The Futility Infielder

A Few Quick Hits for a Blue Monday

Just a few articles I've been meaning to link to before they grow stale:

• The Twins Geek, John Bonnes, has a good little piece about the statistic OPS, a handy stat which stands for On Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage. OPS has over the past few years penetrated the consciousness of the baseball world, thanks mostly to the work of ESPN's Rob Neyer. It's to the point that even TV analysts and GMs (both generally much more resistant to new ways of thinking than the average baseball fan) even use it. OPS has found favor asmong statheads because it correlates very well with scoring--much better than simple Batting Average. Bonnes runs the numbers using runs per game over the past 10 years; OPS comes in at .956, which beats Batting Average's .824. Anyway, worth checking out.

• Baseball Prospectus' Gary Huckabay has a piece on how missing games due to strikes has had an impact on several players' Hall of Fame credentials. Among those significantly affected are Harold Baines, who probably would have topped 400 HRs and may have stuck around for a run at 3,000 hits; Bert Blyleven, who would have edged ever-closer to 300 wins and 5,000 strikeouts, Barry Bonds, for whom 70 games might mean the difference between catching Hank Aaron; and Ken Griffey Jr., who along with Matt Williams lost a shot at breaking Roger Maris' hallowed 61 HR record when 1994 went black. Also considered is Tim Raines' missing month in 1987 due to collusion (he wasn't offered a contract by any team at a time when he was possibly the best player in the National League, and so was prohibited from re-signing with the Expos until May 1). I still remember watching his mind-blowing May 2 debut that year--without the benefit of spring training, Raines went 4-for-5, tripling off of the Mets' David Cone on his first pitch and hitting a game-winning grand slam off of Jesse Orosco in the 10th.

• Unless you've been on another planet, you know that the A's have been on a roll. Not just with their recent 20-game winning streak, but everything they've accomplished over the past three seasons. Even we hard-hearted Yankee fans have admired them as they've pushed our team to the brink twice in the postseason. Avowed Yank fan Cecilia Tan writes of her own flirtation with the A's, consummated when she attended their AL-record tying 19th win in a row on Labor Day. "Yankees loyalists may call me Hester Prynne," writes Tan,"but I will wear my A proudly. At least until October."

• Speaking of winning streaks and record-tying, the A's brought back memories of the night I attented the Class A Pioneer League Salt Lake Trappers' 27th consecutive win in 1987, which tied the professional baseball record. The Trappers were an independent team partially owned by actor Bill Murray, who would occasionally show up and coach third base, much to the crowd's delight. They broke the 85-year-old record the night after I was there, and won one more before the streak ended at 29. So far as I know, the record still stands. The Salt Lake Tribune has a fond remembrance of the streak featuring a visit with then-Trappers' manager Jim Gilligan, who finds a parallel with Oakland's streak: "[T]he A's are doing it without a big budget, which is kind of how we did it in Salt Lake." Thanks to my Mom for the link.