- .182 Frank Allen, Bro. NL 1913 (2.83, 4-18)
- .190 Eddie Smith, Phi. AL 1937 (3.94, 4-17)
- .206 Paul Derringer, St.L.-Cin. NL 1933 (3.30, 7-27)
- .214 John Dopson, Mon. NL 1988 (3.04, 3-11)
- .217 Rollie Naylor, Phi. AL 1919 (3.34, 5-18)
- .235 Gene Schott, Cin. NL 1937 (2.97, 4-13)
- .235 Ben Cantwell, Bos. NL 1929 (4.47, 4-13)
- .238 John Buzhart, Phi. NL 1960 (3.86, 5-16)
- .238 Dolph Luque, Cin. NL 1929 (4.50, 5-16)
- .238 Ned Garvin, Bro. NL - N.Y. AL 1904 (1.72, 5-16)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Tough Luck
Worst won-lost percentage for pitchers with league average or better ERA's (ERA championship qualifiers only):
Saturday, September 26, 2009
George Scott's Baserunning
"I'll always remember a game Scott played in Kansas City in August of 1979. He was 35 years old at the time, fat and slow and had warning track power, but he hit a ground ball triple, and then a couple of innings later scored from second base on a fly ball to deep
center field."
-Bill James, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (New York: Free Press, 2001) 452.
George Scott was a power-hitting first baseman who was more noted for his girth than his speed. Listed at 215 lbs. in the encyclopedias, he was probably considerably heavier by the end of his career which is what makes the above story so amazing. But is it accurate?
It's pretty easy to check. Scott was no longer playing regularly in 1979, the last year of his career, and he only played 12 games in August. Although he started the month as a member of the Kansas City Royals, he only played one game in Kansas City as a Royal, then two more after being released and picked up by the Yankees. Scott's only triple of the month (the 60th and last of his career) came on August 30 in Kansas City as a member of the Yankees, when he tripled and scored in the ninth. It's impossible to tell if it was a ground-ball triple or not, but Scott didn't reach base in any of his other plate appearances, so he wasn't scoring from second on any fly balls. Scott hit 4 triples in 1979, and scored after 3 of them, but didn't score a second run in any of those games.
Perhaps James' memory condensed events from two different games into one. However, Scott didn't score from second on a sac fly in any of the games he played in K.C. or any of the games he played in August. However, if the search is expanded to all Scott's games as a Royal, it turns out James was correct, though he got the month and location wrong. On June 20, against the A's in Oakland, Scott singled, went to second on a fly by Amos Otis, and scored on a fly to left by Darrell Porter. James was trying to demonstrate Scott's baseball savy with this anecdote and, despite the fact that he got some of the particulars wrong, he certainly proved his point.
-Bill James, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (New York: Free Press, 2001) 452.
George Scott was a power-hitting first baseman who was more noted for his girth than his speed. Listed at 215 lbs. in the encyclopedias, he was probably considerably heavier by the end of his career which is what makes the above story so amazing. But is it accurate?
It's pretty easy to check. Scott was no longer playing regularly in 1979, the last year of his career, and he only played 12 games in August. Although he started the month as a member of the Kansas City Royals, he only played one game in Kansas City as a Royal, then two more after being released and picked up by the Yankees. Scott's only triple of the month (the 60th and last of his career) came on August 30 in Kansas City as a member of the Yankees, when he tripled and scored in the ninth. It's impossible to tell if it was a ground-ball triple or not, but Scott didn't reach base in any of his other plate appearances, so he wasn't scoring from second on any fly balls. Scott hit 4 triples in 1979, and scored after 3 of them, but didn't score a second run in any of those games.
Perhaps James' memory condensed events from two different games into one. However, Scott didn't score from second on a sac fly in any of the games he played in K.C. or any of the games he played in August. However, if the search is expanded to all Scott's games as a Royal, it turns out James was correct, though he got the month and location wrong. On June 20, against the A's in Oakland, Scott singled, went to second on a fly by Amos Otis, and scored on a fly to left by Darrell Porter. James was trying to demonstrate Scott's baseball savy with this anecdote and, despite the fact that he got some of the particulars wrong, he certainly proved his point.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Consistency
The record for most career home runs by a player who never hit 70 in a season is held by Hank Aaron. Of course, Aaron also had the most home runs by a player who never hit 60, and the most by a player who never hit 50, as he hit 755 without ever hitting more than 47 in a season. Other career highs by players who never reached season milestones:
Never hit 40 - Eddie Murray (1977-1997) - 504; career high of 33.
Never hit 30 - Al Kaline (1953-1974) - 399; career high of 29.
Never hit 20 - Ron Fairly (1958-1978) - 215; career high of 19.
Never hit 10 - Tony Taylor (1958-1976) - 75; career high of 9.
Never hit 40 - Eddie Murray (1977-1997) - 504; career high of 33.
Never hit 30 - Al Kaline (1953-1974) - 399; career high of 29.
Never hit 20 - Ron Fairly (1958-1978) - 215; career high of 19.
Never hit 10 - Tony Taylor (1958-1976) - 75; career high of 9.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Now Pinch Hitting for Oakland...
What you might not know is that the A's of that era employed another quite-strange method of roster management, most notably in September of 1972 as they tried to hold off the White Sox for the division title...(Charlie) Finley and manager Dick Williams concoted a bizarre plan: the A's numerous second basemen, none of whom could hit, wouldn't be allowed to hit. Instead every time the second baseman came up, Williams would send up a pinch hitter...
-Rob Neyer, Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Lineups (New York: Fireside Books, 2003) 170.
Late in the 1974 season, Dick Williams decided that he had no second basemen, but lots of pinch hitters, so he began rotating five second basemen, pinch hitting whenever one of them came to bat.
-Bill James, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (New York: Free Press, 2001) 516.
Did the A's really do this? If so, did they do it in multiple seasons, or is either Neyer or his mentor James mistaken? If they did do it, was it effective?
On September 1, 1972, the A's were leading the AL West Division over the second-place White Sox by 1.5 games, having moved back into first place two days before after spending five days in second place. Oakland was getting almost nothing at the bat from its second basemen: Tim Cullen was hitting .250, Ted Kubiak was at .199, and Dick Green, who had played very little due to a back injury, was hitting .267. On August 30, they traded a minor leaguer to the Cardinals for Dal Maxvill, a defensive specialist whose lifetime average, at the time, was .220. This is the event that Neyer mentions as marking the beginning of the A's experiment.
An examination of the box score shows that Neyer's account is not strictly correct. From September 1 through September 28, A's second basemen came to the plate 59 times and were pinch hit for 44 times. However, during the period from September 17 to September 28, second basemen came to the plate 15 times and were pinch hit for 23 times, so it seems that if Williams was using this strategy, he may have been using it consistently for only a relatively short period, and he was never as strict about it as Neyer implies. There was only one game in which the second basemen had no plate appearances and were pinch hit for every time up. After the 28th, the strategy was abandoned as the division had already been clinched.
The strategy was generally effective. From the 1st to the 28th, the pinch hitters hit .237 with a .326 on-base percentage and they, and their pinch runners, scored 5 runs. The second basemen hit .214 with a .237 OBP and scored 4 runs. Ironically, during the 11 days in which the strategy was employed most strictly, the second basemen out-hit the pinch hitters .286 to .158. The A's did win; they went 17-9 from September 1 to September 28, including 7-3 from the 17th to the 28th, and gained 4.5 games in the standings.
How about 1974? James is wrong about at least one thing: Alvin Dark was the A's manager in '74, not Dick Williams. If Dark did use this strategy, he must have done it only for a very short time. During the entire month of September, A's second basemen (who almost always batted ninth) had 82 plate appearences to their pinch hitters' 21. However, from September 15 through September 20, second basemen came up to the plate 9 times, and were replaced by pinch hitters on 10 occasions, so it's possible Dark used this strategy for about a week. In any case, it didn't work. During the entire month, the pinch hitters for A's second basemen batted .053 (1 for 19) with 2 walks. Second basemen themselves batted .122 with 5 walks.
-Rob Neyer, Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Lineups (New York: Fireside Books, 2003) 170.
Late in the 1974 season, Dick Williams decided that he had no second basemen, but lots of pinch hitters, so he began rotating five second basemen, pinch hitting whenever one of them came to bat.
-Bill James, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (New York: Free Press, 2001) 516.
Did the A's really do this? If so, did they do it in multiple seasons, or is either Neyer or his mentor James mistaken? If they did do it, was it effective?
On September 1, 1972, the A's were leading the AL West Division over the second-place White Sox by 1.5 games, having moved back into first place two days before after spending five days in second place. Oakland was getting almost nothing at the bat from its second basemen: Tim Cullen was hitting .250, Ted Kubiak was at .199, and Dick Green, who had played very little due to a back injury, was hitting .267. On August 30, they traded a minor leaguer to the Cardinals for Dal Maxvill, a defensive specialist whose lifetime average, at the time, was .220. This is the event that Neyer mentions as marking the beginning of the A's experiment.
An examination of the box score shows that Neyer's account is not strictly correct. From September 1 through September 28, A's second basemen came to the plate 59 times and were pinch hit for 44 times. However, during the period from September 17 to September 28, second basemen came to the plate 15 times and were pinch hit for 23 times, so it seems that if Williams was using this strategy, he may have been using it consistently for only a relatively short period, and he was never as strict about it as Neyer implies. There was only one game in which the second basemen had no plate appearances and were pinch hit for every time up. After the 28th, the strategy was abandoned as the division had already been clinched.
The strategy was generally effective. From the 1st to the 28th, the pinch hitters hit .237 with a .326 on-base percentage and they, and their pinch runners, scored 5 runs. The second basemen hit .214 with a .237 OBP and scored 4 runs. Ironically, during the 11 days in which the strategy was employed most strictly, the second basemen out-hit the pinch hitters .286 to .158. The A's did win; they went 17-9 from September 1 to September 28, including 7-3 from the 17th to the 28th, and gained 4.5 games in the standings.
How about 1974? James is wrong about at least one thing: Alvin Dark was the A's manager in '74, not Dick Williams. If Dark did use this strategy, he must have done it only for a very short time. During the entire month of September, A's second basemen (who almost always batted ninth) had 82 plate appearences to their pinch hitters' 21. However, from September 15 through September 20, second basemen came up to the plate 9 times, and were replaced by pinch hitters on 10 occasions, so it's possible Dark used this strategy for about a week. In any case, it didn't work. During the entire month, the pinch hitters for A's second basemen batted .053 (1 for 19) with 2 walks. Second basemen themselves batted .122 with 5 walks.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Obscure, But Not Forgotten
One of the favorite players of my childhood was Ivan DeJesus. DeJesus was a regular shotstop for both the Cubs and the Phillies for 8 years despite the fact that he was a weak hitter and not even particularly good with the glove (he gets a D+ in Bill James' defensive letter grades). However, his career has an unusual number of strange and interesting highlights and lowlights.
Signed out of Puerto Rico by the Dodgers in 1969, DeJesus reached the majors in 1974, playing a total of 88 games in '74, '75, and '76. In January 1977 he was included in a blockbuster trade, going to the Cubs along with Bill Buckner, in exchange for Rick Monday who had hit 32 home runs and scored 107 runs as the Cubs' leadoff hitter in '76.
Installed as the Cubs' regular shortstop in 1977, DeJesus became part of the team's "Latin Connection" with second baseman Manny Trillo. DeJesus hit .266 with 3 home runs and an adjusted OPS of 76 (meaning he was 76% as good as an average offensive player). Despite this, he scored 91 runs. The next year, DeJesus hiked his average to .278. He stole 41 bases, the most by a Cub since 1929. More importantly, despite the fact that the Cubs hit only 72 home runs, DeJesus scored 104 runs, leading the league. With an adjusted OPS of 90, he was one of the weakest offensive players ever to lead the league in runs scored.
DeJesus hit a career-high .283 in 1979 and scored 92 runs. In 1980, he stole a career-high 44 bases, but his average fell to .259. In a bizarre victory against the Cardinals in Chicago on April 22 (the final score was 16-12), DeJesus led off the bottom of the first with a home run. In the third he doubled and scored. He led off the fourth with a single, then hit an RBI triple in the fifth and hit another single in the 7th. Despite 13 home runs and a .359 slugging percentage at this point in his career, DeJesus now had a cycle and a 5-hit game on his resume.
In 1981, DeJesus had his worst season as a regular, but still managed to put his name in the trivia books. His final totals for that strike-ravaged season were 0 home runs, 13 RBI, and a .194 batting average. He finished last among NL batting championship qualifiers in all three categories, winning a "reverse" triple crown.
During the 1981 season, the Cubs were sold by the Wrigley family to the Tribune Co. Dallas Green, the ex-Phillies manager now running the Cubs' front office, was trying to revitalize the franchise and, unsurprisingly, considered DeJesus one of the expendable pieces. The Phillies were looking to replace thier aging shortstop, Larry Bowa, and believed that DeJesus could return to his 1978-1979 form. The two teams agreed to an exchange of shortstops, but to balance the eight-year difference in age between the two players, the Cubs demanded an additional player. When the trade was made on January 27, 1982, the Phillies threw in a minor-league shortstop whom nobody believed could play shortstop in the majors, but whom the Cubs intended to move to third base - Ryne Sandberg.
Reunited with his former "Latin Connection" partner, Manny Trillo, for a year, and then playing alongside the greatest second baseman in baseball history, Joe Morgan, DeJesus never really did regain the form of his best seasons, but was the Phillies' starting shortstop for three years. In 1983, with a team loaded with veteran stars on the downsides of their careers, the Phillies won a surprise NL pennant and DeJesus got a chance to play in a World Series. He hit .125 as the Phillies lost in 5 games.
His career quickly faded after that. After the 1984 season, he was included in a minor trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, who used him as a utility infielder in 1985. He got another chance to play in a World Series that fall, flying out as a pinch hitter in his only plate appearance. He played 7 games with the Yankees in '86, 9 games for the Giants in '87, and 7 games for the Tigers in '88. He played his final game in the majors on July 15, 1988.
Signed out of Puerto Rico by the Dodgers in 1969, DeJesus reached the majors in 1974, playing a total of 88 games in '74, '75, and '76. In January 1977 he was included in a blockbuster trade, going to the Cubs along with Bill Buckner, in exchange for Rick Monday who had hit 32 home runs and scored 107 runs as the Cubs' leadoff hitter in '76.
Installed as the Cubs' regular shortstop in 1977, DeJesus became part of the team's "Latin Connection" with second baseman Manny Trillo. DeJesus hit .266 with 3 home runs and an adjusted OPS of 76 (meaning he was 76% as good as an average offensive player). Despite this, he scored 91 runs. The next year, DeJesus hiked his average to .278. He stole 41 bases, the most by a Cub since 1929. More importantly, despite the fact that the Cubs hit only 72 home runs, DeJesus scored 104 runs, leading the league. With an adjusted OPS of 90, he was one of the weakest offensive players ever to lead the league in runs scored.
DeJesus hit a career-high .283 in 1979 and scored 92 runs. In 1980, he stole a career-high 44 bases, but his average fell to .259. In a bizarre victory against the Cardinals in Chicago on April 22 (the final score was 16-12), DeJesus led off the bottom of the first with a home run. In the third he doubled and scored. He led off the fourth with a single, then hit an RBI triple in the fifth and hit another single in the 7th. Despite 13 home runs and a .359 slugging percentage at this point in his career, DeJesus now had a cycle and a 5-hit game on his resume.
In 1981, DeJesus had his worst season as a regular, but still managed to put his name in the trivia books. His final totals for that strike-ravaged season were 0 home runs, 13 RBI, and a .194 batting average. He finished last among NL batting championship qualifiers in all three categories, winning a "reverse" triple crown.
During the 1981 season, the Cubs were sold by the Wrigley family to the Tribune Co. Dallas Green, the ex-Phillies manager now running the Cubs' front office, was trying to revitalize the franchise and, unsurprisingly, considered DeJesus one of the expendable pieces. The Phillies were looking to replace thier aging shortstop, Larry Bowa, and believed that DeJesus could return to his 1978-1979 form. The two teams agreed to an exchange of shortstops, but to balance the eight-year difference in age between the two players, the Cubs demanded an additional player. When the trade was made on January 27, 1982, the Phillies threw in a minor-league shortstop whom nobody believed could play shortstop in the majors, but whom the Cubs intended to move to third base - Ryne Sandberg.
Reunited with his former "Latin Connection" partner, Manny Trillo, for a year, and then playing alongside the greatest second baseman in baseball history, Joe Morgan, DeJesus never really did regain the form of his best seasons, but was the Phillies' starting shortstop for three years. In 1983, with a team loaded with veteran stars on the downsides of their careers, the Phillies won a surprise NL pennant and DeJesus got a chance to play in a World Series. He hit .125 as the Phillies lost in 5 games.
His career quickly faded after that. After the 1984 season, he was included in a minor trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, who used him as a utility infielder in 1985. He got another chance to play in a World Series that fall, flying out as a pinch hitter in his only plate appearance. He played 7 games with the Yankees in '86, 9 games for the Giants in '87, and 7 games for the Tigers in '88. He played his final game in the majors on July 15, 1988.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Kardiac Kids
Highest ERA's for 30-save seasons:
7.11 - Shawn Chacon, 2004 Col. NL, 35 saves
5.79 - Mike Henneman, 1996 Tex. AL, 31
5.28 - Brad Lidge, 2006 Hou. NL, 32
5.28 - Todd Worrell, 1997 L.A. NL, 35
5.14 - Dave Veres, 1999 Col. NL, 31
5.07 - Joe Borowski, 2007 Cle. AL, 45
4.98 - Jose Mesa, 1999 Sea. AL, 33
4.98 - Jeff Montgomery, 1998 K.C. AL, 36
4.80 - Billy Koch, 2001 Tor. AL, 36
4.72 - George Sherrill, Bal. AL, 31
7.11 - Shawn Chacon, 2004 Col. NL, 35 saves
5.79 - Mike Henneman, 1996 Tex. AL, 31
5.28 - Brad Lidge, 2006 Hou. NL, 32
5.28 - Todd Worrell, 1997 L.A. NL, 35
5.14 - Dave Veres, 1999 Col. NL, 31
5.07 - Joe Borowski, 2007 Cle. AL, 45
4.98 - Jose Mesa, 1999 Sea. AL, 33
4.98 - Jeff Montgomery, 1998 K.C. AL, 36
4.80 - Billy Koch, 2001 Tor. AL, 36
4.72 - George Sherrill, Bal. AL, 31
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Short But Sweet
Highest OPS (On-Base Percentage plus Slugging Percentage) in careers consisting of between 50 and 100 plate appearances (current players exculded):
.985 - Frank Ernaga, Chi. NL (1957-1958)
.955 - Ted Tappe, Cin. - Chi. NL (1950-1951, 1955)
.921 - Tom Hughes, Det. AL (1930)
.900 - Art Watson, Bal. - Buf. FL (1914-1915)
.888 - Johnnie Tyler, Bos. NL (1934-1935)
.872 - Red Dorman, Cle. AL (1928)
.870 - Kevin Rhomberg, Cle. AL (1982)
.870 - Joe Hall, Chi. - Det. AL (1994-1995, 1997)
.852 - Randy Asadoor, S.D. NL (1986)
.851 - Babe Ganzel, Was. AL (1927-1928)
.851 - Dave Rowan, St.L. AL (1911)
.985 - Frank Ernaga, Chi. NL (1957-1958)
.955 - Ted Tappe, Cin. - Chi. NL (1950-1951, 1955)
.921 - Tom Hughes, Det. AL (1930)
.900 - Art Watson, Bal. - Buf. FL (1914-1915)
.888 - Johnnie Tyler, Bos. NL (1934-1935)
.872 - Red Dorman, Cle. AL (1928)
.870 - Kevin Rhomberg, Cle. AL (1982)
.870 - Joe Hall, Chi. - Det. AL (1994-1995, 1997)
.852 - Randy Asadoor, S.D. NL (1986)
.851 - Babe Ganzel, Was. AL (1927-1928)
.851 - Dave Rowan, St.L. AL (1911)
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Campy's Great Game
"There was a game in 1966 that symbolized what he meant to the organization. Nobody else in the lineup got a hit; nobody else, as I recall, even reached based, but Campy went 4-for-4, stole several bases, and scored 4 runs. The A's won the game, I think 4-2 or 4-3.
-Bill James, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (New York: The Free Press, 2001) 609.
There are an unusual number of interesting footnotes to Bert Campaneris' career. He once played all 9 positions in a game. He hit 22 home runs in 1970; his career high in homers otherwise was 8. In 1977, he had 40 sacrifice hits, still the highest total in a season since 1929. And then there was the game above, which has to rank as one of the greatest singlehanded victories in recent baseball history. But how accurate is James' reminisence?
Campaneris had three games in 1966 in which he had 4 hits. In two of them, he also scored 4 runs. One of these games came on June 6 against Cleveland. Since the A's won 11-4, this probably is not the game James remembers. The other one comes close to matching James' memory. It was a game against the White Sox in Chicago on August 16. Batting leadoff, Campaneris singled in the first, was sacrificed to second, stole third, then scored on an error while Danny Cater was stealing second. In the third, he tripled, then scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth, he singled and came all the way around to score on an error by the pitcher. In the eigth, he singled, stole second, then went to third and scored on consecutive passed balls. The final scored was 4-2.
This game doesn't match James' memory in every respect. Besides Campy's 4 hits, the A's got two singles and a walk, but they had nothing to do with the scoring. Obviously Campaneris got some help from the Sox, but he was creating some major havoc on the basepaths. It's probably not too inaccurate to say he won this game singlehandedly, a pretty rare occurance (at least for a non-pitcher) in Major League Baseball.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Laboring in Vain
Fewest Wins in 200 or more innings pitched, 1901-2008
1-Jack Nabors, Phi. AL 1916
2-Joe Harris, Bos. AL 1906
3-Jerry Koosman, NY NL 1978
3-Don Larsen, Bal. AL 1954
3-Kaiser Wilhelm, Bos. NL 1905
4-Ryan Franklin, Sea. AL 2004
4-Tanyon Sturtze, TB AL 2002
4-Ben Cantwell, Bos. NL 1935
4-George Smith, Phi. NL 1921
4-Jim Pastorius, Bro. NL 1908
1-Jack Nabors, Phi. AL 1916
2-Joe Harris, Bos. AL 1906
3-Jerry Koosman, NY NL 1978
3-Don Larsen, Bal. AL 1954
3-Kaiser Wilhelm, Bos. NL 1905
4-Ryan Franklin, Sea. AL 2004
4-Tanyon Sturtze, TB AL 2002
4-Ben Cantwell, Bos. NL 1935
4-George Smith, Phi. NL 1921
4-Jim Pastorius, Bro. NL 1908
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