Tag / Astros

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Team Stats: Hit By Pitch

We are days away from crowning the champion to the 2022 season and now just five months away from baseball returning 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 batters hit by a pitch.

Again, 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, the Guardians and the Devil Rays lead the way, followed, surprisingly, by the Tigers, who hit a little more than 1 batter every other game.  The Mets are at the bottom, hitting less than one batter every nine games, while the California version of the Angels and the Miami version of the Marlins have yet to hit a batter in a game I’ve seen.

Hit By Pitch

Team Name Hit By Pitch
Chicago White Sox 221
Chicago Cubs 147
Minnesota Twins 33
Detroit Tigers 31
Cleveland Indians 28
Kansas City Royals 26
Houston Astros 22
Texas Rangers 18
Seattle Mariners 17
Cincinnati Reds 16
Boston Red Sox 16
Baltimore Orioles 16
Pittsburgh Pirates 15
Los Angeles Angels 14
Milwaukee Brewers Continue reading →
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Team Stats: Stolen Bases

With one game of the 2022 World Series in the books, we still have about five months now 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 back on the offensive side of the ball with stolen bases.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs continue to be the far and away leaders in this category, as they are the two teams I’ve seen the most by a wide margin.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the Devil Rays and the California and Anaheim versions of the Angels jump to the top of the heap.  The White Sox fall to the bottom of the middle third and the Cubs are squarely towards the low end, with just under one stolen base every other game.  The Braves are the worst team that I have seen somewhat often, with less than 0.3 stolen per game, while the Miami incarnation of the Marlins have yet to steal a base in a game I have attended.

Stolen Bases

Team Name SB
Chicago White Sox 388
Chicago Cubs 215
Kansas City Royals 50
Cleveland Indians 44
Detroit Tigers 41
Milwaukee Brewers 40
Houston Astros 38
Cincinnati Reds 32
Texas Rangers 32
Minnesota Twins Continue reading →
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Team Stats: Home Runs Surrendered

With the postseason now in full swing, it will be a long six 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 with our first look at the defensive side of the ball with home runs surrendered.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, which is to be expected as they are the teams I’ve seen most often.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the Expos jump to the top (or bottom, depending on your point of view) of the heap, with an even two home runs given up per game.  The Rockies, Phillies, Nationals, Diamondbacks, the Miami version of the Marlins, and Devil Rays are the only teams below one home run per game.  The remaining teams fall in between.

Home Runs Surrendered

Team Name Home Runs Surrendered
Chicago White Sox 800
Chicago Cubs 476
Minnesota Twins 98
Kansas City Royals 70
Cleveland Indians 61
Detroit Tigers 59
Houston Astros 57
Pittsburgh Pirates 54
Milwaukee Brewers 53
Seattle Mariners 53
Cincinnati Reds 51
Baltimore Orioles 47
St. Louis Cardinals 44
Texas Rangers 44
Los Angeles Angels Continue reading →
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Team Stats: Batting Average

While the postseason is just getting underway, it will be six 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 start today on the offensive side of the ball with team batting average.

The newly christened Cleveland Guardians take over the top spot and join the California Angels, who I only saw live and in person twice, are the only teams to post an average over .300.  The Washington Nationals, who, sadly, have now had thirteen games to make a mark, are still the only team to post an average under .200.  In between, there is a slight correlation between the teams’ batting average and their record in these games, though with some surprising anomalies.

Batting Average

Team Name BA
Cleveland Guardians 0.304
California Angels 0.304
Anaheim Angels 0.292
Arizona Diamondbacks 0.278
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 0.272
Cleveland Indians 0.263
Chicago Cubs 0.261
Florida Marlins 0.260
Milwaukee Brewers 0.259
Chicago White Sox 0.258
Boston Red Sox 0.257
Kansas City Royals 0.257
Oakland Athletics Continue reading →
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2022 Final Standings

After a delayed start to the season thanks to the long lockout last winter, we’ve managed to get through a 162-game schedule just a couple of days later than initially planned.  The new, expanded postseason is set and will go on without either Chicago team for the first time since 2019.   I ended up attending just 33 games, tied with 2012 for my 16th highest total of all time.  I only managed to add one new stadium, bringing my total up to 28.  All told, I managed to see 20 of the 30 teams.

2022 Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Los Angeles Dodgers 2 0 1.000
Texas Rangers 1 0 1.000
Baltimore Orioles 1 0 1.000
New York Mets 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
New York Yankees 2 1 0.667
Cleveland Guardians 2 1 0.667
Chicago White Sox 16 14 0.533
Minnesota Twins 2 2 0.500
Houston Astros 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 1 1 0.500
Colorado Rockies 1 1 0.500
Chicago Cubs 2 5 0.286
Atlanta Braves 0 1 0.000
Los Angeles Angels 0 1 0.000
Toronto Blue Jays 0 1 0.000
Oakland Athletics 0 1 0.000
Seattle Mariners 0 1 0.000
Tampa Bay Rays 0 1 0.000
Kansas City Royals 0 1 0.000
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2022 Predictions Revisited

Six months ago, at the dawn of the lockout-delayed 2022 baseball season, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  With the regular season coming to an end today, it is time revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Blue Jays

Well, that’s one down.  The Yankees have owned the division pretty much from day one.

Central: White Sox

After running away with the Central Division in 2021, the White Sox were a consensus pick to repeat.  Unfortunately, the baseball gods had other ideas.  While the White Sox struggled all year to put things together, the Guardians hung around long enough to get really hot in September and run away with the division.

West: Astros

Hey, here’s one I got right.  The Astros once again find themselves at the top of the division, winning their fifth title in six years.

Wild Cards: Yankees, Angels, Red Sox

The AL East was particularly strong this year, as both the Blue Jays and the Rays make it to the expanded Wild Card round.  Rounding things out are the Mariners, who make the postseason for the first time since 2001 after missing out on the final day of the season last year.

AL Champion: Yankees

The Yankees have struggled in the second half, so they aren’t the locks they looked like early in the year.  At this point, you have to assume the Astros are the team to beat.

Cy Young: Lucas Giolito

That seems very unlikely.  Justin Verlander seems like the popular choice, with Dylan Cease and Shohei Ohtani likely to also get support.

MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Aaron Judge already has his name engraved on this award.

National League

Continue reading →

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Looking Ahead To 2023

With about six weeks remaining in the 2022 season, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2023 schedule on Wednesday.  For the first time in years, MLB is moving to a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and, for the first time, 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league.  With the White Sox looking to bounce back after what has been a disappointing 2022 campaign to date and the Cubs looking to take the next step forward in their rebuild, the 2023 season looks to be an exciting time in the city of Chicago.  So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox open their season on the road in Houston on March 30 for a four-game series against the Astros before returning home to face the Giants in their home opener on April 3.

Aside from the Giants, the new interleague schedule sees the Phillies, Marlins, Cardinals, Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Padres travelling to Chicago, while the White Sox will go on the road to face the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals. The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a two-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field in late July followed by a mid-August tilt at Wrigley.

After facing AL Central foes only for the first half of September, the season ends with a six-game homestand against the Diamondbacks and the Padres.

On the north side, the Cubs also open their season on March 30, facing the Brewers at home.  After a 3-game series, they head out on the road.

The interleague schedule pits the Cubs against the Rangers, Mariners, Orioles, Guardians, Red Sox, and Royals at Wrigley, while they go on the road to face the A’s, Twins, Angels, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers.

Of their 28 games in September/October, only nine are against their NL Central rivals, though, with the Cubs not likely to contend, that shouldn’t make much of a difference.  They end the year with a six-game road trip against the Braves and Brewers.

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By The Numbers – 7

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #7.  88 different players have donned #7 while playing in Chicago, 43 for the White Sox and 45 for the Cubs.

After wearing #12 when he was first called up to the big leagues, Tim Anderson switched to #7 starting with his second season in 2017.  Showing that he was still a work in progress, Anderson slashed .257/.276/.402 in 2017, with a 2.1% walk rate, the lowest in the major leagues.  Defensively, he led the major leagues in errors, with 28, as well as fielding errors (16) and throwing errors (12).  He showed slight improvements in 2018, with slight improvements in his OBP and slugging percentage, while reducing his overall errors.

2019 was Anderson’s coming out party.  He led the major leagues with a .335 average while raising his OPS to .865, setting career highs with 167 hits, 32 doubles, and 81 runs.  He still had some issues on defense, leading all major league players with 26 errors, leading to the lowest fielding percentage amongst all shortstops.  His hot bat continued into the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, notching a .322 average and an .886 OPS.  He won his first Silver Slugger award while leading the White Sox to their first post-season appearance since 2008.  He thrived in the Wild Card series against the A’s, going 9-14 in the three-game series.

Anderson continued to prove that he his offensive improvement wasn’t a fluke when baseball returned full time in 2021.  He was named to his first All Star team and, on the game’s biggest stage, he hit a walk-off home run against the Yankees in the inaugural Field of Dreams game in the cornfields of Iowa.  Overall, he hit .309 and posted an .807 OPS while hitting 17 home runs and driving in 61 RBIs.  Continuing where he left off the previous October, Anderson hit .368 in the ALDS against the Astros.

On the north side of town, Peoria-native and Northwestern graduate Joe Girardi made his Major League debut for the Cubs on April 4, 1989 wearing #7.  He batted .248 with a home run and 14 runs batted in (RBIs) in 59 games as the surprising Cubs took home a division title. Getting more consistent playing time in 1990, he hit .270 with a home run and 38 RBIs.  Limited to only 21 games in 1991, he managed just a .191 average with only 6 RBIs. In 1992, he rebounded to play in 91 games, hitting .270 with a home run and 12 RBIs.  Following the season, he was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was selected by the Rockies.

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Last Run For Dallas

After nearly a seasons-worth of poor performances, the White Sox cut bait on Dallas Keuchel yesterday, designating the veteran left hander for assignment.  Keuchel, 34, had a 2-5 record with a 7.88 ERA in eight starts this season and finished his White Sox career 17-16 with a 4.79 ERA in 51 appearances, 49 of them starts.

Signed prior to the 2020 season, Keuchel looked like a steal during the pandemic shortened season.  He went 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA in 11 starts, finishing fifth in Cy Young Award voting.  He started strong in 2021, going 6-1 with a 3.78 ERA in his first 14 starts, but things went south quickly from there.  In his last 18 appearances, he put up a 3-8 record with a 6.70 ERA.  Things were bad enough that he was left off the playoff roster for the ALDS against the Astros.

Keuchel said during spring training that the end of 2021 left a “sour taste” in his mouth, so he started throwing earlier in the offseason than usual to in hopes of a rebound season.  Unfortunately, it didn’t produce the results he was hoping for.  He managed to go at least five innings in just half of his eight starts.  In his last two starts, against the Yankees and the Red Sox, he gave up a combined 12 earned runs in just 6 innings pitched.

Is this the end of the road for Keuchel?  It certainly seems possible, given not just his poor results but also how he’s been getting them.  His long-held ability to limit damage by not giving up free baserunners has left him, as he walked 20 batters in jut 32 innings this year.  But, injuries have a way of making teams desperate for pitching, so his phone may ring sometime over the next few months.

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Throwback Thursday – Team Records Of The 2000s

It’s time for another trip in the wayback machine, as this week we move our focus to the start of the 21st century and see what my view of the baseball world looked like in the 2000s.  This was my first decade as a season ticket holder, starting in 2002 for the Cubs and 2005 for the White Sox.

I attended 518 contests during the 2000s, starting with my first trip to Cincinnati in April of 2000 and finishing with Daniel Hudson’s first major league victory in September of 2009.  I attended games at 13 stadiums from coast to coast and saw my first post-season action, with an ALDS in 2000, an NLCS in 2003, and a World Series game in 2005.

2021 Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Arizona Diamondbacks 11 1 0.917
Philadelphia Phillies 10 4 0.714
Toronto Blue Jays 6 3 0.667
Florida Marlins 12 7 0.632
Tampa Bay Rays 3 2 0.600
Texas Rangers 8 6 0.571
Los Angeles Dodgers 8 6 0.571
Chicago White Sox 130 107 0.549
Chicago Cubs 172 147 0.539
Baltimore Orioles 9 8 0.529
Cleveland Indians 10 9 0.526
Los Angeles Angels 10 9 0.526
Boston Red Sox 9 9 0.500
Colorado Rockies 6 6 0.500
Seattle Mariners 5 5 0.500
Anaheim Angels 1 1 0.500
Houston Astros Continue reading →