Frank Thomas, The Big Hurt, capped strong showings in each of our COG votes so far with a solid victory, appearing on 52 of 79 ballots cast to earn induction. More on Thomas, and the voting, after the jump. Continue reading
I’ve been staring at my computer for hours, trying to figure out a poetic way to summarize Barry Bonds‘ career. In between bouts of writer’s block, I’ve gawked at his career stats so many times that I’ve memorized them: a batting line of .298/.444/.607, 762 home runs, 688 intentional walks, 514 stolen bases, a 158.1 bWAR.
Bonds is undoubtedly one of the game’s most powerful and feared hitters. Over 22 seasons, 1,224 pitchers helped pave his path to Cooperstown, and I can’t help but wonder how many of those received even a modicum of success against his 1.051 OPS and .435 wOBA.
Kenny Lofton / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
With Kenny Lofton receiving a miserable 3.2% of the vote in yesterday’s Hall of Fame balloting, he’s gone from future consideration despite 6 All-Star appearances, 4 Gold Gloves, and 64.9 career WAR (greater than the totals of more than 50 players already enshrined.)
With a hat tip to @phungo2008 for asking the question, here are the players with the highest career WAR totals who fell off the Hall of Fame ballot in their first year of eligibility:
Lou Whitaker (71.4 WAR, 2.9% in 2001) Bill Dahlen (70.9 WAR, 0.4% in 1938) Bobby Grich (67.3 WAR, 2.6% in 1992) Kenny Lofton (64.9 WAR, 3.2% in 2013) Kevin Brown (64.3 WAR, 2.1% in 2011) Willie Randolph (63.0 WAR, 1.1% in 1998) Buddy Bell (61.6 WAR, 1.7% in 1995) Reggie Smith (60.8 WAR, 0.7% in 1988) David Cone (58.8 WAR, 3.9% in 2009) Sal Bando (57.1 WAR, 0.7% in 1987)
A new notes:
What hasn’t been written about the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot? You’ve got the law and order folks keeping out Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, the traditionalists putting in Jack Morris and Dale Murphy, and those of questionable sanity voting for Sandy Alomar, Jr. And let’s not forget the blank ballots. On second thought, let’s try to. That being said, everyone has a voice, regardless of whether or not they are a part of the BBWAA.
That’s where I come in. Player-by-player analysis and commentary after the jump.
With the news of Adam LaRoche‘s new deal with Washington, I remembered his well-known history of slow starts and hot finishes. Thanks to B-R’s new batting split finder (beta), we can compare his 1st-half/2nd-half splits to those of other players.
September 2, 1918 — Senators 8, Athletics 3
There is a sort-of point to this one, believe it or not. It started with a search for the lowest team-leading home run total. Result: Three teams in modern history were led by players with exactly one home run. They are the White Sox of 1908 and ’09 — the tail end of the “Hitless Wonders,” who shocked the mighty Cubs in the 1906 World Series — and the 1918 Senators, on whom we’ll focus.
Jeff Cirillo is a true throwback player, the only player in the expansion era with an unusual batting feat, accomplished since 1935 only by these hitters. What is this now rare seasonal feat?
| Player |
| Jeff Cirillo |
| Ted Williams |
| Jackie Robinson |
| Joe DiMaggio |
| Lou Gehrig |
| Zeke Bonura |
| Luke Appling |
| Charlie Gehringer |
| Gus Suhr |
| Joe Medwick |
Hint: from 1920 to 1934, this feat was accomplished a total of 30 times by 20 different players.
Congratulations to Artie Z! He correctly identified the players in the quiz as those since 1935 to have one or more seasons driving in teammates and being driven in by them 100 or more times each. That is, R – HR and RBI – HR are both 100 or more. Jeff Cirillo, with 11 HR, 111 Runs and 115 RBI in 2000, is the first and only player since 1949 to accomplish this feat. The 43 times this has been done since 1920 are here. The 6 times this was done from 1901 to 1919 are here.
And, congratulations to Richard Chester! He solved the follow-up quiz, identifying Sammy Sosa’s 2001 season as the first and only season since 1949 with Runs plus RBI totaling to 300 or more. Here’s that list.
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April 8 in Detroit — Tigers 13, Red Sox 12 (11 innings):
In one of the year’s wildest tilts, Detroit rallied twice from death’s door to complete an opening-series sweep. After 4 innings it was tied at 7, with both starters drubbed and departed. Boston forged ahead in the 6th when Adrian Gonzalez punished the first pitch from lefty Daniel Schlereth, and behind Vicente Padilla‘s four scoreless innings, they took a 3-run lead into the 9th. It seemed a routine first save try for the newly anointed closer, Alfredo Aceves.
This post is for voting and discussion of the fourth round of voting for the Circle of Greats, which adds players born in 1965. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading
As expected, Greg Maddux was the winner of this round by an enormous margin, essentially by acclamation, and becomes the third Circle of Greats inductee, joining Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell.
–Our first three inductees collectively generated 232.3 career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) (b-ref version) in the NL and -0.1 WAR in the AL.
–Christy Mathewson and Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander were rather clearly the two greatest NL pitchers over the 1900 to 1930 period. Since then, 1930-2012, its seems to me a very close call for “Best Pitching Career in the NL” between Seaver and Maddux. Maddux may get a slight edge, with Seaver having spent a few of his late, but still productive, years over in the AL. What do you think? Tom and Greg did have somewhat contrasting styles: Seaver more the strikeout pitcher, Maddux more the contact/groundball guy, though really they were both great all-around. Both had spectacular peaks as well as long-term value, and were also respected as individuals. More election result details after the jump.
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