Baseball Quiz: Name the six teams since 1960 that won 108 or
more games during the regular season. And how many went on
to win the Series? Answer below.
Johnny Mac”s Mid-Season Review
Well, it”s getting near the halfway point in the season (hard to
believe) and one of our favorite pastimes is underway.looking
at what records are under assault. I have to assume most of you
are aware of Barry Bonds and his very publicized run at the most
recognizable record in all of sports.most home runs, single
season. This stat seems to capture the imagination like no other,
due to a number of factors. It is easily understood, has a
definitive time frame and a well-known frame of reference. Let
me explain.some stats are difficult for the casual fan to grasp,
encompassing arcane concepts like long division. Slugging
percentage comes to mind. Although possibly the most
important statistic in determining great power hitters, you rarely
hear anyone discussing who leads the league, who has the all-
time record, etc. In fact, I suggest you ask the next 10 guys you
meet in the local pub to explain how slugging percentage is
determined. Good luck getting 3 to tell you correctly.
The single season concept also lends to its allure. It has a
beginning and an end, a starting line and a finish line. Pressure
builds, scrutiny builds, and games dwindle down to a precious
few. There is actual drama with a record like this, unlike say
Pete Rose”s overtaking of Cobb or even Aaron”s bettering of
Babe Ruth. Those were just a matter of when, not if. I don”t
think most serious fans ever thought that Rose was a better hitter
than Cobb or that Aaron was a more prolific home run hitter than
Ruth. Those records were a testament to longevity and health
more than a comparison of greatness. Also, any record shorter
than a season seems too fickle. No one much cares or
remembers who has the record for hits in a month or homers in
”x” amount of games. A season is easily definable and
understood.
The frame of reference is also important. By that I mean people
know what the existing record is. For years the term “Ruth”s
record” was understood to mean 60 homers in a season. Never
mind that the Babe set many offensive records, a lot of which
still stand today. The 60 was all the general public knew and
understood. The recent film on Maris and Mantle was *61.we
all knew what that referred to. I will say that McGwire”s record
is so recent that some who know that he set it might not
remember the exact number. But that”s only because of its
newness and the extent to which he broke it. Remember, Ruth”s
mark stood 34 years and Maris held it for 37. Still, if you don”t
believe me, ask a fan what the record is for hits in a season or
doubles. Most couldn”t give you the players or the numbers.
Therefore, when someone is on pace to break a record like that,
the public kinda shrugs because they have no particular frame of
reference.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out…Bonds has
never been a fan favorite and his relations with the media have
been a bit testy, to say the least. He plays on the west coast, so a
lot of his games are on too late for the east coast fan to catch.
McGwire had a rival people liked and knew in Sammy Sosa,
while Bonds”s closest pursuer is Luis Gonzalez, who most fans
couldn”t pick out of a police lineup. Also, the tightness of the
N.L. West race, coupled with the unbalanced schedule, means no
pitcher is going to groove one for Bonds. Fans were booing their
own hurlers for pitching around McGwire late in the season.
you won”t have that same scenario this year.
There are actually other records that have the mathematical
possibility of falling this season. I”d like to take a look at a few.
I discussed slugging percentage above. This is a very important
statistic for serious fans. It is not what I would call a pay-off
stat, or a results stat, like RBIs or wins and losses. Therefore, it
is more difficult to grasp. The two basic functions of an offense
are to get on base and move the runners. Slugging percentage is
more or less the latter. Over time, the players with high slugging
averages will also turn up in the RBI and runs scored column.
But it is a truer measure of their talent. Sometimes, players can
have high RBI totals for reasons other than their own ability.
Mattingly comes to mind.although a good hitter and reliable
run producer, his 1985 season looks a bit out of context. That”s
because every time he came to plate, it seemed Rickey
Henderson was leading off third. A two-hopper to second base
got him credit for a run batted in. No discredit to Donnie, but
Henderson was a huge reason for his 145 ribbies that year.
Anyway, back to Bonds. As of this writing, Barry is slugging an
incredible .920. That is due primarily to the home run total, as
he has hit no triples and only 12 doubles. Ruth, who slugged
.847 in 1920, holds the record. He is also second, with an .846
mark in 1921. His most famous year, 1927, saw him post .772,
good for third all-time. See a pattern? He is also responsible for
the 5th, 10th, 11th and 13th best seasons ever. It appears that
Bonds will have to continue on this home run pace to surpass
him, an unlikely scenario.
Bonds is also on pace to surpass a record even I didn”t pay much
attention to. Contemporary statisticians have compiled a new
one.they call it OPS. Simply stated, it just adds together on-
base percentage and slugging average. As funky stats go, this is
a pretty good one. It combines the two elements of offense into
one stat. It seems to be a good indicator of talent, seeing the list
of all-time and single season leaders. The single season leader is,
shock of shocks, Babe Ruth in 1920 at 1.379. In fact, Babe and
Ted Williams hold the top eight slots (Ruth with 6) and the list
includes Gehrig, Hornsby, McGwire and Foxx. The career
leader is (go ahead, take a guess) Ruth (1.163), followed by
Teddy, Gehrig, Foxx, Frank Thomas, Greenberg, Todd Helton
(I”ll get to him later), Hornsby, Manny Ramirez, McGwire and
Bonds the younger. As I said, there are no cupcakes. Barry
Bonds is currently at 1.409 (.920 and .489). Anything near 1.000
is excellent…so his present level is extraordinary. As I stated
earlier, he will have to continue the home run pace or really pick
up his batting average for any realistic shot.
A few other records are possible.Ichiro is on pace for about 262
hits this season, which would surpass the 257 posted by the great
George Sisler in 1920. I don”t think he can do it.the Mariners
haven”t traveled much yet, with the summer bringing extended
trips to the east coast. And we don”t know how Ichiro will adapt
to the long season and the pitchers will begin to get a “book” on
him as the season progresses. Nonetheless, I”d like to see him
scare the record, if only to get Sisler”s name back in discussion
for a while.
The doubles record is also possible, although not by a household
name. Mike Sweeney of the Royals has 31 already, on pace for
about 70. That would set a new standard, surpassing the even
lesser known Earl Webb, who hit 67 for the Red Sox in 1931.
Sweeney might not be unknown for much longer, coming off a
season that saw him hit .333 with 144 ribbies. How many of you
knew he drove in that many? He has hit a good amount of
doubles the last few years, so breaking this record would not be a
shock.
The last record I would like to discuss is one that should
fall.strikeouts in a season. It has been challenged often the last
few years and a few guys could do it this season. The record is
held by Bobby Bonds at 189, set in 1970. Preston Wilson gave it
a good shot last year, falling just 2 shy. Since players no longer
care about striking out, swinging from the heels with 2 strikes, it
is only a matter of time. Richie Sexson is on pace for about 200
or so and he should have company. Jim Thome, Carl Everett,
Manny Ramirez, Russell Branyon (who?), Pat Burrell, Ray
Lankford, Sosa, Jeremy Burnitz, even Jose Hernandez, a
shortstop for chrissake, could all join in. Branyon is the new 3rd
sacker for Cleveland, by the way. Did you know that Ruth”s
single season high was 93? My, how times have changed.
I promised earlier to comment on Helton. He is having another
statistically wonderful year, slugging .725 and driving in more
than a run a game. He will put up staggering career numbers if
he plays it all in Colorado. Ponder this.say your team had a 1st
baseman who gave you about 30 dingers, drove in 94, scored 90,
and hit .289. What would you think?.not bad, but not exactly
on track for immortality, right? Well, those are Helton”s numbers
on the road for his career, extrapolated for a full season. We
have to be careful about evaluating guys who play in these quirky
parks. To give Barry Bonds his due, his home park has never
helped him, putting up slightly better numbers on the road over
the course of his career.
Okay fellas, let”s see how all this turns out.
Sharon Stone.what”s the story?
When her husband Phil Bronstein was attacked by the komodo
dragon the other day, Stone had nothing but praise for the Los
Angeles Zoo. Now she is singing a different tune.
“The zookeeper who was there with us was paralyzed and unable
to do anything to help in any way,” Stone told AP radio. “I made
a tourniquet out of his socks. I turned them inside out. He had
such a severe injury and we were alone and I was screaming for
help and no one was there to hear us.”
The zoo claims they were right there with assistance and were
the ones who actually got the dragon off Bronstein. Bronstein
claimed he did. Stone also said that her husband faced a 4-month
rehabilitation before he”d be able to walk again. Sharon, we here
at Bar Chat are extremely disappointed in your actions and are
removing you from all consideration for the Bar Chat Hall of
Fame.the location of which is still a mystery.
Carroll O”Connor
As I wrote in Week in Review, O”Connor was my favorite. But I
am totally embarrassed that I had forgotten that he attended my
alma mater, Wake Forest, two different times. No wonder I
loved the man! In 1941 he began his college studies there, but
left after the war began (he was in the merchant marine), and
then he returned in 1948, only to then head to Dublin where he
eventually picked up his degree. It was also in Dublin where he
began taking acting lessons.
O”Connor grew up in an upper-middle class neighborhood in
Queens. As Richard Severo wrote in the Times the other day, in
his memoir, he recalled his childhood in a way that was not so
different from the theme song to “All in the Family.”
“It was easy for us to be ”nice” kids,” he wrote. “We were not
preyed upon by dope pushers, our pop music did not issue
thunderous invitations to a semi-sensate flight from normality.
Our music used to be played by skilled orchestras; intelligible
singers rendered tunes about dancing in the dark while orchids
bloomed in the moonlight and nightingales sang in Berkeley
Square and stars fell on Alabama – silly sentiments, but carried
along by intelligent melodic phraseology, and if the words were
doggerel they were often wonderfully compelling. I know my
comparison is cranky, but there it is.”
And back to Wake Forest, I just have to add that I let the
basketball team have it after its miserable performance in this
year”s NCAA tournament. And they deserved everything
coming to them. But I also just saw that the three seniors, Robert
O”Kelley, Rafael Vidaurreta, and Josh Shoemaker, all graduated
a few weeks ago. There”s something to be said for that.
Sam Jethroe
Harry K. passed along a passage from a letter in the Toronto
Globe the other day concerning Jethroe, the former ballplayer I
wrote of last week upon his passing. After his big league playing
days were over, Jethroe had a stint in Toronto.
“I remember the first time I saw Sam throw a runner out at the
plate with an absolute bullet from deep centerfield without a
bounce, and uttered, with the crowd, a deep murmur of awe, and
my father explaining to me: ”He used to be in the majors.”
Indeed.”
Al Clark
Oops.Mr. Clark done bad, know what I”m sayin”? Clark, a
major league umpire since 1977, was terminated by the
commissioner”s office last week for improperly using plane
tickets in violation of his union contract. Major league umps are
given first-class tickets and he exchanged them for economy
class, allowing him to pocket the difference or use it for other
travel. Yerrr OUT!!!!
Juan Gonzalez
After hitting career homer #380, Juan Gonzalez passed Orlando
Cepeda to become #1 among Puerto-Rican born players.
Roger Clemens
Gosh, some of us hate this guy. And what makes it doubly bad is
the fact that he”s having such a great season. So on Saturday,
after running his record to 10-1, he said that while starting the
All-Star game would be an honor, he would prefer that Joe Torre,
the manager of the A.L. team this year, pick someone else in his
place.
“I haven”t talked to Joe about the All-Star thing, but my focus
would be to rest, instead, and get ready for a tough second
half.I could use the rest and relax a little bit, even though
something like that would be a tremendous honor.”
Oh, blow it out your. [I”m probably being a bit unfair, but if
you can”t be unfair on your own web site, when can you be?!]
Top 3 songs for the week of 6/28/69: #1 “Love Theme From
Romeo & Juliet” (Henry Mancini) #2 “Bad Moon Rising”
(Creedence Clearwater Revival) #3 “Get Back” (The Beatles)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Teams that won 108 or more since 1960.
New York Yankees, 1961, 109. Beat Cincinnati in the Series.
Baltimore Orioles, 1969, 109. Lost to Mets.
Baltimore Orioles, 1970, 108. Beat Cincy.
Cincinnati Reds, 1975, 108. Beat Boston.
New York Mets, 1986, 108. Beat Boston.sense a pattern?
New York Yankees, 1998, 114. Beat San Diego.
Next Bar Chat, Wednesday. How to protect yourself from a
bear…and a little music.
