Phat Albert phatter than Ever!

Albert Pujols is only the greatest slugger/hitter for average/clutch hitter in baseball since....Ted Williams? Babe Ruth? E-E-V-E-R?

Albert is closing in on his first 50-HR season--he now has 45 in 140 team games, needing 5 in the remaining 22 to make it. He has picked up the pace recently, hitting 5 in his last 11 games, his best stretch since June 27-July 3. Of course, if he falls short, and NEVER makes 50, he'll be in good company--great sluggers like Henry Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, Frank Robinson and Lou Gehrig never hit 50 in one season.

I saw a headline around the end of Pujol's monster June something to the effect of "Let the Pujols 60-HR Watch begin." That was a bit premature. Yes, he had 30 after 79 team games, and even 34 after 92, but then he proved human (for a bit, anyway!), going through a dry stretch of 16 straight games without going yard. He broke that string on August 4 with, incredibly, his 9th multi-homer game of the year, but all his homers have come one-per-game only since then so far.

Pujols had been on the "certain" 60 or even 70 homer pace before, when he started 2006 with 25 dingers in the first 51 team games (actually a ridiculous pace of 79 or 80 for a full year!) Then Albert went on the disabled list for the first time in his career in early June that year, and when he returned (much earlier than expected) he was merely great instead of superhuman, hitting 24 in the remaining 91 team games, falling one short of 50 for the year (As consolation, he saved his team from the most embarrassing choke in history, helping them salvage a playoff spot, and led them to a World Championship).

One other interesting fact about Pujols (yeah, I'm obsessed with the guy--if you don't like it, you're free to stop reading at any time!): He has increased his frequency of walks per plate appearance every year of his career. Here's the rundown:
2001: 10.2% (69 in 676)
2002: 10.7% (72 in 675)
2003: 11.5% (79 in 685)
2004: 12.1% (84 in 692)
2005: 13.9% (97 in 700)
2006: 14.5% (92 in 634)
2007: 14.6% (99 in 679)
2008: 16.2% (104 in 641)
2009 (so far): 17.3% (104 in 601)

And, to top things off, Albert is on pace to lead the league in walks for the first time, as well as in home runs for the first time. Go, Albert!

Vladdie's Season HR Streak

Just saw that Vladamir Guerrero hit just his 5th homer of the season this afternoon. Of course, he's been out two extended periods with injuries (just came back from the 2nd 2 games ago). Still, with only 1/3 of the season left, his string of 11 straight years of 25 or more homers is in dire danger of coming to an end. I've always liked Vladdie--quietly does his all-star-caliber job, often with less than stellar teams, and has a good time. What a talent! And with 11 100 RBI years, 2 40-40 (HR and SB) seasons, and a .322 career average and .570 career slugging, Cooperstown awaits!

HR Leaders so Far This Year, by Month

Here are the monthly totals so far for the HR leaders through July 31:
(April-may-June-July)
Albert Pujols: 8-8-14-4=34
Mark Reynolds: 5-8-8-8=29
Adrian Gonzalez: 9-11-4-4=28
Justin Morneau: 5-9-5-7=26
Adam Dunn: 6-10-4-6=26
Ryan Howard: 4-10-6-6=26
Raul Ibanez: 7-10-5-4=26
Carlos Pena: 9-8-6-3=26
Mark Texiera: 3-13-4-6=26

50-Double Seasons by Decade

Here is the breakdown of the number of 50-double seasons in each decade of the history of the majors:
1880s: 1
1890s: 2
1900s: 0
1910s: 2
1920s: 12
1930s: 20
1940s: 5
1950s: 2
1960s: 1
1970s: 2
1980s: 2
1990s: 10
2000s: 27 so far

Thus there have been more 50 double seasons this decade than in the previous 6 decades combined.

A similar pattern is found in the rarer 50-homer season stats. Here is the decade breakdown for that:
1920s: 4
1930s: 4
1940s: 3
1950s: 2
1960s: 3
1970s: 1
1980s: 0
1990s: 12
2000s: 12 so far

Brian Roberts, doubles hitter extraordinaire

Baltimore second baseman Brian Roberts stands a pretty good chance of becoming only the fourth player in major league history, and the first since Stan Musial, to hit 50 or more doubles in three or more different seasons. He hit 50 in 2004 and 51 last year, and leads the majors so far this year with 36 103 games into the season, a pace that should result in about 55 or 56. Besides Musial (who did it in 1944, '46 and '53), the others to do it were Paul Waner (in 1928, '32 and '36) and all-time doubles leader Tris Speaker, who did it an amazing 5 times (1912, '20, '21, '23 and '26), the last 4 times at ages 32 through 38.

Lots of guys (Helton, Garciaparra, Biggio, Edgar Martinez, and Pujols) have done it twice in recent years, but none have done it that elusive third time.

Updated Fewest Saves Per Relief Appearances

0.34% Ray King, 2 in 593
0.35% Rheal Cormier, 2 in 575
0.56% Dennys Reyes, 3 in 539*
0.70% Scott Eyre, 4 in 573*
0.73% J.C. Romero, 4 in 545*
1.179% Felix Heredia, 6 in 509
1.180% Ron Villone, 7 in 593*
1.182% Russ Springer, 8 in 677*
1.23% Tony Fossas, 7 in 567
1.32% Rich Rodriguez, 8 in 607
1.36% Guillermo Mota, 8 in 589*
1.47% Luis Vizcaino, 8 in 543*
1.52% Dennis Cook, 9 in 594
1.58% Doug Brocail, 9 in 571*
1.59% Mike Myers, 14 in 883
1.61% Scott Sullivan, 9 in 558
1.81% Trever Miller, 10 in 551*
1.94% Mark Guthrie, 14 in 722
1.96% Felix Rodriguez, 11 in 562
1.99% Chad Bradford, 11 in 552*

* active

others with over 600 games pitched in relief:
2.16% Steve Reed, 18 in 833
2.63% Chuck McElroy, 17 in 647
2.70% Paul Quantrill, 21 in 777
2.80% Justin Speier, 17 in 608*
2.85% Alan Embree, 25 in 878*
2.98% Hector Carrasco, 19 in 638

Most and Least Often Walked, Career, All-time

Fewest Plate Appearances per Walk, Minimum 800 BB

1. 4.839 Ted Williams (2019 in 9769) 1939-60
2. 4.928 Barry Bonds (2558 in 12606) 1986-2007
3. 5.010 Max Bishop (1153 in 5776) 1924-35
4. 5.149 Babe Ruth (2062 in 10617) 1914-35
5. 5.419 Ferris Fain (904 in 4899) 1947-55
6. 5.457 Eddie Stanky (996 in 5435) 1943-53
7. 5.612 Roy Cullenbine (853 in 4787) 1938-47
8. 5.615 Gene Tenace (984 in 5525) 1969-83
9. 5.678 Eddie Yost (1614 in 9164) 1944-62
10.5.696 Mickey Mantle (1733 in 9871) 1951-68

Max Bishop came as a complete surprise to me, amidst 3 of the greatest sluggers of all-time. And notice how many of the top 10 are from Williama' generation, playing in the '40's and '50's.

Some current and recent players just miss the top ten, with Jim Thome 11th at 5.798, Mark McGwire 12th at 5.816, Adam Dunn 14th at 5.917, and Frank Thomas 15th at 6.043.

Most Plate Appearances per Walk, minimum 5000 plate appearances:
1. 32.172 George Stovall (174 in 5598), 1904-15
2. 31.745 Hobe Ferris (161 in 5111), 1901-09
3. 30.916 Shawon Dunston (203 in 6276) 1985-2002
4. 30.482 Charlie Comiskey (197 in 6005) 1882-94
5. 29.845 Ozzie Guillen (239 in 7133) 1985-2000
6. 29.749 Art Fletcher (203 in 6039) 1909-22
7. 29.711 Jerry Denny (173 in 5140) 1881-94
8. 28.918 Buck Weaver (183 in 5292) 1912-20
9. 28.764 Hal Chase (276 in 7939) 1905-19
10.27.603 Ken Reitz (184 in 5079) 1972-82

Two (Dunston and Guillen) are of recent years, one (Reitz) just before them, and the rest all finished their careers by 1922.

Highest among those with 8000 plate appearances or more:
1. 24.448 Tommy Corcoran (382 in 9339) 1890-1907
2. 23.498 Willie Davis (418 in 9822) 1960-79
3. 22.692 Stuffy McInnis (380 in 8623) 1909-27
4. 22.296 Billy Buckner (450 in 10033) 1969-90
5. 21.888 Gary Templeton (375 in 8208) 1976-91

Next is current player Garrett Anderson, at 21.346 (410 in 8752)

Yadier Shuts Down Opponents' Running Game

You think Cards catcher Yadier Molina has gained a bit of a reputation as a defensive monster? Not only does the guy regularly pick off runners, not only has the team allowed only 2 passed balls so far this year, but opponents aren't even bothering to try to steal bases against the Cardinals. So far, they've only attempted 35 steals, and only been successful 20 times, for a 57% success rate. Compare this to a league average of 79 attempted steals against, and a 73% success rate. Houston, with 48 attempts against, is the only other team with 60 or fewer attempts against. Seattle, with a 58% success rate against, is the only other team with a success rate against better than 63%.

No Active Players with 100 career triples

Last year, 2008, was the first time since 1885 that there were no active players with 100 or more career triples. (Steve Finley retired with 124 triples in 2007). Jim O'Rourke became the first major leaguer with 100+ triples in 1886. Johnny Damon is the current leader among active players with 95.

Zobrist on Fire!

Who the heck is Ben Zobrist, and what in the world is he doing slugging at .676?! He's played 30 games in right, 12 at 2nd, 10 at short, 6 in left, and one each in center and at 3rd for the Rays (this guy gets around!), and has 13 doubles, 3 triples and 12 homers in just 148 ABs. Wow--find this guy a regular position and get him some more ABs! This is his 4th season in the majors, all with the Rays, but he's never had more than 198 AB in a year up to now. He's also walking a lot, resulting in a robust .418 on base pct., with an average just over .300. He's got 35 ribbies in those 148 ABs, too, a pace which would come out to 142 given a full complement of 600 ABs.

Part-time Closer

I wonder if the "part-time closer" will ever come back into vogue. It seems every team has just one closer who gets about 90% of the team's saves these days. i Knod of think it would be more democratic to spread the glory around a bit. The quintessential part-time closer of the 1980s was Tom Niedenfuer. He had between 9 and 19 saves every year from 1982-88. That's seven years in a row of being neither the full-time closer (who you would except to have at least 25 saves) or just a set-up or mop-up man (who would rarely have more than 5 saves). Niedenfuer finished his career with a respectable 97 saves in 484 appearances.

Team's Pitcher Hitting Staffs

OK, this is way too nerdy, but here goes: the stats for each National League team's hitting by pitchers so far this year.

Avg.:
.183 Rockies
.169 Mets
.156 Cardinals
.155 Padres
.151 Cubs
.141 Brewers
.139 Astros
.138 Dodgers
.137 Reds
.136 Braves
.130 Giants
.123 D-backs
.123 Pirates
.121 Phillies
.085 Nats
.081 Marlins

Slugging:
.224 Brewers
.221 Reds
.215 Cubs
.207 Rockies
.185 Pirates
.182 Phillies
.178 Cards
.177 Astros
.170 Dodgers
.169 Mets
.169 Padres
.160 D-backs
.148 Braves
.130 Giants
.099 Nats
.081 Marlins

Runs:
9 Cards
8 Braves, Brewers, Phillies
7 Rockies, Astros

HRs: 2, Brewers.

Update of AB per Double Career Leaders

Back several years ago I listed the following as the top 10 in ABs per Double:

1. 12.366, Todd Helton, 4971 AB, 402 2B
2. 12.872, Tris Speaker, 10195, 792
3. 13.563, Chick Hafey, 4625, 341
4. 13.702, Hank Greenberg, 5193, 379
5. 14.033, Edgar Martinez, 7213, 514
6. 14.035, Bobby Abreu, 5165, 368
7. 14.043, Babe Herman, 5603, 399
8. 14.044, Riggs Stephenson, 4508, 321
9. 14.139, Joe Medwick, 7635, 540
10. 14.324, Nomar Garciaparra, 4727, 330

Helton since then has slowed his pace, getting an additional 77 doubles in 1131 AB. He still is ahead of Speaker, but not by much, at 12.739 now (479 in 6102). David Ortiz and Albert Pujols are now 3rd and 4th on the all-time list, so that the list for the top 10 (minimum 320 doubles) now looks like this:

1. 12.739 Todd Helton, 6102 AB, 479 2Bs
2. 12.872, Tris Speaker, 10195, 792
3. 13.419, David Ortiz, 4777, 356
4. 13.503, Albert Pujols, 4726, 350
5. 13.563, Chick Hafey, 4625, 341
6. 13.702, Hank Greenberg, 5193, 379
7. 14.033, Edgar Martinez, 7213, 514
8. 14.043, Babe Herman, 5603, 399
9. 14.044, Riggs Stephenson, 4508, 321
10.14.139, Joe Medwick, 7635, 540

Abreu has fallen off the top-10 list, now at 14.384 (461 in 6631).

Among active guys with 175+ doubles, two more guys stand out to keep an eye on: Lyle Overbay has hit a double every 13.554 AB (224 in 3036), and Adam LaRoche's pace is one every 13.756 (180 in 2476)

3000 hits with no 200 hit seasons

Of the 27 guys to accumulate 300 hits in a career, how many do you suppose have done it without any 200-hit seasons? I asked this as I noticed that, not only is Ivan Rodriguez poised to become, in a couple of years, the first catcher to join the 3000 hit club, but he'll do it without any 200 hit seasons.

Turns out that 5 of the 27 never hit 200 in one season. The five, and their high hit season, are:

Carl Yastrzemski: high of 191 in 1962
Cap Anson: high of 187 in 1886
Eddie Murray: high 186 in 1980
Dave Winfield: high of 193 in 1984
Rickey Henderson: high 179 in 1980

Of the other 22, Pete Rose had 10 200-hit seasons; Ty Cobb, 9; Paul Waner, 8; Wade Boggs, 7; Stan Musial, 6; Tony Gwynn, 5.

After that beautiful 10-9-8-7-6-5 individual countdown, there's a logjam among 3000 hitters with 4 200-hit seasons, including Tris Speaker, Paul Molitor, Nap Lajoie, Lou Brock, Rod Carew, and Roberto Clemente.

Hank Aaron had 3; Honus Wagner Cal Ripkin, Jr. and George Brett had 2; and Eddie Collins, Willie Mays, Robin Yount, Craig Biggio, Rafael Palmeiro and Al Kaline each had just one 200-hit season.

Miscellaneous Useless Trivia

Of the 107 times pitchers have pitched in 80 or more games in a season, only two guys have done it more than three times: Paul Quantrill (5) and old rubber-armed submariner Kent Tekulve (4). Those who did it three times include Steve Kline, Ray King and Mike Stanton. The vast majority of folks on the list have done it only once. It would seem that one year of pitching every other game is enough to convince the pitcher and/or management to limit them to 60-75 the rest of their career.

If the only 8 times that 90-games pitched has been accomplished, six of the occasion are by just two players: Mike Marshall (3 times) and Tekulve (3). Wayne Granger also did it in an earlier generation, while only Salomon Torres, in 2006, has done it in the past 20 years.

Among pre-World War II players, finishing your career between 2900-3000 hits was just about as common as finsihing above 300 hits. Whereas 7 players founded the 3000 hit club before 1945 (in rough chronoligical order: Cap Anson, Nap Lajoie and Honus Wagner, Cobb, Speaker and Eddie Collins, and Paul Waner; 6 made 2900 but fell short of 3000 (Jake Beckley, Willie Keeler, Sam Crawford, Sam Rice, Rogers Hornsby, and Al Simmons).

Since 3000 became such a big deal post-WWII, 20 more have joined that Club, only two more (Frank Robinson and Barry Bonds) have joined the 2900-2999 group, and both of them had the consolation of 500 HRs.

Are those miscellaneous and useless enuf for ya?!

Number of Milestone HR Seasons by player

Players with most years 50+ HRs:
Ruth, McGwire and Sosa: 4
Alex Rodriguez: 3
Griffey Jr., Mays, Foxx and Kiner: 2

45+:
Ruth: 9
Bonds: 6
Killebrew, McGwire, Sosa, Griffey Jr. and A-Rod: 5
Gehrig, Mays: 4

40+:
Ruth: 11
Aaron, Bonds, Killebrew and A-Rod: 8
Griffey Jr. and Sosa: 7
McGwire, Mays, and Thome: 6

35+:
Ruth and Alex Rodriguez: 12
Aaron and Schmidt: 11
Sosa, Mays, Bonds, Palmeiro and Foxx: 10

30+:
Aaron: 15
Bonds: 14
Ruth and Schmidt: 13
A-Rod, Thome, Manny Ramirez and Foxx: 12
McGwire, Frank Robinson, Sosa, Mays, and Carlos Delgado: 11

Surprises to me: despite 50-HR season becoming commonplace from 1996-2005, only 4 players did it more than once in our juiced era.

Also, Thome and Schmidt's rankings in some of these categories.
And Carlos Delgado's appearance on the last list--that's an unheralded consistently powerful career there! He'll soon be one of the quietest additions to the 500 club.

And despite Bond's notoriety for 73 (26 more than Aaron's career high of 47), Bonds amassed 700 the same way Aaron and Ruth did: with buckets of 30-homer-on-up seasons.

Stolen Base leaders: breakdown of which bases they stole

Baseball Reference offers details for recent (1960's or 70's) players on steals and attempts to steal 2nd, 3rd, and home.

Here's the breakdown for modern careers steals leaders:

Rickey Henderson: 1406 total (of 1741); 2nd: 1080 (of 1338); 3rd: 322 (of 391);home: 4 (of 12)
Lou Brock: 938 (of 1245); 2nd: 856 (of 1119); 3rd: 79 (of 121); home: 3 (of 4)
Tim Raines: 808 (of 954); 2nd: 735 (of 867); 3rd: 71 (of 81) home: 2 (of 6)
Vince Coleman: 752 (of 929); 2nd: 559 (of 694); 3rd: 189 (of 221); home: 4 (of 14)
Joe Morgan: 689 (of 851); 2nd: 643 (of 791); 3rd: 41 (of 49); home: 3 (of 8)
Willie Wilson: 668 (of 802); 2nd: 603 (of 719); 3rd: 65 (of 79); home: 0 (of 4)
Bert Campaneris: 649 (of 848); 2nd: 518 (of 696); 3rd: 130 (of 147); home: 0 (of 4)
Kenny Lofton: 622 (of 782); 2nd: 505 (of 627); 3rd: 115 (of 150); home: 2 (of 5)
Otis Nixon: 620 (of 806); 2nd: 495 (of 655); 3rd: 123 (of 146); home: 2 (of 5)

Season leaders:
Henderson '82: 130 total (of 172); 2nd: 94 (of 120); 3rd: 34 (of 47); home: 2 (of 5)
Brock '74: 118 (of 151); 2nd: 112 (of 141); 3rd: 6 (of 9); home: 0 (of 1)
Coleman '85: 110 (of 135); 2nd: 78 (of 98); 3rd: 30 (of 34); home: 2 (of 3)
Coleman '87: 109 (of 131); 2nd: 85 (of 98); 3rd: 24 (of 29); home: 0 (of 4)
Henderson '83: 108 (of 127); 2nd: 79 (of 94); 3rd: 29 (of 33); home: none tried
Coleman '86: 107 (of 121); 2nd: 76 (of 84); 3rd: 31 (of 36); home: 0 (of 1)
Maury Wills '62: 104 (of 117); 2nd: 86 (of 97); 3rd: 16 (of 17); home: 2 (of 3)
Henderson '80: 100 (of 126); 2nd: 82 (of 101); 3rd: 16 (of 21); home: 2 (of 4)
Ron LeFlore '80: 97 (of 116); 2nd: 80 (of 93); 3rd: 16 (of 21); home: 1 (of 2)
Omar Moreno '80: 96 (of 129); 2nd: 91 (of 120); 3rd: 5 (of 9)
Wills '65: 94 (of 125); 2nd: 78 (of 105); 3rd: 16 (of 19); home: 0 (of 1)
Henderson '88: 93 (of 106); 2nd: 62 (of 73); 3rd: 31 (of 33); home: none tried
Raines '83: 90 (of 104); 2nd: 85 (of 98); 3rd: 5 (of 6)
Henderson '86: 87 (of 105); 2nd: 72 (of 86); 3rd: 15 (of 19)

Adrian Gonzalez's Ever-Increasing HR Power

San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez just hit another tater, giving him 14 HR in 35 games so far this year. His HRs and his ABs per HR has improved every year of his career, from:
1 HR in 42 AB in 2004
6 HR in 150 AB in 2005 (1 every 30)
24 HR in 570 AB in 2006 (1 every 23.75)
30 HR in 646 AB in 2007 (1 every 21.53)
36 HR in 616 AB in 2008 (1 every 17.11)
14 HR in 129 AB so far this year (1 every 9.21)

No telling how high he can go...

Perfect Base Stealer

A year or two ago it was Ichiro Suzuki who opened the year with an impressive streak of stolen bases without being caught (Actually--I checked, and it was the last 39 attemptes of 2006 and first 6 of 2007, for a total of 45 straight for Ichiro). This year Carl Crawford has, so far, is 22 for 22 in SB attempts (he made his last 2 attempts last year, too, for 24 straight across two seasons)--and in only 34 games! At that rate (which no one expects him to maintain), he would become the first to steal 100 bases since Vince Coleman 22 years ago, 1987. If he just gets 79, one more than Jose Reyes got two years ago, he'd have the most in a season since 1988. Crawford's career high is 59--respectable, but a long ways from 100. He had 14 in a string of nine straight games from April 28-May 6, including 1 in every game and 6 (!) on May 3 (Jayson Werth of Philly made big news yesterday stealing 4 including, 2nd, 3rd and home in one sequence in the 7th inning)

Bobby Abreu, who used to be known more for his now-absent power than for his speed, has opened a modest 13 for 13.

(P.S. It was Jimmy Rollins who opened 25 for 25 last year, before being caught stealing on July 26, three days after I jinxed him by mentioneing his 25 for 25 streak in this blog!)

(P.P.S. I jinxed Ichiro, too--he was caught the very next day after I mentioned his 45 straight streak on May 17, 2007. Keep an eye on how Crawford fares the next few games!)

Chris Davis, all or nothin'

Second year player Chris Davis of the Rangers is taking feast or famine to the extreme. You though Ryan Howard or Jack Cust were bad about striking out between the homers they are paid to hit? Check out this guy: Nine homers in 108 at bats00pretty darn good, right?! But get this--he has already struck out 50 times! That is once every 2.16 at bats! Unheard of! He struck out "only" 88 times in 295 AB (with 17 HR) last year: that's a K every 3.35.
Those other guys I mentioned? Their worst years striking out were:
For Ryan: 199 in 529 AB in 2007 (with 47 HR to show for it), which is a K every 2.66 AB.
For Cust: 164 in 396 AB in 2007 (with 26 HR), or a K every 2.41 AB (that's not counting his limited play in 2002, when he struck out 32 Xs in 65 AB, once every 2.03 AB)

501 (Levis?) and 105

Gary Sheffield hit home run number 501 for the Mets today against the Braves, while teammate Fernando Tatis hit number 105. Kind of poetic, don'tcha think? BTW, looks like Sheffield will be ending maybe just ahead of Eddie Murray (504) but behind the next guys in line (McCovey and Banks at 512) cause his career is about petered out (batting .196 with 2 homers after 51 ABs, age 40 and a half). I could be wrong, but we'll see...

My Man Albert

Pujols has been up three times tonight. Three hits. Scored all three times, on homers each time (the first time his own, 9th of year in 24th game. A pace that would give him 60 for the year.) Now batting .360. 29 RBIs: 195 pace. The man is a monster. Once in a lifetime talent. Thank God he's a Cardinal!

Worst Career Pitching won-loss records

Jack Nabors, 1-25, .038, 1915-17
Joe Harns, 3-30, .091, 1905-07
Jack Wadsworth, 6-38, .136, 1890-95
Ike Pearson, 13-50, .206, 1939-42, 46, 48
John Coleman, 23-72, .242, 1883-86, 89-90
Jim Hughey, 29-80, .266, 1891, 93, 96-1900
Buster Brown, 51-103, .331, 1905-13
Bill Hart, 66-120, .355, 1886-87, 92, 95-98, 1901
John Healy, 78-136, .364, 1885-92
Milt Gaston, 97-164, .372, 1924-34
Si Johnson, 101-165, .380, 1928-43, 46-47
Mike Morgan, 141-186, .431, 1978-79, 82-83, 85-2002
Chick Fraser, 175-212, .452, 1896-1909
Bob Friend, 197-230, .461, 1951-66
Bobo Newsom, 211-222, .487, 1929-30, 32, 34-48, 52-53
Jack Powell, 245-254, .491, 1897-1912


Most wins, losing career record:
1. Jack Powell, 245-254, .491, 1897-1912
2. Bobo Newsom, 211-222, .487, 1929-30, 32, 34-48, 52-53
3. Bob Friend, 197-230, .461, 1951-66
4. Jim Whitney, 191-204, .484, 1881-90
5. Tom Zachary, 186-191, .493, 1918-36
6. Chick Fraser, 175-212, .452, 1896-1909
7. Murry Dickson, 172-181, .487, 1929-30, 32, 34-48, 52-53
8. Danny Darwin, 171-182, .484, 1978-98
9. Bill Dinneen, 170-177, .490, 1898-1909
10.Pink Hawley, 167-179, .483, 1892-1901

Most Games Under .500, Career:
1. 67: Milt Gaston, 97-164, .372, 1924-34
2. 64: Si Johnson, 101-165, .380, 1928-43, 46-47
3. 58: John Healy, 78-136, .364, 1885-92
4. 56: Jack Russell, 85-141, .376, 1926-40
5. 55: Stump Wiedman, 101-156, .393, 1880-88
6. 54: Bill Hart, 66-120, .355, 1886-87, 92, 95-98, 1901
7. 53: Jack Fisher, 86-139, .382, 1959-69
8. 52: Buster Brown, 51-103, .331, 1905-13
9. 49: John Coleman, 23-72, .242, 1883-86, 89-90
9. 49: Bob Barr, 49-98, .333, 1883-84, 86, 90-91
9. 49: Kaiser Wilhelm, 56-105, .348, 1903-05, 08-10, 14-15, 21
9. 49: Jersey Bakely, 76-125, .378, 1883-84, 88-91

Highest at one time career batting avgs

As promised, pased on cumulativr records from Baseball-reference:

(This is actually only good for those with final career avgs of .320 or higher--it's possible some who finished below that would make the list).

Minimum 3000 plate appearances:

1. .385 Willie Keeler (1147 for 2981), ended up .341 (2932 for 8591)
2. .373 Ty Cobb (3264 for 8762), ended up .366 (4189 for 11434)
3. .365 Joe Jackson (986 for 2700), ended up .356 (1772 for 4981)
4. .364 Nap Lajoie (1086 for 2987), ended up .338 (3242 for 9589)
5. .363 Rogers Hornsby (2705 for 7454), ended up .358 (2930 for 8173)
6. .363 Al Simmons (1580 for 4349), ended up .334 (2927 for 8759)
7. .361 George Sisler (1498 for 4155), ended up .340 (2812 for 8267)
8. .361 Lefty O’Doul (974 for 2699), ended up .349 (1140 for 3659)
9. .359 Jesse Burkett (2227 for 6205), ended up .338 (2850 for 8421)
10..359 Chuck Klein (1209 for 3367), ended up .320 (2076 for 6486)
11..359 Paul Waner (1057 for 2946), ended up .333 (3152 for 9459)
12..356 Wade Boggs (1392 for 3913), ended up .328 (3010 for 9180)
13..355 Cap Anson (1163 for 3275), ended up .333 (3418 for 10277)
14..354 Pete Browning (1053 for 2971), ended up .341 (1646 for 4820)
15..354 Ted Williams (1294 for 3655), ended up .344 (2654 for 7706)
16..351 Billy Hamilton (1793 for 5103), ended up .344 (2158 for 6268)
17..351 Babe Ruth (1251 for 3564), ended up .342 (2873 for 8398)
18..350 Tris Speaker (3128 for 8942), ended up .345 (3514 for 10195)
19..348 Stan Musial (1225 for 3521), ended up .331 (3630 for 10972)
20..347 Dan Brouthers (1048 for 3020), ended up .342 (2296 for 6711)

Some of the big movers up on this list from the final career average list:

Wee Willie Keeler (I was surprised anyone passed Cobb), Chuck Klein (benefited from the live ball of the years around 1930 early in his career), and Wade Boggs (was far higher than Carew or Gwynn at one point before fading later in his career).

Best Career W-L %s AT ONE TIME

Whereas most career record totals only increase as a career progresses, not so with batting averages, ERAs and winning percentages. These often peak fairly early in a player's career, then decline, sometimes moreso near the end of one's career. Baseball-reference now has a "cumulative" feature that gives a players cumulative stats up to that point at the end of each season. Using that, I thought it would be interesting to compile, to start with, the best AT ONE TIME won-loss percentages for pitchers(though not necessarily staying that way to the end of the career).

Since baseball-reference only requires 100 decisions to be include on their won-loss pct. career leaderboard, I used that as my first minimum, but also compiled one for those with 150+ wins, since that is rather arbitrarily the lowest number a starting pither can get and still hope to be considered for the Hall of Fame (Dizzy Dean made it with that number of wins)

Best AT ONE TIME winning percentages, minimum 100 decisions

1. .765 Bill Hoffer (78-24), ended up 92-46 (.667)
2. .741 Whitey Ford (80-28), ended up 236-106 (.690)
3. .739 Johnny Allen (85-30), ended up 142-75 (.654)
4. .736 Bob Caruthers (106-38), ended up 218-99 (.688)
5. .729 Spud Chandler (78-29), ended up 109-43 (.717)
5. .729 Ed Reulbach (78-29), ended up 182-106 (.632)
7. .725 John Clarkson (100-38), ended up 328-178 (.648)
8. .724 Ron Guidry (76-29), ended up 170-91 (.651)
9. .722 Dwight Gooden (91-35), ended up 194-112 (.634)
10..716 Larry Corcoran (101-40), ended up 177-89 (.665)
10..716 Johan Santana (78-31), is currently 112-52 (.683)
12..712 Lefty Grove (195-79), ended up 300-141 (.680)
12..712 Dave Foutz (89-36), ended up 147-66 (.690)
12..712 Lefty Gomez (89-36), ended up 189-102 (.649)
12..712 Pedro Martinez (166-67), is currently 214-99 (.684)
16..709 Vic Raschi (107-44), ended up 132-66 (.667)
17..708 Charley Radbourn (165-68), ended up 309-195 (.613)
17..708 Tim Hudson (80-33), is now 146-77 (.655)
19..703 Mike Mussina (71-30). is now 270-153 (.638)
20..700 Don Newcombe (112-48), ended up 149-90 (.623)


Best AT ONE TIME winning pct., minimum 150 wins:
1. .732 Bob Caruthers (175-64), ended up 218-99 (.688)
2. .720 Whitey Ford (216-84), ended up 236-106 (.690)
3. .712 Lefty Grove (195-79), ended up 300-141 (.680)
3. .712 Pedro Martinez (166-67), is currently 214-99 (.684)
5. .708 Charley Radbourn (165-68), ended up 309-195 (.613)
6. .694 Ron Guidry (154-68), ended up 170-91 (.651)
7. .692 John Clarkson (220-98), ended up 328-178 (.648)
8. .688 Juan Marichal (170-77), ended up 243-142 (.631)
9. .685 Christy Mathewson (263-121), ended up 373-188 (.665)
10..683 Grover Alexander (192-89), ended up 373-208 (.642)
11..681 Mordecai Brown (169-79), ended up 239-130 (.648)
12..679 Randy Johnson (224-106), is currently 296-162 (.646)
12..679 Roger Clemens (152-72), ended up 354-184 (.658)
14..676 Kid Nichols (276-132), ended up 361-208 (.634)
15..673 Larry Corcoran (177-86), ended up 177-89 (.665)

Unheralded Teammates from 19th Century

Two of the pitchers with the best career winning percentages, as well as two of the best combination pitchers-position players, were teammates from 1884-91. Bob Caruthers was 216-89 for those years (1884-87 with St Louis Browns, 1888-91 with Brooklyn (Bride)Grooms). Dave Foutz was 134-58 for a combined 350-147.

Their records and the team's record year-by-year:
1884: Caruthers 7-2, Foutz 15-6, combined 22-8, team 67-40 (rest of team 45-32)
1885: Caruthers 40-13, Foutz 33-14, combined 73-27, team 79-33 (rest of team 6-6)
1886: Caruthers 30-14, Foutz 41-16, combined 71-30, team 93-46 (rest of team 22-16)
1887: Caruthers 29-9, Foutz 25-12, combined 54-21, team 95-50 (rest of team 41-29)
1888: Caruthers 29-15, Foutz 12-7, combined 41-22, team 88-52 (rest of team 47-30)
1889: Caruthers 40-11, Foutz 3-0, combined 43-11, team 93-44 (rest of team 50-33)
1890: Caruthers 23-11, Foutz 2-1, combined 25-12, team 86-43 (rest of team 61-31)
1891: Caruthers 18-14, Foutz 3-2, combined 21-16, team 61-76 (rest of team 40-60)

Not only that, but check out these batting records:

In 1886 (after leading the league in wins, winning pct., and ERA the year before), when he went 30-14, Caruthers also batted .334 (4th in league) in 87 games, led the league with a .448 on base pct., and slugged .527 (2nd in league) with 14 triples and 91 runs scored.
In 1887, when he went 29-9, Caruthers batted .357 (5th) in 98 games, .463 OBP (3rd), .547 slugging (2nd), 8 homers (4th), with 102 runs and 73 RBIs.

In 1887 (after leading the league in wins, winning pct., and ERA the year before), when he went 25-12, Foutz batted .357 (6th) in 102 games, with a .508 slugging (7th)and 108 RBIs (4th)
In 1888, while he was pitching less (12-7), he became a full-time player, batting .277 in 140 games with 13 triples (5th), 91 runs and 99 RBIs (3rd).

I find these stats astounding, and particularly astounding that the two were teammates throughout these years.

They were different, too: Caruthers was only 20 when he came up; his arm apparently gave out at age 28, after which he tried one more brief go as aan outfielder before retiring at 29. Foutz, on the other hadn, was already 27 when he broke in, and ended up mainly as a position palyer and spot pitcher from age 32-39, with the exception of age 35, when he came back as a part-time starting pitcher to go 13-8 (a year when he batted like a pitcher, too, only .186).

Caruthers finished with a .282 batting average in 2465 AB;
Foutz retired with a .276 batting average in 4533 AB.

Pitchers Most and Least Likely to Hit Batters

Hey, I told you this was worthless trivia. Here goes:

Fewest Innings Pitched per Hit Batsman (minimum 100 HBP):
1. 9.95 Ed Doheny (1895-1903)140 in 1392 2/3 IP, 75-83 W-L record
2. 10.68 Phil Knell (1888-95) 136 in 1452 1/3 IP, 79-90
3. 11.94 Frank Foreman (1885-1902) 142 in 1695 2/3, 95-90
4. 12.39 Jack Warhop (1908-15) 114 in 1412 2/3, 69-92 W-L record
5. 12.75 Jamey Wright (1996-2009+) 128 in 1632, 79-110
6. 14.11 Chan Ho Park (1994-2009+) 132 in 1862 1/3, 117-92
7. 14.35 Pink Hawley (1892-1901) 210 in 3012 2/3, 167-179
8. 14.66 Jeff Weaver (1999-2007) 117 in 1714 2/3, 93-114
9. 15.32 Chick Fraser (1896-1909) 219 in 3356, 175-212
10. 15.61 Gus Weyhing (1887-1901) 274 in 4324 1/3, 264-232

others of note with 2000+ IP:
16.63 Jack Taylor (1891-1899) 125 in 2079, 120-117
17.01 Tim Wakefield (1992-2009+), 166 in 2824, 180-158
17.15 Willie Sudhoff (1897-1906) 121 in 2075 1/3, 102-135
17.24 Win Mercer (1894-1902) 144 in 2482 1/3, 132-164

Most Innings Pitched per Hit Batsman (min. 2000 IP)
1. 234.0 Mike Cuellar (1959-77), 12 in 2808, 185-130 W-L record
2. 217.0 Joe Dobson (1939-54), 10 in 2170, 137-103
3. 184.0 Ron Guidry (1975-88) 13 in 2392, 170-91
4. 157.53 Hal Newhouser (1939-54), 19 in 2993, 207-150
5. 146.52 Alvin Crowder (1926-36), 16 in 2344 1/3, 167-115
6. 145.36 Vida Blue (1969-86), 23 in 3343 1/3, 209-161
7. 142.62 Lindy McDaniel (1955-75), 15 in 2139 1/3, 141-119
8. 135.98 Ross Grimsley (1971-82), 15 in 2039 2/3, 124-99
9. 134.23 Ted Lyons (1923-46), 31 in 4161, 260-230
10. 131.74 Lefty Gomez (1930-43) 19 in 2503, 189-102

NOTE: McDaniel had just one HBP in his last 697 1/3 IP (1968-75)!

No coincidence that only 3 of the 10 guys in the top list (most often hitting batters) had winning career records, whereas all 10 of those least likely to hit batters (showing good control) had winning records. Also, note that all those with frequent HPB pitched either from 1887-1915 or 1992-today, whereas all those with fewest HBP pitched between those two periods, from 1923-88.

30 or 31 seems to be the wall on most modern hitting streaks

Don't know what to make of this for sure, but I found it striking:

In my memory (the last 40 years, starting with 1969), there have been 13 hitting streaks to end at 30 or 31 games long, and only six that have gone beyond 31 games. Isn't that weird?

Also, in the 18 years of 1951 through 1968, there were exactly ZERO hitting streaks of 30 or more games. Almost one every 2 years in the 40 years since that 18-year dry spell.

In fact, from 1950-1977, 28 years, there were exactly ZERO hitting streaks of 32+ games (4 or 30 or 31 in those years). I'm no fan of Pete Rose, but this makes his streak of 44 in 1978 all the more remarkable; it had been 29 years since the last streak of more than 31 (Dom DiMaggio, brother of all-time leader Joe, had 34 in 1949), and Rose went 13 PAST 31 games!

Of course, Joe DiMaggio's remaisn the most remarkable of all, having achieved hits in 12 more consecutive games (56) than any other hitter in the 132 years of the major leagues. The "unbreakable" consecutive games streak of Gehrig fell, but no one has begun to threaten DiMaggio's.

Sheffield--500 HR

Gary Sheffield just became a member of the 500 homer club--hit his first of the year tonight after sitting through the (agonizingly long, I'd imagine) off-season with 499. Guess he can retire now (at age 40, his skills have declined significantly) with his Hall of Fame credentials strengthened (500 HR used to be a H of F guarantee, but not so certain in this age of steroid suspicions.)

Brian Barden's new-found Power

The Cardinal's Brian Barden, a 28-year-old utility infielder getting his first significant playing time in the majors, is showing unexpected power in the past week. Although Barden had no homers in his first 50 major league at bats, in his past 14 at bats he has exploded for 3 homers!

Barden gave little evidence of such power potential in the minors, either, hitting just 66 in 2971 AB's, including only 9 in 456 ABs in AAA last year. Time will tell if this week has been a fluke, or the start of something big.

New Team Doubles Record!

Bet you didn't know that the Texas Rangers set a new record with 376 doubles last year. They broke by 3 the old record set by the 1930 Cardinals and tied by the 1997 and 2004 Red Sox. So you could say the old record was 78 years old!

Here's the top 10 all-time team doubles totals (and the top individual totals on those teams):

1. 376 Texas Rangers, 2008 (I. Kinsler, 41; M. Young, 36; J. Hamilton, 35; M. Bradley, 32)
2. 373 St. Louis Cardinals, 1930 (F. Frisch, 46; T. Douthit, 41; C. Gelbert, 39; C. Hafey, 39; S. Adams, 36; J. Bottomley, 33; G. Watkins, 32)
2. 373 Boston Red Sox, 1997 (J. Valentin, 47; N. Garciaparra, 44; J. Frye, 36; D. Bragg, 35; R. Jefferson, 33; T. O'Leary, 32)
2. 373 Boston Red Sox, 2004 (D. Ortiz, 47; M. Ramirez, 44; M. Bellhorn, 37; K. Millar, 36; J. Damon, 35)
5. 371 Boston Red Sox, 2003 (B. Mueller, 45; D. Ortiz, 39; T. Walker, 38; N. Garciaparra, 37; M. Ramirez, 36; J. Varitek, 31)
6. 357 Cleveland Indians, 1936 (O. Hale, 50; H. Trosky, 45; E. Averill, 39; R. Hughes, 35; B. Knickerbocker, 35; B. Sullivan, 32)
6. 357 Toronto Blue Jays, 2003 (V. Wells, 49; E. Hinske, 45; C. Delgado, 38; F. Catalanotto, 34)
6. 357 Texas Rangers, 2006 (M. Young, 52; M. Teixeira, 45; M. DeRosa, 40)
9. 356 Cleveland Indians, 1930 (J. Hodapp, 51; E. Morgan, 47; D. Porter, 43; E. Averill, 33)
10.355 Cleveland Indians, 1921 (T. Speaker, 52; J. Sewell, 36; C. Jamieson, 33; L. Gardner, 32)

All of the top 61 come from either 1921-1939 or 1996-2008 (46 of the top 61 are from 1996 on). The first exception is the 1989 Red Sox, tied for 62nd with 326, followed by the 1986 Red Sox (tied for 91st with 320) and the 1993 Red Sox (tied for 99th with 319).

The individual leaders of the 2008 Rangers don't look all that impressive (the 1930 Indians' top 30 had 141, and the '06 Rangers, 137, compared to only 112 for the '08 Rangers' top 3)--it's apparently the "depth" of doubles strength on down the line that made the difference for last year's Texas team.

Most K's Pitching Staffs

Well, another season is underway, so time to gear up with more useless/useful stats.

Here are the 15 highest strikeout totals for team pitching staffs, along with the teams top individuals.

1. 1404 2003 Cubs: 266 Kerry Wood, 245 Mark Prior, 171 Matt Clement, 168 Carlos Zambrano
2. 1346 2004 Cubs: 190 Matt Clement, 188 Carlos Zambrano, 151 Greg Maddux, 144 Kerry Wood, 139 Mark Prior
3. 1344 2001 Cubs: 217 Kerry Wood, 175 Jason Bere, 149 Kevin Tapani, 148 Jon Lieber
4. 1333 2002 Cubs: 217 Kerry Wood, 215 Matt Clement, 147 Mark Prior, 97 Joe Borowski
5. 1303 2002 D-backs: 334 Randy Johnson, 316 Curt Schilling, 120 Rick Helling, 112 Miguel Batista
6. 1297 2001 D-backs: 372 Randy Johnson, 293 Curt Schilling, 113 Byung-Hyun Kim
7. 1291 2003 D-backs: 194 Curt Schilling, 172 Brandon Webb, 142 Miguel Batista, 125 Randy Johnson, 113 Elmer Dessens
8. 1289 2003 Dodgers: 185 Kevin Brown, 177 Hideo Nomo, 141 Odalis Perez, 140 Kazuhisa Ishii, 137 Eric Gagne
9. 1282 2004 Astros: 218 Roger Clemens, 206 Roy Oswalt, 157 Brad Lidge
10. 1266 2001 Yankees: 214 Mike Mussina, 213 Roger Clemens, 164 Andy Petitte, 112 Ted Lilly
11. 1264 2008 Cubs: 187 Ryan Dempster, 184 Ted Lilly, 130 Carlos Zambrano, 114 Carlos Marmol
12. 1259 2001 Red Sox: 220 Hideo Nomo, 163 Pedro Martinez, 148 Tim Wakefield, 115 David Cone
13. 1256 2005 Cubs: 202 Carlos Zambrano, 188 Mark Prior, 136 Greg Maddux, 111 Glendon Rusch
14. 1250 2006 Cubs: 210 Carlos Zambrano, 90 Rich Hill, 81 Greg Maddux
15. 1245 1996 Braves: 276 John Smoltz, 181 Tom Glavine, 172 Greg Maddux, 100 Mark Wohlers

They are all from withing the last 13, swing-for-the-fences years: the top 14 are all from the last 8 years. With the exceptions of the 2003 Cubs (Wood-Prior) and the 2001 and 2002 Diamondbacks (R. Johnson-Schilling), the individual totals aren't that impressive--in these other cases it's the consistent 8-or-so-SO/9 IP guys down through the 10 or 12 man staff that makes the team numbers add up.

By the way, the pre-1996 record was 1221 by the 1969 Astros (235 Don Wilson, 232 Larry Dierker, 200 Tom Griffin, 173 Denny Lemaster).

Longest Winning, Losing Season Streaks All-time

Consecutive Winning Seasons:

1. 39 Yankees (1926-64)
2. 18 Orioles (1968-85)
3. 17 White Sox (surprise!) (1951-67)
4. 16 Braves (1887-1902)
4. 16 Red Sox (1967-82)
4. 16 Yankees (1993-2008+)
7. 15 Pirates (1899-1913)
7. 15 Cardinals (1939-53)
7. 15 Braves (1991-2005)


Consecutive Non-winning Seasons:

1. 16 Red Sox (1919-34; .500 in '34)
1. 16 Phillies (1933-48)
1. 16 Cubs (1947-62; .500 in '52)
1. 16 Pirates (1993-2008+)
5. 15 Athletics (1953-67)
6. 14 Phillies (1918-31)
6. 14 Brown (1946-59; .500 in '57)
6. 14 Mariners (1977-90)
6. 14 Brewers (1993-2006)

Thus the Pirates would set an ignominous record should they recore another losing leason in 2009.

The Reds just missed 20 straight winning seasons from 1961-81, going 79-83 (.488 in 1971.

The Indians recorded nothing above .519 from 1969-1993 (25 years)

The Phillies had only one winning season among 31 from 1918-48: .506 in 1932.

Finally, I came across this strange anomoly: The Louisville Colonels of the old (major league) American Association improved from 27-111 (.196) in 1889 to 88-44 (.667) the next year, 1890, an increase of .471!

Colleges with the Most Major Leaguers

According to Baseball-Reference.com:

1. 100 Southern Cal
2. 95 Texas
3. 88 Arizona State
4. 77 Holy Cross (say what?!)
5. 72 Michigan
6. 69 Illinois
7. 67 Notre Dame
8. 63 UCLA
9. 60 Arizona
10. 58 LSU
11. 57 Alabama
11. 57 Oklahoma
13. 56 Fordham (again, say what?!)
14. 55 Florida State
15. 53 Penn (Ivy League!)

I'm guessing that most of the guys from Holy Cross, Fordham and Penn are from an earlier era...

While the top 3 are from warm weather sunbelt states where the college baseball season is longer, the next 4 (numbers 4-7) are not.

Longest Current Team Streaks of Winning, Losing Seasons

Time to gear back up for a new season. Start out with a short, simple entry.

Longest current streaks of winning seasons:

Yankees, 16 straight years (1993-2008)
Red Sox, 11 straight (1998-2008)
Phillies (surprised?), 6 straight (2003-2008)

Longest current streaks of losing seasons:

Pirates, 16 straight (1993-2008)
Orioles, 11 straight (1998-2008)
Reds, 8 straight (2001-2008)