Here is a list of American League cleanup hitters (4th in order)
of Wednesday's games, sorted by their OPS+ entering the game
Tigers - Miguel Cabrera - 170
Red Sox - David Ortiz - 164
Rays - Ben Zobrist - 139
Mariners - Mike Carp - 138
Twins - Michael Cuddyer - 129
Rangers - Michael Young - 125
Indians - Jim Thome - 125
Yankees - Mark Teixeira - 123
Athletics - Josh Willingham - 119
Angels - Torii Hunter - 112
Royals - Eric Hosmer - 106
Blue Jays - Adam Lind - 99
Orioles - Vladimir Guerrero - 90
White Sox - Alex Rios - 54
54. Fifty-four. CLEANUP. 54.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Mike Trout; Winged Prodigy
Mike Trout homered twice tonight, at age 20 years, 23 days...
The last player to homer twice in a game at a younger age than Trout is
Andruw Jones - August 22, 1996 (19 y, 121 d)
And the only other player younger than Trout with a 2-homer game since 1970 is
Ken Griffey, Jr. - May 30, 1989 (19 y, 190 d) and again July 5, 1989 (19 y, 226 d)
and the last guy before Griffey Jr. to homer twice in a game at an age younger than Trout is
Tony Conigliaro - September 16, 1964 (19 y, 253 d)
The last player to homer twice in a game at a younger age than Trout is
Andruw Jones - August 22, 1996 (19 y, 121 d)
And the only other player younger than Trout with a 2-homer game since 1970 is
Ken Griffey, Jr. - May 30, 1989 (19 y, 190 d) and again July 5, 1989 (19 y, 226 d)
and the last guy before Griffey Jr. to homer twice in a game at an age younger than Trout is
Tony Conigliaro - September 16, 1964 (19 y, 253 d)
Friday, August 26, 2011
This Day in White Sox History
Today is the 24th anniversary of a game in which Carlton Fisk homered twice off Roger Clemens.
Homering twice off Roger Clemens in a game has been done by eleven players.
Robin Yount - 6/2/1984
Eddie Murray - 6/27/1986
Carlton Fisk - 8/26/1987
Fred McGriff - 6/28/1990
Ivan Rodriguez - 7/13/1995
Manny Ramirez - 4/21/1996
Ken Griffey, Jr. - 4/25/1997
Albert Belle - 5/15/1999
Jim Thome - 6/2/2001
Josh Phelps - 8/29/2002
Damian Rolls - 6/23/2003
I love it. Nine Hall of Fame caliber players, then Phelps and Rolls...
Homering twice off Roger Clemens in a game has been done by eleven players.
Robin Yount - 6/2/1984
Eddie Murray - 6/27/1986
Carlton Fisk - 8/26/1987
Fred McGriff - 6/28/1990
Ivan Rodriguez - 7/13/1995
Manny Ramirez - 4/21/1996
Ken Griffey, Jr. - 4/25/1997
Albert Belle - 5/15/1999
Jim Thome - 6/2/2001
Josh Phelps - 8/29/2002
Damian Rolls - 6/23/2003
I love it. Nine Hall of Fame caliber players, then Phelps and Rolls...
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Baserunners = Distracting
Your Chicago White Sox failed to capitalize in clutch moments yet again on Thursday.
A Gordon Beckham bases loaded strikeout in the eighth inning was the Sox' twentieth straight bags-loaded plate appearance without a hit.
During this stretch, they have been 0-18 with a walk and a sacrifice fly. It's terrible and it has dragged the Sox' already awful bases loaded batting average to .215 (STILL not as bad as Tampa Bay's league low .212).
Breaking down this 20-PA stretch a bit further... Beckham's at-bat tonight was only the third plate appearance of the 20 in which the Sox actually trailed at the time.
Game scenario at the time of bases loaded PA (over last 20):
Ahead: 15
Behind: 3
Tied: 2
Regardless, when you have the chance to put an opponent away with a bases loaded knock, you've got to be able to deliver.
Crazy thing about all this is... as bad as 20 straight hitless PA with the pillows occupied seems, it's not the worst such streak the White Sox have had this season.
From April 9th to May 19th, the Southsiders endured an even more abysmal 24 PA streak without a single safety. (including 5 sac flies, BB, HBP)
Game scenario for 24-PA hitless streak earlier in season:
Down: 11
Tied: 4
Ahead: 9
That stretch was more critical in regards to game situation.
This season with bases loaded:
Rios: 0-10
Lillibridge: 0-5
Konerko: 1-7
Pierre: 1-9
Quentin: 2-14
On the other hand...
Pierzynski: 3-6
Ramirez: 5-10
Beckham: 3-9
And...
Dunn: 2-8
Morel: 2-8
A Gordon Beckham bases loaded strikeout in the eighth inning was the Sox' twentieth straight bags-loaded plate appearance without a hit.
During this stretch, they have been 0-18 with a walk and a sacrifice fly. It's terrible and it has dragged the Sox' already awful bases loaded batting average to .215 (STILL not as bad as Tampa Bay's league low .212).
Breaking down this 20-PA stretch a bit further... Beckham's at-bat tonight was only the third plate appearance of the 20 in which the Sox actually trailed at the time.
Game scenario at the time of bases loaded PA (over last 20):
Ahead: 15
Behind: 3
Tied: 2
Regardless, when you have the chance to put an opponent away with a bases loaded knock, you've got to be able to deliver.
Crazy thing about all this is... as bad as 20 straight hitless PA with the pillows occupied seems, it's not the worst such streak the White Sox have had this season.
From April 9th to May 19th, the Southsiders endured an even more abysmal 24 PA streak without a single safety. (including 5 sac flies, BB, HBP)
Game scenario for 24-PA hitless streak earlier in season:
Down: 11
Tied: 4
Ahead: 9
That stretch was more critical in regards to game situation.
This season with bases loaded:
Rios: 0-10
Lillibridge: 0-5
Konerko: 1-7
Pierre: 1-9
Quentin: 2-14
On the other hand...
Pierzynski: 3-6
Ramirez: 5-10
Beckham: 3-9
And...
Dunn: 2-8
Morel: 2-8
Catching up.
Meant to post this last weekend, but I'm a lazy ass.
3+ STARTS IN A SEASON AGAINST WHITE SOX
WITH ERA UNDER 1.00 - SINCE 1980
2011 BRUCE CHEN 3 GS, 0.90 ERA, 20.0 IP
2006 KENNY ROGERS 5 GS, 0.82 ERA, 33.0 IP
2005 JOHAN SANTANA 5 GS, 0.92 ERA, 39.1 IP
1999 DAVE MLICKI 3 GS, 0.00 ERA, 20.0 IP
1999 BRET SABERHAGEN 3 GS, 0.87 ERA, 20.2 IP
1998 BLAKE STEIN 3 GS, 0.78 ERA, 23.0 IP
1997 ROGER CLEMENS 3 GS, 0.38 ERA, 23.2 IP
1993 JIMMY KEY 4 GS, 0.60 ERA, 30.0 IP
1992 FRANK VIOLA 3 GS, 0.36 ERA, 24.2 IP
1989 ROGER CLEMENS 3 GS, 0.36 ERA, 25.0 IP
1989 STORM DAVIS 3 GS, 0.56 ERA, 16.0 IP
1988 JOHN CANDELARIA 3 GS, 0.78 ERA, 23.0 IP
1985 DAVE STIEB 3 GS, 0.75 ERA, 24.0 IP
1980 TOMMY JOHN 3 GS, 0.00 ERA, 27.0 IP - 3 CG SHO
1980 JIM CLANCY 3 GS, 0.69 ERA, 26.0 IP
3+ STARTS IN A SEASON AGAINST WHITE SOX
WITH ERA UNDER 1.00 - SINCE 1980
2011 BRUCE CHEN 3 GS, 0.90 ERA, 20.0 IP
2006 KENNY ROGERS 5 GS, 0.82 ERA, 33.0 IP
2005 JOHAN SANTANA 5 GS, 0.92 ERA, 39.1 IP
1999 DAVE MLICKI 3 GS, 0.00 ERA, 20.0 IP
1999 BRET SABERHAGEN 3 GS, 0.87 ERA, 20.2 IP
1998 BLAKE STEIN 3 GS, 0.78 ERA, 23.0 IP
1997 ROGER CLEMENS 3 GS, 0.38 ERA, 23.2 IP
1993 JIMMY KEY 4 GS, 0.60 ERA, 30.0 IP
1992 FRANK VIOLA 3 GS, 0.36 ERA, 24.2 IP
1989 ROGER CLEMENS 3 GS, 0.36 ERA, 25.0 IP
1989 STORM DAVIS 3 GS, 0.56 ERA, 16.0 IP
1988 JOHN CANDELARIA 3 GS, 0.78 ERA, 23.0 IP
1985 DAVE STIEB 3 GS, 0.75 ERA, 24.0 IP
1980 TOMMY JOHN 3 GS, 0.00 ERA, 27.0 IP - 3 CG SHO
1980 JIM CLANCY 3 GS, 0.69 ERA, 26.0 IP
Friday, August 12, 2011
Thoughts on Mark Buehrle
"Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing." - Warren Spahn
Mark Buehrle knows pitching.
He surely must, being a 38th round draft pick with a fastball that scrapes 90 on rare occasions. In the shadow of overpowering strikeout artists, Buehrle has managed to carve a brilliant career with the White Sox by keeping the batter off balance. The Sox' lefty grabbed headlines Thursday night with his eighteenth straight outing allowing three earned runs or less. He did it against a Oriole lineup hitting a collective .339 against him coming into the game. This is nothing new. 156 players have 20+ career at-bats against Buehrle. 22 of them are hitting .400 off of him. 69 of them are hitting at least .300 off of him. Go ahead and get your hits; they don't bother him. He's induced 274 double plays in his career. Nobody has more since he's entered the league. Score some runs off of him if you must; they don't phase him. Remember that game in Minnesota? Seven runs in the first inning? Two men in history have managed to give up seven runs in the first inning and win the game anyway. Buehrle is one of them (the other is Jack Powell of the Cardinals 9/29/1900 against the Cubs). So here are a few interesting Buehrle facts to chew on in celebration of our ace.
1) Mark Buehrle 158-115 43 games over .500 9.4 H/9IP 5.1 K/9IP
Nolan Ryan 324-292 32 games over .500 6.6 H/9IP 9.5 K/9IP
Both men have multiple no-hitters.
2) Among the 212 players who have 2000.0+ IP since 1950, in terms of career H/9IP rates...
Terry Mulholland (9.90; 6th worst)
Scott Erickson (9.86; 7th worst)
David Wells (9.51; 15th worst)
Mark Buehrle (9.43; 20th worst)
Kenny Rogers (9.42; 21st worst)
Have all thrown no-hitters.
3) Buehrle was drafted in the 38th round in 1998 (1139th overall player taken). Only
CC Sabathia (1st round, 20th overall) 48.0
J.D. Drew (1st round, 5th overall) 46.6
have a higher career WAR (according to baseball-reference.com)
4) 38th round draft pick Mark Buehrle has held #1 overall selections in the MLB draft to a collective .270 BA with 5 HR in 200 AB.
Draft
Delmon Young 2003 13-39 3 HR
Joe Mauer 2001 12-56 1 HR
Adrian Gonzalez 2000 1-3
Josh Hamilton 1999 4-12 1 HR
Pat Burrell 1998 1-12
Darin Erstad 1995 8-22
Alex Rodriguez 1993 8-34
Phil Nevin 1992 0-7
Chipper Jones 1990 1-7
B.J. Surhoff 1985 6-8
Mark Buehrle knows pitching.
He surely must, being a 38th round draft pick with a fastball that scrapes 90 on rare occasions. In the shadow of overpowering strikeout artists, Buehrle has managed to carve a brilliant career with the White Sox by keeping the batter off balance. The Sox' lefty grabbed headlines Thursday night with his eighteenth straight outing allowing three earned runs or less. He did it against a Oriole lineup hitting a collective .339 against him coming into the game. This is nothing new. 156 players have 20+ career at-bats against Buehrle. 22 of them are hitting .400 off of him. 69 of them are hitting at least .300 off of him. Go ahead and get your hits; they don't bother him. He's induced 274 double plays in his career. Nobody has more since he's entered the league. Score some runs off of him if you must; they don't phase him. Remember that game in Minnesota? Seven runs in the first inning? Two men in history have managed to give up seven runs in the first inning and win the game anyway. Buehrle is one of them (the other is Jack Powell of the Cardinals 9/29/1900 against the Cubs). So here are a few interesting Buehrle facts to chew on in celebration of our ace.
1) Mark Buehrle 158-115 43 games over .500 9.4 H/9IP 5.1 K/9IP
Nolan Ryan 324-292 32 games over .500 6.6 H/9IP 9.5 K/9IP
Both men have multiple no-hitters.
2) Among the 212 players who have 2000.0+ IP since 1950, in terms of career H/9IP rates...
Terry Mulholland (9.90; 6th worst)
Scott Erickson (9.86; 7th worst)
David Wells (9.51; 15th worst)
Mark Buehrle (9.43; 20th worst)
Kenny Rogers (9.42; 21st worst)
Have all thrown no-hitters.
3) Buehrle was drafted in the 38th round in 1998 (1139th overall player taken). Only
CC Sabathia (1st round, 20th overall) 48.0
J.D. Drew (1st round, 5th overall) 46.6
have a higher career WAR (according to baseball-reference.com)
4) 38th round draft pick Mark Buehrle has held #1 overall selections in the MLB draft to a collective .270 BA with 5 HR in 200 AB.
Draft
Delmon Young 2003 13-39 3 HR
Joe Mauer 2001 12-56 1 HR
Adrian Gonzalez 2000 1-3
Josh Hamilton 1999 4-12 1 HR
Pat Burrell 1998 1-12
Darin Erstad 1995 8-22
Alex Rodriguez 1993 8-34
Phil Nevin 1992 0-7
Chipper Jones 1990 1-7
B.J. Surhoff 1985 6-8
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Drysdale vs. Cooperstown's finest
Don Drysdale has been often criticized for his status as a Hall of Famer. He has a career 209-166 record, and his .557 winning percentage is tied with Darren Oliver for 286th on the all-time list. And it's been said that if Drysdale (209-166, 121 ERA+) is a Hall of Famer, then why not Milt Pappas (209-164, 110 ERA+)?
Well, if the difference in ERA+ (and the 2.95 - 3.40 edge in actual ERA) doesn't make it obvious, then look at this:
These are the ten batters whom Drysdale faced most (regular season only):
Hank Aaron 249 PA
Willie Mays 243 PA
Eddie Mathews 229 PA
Ernie Banks 202 PA
Roberto Clemente 172 PA
Orlando Cepeda 167 PA
Bill White 153 PA
Willie McCovey 151 PA
Ron Santo 147 PA
Curt Flood 143 PA
and the list of ten batters Pappas faced most (regular season only):
Tito Francona 102 PA
Jerry Lumpe 102 PA
Harmon Killebrew 98 PA
Woodie Held 97 PA
Roger Maris 95 PA
Vic Power 92 PA
Bob Allison 90 PA
Ron Hunt 87 PA
Rocky Colavito 85 PA
Ron Fairly 85 PA
The point isn't to revive the Drysdale vs. Pappas debate; it's just a single example. What I am pointing out is the incredible bulk of plate appearances of legendary performers against Drysdale and how it made me really think about how impressive this era of baseball was. It was perhaps the greatest era of baseball, due to the first wave of great black players to play a full career in the majors.
I next asked myself, how does this compare with other hurlers? So I began compiling lists of plate appearances of Hall of Famers against several pitchers. Of course I knew that due to expansion and the fact that some players have yet to become Hall eligible, the pitchers from earlier periods would easily beat out more recent pitchers... but by how much? And can anyone match Drysdale's formidable list of batters faced?
I dug into the matter by pulling up batter vs. pitcher logs on baseball-reference.com. Some games were missing from the records, and I did note how many games were missed. I took the combined number of plate appearances of Hall of Famers (excluding HOF pitchers and those inducted as managers, such as Sparky Anderson and Dick Williams) and divided it by the number of batters faced.
Here's what resulted:
Most BFA vs HOF (Through Class of 2011)
regular season only
(BFA -- HOF PCT -- man games missed
Don Drysdale - 14097 -- 2379 -- 16.86% -- 2
Larry Jackson - 13593 -- 2041 -- 15.02% -- 11
Lew Burdette - 12745 -- 1863 -- 14.62% -- 43
Sandy Koufax - 9497 -- 1371 -- 14.44%
Robin Roberts *** - 17637 -- 2537 -- 14.38% -- 49
Bob Buhl - 11045 -- 1551 -- 14.04% -- 32
Warren Spahn *** - 17458 -- 2338 -- 13.39% -- 41
Bob Friend - 15214 -- 2002 -- 13.16% -- 84
Vern Law - 11231 -- 1386 -- 12.34% -- 78
Jim Bunning - 15618 -- 1751 -- 11.21% -- 1
Bob Gibson - 16068 -- 1799 -- 11.20%
Ray Sadecki - 10694 -- 1193 -- 11.16%
Claude Osteen - 14433 -- 1587 -- 11.00%
Juan Marichal - 14236 -- 1463 -- 10.28%
Don Sutton - 21631 -- 2160 -- 9.99%
Gaylord Perry - 21593 -- 2113 -- 9.79%
Tom Seaver - 19369 -- 1802 -- 9.30%
Jerry Koosman - 15996 -- 1485 -- 9.28%
Rick Wise - 13157 -- 1180 -- 8.97%
Phil Niekro - 22677 -- 1975 -- 8.71% -- 30
Fergie Jenkins - 18400 -- 1560 -- 8.48% -- 2
Milt Pappas - 13198 -- 1110 -- 8.41% -- 2
Camilo Pascual - 12415 -- 1033 -- 8.32%
Doyle Alexander - 14162 -- 1169 -- 8.25%
Joe Niekro - 15166 -- 1232 -- 8.12% -- 1
Mike Cuellar - 11505 -- 913 -- 7.94% -- 3
Whitey Ford - 13036 -- 1031 -- 7.91% -- 2
Ken Holtzman - 12069 -- 940 -- 7.79%
Rick Reuschel - 14888 -- 1153 -- 7.74%
Catfish Hunter - 14032 -- 1082 -- 7.71%
Steve Carlton - 21683 -- 1668 -- 7.69%
Tommy John - 19692 -- 1487 -- 7.55%
Burt Hooton - 11025 -- 802 -- 7.27%
Jerry Reuss - 15582 -- 1122 -- 7.20%
Nolan Ryan - 22575 -- 1609 -- 7.12%
Mickey Lolich - 15140 -- 1061 -- 7.01%
Jim Palmer - 16114 -- 1126 -- 6.99%
Vida Blue - 13837 -- 962 -- 6.95%
Jim Kaat - 19023 -- 1310 -- 6.89%
Bert Blyleven - 20491 -- 1392 -- 6.79%
Luis Tiant - 14365 -- 947 -- 6.59%
Dave McNally - 11229 -- 612 -- 5.45%
*** Statistics since 1950
So, I was unable to find anyone as of yet (with a significant amount of batters faced) who could top Drysdale.
You may ask, what of the missed games? Consider that one missed game will be about three or four plate appearances, so for example Bob Friend's 84 missing games may generously be 320 at-bats. 320 at-bats on 15,000+ plate appearances is barely two percent, so it wouldn't be enough to surpass Drysdale. Also, I believe there's a decent chance for a posthumous election of Ron Santo to the Hall of Fame, and only Bob Gibson faced Santo more than Drysdale.
And what about guys like Nolan Ryan? There are several players who could possibly make the Hall of Fame... but even adding Pete Rose (84), Tim Raines (79), Dave Parker (71), Dick Allen (67), Ron Santo (32), Ken Griffey, Jr. (31), Omar Vizquel (28), Sammy Sosa (18), Barry Bonds (15), Barry Larkin (15), Frank Thomas (15), Gary Sheffield (11), Mark McGwire (10), and Jim Thome (5), that's only an additional 481 PA, which would augment his percentage to only 9.26%, still far below Drysdale's nearly 17 percent.
Here are a few active stars to ponder:
Roy Halladay (through 2010 season):
David Ortiz 109
Johnny Damon 108
Derek Jeter 104
Carl Crawford 86
Manny Ramirez 86
Jason Varitek 84
Alex Rodriguez 83
Melvin Mora 81
Jason Giambi 80
Aubrey Huff 79
Jeter, Ramirez, Rodriguez all most likely make it. Maybe Crawford. But far from 200 PA apiece against them.
Cliff Lee (through 2010 season):
Magglio Ordonez 56
David DeJesus 53
Derek Jeter 52
Paul Konerko 50
Curtis Granderson 48
Brandon Inge 48
Ichiro Suzuki 46
Mark Teahen 46
Juan Uribe 45
Mark Teixeira 44
Even less impressive. Jeter, Ichiro, possibly Teixeira. Konerko if he puts up Barry Bonds post 35 numbers.
This post isn't a definitive statement on anything in particular (maybe except the watered down talent of today's game); I think this is just an interesting statistical compilation to chew on. Made me truly appreciate the career of a guy who often gets the rep as the Robin to Koufax's Batman, despite the size difference.
Well, if the difference in ERA+ (and the 2.95 - 3.40 edge in actual ERA) doesn't make it obvious, then look at this:
These are the ten batters whom Drysdale faced most (regular season only):
Hank Aaron 249 PA
Willie Mays 243 PA
Eddie Mathews 229 PA
Ernie Banks 202 PA
Roberto Clemente 172 PA
Orlando Cepeda 167 PA
Bill White 153 PA
Willie McCovey 151 PA
Ron Santo 147 PA
Curt Flood 143 PA
and the list of ten batters Pappas faced most (regular season only):
Tito Francona 102 PA
Jerry Lumpe 102 PA
Harmon Killebrew 98 PA
Woodie Held 97 PA
Roger Maris 95 PA
Vic Power 92 PA
Bob Allison 90 PA
Ron Hunt 87 PA
Rocky Colavito 85 PA
Ron Fairly 85 PA
The point isn't to revive the Drysdale vs. Pappas debate; it's just a single example. What I am pointing out is the incredible bulk of plate appearances of legendary performers against Drysdale and how it made me really think about how impressive this era of baseball was. It was perhaps the greatest era of baseball, due to the first wave of great black players to play a full career in the majors.
I next asked myself, how does this compare with other hurlers? So I began compiling lists of plate appearances of Hall of Famers against several pitchers. Of course I knew that due to expansion and the fact that some players have yet to become Hall eligible, the pitchers from earlier periods would easily beat out more recent pitchers... but by how much? And can anyone match Drysdale's formidable list of batters faced?
I dug into the matter by pulling up batter vs. pitcher logs on baseball-reference.com. Some games were missing from the records, and I did note how many games were missed. I took the combined number of plate appearances of Hall of Famers (excluding HOF pitchers and those inducted as managers, such as Sparky Anderson and Dick Williams) and divided it by the number of batters faced.
Here's what resulted:
Most BFA vs HOF (Through Class of 2011)
regular season only
(BFA -- HOF PCT -- man games missed
Don Drysdale - 14097 -- 2379 -- 16.86% -- 2
Larry Jackson - 13593 -- 2041 -- 15.02% -- 11
Lew Burdette - 12745 -- 1863 -- 14.62% -- 43
Sandy Koufax - 9497 -- 1371 -- 14.44%
Robin Roberts *** - 17637 -- 2537 -- 14.38% -- 49
Bob Buhl - 11045 -- 1551 -- 14.04% -- 32
Warren Spahn *** - 17458 -- 2338 -- 13.39% -- 41
Bob Friend - 15214 -- 2002 -- 13.16% -- 84
Vern Law - 11231 -- 1386 -- 12.34% -- 78
Jim Bunning - 15618 -- 1751 -- 11.21% -- 1
Bob Gibson - 16068 -- 1799 -- 11.20%
Ray Sadecki - 10694 -- 1193 -- 11.16%
Claude Osteen - 14433 -- 1587 -- 11.00%
Juan Marichal - 14236 -- 1463 -- 10.28%
Don Sutton - 21631 -- 2160 -- 9.99%
Gaylord Perry - 21593 -- 2113 -- 9.79%
Tom Seaver - 19369 -- 1802 -- 9.30%
Jerry Koosman - 15996 -- 1485 -- 9.28%
Rick Wise - 13157 -- 1180 -- 8.97%
Phil Niekro - 22677 -- 1975 -- 8.71% -- 30
Fergie Jenkins - 18400 -- 1560 -- 8.48% -- 2
Milt Pappas - 13198 -- 1110 -- 8.41% -- 2
Camilo Pascual - 12415 -- 1033 -- 8.32%
Doyle Alexander - 14162 -- 1169 -- 8.25%
Joe Niekro - 15166 -- 1232 -- 8.12% -- 1
Mike Cuellar - 11505 -- 913 -- 7.94% -- 3
Whitey Ford - 13036 -- 1031 -- 7.91% -- 2
Ken Holtzman - 12069 -- 940 -- 7.79%
Rick Reuschel - 14888 -- 1153 -- 7.74%
Catfish Hunter - 14032 -- 1082 -- 7.71%
Steve Carlton - 21683 -- 1668 -- 7.69%
Tommy John - 19692 -- 1487 -- 7.55%
Burt Hooton - 11025 -- 802 -- 7.27%
Jerry Reuss - 15582 -- 1122 -- 7.20%
Nolan Ryan - 22575 -- 1609 -- 7.12%
Mickey Lolich - 15140 -- 1061 -- 7.01%
Jim Palmer - 16114 -- 1126 -- 6.99%
Vida Blue - 13837 -- 962 -- 6.95%
Jim Kaat - 19023 -- 1310 -- 6.89%
Bert Blyleven - 20491 -- 1392 -- 6.79%
Luis Tiant - 14365 -- 947 -- 6.59%
Dave McNally - 11229 -- 612 -- 5.45%
*** Statistics since 1950
So, I was unable to find anyone as of yet (with a significant amount of batters faced) who could top Drysdale.
You may ask, what of the missed games? Consider that one missed game will be about three or four plate appearances, so for example Bob Friend's 84 missing games may generously be 320 at-bats. 320 at-bats on 15,000+ plate appearances is barely two percent, so it wouldn't be enough to surpass Drysdale. Also, I believe there's a decent chance for a posthumous election of Ron Santo to the Hall of Fame, and only Bob Gibson faced Santo more than Drysdale.
And what about guys like Nolan Ryan? There are several players who could possibly make the Hall of Fame... but even adding Pete Rose (84), Tim Raines (79), Dave Parker (71), Dick Allen (67), Ron Santo (32), Ken Griffey, Jr. (31), Omar Vizquel (28), Sammy Sosa (18), Barry Bonds (15), Barry Larkin (15), Frank Thomas (15), Gary Sheffield (11), Mark McGwire (10), and Jim Thome (5), that's only an additional 481 PA, which would augment his percentage to only 9.26%, still far below Drysdale's nearly 17 percent.
Here are a few active stars to ponder:
Roy Halladay (through 2010 season):
David Ortiz 109
Johnny Damon 108
Derek Jeter 104
Carl Crawford 86
Manny Ramirez 86
Jason Varitek 84
Alex Rodriguez 83
Melvin Mora 81
Jason Giambi 80
Aubrey Huff 79
Jeter, Ramirez, Rodriguez all most likely make it. Maybe Crawford. But far from 200 PA apiece against them.
Cliff Lee (through 2010 season):
Magglio Ordonez 56
David DeJesus 53
Derek Jeter 52
Paul Konerko 50
Curtis Granderson 48
Brandon Inge 48
Ichiro Suzuki 46
Mark Teahen 46
Juan Uribe 45
Mark Teixeira 44
Even less impressive. Jeter, Ichiro, possibly Teixeira. Konerko if he puts up Barry Bonds post 35 numbers.
This post isn't a definitive statement on anything in particular (maybe except the watered down talent of today's game); I think this is just an interesting statistical compilation to chew on. Made me truly appreciate the career of a guy who often gets the rep as the Robin to Koufax's Batman, despite the size difference.
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