SO > TB, Minimum 200 AB

This post details one of my personal favorite "teams." It's weird, comparing strikeouts to total bases, but whatever. I guess it springs out of the generalization that strikeouts are okay if you trade them for power. These players just couldn't break even.

The full list since 1901 can be found by following the above link. Andruw Jones and Tony Pena Jr. were new additions last season. The following players have a chance to join them in 2009:

Chris Davis, 128 K, 126 TB, 303 AB
Bill Hall, 95 K, 94 TB, 270 AB
Kelly Shoppach, 90 K, 91 TB, 235 AB
Koyie Hill, 67 K, 71 TB, 212 AB
Jeff Mathis, 64 K, 64 K, 198 AB

Jeff Mathis had as many strikeouts as total bases in 2008 as well. At least he's consistent.

SO > TB, Minimum 200 AB

My first real post on this blog had to do with one of my favorite topics: guys with more strikeouts than total bases. Since I never posted a follow-up with 2007 and 2008 players added, I figured now was a good time. The 2009 season is about one-quarter over, so it's also easy to look at guys who might join the list.

First up, the updated list of players with more strikeouts than total bases in 200 or more at bats:

Name	Year	Team	Position	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	CF	210	.167	.272	.305	64	81	53
Andruw Jones	2008	LAD	CF	209	.158	.256	.249	52	76	34
Tony Pena	2008	KCR	SS	225	.169	.189	.209	47	49	7

Angels catcher Jeff Mathis came close to joining in 2008. Fortunately for him, two singles in his last two at-bats of the campaign gave him 90 total bases to go with his 90 strikeouts in 283 at bats.

As I said, the 2009 season is roughly 25% over. Here are the players with more strikeouts than total bases in 50 or more AB so far:

• Brent Lillibridge, CHW - 68 AB, 13 TB, 21 SO
• Edwin Encarnacion, CIN - 63 AB, 12 TB, 19 SO
• Jordan Schafer, ATL - 125 AB, 40 TB, 46 SO
• B.J. Upton, TBR - 136 AB, 38 TB, 43 SO
• Cameron Maybin, FLA - 84 AB, 26 TB, 31 SO
• Josh Fields, CHW - 129 AB, 40 TB, 43 SO
• Travis Ishikawa, SFG - 89 AB, 26 TB, 28 SO
• Ramon Vazquez, PIT - 59 AB, 13 TB, 15 SO
• Jeff Mathis, LAA - 58 AB, 16 TB, 18 SO
• Kelly Shoppach, CLE - 66 AB, 26 TB, 27 SO
• Rob Johnson, SEA - 63 AB, 18 TB, 19 SO

Two or Fewer Total Bases

After going 1 for 4 in tonight's game, Jason Kendall of the Brewers is hitting .143/.245/.167. He's got six hits (five singles and a double), five walks, and one hit by pitch. His lack of power is well-known around baseball, thanks in large part to his 6 HR in 2453 plate appearances since leaving Pittsburgh. So far this season Kendall has played in thirteen games and has had fewer than two total bases in each.

I'm sure he'll manage to hit three singles, a double and a single, or even a home run at some point, but it might take a while. So that thought made me curious about the longest streak of games with two or fewer total bases to start a season, especially among starters.

Given that he's both punchless and a catcher, Kendall isn't likely to pinch-hit much. I'm not that interested in a list that includes pinch-hitters anyway, because I don't think a guy should be penalized for not hitting pinch-hit triples or home runs very often. Therefore I've looked only at games where the player in question had two or more plate appearances. Obviously, a triple or home run could be overlooked, but that's okay.

As usual, this covers players from 1954 to the present.

Most Consecutive Games with Two or Fewer Total Bases to Start a Season
(minimum 2 PA in each game)

• Ruben Amaro, 1960 PHI - 82 games
• Dal Maxvill, 1970 STL - 69 games
• Bill Russell, 1975 LAD - 64 games
• Fred Stanley, 1982 OAK - 63 games
• Rich Morales, 1973 CHW-SDP - 58 games
• Dave Concepcion, 1988 CIN - 55 games
• Luis Gomez, 1980 ATL - 55 games
• Alvaro Espinoza, 1989 NYY - 49 games
• Fred Kendall, 1976 SDP - 47 games
• Wilbur Wood, 1972 CHW - 46 games
  
• Al Weis, 1966 CHW - 46 games
• Lance Blankenship, 1990 OAK - 45 games
• Pat Rockett, 1978 ATL - 45 games

So not only does Kendall have months to go to match Amaro, he's got a ways to go before he reaches his dad's mark. Fans who were around in the 1970's no doubt recognize lefthanded knuckleballer Wilbur Wood. He actually started 49 games in 1972 but was pulled before batting twice in three of them.

It's been nearly two decades since someone went 45 games into the season without 3+ total bases in a game, though, so let's look at a list of players since 2000. Unsurprisingly, the list is littered with pitchers, so I'm going to drop them.

Most Consecutive Games with Two or Fewer Total Bases to Start a Season
(since 2000; minimum 2 PA in each game)

• Ramon Martinez, 2007 LAD - 35 games
• Luis Rivas, 2005 MIN - 34 games
• Ross Gload, 2008 KCR - 31 games
• Jorge Fabregas, 2002 ANA-MIL - 31 games
• Willie Bloomquist, 2008 SEA - 30 games
• Adam Everett, 2002 HOU - 30 games

Jason Kendall reached 28 games to start the 2007 season, one year after going 23 games without three total bases. Two doubles and a single in the second game of last season messed up the trend, but 2009 might still be his year.

More Strikeouts than Hits, Total Bases

Individual batting strikeouts have been recorded all through major league history except for 1897-1909 in the National League, 1901-1912 in the American League, and all except two seasons of the 1880's American Association. Keeping those gaps in mind, there have only been thirty-four non-pitchers who have had over 100 more strikeouts than hits in their playing career.

Non-Pitchers with 100+ More Strikeouts than Hits in Career

Name	Years	SO	H	SO-H
Rob Deer	1984-1996	1409	853	556
Russell Branyan	1998-2008	797	460	337
Adam Dunn	2001-2008	1256	955	301
Gorman Thomas	1973-1986	1339	1051	288
Dave Nicholson	1960-1967	573	301	272
Bo Jackson	1986-1994	841	598	243
Mark Bellhorn	1997-2007	723	484	239
Pete Incaviglia	1986-1998	1277	1043	234
Jose Hernandez	1991-2006	1391	1166	225
Melvin Nieves	1992-1998	483	284	199
Jack Cust	2001-2008	420	244	176
Ron Karkovice	1986-1997	749	574	175
Mickey Tettleton	1984-1997	1307	1132	175
Mike Cameron	1995-2008	1642	1474	168
Ruben Rivera	1995-2003	510	343	167
Brad Wilkerson	2001-2008	947	788	159
Steve Balboni	1981-1993	856	714	142
Jim Thome	1991-2008	2190	2048	142
Carlos Pena	2001-2008	810	669	141
Tom Egan	1965-1975	336	196	140
Shane Andrews	1995-2002	515	375	140
Jason LaRue	1999-2008	731	592	139
Ray Oyler	1965-1970	359	221	138
Don Lock	1962-1969	776	642	134
Jay Buhner	1987-2001	1406	1273	133
Wily Mo Pena	2002-2008	520	402	118
Jonny Gomes	2003-2008	413	297	116
Craig Wilson	2001-2007	643	527	116
Ryan Howard	2004-2008	692	578	114
Pat Burrell	2000-2008	1273	1166	107
Todd Hundley	1990-2003	988	883	105
Gary Pettis	1982-1992	958	855	103
Dean Palmer	1989-2003	1332	1229	103
Mark Reynolds	2007-2008	333	231	102

In addition to the guys with more strikeouts than hits, there have also been some players with more strikeouts than total bases. It's a list mostly made up of players with short careers and very little power. Ten guys have wound up with 20 more strikeouts than total bases:

Non-Pitchers with 20+ More Strikeouts than Total Bases in Career

Name	Years	SO	TB	SO-TB
Tom Egan	1965-1975	336	293	43
Ray Oyler	1965-1970	359	317	42
Dave Nicholson	1960-1967	573	540	33
Ed Gastfield	1884-1885	37	7	30
Dave Adlesh	1963-1968	80	51	29
Chris Latham	1997-2003	85	59	26
Rob Nelson	1986-1990	66	43	23
Enrique Cruz	2003-2007	30	7	23
Moe Thacker	1958-1963	81	59	22
Tom Brown	1963	45	24	21

P.S. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that the idea for this post came from an article about Mike Cameron posted on BrewCrewBall.com.

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...

SO > TB, Minimum 200 AB

One of the first quirky things I ever wanted to investigate was the number of players who managed to have a "strikeout percentage" above their slugging percentage in a season. I also wanted to make sure the list only consisted of players who stuck with a team for a significant part of the year, so I set a minimum of 200 AB. I figure that makes up at least half a season for a bench/platoon player. The initial results of this study were posted by me on Brew Crew Ball, so any visitors from there may be familiar with this.

These are all the players from 1901 to 2007 who have accomplished the feat.

Name	Year	Team	Position	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

Kimera Bartee holds the record for highest batting average among the players listed with .253 in 1996. Jack Clark's .350 in 1992 is the OBP leader. Rob Deer, unsurprisingly, has the slugging record with .386 in 1991. Deer's .700 is the highest OPS, as well. When you use OPS+, however, Dave Nicholson is the leader, with 96 in 1964. Go figure, none of these guys was an average offensive player. Interestingly, Bill Bergen's 1911 campaign scores a -4 OPS+.

Billy Consolo, Ray Oyler and Gary Pettis are the only multiple offenders. Rob Deer (25), Reggie Jackson (14) and Dave Nicholson (13) were the only players with double-digit home runs in their seasons. Bobby Bonds and Dick Tracewski were only one strikeout away from having the same total bases and strikeouts. Darrel Chaney had 26 fewer total bases than strikeouts in 1969 and actually had the same number in both categories in 1973. The only two batters to record over 400 AB in the season were Rob Deer and, of all people, Benji Gil.

There are a few players this season who have a shot at finishing with total bases than strikeouts in over 200 AB.

• Ryan Langerhans has 189 AB with 54 TB and 71 SO and could potentially become the first player to perform the feat while playing for three teams during the year.
• Joe Borchard has 179 AB with 56 TB and 60 SO, but he was recently designated for assignment by Florida.
• Ryan Shealy has 172 AB with 53 TB and 53 SO though he probably won't be called up to get the final 28 AB he needs to make the cut.
• Wily Mo Pena has 59 TB and 56 SO in 151 AB, but he doesn't play often enough to become a serious contender.

If your team is already out of the running or you just need a distraction from the stress of a pennant race, you now have something to check out.