After several rounds in which holdovers were widely preferred to candidates from each new birth-year class, the 1926 birth-year class produced two very popular candidates, including Robin Roberts, who becomes the 55th inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats.  More on Robin and the voting after the jump. Continue reading →

This post is for voting and discussion in the 55th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This round adds to the ballot those players born in 1926.  Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

For the fourth round in a row, an infielder has edged out Juan Marichal and Sandy Koufax.  This time Ernie Banks, who played more games for the Cubs franchise than anyone else, earned induction into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats, as our 54th inductee.  More on Banks and the voting after the jump. Continue reading →

This post is for voting and discussion in the 54th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This round adds to the ballot those players born in 1927.  Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

Last round it was AL second baseman Lou Whitaker nudging out 1960s NL pitching star Sandy Koufax to win induction. This round it was AL second baseman Bobby Grich nudging out 1960s NL pitching star Juan Marichal to win induction. Grich becomes the 53rd member of the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats.   More on Bobby and the voting after the jump. Continue reading →

With a strong start out of the gate from their pitching staff, overcoming a series of major injuries from expected contributors, the Atlanta Braves have tied the Yankees at the top of the regular season standings for the period 2010-2014. Through the first five games of the season, Braves starters have a 1.42 ERA, showing up the team’s relievers, who are all the way back at a 1.46 ERA.

Top 5 Cumulative Regular Season Win-Loss Records, 2010 Through April 4, 2014:

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This post is for voting and discussion in the 53rd round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This round complete the addition of those players born in 1928.  Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

Appearing on his fortieth, and now final, High Heat Stats Circle of Greats ballot, Lou Whitaker at last joins his longtime double-play partner, Alan Trammell, in the Circle of Greats as our 52nd inductee.  Whitaker edged out Sandy Koufax by a mere two votes.  More on Lou and the voting after the jump. Continue reading →

The Yankees opened their 1956 season on the road, at Griffith Park against the old Senators (now Twins).  Mickey Mantle had two home runs that day, but Yogi Berra, batting immediately after Mantle in the lineup, managed to rack up five RBIs anyway, posting the highest RE24 of any hitter in the majors in an Opening Day game during the 1950s. Yankees/Senators 4/17/1956

RE24, you may recollect if you are regular High Heat Stats reader, is a measure of how much the result of a hitter’s plate appearance increased (or reduced) his team’s run-scoring chances in that inning.  With a man on second and one out, the average number of runs scored in the rest of the inning will be about 0.72.  With a man on second and two outs, that number drops to about 0.35, so a hitter who strikes out with a man on second and one out is given an RE24, for that PA, of -0.37.  But if instead he singles and the man on second scores, the team’s run scoring expectation has increased to the one run that actually did score plus the 0.29 that will score on average given the new base-out condition of one out and no men on.  So the hitter gets an RE24 credit, for his RBI single, of 1.29 minus 0.72, or .57.  More on Opening Day RE24s after the jump.   Continue reading →

Paul Goldschmidt had the longest active hitting streak in the majors going when the regular season ended last year. His streak stood at 19 games in a row with at least one hit.  In Australia, Goldy picked up right where he left off, getting not just one but two hits in each of the first two games of the 2014 season.  That brings his on-going hit streak to 21 games. More numbers inspired these facts are after the jump. Continue reading →