Meaningless Baseball Stat for Today - Totally OT

[mrtailgate]

Hard to wrap your head around this one.

In 1934 AL MVP voting

Player 1 hit .320 with 2 home runs and 75 runs batted in.

Player 2 hit .363 with 49 home runs and 166 runs batted in. Player 2 also won the Triple Crown

Player 1 won the MVP, Player 2 finished 5th in the MVP vote.

Player 1 is Mickey Cochrane, Player 2 is the immortal Iron Horse.

It’s been a slow day.

I now return you to your regular TV programming.

 

[AWS1022]

Hard to wrap your head around this one.

In 1934 AL MVP voting

Player 1 hit .320 with 2 home runs and 75 runs batted in.

Player 2 hit .363 with 49 home runs and 166 runs batted in. Player 2 also won the Triple Crown

Player 1 won the MVP, Player 2 finished 5th in the MVP vote.

Player 1 is Mickey Cochrane, Player 2 is the immortal Iron Horse.

It’s been a slow day.

I now return you to your regular TV programming.

Or the 1941 MVP voting where a player who hit .406 lost.

 

[danvillenit]

Hard to wrap your head around this one.

In 1934 AL MVP voting

Player 1 hit .320 with 2 home runs and 75 runs batted in.

Player 2 hit .363 with 49 home runs and 166 runs batted in. Player 2 also won the Triple Crown

Player 1 won the MVP, Player 2 finished 5th in the MVP vote.

Player 1 is Mickey Cochrane, Player 2 is the immortal Iron Horse.

It’s been a slow day.

I now return you to your regular TV programming.

Player 1 could have been more valuable to his team. Always a debate whether the MVP is actually most valuable or player of the year. It is generally statistics driven.

From the same era. Hard to believe Babe Ruth only won one MVP award

 

[mrtailgate]

Player 1 could have been more valuable to his team. Always a debate whether the MVP is actually most valuable or player of the year. It is generally statistics driven.

From the same era. Hard to believe Babe Ruth only won one MVP award

Tigers beat the Yankees in 1934 for the pennant. 3 of the top 5 were Tigers, the other 2 top 5 were Yankees.

 

[PSU73]

Hmmm. Here’s the stats.

 

[cjrugger]

Player 1 could have been more valuable to his team. Always a debate whether the MVP is actually most valuable or player of the year. It is generally statistics driven.

From the same era. Hard to believe Babe Ruth only won one MVP award

Sabremetrics would tell you that’s not possible. Each player creates an individual amount of value throughout the year, and that value doesn’t change if you put the player on a different team

 

[lj4heisman1]

schoolboy could handle a bat!

 

[Op2]

Or the 1941 MVP voting where a player who hit .406 lost.

I think I recall reading that in 1941, the voters ranked the top 8 players in the league for MVP and one voter left Ted Williams, who hit .406 that year, off his ballot entirely. So he his .406 and one voter didn't think he was in the to 8 players in a league that only had about 8 teams. I think the writers voted and I know Ted Williams was disliked by the writers.

 

[AWS1022]

I think I recall reading that in 1941, the voters ranked the top 8 players in the league for MVP and one voter left Ted Williams, who hit .406 that year, off his ballot entirely. So he his .406 and one voter didn't think he was in the to 8 players in a league that only had about 8 teams. I think the writers voted and I know Ted Williams was disliked by the writers.

Yes, a lot of writers did not like Williams, but they loved DiMaggio.

 

[BobPSU92]

A more meaningless baseball stat: Time of Possession

 

[bison13]

A more meaningless baseball stat: Time of Possession

Especially since in baseball the defense has possession of the ball.

 

[BobPSU92]

Especially since in baseball the defense has possession of the ball.

😁

 

[mrtailgate]

A more meaningless baseball stat: Time of Possession

I thought you might have objected to the picking up of a ball put in play without that tissue paper you pick up scones or muffins with.

 

[NedFromYork]

Especially since in baseball the defense has possession of the ball.

Dominated by TTTP.

 

[Ranger Dan]

Most valuable is not the same as best. Cochran was a catcher, I believe. He may have had a huge impact on the pitching staff.

 

[Connorpozlee]

Cochrane threw out 52% of base stealers that season. Looks like he missed 25 games that season as well.

 

[mrtailgate]

Ok, seamheads. How about this one.

XX is one of the greatest mashers of all time no doubt but I believe he is one of a select few who accomplished something that seems almost impossible to fathom. His career average never dipped below .300 at any time in his career during any AB. I believe Stan the Man went hitless his first AB and then got a hit his second AB and never dipped below a career .300 average again for the remainder of his career.

 

[bison13]

Ok, seamheads. How about this one.

XX is one of the greatest mashers of all time no doubt but I believe he is one of a select few who accomplished something that seems almost impossible to fathom. His career average never dipped below .300 at any time in his career during any AB. I believe Stan the Man went hitless his first AB and then got a hit his second AB and never dipped below a career .300 average again for the remainder of his career.

Lou gehrig? If I remember correctly he never had a season below 300 until his last one so if he started off hot then it could have happened.

 

[mrtailgate]

Lou gehrig? If I remember correctly he never had a season below 300 until his last one so if he started off hot then it could have happened.

Gehrig started off his career hitless in his first AB and was 1-6 in his first 6 AB’s

 

[LionJim]

Gehrig started off his career hitless in his first AB and was 1-6 in his first 6 AB’s

Willie Mays started out something like 0-12.

 

[Yanks49]

How about Jimmie Foxx?

 

[Woodpecker]

Ok, seamheads. How about this one.

XX is one of the greatest mashers of all time no doubt but I believe he is one of a select few who accomplished something that seems almost impossible to fathom. His career average never dipped below .300 at any time in his career during any AB. I believe Stan the Man went hitless his first AB and then got a hit his second AB and never dipped below a career .300 average again for the remainder of his career.

Here are 16 of them

 

[LionJim]

Here are 16 of them

I believe that there is one guy with a lifetime BA of 1 and a slugging average of 4.

 

[Woodpecker]

I believe that there is one guy with a lifetime BA of 1 and a slugging average of 4.

Looks like this guy was there ... until he went to bat 2 more times and got measly singles in each of them.

 

[LionJim]

Looks like this guy was there ... until he went to bat 2 more times and got measly singles in each of them.

The guy I was thinking about played in 1915, thereabouts. Good find, though.

 

[mrtailgate]

Here are 16 of them

This is magnificent. Thanks for posting"

 

[mrtailgate]

How about Jimmie Foxx?

That is who I was referring to when I said XX.

 

[mrtailgate]

Today’s meaningless stat is in honor of Sandy Koufax, 85 years of age today.

1962-1966

111-34
100 complete games
33 shutouts
4 no hitters
ERA leader each year

If you were lucky enough to see any of it, you’ll never forget it. When he came down that mound he looked 10 feet tall and it had to be frightening with him looking like he was jumping down your throat. Then consider he threw #1 100 and had that devastating Uncle Charlie and you knew you were in a whole lot of trouble.

 

[mrtailgate]

One more meaningless stat

Bob Buhl holds the record for most AB’s in a single year without a hit - 70.
If you saw Chris Short hit, you would swear nobody was worse than him. Bob Buhl was.

 

[LionJim]

One more meaningless stat

Bob Buhl holds the record for most AB’s in a single year without a hit - 70.
If you saw Chris Short hit, you would swear nobody was worse than him. Bob Buhl was.

Hoyt Wilhelm had a worse BA than either Buhl or Short. (I checked.) He hit .088 with one home run in 458 plate appearances. The crazy thing is that he hit his sole home run in his very first at bat.

 

[MtNittany]

Anyone ever hear of a record for consecutive hit batters in MLB? (my guess is 3, but I've no clue). I know Gaylord in the PCL w/ Tacoma hit 4 straight because he was in a bad mood. Any stats on bad moods I wonder?

 

[LionJim]

Anyone ever hear of a record for consecutive hit batters in MLB? (my guess is 3, but I've no clue). I know Gaylord in the PCL w/ Tacoma hit 4 straight because he was in a bad mood. Any stats on bad moods I wonder?

Not an answer to your question and I cannot swear that this story isn’t apocryphal, but I suppose it’s worth telling.

You may have heard about the old-time player and manager John McGraw. He had the competitiveness of Cobb and, to give a latter-day example, Michael Jordan, and he was despised by opposing players and umpires alike. One game he’s at bat and the pitcher throws at him, plunks him. He picks himself up and starts to first base but the umpire says he didn’t try to get out of the way, so it’s Ball One and get your ass back in the batter’s box. The pitcher, knowing a golden opportunity when he sees it, plunks him again. “Ball two. Get back in the box.” Hit again, down he goes again. “Ball three. Back in the box.” Hit a fourth time, “Ball four, take your base.”

 

[NittanyPirate]

This is magnificent. Thanks for posting"

Great read!Please repost the week or so before MLBseason starts. That article deserves its own thread!

 

[royboy]

Amazing stat line for Lou Gehrig with 210 hits, 49 HRs, 165 RBIs, etc.

Great contrast to today's game -- only 39 Strikeouts

 

[bobroars]

Back then, more weight was given to players on teams that won. Detroit finished ahead of the Yankees that year, and it was Cochrane's first year with the Tigers having been traded from the Phillies.

in 1941, DiMaggio had the hitting streak and batted .357 and led the league in RBI's as the Yankees finished 17 games in front of the Red Sox. Amazingly, DiMaggio struck out 13 times that entire season, or less than once a week.

 

[mrtailgate]

Hoyt Wilhelm had a worse BA than either Buhl or Short. (I checked.) He hit .088 with one home run in 458 plate appearances. The crazy thing is that he hit his sole home run in his very first at bat.

I didn’t know that. I guess it’s because at that time the only time you saw the AL was when their teams were on Saturday Game of the Week. They didn’t put the White Sox on that much. So I didn’t see Wilhelm that many times. I remember Short more vividly since Buhl wasn’t in Philly as long. Short stepped into the bucket before the opposing pitcher went into his windup. He was actually the worst hitting pitcher I ever saw. I remember when he got a hit one time, I was stunned.

 

[LionJim]

I didn’t know that. I guess it’s because at that time the only time you saw the AL was when their teams were on Saturday Game of the Week. They didn’t put the White Sox on that much. So I didn’t see Wilhelm that many times. I remember Short more vividly since Buhl wasn’t in Philly as long. Short stepped into the bucket before the opposing pitcher went into his windup. He was actually the worst hitting pitcher I ever saw. I remember when he got a hit one time, I was stunned.

You got your impression of Chris Short from watching him play. I got my impression of Hoyt Wilhelm from reading a book. I’d gladly trade you.

 

[LionJim]

Anyone ever hear of a record for consecutive hit batters in MLB? (my guess is 3, but I've no clue). I know Gaylord in the PCL w/ Tacoma hit 4 straight because he was in a bad mood. Any stats on bad moods I wonder?

Another Gaylord Perry story, courtesy of Bill James. Perry grew up on a farm in North Carolina. One time a scout came to visit and tried to act country by feeding the Perry’s mule a carrot. The mule bit off his finger.

 

[LionJim]

Here’s a rule that probably nobody knows about. If there is a runner on second and first base is open, the runner may not go back to first base. To find out why this rule was established, read The Glory of Their Times.

The Glory of Their Times - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org