This Circle of Greats (COG) vote is not to induct anyone into the Circle. Instead, this round of voting will select three or more players who will be restored to the secondary ballot after having been previously dropped from eligibility.
Continue readingThis post is for voting and discussion in the 130th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This is the second of four rounds of balloting adding to the list of candidates eligible to receive your votes those players born in 1974. Rules and lists are after the jump.
Before Coors and humidors, JAWS and WAR, Larry Walker was just a late-season call-up hoping to make a difference for his team. Walker’s career as it pertains to the Hall of Fame has been well-covered, but what was the conversation like 30 years ago when the young Canadian first appeared for the Montreal Expos?
Continue readingThis post is for voting and discussion in the 129th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This is the first of four rounds of balloting adding to the list of candidates eligible to receive your votes those players born in 1974. Rules and lists are after the jump.
Always the staple of most pitchers’ repertoires, fastballs have nonetheless become less prominent during the time that data have been consistently recorded at the pitch level. I’ll explore that phenomenon and related questions after the jump.
Every year since 2008, 75% of relief appearances have been one inning or less. With that type of specialization, getting a clean appearance, or one without any charged runs, is the objective just about every time the manager goes to the bullpen. More on relief pitchers with the cleanest seasons is after the jump.
More frivolity to lighten the mid-winter blues. As there seemed to be some interest in my Christmas post on teams of players sharing a common birthday, I’ll add this little study to the mix.
A few years ago, regular contributor Richard Chester alerted me to a claim on Twitter to the effect that there had been only a very small number of occasions (I don’t recall the exact claim) when opposing starting pitchers had shared the same birth date, as in same birthday and same birth year. Richard and I quickly debunked that claim, identifying a considerably larger number of such games, which were the subject of a January 2016 Quiz post. I’ve expanded that study since then and added a bit of narrative on the protagonists. So, if you missed the quiz, here’s another chance to indulge in this bit of trivia. Continue reading
In the third and final installment of this series, regular contributor No Statistician But (or nsb) takes a look at outfielders whose careers were most impacted by military service during World War II. As with Part 1 on pitchers and catchers, and Part 2 on infielders, nsb is focusing not on the famous players, but on lesser known talents who lost at least two years to wartime military service that began not later than age 30. More after the jump. Continue reading
Merry Christmas everyone. For some holiday frivolity, here’s the best starting lineup among players born on Christmas Day.
| P | C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | LF | CF | RF |
| Pud Galvin | Gene Lamont | Walter Holke | Nellie Fox | Gene Robertson | Bill Akers | Rickey Henderson | Ben Chapman | Jo-Jo Moore |
Strength on the mound, at second and in the outfield. The rest of the team is after the jump. Continue reading
In the second installment of this series, regular contributor No Statistician But (or nsb) takes a look at infielders whose careers were most impacted by military service during World War II. As with Part 1 on pitchers and catchers, nsb is focusing not on the famous players, but on lesser known talents that fame passed by, in part because of their wartime service. More after the jump. Continue reading