Quiz – Pitching Pairs

Below are matched pairs of pitchers. What feat connects each of these pairs of pitchers?

Pitcher 1	Pitcher 2
David Wells	Tim Wakefield
Dave Stieb	Rick Mahler
Frank Viola	Mike Smithson
Mike Torrez	Vida Blue
Wilbur Wood	Joe Coleman
Claude Passeau	Wayne LaMaster
Monte Pearson	Bobo Newsom
Rube Walberg	Charlie Root

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/22/2012.

Congratulations to Cubbies and Ed! They identified that, since 1922, these are the only pairs of pitchers who, in the same season, recorded fewer strikeouts than runs allowed, with a minimum of 125 strikeouts. Here are those seasons, and the pitchers’ stat lines.

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Josh

12 years ago

They were the only pairs to lose every game for their team in a postseason series?

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to Josh

Not what I was looking for.

If it’s true, please provide the details. 🙂

Josh

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

It looked like each pair were teammates at one point, so I started with Wells/Wakefield. Didnt check the others…I was taking a wild stab.

bstar

12 years ago

A comment and a question, Doug. First: Isn’t it amazing how many of these quizzes invoke the name of Bobo Newsom? The man is/was everywhere!

Question: Are these feats related to a single-season stat or a single-game stat?

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to bstar

Bobo was quite a pitcher – gave you a little bit of everything, good and bad.

Single-season stats.

bstar

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

Yes, his career W-L record is very similar to Charlie Hough, at 216-216 (Bobo was 219-220). Unlike Hough, though, as you said Bobo was more dynamic and up and down.

vivaeljason

12 years ago

Reply to bstar

Newsom was 211-222, actually.

John Nacca

12 years ago

Reply to bstar

Hough is actually Newsom’s top sim score at 895….

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to John Nacca

As sim scores go, 895 is not particularly high. Another indicator of Newsom’s one-of-a-kind quality.

vivaeljason

12 years ago

Reply to bstar

You notice Newsom’s always here?
It’s because he talks himself in.

John B

12 years ago

Man, this is a stumper.

I’m focuses in on W/L and ERA…seeing a lot of big win and big loss totals from all pitchers. That’s about it though, nothing sweeping.

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to John B

That’s not it.

vivaeljason

12 years ago

Question: Was this something that happened when the two pitchers faced each other or was it just something that happened to both in the same season (or even in different seasons)?

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to vivaeljason

Entire season stats. No requirement for pitchers to have faced each other.

Tristram12

12 years ago

Really difficult. Has to have something to with volume/innings. LaMaster only pitched two years and that’s really all has is volume. From the list there is a lot of black ink for IP, losses, hbp… Not sure where to go next.

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to Tristram12

Yes, Tristram, LeMaster is the key. Something unusual about his one qualifying season.

Hint: it involves the relationship between two of the counting stats on his season stat line.

John Nacca

12 years ago

Is it related to games started?

12 years ago

Hmmm….In 1937 Passeau and LaMaster both pitcher in 50 games and both struck out 135 batters. Hardly seems particularly interesting/unique.

cubbies

12 years ago

more runs given up than strikeouts in a season?

Voomo Zanzibar

12 years ago

Reply to cubbies

That looks like it.

John Nacca

12 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

If it is it, and it sure looks like it, THAT was a darned hard quiz!

John Nacca

12 years ago

Reply to John Nacca

Gotta be, qualifying pitchers who gave up more total runs then K’s, at least 100 of both

12 years ago

Reply to John Nacca

Plus they were teammates. That’s the other part of the puzzle.

cubbies

12 years ago

Reply to John Nacca

some of them were teamates by coincidence, but not all of them.

12 years ago

Reply to John Nacca

You’re right. Which means we haven’t found the answer or there’s a problem with the quiz. Check out Vern Kennedy and George Caster. In 1937 they both meet the criteria of “qualifying pitchers who gave up more total runs then K’s, at least 100 of both”. And Caster and Passeau both did it in ’38.

cubbies

12 years ago

lemaster and passeau in 37
stieb and mahler in 86
wood and coleman in 75
wells and wakefield in 96
viola and smithson in 85
torrez and blue in 79
pearson and newsom in 34
walberg and root in 27

hey…i think im onto something…

cubbies

12 years ago

oh, and im pretty sure they all had over 100 in both categories too, if it matters. i might be wrong about that part though, i just closed all of the tabs and am too lazy to recheck.

Mort

12 years ago

Pitch more than 200 innings while giving up more hits than innings?

Ray Sanchez

12 years ago

Reply to Mort

I like this idea

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Cubbies (#19 and #20) has it, except for the the threshold. John Nacca’s threshold (#24) is not right.

Look again at the totals for the seasons in #20 – that will tell you the threshold.

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

Looking through all the pairs, the lowest K/R number I see is 125. Is that the threshold?

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to Ed

Bingo. I’m giving it to cubbies, with a nod to you, Ed, on clarifying the threshold.

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

Thanks though I think I deserve 1-2% of the credit at best. Cubbies did the heavy lifting on this one!

Ray Sanchez

12 years ago

Does it has anything to do with earned runs? Because they all gave up more runs than strikeouts but less earned runs than strikeouts

Editor

John Autin

12 years ago

Reply to Ray Sanchez

Not so, Ray. Passeau ’37 had more ER than SO.

richard chester

12 years ago

Doug: While we’re at it were Wilbur Cooper, Bob Shawkey and Urban Shocker the pitchers from 1921?

Doug

12 years ago

That,s right, Richard. All of the seasons since 1901 are identified in the link I added to the post. This was more common in the dead ball era.