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Last Place Yanks & other Baseball stuff

The New York Yankees were tied for last place with the Boston Red Sox after the games of May 21 had been played. The 2012 season is just past the 1/4 mark and the Yanks have won 21 and lost 21 after losing their last 3 games. Boston has won their last 3. These arch rivals are only 5 1/2 games behind the first place Baltimore Orioles. Yes, you read that correctly. The O's, predicted by most to finish last, are in first led by ex-Yankee manager Buck Showalter. It's about as shocking as the Cleveland Indians leading the AL Central. Almost everyone predicted that the Detroit Tigers would win that division handily. Cleveland fans must not expect the Indians to keep playing well since the team is dead last among the 30 major league teams in home attendance, drawing only 15,872 fans per game.  Other early surprises include the Angels in last place in the AL West and the Phillies last in the NL East. It's early so all of this obviously could change drastically. Remember 1978 when the Yankees trailed the Red Sox by 14 games in late July and then tied the Sox to force a 1 game playoff which they won on the famous Bucky Dent HR.

This seems to be the year of the injury. I wonder how it compares with past years. The Yankees lost closer Mariano Rivera for the rest of the year with a torn ACL. Back-up closer David Robertson has been out with a left oblique strain, Brett Gardner has spent most of this year on the D/L with a sore elbow and Michael Pineda, the key man the Yanks received for catcher/DH Jesus Montero, is out for the year with a torn labrum. I don't mention this as an excuse for the Yankees poor performance. Many teams have been hit hard. The Red Sox have lost Jacoby Ellsbury for the season and Carl Crawford and Dice K have yet to play. Detroit's Victor Martinez is out for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee and Al Alburquerque (one of my favorite names in baseball along with Jarrod Saltalammachia) is recovering from left elbow surgery. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley have been out all year for the Phillies. Evan Longoria was lost to the Rays for 6 - 8 weeks with a torn hamstring.  There are many more injured players. Just google "mlb 2012 injured players" and you'll find plenty of websites listing these players and their status.

While not a horseracing fan, this past Saturday I watched the Preakness, the 2nd leg of the horseracing triple crown, flanked by the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. Since "I'll Have Another" has now won the first two legs, it has a chance to become the first triple crown winner since Secretariat in 1978.

After the race, it occured to me that baseball hasn't had a triple crown winner (leading the AL or NL in HR's, RBI's and Batting Average) since 1967 when Carl Yastrzemski won the AL triple crown. That's 45 years! Since Nap Lajoie won the first triple crown of the 20th century, the largest gap between winners had been 13 years when Rogers Hornsby won in 1922 following Ty Cobb's 1909 win. Hornsby and Ted Williams are the only two-time winners. 1933 was the only year in which there was a winner in both leagues, Jimmie Foxx in the AL and Chuck Klein in the NL. Gehrig in '34 and Mantle in '56 have been the only Yanks to win. In the early going this year, it appears that Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers has a legitimate shot of breaking the triple crown drought in the AL. Matt Kemp of the Dodgers appeared to have a great chance until sidelined by a hamstring injury. If he can get and stay healthy, Kemp still may have a shot at the NL crown.

The most exciting rookie this year has to be 6'3" Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals. Called up from triple A on April 28, the 19 year old Harper has been known to most serious baseball fans for about 3 years. He appears to have the potential to become a 5 tool player. While his stats are not spectacular by any means, he has shown speed as well as power and a surprising plate discipline for a young hitter as evidenced by his 10 walks in 94 plate appearances. I loved it when after getting hit with a pitch by Cole Hamels, he went to 3rd on a hit and then stole home on the Philly lefty.

Other early season highlights from the great sport of baseball:

Josh Hamilton's 4 HR's vs Baltimore on May 8th made him only the 14th player to hit 4 HR's in a single game since 1900.

We've seen no-hitters by Jered Weaver of the Angels on May 2 vs the Twins  and Phillip Humber of the White Sox on April 21 vs the Mariners.

Baltimore first baseman/DH Chris Davis hurled 2 scoreless innings in relief to win a 17 inning game against the Red Sox. The losing pitcher was Boston outfielder Darnell McDonald. The last AL position player to win a game as a pitcher was Rocky Colavito in 1968 - as a Yankee.

Ex-Yankee Melky Cabrera is batting .360 for the San Francisco Giants.

 

 

 

 

Oldest Winning Pitcher

Last night, Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jamie Moyer became the oldest pitcher ever to win a major league game. He pitched 7 strong innings, allowing only 2 unearned runs and 6 hits. With two on and 1 out in the top of the 7th, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitski let a perfect double play ball go right through his legs leading to the 2 Padres runs. The Rockies had already turned 3 DP's behind Jamie. When the Rockies held on for a 5 - 3 win, Moyer was a winner at the age of 49 years and 150 days surpassing Jack Quinn who won at 49 years and 70 days. Sharing the moment at Coors Field with Jamie were his wife Karen and it looked like 5 or 6 of their 8 kids. I don't believe that his father-in-law Digger Phelps attended.

According to www.baseball-reference.com, Jack Quinn was actually born Joannes Pajkos, July 1, 1883 in Stefurov, Austria-Hungary. He became John Picus Quinn and in a career lasting over 20 years won 247 games and lost 218. His last win was in 1932 as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers however he spent more time with the Yankees, Red Sox and Philadelphia A's. After 2 years with the Dodgers, he finished his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1933. His only decision that year was a loss.

Jamie Moyer was born on November 18, 1962 in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. He broke into the majors in 1986 with the Chicago Cubs. Along the way, he also played for Texas, St. Louis, Baltimore, Boston, 10 seasons with Seattle, 5 with Philly and, after sitting out last year following Tommy John surgery, the Rockies. Jamie's win tied him with the great Orioles' Hall of Famer Jim Palmer with 268 wins. This puts him in 35th place on the all-time wins list, two behind Mike Mussina and Burleigh Grimes, 5 behind Red Ruffing and 15 behind Jim Kaat. Among left-handed pitchers, only 8 have more wins. Moyer is a fast worker but without a major league fast ball. As I watched the game, I noticed that the highest reading on the radar gun for Jamie was 79. I love watching this crafty old lefthander work.

You might ask if there are any current major leaguers who could eclipse Jamie's record in the near future. It's not likely.

Per ESPN.com, here are the current active major leaguers 40+ or at least in their 40th year:

Mariano Rivera - Yankees - 42

LaTroy Hawkins & Jason Isringhausen - Angels - 39

Darren Oliver - Bluejays - 39

Jose Contreras - Phillies - 40

Miguel Batista - Mets 41

All of the above are currently relief pitchers. As of this date, there are no starters on active major league rosters who are 39 or older, other than Moyer. It is expected, however, that Andy Pettite of the Yankees will be activated in May and he turns 40 on June 15th. Andy sat out last year. He is the type of pitcher who conceivably could challenge the record if he had the desire since he doesn't rely on overpowering stuff. Since one of his reasons for retiring after the 2010 season was to spend more time with his family, it's doubtful that he would even think about staying around long enough to surpass Moyer's record.

See these past posts:

8/17/08 - Old Pitchers (last paragraph is about Moyer)

6/23/10 - Old Man Moyer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Freshmen

The St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team pulled off an upset this past Wednesday evening, defeating West Virginia at Madison Square Garden, 78 - 62.  OK, it wasn't a major upset like knocking off Duke or Kentucky. But it was a big win. West Virginia was 5 - 2 in the Big East and 15 - 5 overall. After routing Providence in their Big East Conference opener, the Storm proceded to lose 6 of their next 7 games. Their conference record now stands at 3 - 6, 9 - 11 overall. It's about to be 9 - 12 since they travel to Duke today.

The Johnnies were led by Moe Harkless with 23 points and 13 rebounds, D'Angelo Harrison with 19 points, Phil Greene with 11 points and 8 assists, Amir Garrett with 11 points and 7 rebounds and Sir'Dominic Pointer had 8 points. Off the bench, juco transfer God's Gift Achiuwa got 7 rebounds and junior Malik Stith, the only holdover from last year's team, had 4 points. The starting five consisted entirely of freshman. Up until the West Virginia game, Achiuwa had been starting almost all of the games. According to the SJU website, the last time St. John's started 5 freshman was in the 1927-28 season, a team known at SJ as the "Wonder Five". Freshmen were inelible to play varsity sports from the early 1950's up to 1972.

In stark contrast, last year's Red Storm was more likely to start 5 seniors. In coach Steve Lavin's debut season, the team won 21 games and lost 9. While they made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002, they were eliminated by Gonzaga University in the first round. No member of the 2010-2011 team got drafted by an NBA team. Coach Lavin is still recovering from prostate cancer surgery so this year's Storm has been led by assistant Mike Dunlap. Lavin attempted to coach the team early in the season but was unable to continue.

St. John's has been playing only 7 players all year so depth has been a problem in addition to inexperience. Size has also been a problem. Harkless, from Queens, NY is 6'8" as is Achiuwa, a Nigerian. Garrett, 6'6" is from L.A and, in adition to basketball, has been signed as a pitcher by the Cincinnati Reds. A lefty, he throws over 95 mph. Detroit product Pointer stands 6'5". Harrison from Texas is 6'3" and Phil Greene from Chicago is 6'2". Stith from Hempstead, LI is 5'11". Harkless set a record in the Big East opener against Providence when he scored 32 points. The previous record for a freshman in a Big East debut had been 30 points by Alan Iverson and Troy Murphy.

The rest of the SJU season includes a home game against UCLA and 9 more conference games, 5 on the road. To be realistic, the team's chances of making the NCAA tournament are slim. With the development of their freshman, next year should be a lot better. Hopefully, the program under Lavin will soon be able to recapture the success enjoyed under Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Lou Carnesecca. A potential problem is that their best player, Harkless, will almost surely leave for the NBA after his sophomore season. Hope he doesn't go sooner.

 

 

 

 

 

61 in '61 & other numbers

October 1, 1961 was a Sunday so I'm pretty sure that I was watching the TV when Roger Maris hit his 61st Home Run off Red Sox pitcher Tracy Stallard, 50 years ago today. The HR came in the 4th inning and sailed over the 344 sign in right field at Yankee Stadium. If the game had been a weekday afternoon contest, I probably would have missed it. I was a high school junior and would not have been home in time. I lived in Bayside, Queens and took a bus and subway to school in lower Manhattan. I recall having a reduced fare student pass. The regular fare for bus or subway was 15 cents.

I still have my 1961 Yankee Yearbook. It's only 48 pages with no color photos. The write-up with stats on Roger appears on page 13, facing Mantle's on page 12.  As I mentioned in my post of September 18, 2008, the price was 50 cents! A program with scorecard costs 15 cents. Heck, box seats were only $3.50! I used to buy unreserved grandstand seats at $1.30 rather than the 75 cent bleacher tickets. Reserved grandstand was $2.50. To buy tickets in advance, which I never did back then, you had to visit the stadium box office or order by mail. Make your check or money order out to "The Yankees" and add 25 cents for handling and mail charges.

While I didn't make it to the historic 61st Home Run game, I did see 8 games at the stadium in 1961. Especially memorable was a July twi-night doubleheader against the White Sox  in which Roger hit HR #'s 37 and 38 in the 1st game and #'s 39 and 40 in the nitecap. The Mick hit one that night too, his 38th. With the M&M boys chasing Babe Ruth's 1927 record of 60 home runs, it was an exciting season.

1961 was also an expansion year with the addition of the Los Angeles Angels and a new Washington Senators team. The old Senators team became the Minnesota Twins that same year. Eleven years later the "new" Senators became the Texas Rangers. (In 2005, the Monteal Expos became the Washington Nationals of the National League.)

Roger's record has been broken but, as most baseball fans know, questions have arisen about the validity of the accomplishments of those who have eclipsed his record, sluggers Sosa, McGwire and Bonds, due to possible steroid use. Roger's assault on Ruth's record was not exactly welcomed by the baseball world. Most Yankee fans wanted Mantle to break Ruth's record if anyone did. Roger's detractors pointed out several factors that contributed to his record breaking performance:

- the 8 games added to the traditional 154 game schedule.

- dilution of talent because of expansion.

- batting in front of Mickey Mantle didn't hurt as evidenced by the fact that Roger received zero intentional walks.

- a dead pull hitter, Roger benefited from the short porch in right at Yankee Stadium, 296' down the line increasing to only 344' in straightaway left.

In fairness to Roger, it should be added in regard to the last point that 31 of his 61 HR's were hit on the road. Finally, Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick, perhaps in an effort to be fair to Babe Ruth, hung his hat on the first point when he ordered that Roger's record have an asterik placed next to it because of the longer schedule.

If you search Baseball-almanac.com under "Players" you will find an article on Maris' 61 HR's which you can access by clicking on "Fabulous Feats". It mentions that famous asterik and other difficulties Roger faced. Speaking in 1980, Maris said: "They acted as though I was doing something wrong, poisoning the record books or something". The article concludes "Now, with great pride, Baseball Almanac presents, Roger Maris' truly remarkable record-breaking sixty-one steroid free home runs." It provides the game number in which each HR was hit, the opposing pitcher and team, and home or away status. If you click on the dates, you get the box scores for all the games in which Roger homered beginning with his first HR in game 11 on April 26, 1961. 

 

 

 

Real Saves

In a game on Tuesday, July 26th against the Mariners, twice interrupted by rain, CC Sabathia was breezing along until he opened the 8th inning by walking the first 3 batters. Up until that point, CC had allowed 1 hit and struck out 14 Mariners in a game the Yankees led 3 - 0. With the game on the line, manager Joe Girardi did not summon his closer. He brought in his set-up man David Robertson. Robertson has been outstanding all year but did get roughed up for 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning 2 days earlier. Mariano Rivera had to enter that game in the 8th to get a 4 out save.

Robertson has an era of 1.49 with an amazing 68 K's in 42 innings along with  a 3 - 0 record and 21 "holds". The K's are a bit surprising for this 26 year old right hander who can reach 96 mph on the radar gun despite the fact that he is only 5'11". When the great Rivera retires, he has to be high among those considered for the closer job. His one weak area is his 26 walks which is why his WHIP is a less than outstanding 1.30. I don't want to jinx him but he hasn't allowed a HR all year. 

Robertson began by striking out pinch hitter Adam Kennedy. It was his 10th straight strikeout with the bases loaded. Think about that. The last ten times he faced a bases loaded situation, he got a strikeout. The next batter, Chone Figgins, grounded to 3rd baseman Eric Chavez who bobbled it briefly but still was able to step on 3rd for the 2nd out as the runner on third scored. He then K'd Ichiro Suzuki to escape further damage.

The Yankees added a run in the bottom of the 8th on a Texeira HR to hand a 4 - 1 lead to closer Mariano Rivera who struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced to gain his 26th save. Mariano, who will be 42 in November, has been outstanding all year. He allows less than a hit per inning and has only walked 5 batters in 40 innings for a WHIP of 1.00 to go along with his 1.79 era. He is rightfully considered the best closer of all time.

My question is "Who really saved this game?" Rivera entered the game to start the 9th. He had a 3 run lead. He held the 3 run lead. I would argue that for this effort, Mariano  deserved credit for a "hold", not a save. The game was up for grabs when Robertson took the mound in the 8th with the bases loaded and nobody out. Robertson deserved the save.

With the game on the line in the 8th inning, why didn't Joe Girardi bring in the best closer of all time? If he brought Mariano in the 8th and he didn't finish the game, he would not get credit for a save. I thought that it's supposed to be about winning games, not padding stats. I'm not picking on Girardi because almost all managers would have made the same decision in this age of 1 inning closers.

It's my opinion that the official scorer should have the leeway to award a save to the pitcher who really saved the game. What are the rules for "saves" and "holds"? As you will see below, Robertson's outstanding performance can not be rewarded with a save because he didn't finish the game. Rivera pitched the 9th.

From BaseballAlmanac.com, a pitcher can earn a save by completing ALL three of the following items:

1. Finishes the game won by his team.
2. Does not receive the win.
3. Meets one of the following three items:
   1. Enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches at least one inning.
   2. Enters the game with the tying run either on base, at bat, or on deck.
   3. Pitches for at least three innings.

The simplest way to change the rule that would allow the most deserving pitcher to get credit for the save would be to delete the first requirement.

What would be the benefits of this change?

It would encourage managers to use their best reliever when needed most. They wouldn't have to worry about depriving that pitcher of credit for a save.

What is a "hold"?

From a WiseGeek article, "What is a set-up man in baseball?":  In order to receive a hold, the pitcher must enter the game in a "save situation" - i.e., the conditions under which a save may be recorded, which is basically a lead of three runs or less - and leave the game with the lead still intact. The hold is not considered an official statistic by Major League Baseball (I didn't know that) but it is often used in player evaluation and fantasy baseball.

In some regards, set-up men face a tougher task than closers. They are much more likely to face inherited base runners, either left on base by the starter or another reliever. Today's 1 inning closers generally begin the 9th inning. It's not unusual for a starter showing no evidence of tiring to be taken out after 8 innings to allow the closer to get a save.

 

 

81 games

If you're not into baseball trivia, you should stop reading immediately.

While Major League Baseball's All-Star Game won't be played until Tuesday, July 12th, the 2011 season's mid-point has been reached. As of today, all 30 major league teams have played at least 81 games, most more.  Rain is the biggest reason why the Orioles finally reached their 81st game today, 4 or 5 days later than most of the other teams.

Due to scheduling and rainouts, there is obviously no single date upon which every team plays its 81st game. What follows is each team's record after 81 games displayed as standings for all the major league divisions. The standings below reflect a standings that never actually existed on any one day. It's just a way for me to see at the end of the season how each team performed in each half of the season. This is extreme baseball trivia to be engaged in only by retirees and others with an excessive amount of time on their hands.

AL - East

New York Yankees          50 - 31 (7/2)

Boston Red Sox              47 - 34 (7/1)

Tampa Bay Rays            45 - 36 (6/29)

Toronto Blue Jays          40 - 41 (6/29)

Baltimore Orioles            36 - 45 (7/3)

AL - Central

Cleveland Indians          44 - 37 (7/2)

Detroit Tigers                 43 - 38 (6/29)

Chicago White Sox        39 - 42 (6/29)

Minnesota Twins            35 - 46 (7/2)

Kansas City Royals       33 - 48 (6/29)

AL - West

Texas Rangers               43 - 38 (6/29)

Los Angeles  Angels     41 - 40 (6/28)

Seattle Mariners             39 - 42 (6/29)

Oakland A's                   36 - 45 (6/29)

NL - East

Philadelphia Phillies      51 - 30 (6/29)

Atlanta Braves               46 - 35 (6/28)

New York Mets               41 - 40 (6/30)

Washington Nationals    40 - 41 (6/29)

Florida Marlins                36 - 45 (6/30)

NL - Central

Milwaukee Brewers        44 - 37 (6/29)

St. Louis Cardinals         43 - 38 (6/29)

Pittsburgh Pirates            41 - 40 (7/1)

Cincinnati Reds              41 - 40 (6/28)

Chicago Cubs                 33 - 38 (6/29)

Houston Astros               28 - 53 (6/29)

NL - West

San Francisco Giants     46 - 35 (6/29)

Arizona Diamondbacks   44 - 37 (6/28)

Colorado Rockies            39 - 42 (6/30)

San Diego Padres           36 - 45 (6/28)

Los Angeles Dodgers      36 - 45 (6/28)

When looking back on a season, I've heard commentators say, for example,  that a player had 25 HR's at the All-Star break but his second half production dropped off so he finished with only 38. If he had kept up his first half pace he would have had well over 40 HR's. If the diminished production wasn't due to an injury, they may trot out the old explanations that the dog days of August or the pressure of the pennant race got to him.

Let's take a closer look. The Los Angeles Angels are playing their 85th game today. They are scheduled to play 7 more games before the All-Star break. As a result, they play 92 games before and only 70 after. It's tough to match your 1st half production in the 2nd half when you're playing 22 fewer games!

First half surprises so far:

The Pittsburgh Pirates, at 41 - 40, have a shot at finishing at .500 or better after 18 consecutive losing seasons. The 1992 team won the NL East with a record of 96 - 66 under Jim Leyland. They also won the NL East in '90 and '91.

The Cleveland Indians, not expected to contend, have been in 1st place for most of the first half.

The Washington Nationals are playing close to .500 ball. Next year Stephen Strasburg could be back in the rotation and Bryce Harper in the starting lineup.

 

 

 

Small World

The starting pitcher for the New York Yankees yesterday was Brian Gordon. Who? Even serious Yankee fans, those who follow the young players moving up through the Yankee farm system, were probably asking that question. He wasn't at Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or even with the Double A Trenton Thunder. Gordon, a 32 year old career minor leaguer, except for 3 relief appearances with Texas in '08, was pitching for the Phillies Triple A Lehigh Valley team. He was able to opt out of his contract because the parent club didn't call him up by June 15th. He was an outfielder until he switched to pitching in 2007.

Six years ago, Aaron Small was pretty much a career minor leaguer. According to www.baseball-reference.com, Small, who stands 6'5", was selected by Toronto in the 22nd round of the 1989 amateur draft. After cups of coffee with the Blue Jays in '94 and Marlins in '95, he hooked on with the A's in '96 until the middle of '98 when he was waived and acquired by the D'Backs. His '97 season was fairly successful, going 9 - 5 with a 4.28 ERA in 71 relief outings. He didn't make it back to the majors until '02 when he appeared once in relief for Atlanta. He didn't even have time to add cream to his coffee. He got back to the show in '04 with the Marlins but was not impressive with an 8.27 ERA in 7 relief appearances. 

In January 2005 at the age of 33, he was signed by the Yankees as a free agent. He began the season with the Triple A Columbus Clippers, then the Yankees top farm team.  Injuries to Yankee starters gave him a chance. When called up to the Yanks, he had won 1 and lost 4 in 10 starts for the Clippers with a rather high ERA of 4.96. It makes you wonder why he was called up. With the Yankees, he pitched in 15 games, starting 9 with 1 complete game, a shutout. His ERA was a very good 3.20 and he allowed only 71 hits in 76 innings. His record? 10 wins and 0 losses! As you can see from the following, winning 10 or more games in a single season without suffering a loss is rare. It has only been accomplished 4 times in the history of major league baseball: 

Tom Zachary 12 - 0 for the 1929 Yankees (11 starts)

Dennis Lamp 11 - 0 for the 1985 Blue Jays (1 start)

Howie Krist 10 - 0 for the 1941 Cardinals (8 starts)

Aaron Small 10 - 0 for the 2005 Yankees (9 starts)

Unfortunately, Small's long awaited success didn't last. In 2006, he was released after going 0 - 3 with an 8.46 ERA in 27 innings.  

Although he wound up with a no decision, Brian Gordon pitched well in his Yankee debut yesterday, well enough to earn a start next week in Cincinnati. While it is highly unlikely that he will match Aaron Small's perfect 10 - 0 record, he may ultimately have a chance to be more successful. His Triple A record was outstanding before earning his call-up. He was 5 - 0 with a 1.14 ERA in 55 innings and 9 starts. Good luck Brian.

 

ERA tied to Complete Games?

I've always considered myself to be fairly knowledgeable about baseball whether it be about rules, scoring decisions, sizing up players, etc. I should be. I've been following the game since the mid 1950's. I played baseball as a kid, not that well, and softball  (baseball lite?) into my forties and coached my son in little league and beyond in summer leagues. I've always watched baseball on a regular basis and read the write-ups and checked the box scores every day during the season. Every once in a while though something comes up that really surprises me.

My son gave me a book for my 65th birthday last month, "Bullpen Diaries" by Charley Rosen. It was just published this year. The book is structured around the entire 2010 Yankee season with comments and ratings on the performances of the relief pitchers in each game. Interesting anecdotes are interspersed throughout. On pages 210 through 214, Mr. Rosen briefly reviews the history of Yankee relievers including Wilcy Moore (1927), Johnny Murphy (1934-46), Joe Page (1944-50), Ryne Duren (1958-61), Luis Arroyo (1961), Steve Hamilton (1963-70), Pedro Ramos (1964-66), Sparky Lyle (1972-78), Goose Gossage (1978-83 and 89) and more recently, John Wetteland and Mo.  In the write-up for Wilcy Moore, Mr. Rosen tells us that Moore had the lowest ERA in the league in 1927 at 2.28. Although he pitched 213 innings, he didn't qualify  for the ERA title because he only had 6 complete games. The governing rules stated that a pitcher needed 10 CG's to qualify for the ERA title.

A pitcher needed to have 10 complete games to qualify for the ERA title? To any modern baseball fan that sounds absolutely crazy. This ERA rule was not changed until 1951. The new rule, still in effect, is that "a pitcher must pitch a total of at least one inning for every scheduled game to qualify as the league leader in the categories of Earned Run Average or Fielding Average." Rule 10.23 is cited. When the rule went into effect there were 154 scheduled games. Now, of course, there are 162. I found this ERA info on www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/rules in an article called "Baseball Rules Chronology". Part 1 covers 1845 - 1899 and Part 2, 1900 to the present.

The on-line Baseball Almanac has the year by year CG leaders for the NL back to 1876 and 1901 for the AL. 1991 was the first year a league leader in complete games failed to reach 10. Tom Glavine and Dennis Martinez tied for the NL lead in CG's that year with 9. In '93 and '96, Greg Maddux and Curt Schilling respectively led the NL with 8. The first AL leader with less than 10 complete games was the Big Unit in '94 with 9 followed by Jack McDowell with 8 in '95. Since 2000, no major league pitcher has reached double digits in complete games. The low mark was set by Brandon Webb who led the NL with 4 in '07, later matched by Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum in '09. The last pitcher to reach double figures was Randy Johnson with 12 for the D'Backs in 1999. The last NL pitcher to have 20 or more CG's was Fernando Valenzuela with 20 in 1986 and in the AL Bert Blyleven had 24 in 1985. The last with 30 was Jim "Catfish" Hunter with the Yanks in '75 and Steve Carlton with the Phils in '72. Both had exactly 30 CG's.

The significance of the relief pitcher has been growing steadily for over 40 years, but much more so in the last decade of pitch count mania resulting in a rapidly dwindling number of complete games - which also means many fewer shutouts. There were no quantitative statistics for relief pitchers until the "save" became an official stat in 1969. Now we have "Holds", a dubious stat if ever there was one. There are records of saves before 1969 that were apparently determined by going over old box scores. I am enjoying going back over these CG's, saves and other records. It brings back memories of players I haven't thought about in years.    

I could go on for pages ranting about the lack of complete games, pitch counts and other things that bother me as an old baseball fan. Right now I'm just so surprised at discovering this old ERA qualifying rule. It doesn't take much to amuse us senior citizens. One last thought. Does anyone know a source that has yearly and career records  for pickoffs? Occasionally, I've found a site that mentions the total for a specific pitcher, e.g., Andy Pettitte, but never any complete major league records. I'd like to know Whitey Ford's pickoff stats, the first pitcher I remember with a great pickoff move.

Baseball's Here Again

The Major League baseball season opens tomorrow, March 31st. I'm thrilled. As much as I like basketball, baseball will always be #1 with me. Maybe it's because if I had been good enough to play either sport, baseball would have been my choice. I can fantasize about a much more talented me beating out a bunt and stealing a base while on defense racing into the alley to run down a deep fly ball. While I honestly could never see myself crushing a fastball and watching it fly into an upper deck or throwing a speedy runner out at the plate with my puny right arm, as much as I'd love to, I also could never see myself dunking a basketball. I'm lucky to touch the bottom of the net.

Since I'll be 65 in another week, my love of baseball does not translate into braving heavy traffic, huge crowds, bad weather, etc. to actually attend a game. All that is in the past. Some might say I'm not a true fan. Don't care. I'll be a dry and warm fan. The forecast on weather.com for the opener in NY is a high of 42 and a chance of showers. Tomorrow at noon here in Nashville I'll be sitting in my living room, watching the Yankees open against the Detroit Tigers on Direct TV. The only games I'm likely to attend this year will be at Greer Stadium in Nashville, home of the Triple A Nashville Sounds. Even at Greer, I'll avoid the crowded Friday to Sunday games. For atmosphere tomorrow, we'll have some ballpark food. Publix has a sale on Ball Park beef franks. I like chicken or turkey sausage, but frankfurters have got to be beef. I'll run out in the morning and buy the dogs along with a jar of saurkraut, crackerjacks, potato chips and maybe I'll open a can of baked beans. I'll put on my Yankee t-shirt and right before the game starts I'll play John Fogerty's "Centerfield" - "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play, today".

Tomorrow's starting pitchers at the Stadium in the Bronx will be C.C. Sabathia against Tiger's ace Justin Verlander. Besides beginning the pennant race, the game will mark the start of Derek Jeter's quest to become the 27th player in major league baseball history to amass 3,000 hits. Jeter, born on June 26, 1974, needs 74 hits to get there.

Besides the Yankees, I want to follow the beginning of the career of Washington National's phenom, Bryce Harper, on milb.com. He'll be starting out on their Single A farm team at Hagerstown, Maryland. Harper has had the most high school hype since LeBron James when he was a school boy. If he gets called up at the end of the season, I'll be watching quite a few of the remaining Nats games. The Sports Illustrated baseball preview issue actually picked the troubled New York Mets to finish last in the NL East, a game behind the Nats. I often pick teams to root for in other AL and NL divisions for interests sake. Usually, it's a bad team. This year my favorite loser will be the Kansas City Royals. Their former ace pitcher, Zack Greinke, is gone to the Milwaukee Brewers but they supposedly have some real good prospects who could help in the future. Of course, any of these players who do become stars will leave Kansas City as soon as they're eligible for free agency. In that sense, rooting for teams like the Royals in the AL and the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL is like rooting for a minor league team. I'll also root for the Dodgers to win the NL West under former Yankee great Don Mattingly. They open tomorrow night with Clayton Kershaw against the World Champion San Francisco Giants with Tim Lincecum.

Play Ball!

March Sadness?

That's not a typo. While "sadness" may be a stretch since I'm only talking about college hoops, the "Madness" or excitement of the NCAA basketball tournament has been largely dissipated for me. My team got beat 86 - 71 in the opening round the night before last by one of the best #11 seeds I've ever seen. The Bulldogs of Gonzaga University, better know as the "Zags", swamped the #6 seeded St. John's University Red Storm as they dominated the paint and outrebounded the Johnnies by a whopping margin of 43 - 20. The Storm was playing shorthanded with D.J. Kennedy out for the season since tearing the ACL in his right knee in a Big East Tournament loss to Syracuse. At 6"6", D.J. was our leading rebounder. Even if he had played, Gonzaga probably would have won. The Zag front line is much taller and more athletic than the SJ frontcourt. While it would have been nice to win an NCAA tournament game in our first tourney appearance in 9 years, it wasn't meant to be. We lost to a very good team so it's no disgrace. John Stockton was in the audience cheering on his alma mater and his son who played some point guard for Mark Few's team. SJ finished 21 - 12 in its first year under Steve Lavin, with a 12 - 6 mark in the Big East.

The Johnnies were not the only team I was rooting for that lost. Since I'm a Nashvillian for the past 4 1/2 years, I was rooting for Belmont and Vanderbilt to win. Favored Vandy lost to the Richmond Spiders 69 - 66  and the underdog Bruins of Belmont lost to Wisconsin 72 - 58. Tennessee's NCAA hopes took a further hit yesterday afternoon when Arizona eked out a win over Memphis 77 - 75 and Michigan pulverized the Tennessee Volunteers 75 - 45, overwhelming coach Pearl's players 42 - 16 in the second half. Oddly, Michigan didn't make a single free throw. They missed their only attempt thus becoming the first team ever to win an NCAA tournament game without making a free throw.  Aside from these teams, I'll root for the remaining Big East teams, and in games involving teams I have no interest in, I'll root for the underdog. I may even root for the Zags. Got to give Princeton credit, losing to Calipari's Kentucky team on a shot with about 2 seconds left. My guess is that few thought it would be a close game. Too bad that close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

It's probably up to Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols to salvage the state's hoops honor. It won't be easy since they may have to contend with teams like UConn, Stanford and Baylor. Sports Illustrated continued its second class treatment of women's basketball. In addition to providing much less coverage, the magazine has the men's bracket printed out but no bracket printed for the ladies. It's not much better on the internet either. When you enter ESPN.go.com and click on "NCAA BB" you get men's college basketball. To find women's basketball, you have to click on "More Sports" and then "Women's BB". I guess you could say that's the "sadness" in "March Sadness".