Canonical Record of Batting Lines – 1918-2011 (Part 3 – The Two ABs)

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Diane

We’re up to the “two at-bats” listing in the journey through every starter’s AB-R-H-RBI batting line from 1918-2011.

We should just call this group the “Barry Bonds,” as he claims sole possession of five unique batting lines.

1918-2011 STARTERS’ GAME LINES – Two ABs
AB R H RBI COUNT LEADER(S) TIMES
2 0 0 0 44126 Barry Bonds 71
2 0 0 1 6599 Eddie Murray 15
2 0 0 2 420 6 tied 3
2 0 0 3 10 10 tied 1
2 0 1 0 13990 Barry Bonds 26
2 0 1 1 5090 Ted Simmons 13
2 0 1 2 1198 5 tied 5
2 0 1 3 159 Roy Smalley, Vada Pinson, Willie Kamm 2
2 0 1 4 12 12 tied 1
2 0 2 0 1192 5 tied 5
2 0 2 1 663 Jim Hegan, Frank Thomas 4
2 0 2 2 229 Muddy Ruel, Lance Berkman 2
2 0 2 3 47 47 tied 1
2 0 2 4 6 6 tied 1
2 1 0 0 15637 Eddie Yost 43
2 1 0 1 1862 Tony Phillips 8
2 1 0 2 89 Hector Torres 2
2 1 0 3 2 Richie Hebner, Mike Hargrove 1
2 1 1 0 9835 Barry Bonds 29
2 1 1 1 5072 Frank Thomas 19
2 1 1 2 1771 Boog Powell 11
2 1 1 3 494 Babe Ruth 6
2 1 1 4 83 Charlie Keller 2
2 1 1 5 15 Ken Williams 2
2 1 2 0 1253 Enos Slaughter 6
2 1 2 1 960 Carlton Fisk 5
2 1 2 2 432 Hank Thompson, Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, Hank Greenberg 4
2 1 2 3 168 5 tied 2
2 1 2 4 31 31 tied 1
2 1 2 5 7 7 tied 1
2 1 2 6 1 Chris Gomez 1
2 2 0 0 2252 Ted Williams, Babe Ruth 11
2 2 0 1 217 Harlond Clift 4
2 2 0 2 13 13 tied 1
2 2 0 3 1 Tommy Griffith 1
2 2 1 0 2752 Jeff Bagwell 11
2 2 1 1 1667 Mickey Mantle, Barry Bonds 9
2 2 1 2 627 Babe Ruth 5
2 2 1 3 215 Lou Gehrig 4
2 2 1 4 36 36 tied 1
2 2 1 5 5 5 tied 1
2 2 2 0 519 Eddie Yost 4
2 2 2 1 498 Frank Thomas, Mickey Mantle 5
2 2 2 2 316 Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds 3
2 2 2 3 140 Barry Bonds 6
2 2 2 4 56 Albert Pujols, Mike Lieberthal 2
2 2 2 5 16 16 tied 1
2 2 2 6 1 Arndt Jorgens 1
2 3 0 0 155 10 tied 2
2 3 0 1 10 10 tied 1
2 3 0 2 1 Mickey Tettleton 1
2 3 1 0 391 5 tied 3
2 3 1 1 246 6 tied 3
2 3 1 2 101 Gary Sheffield 3
2 3 1 3 29 Ryan Howard 2
2 3 1 4 2 Warren Newson, Bobby Murcer 1
2 3 2 0 115 Fernando Vina, Wade Boggs, Lance Berkman 2
2 3 2 1 139 Mel Ott, Ted Williams 3
2 3 2 2 96 Jim Thome, Tim Salmon, Sal Bando 2
2 3 2 3 38 38 tied 1
2 3 2 4 13 13 tied 1
2 3 2 5 4 Casey Kotchman, Jim Edmonds, Carlos Delgado, Jim Adcock 1
2 4 0 0 4 Jim Thome, Andy Pafko, Ken Henderson, Bernie Friberg 1
2 4 0 2 1 Frank O’Rourke 1
2 4 1 0 26 26 tied 1
2 4 1 1 21 21 tied 1
2 4 1 2 4 Ken Williams, Dwayne Murphy, Hersh Martin, Charlie Gehringer 1
2 4 1 3 1 Rob Deer 1
2 4 1 4 1 Mickey Tettleton 1
2 4 2 0 19 19 tied 1
2 4 2 1 24 24 tied 1
2 4 2 2 9 9 tied 1
2 4 2 3 8 8 tied 1
2 4 2 4 1 Wes Covington 1
2 4 2 5 3 Gary Roenicke, Ken Phelps, Hank Greenberg 1
2 5 0 0 1 Joe Morgan 1
2 5 1 0 1 Woody English 1
2 5 1 2 1 Barry Bonds 1
2 5 1 5 1 Roy Cullenbine 1
2 5 2 0 3 Don Mattingly, Darren Lewis, Solly Hemus 1
2 5 2 1 2 Tim Raines, Johnny Mostil 1
2 6 2 1 1 Mel Ott 1

Previously in this series:

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VORG Trivia: Initial Impressions – Answers

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Diane

OK . . . its time to answer those trivia questions from yesterday!

  1. In one of the more memorable three-for –one trades of the past two decades, he was dealt by the Minnesota Twins to the San Francisco Giants for Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan.  A.J. Pierzynski
  2. This two-sport star was originally a first-round draft pick of the NFL Minnesota Vikings, where he played from 1987 to 1991.  He was also signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent in 1990, getting into 26 games in left field for them in 1992. D.J. Dozier
  3. In 1965, as a member of the Chicago White Sox, this man set the then-Major League record with 33 passed balls, thanks in large part to having to catch Hoyt Wilhelm and Eddie Fisher.   J.C. Martin
  4. This man was a baseball newspaper columnist for The Cincinnati Enquirer and the Cincinnati Commercial before becoming one of the principal figures in the founding of the American Association in 1881 as well as the catalyst in the formation of the modern-day Cincinnati Reds.  O.P. Caylor
  5. This switch-hitting utility man was drafted in 1989 by the Montreal Expos and was the first player in Ottawa Lynx history to have his number retired.  He finished fourth in the National League in Rookie of the Year voting in 1996 while appearing at six different positions. He was hit by a pitch 48 times over a two-season stretch, including one game where he was hit from both sides of the plate. F.P. Santangelo
  6. This gentleman’s initials don’t actually stand for anything.  They’re his actual first name.  He played mostly as a shortstop during his career, and is probably best known for the toothpick in the corner of his mouth while on the field and at the plate. He was also on first base and scored on George Brett’s “pine tar” home run in 1983. U.L. Washington
  7. This man founded the barnstorming All Nations baseball club in 1912, and the Negro league’s Kansas City Monarchs in 1920.  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.  J.L. Wilkinson
  8. Born in 1879, this Maryland native appeared in one game for the 1902 Baltimore Orioles. He singled in his only at-bat. According to Baseball Reference, he is one of only 77 players with one career at-bat and a perfect 1.000 batting average. C.B. Burns
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VORG Trivia: Initial Impressions

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Diane

Its time for a new feature here at the VORG.  A tough trivia quiz.

The title of this quiz is:  Initial Impressions.  Every answer is the name of a person whose first name is/was initials, like R.A. Dickey, CC Sabathia, etc.  Answers will be revealed tomorrow.

  1. In one of the more memorable three-for–one trades of the past two decades, he was dealt by the Minnesota Twins to the San Francisco Giants for Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan.
  2. This two-sport star was originally a first-round draft pick of the NFL Minnesota Vikings, where he played from 1987 to 1991.  He was also signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent in 1990, getting into 26 games in left field for them in 1992.
  3. In 1965, as a member of the Chicago White Sox, this man set the then-Major League record with 33 passed balls, thanks in large part to having to catch Hoyt Wilhelm and Eddie Fisher.
  4. This man was a baseball newspaper columnist for The Cincinnati Enquirer and the Cincinnati Commercial before becoming one of the principal figures in the founding of the American Association in 1881 as well as the catalyst in the formation of the modern-day Cincinnati Reds.
  5. This switch-hitting utility man was drafted in 1989 by the Montreal Expos and was the first player in Ottawa Lynx history to have his number retired.  He finished fourth in the National League in Rookie of the Year voting in 1996 while appearing at six different positions. He was hit by a pitch 48 times over a two-season stretch, including one game where he was hit from both sides of the plate.
  6. This gentleman’s initials don’t actually stand for anything.  They’re his actual first name.  He played mostly as a shortstop during his career, and is probably best known for the toothpick in the corner of his mouth while on the field and at the plate. He was also on first base and scored on George Brett’s “pine tar” home run in 1983.
  7. This man founded the barnstorming All Nations baseball club in 1912, and the Negro league’s Kansas City Monarchs in 1920.  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
  8. Born in 1879, this Maryland native appeared in one game for the 1902 Baltimore Orioles. He singled in his only at-bat. According to Baseball Reference, he is one of only 77 players with one career at-bat and a perfect 1.000 batting average.
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Are you quarter-poling? There’s no “quarter-poling” in Baseball in May!

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Diane

Now that every team has played approximately 40 games, we are being deluged with “first quarter of the season” reviews.  Many columns are using the phrase “quarter pole” to denote this period of time, to wit:

Now, I’ve spent some time at the racetrack in my life.  This is a “quarter pole”

It is a marker used to denote a distance two furlongs (one quarter mile) from the FINISH LINE.

The horses in this photo are in the homestretch.  The next time you watch a horse race, look for this pole when you hear the announcer say “and down the stretch they come!”

Attention writers: If you want to use the term “quarter pole” in relation to the 2012 baseball season, please wait until the last week of August.  Thank you.

[Its good to know I'm apparently not the only blogger with this concern.]

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Book Review/Author Interview: “Root for the Home Team”

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Diane

 

As you undoubtedly know, I love quirky names.  But my love of them isn’t just limited to players . . . I love team names too.  Names that are evocative of the team’s hometown, or just make you scratch your head.

 

Well, current voice of the Triple-A Tucson Padres Tim Hagerty loves team nicknames too.  So much so that he’s written a book about them, entitled “Root for the Home Team: Minor League Baseball’s Most Off-the-Wall Team Names and the Stories Behind Them“.  Its a well-researched yet totally accessible and fun trip through more than 150 current and former nicknames of note, from the 1903 Mobile Oyster Grabbers of the Southern Interstate League to the 2011 Omaha Storm Chasers of the PCL.

I got in touch with Tim and he graciously answered some questions about the project:

VORG: Have you always been interested in team nicknames?

TH: Actually, no. I loved baseball and was fascinated by the game as a kid, but my interest in unique minor league team names started in 2004. I was the broadcaster for the Idaho Falls Chukars and it seemed everywhere I went people were asking me about the team name and minor league team names in general. (A chukar is a pheasant-like bird, by the way.)

VORG: Did you have favorite team nicknames growing up?  If so, did many of them “make the cut” for the book?

TH: I remember loving the Chattanooga Lookouts and Carolina Mudcats names and logos as a kid. Years later, I got to broadcast games in both places while working for the Mobile BayBears in the Double-A Southern League. 

VORG: Have you ever collected any memorabilia from teams specifically because of the name/logo?

TH: No, not memorabilia, but searching for team images was a fun process. Current teams were very accommodating with providing logos and action shots. The tough part was digging up team pictures from decades ago. The staff at the Baseball Hall of Fame Library was very helpful. I love the Pine Bluff Judges section of the book, because it looked like there wasn’t a team photo in existence until we finally located one in an old Spalding and Reach Guide.  

VORG: How cognizant were you of finding a balance between being informative (in terms of the history of the nickname) and keeping it light and “fun” (the trivia and other aspects of the book)?

TH: Good question, and it’s a question that came up in the manuscript process. What is the target audience, families who want a clever book on their coffee table, or fans who love the game and its history? My thought was – why can’t we please both? I hope it does. 

VORG: There have been some nicknames of yesteryear that might not be “politically correct” today.  Did you come across any that you thought about including?

TH: Yes, the Nevada Lunatics, who were named after a mental asylum in Nevada, Missouri. Another was the Wheeling Stogies. I can’t see a team naming their club directly after a tobacco product these days. They’re both in the book though. One example of a team from yesteryear that I left on the cutting room floor was the Columbus Confederate Yankees in Columbus, Georgia. This is a positive, fun book. I didn’t want to offend anyone.

VORG: How many of the home parks of the active teams mentioned in the book have you actually been in?

TH: I never thought of that. Let me count….. 24. 

VORG: How long did it take you to bring the book from idea to publishing?

TH: Six years. A lot of minor league broadcasters pursue basketball broadcasting jobs in the winter, but this book was my off-season hobby for years. In 2008, I realized I really had something, but had no idea how it gets from my laptop to a bookstore. So, I bought “How to Get Your Book Published for Dummies.” It was perfect, as it showed someone who was an outsider to the publishing world how to produce a proposal and how to sell an idea. I was able to get a publishing deal with Cider Mill Press. They specialize in visual books and I think it’s a perfect fit with the logos and photos in my book.

VORG: Since your primary focus/acumen is behind the mic, and this is your first book, how hard was it to just put “paper to pad” for this project?

TH: The format of the book really helped. It is divided into short sections for each team, so it allowed me to say “okay, my goal for the weekend is to finish the Montgomery Biscuits section.” It was easy to create natural markers on when to start and stop a writing session. It wasn’t like writing a novel, where authors must sit for hours on end at a time.

VORG: Did you have trouble tracking down information on some of the nicknames you wanted to include, to the point of having to leave them out of the book?

TH: Yes, but there are two that were too wacky to leave out – the Montpelier Goldfish and Topeka Savages. They’re both in the book because they were too bizarre to be excluded, in my opinion. Instead of an explanation behind the team name, I wrote about their league and other facts. If any of your readers know where the Goldfish or Savages got their names, please let me know!

VORG: Do you see a “Root for the Home Team” sequel in your future?

TH: Right now, I’m trying to help the publisher’s marketing process as much as I can for this book. Many minor league teams are enthusiastic about carrying the book in their team stores. And sports radio stations are inviting me on to talk about funny team names. So, I guess like how players say “one day at a time,” my thought is “one book at a time.”

 

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Salty, the Middle and Me

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Diane

Yours truly spotted a quirky occurrence regarding names and lengths of
words during last night’s RedSox-Phillies game.  I alerted my
ESPN-aligned Twitter followers/friends to it, and a few hours later,
this happened on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight”.

Thank you @SBerthiaumeESPN for the shout-out.

[My thanks to @bubbaprog for the video]
Posted in factoids, frivolity, Names, publicity | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Canonical Record of Batting Lines – 1918-2011 (Part 2 – The One ABs)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Diane

A few days ago we started listing the counts of all the various batting lines accumulated by starting players from 1918-2011. We tackled the “zero at-bat” totals there, so its time for the “one at-bat” group.

Even more pronounced than the composition of the  “zero” group, there are plenty of legendary sluggers here (Ruth, Bonds, Killebrew, Aaron), as well as guys that just knew how to get on base without a hit (Henderson, Pena, Downing).

1918-2011 STARTER’S GAME LINES – One ABs
AB R H RBI COUNT LEADER(S) TIMES
1 0 0 0 4402 Carl Yastrzemski, Babe Ruth 12
1 0 0 1 812 Mike Scioscia, Carlos Pena, Brian Downing 5
1 0 0 2 80 Harmon Killebrew 3
1 0 0 3 2 Edgar Martinez, Candy Maldonado 1
1 0 1 0 692 7 tied 4
1 0 1 1 286 Barry Bonds 3
1 0 1 2 80 Wally Schang, Muddy Ruel, Roy McMillan 3
1 0 1 3 13 13 tied 1
1 0 1 4 1 Doc Lavan 1
1 1 0 0 2329 Bobby Grich, Barry Bonds 14
1 1 0 1 376 Joe Ferguson 4
1 1 0 2 20 Hank Aaron 2
1 1 0 3 1 Nick Punto 1
1 1 1 0 607 Eddie Robinson, Stan Musial 4
1 1 1 1 335 Frank Thomas, Frankie Hayes, George Grantham, Carlos Delgado 3
1 1 1 2 123 Gene Woodling 2
1 1 1 3 32 32 tied 1
1 1 1 4 6 6 tied 1
1 1 1 5 2 Bill Voss, Candy Maldonado 1
1 2 0 0 592 Rickey Henderson 6
1 2 0 1 61 61 tied 1
1 2 0 2 2 Ted Williams, Clyde Beck 1
1 2 0 3 1 Glenn Wright 1
1 2 1 0 241 Max Bishop 5
1 2 1 1 160 Babe Ruth 5
1 2 1 2 47 47 tied 1
1 2 1 3 14 Willie Stargell, Gary Sheffield 2
1 2 1 4 4 Mule Watson, Rick Manning, Casey Kotchman, Travis Hafner 1
1 3 0 0 75 Eddie Yost, Dick McAuliffe, Reggie Jackson, Prince Fielder 2
1 3 0 1 7 7 tied 1
1 3 1 0 37 37 tied 1
1 3 1 1 32 Eddie Mathews 2
1 3 1 2 11 11 tied 1
1 3 1 3 8 8 tied 1
1 4 0 0 7 7 tied 1
1 4 1 0 5 5 tied 1
1 4 1 1 6 6 tied 1
1 4 1 2 2 Mel Ott, Andrew McCutchen 1
1 5 1 0 2 Bill Wambsganss, Ira Flagstead 1
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Canonical Record of Batting Lines – 1918-2011 (Part 1 – The Zero ABs)

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Diane

Many of us fondly remember opening up the newspaper each morning to see how our favorite teams and players did the prior day.  In those lines of agate type, we were able to discern to some degree if (insert “your guy” here) was a hero or a goat.  Usually this was through four simple numbers, the hieroglyph of “AB-R-H-RBI” that was the standard in The Sporting News beginning in 1961 and most major newspapers in that era, to wit:

In the late 1950′s, because of rising newsprint costs, The Associated Press was asked to make its box scores thinner. The A.P. complied by eliminating the antiquated putout and assist columns — causing a firestorm among traditionalists who claimed defense was being overlooked — and adding the run batted in, shrinking the width from 10 to 8 columns and saving trees everywhere.

Nowadays, the batting line in a typical box score can paint a much clearer picture for the reader, including things like men left on base, up-to-date slash stats and walks/strikeouts.

ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian penned a loving ode to box scores back in 2010:

The box scores start every day for me because there’s always a chance you’ll see a pitching or batting line that you’ve never seen before, and might never see again, such as Ben Petrick’s 3-0-0-4 a few years ago. Four RBIs without a hit! “I thought I had a bad day,” Petrick said, “until I looked at the box score.” . . .

In the upper left-hand drawer of the desk in my office, I keep the box score from the Rangers’ 30-3 victory over the Orioles on Aug. 22, 2007, because it was historic in so many ways, including the batting line of the eighth and ninth hitters for the Rangers: Saltalamacchia 6-5-4-7 and Vazquez 6-4-4-7. And I can still remember John Kruk laughing at me in the background as I made a complete fool of myself on national TV when I could not control my enthusiasm at the sight of a box score never seen before in baseball history.

Well, I love box scores too, and like Kurkjian, I have a fondness for the rare batting lines in a game.  I decided to catalog/count up every batting line ever produced by every player in a starting lineup.  The only limitation would be (in order to compare apples to apples) the starter would have had to have finished the game.

So, what follows periodically over the next few weeks is a through examination, through the Baseball Reference Play Index, of each possible AB-R-H-RBI combination that has been produced from 1918-2011.  For those who care, there have been roughly 2.3 million individual batting lines generated in the last 94 years.  I will not be listing any particular combination that has NOT occurred to date.  I do list the “career leader” in said batting line, and link to those specific games if there are no more than four players tied for the lead.

So, let’s start off with the “zero at-bats”.   These are going to be cases of players having a games’ worth of walks, sac flies, hit-by-pitches and the like:

1918-2011 STARTER’S GAME LINES – Zero ABs
AB R H RBI COUNT LEADER(S) TIMES
0 0 0 0 189 Babe Ruth 5
0 0 0 1 32 Tony Gwynn, Lew Fonseca 2
0 0 0 2 8 8 tied 1
0 1 0 0 136 7 tied 2
0 1 0 1 34 34 tied 1
0 1 0 2 4 Rudy York, Jose Valentin, Kevin McReynolds, Chipper Jones 1
0 1 0 3 1 Clyde Barnhart 1
0 2 0 0 49 49 tied 1
0 2 0 1 6 6 tied 1
0 2 0 2 1 Frank Welch 1
0 3 0 0 7 7 tied 1
0 3 0 1 3 George Uhle, Brian Downing, Max Bishop 1

Next time out in this series: The “one at-bat” batting lines.

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So many Fives!

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Diane

Yesterday, Colby Lewis, who has five letters in his first and last names, became only the fifth pitcher in history to give up five homers as the only (5) hits in a start (see table below).  He did this on the tenth day (2*5) of the fifth month.  For two of the homer-hitters (Nick Markakis and Wilson Betemit), it was their fifth homer of the season.  Furthermore, after Ryan Flaherty homered on Lewis’ second pitch of the game, J.J. Hardy, the second batter of the game, homered on Lewis’ fifth pitch of the game.  The crowd was announced as 19,250 (3,850 * 5).  The loss was the fifth decision of the year for Lewis (3-2).  It was his fifth decision lifetime against the Orioles (1-4) and his fifth appearance at Camden Yards.

[Update: After pitching the seventh inning (which would turn out to be his final inning of the day), Lewis and the Rangers were down five runs (6-1).  He had thrown 75 strikes (15 *5).]

Player Date Tm Opp Rslt IP H HR
Colby Lewis 2012-05-10 (1) TEX BAL L 5-6 7.0 5 5
Ted Lilly 2003-06-11 OAK ATL L 6-11 4.0 5 5
Charlie Hough 1989-06-24 TEX CLE L 3-7 7.2 5 5
Steve Stone 1974-07-09 CHC CIN L 5-8 2.1 5 5
Denny McLain 1971-06-16 WSA OAK L 1-5 3.0 5 5
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/11/2012.

This post was written on the fifth day of the workweek. :-)

Posted in factoids, pitchers, Play Index mining, records | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Two Runs Too Short to Box with AL

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Diane

The Twins are certainly struggling.  How bad?  They are being outscored by 2.10 runs per game so far in 2012.  Only two other teams in the past 50 years have ended a season with a -2.00 or worse per game run differential (the 1962 Mets and the 2003 Tigers).  If the Twins continue to score 3.4 and allow 5.5 runs per game, it will be the sixth-worst per game run differential since 1901.

Tm Year W L W-L% RS RA Diff per gm
BOS 1932 43 111 .279 566 915 -2.27
PHA 1915 43 109 .283 545 889 -2.23
PHA 1936 53 100 .346 714 1045 -2.15
PHA 1916 36 117 .235 447 776 -2.14
PHA 1954 51 103 .331 542 875 -2.13
MIN 2012 8 22 .267 102 165 -2.10
STL 1903 43 94 .314 505 795 -2.09
DET 2003 43 119 .265 591 928 -2.08
PHI 1942 42 109 .278 394 706 -2.07
BSN 1911 44 107 .291 699 1021 -2.06
PHI 1945 46 108 .299 548 865 -2.06
NYM 1962 40 120 .250 617 948 -2.06
PHA 1919 36 104 .257 457 742 -2.04
PHA 1939 55 97 .362 711 1022 -2.03
Posted in records, stat crunching, teams | Tagged , , | 2 Comments