Strikeouts in Relief

If you look at the list of strikeouts per nine innings by pitchers throwing 50 or more innings in 2008, relievers occupy the top nine spots. Only three full-time starters show up in the top thirty. Relievers these days usually only have to pitch an inning in an outing so it's easier for them to try and blow away hitters, plus only seeing a batter once per game means the hitter has no time to adjust to what the reliever is throwing.

Whatever the reason for all the whiffing, Carlos Marmol led all MLB relievers last season with 114 strikeouts. Joel Hanrahan was second with 93, while Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel, and J.P. Howell rounded out the top five with 92. Marmol's season total is definitely impressive, not only because he outpaced everyone by twenty, but also because it's the most relief strikeouts since 2004. His total isn't anywhere near the record for most strikeouts in relief, however.

A pitcher has reached 120 strikeouts in relief in a single season thirty-six times. Some of those pitchers, like Mike Marshall or Goose Gossage, got there by throwing a ton of innings in relief. Some pitchers, like Billy Wagner, got there by striking out a ton of batters per nine innings. The rest were obviously a healthy mix of those two extremes. Whatever method got them there, the list of pitchers is below:

Most Strikeouts as a Reliever in a Season

1. Dick Radatz, 1964 Red Sox, 181
2. Mark Eichhorn, 1986 Blue Jays, 166
3. Dick Radatz, 1963 Red Sox, 162
4. Brad Lidge, 2004 Astros, 157
5. Dick Selma, 1970 Phillies, 153
6. Goose Gossage, 1977 Pirates, 151
7. Dick Radatz, 1962 Red Sox, 144
8. Mike Marshall, 1974 Dodgers, 143
9. Rob Dibble, 1989 Reds, 141
10. Eric Gagne, 2003 Dodgers, 137
11. Jim Kern, 1979 Rangers, 136
12. Rob Dibble, 1990 Reds, 136
13. John Hiller, 1974 Tigers, 136
14. Duane Ward, 1991 Blue Jays, 132
15. Goose Gossage, 1975 White Sox, 130
16. Mariano Rivera, 1996 Yankees, 130
17. Bruce Sutter, 1977 Cubs, 129
18. Mark Davis, 1985 Giants, 128
19. Tom Henke, 1987 Blue Jays, 128
20. Armando Benitez, 1999 Mets, 128
21. Octavio Dotel, 2001 Astros, 128
22. Scott Garrelts, 1987 Giants, 127
23. Lance McCullers, 1987 Padres, 126
24. John Hiller, 1973 Tigers, 124
25. Mike Marshall, 1973 Expos, 124
26. Rob Dibble, 1991 Reds, 124
27. Billy Wagner, 1999 Astros, 124
28. Mitch Williams, 1987 Rangers, 123
29. Keith Foulke, 1999 White Sox, 123
30. Francisco Rodriguez, 2004 Angels, 123
31. Goose Gossage, 1978 Yankees, 122
32. Duane Ward, 1989 Blue Jays, 122
33. Octavio Dotel, 2004 Astros/A's, 122
34. B.J. Ryan, 2004 Orioles, 122
35. Dick Radatz, 1965 Red Sox, 121
36. Mark Littell, 1978 Cardinals, 120

Octavio Dotel in 2001 also made 4 starts, Mark Littell made 2 starts in 1978, and Mark Davis and Mitch Williams each made one start in their seasons. The strikeouts they recorded in those starts were not included when making the list.

Students of baseball history may recognize the significance of the season behind Mike Marshall's highest appearance on the list. That was the year he pitched 208 1/3 innings over a major league record 106 games. He only struck out six batters per nine innings, but the sheer number of innings pitched allowed him to rack up K's. Meanwhile, Eric Gagne, Billy Wagner, and Brad Lidge made up for pitching fewer innings by striking out just under fifteen batters per nine innings.

And now for something completely different: students of ridiculous baseball videos may recognize Mark Littell, also known as the guy who enjoys proving athletic supporters work.

Branching Out

I don't know how much press it's gotten around the country, but the Pittsburgh Pirates have been up to some interesting things so far this offseason. I'm not talking surprising trades or crafty major league signings, but I am talking about player acquisition.

Most fans know that players sign their first contracts through one of two ways: if a player lives in the United States, Puerto Rico, or Canada, he very often breaks into the minor leagues by being drafted in the June MLB draft. Players living elsewhere in the world are less constrained in their choice of teams. They are allowed to sign with whatever team sees fit to offer them a contract.

This is where the Pirates come in. Looking to establish a presence in areas that are usually passed over by major league organizations, Pittsburgh has signed players from a couple surprising regions of the world. At the beginning of November, news came out that the Pirates had signed a South African infielder named Mpho Ngoepe. There has never been an African-born major league player, so Ngoepe is seeking to make history. Next year he will play for the South African team in the World Baseball Classic before making his debut in the Pirates system.

Ngoepe isn't the only foreign signing for the Pirates this month. Earlier this week the news came out that Indian-born pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel signed with Pittsburgh. For those unfamiliar with their story, Singh and Patel were winners of the "Million Dollar Arm contest," a promotion aimed at finding people who could throw the most pitches 85mph or faster for strikes. After winning, they came to the United States to work out for major league teams. Though very raw in terms of baseball knowledge (they'd never picked up a baseball until last year), they've drawn rave reviews from scouts, coaches, and players. If you're interested in following them more closely, they have a blog chronicling their experiences in the United States.

Though Ngoepe, Singh, and Patel are longshots at best to suit up in a Pittsburgh uniform, it's neat to see teams branch out to new places for talent. Even if the first signings don't pay off, it's never a bad idea to get in on the ground floor in different regions (especially if those regions are home to a billion people). Either way, the low levels of the Pirates system should be interesting to follow next year.

AAA Errors by Position

I've already posted about AAA errors before, but now I've broken them down position-by-position. Most of the time when you see a leaderboard it's for a good thing, like hitting a bunch home runs or striking out hitters. I like dubious records, though, and guys who clutter the bottom of the list of players who qualify for certain titles. Players like the seven hitters who qualified for the batting title in 2008 with an OBP under .300. It's with that in mind that my fielding percentage "leaderboard" really looks at the qualifiers from the bottom up. Call me crazy, but numbers in the .940's are more interesting to me than a bunch in the .980's and .990's.

I was going to try and make it easier to navigate the mess of tables I have below, but after a year I still haven't figured this Blogger out completely. All that means is this has become a really long post without convenient breaks. Just think of it as all the reading you didn't get from me last week all at once. The tables and abbreviations therein should be pretty self-explanatory. I've decided to use total chances to make a cutoff for the fielding percentage board because I think it makes more sense than games played even if choosing the cutoff is sometimes tough.

Now that that's taken care of, let's get started:

AAA Pitchers

AAA Pitchers Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Damian Moss	Richmond	ATL	35	8	.771
John Parrish	Syracuse	TOR	22	7	.682
Casey Daigle	Rochester	MIN	17	6	.647
Brian Slocum	Buffalo	CLE	17	6	.647
Jeff Marquez	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre	NYY	29	5	.828
Matt Wright	Omaha	KCR	32	5	.844
9 tied with				4

AAA Pitchers Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 20 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
John Parrish	Syracuse	TOR	22	7	.682
Damian Moss	Richmond	ATL	35	8	.771
Matt DeSalvo	Richmond	ATL	21	4	.810
Jeff Marquez	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre	NYY	29	5	.828
Matt Wright	Omaha	KCR	32	5	.844
Jack Cassel	Round Rock	HOU	26	4	.846
Ron Chiavacci	2 Teams	2Tm	20	3	.850
Chris Lambert	Toledo	DET	28	4	.857
Erick Threets	Fresno	SFG	21	3	.857
Esmerling Vasquez	Tucson	ARI	21	3	.857
Jeff Harris	Buffalo	CLE	22	3	.864
INT Pitchers			3713	228	.939
PCL Pitchers			3977	211	.947
AAA Pitchers			7690	439	.943

Fielding is apparently optional for AAA pitchers. Damian Moss is at least kind of respectable atop the error table since he had a fair number of chances to commit errors. I'm not sure what Daigle and Slocum could really say to explain their defense. A surprising number of the pitchers on each board have made it to the majors: Marquez and Wright are the only ones who haven't on the top board. Chiavacci and Vasquez are the only other career minor leaguers on the other list. It was tough deciding the minimum number of chances for the fielding percentage board. Too many and you cut out guys like Parrish and Marquez, too few and you get guys who booted a couple plays out of the few they tried. I thought twenty was a good compromise.

AAA Catchers

AAA Catchers Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Jason Jaramillo	Lehigh Valley	PHI	1008	16	.984
Mike DiFelice	Durham	TBR	555	12	.978
Caleb Stewart	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre	NYY	700	10	.986
Landon Powell	Sacramento	OAK	700	9	.987
Rob Johnson	Tacoma	SEA	651	9	.986
Clint Sammons	Richmond	ATL	635	9	.986
Bryan Anderson	Memphis	STL	571	8	.986
Dusty Brown	Pawtucket	BOS	533	8	.985
Vinny Rottino	Nashville	MIL	767	7	.991
Ryan Budde	Salt Lake	LAA	292	7	.971
Hector Gimenez	Durham	TBR	209	7	.967

AAA Catchers Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 400 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Mike DiFelice	Durham	TBR	555	12	.978
Jason Jaramillo	Lehigh Valley	PHI	1008	16	.984
Dusty Brown	Pawtucket	BOS	533	8	.985
Dane Sardinha	Toledo	DET	416	6	.986
Caleb Stewart	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre	NYY	700	10	.986
Clint Sammons	Richmond	ATL	635	9	.986
Bryan Anderson	Memphis	STL	571	8	.986
Chris Gimenez	Buffalo	CLE	433	6	.986
Rob Johnson	Tacoma	SEA	651	9	.986
Landon Powell	Sacramento	OAK	700	9	.987
INT Catchers			16345	148	.991
PCL Catchers			17733	174	.990
AAA Catchers			34078	322	.991

Jason Jaramillo was really durable last season. He caught over 100 more innings than Vinny Rottino, the runner-up in that category (976.3 to 868.7). Not coincidentally, he was the only catcher with more than 800 total chances in the field. All those chances meant more opportunities for errors, so that's why he's atop the first list. Aging MLB veteran Mike DiFelice struggled with the glove in Durham. By virtue of leading the PCL in innings caught, Rottino's seven errors as a catcher resulted in a fielding percentage still a hair above average.

AAA First Basemen

AAA 1B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Joe Koshansky	Colorado Springs	COL	1128	11	.990
Josh Whitesell	Tucson	ARI	979	11	.989
Brad Eldred	Charlotte	CHW	734	10	.986
Randy Ruiz	Rochester	MIN	372	10	.973
Chris Richard	Norfolk	BAL	1059	9	.992
Brian Myrow	Portland	SDP	749	9	.988
Michael Costanzo	Durham	TBR	311	9	.971
Jordan Brown	Buffalo	CLE	760	8	.989
7 tied with				7	--

AAA 1B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 500 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Brad Eldred	Charlotte	CHW	734	10	.986
Barbaro Canizares	Richmond	ATL	549	7	.987
Garrett Jones	Rochester	MIN	570	7	.988
Brian Myrow	Portland	SDP	749	9	.988
Josh Whitesell	Tucson	ARI	979	11	.989
Craig Wilson	2 Teams	2 Teams	568	6	.989
Jordan Brown	Buffalo	CLE	760	8	.989
Scott Thorman	Richmond	ATL	598	6	.990
Joe Koshansky	Colorado Springs	COL	1128	11	.990
Oscar Salazar	Norfolk	BAL	739	7	.991
John Lindsay	Las Vegas	LAD	773	7	.991
INT 1B			17982	185	.990
PCL 1B			21063	181	.991
AAA 1B			39045	366	.991

Koshansky and Richard were two of three players to have 1000 or more total chances at first base last year. The other was Josh Phelps, one of the seven players tied with seven errors. Costanzo and Ruiz are head and shoulders above (feet and ankles below?) the rest with their abysmal fielding percentage, but mercifully they didn't spend enough time at first to make it into both tables.

AAA Second Basemen

AAA 2B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Matt Antonelli	Portland	SDP	569	13	.977
Andy Cannizaro	2 Teams	2Tm	215	12	.944
Elliot Johnson	Durham	TBR	322	12	.963
Danny Richar	2 Teams	2Tm	308	12	.961
Andrew Beattie	Albuquerque	FLA	502	11	.978
Jarrett Hoffpauir	Memphis	STL	470	11	.977
Kevin Howard	2 Teams	2Tm	220	11	.950
Bobby Scales	Iowa	CHC	317	10	.968
5 tied with				9

AAA 2B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 250 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Danny Richar	2 Teams	2Tm	308	12	.961
Elliot Johnson	Durham	TBR	322	12	.963
Bobby Scales	Iowa	CHC	317	10	.968
Diory Hernandez	Richmond	ATL	260	8	.969
Bernie Castro	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre	NYY	318	9	.972
Travis Denker	Fresno	SFG	296	8	.973
Mike McCoy	2 Teams	2Tm	281	7	.975
Jarrett Hoffpauir	Memphis	STL	470	11	.977
Emilio Bonifacio	2 Teams	2Tm	390	9	.977
Matt Antonelli	Portland	SDP	569	13	.977
INT 2B			9279	226	.976
PCL 2B			11448	245	.979
AAA 2B			20727	471	.977

There's an awful lot of movement at this position. No fewer than five of these guys plied their trade for more than one team last season. The top four on the errors table have played in the majors while Hernandez, McCoy, Scales, and Hoffpauir are the members of the fielding percentage table who haven't made it to the show.

AAA Third Basemen

AAA 3B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Matt Tuiasosopo	Tacoma	SEA	281	27	.904
Neil Walker	Indianapolis	PIT	358	19	.947
Mark Saccomanno	Round Rock	HOU	205	19	.907
Aaron Herr	Buffalo	CLE	167	18	.892
Dallas McPherson	Albuquerque	FLA	288	17	.941
Jamie D'Antona	Tucson	ARI	177	17	.904
Ian Stewart	Colorado Springs	COL	186	16	.914
Jeff Baisley	Sacramento	OAK	243	15	.938
Morgan Ensberg	Buffalo	CLE	136	15	.890
Joel Guzman	Durham	TBR	221	14	.937

AAA 3B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 150 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Aaron Herr	2 Teams	2Tm	167	18	.892
Matt Tuiasosopo	Tacoma	SEA	281	27	.904
Jamie D'Antona	Tucson	ARI	177	17	.904
Mark Saccomanno	Round Rock	HOU	205	19	.907
Ian Stewart	Colorado Springs	COL	186	16	.914
Michael Costanzo	Norfolk	BAL	183	13	.929
Eric Duncan	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre	NYY	156	11	.929
Josh Fields	Charlotte	CHW	165	11	.933
Peter Ciofrone	Portland	SDP	168	11	.935
Joel Guzman	Durham	TBR	221	14	.937
INT 3B			5270	314	.940
PCL 3B			6484	391	.940
AAA 3B			11754	705	.940

This is where it starts to get interesting. Third basemen and shortstops typically commit the most errors of anyone on the diamond and AAA this season is no different. Tuiasosopo led all AAA players with 27 errors committed and easily outpaced his comrades at the hot corner. Curiously, minor league veteran Aaron Herr spent all his time with the Indians at third base and all his time with the Reds at second base. It's an interesting coincidence that Joel Guzman is tenth on each list.

AAA Shortstops

AAA SS Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Andres Blanco	Iowa	CHC	377	22	.942
Jesus Merchan	Tucson	ARI	493	21	.957
Mike Rouse	2 Teams	2Tm	457	20	.956
Brent Lillibridge	Richmond	ATL	402	19	.953
Brett Dowdy	Portland	SDP	369	16	.957
Gregorio Petit	Sacramento	OAK	334	16	.952
Brandon Wood	Salt Lake	LAA	244	16	.934
Fernando Cortez	Charlotte	CHW	405	15	.963
Oswaldo Navarro	Tacoma	SEA	348	15	.957
Sergio Santos	Rochester	MIN	262	15	.943

AAA SS Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 250 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Andres Blanco	Iowa	CHC	377	22	.942
Sergio Santos	Rochester	MIN	262	15	.943
Nick Green	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre	NYY	252	13	.948
Gregorio Petit	Sacramento	OAK	334	16	.952
Brent Lillibridge	Richmond	ATL	402	19	.953
Jorge Velandia	2 Teams	2Tm	257	12	.953
Mike Rouse	2 Teams	2Tm	457	20	.956
Brett Dowdy	Salt Lake	LAA	369	16	.957
Oswaldo Navarro	Charlotte	CHW	348	15	.957
Danny Sandoval	2 Teams	2Tm	258	11	.957
Jesus Merchan	Tucson	ARI	493	21	.957
INT SS			8724	347	.960
PCL SS			10452	383	.963
AAA SS			19176	730	.962

Tuiasosopo aside, shortstop is where the errors are. Ex-Royal Andres Blanco struggled with the glove at Iowa, showing up in the top spot on both lists. Even though he's tied for eighth in total errors, Fernando Cortez actually had a higher than average fielding percentage for an International League shortstop. It's hard to be disappointed with that. Careful observers might have noticed Atlanta players in the fielding percentage leaderboard at each infield position besides third base. The Yankees AAA club's infielders struggled on defense as well.

AAA Outfielders

AAA OF Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Luis Terrero	Norfolk	BAL	207	13	.937
Brendan Katin	Nashville	MIL	136	10	.926
Jai Miller	Albuquerque	FLA	234	9	.962
Tommy Murphy	2 Teams	2Tm	255	8	.969
Brent Clevlen	Toledo	DET	244	8	.967
Chris Roberson	Norfolk	BAL	221	7	.976
Brandon Watson	Lehigh Valley	PHI	215	7	.965
Felix Pie	Iowa	CHC	167	7	.964
7 tied with				6

AAA OF Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 200 total chances
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Luis Terrero	Norfolk	BAL	207	13	.937
Jai Miller	Albuquerque	FLA	234	9	.962
Brandon Watson	Lehigh Valley	PHI	201	7	.965
Brent Clevlen	Toledo	DET	244	8	.967
Tommy Murphy	2 Teams	2Tm	255	8	.969
Chris Lubanski	Omaha	KCR	215	6	.972
Tony Gwynn Jr.	Nashville	MIL	221	6	.973
Xavier Paul	Las Vegas	LAD	241	6	.975
Chris Roberson	Norfolk	BAL	286	7	.976
Christopher Frey	Colorado Springs	COL	224	5	.978
INT OF			12653	222	.982
PCL OF			14276	276	.981
AAA OF			26929	498	.982

Finally, we turn to the outfielders. While each position has its own intricacies, when it comes to outfield errors they're all the same: catch the ball, hit the cutoff man, no error. Apparently even those simple ideas are challenging for some players. I hope for the sake of the guys on these lists that they can blame a strong arm for these errors rather than trouble keeping the ball in their glove. Whatever his defensive issues are, Luis Terrero really blows away everyone else in the worst fielding percentage contest. Brendan Katin was saved from that indignity by lack of playing time.

So that's the errors situation at each position in AAA. Some guys make the list because they played a lot more than anyone else and some make the list because they're just not very good on defense. Whatever the reason each individual player has for appearing here, all of them collectively provide helpful context when looking at error totals for your favorite International League or Pacific Coast League player.

CS% in the Minors

A catcher has a lot of responsibility during a game. He has to know the scouting report for each opposing hitter, he has to use those reports to call pitches and then frame those pitches if they're on the edge of the plate. A catcher has to be ready to block a pitch in the dirt or jump up and catch a pitch headed for the backstop. He has to hop out of their stance to go after pop ups and bunts close to the plate. He's got to keep his pitcher calm on the mound and avoid the batter's bat only inches from his hand. With all that going on, no wonder teams figure any offense from their catcher is a bonus.

There's one more thing catchers have to be ready for behind the plate. If a runner is on base, a catcher has to be ready to come up throwing to try and foil a steal attempt. Since this is one of the easiest things to quantify when it comes to catcher defense, it gets a lot of attention. Regardless of other defensive skills, if a catcher throws out 40% of would-be basestealers, people sing his praises. But if a catcher dips down below 20%, he turns into a liability behind the plate. Take Jason Kendall, for example. He draws rave reviews from the pitchers he's handled over the years, but after a terrible 2007 (111 SB allowed, 20 CS) a lot of folks thought his arm was too much of a liability on defense. Combined with his anemic offense, who would want him? Now that he threw out 41 of 96 basestealers in 2008, his defense is acceptable again and it's his bat that's, as always, ridiculed.

All in all, it's still kind of fun to check out caught stealing numbers as long as you remember there's other stuff catchers bring to the table. Since there are SB and CS numbers out there for minor league catchers, it's only logical to look at how minor league catchers stack up against one another, right?

Even though there are varying season lengths in the minors, I'm going to use 50 stolen base attempts against as a minimum for everyone. There's a decent mixture of levels atop the leaderboard, so I think it works out fine.

Highest CS% in the Minors, 2008
(minimum 50 SB attempts)

Rank	Name	Team	Level	MLB Team	SB	CS	CS%
1	Mathew Kennelly	Danville Rome	R A	ATL	23	30	56.6
2	Drew Butera	New Britain	AA	MIN	26	26	50.0
3	Michael McKenry	Modesto	A+	COL	45	40	47.1
4	Johnny Monell	AZL Giants Salem-Keizer	R A-	SFG	28	24	46.2
5	Martin Maldonado	Brevard County Huntsville	A+ AA	MIL	34	29	46.0
6	Wilin Rosario	Casper	R	COL	32	27	45.8
7	Jonathan Lucroy	West Virginia Brevard County	A A+	MIL	69	56	44.8
8	Flint Wipke	Rancho Cucamonga Arkansas Salt Lake	A+ AA AAA	LAA	39	31	44.3
9	Justin Knoedler	Sacramento	AAA	OAK	29	23	44.2
	Jordan Wideman	Billings	R	CIN	29	23	44.2

Lowest CS% in the Minors, 2008
(minimum 50 SB attempts)

Rank	Name	Team	Level	MLB Team	SB	CS	CS%
1	Christopher Jones	Hickory Lynchburg	A A+	PIT	50	3	5.7
2	Jameson Smith	Greensboro	A	FLA	59	5	7.8
3	Tyler Belcher	Greensboro	A	FLA	51	7	12.1
4	Ulrich Snijders	AZL Brewers West Virginia	R A	MIL	53	8	13.1
5	Jonathan Still	Lancaster	A+	BOS	76	12	13.6
6	Curtis Thigpen	Syracuse	AAA	TOR	52	10	16.1
7	Shawn Zarraga	AZL Brewers	R	MIL	57	11	16.2
8	Douglas Pickens	Mahoning Valley Lake County Akron	A- A AA	CLE	84	17	16.8
9	Ronald Pena	Hickory	A	PIT	64	13	16.9
10	Devin Mesoraco	Dayton	A	CIN	90	19	17.4

Catching only three of fifty-three runners isn't pretty. With Hickory, Greensboro, and West Virginia in one division, the Sally League must have been fun for speedy ballplayers. For what it's worth, Knoedler in the first list and Thigpen in the second list are the only catchers listed who have appeared in the majors.

WHIP<=1.000, Qualified for ERA Title

By now you've no doubt heard about the large offer extended by the New York Yankees to free agent pitcher CC Sabathia. As I looked at Sabathia's 2008 stats, I noticed that he had a WHIP of 1.003 for Milwaukee as he led the Brewers to the playoffs. Sabathia made half his starts for Milwaukee and half for Cleveland. Since his WHIP for the Indians was 1.234, his 2008 WHIP wound up at 1.115, a little bit lower than his Cy Young season of 2007.

WHIP is an acronym for Walks + Hits over Innings Pitched, a way of measuring how many baserunners a pitcher allows. Obviously, the fewer baserunners a pitcher allows, the harder it is for the opposing offense to score runs. Over the past five years, the major league average WHIP is around 1.400. So Sabathia's 1.115 WHIP is very good, indeed. It's nowhere near record-setting, however.

Since 1990, eleven different pitchers have qualified for the ERA title (1 IP per team game, usually 162 IP in a season) with a WHIP of 1.000 or lower a total of twenty-two times. Since 1901, ninety-eight different pitchers did it 161 total times. It's possible to find different eras in baseball history by looking at the list. From 1901 to 1920, the deadball era, eighty of those 161 seasons were recorded. From 1921 to the start of World War II, when offense reigned, only one pitcher made the list (Carl Hubbell, 1933). The 1950's only saw two pitchers join. The so-called "Year of the Pitcher," 1968, had nine pitchers accomplish the feat. You get the idea.

It's kind of interesting that while offense in the late 1990's and 2000's increased to levels not consistently seen since the 1930's, the number of pitchers with a WHIP under 1.00 hasn't been impacted like it was back then. Presumably this has something to do with increased strikeouts; if hitters aren't putting the ball in play as much, they don't have as many chances of those balls falling in for hits, thus inflating the pitcher's WHIP.

Whatever the reason, there have been twenty-two sub-1.000 WHIP seasons since 1990. The list of names reads like a future Hall of Fame ballot, with a couple exceptions.

WHIP <= 1.000, Qualified for ERA Title (1990-2008)

Name	Year	Walks	Hits	IP	WHIP
Curt Schilling	1992	59	165	226.1	0.990
Greg Maddux*	1994	31	150	202.0	0.896
Greg Maddux*	1995	23	147	209.2	0.811
Kevin Brown	1996	33	187	233.0	0.944
Pedro Martinez*	1997	67	158	241.1	0.932
Greg Maddux	1997	20	200	232.2	0.946
Greg Maddux	1998	45	201	251.0	0.980
Pedro Martinez*	1999	37	160	213.1	0.923
Kevin Millwood	1999	59	168	228.0	0.996
Pedro Martinez*	2000	32	128	217.0	0.737
Kevin Brown	2000	47	181	230.0	0.991
Derek Lowe	2002	48	166	219.2	0.974
Pedro Martinez	2002	40	144	199.1	0.923
Odalis Perez	2002	38	182	222.1	0.990
Curt Schilling	2002	33	218	259.1	0.968
Jason Schmidt	2003	46	152	207.2	0.953
Ben Sheets	2004	32	201	237.0	0.983
Johan Santana*	2004	54	156	228.0	0.921
Randy Johnson	2004	44	177	245.2	0.900
Pedro Martinez	2005	47	159	217.0	0.949
Johan Santana	2005	45	180	231.2	0.971
Johan Santana*	2006	47	186	233.2	0.997

* - Cy Young Award winner

Pedro Martinez's 0.737 WHIP in 2000 is an all-time record. The only other pitcher to have a WHIP under 0.800 was Walter Johnson in 1913 (0.780). Addie Joss had a 0.806 WHIP in 1908, and Greg Maddux's 0.811 in 1995 is fourth all-time.

The major league WHIP leader in 2008 was Toronto's Roy Halladay. He issued 39 walks and allowed 220 hits in 246 innings, good for a 1.053 WHIP. The 2007 leader was Jake Peavy of the Padres at 1.061 (169 hits, 68 walks, 223 1/3 innings). Justin Duchscherer wound up 20 1/3 innings short of joining the list in 2008: he had a WHIP of 0.995 in 141 2/3 innings.

John Smoltz in 1996 got as close as you can get to a 1.000 WHIP without actually getting there. He allowed 199 hits and 55 walks in 253 2/3 innings. He was one out short of a 1.000 WHIP, but he had to settle for 1.001. Maybe I should've rounded?

Errors Down on the Farm

Quick! How many major league players were charged with thirty or more errors in 2008? Give up? The answer is only one. Last year's error king was none other than Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds. He is the first player to reach 30 errors since Edgar Renteria struggled at short for the Red Sox in 2005. I wonder if the stress of his major league record 204 strikeouts followed him into the field? Second place in 2008 went to Edwin Encarnacion of the Reds with 23 errors. Four other players committed twenty or more errors: Hanley Ramirez (22), Yuniesky Betancourt (21), Jorge Cantu (20), and Joe Crede (20). You can see the full list at mlb.com here.

Errors aren't a very good way to measure a player's defense. What is scored as an error by one official scorer may very well be ruled a hit by another. The ability of a first baseman to scoop balls out of the dirt or catch other wild throws can have a big impact on the error totals of his teammates. Errors alone don't tell you about a player's range. The list goes on. Of course, if you manage to make a high number of errors, chances are you're not the best on defense.

With all that said, when it comes to defense in the minor leagues, errors are what you hear about most. A minor league notes column might say something like this, "Player So-and-So committed his 27th error of the season last night," and go on to briefly talk about the player's struggles. Sometimes you'll hear about how high error totals in the minors don't mean a player will be terrible in the majors: Jimmy Rollins committed 29 errors in the Florida State League, Derek Jeter had 56 errors in 1993, Omar Vizquel reached 25 errors for the Salinas Spurs before So-and-So was born, those guys turned out pretty well, etc. Other times the player's error total will be used to suggest he'd be better off in the outfield or as a designated hitter.

What you don't often see is where Player So-and-So ranks in the league by total errors. Maybe if So-and-So is leading the league, that will be noted, but it's not usually mentioned if he's third or fourth or fifth, and so on. It's hard to look up minor league rankings for errors, too, so it's hard to get a feel for where guys fit in.

As part of my looking at minor league fielding stats from Baseball-Reference.com I've put together a list of players who committed the most total errors in the minors, regardless of level, league, or position. For example, Gustavo Nunez in the Tigers organization committed 7 errors as a shortstop in the Gulf Coast League, seven as a shortstop in the Florida State League, and four as a second baseman in the FSL. In my list he shows up as having committed 18 errors. Simple as pie.

It turns out that while Mark Reynolds was the only major leaguer to top thirty errors, thirty-four minor league players got there. I've listed them below. Positions are shown the way Baseball-Reference.com does it.

Most Total Errors Committed in the Minor Leagues in 2008

Rank	Name	Pos	Team	Level	MLB Team	Inn	Total Chances	Errors
1	Ryan Adams	*4/65	Delmarva	A	BAL	876.2	521	52
2	Marcus Lemon	*6	Bakersfield	A+	TEX	1023.2	532	43
3	Carmen Angelini	*6	Charleston	A	NYY	1127.2	564	42
4	Audy Ciriaco	*6	West Michigan	A	DET	936.1	510	41
5	Daniel Mayora	*64	Modesto	A+	COL	1071.0	588	40
6	Ronald Ramirez	*64	Tri-City Lexington	A- A	HOU	895.2	503	39
7	P.J. Phillips	*6/7	Rancho Cucamonga	A+	LAA	1064.0	629	38
	Reynaldo Navarro	*6	Missoula	R	ARI	613.0	406	38
9	Domnit Bolivar	*56/4	Batavia Quad Cities	A- A	STL	970.0	391	37
	Carlos George	*64	AZL Brewers	R	MIL	373.0	217	37
11	Helder Velazquez	*64/5	Asheville	A	COL	947.0	502	36
	Matthew Cline	*654	West Virginia Brevard County	A A+	MIL	946.2	484	36
	Steven Souza	*5/6	Vermont Hagerstown	A- A	WSN	578.2	202	36
14	Brent Brewer	*6/5	West Virginia Brevard County	A A+	MIL	999.1	545	35
	Charlie Culberson	*6	Augusta	A	SFG	695.1	354	35
16	Derrick Mitchell	*4	Lakewood	A	PHI	919.0	527	33
	Lance Zawadzki	*64/5	Fort Wayne San Antonio	A AA	SDP	961.2	482	33
	Craig Corrado	*4/5	Lexington	A	HOU	933.0	392	33
	Burt Reynolds	*5	Princeton	R	TBR	431.2	161	33
20	Elvis Andrus	*6	Frisco	AA	TEX	960.1	574	32
	Mat Gamel	*5	Huntsville Nashville	AA AAA	MIL	1142.2	377	32
	Tony Blanco	*57/3	Modesto Tulsa	A+ AA	OAK COL	711.1	232	32
23	Jonathan Greene	*5/3	Clinton	A	TEX	1062.1	388	31
	Jim Negrych	*54	Lynchburg Altoona	A+ AA	PIT	944.2	386	31
25	Jose Coronado	*6/4	Binghamton	AA	NYM	1199.0	643	30
	Nathan Samson	*64	Peoria Iowa	A AAA	CHC	1121.0	627	30
	Angel Gonzalez	*46/5	Lynchburg Altoona	A+ AA	PIT	1000.0	624	30
	Renny Osuna	*46/5	Clinton Bakersfield	A A+	TEX	1066.2	619	30
	Greg Paiml	*6/4	Kannapolis Winston-Salem	A A+	CHW	1060.2	580	30
	Ruben Tejada	*6	St. Lucie	A+	NYM	1099.1	580	30
	Fidel Hernandez	*6	Clearwater	A+	PHI	1029.1	554	30
	Frank Martinez	456	Stockton Midland	A+ AA	OAK	1078.1	489	30
	Pedro Baez	*5/6	Ogden Great Lakes	R A	LAD	1015.2	337	30
	Justin Baum	*5/4	Fort Wayne	A	SDP	966.2	287	30

It's hard to be a low-minors infielder, I guess. The two guys on the list who reached AAA were only there briefly, so I guess AA is the highest level for elevated error totals. I don't know if that's because bad defense holds players back or if players really improve their defense by the time they reach the top level of the minors. I suppose it could also be that error-prone players who reach AAA probably have a bat that begs for a mid-season call-up, limiting their opportunity to make errors in the minors.

Whatever the reason, you must have noticed everyone on the above list is an infielder. Obviously, they have more opportunities to commit errors. But what about their brethren in the outfield? Twenty minor leaguers reached double digits in errors while lumbering around out on the grass.

Most Total Errors Committed in the Minor Leagues in 2008
(outfield only)

Rank	Name	Team	Level	MLB Team	Innings	Total Chances	Errors
1	Luis Terrero	Norfolk	AAA	BAL	833.0	207	13
2	Ambiorix Concepcion	Binghamton	AA	NYM	1011.2	258	12
	D'Marcus Ingram	Quad Cities	A	STL	633.0	178	12
	Carlos Peguero	High Desert	A+	SEA	479.1	125	12
5	Gerardo Parra	Visalia Mobile	A+ AA	ARI	1037.1	290	11
	Maiko Loyola	Columbus	A	TBR	1004.1	272	11
	Michael McBryde	San Jose	A+	SFG	1045.1	269	11
	Mark Dolenc	Beloit	A	MIN	965.1	221	11
	Maximo Mendez	Wisconsin	A	SEA	948.0	213	11
	Michael Mooney	San Jose Connecticut Fresno	A+ AA AAA	SFG	678.0	165	11
	Shane Keough	Kane County	A	OAK	640.0	131	11
12	Jason Place	Lancaster	A+	BOS	977.2	250	10
	Austin Krum	Charleston	A	NYY	1124.1	238	10
	Dominic Brown	Lakewood	A	PHI	994.1	230	10
	Moises Sierra	Lansing	A	TOR	1112.2	223	10
	Maurice Gartrell	Birmingham	AA	CHW	821.1	187	10
	Ben Revere	Beloit	A	MIN	660.2	175	10
	Javis Diaz	Lake Elsinore Portland	A+ AAA	SDP	678.1	153	10
	Brendan Katin	Nashville	AAA	MIL	645.1	136	10
	Tony Brown	Billings	R	CIN	475.2	85	10

Unlike the infielders, error-prone outfielders show up at all levels. Tony Brown's sub-.900 fielding percentage is kind of sad. I assume he must have a pretty wild arm behind all those errors. I believe Luis Terrero is the only one on this list to have played in the majors.

Here's some useless trivia: catcher Gabriel Gutierrez, a Dodgers farmhand, handled the most chances (365) in the minors last year without committing an error. The non-catcher with the most errorless chances was Jonathan Van Every of the Red Sox with 306. Blakeney Billings, the 2008 16th round pick of the Brewers, committed two errors in his only two fielding chances of 2008. It's good to see he picked up the Brewers' defensive philosophy so quickly. Ten other minor league pitchers committed an error in their only fielding chance. Finally, who says a pitcher is a fifth infielder? Scott Mueller in the Baltimore system managed to record 110 outs on mound without a single fielding chance.