And Now You Know!: Closing Time

Why is Brad Lidge still closing for the Phillies? He is only going to cost them a big game in the playoffs a la Albert Pujols style. It seems inevitable for this Phillies team that how deep they can go in the playoffs depends on the arm of one player. Who said that baseball was a team sport?

Closers have taken on a prestigious role in sports with the spotlight focused squarely on them to get a mere three outs. They are supposed to have ice in their veins and be unfazed during clutch moments. Yet despite the basic prerequisites to be a closer many often fail over a dozen times a year. Imagine if you failed at your job, the key essential of your job over a dozen times a year and caused your whole team or group a setback, where would you be?

The save became an official stat in baseball in 1969 and its been a measuring stick of the most clutch pitchers of all time with Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera atop that list. But what about those guys who simply prove to be not clutch and the teams that stuck with them for an entire season?

The record for most saves blown in a single year is 14. (Goose Gossage has more blown saves in his career than any other player with 112.) It is held by 4 players- Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Bob Stanley, and Ron Davis.

1976- Rollie Fingers: 13-11, 20 saves, 2.47 ERA ( missed playoffs by 2.5 games)
1978- Bruce Sutter: 8-10, 27 saves, 3.18 ERA (missed playoffs by 11 games)
1983- Bob Stanley: 8-10, 33 saves, 2.85 ERA (missed playoffs by 20 games)
1984- Ron Davis: 7-11, 29 saves, 4.55 ERA (missed playoffs by 3 games)

The one thing that all four of these players have in common is a relatively low ERA considering they blew 14 saves. But what about these 8 players.

1979- Gene Garber: 6-16, 25 saves, 4.33 ERA
1979- Mike Marshall: 10-15, 32 saves, 2.65 ERA
2003- Mike Williams: 1-7, 28 saves, 6.14 ERA
2003- Jose Mesa: 5-7, 24 saves, 6.52 ERA
2004- Shawn Chacon: 1-9, 35 saves, 7.11 ERA
2006- Derrick Turnbow: 4-9, 24 saves, 6.87 ERA
2009- Matt Capps: 3-7, 23 saves, 6.38 ERA
2009- Brad Lidge: 0-6, 25 saves, 7.33 ERA

Clearly, Shawn Chacon has had the worst season by a closer, ever. The Rockies missed the playoffs by 24 games. Coincidentally, it was 2004 in which Brad Lidge went 6-5 with 29 saves and a mere 1.90 ERA. But 2004 was the year in which Pujols set Brad Lidge's career back.

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And Now You Know!: NFL Percentages

It is getting close to the NFL season as fantasy leagues are starting up and training camp is in full swing. In a week or so the first preseason games will be underway and 32 teams will embark on the road to the Super Bowl.

Last year of course provided us with a great Super Bowl between the Cardinals and Steelers and both teams looked poised to return to the playoffs as they should. Only twice in the past 20 years have the two teams faced off in the Super Bowl failed to make it to the playoffs the following year. They happened to be after SB XXXV (Ravens and Giants) and XXXVI (Patriots and Rams).

Of the past 18 Super Bowl winners, 66% of those teams find their way back to the playoffs the following year whereas the Super Bowl losers make it back to the playoffs just 50% of the time. In an era of free agency, draft, and alleged parody, it seems as if those numbers are a bit high, but it's not.

If more than 1/3 of the league makes the playoffs every year (12 of the 32 teams) then it means that some teams will get back to the playoffs more likely than not. It was also somewhat surprising to see that of the 36 teams that made it to the Super Bowl the last 18 years, 6 of them went back to the Super Bowl the following year or 1 out of every 6 years we see a team repeat as a competitor in the Super Bowl.

Sure the regular season matters, even if near 60% of the teams in the playoffs the year before make it the following year but if the same teams are making the playoffs all the time why aren't the same teams winning?

We all know the best team doesn't always win the Super Bowl (a la Giants 2007) but should the NFL consider a best of 3 to determine the Champion? Maybe I am getting carried away but without doing any research on any team this year and looking at last year's playoff teams (Cardinals, Falcons, Chargers, Colts, Dolphins, Ravens, Eagles, Vikings, Panthers, Titans, Steelers, and Giants) I can guess and say that all but the Falcons, Eagles, Titans, Dolphins, and Ravens will be back in the playoffs this year.

The odds that 2 teams that weren't in the playoffs last year compete for the Super Bowl this year are actually decent considering the numbers. 1/3 of the teams competing in the Super Bowl over the past 18 years did not make the playoffs from the year before. And three times neither team competing in the same Super Bowl made the playoffs from the year before.

The numbers may be confusing but if I were to give my Super Bowl Prediction right now, it would be the Patriots versus the Cardinals based on pure percentages of past Super Bowls. Then again, that is why they play the game and we will have to wait and see come February, but If I am right, don't think I won't come back to this post and try and better explain my math wizardry.

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And Now You Know!: Perfection

Amazing how last week we were talking about no-hitters and this week, perfect games. Where do I begin with such a feat? Mark Buehrle threw his second no-hitter of his career on Thursday afternoon. But there's more to it than that. Buehrle is the only pitcher to throw three complete game shutouts in which he faced the minimum 27 batters. He walked a batter during his other no-hitter in 2007 only to get a double-play and in 2004 he gave up 2 hits but induced 2 double plays.

Seven different players have had a clean game, facing the minimum 27 batters while allowing 3 or more hits. John Candelaria is the only pitcher to give up 4 hits during a game in 1982 while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Candelaria induced 3 double plays and had one caught stealing.

In 1999 Roger Clemens pitched 8.2 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk while facing 27 batters. Had Clemens not given up a 2-out hit to pinch-hitter Marty Cordova in the 9th, he would have faced the minimum with 3 hits and a walk and only 2 double plays.

48 pitchers since 1954 have thrown games in which they have faced the minimum 27 batters. No pitcher has ever faced 26 in a complete game (see batting out of order). Since 1904 just 16 pitchers have thrown perfect games, who will be the next?

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And Now You Know!: Baloney Maloney

On the heels of Brian Doyle's article about Johnathan Sanchez' no-hitter the other day it got me thinking of what the worst no-hitter was in baseball. How is it possible to throw the worst no-hitter? I thought A.J Burnett's 9-walk no-hitter back in 2001 was despicable but i delved a bit deeper to find if anyone else was worse. Here's what I found.

Back on Aug 19, 1965 All-Star pitcher Jim Maloney was in the midst of his only All-Star season with the Cincinnati Reds. It was the second game of a double-header against the Cubs who featured Ernie Banks and Ron Santo. Maloney carried his no-hitter all the way through til the 10th inning in which he withstood long enough to help his team win a 1-0 battle.

So he is the only pitcher to ever throw a 10-inning no-hitter. In fact no other pitcher has thrown 9+ innings of no-hit ball. What makes this appearance so bad though is that he faced 40 batters. That would be 10 over the minimum, aka 10 walks. The only double-play he induced was the one that ended the game in the 10th innings. In the bottom of the ninth he left runners stranded at 2nd and 3rd before he induced a pop fly to the shortstop to send the game to extras. Maloney did have 12 strikeouts but he faced two more batters than the opposing pitcher who also threw a complete game. Ernie Banks went 0-5 in the no-hitter.

Another interesting no-hit bid by Maloney came in 1964 when Maloney pitched 10 innings of no-hit ball against the Mets. Unfortunately for him, the game went to the 11th inning when Johnny Lewis, the right-fielder for the Mets led off the 11th with a home run. It was only his 3rd home run of his career as Lewis would only hit 22 in his 4-year service with MLB. Ironically Lewis would hit more home runs, 3, off Maloney than any other pitcher in his short career, including his last of his homers. Maloney had 18 strikeouts in the 11-inning affair.

I had one other candidate aside from Maloney for worst no-hitter and that came off the arm of Ken Johnson. You can't really blame the Houston righty who went 11-16 in 1964. On April 23, 1964, Johnson threw 9-innings with 9 strikeouts and just 2 walks. A great performance but yet he got the loss. The only time a pitcher has thrown a no-hitter and got the loss.


Here's how it happened:

Top of the 9th in a tie game, Pete Rose steps in against Johnson and dribbles one back to him, Johnson goes to throw to first and throws it away allowing Rose to second. Two batters later an error by future Hall of Famer and second baseman, Nellie Fox allowed Pete Rose to score.

Ultimately it was Johnson's own error that led to the loss so he will go down in infamy as one of the worst no-hitters and only no-hit loss.

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And Now You Know!: The Derby

The home run derby is coming up this week and many consider it the best exhibition event in all of sports. Why not? SportsCenter highlights every home run hit and the most important record in sports in highlighted by the number 755 (unless you think that the new record is 762). I don't even have to tell you what 755 represents but it is a meter of the most spectacular individual event in a game over a career.

Participants from both leagues line up to launch balls into fans of all ages with their own baseball gloves. Since 1985 this exhibition has been a part of All-Star week and all but a handful who have won the event are hall-of-famers or soon to be by the end of their career (excluding those snubbed by voters for PEDs). Griffey Jr. is the only multiple winner of this event, winning 3 times.

Looking back at this event, especially recently, it isn't the big names that you'd typically expect to walk away with the hardware at the end of the night.

2008- Justin Morneau
2007- Vladimir Guerrero
2006- Ryan Howard
2005- Bobby Abreu
2004- Miguel Tejada
2003- Garret Anderson
2002- Jason Giambi
2001- Luis Gonzalez
2000- Sammy Sosa

Sure they are big names that anyone would recognize but these guys don't typically finish the year near the top. Take last year's winner, Morneau. He entered the contest with just 14 HR and finished the year with 23. Vlad entered with 14 HR also and finished the year with 27 in 2007. Howard was an exception in 06 but Abreu only had 18 HR at the break and just 24 to finish the year. Tejada 15 at break/34 at season's end. Anderson 22/29. Giambi 22/41. Gonzalez 35/57. Sosa 23/50. The only guy to lead the league in home runs since 2000 was Howard in 2006. (Griffey did it back-to-back years in 1998-99).

In 2005 Pudge Rodriguez was a runner up after having just 6 HR at the break.

Since 1995 Ryan Howard is the only guy to win the HR derby and MVP in the same season. So is it irony or just that the HR derby messes up a player's swing and potentially their season? Players are backing out before they are even asked. As of the posting of this article there had been no official announcement of AL participants. Can MLB afford this egg on their face or will we be forced to watch Adam Jones, Robinson Cano, Nick Green, and Ryan Freel participate on Monday? I hope not. As long as it's not the likes of Jason Bay, Brett Boone, or Troy Glaus, just a few of the guys who have laid their own egg in the Derby.

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And Now You Know!: NASCAR HOF

Finally, the nominations are in for the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class. How many people can you put in an inaugural hall of fame class? That is the debate brewing in NASCAR these days. The first class won't be until 2010 but with so many historic drivers in the last 50+ years, can they all go in first-class?

MLB had five in their first class. There was Cobb, Ruth, Wagner, Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. These five players received the required 75% of the vote to get into the hall. Lately, it seems as if only a few players each year are elected into the Hall as voters are very cautious who they let into the fraternity of brothers.

In the NBA in 1959 there was an inaugural induction class consisting of 15 players, coaches, referees, and contributors along with the First Team and the Original Celtics. Not exactly a list of the big names going in on the first ballot for the NBA, in fact the only name you might recognize is Dr. James Naismith. Every year the NBA lets in a half-dozen or so members as their Hall expands exponentially.

The NHL opened their doors in 1945 allowing 12 players to enter on first ballot along with two builders of the game. Of those 14members, it'd be hard to find one name that stood out amongst all others but at the time the NHL felt all men were worthy of the Hall.

In the Pro Football Hall of Fame it consists of more than just the NFL's short existence. The Hall of fame opened it's doors in 1963 shortly around the time of the merger. The inaugural class had 17 members some more prolific than others including Jim Thorpe, George Halas, and Red Grange, to name a few.

So that brings us back to the NASCAR inaugural class. Is there something to be said about being the first drivers in? Well looking back across the other four major sports in the United States, one would see that MLB appears to be the most strict when allowing members in and maybe NASCAR will follow suit. The nominees though are essentially the top 25 drivers of all time with the exception of possibly Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Tony Stewart?

From Dale Earnhart to Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough or Richard Petty, the list of these top 25 drivers will all eventually get into the Hall of Fame so would it be wrong to put them all in right away?

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And Now You Know!: Second Pick

I found an interesting stat online recently that depicted the drop off between the Number 1 overall pick and Number 2 pick over the past 20 years in the draft.

No. 1: 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists
No. 2: 13.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists

That really shouldn't surprise you when you have first picks such as Shaq, Iverson, Duncan, Brand, James, Howard, and most recently Rose. Your second pick usually consists of names such as Van Horn, Bibby, Milicic, Swift, and Aldridge.

Why is it that the 2nd pick is so hard to find good talent? The best 2nd pick in the draft could be Gary Payton? Kevin Durrant? Marcus Camby? Jason Kidd? Certainly names that we remember but not names that we would rely on to win big games.

Everyone knows about the No. 2 pick in 1984 with Sam Bowie and his career averages of 10.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 2.1 apg. but why do the scouts struggle so bad in picking a top player 2nd? Everyone knows that Blake Griffin will be drafted first this year so the Grizzles should then act as if they have the first pick. Seems simple enough.

Hasheem Thabeet, you are the first pick... err second pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, let's see how you live up to the hype.

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And Now You Know!: Pudge

This week I witnessed first hand a record that may never be broken again. Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez is now the All-Time leader in game caught and he did it in front of the fans that have supported him the most in Texas, the Rangers fans. 2227 is a Number that will stick with me just because I was there for the game and the celebration of sorts when he set the record. Many people might brush this aside but in today's game where catchers play for a few years and then switch positions or don't play for 20 years it is quite an impressive stat.

A humble person for 10+ years in Texas and a journey man for the next few years, Pudge was back in Arlington where it all began. He surpassed Carlton Fisk's record of 2226 games caught and might have a few years left to add to his record. Pudge, at the beginning of the year made a name for himself in the World Baseball Classic, and has become a middle of the road catcher in the Fantasy Leagues this year with hard work and dedication. When others wrote him off he continued to work hard to prove he still had what it took to be an everyday catcher.

A quick look at Rodriguez's career will show you a man with 13 gold gloves, 14 all-star appearances, and a career +.300 hitter with 301 HR and an MVP in 1999. He alone has recorded near 14000 putouts with a fielding percentage of over .991 in his career. Sometimes we have to look past the offensive numbers to find a players worth to the game. Pudge has certainly gone above all of that.

In 1994 when he broke into the league he came in 4th in the Rookie of the Year voting, behind Chuck Knoblauch, Juan Guzman, and Milt Cuyler, all guys who will never see the Hall of Fame. In 1999 he surpased Pedro Martinez in winning the MVP, a year in which Pedro pitched the best season any pitcher has ever thrown relative to the league.

Aside from catcher and a handful of games at DH, Pudge has played a total of eight games between first and second in his career. Some claim that he is athletic enough to play every position on the field and has an arm strong enough to pitch. He is a stand up guy on and off the field with fans and charities. His accomplishments have slid under the radar in the mainstream of sports today but should not be brushed aside.

I usually have some interesting story or astonishing facts to throw out about players or trends in history but Pudge doesn't need any glaring numbers to explain what type of player he is. Fans of my generation will remember him as a great player and a staple of the past two decades of what baseball is all about. I would rank him in the top 3 all time catchers and easily in the top 100 baseball players. A lot is left to statistics but when you meet a player and see that they don't let money or fame change who they are, there is something to be said about what the game of baseball is all about.

2227, a unique number that will stand out to me as much as 755 or 2131. Here's to Pudge Rodriguez and what he has meant to the game of baseball. Hopefully when all is said and done others will reflect upon the impact he has left on MLB.

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And Now You Know!: Sky King

Could David Ortiz be out of his slump or is he just thriving versus Yankee pitching? He has three homeruns in the past five games and his batting average has climbed nearly 20 points in the past week. Granted he is still batting just .203 with 4 curtain calls (aka homeruns) but if history tells us anything, he has plenty of time to make this a great year.

I rewind back to 1982 when a man by the name of Dave Kingman led the league in homeruns with 37. This just five years removed from when the Sky King hit 48 homeruns but what made 1982 so special is that Kingman led the league in homeruns while hitting a mere .204. Barely getting over the Mendoza line but lasting the entire season succeeding just 20% of the time at the plate.

33% of Kingman's hits that year were homeruns and he surprisingly had 99 rbis, almost 1 per hit. Things weren't so promising though as he led the league in strikeouts with 50 more strikeouts than hits that year. That year Steve Carlton, the Cy Young award winner, hit .218. The Sky King never once batted over .300 the entire season.

So as we jump on David Ortiz, we realize that there is still hope for him. Looking back to last year alone Carlos Delgado was batting .228 by June 1 with just 8 HR. Mets fans and fantasy owners were writing him off. Over the next 4 months Delgado increased his batting average nearly 50 points and finished the season with 38 HR, 115 RBI, and finished 9th in the MVP voting.

Here's where we stand with Ortiz just 60 games into the season. He has 5 HR, 24 RBI, and has struck out just 55 times. Are things turning around? There is plenty of time. If the Sky King can hit .204 and lead the league in homeruns then there is still hope for Ortiz.

On a side note, wasn't there a curse that some construction worker tried placing on Yankee Stadium by burying David Ortiz's uniform?

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And Now You Know!: Longevity

We were treated to something special in sports this past week, a college baseball game that went 25 innings, over 7 hours long. Some people would consider that to be worse than watching paint dry but just looking at the stats, one has to be in awe. A relief pitcher for Texas threw 13 innings, including 12.1 of no-hit baseball with 14 strikeouts recorded throughout his 169 pitches. Boston College went just 8-for-80 in the loss. Then again, if I'm going to hate on Syracuse and UConn, I really can't praise this game. But what the heck.

So what other long and torturous games have occurred in baseball history? Well just over 25 years ago the longest MLB game was played between the White Sox and Brewers. In a game that went 25 innings and over 8 hours long, the White Sox pulled out a 7-6 victory after the game was suspended to the next day due to time limitations and a game in which both teams scored 3 runs in the 21st inning. It seems as if every Red Sox vs. Yankees game goes 8 hours but almost 3 years ago the two teams played in the longest 9-inning game lasting 4-hours and 45-minutes. The Yankees were victorious, 14-11.

Ironically the longest MLB game by innings was one 26-inning game back in 1920. In a game between Boston and Brooklyn the game lasted a mere 3-hours and 50 minutes but was called in the 26th inning due to darkness and the two teams left the field at 7 p.m. in a 1-1 tie never to be settled.

Still not long enough for me though, so how about we head to the minors where things really get interesting. On April 18, 1981, the Pawtucket Red Sox took on then minor league affiliate of the Orioles, the Rochester Red Wings in a grueling 33-inning affair that was suspended at 4 in the morning only to be resumed on June 23rd and decided within 18 minutes of playing. This game epic game included Hall of Fame members Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken Jr.. Boggs went 4-12 while Ripken was 2-13. The losing pitcher Steve Grilli, father of Seton Hall alum and current Colorado Rockie Jason Grilli, was not on the Red Wings when the game first started.

Meanwhile, speaking of long games, the Boston's Men's Baseball League holds a 100 Inning Charity Event for Curt's Pitch for ALS. The game usually takes a day-and-a-half to complete with nearly 200 people participating. All donations go to Curt Schilling's foundation.

Should baseball games have ties or is there something exciting about a timeless game? Well there certainly isn't anything exciting about a tie game.

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And Now You Know!: The Big Train

I had a recent discussion with a fellow baseball fan and we spoke about 300 wins by a pitcher. Are we about to witness the last time it will ever happen, assuming Randy Johnson gets one win by season's end? Think about that, what if I told you that tomorrow morning would be the last time the sun would rise? You would probably want to watch it, granted Randy Johnson is on a lower level of things happening in comparison to the sun never rising again, but still, its a big deal for a baseball fan.

A look at anyone close would point to Jamie Moyer (249 wins) to be next, but that won't happen. Someone like Roy Halladay has 139 wins at age 32 after 12 season. Unlikely he'll see 250. Andy Pettitte has 219 wins and the list of guys who won't come close grows longer and longer. You have to look to the young guys to find anyone with a possibility. One guy who sticks out is Roy Oswalt. Oswalt has 130 wins in 9 seasons. He would need 10 more years averaging 17 wins, which coincidentally is his 162 game average.

So with no one getting close to the 23 guys already with 300 wins I take a second to talk about the guy in second all-time in wins with 417 wins, trailing only Cy Young's 511. The Big Train Walter Johnson had numbers that are inconceivable.

The Big Train played for just one team his entire career while amassing the 417 victories. From 1907-1927 he suited up for the Washington Senators. His fastball was unlike any other of his time, topping 90 MPH. Hitters were amazed by the smooth motion and rapid approach of the ball. He collected over 3,500 strikeouts, a record which stood for over 50 years. 110 shutouts, most in MLB history including pitching three straight shutouts versus the NY Highlanders at one point.

All those stats are great but which one of the following is more amazing. The fact that over his 20 year career he only gave up 97 homeruns in nearly 6000 innings pitched. Or that he went 42-97 (.433) hitting in 1925? It is amazing that there is no award for pitchers called the "Walter Johnson Award" a la Cy Young Award. In 1913 he went 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA when the leagues ERA was nearly 2.5 times that. It is judged by some as the most impressive single season pitching ever.

So as we prepare for the 300th victory by The Big Unit, lets pause for a second, listen to Tim Kurkjian on ESPN give a monologue with sorrowful music in the background, and wonder if we will ever see this again.

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And Now You Know!: Color Psychology in Sports

This past weekend the Texas Rangers hosted the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and elected to wear their new red jerseys all weekend long, much to the dismay of the Angels players who prefer red on the road as opposed to their gray tops. Was it gamesmanship by the Rangers to wear their red tops? This wasn't the first time they had a "Red-Out Weekend", so maybe it was just ironic that both teams typically wear red.

The more I started thinking about the red uniforms the more it donned on me that this was more than a fashion choice in order to sell more jerseys (Red jerseys are outselling all others 5:1). This is part of a grander scheme, one that has been quietly coming forward but hardly noticed.

Why Red? It's simple. Anyone who has heard of color psychology knows that black means death, yellow-happy, green-earthy, etc. etc. But what does Red symbolize? To summarize, red is the color of intensity. Studies have shown that when one looks at red their hearts tend to beat faster, red tends to nullify other colors and if a person is wearing red they look bigger and bolder, causing intimidation. So could MLB teams be taking to other factors in baseball aside from sabermetric stats?

A common theme in sports, particularly the University of Iowa's visiting football locker room. It is painted pink. Pink helps tranquilize those who see it and makes them more peaceful. You might say it has helped the Hawkeyes to a 38-8 (.826) home record since 2002. When you look at conference foe Michigan and their record at the Big House, one of the toughest places to play, you'll see that Michigan is a mere 36-12 (.750) at home since 2002.
Back to the jersey tops in baseball. Would you be surprised if I told you that 5 of the last 7 World Series winners had red in their jersey tops as a prominent color (Phillies, Red Sox, Cardinals, Red Sox, Angels)? Now, that may not explain the Yankees and their 26 Championship rings since you couldn't find a hint of red in their stadium let alone on their jerseys. But if you go back to 1995, after the strike, 11 of the 28 teams featured in the World Series have had some amounts of Red in their jerseys.

The same cannot be said in other professional sports but maybe its because there isn't a long duration of 1-on-1 much like that of a pitcher-hitter combination. Sure there's 1-on-1 in the NBA or a DB-WR in the NFL, but for a mere few seconds at a time. I could be on to something here. Look at what the Rangers are doing this year since bringing back the red tops. Anyone want to venture to say that they make it to the World Series?

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And Now You Know!: Hit Streaks

Ryan Zimmerman's hit streak came to an end at 30 games, just the 53rd player in MLB history to have one go that long. But I was curious to know more about hit streaks. Who had the longest hit streak before Joe DiMaggio? Was there anything interesting about DiMaggio's streak? Heck, DiMaggio doesn't hold the baseball record for longest streak. DiMaggio's 56-game streak wasn't even his longest. Read on.

For starters, here is a breakdown of Zimmerman's 30 game hit streak.
-The first glaring stat is that the Nationals went 10-19 during his streak. You might ask yourself how is that possible? Back on May 5th the Nationals game ended or was suspended in a 10-10 tie with Houston. The game has yet to end.
- Zimmerman had 50 hits (11 2B, 8 HR) in 136 at bats (.382). He walked just 11 times while striking out 23. When the streak started he was batting .111.

Now who was Zimmerman chasing in this hit streak? The answer to that is DiMaggio, but one step further, who got before I get to him? That would be Denny Lyons. Lyons, a third-baseman, played 15 years before retiring. Lyons played in a year when the rules were different in baseball. All the way back in 1887, the rules helped him establish a 52-game 'hit streak'. The rule stated that games in which a player reached base via a walk would count in the stat book as a hit. It just so happened that of the 52 games in which Lyons got a hit, two of those games Lyons simply drew a walk.

Regardless that was the record that stood, although not recognized by many in the baseball world. (It wasn't until 1968 when MLB ruled that walks in 1887 would not count as hits). In fact it was "Wee" Willie Keeler that many people recognized as the current streak holder with 45 consecutive games with a hit. Keeler played from 1892-1910 and his hit streak began on the last day of the 1896 season and continued over to the first 44 games of the 97 season. Keeler, a small guy, was a mix of Dustin Pedroia and Ichiro Suzuki. He had the ability to find the holes or get the bunt singles. In 1898 Keeler had 206 singles! It was Keeler's hit streak that everyone was out to break.

So in 1941 Joe DiMaggio began his own streak 68 years to the day on May 15th. DiMaggio went about his business and eventually got the 56-game streak, all hits. The streak that started on May 15th, it surpassed Keeler on July 5th, and ended on July 17th by the Cleveland Indians. During the streak he batted 91-223 (.408), 15 HR, 55 RBI. The streak included several double-headers but didn't include the hit he got in the All-Star game that year.

Many consider this a baseball stat that will never be broken. Pete Rose came the closest with 44 in 1978 but no other player besides Rose has hit for 40+. Surprisingly though that is not the end of the story. In fact this wasn't DiMaggio's longest hit streak in his life. In 1933 DiMaggio was playing for the Pacific Coast League when he had a 61-game hit streak. More surprisingly is that he didn't get the record for the longest hit streak in any league. That record belongs to Joe Wilhoit. Wilhoit had just 782 at bats in the major leagues but in 1919 he put together a 69-game hit streak in the Western League playing for the Wichita Jobbers. During that streak Wilhoit went 153-297 (.515) and 4 HR.

So the media world may get excited when any player comes close to 30-game hit streaks but I won't get excited until the player approaches 60 and challenges Wilhoit's record.

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And Now You Know!: As Balanced As a D Nug

I was going to write about Brett Favre this week but I wasn't in the mood to talk about mediocrity. Then the news of Manny Ramirez came and I just didn't feel like writing anything baseball realted (SportsJudge founder Marc Edelman tackled the Manny Ramirez fantasy fallout here and here). So, I decided instead to write about the Nuggets (once again).

What amazes me so much about the Nuggets is their lack of that go-to-scorer. Of course there is Carmello Anthony, Chauncey Billups, and J.R Smith, Nene, and Kenyon Martin. But what gets me is that ALL of these players average over 10 ppg this season, and then there is Linus Kleiza who averaged 9.9 ppg. So essentially that means that the Nuggets have six guys who scored over 10 ppg this year, an unheard of figure when it comes to championship teams.

Looking at the previous champions, one would have to go back 20 years to the 1989-90 Detroit Pistons to find a championship team that had five players average 10+ ppg in a season, and in fact they had a sixth guy who averaged 9.8 ppg that season. The Pistons lineup included Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, James Edwards, Mark Aguirre, Bill Laimbeer, and the sixth man was Vinnie Johnson.

Something else I find unique about this year's Nuggets team is that they had no player who averaged more than 8 rpg. You'd have to go back to the 1990-91 Bulls to find a team that had a Championship team that had a leading rebounder with fewer than 9.2 rpg. That year Horace Grant led the team with 8.4 rpg throughout the regular season.

The Nuggets would be just the 4th team in the past 20 years to win a championship while allowing more than 100 ppg (100.9) and have the smallest margin of victory (3.4) since the Lakers in 2000-01. This year's Nuggets were better than their opponents in ever single statistical catagory except FT% and Offensive Rebounds yet everyone is talking about the Lakers.

The most important player on this team who receives the least amount of credit would be Chris Andersen. Andersen comes off the bench and averages over 20 mpg. Andersen has a story, though. The Birdman went undrafted after dropping out of the University of Houston and playing one year at Blinn Community College, coming from a broken home. From college he went ot play in the International Basketball League, the International Basketball Association and the Chinese Basketball League (against Yao Ming) for a few years before the Nuggets took a try at him.

The story most know is that this man entered the slam dunk contest, failed miserably, and soon after was banned from the NBA for 2-years after violating the anti-drug policy. Andersen came back to the Hornets for 5 games in 2007-08 before becoming a free agent and signing a 4-year deal with the Nuggets before this season.

Andersen credits his success this year to all the doubters. He finished second in the league in blocks per game with 2.5 (D. Howard 2.9), yet received just one vote for either All-Defensive team this year. Big men such as Kendrick Perkins, Udonis Haslem, and Trevor Ariza received more votes than Andersen for the All-Defensive team. In fact, three of his teammates received more votes for the All-Defensive team than Andersen did.



It's funny to watch the Birdman play, and no sooner than you can say, "What is this guy doing on the court?" does Andersen block a shot.

But I am getting ahead of myself. There is still a series to be played against the Mavericks and then the Rockets/Lakers. But should the Nuggets get to the Finals, as I predict they will, ESPN/ABC will be running specials on the Birdman. I'd like to believe that they'd be reading this article here to find out just how underrated he is.

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And Now You Know!: It's Pronounced "Lee-ver"

I am simply amazed at this first round series between the Bulls and the Celtics. ESPN and all other sports outlets have made a huge hyperbole out of the first six games that game 7 will most likely be a 15-point blowout. And now that there are talks of Kevin Garnett pulling a Willis Reed things can only get more interesting.

The key to this series has been the point guard battle between Rajon Rondo and rookie Derrick Rose. Let's look at a few of their numbers:

This year Rose, as a rookie, did what very few point guards can do in a season. Rose had 16.8 ppg, 6.3 apg, and just 2.5 turnovers a game. Only 20 other players in NBA history have accomplished that feat. And how about what Rose is doing in the playoffs right now? Rose is averaging 20 ppg, 7 apg, and 6.7 rpg, something that only two other players have maintained over their playoff career.

And let's not forget about Rajon Rondo who is averaging a triple-double in this year's playoffs. Only one other player has ever maintained a triple-double in the playoffs with fewer than 3 turnovers a game while playing six or more games, that man was Magic Johnson.

But with all that said about Rondo and Rose, there is one man who paces these two men when it comes to all around point guards, assists, and lack of turnovers. His name is Fat Lever.

Lever was drafted by the Portalnd Trail Blazers in 1982 and played for three teams over an 11-year career. Lever's stats might not jump out at you as he never lead the league in scoring or assists, thanks in large part to Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Mark Jackson, and Michael Jordan. The two-time all-star did have three separate seasons though in which he had 18+ ppg, 7+ apg, 6+ rpg, and -3 tpg. Only two other players in NBA history can claim they have had those numbers (Gary Payton, LeBron James). Lever did it during three consecutive seasons while the other two players only did it once.

More impressive is that Fat is just one of three players to ever have 15+ points/rebounds/assists in a single playoff game, mind you he was just 6-foot-3. Unfortunately his career though was cut short because of a knee injury but many guards today still look to Fat as an example as an all-around complete player. Many players can put up the numbers on offense but are sloppy with the ball and accept turning it over 7+ times a game. Lever valued every possession and was one of the best at his position. His career in the 80s will always be overshadowed by the likes of other Hall of Fame guards.



And Now You Know! (And Knowing is Half the Battle)

And Now You Know!: Baseball Uniform

I recently was bat boy for the Kansas City Royals when they played against the Texas Rangers and it was quite a unique experience. It'll be the first of many this season but the one downfall to the series was the uniform. On the third day of the series a nit-picking representative from MLB sent an email to my boss stating that my uniform was slightly untucked in the back and thus I was violating MLB uniform policy.

So it got me thinking about the baseball uniform. Why is baseball the only uniform in which the uniform is a button up shirt? Every other sports uniform is a jersey pullover. It's strange because about 1 of every 20 players actually unbuttons their jersey when throwing it in the laundry, the rest simply pull it over their heads.

I read an article about this awhile ago and there seems to be no real reason why players wear button up shirts like business attire. Some players even used to wear ties when playing. The dress code didn't just stick with the players as some managers elected to wear a suit in the dugout while coaching.

The pullover jersey did make a run in the 70s-80s where almost the entire league donned the pullovers but they quickly disappeared for no reason besides comfort? Players wear pullover jerseys during batting practice and fielding and no one seems to have a problem with them. They are in fact lighter than the actual jersey but no teams wear them during games.

Baseball used to even have jerseys with laces much like a hockey jersey except the laces went all the way down the jersey. As far as the numbering on the jerseys go, it wasn't until 1929 when the Yankees decided to give players full-time numbers. Their system was easy, you got the number for which you were in the batting order. Therefore, in 1929, leadoff hitter Earle Combs wore #1, Mark Koenig #2, Babe Ruth #3, Lou Gehrig #4, Bob Meusel #5, Tony Lazzeri #6, Leo Durocher #7, Johnny Grabowski #8, and Benny Bengough #9 Of course that could explain why as a bat boy I didn't get a number.

And speaking of the Yankees and their uniforms. Where did the pinstripes come from? Much like the stripes you will find on a suit, the Yankees decided that they wanted pinstripes on their uniforms. Well let it be known that the Yankees weren't the first team to don the stripes as Detroit, Washington, and Brooklyn incorporated stripes by 1988. The stripes went away a year later until Brooklyn brought them back in 1907 and it wasn't until the New York Highlanders in 1912 brought out the pinstripe uniforms.

The story continues with the Highlanders as they abandoned the stripes and their team name. Sources around the internet say that journalists needed a shorthand way to refer to the Highlanders and began calling them Yankees. In 1913 the Yankees officially changed their name and it wasn't until 1915 that the pinstripes were on for good.

So, just as I learned something last week while a MLB official had too much time on his hands to notice my 3 second appearances on the field, there is an etiquette to wearing the button up jerseys.

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And Now You Know!: The Flower

In keeping with the playoff season, I wanted to delve into some of the history of the NHL. Over the past two years I have found myself wrapped up, following the Bruins and beginning to accept the NHL as the fifth major sport again (NASCAR is one of the top 3).

This season the Bruins were on pace at times to set the all time team scoring record held by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadians. The Canadians of that time were in the midst of a dynasty and in 76-77 they recorded 132 points going 60-8-12. The second highest point total that season was the Bruins with 106 points.

In comparison to that Canadians team, the Bruins led the league in defense this year allowing fewer than 200 goals. The Bruins were second in the league in scoring but it was the Canadians team scoring in '76-77 that set them apart from everyone as they scored 200 more goals than they allowed. All that in large part to one Hall of Famer, Guy LaFleur.

Guy LaFleur led the league in scoring that year with 136 points. He was a nemesis of most teams throughout his illustrious career, a career which included a retirement in 1984 and a Hall of Fame Induction, followed by a return to the NHL in 1988 until 1991.

What most don't know about Guy LaFleur is possibly his recording career. He may have spun the careers of some of the stars in the NHL today but he may have also had an impact on the likes of Allen Iverson, Ron Artest, Roy Jones Jr., Chris Webber, Tony Parker, Deion Sanders, Kobe Bryant, and Shaq amongst others. What do all these men have in common? They all have released a music album.

Guy LaFleur's album varies from all of the others though because his was a disco album. That is correct; an athlete releasing a disco album.

I don' t have any exciting facts about Guy LaFleur nor will I predict who will win the Stanley Cup based on historical models, but I just wanted to note that Guy LaFleur was as talented on the ice as he was off. The self labeled album, "LaFleur" with Disco Delivery is a rare find these days. Since the album was released in 1979 the Canadians have won 2 titles while making it to the Finals 3 times. If I were the Habs, I'd be rocking out to "LaFleur" before every game.



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And Now You Know!: Starting Off

I always get hyped up for the beginning of the baseball season. 30 teams starting off and constant sports action everyday. But there are 162 games in the season so does it really matter what happens in April? Aside from making money, should MLB look into changing the season length?

I examined the World Series competitors over the past 23 years (not including 1994, of course) and looked at how the teams started the season. I was curious to see if a team started off slow, could they recover and make it to the playoffs?

Just as I had expected though, what a team did in their first game of the season had no correlation to what happened in October. Of the 46 teams to compete in the last 23 world series, about 60% of them started off their season with a victory, not really an overwhelming number when trying to decided if winning in week one matters.

Looking past the first game, it was about the same percentage of teams that had a win % in their first week of the season. So even if a team had a losing week to kick off the year, they still had a chance at getting to the World Series and even winning it.

Here's where some stats stand out. Only twice has a team been swept in their first series and gone on to play in the World Series and only once had a team won the World Series. On the other hand, roughly 1 out of every 4 teams making the World Series had swept their opponent in the first series of the year.

Expanding the start of the season stats out to the first three weeks of the season, a lot more is to be said about teams that win. Since the inception of the Wild Card in 1995, only five teams have had a losing record through the first three weeks of the season and gone on to make it to the World Series.

So what do we take from all of this? Cleveland and Washington have an uphill battle after starting the year being swept while Florida and Texas and sitting comfortably in the driver's seat. Could we see a Marlins/Rangers World Series? Well it is no coincidence that both those teams lead the league in runs scored thus far. Sadly both these teams were in the bottom of the league in attendance last year.

For the nay-sayers who claim that the season is too long and that games in April don't matter, keep an eye on teams that start off slow, because they probably won't matter come October.

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And Now You Know!: Vida Blue

Looking ahead to the baseball season in 2 days I stumbled upon an interesting tidbit. Who is the last switch hitting player to win the AL MVP? If I told you that he batted just .118 that entire season would it surprise you even more?

The story started when Jack Aker, relief pitcher for the Yankees was working on a string of 33 scoreless innings when the Oakland A's ended that steak giving Vida Blue his first career victory. That was back in 1969 when the 19 year old, Vida Blue, was trying to find his way in the Major Leagues.

A year later Vida Blue made his first career start, shutting out the Royals. Not to be outdone though, for his second career start Blue threw a no-hitter in front of just 4,000 fans in Oakland.

The legacy goes on as the next year Blue worked his first full season in the league and at 22 years old went on to win the Cy Young award and MVP awards. Blue would be the last switch-hitter to win the award although he only had 12 hits that year. Obviously the awards were for his performance on the mound in which Blue went 24-8 with a 1.82 ERA (League ERA = 3.36). Blue also had 301 strikeouts in this year but never had more than 189 strikeouts in any other single season during his 17 year career.

Blue then went on to do what ever other current player seems to do in MLB, he held out for more money. Blue made a mere $15,000 that year, a bargain to say the least, and was holding out for close to $90,000. Blue was insistent on not playing anymore if he didn't get his money. Blue was a deft tradesman when it came to plumbing and was willing to work to fix toilets for the rest of his life if the Athletics did not meet his demand.

After a month into the season the A's gave into the star pitcher and Blue returned to work on May 2, 1972. Unfortunately for Blue, he wasn't working on his game while holding out and returned to the mound overweight and out of shape. His arm would never be the same again as aforementioned, his strikeouts remained low.

Still, strikeouts did not make the player as Vida Blue averaged over 19 wins a season from 73-76, and in '76 the Athletics tried to move Blue to the Yankees but the transaction was blocked by Commissioner Kuhn and again in 1977 when Kuhn rejected an attempted transaction with the Reds. Kuhn claimed that the trades weren't fair for baseball as they made the powerful teams in the league more powerful without relinquishing enough in return.

The A's owner, Charlie Finley filed a $10 million lawsuit against Kuhn and refused to play Blue for 10 days, along with Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi, two other Athletics involved in deals.

Finally in 1978 the Athletics got their wish and moved Vida Blue to the San Fransisco Giants. The deal was declared fair by Kuhn in large part because the Giants were trading 7 players for 1 guy, a major league record for any one player.

Blue would go on to only win 85 games in the last 8 years following his trade. In 1983 Blue was sentenced to 90 days in jail on charges of possession of cocaine. Kuhn suspends Blue for the entire 1984 season.

Kuhn would return to baseball for a few years and in 1987, a month after signing with the Athletics, Blue announced his retirement finishing with 209 victories, never reestablishing the dominance he had back in 1971 but still fighting his drug addiction. He was a dominant post season pitcher going 6-2 including 3-0 in World Series games as he helped the A's win 3 titles in a row.

Blue will probably never make the Hall of Fame although he has had a positive impact on baseball, including most recently working in Community Relations with the Giants. Blue's stats are very similar to another recently retired pitcher, Curt Schilling, and the debate goes on whether or not he should be in the Hall. We shall see!

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And Now You Know!: Championship Rivalry

With so many teams from the Big East or ACC or Big 10 making the tournament in recent years it is a wonder why we haven't seen an all inclusive conference championship. This year a lot of folks are predicting an all-Big East final in one way or another.

Looking back over the past 25 years of the NCAA tournament though it is amazing to see that just twice has the Final game been an intra-conference game, and the most recent occurrence happening in 1988.

That famed game featured 6-10 stud, Danny Manning and the Kansas Jayhawks taking on Big Eight rival, Oklahoma. Oklahoma was a No. 1 seed entering the game while the Jayhawks were a lowly No. 6. Danny Manning netted 31 points in the 83-79 victory

The only other time that it happened was in 1985 when Patrick Ewing and the No. 1 Hoyas took on conference foe and No. 8 seed, Villanova. Again the lower seed prevailed in this match up as the Wildcats won 66-64.

Going all the way back to that 1985 NCAA bracket it is also interesting to note that there has only been 5 instances in which a Final Four match up consisted of intra-conference teams. Most recently in 2001 it was Duke and Maryland with Duke prevailing to go on and eventually win the NCAA Championship.

So while many people shun the Big East because it is too big or that people banter about the conference possibly getting 10 teams into the tournament each year, notice that it doesn't really matter. You would think that through 1512 games played in the brackets since 1985 and 48 Final Four games that there would be a greater contingency of intra-conference games come April?

With Louisville, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh all receiving top seeds and other major conferences filling out the top 4 seeds in each region don't be so quick to expect conference battles in late rounds.

Oh, and for those interested in President Obama's influence on the NCAA Tournament. We saw that Democrats in office favor the NFC over the AFC well from my research there is no correlation between conferences winning based on who holds the chair in office. Since 1985, when a Democrat is in office (Clinton) five different conferences have won the title.

And Now You Know! (And Knowing is Half the Battle!)