Sean Casey: So Close Yet So Far

If you've been following baseball transactions recently, you've seen that three-time All-Star first baseman Sean Casey retired earlier this week. He's not leaving baseball behind, however, since he's got a gig lined up with the new MLB Network.

I was looking up his career stats and noticed something interesting. In 1999, Casey had a career high in RBI with 99. He matched that total during the 2004 campaign. This makes him one of only five players in all of major league history to put up two seasons of exactly 99 RBI. The others were Kirby Puckett, Lee May, Bibb Falk, and Ty Cobb. If you don't feel like clicking all those links, he's the only player of the five who didn't ever reach 100 RBI in a season during his career.

Here are the other players whose career high in RBI was 99:

• Troy Tulowitzki (active)
• Raul Mondesi
• Kevin Elster
• Reggie Sanders
• Mark Whiten
• Kevin McReynolds
• Joe Rudi
• Davey Johnson
• Dusty Baker
• Bob Oliver
• Jim Ray Hart
• Chet Laabs
• Arky Vaughan
• George Grantham
• Billy Southworth
• Eddie Brown
• Charlie Grimm
• Ray Grimes
• Carson Bigbee
• Fred Luderus
• John Anderson
• Joe Werrick

I know that RBI isn't a very good way to measure a player's ability. It's more a reflection of lineup spot, teammates, blah blah blah. Still, 100 RBI is a benchmark season in a player's career. If you drive in 100 runs, you get the important run-producer label. It's got to be tough to get so close to that mark and never clear the barrier.

A- Errors By Position

It's time for another installment of minor league error leaders. I've already done similar posts for higher levels of minor league baseball: AAA errors by position, AA errors by position posts, A+ errors by position, and A errors by position. Today’s post is about Low A (or Short-Season A) baseball. There are only two leagues at this level: the Northwest League and the New York-Penn League. The Northwest League plays a 76-game schedule and the New York-Penn League plays a similar number of games. These leagues are intended to allow teams to break in college draftees judged too experienced for rookie level leagues while also providing a place for players stuck in between rookie ball and regular A ball. Not every major league organization has a team in Low A ball as the two leagues combined have only 22 teams. The organizations not represented are Atlanta, Chicago (AL), Cincinnati, Kansas City, Los Angeles (AL & NL), Milwaukee, and Minnesota.

A- Pitchers

A- Pitchers Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
David Stokes	Oneonta	DET	24	4	.833
Jarred Holloway	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	22	4	.818
Wilber Bucardo	Salem-Keizer	SFG	21	4	.810
Stephen Procner	Aberdeen	BAL	16	4	.750
Martin Perez	Spokane	TEX	14	4	.714
Israel Camacaro	Boise	CHC	12	4	.667
Christopher Schwinden	Brooklyn	NYM	11	4	.636
Eduin Ciriaco	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	7	4	.429
8 tied with				3

A- Pitchers Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 10 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Christopher Schwinden	Brooklyn	NYM	11	4	.636
Israel Camacaro	Boise	CHC	12	4	.667
Martin Perez	Spokane	TEX	14	4	.714
Stephen Procner	Aberdeen	BAL	16	4	.750
Joel Carreno	Auburn	TOR	13	3	.769
Simon Castro	Eugene	SDP	13	3	.769
Matthew Nevarez	Spokane	TEX	13	3	.769
Aaron Odom	Aberdeen	BAL	15	3	.800
George Brown	Batavia	STL	10	2	.800
Marquis Fleming	Hudson Valley	TBR	10	2	.800
NWL Pitchers			1316	93	.929
NYP Pitchers			1893	140	.926
A- Pitchers			3209	233	.927

Since these leagues play only about half as many games as the other levels covered so far, I've adjusted the minimum chances needed for the fielding percentage list. It's hard to tell with pitchers since their threshold was set so low anyway, but it'll become more apparent at other positions. It's a little strange that no pitcher stood out as worse than the rest, though Eduin Ciriaco didn't have a great year with the glove.

A- Catchers

A- Catchers Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Derek Norris	Vermont	WSN	422	10	.976
Travis Howell	Everett	SEA	425	8	.981
Jordan Pacheco	Tri-City (NWL)	COL	404	8	.980
Miguel Fermin	Jamestown	FLA	513	6	.988
Mitch Abeita	Staten Island	NYY	452	6	.987
Caleb Joseph	Aberdeen	BAL	434	6	.986
Carlos Perez	Boise	CHC	368	6	.984
Travis D'Arnaud	Williamsport	PHI	367	6	.984
Logan Gelbrich	Eugene	SDP	229	6	.974
3 tied with				5

A- Catchers Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 200 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Logan Gelbrich	Eugene	SDP	229	6	.974
Derek Norris	Vermont	WSN	422	10	.976
Julio Rivera	Vancouver	OAK	227	5	.978
Jordan Pacheco	Tri-City (NWL)	COL	404	8	.980
Robert Alcombrack	Mahoning Valley	CLE	265	5	.981
Travis Howell	Everett	SEA	425	8	.981
Jason Castro	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	224	4	.982
Michael Brenly	Boise	CHC	233	4	.983
Travis D'Arnaud	Williamsport	PHI	367	6	.984
Carlos Perez	Boise	CHC	368	6	.984
NWL Catchers			5485	74	.987
NYP Catchers			9618	129	.987
A- Catchers			15103	203	.987

Now you can probably tell about the total chances minimum being adjusted downward. Both leagues have the same fielding percentage at catcher. I don't think that's happened at any other level so far. Note that there are two different Tri-Citys. I've noted their league in parentheses.

A- First Basemen

A- 1B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Phil Disher	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	601	16	.973
Xavier Scruggs	Batavia	STL	535	12	.978
Anthony Smith	Yakima	ARI	518	10	.981
Michael McDade	Auburn	TOR	339	10	.971
Matthew Clark	Eugene	SDP	326	10	.969
Tyler Moore	Vermont	WSN	591	9	.985
Dusty Napoleon	Vancouver	OAK	549	9	.984
Dennis Guinn	Spokane	TEX	496	8	.984
Brock Simpson	Mahoning Valley	CLE	393	8	.980
4 tied with				7

A- 1B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 200 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Matthew Clark	Eugene	SDP	326	10	.969
Michael McDade	Auburn	TOR	339	10	.971
Jahdiel Santamaria	Staten Island	NYY	254	7	.972
Phil Disher	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	601	16	.973
Tom Baxter	Aberdeen	BAL	232	6	.974
Xavier Scruggs	Batavia	STL	535	12	.978
Brock Simpson	Mahoning Valley	CLE	393	8	.980
Jared Bolden	Spokane	TEX	204	4	.980
Anthony Smith	Yakima	ARI	518	10	.981
Robert Blauer	Eugene	SDP	320	6	.981
NWL 1B			5697	85	.985
NYP 1B			9299	139	.985
A- 1B			14996	224	.985

Phil Disher (nice name) has a comfortable lead atop the errors leaderboard. I also like Xavier Scruggs' and Dusty Napoleon's names. The two leagues have had identical fielding percentages at catcher and at first base. I wonder if they'll stay close at the rest of the positions.

A- Second Basemen

A- 2B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Luis Nunez	Everett	SEA	241	14	.942
Jason Ogata	Spokane	TEX	238	13	.945
Mike Gosse	Oneonta	DET	268	12	.955
Carlos Vazquez	Auburn	TOR	114	11	.904
Michael Diaz	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	135	11	.919
Isaias Velasquez	Mahoning Valley	CLE	218	11	.950
Tom Edwards	Aberdeen	BAL	91	9	.901
Jonathan Del Campo	Auburn	TOR	194	9	.954
Michael Ross	Hudson Valley	TBR	255	9	.965
David Adams	Staten Island	NYY	315	8	.975

A- 2B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 100 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Carlos Vazquez	Auburn	TOR	114	11	.904
Michael Diaz	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	135	11	.919
Luis Nunez	Everett	SEA	241	14	.942
Jason Ogata	Spokane	TEX	238	13	.945
Isaias Velasquez	Mahoning Valley	CLE	218	11	.950
Jonathan Del Campo	Auburn	TOR	194	9	.954
Robert Phelps	Mahoning Valley	CLE	110	5	.955
Mike Gosse	Oneonta	DET	268	12	.955
Jake Smolinski	Vermont	WSN	117	5	.957
Zach Gentile	Lowell	BOS	127	5	.961
NWL 2B			2901	106	.963
NYP 2B			4864	176	.964
A- 2B			7765	282	.964

This really underscores how out there Ryan Adam's 46 errors in A ball are. Nunez's 14 errors in A- ball came in only half the number of chances it took Ryan Adams to reach 46 errors. I expected error rates to get worse as levels descended, but Adams' terrible season broke up the pattern. Also worth noting is that playing time seems spread out more among players - not many players spend an overwhelming majority of their teams' games at one position. Whether that's because teams are encouraging versatility or want to get a better look at their roster, I'm not sure, but it's how more than one player on a team can show up on the list at the same position.

A- Third Basemen

A- 3B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Bryan Pounds	Oneonta	DET	180	24	.867
Andrew Fie	Yakima	ARI	235	24	.898
Steven Souza	Vermont	WSN	139	22	.842
Jeremie Tice	Mahoning Valley	CLE	128	19	.852
Matthew West	Spokane	TEX	179	19	.894
David Flores	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	142	18	.873
Tyler Kolodny	Aberdeen	BAL	189	18	.905
Nate Tenbrink	Everett	SEA	137	17	.876
Cody Overbeck	Williamsport	PHI	169	17	.899
Rodney Rutherford	Vancouver	OAK	87	16	.816

A- 3B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 60 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Rodney Rutherford	Vancouver	OAK	87	16	.816
Francisco Tirado	Vancouver	OAK	79	14	.823
Steven Souza	Vermont	WSN	139	22	.842
Matthew Payne	State College	PIT	98	15	.847
Patrick Rose	Tri-City (NWL)	COL	74	11	.851
Jeremie Tice	Mahoning Valley	CLE	128	19	.852
Derek Shunk	Eugene	SDP	66	9	.864
Bryan Pounds	Oneonta	DET	180	24	.867
Leance Soto	Auburn	TOR	102	13	.873
David Flores	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	142	18	.873
NWL 3B			1729	194	.888
NYP 3B			2901	326	.888
A- 3B			4630	520	.888

Those are some ugly fielding percentages. Both leagues are the same once again, but I don't think they'll be bragging anytime soon. Rodney Rutherford, half of Vancouver's duo of disaster at the hot corner, just missed becoming the first position player to make the list with a fielding percentage below .800.

A- Shortstops

A- SS Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Joel Staples	Jamestown	FLA	307	23	.925
Brandon Douglas	Oneonta	DET	218	21	.904
Jeff Hulett	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	109	18	.835
Colt Sedbrook	Batavia	STL	191	18	.906
Jason Christian	Vancouver	OAK	257	18	.930
Robi Estrada	Hudson Valley	TBR	272	17	.938
Dani Arias	Vermont	WSN	135	16	.881
Ronald Ramirez	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	217	16	.926
Lonnie Chisenhall	Mahoning Valley	CLE	224	16	.929
Ryan Flaherty	Boise	CHC	248	16	.935

A- SS Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 100 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Jeff Hulett	Tri-City (NYP)	HOU	109	18	.835
Dani Arias	Vermont	WSN	135	16	.881
Brandon Douglas	Oneonta	DET	218	21	.904
Colt Sedbrook	Batavia	STL	191	18	.906
Domnit Bolivar	Batavia	STL	112	10	.911
Chase D'Arnaud	State College	PIT	151	12	.921
Anthony Phillips	Everett	SEA	198	15	.924
Thomas Field	Tri-City (NWL)	COL	199	15	.925
Justin Parker	Yakima	ARI	120	9	.925
Joel Staples	Jamestown	FLA	307	23	.925
NWL SS			2952	182	.938
NYP SS			4824	330	.932
A- SS			7776	512	.934

Shortstops in the two short-season leagues had an easier time of it than did their brethren at the hot corner. Obviously they managed to cumulatively field in the .900's. You might recognize Domnit Bolivar's name from the third baseman list in the A ball post. He committed 23 errors at the hot corner for Quad Cities in the Midwest League. His 10 errors for Batavia took place in only 25 games.

A- Outfielders

A- OF Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Brian Van Kirk	Auburn	TOR	69	8	.884
Kevin Mattison	Jamestown	FLA	163	8	.951
Frederick Parejo	Batavia	STL	115	7	.939
Bartolo Nicolas	Auburn	TOR	111	6	.946
Quincy Latimore	State College	PIT	117	6	.949
Ryan Blair	Mahoning Valley	CLE	128	6	.953
9 tied with				5

A- OF Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 200 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Frederick Parejo	Batavia	STL	115	7	.939
Bartolo Nicolas	Auburn	TOR	111	6	.946
Quincy Latimore	State College	PIT	117	6	.949
Raymond Kruml	Staten Island	NYY	100	5	.950
Kevin Mattison	Jamestown	FLA	163	8	.951
Ryan Blair	Mahoning Valley	CLE	128	6	.953
Jeremy Barfield	Vancouver	OAK	112	5	.955
Tyson Gillies	Everett	SEA	129	5	.961
Ciro Rosero	State College	PIT	133	5	.962
Welington Dotel	Everett	SEA	108	4	.963
NWL OF			3431	98	.971
NYP OF			5932	187	.968
A- OF			9363	285	.970

Thanks to the abbreviated season, the outfielder with the most errors didn't even crack double digits. Brian Van Kirk did his part in making sure the Auburn outfield was a treat for Toronto pitching prospects to pitch in front of. Overall, though, outfielders did about as well in A- ball as their comrades a level up in A ball.

Baseball's Most (and Least) Common Initials

I've put together a list of major league players since 1876 and determined that 16,856 different men have worn the uniform of a major league baseball team and appeared in at least one game. Most, but not all, of those players have first and last names on their player pages. The unlucky ones include guys like Budd, McCaffery, McRemer, and Wiley.

With my list, it's possible to figure out which initials have been shared by the most major league players throughout history. It's not perfect, since players known by nicknames appear by those names in the list and not their given names. An example: Vinegar Bend Mizell has the initials "VM" rather than "WM" for Wilmer Mizell. I figure if the player was known by those nicknames more than their given names, it's okay.

With that in mind, here are the most common initials in major league history. Thirty sets of initials have been shared by 100 or more major league players:

1. JM - 281 players
2. JB - 275
3. JS - 235
4. BB - 200
5. JC - 196
6. JH - 189
7. BS - 186
8. BM - 182
9. BH - 172
10. JD - 152
11. JG - 150
12. JR - 148
13. DM - 147
14. JW - 144
15. JP - 141
16. BC - 135
17. RM - 133
18. RS - 131
19. DS - 130
20. MM - 122
21. JL - 111
22. RB - 111
23. CS - 110
24. DB - 109
25. CB - 108
26. CM - 107
27. JK - 107
28. CC - 102
29. JF - 102
30. DC - 101

It would appear first names beginning with J or B are the most common among baseball players. The initials MB (98), BW (96), and MS (96) are on the cusp of joining the above list.

In addition to the common initials, there have been 57 players who have unique initials in baseball history. Some of them are from so long ago they've been forgotten, but more than a few are from recent years. Here's the full list:

Art Quirk	Dan Quisenberry	Ed Irvin
Eddie Quick	Frank Isbell	Floyd Youmans
Heinie Zimmerman	Ike Eichrodt	Ira Flagstead
Irv Jeffries	Izzy Leon	Irv Noren
Irv Young	Ken Vining	Nick Dumovich
Nate Oliver	Ned Yost	Norm Zauchin
Omar Quintanilla	Oscar Zamora	Pete Incaviglia
Pat Underwood	Queenie O'Rourke	Quincy Trouppe
Quilvio Veras	Scotty Ingerton	Uke Clanton
Uel Eubanks	Ubaldo Heredia	Ubaldo Jimenez
Urbano Lugo	Urbane Pickering	Urban Shocker
Ugueth Urbina	U.L. Washington	Vladimir Nunez
Vern Olsen	Victor Zambrano	Walt Irwin
Wimpy Quinn	Walter Young	Xavier Hernandez
Xavier Nady	Xavier Rescigno	Yunel Escobar
Yovani Gallardo	Youngy Johnson	Yovanny Lara
Yank Robinson	Yohanny Valera	Yats Wuestling
Zeb Eaton	Zack Greinke	Zach Jackson
Zeke Rosebraugh	Zoilo Versalles	Zip Zabel

Team IP/G

A recent comment over at Brew Crew Ball inspired this post. The writer suggested projections for Brewers pitchers should add up to 1458 innings as a team. That, of course, would be the total of 162 games with nine innings pitched by the team. Yours truly replied with an awkward sounding suggestion that road losses requiring only eight innings pitched were to blame for the projections falling a little short. I figured that most teams finished below 1458 innings pitched and indeed only three teams (the Mets, Padres, and Twins) reached that number in 2008. I also wondered about the record for the highest (and lowest) average team innings pitched per game. Placing high on the list would seem to require winning often on the road and/or playing a lot of extra inning games. Likewise, showing up near to bottom would require losing a lot away from home and/or weather-shortened games.

I started by grabbing yearly pitching totals for each franchise from the franchise encyclopedia section of Baseball-Reference.com (a sample). Unfortunately those pages don't include thirds of an inning, but that won't change the results much anyway. In case of ties, though, I've gone and checked the relevant team pages. After getting all those numbers, it's easy to sort by innings pitched per game.

The bottom of the list is dominated by teams from the 19th and early 20th centuries. A simple reason for this games shorted because of darkness. Fields also weren't engineered as well as they are today, meaning inclement weather could shut games down much more quickly.

The two major league teams that averaged the fewest innings pitched per game folded shortly after beginning play. The 1884 St. Paul White Caps and 1884 Wilmington Quicksteps, both members of the Union Association, averaged 7.89 IP/G. St. Paul went 2-6 while Wilmington went 2-6-1 while Wilmington went 2-16. The 1884 Richmond Virginians, part of the American Association, were third from the bottom, averaging 8.04 IP in their 46 games.

It should come as no surprise that the team with the lowest average over a full season also owns the record for most losses in a season. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders, the best 20-134 team in baseball history, averaged a merciful 8.21 innings pitched per game. Just above them were the 1890 Baltimore Orioles and five Washington teams from the 1890's.

Turning to more modern teams, here are the bottom ten since expansion in 1961:

1. 2005 Royals, 8.72 (1413.1 IP/162 G)
2. 1961 Athletics, 8.73 (1415.0/162)
3. 2001 Pirates, 8.74 (1416.1/162)
4. 1979 Blue Jays, 8.75 (1417.0/162)
5. 1978 White Sox, 8.75 (1409.0/161)
6. 1983 Mariners, 8.75 (1418.0/162)
7. 2005 Rockies, 8.76 (1418.2/162)
8. 1985 Rangers, 8.76 (1411.0/161)
9. 2006 Orioles, 8.76 (1419.0/162)
10. 1997 Phillies, 8.77 (1420.0/162)
    1999 Padres, 8.77 (1420.0/162)
    2003 Rockies, 8.77 (1420.0/162)

All of these teams finished with more than 90 losses except for the 1999 Padres and 2003 Rockies (88 losses each). Many of them lost over 100 games. That's a lot of eight-inning contests. Surprisingly, the 1983 Mariners actually had an ERA+ over 100.

The other extreme has a mix of different eras. The top spot is held by the 1918 Washington Senators, a team that averaged a stunning 9.45 innings pitched over their 130 games. They went 72-56-2, finishing third in the league. There must have been a lot of extra baseball in Washington that year. The 1876 Louisville Grays are second, averaging 9.32 IP/G despite giving up just under 5 runs each game. The 1876 New York Mutuals took third at 9.30 IP/G while allowing over 7 runs each day. The 1969 Twins are the highest team since expansion, throwing 1497 innings on the year, or 9.24 per game. They finished 97-65 and played eleven games that lasted 13 or more innings.

Here are the top ten averages since expansion:

1. 1969 Twins, 9.24 (1497.0 IP/162 G)
2. 1973 Dodgers, 9.20 (1491.0/162)
3. 1967 White Sox, 9.20 (1490.0/162)
4. 1988 Athletics, 9.19 (1489.0/162)
5. 1996 Padres, 9.19 (1489.0/162)
6. 1982 Dodgers, 9.19 (1488.0/162)
7. 1985 Mets, 9.19 (1488.0/162)
8. 1964 Yankees, 9.18 (1506.0/164)
9. 1972 Padres, 9.17 (1403.0/153)
10. 1972 Reds, 9.17 (1412.0/154)

These teams all finished with 88 or more wins, with one notable exception. The 1972 Padres managed to lose 95 games despite throwing so many innings. They were better on the road (32-41) than they were at home (26-54) but that doesn't explain it all. Another big reason they averaged so many innings was the 21 extra inning games they played. By my count, they played 62 extra frames that season. The 1972 Padres were the only team on the list with an ERA+ under 100.

Wondering about the high and low teams in 2008? It turns out three teams averaged at least nine innings pitched per game, but one of them isn't one of the teams that totaled over 1458 innings. The Mets led the majors with 1464.1 innings pitched in 162 games, or 9.04 IP/G. The Cubs were next with 1450.2 in 161 games, or 9.01 IP/G. Finally, the Padres wound up at 1458 1/3 IP, just a hair over 9.00 IP/G. The bottom three teams were the Orioles, Astros, and Diamondbacks, averaging 8.83, 8.85, and 8.86 innings per game, respectively. The major league average was 8.93 IP/G. The major league average has hovered between 8.90 and 8.93 since 2000.

Update: SO > TB, Minimum 200 AB

Today I'm revisiting my first real post on this blog. Back in 2007, my first topic was hitters who wound up with more strikeouts than total bases. To make sure I only got players who spent a significant time in the majors, I set the minimum to qualify for the list at 200 at bats. It turns out three players have officially joined the list since the original post.

Name	Year	Team	Pos	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	TB	SO	OPS+
Bill Bergen	1911	BRO	C	227	.132	.183	.154	35	42	-4
Billy Consolo	1954	BOS	SS	242	.227	.324	.277	67	69	59
Billy Consolo	1959	BOS WSH	SS	216	.213	.331	.269	58	59	67
Ernie Fazio	1963	HOU	2B	228	.184	.273	.281	64	70	65
Jerry Kindall	1963	CLE	2B	234	.205	.266	.295	69	71	58
Dave Nicholson	1964	CHW	LF	294	.204	.329	.365	107	126	96
Chris Cannizzaro	1965	NYM	C	251	.183	.270	.231	58	60	46
Don Zimmer	1965	WSA	C	226	.199	.284	.252	57	59	55
Ray Oyler	1966	DET	SS	210	.171	.263	.252	53	62	48
Jerry Zimmerman	1967	MIN	C	234	.167	.243	.192	45	49	26
Ray Oyler	1968	DET	SS	215	.135	.213	.186	40	59	20
George Scott	1968	BOS	1B	350	.171	.236	.237	83	88	40
Dick Tracewski	1968	DET	SS	212	.156	.239	.236	50	51	43
Al Weis	1968	NYM	SS	274	.172	.234	.204	56	63	32
Darrel Chaney	1969	CIN	SS	209	.191	.278	.234	49	75	42
Ray Oyler	1969	SEP	SS	255	.165	.260	.267	68	80	49
Jim Mason	1975	NYY	SS	223	.152	.228	.211	47	49	27
John Hale	1978	SEA	RF	211	.171	.283	.265	56	64	56
Leroy Stanton	1978	SEA	LF	302	.182	.265	.248	75	80	47
Bobby Bonds	1980	STL	LF	231	.203	.305	.316	73	74	72
Tom Donohue	1980	CAL	C	218	.188	.216	.243	53	63	27
Reggie Jackson	1983	CAL	RF	397	.194	.290	.340	135	140	74
Gary Pettis	1987	CAL	CF	394	.208	.302	.259	102	124	53
Jody Davis	1989	ATL	C	231	.169	.246	.242	56	61	39
John Shelby	1989	LAD	CF	345	.183	.237	.229	79	92	36
Jeff Kunkel	1990	TEX	SS	200	.170	.221	.280	56	66	40
Rob Deer	1991	DET	RF	448	.179	.314	.386	173	175	92
Hensley Meulens	1991	NYY	LF	288	.222	.276	.319	92	97	65
Gary Pettis	1991	TEX	CF	282	.216	.341	.277	78	91	75
Andujar Cedeno	1992	HOU	SS	220	.173	.232	.277	61	71	47
Jack Clark	1992	BOS	DH	257	.210	.350	.311	80	87	82
Billy Ashley	1995	LAD	LF	215	.237	.320	.372	80	88	90
Benji Gil	1995	TEX	SS	415	.219	.266	.347	144	147	60
Kimera Bartee	1996	DET	CF	217	.253	.308	.304	66	77	57
Archi Cianfrocco	1997	SDP	1B	220	.245	.328	.355	78	80	85
Mark Johnson	1997	PIT	1B	219	.215	.345	.315	69	78	73
Ryan McGuire	1998	MON	1B	210	.186	.292	.243	51	55	46
Greg Vaughn	2002	TBD	LF	251	.163	.286	.315	79	82	60
Mark Bellhorn	2005	BOS NYY	2B	300	.210	.324	.357	107	112	81
Mark Bellhorn	2006	SDP	3B	253	.190	.285	.344	87	90	66
Ryan Langerhans	2007	ATL OAK WSN	OF	210	.167	.272	.305	64	81	53
Andruw Jones	2008	LAD	CF	209	.158	.256	.249	52	76	34
Tony Pena Jr.	2008	KCR	SS	225	.169	.189	.209	47	49	7
Name	Year	Team	Pos	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	TB	SO	OPS+

I think it's cool that Pena became only the second player with an OPS+ of under 10 to show up. In fact, he is the first player since Bill Bergen a century ago to have an OPS+ that low under in 200+ at bats.

In addition to Langerhans, Jones, and Pena, Jeff Mathis of the Angels deserves a mention. In 2008 he came to bat 283 times and wound up with 90 total bases. He also struck out 90 times. Darrel Chaney in 1973 was the last player to have equal strikeouts and total bases in 200 or more at bats.

I wonder which hitters will linger long enough in the big leagues next year to make the list. I guess we'll see...

Completing Every Start

Have you ever seen something online, decided to pursue more information on the topic, and realize an hour later that you've wandered into topics far from the original? I had such an experience last night and it resulted in my finding the BR Bullpen page of turn-of-the-century hurler Kid Nichols. Nichols is deservedly a Hall of Famer and I was struck by this quote on the page:

"(He) took pride in two things - his election to (the Hall of Fame), and the fact he was never removed from a game for a relief hurler." - from the New York Times obituary of Kid Nichols

If you look at his career stats, you can see he started 561 games and completed 531 of them. That means he went the distance in nearly 95% of his starts. That's a stunning number, even for those days. Among pitchers who started at least 400 games (~10 seasons), only Will White, Charley Radbourn, Jim McCormick, and Mickey Welch completed a higher percentage of their starts.

You might be saying that it's all well and good Nichols was a durable pitcher, but the quote is wrong. He had thirty starts that he didn't finish, so obviously relievers were used. I wonder how many of those thirty starts were ended by pinch hitters sent up to bat for him (he was no great shakes with the bat). You could argue that situation isn't being removed for a relief pitcher. Also, if he only came out of games between innings, he was never relieved while on the mound. Either way, I'm willing to give a guy who completed 95% of his starts the benefit of the doubt.

That quote also made me wonder about pitchers who did complete every single game they started. It turns out twenty pitchers, all from 1901 or before, started ten or more games in their career and completed every one.

Most Career Games Started, All Complete Games

1. Bill Stemmeyer, 59
2. Fleury Sullivan, 51
3. Sam Kimber, 42
4. Frank Hankinson, 28
5. Charlie Knepper, 26
6. Doug Crothers, 21
   
7. John Shaffer, 21
8. Ed Dugan, 20
9. John Henry, 18
10. Will Sawyer, 15
11. Ed Mars, 14
12. Peek-A-Boo Veach, 13
13. Frank Brill, 12
14. John Connor, 12
15. John Hofford, 12
16. Frank Hoffman, 12
17. Jack Bracken, 12
18. Buck Becannon, 11
19. Jim Egan, 10
20. Ed Trumbull, 10

A Errors by Position

It's been a while since I've done one of these posts. I've already done similar posts for the three higher levels of minor league baseball: AAA errors by position, AA errors by position posts, and A+ errors by position. Today I'm moving on to A ball, to be followed soon by Low A and Rookie level posts.

A Pitchers

A Pitchers Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Scott Moviel	Savannah	NYM	40	11	.725
Matthew Mitchell	Burlington	KCR	28	7	.750
Luis Montano	Dayton	CIN	27	7	.741
Luis Noel	Delmarva	BAL	34	6	.824
Esmerlin Jimenez	Cedar Rapids	LAA	32	6	.813
Rafael de los Santos	Hickory	PIT	24	6	.750
Zachary Britton	Delmarva	BAL	67	5	.925
Jamie Richmond	Kane County	OAK	40	5	.875
Chuckie Fick	Quad Cities	STL	32	5	.844
Santos Arias	Beloit	MIN	25	5	.800
Ryan Miller	Lake County	CLE	20	5	.750
Mike Koons	Lexington	HOU	16	5	.688
Daniel Merklinger	West Virginia	MIL	16	5	.688
Brant Rustich	Savannah	NYM	9	5	.444

A Pitchers Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 20 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Scott Moviel	Savannah	NYM	40	11	.728
Luis Montano	Dayton	CIN	27	7	.741
Matthew Mitchell	Burlington	KCR	28	7	.750
Rafael de los Santos	Hickory	PIT	24	6	.750
Ryan Miller	Lake County	CLE	20	5	.750
Santos Arias	Beloit	MIN	25	5	.800
Leonardo Espinal	Kane County	OAK	20	4	.800
Ryan Tatusko	Clinton	TEX	20	4	.800
Esmerlin Jimenez	Cedar Rapids	LAA	32	6	.813
Andrew Hess	West Michigan	DET	22	4	.818
Jordan Norberto	South Bend	ARI	22	4	.818
MWL Pitchers			3814	301	.921
SAL Pitchers			4349	317	.927
A Pitchers			8163	618	.924

Normally I would've cut off the first list after the guys with six errors. This time, however, I wanted to include Brant Rustich's numbers. The Mets righty pitched 49 2/3 innings for Savannah and only accepted nine chances in the field. More than half of those chances wound up being errors. Ouch.

A Catchers

A Catchers Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Gregory Yersich	Beloit	MIN	525	15	.971
Kenley Jansen	Great Lakes	LAD	708	14	.980
Jose Felix	Clinton	TEX	713	12	.983
Eric Fryer	West Virginia	MIL	319	12	.962
Michael McCormick	Columbus	TBR	722	11	.985
Carlos Dominguez	Clinton	TEX	432	11	.975
Jameson Smith	Greensboro	FLA	292	11	.962
Ryan Eigsti	Burlington	KCR	899	10	.989
Jonathan Fixler	Lexington	HOU	551	10	.982
Matthew Inouye	Kannapolis	CHW	465	10	.978

A Catchers Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 400 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Gregory Yersich	Beloit	MIN	525	15	.971
Carlos Dominguez	Clinton	TEX	432	11	.975
Matthew Inouye	Kannapolis	CHW	465	10	.978
Kenley Jansen	Great Lakes	LAD	708	14	.980
Josh Donaldson	Peoria	CHC	426	8	.981
Anel de los Santos	Cedar Rapids	LAA	490	9	.982
Jonathan Fixler	Lexington	HOU	551	10	.982
Jose Felix	Clinton	TEX	713	12	.983
Travis Reagan	Hagerstown	WSN	476	8	.983
Michael McCormick	Columbus	TBR	722	11	.985
Devin Mesoraco	Dayton	CIN	593	9	.985
MWL Catchers			16673	221	.987
SAL Catchers			18734	227	.988
A Catchers			35407	448	.987

Yersich is the first error leader at catcher who isn't near the top of his level in innings caught. In fact, his 483 1/3 innings caught was just over half Ryan Eigsti's level-leading 894 2/3 innings. Thanks to his middle-of-the-road workload, Yersich wound up in the top slot of the second table as well. Curiously, A ball catchers combined for the same number of errors as their counterparts in High A ball.

A First Basemen

A 1B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Jeffrey Cunningham	Asheville	COL	942	17	.982
Angel Villalona	Augusta	SFG	970	15	.985
Frederick Freeman	Rome	ATL	1132	14	.988
Michael Durant	Lakewood	PHI	619	14	.977
Felix Carrasco	Fort Wayne	SDP	885	13	.985
Chance Wheeless	South Bend	ARI	725	13	.982
Michael Jones	Greenville	BOS	639	13	.980
Greg Dowling	Kane County	OAK	1163	12	.990
Anthony Martinez	Delmarva	BAL	959	12	.987
3 tied with				10

A 1B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 500 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Michael Durant	Lakewood	PHI	619	14	.977
Michael Jones	Greenville	BOS	639	13	.980
Manuel Rodriguez	Lansing	TOR	530	10	.981
Jeffrey Cunningham	Asheville	COL	942	17	.982
Chance Wheeless	South Bend	ARI	725	13	.982
Angel Villalona	Augusta	SFG	970	15	.985
Jovan Rosa	Peoria	CHC	531	8	.985
Jaime Ortiz	Great Lakes	LAD	676	10	.985
Felix Carrasco	Fort Wayne	SDP	885	13	.985
Christopher Carlson	West Michigan	DET	698	10	.986
MWL 1B			18049	221	.988
SAL 1B			21306	235	.989
A 1B			39355	456	.988

Cunningham led the level in errors while placing fifth in innings played. Eric Taylor, Greg Dowling, and Frederick Freeman were the only three A ball first basemen to reach 1000 innings played. Collectively, A ball first basemen had only ten more fielding chances than their High A ball brethren.

A Second Basemen

A 2B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Ryan Adams	Delmarva	BAL	485	46	.905
Derrick Mitchell	Lakewood	PHI	527	33	.937
Justin Snyder	Charleston	NYY	634	25	.961
John Tolisano	Lansing	TOR	518	25	.952
Kevyn Feiner	Dayton	CIN	323	20	.938
Justin Henry	West Michigan	DET	564	19	.966
Nick Noonan	Augusta	SFG	572	18	.969
Greg Veloz	Savannah	NYM	513	18	.965
Eric Farris	West Virginia	MIL	459	18	.961
Matthew Lawson	Clinton	TEX	438	17	.961
Everth Cabrera	Asheville	COL	416	17	.959

A 2B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 250 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Ryan Adams	Delmarva	BAL	485	46	.905
Derrick Mitchell	Lakewood	PHI	527	33	.937
Kevyn Feiner	Dayton	CIN	323	20	.938
Craig Corrado	Lexington	HOU	304	16	.947
John Tolisano	Lansing	TOR	518	25	.952
Karexon Sanchez	Lake County	CLE	325	15	.954
Johnny Giavotella	Burlington	KCR	290	13	.955
Everth Cabrera	Asheville	COL	416	17	.959
Justin Snyder	Charleston	NYY	634	25	.961
Eric Farris	West Virginia	MIL	459	18	.961
MWL 2B			9309	323	.965
SAL 2B			10695	414	.961
A 2B			20004	737	.963

Adams barely edges out Rangers High A shortstop Marcus Lemon for the honor of the most errors committed at one position in the minors (so far). It's unsurprising that he had the worst fielding percentage among qualifiers at his position. Overall, fielding at second takes a hit when going below High A: A ball second sackers committed 170 more errors in a little over 400 fewer chances.

A Third Basemen

A 3B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Jonathan Greene	Clinton	TEX	349	31	.911
Bobby Henson	Delmarva	BAL	350	29	.917
Justin Baum	Fort Wayne	SDP	272	29	.893
Kevin Ahrens	Lansing	TOR	286	27	.906
Travis Mattair	Lakewood	PHI	356	26	.927
Domnit Bolivar	Quad Cities	STL	197	23	.883
Jovan Rosa	Peoria	CHC	189	21	.889
Gregory Sexton	Columbus	TBR	336	20	.940
Jay Brossman	Cedar Rapids	LAA	262	19	.927
3 tied with				18

A 3B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 125 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Domnit Bolivar	Quad Cities	STL	197	23	.883
Jovan Rosa	Peoria	CHC	189	21	.889
Matthew Hague	Hickory	PIT	128	14	.891
Justin Baum	Fort Wayne	SDP	272	29	.893
Samuel Sime	Rome	ATL	149	15	.899
Robert Spain	Hickory	PIT	161	16	.901
Jason Taylor	Burlington	KCR	136	13	.904
Kevin Ahrens	Lansing	TOR	286	27	.906
Jonathan Greene	Clinton	TEX	349	31	.911
Ron Bourquin	West Michigan	DET	166	14	.916
MWL 3B			5391	441	.918
SAL 3B			6025	475	.921
A 3B			11416	916	.920

The top error totals at third base are relatively modest. Half of the second list is guys who couldn't crack .900 in fielding percentage, the most of any position at any level so far. Once again fielding suffered when going down a level: A ball third basemen committed 90 more errors in 139 more chances than players at the hot corner in High A. The worst fielding percentage table is littered with Midwest Leaguers, a fact reflected in the lower collective fielding percentage of that league.

A Shortstops

A SS Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Carmen Angelini	Charleston	NYY	564	42	.926
Audy Ciriaco	West Michigan	DET	510	41	.920
Charlie Culberson	Augusta	SFG	354	35	.901
Helder Velazquez	Asheville	COL	407	32	.921
Osvaldo Martinez	Greensboro	FLA	361	28	.922
Lance Zawadzki	Fort Wayne	SDP	337	27	.920
Justin Jackson	Lansing	TOR	593	26	.956
Andrew Romine	Cedar Rapids	LAA	605	25	.959
Juan Diaz	Wisconsin	SEA	541	25	.954
Nathan Samson	Peoria	CHC	538	25	.954
Michael Richard	Kane County	OAK	342	25	.927

A+ SS Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 250 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Charlie Culberson	Augusta	SFG	354	35	.901
Audy Ciriaco	West Michigan	DET	510	41	.920
Lance Zawadzki	Fort Wayne	SDP	337	27	.920
Helder Velazquez	Asheville	COL	407	32	.921
Osvaldo Martinez	Greensboro	FLA	361	28	.922
Oscar Tejeda	Greenville	BOS	290	22	.924
Carmen Angelini	Charleston	NYY	564	42	.926
Michael Richard	Kane County	OAK	342	25	.927
Michael Fisher	Rome	ATL	325	21	.935
Matthew Cline	West Virginia	MIL	313	19	.939
MWL SS			8889	483	.946
SAL SS			10279	609	.941
A SS			19168	1092	.943

A couple shortstops keep Ryan Adams company in the 40+ errors club. Speaking of Adams, he played seven games at short as well, committing five errors. Overall, he committed 52 errors, the most in A ball. Also related to Adams, this is the only infield position that doesn't feature a Delmarva (Baltimore) player on the boards. Starting only half his team's games prevented 19-year-old Charlie Culberson from reaching 40+ errors. Carmen Angelini, the errors leader, also led the level in innings played with 1127 2/3. Phillies prospect Freddy Galvis was right behind him at 1124 and committed half as many errors.

A Outfielders

A OF Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
D'Marcus Ingram	Quad Cities	STL	178	12	.933
Maiko Loyola	Columbus	TBR	272	11	.960
Mark Dolenc	Beloit	MIN	221	11	.950
Maximo Mendez	Wisconsin	SEA	213	11	.948
Shane Keough	Kane County	OAK	131	11	.916
Austin Krum	Charleston	NYY	238	10	.958
Dominic Brown	Lakewood	PHI	230	10	.957
Moises Sierra	Lansing	TOR	223	10	.955
Ben Revere	Beloit	MIN	175	10	.943
3 tied with				9

A OF Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 200 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Maximo Mendez	Wisconsin	SEA	213	11	.948
Mark Dolenc	Beloit	MIN	221	11	.950
Moises Sierra	Lansing	TOR	223	10	.955
Dominic Brown	Lakewood	PHI	230	10	.957
Austin Krum	Charleston	NYY	238	10	.958
Maiko Loyola	Columbus	TBR	272	11	.960
Che-Hsuan Lin	Greenville	BOS	207	8	.961
Jason Heyward	Rome	ATL	233	9	.961
Denis Phipps	Dayton	CIN	258	9	.965
Matthew Brown	Lake County	CLE	203	7	.966
MWL OF			11259	344	.969
SAL OF			12587	382	.970
A OF			23846	726	.970

Once again a dozen errors in the outfield is enough to place a player on top of the errors leaderboard. Like Carlos Peguero in High A, D'Marcus Ingram led the errors list without accepting enough total chances to appear on the fielding percentage board. Both leagues were pretty even in cumulative outfield fielding percentage.