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.
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:
More on the end of an era after the jump.
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
“Yadi knows everything about every single hitter, exactly what to throw. If you execute your pitches and throw them where he wants the ball, you’re going to get hitters out, have a better ERA, win the game. I seriously believe that all the success I’ve had is totally on him.” – St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie Shelby Miller
“It’s not just instinct. It’s sense, based on how a hitter’s standing, how he responds to the pitch or two before, and he’s very creative in how he makes his adjustment based on what he sees with the hitter and knowing what his pitcher can do. That’s art.” – Former manager Tony La Russa
“With him catching me, I never had to worry. It’s never like he was back there guessing. He gets to know his pitchers. He got to know me, what I like to do, my strengths and weaknesses. When I got into trouble, what do we need to do to get me out of it? Those are the things he not only has to remember for one guy, but a whole staff. The ability to do that is pretty amazing.” – Milwaukee Brewers’ pitcher Kyle Lohse
The quotes listed above are just a small sampling of the praise that has generally rained down on Yadier Molina over the past 5 seasons or so. He’s widely regarded as the best defensive catcher in baseball thanks to his sublime framing skills, his Howitzer arm, and a glove so soft that Adam Wainwright once described it as a pillow. But can the mighty Molina really lower a pitcher’s ERA while taking runs off the board, as Shelby Miller and so many others claim? Or is there something else at work here? Let’s dive into the data to see if we can catch a glimpse at the inner workings of St. Louis’ finest:
@Reds 10, D-backs 7 — Officially a wild one, with one chap doing two things you’ve never seen before.
In many years there are no exciting award races. The MVP will be clear cut in both leagues. The Cy Young awards will be preordained. The Rookie of the Year winners will be decided by the time the Opening Day rosters are announced. Gladly 2013 is not one of those years. I would venture to say that none of the major awards have a guy whom should clearly take home the crown. Maybe you could make a case Kershaw has separated himself, but Harvey is right on his tail. Perhaps the voters will love Cabrera’s run at a second triple crown, but Trout is probably going to defeat him in WAR again. There are many great races, but my personal favorite this year is for the AL Cy Young, if only because there are so many fantastic choices. There is a good chance that many voters will be lazy, and just vote for Max Scherzer because of his record, but they will be doing themselves a disservice. This race deserves an advanced breakdown.
Dodgers 6, @Marlins 4 — Yasiel Puig showed up late, so he didn’t wait for elevator, but took the stairs instead. Bye-bye, losing “streak.”
There has been a lot of excitement the past couple days over one of the most hyped and promising prospects in baseball being called up to the Majors. For those of you haven’t heard Boston Red Sox 20 year old shortstop Xander Bogaerts is making his MLB debut tonight. While perusing baseball reference yesterday I noticed that there had never been a Xander, nor a Bogaerts in history. This led me to ask who some other players of note there have been, where both their first and last names were specific to them in the annals of Major League history. Many great people chimed in with helpful answers, notably Andy on this very site, and Bill Parker, who does wonderful work at the Platoon Advantage. I have compiled my own personal list of the All-Time team of players who fit this criteria. Somethings to note before we begin, to qualify a players birth name must be unique, no nicknames. Also the player had to play a sizable portion of their career at said position, not just a couple of appearances. Lastly this list is not the greatest in terms of WAR, or any other measure, it is my list. Feel free to leave yours in the comments. Who knows, maybe Xander Bogaerts himself will earn a spot someday.
The Infield:
Catcher- Harry “Muddy” Ruel- Compiled a career OBP of .365
First Base- Ferris Fain- Farris was a 2 time batting champ with the Philadelphia Athletics
Second Base- Placido Polanco- Polanco has over 1000 career runs scored.
Third Base- Harmon Killebrew- 11th all-time in homeruns.
Shortstop- Nomar Garciaparra- 882 OPS, the 2nd best among shortstops with 1000 games.
The Outfield:
Left Field- Yoenis Cespedes- Career 121 OPS+
Center Field- Tristram “Tris” Speaker-His 792 doubles are the most all-time
Right Field- Vada Pinson- One of only 22 players ever with 250 steals and 250 homeruns.
The Pitchers:
Number 1 Starter- Sanford “Sandy” Koufax-Was the youngest man ever inducted into HOF
Number 2 Starter- Rik “Bert” Blyleven- 5th most strikeouts ever.
Number 3 Starter- Orel Hershiser- MLB record 59 inning scoreless streak
Number 4 Starter- Carsten “CC” Sabathia- Tied for the 2nd in Pitchers WAR since 2000
Number 5 Starter- Sefat “Yu” Darvish- Has the highest career K% of any starter ever.
Closer: Ugueth Urbina- Had 9 straight seasons with more than a K an inning