Most Career PA, Zero Triples

Admittedly I don't watch him all that often, but Ryan Howard doesn't seem like a very fast ballplayer to me. Call it an assumption about large first basemen. Howard hit a triple in tonight's NLCS game and I figured it had to be one of only a few in his career. It turns out it was his first in postseason play, but twelfth overall in his major league career. Not only that, but he stole eight bases this year. You learn something new every day, I suppose.

It seems as though if a player plays long enough, he'll wind up hitting a triple. Cecil Fielder had six triples by the time he swiped his first base, over 1000 games into his career. Javier Valentin may never have attempted to steal a base but he legged out five triples in his career. Bill Schroeder, a run-of-the-mill 1980s catcher, brags about how his only career triple, also his first major league hit, must have screwed up scouting reports on him for a while.

But not every player is lucky enough to accomplish the career cycle. The following players just couldn't hit it far enough away from the defense to run 270 feet.

Most Career PA, Zero Triples
(position players)

1. Johnny Estrada, 2244
   
2. Jason Phillips, 1537
3. Mark Parent, 1428
4. Craig Worthington, 1423
5. Ramon Castro, 1400*
6. Sal Fasano, 1245*
7. Earl Averill, 1217
8. Aaron Guiel, 1099
9. Kelly Shoppach, 1043*
10. Doc Edwards, 973
11. Jim Traber, 897
12. Geronimo Gil, 887
13. Chris Coste, 885*
14. Jeff Mathis, 861*
15. Troy Neel, 861
16. Bob Uecker, 843
17. Brian Giles, 791
18. Hawk Taylor, 766
19. Bob Burda, 723
20. Scott Hemond, 687

* - active player (majors or minors in 2009)

Worthington (3B), Guiel (RF), Traber (1B), Neel (1B), Giles (2B), and Burda (1B) are the non-catchers on the above list. Giles, not related to the current Padre, actually stole seventeen bases one season. Of course, he was caught ten times that year. The active non-catcher leader is Scott Thorman, with 440. Thorman spent 2009 in AAA with Kansas City and Texas. Among players who appeared in the majors in 2009, Paul Janish is the active leader with 381. Robert Andino is seven behind Janish.

Most Career PA, Zero Triples
(pitchers)

1. Gaylord Perry, 1220
2. Whitey Ford, 1208
3. Tommy John, 1030
4. Lefty Gomez, 1024
5. Bob Buhl, 952
6. Burt Hooten, 913
7. Curt Davis, 904
8. Andy Benes, 880
9. Larry Dierker, 876
10. Sandy Koufax, 858
11. Dave McNally, 848
12. Rick Rhoden, 830
13. Andy Messersmith, 826
14. Mike Krukow, 819
15. Dick Donovan, 801
16. Darryl Kile, 786
17. Ken Raffensberger, 779
18. Dean Chance, 759
19. Pat Malone, 752
20. Mike Scott, 743

No active players are in the top twenty. The active leader is Jason Schmidt with 712. Randy Johnson is at 691 and Roy Oswalt is third with 670. One notable in the above list: Bob Buhl's 0 for 70 in 1962 is a record for hitting futility.

Most Plate Appearances, No Singles

Brad Nelson, 0 for 21 this year, was outrighted (booted off the 40-man roster but not released) to the minors by Milwaukee earlier this week. Since he was outrighted once before, he had the option to choose free agency rather than report to AAA. He did and has had contact from several teams. Until he signs, however, his brief major league career qualifies him for the following list:

Most Career Plate Apperances, No Singles

Name	Years	PA	H	2B	3B	HR
Bobby Tiefenauer	1952-1968	48	1	1	0	0
Randy Tate	1975	47	0	0	0	0
Bo McLaughlin	1976-1982	45	0	0	0	0
Tony McKnight	2000-2001	44	0	0	0	0
Daryl Patterson	1968-1974	37	0	0	0	0
Charlie Cady	1883-1884	36	2	1	1	0
George Borchers	1888-1895	34	2	2	0	0
Ted Davidson	1965-1968	34	0	0	0	0
Charley Stanceu	1941-1946	34	0	0	0	0
Hank Biasatti	1949	33	2	2	0	0
Andy Hassler	1971-1985	31	0	0	0	0
Brad Nelson	2008-2009	31	2	2	0	0
Sean Burnett	2004-2008	30	1	1	0	0
Skip Pitlock	1970-1975	30	2	1	0	1

As you can tell by the years each played, most of those players were pitches. Only Hank Biasatti, a first baseman for the Athletics, and Nelson were not pitchers for a significant portion of their careers. Charlie Cody started five games as a pitcher and also appeared in the outfield, second base, and catcher.

Another active position player who has struggled to single is Matthew Brown, a third baseman for the Angels. He batted 27 times in 2007 and 2008, hitting only a double. Brown is currently playing for the AAA Salt Lake Bees. Both Nelson and Brown will likely get more chances to single in the majors, so hopefully their time around this list is short.

A Couple Quick Notes

Just a couple things to pass along:

• Plunk Everyone is a blog dedicated to the humble hit by pitch. It's well worth reading. The author mentioned both on his blog and in a post at Brew Crew Ball on Tuesday that Jason Kendall became only the second player to be hit by all 30 major league teams (can you guess the first without looking? I'm guessing you'll be surprised). The Brewers backstop has now been hit 235 times by 184 pitchers.
  
  
• Elias Says..., a column at ESPN.com, notes that nine different Mets have tripled over the teams last nine games coming into today. The Mets are the first team to do that since 1983. Right on cue, Jeremy Reed hit his first triple of the season today to become the tenth player in ten games, but it wasn't enough to stop New York from losing to Florida.
  
  
• Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers was the winning pitcher in his team's 1-0 victory. He also hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the 7th inning. He departed after the 8th inning, having thrown 116 pitches. Had he pitched a scoreless ninth, he would have joined the following pitchers since 1954 who homered in all their team's runs while throwing a shutout:
  
  
  • Bob Welch (LAD) on June 17, 1983 - won 1-0
  • Juan Pizarro (CHC) on September 16, 1971 - won 1-0
  • Sonny Siebert (BOS) on September 2, 1971 - won 3-0
    
  • Jim Bunning (PHI) on May 5, 1965 - won 1-0
  • Early Wynn (CHW) on May 1, 1959 - won 1-0
  
  There are a couple honorable mentions as well. Juan Pizarro drove in both Cubs runs during his 2-0 shutout on May 10, 1963 but only one came via the long ball. Also, though Roger Freed drove in one run, that shouldn't take away from Rick Wise's 3 RBI on 2 HR for the Phillies on June 23, 1971 -- all while he was no-hitting the Reds.
  

Most Extra Base Hits Allowed in a Season

Before the 2008 season began, I had two posts listing the most doubles allowed in a season and the most triples allowed in a season (both were written before the B-R Play Index included 1956 data). It's easy to find a list of the most home runs allowed in a season. For whatever reason, I never put all three together...until today. Here are the pitchers who have allowed the most extra base hits in a single season since 1956.

Most Extra Base Hits Allowed in a Season, 1956-2007

Name	Team	Year	XBH Allowed	IP
Robin Roberts	PHI	1956	117	297.1
Rick Helling	TEX	2001	116	215.2
Jose Lima	HOU	2000	108	196.1
Darrell May	KCR	2004	105	186.0
Eric Milton	CIN	2005	102	186.1
Brad Radke	MIN	1996	101	232.0
Rick Helling	TEX	2000	100	217.0
Bert Blyleven	MIN	1986	100	271.2
Mickey Lolich	DET	1973	99	308.2
Rick Helling	TEX	1999	98	219.1
Chris Capuano	MIL	2006	97	221.1
Phil Niekro	ATL	1979	97	342.0
Mickey Lolich	DET	1974	96	308.0
Robin Roberts	PHI	1957	96	249.2
Brett Tomko	STL	2003	95	202.2
Jeff Suppan	KCR	2000	95	217.0
Mike Mussina	BAL	1996	95	243.1
Jim Perry	MIN	1971	95	270.0
Jim Merritt	CIN	1970	95	234.0
Jim Merritt	CIN	1969	95	251.0

Most Career Triples, No Stolen Bases

A triple is often considered one of the most exciting plays in baseball. There's a combination of a hard-hit ball, speed around the bases, and usually a close play at third base. Sometimes, however, even the slowest hitters on the team can wind up with a three base hit. Cases in point: Well-known large, slow man Cecil Fielder had seven career triples and Eddie Perez had two career triples despite his near-glacial speed.

Usually, however, even the slow guys who get triples also manage to steal a base or two at some point in their career. It took him ten seasons, but Fielder had two in his career and even Eddie Perez stole a base (off Gregg Zaun, for what it's worth). Rare indeed is the player who manages to rap out a triple without stealing a base in his career. Fewer still have managed to hit multiple triples without stealing a base: only twenty-one position players since 1901 have hit at least five triples without ever successfully stealing a base.

Most Career Triples, Zero Career Stolen Bases, 1901-2007

• Russ Nixon, 19
• Aaron Robinson, 11
• Richie Scheinblum, 9
  Billy Bryan, 9
• Frank Colman, 8
• Al Ferrara, 7
  Mike Garbark, 7
• Adrian Gonzalez*, 6
  Jose Morales, 6
  Hal Breeden, 6
  Eddie Kazak, 6
• Javier Valentin*, 5
  Lance Niekro*, 5
  Bob Sheldon, 5
  Jack Hiatt, 5
  Don Dillard, 5
  Bob Bowman, 5
  Al Lakeman, 5
  Augie Bergamo, 5
  Gene Hasson, 5
  Ben Sankey, 5

* - active player

Now that I've posted this, Adrian Gonzalez or Javier Valentin will probably steal a base tonight.

Slugging Percentage is for Wussies

I've gone kind of crazy with different streaks lately and that will unapologetically continue today. A few weeks ago, I made a list of what I called Anti-DiMaggios, players with the longest streak of consecutive games played without a hit. Today features another negative streak, though not as harmful as going hitless. I've looked up all the position players who have gone at least sixty-five consecutive games without an extra base hit. Remember, for hitting streaks, a game only counts if the player gets an at-bat or sacrifice fly (pinch-hit walks don't snap them).

I thought about calling these guys the Anti-Griffey/Mattingly/Longs, after the players holding the record for consecutive games with a home run, but that doesn't quite fit (and it's pretty cumbersome). "Anti-Joneses" is an option, but how many people can identify Chipper Jones as the guy who holds the record for consecutive games with an extra base hit (more on that later)? Maybe "Swatless Swingers" would work, but it sounds pretty corny. Whatever you call them, you can't deny their lack of power.

Most Consecutive Games With Zero Extra Base Hits, 1956-2008

Rank	Name	Games	AB	Start	End
1	Greg Gross	100	156	6/5/1988	9/27/1989
2	Luis Gomez	88	198	5/29/1974	5/28/1976
3	Scott Pose	87	151	5/30/1999	9/29/2000
4	Jose Valdivielso	80	221	6/19/1960	5/30/1961
5	Manny Mota	75	75	5/26/1978	9/1/1982
6	Junior Noboa	74	111	5/27/1991	4/7/1994
7	Tom Hutton	73	86	7/5/1979	7/15/1980
8	Mike Mordecai	71	127	4/25/1997	6/16/1998
9	Dal Maxvill	69	184	4/9/1970	7/19/1970
	Frank Baumholtz	69	102	4/22/1956	5/26/1957
11	Jose Oquendo	68	166	7/19/1992	6/14/1994
	Wayne Tolleson	68	210	5/28/1987	6/11/1988
	Denny Walling	68	113	6/15/1982	6/26/1983
14	Stan Javier	67	94	6/29/1991	5/18/1992
	Larry Lintz	67	216	9/3/1974	8/26/1975
	Al Weis	67	158	7/16/1965	8/17/1966
17	Manny Mota	66	71	5/26/1974	7/9/1975
	Mike Fiore	66	95	5/22/1970	8/10/1971
19	Duane Kuiper	65	109	8/22/1983	9/7/1984
	Marty Keough	65	90	9/27/1964	7/6/1966
	Phil Gagliano	65	136	7/9/1969	5/4/1971

The longest "active" streak belongs to Orlando Palmeiro (44 games), but he's retired. The next longest current streak is 33 games belonging to Jason Wood, but he's now playing for the Marlins' AAA affiliate in Albuquerque. That means the longest active streak for a player currently on a major league roster is 31 games (through 4/21/08), belonging to Willie Bloomquist of the Mariners. Mark Sweeney of the Dodgers is right behind him at 30 games.

Most Triples Allowed in a Season

One of the many interesting things the Retrosheet data used by the Baseball-Reference.com Play Index allows you to do is look at the number of specific types of base hits allowed by pitchers. Looking at a typical pitcher's line in any common reference source usually only reveals base hits allowed and home runs allowed. The play-by-play data compiled by Retrosheet makes it possible to find out how many of those base hits were singles, doubles, and triples, as well. Unfortunately, play-by-play data only goes back to 1957 and there are a number of games missing prior to 1970, but the data still provides interesting numbers from the past half century.

In 2007, Josh Fogg of the Colorado Rockies led all pitchers with ten triples allowed. Kip Wells and Tim Hudson tied for second place, with nine. The AL leader was Chad Gaudin, with eight. Only twenty pitchers since 1957 have allowed fourteen or more triples in a single season.

Most Triples Allowed in a Season, 1957-2007

Name	Team	Year	3B Allowed	IP
Larry Christenson	PHI	1976	17	168.2
Jim Perry	MIN	1971	17	270.0
Bret Saberhagen	KCR	1988	16	260.2
Paul Thormodsgard	MIN	1977	16	218.0
Tony Cloninger	MLN	1964	16	242.2
Chris Short	PHI	1963	16	198.0
Jason Schmidt	PIT	1999	15	212.2
Rick Sutcliffe	CLE/CHC	1984	14	244.2
Randy Jones	SDP	1979	14	263.0
Craig Swan	NYM	1979	14	251.1
Jim Barr	SFG	1977	14	234.1
Dave Goltz	MIN	1977	14	303.0
Jim Kaat	PHI	1977	14	160.1
Jim Barr	SFG	1975	14	244.0
Bill Greif	SDP	1974	14	226.0
Steve Carlton	PHI	1973	14	293.1
Gaylord Perry	SFG	1970	14	328.2
Mike McCormick	WSA	1966	14	216.0
Bob Friend	PIT	1960	14	275.2
Curt Simmons	PHI	1957	14	212.0

I'm kind of surprised only two of these season occurred in the 1980's. I would've thought there would be more of a balance between the 1970's and 1980's, but maybe pitchers threw fewer innings and had less of an opportunity to join the list.

Fewest XBH by a Batting Title Qualifier, 1988-2007

I am amused by records of futility throughout baseball history. If you've read some of the older posts you've likely figured that out by now. Even the last couple posts have been about futility in a way: either individual lack of overall power or team lack of health/scoring/what have you. Today I want to continue that with another post about guys with very little power.

For those unfamiliar with the abbreviation XBH used in the title, it stands for Extra Base Hits (2B, 3B, & HR). Instead of finding players with low slugging percentages and marveling at their slap-hitting ways, I thought using a counting stat like XBH might cause other players to jump out. I don't know if that happened since the list is still a bunch of shortstops and Otis Nixon, but I think it's neat anyway.

I only looked at the past twenty seasons and set the minimum plate appearances to the batting title qualifier of 502 (hence the title). This cuts out all of 1994 and many players in 1995, but with a counting stat like XBH it's not really fair to penalize players for not having the same opportunity to raise their numbers. Really I guess you could say I'm only looking at the past eighteen-plus seasons, but that's all the fans got, right? :)

Fewest XBH by a Batting Title Qualifier, 1988-2007

1. Felix Fermin, 1989, 562 PA, 10 XBH
2. Jose Lind, 1992, 506, 15
3. Alfredo Griffin, 1990, 502, 15
4. Eric Yelding, 1990, 559, 15
5. Gary Pettis, 1989, 536, 15
6. Otis Nixon, 1993, 532, 16
7. Mike Caruso, 1999, 564, 17
8. Otis Nixon, 1996, 575, 17
9. Rey Ordonez, 1996, 530, 17
10. Darren Lewis, 1995, 527, 17
11. Walt Weiss, 1993, 591, 17
12. Willie Randolph, 1991, 512, 17
13. Rafael Santana, 1988, 521, 17
14. Brad Ausmus, 2003, 509, 18
15. Tom Goodwin, 1998, 608, 18
16. Omar Vizquel, 1993, 630, 18
17. Otis Nixon, 1992, 502, 18
18. Jose Oquendo, 1988, 518, 18
19. Brad Ausmus, 2006, 502, 19
20. Tom Goodwin, 1996, 587, 19
21. Carney Lansford, 1990, 564, 19

These twenty-one players are the only ones to finish a full season with fewer than twenty extra base hits while qualifying for the batting title in the past twenty years. I guess it works out to an average of about one per year but only one player has joined (twice) since 2000 so it's getting rarer.

Another player almost joined this list in 2007, but Reggie Willits knocked out 21 extra base hits in 518 PA. Futile offensive player Nick Punto managed to rap out 23 XBH with a slugging percentage of only .271, which is just sad. Jason Kendall, Luis Castillo, Omar Vizquel, and Mark Loretta were the only other qualifying players with fewer than thirty.

Most Triples in a Season with Zero Home Runs

The triple is, in my opinion, one of the more exciting plays in baseball. It doesn't happen very often and usually combines a maximum of hectic movement by the defense on the field with a runner going all out. Of course, so does a Prince Fielder inside-the-park home run, but what is that besides a lethal aberration?

This sort of brings up a good point, however. Players that hit a lot of triples might luck out into making one an inside-the-park home run regardless of their actual power. Players today also might hit the sweet spot of the bat and combine it with a quirky ballpark to knock one over the wall. Coupling smaller ballparks and less triples (I suppose they're likely linked already) means that it's harder for someone to rack up triples without at least one home run.

On the other extreme, back in the deadball era, triples were much more prevalent. Anyone who has read about the 1903 World Series knows that overflow crowds on the field led to a bizarre ground rule triple rule, leading to seventeen triples in that series alone. This was the exception, not the norm, but consider that from 1876 to 1919 hitters in the National League rapped out 25,974 triples in 50,342 games. By contrast, you have to go all the way back to 1949 to equal that number for hitters in the NL: since then there have been 25,855 triples in 109,694 games. In the same periods, 10,387 home runs were hit in the first era versus 93,524 in the second. Put another way, the "break-even point" (roughly equal for all seasons before and after) for triples in NL history was 1930; for home runs, the break-even point was 1975. For games played, it's 1958 so that's kind of quirky, right between the triples and home runs seasons, but I digress.

In any case, it'd presumably be a lot easier for a hitter in the deadball era to get a bunch of triples without any home runs. That's why I've broken down this record into two lists: pre-1920 and post-1920.

Most Triples in a Season with Zero Home Runs from 1876-1919

Rank	Name	Season	Triples
1	"Wee" Willie Keeler	1897	19
	Bill Kuehne	1885	19
3	Eddie Collins	1916	17
	John Coleman	1886	17
5	Kitty Bransfield	1901	16
6	Edd Roush	1916	15
	Dan McGann	1902	15
	Bill Phillips	1886	15
9	Frank Shugart	1892	14
	Sadie Houck	1884	14
11	Lee Magee	1918	13
	Doug Baird	1917	13
	Sam Crawford	1916	13
	Matty McIntyre	1908	13
	Joe Kelley	1904	13
	Jack Crooks	1891	13
	Pop Smith	1885	13
18	17 tied with		12

Most Triples in a Season with Zero Home Runs, 1920-2007

Rank	Name	Season	Triples
1	Rabbit Maranville	1922	15
2	Lance Johnson	1993	14
	Lloyd Waner	1935	14
4	Lance Johnson	1991	13
	Rodney Scott	1980	13
	Luke Appling	1940	13
	Willie Kamm	1927	13
	Charlie Grimm	1922	13
9	Earl McNeely	1926	12
	Heinie Groh	1920	12
11	Marvell Wynne	1984	11
	Larry Bowa	1979	11
	Roger Metzger	1971	11
	Doc Cramer	1937	11
	Billy Rogell	1933	11
	Jackie Tavener	1925	11
17	Greg Gross	1975	10
	Don Kessinger	1975	10
	Roger Metzger	1974	10
	Nellie Fox	1952	10
	Rabbit Maranville	1929	10
	Willie Kamm	1926	10
	Stuffy McInnis	1921	10

A lot of players on the second list played in the 1920's, but I'm kind of surprised by the number of hitters in the years after that. I guess the 1970's were a short-lived revival of the homer-less triples hitter.

Most PA in a Season, No Extra Base Hits

It's hard to play baseball for a long time as a position player and not get at least one extra base hit. Even if it's a home run off the sweet spot of the bat or a hustling bloop double, a player's line for a season generally won't be full of zeros in the 2B, 3B, and HR column. Unless, of course, they're one of the many pitchers that don't hit well, but they're in their own little universe (and don't count for these lists). Today I have two lists of players that didn't manage to get extra base hits after all. The first is the most PA in a season from 1901 to 1919 (the dead-ball era) and the second shows the most PA in a season from 1920 to the present.

Most PA in a Season, No Extra Base Hits, 1901-1919:

1. Jack O'Connor, 184 PA, 1906
2. Mike McNally, 151, 1916
3. Bill Stumpf, 143, 1912
4. Otis Lawry, 137, 1916
5. Gene Good, 135, 1906
6. Bill McKechnie, 129, 1913
7. Grover Land, 119, 1910
8. Bill Carrigan, 118, 1906
9. Mike Massey, 114, 1917
10. Dave Shean, 110, 1919

Most PA in a Season, No Extra Base Hits, 1920-2007:

1. Dwain Anderson, 144 PA, 1973
2. Dave Nelson, 137, 1969
3. Pat Corrales, 135, 1972
4. Mike Gallego, 132, 1995
5. Bob Swift, 118, 1951
6. Paul Casanova, 113, 1974
7. Frank Baumholtz, 112, 1956
8. Doc Ferrell, 112, 1933
9. Tom Egan, 109, 1974
10. John Simmons, 107, 1949

The way I took pitchers out was to say anyone who appeared in over 50% of their games as anything but a pitcher counts. Oddly, Lynn Nelson, a righthanded starting pitcher for the 1938 Philadelphia Athletics showed up on my 1920-2007 list. Some investigation revealed he pitched in 32 games but batted in 67, meaning he showed up 35 times as a pinch-hitter. He had 119 plate appearances without an extra base hit that season, so it seems weird he'd continually be used. Looking back one year to 1937, however, you see he had a .354/.387/.549 line in 120 PA, including 4 home runs (and 6 games in left field), so I guess they were hoping it wasn't a fluke. Unfortunately, he never hit that well again.

For the curious: Chris Heintz, a Twins catcher, had the most PA without an extra base hit in 2007 with 61.

20+ HR, 3B, 2B, SB

If you're curious about how many people are in the 20-20-20-20 club now that Curtis Granderson joined, check out this short article at Beyond the Box Score. I think it's pretty neat.

Triples after 40

Generally as ballplayers age, they start losing speed on the basepaths. Today, lets look at guys who could still run out three-base hits, even after they passed forty years old.

Only ten players have hit ten or more triples after turning forty:

1. Honus Wagner, 36
2. Sam Rice, 32
3. Cap Anson, 26
4. Pete Rose, 18
5. Jim O'Rourke, 17
6. Joe Start, 17
7. Steve Finley, 15
8. Luke Appling, 11
9. Ty Cobb, 11
10. Deacon White, 10

Here's the players with plate appearances in 2007 that have at least one triple since their fortieth birthday:

1. Steve Finley, 15
2. Julio Franco, 7
3. Jeff Conine, 5
   
4. Kenny Lofton, 4
5. Craig Biggio, 3
6. Omar Vizquel, 2
7. Orlando Hernandez, 1
8. Kenny Rogers, 1