Wrapping up my mini–series on Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker with a look at how timing hurt their Hall of Fame chances, and a bunch of other stuff. Throughout this post, all seasons are projected to 162 games unless noted.

Timing hurt their HOF chances in many ways, but I’ll detail two major factors:

• Offense soared just as they were on their way out. Comparing Trammaker’s 1978-93 prime to the next 16 years, AL scoring rose by 12%.
• More great middle infielders played during Trammaker’s time than any other in MLB history, including three of the seven best (Joe Morgan, Cal Ripken and Alex Rodriguez).

There’s a third factor whose effect I can’t gauge, so let’s start with the certainties.

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One thing that the Yankees will not experience as a result of of Alex Rodriguez’s suspension for the full 2014 season: a dramatic drop in A-Rod’s games played at third base as compared to 2013.  Alex only played in 27 games at third last season.  Indeed, the guy who played the most games at third for the Yanks this past season was Jayson Nix, who himself appeared at third in only 41 games for the Yankees (Nix recently agreed on a minor league deal with Tampa for 2014).

It is extremely rare for a major league team to go a full season with no one player playing at least 42 games for them at third base. Before the 2013 Yankees, only five other teams have done that since 1901.  After the jump, a look at those teams. Continue reading →

Interesting group of different kinds of players. That’s the attraction of this quiz.

But this ballplayer potpourri are the only players with a season since 1901 with a particular batting accomplishment. What is this unusual exploit?

Congratulations to Artie Z! He correctly identified these players as having the only seasons since 1901 with 120 runs scored and matching triple and HR totals. For whatever reason, having a season with those two totals matching seems to be strongly correlated with going to the HOF. More on this curious quirk after the jump.

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Suppose we knew nothing of OPS+, WAR, or any other offensive measure invented since Babe Ruth. How do the traditional batting stats of Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell compare to subsequent Hall of Famers at their positions, if each is ranked among his contemporaries?

Here are 16-year rankings against their contemporary middle infielders, for Trammell and Whitaker plus four Hall of Famers (or soon to be): Ryne Sandberg, Roberto Alomar, Barry Larkin and Craig Biggio. Names have been removed, and the listings are unordered. Can you spot the Hall of Famers?

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This post is for voting and discussion in the 43nd round of balloting for the Circle of Greats.  This round adds to the ballot those players born in 1935.  Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

After appearing on around 40% of the ballots submitted in each of his first four rounds of eligibility, a level that had not been quite high enough to earn induction, Gaylord Perry broke though this time, appearing on over 50% of the ballots, solidly ahead of Ron Santo, who finished second in the voting.  Perry becomes the 42nd player inducted into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats.  More on Gaylord and the voting after the jump. Continue reading →

Another HOF vote has come and gone, happily with better results than last year’s fiasco. But, there will be some crowded ballots in the next few years, so one can only hope that deserving players don’t drop off with unseemly haste.

There will, in fact, be so many notable players on coming ballots that I thought it could be useful to try to organize them in some structured way, if only to provide an objective way to assess the performance of voters in the coming elections.

After the jump, a handicapper’s guide to coming Hall of Fame elections.

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Alan Trammell‘s Hall of Fame support fell to 21% on this year’s ballot; in two years, he’ll join Lou Whitaker in veterans committee limbo. To channel my grief, I’ve been shaping some thoughts about them. This post is about peak WAR and career value patterns for a 2B/SS tandem.

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Since 1901, 318 baseball players have posted a 150 OPS+ or better with at least 500 plate appearances. Just 10 of these players, though, have surpassed a 150 OPS+ while walking 25 times or fewer, including just two players since the Deadball Era.

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Most Homers In a Season By a Hall of Famer:
60, by Babe Ruth (1927)
59, by Babe Ruth (1921)
58, by Hank Greenberg (1938) and Jimmie Foxx (1932)
56, by Hack Wilson (1930)
54, by Mickey Mantle (1961), Ralph Kiner (1949) and Babe Ruth (1920 and 1928)
52, by Willie Mays (1965) and Mickey Mantle (1956)

Those top two Ruth seasons are eighth and ninth on the full most-homers-in-a-season list.  Bonds, Maris, two McGwire seasons and three Sosa seasons are ahead of the Babe.

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