Tag / LaTroy Hawkins

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2021 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers


baseballhof

The BBWAA recently released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2021, with the results of the vote due to be revealed on January 26th.  Assuming the corona virus is under control by then, induction would take place July 25th.  With Derek Jeter and Larry Walker getting elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 11 newcomers, which may potentially 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.

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

Mark Buehrle

While he is one of only three pitchers, along with Cy Young and Sandy Koufax, to have a no-hitter, a perfect game, and win a World Series title with the same organization, I don’t see any way he will make it.  Hopefully he will get enough votes to remain on the ballot for another year.

A.J. Burnett

I don’t see him getting much in the way of support.

Michael Cuddyer

I wonder what it feels like to be placed on the ballot knowing that you won’t earn even a single vote.

Dan Haren

I can see him getting a vote or two, but not enough to stick around.

LaTroy Hawkins

I mean, he had a nice career and all, but no.

Tim Hudson

My initial reaction was no, but he was the first one to make me look up his numbers.  His predictive numbers are actually very similar to Buehrle’s, so I’m going to have to say no here as well.  It’ll be interesting to see how their vote totals match up considering how close their predictive scores are.

Torii Hunter

Probably the most interesting case out of the newcomers.  I can see him sticking around for the entire 10 year run, but I don’t see him getting in.

Aramis Ramirez

While a local favorite, I don’t see him getting a lot of support.

Nick Swisher

F this dude and anyone who votes for him.

Shane Victorino

No.

Barry Zito

The start of his career looked promising, but those later Giant years were brutal.

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Cubs All Time Leaders – Through 2019

chc_logoWith baseball now officially on its way back after the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look back at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue things today with the Chicago Cubs.

I’ve seen the Cubs play 416 times at 9 different stadiums in 7 different cities, with the earliest identified game at Wrigley Field on August 4, 1984 against the Mets, through a late August 2019 game against the Nationals.

Home Runs

Name Total
Sammy Sosa 42
Aramis Ramirez 41
Derrek Lee 38

Hits

Name Total
Derrek Lee 245
Aramis Ramirez 216
Sammy Sosa 136

Runs

Name Total
Derrek Lee 136
Aramis Ramirez 114
Sammy Sosa 102

RBI

Name Total
Aramis Ramirez 151
Derrek Lee 128
Sammy Sosa 97

Doubles

Name Total
Derrek Lee 51
Aramis Ramirez 48
Michael Barrett 29

Triples Continue reading →

by jim

Active Pitching Leaders – Through 2015

baseballs2Last week, we looked at the active leaders in games I’ve attended through 2015 on the offensive side of the ball.  With spring training winding down and opening day less than a week away, let’s take a look at the defensive side of the ball and the active pitching leaders, including a certain left hander who, while not signed for 2016, has not officially announced his retirement.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 31
Gavin Floyd 24
John Danks 19
Chris Sale 15
Jake Peavy 11

Losses

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 17
Gavin Floyd 15
John Danks 15
Sean Marshall 11
Chris Sale 9
Jake Peavy 9
Jose Quintana 9

ERA (> 35 IP)

Name Total
Matt Thornton 2.32
Chris Sale 2.75
Jesse Crain 2.78
Carlos Marmol 2.79
Zach Duke 2.82

ERA (> 70 IP)

Name Total
Matt Thornton 2.32
Chris Sale Continue reading →
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Active Pitching Leaders – Through 2014

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersLast week, we looked at the active leaders in games I’ve attended through 2014 on the offensive side of the ball.  With spring training winding down and opening day little more than a week away, let’s take a look at the pitchers.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 31
Gavin Floyd 24
John Danks 17
Jake Peavy 11
Chris Sale 10

Losses

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 16
Gavin Floyd 15
Continue reading →
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All Season Pitching Leaders – Through 2014

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersLast week, we took our first look at the offensive leaders per season since 2011.  Today, we do the same with the pitchers for all of the games I’ve attended from 1984 through the 2014 season.  As with the hitters, there is little change from our first look after the 2011 season, but the time was right for another perusal of the stats.  We start with that most maligned pitching stat:

Wins

Year Name Total
2008 Mark Buehrle 8
2003 Matt Clement 6
2006 Freddy Garcia 6
2003 Mark Prior 6
2004 Greg Maddux 6
2005 Mark Buehrle 6
2008 Gavin Floyd 6

Losses

Year Name Total
2003 Kerry Wood 6
2008 Javier Vazquez 6
2003 Matt Clement 5
2004 Greg Maddux 5
2011 Gavin Floyd 5
2005 Greg Maddux 5

ERA (> 8 IP)

Year Name Total
Continue reading →
by jim

Active Pitching Leaders – Through 2013

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersLast week, we looked at the active leaders in games I’ve attended through 2013 on the offensive side of the ball.  With spring training winding down and opening day less than a week away, let’s take a look at the pitchers.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 31
Gavin Floyd 24
Carlos Zambrano 21
John Danks 15
Jake Peavy 11

Losses

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 16
Carlos Zambrano 15
Continue reading →
by jim

Another Carlos Dump For Cubs

The Carlos Marmol era, which started with great promise in 2006 and almost ended over the winter in a trade with the Angels for Dan Haren, officially came to a close yesterday when the Cubs designated the beleaguered reliever for assignment.  Marmol’s Cubs career almost came to an end this offseason, when he was nearly traded to the Angels in exchange for starter Dan Haren, but that trade fell apart at the last minute.  Looking at this performance this year in a Cubs uniform, it may have been best for all parties had he moved on at the time.  Marmol was thought to have lost his role in the beginning of December when the Cubs signed Japanese free agent closer Kyuji Fujikawa.  When Fujikawa was injured early and often, Marmol was given another chance to close and failed spectacularly.

After failing as a starter in 2006, Marmol resurfaced in 2007 as a setup man and helped the Cubs capture back-to-back division titles in 2007 and 2008.  Over those two seasons, Marmol battled Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood for the closer spot, getting his opportunity in both years thanks to injury to the incumbent.  In 2009, he finally replaced an ineffective Kevin Gregg as closer, and that is where he mostly stayed, until now.

Marmol’s strength was in his ability to strike out opposing batters, averaging 16 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, breaking the record for highest K/9 ratio by a pitcher with at least 50 innings pitched, previously held by Eric Gagne.  However, with this came extreme wildness.  For his career, he has also averaged 6 walks per nine innings pitched.  He’s also managed to hit 46 batters over his career.

These past two seasons have seen Marmol start to fall out of favor with Cubs fans and management.  In 2011, he  finished with the worst save conversion percentage of his closing career thanks to 10 blown saves.  2012 got off to a similar start, although he did end up with the second highest save conversion percentage of his career.  This past offseason, the Cubs imported Japanese closer Kyuji Fujikawa to handle ninth inning duties, but elbow reconstruction has put him out of commission and gave Marmol another opportunit to close.  Unfortunately, Marmol failed spectacularly, putting up a 5.36 ERA in 31 games, picking up only 2 saves and averaging 2 HR allowed per 9 innings pitched.

Personally, Marmol ranks third overall and first among Cub pitchers in games pitched that I have attended.  His 7 saves are either tied with or behind such luminaries as LaTroy Hawkins, Kevin Gregg, and Joe Borowski.

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

Continue reading →

by jim

Active Pitching Leaders – Through 2012

Last week we looked at the active leaders in games I’ve attended through 2012 on the offensive side of the ball.  With spring training winding down, let’s take a look at the pitchers.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 31
Gavin Floyd 24
Carlos Zambrano 21
John Danks 14
Ryan Dempster 13

Losses

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 16
Carlos Zambrano 15
Continue reading →
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Goodbye Mr. Dempster

In August of 2003, while the Cubs were making a run that would eventually take them to the NLCS and a mere 5 outs away from their first World Series appearance in nearly 60 years, Ryan Dempster blew out his elbow as a member of the Cincinnati Reds and underwent Tommy John surgery.  Following the season, the Reds, fearing that the one-time all star was done, released him.  In January 2004, the Cubs took a low risk flyer on him, knowing he would spend most of the season rehabbing and hoping to capture lighning in a bottle.  Nearly 9 seasons later, I guess you could say it worked out.

Dempster joined the Cubs in August, one year after his elbow reconstruction, and, for the first time in his career, worked primarily out of the bullpen.  Dempster returned to the starting rotation in 2005, but after 6 starts, he was named the closer after LaTroy Hawkins continued to struggle.  He would prove to be one of the premiere closers over the next three seasons.  In 2008, Dempster finally moved back to the starting rotation, surrendering the closers role to another former starter, Kerry Wood.  Dempster excelled and lead the Cubs to their second straight division title.

As the Cubs fortunes went south following the 2008 season, Dempster remained one of the few bright spots, especially this year, where he is among the league leaders in ERA despite getting little to no run support.  Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, the time to say goodbye has arrived.  Ryan Dempster has been traded to the Atlanta Braves Los Angeles Dodgers New York Yankees Texas Rangers, where he will be reunited with former battery mate Geovany Soto.

In Cubs games I have attended, Dempster is second all time with 13 wins and 68 appearances and tied with Joe Borowski for first all time in saves, with 14.  Dempster’s numbers in a Cubs uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →

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All Time Pitching Leaders – Through 2011

Last week we looked at the leaders in games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2011 on the offensive side of the ball.  With pitchers and catchers set to report to spring training next week, let’s look at the pitchers.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 31
Carlos Zambrano 21
Gavin Floyd 19
John Danks 14
Ryan Dempster 13
Matt Clement 13
Losses

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 16
Carlos Zambrano 15
Continue reading →