The indispensable Play Index tool at Baseball-Reference.com has recently been updated to include game log data for the 1913 season.
After the jump, I’ll look at a few of the more unusual game feats from that season.
Google translates “arenado” as Spanish for “sandblasted”. Leaving aside the sand, Rockie third baseman Nolan Arenado had a breakout year in 2015, recording one of the more impressive under-the-radar seasons in recent memory, leading the NL with 42 big blasts, and leading the majors with 130 RBI and 354 total bases.
More after the jump.
Our project at High Heat Stats to elect our version of the Hall of Fame has completed (for now) after 121 rounds of balloting, and 121 players elected to the Circle of Greats (COG). This matches the number of Hall of Fame (HOF) members elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). As the BBWAA elects additional members in future years, the intention is to resume COG balloting at those times to maintain a matching number of honorees.
This post provides analysis of HOF and COG selections, identifying where our voters agreed with the BBWAA and where we differed. I’ve also provided comparison to Adam Darowski‘s Hall of Stats to see the similarities and differences between Adam’s selections and the HOF and COG honorees.
More after the jump.
Tony Phillips died last week of a heart attack, aged only 56. Phillips exceeded 50 WAR in an 18 year career played primarily with the Athletics and Tigers. One of the most versatile players in major league history, Phillips started his career as a shortstop but ended up playing over 400 games at 2B, 3B and LF.
More on Phillips after the jump. Continue reading
The players in this quiz share the distinction of posting the only qualified seasons since 1961 with a certain batting accomplishment. What is it?
| Rk | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Ausmus |
| 2 | Royce Clayton |
| 3 | Tony Pena |
| 4 | Ted Simmons |
| 5 | John Wathan |
| 6 | Marty Perez |
| 7 | John Bateman |
Hint #1: only one of these players posted such a season before age 30
Hint #2: no outfielder since 1871 has posted such a season
Congratulations to Richard Chester! He correctly identified that only these players have a qualified season since 1961 with times grounded into double plays exceeding 15% of their total bases. Ouch! More on these forgettable seasons after the jump.
The Cubs were probably last season’s biggest surprise with 97 wins from a lineup heavy on young position players and experienced pitching. Looking to win 90 games again (a repeat Chicago last accomplished when Al Capone was the city’s most prominent citizen), Chicago has made some nice off-season moves that augur well for keeping the Northsiders at or near the top of the NL Central.
More after the jump.
2015 NL RoY Kris Bryant makes this list of modern batters who were not shy about taking their cuts. What is the unusual seasonal batting feat that only these players have achieved since 1901?
| Rk | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Hernandez |
| 2 | Austin Jackson |
| 3 | Kris Bryant |
| 4 | Rick Monday |
| 5 | Mike Napoli |
| 6 | Mark Bellhorn |
| 7 | Jack Cust |
| 8 | Gary Pettis |
| 9 | Ben Grieve |
| 10 | Anthony Gose |
Our readers zeroed in on BABIP as part of the quiz answer, but didn’t get that only these players had a qualified season since 1901 with a .350 BABIP that was one-third higher than their overall batting average. Those seasons are after the jump.
Continue reading
This post is for voting and discussion in the 121st round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This is the second of two rounds of balloting that will bring the Circle of Greats membership to a total of 121, matching the current members of the Hall of Fame elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) in regular (116) or run-off (3) elections, plus the two members (Lou Gehrig, Roberto Clemente) enshrined by special election. This will be the final round of COG balloting until the next Hall of Fame members are elected by the BBWAA. Rules and lists are after the jump.
Or maybe it’s Chris is Ruth. In fact, if your name is (or sounds like) Chris, you can put up some Ruthian OPS scores when you put the first pitch in play, as shown by this list.
| Rk | Player | OPStot | Diff | PA | PAtot | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | GDP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Davis | 1.554 | .923 | .631 | 74 | 670 | 74 | 36 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 23 | .486 | .486 | 1.068 | 79 | 1 |
| 2 | Khris Davis | 1.504 | .828 | .676 | 46 | 440 | 44 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 23 | .409 | .413 | 1.091 | 48 | 3 |
| 3 | Kris Bryant | 1.466 | .858 | .608 | 75 | 650 | 72 | 36 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 26 | .500 | .493 | .972 | 70 | 2 |
Those are the top 3 OPS scores from 2015 when putting the first pitch in play, based on a minimum 400 total PA and 40 first pitches put in play.
More after the jump.
This post is for voting and discussion in the 120th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This is the first of two rounds of balloting that will bring the Circle of Greats membership to a total of 121, matching the current members of the Hall of Fame elected by the Baseball Writers of America in regular (116) or run-off (3) elections, plus the two members (Lou Gehrig, Roberto Clemente) enshrined by special election. Rules and lists are after the jump.