Category / Baseball

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F*ck Cancer

White Sox closer Liam Hendriks announced last night that he had recently been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma and would begin treatment this week.  A team statement from general manager Rick Hahn said that they do not expect to have any updates on his playing status prior to Opening Day.

This is a big blow for the White Sox, both on the field and off.  Hendriks, 33, has saved 75 games over the past two seasons, helping to stabilize the bullpen.  Off the field, he’s considered a team leader who, along with his wife, has become extremely active in charitable causes throughout the Chicago area.

Hopefully, Hendriks takes well to the medication and is able to beat this cancer fully.  The baseball will take care of itself.

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Team Stats: Strike Outs

The new year means there is less than three months until baseball returns to Chicago.  I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  After a break for the holidays, we continue today on the defensive side of the ball with strike outs.

As always, the White Sox and Cubs are the leaders in this category based on the raw numbers, as they are the teams I’ve seen in action most often.  When you adjust the numbers per game, both teams still fare well, placing fourth and third respectively.  The California version of the Angels lead the way. with an even nine strike outs per game.  The Miami iteration of the Marlins and the Devil Rays bring up the rear with an even five strike outs per game.

Strike Outs

Team Name Strike Outs
Chicago White Sox 5387
Chicago Cubs 3558
Kansas City Royals 463
Minnesota Twins 457
Cleveland Indians 440
Detroit Tigers 407
Houston Astros 350
Milwaukee Brewers 320
Pittsburgh Pirates 295
Seattle Mariners 271
Los Angeles Angels 254
Cincinnati Reds 251
Texas Rangers 247
New York Yankees 240
Boston Red Sox Continue reading →
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The Cubs Get Their Man

After being linked to nearly all four of the star free agent shortstops this winter, the Cubs nabbed the last one on the table, getting Dansby Swanson on a seven-year, $177 million deal.  The deal is expected to include a full no-trade clause.  Since the Braves had given Swanson a qualifying offer, the Cubs will lose their second-round draft pick and $500,000 in international free agent allocation.

Swanson, who will turn 29 prior to the start of the 2023 season, put together the best offensive season of his career last year.  He will push Nico Hoerner to second base, giving the Cubs a solid defense in the middle of the infield.  It also leaves Nick Madrigal, acquired from the White Sox in 2021, on the outside looking in.

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The White Sox Get Their Man

The hot stove warmed up a bit this past Friday as word broke that the White Sox had signed former Red Sox/Royal/Yankee outfielder Andrew Benintendi to a five-year, $75 million contract.  Slotting into left field, Benintendi strengthens the outfield defense, where the White Sox have been playing first basemen out of position for most of the past two seasons, and adds a much needed lefty bat to the lineup.

The addition of Benintendi likely spells the end of Eloy Jimenez as an everyday outfielder and pushes the slugger into the DH role he was destined to inhabit.  He should also add some balance to a lineup that has struggled against right handed pitching over much of the past two seasons.

Benintendi has been a long target of the White Sox.  They were linked to him in the 2015 draft, where the Red Sox selected him one pick before the White Sox selected Carson Fulmer.  He was also rumored to be a target in the Chris Sale trade, which eventually netted fellow Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada.  Not to mention that Benintendi spent the most of the past two seasons with the Royals, alongside new White Sox manager Pedro Grifol and coaches Mike Tosar and Eddie Rodríguez.

Benintendi’s $75 million contract now becomes the largest deal in franchise history, surpassing Yasmani Grandal’s $73 million deal inked prior to the 2020 season.  At this rate, the White Sox will crack the nine-figure contract mark in 2048.

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Team Stats: Doubles

It will just over three months until baseball returns to Chicago, so I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with doubles.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen most often.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the Guardians, Blue Jays, and Rays all come in with more than two doubles per game.  The Miami iteration of the Marlins are at the bottom, with 1 double every other game, followed by the California incarnation of the Angels, who went double-less.

Doubles

Team Name Doubles
Chicago White Sox 1026
Chicago Cubs 757
Minnesota Twins 107
Kansas City Royals 103
Detroit Tigers 99
Houston Astros 98
Cleveland Indians 95
Milwaukee Brewers 74
Pittsburgh Pirates 67
Boston Red Sox 64
Texas Rangers 64
New York Yankees 57
Toronto Blue Jays 57
Baltimore Orioles 55
Los Angeles Dodgers 53
Cincinnati Reds 53
Oakland Athletics 50
St. Louis Cardinals 49
Seattle Mariners 48
Tampa Bay Rays 47
Los Angeles Angels 45
Florida Marlins 38
Philadelphia Phillies 36
San Francisco Giants 35
Arizona Diamondbacks 34
New York Mets 31
San Diego Padres 31
Colorado Rockies 30
Atlanta Braves 29
Washington Nationals 14
Montreal Expos 8
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 8
Cleveland Guardians 7
Anaheim Angels 4
Miami Marlins 1
California Angels 0

Doubles per Game

TeamName Doubles per Game
Cleveland Guardians 2.33333333333333
Toronto Blue Jays 2.11111111111111
Tampa Bay Rays 2.04347826086957
Houston Astros 2
Arizona Diamondbacks 2
Boston Red Sox 2
Anaheim Angels 2
New York Yankees 1.83870967741935
Los Angeles Dodgers Continue reading →
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Team Stats: Bases On Balls

With less than four months until baseball returns to Chicago.  I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  We continue today on the defensive side of the ball with bases on balls surrendered.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most.  When you adjust the numbers per game, three teams are averaging four or more walks per game, with the Nationals leading the pack with just over four.  The Cubs find themselves, unfortunately, in the top ten at 3.45 walks per game, while the White Sox just make it into the bottom half (or top half, depending on your point of view) with 3.29 walks per game.  The Anaheim version of the Angels and the Miami version of the Marlins bring up the rear as the only teams with less than two walks per game, at 1.5 a piece.

Bases on Balls

Team Name Walks
Chicago White Sox 2208
Chicago Cubs 1509
Kansas City Royals 213
Cleveland Indians 207
Detroit Tigers 164
Minnesota Twins 156
Seattle Mariners 149
Pittsburgh Pirates 141
Cincinnati Reds 139
Baltimore Orioles 138
Milwaukee Brewers 136
Texas Rangers 132
Houston Astros 130
St. Louis Cardinals 111
Los Angeles Angels Continue reading →
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And Then There Was One

Willson Contreras’ Cubs career officially came to an end Wednesday when the free agent catcher signed a five-year contract with the Cardinals.  His departure leaves Kyle Hendricks as the last remaining member of the 2016 World Series champions to play for the North Siders.

Contreras first joined the Cub organization in 2009 as a teenaged international free agent.  He made his major league debut as a pinch runner on June 17, 2016 and, two days later, became the 30th player in modern MLB history to hit a home run on the first pitch of his first major league at bat.  Contreras made it on to the post-season roster and helped the Cubs end their 108-year title drought.

Contreras became the starting catcher in 2017 following the retirement of David Ross and the implosion of Miguel Montero’s Cub career in June.  In 2018, Contreras was elected to his first All Star team.  He replicated that feat in 2019 and 2022.

Contreras’ numbers in a Cubs uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →

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The Hall Comes Calling

Cubs radio play-by-play man Pat Hughes was awarded the 2023 Ford C. Frick Award yesterday, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.  Hughes, who joined the Cubs booth in 1996, will have spent 28 of his 41 seasons as a broadcaster for the Cubs after starting his career with the Twins in 1983 followed by a twelve-season run with the Brewers.

Hughes joined the Cubs booth in 1996, joining long time color commentator, and Cub legend, Ron Santo.  The chemistry between the two grew to the point where their broadcasts came to be known as “The Pat and Ron Show”.  Following Santo’s death in 2010, Hughes has worked alongside former Cubs Keith Moreland and Ron Coomer.

Along the way, Hughes has called many memorable moments, including eight no-hitters, the 25-inning contest between the White Sox and the Brewers which remains the longest game in American League history, Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game in 1998, Mark McGwire’s record-breaking 62nd home run in 1998, and, of course, the final out clinching the Cubs 2016 World Series title.

Hughes, 67, is the sixth announcer with ties to Chicago to earn the honor, following Ken Harrelson, Milo Hamilton, Harry Caray, Jack Brickhouse, and Bob Elson.

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The Crime Dog Solves The Case

The new Contemporary Era Committee announced the results of their vote Sunday night, inducting former Cub first baseman Fred McGriff into the Hall of Fame with 100% of the vote.  McGriff, whose 18-year career also included tours with the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, and Dodgers, fell off the BBWAA ballot in 2019 after his tenth year, earning just 39.8% of the vote.

With the Cubs becoming surprise contenders in the 2001 season, they acquired McGriff from the Devil Rays.  The Crime Dog held up his part of the bargain down the stretch, putting up a .942 OPS with 12 home runs in 49 games with the Cubs.  Unfortunately, the pitching fell apart as the Cubs went 23-28 in August and September, finishing five games behind the Astros and Cardinals.  At age 38, McGriff returned to the Cubs in 2002, posting a .858 OPS and 125 OPS+ to go along with 30 homers and 103 runs batted in.  The rest of the Cubs, however, were butt, going through three managers and finishing with a 67-95 record.  McGriff became a free agent following the season.

Players needed twelve of the sixteen votes to gain election.  Don Mattingly finished second, with eight votes, followed by Curt Schilling, with seven, and Dale Murphy with six.  Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Rafael Palmeiro each received fewer than four votes.

Fred McGriff’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:

Continue reading →

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Team Stats: Triples

It will be just less than four months until baseball returns to Chicago, so I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with triples.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen most often.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the California incarnation of the Angels lead the way with a triple every other game.  The Anaheim iteration of the Angels, alongside the Miami version of the Marlins, the Expos, and the brand-new Guardians bring up the rear with nary a triple between them.

Triples

Team Name Triples
Chicago White Sox 105
Chicago Cubs 81
Cleveland Indians 13
Detroit Tigers 13
Milwaukee Brewers 10
Pittsburgh Pirates 9
Baltimore Orioles 9
Minnesota Twins 8
Houston Astros 7
Seattle Mariners 6
Tampa Bay Rays 6
New York Yankees 5
Florida Marlins 5
Oakland Athletics 4
Cincinnati Reds Continue reading →