Wall Street Journal Book Review Seems To Have Error About 1919 White Sox

See Was It So, Shoeless Joe? Here is the letter I sent them:

"David M. Shribman's review of "The Betrayal" by Charles Fountain ("Was It So, Shoeless Joe?" Oct. 31) seems to have a major statistical error. It reads "In the Series they (the White Sox) batted .255, significantly higher than their .215 season average." But Baseball Reference shows the White Sox to have a team batting average of .287 during the 1919 season while batting just .224 during the World Series.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1919_WS.shtml"

Did Chris Sale Have Bad Luck This Year?

It seems like he pitched worse in high leverage situations than otherwise this year and that has not been the case before. The table below shows his OPS allowed for High, Medium and Low leverage situations from 2012-15. All data from Baseball Reference and the BR Play Index.

Year	High	Medium	Low
2012	0.639	0.626	0.715
2013	0.556	0.618	0.693
2014	0.612	0.522	0.607
2015	0.709	0.658	0.616

So he allowed a much higher OPS in High leverage cases than otherwise. But it looks like he did better in High leverage cases in 2012 & 2013. So maybe he had some good luck then. My guess is that most pitchers have this kind of pattern, where they have bad luck one year and good luck the next or vice-versa (I hope I can take a look at that).

But I did look at how pitchers in general did over the years 2012-15 (with stats for each pitcher being cumulative). I only looked at pitchers who had 100+ IP in all three leverage situations, so I think that means only starters got in (or mostly starters-the only guy with under 500 total IP was Wade Davis and I took him out).

Then I calculated a weighted average (by batters faced) of the OPS allowed for all three leverage situations over the years 2012-15 for this group. There were 72 pitchers (Chris Sale was removed as well). Here are the results:

High	0.706
Medium	0.706
Low	0.692

So pitchers generally do just a bit worse in High and Medium cases than Low cases (in the long run, as I combined years). So Sale might have had bad luck this year, after some good luck in the past.

Dizzy Dean's 1934 Season, When He Went 30-6

The Cardinals came in first place, just 2 games ahead of the Giants. The Giants were only one game out going into the final day of the season. Dean won a complete game on that day.

Dean was outstanding the last two months of the season. In August, his ERA was 1.41 in 51 IP (46H, 33K, 10BB, 2 HR).

In September, his ERA was 1.54 in 64.1 IP (45H, 41K, 16BB, 3HR). He started 7 games, completing 6 AND he pitched 5 games in relief (for the whole season, he started 33 games and pitched 17 in relief).

In the last 6 days of the season, he pitched 3 complete games, allowing just a total of 2 earned runs (one game was on 2 days rest and the other was on 1 day of rest!!). In those three games, he had 20H, 19K, 3BB, 1HR. He won all three games.

He saved 2 games in September (he had a total of 7 saves that year with a 4-2 record as a reliever). On September 11, he had a 2.1 IP save the day after pitching a complete game. He also pitched one-third of an inning on September 12.

He did have a gap of 12 days when he did not pitch at all, from August 12-August 24. He had a 10 day suspension. For details, see A Closer Look: Dizzy Dean Wins 30 in 1934 by Gabriel Schechter. There was also a victory awarded to him in a questionable decision by the official scorer. Otherwise, he wins only 29.

Twice he pitched 3 innings in relief the day after pitching 9 innings. Another time it was 2.1 IP the day after pitching 9 innings. Still another time it was 2 IP the day after pitching 8 innings. In all, he pitched in relief six times the day after starting and going at least 8 innings.

He also pitched in relief in both ends of a double header on September 23rd, after a complete game on Sept. 21. Then he pitched a complete game on Sept. 25 followed by CGs on Sept. 28 & Sept. 30!

Then he started game 1 of the World Series on October 3, on just 2 days rest and got a complete game victory. His next start was Oct. 7. He lost in 8 IP, but it was still a complete game. He then started game 7 on October 9, on only one day of rest. He pitched a complete game shut out against a lineup that included the following Hall of Famers:

Mickey Cochrane
Charlie Gehringer
Goose Goslin
Hank Greenberg 

So he had 6 starts in a 15 day stretch and completed all of them. He allowed only 5 earned runs in 26 IP in the World Series.

From Baseball Reference:

Dean's 1934 splits

Dean's 1934 game logs
 
Dean's post season game logs

Post Season Game Scores Of 90+

They are from the Baseball Reference Play Index. If you click on the link you may need to be a subscriber to see it. You might try this one, too.

The list is posted below, although not without all the stats for each pitcher. If you click on the date, you can see the box score.

Roger Clemens has the highest ever, 98, in the 2000 ALCS. In 9 IP.

Whose record did he break? (2 guys, each had 97)

Those two guys each pitched more than 9 innings. So whose 9 IP record did Clemens break? (2 guys, each had 94)

Who is the only guy to have 2 90+ Game Scores in post season history?

Who had the only no-decision with a 90+? (his team also lost the game) There are 21 such games (going back to 1903) and 20 of them gave the pitcher a win.

Who are the only teammates to have 90+ Game Scores in the same year?

Who are the only pitchers to reach 90 in less than 9 IP? (2 guys)

This was all easy to find with the Baseball Reference Play Index. I was wondering about something and then when I saw the list, I thought it would make for some interesting questions.  

Player	Date	Tm	Series	App,Dec	IP	GSc
Roger Clemens	10/14/2000	NYY	ALCS	SHO9, W	9	98
Dave McNally	10/5/1969	BAL	ALCS	SHO11, W	11	97
Babe Ruth	10/9/1916	BOS	WS	CG 14, W	14	97
Tim Lincecum	10/7/2010	SFG	NLDS	SHO9, W	9	96
Roy Halladay	10/6/2010	PHI	NLDS	SHO9, W	9	94
Don Larsen	10/8/1956	NYY	WS	SHO9, W	9	94
Ed Walsh	10/11/1906	CHW	WS	SHO9, W	9	94
Josh Beckett	10/12/2003	FLA	NLCS	SHO9, W	9	93
Ken Holtzman	10/9/1973	OAK	ALCS	CG 11, W	11	93
Bob Gibson	10/2/1968	STL	WS	SHO9, W	9	93
Kevin Brown	9/29/1998	SDP	NLDS	GS-8, W	8	92
Randy Johnson	10/28/2001	ARI	WS	SHO9, W	9	91
Randy Johnson	10/16/2001	ARI	NLCS	SHO9, W	9	91
Cliff Lee	10/18/2010	TEX	ALCS	GS-8, W	8	90
Livan Hernandez	10/12/1997	FLA	NLCS	CG 9, W	9	90
Nolan Ryan	10/14/1986	HOU	NLCS	GS-9	9	90
Mike Scott	10/8/1986	HOU	NLCS	SHO9, W	9	90
Vida Blue	10/8/1974	OAK	ALCS	SHO9, W	9	90
Monte Pearson	10/5/1939	NYY	WS	SHO9, W	9	90
George Earnshaw	10/6/1931	PHA	WS	SHO9, W	9	90
Bill Dinneen	10/2/1903	BOS	WS	SHO9, W	9	90

Interesting Splits For The Playoff Teams

To see the splits for MLB over the years 2010-14, go to Major League Situational Stats, 2010-2014. Here they are to provide reference for the numbers I give below:

Compiled using the Baseball Reference Play Index.

Split	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	923779	0.254	0.319	0.398	0.717
None On	520158	0.249	0.310	0.393	0.702
Men On	403621	0.261	0.332	0.405	0.737
RISP	238074	0.255	0.339	0.394	0.733
Late & Close	153559	0.240	0.316	0.365	0.681

Here is what I have for the years 1991-2000. The relative differences are not too much different than they used to be.

At the end of this post I provide link for the batting and pitching splits pages of each team.

Rangers have an OPS differential of -.008 (.739-.747). But somehow they won 88 games. It could be their bullpen that made the difference. They allowed an OPS of just .667 in Late & Close situations. That is .080 below their overall OPS allowed, a much bigger than normal differential.

The Blue Jays had OPS of .878 with men on. With None on it was .735. 4 times normal gap. With RISP, it was .839. Again, abnormally high when compared to the None On OPS. Their batters had just a .716 OPS in Late & Close situations. Overall, it was .797. So they were abnormally low in Late & Close situations. Maybe that partly explains their 15-28 record in 1-run games.

Their pitchers allowed an OPS of .769 with RISP while with None On it was .688. That is much bigger than normal.

The Royals had an OPS differential of just .024 (.734 - .710). Using my estimate of

Winning Pct = .5 +1.3*OPSDIFF

That gives them a .531 pct., lower than their actual pct. of .586. So how did they do so well? They had a .778 OPS with runners on and .701 with none one.  With RISP it was .772. Their pitchers allowed an OPS of just .668 with RISP while it was .700 with none on. That is impressive given that teams usually hit better with RISP.

The Royals pitchers allowed an OPS in Late & Close situations of just .629, far below their overall OPS allowed of .710. That beats the normal differential by quite a bit.

The Astros had an OPS differential of .071 (.752 - .681).  Astros estimate to .592  but they actually had only .531. Their pitchers allowed a .660 OPS with None On but it was .713 with Men On and .707 with RISP. They allowed .684 Late & Close situations. So that is a weakness, given that normally it is lower than overall OPS allowed.

The Cardinals had an OPS differential of .040 (.716 - .676). Their hitters had a .713 OPS with None On but it only goes up to .719 with Men On and actually falls to .683 with RISP. In Late  Close situations it is .713, so it drops off alot less than normal.

But the Cardinal pitchers have been great with Men On and with RISP. The allow a .711 OPS with None On but in the other two it is .618 & .630, respectively. Those are very large differentials considering that they usually go up.

The Cubs had an OPS differential of .057 (.719 - .662). So larger than the Cardinals'. Nothing unusual about their hitters but their pitchers allowed a .626 OPS with None On but it shoots way up with Men On and with RISP where it is .712 and .718. So the reverse of the Cardinals.They allowed only .608 in Late  Close situations, a bigger drop off than normal.

The Dodgers had an OPS differential of .070 (.739 - .669).  Nothing unusual about their hitters but their pitchers allowed a .633 OPS with None On but it shoots way up with Men On and with RISP where it is .724 and .721. They also allow .694 in Late & Close situations, well above their normal level, the reverse of the MLB average.

The Mets had an OPS differential of .040 (.712 - .672). The Mets don't appear to to have any interesting splits.

Dodger batting splits
Dodger pitching splits

Mets batting splits
Mets pitching splits
 
Cardinals batting splits
Cardinals pitching splits
 
Cubs hitting splits
Cubs pitching splits
 
Royals batting splits
Royals pitching splits
 
Astros batting splits
Astros pitching splits
 
Blue Jays batting splits
Blue Jays pitching splits
 
Rangers batting splits
Rangers pitching splits

Andrelton Simmons Will Likely Join Elite Who Have Led Their League In Defensive WAR Three Straight Years Or More

He leads the NL with 3.5 and Brandon Crawford has 2.9 going into today, the last day of the season. He would be the 12th guy to do it. Joe Tinker led the NL every year from 1905-09 except 1907, when his double play mate at 2B, Johnny Evers, led the league. Evers was 1st with 3.3 and Tinker was 2nd with 2.8.

Here are the players who have done it in the AL

Year	American League	dWAR
2001	Rey Sanchez   (KCR)	2.4
2000	Rey Sanchez   (KCR)	2.8
1999	Rey Sanchez   (KCR)	2.7
1991	Cal Ripken+   (BAL)	3.4
1990	Cal Ripken+   (BAL)	3.4
1989	Cal Ripken+   (BAL)	3.4
1988	Ozzie Guillen   (CHW)	3.4
1987	Ozzie Guillen   (CHW)	3.7
1986	Ozzie Guillen   (CHW)	3.1
1978	Mark Belanger   (BAL)	3.7
1977	Mark Belanger   (BAL)	3.4
1976	Mark Belanger   (BAL)	3.9
1975	Mark Belanger   (BAL)	4.9
1974	Mark Belanger   (BAL)	3.5
1973	Mark Belanger   (BAL)	4
1936	Billy Rogell   (DET)	1.5
1935	Billy Rogell   (DET)	2.7
1934	Billy Rogell   (DET)	2.2
1915	George McBride   (WSH)	2.2
1914	George McBride   (WSH)	3
1913	George McBride   (WSH)	3.6
1912	George McBride   (WSH)	2.7

Now the NL

Year	National League	dWAR
2015	Andrelton Simmons   (ATL)	3.5
2014	Andrelton Simmons   (ATL)	3.9
2013	Andrelton Simmons   (ATL)	5.4
2002	Andruw Jones   (ATL)	2.3
2001	Andruw Jones   (ATL)	2.9
2000	Andruw Jones   (ATL)	2.6
1989	Ozzie Smith+   (STL)	4.7
1988	Ozzie Smith+   (STL)	3.1
1987	Ozzie Smith+   (STL)	2.4
1949	Pee Wee Reese+   (BRO)	2.3
1948	Pee Wee Reese+   (BRO)	1.7
1947	Pee Wee Reese+   (BRO)	2.1
1922	Dave Bancroft+   (NYG)	2.7
1921	Dave Bancroft+   (NYG)	3.2
1920	Dave Bancroft+   (2TM)	4
1919	Art Fletcher   (NYG)	3.9
1918	Art Fletcher   (NYG)	3.4
1917	Art Fletcher   (NYG)	5.1

Is Manny Machado The Best Young 3B Man Since Eddie Mathews?

Maybe. Here are all the seasons of 6+ WAR for 3B men through age 22 using the Baseball Reference Play Index:

Rk	Player	WAR	Year	Age
1	Dick Allen	8.8	1964	22
2	Eddie Mathews	8.3	1953	21
3	Eddie Mathews	7.8	1954	22
4	Jimmy Williams	6.9	1899	22
5	Manny Machado	6.5	2015	22
6	Manny Machado	6.4	2013	20
7	Hank Blalock	6.4	2003	22
8	Aurelio Rodriguez	6.4	1970	22
9	Freddie Lindstrom	6.3	1928	22

The only two guys to have two such seasons are Machado and Mathews. If the age is raised to 23, here is the list, Mathews has three and then Machado still has two. Only Dick Allen joins the group.

Rk	Player	WAR	Year	Age
1	Dick Allen	8.8	1964	22
2	Eddie Mathews	8.3	1953	21
3	Troy Glaus	7.8	2000	23
4	Eddie Mathews	7.8	1954	22
5	George Brett	7.5	1976	23
6	Eddie Mathews	7.3	1955	23
7	Evan Longoria	7.0	2009	23
8	Frankie Frisch	6.9	1921	23
9	Jimmy Williams	6.9	1899	22
10	Ron Santo	6.7	1963	23
11	Rogers Hornsby	6.7	1919	23
12	Scott Rolen	6.6	1998	23
13	Manny Machado	6.5	2015	22
14	Manny Machado	6.4	2013	20
15	Hank Blalock	6.4	2003	22
16	Aurelio Rodriguez	6.4	1970	22
17	Dick Allen	6.4	1965	23
18	Freddie Lindstrom	6.3	1928	22
19	Edgardo Alfonzo	6.2	1997	23
20	Gary Sheffield	6.2	1992	23
21	Eric Chavez	6.0	2001	23

Here is the top 10 in WAR through age 22:

Rk	Player	WAR	From	To	Age
1	Eddie Mathews	18.4	1952	1954	20-22
2	Manny Machado	16.9	2012	2015	19-22
3	Buddy Lewis	12.6	1935	1939	18-22
4	Freddie Lindstrom	12.5	1924	1928	18-22
5	Buddy Bell	9.6	1972	1974	20-22
6	Bill Dahlen	9.0	1891	1892	21-22
7	Bob Horner	8.9	1978	1980	20-22
8	Dick Allen	8.8	1963	1964	21-22
9	Denny Lyons	8.3	1885	1888	19-22
10	Adrian Beltre	8.2	1998	2001	19-22

If we raise the age to 23 we have

Rk	Player	WAR	From	To	Age
1	Eddie Mathews	25.7	1952	1955	20-23
2	George Davis	18.2	1890	1894	19-23
3	Manny Machado	16.9	2012	2015	19-22
4	Buddy Lewis	16.2	1935	1940	18-23
5	Dick Allen	15.2	1963	1965	21-23
6	Freddie Lindstrom	15.0	1924	1929	18-23
7	George Brett	14.5	1973	1976	20-23
8	Denny Lyons	13.8	1885	1889	19-23
9	Buddy Bell	12.5	1972	1975	20-23
10	Billy Nash	12.1	1884	1888	19-23