Odds and Ends

SoxJox

SoxJox

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SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2003
7,535
Rock > SoxJox < Hard Place
From The Athletic's The Pulse:

  • Eight years of service: When a player reaches the threshold, he receives a literal gold card, which grants him and a guest free entry to any regular-season MLB game for life.

  • 160 games: Players call this “posting,” shorthand for posting up every day. It’s a feat of durability, highly valued among players. Just eight reached the 160-game mark last year.

  • 100 strikeouts by a reliever in a season: A mark few reach every year. The life of an MLB relief pitcher can be stressful. Pressure abounds on every pitch. You are extremely replaceable. To reach 100 strikeouts signals a longevity and mental fortitude rare in the game.
    • My notes:
      • Boston's own Dick Radatz holds the single-season record for a reliever with 187. He also had 3 additional years with 100+.
      • Baltimore's Felix Bautista is the only pitcher to date this season to pass the 100K mark.
      • Boston's Kenley Jackson has done it 4 years, and is also only the 12th reliever to hit the 1,000K mark. Others in the 1,000K+ group include Hall of Famers Hoyt Wilhelm (5X), Goose Gossage (6), Lee Smith (only once), Rollie Fingers (5), Mariano Rivera (only once), Trevor Hoffman (2), and Aroldis Chapman (4)
      • Other relievers with multiple years of 100K+ include:
        • Byung-Hyun Kim (6)
        • Craig Kimbrel (4)
        • John Hiller (4)
          • The Hiller story is particularly intriguing: he was a part-time starter who suffered an offseason heart attack between the1972 and 1973 seasons, underwent intestinal bypass surgery, lost 50 pounds, quit smoking, reported to Spring Training in 1973 as a Minor League instructor, worked out while serving as the pitching coach at Class A Lakeland, learned a changeup, returned to Detroit and found his best years as a full-time reliever. A year after Hiller returned, he posted what stands as the second-best season, in terms of bWAR (7.9), by a reliever in MLB history. He led the Majors with 38 saves in 42 chances, half of them five outs or longer, pitched 125 1/3 innings, allowed just 89 hits and racked up 124 strikeouts. Among MLB pitchers who made at least 80 percent of their appearances in relief, Hiller’s 31.0 bWAR ranks fourth all time. The three ahead of him -- Mariano Rivera, Hoyt Wilhelm and Goose Gossage -- are all Hall of Famers.
        • Billy Wagner (4, including 104 as a 38-yo in this final season in Atlanta; he appeared in 71 games)
        • Tom Henke (3)
        • Bruce Sutter (3)
        • Eric Gagne (3)
        • Steve Bedrosian (2)
        • Edwin Diaz (2)
        • Mike Marshall (2)
      • Others with a single year include (likely not an all-inclusive group): Troy Percival, Rob Nen, Jeff Reardon, Tug McGraw, Jason Isringhausen, Lee Smith (really surprised he only did it once), Keith Foulke, Francisco Rodriguez, John Wetteland, Willie Hernandez, Mark Wohlers, Mitch Williams, Tom Niedenfuer, and Jay Howell
      • I was kinda surprised that Jonathan Papelbon never hit the mark, topping out at 92 with the Phillies in 2012.
 
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GreenMonster49

GreenMonster49

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Jul 18, 2005
678
Hoyt Wilhelm had two seasons where he reached 100 Ks in relief, in 1952 (his rookie year) and in 1965 (at age 42). His other three years of 100+ Ks included enough starts to bring the relief-only figures below 100.

But it wasn't like he was a strikeout machine. His IP those two seasons were 159 2/3 (152 ERA+, and he won the ERA title) and 144 (174 ERA+).
 
SoxJox

SoxJox

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2003
7,535
Rock > SoxJox < Hard Place
GreenMonster49 said:
Hoyt Wilhelm had two seasons where he reached 100 Ks in relief, in 1952 (his rookie year) and in 1965 (at age 42). His other three years of 100+ Ks included enough starts to bring the relief-only figures below 100.

But it wasn't like he was a strikeout machine. His IP those two seasons were 159 2/3 (152 ERA+, and he won the ERA title) and 144 (174 ERA+).
Click to expand...
OK, but barely.

The 3 starts in 1963 are worth scrutiny:
  • 7/7 vs Red Sox: 9IP / 6K / No decision in 4-2 loss in extra innings
  • 8/23 vs NYY: 6IP / 1K / Took the loss in a 7-2 final
  • 9/7 vs Twins: 8IP / 8K / No decision in 4-2 loss
15Ks as a starter. He had 111 total. I would wager had he never started, he would have cleared the 4K differential. I'm including it.
 
R

RichardGarner

New Member
Aug 28, 2023
4
SoxJox said:
From The Athletic's The Pulse:

  • Eight years of service: When a player reaches the threshold, he receives a literal gold card, which grants him and a guest free entry to any regular-season MLB game for life.

  • 160 games: Players call this “posting,” shorthand for posting up every day. It’s a feat of durability, highly valued among players. Just eight reached the 160-game mark last year.

  • 100 strikeouts by a reliever in a season: A mark few reach every year. The life of an MLB relief pitcher can be stressful. Pressure abounds on every pitch. You are extremely replaceable. To reach 100 strikeouts signals a longevity and mental fortitude rare in the game.
    • My notes:
      • Boston's own Dick Radatz holds the single-season record for a reliever with 187. He also had 3 additional years with 100+.
      • Baltimore's Felix Bautista is the only pitcher to date this season to pass the 100K mark.
      • Boston's Kenley Jackson has done it 4 years, and is also only the 12th reliever to hit the 1,000K mark. Others in the 1,000K+ group include Hall of Famers Hoyt Wilhelm (5X), Goose Gossage (6), Lee Smith (only once), Rollie Fingers (5), Mariano Rivera (only once), Trevor Hoffman (2), and Aroldis Chapman (4)
      • Other relievers with multiple years of 100K+ include:
        • Byung-Hyun Kim (6)
        • Craig Kimbrel (4)
        • John Hiller (4)
          • The Hiller story is particularly intriguing: he was a part-time starter who suffered an offseason heart attack between the1972 and 1973 seasons, underwent intestinal bypass surgery, lost 50 pounds, quit smoking, reported to Spring Training in 1973 as a Minor League instructor, worked out while serving as the pitching coach at Class A Lakeland, learned a changeup, returned to Detroit and found his best years as a full-time reliever. A year after Hiller returned, he posted what stands as the second-best season, in terms of bWAR (7.9), by a reliever in MLB history. He led the Majors with 38 saves in 42 chances, half of them five outs or longer, pitched 125 1/3 innings, allowed just 89 hits and racked up 124 strikeouts. Among MLB pitchers who made at least 80 percent of their appearances in relief, Hiller’s 31.0 bWAR ranks fourth all time. The three ahead of him -- Mariano Rivera, Hoyt Wilhelm and Goose Gossage -- are all Hall of Famers.
        • Billy Wagner (4, including 104 as a 38-yo in this final season in Atlanta; he appeared in 71 games)
        • Tom Henke (3)
        • Bruce Sutter (3)
        • Eric Gagne (3)
        • Steve Bedrosian (2)
        • Edwin Diaz (2)
        • Mike Marshall (2)
      • Others with a single year include (likely not an all-inclusive group): Troy Percival, Rob Nen, Jeff Reardon, Tug McGraw, Jason Isringhausen, Lee Smith (really surprised he only did it once), Keith Foulke, Francisco Rodriguez, John Wetteland, Willie Hernandez, Mark Wohlers, Mitch Williams, Tom Niedenfuer, and Jay Howell
      • I was kinda surprised that Jonathan Papelbon never hit the mark, topping out at 92 with the Phillies in 2012.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing it with us. I appreciate you :)
 
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WestMassExpat

WestMassExpat

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SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
1,128
Boston
I was muddling partially through the immaculate grid this morning, poorly as usual, and came across this interesting-to-me state profile for Cal Ripken's 1991 season. If you're wondering how I got to Ripken from the available options...
I was looking at Paul Molitor after the Brewers spaces and saw his '91 statline and was like, gee, he had a pretty good year, how did he only come in 11th in AL MVP??

Here's the line:

Code: 
Year^   Age  Tm Lg   G  PA  AB  R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+  TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos      Awards
1991     30 BAL AL 162 717 650 99 210 46  5 34 114  6  1 53 46 .323 .374 .566 .940  162 368  19   5  0  9  15  *6 ASMVP-1GGSS
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Why it stood out: aside from games (cue Ozzy's Ironman tune), he didn't lead the league that year in any stat category. AND YET, he posted a 11.5 bWAR good for the 10th best single season of all time (tied with Honus Wagner) and just totally dominated the AL MVP voting. I mean, look at all the bold stats for the other guys...

79385

Has a player ever logged another performance as dominating while somehow avoiding leading any of the traditionally sexy batting stats?
 
SirPsychoSquints

SirPsychoSquints

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
6,375
Pittsburgh, PA
BuellMiller said:
Looking at players with a 10 bWAR season, these 3 also fit the no black ink bill.
Lou Boudreau in 1948
Rico petrocelli in 1969
Arod in 2000

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_bat_season.shtml
(May be more, didn’t check it exhaustively and it’s 6 AM too)
Click to expand...
All strong defensive SS, which is where the WAR is coming from that doesn’t have any relation to leading the league in an offensive category.

ETA: each had at least 16 runs above average SS. https://stathead.com/tiny/kDZkB

edit2: Ripken also did this in 1984, Wagner 1905, and Mays 1963.
 

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WestMassExpat

WestMassExpat

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
1,128
Boston
BuellMiller said:
Looking at players with a 10 bWAR season, these 3 also fit the no black ink bill.
Lou Boudreau in 1948
Rico petrocelli in 1969
Arod in 2000

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_bat_season.shtml
(May be more, didn’t check it exhaustively and it’s 6 AM too)
Click to expand...
Nice list, thanks for checking. 2000 was especially nutty -- Frank Thomas gets shafted out of another MVP by the tainted Giambi, and Pedro doesn't get a first place vote despite a 291 ERA+.

I'd love for contemporary context on Rico in '69 vs. Boudreau in '48. The latter won the award vs. Rico coming in 7th.
 
SirPsychoSquints

SirPsychoSquints

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
6,375
Pittsburgh, PA
WestMassExpat said:
Nice list, thanks for checking. 2000 was especially nutty -- Frank Thomas gets shafted out of another MVP by the tainted Giambi, and Pedro doesn't get a first place vote despite a 291 ERA+.

I'd love for contemporary context on Rico in '69 vs. Boudreau in '48. The latter won the award vs. Rico coming in 7th.
Click to expand...
Well, the Sox won 87 games and came in third in the division. Killebrew's Twins won their division and 97 games. The 2nd & 3rd place finishers were with the division-winning Orioles. Those were the only players with any first place votes, and Rico wasn't far behind 4th place ultimately. Those top three players were bashers (Killebrew, Powell, Robinson) without a lot of defensive value.

In 1948, Boudreau's team won the pennant and 97 games. He also batted .355 (Rico was just under .300), had 100 RBI & Runs, etc. Second place DiMaggio's Yankees came in third.

It seems to just come down to the team's success.
 
Sad Sam Jones

Sad Sam Jones

Member
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May 5, 2017
2,988
SirPsychoSquints said:
In 1948, Boudreau's team won the pennant and 97 games. He also batted .355 (Rico was just under .300), had 100 RBI & Runs, etc. Second place DiMaggio's Yankees came in third.
Click to expand...
Boudreau didn't just have a great season playing shortstop. I'm not sure when votes were cast then, but depending on timing, Boudreau was also the manager of the pennant winners or World Series champions. It should have been one of the easiest MVP votes to ever cast.
 
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