Monday, August 15, 2011

25 Weird and Interesting Stats

Just a list of 25 random and possibly meaningless statistics I've compiled from the 2011 baseball season. In case you can't tell by now, I'm a big stats guy. Enjoy!

1. Poor Hiroki Kuroda.  The Dodger pitcher is leading the NL in losses with 14 despite a 2.88 ERA.  He is no stranger to pedestrian win-loss figures, since his career record is somehow 36-44.  His career ERA and WHIP are 3.43 and 1.19
2. 35 year-old Lance Berkman is leading the NL in slugging percentage (.586) and OPS (.995).  Big Puma is also second in home runs with 28
3. Boston catchers Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek have combined for 18 home runs, the same number as slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez
4. Matt Kemp's counting numbers are virtually identical to last year's despite playing in 43 fewer games this year.  His batting average is 71 points higher, his OBP is 84 points higher and his SLG is 131 points higher
5. Joe Mauer has hit ten home runs in his past 788 at-bats, and only one has come at home.  Head and Shoulders is for more than just dandruff, but it's not helping him clear those fences in Minnesota.  Curse you, Target Field!
6. Ichiro Suzuki ain't hitting like he used to, but he's still running at will with 30 stolen bases to prove it.  He's only been nabbed five times
7. John Lackey and Jon Lester both have eleven wins so far despite Lester's ERA being nearly three full runs lower
8. A 33 game hitting streak brought Dan Uggla's batting average all the way up to .232 (it was .173 on the Fourth of July)
9. Jeff Francoeur has 34 doubles, 15 homers and 19 steals while teammate Melky Cabrera has 32 doubles, 15 homers and 16 steals.  Who saw either one coming?
10. Who has more stolen bases than Jose Reyes, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner? Coco Crisp, of course
11. Jhonny Peralta is hitting .309.  Entering the season his career batting average was .263
-Casey Kotchman is hitting .335.  Entering the season his career batting average was .259
12. The underrated Ben Zobrist is quietly leading the majors in doubles with 37 after a terrible 2010 campaign
13. Cole Hamels has the best WHIP of Philadelphia's Big Four despite having the least impressive track record
14. Jason Bay was the proud owner of a career .519 slugging percentage when he got a $66 million contract from the New York Mets.  He slugged .402 last season and is slugging .363 this year.  Moral of the story? Don't leave Fenway if you don't have to
15. Ryan Howard leads the NL in RBI with 95, but his .840 OPS is a career low
16. Dustin Pedroia was hitting .239 on June 4.  After an Uggla-like turnaround he's currently batting .310
17. Nick Swisher was hitting .213 on June 4.  After a nice turnaround (.935 OPS since) he's currently batting .267
18. No one who is still playing for San Diego (so long, Ryan Ludwick) has more than seven home runs, so it's certainly possible that none of them crack double digits
19. J.P. Arencibia has more long balls than any other catcher in the bigs this year, but the rookie's .272 on base percentage makes him a liability at the plate
20. Did you know Nats first baseman Michael Morse is third in the NL in batting average? Me neither
21. Aramis Ramirez is the NL equivalent of David Ortiz; absolutely brutal in April and May but a beast thereafter.  Somehow no one seems to notice this
22. Former Yankee darling Ian Kennedy leads the Senior Circuit in wins with 15 and winning percentage with .833.  Going out on a limb here, but I think the Yanks would rather have him than A.J. Burnett, probably the only guy on the planet who couldn't earn a win after being staked to a 13-0 lead against the struggling White Sox
23. Asdrubal Cabrera has two fewer runs, three fewer big flies and four fewer ribbies than Miguel Cabrera.  It's going to take me a while to process that.
24. The American League has a .321 on base percentage.  The Oakland Athletics have a .313 on base percentage.  I guess Billy Beane doesn't play Moneyball anymore.
25. Albert Pujols is back!  The Machine leads the NL in runs and four-baggers despite a sluggish start and spending time on the DL in June.  The average should be back over .300 by the end of August

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