet the criteria for inclusion in the notable achievements section (e.g. "John Doe set a team record with 23 wins in 1895") should instead be included in the main part of the biography, at the appropriate place.

Items in the list are all included as bullets, which each item receiving its own bullet. This can be done by inserting the character * (asterisk) at the beginning of the line.

Dates are given in full (e.g.: 1973, not 73 or '73). If an achievement was done in three or more consecutive years, this is written as 1973-1977, meaning 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 & 1977. Non-consecutive years are separated by comas, with the last date on the list separated by an ampersand (&).

If a player has won an award a number of times, it is indicated as "x-time (League) Award winner: (dates)". For example: "3-time NL Cy Young Award Winner (1967, 1971 & 1973)". If an award was won in more than one league, the league should be indicated after the year, e.g. "2-time Gold Glove Winner (1954/AL & 1956/NL)".

Major Leagues are written in two-letter abbreviations (e.g. NL, AL, AA, FL, PL, UA). Minor Leagues are written in full and linked.

Contents of the list[edit]

The list contains various types of achievements in a set order. These belong to four major sub-categories: (1) Awards; (2) League Leader; (3) Statistical Milestones; (4) Miscellaneous Achievements. Note that the sub-categories are not marked in the list itself.

Awards[edit]

First listed are awards specific to minor leaguers or rookies. The logic are that these will almost always be earned at the very beginning of a player's professional career. These are listed in the following order:

Next come All-Star nominations and various types of MVP awards:

  • x-time League All-Star (years)
  • x-time League MVP (years)
  • [[Year WS|Year World Series]] MVP (note: separate lines if won more than once)
  • [[Year League LCS]] MVP (note: separate lines if won more than once)
  • [[Year All-Star Game]] MVP (note: separate lines if won more than once)

Other awards complete this section. Awards not listed below are not included in the list, although they should be mentioned in the biography:

League Leader[edit]

Listed here are the number of times the player has led one of the US major leagues in various positive categories. The categories are listed in the order they appear on the player's Baseball Reference Page, with a few small exceptions (e.g. leading the league in singles should be listed before doubles). A player is considered to have led the league even if he finished in a tie for the lead, and ties are not highlighted in any particular way. Other more trivial categories are not included but can be mentioned elsewhere. Each statistical category gets its own line.

The categories for hitters are the following (in order): Batting Average, On-Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, OPS, At Bats, Runs Scored, Hits, Total Bases, Singles, Doubles, Triples, Home Runs, RBI, Bases on Balls, Stolen Bases.

The categories for pitchers are the following (also in order): ERA, Wins, Winning Percentage, Saves, Games Pitched, Innings Pitched, Complete Games, Shutouts, Strikeouts.

Each listing follows the format below:

  • x-time League Category Leader (years)

Statistical Milestones[edit]

This section lists various milestones that have come to be associated with star players. With changes in the way the game is played, some achievements have become easier or more difficult over the years. This should be understood. The milestones remain the same across all eras of baseball history, except where noted. If a player reaches the second or third increment of a milestone, he is credited with all increments reached. For example, a pitcher winning 26 games would be credited with a season of 15 Wins, a season of 20 Wins and a season of 25 Wins.

For hitters the milestones are as follows:

  • Home Runs, seasons of 20, and increments of 10 (i.e. 20-Home Run Seasons, 30-Home Run Seasons, 40-Home Run Seasons, etc.). For Home Runs only, note the syntax with a hyphen and the use of the singular, which is the grandfathering of a practice dating back to the Bullpen's earliest days; for every other milestone, there is no hyphen and the plural is used);
  • RBI and Runs Scored: seasons of 100 or more (and 200 if it ever happens);
  • Hits: seasons of 200 or more;
  • Stolen Bases: seasons of 50, and increments of 50.

For pitchers, the milestones are:

  • Wins: seasons of 15 or more and increments of 5. For pitchers active before 1900, the milestone is 20 wins and increments of 10;
  • Innings Pitched: seasons of 200 and increments of 100;
  • Strikeouts: seasons of 200 and increments of 100;
  • Saves: seasons of 30 and increments of 10.

A typical listing would be:

  • 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 3 (1912-1914)

Miscellaneous Achievements[edit]

These include being part of a World Series winning team, being inducted in the Hall of Fame, and managerial achievements.

A player receives credit for being a member of a World Series champion if he was on the team's post-season roster, if he was kept off the roster because of injury, or if he was left off the post-season roster but was a member of the team for a significant part of the season (there is some subjectivity here). A player is not listed if he was traded or released before the post-season. If a player did not play in the World Series, it should be indicated. Each year is listed separately (no hyphens). The entry reads as follows:

  • Won a World Series with the [[team name]] in [[year WS|year]]

This is for a one-time winner; for multiple winners, it would read: *Won (number) World Series with the [[team name]] ([[year WS|year]]) and the [[team name]] ([[year WS|year]]) (he did not play in the year World Series).

Players inducted in the Hall of Fame have the following line:

Managerial achievements are listed after playing achievements. If a person was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager, the mention should be included at the end of his managerial achievements. This is the format to follow:

  • x-time League Manager of the Year Award (years)
  • Division Titles: years
  • Other post-season appearances: years (note: indicate after the year First Half Champion, Second Half Champion or Wild Card)
  • NL Pennants: years
  • AL Pennants: years
  • Managed (number) World Series Champion(s) with the [[team name]] ([[year WS|year]]) (note: for player-managers, credit should be given both as a player and as a manager)
  • 100 Wins Seasons as Manager: x (years)

Example of Notable Achievements[edit]

  • 2-time AL All-Star (1933 & 1934)
  • AL MVP (1923)
  • AL ERA Leader (1916)
  • AL Complete Games Leader (1917)
  • AL Shutouts Leader (1916)
  • AL Batting Average Leader (1924)
  • 10-time AL On-Base Percentage Leader (1919-1921, 1923-1927 & 1930-1932)
  • 13-time AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1918-1924 & 1926-1931)
  • 13-time AL OPS Leader (1918-1924 & 1926-1931)
  • 8-time AL Runs Scored Leader (1918-1924 & 1926-1928)
  • 6-time AL Total Bases Leader (1919, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926 & 1928)
  • 12-time AL Home Runs Leader (1918-1921, 1923, 1924 & 1926-1931)
  • 6-time AL RBI Leader (1919-1921, 1923, 1926 & 1928)
  • 11-time AL Bases on Balls Leader (1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926-1928 & 1930-1933)
  • 15 Wins Seasons: 3 (1915-1917)
  • 20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1916 & 1917)
  • 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1915-1917)
  • 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1916-1917)
  • 20-Home Run Seasons: 16 (1919-1934)
  • 30-Home Run Seasons: 13 (1920-1924 & 1926-1933)
  • 40-Home Run Seasons: 11 (1920, 1921, 1923, 1924 & 1926-1932)
  • 50-Home Run Seasons: 4 (1920, 1921, 1927 & 1928)
  • 60-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1927)
  • 100 RBI Seasons: 13 (1919-1921, 1923, 1924 & 1926-1933)
  • 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 12 (1919-1921, 1923, 1924 & 1926-1932)
  • 200 Hits Seasons: 3 (1921, 1923 & 1924)
  • Won seven World Series with the Boston Red Sox (1915, 1916 & 1918) and the New York Yankees (1923, 1927, 1928 & 1932)
  • Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1936

The example is of course Babe Ruth.

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