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

Berkman

Lance Berkman hit his major-league-leading 16th homer, and now has 129 total bases and a .399 avg. after 43 games. At this rate, he'd get about 60 HR and (get this) 486 total bases. Oh, yeah, and he's got a .800 slugging pct.

Chipper Jones has a .423 average over 1/4th through the season, but would seem a poor bet to be the first .400 hitter in 67 years--he's a .309 career hitter, with a previous high of .337 (last year) and is now 36 years old.

Halladay's a Throwback

Roy Halladay has 5 complete games in 8 starts. Complete games have become so rare in the majors of late that only one of the well over a hundred other starters in the majors this year has even half that--James Shiels of the surprising Tamba Bay Devil Rays. Halladay has shown an unusual talent for (and his manager a willingness to let him) finishing what he starts. He's completed 35 of 230 starts in his career, including 31 of his last 147 (21%).

Bluejays' Closers

And the Bluejays have three relievers with FOUR or more saves already: B.J. Ryan (with a 0.00 ERA!), Scott Downs, and (apparently deposed closer) Jeremy Accardo.

Brewers' Saves All Around

Dang! I just found another team with a struggling closer--the Brewers with Greg Gagne--whose staff has SIX different relievers with a save...

Yeah, I'm Back!

The Cards' closer Jason Isringhausen is struggling this year, but that has allowed the relief staff a luxury that used to be more common, but is rarely seen now--where most everyone gets an occasional shot at a save. The Cards already have 5 relievers with a save (Izzy still has 11 out of the team's 16).

Cards, I-Rod

My St. Louis Cards reached .500 (for a day anyway). Not bad for a team 8 games under earlier this month. Now Pujols is playing like the monster he is, the pitching is decent, and Rick Ankiel's comeback as a position player after flunking out as a wild pitcher is inspiring. It helps, too, that they play in the weakest division in the majors!

Ivan Rodriquez doesn't get the attention he deserves. At age 35, Pudge is already the all-time leader in doubles among catchers with 498, having passed Ted Simmons earlier this year. He should have about 2500 hits by the end of the year, which gives him a pretty decent shot at being the first catcher ever to achieve 3000 hits. Cooperstown should be awaiting his arrival whether he makes that milestone or not.

Reyes' SB's

Another note: Jose Reyes, with 70 Stolen Bases and over a month left in the season, is on pace to become the first 80+ base stealer since 1988, when some guy named Rickey Henderson (ha!) had 93. In fact, SB individual totals took a precipitous drop in those years--after 6 100+ seasons in the 1980's (3 each by Henderson and by Vince Coleman), no one had more than 78 in the 1990's, and 70 was tops through 2006 this decade.

I'm Back: Granderson's Triples, A-Rod's HR's

Hey, if anyone out there has been noticing the absence of blog entries--sorry, we've been in transition with packing, moving, intermittent access to the internet and starting grad school. Don't know how regular this will be the rest of the way...

Anyway, how about that Curtis Granderson? He has 21 triples with over a month left in the season--and he missed getting number 22 by failing to stop at third and continuing on for an inside-the-park home run today. (I wonder if any others of his 17 HR's this year were "extended triples.") The last time anyone had more than 21 triples was 58 years ago, 1949, when Dale Mitchell had 23. (Willie Wilson in '85 and Lance Johnson in '96 each had 21). If Granderson should get as many as 24, that would be the most since Kiki Cuyler had 26 in 1925!

Meanwhile, the doublers have slowed down considerably. Whereas earlier it looked like we might have the first 60+ doubles season since 1936, that ain't gonna happen with Magglio Ordonez and Matt Holliday tied for the major league lead with 43 each.

And, finally, I must agree with those who say Bonds' homer record won't last a generation--A-Rod is way ahead of the pace with 507, having just turned 32 last month. To put that in perspective--Frank Thomas, a renowned slugger and future Hall-of-Famer, is over seven years older and has exactly one more homer (A-Rod will pass him any time now for 20th place). Put another way, every other active player with 375+ homers (just 3/4's of the way to 500) is 35 or older!

Stolen Base and Base on Balls Highs & Lows

Fewest Base on Balls (plate appearances per, min. 5900 PA)

Shawon Dunston, 203 BB, 6276 PA, 30.92 PA/BB
Charlie Comiskey, 197, 6005, 30.48
Ozzie Guillen, 239, 7133, 29.84
Art Fletcher, 203, 6039, 29.75
Hal Chase, 276, 7939, 28.76
Everett Scott, 243, 6373, 26.23
Tom Corcoran, 382, 9339, 24.45
Enos Cabell, 255, 6304, 24.34
Willie Davis, 418, 9822, 23.50
Ivy Olson, 285, 6630, 23.26

Most Base on Balls (plate appearances per, min. 5900 PA)

Ted Williams, 2019 BB, 9769 PA, 4.84 PA/BB
Barry Bonds (thru 6/28/07), 2504, 12397, 4.95
Babe Ruth, 2062, 10617, 5.15
Mickey Mantle, 1733, 9871, 5.70
Eddie Yost, 1604, 9164, 5.71
Jim Thome (thru 6/28/07), 1412, 8094, 5.73
Mark McGwire, 1317, 7660, 5.82
Frank Thomas (thru 6/28/07), 1596, 9461, 5.93
Joe Morgan, 1865, 11329, 6.07
Rickey Henderson, 2190, 13346, 6.09

Fewest Plate Appearances per Stolen Base (min. 5900 PA)

Vince Coleman, 752 SB, 5970 PA, 7.94 PA/SB
Billy Hamilton, 912, 7576, 8.31
Rickey Henderson, 1406, 13346, 9.49
Lou Brock, 938, 11235, 11.98
Willie Wilson, 668, 8317, 12.45
Jack Doyle, 516, 6570, 12.73
Tim Raines, 808, 10359, 12.82
Davey Lopes, 557, 7340, 13.18
Hugh Duffy, 574, 7745, 13.49
Delino DeShields, 463, 6652, 14.36

Most Plate Appearances per Stolen Base (min. 5900 PA)

Cecil Fielder, 2 SB, 5939 PA, 2969.5 PA/SB
Jay Buhner, 6, 5927, 987.8
Frank Howard, 8, 7353, 919.1
John Olerud, 11, 9063, 823.9
Ernie Lombardi, 8, 6349, 793.6
Vic Wertz, 9, 7020, 780.0
Carlos Delgado (thru 6/28/07), 11, 7577, 688.8
Mark McGwire, 12, 7660, 638.3
Rico Petrocelli, 10, 6170, 617.0
Deron Johnson, 11, 6620, 601.8

Loney's no Baloney

First baseman James Loney of the Dodgers is making major league pitching look like Little League stuff. He's now batting .478 (22 for 46) since being called up a few weeks ago. He's slugging .848 with 14 RBIs, has hit safely in all 10 starts and is 3 for 4 as a pinch-hitter. Whoa, Nellie--think he can keep it up? He showed promise in his first big league stint last year, batting .284 and slugging .559. Twenty-four of his 51 career hits are for extra bases, inclding an impressive 7 triples in just 148 career at bats! And he strikes out less than once every 10 ABs! This dude looks for real!

Trouble Hitting Triples

Congrats to Frank Thomas on his 500th homer today. Frank is now one of the elite in touching all four bases. But his record is less auspicious when it comes to triples--he's only hit 11 for his career. His rate of at bats per triple is the "highest" (i.e., worst) of any player who ever had 7000+ ABs, and third-worst among those with 6000+ . And all three of those worst are active or recent player. Here's the list:

Mark McGwire, 6 triples in 6187 AB, 1031.2 AB per triple
Mike Piazza (active), 7 in 6705, 957.9
Frank Thomas (active), 11 in 7666, 696.9
Boog Powell, 11 in 6681, 607.4
Eric Karros, 11 in 6441, 585.5
John Olerud, 13 in 7592, 584.0
Robin Ventura, 14 in 7064, 504.6
Jose Canseco, 14 in 7057, 504.1

The old Bash Brothers of Oakland may have bashed plenty over the walls, but they were more crash than dash when it came to legging it out on a gapper. Those two form the top and bottom slice of bread on this triple-less sandwich.

More on Fewest Saves

Expanding the lowest save percentage to include those with between 500 and 600 career games pitched in relief (GPIR), we find two active guys with miniscule save percentages!

Rheal Cormier, 575 GPIR, 2 saves, 0.35 %
Ray King, 543GPIR, 2 S, 0.37 %

Both these guys are lefties who usually are brought in to face only one or sometimes two batters, and so rarely finish games. Others of note:

Felix Heredia, 509, 6, 1.18 %
Tony Fossas, 567, 7, 1.23 %
Dennis Cook, 594, 9, 1.5 %
Russ Springer, 528 (thru 6/26/07), 8, 1.5 %

One guy with just under 500 GPIR:

Jason Grimsley, 480, 4, 0.83 %

And another Jason with a HIGH percentage just under 500 GPIR:

Jason Isringhausen, 485, 263, 54.2 %


Most of the highest and lowest percentage guys are from recent years. It would seem that, whereas pitching staffs used to spread the saves around a bit more (quality guys like Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage only had saves in 37.6 % and 32.1 % of appearances, respectively), they now specialize to such an extent that one guy often has 95+ % of a team's saves in any given year. So if guys go their whole career without ever being the main closer, the saves are few and far between, instead of still collecting around 5 or so a year as in earlier years (1960s-80s).

Hot Young Hitter

The dude that just hit a walk-off 3-run pinch-hit homer for Cleveland, 27-year-old Kelly Shoppach, is now batting .382 (26 for 68) with 8 doubles, 4 homers, and 9 walks for a .676 slugging pct. and .455 on-base pct. The catcher is not getting many starts because he's on the same team as catcher Victor Martinez, who's having a career year with .313 avg., 14 HR and 62 RBI's. But Shoppach is either gonna have to find another position, or the Indians will be trading one of them, because Shoppach's stats aren't those of a back-up catcher!

Relievers with Lowest & Highest Percent of Saves

I didn't realize before just how unlikely it was that Alan Embree, at age 37 and in his 13th year as a reliever in the majors, would at this stage in his career get a chance (due to Huston Street's injury) to be a closer. A little research reveals that, before this season, Embree actually had the LOWEST EVER percentage of saves in relations to games pitched in relief among those who've pitched 600+ games in relief. Before this year, he had 8 career saves in 704 games pitched in relief, for a percentage of 1.1. In 12 seasons, his high in saves was 2, achieved exactly twice. Four other years, he had 1 save, and six times he had zero. Now, in the last month or so, he's doubled his career total with 8 more! He's also moved "down" (or is it"up"?) the list of "top" (bottom?) 10 in terms of LOWEST percentage of saves to games pitched in relief:

Rich Rodriguez, 607 games in relief, 8 saves, 1.3 %
Mike Myers, 848 (thru 6/25/07), 14 S, 1.7 %
Mark Guthrie, 722, 14, 1.9 %
Steve Reed, 833, 18, 2.161 %
Alan Embree, 740 (thru 6/25/07), 16, 2.162 %
Chuck McElroy, 647, 17, 2.6 %
Paul Quantrill, 777, 21, 2.7 %
Hector Carrasco, 636 (thru 6/25/07), 19, 3.0 %
Bob Groom, 771, 27, 3.5 %
Julian Tavarez, 615 (thru 6/25/07, now starting), 22, 3.6 %

And the HIGHEST percentage of saves to games in relief, among those with 600+ such games:
Trevor Hoffman, 849 (thru 6/25/07), 501, 59.0 %
Mariano Rivera, 737 (thru 6/25/07), 422, 57.3 %
Dennis Eckersley, 710, 390, 54.93 %
John Wetteland, 601, 330, 54.91 %
Troy Percival, 605 (thru 6/25/07), 324, 53.6 %
Billy Wagner, 684, 339, 49.6 %
Rick Aguilera, 643, 318, 49.5 %
Rob Nen, 639, 314, 49.1 %
Randy Myers (no relation to Mike), 716, 347, 48.5 %
Tom Henke, 642, 311, 48.4 %
Lee Smith, 1016, 478, 47.0 %
Bruce Sutter, 661, 300, 45.4 %

Just one more entry full of fascinating, totally useless information!

A Good Hart

How's this for a hot streak: Corey Hart (who I just added to my Fantasy team a week ago) has gone: in his last 8 games: 14 hits in 38 AB (.368) with 5 homers, 11 runs and 13 RBI's (and 3 stolen bases)
In the month of June (19 games so far): 25 for 77 (.325) with 8 HR, 19 runs, 18 RBI's and 7 SB's.
Hart is a 25 year old rightfielder with the Brewers who played just over half a season as an official rookie last year after a 21-game stint in 2005.
Perhaps most impressive is his speed/power combo. 30 HR and 30 RBI's is the well established standard. 40-40 has only been accomplished a handful of times. Consider this: if his most recent 19-game rate were extended across a 162-game season, he'd have approximately 68 homers and 60 SB's! If there ever were a 60-60 guy, the world would crown him superman!
By the way, 2007 could be the first season in quite a few years without a 30-30 guy. As we near the midpoint of the season, the best prospects are Brandon Phillips (13 HR, 15 SB) and Jimmy Rollins (13 each). But Phillips' previous career high in HR's is 17, and Rollins' HR production has fallen off (4 in last 51 games) after an explosive April.

Next come David Wright (12 HR, 16 SB), Grady Sizemore (11 and 22), Eric Byrnes (11 and 14) and Ian Kinsler (13 and 11).

My Doggie, Part II

My wife reminds me that I should mention how Bowser got his name. My wife was watching her Braves on TBS one night soon after we brought the pup home, and heard them talking about Jeff Blauser. "Blauser," she repeated. "That would make a good name for our dog." Not wanting him saddled with the handle of a 3rd-rate infielder from my rival team, I talked her into dropping the "l" and changing the spelling to the standard doggie name.

My Doggie

On a personal, completely non-baseball note (although he is a big Cardinals fan, despite my wife's claims of seeing him do the Tomahawk Chop): Happy 14th Birthday to Bowser, our miniature schnauser. He's deaf and slow these days, but precious to us, all the more so after life-saving emergency surgery last Sept. I'm glad he's still here to celebrate another birthday. Can you tell we're kind of sweet on this mutt of ours?!

Gagne's Back

It looks like closer Eric Gagne is back in top form after overcoming some serious injury problems the past two years, and on into this year. Gagne was unimpressive in his first two years in the bigs as a starter. Then the Dodgers moved him to closer in 2002. And it was lights out! For the next three years, through 2004, he had 52, 55, and 45 saves in consecutive years (152 total saves in three consecutive seasons is a record that may last a long, long time). His ERA's during those years? 1.97, 1.20, and 2.19. Oh, yeah, and he had, for the 3 years combined, 365 K's in 247 innings! In 2003, way over half (137, or very close to it) of the 247 outs he recorded were by strikeout. I believe he set an unbelievable record for number of consecutive saves in save opportunities (i.e., wihtout blowing any saves) during that time.
Then, as I said, injuries came into play, limiting him to 16 games and 9 saves in 2005-6. This year, he's missed some time in both April and May. Beginning with May 29, however, he's saved 5 games (and won one today!) and allowed no runs in 8 2/3 innings with 10 K's. He'd have considerably more saves were he not with the hapless Texas Rangers. Still, his 0.50 ERA so far has to be encouraging. If he's back all the way, and can sustain it without injury, at age 31 he still can be one of if not THE greatest, most ting closer ever (most folks, I suppose, would rank Eckersley or possibly Rivera, who seems to be back on track, for best ever as of now).

Ryan who? Ludwick, that's who!

Outfielder Ryan Ludwick's walk-off homer for the Cardinals in the 14th inning last night was his fourth homer in his past 24 at bats, this after having no home runs in the previous 58 at bats this season. I think this guy likes the clutch: his other 3 homers are a tie-breaking (eventually game-winning) three run shot in the 7th (he had a 2-run hit in the ninth in that game, too), a 9th inning pinch hit homer, and a game-tying pinch homer in the 7th inning. Not bad for a dude I'd never heard of until a month or so ago. He's 28 years old, and has shown promising power (13 HR in 227 AB) in parts of three seasons from 2003-05 with the Indians (he apparently spent all of 2006 in the minors). The hang up has been (and continues to be) his average: now .238 for his 137-game career. Here's hoping that improves, and he resembles Mike Schmidt (whose early average problems improved as his career went on) more than Dave Kingman (whose average remained miserable for most of his career).

Most Strikeouts in Season by Pitching Teammates

665 Randy Johnson (372) and Curt Schilling (293), 2001 D'backs
650 R. Johnson (334) and Schilling (316), 2002 D'backs
624 Nolan Ryan (383) and Bill Singer (241), 1973 Angels
592 Sandy Koufax (382) and Don Drysdale (210), 1965 Dodgers
588 Nolan Ryan (327) and Frank Tanana (261), 1976 Angels
557 Sandy Koufax (306) and Don Drysdale (251), 1963 Dodgers
550 Rube Waddell (349) and Eddie Plank (201), 1904 Philadelphia A's
547 Nolan Ryan (367) and Frank Tanana (180), 1974 Angels
547 Sam McDowell (283) and Luis Tiant (264), 1968 Indians
546 Nolan Ryan (341) and Frank Tanana (205), 1977 Angels
544 Mickey Lolich (308) and Joe Coleman (236) 1971 Tigers

Widest Margin to Lead the Majors in Wins

Since 1900:
+9 Walter Johnson, 1913, 36 wins (2nd, 27 by Tom Seaton)
+9 Lefty Grove, 1931, 31 (22, Wes Ferrell)
+8 Grover Alexander, 1916, 33 (25, Walter Johnson & Jeff Pfeffer)
+7 Joe McGinnity, 1900, 29 (22, William Kennedy)
+7 Cy Young, 1901, 33 (26, Joe McGinnity)
+6 Jack Chesbro, 1904, 41 (35, Joe McGinnity)
+6 Don Newcombe, 1956, 27 (21, Frank Lary)
+5 Christy Mathewson, 1905, 31 (26, Rube Waddell)
+5 Dazzy Vance, 1924, 28 (23, Walter Johnson)
+5 Bob Feller, 1940, 27 (22, Bucky Walters)
+5 Denny McLain, 1968, 31 (26 Juan Marichal)
+5 Bob Welch, 1990, 27 (22, Dave Stewart & Doug Drabek)

Cust Saved, Roaring Lamb

Well, it looks like my Cardinals have extended Jack Cust's chance to make a career for himself in the majors. Cust is the 28-year-old slugger who had hit just 5 homers in 144 at bats in parts of 5 seasons with four different teams before this year. Then, with the A's as his fifth team, he started the year on fire, hitting six homers in his first seven games and eight in his first 13 after getting called up in early May. Then, word is, the scouting report became known that what had kept him in the minors all these years was he couldn't hit the breaking ball. And the bottom fell out: from May 22 to June 14, he had 7 hits in 52 AB's with exactly zero homers, one run, two ribbies and 23 K's--ouch! Many were surprised he was still on the roster as the series with the Cards started on Friday. I don't know if the Cards have been feeding him fastballs or what (of course, the Cards have one of the worst starting rotations in memory: their best ERA is a dismal 4.66!), but Cust has proceeded to go 8 for 10 with 6 runs scored, 3 RBI's and (today) a homer.

Meanwhile, Mike Lamb is coming on like a lion for the Astros: he's 11 for 15 with 2 homers and 10 RBI's (including a grand slam today) in his last 4 games. Lamb is a guy who shown lots of potential in the past but at age 31 remained a part-time starter (usually platooning, sitting out against lefties). Who knows, maybe these hot streaks will be turning points in these guys' careers.

Willie Harris, .400 Hitter

Did you know that the majors had a .400 hitter this late into the season? Willie Harris of the Braves has gone 8 for his last 10 to raise his average to .412 for the year. Trouble is, he's still only starting half the time, almost never against lefties and not always against right-handed starting pitchers. He's actually been over .400 most of the year, having dropped below it before his current sizzling hot streak. And with 8 doubles in 97 AB's, his slugging percentage is .546, even though he only has one homer! With 8 stolen bases in 10 tries in the mix, you'd think Bobby Cox might write his name on the line up card at least five or six times a week.

Rose's Dubious Record

Ever wonder how Pete Rose managed to break Ty Cobb's hit record despite a much lower career average? Look no further than the single season plate appearance leaders. Rose is the only name to appear more than once among the top ten, and his appears four times! When the next player to repeat on the list, Ichiro Suzuki, shows up a second time tied for 16th all-time with 752 just last year, one of those he's tied with is--you guessed it--Pete Rose, listed for the fifth time. I guess something can be said for longevity and consistency, and staying healthy. But the guy wasn't even among the elite hitters of his generation! (Carew and Clemente, certainly, would rank as better hitters of his time). He just wore down that record by showing up at the plate 1870 more times (the equivalent of three full years) than any other player in history.

It's About Time!

Under the category of "Good Things Come to Those Who Wait":
Before the past 3 weeks, Alan Embree had pitched in 729 games, all but four of them in relief. How many saves did he have to show for his efforts? Would you believe a total of 8? Now, suddenly, at the age of 37, with A's closer Huston Street on the DL, Embree has gotten the chance to be a closer, at least temporarily, after 15 years of toil with eight different clubs. And he's making the most of it, with 7 saves in his first eight chances.

Al Reyes of Tampa Bay has a similar story. The 37-year-old Dominican bounced between the majors and minors for 11 years, 1995-2005, earning a total of six saves in almost 300 games. After not appearing in the majors at all last year, he won the closing role this year, and has responded with a perfect 17 saves in 17 opportunities. There's a lesson in persevering to make your dreams come true in these guys' stories.

Triple Splurge

Curtis Granderson of the Detroit Tigers had a recent 8-game stretch in which he hit 6 triples. If that doesn't sound so impressive, consider that those 6 triples alone would put him in 4th place in the majors after 60 games. He now has 12 in 60 games, an impressive rate of one every 5 games, which would give him 30 or more for the year, a number reached just once in the last 100+ years. Even more impressive, Granderson also has 19 doubles, which with 8 homers and a .291 avg. gives him a .583 slugging percentage, 8th best in the majors.

500 HR Club Redoux

I mentioned a month ago that 2007 could see as many as four additions to the 500 HR club (Frank Thomas, A-Rod, Jim Thome, and Manny Ramirez). All would still seem a pretty good bet to make it: Manny is most in doubt. He only needed 30 HR this season to hit 500, and he's hit over 30 (often WELL over) the past 9 and 11 of the past 12 years. But so far in 2007, he's only got 8, so he'll need to pick it up (I still wouldn't bet against him). Another interesting development: Seemingly washed up Gary Sheffield has found new life, hitting 15 homers in just over 1/3 of a season. If he hits 30 more, he'll hit 500 this year!

The club admissions HAVE come in bunches before. Consider this: From the time Ruth inagurated the club in 1929 through 1964, only three other players earned admittance (Foxx, Ott, and Ted Williams. Lou Gehrig certainly would have made it, but ALS struck him at age 36 or 37 and froze him at 493 HR). Then, from 1965 through 1971, the club mushroomed suddenly from 4 to 11 (adding Mays in '65, Mantle and Mathews in '67 (all "Ma"'s!), Aaron in '68, Banks in '70 and Killebrew and Frank Robinson in '71.) Then from 1972 to 1995, only 3 more were added (McCovey in '78, Reggie Jackson in '84, and Mike Schmidt in '87). Eddie Murray joined in '96, then the floodgates (or should I say "juiced blood" gates) opened again, with McGwire added in '99, Bonds in '01, Palmeiro and Sosa in '03, and Griffey (who just might have done it cleanly) in '04, for a bloated total of 20, and still expanding. Soon very few fans, no matter how rabid, will be able to name every member from memory (I doubt I could without reviewing the list immediately before trying).

Schilling Comes Within an Out of a No-No

Curt Schilling just had a no-hitter broken up with two out in the 9th by Shannon Stewart. Schilling then retired the next batter (who was the potential winning run!) to win 1-0. Schilling had a perfect game through the first 14 batters before a batter reached on an error. Too bad for Curt. At least he didn't blow the win!

4 Ks in Inning Oddity

Most folks think 3 strike outs in an inning is the maximum, "striking out the side," since, by definition, 3 outs of any kind means the inning is over. But they still credit the pitcher with a "strike out" even when the last strike is dropped or otherwise hits the ground, and the batter reaches base before being tagged or thrown out. So FOUR strikouts in an inning has been done 46 times over the years. Here's the oddity: only one pitcher has done it more than once (Chuck Finley) and he did it THREE times. Not only that, the three occurrences were all in less than a year's time! (5-15-99, 8-15-99, and 4-16-00). Must have some full moons in the middle of those months!

ANother oddity: I recognize three knuckleballers among those who've done it (that's not so odd, since a knuckleball strike is more likely to be a wild pitch or passed ball). The odd part: Phil Niekro did it in 1977, Charlie Hough in 1988, and Tim Wakefield in 1999.

And what, you may ask, about Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Bob Feller, Sam McDowell, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Sandy Koufax, or Pedro Martinez? Not a one of them did it even once.

500 Saves, redoux

My man (on my Fantasy team, so he's "my man") Trevor Hoffman is within one save now of 500. An incredible feat--to be consistent enough to remain the "closer" for enough years to compile that many saves. Any chance the FIRST guy to 400, to 450 and to 475 (Lee Smith) could get his ticket punched to Cooperstown? Please?!

Power Outage

The big home run hitters get all the glory--how's about the guys LEAST likely to hit one out? Starting with the highest at bats for a career and working our way down:
Hall-of-Famer Rabbit Maranville managed 28 HR in 10,078 AB (1 for every 359.9 AB) from 1912-35--the last 2/3rds of his career, then, was after Ruth showed how it COULD be done.
Ozzie Smith had the same number (and made the same Hall) in a few fewer AB's (28 in 9396, 1/335.6) from 1978-96. The rarity of the feat for the Wizard of Oz might explain why Jack Buck was so stunned when Ozzie did it in the 1985 NLCS that he could only say, "Go crazy, folks; go crazy!"
Larry Bowa outdid both of these, hitting 15 in 8418 (1/561.2), less than one a year from 1970-85.
Don Kessinger did only slightly better, with 14 in 7651 (546.5) from 1964-79. All four so far were middle infielders.
Then we have somebody named Donie Bush, who managed 9 HR in 7210 AB (801.1) in the dead-ball days of 1908-23 (including 1 in his last 3288).
Eddie Foster managed 6 in 5652 (942), including none in his last 2702, in the same era as Bush.
The next notable recent (my lifetime) guy is Otis Nixon, with 11 HR in 5115 AB (465).
The guy with the most ABs to rank fewer than 1 HR per 1000 AB is Jimmy Slagle, who incredibly had only 2 in 4996 AB, one every 2498! He played from 1899-1908. Muddly Ruel also ranked "over" 1000, with 4 in 4514 (1128.5), and his career (1915-34) extended into the early power days. Al Bridwell hit 2 in 4169 (2084.5) from 1905-15, and Tommy Thevenow had 2 in 4164 (2082) in the power-packed years of 1924-38. (MLB lists Davy Force with 1 in 4251, but that included the pre-major years of 1871-75. Same with Bob Ferguson, 1 in 3468, 1871-84)
Some more recent players of note: Bud Harrelson, 7 in 4744 (677.7), 1965-80;
Jerry Remy, 7 in 4455 (636.4), 1975-84;
Roger Metzger, 5 in 4201 (840.2), 1970-80.
Frank Taveras outdid all his contemporaries of 4000+ AB. He hit 2 HR in 4043 (2021.5) from 1971-82. He and Nixon could steal a base, but didn't quite have the "power/speed" combo thing down.
A lot of people's choice as worst HR hitter all-time is Duane Kuiper. He hit one solitary homer in 3379 AB from 1974-85.
Emil Verban had 1 in 2911 from 1944-50. (Dave Eggler and Mike McGeary had 0 in over 2400 AB each, but that includes 1871-75 again) Bill Holbert had 0 in 2393 from 1876-88. Not only that, he had a .208 career average and .232 slugging pct., yet stuck around for the 1st 13 years of the NL!
In our day, again: Enzo Hernandez had 2 in 2327 (1163.5) from 1971-78, a .224 avg. and .266 slugging pct.
Rafael Belliard had 2 in 2301 (1150.1), 1982-98. Despite a .221 career average and .259 slugging, Rafael only changed teams once in 17 years!
Woody Woodward had exactly 1 HR in 2187 AB, 1963-71.
And the modern-day (post 1900) non-pitching player with the most AB without ever hitting a homer? Tom Oliver, with the ultimate power outage in 1931 AB in power-crazy 1930-33. Unlike many other guys on this list, Oliver was a decent hitter: 101 doubles, a .277 avg. and half-way decent .340 slugging pct.

Am I living up to the promise of providing totally fascinating, useless information, or what?!

My Man Franco

48-year-old Julio Franco stole a base yesterday, his second in limited playing time this year. My hero! I may have mentioned earlier, Franco is going where no man has gone before. A few pitchers (knuckleballers Phil Neikro and Hoyt Wilhelm, old-timer Jack Quinn) pitched regularly to age 48 and beyond. And a few position players (Minnie Minoso, for one) made a few token, gimmick appearances older than that. But, according to my research, Franco is the first player in the 132 year history of major league baseball to continue playing an offensive (non-pitching) position as a regular, continuous member of a roster past age 46. Carlton Fisk? Topped out by then. Pete Rose? Same thing? Many Mota? Not even close. Franco is a freak of nature. I went to a Braves-Mets game last year and saw two players to tell my grandkids about. First, I saw Pedro Martinez, who may end up the greatest winning percentage pitcher of all-time (at least among those with 150+ wins). And his ERA vs. the average ERA of his time would likely be near the best all-time. But perhaps an even greater story will be seeing 47-year-old Julio Franco hit a 2-run double and field his potition flawlessly. Go, Julio, my hero!

Magglio's Doublemania

Magglio Ordonez leads the majors by a good bit with 26 doubles in 52 games so far, an incredible double every two games rate. Can he become the first since 1936 to hit 60+ doubles in a season? (Todd Helton just missed in 200 with 59). We'll see. In his favor are his consistency so far (13 doubles in April, 13 in May), his durability (playing in 52 of 53 games so far) and a decent history of hitting 'em in the past (47 and 46 in 2002 and 2003). Against him? He hasn't hit so many the past 3 years, and he can't expect to continue his torrid hittting (.345 so far, a good bit above his career average) for a full season. Still, I hope he makes it. One other note: Ordonez's doubles and average have enabled him to take the major league lead in slugging pct. (.660), despite having only 12 HR's compared to A-Rod's and Prince Fielder's 19.

Record Frequency of Getting Plunked

41-year-old Craig Biggio is S-L-owwwwly approaching the all-time record for times being hit by a pitch in a career. After getting hit 282 times in his first 19 years, he's only taken one not-so-free pass in the first 47 games this year (maybe old bodies don't take the bruising as well). He now stand 4 away from the all-time record of 287 by Hughie Jennings. Because Jennings played mostly before 1900, many already consider Biggio the leader of "modern" major league baseball, having passed Don Bylor a couple of years ago. But I've read recently that 1893 (when moder rules of pitching were implemented) is a better marker of the start of the modern period, in which case most of Jennings career would qualify. Anyway, I was wondering who has been hit most often, based on Plate appearances per HBP (hit by pitch) here is the top ten among those with 90+ career HBP. (How's this for a totally useless list?)

19.43 PA/HBP Hughie Jennings 287 HBP, 5576 PA, 1891-1903
25.34 PA/HBP Ron Hunt 243 HBP, 6158 PA, 1963-1974
25.68 PA/HBP Craig Wilson 90 HBP, 2311 PA 2001-present
26.29 PA/HBP Dan McGann 230 HBP, 6047 PA 1896-1908
26.64 PA/HBP Tommy Tucker 272 HBP, 7247 PA 1887-1899
27.68 PA/HBP Jason LaRue 94 HBP, 2602 PA 1999-present
28.55 PA/HBP Curt Welch 173 HBP, 4939 PA 1884-1893
30.20 PA/HBP Fernando Vina 157 HBP, 4742 PA 1993-2004
31.91 PA/HBP Jason Kendall 212 HBP, 6764 PA 1996-present
31.95 PA/HBP Kid Elberfeld 165 HBP, 5272 PA 1898-1914

and the next 5 highest from the "modern" era (1900 on)
35.07 PA/HBP Steve Evans 111 HBP, 3893 PA 1908-1915
35.21 PA/HBP Don Baylor 267 HBP, 9401 PA 1970-1988
36.29 PA/HBP David Eckstein 109 HBP, 3956 PA 2001-present
37.57 PA/HBP Doc Gessler 92 HBP, 3456 PA 1903-1911
39.87 PA/HBP Minnie Minoso 192 HBP, 7656 PA 1949-1964, etc.

What to make of it? Since the average player might average only a few HBP per 500 or so AB, the reasons these players stand out are likely 2: Big threats like Don Baylor, Frank Robinson (8th all-time with 198 HBP), Andres Galarraga (178 HBP) and Carlos Delgado (150 and counting) get crowded a lot, but to keep from giving the pitcher an advantage there, instead of bailing out they hold their ground and take a freebie. Also, tending to be bigger and slower, they naturally get hit more. Others, like Hunt and Eckstein and Biggio, are scrappy players with a "whatever it takes to get on" attitude who perfect the art of spinning INTO a pitch and getting nicked (it counts even if it just hits the uniform) without making it look TOO obvious (the rules say the batter is obliged to TRY to get out of the way, but when was that last enforced?) Anyway, that's the end of this earth-shattering, totally waste-of-time analysis of a freaky stat.

500 Saves

Trevor Hoffman is 5 saves from becoming the first reliever to save 500 games. And with Mariano Rivera struggling mightily and raising speculation that he's lost it at age 37, Hoff may remain the only one in this 500 Club for awhile. He'll be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame upon eligibility. In the meantime, I have to raise my voice one more time and ask, "Why isn't Lee Smith (now #2 all-time with 478 saves) already in Cooperstown?"

Ruth's Competition in his early years

It's well-known that the Babe exploded onto the scene, dominating the home-run category like no one before or since. When he first hit an eye-popping 54 in 1920, nearly doubling the all-time record he had just set as a part-time position player the previous year, his nearest competition had a measly 19. And in 1921, when he upped it to 59, second best was only 24. 1922 was the first year some other players got into the long-ball act, with Rogers Hornsby hitting 42, Ken Williams 39, and Tilly Walker 37. I did a little research, curious to find out what players not named Ruth hit the most homers through the 1920's (It wasn't until the late 1920's or 1930's that big-name sluggers like Ott, Foxx, Gehrig, Hack Wilson and Greenberg got into the act).

Through 1922, Tilly Walker of the Philadelphia A's led the way with 77 HR's in 1920-22. He was already 34 years old by then, though, and retired the next year. Behind him at that point were Ken Williams with 73 in those 3 years, Hornsby with 72, and Cy Williams with 59. These three then comprised the top three competitors to Ruth throughout much of the decade. Hornsby, of course, is a well-known hall-of-famer, 2nd to Ty Cobb all-time in career batting average. He was no slugger early on, averaging only 7 HR's/year from 1916-20. But with the advent of the live ball, he adapted with the times and cranked it up. The other two guys, though, Ken Williams of the St. Louis Browns and Cy Williams of the Phillies, are no hall-of-famers, and are deserving of more attention.

Cy hit 41 in 1923, giving him 100 for the 1920's to that point, just behind Ken Williams' 102 and ahead of Hornsby's 89. Through 1924, it was Cy with 124, Ken with 120, and Rogers with 114. Hornsby took the lead (and held it for the rest of the decade) among Ruth's competitors with 39 in 1925 for a 1920-25 total of 153 (K. Williams, 145; C. Williams, 137). Gehrig busted out as the first REAL competitor to Ruth with 47 in 1927. Through 1928, 8 long years after Ruth had burst through with 54 in a single year, 35+ homers in a season had only been achieved 6 times by five players not named Ruth (Hornsby twice, Ken Williams, Cy Williams, Tilly Walker and Gehrig).

Anyway, through 1929, the totals for the entire decade are as follows: Horsnby, 250; Cy Williams, 202; Ken Williams, 190. Those totals are a far cry from Ruth's 467 for the decade. But these three, in turn, are a good bit ahead of the next highest: 146 each by two of Ruth's teammates, Bob Meusel and Gehrig (who compiled 145 of that in just 5 full seasons).

Cy Williams retired in 1930 at age 42 with 251 career homers, third all-time on the list at that point behind Ruth's 565 and Hornsby's 279. Ken Williams retired in 1929, 4th on the all-time list at that time with 193. The even livelier ball of the 1930's meant that Gehrig, Foxx, Ott, Wilson, Al Simmons, and Greenberg soon flooded past these forgotten Williamses (unrelated to each other). But one claim can never be taken away from these unsung Williamses. They will forever stand first and second on the list of homers by players born before Ruth (Hornsby was a year younger than the Babe).

Homers Down

Despite A-Rod's record 15 dingers in April (and he's heating up again), homers are down a good bit this year. Still not at pre-steroid levels, but here are the figures: in the AL it's down from 2.25 a game last year to 2.05 this year (and a high of 2.42 back in 1996). That's the lowest since 1.83 in 1993. In the NL, where pitchers are real men and hit for themselves, the rate is naturally lower. There, the fall has been steeper, from 2.19 last year to 1.74 this year (and a high of 2.32 in 2000). 1.74 would be the lowest, also, since 1993 (1.72). Maybe this isn't a bad thing. I remember when 40 HR's meant someone was an all-star slugger. (From 1990-1993, the majors averaged less than 3 who reach that number per year. By contrast, an average of 11 or 12 have reached it the last 11 years). And if the drop means that steroid testing is working, in my opinion that's worth experiencing the thrill of the long ball a little less often.

Following up on Last Year's Posts

Following up on some posts from last year: on 8/22/06 I speculated that the low ERA in 2006 among qualifiers (162+ IP) might be the highest ever (the record high low being Lefty Grove's 2. 81 in 1929. Well, Johan Santana just slipped under that with 2.77, the highest the major-league low has been since 1951, when it was a tick higher at 2.78. Here are the top ten highest Major-league leading ERA's:
1. 2.84 1929 Lefty Grove
2. 2.78 1951 Saul Rogorin
3. 2.77 2006 Johan Santana
4. 2.76 1987 Nolan Ryan & Jimmy Key
5. 2.71 1979 J. R. Richard and
1950 Sal Maglie
7. 2.67 1960 Frank Baumann
8. 2.66 1938 Bill Lee (NOT Bill "Spaceman" Lee)
9. 2.63 1925 Dolf Luque and
1922 Phil Douglas

It's interesting to me that the years are spread so much--you might think a particular high-scoring era would be overrepresented on the list.

Back on 8/25/06 I speculated that 2 or 3 players would reach 50 homers by the end of the year, with a possible high of about 58. I nailed that: Ryan Howard led with 58. Big Papi David Ortiz was the only other over 50, with 54, while Albert Pujols just missed with 49.

Lefties, Righties, and Career Home Runs

Here's a little piece of statistical trivia: Of the 4 players to have hit over 600 homers (before Sosa joins them soon), 2 hit from the left side (Ruth and Bonds), and two (Aaron and Mays) from the right. Of the 20 to have hit 500+, 9 were lefties, 9 righties and 2 were switch hitters (Mantle and Murray). And of those to have hit 450 or more--you guessed it--15 were lefties, 15 righties and 2 switch-hit. how about that for even distribution? Of course you might not consider it even in another way, since right-handed hitters outnumber lefties by a good bit. When you go down to those with 400+, you add 4 lefties and 6 righties, for a total of 19 lefties, 21 righties and 2 who switch-hit.

Switch hitting Sluggers

The promised breakdown of top career switch-hitting home run hitters (only 9 months after promised): (LH=left-handed, RH=right-handed)

536 Mantle 257 LH, 13.5 AB/HR; 106 RH,15.9 AB/HR (data missing for 1st 6 yrs of his career)
504 Murray 362 LH, 21.1 AB/HR; 142 RH, 26.0 AB/HR
368 Chipper Jones 288 LH, 16.9 AB/HR; 80 RH, 20.8 AB/HR
350 Chili Davis 233 LH, 25.8 AB/HR; 117 RH, 22.8 AB/HR
314 R. Smith 251 LH, 19.8 AB/HR; 63 RH, 32.9 AB/HR
306 Ruben Sierra 216 LH, 25.3 AB/HR; 90 RH, 28.7 AB/HR
287 Bobby Bonilla 182 LH, 25.9 AB/HR; 105 RH, 23.8 AB/HR
287 Bernie Williams 179 LH, 30.1 AB/HR; 108 RH, 22.9 AB/HR
248 Ted Simmons 146 LH, 38.1 AB/HR; 102 RH, 30.6 AB/HR
248 Jose Valentin 227 LH, 18.7 AB/HR; 21 RH, 56.9 AB/HR
246 Ken Singleton 185 LH, 27.4 AB/HR; 58 RH, 36.2 AB/HR
245 Mickey Tettleton 169 LH, 19.3 AB/HR; 76 RH, 18.9 AB/HR

and some more guys still active:
232 Tony Clark 175 LH, 17.1 AB/HR; 57 RH, 20.5 AB/HR
230 Lance Berkman 208 LH, 14.1 AB/HR; 22 RH, 40.8 AB/HR
211 Carlos Beltran 158 LH, 22.1 AB/HR; 53 RH, 23.0 AB/HR
146 Mark Teixeira 106 LH, 16.8 AB/HR; 40 RH, 17.8 AB/HR

Observations: most tend to hit HR's more frequently for the left side, perhaps reflecting that more natural lefties take up switch-hitting, or maybe too just because they get more practice (against right-handed pitchers) from that side.

Tettleton was the most even in power from both sides. Beltran's and Teixeira's homers are also very evenly distributed. Valentin and (a surprise to me) Berkman are sorely lacking in right-handed power. Makes one wonder if they'd be better off batting LH all the time!

Ichiro Caught

Oops, looks like I jinxed Ichiro Suzuki--he got caught stealing yesterday to end his AL record of 45 consecutive SB's without being caught.

Also, I came across Carlos Beltran's amazing career stolen base percentage: so far he's stolen 233 bases and been caught only 34 times, for a percentage of 87.3, better than Tim Raines' tops of 84.7% among the Top 100 in career SB's (340+). Beltran stole 13 of 13 in 2000, 31 of 32 in 2001, 41 of 45 in 2003 and 42 of 45 in 2004, including 28 of 28 after being traded to Houston.

Ichiro Update

By the way, Ichiro Suzuki has now been successful on an unbelievable 45 stolen base attempts in a row. He stole his last 39 last year without getting caught (to finish the year 45 of 47), and has so far stolen 6 this year wihout getting caught. He was only batting .260 with a measly 2 SB's as of 9 games ago, but has since gone 18 for 38 with 4 SB's during a 9-game hitting streak, raising his average to a more Ichiro-like .317.

Aramis, Cust, Carmona

Since coming over to the Cubs from Pittsburg during the 2003 season, Aramis Ramirez has consistently hit home runs at the pace of about one every four games played. Check it out:
2003 63 g 15 HR 4.2 g/HR
2004 145 g 36 HR 4.03 g/HR
2005 123 g 31 HR 3.97 g/HR
2006 157 g 38 HR 4.13 g/HR
2007 34 g 9 HR 3.78 g.HR
Oops! He hit one out today, so he's getting a little ahead of himself with 10 in 35 games so far in 2007, a rate of one every 3.5 games. Still, it's not a crime to IMPROVE on consistency!

And how about rookie outfielder Jack Cust with the A's. The 28 year old has now hit 7 HR's (and struck out 15 times--oh, well) in 10 games since being called up earlier this month. His hit totals so far are 2 singles, 1 double and the 7 dingers.

One more turnaround of note: Pitcher Fausto Carmona of the Indians is now 5-1 this year with a 2.55 ERA after hurling a 4-hit shutout today. This after a horrible rookie year in 2006, when he went 1-10 with a 5.42 ERA.

Are guys like Cust and Carmona worth adding to a fantasy team based on a few weeks' spectacular play? Such additions are chancy. Last month I added troubled former top draft pick Josh Hamilton to my roster based on 5 HR's in his first 30 AB's. He's since hit an unspectacular 3 HR's in 87 AB's. Similarly, I added the Cards' John Rodriguez when his average was well over .400 in mid-May last year. A month later, a slump had knocked him down to a maybe once-a-week starter. I think he's out of the big leagues now.

Base Stealer Minutia

Everyone knows that Rickey Henderson is tops in career stolen bases with 1406, 468 more than the man he passed, Lou Brock, now in 2nd place. But who is the top percentage stealer of all-time? "Caught stealing" became an official stat only in more recent times, but from what I know, the old-timers like Ty Cobb weren't the best percentage-wise. So here's the list (based on top 100 all-time in steals, or 340+):

84.7% Tim Raines (8o8 steals out of 954 attempts)
84.1% Eric Davis (349 of 415)
83.3% Willie Wilson (668 of 802)
83.11 Barry Larkin (379 of 456)
83.07 Tony Womack (363 of 437)
83.0 Davey Lopes (557 of 671)

Lopes would have been the all-time leader in his day (1970's+), as the ones now ahead of him came later. BTW, Eric Davis would be the all-time leader had he retired a little earlier. He was successful on only 14 of his last 26 steal attempts; subtract those, and he would have been at 86.1% (335 of 389).

How about the worst base stealers, percentage-wise? Again, based on 340+ career steals:

65.3% Rod Carew (353 of 540)
68.5 Brett Butler (558 of 815)
70.9 Billy North (395 of 557)
71.2 Omar Vizquel (369 of 518, as of yesterday)
71.4 Steve Sax (444 of 622)

A surprise to see hall-of-famer Carew as the worst--guess he should have stuck more to hitting! Lou Brock, I believe, said you had to make it at least 2/3's of the time to call it base-stealing--otherwise it was called "gambling."

And how about this for an arcane statistic: lowest number of games per stolen base. Eliminating those who played before 1900, when stolen bases were given out liberally, here's the list:

1.82 Vince Coleman (1371 g, 752 SB)
2.19 R. Henderson (3081, 1406)
2.42 Ron LeFlore (1099, 455)
2.76 Otis Nixon (1709, 620)
2.79 Lou Brock (2616, 938)
2.84 Omar Moreno (1382, 487)
2.87 Bob Bescher (1228, 428)
2.96 Billy North (1169, 395)

It helps to retire early, like Coleman did, to make this list. On the other hand, Henderson played well into his 40's, and still ranks 2nd! Bescher is the only old-timer on the list, from the pre-longball days. And North is the only one among the best here, and among the worst in percentages. That means he was doing a lot of running; also, he wasn't that good at getting on base, so when he did, he rarely stayed put!

Home Run Milestones

Looks like this could be a monumental season as far as home run milestones. Of course, the most obvious, most talked about, most hated and dreaded is Bonds' chase of Aaron's 755. Barry is within 10 now, having hit 11 in 30 games, including 3 in his last 16 ABs. It's only a matter of time. Word is that Aaron does NOT plan on being on-hand for the occasion.

Lost in all the hoopla and controversy surrounding Bonds are:

Sammy Sosa, in a comeback, looking to become the 5th ever to hit 600+ (5 to go after hitting 7 so far). Of course, he's no cleaner than Bonds when it comes to steroid suspicions. Then there is Ken Griffey, Jr., who earlier today tied Rafael Palmeiro (yet another 'roid user) for 9th all-time at 569, and could easily end the year at no. 6 (currently held by Frank Robinson, 586).

Then there are FOUR players with a decent chance of joining the 500 club this year: Frank Thomas (491, 4 in 2007); A-Rod (479, 15 in 2007, might hit 500 around--get this--his 32nd birthday!); Jim Thome (477, 5 in 19 games this year before his injury, from which he expects to return soon); and Manny Ramirez (476, 6 in 2007, including 4 in his last 8 games).

If they all make it, the 500 Club will be getting a little crowded, with 24 members. The 600 club, with 5, will have more than the 500 Club had when I was born in 1962. The exclusive club then had only Ruth, Foxx, Ott and Ted Williams, before the gates burst open in the 1960's and early 70's with Matthews, Banks, Mays, Aaron, Mantle, Robinson, Killebrew and McCovey added in short order. Still, I'm pretty sure that four new members have NEVER been admitted in any one year!

Francisco Redoux

I wrote last summer about Francisco Cordero's amazing turnaround as a closer after being traded from Texas to Milwaukee. Well, he's picked up this spring where he left off last fall. So far, in 12 games, he has 10 saves, has given up 0 (that's zero) earned runs and two hits in 11 1/3 innings with 19 strikeouts. That's lights out!

Old Men Gettin' it Done

First post of the new season. Anybody out there reading it? Leave a comment if you are.

I noticed Kenny Loften, who'll turn 40 in a month, has been successful on 63 of 72 stolen base attempts from 2005 on. That's an incredible 87 1/2 %, even more incredible at his age! He may be the last 600 career stolen base guy for a long time, with that stat taking a back seat in this homer-crazy age.

Guess who's second on the active stolen base list? The guy everyone loves to hate--Barry Bonds, with 510. And he has cranked it up the last couple of weeks (in HR's, not SB's!). Through the 1st 8 games, he only had one homer and was batting a measly .192, giving some slight hope that at age 42, the injuries and bad press, etc. had finally caught up with him, and maybe Aaron's 755 would stand until A-Rod got there. But, alas, since Apr 12 the old guy has hit 7 out in 32 AB's. He's now 2nd in slugging for 2007 to A-Rod, and could top Aaron's HR mark before the all-star break. The walks are picking up, too--6 in his last 9 plate appearances, I believe! One consolation on the homer record--perhaps Bonds won't hold the crown for too long, as a rejuvenated A-Rod now has 478 at age 31. If he can avoid injury, keeps the motivation and avoids mental meltdowns a la last year, 800 wouldn't seem out of the question.

Looks like another rejuvenated old-timer, Sammy Sosa, will become the 5th ever to reach 600 HR's sometime soon. After hitting just 14 in 2005 and not playing last year, he has 7 in the first 22 games this year at age 38, and now stands at 595.