Author Archives: Andy

More complete games than wins?! (It’s not only possible–it used to be commonplace)

Bob Gibson finished his career with 255 complete games and 251 wins / Icon SMI

Back in the old days of baseball, pitchers complete most games that they started. In 1904, for example, 88% of games started ended up as complete games. That means that lots of pitchers registered plenty of complete game losses.

As a result, there are lost of pitchers who ended up with more career complete games than wins (thanks to all those complete games losses.) Continue reading

30 years ago today, the San Diego Padres were robbed

On February 11, 1982, the St. Louis Cardinals sent Garry Templeton to the San Diego Padres for Ozzie Smith.

Smith became a key member of the Cardinals right away,  as they went on to win the World Series that year. From 1982 on, Smith posted 39.7 oWAR and 18.6 dWAR with the Cardinals, good for a total of 58.3 Wins Above Replacement in St. Louis.

Templeton, meanwhile, played 10 seasons with the Padres and totaled 8.4 oWAR and 0.2 dWAR. San Diego then traded Templeton to the Mets for Tim Teufel, who gave them 2.5 oWAR and -0.5 dWAR in 3 seasons.

Ozzie Smith, Jennie Finch, and Gary Carter / Icon SMI

Enjoy Visiting the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the most highly visited tourist attraction in Beijing, China. It’s the symbol of China, because anytime you see the image of the Great Wall, then you definitely realize that image has something to do with China.

The Great Wall is recently added to the one out of the twenty one finalists operating for that New Seven Wonders of the World to get determined in July 2007. I firmly believe that the Fantastic Wall of China would make it to this checklist, as this monument is deemed to become one of the most appealing sights all over the world because of its architectural and historical significance.

Enlisted in the World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1987, the Great Wall winds up and down stretching across hills, lowlands, deserts and plateaus extending from the eastern border of China to its western border; having a history of about 2500 years ago to the time of the Warring Period, the Great Wall has served China a great goal regarding defense in the ancient time and it is really now one of Chinas most booming tourist destinations.

The historical past of the Great Wall of China displays how history, culture, defense and political administration are intertwined to finally bring out a site which now serves for entertainment and leisure purposes.

Since the Great Wall stretches across various provinces, the identical goes for the very best time to visit website; the scenery from across the wall in various seasons is different and allows you to determine the amazing and huge landscape of China. In spring time, all the plants and trees are lush green with gorgeous displays of the wall looking fresh in bright green colors. Spring time is constantly the best time for you to visit the Great Wall because the wall isn’t constantly crowded with travelers.

In summer and autumn, the flowers and plants are more blooming than other intervals of the year and a view from over tends to make the wall look like an extended silver necklace. This time is always the best time for you to climb the Great Wall.

Fall is also a terrific time to pay a visit to the Wall since the peaks and hilltops are displayed in colors making an incredible and excellent view.

Winter which can be generally the most effective time to view the entire length of the wall turns the landmark to snowy frosted scenery. Most tourists usually do not wish to go to at this time simply because of the bitter winter cold.

To travel and see the stunning landscapes on the Great Wall of China, you have to climb it from the most accessible section. One of the most common sections of the Great Wall for visitors are at the Simatai sections, Badaling sections and the Mutianyu section. These sections have all played their roles during the construction and destruction of the Great Wall of China during the revolution.

The Simatai section, northeast of Beijing is the quiet section of the wall which is still preserved the way in which it was since hundreds of years ago; this is the reason why it is good to take a long quiet stroll on this area.

The Badaling section of the Great Wall was the very first section to be opened to travelers and locals; this is why a lot of vacationers come to this component of the wall.

The Mutianyu section will be the furthest section of the Fantastic Wall; this region is the greatest area of the Great Wall that is still getting preserved and has a reduced number of visitors due to the distance.

Several travelers from around the world are eager to go to and climb the Great Wall of China. For foreign visitors interested in this travel project, it’s ideal to seek out the solutions of the trustworthy tour operator in China to help you make the arrangements. You can find a broad number of package tours designed to fit your Great Wall of China Tour and making it a memorable one.

Danny Clyburn homered off some great pitchers

Former major-leaguer Danny Clyburn, who sadly died yesterday, hit only 4 major-league homers, but he hit them off some really good pitchers:

1998 HRs Date @Bat Pitcher Score Inn Out Pit(cnt) RBI WPA Play Description
1 1998-09-25 BAL @ BOS Tim Wakefield behind 0-4 t 4 2 5,(1-2)  1 0.055 Home Run (Line Drive to Deep LF Line)
1999 HRs Date @Bat Pitcher Score Inn Out Pit(cnt) RBI WPA Play Description
2 1999-04-11 TBD BOS Derek Lowe tied 4-4 b 8 2 3,(1-1)  1 0.298 Home Run (Fly Ball)
3 1999-04-17 TBD @ BOS Mark Portugal behind 0-4 t 4 1 1,(0-0)  1 0.059 Home Run (Line Drive)
4 1999-05-08 TBD @ CLE Mark Langston ahead 5-2 t 5 0 2,(1-0)  1 0.063 Home Run (Fly Ball)
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/8/2012.

Three of his four homers came against the Red Sox, and all 4 pitchers were good.

Craig Biggio – now THAT’S a Hall of Famer

Craig Biggio gets emotional before his final major-league at bat in 2007 / Icon SMI

Our recent discussion about Lou Brock a couple of questions about comparisons with Craig Biggio, who himself will be eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time coming up soon. In short, there really is no comparison.

At first glance, Brock and Biggio have a number of similarities:

  • They both hit leadoff a lot in their careers
  • 3000 hits thanks in part to a long career
  • lots of speed & stolen bases
  • lots of doubles
    negative defensive contribution
  • OPS+ of about 110

After that high-level view, though, Biggio really separates himself from Brock (and most other players) when you dig into the details. Continue reading