Come On, Baby! Let’s Do the Splits!
Okay, so you think you’re smart, do ya? All right then, tell what stat line this is:
AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 466 27 90 17 4 1 25 42 70 14 5 .193 .261 .253 .514
So what do you think? Is that a typical Mark Belanger season? Or perhaps Steve Jeltz’s rookie year? Keep on guessing.
Or how about this one:
AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 333 55 94 15 3 26 54 29 66 3 0 .282 .349 .580 .929
One of Darryl Strawberry’s thunderous mini-seasons? What Sammy Sosa was hitting at the All-Star break in 2000? Wrong again.
Okay, one more:
G CG SHO SV IP H HR BB SO W L ERA 29 1 0 3 260 316 32 108 119 6 23 6.09
The ace pitcher of the 1962 Mets? The season Denny McLain had with the Senators?
You aren’t even close.
These three stat lines are, respectively:
(1) How the 1972 Texas Rangers batted, as a team, against the Oakland A’s.
(2) How the 1964 Minnesota Twins batted, as a team, while playing in Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium.
and
(3) The 2003 Detroit Tigers’ team pitching record for the month of August.
The Mother Lode
These pearls are just the tiniest sampling of the treasure to be found at the magnificent website Retrosheet.org. If you’re reading this—and you can’t deny that you are now, can you?—then you’re almost certainly familiar with Retrosheet, but in case you haven’t had the pleasure, then please allow me to make the introduction. This thing is an utter goldmine.
Retrosheet has been a collaborative project of dozens of volunteers over many years, but its inventor and leader throughout has been David W. Smith. His tremendous effort and remarkable achievement was honored by the Society for American Baseball Research this summer, when they bestowed upon him their highest honor, the 2005 Bob Davids Award. In Alan Schwarz’s terrific 2004 book on the subject of baseball statistics, The Numbers Game, Smith and the Retrosheet story are the subject of a five-page profile.
Splitsville
The Retrosheet site contains far more amazing stuff than can possibly be summarized here. It’s easy to lose entire afternoons there. (Believe me). For today, let’s mine just one of its stunningly rich veins: team split stats.
Among the myriad of split statistics that Retrosheet provides is one showing how each slot in the batting order performed for a team in a given year. In other words, the sum of all batters appearing in the leadoff spot, batting second, batting third, and so on. It’s fascinating.
The Anti-Murderer’s Row
Masochist that I am, I couldn’t help piecing together a nightmare scenario of really terrible batting order slots from some of the more notorious poor-hitting teams of the 1960s and early 1970s:
Year Team Slot AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 1969 Padres 1st 675 51 132 23 3 3 29 35 115 15 12 .196 .237 .252 .489 1968 Dodgers 2nd 648 74 138 15 6 2 33 44 102 16 5 .213 .262 .264 .526 1963 Colt .45s 3rd 624 51 128 18 5 5 51 55 87 5 2 .205 .270 .274 .544 1968 White Sox 4th 615 54 144 13 6 9 62 64 96 7 5 .234 .307 .319 .626 1972 Rangers 5th 569 58 116 18 0 15 46 58 126 8 7 .204 .281 .315 .596 1967 White Sox 6th 599 48 115 17 2 4 54 42 104 7 6 .192 .250 .247 .497 1971 Padres 7th 578 33 125 16 4 9 58 32 93 7 7 .216 .264 .304 .568 1968 Mets 8th 560 30 105 9 0 3 26 44 123 6 3 .188 .251 .220 .471 1968 Angels 9th 510 33 64 5 0 2 28 29 196 2 0 .125 .181 .147 .328
With Two Outs and the Bases Empty, The Batter is Willie Mays
The 1966 San Francisco Giants were the first team I followed really closely, on a daily basis, listening to most of the games on the radio, studying the box scores, and so on. Here is how the leadoff and number two spots in the batting order performed for that team:
Slot AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 1st 707 85 176 25 4 12 54 23 74 9 4 .249 .275 .347 .622 2nd 665 100 153 19 3 23 61 43 104 2 3 .230 .283 .371 .654
Yes, that’s right: .275 and .283 on-base percentages. Good grief. I tend to think that this alone explains much of the tendency toward insanity that has been so characteristic of my personality ever since.
3TO Alley
I wonder what fans who discovered baseball with the 1991 Detroit Tigers are like:
Slot AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 4th 634 104 164 26 0 44 134 79 153 0 1 .259 .344 .508 .852 5th 593 94 154 18 2 36 94 106 153 5 4 .260 .371 .479 .850 6th 606 89 133 25 3 27 90 77 165 8 5 .219 .307 .404 .711 7th 594 68 142 30 3 18 76 63 162 11 10 .239 .314 .391 .705
Perhaps they mutter the words “Three True Outcomes” each night to lull themselves into a peaceful slumber?
Another one of the cool splits Retrosheet provides is to show how all the batters appearing at each defensive position performed for each team. So, for example, here are the right fielders from these same 1991 Tigers:
AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 574 74 109 23 2 26 72 100 190 5 3 .190 .309 .373 .682
That’s mostly the signature handiwork of Rob Deer, of course. But the ’91 Tigers are the one team in history upon which Deer wasn’t really all that much of an outlier.
The Land of No Line Drives
And check this out. These were the center fielders for the 1965 Mets:
AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 613 64 119 25 4 18 61 40 175 8 4 .194 .246 .336 .582
Here are the pitchers for the 1968 Mets:
AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 437 18 52 6 0 2 16 13 236 2 0 .119 .144 .146 .290
There was a whole lotta fannin’ goin’ on.
Speaking of offensive black holes, here are the shortstops for the 1968 Tigers:
AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 541 41 88 12 4 5 32 46 126 3 3 .163 .233 .227 .460
That one has Ray Oyler’s fingerprints all over it, of course. Here’s how Oyler hit in April of that year:
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 17 50 2 11 3 0 0 5 5 11 0 0 .220 .281 .280 .561
He wasn’t exactly lighting it up, but he wasn’t really embarrassing himself, either. But let’s see how he did from May 1st onward:
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 94 165 11 18 3 1 1 7 15 48 0 2 .109 .181 .170 .351
Oh, yeah. That’s the stuff.
Rude Hosts
Let’s take a look at some teams that pitched really, really well at home:
Year Team G CG SHO SV IP H HR BB SO W L ERA 1964 White Sox 81 29 12 16 768 588 42 219 493 52 29 2.13 1965 White Sox 81 11 9 26 761 622 51 217 454 48 33 2.53 1966 White Sox 81 22 18 12 760 577 36 186 429 45 36 2.07 1967 White Sox 82 19 15 18 783 582 38 230 448 49 33 2.07 1965 Dodgers 81 34 15 12 748 566 41 213 543 50 31 2.31 1966 Dodgers 81 29 13 15 761 616 36 178 610 53 28 2.27
That’s the sublime. Now for the ridiculous.
And Hospitable Ones
Check out the 1995-2001 Colorado Rockies’ pitching stat lines in Coors Field:
Year G CG SHO SV IP H HR BB SO W L ERA 1995 72 0 0 22 658 843 107 252 458 44 28 6.17 1996 81 5 2 16 738 903 122 314 457 55 26 6.17 1997 81 4 2 19 738 932 121 263 451 47 34 5.67 1998 81 4 0 16 741 885 101 273 467 42 39 5.70 1999 81 4 1 13 739 987 159 385 526 39 42 7.11 2000 81 3 0 13 739 896 133 303 522 48 33 6.06 2001 81 4 3 12 734 834 144 332 537 41 40 6.12
Yes, you’re reading that right: one year they were 55-26 with a 6.17 ERA at home.
Finishing Strong
Those Dodger teams were at their best coming down the stretch. (Yes, it pains me to recall this.) These are the performances of the Dodger staffs in September of 1965 and 1966:
Year G CG SHO SV IP H HR BB SO W L ERA 1965 27 8 10 10 249.2 188 12 64 170 20 7 1.59 1966 29 9 6 10 262.0 199 14 64 172 20 9 2.03
Ten shutouts in September of 1965. Criminy.
How about some other legendary September performances by great pitching staffs:
Year Team G CG SHO SV IP H HR BB SO W L ERA 1969 Mets 30 15 10 4 272.1 210 3 82 186 23 7 2.15 1974 Orioles 29 13 8 4 278.2 219 11 82 131 23 6 2.07 1978 Yankees 30 11 4 7 267.2 212 22 90 163 22 8 2.52
That’s right: the 1969 Mets staff allowed just three home runs in the month of September.
Speaking of great pitching months, how about the Oakland A’s of August 2002?
G CG SHO SV IP H HR BB SO W L ERA 28 3 4 12 257 193 17 71 184 24 4 2.17
Is It Over Yet?
Meanwhile, some other staffs have suffered through some truly miserable months:
Year Team Month G CG SHO SV IP H HR BB SO W L ERA 1996 Tigers April 27 1 0 2 237.2 288 50 138 174 9 18 7.31 1982 Twins May 29 2 0 2 250.0 278 47 141 149 3 26 6.08 1979 Athletics June 29 5 0 2 257.2 292 22 115 121 5 24 5.03 1962 Mets July 29 9 1 2 251.0 290 49 101 130 6 23 5.70 1977 Mariners August 28 3 0 2 243.1 284 55 95 135 6 22 6.58 2000 Cubs September 28 2 1 4 239.1 273 42 137 192 6 22 6.24
Setting a Pace
Here is pretty much all you ever need to know about great starts and terrible starts:
Year Team Month G CG SHO SV IP H HR BB SO W L ERA 1984 Tigers April 20 4 1 5 191.0 137 13 66 118 18 2 2.50 1988 Orioles April 23 2 1 1 195.1 234 23 69 105 1 22 5.58
Mismatchups
It was really not fair for the early Mets to have to face the Dodgers. This is how the Dodger pitching staff fared against them in the Mets’ first six seasons:
Year G CG SHO SV IP H HR BB SO W L ERA 1962 18 7 2 5 165.0 119 15 79 142 16 2 3.16 1963 18 7 5 7 165.0 112 8 45 138 16 2 2.07 1964 19 10 4 2 165.0 122 8 34 115 15 3 1.75 1965 18 6 3 6 167.2 121 8 54 104 13 5 1.83 1966 18 7 3 5 160.2 148 5 46 122 12 6 2.46 1967 18 6 4 3 160.0 150 3 33 114 12 6 2.42
Some other staffs haven’t fared so well against particular opponents:
Year Team Versus G CG SHO SV IP H HR BB SO W L ERA 1962 Mets Cardinals 18 5 1 1 156.0 203 30 58 82 5 13 6.23 1977 Blue Jays Red Sox 15 2 0 0 129.0 161 24 51 79 3 12 6.28 1964 Red Sox Twins 18 1 0 2 155.0 171 32 72 125 5 13 6.62 1979 Blue Jays Twins 12 2 0 0 102.1 132 19 53 43 1 11 7.39 1999 Rockies Giants 13 0 0 2 111.0 153 18 68 79 4 9 7.86 1996 Tigers White Sox 13 0 0 2 112.0 162 24 68 69 3 10 9.56
Here are a few notable feasts from the hitters’ point of view:
Year Team Versus AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 1996 White Sox Tigers 471 125 162 28 4 24 121 68 69 6 3 .344 .427 .573 1.000 1975 Reds Cubs 447 99 162 23 4 12 93 62 87 16 3 .362 .439 .512 .951 1961 Yankees Red Sox 626 106 185 26 5 35 103 70 85 2 2 .296 .368 .521 .889 1962 Cardinals Mets 653 129 203 27 6 30 117 58 82 15 6 .311 .370 .508 .878 1964 Twins Red Sox 617 126 171 35 11 32 119 72 125 6 3 .277 .352 .525 .877 1962 Giants Mets 636 117 200 17 6 29 110 63 70 10 6 .314 .378 .497 .875 1977 Red Sox Blue Jays 522 95 161 24 2 24 91 51 79 7 4 .308 .366 .500 .866
Bad Trips
And some famines in particular ballparks:
Year Team At AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 1986 Cardinals Los Angeles 186 8 30 4 0 0 6 10 41 2 3 .161 .204 .183 .387 1966 Senators Chicago 272 6 44 1 2 2 6 22 51 3 1 .162 .229 .202 .431 1972 Rangers Oakland 187 10 32 5 3 0 10 10 26 6 1 .171 .211 .230 .441 1965 Mets Los Angeles 277 15 44 9 1 4 15 22 68 2 2 .159 .225 .242 .467 1972 Rangers California 248 16 45 3 0 1 13 27 61 10 2 .181 .264 .206 .470 1963 Dodgers Houston 309 23 61 8 5 0 21 19 52 10 2 .197 .244 .256 .500 1964 Senators New York 286 20 51 10 1 2 18 34 76 3 2 .178 .270 .241 .511 1963 Senators Baltimore 294 23 59 11 1 2 22 20 50 2 0 .201 .249 .265 .514
The Hot
Some torrid months:
Year Team Month AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 1962 Giants April 670 137 197 34 4 29 121 82 98 9 5 .294 .370 .487 .857 1964 Twins May 1052 165 271 42 7 55 159 98 208 7 5 .258 .324 .468 .792 1961 Yankees June 1130 184 298 44 6 53 173 97 166 6 3 .264 .322 .454 .776 2003 Braves July 1021 189 318 58 6 39 184 105 149 12 4 .311 .378 .495 .873 1998 Yankees August 1158 222 367 69 3 54 208 129 211 16 11 .317 .383 .522 .905 2000 Astros September 987 195 307 60 11 46 190 111 190 22 10 .311 .383 .534 .917
And The Not
And some oh-so-tepid ones:
Year Team Month AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2003 Tigers April 741 54 136 21 2 11 49 69 163 5 8 .184 .258 .262 .520 1969 Angels May 856 58 181 28 1 11 53 80 163 11 8 .211 .281 .285 .566 1963 Colt .45s June 970 45 195 21 7 8 40 72 184 6 4 .201 .259 .262 .521 1971 Padres July 927 68 194 33 5 15 63 64 150 8 11 .209 .264 .304 .568 1968 Indians August 1144 86 237 36 4 8 76 99 194 27 12 .207 .276 .267 .543 1972 Rangers September 814 53 149 22 5 5 48 65 158 22 11 .183 .243 .241 .484 1972 Rangers October 88 4 13 1 0 0 4 7 17 9 1 .148 .211 .159 .370
That 1972 Ranger team was managed by, of all people, Ted Williams. That September/October performance of theirs was in the final few weeks of Williams’s managing career. It’s no wonder he voluntarily terminated his contract at the end of that season; what’s remarkable is that Teddy Ballgame didn’t go off to Tibet to live as a monk for the rest of his days.
You Get the Idea
The informational jewels unearthed here represent but an infinitesimal fraction of what’s ready for the taking at Retrosheet. Before exploring it yourself, may I remind you to always practice safe data mining: pack plenty of food and water, and make sure you let someone know before you go, because it’s likely you won’t return for a very long time.
References & Resources
Alan Schwarz, The Numbers Game, New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2004, pp. 249-254.