This post is for voting and discussion in the 52nd round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This round begins to add those players born in 1928. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading
It took the very last vote cast to break a three-way tie, but Ron Santo, in his 16th ballot appearance, eked out a one-vote victory, over both his longtime teammate Ernie Banks and Juan Marichal. Santo becomes the 51st inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats. More on Ron and the voting after the jump (down the chimney?). Continue reading
In June of 1914, “Hans” Wagner became the second major leaguer to have accumulated 3,000 regular season hits in his career. But when during that June did he reach that milestone? Continue reading
This quiz identifies the only players with a season since 1961 achieving a particular offensive feat. What is this unusual achievement?
| Rk | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Maury Wills |
| 2 | Tom Goodwin |
| 3 | Darren Lewis |
| 4 | Brett Butler |
| 5 | Eric Yelding |
| 6 | Gerald Young |
| 7 | Steve Sax |
| 8 | Rickey Henderson |
| 9 | Bill North |
| 10 | Sandy Alomar |
Congratulations to Dan Mallon! He correctly identified that these are the only players having a qualifying season since 1961 with more times caught stealing than extra-base hits, “burning” their own teams with their speed and lack of offensive punch. Those seasons are after the jump.
Continue reading
Number 1 and Number 2 in the majors in pitches thrown during each regular season, 2009-2013:
2013 Justin Verlander 3,692, James Shields 3,657
2012 Justin Verlander 3,768, James Shields 3,617
2011 Justin Verlander 3,941, Dan Haren 3,774
2010 Dan Haren 3,749, Justin Verlander 3,745
2009 Justin Verlander 3,937, Felix Hernandez 3,633
This Circle of Greats (COG) vote is not to induct anyone into the Circle, but only to select two players who will be restored back on to the main ballot after having been previously been dropped from eligibility. This fourth “redemption round” (we also held such rounds after the 1960, 1950 and 1940 rounds of voting) gives voters a chance to reconsider past candidates who have been rejected. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading
This post is for voting and discussion in the 51st round of balloting for the Circle of Greats. This round adds to the ballot those players born in 1929. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading
After two rounds of balloting in which he received powerful voting support but fell short of induction, coming in behind first Mickey Mantle and then Willie Mays, Eddie Mathews this week rose to the top to become the 50th inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats. More on Eddie and the voting after the jump. Continue reading
While there can be many ways to measure a position player’s offensive value, one method could be to evaluate the proportion of his team’s runs that are attributable to his own offensive contributions, a quantity that might be described as “Run Share”. That approach identifies these players as most valuable to their teams in 2013.
Those selections were based on FanGraphs‘ version of Runs Created (wRC), represented as a proportion of the actual runs that the player’s team scored. After the jump, more on Run Shares as a measure of offensive value.
Today is Pi Day, March 14, 3/14, which seems to have become a thing. It ‘s kind of odd, really, to rely on a simple three-digit calendar designation to commemorate a mathematical phenomenon the most intriguing aspect of which is its status as an irrational number. But, hey, any occasion that celebrates two of my favorite things, numbers and bakery products, is OK with me.
Pi taken out to the fifth decimal place is 3.14159.
Joey Votto’s current career batting average taken out to the seventh decimal place is .3141509. Joey wins this year’s Archimedes Closest to Pi award.
Other baseball 314’s are after the jump. Continue reading