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?
| Rk | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Porcello |
| 2 | Scott Erickson |
| 3 | Jim Bullinger |
| 4 | Roger Bailey |
| 5 | Zane Smith |
| 6 | Jeff Ballard |
| 7 | Brian Holman |
| 8 | Tom Glavine |
| 9 | Neil Allen |
| 10 | Walt Terrell |
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?
| Rk | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Gagne |
| 2 | Dellin Betances |
| 3 | Rafael Betancourt |
| 4 | Bruce Sutter |
| 5 | Mariano Rivera |
| 6 | Rollie Fingers |
| 7 | Tim Burke |
| 8 | Ted Abernathy |
| 9 | John Wetteland |
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.
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.
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.
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
This post is for voting and discussion in the 69th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This round completes the addition to the ballot those players born in 1916. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading
Continuing from an earlier post on the NL, here are some statistical oddities to watch for as the 2014 season winds down.
Betcha didn’t know that …
Game Notes is running on fumes … passed our innings limit … can’t find that sharp-biting slider. But here’s what we’ve got; hit it if you can!
As the season rounds the quarter pole and heads into the stretch drive, here’s a compilation of some of this season’s statistical oddities.
Betcha didn’t know that …