The Year of the Pitcher Part II

As I was writing Saturday's post about the history of Tiger Stadium, I started to peruse the 1968 Tigers, the same year Denny McLain won 31 games (we won't see a 30 game winner for a very long time) and had an ERA of 1.96. As I gathered myself after being blown away so fiercely by these stats, I remembered that was also Bob Gibson's Cy Young winning year of 22-9 with a 1.12 ERA in 304 innings. If you were to Google "Year of the Pitcher" the first hit is the 1968 MLB season, which doesn't really surprise me considering McLain and Gibson both won Cy Young Awards and MVP awards that year. But check this out:

• That's the first and only time that both Cy Young winners were named MVPs as well. There have been 10 pitchers to win both awards in the same season, but never in both leagues.
• Since the award has been given to both leagues in 1967, Bob Gibson is the only National League pitcher to win both awards (Sandy Koufax and Don Newcombe, both Dodgers, won CYA and MVP but before there were 2 CYA).
• Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA is the 4th lowest single season ERA ever. The next closest ERA for a pitcher after 1920 is Greg Maddux's 1.559 ERA in 1994.
• McLain is the one of 2 pitchers with 31 wins in the Live Ball Era and the only one with 30+ after World War II (Lefty Grove won 31 games in 1931).
• The 1968 World Series featured 3 complete games each from Mickey Lolich and Bob Gibson - the only time that has ever happened.

So 1968 was clearly the Year of the Pitcher. But what's the runner-up?

Answer: 1995. Winners: Greg Maddux (19-2, 1.63) and Randy Johnson (18-2, 2.48).

After the grudge match of the 1994 strike that resulted of the fans being stripped of a World Series, baseball came back with a bang. In 1995, the Indians' Albert Belle became the only person in baseball history to have a 50 home run-50 double season, Atlanta continued their tirade on the NL East, finishing 21 games ahead of the 2nd place Mets and Phillies, and future Hall of Famer Barry Larkin won his only MVP award, hitting .319. With an abbreviated 1994 season, fans simply missed the game. Any action would have been nice to see, but a pair of 2-loss seasons from the greatest pitchers of the last 30 years blew us all away. Welcome back, baseball.

It wasn't quite the level of 1968 where Gibson had an absolutely absurd ERA and McLain had an absolutely absurd win total, but I think that these seasons are just as impressive. Think about baseball in the 60s, there weren't a whole lot of huge sluggers around; Aaron, Mays, Schmidt, an aging Mantle, and Killebrew were really the brunt of the power. Compared to 90s, with McGwire, Canseco, Sosa, Bonds, Griffey, Thome, A-Rod, Albert Belle (in 1995 at least), there were sluggers popping up left and right. Sure a lot of them were steroid users, but doesn't that make Maddux's 8 home runs allowed over 209 innings all the more impressive? I think so (of course I do, I'm the one writing). I'll share some quick highlights about both of their seasons and why 1995 was the Year of the Cy Young Pitcher Part II.

Maddux
Mad Dog was always praised for his durability. Among all his league-leading stats, he led the league in starts the most, with 6 times (including when he was 39). In fact, except for his rookie year, Maddux made at least 25 starts every single year he ever pitched. But in 1995, he only started 28 times, and he made the most of those starts. 

• On June 15th against Montreal, Maddux only needed 87 pitches to shut out the Expos. 
• From May 12th to July 29th he didn't hit a batter.
• From August 26th to the end of the regular season he didn't allow a home run. 
• He was 13-0 on the road with a 1.12 ERA in 15 starts. 
• He had a .21 ERA when the Braves scored between 0-2 runs (1 run in 5 games) with a 17:1 strikeout to walk ratio.
• He allowed only 8 2nd inning hits all year (random, I know). 
• He was 7-0 against the NL East with a 1.62 ERA. 

Unbelievable.

Johnson
Johnson won his first of 5 Cy Youngs in 1995, going 19-2 with a 2.48 ERA (terrible compared to Maddux, but still led the AL). He also struck out 294 batters, most in the Majors by 58 K's (almost 6 games worth). It went Johnson 294, Nomo 236, Stottlemyre 205, and that was it for people over 200. He blew away both batters and other pitchers with how dominating his 6' 10" frame was coming down on them. Let's delve.

• In 1995, Johnson had 16 10+ strikeout games. 
• He averaged 119.8 pitches per start (including a rain delay game in which he threw 37 pitches), including 141 in back-to-back starts in June and 160 in a complete game against Cleveland. 
• He faced 866 batters, not even cracking the top 10. This means he struck out 30.5% of the batters he faced, compared to Maddux's 23.5%.
• Tale of two pitchers: when Johnson got hit, he got hit. In his two losses, his ERA was 9.45 versus 1.48 in wins. 
• He had a .164 batting average against with runners in scoring position.
• He was 6-1 against the AL West with a 2.55 ERA.

Who had the better season? I'd go with Maddux, he was simply systematic in the way that he handled other teams. While Johnson was a workhorse (not wild, but threw a lot) and struck out half the block, Maddux (the younger of the two in 1995, surprisingly) was a machine. Incredible strikeout to walk ratio, incredible WHIP and ERA, and 13-0 on the road? It's no wonder the Braves won the World Series that year. 

Here's a fun fact about this pair of Cy Young winners: it is the 3rd furthest distance between the winners' teams (Safeco Field to Turner Field [the Braves didn't begin playing there until 1997 but Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium is no longer standing] is 2,636 miles) and furthest since the Padres' Gaylord Perry and Yankees' Ron Guidry in 1978 (Yankee Stadium to Qualcomm Stadium is 2,766 miles).

Enjoy the playoffs, folks. Tonight kicks off the postseason with Kansas City and Oakland in the AL Wild Card game. Though Lester has been a great pick up for the A's, I think Big Game James stays true to his name and pitches lights out for the Royals to send the A's packing. 

But then again, I didn't even have the Angels or Royals in the playoffs. Take me with a grain of salt.

Thanks for reading. 

Storybook Endings

When I was growing up both as a boy and as a baseball fan, there are two things that symbolize my youthful introduction into the beautiful game: Derek Jeter and Tiger Stadium. Seeing as my first Little League team was the Yankees, my dad would always call me in to watch some baseball if the Yankees were on. Even though I wasn't the same analytical nerd as I am now (some 7-year old I was), I knew there was something right about the way Jeter played the game. Maybe it was Joe Buck and Tim McCarver heaping their praises during the postseason when I would beg to stay up an extra half hour to watch the Subway Series, maybe it was the way my parents encouraged me to carry myself like Jeter, maybe it was because every single time I watched him, it seemed that he was at the center of the play, doing the right thing at the right time to bring home a win. 

While the Yankees were amidst their dynasty of 4 rings in 5 years, the Tigers were slowly scuffling along, churning out average Major Leaguers and playing semicompetitively for the most of the 90s and early 2000s. Either way, I always rooted for the Tigers because they were my hometown team and because of where they played. I don't remember a lot about Tiger Stadium but I remember one thing: huge. The roof was stories upon stories above my head and if I looked too long, my neck would hurt. I realize now that hitting it out of the park was actually something to be achieved usually by the likes of Cecil Fielder crushing one out to Michigan and Trumbull as opposed to now where the ball just carries the fence and lands in the stands at most parks. The outfield was expansive, and the flag pole in play would always give Gabe Kapler fits if the ball somehow rolled the 440 feet out to left-center. There was no break or hitter's eye, either - the field was surrounded 360 degrees by crazy Detroiters, amplifying the noise of the blue collar auto industry, which made me feel like every single pitch mattered. 

To a 7-year old new fan, Tiger Stadium felt larger than life; a perfect analogy for the game that was played there. 

Today is the 15th anniversary of Tiger Stadium's last home game, and I figured with Jeter's last home game and my home team's last home game, I should write a little about how truly perfect their sendoffs really were.

Any baseball fan by now knows that Jeter hit a walk-off single on Thursday against the Orioles in the bottom of the 9th. I had this gut feeling that Jeter would hit a walk-off home run, but looking back on it, that wouldn't be Jeter. He doesn't hit home runs, he hits inside pitches that would saw off 98% of hitters and turns them right around to right field to frustrate even the best pitchers. So when Jeter came up with a man on second with a huge gap on the right side of the infield (Orioles 2nd basemen Kelly Johnson was holding the runner on second), you just knew he would lace whatever he got to right field for the game winner. There's no other way to describe it other than saying it was so Jeter for a number of reasons. 

First, the hit. Just look at his spray chart for 2014. 

Courtesy of FanGraphs.

Jeter is notorious for turning balls the other way, no matter what type of pitch. Except for groundballs, the majority of his hits go the other way. That's why this one wasn't particularly surprising.

Second, the clutch situation. There are so many Jeter moments where he came up huge for the Yankees, especially in the postseason, and this is no exception. Jeter, also known as Captain Clutch, thrives on the high pressure situation and came through when it mattered most all throughout his career. That's why he was loved so dearly by one of the most ruthless sporting cities in the world. Check out his clutch stats: 

Courtesy of Baseball Reference.

Amazing.

Third and finally, the celebration. The first thing Jeter did even before rounding first was to make sure the run scored. Watch any replay from any angle from anybody filming and Jeter looks back and forth from right field to home plate. He didn't bask in his own glory that he was the hero, he was basking in a team victory. 

Courtesy of Ryan Field (@RyanFieldFS1) on Twitter

His teammates came out to mob him and celebrate the win, but here's the difference: while Jeter celebrated the win, the teammates celebrated Jeter.

On the Dan Patrick Show on Friday morning, Dan Patrick made a great point that it's almost a good thing that David Robertson blew the save because Jeter started to drift away into emotion. With a safe lead while sitting at shortstop, Jeter began to get caught up in the moment, finally realizing that it is the last time he would wear the pinstripes as a player. But then two home runs later, and he's back into uber-competitive-Jeter mode. When the game became tied, it didn't matter that it was his last game. It became another game to win. And that's just what he did.

Selfless, classy, driven, focused, Captain. There was no better way to end his career in pinstripes than a walk-off single to right field.

Now on to Tiger Stadium. 15 years ago today the Tigers and Royals suited up for the final game at The Corner. Unlike today, the Royals were 33.5 games back of first and the Tigers were 30, so even though this had absolutely no playoff implications, it was still special. 

Tiger Stadium had seen some amazing memories, the best being the 4 World Series Detroit won in 1935, 1945, 1968, and 1984. It saw Hall of Famers like Hank Greenberg, Al Kaline, Hal Newhouser, and Charlie Gehringer. It saw monster home runs that left the park from sluggers like Reggie Jackson, for one. It also saw infuriated right fielders as the overhang would take home runs instead of turning them into warning track outs. It saw some of the best of the Tigers and also some of the worst. As the 90s were coming to a close, the Tigers were playing bad baseball (when Dean Palmer is your best player, it might be time for some new talent) and Tiger Stadium was aging poorly. Before its deconstruction, some held it in regard with Wrigley Field and Fenway Park as one of the prototypical historical parks with more engaging stories than architectural sound. But with a new millennium, century, decade, and season around the corner, management found it fitting to move forward not only with the team but also with the stadium.

On September 27, 1999, with Comerica Park looming downtown on Woodward, the Tigers kissed the stadium goodbye with a better ending than Jeter's if you ask me. The Tigers took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the 8th, and any Tigers fan will remember that with Todd Jones in the bullpen, a little insurance was always welcome. The insurance to follow was perfect. Dean Palmer led off with a double down the left field line, followed quickly by a Damion Easley single off of Jeff Montgomery to advance Palmer to third. Karim Garcia walked, and Gabe Kapler grounded into a fielder's choice, reaching first but eliminating Palmer's run at home. What happened next was a combination of all the beautiful history of Tiger Stadium rolled into one single swing from DH Robert Fick: a moonshot of a grand slam that landed on the right field roof and landed softly in the grass in front of KC rightfielder Jermaine Dye, giving the Tigers an 8-2 lead. 

Fick rounded the bases as Tiger Stadium shook to the core from the Detroiters screaming their heads off. Even though the season was a wash to that point, Fick sent the home run to right and the fans into a nostalgic pandemonium. Jones retired the Royals in order in the top of the 9th and with that, baseball at The Corner was no more. It was the best final 6 outs you could have asked for to say goodbye to a stadium that had been standing since 1912.

As frustrating as sports can be sometimes, it's moments like these that make us all realize why we all care so much. When it really matters, someone will deliver.

It was an emotional night for Derek Jeter. It was an emotional night for Detroit 15 years ago today. But they are both nights we will ever forget.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend. 

Random Fun

By this point, I'm sure you're starting to see a theme here. Nearly every post begins with some tale of my conversation with Jon and how it led me to some random page on Baseball Reference and I'll be so impressed or infatuated with some player, year, stat, or team that I will write a blog on it. Recently, we've been playing a little game with each other testing our facial recognition knowledge. 

Recently, Baseball Reference (I feel like I should get a sponsorship from them with how much I'm on there - just joking) went through a massive update where every single player has a picture along with their personal page. Before this update, active players just had a name at the top of the page and only major names had pictures, like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, etc. But now that every single player has one, Jon and I like to send random head shots of players to each other to see if he can guess them. We'll be texting back and forth and out of the blue I'll send him 

If you don't know who this is, kindly exit your Web browser and come back shortly thereafter because I don't want to lose you.

something like this to see if he can guess it. Last night, he stumped me quite a few times with 

Joey Cora,

Eric Karros,

and Eric Munson.

Quite the random group. I stumped him with 

Rod Beck, and 

Mitch Williams.

He technically won because he stumped me more. But I'm going to get an official protest and ruling from the MLB soon.

I think I'll start tweeting a headshot every day and hopefully someone will play along with me and name him. I think it would be fun.

Sorry for the short post tonight, I'll be writing more later on Jeter thoughts (considering he hit a walkoff in his last AB ever in the House that Jeter Built), playoff predictions, and the beginning of (you guessed it) offseason moves!

Thanks for reading. Learn your headshots.

Down Under!

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend. Other than Michigan football not showing up, I think I had a pretty good one. And now, it is time to write. 

Sometimes at work, I'll throw on an Australian accent just for fun, modeled after the soft spoken gem of golf announcing, Ian Baker-Finch.

G'day, loves.

It especially throws people off when I take money for parking; they'll drive up with their money in hand and they're greeted by a handsome young blonde man only to find out that he's Australian, too. Essentially the jackpot. I'll get really detailed sometimes, saying that I was born in Perth and a long time Perth Heat fan (even though I can't name a single player for the Heat). I always get a twinge of guilt knowing that I'm conning these fans into paying for parking (just kidding, they're paying either way), but it's a fun way to pass the time and I do think I have a pretty good accent. 

Okay, let me reel it in here and get back to baseball. I've always thought that the Aussie-American connection via baseball is unique considering Australia's dedication to rugby, football, Australian football, and cricket before America's pastime. I love that there is an Australian Baseball League! The Whitecaps manager this past year, Andrew Graham, is an Aussie and did quite a good job leading this young team. I think Graham would have aspirations to manage in the Big Leagues, and after all, managers have to start in the minor leagues just like the players do. This connection caused me to search Aussies on Baseball Reference. I was going to do a piece on the best Australian baseball player but other than Grant Balfour, reliever for the Rays, there really aren't too many to note (only 28 all time). But something caught me eye and reminded me of my work here in Grand Rapids. There has been only one Australian manager ever, and it was before baseball really began in my eyes (I consider the 1903 World Series the beginning of our modern baseball). 

He was a frightened looking bloke by the name of Joe Quinn, who was born in Sydney and made a career mostly as a player but also player/managed for two seasons. 

Quinn managed a half-season for the Browns and a near full season for the Spiders.

Quinn actually had quite a lengthy career as a player from 1884-1901, spanning from a ripe young age of 19 to age 36. He made his living primarily as a second sacker, though he also dabbled in the outfield positions and the hot corner later in his career, which is interesting because as a player ages, you would normally shift him to physically less demanding positions, such as the right side of the infield. That said, baseball was a much different game back then and I don't know much about Quinn's skill set. He was an inconsistent hitter, hitting above .300 in 1888 (.301), 1890 (.301), and 1895 (.314), but then averaging only .241 between 1891 and 1894. Interesting considering he was above .300, below .230 for three seasons, then right back up there. He was a decent base stealer, had a Jeter-esque slugging percentage, and averaged 73 RBIs per 162 games, which is actually quite astonishing considering 2nd basemen typically aren't RBI threats and the ball traveled about 100 feet off the bat at any given time back then. Through 1,769 career games, Quinn tallied exactly 1,800 hits (more than 1 a game!), 893 runs scored, and 796 RBIs. I think that is really impressive given his position, the quality of his teams, and that he was one of the first Aussies ever to play professional baseball in America.

His playing career was exemplary for an international ambassador of the greatest game ever played. His managing career - not so much.

After Quinn established himself as an everyday player on many different rosters (he played for at least 8 different teams, depending on if you count semi-pro leagues), he was called upon to manage twice in his career. Once was in 1895, when he had his offensive banner year, hitting .314 (172-547), but only going 11-28 as a manager in 40 games. 4 years later, Quinn had arguably the worst season a manager has ever had for the Cleveland Spiders, when they suffered a 12-104 record under Quinn's leadership.

The season began poorly for the Spiders, slipping to 8-30 under third basemen Lave Cross's management. Cross was removed from the team both as a player and a manager and Quinn took the reins (I assume begrudgingly given his past managerial record). Quinn led the Spiders in literally every single offensive category that year except for on-base percentage, when he missed that crown by only 3 points to outfielder Dick Harley. After an already dismal 38 games, things went from bad to about-as-bad-as-possible under Quinn, when the team won 10.3% of its games for the remainder of the season. 

Some of the lowlights for Quinn's Spiders of 1899: 

• They finished the season off at a 1-29 clip, including 0-7 in October.
• They allowed twice as many runs as they scored (1,252:529)
• Their longest win streak was 2 games (before Quinn managed them).
• The were swept in the season series against Brooklyn and Cincinnati, going 0-28.
• They were 5-69 in blowout games (run differentials of 5+).
• They finished 84 games back of the first place Superbas (Brooklyn). They finished 35 games back of the next worst team, the Washington Senators.
• 3 of the starting 9 fielders and 3 of the 6 starting pitchers never played a full season again. One of the pitchers to survive was German born Crazy Schmit, who went 2-17 in 1899.

In total, the Spiders went 20-134. Their starters' ERA was 6.57, including a 1-18 record from Frank Bates and 1-11 from Harry Colliflower (I can't even take him seriously). Outfielder Sport McAllister was called on to pitch in 3 games, where he allowed 17 earned runs (22 total) in 16 innings pitched. Shortstop Harry Lochhead also pitched in a game, giving up 2 runs in 3.2 innings (neither were earned). The weird thing is, the Spiders weren't even the worst defensive team in the league; the first place Superbas allowed 658 runs but only 69% of those were earned runs. It was a sad year for Spiders. I think that's what you get when your team name is the Spiders (raving arachnophobe here).

Joe Quinn's career managerial record was 23-132, a .148 winning percentage. When he was just a player, he was fine. When he was a player/manager, he stepped up his game (.300 average, 348 hits, 43 doubles in the two years he managed), but he just wasn't blessed with leadership skills. Let's hope that if Whitecaps skipper Andrew Graham becomes the second Australian-born manager ever, he'll have a little more success than that.

Thanks for reading. Hope Monday doesn't get to you too badly.

More on Ichiro

After my post about Ichiro's Platinum Season, I had a conversation with my friend (okay let's be honest, this is how all these blogs start. From now on, he'll be known as Jon) about Ichiro's career and comparing him to other folks in the Majors and the work they've done. I mentioned in my post that Ichiro has over 2,800 hits in America, and over 4,000 total in professional baseball - and here is where Jon's wisdom set me off again: could Ichiro have surpassed Pete Rose's all-time hits record?

Honestly, I think a lot of it depends. Let's see if I can give you some evidence to make you decide for yourself.

Ichiro's Favor
1. Speed. Pete Rose is known as Charlie Hustle, but Ichiro's left-handedness (3 or 4 fewer feet to run to first), swing style,

Ichiro is already a few steps to first while making contact with the ball. 

and pure speed aided him in getting infield hits. Pete Rose didn't have the speed to beat out a chopper to short, but he did have the hustle to stretch a single into a double. At that point, a hit is already a hit, it's just for slugging percentage. But on any random groundball to the left side, Ichiro has a much better chance at beating it out than Pete Rose because he's faster and has a shorter distance to run. This also made him a stealing threat (led the league in 2001 and is the active leader in steals) while Pete Rose only has 198. 

2. BABIP. BABIP, or batting average on balls in play, is a stat used by sabermetricians to determine a players' effectiveness when they don't strike out. It's useful for guys like Ryan Howard or Adam Dunn, because it seems like they either hit it 450 feet or strike out. BABIP is used to show their average on when they make solid contact. As of 2009, Ichiro's BABIP was insanely higher than the league average on ground balls (.242) and bunts (.441). Ichiro's averages: .305 and .663, respectively. This means out of 1,000 ground balls, Ichiro reaches base safely 63 more times than average Joe. On 1,000 bunts, he reaches 222 more times. On a larger scale, Ichiro's career BABIP is .344 compared to Pete Rose's .319. Ichiro has 453 career infield hits, just around 16% of his hit total.  

3. Age. Ichiro entered the league at age 27, basically his athletic prime. He's still in great shape, but the hits aren't coming in bunches like they used to, and that's to be expected when you hit the dinosaurish landmark 40th birthday in the sporting world. Ichiro has played 2,184 career games in the MLB and has amassed 2,834 hits. In 2,184 games, Pete Rose collected 2,773 hits - 61 fewer hits is about a quarter of a season for these guys. Bear with me, this is where it gets confusing. Through 2,184 games (odd sample, I know, but it's Ichiro's career), Ichiro has 1.297 hits per game compared to Rose's 1.269 hits per game. If you were to adjust Ichiro's debut to match Rose's at age 22 and match their games played, Ichiro would have approximately 100 more hits. Remember, this is strictly mathematical. I took Rose's 3,562 games x 1.269 hits per game to equal 4,520 (he finished with 4,256) versus if Ichiro payed 3,562 games x 1.297 hits per game to equal 4,619 hits. Factor in depreciation, age, pitcher recognition, etc., like with Rose and you're right around 4,300 hits. 

Rose's Favor
1. Speed. I know this was a point for Ichiro, but players lose speed over the years. Like I said before, 16% of his hits in his career are infield hits. If he were to rely on that his whole career, teams would guard against it (reverse shift) or throw pitches up in the zone to make him fly out since he has no home run power. Not to mention he would lose a step or two as he got older and be easier to throw out. While Rose's speed never got him more infield hits, his style stands the test of time while Ichiro's wouldn't.

2. Pitching Quality. Pete Rose was a pure hitter. He didn't care who he faced or what he was throwing, he hit it - he's a .306 career hitter against Hall of Fame pitchers (he faced 22 in his career), including 60-177 off Don Sutton, 42-147 off Juan Marichal, and 35-114 off of Bob Gibson. Now, compare this to Ichiro, who was a teammate of the best pitcher of our generation (Randy Johnson), but is 8-18 against him. Here are some career lows for Ichiro against the studs:

• .262 against Roy Halladay
• .217 against Pedro Martinez
• .200 against Roger Clemens
• .125 against David Price
• .077 against Curt Schilling

That said, Ichiro is .500 against Kershaw and .333 against CC Sabathia, but I think Rose has a serious advantage in this category. See for yourself: Rose vs. pitchers or Ichiro vs. pitchers. 

3. Teammate Protection. Pete Rose played for the Big Red Machine in the height of the Reds' dominance of the NL. In fact, the Reds were the first team ever to have 5 different All-Star Game MVPs (Perez, Griffey, Foster, Morgan, Concepcion) on the same roster, meaning these guys can seriously hit. Pete Rose was the Reds leadoff hitter for all that time, but do you really want to pitch against Joe Morgan (HOF, 2 MVPs), Johnny Bench (HOF, one of the greatest catchers ever), and Tony Perez all in the same inning? No! You're going to go after Rose and get him out as early as possible. That means he'll see plenty of strikes and pitches to hit. Bad news for pitchers: it's Pete Rose. He won't miss. Compare this to Ichiro, who, other than 2001, has been on mostly losing teams. After Ichiro, you have Mike Cameron (.249 career), John Olerud (.295 but no power), and Edgar Martinez, who is a legitimate power threat but grounds into a lot of double plays. I think if I were a pitcher I'd take my chances with this 2-3-4 than Ichiro. Pitch around him. 

So there are my reasons for both sides. Between you and me, though, if Ichiro played in America since his career began at age 20, he would have passed Pete Rose by now. But we can only make guesses at this point. Let's just leave it at this: they're both amazing.

And so are you. Thanks for reading. 

The Platinum Season

So my buddy and I were musing through Baseball Reference the other day, as we normally do after I'm done working and he's done with classes. I don't quite remember how it came up but we were discussing the NL Rookie of the Year race (my bet is Jacob deGrom) and our conversation slowly drifted towards prominent rookies and we came across Ichiro in 2001.

What Ichiro did that year was something that no one else in the history of baseball has ever done, something I like to call The Platinum Season, when he was selected to start the All-Star Game (not just start, but lead off and play centerfield as well for the home AL), won a Gold Glove in one of three outfield spots (other winners were Mike Cameron and Torii Hunter), a Silver Slugger in one of three outfield spots (along with Manny Ramirez and Juan Gonzalez) and a batting title. Those awards are B-List awards if you ask me; consolation prizes for players who don't bring home serious bacon like the MVP and Rookie of the Year.

In 2001, Ichiro brought the whole pig home with the American League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year. 

Ichiro is already the greatest Japanese player ever play for a Major League team. With 9 total Gold Gloves, an MLB record 10-straight seasons with 200+ hits (5 straight seasons leading the MLB in hits), 2 batting titles, almost 3,000 hits (over 4,000 total in professional baseball including his time in Japan), and 484 steals entering tonight (most among active players), he is a lock for the Hall of Fame, making him the first Japanese born player to be inducted. Here's a fun piece from CBS Sports about Ichiro learning Spanish to talk trash to other Hispanic players - as if he wasn't good enough already. 

But the Platinum Season. It isn't impossible, as our slender subject of tonight's conversation has proved, but it's close to it. Not only is it your first full season in the bigs, but you have to be the best at everything - fielding, hitting, and enough of an asset to a winning team to be considered the Most Valuable. The fans have to love you to vote you to start, and the press has to love you to vote you in. But the advancement of the game and its awards have handcuffed some of the greats. For example:

All-Star selections: The first ASG wasn't until 1933. Babe Ruth, the greatest hitter of all time, only was selected twice. But that wasn't a direct indication of skill: it was timing.  

Rookie of the Year Award: not introduced until 1947 with Jackie Robinson its inaugural winner 

Gold Gloves: Not introduced until 1957. Even then, it was consolidated between both the AL and NL. 

Silver Slugger: Not introduced until 1980!

There is some consternation about when the MVP was first awarded. According to MLB.com, the first MVP award was granted in 1931, but on Baseball Reference, there are smatterings of MVP awards between 1914 and 1931, so they must not have been officially awarded and recognized until 1931. So when I said that Ichiro is the only person to have ever achieved the Platinum Season, that's statistically true, but maybe not historically true, simply because some of the awards weren't created yet! 

Here is what I'm going to do: I'm going to try my best to speculate who would have won those awards in the past to compare them to Ichiro's Platinum Season. For the sake of argument, we'll stick with the MVPs officially recognized by MLB.com beginning in 1931. For the most part, this makes our job easy, because the MVP winners from 1931-1947 weren't rookies, so they are all, unfortunately, eliminated from the Platinum Season. Now, with the list of Rookies of the Year, 20 of them have gone on to win an MVP award (since the inception of the award, of course). Only two have won it in the same year: Ichiro (2001) and Fred Lynn (1975). 

Fred Lynn is kind of an underwhelming case in baseball history. He's hit the only grand slam in All-Star Game history, one of two to ever win an MVP and ROY, and was a doubles machine until he left Boston. In his first three years with the Angels, Lynn was selected to All-Star teams but only hit .271 with 66 doubles when he hit 47 doubles his rookie year. Production fell right off the table and I think a Hall of Fame potential player disappeared. Anyway, Lynn is Ichiro's competition for the Platinum Season. 

MVP? .331/.401/.566, 21 home runs, 105 RBIs, 103 runs, 47 doubles - Check.

ROY? Beat teammate Jim Rice by 22 points in average, 51 points in OBP - Check.

Gold Glove? Check.

All-Star? Check.

Silver Slugger? Funny you should ask. Lynn was a center fielder in 1975, his best year. The way Silver Sluggers are awarded make this a bit tricky. Since there are three outfield positions to award, the MLB doesn't pick a left fielder, right fielder, and center fielder, they just pick three outfielders who slug (hence the name). So let's see if Lynn would have held up in 1975 against other AL outfielders.

Reggie Jackson would have been a shoo-in. Mr. October (also the strikeout king) had 36 homers, 104 RBIs, and a .511 slugging percentage. Lynn has him beat in RBIs and SLG% but it's Reggie Jackson compared to a rookie. Jackson has one of the three.

Bobby Bonds had a statistically similar season, collecting 32 home runs, 85 RBIs and posting a .512 slugging percentage. Again, not as good as Lynn, but the increased number of home runs and slugging percentage give him the edge for the second outfield spot.

The last competitor/candidate would be Don Baylor, who hit 25 home runs, 76 RBIs, and slugged .489. All good, but not as good as Lynn, who led all outfielders in slugging and RBIs. If I were voting, I'd give Lynn the Silver Slugger, giving him another Platinum Season. 

Ichiro did it in 2001, and it was amazing. He blew Americans out of the water with how smoothly he transitioned from Japan to the MLB. At age 27, he led the Mariners to 114 wins in the regular season and the ALCS against Jeter's mighty Yankees. Remember how much buzz there was about Tanaka coming to the MLB this offseason? I wish I was old enough to remember how much hype their was about Ichiro and how he blew it all away.

But Fred Lynn did it as a 23 year old straight out of USC. He played briefly at the professional level in 1974 but after a year at AA in 1973, and split time in 1974, I think his Platinum Season in 1975 was a little better. 4 years younger, almost no professional baseball. But the competition wasn't quite as good, either. 

You be the judge. Thanks for reading. 

Thoughts on Stanton

As many of you already know, Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton was hit in the face by a pitch of a Michael Fiers fastball in the top of the 5th inning against the Brewers on Thursday. Stanton has been producing at an MVP caliber rate so far this year (see my post about the NL MVP race from last month), and that came to a grinding halt after this unfortunate turn of events. Stanton actually turned his body into it so much that it was called a strike, and pinch hitter Reed Johnson was hit on the hand the next pitch. The Marlins bench cleared, colorful examples of adult vocabulary were exchanged, but Michael Fiers did not hit Stanton on purpose. Here's why:

When you look at the big picture, the Marlins are still mathematically alive for a playoff spot. Even without last year's Rookie of the Year winner Jose Fernandez, the Marlins have fought valiantly to sit third in what has turned out to be a very weak NL East division. The Marlins, entering play today, are tied for third with the Mets, both 12 games back of the Nationals and a winning percentage of .486 (Miami has played 2 fewer games). While the Marlins have virtually nothing to lose being 6.5 games out of the second wild card, the Brewers are hanging on by a thread in their own playoff picture, 4 games back of St. Louis for first place in the NL Central and 1.5 games back of the second wild card spot. Keep in mind, Milwaukee was leading the division by 6.5 games to begin July and led by a game as August faded into September, so if they miss the playoffs, it would be a pretty big choke. They needed this game.

In this particular situation, Stanton was up with the bases loaded and two outs. Stanton is a .316 hitter with runners in scoring position this year - that's really good, but it gets even better: with two outs and runners in scoring position, his average jumps a healthy margin to .340 and a .620 slugging percentage. That said, Stanton was also only hitting .208 against Brewers pitching in 2014. Sure he's a great hitter in clutch situations, but there are two outs - beaning him would push a run across and keep the inning going for hit machine Casey McGehee, who is hitting .344 with two outs, .313 with runners in scoring position, and .295 with two outs and men in scoring position. You may avoid the game tying grand slam from Stanton, but then you have bases loaded again with a three run lead for McGehee, who has decent power to the alleys and could clear the bases, especially with Jeff Mathis (slow, but would score easily) on third, and speedsters Jordany Valdespin and Christian Yelich occupying the other two bags.

If the game situation isn't enough for you, just look at how Fiers was pitching this year. In 11 games, he is (now) 6-2 with a 1.84 ERA and a WHIP of .857. Those are great numbers, especially for a team that is struggling like the Brewers, whose offense virtually disappeared in the beginning of August on their way to a 9-game losing streak. They need good pitching while the offense regroups - why would Fiers put that in jeopardy?

Last but not least, just look at his reaction after Stanton falls down. 

"What have I done?"

It just wouldn't make sense for Fiers to bean Stanton intentionally.  The Brewers were up 4-0 and Fiers had Stanton on the ropes 0-2. Stanton has been known to be a free swinger, with a good slider or high cheese, he could swing right through it and the inning would be over. Fiers is a 29 year old veteran who knows better, and knows baseball well enough to go right for the head if you're aiming intentionally. You go for the back, like Cole Hamels did on Bryce Harper back when Harper was a rookie (kids, you didn't hear that from me). The Brewers needed that win.

While Stanton's season is likely over, so is the Marlins'. They were flirting with a playoff spot and like I said earlier, have nothing to lose. They already overcame most expectations of this season; I didn't think they'd be anywhere near .500, and when you take Fernandez away, I wasn't expecting them to get 65 wins. They have a shot at 80 wins this year, a huge improvement from last year and a sign to come that the Fish could be serious contenders in the future. 

Marlins manager Mike Redmond said in a postgame interview "we lost our MVP." In my mind, so did the NL. Stanton's 37 home runs, 94 walks, .555 slugging, .950 OPS, and 105 RBIs all lead the National League now that Troy Tulowitzki is sidelined for the remainder of 2014. Stanton's RBI total is first in the majors, tied with Angels outfielder Mike Trout. There is doubt in my mind that the Marlins success is directly proportional to Stanton's and that without him, they wouldn't even be in contention.

Kershaw has been lights out in LA this year, but if you take him off that team, I think they are still in the playoffs. Kershaw leads the league in wins, ERA, WHIP, etc. But look at his value to the Dodgers. The award would have been Stanton's but now that he is gone, I believe it is all Kershaw's. But I could be wrong.

Let's hope Stanton heals quickly and that he'll continue mashing next year. 

Thanks for reading. 

The Time We Needed Baseball Most

I think I'm glad I was too young to fully comprehend what happened on 9/11. I was just a 9 year old kid sitting in Mr. Cohen's 4th grade class in room 204. I always loved Mr. Cohen; despite being a diehard MSU fan, he was a great teacher and how he handled this situation proved no different. On that fateful Tuesday morning 13 years ago, I sat at my desk quietly doing the daily writing assignment when the phone rang. That wasn't necessarily out of the ordinary, but what came to follow certainly was.

"Mr. Cohen's room."

I'll never forget what followed.

A look of horrified disbelief crossed his face and it was made all the worse because Mr. Cohen couldn't tell anyone. In a room full of 8, 9, and 10 year olds, how is a full grown man going to empathize with kids who can't spell their own last name let alone comprehend the biggest sucker punch to the economical gut of America in the last 70 years?

"Thank you."

Mr. Cohen hung up the phone and calmly went back to his desk and resumed his grading while the rest of the class meandered on through our writing. We didn't get recess that day, which was odd because Mr. Cohen was always so lenient with our time on the jungle gym. Half the class had their families come pick them up, including mine. Tuesday was Dad's late night at work, I wasn't expecting him to be on the sidewalk when I walked out of school that day.

I've been to New York once in my life. It was fun I guess, I'm not a fan of huge cities. My mom stepped on a bum, though. I didn't know much about it other the size. It was hard for me to realize. I didn't know what a terrorist was; I thought it was a synonym for someone who dressed up in bad clothing, got a harsh sunburn and traveled to exotic cities. I had never heard of Afghanistan before. And now I hear that name every single day, even if I make a conscious effort to avoid news outlets, Twitter, etc. Had I been an adult, I think I would have been struck with anger more than anything. That's what I feel now. 

But in some sick and twisted way, I am thankful I didn't have to cope with it as an adult. I know it may sound shortsighted and closed-minded, but I was upset that baseball wasn't on for the following week. Every morning I would read the Detroit Free Press sports section, scouring over box scores of the previous night and getting up to speed of the upcoming action. For 10 days, there were just pictures of an eerily empty and freshly built Comerica Park. This was 2001, before the left field fence was moved in, and I remember just seeing a picture of the field with sunshine over it but I couldn't help but feel impatience and fear for the future. 

When November rolled around, I wanted nothing more than for the Yankees to win the World Series. They were my first little league team and you all know I was/am a huge Derek Jeter fan, so I was rooting for them deep into the chilly postseason. I may have been young but with the lip service and touching video footage of New Yorkers coming together, I was pulling for a win for the city of New York. 

While I was sitting at the counter eating my Reese's Puffs on September 12th, I was too young to realize that America needed baseball that week. Baseball is special in the scheduling sense because there is a game every day for almost six straight months, beginning in April and ending in October. Except for the All-Star break, there is baseball to be played every single day. It brings a sense of normalcy and comfort to the everyday routine; wake up, go to work, come home and watch baseball. Football and other fall sports are almost more of a special event because its once a week. But not baseball. It's with us every day of our summer lives, day or night, (light) rain or shine. 

But not the week of 9/11. After the towers fell and the American people were left broken and in tears, they needed two things: each other, and something to rally behind. In an interview with MLB, Mets catcher Mike Piazza said "people wanted to find refuge in baseball, in a crowd, in being around other people." The Mets were on the road in Florida on their way to Pittsburgh when the disaster struck. They would not play a home game until September 21st against the Braves. It is this game that has a special place in my heart. I'll tell you why.

At the Hall of Fame last summer, the interns all had to give an "Artifact Spotlight," where we got to present two artifacts that are in Collection of the Hall but not on display to the public. July was Mets Month at the Hall, so a few weekends were dedicated to Mets trivia, Mets tours, and other Mets themed special events. On one of these Mets Weekends, I got to present an artifact from this September 21st game. 

This game was the first professional sporting event in New York since the attacks. Despite being bitter rivals through the years, Atlanta and New York put that in their back pocket as managers Bobby Cox and Bobby Valentine shared kind words and an embrace before the game. As chants of USA rang through Shea Stadium to the core, the Braves eked out a 2-1 lead over the Mets, scoring an unearned run off of starter Bruce Chen and then a 2-out double off of Mets captain and New York born John Franco in the 8th. Things were looking bleak for the Mets as Atlanta reliever Steve Karsay came in to preserve the lead. 

Piazza will say he was just doing his job, but last time I checked, giving the biggest city in America a reason to fight for the good in the world with a single swing wasn't in a baseball player's job description. On an 0-1 pitch, Piazza took an outside fastball deep into the New York night, giving the Mets the lead and brief sense of hysteria for New Yorkers everywhere that everything will be alright. Pinch runner Desi Relaford scored and with Piazza's tap of home plate, the Mets took the lead and America wouldn't look back. Here's the video from MLB.com; I was crying before Piazza swung - beat that. 

Though Atlanta lost that game, I think any Brave would agree that you couldn't write a better script. It was what America needed. People wanted answers, revenge, an explanation, names, a plan, anything that would stop the bleeding. What they got wasn't quite as resolute as any of those, but just as powerful. They were given a symbol of hope.

Piazza's home run wasn't just a clutch performance on the field, it showed the world that the USA would never give up. That was the biggest punch in the face America could have taken, and Mike Piazza swung right back.

I presented John Franco's jersey from this night. Franco only threw 2/3 of an inning before allowing the Braves to take the lead late in the game. As a lifetime New Yorker, I doubt that was how he had it playing in his mind, but holding the jersey that he wore that night woke me up a bit that summer. 

I realized that despite that crippling blow to New York and to Americans everywhere, it was okay to cry. But it was not okay to give up. Giving up is admitting defeat. Mike Piazza didn't, the Mets didn't, New York didn't, and America sure as hell didn't. 

Like I said, I've never been to New York for more than 24 hours. I've never been to a Mets game, and I don't think Bobby Valentine is a very good manager. But working with this jersey that John Franco wore through that intensely emotional night in Queens brought me closer to the tragedy. It taught me lessons that I don't think any news footage could have, in a sense. I appreciate the tributes and the moments of silence, but when I see Mike Piazza take that hack and send those 41,000 fans into absolute pandemonium to forget about 9/11, if even for a second, I see the humanity in baseball. It's not just a game or a team to root for, but it's a refuge. It's a safe haven, a sanctuary where you come as you are and leave feeling resurrected. On September 21st, 2001, Mike Piazza was America's preacher, savior, and idol all rolled into one.

To those that lost their lives, I pray that we will never forget what happened on that day in your honor. To those that worked tirelessly for days and weeks to search for the missing, you have taught us what it means to give back. To those who have lost their lives in the ensuing war on terror, thank you for the ultimate sacrifice. 

And thank you, Mike Piazza, for giving us something we will always remember after something we will never forget. 

Thanks for reading. And don't ever give up. 

The Future of Max Scherzer

The past two years, the Tigers have been beneficiaries of the best starting rotation in the American League, if not baseball. The wheels have fallen off the bus a little bit this year with Justin Verlander pushing an aggressive 12-12 record, Anibal Sanchez out with a strained pectoral muscle, and David Price allowing 8 runs two starts ago against the Yankees, an opponent whom he has faced numerous times when he was in the AL East with the Rays, and 5 against the Giants yesterday. Rick Porcello has stepped up big time this year, adding a cushion of confidence for the rotation, posting a 15-10 record with a 3.30 ERA. Through thick and thin for the past few years, the Tigers have been able to count on one man no matter what: Max Scherzer.

Scherzer, 2013's AL Cy Young winner, is 15-5 this year with a 3.25 ERA and arguably the hottest topic for free agency come winter. Oakland's Jon Lester is another highly touted free agent-to-be, but chances are he'll go back to Boston after the season. The difference between he and Scherzer, however, is a big one: Lester wasn't offered a six-year, $144 million contract in the offseason.

Scherzer was, and walked away from it. 

Scott Boras, Scherzer's agent, is known as a money hawk for his clients. General managers and team owners think he's a vulture, waiting patiently with his client until the right time to sign a mega-contract into the 4th dimension for more money than I even knew existed in America. For example: Boras also represents teammate Miguel Cabrera, who signed a record 8-year, $248 million extension before this year's Opening Day. 

I don't think Scherzer will be in a Tigers uniform after this season. Especially if they don't make the playoffs, I think he'll seek greener pastures (especially financially). The Tigers deal of 6-years, $144 million wasn't disrespectful like Robinson Cano's was (or so he says), but Scherzer wants a longer deal than that, but with Verlander signed through my wedding and birth of my first born, Sanchez signed for another 4 years, and most likely David Price as the newest addition of the long term rotation, the Tigers don't have room for another pitcher who is past his peak. Scherzer turned 30 this season and only time will tell how his arm will hold up, especially with his funky mechanics and heavily torqued elbow: 

Verlander is certainly past his prime (he still throws like a power pitcher despite maxing out at 92 MPH), and Sanchez has proven to be fragile and good for only 20-25 starts and fewer than 200 innings. Price is 29 and shows no signs of age but you don't want 4 pitchers 30 or older to anchor a rotation. 

Scherzer has been very consistent throughout his career in terms of hits and earned runs allowed, and I think as he ages, he'll adjust his pitching (more disappearing changeups) to match his slowing arm speed (Scherzer can max out at 98-99).

So where will he end up?

As a free agent, Scherzer can sign anywhere the heck he wants to go. There are no draft pick compensations, no players to be named later, no whatever else a team wants, he'll just sign there. Depending on the market, it will be for probably 7 years, maybe $170 million. If his contract cracks $200 million, I'll eat my hat.

There are a number of teams I can see him going to, first of which being the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs traded away Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel earlier this year to Oakland for Addison Russell, a middle infielder which they truthfully didn't need, but that left them in the lurch for starting pitching. Youngster Kyle Hendricks has been a bright spot for the Cubs since the departure of the two aforementioned hurlers going 6-1 with a 2.02 ERA in 10 starts, but the rest of the rotation leaves something to be desired. 

Cue Scherzer. The Cubs haven't had a Cy Young winning pitcher on their roster since 2006, but he was 40 years old and went 9-11. The Cubs haven't had a Cy Young winning pitcher since 1992 (I was 6 months old when that was awarded), and it was again, Greg Maddux. That's almost ten years without a Cy Young winner even on the roster, and more than 20 years without a Cy Young winner. That's why I think Scherzer could be their guy. Scherzer has ace stuff for any team in the league except for maybe the Dodgers, but with him at the helm, good things could happen. If the Cubs and GM Theo Epstein want to spend the money on him, they'll have the best prospect class (see my blog about the Cubs from last month), and an experienced stud of a veteran. The Cubs front office will typically choose to grow talent, but Scherzer talent is rare and difficult to grow (like starfruit). With him as an ace, Hendricks, and homegrown 3-4-5 starters, the Cubs could have a solid rotation. 

The Mets could also be compelling suitors. Matt Harvey showed promise back in 2013, when he went 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA before being shut down for 2014 with a torn UCL and Tommy John surgery. When he comes back, he'll be 26 and have to carry the team on his back. Bartolo Colon

Ladies. *tips cap*

will probably be back for another year, but he'll be 42 and still just as sweaty. Rookie phenom Jacob deGrom will be back for more as will underperforming prospect Zack Wheeler (9-9, 3.45, 1.314). Scherzer would play a similar role in the Big Apple as he would in the Windy City; ace arsenal with playoff/award experience that most of the rotation does not have. It would also be very cool to see the 2013 All-Star Game starters (Harvey and Scherzer) on the same roster. That hasn't happened since 1990 when Frank Viola and Dwight Gooden (starters of the 1987 All-Star Game) both pitched for: the Mets. It's fate.

I know my predictions have been off recently, so if you don't believe me, here is a Bleacher Report article about this exact topic. As a Tigers fan, if he doesn't come home, just get him out of the AL Central. 

Thanks for reading.