More Random Info on the Maddux

An all-time great pitcher AND fashion icon

It was just over a year ago that I first wrote about the Maddux, a baseball accomplishment I've been tracking since ~1998, when I'd just graduated from high school (the original post can be found here). A Maddux is a complete game shutout (of at least 9 innings, no '5 innings, then rain' games) in which the pitcher uses fewer than 100 pitches. The statistic can be fully tracked going back to 1988, when MLB began keeping complete pitch count records for every game. In that first post, I listed the career leaders for Madduxes (with Greg himself atop the list, quite naturally and comfortably), the fewest pitches in a Maddux, and some other tidbits about the accomplishment. Tonight I thought I might list a few others.

Best MLB Rookie of the Year Winners

In 2012 Mike Trout wasn't just the best player in baseball, he was probably the best 20-year-old position player ever. Meanwhile, Bryce Harper, while not quite as productive, was only 19 years old, and arguably the greatest teenage position player in history. Never before had two players been so good, while so young, in the same season. Not surprisingly, each player was named the Rookie of the Year (ROY) for their respective league. Given their youth and talent, it's easy to imagine them as star players for years and years to come. If they do have that kind of success, where might they rank among all Rookie of the Year winners? Where might they rank as a duo, compared to all the other winning pairs?

Greatest Opening Day Performances

Last Monday, Clayton Kershaw had one heck of an Opening Day. He pitched a complete game shutout and hit an 8th inning home run, breaking a 0-0 tie and providing the only run of he needed. Kershaw recorded 7 strikeouts against just 4 hits and 0 walks. Kershaw's performance rates as one of the greatest Opening Days ever, up there with Walter Johnson's 15 shutout innings in 1926, Bob Feller's no hitter in 1940, or Camilo Pascual's record 15 strikeouts in 1960, or anything in more recent history. Speaking of recent history, today I'm choosing the very best Opening Day start for each season of the 2000s.

Worst Back-to-Back Seasons in MLB History

In 2011, the Houston Astros finished with their worst record ever, going just 56-106. In 2012 they broke that record by going 55-107. Few teams have had their two worst seasons consecutively, and the combined record of 111-213 is awfully ugly. Obviously it's the worst back-to-back stretch in their franchise history, but how does it stack up with the worst back-to-back campaigns by other teams? Here's a look at each franchise's very worst consecutive seasons, along with other info on bad back-to-back records in baseball history.

World Baseball Classic and Patriotism

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) has reached its championship game, which will pit the Dominican Republic against Puerto Rico tonight from San Francisco's AT&T Park. That means that for the third straight time (the WBC was also played in 2006 and 2009), the United States will not be a part of the title game, despite hosting most of the games and being home to the strongest professional league in the world. I'm not among those who are particularly disappointed that the U.S. was eliminated early. It's not that I don't care about the WBC (I think it's great), and it's not because I won't root for a favorite (I'm not sure the U.S. really was the favorite), it's because my strongest baseball loyalties are not to country.

The Worst Seasons in Baseball History

The 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, one of baseball's worst teams ever

The Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros each had their worst season in franchise history in 2012. For the Rockies, it was a 64-98 record (.395 winning percentage). For the Astros, it was a 55-107 record (.340). It's sort impressive that two teams playing in the same league were both able to have their worst record. How do their marks stack up with other teams' worst ever records? What are the very worst records in modern history? What are the worst seasons in more recent history? Let's take a look.

The Best Hitters You've Never Heard Of

Les Fleming

At Let's Go Tribe I've been doing a series on the best hitters in Indians history out of each spot in the batting order. In a recent installment I was looking at #5 hitters (a list topped by Jim Thome) and in 7th place I chose a player named Les Fleming, whom I'd never heard of before researching that post. Fleming batted fifth for most of the 1942 season, which was his only full season in the Majors. He was one of the ten or so best hitters in baseball that year, on par with Joe DiMaggio.

Despite being such a potent hitter, Fleming played in only 434 career games, getting to the plate for 1,572 plate appearances. His career OPS+ was 130 (meaning he was 30% better than average for his career). That's the level All-Star Carlos Gonzalez has been at over the last three years, right around the level of Joe Mauer and Troy Tulowitzki. I found myself wondering two things: Why didn't Fleming play longer and how many other hitters have been that good but had such short careers?

Springfield Nuclear: A Pennant Winning Team?

Nuclear power tycoon C. Montgomery Burns is a man used to having his way. Whether it's a child's plaything he's after, or a million dollar bet with the owner of a rival team, he's willing to skirt, bend, and break rules to get what he wants and maintain his own high standard for excellency. Twenty-one years ago today, Burns assembled perhaps the most talked about team in history*. His "Springfield 9" was a collection of stars expected to win not just a beer league softball crown, but the 1992 World Series too. On the anniversary of that occasion, I thought it appropriate to look back at that team, not only to remember what came of them that year (oddly enough, while a documentary on their spring training and footage of one game against Shelbyville are regularly televised, the 1992 season itself is rarely discussed), but also to muse about why it happened.

Baseball Players and Presidents

A federal holiday honoring George Washington began in 1879, when all government offices in the District of Columbia were closed on February 22, Washington's birth date. In 1971 the Uniform  Monday Holiday Act took effect, moving all federal holidays to designated Mondays. The holiday is now most commonly known as Presidents Day, but is still officially designated "Washington's Birthday." It is celebrated on the third Monday in February (odd, since that means it never falls on Washington's actual birthday), which is why I'm not at work today. To honor the highest office in our nation, I'm putting together a baseball team, made entirely of players who share their surname with a U.S. President.

Felix Hernandez and Seattle Make a Commitment

Felix Hernandez, one of the best pitchers in baseball and still just 26 years old, has reportedly agreed to a new contract with the Mariners that will lock him through 2019 and pay him $175 million. USA Today's Bob Nightengale first broke the news, reporting that the new deal would start immediately, replacing Hernandez's old contract, which ran through 2014. That would be an AAV (annual average value) of $25M for the next seven years. Later, ESPN's Buster Olney reported the previous deal is still in place, paying Felix $39.5M over the next two years, with a $135.5M extension added to it, an AAV of $27.1M from 2015-2019. Either way, the total money and AAV will both be the highest ever for a pitcher.