Whitey Ford may have been the most avidly discussed candidate we’ve had in the Circle of Greats voting, but he has ultimately prevailed, in his 25th round on the COG eligible list. Ford becomes the 76th inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats.  More on Whitey, and the voting, after the jump. Continue reading →

There may be no major league games for a while, but at least there is the COG. This post is for voting and discussion in the 76th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This round begins to add to the ballot those players born in 1910. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

There may be no Hall of Famer who lost a higher percentage of his potential career value as a result of World War II than Hank Greenberg. But COG voters did not let Greenberg’s lost baseball years stand in the way of making him a quick, clear choice as the 76th player inducted into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats. More on Hank, and the voting, after the jump. Continue reading →

This post is for voting and discussion in the 75th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This round adds players born in 1911 to the list of eligible candidates. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

For the second round in a row, Circle of Greats voters wasted no time inducting a player who the baseball writers voting on Hall of Fame candidates had egregiously overlooked. Following the example of Johnny Mize last round, Arky Vaughan had no problem gathering well more than enough support to become, in his first round of eligibility, the 74th inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats. More on Arkansas native Joseph Floyd Vaughan, and the voting, after the jump. Continue reading →

This post is for voting and discussion in the 74th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This round adds players born in 1912 to the list of eligible candidates. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

Johnny Mize was not inducted into the Hall of Fame by the primary route of election by the Baseball Writers’ Association. Instead, he had to wait for induction into the Hall of Fame by the secondary method of a Veterans Committee. Mize’s case has long been recognized as one of the biggest oversights by the baseball writers’ Hall of Fame voting process. No oversight in our voting process however, as Mize easily becomes, in his first round of eligibility, the 73rd inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats. More on The Big Cat, and the voting, after the jump. Continue reading →

The previous record for most post-season innings pitched by a staff in one game, while allowing no more than one run, was 14 innings, in the famous Game 2 of the 1916 World Series. As many HHS readers will know, the “pitching staff” that held that record was 21-year-old Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox, who restrained Brooklyn to one run (an inside-the-park-homer in the first inning) over fourteen innings. Ruth also drove in the only run the Red Sox scored until they finally recorded the game-winner in the bottom of the 14th off Brooklyn starter Sherry Smith (Bio). Continue reading →

Four post-season games today, after two yesterday, and the weekend’s just beginning. Here’s your chance to comment on the autumn harvest-time activities. A few tidbits to start you off:

–So far as I can tell, no team has ever won three post-season extra-inning games in a row before. Here’s your chance, KC.

–Until the Tigers did it last night, no AL team in 2014 had hit three homers in a game in which they scored only three runs.

–The Orioles franchise has now had, after the early game today, five games in the post-season in which their starter has produced a game score of less than 35. The O’s are now 4-1 in those five games.

This post is for voting and discussion in the 73rd round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This round completes the addition to the eligible list, begun in the previous round, of those players born in 1913. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →