Daniel Nava, Doubling Fool!

Daniel Nava hit a homer in his first major league at bat back in 2010, but since has settled on doubles as more his specialty. In his second season in the big leagues after spending all of 2011 at AAA, the 29-yr old Red Sox has 31 doubles in just 365 at bats in his big-league career, a rate that would result in 50+ when projected out to one full year as a starter. Looks like only recent injuries can slow his break for second base.

Rookie Jerry Sands

The first-year 23 year old with the Dodgers was batting a miserable .187 a week ago (after Sept. 11), with just 26 hits in 139 at bats. Since then, he's gone 15 for 27 to raise his average to a respectable .247--in one week's time!

Venters, Chapman and HRs given up

Johnny Venters, relief pitcher for the Braves, has only given up 1 home run in his first 115 2/3 innings pitched in the majors. THe league average would have him giving up about 14 by now. Venters also has only given up 13 hits (no homers) in 32 2/3 innings pitched so far this year. He'll make a mighty good closer soon if he keeps it up.

Meanwhile, Aroldis Chapman, he of the 10 or so MPH fastball, has yet to give up a homer in 26 1/3 innings. Control is an issue, though, as he has walked 25 in those 26 1/3 innings over last year and this.

Best Winning PCT. for Career

Check this out:
Among pitchers, 1900 on, who won 200+ games in their career, 5 of the top 11 in winning percentage are pitchers who retired in the past 4 years. Here's the list:

.690 Whitey Ford 236-106 1950-1967
.687 Pedro Martinez 219-100 1992-2009
.680 Lefty Grove 300-141 1925-1941
.665 Christ Mathewson 373-188 1900-1916
.658 Roger Clemens 354-184 1984-2007
.648 Mordecai Brown 239-130 1903-1916
.646 Randy Johnson 303-166 1988-2009
.642 Pete Alexander 373-208 1911-1930
.638 Mike Mussina 270-153 1991-2008
.638 Jim Palmer 268-152 1965-1984
.635 Andy Pettitte 240-138 1995-2010

Best hitting Pitchers Redeux

I found some interesting stats based on the fangraphs website.

First, pitchers since 1900, with a minimum of 300 plate appearances, who have drawn a walk the highest percentage of plate appearances (hard to do--walking the opposing pitcher is considered a major no-no, i.e., a cardinal sin!)

16.4% (60 walks in 366 plate appearances): Mickey Harris, 1940-1952
13.8% (72 in 522) Jack Harshman, 1948-60
13.3% (139 in 1046) Urban shocker, 1916-28
12.3% (76 in 618) Jack Kramer, 1939-51
11.4% (118 in 1033) Doc Crandall, 1908-18 (some games as non-pitcher)
10.9 (169 in 1550) Red Faber, 1914-33
10.7 (141 in 1318) Hooks Dauss, 1912-26
10.6 (67 in 630) Billy Hoeft, 1952-66
10.5 (57 in 541) Jon Matlack, 1971-77
10.5 (166 in 1580) Clark Griffith, 1891-1914 (51 in 424 1901+, for 12.0%)
10.4 (35 in 338) Frank Allen, 1912-17
10.3 (105 in 1017) Mickey Lolich, 1963-1972, 76-79
10.2 (41 in 403) Stubby Overmire, 1943-52


And those LEAST likely to strike out, based on % of at bats:

2.6% (20 SO in 774 AB) Johnny Sain, 1942-55
4.6% (30 in 650) Fred Hutchinson, 1939-53
5.4% (43 in 793) Bob Smith, 1926-37 (1923-25 as non-pitcher not included)
7.1% (41 in 581) Vic Aldridge, 1917-28
7.6% (86 in 1132) Clarence Mitchell, 1911-32 (omitted 1922, when mainly a non-pitcher)
7.8% (58 in 746) Sid Hudson, 1940-54
7.8% (72 in 913) Jesse Barnes, 1915-27

Johnny Sain stands out here, with an insanely low strike-out percentage that no position player comes close to matching today.

And, finally, as a measure of a true hitter, percentage of doubles might be better than batting average, since a lot of pitchers can hit around .200 but thier hits consist of over 90% singles. So heres' the fewest at-bats per double since 1900, minimum of 24 career doubles:
17.05 (38 doubles in 648 ABs) Sloppy Thurston, 1923-33
17.59 (29 in 510) Jason Marquis, 2000-present
18.68 (41 in 766) Frank Smith, 1904-15
18.86 (35 in 660) Jim Bagby, 1912-23
18.92 (26 in 492) Joe Wood, 1908-17 (omitting years as non-pitcher)
19.47 (30 in 584) Jack Bentley, 1913-27 (includes 62 g as non-pitcher)
19.70 (27 in 532) Randy Wolf, 1999-present
19.77 (98 in 1937) Red Ruffing, 1924-47
19.84 (45 in 893) Bob Forsch, 1974-89
20.03 (38 in 761) Rick Rhoden, 1974-89
20.03 (30 in 601) Elam Vangilder, 1919-29

A few notes: interesting that, despite the steep decline in hitting ability of the average pitcher in the past 40 years, that period is well represented on this doubles list. Secondly, Joe Wood had an amazing 13 doubles in 124 at bats in 1912, the same year he won 34 games!) Finally, Wes Ferrell, the undisputed greatest-hitting pitcher of all-time (and should-be Hall-of-Famer instead of his weak-hitting catcher brother, Rick) just misses this list with 20.63 at-bats per double (57 in 1176).

Dbacks homers from 3 guys with big league bros

Just saw the Arizona partial boxscore for a game in progress, and couldn't believe my eyes. Stephen Drew, Adam LaRoche and Justin Upton have all hit homers through 6 innings in that game. So what, you say? So, J.D. Drew, Andy LaRoche and B.J Upton are all proud brothers. And all three are ALSO active players on major league rosters. Don't know if this is a first, but it seems mighty uncommon--three all on one team, homering in the same game, all of them with big league brothers, too.

Phat Albert phatter than Ever!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vladdie's Season HR Streak

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

HR Leaders so Far This Year, by Month

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

50-Double Seasons by Decade

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

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

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

Brian Roberts, doubles hitter extraordinaire

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

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

Updated Fewest Saves Per Relief Appearances

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

* active

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

Most and Least Often Walked, Career, All-time

Fewest Plate Appearances per Walk, Minimum 800 BB

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yadier Shuts Down Opponents' Running Game

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

No Active Players with 100 career triples

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

Zobrist on Fire!

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

Part-time Closer

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

Team's Pitcher Hitting Staffs

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

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

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

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

HRs: 2, Brewers.

Update of AB per Double Career Leaders

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

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

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

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

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

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

3000 hits with no 200 hit seasons

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

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

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

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

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

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