.300 Hitters Who Didn't Stick

One of baseball's "big" numbers is .300. If you hit .300 or better, you're a good hitter. As the following players can attest, however, hitting .300 isn't always enough to stick in the major leagues.

Since 1954, thirteen players have hit .300 in more than 50 but fewer than 500 career plate appearances. Players who appeared in the majors during 2009 were not included. I chose fifty PA as the minimum because it takes at least ten starts to rack up that many times at the plate. Impressive as John Paciorek's career was, it doesn't fit the spirit of this post. By the end of this post, you'll see why I used 500 as the maximum.

Name	Year(s)	Age	Team(s)	Pos	PA	AB	AVG/OBP/SLG
Kevin Rhomberg	1982-1984	26-28	CLE	LF	52	47	.383/.423/.447
Randy Asadoor	1986	23	SDP	3B	60	55	.364/.397/.455
Rudy Pemberton	1995-1997	25-27	DET BOS	RF	147	134	.336/.395/.515
Joe Hall	1994-1995 1997	28-31	CHW DET	LF	52	47	.319/.385/.468
Norris Hopper	2006-2008	27-29	CIN	CF	440	396	.316/.367/.371
Victor Mata	1984-1985	23-24	NYY	CF	83	77	.312/.316/.416
Bob Hazle	1955 1957-1958	24-27	CIN MLN DET	RF	297	261	.310/.390/.467
D.T. Cromer	2000-2001	29-30	CIN	1B	114	104	.308/.327/.577
Eddy Garabito	2005	28	COL	2B	102	88	.307/.384/.398
Bob Henley	1998	25	MON	C	132	115	.304/.377/.470
Andy Barkett	2001	26	PIT	LF	51	46	.304/.373/.413
Jose Ortiz	1969-1971	22-24	CHW CHC	CF	136	123	.301/.358/.390
Gerry Davis	1983 1985	24-26	SDP	RF	82	73	.301/.370/.397

The position listed is where the player spent the most time. Almost every player on the list played two or more positions.

Bob Hazle is probably the most famous name on this list. He hit .403 down the stretch in 1957 to help the Braves win the NL pennant. A slow start in 1958 doomed his career. Norris Hooper may still appear again in the majors. He played in AAA for the Reds, White Sox, and Nationals in 2009.

It's worth noting that two pitchers also qualified under the 50-500 PA criteria. Terry Forster, who pitched for five teams from 1971 to 1984, hit .397/.413/.474 over 86 plate appearances during his career. He was one for four as a pinch hitter. Renie Martin, who pitched for three teams from 1979 to 1984, hit .301 over 90 plate appearances. He was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Obviously, small sample size applies to all of these players. Who knows if they would have been able to hit .300 over a longer career. The fact remains, however, that they hit well in the few opportunities they were given.

I thought it would be interesting to post the following list as well. If you take out active players, here are the .300 hitters who debuted in 1954 or later with the fewest career plate appearances (min. 400):

1. Norris Hopper, 440 (.316)
   
2. Lyman Bostock, 2214 (.311)
   
3. Reggie Jefferson, 2300 (.300)
   
4. Manny Mota, 4227 (.304)
   
5. Rusty Greer, 4420 (.305)
   
6. Hal Morris, 4443 (.304)
   
7. John Kruk, 4603 (.300)
   
8. Mike Greenwell, 5166 (.303)
   
9. Ralph Garr, 5456 (.306)
   
10. Pedro Guerrero, 6115 (.300)

It looks like Norris Hopper has found a uncomfortable niche between flash in the pan and solid regular.

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.

Three True Outcomes Per Plate Appearance, 1913-2009

An update to my Three True Outcomes (TTO) posts of January 2008 and July 2009. This version is complete through 2009. Once again, I have expanded the board by five more places.

Most Career TTO/PA, 1913-2009, min. 3000 PA

Rank	Name	PA	SO	BB	HR	TTO/PA
1	Adam Dunn	5417	1433	913	316	.4914
2	Rob Deer	4512	1409	575	230	.4907
3	Ryan Howard	3145	878	406	222	.4789
4	Jim Thome	9463	2313	1619	564	.4751
5	Mark McGwire	7660	1596	1317	583	.4564
6	Carlos Pena	3713	973	495	202	.4498
7	Mickey Tettleton	5745	1307	949	245	.4353
8	Pat Burrell	5864	1392	842	265	.4262
9	Jay Buhner	5927	1406	792	310	.4231
10	Gorman Thomas	5486	1339	697	268	.4200
11	Brad Wilkerson	3753	947	492	122	.4159
12	Danny Tartabull	5842	1362	768	262	.4094
13	Don Lock	3116	776	373	122	.4079
14	Jose Canseco	8129	1942	906	462	.4072
15	Troy Glaus	5872	1277	791	304	.4040
16	Jason Bay	3897	896	491	185	.4034
17	Mickey Mantle	9909	1710	1733	536	.4016
18	Reggie Jackson	11416	2597	1375	563	.3972
19	Nick Swisher	3119	665	439	133	.3966
20	Darryl Strawberry	6326	1352	816	335	.3957
21	Gene Tenace	5525	998	984	201	.3951
22	Pete Incaviglia	4677	1277	360	206	.3941
23	Richie Sexson	5604	1313	588	306	.3938
24	Eric Davis	6147	1398	740	282	.3937
25	Jim Edmonds	7307	1669	974	382	.3924
T-26	Cecil Fielder	5939	1316	693	319	.3920
T-26	Ray Lankford	6674	1550	828	238	.3920
28	Mike Schmidt	10062	1883	1507	548	.3914
29	Harmon Killebrew	9831	1699	1559	573	.3897
T-30	Sammy Sosa	9896	2306	929	609	.3884
T-30	Mike Cameron	7435	1798	825	265	.3884

If you carry it out beyond four decimal places the ties go away but, hey, I wanted an excuse to include another active player.

Russell Branyan is poised to jump atop the table with 176 more plate apperances. Through 2824 career PA, he has 946 strikeouts, 339 walks, and 164 home runs, good for a .5131 TTO/PA. If you add the necessary 176 TTO-less PA to get to 3000, he still places third with .4830. Not bad. Bo Jackson, of all people, pops up between Pete Incaviglia and Richie Sexson by the same method.

Another player who should make his way into the table next year is Brad Hawpe. He sits at .3983 after 2807 career plate appearances. If Tony Clark signs on somewhere next season, he might work his way back onto the list. He's currently 32nd at .3881.

Games Finished & Saves

As most baseball fans know, Trevor Hoffman is the all-time saves leader with 578 over the length of his career. His 578th save came last night against the Los Angeles Dodgers after a rocky ninth inning. While each save obviously sees him extend his own saves record, last night he tied another career mark. It was his 802nd career game finished, tying him with former saves leader Lee Smith.

Games finished (GF) is, really, a useless counting stat. All it tells you is that such-and-such pitcher was the last reliever to appear in a game for his team. That's not that impressive, right? After all, a guy who mops up blowouts can rack up games finished just as easily as a closer. Then again, chances are that guy mopping up blowouts probably won't stay in the league very long. So, one game finished isn't very impressive, but you have to be pretty darn good to get up to 500-600-700 GF.

With that in mind, here are the sixteen pitchers with over 600 games finished through August 3:

• Lee Smith, 802
  
• Trevor Hoffman, 802
• John Franco, 774
• Mariano Rivera, 753
• Rollie Fingers, 709
• Jeff Reardon, 695
• Rich Gossage, 681
• Roberto Hernandez, 667
• Hoyt Wilhelm, 651
• Doug Jones, 640
• Kent Tekulve, 638
• Billy Wagner, 637
• Sparky Lyle, 634
• Jose Mesa, 633
• Todd Jones, 619
• Gene Garber, 609

Three pitchers on that list are still active. Behind them, Troy Percival sits in 27th place with 546 and Jason Isringhausen is 37th with 467. The next healthy player is Francisco Cordero, 55th with 407. The top 1000 can be found here.

Many closers in need of work are used in the ninth inning even when it's not a save situation, so they end up with more games finished than saves. For players who became closers early in their career and never relinquished the role, a large percentage of their relief appearances result in games finished. Here are the top all-time pitchers in terms of game finished per relief appearance (min. 200 GF):

1. Kazuhiro Sasaki, 201 of 228, 88.2%
2. John Wetteland, 523 of 601, 87.0%
3. Bobby Jenks, 228 of 254, 86.8%
   
4. Rick Aguilera, 643 of 732, 86.6%
5. Bryan Harvey, 278 of 322, 86.3%
6. Robb Nen, 548 of 639, 85.8%
7. Billy Koch, 325 of 379, 85.8%
8. Tom Henke, 548 of 642, 85.4%
9. Jonathan Papelbon, 208 of 244, 85.2%
   
10. Mariano Rivera, 753 of 885, 85.1%

Hoffman has finished 802 of his 963 appearances, good for 83.3%.

Jamie Moyer's Milestone

Jamie Moyer is slated to take the mound for the Phillies on Wednesday night against the Chicago Cubs. It will be the 603rd start of his career, moving him into a tie with Randy Johnson for 20th all-time. Moyer is also knocking on the door of the top ten in career earned runs allowed, 24 behind #10 Bert Blyleven (1830). He's also getting close to 2000 career runs allowed.

However, neither run record will occur in the immediate future. He will, however, soon reach a milestone that may not be reached for a very long time, if ever. The seventh hit he allows Wednesday night (or from this point forward) will be the 4000th hit allowed of his career. He'll be the 39th pitcher in baseball history to reach that mark and the first since Tom Glavine in 2006. Behind Moyer, there's no one even close to 4000.

Randy Johnson is currently at 3339 hits allowed. John Smoltz just passed 3000, 37-year-old Andy Pettitte is at 2990. Always hittable Livan Hernandez is still five seasons of 200+ hits away from the mark. The top pitchers 30 and younger are Mark Buehrle (30) at 2043, Jon Garland (29) at 1850, and CC Sabathia (28) at 1656. It's hard to stay around long enough to give up 4000 hits, especially with the increase in strikeouts these days compared to the past.

Here are the last ten pitchers to reach the 4000 hit plateau:

Name	Date	Hitter (hit)
Tom Glavine	September 19, 2006	Josh Willingham (single)
Roger Clemens	June 22, 2006	Jason Kubel (double)
Greg Maddux	July 31, 2005	Chad Tracy (double)
Frank Tanana	August 8, 1993	Carlos Garcia (single)
Bert Blyleven	July 14, 1988	Ken Gerhart (single)
Don Sutton	April 22, 1985	Bobby Grich (single)
Tommy John	July 21, 1984	Jackie Gutierrez (single)
Steve Carlton	April 8, 1984	Nick Esasky (double)
Fergie Jenkins	May 1, 1983	Mike Scioscia (single)
Phil Niekro	September 22, 1982	Alan Ashby (single)

Even if someone does reach 4000 hits after Moyer, I have to believe Phil Niekro will be the last pitcher to give up 5000 hits in his career.

Three True Outcomes per Plate Appearance, 1913-2008

An update to my Three True Outcomes (TTO) post of January 2008. As mentioned there, batting strikeouts weren't consistently recorded until 1913, so I start counting TTO from there.

Most Career TTO/PA, 1913-2007, min. 3000 PA

Rank	Name	PA	SO	BB	HR	TTO/PA
1	Adam Dunn	4749	1256	797	278	.4908
2	Rob Deer	4512	1409	575	230	.4907
3	Jim Thome	9029	2190	1550	541	.4741
4	Mark McGwire	7660	1596	1317	583	.4564
5	Carlos Pena	3143	810	408	163	.4394
6	Mickey Tettleton	5745	1307	949	245	.4353
7	Pat Burrell	5388	1273	785	251	.4285
8	Jay Buhner	5927	1406	792	310	.4231
9	Gorman Thomas	5486	1339	697	268	.4200
10	Brad Wilkerson	3753	947	492	122	.4159
11	Danny Tartabull	5842	1362	768	262	.4094
12	Don Lock	3116	776	373	122	.4079
13	Jose Canseco	8129	1942	906	462	.4072
14	Troy Glaus	5840	1269	788	304	.4043
15	Mickey Mantle	9909	1710	1733	536	.4016
16	Reggie Jackson	11416	2597	1375	563	.3972
17	Darryl Strawberry	6326	1352	816	335	.3957
18	Gene Tenace	5525	998	984	201	.3951
19	Pete Incaviglia	4677	1277	360	206	.3941
20	Richie Sexson	5604	1313	588	306	.3938
21	Eric Davis	6147	1398	740	282	.3937
22	Jason Bay	3259	734	397	149	.3928
23	Jim Edmonds	7307	1669	974	382	.3924
24	Cecil Fielder	5939	1316	693	319	.3920
25	Ray Lankford	6674	1550	828	238	.3920

Adam Dunn finally edged Rob Deer out of the top spot.

I expanded the board to the top 25 for this post. Carlos Pena joined the top 20 this year, as did Richie Sexson. Eric Davis and Jim Edmonds fell out of the top 25, but stay in the top 25 with a new addition between them. Reggie Jackson remains the only member of the club with 10000 PA, though Jim Thome is getting close. Mike Schmidt narrowly missed joining him with his .3914 TTO/PA in 10062 PA.

In case you were wondering, the lowest career TTO% table didn't change. Here is a simple list of the bottom ten active players, minimum 3000 PA:

• Juan Pierre, .1128
• Placido Polanco, .1316
• Cesar Izturis, .1424
• David Eckstein, .1462
• Paul Lo Duca, .1490
• Bengie Molina, .1561
• Ichiro Suzuki, .1651
• Jason Kendall, .1684
• Orlando Cabrera, .1687
• Miguel Cairo, .1690
  

Elias Gets Snippy

I like reading the Elias Says column on ESPN.com. It's got all sorts of odd trivia put together by Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. Today, however, there was one entry that sounded downright angry:

WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THE "LAST 300-GAME WINNER"
Do you think when Grover Alexander got to 300 wins in 1924 the pundits were saying that there will never be another 300-game winner? Or that they were saying the same thing when Early Wynn won his 300th in 1963? Eleven of the 24 men to win 300 games reached the milestone before 1925, and 10 others have done so since 1982. Only three pitchers reached 300 wins between 1925 and 1981: Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn and Wynn.

While pitchers are starting fewer games than in years past, they're not recording a lower percentage of wins. This season, starting pitchers have recorded 68 percent of the wins in the majors; the percentage of wins by starters has hovered between 68 percent and 74 percent each season in the last 30 years (since 1979).

So who's next? Here are the active career wins leaders among pitchers under 40, under 35, under 30 and under 25:

Under 40: Andy Pettitte (220), Bartolo Colon (153), Livan Hernandez (151).
Under 35: Livan Hernandez (151), Tim Hudson (146), Kevin Millwood (146).
Under 30: CC Sabathia (122), Jon Garland (110), Carlos Zambrano (99).
Under 25: Felix Hernandez (44), Chad Billingsley (42), Matt Cain (37).

--------

I remember when Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux were going to be the last 300-game winners. Then I remember hearing all about how Tom Glavine would be the last one. Now Randy Johnson will supposedly be the last one. And that's just this decade.

I like the irony of Johnson being named the last 300-game winner less than a week before the most hyped pitching prospect in years is due to be drafted #1 overall.

Personally, I hope Jon Garland gets there. Not because I actually think he'll get there, but because Garland doesn't seem like the type of guy who fits into the 300 club. I mean, a nondescript guy who reaches 300 just by pitching forever? I'm down with that. Come to think of it, I hope Jamie Moyer turns this year around and lasts long enough to get to 300 for the same reason.

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.

Update: Most Games Pitched With Zero Plate Appearances

Back in the day I looked at pitchers who have made the most appearances without ever batting. With guys like Brian Shouse and Jamie Walker still LOOGY'ing it up in the AL East, I thought it'd be interesting to take another look at the leaderboard.

Most Career Games Pitched, Zero Career Plate Appearances

1. Buddy Groom, 786
2. Bob Stanley, 637
3. Mike Fetters, 620
4. Tippy Martinez, 548
5. Chad Bradford, 541*
6. Mike Flanagan, 529
7. Jamie Walker, 523*
8. Steve Farr, 509
9. Mark Clear, 481
   
10. Edwin Nunez, 427
11. Brian Shouse, 422*
12. Francisco Rodriguez, 418*
13. Mark Gubicza, 384
14. Kirk McCaskill, 381
15. Ron Guidry, 380
16. Mark Williamson, 365
17. Sammy Stewart, 359
18. Scott McGregor, 357
19. Mike Boddicker, 347
20. Scott Bailes, 343
21. Mike Witt, 341
22. Bryan Harvey, 322
23. J.J. Putz, 321*
    
24. Billy Taylor, 317
25. Doug Corbett, 313
26. Dennis Leonard, 313
27. Richard Dotson, 312
28. Chris Bosio, 310
29. Bill Simas, 308
30. Mike Venafro, 307
31. Bill Castro, 303

*active player - stats through 5/3/2009

Obviously the guys that were on the list last time have climbed further up the ladder. Walker became only the eighth pitcher to appear in 500 games without batting last June and since Bradford is currently on the disabled list, he should take over as the active leader pretty soon. Speaking of the submariner, he's only 96 appearances away from setting the record for a righthander, but Francisco Rodriguez might end up seizing the top spot shortly after Bradford gets there.

J.J. Putz is the only new addition to the list. As I mentioned last time, Jason Frasor is getting near to 300 games without batting. He currently sits at 291 and, apropos of nothing, is 4-0 in ten appearances this year. Orioles closer George Sherrill has now appeared in 263 games without batting. The other active players above 200 games:

• Mike MacDougal (262)
• Huston Street (259)
  
• Jesse Crain (256)
• Bobby Jenks (231)
• Jonathan Papelbon (212)
  

Giving Up Home Runs To Pitchers

In the third game of the season, Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo hit a home run off Giants starter Randy Johnson. It was quickly noted that this was the first homer hit by a pitcher off the Big Unit. Pitchers had faced Johnson 500 times in his twenty-two year career and not a single one had hit a home run. No opposing pitcher had ever knocked one of Randy Johnson's offerings over the fence. Are you impressed yet?

It turns out other pitchers have faced opposing pitchers 500 times without giving up a home run. Since 1954, thirteen different hurlers have done so. Two of those pitchers were active in 2008.

500+ PA Against Pitchers, Zero Home Runs Allowed

1. Don Drysdale, 1016 PA
2. Tommy John, 861
3. Andy Benes, 757
4. Dwight Gooden, 622
5. Jon Lieber, 603
6. Sonny Siebert, 573
7. Jack Billingham, 550
8. Shawn Estes, 548
9. Bob Welch, 542
10. Jim Rooker, 534
11. Bob Walk, 520
12. Gary Nolan, 514
13. Vida Blue, 511

Somehow Randy Johnson facing pitchers 500 times and not giving up a home run seems less impressive when you realize Jon Lieber and Shawn Estes have done the same thing. Actually, I take that back: the real question is how guys like Lieber and Estes made it onto this list of pretty darn good pitchers.

There have been plenty of pitchers who missed that list by only one home run. Thirty-three pitchers allowed only one home run to an opposing pitcher in 500 or more plate appearances since 1954:

• Greg Maddux, 1451 PA
• Jerry Reuss, 972
• Juan Marichal, 961
• John Smoltz, 913
• Jerry Koosman, 843
• Whitey Ford, 841
• Burt Hooton, 754
  
• Darryl Kile, 685
  
• Rick Rhoden, 671
  
• Pedro Astacio, 664
  
• Rick Wise, 660
  
• Dean Chance, 627
  
• Terry Mulholland, 616
  
• Ray Burris, 582
  
• Ray Herbert, 577
  
• Joaquin Andujar, 567
  
• Zane Smith, 566
  
• Bob Shaw, 559
• Bob Veale, ~557
  
• Al Leiter, 554
  
• John Candelaria, 553
  
• Mike Morgan, 550
  
• Denny Neagle, 537
  
• Steve Renko, 532
  
• John Denny, 528
  
• Pete Harnisch, 526
  
• Sid Fernandez, 525
  
• John Burkett, 523
  
• Mike LaCoss, 514
  
• Bob Miller, 512
• Dave Roberts, ~511
  
• Randy Johnson, 509
  

Whitey Ford and Ray Herbert both pitched before 1954, so it's possible they don't actually belong on the list. Bob Veale and Dave Roberts both made appearances that lack play-by-play accounts and it's hard to estimate how many times they faced opposing pitchers in those games, so their exact place on the list is a little uncertain.

Finally, there is one more pitcher who averaged 500 PA or more between opposing pitcher home runs: Bob Gibson. The Cardinals ace faced opposing hurlers 1150 times and gave up a home run only twice.

Here are some pitchers who may join one of these lists in the relatively near future:

• Royals RHP Jamey Wright has faced 494 pitchers without giving up a home run.
• Brewers RHP Jeff Suppan has faced 394 pitchers without giving up a home run. It will take the better part of two seasons for him to reach 500.
• Veteran RHP Brett Tomko has allowed one homer to an opposing pitcher in 483 career PA against. He's currently playing for the Yankees' AAA club.
  

That's it.

Most Games Started, Zero Plate Appearances

With interleague play firmly a part of the MLB schedule, it's nearly impossible for a starting pitcher to go more than a season or two without batting at least once. For the first twenty-five years after the DH rule was introduced, however, it was entirely possible for a starter to spend his entire career in the American League and never bat. Let's look at the pitchers who started the most games without ever stepping to the plate.

Most Career Games Started, Zero Plate Appearances

1. Mike Flanagan, 401
2. Mark Gubicza, 329
3. Ron Guidry, 323*
4. Scott McGregor, 309
5. Mike Boddicker, 309*
6. Dennis Leonard, 302
7. Mike Witt, 299
8. Richard Dotson, 295*
9. Jack McDowell, 275
10. Moose Haas, 252
11. Chris Bosio, 246
12. Kirk McCaskill, 242
13. Bill Wegman, 216*
14. Glenn Abbott, 206
15. Teddy Higuera, 205
16. Mike Smithson, 204
17. Melido Perez, 201
18. Jim Beattie, 182
19. Ed Figueroa, 179
20. Steve McCatty, 161
    
21. Britt Burns, 161
    
22. Luis Leal, 151
    
23. Ken Schrom, 137
24. Dave Rozema, 132
25. Bob Milacki, 125
26. Roger Pavlik, 125
    

* - appeared as pinch runner

A footnote: Teddy Higuera batted once in the 1986 All-Star Game, striking out.

Update: Commenter NaOH notes that Flanagan, Guidry, McGregor, and Boddicker batted during the playoffs, so they didn't really go their entire career without batting.

The Record That Wasn't

Last weekend, I came across a bit of information regarding catcher putouts that I thought would be useful around the All-Star Break this season. I got excited because the would-be record I found is just obscure enough not to be noticed but impressive enough to deserve mention. I even mentioned the upcoming record elsewhere online. Unfortunately, I committed the mistake of not making entirely sure the record I found was correct. I had found the AL record and NL record, but I forgot about guys who spent time in both leagues. So instead of Jason Kendall setting the record for putouts by a catcher in July, he'll probably have to wait until 2011. It turns out Brad Ausmus could reach the record in 2009, but something would have to go very wrong in Los Angeles and Ivan Rodriguez would have to stay unsigned.

Most Career Putouts as a Catcher

1. Ivan Rodriguez, 13130
2. Brad Ausmus, 12473
3. Gary Carter, 11785
4. Jason Kendall, 11415
5. Carlton Fisk, 11369
6. Bob Boone, 11260
7. Tony Pena, 11212
8. Mike Piazza, 10846
9. Benito Santiago, 10817
10. Bill Freehan, 9941
11. Jim Sundberg, 9767
12. Lance Parrish, 9647
13. Johnny Roseboro, 9291
14. Johnny Bench, 9249
15. Javy Lopez, 8990
16. Johnny Edwards, 8925
17. Ted Simmons, 8906
18. Jorge Posada, 8801
19. Yogi Berra, 8738
20. Jason Varitek, 8549

bolded = played in 2008

More Strikeouts Than Times on Base

In a comment on my post of last Sunday, Mitchell Marshall suggested I look at players whose career strikeout percentage was greater than their career on base percentage. It's an interesting idea and I wish it didn't take me a week to get to it, but so it goes. I'm sure most readers are aware of the formula for on base percentage:



Thanks Wikipedia. The numerator of that fraction is sometimes shortened to times on base (TOB). There's other ways to reach base (errors, fielder's choice, etc.), but the three used in calculating OBP are the most common. So in order to compare strikeouts to on base percentage, I think it would be simplest to compare strikeouts to times on base. Thus in this post strikeout percentage is that same fraction but with only strikeouts in the numerator.

Tossing out pitchers, twenty-one players had 20 or more strikeouts than times on base in their careers. Most of them had a single season's worth or fewer plate appearances. Obviously, they all struggled to get on base: the highest OBP on the list is .328. Only five hitters were over .300.

Players With 20+ More Strikeouts Than Times on Base in Career

Name	Career	PA	SO	TOB	SO-TOB	SO%	OBP
Tom Egan	1965-1975	1084	336	285	51	.313	.266
Jim Fuller	1973-1977	341	130	84	46	.385	.249
J.R. Phillips	1993-1999	545	180	134	46	.331	.247
Melvin Nieves	1992-1998	1392	483	437	46	.347	.314
Dave Nicholson	1960-1967	1661	573	527	46	.346	.318
Russell Branyan	1998-2008	2319	797	759	38	.344	.328
Chad Hermansen	1999-2004	541	168	136	32	.315	.255
Ed Gastfield	1884-1885	90	37	8	29	.411	.089
Brad Eldred	2005-2007	255	93	64	29	.365	.251
Bo Jackson	1986-1994	2626	841	812	29	.321	.309
Jared Sandberg	2001-2003	706	236	208	28	.337	.297
Cliff Cook	1959-1963	435	136	109	27	.317	.254
Billy Ashley	1992-1998	688	236	211	25	.343	.307
Kevin Cash	2002-2008	557	161	137	24	.292	.248
Mike Hubbard	1995-2001	198	60	37	23	.303	.187
Jason Smith	2001-2008	591	172	150	22	.297	.259
Frank Cox	1884	104	36	15	21	.346	.144
Paul Ratliff	1963-1972	336	119	98	21	.355	.293
Phil Hiatt	1993-2001	463	149	128	21	.323	.278
Jackie Warner	1966	133	55	35	20	.414	.263
Ray Busse	1971-1974	168	54	34	20	.325	.205

My favorite player listed above is Ed Gastfield. The youngest player in the 1884 National League, Gastfield backed up Detroit catcher Charlie Bennett. While Bennett was a hitting star (OPS+ of 129 or higher in 7 of 8 seasons in Detroit), Gastfield was hapless at the plate. It's possible he was overmatched because of how young he was, but his awful .073/.095/.085 (6-82, 1 2B, 2 BB, 34 K in 84 PA) batting line in 23 games didn't make it likely he'd get a chance when he was older. Neither did his 20 passed balls and 35 errors in 19 games. Gastfield did suit up one time for Detroit in 1885, going 0-3 with 2 strikeouts. Somehow he made his way to Chicago, appearing in one game and going 0-3 with 1 strikeout and 3 passed balls. That game ended his major league career.

Gastfield's career batting line works out to .068/.089/.080, good for a .169 OPS. I know it's comparing dissimilar things but I think it's interesting his SO% was more than double his OPS. He's one of only four players in all of major league history to have a higher SO% than OPS in 50 or more plate appearances:

• Ed Gastfield, .411 SO%, .168 OPS in 90 PA
  
• Enrique Cruz, .390 SO%, .240 OPS in 77 PA
• John Roskos, .358 SO%, .294 OPS in 53 PA
• Frank Cox, .346 SO%, .321 OPS in 104 PA

Fred Wood, the second-youngest player in the 1884 NL and Ed Gastfield's teammate, had a .367 SO% and .188 OPS in 49 plate appearances. Frank Cox also played on the 1884 Detroit Wolverines, helping to explain why they went 28-84, though at 26 he was an old man on the club. If 1884 is currently known as the year Chicago tinkered with their outfield fences and skewed home run totals, it should also be known as the year Detroit had a really, really, really bad offense. It's skewed because of the aforementioned Chicago shenanigans, but the team's OPS+ was 74. The team hit .208/.247/.284. Blech.

What of Cruz and Roskos? Well, Cruz was a rule 5 draft pick who spent all of 2003 in the majors with Milwaukee and resurfaced for one at bat with Cincinnati in 2007. Roskos was a C/1B/OF type who was drafted in the second round by Florida in 1993 and worked his way up the Marlins' minor league system but never really got a shot in the majors.

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.

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

Don't Hit Me, Pitcher

When Craig Biggio retired following the 2007 season, he had been hit by pitches 285 times over twenty seasons. This wound up being two short of Hughie Jennings' all-time record of 287 times hit by pitches. In 2007, Biggio was hit by pitches only three times, his lowest total since 1991. Whether because of media pressure, pitchers not throwing inside on him, or some other reason, he had to settle for second place on the list.

Today I've looked up another list, the anti-Biggios or anti-Jennings, if you will. I've found the players who batted the most times in their career without getting hit by a pitch. Since 1901, only twenty-six players have reached 1000 career plate appearances without one HBP. Of those, eleven were pitchers. I've denoted the pitchers in the list with an asterisk (*).

Most Career Plate Appearances, Never Hit by a Pitch
(1901-2008)

1. Mark Lemke, 3664
2. Bill Bergen, 3228
3. Mickey Witek, 2325
4. Herm Winningham, 2069
5. Tom Hutton, 1919
6. Scott Livingstone, 1646
7. Rob Andrews, 1641
8. Jim Norris, 1493
9. Coaker Triplett, 1434
10. Bobby Brown, 1393
11. Wes Ferrell*, 1345
12. Joe Bush*, 1316
13. Bob Friend*, 1297
14. Hal Rice, 1283
15. Erv Dusak, 1192
16. Hal Newhouser*, 1160
17. Tommy Bridges*, 1142
18. Red Ames*, 1122
19. Bill Sweeney, 1112
20. Howard Ehmke*, 1088
21. Earl Moore*, 1049
22. Tommie Aaron, 1045
23. Fernando Valenzuela*, 1043
24. John Gochnauer, 1030
25. Fergie Jenkins*, 1010
26. Rube Walberg*, 1005

There are a few names you might recognize in that list. Mark Lemke was the Braves' second baseman for most of the 1990's. Bill Bergen was one of the worst hitters in baseball history. Scott Livingston was a third baseman on a few teams throughout the 1990's. Hal Newhouser and Fergie Jenkins are Hall of Famers. Hank Aaron's brother Tommie appears in front of the inspiration for "Fernandomania." John Gochnauer was one of the worst hitters and fielders of the early 20th century.

You might have noticed there are no active players in the above list. Only nine active players have as many as 500 career plate appearances without being hit by a pitch and eight of those are pitchers.

Most Career Plate Appearances, Never Hit by a Pitch
(active pitchers through 2008)

1. Curt Schilling, 901
2. Jon Lieber, 699
3. Matt Morris, 652
4. Brett Tomko, 545
5. Hideo Nomo, 543
6. Randy Wolf, 532
7. Carlos Zambrano, 531
8. Kevin Millwood, 513
9. Jamey Wright, 499
10. Ben Sheets, 492

Most Career Plate Appearances, Never Hit by a Pitch
(active position players through 2008)

1. David Murphy, 592
2. Omar Quintanilla, 490
3. Angel Pagan, 453
4. Ryan Raburn, 378
5. Wil Nieves, 348
6. Brian Buscher, 338
7. Carlos Gonzalez, 316
8. Wladimir Balentien, 264
9. Chris Aguila, 248
10. Andy Gonzalez, 245