Tag / Astros

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All Time Team Records

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother exciting baseball season is upon us, and it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have attended.  Another disappointing season dropped the winning percentage for the White Sox 7 points, giving them a 16 point drop over the past 2 years.

All-Time Team Records

TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 13 2 0.867
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 10 7 0.588
New York Yankees 11 8 0.579
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 15 13 0.536
Chicago White Sox 234 204 0.534
San Francisco Giants 8 7 0.533
Chicago Cubs 194 172 0.530
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Book 2 (of 52) – Ball Four

Ball Four - Jim Bouton

Ball Four – Jim Bouton

The year was 1969, and an aging pitcher, trying to reinvent himself as a knuckleballer, chronicles the ups and downs of his season with the expansion Seattle Pilots in this seminal baseball book.  Jim Bouton broke all the rules by telling the real stories about what happens in behind the clubhouse doors and, in the process, ruffles some feathers and finds himself blackballed from the game he loves.

Bouton gives a day by day account of his year with the newly christened Seattle Pilots, starting in spring training and taking us through the long season, including his late August trade to the Astros.  This edition includes epilogues from the 10 year anniversary, which covered his comeback attempt in 1978 with Ted Turner and the Braves, the 20 year anniversary, and the 30 year anniversary, covering the death of his daughter and his finally being invited back to Old Timers Day with the Yankees.

45 years after its initial release, some of the shocks are no longer shocking.  There have been plenty of tell-all books since, but this was the first.  As a baseball fan, I’m surprised I never read this earlier.  Now, I’m glad that I did, not just for Bouton’s story, but for the chronicling of the Pilots one and only season.

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2015 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

mlb_hofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2015 yesterday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 7th, with induction taking place next July.  After Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 17 newcomers, which may start to cause a bit of a problem.  The current BBWAA rules continue to limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10, and there may be more than 10 deserving candidates.  To complicate things, the number of years of eligibility has been dropped from 15 to 10, with those who were between 10 and 15 grandfathered in.  So, there will be too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots in a shorter amount of time.  Once again, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.

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

Jeff Bagwell
Years on ballot: 4
2014 Percentage: 54.3

Things have started to trend in the wrong direction for Bagwell, which may be due to the 10 vote limit.  Given the qualified list of newcomers and the continued PED rumors, I expect he will continue to be waiting for that elusive call.

Craig Biggio
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 74.8

Narrowly missing election in last year’s vote, Biggio seems destined to make it on his third try, giving Astros fans something to look forward to next summer.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 34.7

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage drop in his second year on the ballot.  While the Giants may be softening on having Bonds involved with them, having him throw out a first pitch during this year’s NLCS, the writers voting for the Hall are unlikely to have done the same.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 35.4

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself falling after his second 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.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 1
2014 Percentage: 15.2

The 2000 NL MVP did not find much support in his first year of eligibility.  With the number of candidates coming down the pike, the future does not look good for him.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 5
2014 Percentage: 25.2

The longtime DH for the Mariners has had plenty of support from the Internet but not as much from the BBWAA, as his percentage dropped by over 10 percentage points.  His long career as a DH in the Pacific Northwest may be holding him back.

Don Mattingly
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#202 – Lucas Harrell

HarrellLucas

Name: Lucas Harrell

Rank: 202

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2010-2011

Lucas Harrell was drafted by the White Sox in the 4th round of the 2004 draft.  He made his major league debut on July 30, 2010 thanks to travel issues that kept newly acquired pitcher Edwin Jackson from getting to Chicago.  Harrell went six innings against the A’s in picking up his first major league victory.

Harrell found his way back to Chicago at the end of August when Matt Thornton and J.J. Putz both went on the disabled list.  Things did not go as smoothly on his second go around, as the White Sox fell out of contention during September while Harrell battled control issues, walking more batters than he struck out.

Harrell came to spring training in 2011 in line to compete for the 5th starter spot, but struggled and found himself back in Triple A.  When Tony Pena went to the DL in late May, Harrell got another shot in the major leagues, which lasted 1 game.  He returned a little more than a week later when Jake Peavy went down with a groin injury.  He pitched twice before being sent down again when Peavy returned.  By early July, Harrell was placed on waivers and was claimed by the Astros.

Harrell’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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O Captain! My Captain!

PaulKonerkoAfter an 18 seasons, including the past 16 with the White Sox, Paul Konerko’s major league career came to an end last week as the 2014 campaign wrapped up against the Royals.  Konerko, the last remaining White Sox player from their 2005 championship team, was a 6-time All Star and had served as team captain since 2006.  He also is the only White Sox player to appear in the post season 3 different times.

After brief appearances with the Dodgers and the Reds in 1997 and 1998, Paul Konerko was traded to the White Sox on November 11, 1998 for center fielder Mike Cameron.  He started at DH on opening day in 1999, an 8-2 victory over the Mariners, going 1-4 with a home run and 2 RBI.

2000 saw Konerko get off to a quick start with an inside the park home run on April 11 against the Devil Rays, the first by a White Sox player since 1990.  In his second full season, he helped lead the surprising White Sox to their first Central Division title.  He, along with the rest of the White Sox offense, struggled during the Division Series against the Mariners, going 0-9 in the three game sweep.

After steadily improving in 2001 and 2002, Konerko ran into trouble in 2003, with his average under .200 for the first half of the season.  He found himself coming off the bench as manager Jerry Manuel seemingly lost confidence in him.  He bounced back in the second half and re-established himself as the starting first baseman.

Konerko bounced back in a big way in 2004, hitting 41 home runs and knocking in over 100 RBIs en route to the Comeback Player of the Year award.  2005 saw him put up a second consecutive 40 HR, 100 RBI season as the White Sox found themselves back in the playoffs for the second time in his career.  This time, things would go much differently for both Konerko and the White Sox.

PaulKonerkoRed

Konerko homered twice and drove in 4 runs during the three game sweep against the Red Sox, catching the final out that sent the White Sox to the ALCS for the first time since 1993.  Konerko hit another 2 home runs and drove in 7 against the Angels during the 5 game series.  Once again, Konerko caught the final putout that sent the White Sox to their first World Series since 1959.  Following the victory in game 5, Konerko was named ALCS MVP.

Konerko cooled down during the World Series, hitting only one home run against the Astros, but what a home run it was.  With the White Sox trailing in the 7th inning, Konerko came up to face new pitcher Chad Qualls with the bases loaded.  Konerko made contact on the first pitch, sending it into the left field seats for a grand slam and the lead.  Like the previous 2 series, Konerko caught the final putout at first base in Game 4, giving the White Sox their first World Series title since 1917.

With the afterglow of winning the World Series starting to subside, Konerko became a free agent.  Despite rumors of him getting more lucrative offers from both the Dodgers and the Orioles, Konerko finally resigned with the White Sox, inking a 5-year, $60 million contract that would keep him on the south side through 2010.

Konerko battled through injuries in 2008, leading to his worst season since 2003, but he did manage to help the White Sox reach the post-season for the third time during his career.  He hit 2 solo home runs in the 4 game series against the Rays, in what would be his final playoff appearance.

Konerko had two more chances at free agency, signing a 3 year deal with the White Sox prior to 2011 and, finally, re-upping for one last season last fall.  He finishes his career as the White Sox all time leader in total bases and second all time in home runs, RBIs, and games played.

Konerko’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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by admin

2014 Final Standings

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers

The 2014 baseball season came to an end this past Sunday.  I made it to 35 games this year, in 4 stadiums across 3 states.  Here are the final standings for those games, and the 17 different teams that I saw in person.

Team Won Loss Winning Pctg
New York Yankees 2 0 1.000
San Francisco Giants 1 0 1.000
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 0 1.000
Cleveland Indians 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 3 1 0.750
Chicago Cubs 3 2 0.600
San Diego Padres 1 1 0.500
Toronto Blue Jays 1 1 0.500
Houston Astros 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 14 17 0.452
Minnesota Twins Continue reading →
by admin

All Time Team Records

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother exciting baseball season is upon us, and it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have attended.  Some changes from last year:

– A horrible 2013 dropped the winning percentage for the White Sox 9 points.

– The Miami Marlins join the roster of teams I have seen in person

All-Time Team Records

TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 12 2 0.857
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 9 6 0.600
Chicago White Sox 220 187 0.541
Tampa Bay Rays 7 6 0.538
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 15 13 0.536
New York Yankees 9 8 0.529
Chicgao Cubs 191 170 0.529
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by admin

#249 – Chris Widger

Chris_Widger

Name: Chris Widger

Rank: 249

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 2005-2006

Chris Widger joined the White Sox as a minor league free agent prior to the 2005 season and managed to beat out Ben Davis for the backup catcher spot during spring training.  He appeared in 45 games for the eventual World Series champions, batting .241.  Widger made one appearance during the post season thanks to the 14 inning victory over the Astros in game 3 of the World Series.

Widger returned in 2006, but his production fell off.  He only appeared in 27 games, hitting .184.  White Sox pitchers had a 5.36 ERA with him behind the plate and he was in the midst of an 0-for-24 slump when, on July 23, he was designated for assignment after the acquisition of Sandy Alomar Jr.  12 days later, he was released and his White Sox career came to an end.

Widger’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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by admin

#268 – Aaron Miles

xnldXs9TName: Aaron Miles

Rank: 268

Position: 2B

Year With White Sox: 2003

Aaron Miles was selected by the White Sox from the Astros in the minor league portion of the 2000 Rule V draft.  He made his major league debut for the White Sox on September 11, 2003, going 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter in the Sox loss to the Twins.  He appeared in 7 additional games for the White Sox that September, finishing with a .333 batting average.

That December, he was moved to the Rockies in exchange for Juan Uribe.

Miles’ numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by jim

2014 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

mlb_hofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2014.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 8th, with induction taking place next July.  After nobody was elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may start to cause a bit of a problem.  The current BBWAA rules limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10, and there may be more than 10 deserving candidates.  As they start to pile up, and even more deserving candidates become eligible, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.

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

Jeff Bagwell
Years on ballot: 3
2013 Percentage: 59.6

Bagwell is going to be one of those candidates that, I think, gets hurt due to 10 vote limit.  He would have been elected already were it not for seemingly unfounded PED rumors.

Craig Biggio
Years on ballot: 1
2013 Percentage: 68.2

Biggio was the highest vote getter in last year’s election, only 39 votes shy of getting elected.  You would think he could make up that total this year as voters who have some inane theories on when someone deserves to be elected add him to their ballot.  It would be a boost to the Astros if both he and Bagwell were to go in together.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 1
2013 Percentage: 36.2

Barry Bonds, he of the 7 MVP awards and 762 career home runs, found himself on the outside looking in after his initial run through the voting process.  Due to his connection to BALCO and PEDs, he’s unlikely to do much better this year.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 1
2013 Percentage: 37.6

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself on the outside looking in after his initial run through the voting process.  The interesting thing is that, despite his inclusion in the Mitchell Report and his connection to Andy Pettitte’s PED confession, Clemens picked up 8 more votes than Bonds.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 4
2013 Percentage: 35.9

The longtime DH for the Mariners has had plenty of support from the Internet but not as much from the BBWAA.  His long career as a DH may be holding him back.

Don Mattingly
Years on ballot: 13
2013 Percentage: 13.2

Back in 2010, I said that “being the best Yankee in a decade of bad Yankee teams does not a Hall of Famer make.”  Nothing that has happened since then would change my, or, seemingly, the voters, mind.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 4
2013 Percentage: 20.7

A very good argument could be made that Fred McGriff has been hurt by the PED users more than anyone else.  Had he stuck around to hit an additional 7 home runs, he would likely have been elected thanks to his 500 home runs.  Without them, he gets penalized for not putting up better numbers than the PED users, who are also being penalized.  Doesn’t seem right.

Mark McGwire
Years on ballot: 7
2013 Percentage: 16.9

McGwire finds himself over 100 votes behind fellow PED users Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.  Even if the voters do start to reverse track and start to vote for the convicted users, I think McGwire might still have trouble getting elected.

Jack Morris
Years on ballot: 14
2013 Percentage: 67.7

Morris enters his final year on the ballot needing only 42 additional votes to get enshrined, but with the influx of new, and exceptionally deserving, candidates,  I don’t see how he gets them.  Not that I would be too disappointed in that, as Morris, while a very good pitcher, falls short in my estimation.

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