A few days ago, Chris Davis reached 61 total homers in his most recent 162 MLB games.

Jimmie Foxx is just one of the many great players who weren’t inducted to the Hall of Fame within their first three years of eligibility. (Photo via Flickr)

Last night, a bunch of us on Twitter were having a discussing about Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker—as we baseball geeks are wont to do late on a Sunday night.

Then something happened… something shocking:

@HighHeatStats I don’t think either of them should be in, but I definitely think Whitaker is closer.

— David B (@obxleatherman) August 26, 2013

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HHS reader Jacob identified that Zack Cozart is currently leading the NL in both sacrifice hits (i.e. sacrifice bunts) and sacrifice flies. Should Cozart still have the same standing at the end of the season, he would become the first player since the sac fly was first officially recorded in 1954 to lead his league in both categories in the same season. Not only that, he would become just the fifth player to lead in both categories at any point in a career.

More on sacrifice hitting after the jump.

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Over the last few years we have been spoiled. It seems like every top prospect lately has come up, and proven themselves to be among the best in the game immediately. Bryce Harper started bashing from almost his very first pitch it, and only a midsummer slump last year slowed him down. Mike Trout looks like he might end up being the greatest player of all time, all the while finding a cure for cancer, and feeding the hungry. For 2/3s of this season Manny Machado was making a serious run at one of the oldest records in American sports, the single season doubles record. It does not usually work out this way. For every Alex Rodriguez, who came up and put together MVP quality seasons consistently in his early 20’s, there are 10 guys that need to adjust to Major League pitching.

On the other end of the spectrum we have a player like Raul Ibanez. Although he has cooled off lately, Ibanez still has a shot at setting the homerun record for any player of his age. These type of statistics have always fascinated me. I love watching an 18 year old hold his own, in the same league that  somebody literally 2 and a half times his age is also surviving in. I thought an interesting project would be to find the greatest hitting season ever for every age. This is purely from an offensive perspective. I did this because quite frankly I do not trust defensive metrics that over 20 years old. I do not want to exclude an old time player just because of my personal bias. This exercise is from a wide range of factors, not purely OPS+, or wRC+. I factored in playing time, quality of play, and impact on the game. All ages are based on the Baseball Reference definition, their age on June 30th. Today’s edition will have ages 18-29, while tomorrow I will have ages 30-40.

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Pirates 3, @Giants 1 — Just two kinds of batters, I think, had any chance of homering on this pitch from Madison Bumgarner: (1) Miguel Cabrera (sui generis); and (2) open-stance, bucket-stepping RHBs like Clint Barmes. Charlie Morton’s 4th straight strong effort (totaling 7 runs in 27.2 IP) kept Pittsburgh a game up on St. Louis, and pulled them up to one behind the Braves for MLB’s best record.

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With his home run against the Mets last night, Miguel Cabrera moved ahead of Jose Bautista for the most regular season home runs in the major leagues from 2010 through yesterday’s games.  Details after the jump. Continue reading →

Nationals 5, @Cubs 4 (13 inn.) — Washington’s third straight win pivoted on two pitcher assists, the first a perfectly placed dribbler that got the job done, the latter a screaming liner that Drew Storen deflected into a game-ending DP that sealed his first save since June. But the true drama came in the 9th, when the Cubs trailed 4-1 with 2 outs.

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They teased us last year, but this time it’s finally going to happen. Yes, barring an almost complete collapse, the Pittsburgh Pirates will indeed break the longest streak of futility in the history of the majors. Twenty seasons of losing baseball are coming to an end in the Steel City, and it could be official as early as Labor Day.

The last Pirates team to win more than it lost was back in 1992. How long ago was that? Consider:

• Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke were manning the Pirate outfield
• Miguel Batista debuted for Pittsburgh (he is the only player to appear that season who is still “active”)
• there were only two divisions in each league (and nary a wildcard to be found)
• the World Series had never been played outside the USA (although that was about to change)
• ballparks weren’t named after corporations
• Nationals, Rockies, Marlins, Diamondbacks, Rays (deviled or plain)? Never heard of ’em.
• 11 players would strike out at least 125 times (more have already done so in 2013)

More on the end of an era after the jump.

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This post is for voting and discussion in the twenty-seventh round of balloting for the Circle of Greats.  This round begins to add those players born in 1946.  Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

Johnny Bench may well have been the greatest all-around catcher in baseball history.  High Heat Stats voters showed no uncertainty in making him the 26th inductee into the Circle of Greats, by a wide margin.  More on Johnny, and the voting, after the jump. Continue reading →