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).