Betcha Didn’t Know – 2014 NL Edition

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 …

Let’s start with the West.

Giants – With Angel Pagan back in the lineup after missing 45 games, San Francisco is on pace to have 3 outfielders aged 30 or older record 110 OPS+ in 100+ games, a franchise first.

DodgersClayton Kershaw is on pace to join Sandy Koufax (1963) as the only Dodger starters with ERA and FIP both under 2.00 in a qualifying season. With Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu, it would mark back-to-back seasons with those three under 3.33 in both measures, the first time for three Dodgers since 1967-68 (Don Drysdale / Claude Osteen / Bill Singer).

Diamondbacks – Arizona presently has no starters with 100 IP and a 100 ERA+. Chase Anderson (87.1 IP, 102 ERA+) could do it but it’s longer odds for the other starters. If none make it, it would mark a franchise first for starter futility.

RockiesLaTroy Hawkins is the first Rockie pitcher to record a save after his 40th birthday. He’s on pace to join Rafael Betancourt as the only Rockies to record 20 saves aged 33 or older. When Hawkins faced Bobby Abreu on May 3rd, it was the first (and likely the only) PA of the season with pitcher and batter both aged 40+.

Padres – With Everth Cabrera just placed on the 15-day DL with a hamstring, it would seem a long shot that he will record enough PAs for a qualifying season. That would leave Seth Smith (who isn’t a lock either) as the only Padre to qualify for the batting title, the fewest in franchise history.

Moving on to the Central.

Brewers – Milwaukee already has 5 players (Ryan Braun / Khris Davis / Scooter Gennett / Carlos Gomez / Jonathan Lucroy) with 25 doubles, each of whom is currently above 115 OPS+, a combination only the 1979 club (Cecil Cooper / Sixto Lezcano / Paul Molitor / Ben Oglivie / Gorman Thomas) has achieved. No Brewers team has had more than 3 players at that OPS+ level while stroking 30 or more doubles, a mark this year’s club would seem to have a good shot at breaking.

CardinalsMatt Adams is on pace to bat .300 in a qualifying season, the 10th time in 11 years that a Cardinal first baseman has done that. What’s different is that Adams bats left-handed, something St. Louis hasn’t had since Keith Hernandez batted .300 in 1979-81 (though switch-hitter Gregg Jeffries posted .342 and .325 marks for the Redbirds in 1993-94).

RedsBilly Hamilton is on pace to become the first Red since Armando Marsans (1913) to record more than twice as many stolen bases as walks in a qualifying season. Hamilton would be only the fourth rookie on any team to do this since 1901. (more Marsans trivia: Armando was one of 10 players purchased by the Browns before the 1916 season from the St. Louis Terriers of the defunct Federal League. Marsans and  Ward Miller would be regulars that season while Eddie Plank and Bob Groom anchored the pitching staff. The remaining 6 players all saw service, including four who played at least 65 games, as the Browns finished above .500 for the first time in eight years. So much for loyalty to your players who didn’t jump!)

Cubs – Chicago currently has no players on its roster who are batting .300, regardless of AB total. September call-ups could change that but, if not, this would be the first such Cubs team since 1956.

Pirates – Pittsburgh currently has two pitchers (Francisco Liriano / Charlie Morton) with 20 starts and a W-L% under 0.300, a mark matched only by the 1985 club. If their winning percentages hold, 3 more starts by Liriano will make this the first Pirate team with two such pitchers having 25 starts. On the flip side, pitching coach Ray Searage continues his reclamation wizardry, coaxing 100 ERA+ out of  Edinson Volquez, his first season at that level since 2008. If Volquez maintains that mark, he will follow A.J. Burnett and Liriano as the 3rd pitcher in as many years to come off sub-85 ERA+ over his two preceding seasons to post a century ERA+ in 150+ IP in his first campaign under Searage.

And, finishing up with the East.

Nationals – Washington has a chance to join the 2003 Expos as the only teams in franchise history to have 5 pitchers with 20 starts and a 100 ERA+. To do so, Gio Gonzalez will need to get back on the beam. True to his career form (July and August are his worst ERA months), Gonzalez is in a dog day swoon with 6.52 ERA over his last 4 starts (after 1.97 over the 5 starts before that). But, September is historically Gonzalez’s best ERA month, so bumping up his current 92 ERA+ is not out of the question.

Braves – For the first time in franchise history, Atlanta could have two age 23 or younger pitchers (Julio Teheran / Alex Wood) start 20 games and qualify for the ERA title with 100 ERA+ scores. To do so, Wood needs to average about 6 IP over 7 more starts (exactly what he’s done over his last 7 outings).  Wood is also destined to become the youngest Brave pitcher since George Stone in 1969 with a campaign of 20 starts and 10 relief appearances.

Phillies – If they’re shut out twice more, it will mark back-to-back seasons with 15, the first time for a Philladelphia club since 1988-89. The Phillies have 4 players aged 34+ (Marlon Byrd / Ryan Howard / Jimmy Rollins / Chase Utley) who have already reached the the 502 PA season qualifying mark, a first for the franchise (breaking the previous mark of 3 players, set last year). If all four were to reach 600 PA (not at all inconceivable), it would be the most such players on any team, ever.

MarlinsGiancarlo Stanton currently leads the NL in HR and RBI. No Marlin has previously led the league in either category. Stanton also leads the NL in walks and intentional walks, a quadruple black ink combo never before achieved in the NL, and achieved only twice (Harmon Killebrew 1969, Frank Howard 1970) in the AL.

Mets – Jenrry Mejia‘s 18 saves are already the most for any Met pitcher with 5 or more starts in a season. Those 18 saves are also the highest total by a pitcher (on any team) who was undefeated (Mejia is 3-0) in 5 or more starts.

I’ll take a look at the AL next.

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birtelcom
Editor
9 years ago

Your Cubs note was a fun one. Brian Schlitter is on a rehab assignment and may be back soon — at the plate he’s one for one this season, 1.000 BA, so would ruin the Cubs’ “no .300 hitters” status on his return. Among all 33 players who had at least one AB for the 1968 Yankees, the highest season BA was by Roy White at .267 and #2 was Joe Pepitone (pre-hair dryer) at .245. The Rays and Reds currently have no .300 batters on the season. If those hold up, it would be a first for the Rays… Read more »

brp
brp
9 years ago

That Phillies note is pretty astounding. Really makes their inactivity at the trade deadline – already absurd – even more astounding.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
9 years ago
Reply to  brp

________
The Phill’s business model has been absurd for awhile
(call it Yankees lite).

But three of those four old guys are career Quakers who can block any trade.
And there’s no trading Howard anyway.

Byrd is still effective, and has a friendly contract. And they need effective players in the outfield.
While Revere looks good, D Brown has regressed, and there’s nothing exciting happening at AAA.

The Phillies are done.

GrandyMan
GrandyMan
9 years ago
Reply to  brp

The Phillies did nothing not because they didn’t try, but because Ruben Amaro Jr doesn’t know what his players are really worth. Especially in the case of Hamels, who is owed $90M for the next four years and for whom Amaro wanted at least two or three top-level prospects; one GM was quoted by Jayson Stark as saying that Ruben’s request was the equivalent of “Could you please drive your AA team to Reading and drop them all off?” Worse yet, the president of our team repeatedly and publicly backs Amaro in the media. Is this actually the approach they… Read more »

oneblankspace
9 years ago

One thing about Marlon Byrd (or more):

A marlin is not a bird. It’s a fish.

He has never played for the Marlins.

He has never played for the Birds (either Balto. or StL).

Lawrence Azrin
Lawrence Azrin
9 years ago

“Quadruple black ink combo ” – intentional walks weren’t kept track of until 1955. Babe Ruth and Ted Williams almost certainly would’ve led in IBB’s the several years they led in the other three categories, and perhaps Hack Wilson, Gavvy Cravath and Ralph Kiner also would’ve.

I thought that Barry Bonds would’ve done it at least once, but the only yr he led in both HR/RBI’s is 1993, when Lenny Dykstra had 129 BB’s to Bonds 126.

kingcrab
kingcrab
9 years ago
Reply to  Lawrence Azrin

probably the real reason bonds got on ped’s, seeing a juiced nails win the bb crown, not seeing a juiced mcgwire/sosa win hr titles.

Jimbo
Jimbo
9 years ago

The blue jays are also birds.