Category / Baseball

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All Time Pitching Leaders – Through 2017

baseballs3White Sox pitchers and catchers hold their first spring workout today, so it is time for our annual look at the pitching leaders in the now 882 games I’ve attended, and identified, between 1984 and 2017. Not a whole lot of difference from last year, but a few categories have seen new faces join the leader board.  So, without further ado, let’s get things started with our first category, the always popular:

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 31
Gavin Floyd 24
Carlos Zambrano 21
Chris Sale 21
John Danks 19

Losses

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 17
John Danks 16
Carlos Zambrano 15
Gavin Floyd 15
Jose Quintana 15

ERA (>= 35 IP)

Name Total
David Robertson 2.17
DJ Carrasco 2.20
Nate Jones Continue reading →
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You Can Catch It All On WGN

After spending the last two weeks as free agents following a US Bankruptcy Court releasing them from their contract with Cumulus Media’s WLS, the White Sox announced this morning that they will be moving their radio broadcasts to WGN in a reported 3 year deal.  The broadcast team of Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson will continue with the team for the 2018 season.

The White Sox first moved to WLS in 2016, signing a 6 year deal.  This morning’s action gives them their 3rd radio home in the past 4 seasons. that took them away from the Score after 10 seasons.  WGN last broadcast baseball in 2014, when the Cubs finished up their 56 year run with the station.

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2018 Hall Of Fame Election Thoughts

All eyes turned towards Cooperstown yesterday, as the votes were tallied and four new members were announced as the Hall of Fame class of 2018: Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman.  Jones, in his first year of eligibility, garnered 97.2% of the vote, the 11th highest percentage of all time.  Guerrero rose to 92.9% in just his second year on the ballot.  Thome, also in his first year of eligibility, found himself on 89.8%of the ballots.  Hoffman snared 79.9% of the vote in his third year on the ballot.

Five others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Edgar Martinez, who fell just short at 70.4%.  If history is any indication, he will be inducted next year, his final on the ballot.  Mike Mussina saw a large increase, moving up over 10 percentage points to 63.5%.  Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds remain in the mid 50s, while Curt Schilling just squeaks in at 51.2%.

Jamie Moyer and Johan Santana led the list of 14 players who failed to get 5% and will drop off the ballot, which includes local stars Kerry Wood, Carlos Lee, and Carlos Zambrano.

As for the newest Hall of Famers, I’ve seen Thome play 139 times, the most of any Hall of Famer.  I only saw Guerrero play 22 times over the course of his career, followed by 12 career games for Jones, and a mere 4 appearances from Hoffman.

Chipper Jones’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:

Continue reading →

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Radio Free Chicago

For the third time in four years, the White Sox may find themselves on a new radio flagship for the upcoming season.  News broke yesterday that Cumulus Media, the parent company of WLS, had filed motions in US Bankruptcy Court seeking to get out from under “a handful of extremely unprofitable contracts, including those with the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls.”  The Sox and Bulls issued a joint statement Friday, acknowledging they have worked with Cumulus “to find an amicable solution that would provide broadcast continuity to our fans, while addressing Cumulus’ financial issue” but have failed to come to an agreement.

The White Sox moved to WLS in 2016, signing a 6 year deal that took them away from the Score after 10 seasons.  Following that move, the Cubs, who spent one year on WBBM after 7 decades on WGN, moved down the dial to the Score.  Should the Sox find themselves looking for a new home, the options may be limited.  After losing the Cubs, WGN may want to get back in the baseball business, especially if they can get a good deal.  The only other option would appear to be a return to ESPN 1000, which the team left in 2005 following their World Series championship.

The decision from the bankruptcy count is due on February 1, leaving a little less than 2 months before opening day for the team to reach a new deal, if necessary.

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2018 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

baseballhof

The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2018 on Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place next July.  After Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.  Once again, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.  And that doesn’t even take in to account Joe Morgan’s letter.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who may be thankful come January.

Chris Carpenter

He put together some monster seasons, but lost nearly 4 1/2 seasons due to injury, leaving his numbers well short of enshrinement.

Johnny Damon

Probably would not get anywhere near enough support, but he spent many years in a Red Sox or Yankees uniform, so who knows.

Livan Hernandez

The Cuban ex-pat may get a vote or two, but it should be one and done for him.

Orlando Hudson

I can’t imagine a world where Orlando Hudson, who finished out his career with the White Sox in 2012, earns a Hall of Fame vote.

Aubrey Huff

Not that he was going to garner any support anyway, but his recent social media posts, falling for the worst of the right wing conspiracies, certainly aren’t helping.

Jason Isringhausen

This has been a weak batch of newly eligible players. no?

Andruw Jones

Now here is an interesting conundrum.  If we stick to his first 11 seasons, it seemed like he was destined for the Hall.  His last 7 seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  This would be a tough choice.

Chipper Jones

Ah, there we go.  A sure-fire, first ballot selection for the long time Brave.

Carlos Lee

The former White Sox outfielder may get a little support, but not enough to keep him on the ballot for a second go-around.

Brad Lidge

Lidge was on the mound when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, but that won’t erase the memories of the huge home runs he gave up in the 2005 post-season, to Albert Pujols and Scott Podsednik.

Hideki Matsui
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2018 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

baseballhofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2018 yesterday. The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place next July. After Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 5
2017 Percentage: 53.8

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage rise for the third straight time last year, so the PED bias holding him back may be subsiding.  Having hit the halfway point in his election cycle, whether he has enough time to get up to 75% remains to be seen.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 5
2017 Percentage: 54.1

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself with a third consecutive rise after his fifth run through the voting process.  For some odd reason, perhaps by having played for more teams, Clemens continues to get marginally more support than his fellow PED poster child Barry Bonds.

Vladimir Guerrero
Years on ballot: 1
2017 Percentage: 71.7

The former Expo and Angel should have no issue getting in this year, considering he was only 15 votes short last year.

Trevor Hoffman
Years on ballot: 2
2017 Percentage: 74.0

One of only 2 pitchers with over 600 saves, Hoffman missed election last year buy a mere 5 votes.  I would expect him to break through this year.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 4
2017 Percentage: 16.7

The 2000 NL MVP managed a slight increase in vote percentage last year, but has a long way to go and not a whole lot of time left, so the future does not look good for him.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 8
2017 Percentage: 58.6

The longtime DH for the Mariners saw another big jump last year, but has only 2 elections left and may not have enough time to build up to the necessary 75%.  His long career as a DH in the Pacific Northwest may be holding him back.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 8
2017 Percentage: 21.7 Continue reading →

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2017 BBWAA Award Predictions

2016wsballThe Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed baseball season, which will be announced next week.  It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate.  Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.

American League

Most Valuable Player: Jose Altuve, Aaron Judge, Jose Ramirez

Francisco Lindor was was my pre-season selection to win the award this year, but he was left out of the top three in part to his teammate Jose Ramirez.  Judge should be a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year, leaving Jose Altuve to take home the award, adding to his hardware.

Cy Young Award: Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Luis Severino

Ironically, in his first year away from the White Sox, Chris Sale will finally win his first Cy Young award.

Manager of the Year: Terry Francona, A.J. Hinch, Paul Molitor

Once again, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season.  I’m guessing the surprising Twins will give Paul Molitor some love, but A.J. Hinch should take home the award.

Rookie of the Year: Andrew Benintendi, Aaron Judge, Trey Mancini

Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season.  Judge just might be a unanimous selection.

National League

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Games Per Stadium – All Time

It’s been 3 years since we’ve taken a look at the now 22 different stadiums I’ve been to and how often I’ve been to them.  With the World Series over and the off season upon us, it’s time to update that list.  Again, I’ve only added 2 additional stadiums in this time, one in 2015 and the other this year.  Different names for the same physical stadium are counted separately.

Games Per Stadium
Stadium Name Total Games
US Cellular Field 414
Wrigley Field 344
Comiskey Park II 38
Guaranteed Rate Field 33
Comiskey Park 12
Great American Ballpark 7
Miller Park 6
Ameriquest Field 4
PETCO Park 3
Ballpark in Arlington, The 3
Target Field 2
Comerica Park 2
AT&T Park Continue reading →
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2017 Final Pitching Leaders

baseballs3Sunday, we looked at the leaders in the 49 games I attended this year on the offensive side of the ball.  With the World Series kicking off tonight in Los Angeles, it’s time to wrap up our look back at the 2017 season with the pitching leaders, starting with everyone’s favorite pitching statistic:

Wins

Name Total
Miguel Gonzalez 3
Lucas Giolito 3
Dan Jennings 2
David Robertson 2
Jon Lester 2
Buck Farmer  2
Carson Fulmer 2

Losses

Name Total
Jose Quintana 5
Derek Holland 3
Carlos Rodon 3
James Shields 2
Mike Pelfrey 2
Pedro Strop 2
Aaron Bummer 2

ERA (> 10 IP)

Name Total
Lucas Giolito 0.86
Luis Severino 1.29
David Robertson 1.59
Anthony Swarzak 1.59
Dan Jennings 2.13

Strikeouts

Name Total
Jose Quintana 38
Jon Lester 32
Carlos Rodon 32
Continue reading →
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2017 Final Batting Leaders

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother baseball season has come to an end, with the Cubs title defense falling a bit short thanks to the Dodgers in the NLCS and year one of the rebuild on the South Side looking fruitful.  Let’s take a look back at the offensive leaders for the 49 games, including the post-season, that I attended this season:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 10
Melky Cabrera 7
Avisail Garcia 7
Tim Anderson 5
Enrique Hernandez 5
Javier Baez 5

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 44
Tim Anderson 35
Avisail Garcia 33
Melky Cabrera 33
Yolmer Sanchez 30

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 22
Tim Anderson 18
Continue reading →