The 122nd season of the modern era is underway. This post takes a look at opening day games of the past, and some of the more memorable accomplishments in those games.
Continue readingOpening Day Superlatives
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Author Archives: Doug
Circle of Greats 1977 Run-Off: Beltran vs. Halladay
There was a tie vote in the Circle of Greats 1977 Balloting, so we will have a run-off election between the two tied players, Carlos Beltran and Roy Halladay. More after the jump.
| Seasons | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | TB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Beltran | 1998-2017 | 2586 | 11031 | 9768 | 1582 | 2725 | 565 | 78 | 435 | 1587 | 312 | 49 | 1084 | 1795 | .279 | .350 | .486 | .837 | 119 | 4751 |
| per 162 games | 162 | 691 | 612 | 99 | 171 | 35 | 5 | 27 | 99 | 20 | 3 | 68 | 112 | .279 | .350 | .486 | .837 | 119 | 298 |
| Seasons | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | IP | BB | SO | ERA+ | FIP | WHIP | H9 | HR9 | BB9 | SO9 | SO/W | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roy Halladay | 1998-2013 | 203 | 105 | .659 | 3.38 | 416 | 390 | 67 | 20 | 2749.1 | 592 | 2117 | 131 | 3.39 | 1.178 | 8.7 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 6.9 | 3.58 |
| per 162 games | 17 | 9 | .659 | 3.38 | 35 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 232 | 50 | 179 | 131 | 3.39 | 1.178 | 8.7 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 6.9 | 3.58 |
Circle of Greats 1977 Balloting
This post is for voting and discussion in the 136th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This round of balloting adds to the list of candidates eligible to receive your votes those players born in 1977. Rules and lists are after the jump.
Continue readingOne Brief Shining Moment
The careers of most major league players are brief and unremarkable. Of 15,403 retired players who debuted since 1901, only 5,102 (33%) posted careers of 200 or more games, and just 2,745 (18%) managed 500 contests. Yet, even among the other 82% of players can be found those who showed promise of becoming successful major leaguers in extended careers, promise that, for one reason or another, went unfulfilled. It is to those players that this post is dedicated. More after the jump.
Continue reading2021 Major League Debuts
Over 200 players made their major league debuts this season. A few will go on to enjoy success over long careers, but most will have careers memorable only for their friends and family members. Following are some notable career debuts, some never before seen in the major leagues.
Continue readingWild Card Wackiness and Post-Season Musings
One game to go on the schedule, and the contestants for both wild card games are still to be determined. The only certainty is the St. Louis Cardinals will be the visiting team in the NL contest. All the combinations and permutations are after the jump.
Continue readingMiggy Joins 500 HR Club
Tiger great Miguel Cabrera launched his 500th HR on Sunday, connecting off Blue Jay left-hander Steven Matz, the 346th pitcher to allow a Cabrera regular season blast. Miggy becomes just the 9th player in the 500 HR club to maintain a career .300 batting average. More after the jump.
Continue readingThe Incredible Shrinking Pitching Start
With the advent of “openers”, “bullpen days”, and avoidance of the dreaded “third time through the order”, recent seasons have seen a quickening of the already rapid decline in the average length of a pitcher’s start. Perhaps, though, there is reason to surmise that starts may begin lengthening soon. Find out why after the jump.
Continue readingAlmost Perfect: John Means no-hits the Mariners UPDATED AGAIN
Oriole left-hander John Means no-hit the Mariners, facing the minimum 27 batters, with the only baserunner reaching on a strikeout on a wild pitch (he was erased attempting to steal). An “imperfect” complete game, with 9 IP, exactly 27 batters faced, and no hits, walks or hit batsmen, had been achieved only once previously, by Terry Mulholland for the Phillies against the Giants on August 15th, 1990, with the only batter reaching on an error and erased by a double play. More after the jump.
Continue reading200 Game Batteries UPDATED
With Baseball-Reference.com gamelogs now mostly complete back to 1901, I’ve gone back to look at posts published previously, when there were no game level data prior to 1914. This post was originally published in 2016, but in its reprised version, nine new batteries with 200 starts together are identified (there was a lot more matching of catchers to elite pitchers in the early years of the modern era). More on long-term batteries is after the jump.
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