tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60453167587316257032024-03-13T17:19:24.551-04:00High Heat StatsBaseball stats--pure and simple.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-45562865698738285412012-01-31T19:34:00.000-05:002012-01-31T19:34:48.220-05:00We have moved to HighHeatStats.com!We have moved the blog to our new permanent home at <b><a href="http://highheatstats.com/">HighHeatStats.com</a></b>. Please update your bookmarks and/or RSS feed reader.<br />
<br />
A few notes:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>All content on this old blog will remain here in perpetuity.</li>
<li>The new blog features an open comment system, so if you had trouble posting comments here, be sure to check out the new location.</li>
<li>Similarly, the new blog is on its own domain (instead of Blogger) so if you were blocked at work, you'll be able to view it now.</li>
</ul><div>Thanks for all your support on this transitional blog and come check us out at our new home!</div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-24387443527509137652012-01-31T11:11:00.000-05:002012-01-31T11:11:08.715-05:0010-year WAR leaders, by positionHere are the overall leaders in bWAR for the past 10 years combined (2002-11), by position:<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-year-war-leaders-by-position.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-21190196294350888582012-01-31T09:30:00.000-05:002012-01-31T09:30:58.724-05:001986 Mets anagrams<b>C</b>: Racy garter<br>
<b>1B</b>: Harkened zenith<br>
<b>2B</b>: Macaw blankly / Futile Met<br>
<b>3B</b>: Yank right<br>
<b>SS</b>: A fan at arsenal<br>
<b>LF</b>: Forego greets<br>
<b>CF</b>: Lanky nerd sty<br>
<b>RF</b>: Starry dry warbler<br>
<br>
<b>Bench</b>: I'm like son...woo!, I'll kvetch mine, Nod jaw..oh horns!, Penny head, I'm a Lee...I'll zz...<br>
<br>
<b>SP</b>: Winged hot dog<br>
<b>SP</b>: Darn girl...no!<br>
<b>SP</b>: Jobbed a boy<br>
<b>SP</b>: Frenzied sand<br>
<b>SP</b>: I lick area rug<br>
<br>
<b>CL</b>: Mr. College word / Jeers...coos...so?<br>
<b>RP</b>: Skid...go us!<br>
<b>RP</b>: Remand a ninny<br>
<br>
<b>Manager</b>: Enjoy vans....doh!<br>
<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/1986-mets-anagrams.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-90308448213476737632012-01-30T09:34:00.000-05:002012-01-30T09:34:15.338-05:00Super Bowl silliness<b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reynoal01.shtml">Super</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bowlech01.shtml">Bowl</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rescixa01.shtml">X</a><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/carltst01.shtml">L</a><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/musiast01.shtml">VI</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/galloji01.shtml">New</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/perezyo01.shtml">York</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl/player_search.cgi?search=giants">Giants</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vanslan01.shtml">vs.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/haleod01.shtml">New</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/coxda01.shtml">England</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/nonmlbpa/gillipa99.shtml">Pat</a><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.baseball-reference.com%2Fbullpen%2FDisco_Demolition_Night&ei=F6omT_StFsja0QHdrLGFCQ&usg=AFQjCNHKFNo1S3uOg3Y6VN8xWdZJCkeAKg&sig2=_-gyTGoej9jje10xQwmbKw">riots</a></b>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-70856306227954772522012-01-28T23:07:00.002-05:002012-01-29T20:44:55.078-05:00Franchise Games Leaders - Position PlayersHere are the leaders in games played for each current franchise, as compiled by me through the B-R Play Index.<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/franchise-games-leaders-position.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-58510568337691944232012-01-27T17:20:00.000-05:002012-01-27T17:20:50.787-05:00Juan Pierre sucks. Bad.The Phillies signed <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pierrju01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Juan Pierre</a></strong> to a minor league deal.<br>
<br>
Here are some random observations about his career stats.<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/juan-pierre-sucks-bad.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-47230477500262371642012-01-27T09:00:00.000-05:002012-01-27T09:00:01.898-05:00THIS guy played for THAT team?Following up on <a href="http://nightowlcards.blogspot.com/2012/01/popular-topics-he-played-for-that-team.html">a recent post at Night Owl Cards</a>, here is a look at some unusual photos of players in a uniform that we don't really associate them with. I'm drawing all of my cards from the 1988 Topps Traded set.<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-guy-played-for-that-team.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-71079073206279120382012-01-27T00:18:00.001-05:002012-01-27T00:18:20.318-05:00Best 5-Year WAR by Non-HOF PitchersSince 1893, these are the non-Hall of Fame pitchers with at least <b>25.0 WAR in a 5-year span</b>. Only those retired long enough to have appeared on a HOF ballot are listed. Limit one entry per pitcher. Baseball-Reference WAR formula is used.<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/best-5-year-war-by-non-hof-pitchers.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-16022360937729772312012-01-26T13:31:00.003-05:002012-01-26T17:19:19.331-05:00Trivia Time # 214,000,000<i>[Note: The trivia question has been answered; see comment #17.]</i><br />
<br />
What statistic unites <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fieldpr01.shtml" target="_blank">Prince Fielder</a> and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hartnga01.shtml" target="_blank">Gabby Hartnett</a> as a unique group in the history of major league baseball?<br />
<br />
The correct answer will be in the form of:<br />
<b>"Prince Fielder and Gabby Hartnett are the only players in MLB history who have ______."</b><br />
<br />
P.S. The headline is <i>not</i> intended as a hint.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-9264145654779397912012-01-26T09:00:00.000-05:002012-01-26T09:00:10.229-05:00The 50 most underrated pitchers in history<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--oogLI-s7Cs/TyCg-6EnO8I/AAAAAAAAKCs/ZTrhHvo3CCk/s1600/phil_niekro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--oogLI-s7Cs/TyCg-6EnO8I/AAAAAAAAKCs/ZTrhHvo3CCk/s320/phil_niekro.jpg" width="244"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phil Niekro in 1987<br>
Icon SMI</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We've reached our final list for this exercise, and this one is the most underrated pitchers. We use the same metric (warts and all) as with the previous posts.<br>
<br>
This photo to the left has been the basis of many baseball cards that used drawings of players. See, for example, <a href="http://www.checkoutmycards.com/Cards/Baseball/2008/Upper_Deck_Goudey/10/Phil_Niekro/4144324">this 2008 Upper Deck Goudey card</a>.<br>
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<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/50-most-underrated-pitchers-in-history.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-44032204835608620972012-01-25T22:42:00.001-05:002012-01-25T22:42:36.005-05:00Miggy & the PrinceThere will be no shortage of talk about the size of the contract Detroit gave to <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fieldpr01.shtml" target="_blank">Prince Fielder</a> ... not to mention the size of the player himself. But for the moment, let's look at teams that have had two hitters as good as Fielder and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cabremi01.shtml" target="_blank">Miguel Cabrera</a>.<br>
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Among all MLB hitters over the past 3 seasons, Cabrera and Fielder rank #2 and #5(t) in OPS+:<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/miggy-prince.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-87605615386788177142012-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:002012-01-25T09:00:13.348-05:00The 50 most overrated pitchers in baseball historyDON'T FREAK OUT.<br>
<br>
This study uses the same methodology as <a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/50-most-overrated-batters-in-baseball.html">the 50 most overrated batters post</a>.<br>
<br>
That means it's skewed towards career WAR over peak WAR, as well as targeting pitchers who were more popular or pitched more recently.<br>
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Thus, the list is populated mainly with great pitchers who had shorter careers and excellent recent pitchers.<br>
<br>
Got it? The study is skewed in terms of fan voting on the B-R.com EloRater and punishes pitchers with a high peak WAR but lower career WAR.<br>
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4mUvpyXqp14/Tx9OeECXETI/AAAAAAAAKCU/AlsbDxWXz9k/s1600/sandy+koufax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4mUvpyXqp14/Tx9OeECXETI/AAAAAAAAKCU/AlsbDxWXz9k/s400/sandy+koufax.jpg" width="400"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Being popular is overrated</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/drysddo01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Don Drysdale</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/koufasa01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Sandy Koufax</a></strong>, and <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/newcodo01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Don Newcombe</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;">Two of these three make the most-overrated list</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Icon SMI</div><br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/50-most-overrated-pitchers-in-baseball.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-66013312908840763812012-01-24T21:40:00.001-05:002012-01-24T21:41:57.859-05:00The most underrated batters of the 1970s & 1980sBy request, here are the most underrated batters of the 1970s and 1980s. I have used the exact same method as before and selected out the top 40 players who appeared in those decades.<br>
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<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/most-underrated-batters-of-1970s-1980s.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-29450712769200684692012-01-24T17:42:00.000-05:002012-01-24T17:42:06.680-05:00Retweet this to enter the Twitter raffle for some awesome baseball lootAs we're finally approaching 500 followers on Twitter, we're just about to give away <a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2011/11/win-some-great-baseball-items.html">our cool prize</a>. I am going to add a couple more calendars and a whole mess of baseball cards to the loot. All you need to do is retweet the link to this post (and be a follower of High Heat Stats), and when we reach 500 followers I'll pick someone at random and award the prize.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-27355432582990587792012-01-24T15:18:00.000-05:002012-01-24T15:18:30.790-05:00Trivia Time: One Team, One PositionIn the history of Major League Baseball, only five players have played at least 1000 games, but only played one position for a single team. Can you name them?<br />
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The answer is <a href="http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/5HVf7" target="_blank">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-87852638529712416362012-01-24T09:00:00.002-05:002012-01-24T09:42:26.641-05:00The 50 most underrated batters in baseball historyFollowing is the list of the most underrated batters in baseball history. Just as with our list of the 50 most overrated batters, the method utilizes <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/friv/ratings.cgi">Baseball-Reference.com's EloRater</a> as well as its career WAR data for each player. You can read the detailed method <a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/p/explanation-of-overrated-underrated.html">here</a>.<br>
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Very briefly, we've used the player's ranking on the EloRater to determine an expected career WAR (<u><b>eWAR</b></u>) and then subtracted that from his actual career WAR (<b><u>bWAR</u></b>) to find the difference. The players with the 50 largest such differences are listed below.<br>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jlPOfaVVzPg/Tx23PjjyawI/AAAAAAAAKB0/7nO4JpnLba8/s1600/robin+yount.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jlPOfaVVzPg/Tx23PjjyawI/AAAAAAAAKB0/7nO4JpnLba8/s400/robin+yount.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/yountro01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Robin Yount</a></strong> - a Hall of Famer but still underrated<br>
Icon SMI</td></tr>
</tbody></table>You will see that this list is dominated by two types of player:<br>
<ul><li>Players from the early 1900s or late 1800s: these guys are comparatively forgotten and lose more than their fair share of EloRater matchups.</li>
<li>Players who had great careers but are disliked.</li>
</ul><div>I'm not giving away a huge secret by mentioning that <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Barry Bonds</a></strong> is #1, thanks to his EloRanking of 25 at the time we worked up this data, despite the fact that he is #2 in career WAR, just a smidgen behind Babe Ruth.</div><br>
OK--here's the list.<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/50-most-underrated-batters-in-baseball.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-4854454491847315622012-01-23T14:09:00.001-05:002012-01-23T14:50:26.398-05:00Defining moment: "Pitchers' duel"Bill James has a column on Grantland naming his "<a href="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7480753/bill-james-100-best-pitchers-duels-2011" target="_blank">100 Best Pitchers' Duels of 2011</a>." What caught my attention was not so much the list, but the premise -- his working definition of "pitchers' duel":<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/defining-moment.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-72809708079966180102012-01-23T09:00:00.002-05:002012-01-23T09:00:02.616-05:00The 50 most overrated batters in baseball history<i>(This is a re-imagining of Raphy's excellent concept of using Baseball-Reference.com's EloRater as a fairly objective measure of which players are overrated and underrated. He deserves much of the credit for this post, plus Sky Kalkman gets a nod for helpful suggestions.)</i><br>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxu_9vntYvU/TxtxRIjKSwI/AAAAAAAAKBA/lyVRJPpgFow/s1600/joe_dimaggio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxu_9vntYvU/TxtxRIjKSwI/AAAAAAAAKBA/lyVRJPpgFow/s400/joe_dimaggio.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe DiMaggio giving his Hall of Fame induction speech in 1955, while<br>
Marilyn Monroe looks on from a window above / Icon SMI</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Having just completed two series of posts on under-appreciated players, it's become clear to me that it's very tough to define "overrated" and "underrated" not only because each individual has a unique perspective, but also because we can't really know what everyone else thinks.<br>
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How can we judge a player's perceived value in comparison to his real value? It's not easy, but this study attempts to find a way of doing that.<br>
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I'm not going to bore you with a long explanation of the methods used. You can <a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/p/explanation-of-overrated-underrated.html">read that here</a> if you wish. The basic idea is this:<br>
<ul><li>Start with a player's actual career WAR, taken from Baseball-Reference.com (so we call it <b><u>bWAR</u></b>).</li>
<li>Look up the player's rank on <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/friv/ratings.cgi">B-R's EloRater</a>, which uses <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/elo.html">a pretty neat algorithm</a> for allowing thousands of site users to rank players.</li>
<li>Calculate an expected career WAR (or <b><u>eWAR</u></b>) based on that player's EloRater ranking (which, in brief, is done by averaging the career WARs of the players surrounding that guy on the EloRater.)</li>
<li>Find players for whom the difference, <b><u>bWAR - eWAR</u></b>, is the largest. A big positive value means the player is underrated while a big negative means the player is overrated.</li>
</ul><div>Now, before we move onto the actual list, let's talk for a moment about <u><b>what it means to be overrated in this study</b></u>. It does not mean that the player was not very good. The vast majority of the players on the overrated list were really good. It simply means that there is a discrepancy between their EloRater ranking and bWAR. As near as I can tell, there are numerous reasons why this happens:</div><div><ul><li>The player is given "extra credit" in the EloRater rankings due to missed time. Example: <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/willite01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Ted Williams</a></strong> missing time for war service</li>
<li>The player is given "extra credit" in the EloRater rankings for post-season performance, which of course is not factored into bWAR. Example: <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cartejo01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Joe Carter</a></strong> in the 1993 World Series</li>
<li>The player is not appropriately judged for negative defensive contributions that hurt his bWAR. Example: <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/dyeje01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Jermaine Dye</a></strong></li>
<li>The player is a fan favorite who is given more credit than he deserves in the EloRater rankings. Example: <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mattido01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Don Mattingly</a></strong></li>
<li>The player is given "extra credit" for efforts as a manager or other non-playing role. Example: <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pinielo01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Lou Piniella</a></strong></li>
<li>The player is given extra credit to make up for unfair blame he received for something else. Example: <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bucknbi01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Bill Buckner</a></strong></li>
<li>The player has gotten a higher EloRater ranking on the strength of 1 or 2 really strong seasons that are not representative of his career. Example: <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bellge02.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">George Bell</a></strong></li>
<li>The player played in a particularly favorable home ballpark: Example: <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/castivi02.shtml">Vinny Castilla</a></b></li>
</ul><div>So as you read the list below, keep in mind that it's generated from these two data sets--the EloRater and bWAR--and that as with any stats, they have their limitations.<br>
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Also, another way to think about this is a player's popularity and reputation vs. his actual performance. Many of the guys are on the overrated list because they are beloved, even more than their stats suggest they should be.<br>
</div></div><a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/50-most-overrated-batters-in-baseball.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-13499526877474576262012-01-22T14:28:00.000-05:002012-01-22T23:59:52.023-05:0090+ walks one year, no other years of 60+After hearing that <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/scutama01.shtml" target="_blank">Marco Scutaro</a> was <a href="http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7487532/boston-red-sox-deal-marco-scutaro-colorado-rockies-clayton-mortensen" target="_blank">traded to Colorado</a>, I took a look at his stats page and one thing popped out: Scutaro drew 90 walks in 2009, but no more than 57 in his other 7 seasons as a regular. Naturally, I had to see how rare that was.<br>
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Since 1901, there are 140 players with exactly 1 season of 90+ walks. Counting Scutaro, 14 of them have never drawn even 60 walks in any other year. Two of these, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/santaca01.shtml" target="_blank">Carlos Santana</a> and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/heywaja01.shtml" target="_blank">Jason Heyward</a>, have played just 2 seasons. Here's a quick rundown of the others:<br>
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<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/90-walks-one-year-no-other-years-of-60.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-86851937810668027922012-01-21T17:47:00.002-05:002012-01-21T17:48:54.015-05:00Which batting order spots yield the most GIDPs?Here's a quick look at the breakdown of Grounding into Double Plays by batting order spot and by league.<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/which-batting-order-spots-yield-most.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-16286351309629369052012-01-20T13:00:00.000-05:002012-01-20T13:00:00.831-05:00The 10 most under-appreciated players of the 1990s: #1 Kevin Appier<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Pv-K2v8q30/TxjZuoAFvSI/AAAAAAAAKAk/-_QAP-5WjNY/s1600/KevinAppierA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Pv-K2v8q30/TxjZuoAFvSI/AAAAAAAAKAk/-_QAP-5WjNY/s320/KevinAppierA.jpg" width="227"></a></div><br>
Kevin Appier was a stud and he gets very little credit for it.<br>
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<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-most-under-appreciated-players-of_1628.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-42217809762664055242012-01-20T09:00:00.002-05:002012-01-20T10:03:04.082-05:00The 10 most under-appreciated players of the 1990s: #2 Kenny Lofton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_8rr5TajOxw/TxjLF7HFCiI/AAAAAAAAKAM/Y7Ufhss0GGk/s1600/KennyLoftonA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_8rr5TajOxw/TxjLF7HFCiI/AAAAAAAAKAM/Y7Ufhss0GGk/s320/KennyLoftonA.jpg" width="227"></a></div><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/loftoke01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Kenny Lofton</a></strong> is #2 on our countdown.<br>
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So most of us think Lofton is pretty good. He played 17 seasons and had a 107 OPS+ over a ton of plate appearances.<br>
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But those number sell short just how good Lofton was.<br>
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<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-most-under-appreciated-players-of_20.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-68518902300896393372012-01-19T20:58:00.000-05:002012-01-19T20:58:06.524-05:00Fausto Carmona's comparison group pretty much sucks regardless of his age<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-90La2Ryn_SE/TxjJ2LnQGDI/AAAAAAAAKAE/gzM8klx9YOY/s1600/fausto+carmona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-90La2Ryn_SE/TxjJ2LnQGDI/AAAAAAAAKAE/gzM8klx9YOY/s320/fausto+carmona.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/carmofa01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Fausto Carmona</a></strong>, allegedly<br>
Icon SMI</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Apparently, Fausto Carmona, the 28-year-old pitcher for the Indians <a href="http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7480419/fausto-carmona-cleveland-indians-arrested-accused-using-false-identity">is actually Roberto Hernandez Heredia and is 31 years old</a>.<br>
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His older age may explain why Carmona peaked during his Age 23 season, when Heredia was actually already 26.<br>
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Let's look at comps for Carmona at his listed age vs. his alleged real age.<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/fausto-carmonas-comparison-group-pretty.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-51913767282094803682012-01-19T16:14:00.003-05:002012-01-19T16:14:41.262-05:00They walked Rob PiccioloYou probably know that no other hitter ever walked as rarely as <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/picciro01.shtml" target="_blank">Rob Picciolo</a> <i>(min. 1,000 PAs and excluding pitchers)</i>. Picciolo drew <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/event_finder.cgi?type=b&id=picciro01#gotresults&year=Career&divisory=1&from=button&type=b&id=picciro01&event=modBB&out_type=&ajax=1&submitter=1" target="_blank">25 walks</a> in 1,720 PAs, a rate of 1.5%; the next-lowest rate is <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alperwh01.shtml" target="_blank">Whitey Alperman</a>'s 1.7%.<br>
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Picciolo owns the <i>two</i> longest known streaks by a position player who started and did not walk. This list of the longest such streaks for 1970-90 is kind of fun:<br>
<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/they-walked-rob-picciolo.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6045316758731625703.post-7826638173362308752012-01-19T13:00:00.000-05:002012-01-19T13:14:19.742-05:00The 10 most under-appreciated players of the 1990s: #3 Tony Phillips<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-84I60OB7iKg/Txd6H8-snII/AAAAAAAAJ_s/YOP2gLFvHnU/s1600/TonyPhillipsA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-84I60OB7iKg/Txd6H8-snII/AAAAAAAAJ_s/YOP2gLFvHnU/s320/TonyPhillipsA.jpg" width="227"></a></div>Here's the guy we all knew was coming...<strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/phillto02.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker" target="_blank">Tony Phillips</a></strong>.<br>
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Phillips is a poster boy for on-base percentage. His career BA is .266 but his career OBP is .374, a very wide margin thanks to lots of walks. And he did it with a SLG of just .389!<br>
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Throw in Phillips' versatility as a defender, and he was a truly great player.<br>
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<a href="http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-most-under-appreciated-players-of_867.html#more">Read the rest »</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05644396308532248413noreply@blogger.com0