Hey, gang — I’ve been tied up for a bit, getting my house ready to sell … Here’s some scattered game notes from recent weeks:

Thursday, Sept. 11 — After falling to Chris Sale by 1-0, Oakland’s latest 2-7 stretch includes seven one-run defeats … I don’t know if I can add anything to the “what happened?” analysis, better known as “how much do they miss Cespedes?” But I looked into their batting splits before and after the trade, with a focus on high-leverage situations — searching for signs of pressing.

Continue reading →

Would the Yankees have made the playoffs this season without Derek Jeter?

Let’s start with a disclaimer.  The following words are by no means a judgment of the Yankees’ decision to keep Jeter on the roster in 2014.  That wasn’t really a decision, and even if it were, there’s a justification for letting a legend have one last lap around the league.  If you would rather not read about how bad Jeter has been this season, don’t click below to read more. Continue reading →

What is the career accomplishment that is shared only by these players since 1901?

Hint: Jackie Robinson is the one HOFer who almost made this list

Congratulations to Artie Z.! He knew that these players always came up roses because they never came up short. Or, rather, as shortstop. The quiz players are part of a larger group of 63 players who all played 250+ games at both 2nd base and 3rd base since 1901, but only these seven never played a game at shortstop. Included in the larger group are 3 HOFers – Jackie Robinson who played shortstop once, and Paul Molitor and Frankie Frisch who both did so 50+ times. More after the jump.

Continue reading →

This post is for voting and discussion in the 70th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This round adds to the ballot those players born in 1915. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

Despite a nickname unlikely to be seen again in the major leagues anytime soon, Pee Wee Reese edged Kenny Lofton in this past week’s voting to win election as the 69th inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats. More on Reese and the voting after the jump. Continue reading →

These are the only pitchers of the past 30 seasons (since 1985) with an unusual single game accomplishment. What is it?

Hint: there is a career context for this single game feat

Looks like I have another stumper! Voomo Zanzibar zeroed in on the main point straight off, that all of these pitchers have recorded an unlikely shutout with zero strikeouts. The extra wrinkle that eluded our readers was that each did so in the first whiff-less CG of his career. More after the jump.
Continue reading →

Yankee rookie Dellin Betances is having a season so far that puts him in the company of some of baseball’s all-time great relievers. What seasonal pitching feat has been achieved only by these players?

Hint: Betances will need to continue his strong performance the rest of the season to remain with this group.

Looks like I’ve stumped the panel on this one. The answer is that these are the only right-handed pitchers since 1901 to have a season with 80% of appearances in relief, 75+ IP and a ratio of ERA+ to WHIP exceeding 300. Betances’s ratio is currently at 347 times WHIP, so he has a good chance to still be on this list at season’s end. If he does, he will likely have the highest IP total for such a season (lefty or righty) since Bruce Sutter in 1977. More after the jump.

Continue reading →

A common and legitimate criticism of using RBI as a measure of a hitter’s effectiveness is that RBI are opportunity-based and, therefore, good RBI totals may simply be an indicator of more RBI opportunities. To address this limitation in raw RBI totals, this post looks at players who are most proficient in driving in runs when they are presented with that opportunity (namely, when runners are in scoring position).

Using this approach, Albert Pujols, Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez emerge as the most proficient expansion era run producers with RISP, with Frank Thomas just a hair behind.

My thanks to regular HHS contributor Richard Chester for suggesting the idea for this post. More after the jump.

Continue reading →

Monday’s home teams went 2-8. That’s no big deal, but the MLB home win percentage is .520 this year, the lowest full-season mark since 1971. The past 10 years averaged .542 –a two-win difference over 81 games, compared to this year’s figure. Seven of the top 12 teams by overall W% have a better record on the road, including three division leaders.

Continue reading →

It took 59 rounds of voting to elect the great Cubs second baseman (to go along with the great Cubs shortstop/first baseman and the great Cubs third baseman previously elected), but in a closely contested round, Ryne Sandberg was chosen as the 68th inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats. More on Sandberg and the voting after the jump. Continue reading →