Milestone monitor: who to watch for the rest of this season

As we look to the second half of this season, there are a number of players chasing notable career milestones. I’ll take a look at some of them after the jump.

Let’s start with the pitchers.

Jon Lester needs 29 strikeouts for 2000, while Yovani Gallardo (3), Johnny Cueto (33), Ricky Nolasco (45), and Chris Sale (78) should all reach 1500.

  • Lester is on pace to become the 12th pitcher to record 10 consecutive seasons of 30 starts and 150 strikeouts. Quiz: only one of Roger Clemens, Nolan RyanRandy Johnson, Javier Vazquez, Fergie Jenkins and Bob Gibson is in the group: who is it?
  • Sale would be the 21st pitcher of the modern era (since 1901) to reach 1500 K’s by age 28, but only the fourth to do so after debuting at age 21 or older. Madison Bumgarner (91 away from 1500) is due to be reactivated this week and could also make it; if he does, he would be the 13th to do so by his age 27 season.

Bronson Arroyo (2), Adam Wainwright (6) and Ervin Santana (7) could all reach 150 wins, with Clayton Kershaw (10) and Cole Hamels (10) having an outside shot at that mark.

  • With a 14-2 record starting the second half, Kershaw stands a reasonable chance to become the first pitcher to record three 20 win seasons with no more than 5 losses.
  • With 94 wins as a Red since 2007, Arroyo is the expansion era franchise leader for wins aged 30+.
  • With a 23-14 record (.622 W-L%) this season and last, Adam Wainwright could challenge Mark Langston‘s .636 winning percentage (21-12) for best among pitchers with a 4.50 ERA in 300+ IP aged 34-35. Wainwright’s 5.20 ERA this season is not as bad as it looks; most of the damage (an 18.21 ERA) came in four starts allowing 5 or more earned runs, compared to a tidy 2.94 ERA in his other 14 outings.

R.A. Dickey (12) and Clayton Kershaw (107.2) should reach 2000 IP this season.

  • Kershaw would become the 8th pitcher since 1980 to reach that milestone before his age 30 season.
  • Dickey would become the oldest starting pitcher when reaching 2000 IP.

Craig Kimbrel needs 21 saves for 300 for his career. Even if he falls short of that milestone, 13 saves would move Kimbrel past Francisco Rodriguez for most saves before age 30.

  • Rodriguez needs 24 IP for 1000 for his career. That would make him the fourth pitcher used exclusively in relief to reach that mark by age 35, and the first in the past 25 years.

James Shields (231), Zack Greinke (264) and Ervin Santana (352) could face their 10,000th batter this season.

  • If Shields makes it, he will be the first pitcher since Jerry Koosman in 1978 to do so in his first 12 seasons, after debuting aged 24 or older.

Moving on to the hitters.

Adrian Beltre needs just 22 more hits to become the 31st player to reach 3000 for his career, and just the second to do so (after Wade Boggs) while playing third base for his entire career.

  • Beltre is also the only third baseman with 3000 PA for three different franchises. Quiz: which other player posted 2500 PA for three different franchises while playing a majority of his career games at third base?

Adrian Gonzalez (4), Nick Markakis (17) and Brandon Phillips (52) should reach 2000 hits.

  • Despite never having 200 hits in a season, Markakis will be just the 10th player since 1901 to debut aged 22 or older and reach 2000 hits by his age 33 season. Quiz: which other player in that group did not have a 200 hit season before reaching 2000 career hits?
  • Gonzalez (23) and Phillips (38) could also reach 1000 runs this season.

Edwin Encarnacion (10) and maybe Ryan Braun (40) could reach 1000 RBI.

  • Encarnacion needs 12 home runs to become the 11th player with 30 home runs each season aged 30-34. Seven of the other 10 recorded all of those seasons since 1995.
  • Braun (who needs 5 home runs for 300) is one of 84 players since 1961 with RBI exceeding 15% of 5000+ PA. If he stays healthy, Braun will need a monster second half to avoid having his first 100 game season with fewer than 80 RBI.

Robinson Cano, like Ryan Braun, needs 5 home runs for 300.

  • Cano is on pace to reach 2000 career games this season, including 150 games at second base for the 10th time in 11 years. That would tie him with Nellie Fox (who also did it over an 11 year span) for the most such second base seasons.

Cano is 7 doubles away from 500, while Victor Martinez (7), Chase Utley (8) and Dustin Pedroia (11) should all reach 400 two-baggers.

  • Cano also needs 16 doubles in the second half to extend his career long streak of 30 double seasons to 13 years. That would be the longest streak of such seasons to start a career, and the most by a second baseman, moving past Craig Biggio.

Jose Reyes needs two stolen bases to reach 500.

  • Reyes, who passed 2000 hits earlier this season, is the Mets franchise leader in career stolen bases and triples, mantels he claimed in his age 25 season.

Ichiro Suzuki needs 48 total bases to reach 4000, but it’s doubtful that he’ll make it (he has 32 so far this season). Brandon Phillips (19), Ryan Braun (67), Nick Markakis (84) and Hanley Ramirez (92) should all reach 3000 total bases, with Ian Kinsler (131) and Edwin Encarnacion (156) having an outside shot.

  • If Ichiro does get to 4000 total bases, he would join Wade Boggs as the only post-war players to reach that mark with fewer than 125 home runs (Rod Carew finished two bases short at 3998).

Evan Longoria needs 1.3 WAR to reach 50 for his career. Albert Pujols, with negative WAR so far this year, is in danger of dropping below the 100 WAR plateau he reached last season.  

Andrelton Simmons (6) should pass 150 WAR fielding runs, a mark Jason Heyward reached earlier this season. Simmons and Heyward are both in their age 27 season, with Adrian Beltre the only active player ahead of them in career WAR fielding runs. 

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Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

Beltre should crack the top 20 in extra base hits. ___________________ Pujols is on pace for 105 RBI with a .675 OPS ! Lowest OPS with 100+ ribbies: .678 … Ruben Sierra .681 … Joe Carter .683 … Joe Carter .698 … Joe Pepitone .706 … Brandon Phillips .707 … Tony Armas .709 … Heinie Zimmerman .712 … George Bell .716 … Glenn Wright .718 … Maurice Van Robays _____________________________ Currently at -0.9 WAR, Pujols also has a shot at challenging Dante Bichette for the lousy 100 RBI crown: -2.3 … Dante -1.8 … Carter -1.7 … Ruben -0.9 …… Read more »

oneblankspace
6 years ago

The third baseman is Darrell Evans, and he was only 151 AB from qualifying with 2500 AB x 3 teams (including PA at other positions)

Doug
Doug
6 years ago

Detroit pitchers tonight walked 10 and struck out 10 in losing to Toronto. Only the fourth time since at least 1913 that the Tigers have reached double figures in both categories in a 9-inning game, and first since 1970. The other three games also had exactly 10 of each. For some reason, I expected these games to be more frequent but other franchises have posted similar totals: 12 – Rangers 9 – Red Sox, Orioles 8 – Indians 5 – Athletics, Twins, Mariners 4 – Yankees, Tigers 3 – White Sox, Blue Jays, Rays 2 – Royals 1 – Angels,… Read more »

David P
David P
6 years ago

Chase Utley is 5 HBP’s away from 200,, which would move him into 8th place all-time, passing Frak Robinson (5th place for 20th century onwards). Chase probably won’t climb any higher on the list as next up in Dan McGann with 230.

David P
David P
6 years ago

Albert Pujols is only 2 GIDPs away from breaking Cal Ripken’s all-time record. Meanwhile Miguel Cabrera is 10 away from 300, which would move him into 10th place all time.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago

Answer to the second quiz is Red Schoendienst who did not hit 200 hits in a season until his age 34 season.

Doug
Doug
6 years ago

And he finished his age 33 season with 2000 hits, exactly.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago

On the negative side Beltre is 148 outs away from 8000 which would put him at 16th on the all-time list but he would be joining a very select group of players. Of course it’s not really a negative stat, only outstanding players reach that level.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

Well, Maranville, Aparicio, and Visquel are ahead of him. They were outstanding, but they didn’t get to play that long because of their offense.

David P
David P
6 years ago

Yet another bizarre baserunning play that the Umps screwed up. Actually, the play itself was fairly straightforward. Matt Holliday at first, Jacoby Ellsbury batting. Ellsbury hits a one-hopper to the first baseman (Mitch Moreland). Moreland fires down to second for the force on Holliday. The shortstop then fires back to first in an attempt to double-up Ellsbury. Except Moreland is prevented from making a clean catch by Holliday, who for some reason has retreated to first base and slid into the bag. After a 5 minute delay, the umps decide not to call interference on Holliday and instead let Ellsbury… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

Those are all the things that I yelled at the television… and i’m a yankees fan.

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Truly, this play led me to wonder about the quality of MLB umpiring. This is not a call that permits of multiple interpretations – or MLB’s. What’s going on?

Phil Gaskill
Phil Gaskill
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

No, it’s easy: Holliday thought Moreland was going to step on the bag, to make sure he got the speedy Ellsbury, and then throw to second for the tag on Holliday. He did the famous Mantle ploy (from game 7 of the 1960 WS) of diving back into first, thus foiling that play. IF he’d been right about Moreland’s plan, of course. But anyway, whether the umps are supposed to be allowed to read his mind or not, that’s what Holliday said was running through his mind, and I believe him: it’s the only thing that makes what he did… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Reply to  Phil Gaskill

I believe him, too. But he still interfered. It should be no different than the call they make now if he gets in the way of the SS long after being forced out at 2nd.

David P
David P
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

I’m not sure I agree. Things happened too quickly for him to think through his options. I think he just made a boneheaded play and then later tried to come up with a reasonable sounding explanation (something we all do). He knew that Moreland was in front of the bag at the beginning of the play. And he later saw Moreland throwing down to second, still in front of the bag. So for his explanation to make any sense, he had to believe that Moreland cleanly fielded the ball, ran to tag first, than ran back in front of the… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

So yes, it is different than deliberately taking out the shortstop, but intent doesn’t have to play into an interference call. A more fitting comparison would be a baserunner getting in the way of a fielder who is going after a pop-up. The fielder has the right of way, even if the baserunner is just motoring in the baseline. It is up to the runner to be aware. The only way I can see the umps (or the NY officials) not calling interference is if they saw it as such a close play that the DP couldn’t be assumed. But,… Read more »

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

I think Voomo’s right. When I saw the video of the play initially, I hadn’t noticed whether Moreland had stepped on the bag before throwing, and when I saw Holliday reverse direction I thought of the Mantle play right away. So, like Phil and Voomo, I believe Holliday. But so what? Interference calls have nothing to do with intent; they have to do with whether the runner interfered with the fielder’s ability to complete the play and so caused the outcome to change. The same holds true when a fielder who is not involved in a making a play obstructs… Read more »

ThickieDon
ThickieDon
6 years ago

Vazquez is the only one who managed it. 2000-2009.

Clemens had injuries in 1993 and then the strike-shortened seasons. Ryan had his 1981 shortened otherwise he would have done it. Unit was injured in 1996 and 2003. Jenkins got the innings but didn’t get enough starts in 1976. Gibson missed time in 1967.

Doug
Doug
6 years ago
Reply to  ThickieDon

Vazquez is the one.

Even with a full season in 1981, Ryan wouldn’t have made it – he was two starts short in 1975, and one start shy in 1983.

The longest streak of seasons with 30 starts and 150 strikeouts belongs to Steve Carlton at 13 years, from 1968 to 1980. After the strike season in 1981, Carlton kept it going three more seasons so, without the strike, he might have had 17 straight years with those totals.

David P
David P
6 years ago

Aaron Judge has now gone 7 straight games without a home run. Though he was robbed in one of those games. But that just means the ball was catchable, not one of his usual mammoth blasts.

And over the past 30 games (137 PAs), he’s done the following:

.239/.394/.495 (with a 32.1% K rate)

Which is more like peak Adam Dunn (with better defense) than the second coming of Babe Ruth.

Phil Gaskill
Phil Gaskill
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

Oh, and Babe Ruth never had a month like that? Not counting 1925 or, what, ’34 and ’35? (I haven’t actually checked, but I assume he probably did, once or thrice.)

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago
Reply to  Phil Gaskill

Here are Babe Ruth’s 5 five lowest monthly OPSs during his tenure as a Yankee for months with at least 20 games, not including 1925 and 1934.

Date……………BA………OBP…….SLG…… OPS……..HR……..RBI
8/1933………..182………337…….351……..687……..3………..8
5/1933………..288………436…….475……..911……..4………..13
9/1928………..250………400…….522……..922……..7………..28
5/1932………..253………430…….563……..993……..8………..21
7/1930………..307………421…….574……..996……..6………..25

Ruth played for 87 months with the Yankees. There were 9 months in which his OPS dipped below 1.000, the 5 months shown above plus 6/1925, 8/1925, 6/1934 and 8/1934.

Phil Gaskill
Phil Gaskill
6 years ago

So I wasn’t THAT far off in my wild-assed guess. Not literally true, not exact, but he had a couple of months not terribly different from that:
239 394 495 899 Judge
250 400 522 922 Ruth

Ken
Ken
6 years ago

The Dodgers are on a 29-4 run, the only other time they had a stretch like that was in 1899 as the Superbas. That was a crazy season. They started out 10-7, then had a 34-5 run, lost 10 of 11, went 17-12 in next 29 games, went on a 26-3 run, then closed out the season going 13-10. Final record was 101-47.

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  Ken

A record like the Dodgers’ right now – which is, of course, terrific – helps put the 1906 Cubs record in perspective. If the Dodgers followed their 29-4 run with a 29-0 run, they would still fall just short of reaching the ’06 Cubs’ final .763 percentage. To surpass the Cubs’ final record, the Dodgers would have to go 60-9 from this point to the end of the season.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago

The 1906 Cubs hold the record for a 34 game streak (within the same season) at 32-2.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

The 2nd game in the Cubs’ 32-2 streak was a win by forfeit: During the game of the day before, umpire Jimmy Johnstone had made some decisions that aroused both teams against him. When Johnstone and Bob Emslie reached the ball park Johnstone was told he could not enter the grounds The Giants didn’t want him as an umpire after his performance of the day before. Emslie’s entrance was not barred so he went inside a short distance then retreated, refusing to take part in the game if his partner was refused admittance. Then Johnstone forfeited the game to the… Read more »

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Just spotted this, two days after the fact. Great story. Amazing that Murphy was in New York that day.

no statistician but
no statistician but
6 years ago
Reply to  Ken

The 1955 Dodgers started off with 10 wins, lost two out of three, then won 11 in a row, making them 22-2. They finished with 98 wins, but also their first world Series victory in eight tries.

Paul E
Paul E
6 years ago

The Nationals currently have 4 players “qualified for the batting title” with OPS+ greater than 143. It appears this may be top ten of all-time. I don’t have a PI subscription…any idea where this might specifically rank?
Thanks

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

The current record is 3 such players, achieved by 36 other teams.

David P
David P
6 years ago

Astros could conceivably have 5 this year. Altuve, Correa and Spriger are between 165-167 OPS. Meanwhile Reddick is just a bit below the threshold. (135). And Marwin Gonzalez has the OPS+ (166) but only has 2.95 PAs per game.

Paul E
Paul E
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

Richard, David,
Thanks for the info….it looks like Zimmerman is fading slightly. I don’t believe Reddick will get there, either but Gonzalez could certainly come close

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

The Marlins currently have 3 guys (Bour, Stanton, Ozuna), yet they are 10th in the league in Runs Scored.

David P
David P
6 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

Of course, soon after I posted this, it was announced that Correa would miss two months. So not sure he’ll have enough PAs.

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

Most team Wins Above Average at second base in 2017: Astros, 3.8. Tied for second are the Dodgers and A’s with 0.7.

David P
David P
6 years ago

Apropos of nothing….Baseball-Reference lists 3 players from the 19th Century with the last name Fulmer (Chris, Chick and Washington).

Then, after over 125 years with no one named Fulmer, last year saw the debut of both Carson Fulmer and Michael Fulmer.

Doug
Doug
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

Michael Fulmer has started 44 games in his career and recorded 31 quality starts with a 0.91 WHIP in his QS games. That’s the 6th lowest WHIP among 29 pitchers since 1913 with 30 QS in their first 44 career games.

Six of the top 7 spots in that QS list belong to New York pitchers, led by Jacob de Grom with 35, followed by Stottlemyre and Gooden with 34, and Tanaka, Harvey and Seaver with 33 (the seventh, with 33, is Mussina).

David P
David P
6 years ago

I mentioned in an earlier thread that the Indians had only played one extra innings game so far. They played another one last night, their first in 84 games, breaking the team record of 81 games set in 1901-1902.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

The Rockies just beat the Padres 18-3. First off, is there any team more in need of a name change than San Diego? Padres, really? Starting Pitcher Richard was left in to absorb most of the damage. And it was historic: 3.2 IP 11 Runs 14 Hits According to the Play Index, since 1913, only twice before has a pitcher allowed than many runs and hits in less than 4 innings. I’ve checked it six times, because as bad as it is, I’m having a hard time believing it hasn’t been done since 1929. But that’s what it says. The… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Nolan Arenado was the big hurt, and his performance was less-historic, but notable.

3 HR
4 R
5 H
7 RBI

The P-I lists 14 other efforts that have hit all those numbers.
None from 1977-2001.
Nolan’s is the 7th since 2002, but also the third this season, joining Anthony Rendon and Scooter Gennett

David P
David P
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Actually those are the only two other instances of a pitcher giving up 14 or more hits in 3.2 or fewer innings.

Giving up 11 or more runs in fewer than 3.2 innings is much more common, most recntly by Jeff Locke on July 3rd of this year.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN201707030.shtml

Doug
Doug
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Richard was already leading the NL in most hits allowed (as he also did in 2011), and doing so by a wide margin (11 up on his closest pursuers). Could be tough to catch after tonight.

no statistician but
no statistician but
6 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Not to dump on Richard but to revert to a subject we haven’t touched on here for a while:

Richard has a record of 5-10, his ERA is 5.35, ERA+ is 79, he lead the league, as you say, in hits allowed by a huge margin, and his FIP is 4.51. He’s pitching in a park with these factors: batting 95, pitching 97.

So why does he have a positive WAR figure of 0.3?

Doug
Doug
6 years ago

Good question. Richard gets a break (0.25 runs per 9) because the Padre defense is below average, so that could be part of it. Also, Richard hasn’t been uniformly bad as he’s gone 5+ innings allowing 4 runs or less in 14 of 20 starts. Thus, his waaWL% is .465 (i.e. an average team would have won 9 of the 20 games he started), so that would be better than replacement level.

David P
David P
6 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Adding to Doug’s response:

1) 0.1 of his WAR comes from hitting. He “only” has 0.2 pitching WAR.
2) He gets .20 runs/9 credit for being a starter.
3) His overall park factor is 98.9, pretty close to neutral.

In the end, he gives up 5.58 runs/9, whereas an average pitcher in those circumstances is expected to give up 5.06 runs/9. That difference, and taking into account his IP, makes him only 7 runs below average.

Daniel Longmire
Daniel Longmire
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Voomo, San Diego was named after a Catholic saint, and a friar held a religious service there way back in 1602, so the Padres name certainly reflects the history of the area.

I can certainly think of another team that is badly in need of a name change: Cleveland. But that discussion has already happened on here.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

Yes, I was going to mention Cleveland, but, as you said, we’ve covered it.
It would be so easy to revert to calling them the Naps.
At the very least, drop the Wahoo logo.
I was amazed to see them wearing that thing in the World Series.

But regarding San Diego, there are a lot of cities in California named after Catholic saints.
A sports team should be fierce, not saintly.
Change the name, change your fortunes.
How about… San Diego Fukushima Tides ?

Doug
Doug
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Change the name, change your fortunes.

The NL St. Louis Browns went 39-111 in 1898, and 29-102 in 1897 (and were 50+ games under .500 the two years before that). So, they changed their name (for one season) to the Perfectos and went 84-67 in 1899.

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
6 years ago
Reply to  Doug

“Changed their name”? There was a little more to it than that, Doug (as I’m guessing you know). On some unspecified date before the 1899 season, the Cleveland Spiders “assigned” Cy Young onto the roster of the St. Louis Perfectos. On March 29, 1899, the Spiders “assigned onto the roster” of the Perfectos 17 players: Frank Bates, Harry Blake, Jesse Burkett, Jimmy Burke, Cupid Childs, Lou Criger, Nig Cuppy, Emmet Heidrick, Cowboy Jones, Pete McBride, Ed McKean, Jack O’Connor, Jack Powell, Ossee Schrecongost, Patsy Tebeau, Bobby Wallace and Zeke Wilson. On the same date, the Perfectos “assigned onto the roster”… Read more »

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  Kahuna Tuna

This used to be called “syndicate baseball,” and it became ‘illegal’ under the rules adopted by the reformulated National and new American leagues.

Daniel Longmire
Daniel Longmire
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Agreed with you on all of your points in the first paragraph, Voomo, except my vote would be for the return of the Cleveland Spiders. There would be some excellent merchandising opportunities there, and one of the bars in Progressive Field could even be renamed “The Spiders’ Web”.

As for San Diego, considering their long-time association with the military and naval corps, how about the San Diego Sailors or San Diego Soldiers?

Someone should tell New Orleans that their football team is too saintly! 🙂

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

They’re truly stupid to not change it to the Spiders. Just imagine the money on merch. That’s why when I buy the New York team from the National League (and I should really keep this to myself, but, screw it…), I am going to get rid of the moniker : Metropolitans. And change it to: The Queens Cockroaches. First, because Queens is terribly unrepresented. And so is the letter Q Visualize the hat, with that big Q. And the cockroaches in Queens? Can’t kill ’em. Can’t keep em down. Shiny brown button down jersey, with the name split up: cock… Read more »

David P
David P
6 years ago

As a Cleveland fan, I’m honestly, not a fan of the Spiders nickname. Though part of Spiderman 3 was filmed in Cleveland, so there is that.

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

I guess I missed the earlier discussion on Cleveland’s team name, but unlike other Native American themed team names, the Indians’ name is derived from a person, Lou Sockalexis, who was a Spiders star (or, better, a nova), just as the Padres’ name is linked to Junipero Serra and his Franciscan brothers. Sockalexis was the first Native American MLB player, and his debut period in 1897 was so spectacular that fans immediately began to refer to the Spiders as the Indians. That memory was the source of the name choice after Nap Lajoie’s playing days were over. There’s not much… Read more »

Phil Gaskill
Phil Gaskill
6 years ago

1. I’ve seen the Sockalexis story debunked several times recently. Just saying.

2. Several major-league teams bear the names of their minor-league predecessors. Milwaukee Brewers. Los Angeles Angels. (Now I’ve gone brain-dead: I know there are more.) Anyway: San Diego Padres. Long-time PCL team.

David P
David P
6 years ago
Reply to  Phil Gaskill

1. Here’s the best debunking of the Sockalexis story. http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2014/03/18/the-cleveland-indians-louis-sockalexis-and-the-name/

2. The Marlins were also named after a minor league team. This article gives a bit of a history of how each team was named. http://mentalfloss.com/article/24358/whats-nickname-origins-all-30-mlb-team-names

And if we’re going to rename teams, shoulnd’t we start with the Braves? Not only do they have a racist name, but the name relates to their years in Boston and has no connection to Atlanta.

Phil Gaskill
Phil Gaskill
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

2. Yeah, I missed the Marlins. Still think I missed another one too, but who’s counting? And thanks for the article, David.

3. And the Braves, in addition to what you say, David, also broke the rule about All Milwaukee Teams Shall Be Named The Brewers. But once the Braves beat their way out of town, two MORE teams (counting the two leagues separately) have reverted to following the rule.

Doug
Doug
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

As debunkings go, that article was kind of weak. Makes the case that the team name Indians was not chosen to specifically honor Sockalexis. Instead, with the success of the miracle Braves the previous season, native American nicknames were in at that time. But, the article then goes on to cite a contemporary account like this: “(The Indians name) recalls the old fighting days of the early American League period, when the Cleveland players of those days were often referred to as the ‘Indians’.” That the 1890s and later Cleveland players had been referred to as Indians was specifically attributable… Read more »

no statistician but
no statistician but
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

Final sentence, second clause: Same could be said for Giants and Dodgers, plus any number of other migratory sports teams, notably the Utah Jazz. So what?

This subject to me is boring, repetitious, and played out. Voomo’s satire above is the only interesting thing in the thread. Call me curmudgeonly.

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago

My recall may be fuzzy, but when the Dodgers and Giants moved, there was in the Times some discussion of whether they would be called the Angels and Seals. The record to that point had been mixed (the Braves and Athletics on one side, the Browns/Orioles on the other). nsb may find this a topic for curmudgeonality, but team names and franchise identities seem to me essential components of the historical framework of baseball, the richness of which I think still distinguishes the MLB from other professional leagues. Kids who become fans may adopt their home teams regardless of other… Read more »

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago

Hmmmm. Actually my interest in 19th c. ball peaked many years later, although it was piqued in ’61 when the Mets’ name was announced.

Voomo Zamzibar
Voomo Zamzibar
6 years ago

I’m sure it seems like I’m wrongfully disdaining the name, but I actually spent most of my childhood in Queens, and really would like to see the Q recognized. And some of my earliest memories involve cockroaches that wouldn’t die.

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zamzibar

The roaches in Manhattan were persistent too: I was convinced as a child that they could smell fear and that’s why they just kept on coming. Years later, when I lived in a place where cockroaches fly – and fly right at you when you turn on the kitchen light at night – I came to recall the roaches of New York pacifically.

Voomo Zamzibar
Voomo Zamzibar
6 years ago

Ah yes, I spent parts of 6 years with palmetto bugs.
Once woke up to see one sitting in my hand, staring at me.

Paul E
Paul E
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Voomo,
“A sports team should be fierce, not saintly.” Kind of like the Redskins and Braves – fierce warriors defending their right to land and a life the interloping imperialists stole from them?

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

I think a team name should resonate, and that can work for saints or warriors, depending on the context. The Redskins have nothing to connect them with D.C. and the Braves had nothing to connect them with Boston, but the names acquired relevance as history bestowed it over time (more with the Redskins than the Braves, who, after all, suspended their warrior spirit to become the Bees, while their NFL counterparts were deserting Boston and “Braves” to become the Redskins). Some team names seem to me pretty synthetic, like the Cubs, Tigers, and Blue Jays, but time has sanctified the… Read more »

John
John
6 years ago

According to a book I read years ago and have now forgotten the title of, The Boston Braves were named to honor the Boston Tea Party. The Washington Redskins, originating in Boston as well, were also to honor the sane event. Hence both names are patriotic names, not derogatory racial slurs. that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  John

David P linked above to an article that describes the origin of the “Braves” this way: “James Gaffney, who became president of Boston’s National League franchise in 1911 [and who renamed the ‘Doves’ the ‘Braves’], was a member of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party machine that controlled New York City politics throughout the 19th century. The Tammany name was derived from Tammamend, a Delaware Valley Indian chief. The society adopted an Indian headdress as its emblem and its members became known as Braves.” The football team started as the Braves because they played in Braves field, and became the Redskins… Read more »

oneblankspace
6 years ago
Reply to  John

The NFL Braves had bought Indian-head uniforms, and moved from Braves Field to Fenway Park before they left Massachusetts, so they needed red in the name — Redskins was chosen.

Daniel Longmire
Daniel Longmire
6 years ago

Matt Davidson of the White Sox has whiffed 112 times in 275 plate appearances, a 40.7% strikeout rate. Only one other player has 200 or more PA and a 40 percent+ K rate in a season: Javier Baez in 2014, who was punched out 95 times in 229 appearances (41.5%).

Davidson has by far the highest batting average (.243) of anyone who struck out two-fifths of the time with at least 125 PA in a season. Jackie Warner of the ’66 Angels is a distant second at .211.

Doug
Doug
6 years ago

Davidson has a .344 BABIP this year, and .337 for his career (89 more PA).

Ken
Ken
6 years ago

Fewest losses in NL June7-July 19:
Dodgers 4
D’backs 15
Pirates 16
Braves 16

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago

With a HR in today’s (7-23-2017) game all of Brett Gardner’s 17 HR have come in Yankee victories. The record for most seasonal HR with all coming in a team victory is 18 held by Brandon Phillips in 2012 and Bobby Darwin in 1973.

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
6 years ago

Major-league pitchers have hit five triples this season. The Padres’ Luis Perdomo has hit three of them.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Reply to  Kahuna Tuna

Perdomo has those 3 3x and a double.
All of his hits are for extras.
The record in a season for all hits being XBH is 5:

Rick Wrona, 1994
Dixie Howell, 1957

Wrona was a Catcher who ended his AAAA career with a 3 double effort.
Howell was a Pitcher, and his season was a double, a triple, and 3 homers.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago

Someone mentioned on Twitter that Altuve currently has 34 hits in his last 15 games and was wondering if that was close to a record. Baseball-Reference replied hat it is a difficult search but I did find Ichiro with 39 hits in 15 games back in July 2004. I also found Rogers Hornsby with 37 hits in 15 games in 1923 and Billy Herman with 36 hits in 1935-1936. Perhaps someone out there can find a player with more than 39 hits in 15 games.

David P
David P
6 years ago

Cobb and Speaker also both had 36 hits in 15 games (1922 and 1923 respectively). Cobb holds the record for most hits in a month (68) but it happened in 1912 and BR doesn’t have game logs for that year. So no way of checking what his 15 game peak was for that month.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

Johnny Damon had 35 hits in 15 games in July 2000.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

Rod Carew had 39 hits in15 games in 1983.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

Carew, batting .500 in the 2nd week of May.
.402 at the all-star break.
Leads off in the AS game and reaches 3 times… at age 37.

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

According to his Retrosheet daily batting logs, Cobb had two 15-game stretches in 1912 where he rang up 37 hits: July 4 (first game) to July 19 (first game) (37 for 62, .597) and July 6 (first game) to July 20 (second game) (37 for 63, .587).

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

This is not at all comprehensive. Just peeked at the game-logs of a few likely seasons. We are missing the efforts of Shoeless Joe and Tyrus Raymond pre-1913 37 … George Sisler, 1920 (he also has a 36 with some overlap) 36 … Ty Cobb, 1922 36 … Tris Speaker, 1923 35 … Baby Doll Jacobsen, 1920 35 … Pie Traynor, 1928 35 … Bernie Williams, 2002 34 … George Sisler, 1920 (totally different streak than the 37/36) 34 … Al Simmons, 1925 34 … Paul Waner, 1927 34 … Lefty O’Doul, 1929 34 … Bill Terry, 1930 34 …… Read more »

alz9794
alz9794
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

To add to the list a little: 35 … Lou Gehrig, 1936 (6/7-6/24) 34 … Babe Herman, 1930 (7/27-8/8) 32 … Jimmie Foxx, 1929 (5/19-6/3) 32 … Lou Gehrig, 1930 (5/30-6/17) 32 … Jimmie Foxx, 1933 (6/25-7/8) 32 … Darin Erstad, 2000 (4/3-4/20) – from start of season 31 … Babe Herman, 1930 (4/20-5/7) 31 … Lou Gehrig, 1930 (8/9-8/28) 31 … Babe Herman, 1930 (8/31-9/15) 31 … Charlie Gehringer, 1937, (8/12-8/25) 31 … Tony Gwynn, 1997 (5/16-6/1) 30 … Kirby Puckett, 1987 (6/14-6/30) 30 … Kirby Puckett, 1987 (8/20-9/5) – this includes his 6 hit game 30 … Kevin… Read more »

David P
David P
6 years ago
Reply to  alz9794

Jose Ramirez had 30 between June 14th and June 27th of this year.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Reply to  alz9794

35 … Joe Medwick, 1936

alz9794
alz9794
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

I can’t seem to find anything over 35 games, much less over 39. It may be some notorious streak hitter who “only” hit .330 one year who did it. It looks like Hurricane Hazle tops out at 28 in 1957. 34 … Rogers Hornsby, 1922 (8/17-9/3) 34 … Bill Madlock, 1975 (6/3-6/16) 33 … Alex Rodriguez, 1996 (5/10-5/28) 33 … Joe Mauer, 2009 (8/2-8/18) 32 … Jim Bottomley, 1923 (5/5-5/22) 32 … Luke Appling, 1936 (9/7-9/23) 32 … Andres Galarraga, 1993 (6/1-6/19) 31 … Henie Manush, 1928 (9/11-9/28) 31 … Joe DiMaggio, 1939 (8/16-8/29) 30 … Zack Wheat, 1924 (4/15-5/5)… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Reply to  alz9794

34 … Paul Waner, 1936

I checked Dave Winfield in May of 1981.
Not sure what the Boss was referring to:
.324 / .380 / .457 / .837
It was his 4th best month out of 5.

Phil Gaskill
Phil Gaskill
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Yaz, last 15 games of 1967: “only” 23 for 44. But this is in the most pressure-packed environment conceivable: the midst of a FOUR-team pennant race. The Red Sox were either (a) tied for 1st, (b) half a game out of first, or (c) 1 game out of first for that whole stretch—up to the last game. The last three games, they were 1 game out, tied for first, and one game ahead, respectively. Yaz, in addition to hitting .523 during that stretch, hit his 40th through 44th homers (and scored 14 runs with 16 RBI) on his way to… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
6 years ago

Vaguely related trivia item: In searching players who had the most games in a season with four or more hits (Altuve has four in 2017), I came to a page listing batters who had five such games in a season. Next to each other in the alphabetical list were Babe Ruth, Yankees, 1927, and Chico Salmon, Indians, 1966. I doubt I’d have guessed that Salmon had any four-hit games in his entire career, let alone five in a single season. Seeing his name next to Ruth, 1927, was one of the more jarring stat moments I’ve had.

David P
David P
6 years ago

Unusual play in tonight’s Indians-Reds game as Michael Brantly hit into a Sac Fly Double Play. http://m.mlb.com/video/v1645417283/cincle-brantley-plates-zimmer-with-a-sacrifice-fly/?game_pk=490803 How unusual is that? Hard to say but here’s an article by Keith Olbermann from 2009 following a Sacrifice Fly Double Play by Brian Buscher. Olbermann noted: “The sage of the official scorer’s desk, Bill Shannon, claimed never to have seen it before in his umpteen years covering games. Same too for Bob Ryan and Gordon Edes of The Boston Globe. Add me to the list and you’ve got about 150 years of professional watching.” http://keitholbermann.mlblogs.com/2009/05/16/sacrifice-fly-double-play/ Though I guess it can’t be that… Read more »

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

As best I can tell, between LeMahieu’s April 2014 SF/DP and Brantley’s there were two sacrifice flies where a runner was doubled off the base he occupied when the pitch was delivered: 9/4/15: Rougned Odor, Rangers, top of the 6th inning, sacrifice fly (foul) off Garrett Richards, Angels, scoring Prince Fielder from third; Mitch Moreland was doubled off second. 6/24/16: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers, bottom of the 9th inning, sacrifice fly off Cody Allen, Indians, scoring Ian Kinsler from second; Cameron Maybin was doubled off first to end the game. Ouch. Both baserunners thought the fly ball had been dropped. The… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

Clayton Richard has done it again!
Following up his historic outing (3.2 IP, 14 H), he lost to the Metropolitans last night with this line:

8 IP
12 H
5 R
8 SO

The last time a pitcher hit all those numbers?
2010 … Adam Wainwright
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN201009140.shtml

Before that?
1999 … Kenny Rogers
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN199908150.shtml

Ken
Ken
6 years ago

The Royals current batting line is .251/.305/.419. According to my research, no team in history has finished with a BA of .251 or lower, OBP of .305 or lower, and a SLG of .419 or higher.

Daniel Longmire
Daniel Longmire
6 years ago
Reply to  Ken

What’s surprising about that stat is that the Royals are hardly an extra-base hit powerhouse: 10th in the AL in doubles, 5th in triples, and 8th in homers. The key probably lies in their MLB-worst 2.4 walks per game.

David P
David P
6 years ago

The Astros have a team slugging percentage of .505. Would that be a record? Baseball Almanac lists the 2003 Red Sox as the highest ever at .491 but no idea if that info is up to date.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

That info is up to date. The 1927 and the 1930 Yankees are tied for third and fourth with .488.

Daniel Longmire
Daniel Longmire
6 years ago

The Astros also have a streak going of 57 straight games with at least one double; the record is 75.

oneblankspace
6 years ago

The ’27 Yanks were third with .4884 while the ’30 version was fouth .4878 (we can break ties on these)

robb
robb
6 years ago

Is there a parallel case to Adrian Beltre of a player playing significant portions for three different teams making the HOF, as Beltre should on the first ballot? I think he will be the test case for someone making it who is not readily associated with ONE team.

David P
David P
6 years ago
Reply to  robb

Just looking back through some recent selections: 1) Roberto Alomar made the All-Star team with 4 different teams and got MVP votes with 3 of them. Never played more than 5 seasons with any team. 2) Goose Gossage made the All-Star team with 4 different teams and got Cy Young votes with 3 of them. Played a max of 6.5 seasons with a single team. 3) Reggie played 5+ seasons with 3 teams, and on each team he made multiple All-Star games and had at least one top 6 MVP finish. 4) Gaylord Perry won Cy Youngs with two different… Read more »

robb
robb
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

God I love High Heat Stats…

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  robb

I haven’t used the thumbs-up button before, but if not now, when?

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

Roger Clemens was an all-star and Cy Young winner for the Red Sox, Yankees, Astros and Blue Jays.

no statistician but
no statistician but
6 years ago
Reply to  David P

The earliest live ball era HOFer with multiple year-multiple team credentials is probably Goose Goslin. Playing most of his career prior to modern awards, he made one All-Star game, which wasn’t instituted until his 13th season, and got MVP vote recognition six times for three teams.

Then there’s the Rajah, I guess. Got MVP votes four years in a row for four different teams. Not that his HOF status was enhanced by this dubious fact.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

Carlos Rodon just pitched 4 innings and struck out 11.
That’s never been done before.

He also gave up
7 hits
3 walks, and
4 runs.

Amazing

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Rodon had a 2-2 count on the only non-K out, too. I wonder how often a pitcher is pulled after 4 innings because of pitch count,

David P
David P
6 years ago

Looks like there are 11 games in which a pitcher threw 4 or fewer innings, gave up 2 or fewer runs, and made 100 or more pitches.

The first was by Pat Rice on June 5th, 1991 (one of only two career starts). The most recent was by Mike Fiers on July 2nd of this year.

And oddly the first two times this happened, it was a Seattle pitcher doing it against Detroit.

no statistician but
no statistician but
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Sometimes I wonder if the minors aren’t playing better baseball than the majors. Rodon had a phenomenal ERA of over 10.00 prior to being brought up to the ChiSox in late June. It’s only 6.00+ for the parent team. This begs the question of why he would be brought up at all, though, with that kind of record. He’s obviously got a problem, but so does the management of the team.

oneblankspace
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

… and all the Sox’ RBI in a 7-2 loss.

Mike L
Mike L
6 years ago

Any interest in starting a Trade Deadline post and letting comments flow?

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

Assuming the Yankees can’t unload Ellsbury, and that Frazier is here to stay, they will have 5 outfielders when Hicks comes back. That makes Holliday expendable. Especially with Sanchez’s catcher-days-off, and they’ll likely want to go easy on Castro’s hammy when he returns. A full-time DH is not useful. Also, Headley’s footwork is not MLB-ready at 1st. That means they have two 3rd basemen. 1st base is fine with Choi/Cooper/ and-Austin-soon. Holliday should go. So who needs a DH? Boston has Hanley. Seattle has Cruz. Texas has an outfield rotation. St. Petersburg was using Dickerson until Keirmeier went down, now… Read more »

Mike L
Mike L
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

I don’t think the Yankees will cut Holiday just for the heck of it. He will be on the waiver wire, and they might just let a claim happen. Ellsbury isn’t going anywhere. It was a terrible signing to start with.

no statistician but
no statistician but
6 years ago

Kiss of death department:

Tonight the Astros lost 9-0 to the Phillies who have the worst record in the Majors. This comes, no doubt, thanks to the discussion her a couple of days ago of Houston’s record trending high slugging average.

I thought that kind of curse was reserved for the Sports Illustrated cover.

Mike L
Mike L
6 years ago

On June 12, Doug posted “Yankee Juggernaut Rolls On”. Yankees were 15 games above .500. Clearly, there’s a case to be made for your suggestion.

David P
David P
6 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

Yanks have won 3 in a row and 5 of 6. It’s clearly past time for Doug to write another article about how amazing they are. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
6 years ago

Brett Garner’s WOHR in tonight’s (7-27-2017) Yankee game was his 18th HR of the season, with all HR coming in Yankee wins. The record for most HR in a season, all in winning games is 18.

Daniel Longmire
Daniel Longmire
6 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Ichiro’s slash rates (.234/.301/.306) are now higher than his first season in Miami two years ago (.229/.282/.279), albeit with a much smaller sample size.

He has already indicated that he would like to return next year, and considering his rejuvenation as of late, who are we to doubt him?

no statistician but
no statistician but
6 years ago

Without Mike Trout during his stint on the DL, the Angels were 19-20. Since his return they’ve been 4-7. I’m not a Trout basher, but I’ve come to accept the fact that, despite his consistently high WAR figure, his team hasn’t seemed to be getting any particular boost from his presence lately. The 10.5 WAR last year was for a team that finished 74-88, 6 games below its Pythagorean expectation. To me this is reminiscent of the Cardinals during Hornsby’s heyday, when the Rajah was winning triple crowns and the team was finishing sixth out of eight.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

A bit of a small sample size, doncha think?
And Trout doesn’t pitch.
And they played St. Petersburg, Washington, Boston, and Cleveland.

He’s done this since coming back:
.286 / .388 / .524 / .912

His primary replacement was Cameron Maybin, who did this while Trout was out:
.243 / .315 / .387 / .702

You could point more to the fact that the guy batting behind Trout all year has done this:
.233 / .280 / .374 / .654
And since Trout has returned:
.171 / .209 / .268 / .478

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

So why is 4-7 bad?
Without Trout maybe they go 3-8, or 2-9.
They are a bad team, playing good teams.
Trout is one guy on a 40-man roster.

no statistician but
no statistician but
6 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

Voomo:

The point I’m trying to make is that there’s been no apparent impact, no apparent boost to his teammates, nothing to indicate, actually, that the team would have done any worse in those eleven games without him, and further, the conjecture that they might have done better is to my mind just as just as valid as yours saying that they might have done worse. The more I think about it, the more I believe Mookie Betts was robbed in the MVP voting last year. Yeah, he had a lot of help, but he made things happen.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
6 years ago

The thing is, that baseball is a marathon, and a team-sport. Expecting to see a clear impact from one player over a week and a half is not reasonable. Sure, one guy getting hot in a playoff series stands out, and is notable. But a bad team with a great player going 4-7 in July is nearly meaningless. They lost three of those games by 4 runs or more. Even if Trout gets a hit in every at-bat, they lose. 10.5 WAR means one win above replacement every 15.4 games. So on that pace, Trout is good for .7 WAR… Read more »

David P
David P
6 years ago

On June 7th, Fangraphs publisjed an article titled “The AL Is Stomping the NL Again”. At that point, the AL had a 61-42 record in interleague games.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-al-is-stomping-the-nl-again/

But…watch out! The AL advantage is down to 103-101, with a runs scored differential of 978-972.

The NL hasn’t won interleague play since 2003. Could this be the year they finally breakthrough???