BaseballReference.com oddities

130,087 Views | 679 Replies | Last: 1 day ago by CharleyKerfeld
AgRyan04
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Agreed....I was shocked

Looking back, Greenberg losing 3-1/2 years to WWII is probably why he's not at the top of the list

But that is still 80 years ago
jja79
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AG
I'm old enough to have seen Kaline play. Really clutch and great right field arm.
Fuzzy Dunlop
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AG
jja79 said:

I'm old enough to have seen Kaline play. Really clutch and great right field arm.
Double Talkin' Jive...
CharleyKerfeld
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Only 4 players have managed 700+ at-bats in a season.

The first was Willie Wilson in 1980 with 705, when he had an insane season with 230 hits, 133 runs scored, 15 triples, and 79 steals for the Royals.

The second was Juan Samuel with the 1984 Phillies with 701. He's the only guy to get 700 AB but not 200 H, but he was also lights out that year - 105 R, 191 H, 36 2B, 19 3B, 15 HR, 69 RBI, 72 SB. he looked like the next big NL superstar for the first 4 years of his career, going off in the '87 juiced ball year for 37 2B, 15 3B, 28 HR, and 100 RBI, but he got traded to the Mets halfway through the '89 season, and was never the same guy again, and never really healthy again.

Twenty years later, Ichiro had 704 at-bats in 2004 when he set the MLB hit record with 262, something that had seemed unassailable forever. He hit. 372 that year. George Sisler's record for hits had stood since 1920 - 84 years; far longer than Ruth's HR record (34 years) or Maris's (37 years).

The fourth was Jimmy Rollins, with a record 716 at-bats in 2007 when he had 212 hits, 139 runs scored, 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 HR, 94 RBi and 41 steals. while winning MVP. Nobody's reached 700 AB in the 20 years since.
W
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AG
ran across this the other day...

in the 1984 season, Ryne Sandberg led the NL in WAR at 8.5...and appropriately won the NL MVP

Cal Ripken led the AL in WAR at a whopping 10.0...and finished 27th in MVP voting -- not a typo 27th
AgRyan04
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That is pretty incredible
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AggieEP
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jja79 said:

For a franchise as old as the Tigers it's somewhat surprising Kaline is their all time HR leader.


That's mostly because of how often guys change teams now. Cabrera hit more total, just not all as a Tiger. It's just really rare for a guy to play 15+ years for the same team now.
CharleyKerfeld
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W said:

ran across this the other day...

in the 1984 season, Ryne Sandberg led the NL in WAR at 8.5...and appropriately won the NL MVP

Cal Ripken led the AL in WAR at a whopping 10.0...and finished 27th in MVP voting -- not a typo 27th

That's the worst AL MVP of all time. You can win a lot of bar bets asking people who it was - freaking Willie Hernandez of the Tigers . 80 games pitched, 9-3 record, 1.92 ERA, and 32 saves. 140 innings by a reliever, which is insane. Hell he was only third in saves. Quisenberry had 44 for KC and Bill Caudill had 36 for the Brewers.

Hernandez got 306 votes and 16 1st place
Kent Hrbek of the Twins got 247 with 5 1sts for hitting .311 with 27 HR 107 RBI and a .906 WAR
Quisenberry was third , and then it really gets weird.

Eddie Murray 4th: 29 HR, 110 RBI, 107 BB (led the league), .410 on base (led the league)
Don Mattingly 5th - 23 HR, 110 RBi, 207 hits (led the league). .343 average (led the league)
Tony Armas 7th - 43 HR (led the league), 123 RBI 9le the league)

Ripken's demise was that he was so better stat by stat in 1983 when he did win MVP

84: 103 R, 195 H, 27 HR, 86 RBI, .304 average, .884 OPS
83: 121 R, 211 H, 27 HR, 102 RBI. .318 average, .888 OPS




W
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AG
the 1984 season was kind of a transition year for MLB

the great teams and players of the 1970's were done or almost done

and the Mets-Cardinals rivalry was about to take off and headline the next 4 seasons (1985-1988)

the Tigers dominance in 84 was the only real story in the American League

while the NL had the two Cinderellas...Cubs and Padres
jja79
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AG
Which is why I said for a franchise that old. Most of the legacy franchises have higher records.
Smeghead4761
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It probably also didn't help Ripken that the Orioles finished 19 games out in the AL east
CharleyKerfeld
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Smeghead4761 said:

It probably also didn't help Ripken that the Orioles finished 19 games out in the AL east

yeah, they are a bit like Dan Marino's Dolphins - got a massive young superstar, got to the championship right away, then never get back. Obviously the 83 Orioles won the whole thing while Marino's Dolphins did not, but it's an interesting parallel.

82 Ripken wins AL ROY
83 Ripken wins AL MVP and Orioles win the WC
He's an All-Star every year of his career, he wins another MVP in '91 that was hotly contested.
They don't get back to the playoffs until 1996 and 1997, and fall short in the ALCS both times.


vs.

83 Marino is top 3 for ROY, starts 9 games, goes 7-2.
84 Marino wins MVP and Dolphins lose the Super Bowl
Marino has 8 more Pro Bowl seasons and wins AP Player of the Year in '85 and '86.
They never make it back to the Super Bowl, mostly because of choke job supreme against the Patriots in 1985 in the AFC title game. He's 2-1 in the playoffs in 1984 and 6-9 all other years combined.




Corporal Punishment
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AG
Smeghead4761 said:

It probably also didn't help Ripken that the Orioles finished 19 games out in the AL east

Yes while Hernandez played a vital role on what is recognized as one of baseball's greatest teams- the 1984 World Champions Tigers.
AggieEP
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jja79 said:

Which is why I said for a franchise that old. Most of the legacy franchises have higher records.


The leaders for each franchise are interesting. That 400 number +/- like 30 is pretty standard with a few outliers on the high side and low side. Padres really surprised me.

https://www.mlb.com/news/home-run-leader-each-mlb-team
CharleyKerfeld
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AggieEP said:

jja79 said:

Which is why I said for a franchise that old. Most of the legacy franchises have higher records.


The leaders for each franchise are interesting. That 400 number +/- like 30 is pretty standard with a few outliers on the high side and low side. Padres really surprised me.

https://www.mlb.com/news/home-run-leader-each-mlb-team

Until Bagwell and the steroid era came along, one of my biggest embarassments as a young Astro fan was that the team record for RBI in a season was 110, and every year the NL leader would have more.
 
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