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Thursday, July 12, 2007

The Baseball Crank: Baseball’s Most Impressive Records

McLaughlin’s latest release…“Their Goal’s Beyond.”

No, what I’m interested in is the baseball’s most impressive records. So I bring you this list. First, the parameters. No team records, just individual feats. No single-game records - if the name “Mark Whiten” doesn’t remind us that anybody can have a great day, I don’t know what will. No postseason records, since the opportunities to set those are very unevenly distributed. No fielding records, for a long list of reasons regarding the nature and availability of fielding stats. No managing records, although Connie Mack’s 53-year managing career is impressive under any definition, as is Joe McCarthy managing 24 years with three different franchises without having a losing record once. And no negative records - Nolan Ryan’s career walks record is perversely impressive, but not worthy of honor. All I looked at was career and single-season hitting and pitching records, and streaks.

9. Eric Gagne, 84 Consecutive Saves, August 28, 2002-July 3, 2004 (39.2%)

Gagne’s streak, like Hubbell’s, was sort of interrupted, albeit by a blown save in the All-Star Game. And yes, saves are somethingof an artificial stat. But still, Gagne’s whole job was to close out wins, and for nearly two years he did that every time he was asked without fail, surpassing the prior record (Tom Gordon with 54) by a margin of 30 saves.

 

Repoz Posted: July 12, 2007 at 06:28 PM | 17 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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   1. Greg Maddux School of Reflexive Profanity Posted: July 12, 2007 at 07:03 PM (#2438615)
But still, Gagne’s whole job was to close out wins

Yeah, giving up a bunch of runs to lose a game isn't really a concern if the score was tied to begin with.
   2. TomH Posted: July 12, 2007 at 07:17 PM (#2438625)
this guy has a much different def of'impressive' than I do.

one game doesn't count (Mark Whiten he cites), but a few games does?

hitting streaks are fluky, and often not more valuable (DiMaggio 41 vs Ted W)

I'd nominate a few like

Babe Ruth - gee, you could go with 12 or 13 slugging titles, or reaching 600 home runs when most others had 100, or a bunch of other stats

Bonds - 7 MVPs. Never mind the utterly ridiculous intentional walks. I mena, if in 1996, someone offered you a bet that a player would get 120 IBBs in a year in the next 10 years, would you have given him 100 to 1 odds? At least?

Rivera - 112 post-season innings, 0.80 ERA.
   3. Srul Itza Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:09 PM (#2438674)
Rickey still holds the record for unintentional walks, at 2,129 (2,190 minus 67 IBBs).

Babe Ruth has a total of 2,062 walks, but as you point out, they did not keep records for how many were IBBs.

Barry Bonds currently has a total of 2,517 walks, of which 675 have been IBBs, leaving 1,842 UIBBs.

One other record I like (although it only beats out the second place guy by a sliver): Orel Hershiser's 59 consecutive scoreless innings. It is only a third inning more than Drysdale, but the context -- leading the Dodgers to the pennant, and then the World Series -- makes it special.
   4. Steve Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:19 PM (#2438682)
Hard to argue with some of these but I think that Connie Mack's record for career losses by a manager looks to be untouchable.

I also find it hard to believe that anyone will ever break Ray Chapman's record for most times killed in a major league game. (I admit it, this is in bad taste.)
   5. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:29 PM (#2438698)
Nobody's breaking Antonio Alfonseca's record of 6.
   6. Sawney Snows Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:30 PM (#2438700)
Very good post. I rarely read an entire blog post of this length, but the opinions were well-considered and backed up with facts and context, even if a hundred people would have a hundred separate lists.

Regarding Mike Marshall's relief IP record, I have more confidence than the author that this will be broken someday, as bullpen usage and the game itself continue to evolve. I was going to say that perhaps a Mark Eichhorn type could do it someday, with an extra factor or two in his favor, but goodness, even that was over two decades ago.
   7. Catfish326 Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:34 PM (#2438705)
Ever since I was a kid I recall thinking that the most untouchable record was Cy's 511. That one is cut in diamond. The most overrated record is easily Ripken's streak. God, I'm sick of hearing about it. It will fall some day. For Christ sake, the new NFL Iron man is Jeff Stinkin' Feagles, a punter. When Feagles stripped the record from a real iron man, Jim Marshall, it got barely a whisper. But, just watching the all-star game, I had to hear about gattamn Ripken streak, again!

Joe D's 56 could fall too. Someone like Ichiro could even pull it off. I never watched him play much, but was amazed at his abilities with the bat during the all-star game. Someone else like Gwynn will come along and get that record.
   8. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:37 PM (#2438711)
Crossposted:
I'm not sure how to phrase it as a "record," but Lou Gehrig having three of the top six RBI seasons ever (174, 175, and 184) is ludicrous.
   9. Russlan will never be fond of Jason Bay Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:37 PM (#2438712)
When Feagles stripped the record from a real iron man, Jim Marshall, it got barely a whisper. But, just watching the all-star game, I had to hear about gattamn Ripken streak, again!

How far away is Favre from that record?
   10. Catfish326 Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:40 PM (#2438719)
Regarding Mike Marshall's relief IP record, I have more confidence than the author that this will be broken someday

I agree with this. Just because we've seen the shift in pitcher usages in recent years, it will continue to change. I've always said, if you got a solid pitcher, your best ace pitcher, than can give you 230 innings in a year, then use those innings differently, and make them count. Don't be afraid to use someone like this in 90-100 games. When you are up or down 8-0, why the chrikey is your ace pitching. Use him the next game when you are tied 3-3 for a handful of inings. Use him the next night the same way. Often the differences in a division title comes down to one-run games. You want to win all of them! Not 50%. Your best guy should be in! But, everyone laughs at my theory.....
   11. Catfish326 Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:44 PM (#2438724)
How far away is Favre from that record?

I think Feagles has 288 and Favre has something like 237.
   12. Big Train Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:54 PM (#2438735)
What about Babe Ruth's 13 straight years leading the league in OPS.
   13. Teheran's Uranium Enriched Missiles Posted: July 12, 2007 at 08:57 PM (#2438743)
What about Babe Ruth's 13 straight years leading the league in OPS.

He mentions that in the SLG % record
   14. Corn On Ty Cobb Posted: July 12, 2007 at 10:11 PM (#2438827)
Plus, unlike other percentage record-holders like Ed Walsh's career ERA record, Cobb held his pace over an extraordinarily long career, 24 seasons and more than 13,000 plate appearances

Cobb hit .300 or better twenty-three consecutive seasons.
   15. Misirlou's got a busy day, he's wearing a vest Posted: July 12, 2007 at 10:18 PM (#2438845)
Cobb hit .300 or better twenty-three consecutive seasons.


Eddie Collins hit over .340 in a season in 4 different decades.
   16. Rich Rifkin I Posted: July 13, 2007 at 12:55 AM (#2439548)
Lou Gehrig having three of the top six RBI seasons ever (174, 175, and 184) is ludicrous.
How about Barry Bonds having the 1st (275), 2nd (262) and 3rd (260) best OPS+ seasons of all time?

Or of the 8 OPS+ seasons of 205 or more by current players, Bonds has 7 of them? (Frank Thomas, 212 in 1994, has the 8th.)

As Christopher Brian Bridges would say, "Bonds is absolutely ludacris."
   17. DCW3 Posted: July 13, 2007 at 04:21 AM (#2439734)
What about Babe Ruth's 13 straight years leading the league in OPS.

That would be a very impressive accomplishment, if, you know, it had happened.
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