11/05/24
August 02, 2006
Do you like lists?:
Lists about baseball things you always wondered about (extra inning games!) and didn't even consider (teammates of father/son players!).
All from the free historical database of Retrosheet.
My God! And I thought I had too much time on my hands! Scheeessshhhh! Great link though.
posted by commander cody at 10:47 PM on August 02, 2006
Very cool.
posted by justgary at 11:11 PM on August 02, 2006
Do you like lists? Yes. Yes I do. Also, I like these lists quite a bit (if nothing else, anytime I run into the name Oddibe McDowell, I titter like, well, something that titters). Thanks grummy.
posted by Ufez Jones at 12:11 AM on August 03, 2006
Too much fun. Thanks!
posted by 2bnamedl8r at 12:24 AM on August 03, 2006
And I thought I had too much time on my hands! Well, you do, but that's besides the point. Damn fine post, grum.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 07:12 AM on August 03, 2006
Really cool stuff. I liked reading over the "Townmates on the Mound." Looking at all the pitchers that used to hail from all the big cities around the US is staggering. It seems to help drive home the fact of how baseball leagues, and baseball development programs, have dwindled in the United States.
posted by dyams at 07:27 AM on August 03, 2006
That's so cool. Actually, I think officially it's the polar opposite of cool, but I choose to not pay attention to those kind of things. Also, I haven't even clicked the link, yet. Still cool, though.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:38 AM on August 03, 2006
Impressive indeed! Anyone have any Excedrin Migraine tabs? I would love to find the same type "lists" related to NHL Hockey. Grum?
posted by skydivedad at 09:11 AM on August 03, 2006
(Clicks "Add to Bookmarks.") Thanks, Grum.
posted by BullpenPro at 12:50 PM on August 03, 2006
Wow... can you imagine putting together a website like that?? Anyways, great post grum.
posted by redsoxrgay at 01:31 PM on August 03, 2006
Lovely. Helped me find the boxscore for this gem I remember watching on TV until 3 AM. Wetteland pitched 6 scoreless innings (17th to 22nd) for the win.
posted by qbert72 at 10:35 PM on August 03, 2006
That has to be one of the best sites on the web for a baseball fan. I have used it to recreate moments in my baseball life. I was able to look up play by play of the first Yankee game I ever attended, back on July 30th 1967 a doubleheader, on the first bat day ever @ Yankee Stadium.
posted by spindoc at 10:30 AM on August 04, 2006
Retrosheet is the best. Helped me dig up this this boxscore, which is from one of the first games I ever attended, and the single number one reason I never leave a game early. As for lists, this blog has a very exclusive list of 30/30 guys, a club that he says A-Rod may soon join.
posted by BullpenPro at 11:04 AM on August 04, 2006
Woah, an 8-run rally in the 9th, interrupted by a pickoff, and then they lost in the 11th. Legendary stuff. Munson was 2 of the 3 outs in the 9th. I wonder how often this has happened, and if a batter has once been accounted for all 3 outs in an inning.
posted by qbert72 at 01:25 PM on August 04, 2006
if a batter has once been accounted for all 3 outs in an inning Well, that would mean his team would have scored a minimum of 13 runs in that inning. Out 8 players reach safely Out 8 players reach safely Out Assume that he leaves the bases loaded, that means 13 runners would have to score. I don't have a way of scanning the Retrosheet database for that sort of information, but there is a list of the highest scoring innings in MLB history here.
posted by grum@work at 02:05 PM on August 04, 2006
I would hope that player would commit seppuku between innings.
posted by yerfatma at 02:23 PM on August 04, 2006
Out 8 players reach safely Out Munson had made it up to here in BullpenPro's game's 9th. Of course, the Yankees would have won the game before he could come to the plate a third time. Thanks for the highest scoring innings list. I'd need to cross-reference this with Retrosheet, I guess. There would still be some eligible innings missing. Does Retrosheet have innings summaries for all games?
posted by qbert72 at 09:52 PM on August 04, 2006
Depending on your definition of "account for," a batter could conceivably "account for" all three outs in an inning in just two plate appearances (double play), or even in just one (triple play). But I'm guessing that's not what you mean. I believe Retrosheet's collection of boxscores is still incomplete. Most seasons before 1957 seem to be missing at least a few of them, so the collection is not exhaustive. This blog recalls a player making all three outs in a high school game, but seems to believe it has never happened at the major league level. Since the likelihood of somebody getting up three times in an inning, by itself, is quite remote, I think it's quite plausible that it's never happened.
posted by BullpenPro at 11:00 PM on August 04, 2006
Does Retrosheet have innings summaries for all games? Most of the modern games have a play-by-play listing, so if you find an inning with 13 or more runs, you could examine the play-by-play results to see who created the outs. For example, by looking at the bottom of the 2nd inning for this game, I can see that three different players created the outs. Or that in this game, 10 runs were scored before an out was recorded in the bottom of the 1st inning.
posted by grum@work at 12:30 AM on August 05, 2006
Since the likelihood of somebody getting up three times in an inning, by itself, is quite remote, I think it's quite plausible that it's never happened. Given that would take a minimum of 19 plate appearances, you only have a 3/19 chance of making one out. So the odds of making all three outs in such an inning are 3/(19^3), I think. And then multiply that by the odds of seeing such an inning to begin with.
posted by yerfatma at 12:41 PM on August 05, 2006
Given that would take a minimum of 19 plate appearances, you only have a 3/19 chance of making one out. So the odds of making all three outs in such an inning are 3/(19^3), I think. And then multiply that by the odds of seeing such an inning to begin with. And that assumes that the leadoff hitter makes all three outs. If the leadoff hitter gets on in a big inning (which is probably more likely), then that splits the denominator into some kind of fraction I can't even measure. Chase Utley just finished his climb into another list that mathematicians love -- Exhibit Z in evidence of how truly unbreakable that record is. (I haven't gotten around to that Numbers book yet, Grum, but it's on my list.)
posted by BullpenPro at 11:11 AM on August 06, 2006
Wow, BullpenPro, that boxscore was a trip back. Look at the pitchers the Angels scored 11 runs on, Catfish, Lightning, and Sparky. And Tanana getting shelled in the 9th. Quite a first game to see. I also agree that while Chase Utley's streak was truly amazing, he was a LONG way from breaking the record, one reason I made this somewhat brazen prediction, heh heh.
posted by mjkredliner at 04:48 PM on August 06, 2006
Cool. I always like the little know facts about players vs. players. It is always a different dimension of the game. One guy could be a 250 average hitter but be batting 400 in so many plate apperances against a top notch hall of fame pitcher. Always interesting stuff.