Oldest Players

Some may tell you that Satchell Paige (58), Nick Altrock (56), Minnnie Minosa (54), and Jim O'Rourke (53) are the oldest major league players ever. But every one of them were making "novelty" appearances by those ages. So who have been the oldest "non-novelty," playing because they're good enough to be a continuing member of the team players?

Jack Quinn 50 years, 6 days
Hoyt Wilhelm 49 years, 11 months, 14 days
Julio Franco 49 years, 25 days
Phil Niekro 48 y, 5 m, 26 d
Satchel Paige (pre-novelty) at least 47 (born 7-7-06, and pitching late into the 1953 season)
Nolan Ryan 46 y 8 m 22 d
Charlie Hough 46 y, 7 m, 21 d
Sam Thompson 46 y, 6 m, 5 d (7 hits in 31 AB in 8 games)
Jesse Orosco 46 y 5 m 6 d
Bobo Newsom 46 y 1 m 6 d
Tommy John 46 y 0 m 3 d

The only nonpitchers among the 11 who played at age 46+ are Franco and Thompson, and Thompson's appearance in 8 games many years after his career had seemingly ended is debatable as to qualifying as "non-novelty."

The next nonpitchers on the list:
Carlton Fisk 45 y 5 m 27 d
Cap Anson 45 y 5 m 16 d
Pete Rose 45 y 4 m 3 d
Bobby Wallace 44 y 9 m 28 d
Rickey Henderson 44 y 8 m 25 d
Sam Rice 44 y 6 m 26 d
Tony Perez 44 y 4 m 21 d
Graig Nettles 44 y 1 m 11 d
Carl Yazstremski 44 y 1 m 11 d

Thus, not counting Thompson's 8 game appearance, Julio Franco is the only nonpitcher among the the top 10 oldest non-novelty players, and was over 3 and a half years older than the next oldest nonpitcher, Fisk. I would still like to know how he did what none of the other tens of thousands of position players over the 132 year history of the majors has been able to do!

Guys Near the Top Both Before and After 30

I've been on this up through and after 30 kick lately; I was wondering: how many players have been so dominant in a major statistical category that they appear in, say, the top three all-time on both the up through 30 and after 30 lists. As you'd expect, it's pretty rare. Here's what I found as far as hitters go:

Batting Average: Ty Cobb ranks 2nd all-time through age 30 (.370) and 1st overall after 30 (.362).

On Base Percentage: Ted Williams is 1st thru 30 (.488) and 2nd after 30 (.474).
Babe Ruth is 2nd thru 30 (.475) and 3rd after 30 (.473)

Slugging Pct.: Ruth is first both thru 30 (.697) and after 30 (.684): that's why he's the Babe!
Ted Williams is 2nd before 30 (.642) and 3rd after 30 (.624)

Total Bases: Hank Aaron is 3rd both through 30 (3692) and after 30 (3164)

Triples: Sam Crawford is 1st thru 30 (193) and 3rd after 30 (116)

Stolen Bases: Rickey Henderson is 1st thru 30 (871) and 2nd after 30 (535).

At Bats per Home Run: Ruth is 1st through 30 (12.7) and 2nd after 30 (11.0).

Leading Brother Stats, 2008

games: 273 Adrian and Edgar Gonzalez
269 Bengie and Yadier Molina
261 J.D. and Stephen Drew
253 B.J. and Justin Upton

AB: 979 Drews; 974 Molinas; 941 Gonzalezes; 887 Uptons
runs: 170 Drews; 141 Gonzalezes; 137 Uptons; 115 Molinas
hits: 290 Molinas; 281 Drews; 261 Gonzalezes; 234 Uptons
doubles: 67 Drews; 56 Uptons; 51 Molinas; 47 Gonzalezes
triples: 15 Drews; 8 Uptons; 5 Jerry and Scott Hairston
HR: 43 Gonzalezes; 40 Drews; 30 Adam and Andy LaRoche; 24 Uptons
RBI: 152 Gonzalezes; 151 Molinas; 131 Drews; 109 Uptons
SB: 45 Uptons; 24 Corey and Eric Patterson; 21 Jolbert and Orlando Cabrera; 18 Hairstons
BB: 151 Uptons; 120 Drews; 99 Gonzalezes; 78 LaRoches

SB Pct.'s for 70+ SB Seasons

In order from best to worst, here are the stolen bases percentages (stolen bases divided by stolen base attempts) for every player's season of 70 or more stolen bases:
1. 88.9% (80 of 90) Rickey Henderson, 1985
1. 88.9 (104 of 117) Maury Wills, 1962
3. 88.8 (79-89) Willie Wilson, 1980
4. 88.6 (70-79) Tim Raines, 1985
4. 88.6 (70-79) Raines, 1986
6. 88.4 (107-121) Vince Coleman, 1986
7. 88.2 (75-85) Raines, 1984
8. 87.9 (80-91) Eric Davis, 1986
9. 87.7 (93-106) Henderson, 1988
10. 87.4 (83-95) Wilson, 1979
11. 86.6 (71-82) Raines, 1981
12. 86.5 (90-104) Raines, 1983
12. 86.5 (77-89) Rudy Law, 1983
12. 86.5 (77-89) Davey Lopes, 1975
15. 85.7 (78-91) Marquis Grissom, 1992
16. 85.0 (108-127) Henderson, 1983
17. 84.8 (78-92) Ron Leflore, 1979
18. 84.7 (72-85) Tony Womack, 1999
19. 84.6 (77-91) Henderson, 1989
20. 84.3 (70-83) Scott Podsednik, 2004
21. 83.6 (97-116) Leflore, 1980
22. 83.3 (70-84) Kenny Lofton, 1993
22. 83.3 (70-84) Mickey Rivers, 1975
24. 83.2 (109-131) Coleman, 1987
25. 83.0 (78-94) Raines, 1982
26. 82.9 (87-105) Henderson, 1986
27. 82.8 (72-87) Juan Samuel, 1984
28. 81.9 (77-94) Coleman, 1990
29. 81.7 (76-93) Grissom, 1991
30. 81.5 (110-135) Coleman, 1985
30. 81.5 (75-92) Lofton, 1996
32. 81.3 (74-91) Fred Maisel, 1914
33. 80.4 (74-92) Lou Brock, 1966
33. 80.4 (74-92) Brian Hunter, 1997
35. 80.2 (73-91) Tommy Harper, 1969
36. 79.5 (70-88)Frank Tavares, 1977
37. 79.4 (100-126) Henderson, 1980
38. 79.0 (79-100) Dave Collins, 1980
39. 78.8 (78-99) Jose Reyes, 2007
40. 78.6 (77-98) Omar Moreno, 1979
41. 78.1 (118-151) Brock, 1974
42. 77.8 (70-90) Brock, 1973
43. 77.4 (72-93) Otis Nixon, 1991
44. 76.9 (70-91) Alan Wiggins, 1984
45. 76.3 (71-93) Moreno, 1978
46. 75.6 (130-172) Henderson, 1982
47. 75.2 (94-125) Wills, 1965
48. 75.0 (81-108) Coleman, 1988
49. 74.4 (96-129) Moreno, 1980
50. 72.1 (75-104) Billy North, 1976
51. 71.6 (96-134) Ty Cobb, 1915

Note: no caught stealing info available for many seasons in the early 20th century, so the following are not ranked: Cobb, 76 SB, 1909; Cobb, 83 SB, 1911; Clyde Milan, 88 SB, 1912; Milan, 75 SB, 1913; Bob Bescher, 70 SB, 1910; Bescher, 81 SB, 1911; Eddie Collins, 81 SB, 1910; and Benny Kauff, 75 SB, 1914.

Notice how often Tim Raines appears near the top of the list--no surprise, then that he's the all-time SB pct. king. I was surprised that the two top SB seasons all-time (Henderson in 1982 and Brock in 1974) ranked in the bottom 20% of these rankings. FInally, it's strange how Maury Wills' then-record year of 1962 ranks tied for first in SB pct., but his other high SB year, 1965, ranks near the bottom.

300 Winners, Then and Now

Need proof that the recent crop of 300 game winners are a superior lot to those who joined the 300 Club a generation earlier (from 1982-1990)?

The six guys who retired a generation ago (Perry, Carlton, Sutton, Seaver, Niekro and Ryan) compiled a combined won-loss record of 1920-1536, a combined winning percentage of .556. A team could go .556 for a year (90-72) and miss the playoffs (both NY teams missed it with 89-73 records this year)!

Compare that to the guys who've joined the club this decade (Clemens, Maddux and Glavine), plus Randy Johnson, expected to joine them next year, barring injury. Those four's combined won-loss record is 1309-774, a combined winning percentage of .628. That's approximately the equivalent of a team going 102-60, which is good enough most years to make a team the prohibitive favorite to win the World Series.

Need still more proof? Compare the adjusted ERA+ rankings for the two groups. ERA+ is calculated by comparing a pitcher's ERA each year to the league's average ERA for that year. If one's ERA exactly matches the league ERA, the score would be 100. Higher than 100--say 110 means that one's ERA was about 10% lower than the league average.

The scores for the earlier group of six: 127, 117, 115, 115, 111 and 108, for an approximate average rating of 115.5.

The scores for the recent quartet: 142, 137, 132, and 118, for an approximate average rating of 132. So the difference between these guys' ERA's and the league average was twice as great as it was for the earlier six.

Tavares--starter or reliever?

Throughout his career, Julian Tavares has been back and forth like a yo-yo between starting and relieving. He started in 8 of his first 9 games in the majors, 1993-4. He then relieved in 300 of his next 304 games, 1995-99. 2000 was a transition year: he started 12 times and relieved 39 times. He then started 55 of 63 games in 2001-02. From 2003-2006, it was back to relieving 267 out of 273 games. In 2007, he started 23 out of 34 games. And this past year, 2008, he relieved in all 52 games he appeared in. Starting-relieving-starting-relieving-starting-relieving. I wonder if ANY other players have been switched form one to the other so many times in their careers?

Slugging Back to Pre-Juiced Levels

Need proof that slugging in 2008 was as low as it's been since the boom in the '90's (attributed to either juiced balls and/or juiced players)?

Consider these factoids:
Alex Rodriquez's AL-leading .573 slugging pct. this year was the lowest to lead the AL since 1989, and the lowest to lead either league since 1991.

Albert Pujols' major-league-leading 342 total bases was the lowest total to lead the majors in a full (non-strike-affected) season since 1992.

Before 2008, there hadn't been as few as 2 players hitting 40 or more homers in the majors in a full (non-strike-affected) season since 1992. There were as many as 10 40+ HR hitters as recently as 2006; 16 did it in both 2000 and 1996.

Before 2008, there hadn't been as few as 3 players hitting better than one homer per 14 AB since 1991; there were 8 just last year (2007); no fewer than 7 every year from 1994-2007.

Whether it's a good thing or bad thing that slugging once again resembles it's "normal" parameters (i.e., around where it usually was from the dawn or Ruth through the 1980's) can be debated. I tend to think it's good. Problem is, baseball is going to be debating what to do about all those inflated numbers from the 1990's and early 2000's for years to come.

Biggest Whiffers

Mark Reynolds became the first player ever to strike out over 200 times (204 to be exact) this year. Not only that, but three of the top four strike out totals all-time are from this year, with Ryan Howard tying his (now second-highest)199 from last year, and Jack Cust right behind with 197. Add in Adam Dunn's 195 and 194 from 2004 and 2006, and the top 6 were all set in the past 5 years (after Bobby Bonds' 189 "reigned supreme" for 34 years starting in 1970). Is this the post-steroid-testing effect on sluggers?

HR's, before and after Age 30

Here's the list of 500+ HR hitters, broken down by their homers hit up through the season they were 30 as of June 30, and their homers after that season:

Bonds: 292 thru 30, 470 after (762 total)
Aaron: 366 thru 30, 389 after (755)
Ruth: 309 thru 30, 405 after (714)
Mays: 319 thru 30, 341 after (660)
Griffey: 438 thru 30, 173+ after (611 thru age 38)
Sosa: 336 thru 30, 273 after (609)
F. Robinson: 373 thru 30, 193 after (586)
McGwire: 238 thru 30, 345 after (583)
Killebrew: 334 thru 30, 237 after (573)
Palmeiro: 194 thru 30, 374 after (569)
R. Jackson: 281 thru 30, 282 after (563)
A-Rod: 464 thru 30, 89+ after (553 thru age 32)
Schmidt: 283 thru 30, 265 after (548)
Thome: 282 thru 30, 259+ after, (541 thru age 37)
Mantle: 404 thru 30, 132 after (536)
Foxx: 439 thru 30, 105 after (534)
M. Ramirez: 310 thru 30, 217 after, (527 thru age 36)
McCovey: 268 thru 30, 253 after (521)
F. Thomas: 286 thru 30, 235+ after, (521 thru age 40)
T. Williams: 265 thru 30, 256 after (521)
Banks: 298 thru 30, 214 after (512)
E. Mathews: 399 thru 30, 113 after (512)
Ott: 369 thru 30, 142 after (511)
Murray: 275 thru 30, 225 after (504)
(Sheffield, with 499+, had 236 thru 30, 263+ after, thru age 39)

Interesting to note that, whereas only 7 of the 24 in the 500 homer club have hit more after age 30, all four of the top 4 all-time are among the seven, and all 7 are among the top 11.
The most lopsided toward the younger end of 30: Foxx (429-105), Mathews (399-113), Mantle (404-132), Ott (369-142) and Griffey (438-173+)
Most lopsided toward the older half of the career (all suspected steroid users): Palmeiro (194-375), Bonds (292-470) and McGwire (238-345). The steroid-free Ruth was 309-405.
The most evenly balanced: Jackson (281-282) and Williams (265-256).

Brothers' Totals This Year

Stats for brothers active in the majors in 2008 (as far as I could tell, no pitching brother pairs were active, with neither Orlando Hernandez nor Jeff Weaver playing this year)
games, AB, runs, hits, doubles triples, HR, RBI, SB, CS, BB, SO, avg., OB, SLG

Jolbert Cabrera: 48 115 17 29 6 1 3 12 2 0 8 29 .252 .310 .400
Orlando Cabrera: 161 661 93 186 33 1 8 57 19 6 56 71 .281 .334 .371 Totals: 209 776 110 215 39 2 11 69 21 6 64 100

Dmitri Young: 50 150 15 42 6 0 4 10 0 0 28 28 .280 .394 .400
Delmon Young: 152 575 80 167 28 4 10 69 14 5 35 105 .290 .336 .405
Totals: 202 725 95 209 34 4 14 79 14 5 63 133

B.J Upton: 145 531 85 145 37 2 9 67 44 16 97 134 .273 .383 .401
Justin Upton: 108 356 52 89 19 6 15 42 1 4 54 121 .250 .353 .463
Totals: 253 887 137 234 56 8 24 109 45 20 151 255

J.D. Drew: 109 368 79 103 23 4 19 64 4 1 79 80 .280 .408 .519
Stephen Drew: 152 611 91 178 44 11 21 67 3 3 41 109 .291 .333 .502
Totals: 261 979 170 281 67 15 40 131 7 4 120 189

Chris Duncan: 76 222 26 55 8 0 6 27 2 1 34 52 .248 .346 .365
Shelly Duncan:23 57 7 10 3 0 1 6 0 0 7 13 .175 .262 .281
Totals: 99 282 33 65 11 0 7 33 2 1 41 65

Adrian Gonzalez:162 616 103 172 32 1 36 119 0 0 74 142 .279 .361 .510
Edgar Gonzalez: 111 325 38 89 15 0 7 33 1 3 25 76 .274 .329 .385
Totals: 273 841 141 261 47 1 43 152 1 3 99 218

Jerry Hairston: 80 261 47 85 20 2 6 36 15 3 23 36 .326 .384 .487
Scott Hairston: 112 326 42 81 18 3 17 31 3 1 28 84 .248 .312 .479
Totals: 192 587 89 166 38 5 23 67 18 4 51 120

Adam LaRoche: 136 492 66 133 32 3 25 85 1 1 54 122 .270 .341 .500
Andy LaRoche: 76 223 17 37 5 0 5 18 2 0 24 37 .166 .252 .256
Totals: 212 715 83 170 37 3 30 103 3 1 78 159

Bengie Molina: 145 530 46 155 33 0 16 95 0 0 19 38 .292 .322 .445
Jose Molina: 100 268 32 58 17 0 3 18 0 0 12 52 .216 .263 .313
Yadier Molina: 124 444 37 135 18 0 7 56 0 2 32 29 .304 .349 .392 Totals: 369 1242 115 348 68 0 26 169 0 2 63 119

(Bengie & Yadier only):269 974 83 290 51 0 23 151 0 2 51 67

Corey Patterson: 135 366 46 75 17 2 10 34 14 9 16 57 .205 .238 .344
Eric Patterson: 43 130 16 25 4 0 1 15 10 1 17 36 .192 .284 .246
Totals: 178 496 62 100 21 2 11 49 24 10 33 93

Final Month-by-Month on HR Leaders

(March/April-May-June-July-August-Sept/Oct)
Howard: 5-10-5-10-7-11=48 (177 in 2071 career AB: 1/11.7; better than Ruth, 2nd to McGwire (10.6) all-time).
Dunn: 4-10-6-12-2-6=40
Delgado: 3-5-6-9-7-8=38 (hit 38+ HR for 7th time in career; now has 469 at age 36)
Braun: 3-11-6-9-5-3=37
Cabrera: 5-3-3-8-10-8=37 (175 at age 25)
Ludwick: 4-9-3-7-9-5=37
Pujols: 5-9-3-4-8-8=37 (319 at age 28)
Adrien Gonzalez: 5-10-6-4-3-8=36
Carlos Quentin: 7-7-5-9-8-0(injured)=36
A-Rod: 4-3-9-7-6-6=35

Howard and Sheffield Near HR Milestones

In the third-to-last game of the year, Ryan Howard has hit his 48th homer, giving him an outside shot at 50, whereas no one else is likely to get 40. Also, Gary Sheffield, who looked washed up in 2006 and again earlier this year, just hit his 498th home run, nearing the magical hall-of-fame guarantee of 500. He'll be 40 next year, and is only hitting .223.

Most and Least Likely to Give Up a Homer

Top 10 toughest active pitchers to hit a homer off of, among those with 1500+ Innings Pitched (measured in innings pitched per home run):
1. 14.21 Greg Maddux (352 in 5002 1/3)
2. 12.61 Tim Hudson (160 in 2017 1/3)
3. 12.40 Tom Glavine (356 in 4413 1/3)
4. 12.38 Derek Lowe (156 in 1930 1/3)
5. 12.26 John Smoltz (277 in 3395)
6. 12.03 Roy Halladay (149 in 1792 2/3)
7. 12.01 Roy Oswalt (134 in 1610)
8. 11.99 Pedro Martinez (231 in 2770 2/3)
9. 11.97 Tom Gordon (176 in 2106 1/3)
10.11.86 Andy Pettite (230 in 2726 2/3)

And the 5 worst active pitchers in giving up homers among those with 1500+ Innings Pitched (measured in innings pitched per home run):
1. 6.82 Paul Byrd (243 in 1658)
2. 7.17 Woody Williams (309 in 2216 1/3)
3. 7.19 Steve Traschel (348 in 2501)
4. 7.28 Brett Tomko (239 in 1741)
5. 7.56 Jeff Suppan (294 in 2224)

Note: Hudson's accomplishment is all the more remarkable because, unlike the former Braves Big 3 of Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine, he has pitched his whole career since the homer boom of 1993 on. Also of note is Brandon Webb, who doesn't yet qualify with 1500+ innings pitched, but currently stands at giving up a homer every 14.46 IP (90 in 1301 2/3).

Also, several recently active (but not active in 2008) pitchers were truly horendous: Jose Lima, 5.87 (267 in 1567 2.3), Eric Milton, 5.88 (265 in 1558 2.3) and Ramon Ortiz, 6.27 (217 in 1359 2/3)

SB % of 500 HR Hitters

1. 80.8, A-Rod (282 of 349)
2. 80.1, Mantle (153 of 191)
3. 78.5, Bonds (514 of 655)
4. 76.7, Aaron (240 of 314)
5. 76.6, Mays (338 of 441)
6. 72.7, Griffey, Jr. (184 of 253)
7. 72.6, Frank Robinson (204 of 281)
8. 71.9, Murray (110 of 153)
9. 70.8, Palmeiro (97 of 137)
10. 68.6, Sosa (234 of 341)
11. 66.5, Reggie Jackson (228 of 343)
12. 65.4, Schmidt (174 of 266)
13. 63.6, Eddie Mathews (68 of 107)
14. 60.0, McGwire (12 of 20)
15. 58.5, Ted Williams (24 of 41)
16. 58.2, Frank Thomas (32 of 53)
17. 54.4, Manny Ramirez (37 of 68)
18. 54.2, McCovey (26 of 48)
19. 51.4, Killebrew (19 of 37)
20. 48.7, Thome (19 of 39)
21. 48.5, Banks (50 of 103)

Note: Ruth, Foxx and Ott all played in years when caught stealing totals were not complete: thus their career stolen base percentage cannot be calculated accurately.

AL Homer Crown

It looks like no one in the AL will get 40 homers this year. If so, it will be the first time in many years, since the boom of the ball and steroids in the early 1990's. Carlos Quentin of the ChiSox was on pace to reach 40, with 36 as of a couple of weeks ago, but his careless hand injury took him out of it.

Ryan Howard: Low Avg, High Ribbies

Ryan Howard leads the majors by a good bit in RBI's with 133 (2nd is 124). Yet he is only batting .244 (a big improvement over the .160-something he was at in mid-May, I believe). Still, compare that .244 with the batting average of the others in the top 8 in RBI's so far this year: .312, .304, .289, .301, .302, .324, and .312. Only one below .300, and that one is WAY above .244. In fact, you got to go all the way down to Mark Reynolds, tied for 26th in RBI's in the majors with 92, before you find someone batting as low as Howard (Reynolds is just lower, at .242). Somehow, Howard is getting it done.

Red Sox Sockin' it Out

Boston has 6 home runs through 5 inning tonight against Tampa Bay--now that the old Devil Rays we come to expect over their lifetime! Wonder what the record is for team homers in a game?

Success at 30 doesn't guarantee Hall of Fame numbers

I often find myself gauging players numbers at age 30 to see who might be likely to challenge the 3000 hit, 500 homer or 300 win totals before their done--who's "on pace," in other words (or 600 stolen bases, 3000 strikeouts, 400 saves, etc.)

I was surprised to find, then, that this might not be such an accurate gauge.

Take the top 10 in hits through age 30. In order, they are: Cobb, Aaron, Hornsby, A-Rod, Ott, Foxx, Yount, Vada Pinson, Joe Medwick, and Willie Keeler. The amazing things that jump out at me:

1. Of those 9 (excluding A-Rod, whose only 32) only 3 (Cobb, Aaron and Yount) went on to collect 3000 hits. All the others' careers apparently flamed out by the mid-30's.

2. Where's all-time hit leader Pete Rose? He only had 1724 through age 30, 231 behind 10th place Keeler. And Stan Musial, who collected the 4th most (3630), and all the other top 10 in career hits, are nowhere to be seen in the top 10 at age 30. It's longevity--maintaining both the skill and the will well into your late 30's and early 40's--that count the most, rather than starting in your teens, or blazing through your 20's.

K-Rod Update

Francisco Rodriguez saved his 56th, one short of tying Bobby Thigpen's record. There must be something about that 26th year--that's how old K-Rod is this year; how old Thigpen was when he saved 57 in 1990, as well as Greg Gagne with 52 saves in 2002.

Also, K-Rod now has 202 career saves. That's 42 more than any other pitcher has accululated by age 26 (Gregg Olsen had 160). A lot of top relievers don't even become closers until around age 26. The trick for K-Rod will be to continue to produce well into his 30's, rather than flaming out like Thigpen and Olsen did--Thigpen had just 53 more career saves after his record year, for a total of 201 (K-Rod just PASSED him there), and was done at age 30. Likewise, Olsen ended up with just 217 saves before retiring at age 34. And, of course, Gagne has struggled to regain form since injuries struck after compiling an amazing 152 saves from age 25-28, having only 187 career saves now at age 32.

A-Rod Through Age 31

And the same thing I just did for Pujols for Alex Rodriguez, in his case through age 31:
Games: 3rd, behind Ott and Yount
At Bats: 3rd, behind Yount and Vada Pinson
Plate Appearances: 1st
Runs: 1st
Hits: 4th, behind Cobb, Hornsby, and Aaron
Total Bases: 1st
Doubles: tied for 6th, behind Medwick, Musial, Yount, Gehrig and Ed Delahanty
Home Runs: 1st, 54 ahead of 2nd place Foxx, and 120 ahead of Aaron (much more than that ahead of Bonds)
RBI: 2nd, behind Foxx
Strike Outs: 2nd behind Sosa
Extra-base hits: 2nd behind Foxx
Times on Base: 3rd behind Ott and Foxx
Hit by Pitch: 10th
At Bats per Home Run: tied for 6th, behind Ruth, Killebrew, McGwire, Kiner and Thome

Pujols' rankings at Age 27

Here's where Albert Pujols ranked in various categories (where he's in the top 10)compared to all other players through age 27 (through 2007 for him):

Slugging Pct.: 5th, behind Ruth, T. Williams, Foxx and Gehrig.
OPS: 6th, behind the same 4 listed above plus Frank Thomas
Total Bases: 7th, behind A-Rod, Ott, Foxx, Aaron, Griffey Jr., and Mantle
Doubles: 2nd (!) behind Joe Medwick
Home Runs: 5th, behind A-Rod, Foxx, E. Mathews and Griffey (29 ahead of Aaron)
RBI: 9th, behind Ott, Foxx, A-Rod, DiMaggio, George Davis (?), Medwick, Griffey, and Aaron.
Extra-Base Hits: 4th, behind A-Rod, Foxx, and Ott, and just ahead of Aaron.
Intentional Walks: 3rd, behind Griffey and Vladimir Guerrero (not compiled for old-timers like Ruth, Foxx, etc.)
At Bats per Home Run: Tied for 5th with Rocky Colavito, behind Kiner, Killebrew, Ruth, Adam Dunn, and Juan Gonzalez.

Pedroia on a Tear

From June 14 to September 6, Dustin Pedroia of Boston batted 119 for 297, an incredible .401 clip for over two and a half months. He raised his average from .260 to an AL-leading .333 in that time. At one time, it looked like the AL batting average champ was gonna have an embarrassingly low number, under .320, but no longer. Milton Bradley is still within striking range of Pedroia at .327.

K-Rod and the Saves Record

Francisco Rodriguez is an pace for over 60 saves, surpassing Bobby Thigpen's 17 year old record of 57. K-Rod now has 54 saves for the Angels, with 25 games left. At his current pace, he'd likely end up with about 63, although I wouldn't be surprised if the Angels give him a bit of a well-deserved break down the stretch, after the record's broken, if they've got their playoff position secured.

Pujols on a Tear

My man Albert Pujols is unconscious lately; 16 for 30 (.533) in the 7 games preceding today, and starting today's game with a two-run homer. In those 31 at bats, he has 6 doubles, 4 homers, and 12 RBIs. He's raised his average from .342 to .357, just two point behind Chipper Jones' major-league leading .359, and his slugging from .599 to .638 (tops in the majors).

Zambrano's Amazing Hitting

Carlos Zambrano's having one of the greatest offensive years for a pitcher in a long, long time. Not only is he a top-notch pitcher (13-5, 3.29) but he's batting .361 (26 for 72)with 4 doubles, a triple, 4 homers, 13 RBI and an incredible .611 slugging pct.!

Cards get 26 hits, including 4 by pitchers

The Cards just went 26 for 44 against Braves pitching tonight! That's a .591 avg! For the team for a whole game! THe Cards also walked 9 times, for a total of 35 baserunners, for, I believe, a .660 on-base percentage. The bottom of the order (7, 8 and 9) were 12 for 16 (.750), including 4-5 for Yadier Molina, 4-5 for Cesar Izturis, 3-5 for starting pitcher (and killer hitter) Adam Wainwright, and 1-1 on a ground-rule RBI double for reliever Joel Pineiro. The Cards had 21 singles and 5 doubles. They hit into 2 double plays, lost two runners consecutively on caught stealings, and had one sacrifice and one sacrifice fly, and did not bat in the bottom of the ninth, thus explaining why they only had 18 outs counted against them in figuring the batting average. Oh, yeah, they won the game 18-3. It was ace Wainwright's first start since June 7 due to injury. He looked sharp.

Toughest Batters to Strike Out This Year

Strike outs have continued to occur at an all-time high rate the last couple of years, but they're not spread around equally. While a guy like Jack Cust is striking out once every 2.38 AB(156 in 372 AB), these guys are putting the ball in play (Most AB/SO):

8. 13.42 Casey Kotchman(33 in 443)
7. 13.56 Placido Polanco (34 in 461)
6. 13.60 Bengie Molina: (30 in 408)
5. 13.75 Yadier Molina (28 in 385)
4. 14.86 Cesar Izturis (21 in 312)
3. 16.76 Yuniesky Betancourt (25 in 419)
2. 17.11 Juan Pierre (19 in 325)
1. 18.50 Jeff Keppinger (18 in 333)

Pierre has led the NL in this category the past 5 years and 6 of the last 7.

McCovey Cove is a Dry, Lonely Place Now

The Barry-less SF Giants have only 69 homers in 125 games so far this year. Leading home run hitter Aaron Rowand has only 12. Thus, the punchless Giants are on pace to become the first team since 1993 (Marlins-94) to hit fewer than 100 homers in a complete, 162-game season (The Royals just made it with 102 last year. The Phillies had 94 in the strike-shortened, 144-game 1995)

How Are the "New Guys" Doing?

Griffey Jr.'s first homer for the White Sox made me wonder: how are the big name guys traded before the trade deadline doing with their new team? The older guys: not so well. The younger ones: smokin'! 36-year-old Ivan Rodriguez is only 8 for 35 with all of one RBI since coming over from Detroit to the Yankees. And 38-year-old Ken Griffey Jr. had only 9 singles in 43 AB for his new club before striking today.

On the other hand, 29-year-old Jason Bay is 24 for 70 (.343) with 18 runs and 17 RBI's in 17 cames for the BoSox, while eternally youthful (36-year-old) Manny Ramirez is an incredible 26 for 63 (.413) with 6 homers and 21 RBIs in 17 games for the Dodgers. Manny's on-base and slugging percentages are .500 and .746, respectively. You may not like the dude, but he can flat out play when he wants to ...

Sub-.600 Slugging Leader

Alex Rodriguez is currently the slugging percentage leader in the AL with .598. There hasn't been a league leader in that category under .600 since 1992 (Mark McGwire, AL, .585). A-Rod notched exactly .600 to lead the AL in 2003.

By the way, that over-or-under .600 mark for league slugging leaders provides quite a contrast for before and after the current juiced ball/juiced ballplayer era began in 1993. Whereas the past 30 league leaders since 1993 have all been .600 or higher, only 2 of 20 league leaders from 1982-1991 reached .600 or higher.

We had a mini offensive swell from 1977-1981 (7 of 10 leaders over .600), but 1974-76 were some of the deadest years of the post-deadball era, with no one notching a slugging mark higher than .576 in those three years.

C.C. Rider

C.C. Sabathia is knockin' 'em dead! After just 8 starts in the NL since the trade, he's tied for the league lead in complete games with 4! He's also tied, with Halladay, for the major league lead with 7. I guess there are two of them still around who still believe in finishing what they started, and have convinced their managers to let them!

Chris Dickerson's "cycle"

A 26-year-old Cincinnati rookie named Chris Dickerson just led off the bottom of the first against my Cards with his first career big-league homer. He's now 4 for 10 in 2+ games in the majors, and has already completed a "career cycle"! (a single, a double, a triple and a home run). Oh, wait, he doesn't have the single!--"just" 2 doubles, a triple and a homer! BTW, his slugging pct. so far: 1.300! Whew! Flash in the pan or real deal? Time will tell...

Old Players in Recent Years

Is it my imagination, or are more players excelling into their mid-40's these days than before? I decided to check; found I'm not imagining it. Last year there was a 48-year old (the ageless Julio Franco, by my research the oldest regular (not novelty or emergency replacement) roster position player in the 133-year history of the big leagues. Two regular pitchers that exceeded him, that I know of, were Jack Quinn and Hoyt Wilhelm). Last year there also were three pitchers at 44 (Clemens, Moyer, and Wells) and four guys (all but Bonds a pitcher) 43. This compares to ten years earlier (1997) when there was one 43, two 42 and two 41-year olds.

Most impressive is that 44-year old class of last year. There were six (add Fassero, Mulholland, and Borders) of that cohort still playing at 42 and 5 (minus Borders)at 43. It appears that Moyer is the one representative of that class still going at 45.

In the last 20 years, Jilio Franco is the oldest at 48. The next 4 oldest in that time(46) are all pitchers: Tommy John, Nolan Ryan, Charlie Hough and Jesse Orosco. Catcher Carlton Fisk joins Moyer as playing at age 45, and 44 includes Rickey Henderson as well as pitchers John Franco, Clemens and Wells. The next two oldest position players in that time were Dave Winfield and Andres Galarraga, each 43.

So, in that 20-year period, only 4 position players other than Julio Franco played to age 43; Julio played on past that another five years!

Also, only 11 plyers in those 20 years played to age 44; three of them (Clemens, Moyer and Wells) reached that age in the same cohort last year.

As for youngest players in those 20 years? Only A-Rod (in 1994) played at age 18; among those playing at 19 were Griffey, Jr., Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriquez, Andruw Jones, Rick Ankiel (as a pitcher) and a dozen or so other guys, a large portion of them foreign-born, and most of the pitchers among them failing to go on to a memorable or lengthy career. Interesting that of the last three players age 19, tow of them are brothers B.J. (in 2003) and Justin (last year) Upton; they are also, amazingly enough, by my figuring, the only two American-born, non-pitching 19-year olds in the majors since Griffey way back in 1989!

Two Ex-Card Sluggers Reborn of Late

The careers of two ex-Cardinal faves of mine were seemingly dead in the water earlier this year, but both have resurrected their game with dramatic turnarounds.

First, Jim Edmonds: after six great years in St Louis followed by two declining years, he went to San Diego at age 37, where he proceeded to look done for (.178 with just 1 homer and a dismal .231 slugging in 90 AB). But since arriving in Chicago, he's batted .275 with an amazing 15 homers, 14 doubles and 42 RBI in 182 AB for the Cubs, slugging .610. Talk about a turnaround! (And the Cubs had to show some faith and patience, because he didn't come alive right away, going only 3-24 with no etra-base hits in his first 2 weeks with them.)

Second, Fernando Tatis: the Dominican enjoyed one great season with teh Cards at age 24 in 1999, batting .298 with 34 HR, 104 runs and 107 Ribbies, and combining with McGwire for 99 HR's as a teammate duo, one of the highest ever. Since then, though, his numbered steadily dropped before culminating in a horrid .194 and 2 homers in 175 AB for the Expos in 2003. After 2 years out of pro ball here (overseas?), he returned to the minors with the Oriole organization in 2006 (and batted .250 in a month of limited play back in the bigs), then joined the Mets AAA club in '07. 12 homers in 120 AB there this year earned a promotion at age 33 in mid-May; he's proceeded to regain (almost) his 1999 form, but, again, it took patience and faith--hi was just at .253 with one homer in 87 AB through June. But since July 1, he's raised his average to over .300 while hitting 9 HR in 118 AB. Yeah, Fernando--I'm glad you're realizing your potential at last!


And one more player (not an ex-Card) who is back from the dead:
Jolbert Cabrera (older brother of Orlando, both from Columbia) had not played in the bigs since 2004 (and baseball-reference still has his "final game" listed then!). He didn't even play in the minors in 2005-06 (overseas perhaps?), but returned there last year, and after two more organization changes, a .288 avg. for the Reds' AAA club earned a promotion. He went an impressive 7 for 18 (.389) in a 9-day stint in June, then, since coming back on July 18, he's 8 for 25 for a combined 15 for 43 (.349) in limited playing, including pinch-hitting.

Most Undeserving All-Star?

I just came across this: Bill Freehan, a middling to just-above-average catcher for most of his career, made an incredible 11 All-Star games! By my figuring, his offensive stats deserved All-Star accolades only 4 or 5 of those years. The nadir was reached in his "All-Star" year of 1973, when he batted .234 with 6 homers, 33 runs and 29 RBIs in 380 AB. His slugging percentage? .313!

Then here's the really weird part: the next year, 1974, he raised his slugging percentage an amazing 166 points to a career-high .479, along with a .297 average (2nd best of his career), 18 HR and 60 RBIs. His reward? He was unexplicably left OFF the All-Star roster that year!

Pitchers: Relief Awards, All-Stars

Most times winner of Rolaids Relief Award (started in 1976):
5-Dan Quisenberry (1980, 82-85)
4-Rollie Fingers (1977-78, 80-81)
4-Mariano Rivera (1999, 2001, 04-05)
3-Lee Smith (1991-92, 94)

Most years picked for an All-Star game, pitchers:
14-Warren Spahn
12-Tom Seaver
11-Roger Clemens
10-Steve Carlton, Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson
9-Juan Marichal, Goose Gossage (most for reliever), Carl Hubbell
8-Whitey Ford, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson, Bob Feller, Catfish Hunter, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Mariano Rivera, Nolan Ryan, John Smoltz (possibly more alphabetically after Smoltz)

Silver Slugger-Gold Glover Combo

Unlike football, baseball doesn't have offensive and defensive platoons (although some predicted the designated hitter was a first step in that direction). So a player who excels both offensively AND defensively is especially valuable. So I checked to see which players, since the advent of the silver slugger awards at each position in 1980, has been selected for BOTH offensive and defensive awards in the same year. It's not as uncommon is you'd think, which probably reflects that players well-known because of their hitting exploits benefit from that name recongnition when it cames to selecting the best fielders. Anyway, here are the players who've won both in the same year the most times:

7: Barry Bonds, OF (1990-94, 96-97)
7: Ken Griffey, Jr., OF (1991, 93-94, 96-99)
7: Ivan Rodriguez, C (1994-99, 2004)
6: Mike Schmidt, 3B (1980-84, 86)
6: Ryne Sandberg, 2B (1984-85, 88-91)
5: Kirby Puckett, OF (1986-89, 92)
4: Andre Dawson, OF (1980-81, 83, 87)
4: Dale Murphy, OF (1982-85)
4: Roberto Alomar, 2B (1992, 96, 99-2000)

It seems to have become less common on recent years, with no one achieving it more than twice so far in the new century. Also of note: Mike Hampton is the only pitcher to win the gold glove and silver slugger in the same year (2003); Matt Williams is the only player to achieve it in both leagues (1993-94 in NL, 1997 in AL). No one has achieved it at more than one position. Only twice (the NL in 1998 and 2000) has a league had NO ONE win both awards in the same season! The fewest ever to do it in the majors? Two, in 2000-01, 04 and 06. The most? Nine, in 1984.

This list might also support Hall of Fame considerations for Dawson, Murphy and Alomar.

EDIT: It would seem worth mentioning that Schmidt also won a Gold Glove in the four years preceding the start of the Silver Slugger awards (1976-79), and almost certainly would have won a Silver Slugger for thirdbasemen in three of those years (all but 1978), thus giving him a hypothetical total of 9. Of course, if one starts to speculate how many Silver Sluggers earlier players would have earned, you gotta figure that Willie Mays would have earned a lot of them in his 12 Gold Glove years, maybe 9 or 10.

HR Leaders' Monthly Breakdown

Here's the monthly (April, May, June, July, August so far) home run totals for the four top home run hitters to date this year:
Dunn: 4-10-6-12-0 = 32
Howard: 5-10-5-10-1 = 31
Braun: 3-11-6-9-1 = 30
Quentin: 7-7-5-9-1 = 29

Interesting that all four show a pattern of being weaker in April and June, stronger in May and July. Don't know what to make of that, but...

20-game winners Disappearing

Turns out that gorillas aren't nearly as in danger of going exstinct as previously thought. But the news isn't so hopeful when it comes to 20-game winners. Here's the number of 20-game winners for the past 12 years:
1996-3
1997-4
1998-4
1999-3
2000-4
2001-7
2002-5
2003-5
2004-3
2005-4
2006-0
2007-1

The past 2 years have produced the lowest number of 20-game winners of any years not interupted by strikes. There has alos been no pitchers with 250+ innings pitched the past 3 years, whereas 260 was still fairly common in the 1990's. That may not seem like a big difference, but pitching 6 or 7 innings instead of 7 or 8 results in a lot more no decisions for starters.

This year? Two with 15 and 3 with 14 wins so far. There could be as many as 4 or 5 20-game winners, but 1 to 3 is more likely, I predict.

Lidge and Rollins Perfect

Oops, I should have mentioned earlier that, like Mariano Rivera, Brad Lidge of the Phillies is perfect so far (in 22 save opportunities). Also, in a different vein, his teammate Jimmy Rollins is perfect in 25 stolen base attempts. Ranger Ian Kinsler is just behind him, successful in 25 of 26 steal attempts.

Reliever highs and lows this year:

Mariano Rivera is a perfect 24 for 24 in save opportunities so far this year--every other full-time closer has blown at least 2 saves. And my poor Cards have lost many wins this year due to the lack of a dependable closer: usual closer Jason Isringhausen is a horrid 11 for 18 this year, while replacement Ryan Franklin is 14 for 18, still not up to snuff. A couple of little-known closers doing a superb job for lousy teams are Joakim Soria, 28 of 28 for KC, and Brian Wilson, 26 of 28 for SF despite a 4.81 ERA.

Switch-Hitting Sluggers this Year

Now that Chipper Jones has become the 3rd switch-hitter ever to hit 400 homers, I thought I'd review how some swithc-hitting sluggers are faring this year:

Chipper has 18 homers to go with his enormous (but falling) average in 315 at bats. With 404 at age 36 (and the injury bug biting more often lately), he may fall just short of joining Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray in the 500 club.

Jones' teammate, Mark Teixeria, has hit 19 out in 363 AB, making them the most potent switch-hitting power duo in the game. Teixeria now has 189 at age 28, at about the same pace as a younger Jones, I'd imagine.

Switch-hitting board game magnate :) Milton Bradley has already equalled his career high with 19 homers in 288 AB his first year with Texas (in 2001 he had only 1 in 238 AB!) Carlos Beltran has always had good power, but never eye-popping numbers before hitting 41 in 2006. He followed that with 33 last year, but his 15 in 377 AB this years are back around his usual pre-2006 pace. He now has 251 at age 31.

And perhaps the best switch-hiting slugger of our time, perhaps the best since the Mick, is Lance Berkman. He has 22 in 352 AB so far this year, giving him 281 at age 32. And perhaps Nick Swisher deserves mention as an up-and-comer. The son of extremely weak-hitting catcher Steve has 14 HR in 333 AB this year, giving him 94 in less than 4 full years in the majors.

Pitching Brothers Winning Pct, One Year

Winning Percentage (min. 15 decisions each):
1. .731 (1934) Dizzy (.811 on 30-7) and Paul (.633 on 19-11) Dean
2. .681 (1966) Gaylord (.724 on 21-8) and Jim (.611 on 11-7) Perry
3. .680 (1982) Phil (.810 on 17-4) and Joe (.586 on 17-12) Niekro
4. .675 (1997) Pedro (.680 on 17-8) and Ramon (.667 on 10-5) Martinez
5. .667 (2000) Pedro (.750 on 18-6) and Ramon (.555 on 10-8) Martinez
6. .662 (1935) Dizzy (.700 on 28-12) and Paul (.613 on 19-12) Dean
7. .661 (1969) Jim (.769 on 20-6) and Gaylord (.576 on 19-14) Perry
8. .657 (1994) Pedro (.688 on 11-5) and Ramon (.632 on 12-7) Martinez
9. .653 (1970) Jim (.667 on 24-12) and Gaylord (.639 on 23-13) Perry
10. .646 (1995) Ramon (.708 on 17-7) and Pedro (.583 on 14-10) Martinez

a couple that miss the minimum decisions to qualify by a little:
.722 (1998) Pedro (.731 on 19-7) and Ramon (.700 on 7-3) Martinez
.686 (1995) Al (.739 on 17-6) and Mark (.583 on 7-5) Leiter
and one that doesn't come close to qualifying, but is an eye-popping percentage:
.889 (1995) Greg (.905 on 19-2) and Mike (.833 on 5-1) Maddux

Strike Outs and ERA, One Year, Pitching Brothers

Strike Outs:
1. 425 (1997) Pedro (305) and Ramon (120) Martinez
2. 386 (1969) Gaylord (233) and Jim (153) Perry
3. 382 (1970) Gaylord (214) and Jim (168) Perry
4. 373 (2000) Pedro (284) and Ramon (89) Martinez
5. 364 (1996) Al (200) and Mark (164) Leiter
6. 363 (1977) Phil (262) and Joe (101) Niekro
7. 355 (1996) Pedro (222) and Ramon (133) Martinez
8. 345 (1934) Dizzy (195) and Paul (150) Dean
8. 345 (1978) Phil (248) and Joe (97) Niekro
10. 342 (1998) Pedro (251) and Ramon (91) Martinez

ERA (min. 135 IP each):
1. 2.39 (1968) Jim (2.27 on 35 ER in 139 IP) and Gaylord (2.44 on 79 ER in 291 IP) Perry
2. 2.47 (1972) Gaylord (1.92 on 73 ER in 342 2/3 IP) and Jim (3.35 on 81 ER in 217 2/3 IP) Perry
3. 2.53 (1967) Phil (1.87 on 43 ER in 207 IP) and Joe (3.34 on 63 ER in 169 2/3 IP) Niekro
4. 2.57 (1916) Harry (1.97 on 71 ER in 324 1/3 IP) and Stan (3.41 on 88 ER in 232 IP) Coveleski
5. 2.64 (1969) Gaylord (2.49 on 90 in 325 1/3 IP) and Jim (2.82 on 82 ER in 261 2/3 IP) Perry
6. 2.71 (1974) Gaylord (2.51 on 90 ER in 322 1/3 IP) and Jim (2.96 on 83 ER in 252 IP) Perry
7. 2.80 (1966) Jim (2.54 on 52 ER in 184 1/3 IP) and Gaylord (2.99 on 85 ER in 255 2/3 IP) Perry
8. 2.98 (1981) Joe (2.82 on 52 ER in 166 IP) and Phil (3.10 on 48 ER in 139 1/3 IP) Niekro
9. 2.99 (1934) Dizzy (2.66 on 92 ER in 311 2/3 IP) and Paul (3.43 on 89 ER in 233 1/3 IP) Dean
10. 3.00 (2.998) (1982) Joe (2.47 on 74 ER in 270 IP) and Phil (3.61 on 94 ER in 234 1/3 IP) Niekro
10. 3.00 (3.003) (1997) Alan (2.89 on 52 ER in 161 2/3 IP) and Andy (3.10 on 61 ER in 177 IP) Benes

Complete Games and Innings, One Year, Brothers

Complete Games:
1. 52 (1888) Gus (45) and John (7) Weyhing
2. 48 (1891) John (47) and Dad (1) Clarkson
2. 48 (1893) John (31) and Dad (17) Clarkson
2. 48 (1935) Dizzy (29) and Paul (19) Dean
5. 43 (1892) John (42) and Dad (1) Clarkson
6. 41 (1892) Ad (39) and Billy (2) Gumbert
7. 40 (1934) Dizzy (24) and Paul (16) Dean
8. 38 (1969) Gaylord (26) and Jim (12) Perry
9. 37 (1894) Dad (24) and John (13) Clarkson
10. 36 (1924) Jesse (21) and Virgil (15) Barnes
10. 36 (1970) Gaylord (23) and Jim (13) Perry
10. 36 (1973) Gaylord (29) and Jim (7) Perry
10. 36 (1974) Gaylord (28) and Jim (8) Perry

Innings Pitched:
1. 607 1/3 (1970) Gaylord (328 2/3) and Jim (278 2/3) Perry
2. 605 2/3 (1979) Phil (342) and Joe (263 2/3) Niekro
3. 595 (1935) Dizzy (325 1/3) and Paul (269 2/3) Dean
4. 587 (1969) Gaylord (325 1/3) and Jim (261 2/3) Perry
5. 560 1/3 (1972) Gaylord (342 2/3) and Jim (217 2/3) Perry
6. 557 (1974) Gaylord (305) and Jim (252) Perry
7. 556 1/3 (1916) Harry (324 1/3) and Stan (232) Coveleski
8. 550 (1971) Gaylord (280) and Jim (270) Perry
9. 547 (1973) Gaylord (344) and Jim (213) Perry
10. 545 (1934) Dizzy (311 2/3) and Paul (233 1/3) Dean

Pitching Brothers Single Season Records: Wins and Games Pitched

Wins:
1. 49 (1934) Dizzy (30) and Paul (19) Dean
2. 47 (1935) Dizzy (28) and Paul (19) Dean
2. 47 (1970) Jim (24) and Gaylord (23) Perry
4. 42 (1979) Phil (21) and Joe (21) Niekro
5. 39 (1969) Jim (20) and Gaylord (19) Perry
6. 38 (1974) Gaylord (21) and Jim (17) Perry
7. 37 (1972) Gaylord (24) and Jim (13) Perry
8. 36 (1916) Harry (21) and Stan (15) Coveleski
9. 35 (1980) Joe (20) and Phil (15) Niekro
10. 34 (1894) John (33) and Dad (1) Clarkson
10. 34 (1982) Phil (17) and Joe (17) Niekro

Games Pitched:
1. 125 (1997) Todd (65) and Tim (60) Worrell
2. 122 (1996) Todd (72) and Tim (50) Worrell
3. 108 (1977) Paul (69) and Rick (39) Reuschel
4. 101 (1991) Mike (64) and Greg (37) Maddux
5. 97 (1993) Pedro (65) and Ramon (32) Martinez
5. 97 (1998) Mark (69) and Al (28) Leiter
7. 96 (1935) Dizzy (50) and Paul (46) Dean
8. 94 (1993) Mike (58) and Greg (36) Maddux
9. 90 (1938) Dick (51) and Slick (39) Coffman
10. 89 (1916) Stan (45) and Harry (44) Coveleski
10. 89 (1934) Dizzy (50) and Paul (39) Dean
10. 89 (1974) Ken (70) and Bob (19) Forsch
10. 89 (1976) Paul (50) and Rick (39) Reuschel
10. 89 (1982) Tom (56) and Pat (33) Underwood

Brothers Walks and Batting Average, Single Season

Walks:
1. 192 (2001) Jason (129) and Jeremy (63) Giambi
2. 188 (2002) Jason (109) and Jeremy (79) Giambi
3. 183 (2005) Brian (119) and Marcus (64) Giles
4. 169 (2000) Jason (137) and Jeremy (32) Giambi
5. 168 (1948) Dom (101) and Joe (67) DiMaggio
6. 166 (1941) Dom (90) and Joe (76) DiMaggio
6. 166 (2006) Brian (104) and Marcus (62) Giles
8. 164 (2003) Brian (105) and Marcus (59) Giles
9. 162 (1950) Dom (82) and Joe (80) DiMaggio
10. 160 (1947) Dixie (97) and Harry (63) Walker
10. 160 (2002) Brian (135) and Marcus (25) Giles

Batting Average (min. 400 AB each)
1. .367 (1927) Paul (.380 on 237 for 623) and Lloyd (.355 on 223 for 629) Waner
2. .352 (1928) Paul (.370 on 223 for 602) and Lloyd (.335 on 221 for 659) Waner
3. .351 (1936) Paul (.373 on 218 for 585) and Lloyd (.321 on 133 for 414) Waner
4. .345 (1929) Lloyd (.353 on 234 for 662) and Paul (.336 on 200 for 596) Waner
5. .343 (1937) Paul (.354 on 219 for 619) and Lloyd (.330 on 177 for 537) Waner
6. .337 (1932) Paul (.341 on 215 for 630) and Lloyd (.333 on 188 for 565) Waner
7. .33397 (1947) Harry (.363 on 186 for 513) and Dixie (.306 on 162 for 529) Walker
8. .33389 (1966) Matty (.342 on 183 for 535) and Felipe (.327 on 218 for 666) Alou
9. .330 (1921) Emil (.343 on 201 for 586) and Bob (.318 on 190 for 598) Meusel
10. .329 (1940) Joe (.352 on 179 for 508) and Dom (.302 on 126 for 418) DiMaggio

RBIs and Stolen Bases, Brothers, Single Season

RBIs:
1. 249 (1925) Bob (138) and Emil (111) Meusel
2. 242 (1948) Joe (155) and Dom (87) DiMaggio
3. 236 (1937) Joe (167) and Vince (69) DiMaggio
4. 225 (1941) Joe (125) and Vince (100) DiMaggio
5. 222 (1921) Bob (135) and Emil (87) Meusel
5. 222 (1924) Bob (120) and Emil (102) Meusel
7. 216 (1922) Emil (132) and Bob (84) Meusel
7. 216 (1923) Emil (125) and Bob (91) Meusel
9. 213 (2003) Bret (117) and Aaron (96) Boone
10. 211 (1934) Roy (119) and Bob (92) Johnson

Stolen Bases:
1. 87 (1889) George (61) and Patsy (26) Tebeau
2. 74 (1889) Ed (60) and Con (14) Daily
3. 69 (1890) George (55) and Patsy (14) Tebeau
4. 68 (1890) Ed (62) and Con (6) Daily
5. 61 (1908) Josh (37) and Fred (24) Clarke
6. 60 (1888) Buck (53) and John (7) Ewing
7. 59 (1888) Ed (44) and Con (15) Daily
8. 58 (1993) Roberto (55) and Sandy, Jr. (3) Alomar
9. 57 (1988) Otis (46) and Donell (11) Nixon
10. 56 (1894) Patsy (30) and George (26) Tebeau

Triples and Homers, Brothers, Single Season

Triples:
1. 35 (1929) Lloyd (20) and Paul (15) Waner
2. 33 (1928) Paul (19) and Lloyd (14) Waner
3. 29 (1921) Bob (16) and Emil (13) Meusel
4. 28 (1922) Emil (17) and Bob (11) Meusel
5. 26 (1935) Lloyd (14) and Paul (12) Waner
6. 25 (1884) Jack (14) and Dave (11) Rowe
7. 24 (1923) Emil (14) and Bob (10) Meusel
7. 24 (1927) Paul (18) and Lloyd (6) Waner
9. 23 (1931) Lloyd (13) and Paul (10) Waner
10. 22 (1922) Jimmy (12) and Doc (10) Johnston
10. 22 (1934) Paul (16) and Lloyd (6) Waner

Home Runs:
1. 61 (2002) Jason (41) and Jeremy (20) Giambi
2. 59 (1937) Joe (46) and Vince (13) DiMaggio
2. 59 (2003) Bret (35) and Aaron (24) Boone
4. 56 (1969) Lee (38) and Carlos (18) May
5. 54 (1925) Bob (33) and Emil (21) Meusel
5. 54 (1970) Tony (36) and Billy (18) Conigliaro
7. 53 (1962) Hank (45) and Tommie (8) Aaron
7. 53 (2000) Jason (43) and Jeremy (10) Giambi
9. 51 (1941) Joe (30) and Vince (21) DiMaggio
9. 51 (2001) Bret (37) and Aaron (14) Boone

Doubles by Brothers in One Year

1. 89(1932) Paul (62) and Lloyd (27) Waner
2. 83 (2003) Marcus (49) and Brian (34) Giles
2. 83 (2005) Marcus (45) and Brian (38) Giles
4. 80 (1941) Joe (43) and Dom (37) DiMaggio
5. 79 (2003) Orlando (47) and Jolbert (32) Cabrera
6. 76 (2007) Dmitri (38) and Delmon (38) Young
7. 74 (1933) Bob (44) and Roy (30) Johnson
8. 73 (1921) Bob (40) and Emil (33) Meusel
8. 73 (1936) Gee (55) and Hub (18) Walker
8. 73 (2001) Jason (47) and Jeremy (26) Giambi

Brother Records for One Year, Runs and Hits

Start of Top 10 for brothers combined totals in one year:
Runs (2 brothers):
1. 265 (1929) Lloyd (134) and Paul (131) Waner
2. 263 (1928) Paul (142) and Lloyd (121) Waner
3. 247 (1927) Lloyd (133) and Paul (114) Waner
4. 245 (1950) Dom (131) and Joe (114) DiMaggio
5. 239 (1941) Joe (122) and Dom (117) DiMaggio
6. 237 (1948) Dom (127) and Joe (110) DiMaggio
7. 233 (1942) Joe (123) and Dom (110) DiMaggio
8. 217 (1934) Paul (122) and Lloyd (95) Waner
9. 208 (1966) Felipe (122) and Matty (86) Alou
10. 207 (1937) Joe (151) and Vince (56) DiMaggio

3 brothers:
312 (1941) Joe (122), Dom (117) and Vince (73) DiMaggio

Hits:
1. 460 (1927) Paul (237) and Lloyd (223) Waner
2. 444 (1928) Paul (223) and Lloyd (221) Waner
3. 434 (1929) Lloyd (234) and Paul (200) Waner
4. 403 (1932) Paul 215) and Lloyd (188) Waner
5. 401 (1966) Felipe (218) and Matty (183) Alou
6. 396 (1937) Paul (219) and Lloyd (177) Waner
7. 395 (1968) Felipe (210) and Matty (185) Alou
8. 394 (1931) Lloyd (214) and Paul (180) Waner
9. 391 (1921) Emil (201) and Bob (190) Meusel
10. 390 (1934) Paul (217) and Lloyd (173) Waner

3 brothers:
505 (1968) Felipe (210, Matty (185) and Jesus (110) Alou

Best overall Pitching Brother Combos

1. Jim and Gaylord Perry
2. Phil and Joe Niekro
3. Pedro and Ramon Martinez
4. Stan and Harry Coveleski
5. Greg and Mike Maddux
6. Bob and Ken Forsch
7. Dizzy and Paul Dean
8. Todd and Tim Worrell
9. John and Dad (and Walter) Clarkson
T-10. Livan and Orlando Hernandez
T-10. Jesse and Virgil Barnes


Oh, yeah, and best one-pitcher, one-position player brother combos:

1. Wes (P) and Rick Ferrell
2. Deacon and Will (P) White
3. Walker and Mort (P) Cooper
4. George and Ken (P) Brett

Brothers' Career Winning Pct.

(Min. 50 decisions each)
1. .655 Pedro (212-95, .690) and Ramon (135-88, .605) Martinez
2. .631 Dizzy (150-83, .644) and Paul (50-34, .595) Dean
3. .628 John (320-178, .643) and Dad (39-39, .500) Clarkson
4. .60041 Stan (215-142, .602) and Harry (81-55, .596) Coveleski
5. .60031 Greg (350-222, .612) and Mike (39-37, .513) Maddux
6. .581 Hooks (139-90, .607) and Snake (29-31, .483) Wiltse
7. .546 Gaylord (314-265, .542) and Jim (215-174, .553) Perry
8. .539 Livan (143-134, .516) and Orlando (90-65, .581) Hernandez
9. .531 Bob (168-136, .553) and Ken (114-113, .502) Forsch
10. .530 Phil (318-274, .537) and Joe (221-204, .520) Niekro

Mark DiFelice

Just came across this dude--a 31 yr old "rookie" relief pitcher with the Brewers. I suppose he's a brother of veteran backup (or 3rd!) catcher Mike DiFelice-both born in PA, both 6'1". Anyway, first I can't figure out why it took so long for this guy to make the bigs--he was solid for first 3 1/2 yrs of minor league career, moving up form low A to high A to AA--he struggled in first go at AAA, and next year seems to have had to start the climb all over, back at low A! Anyway, he's always shown impeccable control, and in past several years has shown good strike outs numbers. Here's what really caught my eye: in his 10 games in the big show so far, in 13 2/3 IP, he has not only recorded 16 strike outs but--get this--ZERO walks! I wonder if that's anywhere near the modern record for most IP at beginning of major league career without issuing a walk?

Cards Power Leaves Pujols Behind!

Whoddathunk that Albert Pujols would become only the 4th best (or lower?) power threat in the St Louis line-up? After all, we're talking the only living, breathing challenge to A-Rod's eventual career HR crown, Pujols having compiled 300 already at age 28 in a little over 7 1/2 years. Yet Sir Albert has only 2 dingers in 17 games since returning from the DL on June 26. During that same time, slow-starting Troy Glaus has hit 5 out in 16 games, modern-day fairy tale hero Rick Ankiel has gone ballpark 6 times in those 17 games, and red-hot Ryan Ludwick has gone yard in 5 of the last seven games since breaking a 21-game homerless streak on July 6.

The good news is, once Pujols' power swing gets in synch again (he's still hitting for an astronomical average), and if Chris Duncan ever regains his 2006-07 form, the Cards could find themselves with 5 dangerous power threats. Now if they could just find a dependable bullpen (they blew a lead of 10-4 after 7 1/2, 10-6 after 8 1/2 and 11-10 after 9 1/2 yesterday--ouch!)

Brothers Combined Strikeouts and ERA

Strikeouts:
1. 5110 Gaylord (3534) and Jim (1576) Perry
2. 5089 Phil (3342) and Joe (1747) Niekro
3. 4488 Pedro (3061) and Ramon (1427) Martinez
4. 3893 Greg (3329) and Mike (564) Maddux
5. 2866 Al (1974) and Mark (892) Leiter
6. 2677 Livan (1591) and Orlando (1086) Hernandez
7. 2504 Christy (2502) and Henry (2) Matthewson
8. 2401 Andy (2000) and Alan (401) Benes
9. 2203 Rick (2015) and Paul (188) Reuschel
10. 2180 Bob (1133) and Ken (1047) Forsch

Combined ERA (each brother having at least 500 IP):
1. 2.75 Harry (2.39 on 332 ER in 1248 IP) and Stan (2.89 (990 ER in 3082 IP) Coveleski
2. 2.90 Hooks (2.47 on 580 ER in 2112 1/3 IP) and Snake (4.59 on 274 ER in 537 1/3 IP) Wiltse
3. 3.19 Pedro (2.86 on 864 ER in 2714 1/3 IP) and Ramon (3.67 on 772 ER in 1895 2/3) Martinez
4. 3.22 Dizzy (3.02 on 661 ER in 1967 1/3 IP) and Paul (3.72 on 325 IP in 787 1/3) Dean
5. 3.23 Gaylord (3.11 on 1846 ER in 5350 1/3) and Jim (3.45 on 1258 ER in 3285 2/3) Perry
6. 3.27 Greg (3.13 on 1714 ER in 4927 1/3 IP) and Mike (4.05 on 388 ER in 861 2/3 IP) Maddux
7. 3.35 Jesse (3.22 on 918 ER in 2569 2/3 IP) and Virgil (3.66 on 445 IP in 1094 IP) Barnes
8. 3.40 Vicente (3.36 on 241 ER in 645 2/3 IP) and Enrique (3.45 on 231 ER in 603 IP) Romo
9. 3.45 Phil (3.35 on 2012 ER in 5404 1/3 IP) and Joe (3.59 on 1431 ER in 3584 IP) Niekro

Brothers' Career Innings, Saves

Career Innings Pitched, Brother Pairs:
1. 8988 1/3 Phil (5404 1/3) and Joe (3584) Niekro
2. 8636 Gaylord (5350 1/3) and Jim (3285 2/3) Perry
3. 5789 Greg (4927 1/3+) and Mike (861 2/3) Maddux
4. 5241 John (4536 1/3) and Dad (704 2/3) Clarkson
5. 4922 Bob (2794 2/3) and Ken (2127 1/3) Forsch
6. 4911 John (4536 1.3) and Walter (374 2/3) Clarkson
7. 4610 Pedro (2714 1/3) and Ramon (1895 2/3) Martinez
8. 4391 Gus (4324 1/3) and John (65 2/3) Weyhing
9. 4330 Stan (3082) and Harry (1248) Coveleski
10. 3941 1/3 Rick (3548 1/3) and Paul (393) Reuschel

Active ones close:
3806 1/3 Livan (2491 2/3+) and Orlando (1314 2/3) Hernandez

Saves ( I have only compiled the top 6, as the numbers after the top one or two are so low):

1. 327 Todd (256) and Tim (71) Worrell
2. 104 Vicente (52) and Enrique (52) Romo
3. 65 Marv (65) and Lee (7) Grissom
4. 45 Phil (29) and Joe (16) Niekro
5. 41 Dick (38) and Slick (3) Coffman
6. 36 Hooks (34) and Snake (2) Wiltse

Ryan Howard on a Tear

Ryan Howard is a one-man wrecking ball. In a year when homers are down, and the AL may not have anyone with 40 homers, Howard is suddenly on pace to hit 48 or 50 in the NL. He now has 28 in 94 games, after hitting four in his last three games and 8 in his last 10. The dude was dreadful in April (.168 avg., 5 HR, 12 RBI), good in May (10 HR, 30 RBI, although only .234 avg for the month), but down again last month (5 HR and .234 avg., although RBI's held up well with 26). Now with a blazing start to July, he suddenly looks like an MVP candidate, leading the league with 84 RBIs, 12 more than his nearest NL competitor. BTW, Howard only needs 45 HR this year to have averaged 50 a year for his first three full years in the majors!

Josh Hamilton continues to amaze, with 93 RBIs in only 91 games. Dude is an inspiration, coming back from the depths of drug addiction that threatened to end the major league career of this prized prospect before it began.

Looks like Chipper Jones' .400 dreams are fading fast. He was batting .419 as late as June 11, and still at .394 entering July, but a recent 0 for 10 has dropped him from .388 to .375 in the space of 3 days.

Finally, how about that Roy Halladay? Pitched a 2-hit shutout tonight (took a 1-hitter into the 9th). Completed his 7th game in 19 starts--no one else in the majors has more than 3. There have been only 67 complete games pitched all year so far, so Halladay alone accounts for more the 10% of them! No one has pitched MORE than 7 complete games since 2004. At his current rate, Halladay would end up with 12--the last time anyone had that many was Randy Johnson, way back in 1999. No one's had more than 9 since.

Brothers' Career Complete Games and Shutouts

Complete Games (dominated by old-timers):
1. 548 John (485) and Dad (63) Clarkson
2. 455 Gus (448) and John (7) Weyhing
3. 435 Christy (434) and Henry (1) Matthewson
4. 412 Gaylord (303) and Jim (109) Perry
5. 352 Phil (245) and Joe (107) Niekro
6. 307 Stan (224) and Harry (83) Coveleski
7. 238 Jesse (180) and Virgil (58) Barnes
8. 229 Tom (227) and Ed (2) Hughes
9. 208 Hooks (154) and Snake (54) Wiltse
10. 201 Ad (191) and Billy (10) Gumbert

3 or more:
571 John (485), Dad (63) and Walter (23) Clarkson

Shutouts:
1. 85 Gaylord (53) and Jim (32) Perry
2. 74 Phil (45) and Joe (29) Niekro
3. 51 Stan (38) and Harry (13) Coveleski
4. 41 John (37) and Walter (4) Clarkson
5. 37 Bob (19) and Ken (18) Forsch
5. 37 Ramon (20) and Pedro (17) Martinez
7. 36 Greg (35) and Mike (1) Maddux
8. 34 Dizzy (26) and Paul (8) Dean
9. 33 Jesse (26) and Virgil (7) Barnes
10. 29 Hooks (27) and Snake (2) Wiltse

Start of Pitching Brothers Top 10 List

Wins:
1. 539 Phil (318) and Joe (221) Niekro
2. 529 Gaylord (314) and Jim (215) Perry
3. 389 Greg (350+) and Mike (39) Maddux
4. 367 John (328) and Dad (39) Clarkson
5. 347 Pedro (212+) and Ramon (135) Martinez
6. 296 Stan (215) and Harry (81) Coveleski
7. 282 Bob (168) and Ken (114) Forsch
8. 267 Gus (264) and John (3) Weyhing
9. 233 Livan (143+) and Orlando "El Duque" (90) Hernandez
10. 230 Rick (214) and Paul (16) Reuschel

Games Pitched:
1. 1566 Phil (864) and Joe (702) Niekro
2. 1407 Gaylord (777) and Jim (630) Perry
3. 1295 Tim (678) and Todd (617) Worrell
4. 1202 Greg (730+) and Mike (472) Maddux
5. 1019 Ken (521) and Bob (498) Forsch
6. 1006 Lindy (987) and Von (19) McDaniel
7. 756 Pedro (455+) and Ramon (301) Martinez
8. 755 Rick (557) and Paul (198) Reuschel
9. 754 Danny (716) and Jeff (38) Darwin
9. 754 Al (419) and Mark (335) Leiter

Best Brother Combos, Offense

My subjective opinion, based on preceding lists, for best pairs of brothers who were position players:

1. Paul and Lloyd Waner. No competition, really. "Big and Little Poison" are the only two to be members of Hall of Fame. Dominate every category except home runs and steals.

2. Joe and Dom DiMaggio. Both careers were cut short by WWII, and neither played through to age 40. But in their prime, they were great--Joe with the power, both with the run-scoring and hitting. Third brother Vince was famous only for his strike out totals (modest by today's standards, but in his time, unheard of).

3. Ed and Jim Delahanty. An oddity, in that, because Ed was almost 12 years older, Jim had only played 24 unimpressive games before his star big brother was tragically killed at age 35. Jim went on to a solid career as a starter at many positions. His best year was 1911: .339 avg, 83 runs, 184 hits, 14 triples and 94 RBI. Not as good as his late brother (whose .346 career average and .505 career slugging in an era when NOBODY slugged over .500 for their career earned a Hall of Fame berth), but still pretty good for the "deadball" era.

4. Roberto and Sandy Alomar. Roberto was headed for 3000, maybe 3500+ hits before injuries pushed him to hang it up early at age 36 with 2724 and a .300 career average, along with over 1500 runs, 500 doubles and 200 homers, and 474 stolen bases. Sandy took a beating as a catcher, but hung in there for 20 seasons, with a best in 1997 of .324, 37 2B, 21 HR and 83 RBI in just 451 AB. Both boys no doubt made Puerto Rican papa, Sandy Sr. proud (he was a decent defensive infielder for 15 season in the majors, bu his offense was nothing to write Cooperstown about).

5. Bob and Roy Johnson. Neither is that well known today (their common names kind of get lost in the crowd), but both had solid, though somewhat shortened, careers. Bob had power (288 HR and 1283 RBI in only 13 seasons, with 8 years 100+ RBI, including 7 straight!) Older brother Roy scored 100 three times and knocked in 100 once in a solid (.296 career avg.) 10-year career.

6. Ken and Clete Boyer. One of few brother combos where both were legitimate power threats. Although Ken was 6 years older, they both broke into the bigs in 1955, Clete at age 18. Ken hit 23+ homers 8 times (7 in a row); Clete had a high of 26 homers and 96 RBI in 1967, just as his brother's perennial all-star career was on the decline. Third brother Cloyd was a pitcher.

7. Felipe and Matty Alou. Felipe had some power (206 HR, with high of 31) as well as batting .316 or higher three times; Matty was strictly a singles hitter, and a good one (.307 career average). Finished 1-2 in batting in 1966 (and 2-3 in 1968). Third brother Jesus was a pinch hitter extraordinaire late in his career. Felipe's son Moises has outdone them all.

8. Joe and Luke Sewell. Hall-of-Famer Joe was a career .312 hitter and by far the hardest player to strike out in the history of baseball (once every 100 AB in almost 4800 AB from 1925-33: once in ten at bats is considered darn good today). He also knocked in 95 RBI a year from 1921-1927 while hitting fewer than 3 HR per year! Little brother Luke wasn't expected to produce a lot offensively as a catcher, and went on to manage the lowly Browns to their only pennant.

9. Emil and Bob Meusel. Each led league in RBIs: Emil ("Irish") in the NL in 1923 with 125; Bob in the AL in 1925 with 138. Faced off against each other in three straight subway (World) Series in the Big Apple from 1921-23, with Irish's Giants prevailing in the first 2, but Bob's "Murderer's Row" Yanks starting their dynasty in the 3rd. Bob topped 100 RBI 5 times in 11 seasons; Emil did so 4 years in a row (1922-25) among 9 full seasons.

10. Lee and Carlos May. Lee was a solid slugger, knocking in 80+ runs 11 straight years (1968-78) and retiring with 354 HR; Carlos looked to be headed for similar success, a two-time all-star at age 24, but his career petered out before age 30.

I did not include many combos, who ranked high in the lists I compiled, where one star brother accounted for a huge share of the combined totals (Aarons, Ripkins, Wagners and Murrays, etc.)

Largest Career Margin Over 2nd Best

I guessed recently that Henderson's margin over Brock in stolen bases was the largest among all major baseball career records. Among the only ones I found with larger margins than Henderson's 49.9% margin, none would be considered "major":
134.8% Barry Bonds 688 intentional walks over 2nd highest total, 293
52.5% Nolan Ryan's 2795 walks allowed over 2nd highest total, 1833

The next-highest current margin on a major category is Cy Young's 22.5% margin over Walter Johnson in wins (511 to 417); although both Lee Smith in saves and Nolan Ryan in strike outs had margins of over 38% at one time in the last 15 years, before other competitors neared (Ryan) or surpassed (Smith) their totals.

Career Walks and Batting Avg. for Brothers

Walks, Pairs of brothers
1. 1564 Bob (1075) and Roy (489) Johnson
2. 1540 Joe (790) and Dom (750) DiMaggio
3. 1511 Paul (1091) and Lloyd (420) Waner
4. 1488 Hank (1402) and Tommie (86) Aaron
5. 1437 Brian (1119+) and Marcus (318) Giles
6. 1424 Jason (1173+) and Jeremy (251) Giambi
7. 1344 Eddie (1333) and Rich (11) Murray
8. 1328 Joe (842) and Luke (486) Sewell
9. 1303 Cal, Jr. (1129) and Billy (174) Ripkin
10. 1244 Roberto (1032) and Sandy, Jr. (212) Alomar

Batting Average, Pair of Brothers, at least 2000 AB each:
1. .326 Paul (.333 on 3152 of 9459) and Lloyd (.316 on 2459 of 7772) Waner
2. .324 Ed (.346 on 2596 of 7505) and Jim (.283 on 1159 of 4091) Delahanty
3. .312 Joe (.325 on 2214 of 6821) and Dom (.298 on 1680 of 5640) DiMaggio
4. .310 Emil (.310 on 1521 of 4900) and Bob (.309 on 1693 of 5475) Meusel
5. .303 Dixie (.306 on 2064 of 6740) and Harry (.296 on 786 of 2651) Walker
6. .297 Joe (.325 on 2214 of 6821) and Vince (.249 on 959 of 3849) DiMaggio
7. .296 Bob (.296 on 2051 on 6920) and Roy (.296 on 1292 of 4359) Johnson
8. .295 Matty (.307 on 1777 of 5789) and Felipe (.286 on 2101 of 7339) Alou
9. .295 Matty (.307 on 1777 of 5789) and Jesus (.280 on 1216 of 4345) Alou
10. .291 Roberto (.300 on 2724 of 9073) and Sandy, Jr. (.273 on 1236 of 4530) Alomar

The Meusels are mighty close together (.310 and .309), as are catcher Rick (.281) and pitcher Wes (.280) Ferrell, but no one could possibly match the Johnson brothers for identical career batting averages: Bob's average, calculated out to four more digits, is .2963872; Roy's is .2963982!

I'll start recording pitching brother's career records next.

Notes of Brother Pairs vs. Indiv. Records

On career statistical categories reported so far, here's how many pairs of brothers combine for a total surpassing the individual record:

For games: 6 pairs (Waners, Ripkins, Boyers, Alomars, Alous and Aarons) surpass Pete Rose's individual record of 3562 games (Hank Aaron alone ranks 3rd, and Cal Ripkin alone, 8th).

For at bats: only the Waners and Ripkins surpass Pete Rose's individual record of 14,053 (and Cal Ripkin alone ranks 4th).

For runs: only the Waners and DiMaggios surpass Rickey Henderson's individual record of 2295.

For hits: only the Waners surpass Rose's individual record of 4256.

For doubles: only the Waners surpass Tris Speaker's individual record of 792 (the Alomars fell 39 short as of Sandy, Jr.'s retirement at the end of last season)

For triples: the Waners exactly tie Sam Crawford's individual record of 309 (Paul Waner alone ranks 10th).

For home runs: only Hank Aaron (2nd all-time by himself, of course) and his brother come anywhere close to Barry Bond's record, surpassing Bond's total of 762 by 6.

For RBI's: only Hank and his brother surpass his own individual record of 2297.

For stolen bases: no brother pairs come close to Rickey Henderson's individual career record of 1406. In fact, only nine other players (none brothers, obviously) in the history of major league baseball tallied a career total of stolen bases over half of Henderson's amazing career total. His total is 49.8% higher than Lou Brock's next-highest total, a larger margin than any other career baseball record, I'm quite sure.

Career RBI's and Stolen Bases for Brothers

RBI's:
1. 2391 Hank (2297) and Tommie (94) Aaron
2. 2155 Joe (1537) and Dom (618) DiMaggio
3. 2121 Joe (1547) and Vince (584) DiMaggio
4. 1953 Ed (1464) and Jim (489) Delahanty
5. 1942 Eddie (1917) and Rich (25) Murray
6. 1924 Cal, Jr. (1695) and Billy (229) Ripkin
7. 1907 Paul (1309) and Lloyd (598) Waner
8. 1886 Bob (1067) and Emil (819) Meusel
9. 1839 Bob (1283) and Roy (586) Johnson
10. 1795 Ken (1141) and Clete (654) Boyer

Stolen Bases:
1. 726 Honus (722) and Butts (4) Wagner
2. 667 Otis (620) and Donnell (47) Nixon
3. 606 Ed (455) and Jim (151) Delahanty
4. 557 Fred (506) and Josh (51) Clarke
5. 501 Clyde (495) and Horace (6) Milan
6. 499 Roberto (474) and Sandy, Jr. (25) Alomar
7. 392 George (228) and Patsy (164) Tebeau
8. 386 Tom (385) and Joe (1) Daly
9. 372 Buck (354) and John (18) Ewing
10. 359 Kid (328) and Harry (31) Gleason

Homers Down This Year

Homers are coming at less than one per team per game this year for the first time since 1993. After reaching a high of 1.18 in 2000, the average homers per team per game dropped to 1.03 last year, and so far this year stands at just under 0.99. Steroid testing the reason? Could be...

Career 3B's and HR's for Brothers

Triples, 2 brothers:
1. 309 Paul (191) and Lloyd (118) Waner
2. 255 Honus (252) and Butts (3) Wagner
3. 244 Ed (185) and Jim (59) Delahanty
4. 235 Roger (233) and Joe (2) Conner
5. 229 Fred (220) and Josh (9) Clarke
6. 188 Joe (131) and Dom (57) DiMaggio
6. 188 Bob (95) and Emil (93) Meusel
8. 181 Buck (178) and John (3) Ewing
9. 178 Bob (95) and Roy (83) Johnson
10. 177 Zack (172) and Mack (5) Wheat

Home Runs, 2 brothers:
1. 768 Hank (755) and Tommie (13) Aaron
2. 508 Eddie (504) and Rich (4) Murray
3. 486 Joe (361) and Vince (125) DiMaggio
4. 451 Cal, Jr. (431) and Billy (20) Ripkin
5. 448 Joe (361) and Dom (87) DiMaggio
6. 444 Ken (282) and Clete (162) Boyer
6. 444 Lee (354) and Carlos (90) May
8. 434 Jason (382+) and Jeremy (52) Giambi
9. 406 Graig (390) and Jim (16) Nettles
10. 389 Vladamir (378+) and Wilton (11) Guerrero

Career Brother Records (Top 10 Lists), Part III

Hits, 2 brothers, career:
1. 5611 Paul (3152) and Lloyd (2459) Waner
2. 3987 Hank (3771) and Tommie (216) Aaron
3. 3960 Roberto (2724) and Sandy, Jr. (1236) Alomar
4. 3894 Joe (2214) and Dom (1680) DiMaggio
5. 3878 Felipe (2101) and Matty (1777) Alou
6. 3858 Cal, Jr. (3184) and Billy (674) Ripkin
7. 3755 Ed (2596) and Jim (1159) Delahanty
8. 3619 Joe (2226) and Luke (1393) Sewell
9. 3539 Ken (2143) and Clete (1396) Boyer
10. 3474 Honus (3415) and Butts (59) Wagner

3+:
5094 Felipe (2101), Matty (1777) snf Jesus (1216) Alou
4853 Joe (2214), Dom (1680) and Vince (959) DiMaggio

Doubles:
1. 886 Paul (605) and Lloyd (281) Waner
2. 753 Roberto (504) and Sandy, Jr. (249) Alomar
3. 724 Cal, Jr. (603) and Billy (121) Ripkin
4. 713 Ed (522) and Jim (191) Delahanty
5. 708 Joe (436) and Luke (272) Sewell
6. 697 Joe (389) and Dom (308) DiMaggio
7. 683 George (665) and Ken (18) Brett
8. 671 Bob (396) and Roy (275) Johnson
9. 666 Hank (624) and Tommie (42) Aaron
10. 652 Honus (640) and Butts (12) Wagner

Active Guys Who are Close:
578 Bret (366) and Aaron (212+) Boone
569 Brian (382+) and Marcus (187) Giles

Team homers

Teams with 225+ Homers for the year:
1. 264 Seattle Mariners, 1997
2. 260 Texas Rangers, 2005
3. 257 Baltimore Orioles, 1996
4. 249 Houston Astros, 2000
5. 246 Texas Rangers, 2001
6. 245 Seattle Mariners, 1996
7. 244 Seattle Mariners, 1999
7. 244 Toronto Bluejays, 2000
9. 243 Oakland A's, 1996
10. 242 NY Yankees, 2004
10. 242 Chicago White Sox, 2004
12. 240 NY Yankees, 1961
13. 239 Colorado Rockiers, 1997
13. 239 Oakland A's, 2000
13. 239 Texas Rangers, 2003
16. 238 Boston Red Sox, 2003
17. 236 Anaheim Angels, 2000
17. 236 Chicago White Sox, 2006
19. 235 Oakland A's, 1999
19. 235 St. Louis Cards, 2000
19. 235 S.F. Giants, 2001
19. 235 Atlanta Braves, 2003
19. 235 Chicago Cubs, 2004
24. 234 Seattle Mariners, 1998
25. 231 Milwaukee Brewers, 2007
26. 230 Texas Rangers, 1999
26. 230 Texas Rangers, 2002
26. 230 NY Yankees, 2003
29. 229 NY Yankees, 2005
30. 227 Texas Rangers, 2004
31. 226 S.F. Giants, 2000
32. 225 Minnesota Twins, 1963
32. 225 Detroit Tigers, 1987

Note the dominance of the Rangers, and the overall dominance of teams 1996 on (30 of the top 31 totals). This goes to show that, although the 65+ totals of Bonds, McGwire and Sosa gets more attention, the even greater revolution has been teams with 5 or 6 decent home run threats in the line-up.

Brothers Career Records, Continued

At Bats:
1. 17,231 Paul (9459) and Lloyd (7772) Waner
2. 14,280 Cal Jr. (11,551) and Billy (2729) Ripkin
3. 13,603 Roberto (9073) and Sandy Jr. (4,530) Alomar
4. 13,308 Hank (12,364) and Tommie (944) Aaron
5. 13,235 Ken (7455) and Clete (5780) Boyer
6. 13,128 Felipe (7339) and Matty (5789) Alou
7. 12,515 Joe (7132) and Luke (5383) Sewell
8. 12,461 Joe (6821) and Dom (5640) DiMaggio
9. 11,729 Lee (7609) and Carlos (4120) May
10. 11,684 Felipe (7339) and Jesus (4345) Alou

Three brothers:
1. 17,473 Felipe (7339), Matty (5789) and Jesus (4345) Alou
2. 16,310 Joe (6821), Dom (5640) and Vince (3849) DiMaggio

Runs:
1. 2828 Paul (1627) and Lloyd (1201) Waner
2. 2436 Joe (1390) and Dom (1046) DiMaggio
3. 2276 Hank (2174) and Tommie (102) Aaron
4. 2119 Ed (1599) and Jim (520) Delahanty
5. 2028 Roberto (1508) and Sandy, Jr. (520) Alomar
6. 1956 Bob (1239) and Roy (717) Johnson
7. 1934 Cal Jr. (1647) and Billy (287) Ripkin
8. 1881 Joe (1390) and Vince (491) DiMaggio
9. 1877 Jim (1729) and John (148) O'Rourke
10. 1794 Joe (1141) and Luke (653) Sewell

3+ brothers:
1. 2927 Joe (1390), Dom (1046) and Vince (491) DiMaggio
2. 2309 Ed (1599), Jim (520), Frank (109), Joe (68) and Tom (13) Delahanty
3. 2213 Felipe (985), Matty (780) and Jesus (448) Alou

Years Members Added to 3 Exclusive Clubs

Want to punch your ticket for Cooperstown? Join one of these three exclusive clubs: 3000 hits, 500 home runs, or 300 wins. While each now has between 23 and 27 members, they've grown at different rates; some consistent, some in spurts.

Years members were added to the 500 HR club: 1929, '40, '45, '60, '65, '67, '67, '68, '70, '71, '71, '78, '84, '87, '96, '99, 2001, '03, '03, '04, '07, '07, '07, '08.

One big spurt from 1965-71 (post-WWII infusion of black stars), in the midst of another (unfortunately, steroid-fueled) spurt, starting with McGwire's inclusion in 1999. By the way, starting with Willie Mays joining as the first black member in 1965, the club has admitted 13 blacks (including 3 black Hispanics) and seven whites (including one white Hispanic). While none of the first 17 were Hispanic, 4 of the last 7 have been.

Years members were added to the 3000 hit club: 1897, 1914, '14, '21, '25, '25, '42, '58, '70, '70, '72, '74, '78, '79, '85, '92, '92, '93, '95, '96, '99, '99, '00, '01, '05, '07.

Five early members added between 1914-1925, then only two added over the next 44 years; 6 added in 1970's, but only one in the 1980's. Nine added (almost one a year!) in the 10 years from 1992-2001, a pace which has slowed recently. Since Aaron became the first black in this club in 1970, the club has admitted nine blacks (including two black Hispanics) and ten whites (including one white Hispanic).

Years members were added to the 300 win club: 1888, 1890, '90, '91, '92, 1900, '01, '12, '15, '20, '24, '41, '61, '63, '82, '83, '85, '85, '86, '90, 2003, 2004, '07.

Five very early members whose credentials are sometimes questioned because they compiled the total in 10 or 12 years of 50+ starts each year. Only one added between 1925-1960, only three between 1925-1980. One big wave added an average of one a year between 1982-1986 (including many who wore down 300 through mere longevity, not great winning percentages), three added this decade (with much higher win percentages, achieved through mostly 5-man rotations, not 4-man rotations as in previous wave, and with far fewer complete games, which means fewer decisions). And this club has not yet admitted any black of Hispanic members (even though Bob Gibson, Ferguson Jenkins, Juan Marichal and Luis Tiant dominated the 1960's and '70's, they all fell short).

HR Hitters by state of birth

Baseballcube has a list (through 2006) of the leading HR hitters born in each state, province and country. The three lowest state leaders?

Alaska--57 (Josh Phelps--now has 64)
Maine--66 (Del Bissonette)
South Dakota (Mark Ellis--now has 64)
If Phelps and Ellis add a few more each, Maine will soon be in last place.

Low Leading Slugging Pct.'s

Nowadays we expect slugging percentage leaders to have lots of homers. It may surprise some that pre-Ruth guys like Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Nap Lajoie often slugged well over .500 based on high batting average combined with lots of doubles and triples (and maybe a dozen or so homers). But there were some years in the so-called "dead ball" era where the league-leading slugger failed to reach .500

Years since 1900 in which the league-leading slugger slugged under .500:
1902 (NL), 1905 (AL), 1906 (NL), 1907-08 (AL), 1909 (NL), 1915 (AL), 1916-19 (NL), and in the war-depleted year of 1945 in the AL. Interesting that ALWAYS at least one league leader (either AL or NL) surpassed .500 slugging throughout the "deadball" era.

By the way, the AL almost added 1976 to that list, when Reggie Jackson was the leading slugger with a measly .502 slugging percentage. Other years since 1945 when the leader was fairly low (though not near as low as '76): 1959, AL, .530; 1973, AL, .531; 1991, NL, .539.

Since 1993, with the advent of the new juiced ball/juiced ballplayer era, the league leader in both leagues has always been .600 or higher. That streak might br threatened this year, however, as the relatively HR-weak AL is currently led by Milton Bradley with a modest .611 slugging percentage.

20+ Triples

First, a followup to last year's posts on Curtis Granderson: he ended up with 23 triples, the most since Dale Mitchell hit that many in 1949; the last time anyone hit MORE was 1925 (Kiki Cuyler, 26).

Now, to list the most times any player has hit 20+ triples in a season:
5-Sam Crawford
4-Ty Cobb
3-Sam Thompson (pre-1900), Earl Combs, Roger Conner (pre-1900), "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Dan Brouthers (pre-1900)

Last guy to do it even twice was Stan ("the Man") Musial, in 1943 and 1946.

Career Brother Records (Top 10 Lists), Part I

Combined Number of Seasons for Two Brothers:
1. 46 Phil (24) and Joe (22) Niekro
2. 39 Gaylord (22) and Jim (17) Perry
3. 38 Paul (20) and Lloyd (18) Waner
3. 38 Greg (23) and Mike (15) Maddux
5. 37 Sandy Jr. (20) and Roberto (17) Alomar
6. 35 George (21) and Ken (14) Brett
7. 34 Luke (20) and Joe (14) Sewell
8. 33 Luke (20) and Rip (13) Sewell
8. 33 Cal Jr. (21) and Billy (12) Ripkin
8. 33 Rick (18) and Wes (15) Ferrell

For three or more brothers:
1. 47 Felipe (17), Matty (15) and Jesus (15) Alou
1. 47 Luke (20), Joe (14) and Rip (13) Sewell
3. 41 Ed (16), Jim (13), Frank (6), Joe (3) and Tom (3) Delahanty
4. 36 Clete (16), Ken (15) and Cloyd (5) Boyer
5. 34 Joe (13), Dom (11) and Vince (10) DiMaggio

Games, Two Brothers:
1. 4542 Paul (2549) and Lloyd (1993) Waner
2. 3913 Cal, Jr. (3001) and Billy (912) Ripkin
3. 3759 Ken (2034) and Clete (1725) Boyer
4. 3756 Roberto (2379) and Sandy, Jr. (1377) Alomar
5. 3749 Felipe (2082) and Matty (1667) Alou
6. 3735 Hank (3298) and Tommie (437) Aaron
7. 3533 Joe (1903) and Luke (1630) Sewell
8. 3462 Felipe (2082) and Jesus (1380) Alou
9. 3236 Lee (2071) and Carlos (1165) May
10. 3135 Joe (1736) and Dom (1399) DiMaggio

Games 3+ Brothers:
1. 5129 Felipe (2082), Matty (1667) and Jesus (1380) Alou
2. 4245 Joe (1736), Dom (1399) and Vince (1110) DiMaggio

Strikeout Stats for 500 HR Hitters

Rankings on At-bats per Strike Out among 500+ HR hitters (* = active):
1. 10.87 Ted Williams
2. 10.55 Mel Ott
3. 8.94 Hank Aaron
4. 7.77 Rafael Palmeiro
5. 7.62 Ernie Banks
6. 7.48 Eddie Murray
7. 7.13 Willie Mays
8. 6.53 Frank Robinson
9. 6.40 Barry Bonds
10. 6.32 Babe Ruth
11. 6.20 Jimmie Foxx
12. 5.90 Frank Thomas*
13. 5.74 Eddie Matthews
14. 5.54 Ken Griffey, Jr.*
15. 5.29 Willie McCovey
16. 4.83 Alex Rodriguez*
17. 4.80 Harmon Killebrew
18. 4.74 Mickey Mantle
19. 4.55 Manny Ramirez*
20. 4.44 Mike Schmidt
21. 3.88 Mark McGwire
22. 3.82 Sammy Sosa
23. 3.80 Reggie Jackson
24. 3.35 Jim Thome

And a somewhat related stat: strikeouts per HR:
1. 1.36 Ted Williams
2. 1.75 Mel Ott
3. 1.83 Hank Aaron
4. 1.86 Babe Ruth
5. 2.02 Barry Bonds
6. 2.31 Willie Mays
7. 2.37 Rafael Palmeiro
8. 2.41 Ernie Banks
9. 2.46 Jimmie Foxx
10. 2.61 Frank Robinson
11. 2.64 Frank Thomas*
12. 2.72 Ken Griffey. Jr.*
13. 2.74 Mark McGwire
14. 2.90 Eddie Matthews
15. 2.94 Alex Rodriguez*
16. 2.97 Harmon Killebrew
17. 2.98 Willie McCovey
18. 3.01 Eddie Murray
19. 3.19 Mickey Mantle
20. 3.19 Manny Ramirez*
21. 3.44 Mike Schmidt
22. 3.79 Sammy Sosa
23. 4.05 Jim Thome
24. 4.61 Reggie Jackson

Rivera's ERA Smokes!

Baseball-Reference has a stat called adjusted ERA+, which is a park-adjusted measure of a pitcher's ERA compared to the league average for those years. In its current career all-time list, for those with 1000+ innings pitched, Pedro Martinez is the runaway leader, with a ERA+ score of 158 58% better than the league average), with old-timers Lefty Grove and Walter Johnson 2nd and 3rd with 148 and 147. But I just happen to notice reliever extraordinaire Mariano Rivera's score: an incredible 198 (!) for his career with 990 1/3 innings pitched, just about to qualify for the 1000+ IP list. The 198 means that Rivera has averaged an ERA almost twice as low as the league average for his career (His career ERA stands at 2.30; the league average for those years has been 4.54). Super Mariano indeed!

Another top-notch closer with an impressive career ERA is Billy Wagner, with 2.38. His league average has been 4.32, for a very impressive 181 ERA+ score, but with only 805 IP at age 36, he may not reach the 1000 IP thresheld before retirement.

Homers at age 45+

Another interesting bit of trivia from Baseball Almanac online:

Of the 25 homers ever hit in the majors by a player age 45 or older, 20 of them were hit in recent years by one player: Julio Franco. The ageless one hit 8 at age 45 (Cap Anson hit 3 at that age way back when, and Carlton Fisk, one), 9 at age 46 (including two in one game, and one grand slam)(ageless pitcher Jack Quinn also hit one at 46), 1 at age 47 and 2 at age 48, the last at age 48 years and 254 days on May 4 last year.

As a sidenote, I'm grateful to have seen the ageless wonder hit an RBI double in a game for the Mets against his former teammates in Atlanta at age 47 in 2006. He also stole a base in that game!

Ty Cobb Stealing Home

I just came across a list of Ty Cobb's record 54 steals of home in Baseball Almanac. Starting in 1907, he had at least one steal of home in every year but one (1925) through 1928, for a total of 21 years with a steal of home. His high for a year was 8 in 1912. The 54 were accomplished through 5 triple steals, 24 double steals and 25 stand-alone steals of home (beating the pitch to the plate). For his last steal of home, he was 41 years old! And it was the fearless, slide and hope the batter doesn't take your head off by swinging at the pitch variety!

Best Hitting Pitchers of All-time

The Hall of Fame posts got me wanting to expand the thought to include pitchers NOT in the Hall. Here's my version of the best-hitting pitchers of all-time:
1. Wes Ferrell: record 38 HR in only 1176 AB; 208 RBI, 175 runs, .280 avg., .341 OBP, .446 slugging.
2. George Uhle: record .289 avg. (for those with 500+ AB), .330 OBP, .384 slugging, 21 triples and only 112 SO in 1360 AB.
3. Red Ruffing: .269 avg., .300 OB, .389 slugging, 98 2B, 36 HR and 273 RBI in 1937 AB.
4. Earl Wilson: Tops in power, with 35 HR (and 111 RBI) in only 740 AB! Only batted .195, though.
5. Don Newcombe: .271 avg., .334 OBP and .367 slugging with 15 HR and 108 RBI in 878 AB.
6. Bob Lemon: .232 avg., .386 slugging, 37 HR in 1183 AB (a converted outfielder)
7. Red Lucas: .281 avg., .331 OBP, pinch-hitter extraordinaire; walked almost as many times (124) as he struck out (133) in 1439 AB.
8. Schoolboy Rowe: .263 avg., .320 OBP, .382 slugging, 18 HR and 153 RBI in 909 AB.
9. Ken Brett: .262 avg., .406 slugging on 10 HR and 18 2B in just 347 AB.
10. Walter Johnson: .235 avg., 24 HR, 41 3B and 94 2B in 2324 AB with 255 RBI.

Special mention for mostly reliever Terry Forster, who retired with a career batting average of .397 (and slugging of .474) with 31 hits in 78 AB and only 9 strike outs.

Best recent retiree (I guess he's retired--hasn't played since 2005): Mike Hampton, with .242 avg. and .354 slugging on 15 HR in 664 AB. Best active pitcher with a few years under his belt: Carlos Zambrano: .234 avg., .369 slugging on 13 HR in 458 AB.

Best recent arrivals:
Adam Wainwright: .278 avg., .407 slugging on 3 HR and 5 2B in just 108 AB.
even better: Micah Owings: .299 avg., an incredible .542 slugging with 5 HR, 9 2B (and a 3B), 15 runs and 18 RBI in just 107 AB.

Hall of Fame Pitchers as Hitters, Part 2

Continuing with yesterday's subject: it occurred to me that slugging pct. is probably the best measure of comparing one player to another in hitting ability. So I did some calculations:

Top 20 Career Slugging Pct. among Hall of Fame Pitchers:
.389 Red Ruffing
.386 Bob Lemon
.382 Al Spalding
.342 Walter Johnson
.319 Amos Rusie
.319 John Clarkson
.310 Clark Griffith
.306 Burleigh Grimes
.301 Dizzy Dean
.301 Bob Gibson
.300 Kid Nichols
.297 Mickey Welch
.295 Don Drysdale
.287 Catfish Hunter
.287 Warren Spahn
.285 Ted Lyons
.285 Early Wynn
.282 Cy Young
.281 Hoss Radbourn
.280 Chief Bender

And the 10 worst (among those with 500+ AB's):

.116 Sandy Koufax
.134 Nolan Ryan
.157 Don Sutton
.159 Lefty Gomez
.161 Red Faber
.164 Gaylord Perry
.186 Vic Willis
.188 Addie Joss
.198 Dazzy Vance
.200 Whitey Ford

Notice that the 3 worst are all post-1950.
Of the best 8, Bob Lemon (1941-58) is the most recent.
I should have mentioned Walter Johnson's hitting prowess in the earlier post. Among his highlights: .235 avg., 255 RBI's, 94 doubles, 41 triples and 24 homers (in deadball era!) in 2324 AB.

Best Hitting Hall of Fame Pitchers

Why? Cause the batting records are there, easily accessible on ESPN's baseball site, ripe for picking. And I can't resist arcane, completely off-the-wall stats comparisons.

Best hitters among Hall of Fame pitchers: Red Ruffing with a .269 average,98 doubles, 36 homers and 273 ribbies in 1937 AB's, some of them as a pinch hitter.

Bob Lemon with 54 doubles and an incredible 37 homers in 1183 AB's: 148 runs and 147 RBI's, .232 average.

Others with good power include Don Drysdale: 29 homers in 1169 AB; Warren Spahn: 35 homers in 1872 AB; and Bob Gibson: 24 homers in 1328 AB.

Another with a great average in Al Spalding, who played from 1871-1875 in the American Association, predecessor to the NL. He batted .313 in 1958 AB, some of them as a position player, I believe.

Amos Rusie had an incredible 29 triples in 1730 AB (third base coaches probably get fired these days for bringing pitchers on toward thrid on balls hit in the gap or down the line). Rusie also had a decent .247 average.

As for worst-hitting Hall of Fame pitchers, it's a tie between two relievers: Bruce Sutter (.088 avg., zero extra-base hits--that means a .088 slugging avg., too!--and 50 strike outs in a limited 102 AB) and Hoyt Wilhelm (identical .088 career batting avg., and all of five extra-base hits in 432 AB) Hoyt is famous for being one of a select group of major leaguers who homered in their first career at bat. Hoyt never hit another one in 1069 subsequent games!

Lowest average among career starters is Sandy Koufax: .097, followed by the .110 compiled by Nolan Ryan over 27 seasons.

Don Sutton sets the standard for power futility with no homers (and only 16 extra-base hits) in 1354 AB. Right behind him are Joe McGinnity (no homers in 1297 AB), Waite Hoyt (none in 1287 AB) and Lefty Gomez (no homers and a paltry 11 extra-base hits in 906 AB).

Best Winning Pct. Before the Slide Began

The following is the top ten career winning percentages for pitchers, minimum 150 wins, majority of career post-1900:

.692 211-94 Pedro Martinez (active)
.690 236-105 Whitey Ford
.680 300-141 Lefty Grove
.665 373-188 Christy Mathewson
.660 194-100 Sam Leever
.658 354-184 Roger Clemens
.655 165-87 Sandy Koufax
.651 170-91 Ron Guidry
.650 288-155 Randy Johnson (active)
.649 189-102 Lefty Gomez

But this is one of those stats (batting average is another) where your number can go DOWN from it's high. In fact, pitchers USUALLY win less often as they get near the end of their career. So I've compiled the top ten winning percentages, 150+ wins, at the end of a season in one's career (before it fell lower when later years are added in):

.720 216-84 Whitey Ford
.712 166-67 Pedro Martinez
.712 195-79 Lefty Grove
.694 154-68 Ron Guidry
.694 200-88 Grover Alexander
.688 170-77 Juan Marichal
.685 263-121 Christy Mathewson
.681 169-79 Mordecai Brown
.679 224-106 Randy Johnson
.667 328-164 Roger Clemens

You can see that a lot of guys at .667 or better well into their careers fail to sustain such a percentage on through the end of their careers.

150+ wins and ? Saves

150 wins seems to be a threshold beyond which few pitchers also have a notable number of saves. A couple of exceptions stand out: Dennis Eckersley, who won over 150 as a starter before turning into perhaps the greatest closer up to that time. And John Smoltz pulled an even trickier trick, turning into a closer after an injury in his mid-30's for a little over three years, then returning successfully to starting in his late 30's. But full-time relievers never quite reached 150 wins, even when it was more common for relievers to pitch 2+ innings a game (and thereby be involved in more decisions). So here's my top ten on saves for 150-game winners.

390 saves (197 wins) Dennis Eckersley
154 saves (210+ wins) John Smoltz
61 saves (216 wins) Charlie Hough
57 saves (247 wins) Jack Quinn
57 saves (164 wins) Wilbur Wood
55 saves (300) Lefty Grove
52 saves (237) Waite Hoyt
49 saves (239) Mordecai Brown
49 saves (182) Allie Reynolds
44 saves (191) Dennis Leonard

And these that fell just short of 150 wins:

227 saves (143 wins) Hoyt Wilhelm
172 saves (141 wins) Lindy McDaniel
157 saves (138 wins) Tom Gordon
103 saves (146) Ron Reed
101 saves (148) Firpo Marberry

HR Turnarounds of Late

Three guys struggling mightily to hit HR's like they're paid to early in the year have found the long ball stroke of late; in fact, each hit one out today.

Troy Glaus had all of 2 homers in 187 AB's with his new team, the Cards, through May 30. Cards must have wondered if they'd obtained a washed up has-been. Not so quick. Since May 31, Glaus has hit 8 HR's in 71 AB. And we're suddenly reminded: "Hey, he's only 31!"

Similarly, former Card J.D. Drew was foundering with 4 HR in 149 AB for the Red Sox through May 31. (And he'd only hit 11 his first year in Boston last year.) But June's been good for him, too--10 HR in 66 AB, a .424 avg. and 1.045 (!) slugging pct.

Then there's Vladamir Guerrero, who, despite being a streak hitter all his life, has been a picture of consistency when it comes to all-star caliber season totals. But the .320-something career hitter was only batting .249 with 7 HR in 201 AB as of June 1 when he missed several games (due to injury I presume). Since returning on June 6,he's hit 6 HR in 54 AB and hit .444 to raise his season avg. to a respectable .290. Oh, and Vladdie, like Glaus and Drew, is only 32--maybe it just starts to take a little longer to get the kinks out and hit your stride is you move on in your 30's...

Saves Percentage

Major League baseball made save opportunities an official stat in 1999, but I've seen little done with it. Aside from Greg Gagne's incredible record of 55 saves in 55 opportunities in 2003, save opportunities have been mostly ignored. It would seem to me it should be used to calculate save percentages. Since we have almost 10 years of stats to use now, here's my list of best relievers in converting save opportunities since 1999:

92.57% Eric Gagne (187/202)
90.24 Mariano Rivera (379/420)
90.23 Trevor Hoffman (351/389)
89.95 Joe Nathan (179/199)
87.74 Joe Papelbon (93/106)
87.39 Billy Wagner (312/357)
87.29 Bobby Jenks (103/118)
86.47 Bob Wickman (230/266)
86.14 Francisco Rodriguez (174/202)
85.78 Keith Foulke (187/218)
85.71 Troy Percival (222/259)
85.07 Jose Valverde (114/134)
84.21 Chad Cordero (128/152)
83.93 Brad Lidge (141/168)
83.77 Jason Isringhausen (289/345)
83.72 Armando Benitez (252/301)
83.04 J.J. Putz (93/112)
81.75 Todd Jones (215/263)
79.50 Francisco Cordero (190/239)

Had John Smoltz stuck with closing, he'd rank 2nd with 91.67% (154/168)
Gagne's was even more impressive before his struggles the past two years (was 161 for 167, an incredible 96.41% through 2006).

There are a lot of guys bunched around 85-87 %, all quality relievers. Guys like Nathan, Hoffman and Rivera are a notch even above them in dependability in nailing down saves. Guys below 85% are only marginally effective in my opinion, costing their teams several games a year.

Glavine Has Never Relieved

Tom Glavine has set an all-time record by pitching in 681 games without a ONE of them being in relief! That's right, 681 straight starts since the beginning of his career! Next closest is Roger Clemens with only 2 games in relief among his 709 games pitched (one each in the first and last of his 24 year career).

Other starters in recent years with extremely low relief totals include Randy Johnson (10 in relief among 576 games), and Greg Maddux(4 games in relief among 726 games, all four in the first two years of his career).

It didn't used to be that way, with star pitchers used exclusively as starters. Walter Johnson pitched 136 games in relief among his 802 games; Warren Spahn 85 among 750 games; Early Wynn 79 among 691; Robin Roberts 67 among 676; and Pete Alexander 97 in relief among 696 games pitched. And each of these examples is not a case of a guy switching to relieving late in his career, or starting out in the bullpen before catching on as a starter. No, there was a time when managers used star pitchers in relief whenever they were in a pinch. And these starters often had several saves a year. (Other guys thought of mainly as starters, such as Ed Walsh and Mordacai (3-finger) Brown, often led the league in saves in the days before closer specialists.)

Silva's Top Control Pitcher Season

Don't know how I'd missed hearing of this until now, but did you know that Carolos Silva set an ALL-TIME record for lowest rate of walks per 9 innings in 2005? That year he issued a grand total of 9 walks in 188 1/3 innings for an incredible rate of 0.43 walks issued per 9 innings pitched, and this at the young age of 26 when many pitchers are still trying to find the plate with any level of consistency!

The previous record was 0.616 set way back in 1920 by Babe Adams. The next best in MY lifetime was Bret Saberhagen's ).660 in the strike-shortened 1994 season. No pitcher had a rate may than half as low as Silva's record in the 58 years between 1933-1992!

Unfortunately for Carlos, his incredible control has not translated into a highly successful career. He is only 3-8 in wins-losses so far this year, likely headed toward his third straight losing season, although his career record still stands above .500 at 58-54.

Francisco Rodriguez

The Angel's closer has 28 saves in 70 games, on pace to break Bobby Thigpen's 18-year-old season saves record of 57. At the time of Thigpen's record, the previous high was 46. Since then, 46 has been eclipsed 19 more times, over one a year, but none of those times have yet reached 57 again.

Rodriguez is also a rarity in racking up so many saves at a young age. At age 26, he already has 174 saves, and is likely to have 200 before the year is over. The youngest so far to reach 200 was Thigpen at age 28; many great closers don't even get started on racking up big saves numbers until their late 20's.

Mussina

No starting pitcher has ever been elected to the Hall of Fame without winning 20 games at least once. Mike Mussina looked like he might be on his way to being the first, entering this year with a 250-144 won-loss record, a hall-of-fame caliber .635 won-loss percentage. Don't look now, though--at age 39, he just won his 10th game in the 69th game of the season, on course to win 20 at that rate!

He would also be the oldest fist-time 20-game winner, breaking Jamie Moyer's record, who did it at age 38 back in 2001.

AB per HR, for 500 HR Club

1. Mark McGwire 10.61
2. Babe Ruth 11.76
3. Barry Bonds 12.92
4. Jim Thome 13.56 (as of 5/22)
5. Alex Rodriguez 14.21 (as of 5/22)
6. Harmon Killebrew 14.22
7. Sammy Sosa 14.47
8. Ted Williams 14.79
9. Ken Griffey Jr. 15.06 (as of 5/22)
10. Mickey Mantle 15.12
11. Jimmie Foxx 15.23
12. Mike Schmidt 15.24
13. Frank Thomas 15.59 (as of 5/22)
14. Willie McCovey 15.73
15. Hank Aaron 16.38
16. Willie Mays 16.49
17. Eddie Mathews 16.67
18. Frank Robinson 17.08
19. Reggie Jackson 17.52
20. Ernie Banks 18.400
21. Rafael Palmeiro 18.404
22. Mel Ott 18.50
23. Eddie Murray 22.49

Surprise to me that Aaron and Mays are in lower third, and that A-Rod is up that high (5th). I read somewhere doubts about Thome's fitness for the Hall of Fame, despite 500 HR's, because of his high strike outs. Fourth-best AB per HR rate ought to put that talk to rest