Yesterday, an HHS reader asked Andy this question:

“Is it possible to determine the greatest triples hitter in history, factoring in era/park, etc.? Wild guess is Willie Wilson.”

Andy passed it on to me, and because the reader is Josh Wilker, author of Cardboard Gods, perhaps my favorite baseball book of the last decade, I thought I’d take a stab at answering the question.  With an assist from @Braves_Paul, I attempted to create Triples+, a metric comparing a player’s seasonal triples total to the league average and adjusting for park factors.

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@Cubs 7, Reds 3 — Jake Arrieta’s six perfect innings ended when he just missed gloving Billy Hamilton’s grounder. Two hits with two outs halved his 4-0 lead, but Arrieta rose to the challenge with his 9th strikeout, getting Ryan Ludwick as the tying run. Rick Renteria ran through four arms in five batters to hold Cincy at bay in the 8th, and Joey Votto’s whiff of leather widened the lead. Anthony Rizzo’s 3 hits and 17th home run led Chicago, which got just three other knocks.

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This post is for voting and discussion in the 62nd round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This round adds to the ballot those players born in 1921.  Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

The right time, the right place and the left arm combined to place Sandy Koufax among the most famous and popular baseball players ever. High Heat Stats voters were a bit skeptical, but he’s now been elected, in his 19th round on the ballot, as the 61st inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats. More on Sandy and the voting, after the jump. Continue reading →

The players in this quiz are the only live ball era pitchers with an unusual game accomplishment. What is it?

Congratulations to RJ! He knew that these pitchers didn’t finish their careers until after they had stroked their first career extra-base hit, at age 40 or older. Those career first games are after the jump.

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Red Sox 7, @Athletics 6 (10 inn.) — As I said, Jon Lester is off to his best start ever. Clearly. (Now, pardon me while I bow towards Buster Olney.)

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Some called it “Comeback Friday” — but the best dramatic finish was a rally that fell short.

@Marlins 3, Mets 2 — Voice of the Marlins on Marcell Ozuna’s late heroics: “The best arm out of the bullpen tonight was the left fielder!” Twice in the last two innings, Ozuna nailed the would-be tying run at home with pegs as pretty as a picture.

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@Dodgers 8, Rockies 0 — Clayton Kershaw had all his breaking pitches dancing to their master’s tune. The perfecto died on Hanley’s throwing error in the 7th, but two whiffs and a nice play by Miguel Rojas, deep behind third base, kept the no-no going. Two more strikeouts in the 8th made fourteen, a new career high, and seven of the last ten Rockies.

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As we remember Tony, here’s a quiz that highlights his remarkable talents, sharing with only these elite players a certain batting feat. What is this most unusual career accomplishment?

1. Barry Bonds
2. Jose Canseco
3. Will Clark
4. Tony Gwynn
5. Chipper Jones
6. Mickey Mantle
7. Johnny Mize
8. Stan Musial
9. Frank Robinson
10. Ted Williams

Congratulations to BryanM (mostly) and to RJ! They teamed up to identify that only these players have never had a season with OPS+ below 100 in a 15 year or longer career. Thanks also to Richard Chester for the idea for this quiz. More on 100 OPS+ seasons after the jump.

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Philly 6, @Atlanta 1 (13 inn.) — Atlanta rallied to force extras, but Freddie Freeman flubbed a DP ball, and the floodgates fell open. After Ryan Howard soloed in the 2nd, Cole Hamels and the Phils nursed that 1-0 lead to the 9th. But the weight of history was against them:

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