Here are players who posted a very strong 1st or 2nd season (specifically they had to be among the 172 guys since 1901 to qualify for the batting title with an OPS+ of at least 125 in either year) but finished with a career OPS+ no higher than 110: Continue reading →

Former major-leaguer Danny Clyburn, who sadly died yesterday, hit only 4 major-league homers, but he hit them off some really good pitchers:

Three of his four homers came against the Red Sox, and all 4 pitchers were good.

Craig Biggio gets emotional before his final major-league at bat in 2007 / Icon SMI

Our recent discussion about Lou Brock a couple of questions about comparisons with Craig Biggio, who himself will be eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time coming up soon. In short, there really is no comparison.

At first glance, Brock and Biggio have a number of similarities:

• They both hit leadoff a lot in their careers
• 3000 hits thanks in part to a long career
• lots of speed & stolen bases
• lots of doubles
  negative defensive contribution
• OPS+ of about 110

After that high-level view, though, Biggio really separates himself from Brock (and most other players) when you dig into the details. Continue reading →

OK, folks, as spring training approaches, it’s time to familiarize yourself with some of the lesser-known things you can do with Baseball-Reference.com. Continue reading →

Last season, Baltimore closer Kevin Gregg turned in a season unique in the annals of relief pitching:

Continue reading →

Just another nice baseball photo to get the juices flowing…

Jayson Werth homers, 9/8/2011 / Icon SMI

Werth did indeed homer on this swing, and you can tell he got all of it. Notice how his bat is ever-so-slightly bent after making square contact.

If Werth can rebound to have a good year–even .270/.370/.470–the much-improved Nationals should win at least 85 games in 2012.

Baseball pictures don’t get better than this… Continue reading →

Here are the 10 most valuable hit-by-pitches in 2011, ranked by Win Probability Added for the team whose batter was plunked. Continue reading →

Thanks to offseason transactions, Justin Verlander is now the only active 100-game winner who is still with his original team. Verlander is signed with Detroit for another three years.

As you see in the table below, there were two such pitchers at the end of 2011, both toiling in the Windy City:

But those 2011 leaders are now both with Miami: Mark Buehrle went free agent after 161 wins in the pale hose (#6 on the franchise list, 2 shy of Wilbur Wood), while Carlos Zambrano was mercy-traded to the Marlins after wearing out his welcome both on and off the Wrigley playing field. Big Z is #11 on the Cubs’ career list with 125 wins, 3 short of Pete Alexander.

Only three other active one-team pitchers have 80+ wins: Ervin Santana (87) and Jered Weaver (82) of the Angels, and Seattle’s Felix Hernandez (85), who is the active SP leader in WAR for his original team (29.1 to Verlander’s 27.2). All three are under contract for at least the next two years, though there is much trade speculation about King Felix.

Buehrle’s departure from the South Side means that Ron Guidry remains the one-franchise leader in the free-agent era with 170 wins:

From 1920 through 1974 — comprising 958 team-seasons — there were 30 pitchers with at least 200 wins, of which 15 won 200+ on behalf of one team (whether or not they also pitched elsewhere). But since the dawn of free agency in 1975 (comprising 1,024 team-seasons), only 3 out of 23 pitchers with 200 wins did so for one team: teammates Tom Glavine (244) and John Smoltz (210) with Atlanta, and Andy Pettitte (203) with the Yankees. Three more came close: Jack Morris won 198 with Detroit, Greg Maddux 194 with Atlanta and Roger Clemens 192 with Boston.

Sidebar: Verlander and Weaver have been linked ever since they were drafted in 2004:

• Verlander went #2 over all that year, while Weaver (the collegiate player of the year) slipped to #12 due to “signability concerns” (Latin name: Borasthesia).
• Both were MLB fixtures within 2 years; Verlander broke camp with the 2006 Tigers and wound up as Rookie of the Year, while Weaver was called up in late May and placed 5th on that ballot.
• Each has at least 11 wins every year since 2006; they rank #1 and #4 in AL wins in that span.
• Verlander led the majors in strikeouts last year, Weaver the year before.
• Verlander edged Weaver for the AL ERA crown last year, 2.40 to 2.41.
• Verlander also holds a slim edge in their 5 career face-offs, with a 3-2 record and 3.89 ERA, compared to 2-3, 4.50 for Weaver.
• Their career bWAR values are virtually the same — 27.2 for Verlander, 26.8 for Weaver.

On Twitter, @Minor_Leaguer (who writes for Bluebird Banter) asked about players who have been traded twice or more together. He cited Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino, who were both involved in the following trades:

July 29, 1996: Traded by the New York Mets with Jeff Kent to the Cleveland Indians for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza.

November 13, 1996: Traded by the Cleveland Indians with a player to be named later, Jeff Kent and Julian Tavarez to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later and Matt Williams. The Cleveland Indians sent Joe Roa (December 16, 1996) to the San Francisco Giants to complete the trade. The San Francisco Giants sent Trent Hubbard (December 16, 1996) to the Cleveland Indians to complete the trade.

Can you think of any other examples of players who were traded together two or more times?