Brewers All Time Leaders – Through 2015

brewersWith 3 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers began life in 1969, joining the American League as the Seattle Pilots.  After one year, they moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers.  In 1998, the Brewers became the first team to switch leagues when they moved to the National League as the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the American League.  I’ve seen them play 36 times, first in 1993 battling the White Sox at their old home of Milwaukee County Stadium and most recently last May, once again battling the White Sox, at Miller Park.

Home Runs

Name Total
Richie Sexson 4
Prince Fielder 4
Bill Hall 3

Hits

Name Total
Ryan Braun 26
Prince Fielder 23
J.J. Hardy 19
Corey Hart 19

Runs

Name Total
Ryan Braun 14
Prince Fielder 14
J.J. Hardy 11
Rickie Weeks 11

RBI

Name Total
Ryan Braun 18
Prince Fielder 17
Richie Sexson 13

Doubles

Name Total
Prince Fielder 9
Corey Hart 6
Ryan Braun 5

Triples Continue reading →

Single Game Batting Leaders Revisited

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersWe’ve looked at the single season and career leaders for games I have attended, and I thought it would be interesting to take another look at the single game leaders in those categories, for the first time since 2012.

Home Runs

Name Total Date
Sammy Sosa 3 6/5/1996
Moises Alou 3 7/4/2003
103 with 2 Most recently on 5/24/2015

Hits

Name Total Date
Scott Rolen 5 4/22/2007
Mike Fontenot 5 6/25/2007
Mark DeRosa 5 9/17/2007
Alfonso Soriano 5 5/17/2008
Derrek Lee 5 6/28/2008
Ryan Braun 5 8/2/2010
Prince Fielder 5 8/2/2010
Danny Santana 5 8/3/2014
Melky Cabrera 5 6/21/2015

Runs

Name Total Date
Chris Burke 5 6/13/2006
Gary Ward 4 8/14/1984
Paul Konerko 4 6/28/2002
Continue reading →

Franchise Four – NL Central

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the National League Central, minus the Cubs.

F4Reds5 Hall of Famers should make this an easy choice, but the permanent exclusion of the all-time hit king adds a slight wrinkle to the proceedings for the Reds.  Let’s say that Johnny Bench and Frank Robinson hold down two of the spots.  That leaves Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Barry Larkin, and Pete Rose for the final two slots.  I’m going to go with the exiled Rose and Morgan.

F4Brewers

For a franchise that dates back to 1969, the Brewers, once you get past Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, don’t have much to choose from.  Ryan Braun, despite his association with PEDs, get my third slot.  I guess I’d give the final position to Rollie Fingers.

F4Pirates Continue reading →

Active Batting Leaders – Through 2014

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersLast month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2014.  With Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn hanging up their spikes after last season, we should see some new names on this list.  Now that Opening Day is right around the corner, let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading in to the 2015 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Aramis Ramirez 41
Alexei Ramierz 28
Carlos Quentin 28
Alex Rios 23
AJ Pierzynski 20

Hits

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 261
AJ Pierzynski 237
Continue reading →

All Time Batting Leaders – Through 2014

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersLate last week, we took our annual look at the all time leaders in pitching stats for the 755 games I’ve attended (and identified) between 1984 and 2014.  With the full White Sox roster due in camp today, it’s time to take a look at the offensive stat leaders for those games, starting with our first category:

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 93
Sammy Sosa 42
Aramis Ramirez 41
Derrek Lee 40
Jermaine Dye 40

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 366
Alexei Ramirez 261
Continue reading →

Active Batting Leaders – Through 2013

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersLast month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2013.  With Opening Day right around the corner, I thought it would be interesting to take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading in to the 2014 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 89
Aramis Ramierz 41
Carlos Quentin 28
Corey Patterson 26
Adam Dunn 26

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 352
AJ Pierzynski 237
Continue reading →

All Time Batting Leaders – Through 2013

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersEarlier this week, we took our annual look at the all time leaders in pitching stats for the 720 games I’ve attended (and identified) between 1984 and 2013.  With the full White Sox roster due in camp today, it’s time to take a look at the offensive stat leaders for those games, starting with our first category:

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 89
Sammy Sosa 42
Aramis Ramirez 41
Derrek Lee 40
Jermaine Dye 40

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 352
Derrek Lee 255
Continue reading →

2013 Predictions Revisited

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersBack in April, on the eve of the 2013 baseball season, I looked into my crystal ball and tried to predict the outcomes of the division races and the major awards.  Now that the season has come to an end the playoffs are in full swing, let’s take a look back at how things unfolded and how wrong my predictions were.

American League

East: Rays

Nobody really predicted the Red Sox bouncing back from their miserable 2012 campaign and winning the division this year.  The Rays, meanwhile, managed to beat the Rangers in the tie-breaker game and make it as the second wild card.

Central: Tigers

This one was practically a no-brainer, although the Indians did make a race of it.

West: Angels

The Angels once again made a huge splash in the free agency market and then underachieved miserably during the season.  The A’s, despite their precarious stadium and underfunded roster, took the division handily.

Wild Cards: Blue Jays, A’s

Despite totally remaking their roster, the Blue Jays failed to reach the playoffs once again.  The Indians and the Rays were the actual wild card teams.  Overall, for the AL, I managed to get one division winner correct and 3 of the 5 playoff teams correct.

National League

Continue reading →

Active Batting Leaders – Through 2012

Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2012.  With Opening Day right around the corner, I thought it would be interesting to take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active today.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 88
Aramis Ramierz 41
Jim Thome 35
Carlos Quentin 28
Corey Patterson 26

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 340
Aramis Ramirez 234
Continue reading →

All Time Batting Leaders – Through 2012

White Sox pitchers and catchers report today, which means winter is winding down and it is finally time for Spring Training.  To get ready, let’s take a look at the offensive stat leaders over all of the 658 games I’ve attended (and identified) between 1984 and 2011.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 88
Sammy Sosa 42
Aramis Ramirez 41
Derrek Lee 40
Jermaine Dye 40

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 340
Derrek Lee 255
Continue reading →