In case you missed it (like me), last week (on June 16, to be precise), Torii Hunter cranked home run number 300 to become the 136th member of that club. What was once a momentous feat now just attracts a kind of … ho hum … “Good for him!” type of recognition. Sort of like the attention paid to Ryan Howard‘s 300th at the end of last season (unless you missed that one too).

Once akin to a pitcher reaching 300 wins, 300 homers no longer has anything like that luster. After the jump, I’ll take a closer look at the 300 home run milestone, and preview a possible coming change in its significance.

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In 1896, Hall of Fame shortstop Hughie Jennings batted .401 and scored 125 runs while driving in 121. That’s a pretty great season, of course, but not that unusual, particularly during the era when hitting .400 was reasonably feasible. Continue reading →

This Circle of Greats 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 second “redemption round” (we also held one after the 1960 round of voting) gives voters a chance to reconsider past candidates that have been rejected.  Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

Tim Raines emerged from a very close election as the 22nd inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats.  After  the  lead in the voting  swung back and forth for much of the week, Raines nudged out Tony Gwynn with some late gains over the last couple of days.  More on Tim, and the 1950 round of voting, after the jump. Continue reading →

Clearing the decks, getting ready for Tuesday’s full slate:

@Dodgers 3, Giants 1: Creo que este chico va a hacer. (translation) We can’t help noticing everything about Yasiel Puig, including his strikeout-to-walk ratio (17/3) and his tendency to swing at the first pitch (41%, or half again the MLB average). But as to the latter, there’s no one right approach. And this table of 2013’s highest 1st-pitch-swing rates suggests that an aggressive approach suits talented hitters just fine (see right-most column):

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“Please don’t be long … please don’t you be very long” — I’m hoping the topic’s not moot by the time you finish!

(1) Since 1969 and before Toronto’s current streak, there were 66 one-season streaks of at least 11 wins that had a chance to be extended.* Those teams went 30-36 bidding for game 12.

* The 1970 and ’71 Orioles each won their last 11 games of the year and are not included in this count.

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Wish I could follow ’em all … Anyway, if it streaks, it leads.

@Blue Jays 13, Orioles 5: Strafing Freddy Garcia for a 9-0 lead after 3 innings, Toronto went on to a season high in runs and tied the club record with their 11th straight win, moving 5 games from 1st place. Josh Johnson faded late, but earned his first win in 8 tries for the Blue Jays. Edwin Encarnacion led the 14-hit assault with his 21st HR and 4 RBI, giving him 63 for the year. Toronto’s is the longest winning streak since Detroit won 12 in September 2011.

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A new HHS podcast is available!

We have added a page for all the podcasts. You can click on “Podcast” in the navigation bar at the top of the page, or click right here.

It would be very helpful if you could leave a rating or review on our iTunes page. Just search for High Heat Stats, then leave your review.

Rangers 6, @Cardinals 4: What began as a slugfest wound up as an odd sort of pitchers’ duel. It was 4-all in the 2nd, and none would have thought it could stay so to the 9th. Derek Holland yielded 4 doubles and 4 runs in the first 2 innings, then pitched 5 no-hit innings. Cards starter Tyler Lyons gave back a 3-run lead in the 2nd after walking Holland and Kinsler with 2 outs, but erstwhile trashman Joe Kelly shouldered the yoke and plowed straight to the 7th, logging a career-best 5 scoreless innings.

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The three most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S., by far, are the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago areas.  The smallest of the three, the Chicago metro area, had a 2012 population estimated at about 9.5 million people, about 40% more than that in the fourth largest metro area, the Dallas/Forth Worth/Arlington area.

These three giant metro areas have been continuously represented by a total of six major league franchises since 1962.  Over that time, these six jumbo-market teams have, looked at collectively, been relatively successful, especially in recent years.  The six teams as a group have not had a collective winning percentage below .500 in any full regular season since 1999, and have been collectively over .500 in 34 of the 51 seasons from and including 1962 through and including 2012.  Their best years as a group have been 2008, when the six franchises produced a collective .564 winning percentage, followed by 1985 (.558), and 1998 (.554).  More after the jump. Continue reading →