This is part 3 of my "How much WAR would ________ get?" series. You can find How much (negative) WAR would I accrue playing on a Major League team for a full season? here and How much (negative) WAR would a potato accrue playing centerfield for a Major League team for a full season? here.

That's right, boys and girls. We're back with a new conundrum. Let me set the stage. Speedy McHitterson has been discovered to be a perfect leadoff hitter. He makes every play in center, he steals second at every opportunity, he has a perfect eye, and when he's thrown a strike, he gets a hit every time. However, he's incredibly shy and afraid to overstep his bounds. This means he'll never swing at a pitch outside the zone, even if he knows he can hit it. He also will never go past first base on a hit, so every his is a single. Speedy is afraid of stepping on teammates toes, literally and figuratively, so he won't make any plays in the field that weren't meant for him. He's also fearful of being perceived as too overconfident, so stealing third is out of the question, let alone stealing home. But for the things he does do, he has a 100% success rate.
To the categories!

Positional Adjustment

Speedy, like Tate, will be manning center for a full season. 162 games of CF is worth 2.5 runs.

Replacement Level

As previously established, the average leadoff hitter would have ~761 PA per 162 games. But Speedy is no average leadoff hitter. Speedy will have a 1.000 OBP. Meaning compared to the average 255 on-base events for an average leadoff man, Speedy will have 761, which is an extra 506. Following the logic from last time, getting on base an extra 506 times will result in another 56 PA (If one out of every nine extra on-base events result in an extra PA). Which, in turn, will result in an extra 4 PA (I think). So in the end of the day, Speedy will end up with 821 PA on the season.
So if Replacement Level Runs = (570 x (MLB Games/2,430)) x (Runs Per Win/lgPA) x PA then 821 PA will be (570x(2430/2430))x(10.296/186516)x821 coming out to 25.8 Runs.
28.3 Runs

Fielding

This one, it turns out, is quite simple. Similar to how we determined a potato's fielding runs, we compare this perfect player to the 2020 Cincinnati Reds centerfielders. To recap, in 2020, 227 balls were fielded by Reds center fielders. 86 of them went for singles, 22 went for doubles, 3 went for triples. There were no inside-the-park home runs. There were 109 catches made, plus 7 sac flies. This gives opponents a .490 wOBA on balls hit to Reds center fielders. Speedy, being perfect, would allow a 0 wOBA (his middle name is Fielder). Home run robberies are out of the question because, you know. So we'll compare them the same way we did last time, with the same formula we use to determine batting runs batting runs. First we determine the amount of opportunities a center fielder would get in a full season. In 2019, center fielders made 20962 plays. That's about 700 per team over a full season. So the calculation would go thusly:
((.000^{^wOBA} -.490^{^lg} ^{^wOBA} )/1.1857^{^wOBA} ^{^Scale} )x700^{^{Opportunities}} = 289.3 runs
I just realized something really cool. I actually calculated Tater to have this precise number of negative runs, because his wOBA allowed would be exactly double the average. This means if Speedy and Tate were to alternate games, they would average to a league average fielder.
317.6 Runs

Batting

We've already established a few facts. Speedy McHitterson will get about 821 PA in a season. He does not swing at balls outside the strikezone. He hits every ball in the strikezone for a single. This would result in a 1.000/1.000/1.000 slash line, but we would still need to determine how many walks and hits he'd get. So I put together a little table to figure that out.

Count	Frequency	Zone	Out of Zone	Strike odds	Ball odds	Strike overall odds	Ball overall odds
0-0	1.000	95745	89033	.518	.482	.518	.482
0-1	.518	39460	53598	.424	.576	.220	.298
0-2	.220	14985	33022	.312	.688	.069	.151
1-0	.482	37702	33833	.527	.473	.254	.228
1-1	.552	35402	38838	.477	.523	.263	.289
1-2	.415	25414	44600	.363	.637	.150	.264
2-0	.228	13872	10640	.566	.434	.129	.099
2-1	.418	21098	17739	.543	.457	.227	.191
2-2	.491	37457	33526	.528	.472	.259	.232
3-0	.099	4573	2930	.609	.391	.060	.039
3-1	.251	9652	6289	.605	.395	.152	.099
3-2	.384	21163	16146	.567	.433	.218	.166

So to explain: the "Frequency" column is the overall frequency of the count, assuming no swings (which is important, as I'll explain in a second). This was determined by the following columns. "Zone" is pitches in the strikezone on that count. "Out of zone" is pitches outside the strikezone on that count. The next two columns are the percentages of a ball/strike in each count. Knowing that, we can tell the frequency of each count, if the batter never swung. 0-1 is going to be the odds of a strike on 0-0. 0-2 is going to be the odds of a strike on 0-1, times the odds of 0-1 occurring in the first place. 1-1 is the overall odds of a ball on 0-1 plus the overall odds of a strike on 1-0. We can use this chart to work out the number of walks of Mr. McHitterson. If he swings at every ball in the zone, and they all go for hits, the only way for him to get walked is if he's thrown four straight balls. According to this chart, that only happens 3.9% of the time, which we can now use as his walk rate. A 3.9% walk rate with 821 PA comes out to 32 walks in a season. Which leaves him with 789 hits, all for singles. Let's plug that into our wOBA formula. (32^{^walks} x.69^{^walk} ^{^constant} +789^{^singles} x.870 ^{^single} ^{^constant} )/821^{^PA} =.863 wOBA
And from wOBA to wRAA: ((.863^{^wOBA} -.320^{^lg} ^{^wOBA} )/1.157^{^wOBA} ^{^Scale} )x821^{^PA} = 385.3 wRAA
702.9 Runs

Baserunning

To start, we give Speedy the same boost we gave Tate for never hitting into a double play. Over 821 PA, that comes up to 5.9 Runs. But the real value will come from stealing bases. To refresh, Speedy will steal second every time it's available. Afraid of looking like he's showing off, he will never attempt a double steal or a steal of third or home. We'll make the assumption that overall, the situations he's on base (always) will look like the league averages of occupied bases. There were 55998 plate appearances with men on first in 2019. Of those, 34240 (61%) were just a man on first. 12347 (22%) were first and second. 5026 (9%) were first and third. 4385 (8%) were bases loaded. This means that in 70% of situations with a man on first, second base was open. With a SB rate of 100% of the 70% of times on base (which is identical to the number of PAs) McHitterson had, this puts him at 575 steals for the season (that would be a record, by the way). Fangraphs gives .2 Runs per SB. This adds 115 Runs to our count, which comes out to a total of 121.8 baserunning runs. 824.7 Runs

Conclusion

824.7 is a lot of runs. If we do the 10.296 Runs/Win conversion it comes out to 80.1 WAR. As I said, that's a loooooooot. [Speedy could split time with Tate and they'd still combine for 32.5 WAR. It would take over five Taters to cancel out a Speedy.] EDIT: In my excitement, I accidentally confused myself with a potato. I'm the one who'd combine for 32.5 WAR. I'm the one who would need to be cloned five times to cancel out a Speedy. Tate and Speedy would actually combine to have a 17.6 WAR, which is still better than the best single-season WAR of all time. Two Taters would more than cancel out a Speedy. If you put Speedy on a team that literally did nothing else, he'd still make them roughly a .500 team.
TL;DR 80.1 WAR - Holy Fuck
Coming soon.....If Shohei Ohtani were actually Superman, how much WAR would he get?

I love Trea Turner and you should too: a brief history and analysis on baseball's most underrated shortstop

A Toast to the 2020 Minnesota Twins!

The 2020 Minnesota Twins were a 3 act play.
ACT 1: This is OUR year! Has to be
We had set the single season record for Bombas and had a squad of lovable heroes who, despite enduring the usual Yankee postseason beatdown, were ready to bring home a title for a state that hasn’t seen any championships in the Big 4 sports since George H. W. Bush was still in office.
Alot was riding on this season, we had gotten 2 big acquisitions with Josh Donaldson and Kenta Maeda (who would early on would endear us to their singing abilities). Garver and Arraez were looking to prove their 2019 season weren’t flukes with the latter aiming for a batting title and a .400 average in the 2020 season. Finally reigning AL manager of the year, Rocco Baldelli, had to prove he could lead this squad to not just a postseason birth, but postseason wins.
I would be remised if I didn’t also note the social impact this season carried in Minnesota. The Twins would become the first pro MN sports team to play since the Murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police and the protests which would gain worldwide attention.
Following the covid delay, Twins opening day was set for a road game against the White Sox who had become spooky over the offseason. Max Kepler came up to bat to face Giolito in what many expected to be a pitchers dual when Kepler decided to send a message very early on: A 1st pitch homerun on opening day. The Bomba Squad was here to stay.
The First half of the season was very much like the Second Half of 2019: Lotta Bombas and Lotta unfortunate injuries. Schrödinger’s player and wall pad tester Byron Buxton would be injured what seemed like every other week and Josh Donaldson’s time in MN would be off to a slow start with a calf injury that would bug him the entire season. Cruz would start off as an MVP-Favorite through his hatred of balls being inside the field.
In terms of pitching, Maeda would become our best pitcher almost instantly including recording 8 no-hit innings against the Brewers. Randy Dobnak would start off with solid outings that would put him in AL RoY talks. Our Bullpen would also look very un-Twinslike because for the fact they were very good. This transformation would be attributed to pitching coach Wes Johnson who would become as integral to the Twins success as Rocco. However, this is Minnesota so there were still pitching whoas. José Berríos would have a very sloppy start to the season dashing hope that he would become the Twins ace, Rich Hill and Homer Bailey would be placed on the Injury list early on with the latter never really clicking with the team and eventually being released, and reliable closer Taylor Rogers would go from feared by hitters to feared by Twins fans due to his very disappointing 2020 which could be summed up through him blowing Maeda’s 8 no-hit innings (Though he would make it up by gifting Maeda fancy rice)
The Twins had pulled ahead in the division and had a healthy lead which included a 6 game win streak which ended in a walk-off SINGLE by Byron “Literally Sonic the Hedgehog” Buxton. Things were looking up and surely it looked like nothing bad would happen to this team of Lovable Underdogs.
ACT 2: Bad things happen to the Lovable underdogs
Everything just felt sluggish. Injuries would plague the team especially at the catcher position.
The division lead would evaporate and the White Sox would pull out to a lead that felt insurmountable.
This demoralizing feeling would be summed up through 5 major events in September that I feel sum up the second half of the season:

Bert Byleven’s final game. Bert Blyleven had been the Twins color commentator for nearly 25 years and alongside the lovable Dick Bremer would bring the Twins through the Mauer-Gardy Era. His “circle me Bert” segment had become a staple of the Broadcast and he was loved by MN sports fans. However, Sinclair Broadcasting didn’t feel the love slowly pushing him out over the years replacing him with Justin Morneau who was bringing new life into the broadcast. This would lead to the sudden announcement that on September 2nd he would broadcast his final Twins game. The broadcast would be a loving tribute to the Minnesota Legend and there would not be a dry eye watching
Josh Donaldson’s ejection. Throughout the latter half of the season missed/wrong calls by umpires were piling up and were taking a toll.Following a very bad check swing call during a tied game at the rival White Sox which saw Donaldson chew out umpire Dan Bellino, Donaldson would hit a bomba that would break said tie. While rounding the bases he would kick dirt all over home plate and Bellino and be ejected immediately. This moment which was largely celebrated by Twins Fans and summed up the Twins relationship with the Umps in 2020
Brent Rooker’s injury. Brent Rooker was a Rookie (great start to a nursery rhyme) that was very hyped up by the organization and brought up to replace Kepler who was on the IR. In his first 7 games he looked solid and looked like a valuable player that would not just help us in the up coming years but in the up coming postseason.....sadly those 7 games would be his only 7 games. On Zach Plesac’s first HBP Rooker would suffer a fractured forearm ending his season
Nelson Cruz being unable to play for a week due to a sore knee. Cruz is more than a player on this team, he is the heart of the lineup. His absence would reverberate throughout the team which felt lost without him. However Nelson Cruz would come back on the 25th bringing out Bomba Robes (bought by Josh Donaldson for the postseason) and whoever hit a bomba/walk-off would get to wear his robe.
Buxton’s hit in the head. The same day Cruz would return Byron Buxton would get an injury from a pitch to the head from Reds reliever Lucas Sims. He would immediately fall to the ground in pain and showed concussion symptoms.

These 5 events sum up the September of the Minnesota Twins. Pain and agony. We were demoralized when the baseball gods in their infinite powers went “Lmao watch this.”
Somehow we won the division. The White Sox would drop 6 of their last 8 games and the Twins would win 5 of their last 8 putting us 1 win ahead of the Sox. We were also set to face the Astros who were bad and had obviously no chance, we even had Home Field advantage! Things were looking up Milhouse!
ACT 3: This is a Toast to the Minnesota Twins how else could this end?
18.
18 playoff loses in a row.
It’s funny. Laugh.
We dropped both our games to the Astros in a very sad fashion which included a lack of bombas and a surplus of errors. They weren’t memorable, at least thats what I tell my therapist.
We were supposed to be the Heroes, the ones who took down the trash bangers. But, no. Dread from it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives.
But that’s Minnesota sports dontcha know?
So here’s to the Minnesota Twins.
WERE GOMQ!
LEAGUE? Well you know.

[Long] What is a GOAT: What would a modern day all time WAR leader look like.

I will be using bWAR for this.
The all time WARLORD is Babe Ruth with 182.5 WAR. The only player to get somewhat close to this in my lifetime has been Barry Bonds, with a respectable 162.8 (4th place).
The thing that makes the WAR record so hard to beat is the fact that Ruth played at a level so far beyond what the rest of the league was capable of. His OPS led baseball in 13 straight seasons. No one will ever be as dominant as Babe Ruth. The game has evolved and there is more parity in talent. I don't know if Babe Ruth would still be great today, but I know the value of the replacement player has improved drastically. If someone were to beat Ruth's record, they wouldn't have to be more dominant than Ruth, but have an all around package and everything go their way.
There are a few requirements for a modern hitter to break Babe Ruth's record.

1. He has to play for fuckin ever

WAR is a cumulative stat. Thus, if anyone is going to have a chance at breaking Ruth's record, this player is going to have to play a LOT of years in the MLB. This player is going to have to start early as well. Of the top 25 WAR players, only 3 (Cy Young, Tom Seaver, and Mike Schmidt) were older that 21 when they started their MLB careers. The most recent player in this list, ARod, started at 18. If a player starts at 18 and plays to 45, which seems to be roughly the old limit, then he only has to get 6.52WAR per season on average to break Ruth's record. Having a player start at 23 raises that average to 7.93, which seems a little less attainable outside of old timey pitchers throwing 50 complete games a season.

2. He has to be durable.

Again, since WAR is a cumulative stat, such a player needs to be a rock for his entire career. Not all of the top players had such durability, including Ruth himself. But I also doubt you are going to see many players put up a 9.1WAR season in 130 games like Ruth. While gone are the days of Cal Ripken where players tried to play every game every season, it isn't unreasonable to think our young WARlord will be playing at least 150 games a season on average once he gets past his rookie year. Any injuries are going to have to come at the end of his career, particularly nagging ones and things that slow him down.

3. He has to play a premium position and play it well.

In order to maximize yearly WAR, it is important that our hypothetical star play a position with a strong defense adjustment. This leaves us with CF, SS, 2B, and C. Pitcher would have been a possibility back in the day, but with relievers taking a larger and larger piece of the innings pie, it seems like hitter is the best way to go. A 2-way player would have a better chance, but they are exceedingly rare.
We can eliminate Catcher right off the bat. Catchers play less games per season, get injured more often, have shorter careers, and have worse stats due to wear and tear. The highest WAR of any catcher is Johnny Bench with 75.2. That puts him at 79th all time WAR and not even half of Ruth's total.
The Majority of high WAR players in history are OF. Odds are if someone were to beat Ruth, they would be doing it from CF, at least until later in their career.

4. He will need to be an athlete.

While Babe Ruth may have a beer swilling, hot dog eating, STD collecting hero, our modern player is going to have to be an athlete. They will need to be fast, run the bases well (not necessarily steal bases), and keep in good shape for their entire careers. Good baserunning and defense, at least in the beginning of a players career could add up to 5 or more WAR in a season. Our player is going to need this defense a lot in his early years while he can still rack up dWAR.

5. He will probably need to be a Righty.

The shift has complicated things for Lefty batters. Our hypothetical hitter will need to be able to beat the shift if they are a lefty. This might not be a problem early on, but become an issue as our player slows down with age. Since the shift has been established, older, slower lefties have been getting squeezed by the shift. Every WAR counts. Unless our batter is a Switch Hitter or can hit to all fields, he will probably be a righty.

6. He will need to be on a good hitting team, probably in a big market.

Our player is going to need some top-shelf offensive talent hitting behind him to make sure he isn't getting the Bonds treatment. To afford the salaries of both megahitters, this player will probably spend most of his career on a major market team.

7. He will probably be a 3 true outcomes hitter (and a really good one, duh).

Launch Angle, batspeed, barrel, OBP, dingers, and Ks. This player is going to probably not going to spend all that much time getting singles. That doesn't mean that he won't have a high batting average. Our player is going to need to hit at a high clip, but with a fat amount of XBHs and walks added in. I wouldn't be surprised if this hitter breaks the HR record, but more in a Hank Aaron style of consistent HR success over a long career.

8. He will get all the awards.

To start off our players career. He is going to win the RoY, or at the very least become a star in his first full season. He needs to hit the ground running and start accumulating WAR right away.
He will be a perennial All-Star. I am talking Hank Aaron 25 All Star appearances.
While Gold Gloves don't automatically go to the best defender, our guy will quickly become a big name for his bat and his defense. Expect a ton of Gold Gloves, probably some in his 30s as well.
Silver Sluggers will probably be the award our player wins the most. He will probably break Barry Bonds' record of 12 SS.
Expect our player to get MVP votes pretty much every season until his last couple, much like Hank Aaron. Since our player is going to need to be the best player in baseball for many of his seasons, expect him to come close to Bonds' 7 wins. Hank only won 1, but advanced stats would have given him more wins today.

9. He is going to be an all around good guy who never takes steroids (or never gets caught).

Any suspensions are going to kill our player's chance of winning the WARLORD title. Losing a season is probably going to cost our player at least 6 WAR. Also, he doesn't want to end his career like Bonds. Barry possibly could have gotten the career WAR mark if teams were willing to deal with him. His last two seasons he got 4.0 and 3.4 WAR respectively, but he retired at 42. Had he held on until his late 40s, he could have eked it out. But Bonds was a dick, so he got blacklisted.

10. He cannot pull a Pujols.

When his time is up, he has to retire. Pujols over the last 4 years has been worth -0.7WAR. Our player has to play well past his peak, but also retire before this happens.
So this his my hypothetical WARLORD.

Year	Age	WAR	Awards
1	18	1.2
2	19	7.3	RoY, AS
3	20	8.0	AS, SS, GG
4	21	9.1	AS, SS, GG, MVP
5	22	7.9	AS, GG
6	23	7.2	AS, GG
7	24	9.7	AS, SS, GG, MVP
8	25	8.9	AS, SS, GG
9	26	7.6	AS, GG
10	27	7.7	AS, GG
11	28	10.5	AS, SS, GG, MVP
12	29	11.2	AS, SS, GG, MVP
13	30	10.8	AS, SS, GG, MVP
14	31	8.9	AS, SS, GG
15	32	7.5	AS, SS
16	33	9.3	AS, SS, MVP
17	34	6.9	AS, SS
18	35	5.4	AS, SS
19	36	4.9	AS
20	37	5.2	AS, SS
21	38	3.9	AS
22	39	4.3	AS
23	40	4.0	AS
24	41	3.3	AS
25	42	3.3	AS
26	43	2.1
27	44	2.8
28	45	3.2
29	46	2.1
AVG	x	6.4
TOTAL	x	184.2 (Record)	RoY, 24 AS, 13 SS (Record), 12 GG (OF tie), 6 MVP

So recap, our CF (later RF) is a righty with good defense, speed, character, never has a serious injury, plays in front of another HoF bat on a big market team, who hits dongs and takes walks.
Our guy probably ends up with the HR record, and is top 5 for a ton of other categories. He goes into the HoF unanimously.
I hope this has been as fun for you to read as it was to write it.

Better Know the Ones Left Off the Ballot #4: Josh Hamilton

The first of two I have queued up for today! You can scope the ones I've already done on Randy Choate, Kevin Gregg, and Dan Uggla if you feel so inclined. Now to our top story.

Josh Hamilton

Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor: 64 Career bWAR (9 years): 28.3 Stats: .290/.349/.516, 1134 H, 200 HR, 458 XBH, 129 OPS+, 55 IBB, 701 RBI, 609 R League Leading Stats: RBI (130, 2008), Total Bases (330, 2008), Batting Average (.359, 2010), Slugging % (.633, 2010), OPS (1.044, 2010), bWAR (8.7, 2010), fWAR (8.4, 2010) Awards: All-Star 5x (2008-12), Silver Slugger 3x (2008, 2010, 2012), MVP (2010) Teams Played For: Reds (2007), Rangers (2008-12, 2015), Angels (2013-14)
I'm sure there are more than a few readers wondering "how in tarnation did Josh Hamilton not make it onto the Hall of Fame ballot?!?" The answer is simple: he didn't qualify. Hamilton only played 9 years, one short of the threshold necessary for the Hall. So I'm kind of cheating here. Now, there may be some who say "this is a complete and utter betrayal of the system you've set up! This series is about people who qualify for the ballot but aren't on it! There's no conceivable way Josh Hamilton could have been on this year!" To those people (who definitely don't exist), I will give one reason for allowing this departure from protocol: it's my series and I want to talk about Hambino so shut up. The man deserves to be remembered in one way or another. Let's start remembering him, shall we?
Josh Hamilton's story begins in 1999, his senior year of high school. More specifically it starts at Athens Drive, a humble establishment in the capital of North Carolina, whose entire athletic output at that point consisted of two NFL players, a foreign basketball player, and a soccer player on the US Men's National Team. Enter Josh Hamilton, baseball player extraordinaire, with a 6.7 second 60-yard dash, a 97-mile fastball back when that was incredibly fast, and a 25-game high school season where he hit .529 with 13 homers, 20 bags swiped, and 35 RBIs. By the time of that year's MLB draft, Hamilton was considered one of if not the best high school prospect in the nation. It was not a major surprise when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him first overall. He was the first position player drafted in that spot since some guy named A-Rod, and got served a record-breaking $3.96-million signing bonus, so big things might have been expected of him. The excitement surrounding him would only grow when he was assigned to the rookie-level Appalachian League, and slashed .347/.378/.593 with 140 total bases in just 56 games. The next year, at 19, Hamilton played 96 games at the single-A level, and hit .302/.348/.476. That's pretty good. So good, in fact, that prior to the 2001 season, Baseball America named him the consensus number 1 prospect. Then, out of nowhere, disaster.
While his family was out driving, a dump truck ran a red light and smashed the side of their pickup. Josh's back was injured, his mother had to be pried out of her driver's seat, and his parents would have to return to Raleigh for medical care. Thankfully his mother would make a full recovery, but while she was doing that Hamilton was left alone. As a 20-year-old with cash aplenty and no one to answer to, he indulged. He began drinking alcohol and hanging out at strip clubs. He started using cocaine and hanging out with people who could get him more. He did whatever he wanted. In case you were not aware, this is not a good idea for a 20-year-old to do if they want to remain a top prospect. Hamilton only appeared in 27 games in 2001, slashing .200/.250/.290. His 2002 was better, with a line of .303/.359/.507 at A+-level, but that offseason would bring major changes. After catching wind of his activities, the Devil Rays decided to send Hamilton to rehab. Didn't appear to have worked, as he failed a drug test following a 2003 spring training invite. Not only was that a sign of continued self-destruction, but his prospect value plummeted. Hamilton took the rest of the season off, hoping to work on himself and improve. Well, by the next season, that hadn't happened, and three failed drug tests meant he had to take the year off again due to a season-long suspension. Once that was over, Hamilton was ready to prove that after almost three years away, he still had what it took to be a Major League star. Then he got arrested for smashing a windshield out of anger, and the Rays moved him off the 40-man, effectively ending his endeavor for the third year in a row. After a relapse, the next season was shot as well as he got served another year-long suspension. While that suspension didn't prevent him from participating in 22 minor league games at the end of the year, a line of .260/.327/.360 was a far cry from what was once expected. The time is now December of 2006. Josh Hamilton turned 25 half a year ago, and played his first minor league baseball games in five years just a couple months ago. No one blamed the Devil Rays when they decided to cut their losses, and left him unprotected in the Rule 5 draft. However, this Josh Hamilton was very different from the Josh Hamilton of the past five years.
During his 2006 suspension, Hamilton cleaned up in many ways. He began working at a baseball academy that let him use the facilities off the clock, he abstained from drugs for the whole year, and he showed that, while he may no longer be a top prospect, he could still play baseball. For those reasons, the Cincinnati Reds felt like they could take a chance on him. They made a trade with the Cubs to acquire him through the Rule 5 Draft, and intended to use him in 2007 as a 4th outfielder. After an excellent spring training where he hit .403, Hamilton made the Opening Day roster. His first appearance of the year, pinch-hitting for Aaron Harang, prompted the home crowd to give him a 22-second standing ovation. He had finally made it. Sure he lined out, but nobody cared. Josh Hamilton had taken a Major League at-bat. As little as three years ago, that was considered nigh on impossible. But here he was. And he made the most of it.
While he was limited to 90 games due to injury, Josh Hamilton's rookie campaign was fantastic. A line of .292/.368/.554 with 19 homers in his first year was downright stunning for the position he was in. You'd think all of that, coupled with his NL Rookie of the Month award in April, would net him some Rookie of the Year votes. Problem was Josh Hamilton had the misfortune of debuting the same year as Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki, in addition to some other very strong cases like Chris Young's 32 dingers. Thus, despite 2.5 bWAR, Hamilton didn't appear on a single Rookie of the Year ballot. Where he did appear, however, was trade discussions. With Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr., Norris Hopper, and Ryan Freel all slotted to be ahead of him in the depth chart for 2008, the 72-90 Reds decided to sell high. Hamilton was shipped off to the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitching help in Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera. Little did they know just what he would become.
Many of you know what happened next. Those of you who didn't already had part of it spoiled by the stats you probably ignored at the beginning. For the precious few who are still in the dark, here's what happened for the next five years after Hamilton became, and stayed, a Ranger: he showed off everything he could do. He hit four home runs in a game. He got intentionally walked with the bases loaded. He set the record for most All-Star votes by 4 million. In the Home Run Derby, he hit the most home runs anyone had ever seen. He earned the MVP of the 2010 ALCS after hitting four home runs and holding a 1.000 SLG during the series. He played in back-to-back World Series championships. And that's not even considering what happened while he was an everyday player. Five All-Star games. Three Silver Sluggers. 142 home runs. 506 RBIs. Hitting to the tune of .305/.363/.549 over five years. And right in the middle, once he was done guiding his team to their franchise's first World Series appearance, and after leading the league in batting average and slugging percentage, Josh Hamilton won the 2010 American League Most Valuable Player trophy. In short, he became a superstar while in Texas. He wasn't shy about what he'd gone through, either. Knowing how he struggled with alcohol, after every playoff-clinching win, the Rangers wouldn't pop champagne, but replaced it with ginger ale just for Hamilton. From first overall pick, to cautionary tale about drug addiction, to feelgood redemptive conclusion, to MVP and perennial All-Star. Hamilton's story seemed too good to be true. And yet, here he was. He had made the most of it.
If the story of Josh Hamilton was turned into a movie five years ago, it would end right around here. Hamilton had conquered his own personal demons, some of which were literally tattooed on his body, and reached the peak of his potential. That offseason, his first in free agency, Hamilton signed a 5-year, $125-million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. The idea was that he would continue his production, and combine with Albert Pujols and the newly unleashed Mike Trout to form an offensive juggernaut that could not be stopped. That's, um, not what happened. His first full season as an Angel saw him post career lows in batting average (.250) and OBP (.307), while also turning in his worst defensive season yet in right field as he led the league in errors by an outfielder. For the first time since getting traded by the Reds, Josh Hamilton was not an All-Star. The $100-million he was still owed for the next four years was beginning to look like a huge mistake. It was now time to prove the doubters wrong. In 2014, he came out looking like he would do just that. Over the first week of the season, Hamilton went 12-for-24 with two doubles and two dingers. He garnered his first "AL Player of the Week" award since 2012. Then, in his eighth game of the year, he got sidelined by a thumb injury that kept him out of action until the beginning of June. For his first week back, it seemed like he would keep the good times rolling, as he went 12-for-32. The 24 hits combined over those two stretches of 15 total games would account for a little over a quarter of the 89 hits he'd record in 89 games played that year. While he outdid the previous year's batting average and OBP, this year it was time for his Slugging Percentage to take a hit. .414 was the lowest he'd ever posted. Despite this, the Angels made the postseason, only to get swept by the eventual pennant-winning Royals. Hamilton sure didn't help at all, going 0-for-13 and getting booed relentlessly. Those would be his last performances in an Angels jersey, as the following February, Hamilton voluntarily reported to the MLB that he had relapsed while rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery. Angels owner Arte Moreno, utterly disgusted at someone taking responsibility for their actions, pulled all merchandise related to Hamilton and told the front office to trade him ASAP. Thus, in late April, Josh Hamilton was traded... back to the Rangers.
The Angels would be paying all but $6 million of his remaining $80 million salary, but the Rangers would have him on the field for those three remaining years. It seemed like a match made in heaven, with Texas hoping he'd pick up right where he left off when he was last in a Rangers uniform. And, well, it was the best season since his last one! He only made it into 50 games, slashing .253/.291/.441 with 8 homers. The Rangers made the ALDS, but lost in 5 to the Blue Jays, as Hamilton went 3-for-18 with 5 Ks. As odd as it was that he was back in Arlington, signs of change were on the horizon, and Hamilton looked like he was ready to take the step he couldn't in LA. Then he had to start 2016 on the DL due to knee problems, and once May hit, his season was lost. His knee had required three surgeries in the past nine months, and the Rangers would take no chances. 2017 would hopefully be a time to get back into the swing of things, until it was revealed that his knee would again require surgery. Ultimately, after it was revealed he had injured his other knee during rehab, Josh Hamilton got released that April. And so concluded his playing time, one year short of Hall consideration. But hey, he won MVP! So that's good!
This is usually the part where I say "I don't think Josh Hamilton was on the ballot because of this and that," but I can't do that here. Partially because, of course, nine years isn't enough so that's the entire reason, and partially because, unfortunately, Hamilton's story's ending is far from happy. Big warning and kinda spoiler, domestic abuse discussion ahead. Skip the rest if you don't want to read about that stuff. It appears in recent years, he's gotten much worse at battling the demons he seemed to have conquered. He and his wife divorced after his 2015 relapse, and his handling of himself hasn't gotten much better since. Earlier this year, Hamilton was indicted on charges of injury to a child. He is accused of abusing his daughters, and could face up to ten years in prison. When I see that story, I don't feel anger or hatred toward Josh Hamilton. I feel genuine sadness. Such a fantastic story of an individual's inspiring drive to defeat hardship ends with that very same individual inflicting hardship on those around him. I won't go into any detail on what the allegations are, but I'll say if what has been alleged really happened, he deserves prison time, and a lot of it. It just saddens me that a great story like his had to end like that. Wow, what a downer ending. Here's a video of hamsters to take the edge off.
Josh Hamilton doesn't get to visit the Hall. Only 9 years. Sorry, but rules are rules.

Better Know the Ones Left Off the Ballot #22: Corey Hart

Well that was disappointing. I'm still here, though, because there are too many good stories I haven't gotten to yet. For all y'all that aren't so familiar with what's going on here, the Selection Committee that puts together the list of players on the ballot have to trim it down quite a bit, since there's a whole lot of people who technically qualify but aren't deemed noteworthy enough to get recognized with a placement on the ballot. Here, we look at the ones left behind. There are a lot more of these at the bottom, so check those out if you're into that sort of thing. To the main attraction.

Corey Hart

Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor: 16
Career bWAR (11 years): 14.4
Stats: .271/.329/.478, 112 OPS+, 1009 H, 162 HR, 416 XBH, 538 RBI, 549 R
League Leading Stats: Games as RF (156, 2008)
Awards: All-Star 2x (2008, 2010)
Teams Played For: Brewers (2004-12), Mariners (2014), Pirates (2015)
Corey Hart is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He has released two Gold Records and one Platinum Record, and nine of his singles have reached the American Top 40. He also shares a name with a former Brewers right fielder. That Corey Hart was a two-time All-Star and one-time Home Run Derby contestant, got over a thousand hits, had a career OPS above .800, and yet I can still only think of him as the "Sunglasses at Night" guy. Neither Corey Hart the singer nor Corey Hart the baseball player are on the Hall of Fame ballot this year, though only one of them qualified for it. The other released nine studio albums and six compilation records. I hope I don't confuse the two.
Hart's career began in the 2000 draft, when the Milwaukee Brewers drafted him in the 11th round. It became clear quite quickly that he was a First Offense, second defense type of player, and so for a good 5 years in the minors, he tried out at first, third, and all over the outfield. Over those five years, he never once finished the year with a batting average below .280, or, apart from his first season, an OPS below .800. He also hit 91 home runs and drove in 456 RBIs. Not too bad for someone drafted out of high school. Hart even found time out of the day to make a pinch-hitting appearance in May of 2004 for some godforsaken reason, then show up in 21 MLB games in 2005, going a significantly worse .165/.270/.368. He did get a home run in his first start in center field, though. Seems even at 23, Hart's plate presence showed he was more than just a Boy In The Box.
Hart's first real full-time season was 2006, when he batted .283/.328/.468. Tack on 9 home runs to that and you got a perfectly fine rookie campaign, fielding woes notwithstanding. One might even say equivalent to another rookie on the team who batted .271/.347/.483. Oh, that other guy got Rookie of the Year votes and Hart didn't? And that was due in no small part to some shenanigans in Florida? And that other rookie also hit 28 home runs and was named Prince Fielder? Okay, fine. He still had done enough to secure his place on the team for the near future. 2007 would be the year he'd get so hot the fields he was playing on became Fields of Fire. One thing that I haven't talked about that really contributed to Corey Hart's rise up the music charts- ahem, minor leagues, was his speed. Despite his 6'6" frame, he stole 135 bases before he was a full-time Major League player, only getting caught 38 times. Because of that, in 2007 he became, as far as my thoroughly research has told me, the tallest regular leadoff hitter in MLB history. My thorough research consisted of me googling "tallest leadoff hitter" and getting no other results, so feel free to prove me wrong (and no, Aaron Judge does not count). Hart kicked off 55 games in the 1 spot in 2007, stealing a total of 23 bases on the year. Guess you could call him a Young Man Running. Those legs helped the Brewers improve from a 75-87 finish the previous year to the best record in the NL a week after the All-Star break. Even if they stumbled through the rest of the season, they still finished 83-79, a marked improvement. That was thanks in part to Corey Hart, whose 4.7 bWAR was the most on the team. Naturally, he was voted to... oh? That Prince guy hit 50 homers and came in 3rd in MVP voting? And this other kid named Braun put up one of the worst defensive seasons at third base and still stumbled into a Rookie of the Year Award and a couple MVP votes by hitting really well? And Corey didn't show up on a single ballot despite fielding far better than either of them? Oh whatever. Hart had still entered everyday play in the league with a Bang!
The next five years, Corey Hart was taken out of the leadoff spot, and settled into a pattern of good-to-very-good-but-never-truly-great baseball. He averaged .274/.332/.486, with highs of 31 homers and 102 RBIs coming in 2010. He even got voted to the All-Star game that year, coming in third in that year's Home Run Derby behind a shortstop and a 35-year-old man. That shortstop may have been named Hanley Ramirez and that 35-year-old man may have been named David Ortiz, so it's not that bad. Hart even garnered all of two 10th place NL MVP votes that year after hitting .283/.340/.525. Good luck telling me why a dude with that line on a team that finished 77-85 who led the team in exactly one category (slugging) was the 10th most valuable player that year. He also got an All-Star berth in 2008 for... sympathy, I guess? Yeah he was hitting .299 with 14 dingers before the break, and the Brewers were doing well, but was he really more deserving than, like, Jerry Hairston batting over .330? Perhaps Hart's good Christian morals pushed him over the edge, since his inclusion was based on a fan vote, and he might've been viewed as possessing worthwhile Attitude & Virtue. The end of that year even saw him get into the playoffs, where he went hit 3 singles, and watched his team step aside as the 2008 Phillies trotted their way to a 3-1 NLDS win en route to the World Series. His 2011 numbers (.285/.356/.510) were near carbon copies of his 2010 numbers (.283/.340/.525). This time the team around him was different, though, because Ryan Braun played like an MVP, Prince Fielder hit lots of home runs again, and Jonathan Lucroy began to come into his own. Also they got Zack Greinke and had a competent bullpen, which probably helped. The Brewers again made the playoffs, and this time Hart hit two home runs, one for each series his team was in. Milwaukee also lost both games where he homered, so make of that what you will. After the Cardinal devil magic cursed them to an NLCS defeat, Hart came back in 2012 for more of the same, with a couple more home runs and 20 RBIs but also almost 40 more strikeouts and his lowest OPS in three years. He also only stole 5 bases after the past two years combined saw only 14 out of 26 attempts go well. He did play a mean first base for the first time in a while after two other first basemen got injured. A January knee surgery was also set to take out a sizable chunk of his speed, which was already on the decline as exhibited by his dip in fielding range. The 3-4 month recovery time was expected to keep him out until May, but once the other knee also required surgery, his 2013 season would end without him ever having suited up for a Brewers game. Even with so much time spent in the organization, including the 10th most total bases in franchise history and a higher Brewers career OPS than both Paul Molitor and Robin Yount, the team said "It Ain't Enough." He'd just been paid $10 million to sit on the sidelines for a year, and given that it was most likely going to be more than that to keep him, Milwaukee instead thanked him for his service and unleashed him on the open market. Would another team see his history, and say "I know I shouldn't, but I Can't Help Falling In Love Corey Hart cover version?"
MLB Trade Rumors placed Hart as the 39th best free agent available. He signed a 1-year, $6-million contract with the Seattle Mariners to prove he still had what it took, and that he'd Never Surrender. Maybe he should've, because after a year of off-and-on Designated Hitting ended with a line of .201/.271/.319, plus notching more strikeouts than hits for the first time in his career, the Mariners decided not to bring him back for the next season. The Pirates, clearly paying all kinds of attention, signed him to another prove-it contract for $2.5 million. Maybe he told them "I'll give you Everything in My Heart." Then he went .222/.246/.352 in just 35 games, and something something Self-Titled. That would be the last we saw of Corey Hart the baseball player, and he confirmed as much in 2017 when he signed a one-day contract with Milwaukee to end it where he started. Hope it didn't leave him feeling Jaded. Ten Thousand Horses.
For all the flack I've given him, Corey Hart did have a nice career. Perhaps not the most memorable, nor the sort that could brand him an unsung hero, but a fine eleven years of baseball. Well, more like a fine seven years, surrounded by four in which he either played poorly or barely played at all, sometimes both. From the tallest regular leadoff guy to a two-time All-Star, there was plenty to like, but not enough to remember, which is why I think he was left off the ballot. And you know what, who am I to compare him to the likes of a singer like the "Sunglasses at Night" dude? Singin' Corey Hart only had 40 singles. Swingin' Corey Hart had over 500 of those!
Corey Hart would visit the Hall of Fame in a Brewers hat for his 950 hits, 154 home runs, 508 RBIs, and 83 stolen bases with the club. He can't visit with sunglasses on at night because the Hall closes at 5 PM.
Here is some more of this same thing but with different names and stories
#1: Randy Choate
#2: Kevin Gregg
#3: Dan Uggla
#4: Josh Hamilton
#5: Delmon Young
#6: Willie Bloomquist
#7: Grady Sizemore
#8: Kevin Correia
#9: David DeJesus
#10: Rafael Betancourt
#11: Clint Barmes
#12: Adam LaRoche
#13: Grant Balfour
#14: Randy Wolf
#15: Rafael Soriano
#16: Chris Denorfia
#17: Bruce Chen
#18: Cody Ross
#19: Scott Baker
#20: Jeff Francis
#21: Aaron Harang

Better Know the Ones Left Off the Ballot #21: Aaron Harang

RIP Hank Aaron. I unintentionally picked a fortuitous name to discuss today, but here we are. I think out of respect for the man, and all he did for baseball, I'll only post one today to keep the focus on him as much as possible. In that way, I'm kind of glad they share such similar names. Anyway, if you don't know what this is, it's a series about players who qualified for the Hall of Fame ballot, but were cut. The rest are at the bottom.

Aaron Harang

Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor: 12 Career bWAR (14 years): 20.1 (23.9 w/o batting) Stats: 128-143, 4.26 ERA, 97 ERA+, 381 GS, 2322.0 IP, 1852 K, 712 BB, League Leading Stats: Wins (16, 2006), Losses (17, 2008), Complete Games (6, 2006), Strikeouts (216, 2006), Batters Faced (993, 2006), Wild Pitches (12, 2007), K/BB (4.192, 2007) Awards: None Teams Played For: Athletics (2002-03), Reds (2003-10), Padres (2011), Dodgers (2012), Mariners (2013), Mets (2013), Braves (2014), Phillies (2015)
The dictionary defines the word “harangue” as “a speech addressed to a public assembly,” and then secondly as “an angry speech or writing.” Allow me to deliver my harangue on Aaron Harang: he deserved to be on the Hall of Fame ballot. When I look at the story of Aaron Harang, I see a theme. Over the majority of his career, things did not end up the way they should have. The biggest injustice of that sort, in my opinion, is that he finished his career worthy of an appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot. And yet, that didn't happen. Normally, having a three-year stretch where you average over 5 WAR a season and being an Opening Day starter five years in a row would result in a last hurrah on the ballot, even without anybody voting for you. But that’s not how it ended. Let’s explore why I believe that should have been the case for this absolutely terrifying giant of a baseball player.
After going from a 22nd round draft choice out of high school to a 6th round draft choice out of college, Harang's professional career began on the Texas Rangers’ rookie-ball affiliate, the Pulaski Rangers. His first time in a professional setting netted him a 9-2 record, a 2.30 ERA, and an Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year award. His next year, in high-A, he joined the Port Charlotte Rangers. Those Rangers affiliates sure have creative names now don’t they. He tossed well enough for a 13-5 record, a 3.32 ERA, 137 strikeouts, and a Florida State League All-Star selection. Success like that should translate into top-prospect status, and perhaps even a high price on the trade market. But Aaron Harang is one to defy expectations, and so in the 2000 offseason, Texas flipped him with a career minor leaguer to the Athletics for Randy Velarde. Velarde was a 38-year-old middle infielder who had just finished 2000 with an OPS of .754. While the Rangers certainly needed infield help, they had only two starting arms and two bullpen arms with ERAs below 5. Also they did this thing that winter where they signed a guy named Alex Rodriguez. He helped ease their middle infield woes a teensy bit more than Velarde. No matter. Harang would continue pitching well, though he'd encounter a bit of trouble in Oakland's AA affiliate. Still, 10-8 with a 4.14 ERA is better than I'd've done. The trouble he encountered only made him stronger as the next year he'd get promoted to AAA after just three starts. Probably helped that those three starts had a combined two earned runs and 21 strikeouts. After a couple starts for the Sacramento River Cats went well, a struggling A's team accepted Harang into the fold. His first start, on May 25th, would show them they were right to do so.
The first Major League start of a pitcher who, less than a year ago, was struggling in AA, should probably be out of necessity, and go rather poorly. Especially if, like Harang, the pitcher in that situation is young, having just turned 24 not two weeks ago. And yet, those expectations got dashed, because Aaron Harang enjoys doing that. Seven strong innings of shutout ball. Three hits, three walks, and ten strikeouts. A Gamescore of 78 in his first major league start (for reference, Stephen Strasburg's first start was a 75). All 6 feet and 7 inches of Harang dominated. Granted, his opponent was the 16-30 Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but still. That seemed like the sort of spark the 2002 A's needed, as they would go on to lose just 5 of their next 27 games. Oakland’s record was 22-26 before Harang's first start, and had blasted off to 42-31 once he finished up his fifth. With that kind of launch, which saw the league’s worst offense through its first 50 games score 5 or more runs in seven consecutive contests, you'd expect Harang would have a pretty good record. And yet, he suffered two of those five losses, and after his fifth start, he was 3-2. Expectations had been subverted once again. Two weeks later, after his ERA was 2.84 through eight starts, you'd expect he'd keep his spot in the rotation. Alas, Oakland picked an interesting time to trade for Ted Lilly, and Harang, once again performing the unexpected, was a River Cat once more. Then, only three weeks after the trade, Lilly got injured, and Harang was back in the rotation. Seems he left some of his stuff in Sacramento, because over the next two months, his ERA ballooned to 4.83, even after starting a couple times during the 20-game win streak. He got left off the playoff roster, and despite some early noise, showed up on zero Rookie of the Year ballots. The A's, hoping he could find what he left in Sacramento, started him down there for the first two months of 2003. Coming up after an injury to one of their pitchers, Harang made a nice relief appearance where he pitched four scoreless innings. That was enough for Art Howe to put him back in the rotation. He promptly lost three of his next six starts, threw up a 6.15 ERA, and got sent back down to the minors to make room for Rich Harden. Billy Beane was then caught salivating over rightfielder Jose Guillen of the Cincinnati Reds. Up to that point in the season, Guillen’s On-Base Percentage was .385, much higher than the .261 of the Athletics’ RF, Jermaine Dye. When Guillen became available, and Harang was one of the pieces demanded, Beane gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger. Perhaps he assumed, correctly, that a rotation with prime Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Ted Lilly would be good enough to make the playoffs. And as a result, Aaron Harang, along with fellow pitchers Joe Valentine and Jeff Bruksch, headed to Cincinnati. Hopes were high for him in a Reds uniform, but we all know his relationship with expectations. How’d he do?
The Reds team Harang joined would win just 20 games while he was part of the team. He entered their starting rotation, and in nine starts, put up a 5.28 ERA. One might expect that wouldn’t be an ERA worth keeping on the staff. However, this is Aaron Harang we’re talking about. The 2003 Cincinnati Reds were so starved for good pitching that only a month-and-a-half after the draft, the pitcher they selected 13th overall had already made a relief appearance in the majors. In fact, of the 17 pitchers that started games for the Reds that year, only 4 had an ERA lower than Harang’s 5.28. Kinda makes sense that he got traded with two other pitchers now. He stuck around on the staff for 2004, putting up a perfectly mediocre ERA of 4.86 in 28 starts. In a year where Doug Davis’ 3.39 ERA resulted in a 12-12 record, one might think Harang’s record was shot. But you forget who this is. His 10-9 record wasn’t even the best one on the team, one that finished 76-86 despite allowing over 150 more runs than they scored. Guess Harang’s career-long stunt of defying expectations inspired the whole team that year. One particular start stands out, in which the eventual NL pennant winners and their newfound ace pitcher Chris Carpenter took on Harang and the Reds near the end of August. The Cardinals had won over 80 games by that point. The Reds had just scraped together to win their 60th two days prior. One would expect Carpenter’s hot starter and a 3-4-5 of Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds to cruise to a win over Cincinnati. And wouldn’t you know it, Aaron Harang decided that was the day he’d pitch is first career shutout. 9 innings, 3 hits, 1 walk, and 6 strikeouts from Harang later, the Reds had finished the game with a final score of 1-0. Sure, the win didn’t make much of a difference in the grander scheme of things, but it showed just what one particular Aaron Harang was capable of. And he’d show just how far he could go in the coming years.
2005 was a banner year for Aaron Harang. His best year in the Majors so far saw career bests in Wins with 11, ERA with 3.83 (good for another best 112 ERA+), strikeouts with 163, and innings pitched with 211. Best of all, he gave the Reds something they had lacked for several years: a consistent starting pitcher. Pity he seemed to be the only one, as Brandon Clausen was the only other pitcher in Cincinnati to regularly start games without an ERA over 5. Even if you have an outfield with Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn combining for 75 home runs, if Eric Milton and Ramon Ortiz combine to allow 74 dingers, you’re gonna finish 73-89. Heck, even the offense was inconsistent, seeing as how Harang lost 13 games, 4 of which were Quality Starts. No matter, the next year would be better. And better it certainly was. Aaron Harang, a pitcher on the hapless Cincinnati Reds, led the league in wins, with a record of 16-11. His strikeout total, a new career high at 216, also stood atop the league. This had only been accomplished by one other Reds pitcher in history: Bucky Walters in 1939. He won the MVP that season. In fact, every single NL pitcher who had ever finished the season leading the field in both those categories had won the Cy Young award at year’s end. One might fully expect the same pattern to hold here. However, this would be another addition to the long list of expectations Harang would subvert. He did not win the Cy Young award. He wasn’t even in the top 5. Aaron Harang did not appear on a single ballot for the NL Cy Young. Didn’t even make the All-Star team despite a 9-6 record and 120 Ks at the break. While many of the trends Harang had been bucking were positive in nature, this one would probably be one where he’d prefer not to defy expectations. Now, how did that happen, you may ask? Well, there were several factors. One was his ERA, which was 3.76. Not bad at all, especially with an NL best 35 games started, another NL best 6 complete games, and yet another NL best 993 batters faced in 234.1 innings. However, it was far from the best. Wasn’t even the best in his rotation. The Reds had struck gold yet again with a new starting arm named Bronson Arroyo, who came over from Boston less than two weeks before the season started. Arroyo finished the year with a 3.29 ERA, unheard of for a Reds pitcher in the past five years, and he rode that to an All-Star appearance and even showed up on an NL MVP ballot. Another factor was the Reds, who missed the playoffs with an 80-82 record after their previously effective offense failed to capitalize on some finally good starting pitching. Catcher David Ross was the only member of the lineup to have an OPS north of .900, and their 749 runs scored was over 50 fewer than they’d had the year prior. Thus, Aaron Harang was the second best pitcher on a sub-.500 team. His numbers were disregarded due to lack of team success, and he found himself without any of the expected respect given to his achievements. All he could do after that was show that the men in charge of such things had made a mistake. And the next year, he did just that.
Harang would start his second straight Opening Day game for the Reds, facing the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano. Zambrano had appeared on several NL Cy Young ballots the previous year, despite walking almost twice as many batters as Harang, and having worse stats in practically every category that weren’t ERA or losses. Starting as he meant to go on, Harang pitched 7 innings, allowed just one unearned run, and struck out 5, securing the win. Zambrano allowed 5 runs and took the loss. That was the first of 20 Quality Starts Harang had in 2007, as well as the first of 16 wins, duplicating his total of the previous year. While it wasn’t the most in the league this year, it was still able to turn some heads. His 3.73 ERA was another improvement, as was his 218 strikeouts. While some might expect improving on a strikeout total that led the league would result in another year with the most Ks in the NL, Jake Peavy decided to take the pitching Triple Crown that year with 240 strikeouts, so that didn’t happen. The biggest improvement voters saw, I suspect, was none of that, but the significant lessening of losses, from 11 in 2006 to just 6 in 2007. He also did that amidst a team that lost 90 games after Bronson Arroyo was only the second best pitcher on the team and a lineup with names like Josh Hamilton, Adam Dunn, and Edwin Encarnacion had trouble plating runs. Still, Aaron Harang performed admirably among that team, and even scored a 4th place finish in NL Cy Young voting. Still no All-Star appearance despite a 9-2 record at the break (come ON), but there was still time to establish the clear and present truth that he belonged there. Please fulfill my expectations there, Aaron.
One might believe that after such an extraordinary past three seasons, which had consistency the likes of Brandon Webb or Johan Santana, the next logical step would be continued dominance and an eventual Cy Young trophy. However, the expectations proved faulty once again with Aaron Harang. He had just finished a three year stretch going 43-30 with a 3.77 ERA and 597 strikeouts. His next three years would watch him go 18-38 with a 4.71 ERA and 377 strikeouts. His WHIP went from 1.226 in 05-07 to 1.442 in 08-10. He’d go from leading the league in wins in 2006 to leading it in losses with 17 in 2008. He was still a fine starting pitcher, don’t get me wrong, but Aaron Harang from 2005 to 2007 was an ace. His performance over that time was the sort that gave a team hope for the present and the future. The kind that inspires the thought “we may suck right now, but Harang will be around, and since he’ll keep it up, who knows just how good we can be.” He didn’t keep it up, because men are fallible creatures, and the only thing predictable about life is its unpredictability, doubly so when that life is Aaron Harang’s. The worst part of all this? In 2010, the Reds were actually good. Like really good. They won 90 games and the division, with the help of flashy second baseman Brandon Phillips, star third baseman Scott Rolen, eventual MVP Joey Votto, newcomer Jay Bruce, and, of course, pitching. Bronson Arroyo had a bounceback year, and four pitchers under the age of 25 named Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, Mike Leake, and Travis Wood contributed massively by filling important gaps in the rotation. All this while, Aaron Harang was doing his best, but after having had his previous season cut short by an emergency appendectomy, he just wasn’t up to his usual standards. He finished the season 6-7 with a 5.32 ERA, the worst of his career. After giving the team so much for so long, one might think that despite his inconsistency as of late, since he’s been around and contributed a great deal, there would still be a playoff roster spot saved especially for him, for old times’ sake. After all, despite his dismal numbers, the team had allowed him to start the last game of the season having clinched the division. Yet, this was another expectation Harang would defy, as not only was he left off the playoff roster, but he had to watch his team get no-hit in their first playoff game in 15 years. The Reds were quickly pushed aside in a 3-game NLDS sweep, and once the season was over, Aaron Harang was given the news that he was a free agent that winter. A 32-year-old in search of a new team following his worst season. The same situation would eventually end the career of Carlos Zambrano. Would Harang bow out in the same fashion?
Being that his worst seasons had just befallen him back-to-back-to-back, one might expect a minor league offer that blossoms into a spot on the roster to be the next logical course of action in this story. You’re not gonna believe this, but that is not what happened. The San Diego Padres called Harang in early December, offered him a $3.5 million contract with a mutual second-year option, and he said yes. He’d finish the 2011 season as one of the brighter spots on a team that didn’t have very many of them. His 3.64 ERA would actually be a new career best, his 14-7 record would show he had returned to form, and his 1.365 WHIP was his best since he had earned Cy Young votes. However, his strikeout total of 124 was his worst over a full season of work, his walk total of 58 was another new career worst, and his team went 71-91 after at one time having the NL’s best record late in the previous year. Both parties decided it was best to part ways, and Harang once again became a free agent. His recent re-ascension helped the overall feeling around him, and he was ranked 40th in MLB Trade Rumors’ best free agents available. The Dodgers liked the sound of that, and so signed him for 2 years and $10 million. He’d once again achieve a new career best ERA at 3.61 in 2012, and allow just 14 homers, his lowest total of any season since 2003. He’d also go 10-10, and walk an even higher career worst 85 batters, but that still equated to the third best member of the Los Angeles rotation not named Clayton that year. You might think they like what they see and intend to keep him around except this is Aaron Harang so they dealt him to the Rockies on the fifth day of the 2013 season. You might think he’s staying there but this is Aaron Harang so he gets dealt again to the Seattle Mariners of all places on the 10th day of the 2013 season. Did he at least keep up the trend of pitching pretty well despite his age? Who do you think this is? No, he went 5-11 in 22 starts of 5.76 ERA ball before getting released at the end of August. Oh gosh, I guess he just sucked the whole time he was in Seattle. NO ACTUALLY BECAUSE HE THREW TWO COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUTS AS A MARINER BECAUSE THIS IS AARON HARANG AND NOTHING MAKES SENSE. For the sake of my sanity, I’ll wrap this up quickly. The Mets signed him on September 1st, he started four games for them, and then rode off into the sunset after they missed the playoffs. A spring training invite from Cleveland shortly followed, was declined by the Indians before the season started, and so he was scooped up by the Braves. Defies expectations (shocker), 12-12, new career best ERA at 3.57 in his age-36 season because of course, 161 strikeouts was the most since his Cy Young vote-getting year, but no playoffs. Back on everyone’s radar, Philadelphia signs him to a $5-million contract, he goes 6-15 with a 4.86 ERA and just 108 strikeouts, and he hangs it up after that. At least I didn’t defy my own expectations.
Aaron Harang was, in my humble opinion, the best player this year to not make the Hall of Fame ballot. His ever-interesting journey through 14 years of playing in the MLB was not only fascinating, but extraordinary. In terms of sheer odds-ignoring work, Harang’s resume is unmatched by any player we have so far covered. His career reminds me of another player, who in fact showed up on the ballot two years ago: Rick Ankiel. Ankiel pitched very well his rookie year, but a bad case of the yips seemed to have completely derailed his hopes of ever succeeding at the Major League level. And yet, he defied expectations to come back as an excellent outfieldier, putting together an amazing highlight reel of outfield assists and hitting prowess. While Aaron Harang may not have been that, he was still an oddity. His career trajectory went all over the place, from unassuming prospect-in-disguise to unquestionable staff ace to a shell of his former self to a reversal of fortune, Harang deserved to be remembered, and it seemed the Selection Committee didn’t consider him worthy of a checkbox on their special piece of paper.
Aaron Harang would visit the Hall of Fame in a Cincinnati Reds hat for his 75-80 record, 4.28 ERA, and 1125 strikeouts with the team. With any luck, he wouldn’t defy any expectations by showing up in any other team’s hat.
And the rest
#1: Randy Choate
#2: Kevin Gregg
#3: Dan Uggla
#4: Josh Hamilton
#5: Delmon Young
#6: Willie Bloomquist
#7: Grady Sizemore
#8: Kevin Correia
#9: David DeJesus
#10: Rafael Betancourt
#11: Clint Barmes
#12: Adam LaRoche
#13: Grant Balfour
#14: Randy Wolf
#15: Rafael Soriano
#16: Chris Denorfia
#17: Bruce Chen
#18: Cody Ross
#19: Scott Baker
#20: Jeff Francis

Better Know the Ones Left Off the Ballot #12: Adam LaRoche

Hey I'm back! Wow that was a long time without posting. Didn't even fulfill my promise to post one player per day for a week. In punishment, I'm going to do my best to post one every day until either I run out or the Hall of Fame announcement saps me of my drive. To begin with, I picked a guy who's been on the frontpage a couple times lately despite not having played baseball for five years. I am nothing if not a trend chaser. Enjoy!

Adam LaRoche

Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor: 16
Career bWAR (12 years): 14.2
Stats: .260/.336/.462, 111 OPS+, 1452 H, 255 HR, 608 XBH, 882 RBI, 752 R
League Leading Stats: Sacrifice Flies (9, 2012)
Awards: Gold Glove (2012), Silver Slugger (2012), NL Wilson Defensive 1B of the Year (2012), NL Player of the Week (September 7th, 2014)
Teams Played For: Braves (2004-06, 2009), Pirates (2007-09), Red Sox (2009), Diamondbacks (2010), Nationals (2011-14), White Sox (2015)
Believe it or not, there is more to Adam LaRoche than how he retired. Most of the discussion surrounding him concerns that specific instant, and don't worry, we'll get to that. While he certainly was a family man, there's one thing many people forget: Adam LaRoche played baseball. He did it for a while, too. 12 years, if you can believe it. Did it pretty well even. At least, well enough to stick around for a length of time that a building in Cooperstown would say is worthy of qualification for entry upon a piece of paper that they send out to some people once every year. And yet, despite that, Adam LaRoche did not appear on the Hall of Fame ballot this year. Perhaps the Selection Committee, like a manager who complains about a player's kid being in the dugout forgetting just how much he loves his children and might leave if tension arose, missed something.
LaRoche's career began after he was drafted as a first baseman by the Marlins in the 18th round of the 1998 draft. Wait, sorry, he didn't sign, I meant to say it began when the Marlins drafted him again in the 42nd round of the 1999 draft. Oh no, I've messed up again, because he didn't sign then either. Then the Braves in the 29th round of the 2000 draft, where he signed. Poor Marlins. After putting up some OPSes like .888 in Rookie ball, then .918 two years later in A+, then .856 the next year between AA and AAA, the Braves figured he was pretty good. So did Baseball America, who put him at #73 on their top prospects for 2004. He made the Opening Day roster, and in his first game (the Braves' second of the season), he got his first two hits. A single off Steve Trachsel, then a double off Grant Roberts that scored Andruw Jones and J.D. Drew. Those hits came in the same inning, which saw the Braves score 11 runs, and eventually win the game 18-10. Now that's how you start things off. LaRoche's rookie year would go relatively well, getting into 110 games, batting .278/.333/.488 with 13 homers, and tying the major league record for doubles in a game in just his 23rd start (it's 4 for all seventeen of you that care). He even had a great, albeit short, playoff performance in the NLDS against the Astros. He hit an RBI double in Game 2, tying it in the 8th. Rafael Furcal's walkoff home run three innings later tied the series at 1 apiece. He then had another game-tying extra-base hit in Game 4, in much more dramatic fashion. Down 5-2 in the 6th, Adam LaRoche hit a 3-run dinger off Chad Qualls, driving in Joneses Andruw and Chipper. A Russ Springer RBI single in the 9th tied the series again at 2-2. Game 5 would go the Astros' way, and LaRoche's first postseason would be brought to an end. Even with his playoff heroics, a 108 OPS+, and 1.1 bWAR, plus a rather weak rookie class, he didn't appear on a single NL Rookie of the Year ballot. Apparently, if you begin your season in a platoon with a 46-year-old Julio Franco, the voters think you're worse than someone named Terrmel Sledge. Still, LaRoche had, for the foreseeable future, secured his position at first base with the Atlanta Braves. I'm sure he was happy about that, especially since he had a 2-year-old son at home.
The next two years, LaRoche showed what he was about: good at hitting, not at fielding. Over the 2005-06 seasons, he combined for a line of .273/.338/.510 with 52 home runs, 168 RBIs, and a 116 OPS+. Maybe not Albert Pujols, but still good enough to stay in the lineup. Especially on May 28th, 2006, when he hit two long balls in a game against the Cubs. Helped set the Braves franchise record for most team home runs in a game with 8. He also had another great postseason in 2005, when he went 4-for-8 with a double and a grand slam in the NLDS against his good friends the Astros. They won out in the end, but his bat was still a very good reason to keep him at first. His glove, though, tried to put him out of it. His 3.3 oWAR over the two years was neatly balanced out by his -3.9 dWAR. No other play sums this up better than when he fielded a grounder from the Nationals' Nick Johnson, and lazily walked over to first to tag him out. By the time he reached the bag, Johnson was safe, LaRoche was getting booed, and manager Bobby Cox was ready to sit him on the bench for the rest of the game. While 2006 would actually turn out to be LaRoche's best season in Atlanta so far, it was also the first time in 15 years that the Braves didn't win their division. Even worse, they didn't even finish above .500, only winning 79 games by season's end. Because of that, they decided to shake things up, and in January of 2007, Adam LaRoche was traded with minor leaguer Jame Romak to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Brent Lillibridge and Mike Gonzalez. Atlanta's first baseman most of that year was a gentleman named Scott Thorman, who was not very good. They then traded for Mark Teixeira at the deadline, giving up people named Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who have all played in the World Series, something the Braves have yet to do since trading LaRoche. Oh yeah, back to him, he's a Pirate now. I'm sure his son, who turned 5 soon after he was traded, was thrilled that his dad was now a swashbuckler instead of an adjective. How'd it go?
LaRoche's time in black and yellow was remarkably unremarkable. Two-and-a-half years, hitting .265/.340/.469 with 58 homers, continued below-average play at first, and a team that couldn't win 75 games in a season if their lives depended on it. Exactly two things of interest happened during LaRoche's tenure as a seafaring Pittsburgher. One, he was the very first player to ever have a home run taken away via replay review on May 13, 2009. Two, he was teammates with his brother Andy for almost a year, doubtless showing him how great it was when his family was in the clubhouse. The bloodline stretching from third to first was severed on July 22, 2009, when LaRoche packed his bags, and headed East to Boston. He'd been traded for shortstop prospect Argenis Diaz and name-I-definitely-didn't-expect-to-show-up-in-this-story Hunter Strickland. 9 days and 6 games later, the Red Sox realized "wow, this LaRoche guy is making $7 million this year, and that Casey Kotchman kid in Atlanta isn't even making $1 million. We'd pretty much be using them the same way, so are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Right before the deadline passed, LaRoche changed teams again, becoming a Brave for the second time and starting at first base in Atlanta once more. Apparently the scene change really helped, because he finished the year batting .325/.401/.557 as a Brave, knocking 12 home runs and batting in 40 runs in just 52 games. All that gave him an OPS+ of 151, which would've been the 5th highest in the NL that year if he'd done it over the full season. He'd finish the year with a total of 2.0 bWAR just in Atlanta, which was great, because he was a free agent after that season. I'm sure his 7-year-old son was very excited for his dad's big payday.
After MLB Trade Rumors named him the 21st best free agent available, somewhat surprisingly, LaRoche was still unemployed in January. The Diamondbacks took pity on him, and made him the fourth-highest paid member of their squad on a one-year, $4.5 million contract with a $7.5 million second-year option. Then the team lost 97 games, LaRoche's .261/.320/.468 was his worst hitting season since 2005, and a new career high 172 strikeouts certainly didn't help. 100 RBIs was a new best, though, so he had that going for him. He got downgraded to just the 34th best free agent available after Arizona didn't pick up his option. The Nationals said "aww, that stinks that you didn't get that $7.5 mil. Want $15 mil over two years instead?" And he said "yes." Thus, in 2011, Mr. LaRoche went to Washington. And he suuuuuucked. In his first 43 games as a National, LaRoche hit .172/.288/.258, going an anemic 26-for-151 before a surgery for the labrum in his left shoulder ended his season. Hopefully he could pick it up the next season. Wouldn't want to disappoint that 9-year-old son he had, now would he?
At a glance, Adam LaRoche's 2012 season isn't exactly out of the ordinary for him. .271/.343/.510 with 33 homers and 100 RBIs seems about what you might expect. None of his rate stats were career highs, he'd already had 100 RBIs, and 33 homers was only one more than his previous best season. It's only impressive if you look at the context. In 2012, offensive output had cratered. LaRoche's 100 RBI total was the 8th highest in the National League. His 33 home runs was the 4th highest number that year. His total of 69 extra-nice-extra-base hits was the 5th highest. His 291 total bases was the 7th most. That was crazy, because even as it was ordinary LaRoche hitting, he had never before placed in the top ten of any of those categories. At a time when offense was hard to come by, Adam LaRoche's status quo was extraordinary. His 3.2 oWAR was by far the best he'd ever put up in a season. Best of all, his defense took a step forward as well. His Total Zone Runs at first base in 2012 was 14, the most he'd ever put up in his career by a long shot. His 0.0 dWAR was the highest among NL first basemen that year. No, I'm not kidding. To add on to all of that, LaRoche was a member of a Washington team that won 98 games, the first time since moving from Montreal that they'd achieved anything resembling success. And LaRoche led that team's offense in home runs, RBIs, extra-base hits, walks for some reason, and total bases. Thus, despite his offense being solidly within the realm of his previously shown ability, Adam LaRoche's output at the plate and in the field was amazing when compared to anybody else in the National League. In short, Adam LaRoche was the tortoise, and the standard NL first baseman was the hare. And for him, slow and steady won a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger, and an NL Wilson's Defensive 1B of the Year. Even won a tie with David Wright for 6th place in National League MVP voting how is this real. His team also made the playoffs, and he did hit two solo home runs, but I feel like Nationals fans would be completely fine if I didn't say anything else about the 2012 NLDS. Washington were very grateful for LaRoche's contributions, and signed him to a two-year, $24 million contract with a 3rd year option. Not before he got named the 15th best free agent available, though. He'd regress to the mean over those two years, putting up just 3.0 bWAR. .248/.347/.429 is pretty good, 46 home runs and 154 RBIs is nothing to sneeze at, and a 113 OPS+ thanks to 97 extra-base hits is quite acceptable. He also didn't do as well in the field with -2.1 dWAR, and went 1-for-18 in the only Division Series his team made it to during that time, which I'm also fairly certain Nationals fans would be perfectly fine with me ignoring. At the rate of roughly $8 million per Win Above Replacement, LaRoche gave Washington exactly what they paid for, and for that, they thanked him, did not pick up the option, and bid him farewell. That 12-year-old son of his must have been really happy with how dad had been doing, but where would he be going to school that next year?
After his fourth straight time being named one of the top 50 best free agents by MLB Trade Rumors (this time at number 25), LaRoche signed a two-year, $25 million contract with the Chicago White Sox. After a lackluster 2015 that saw career lows across the board (apart from his injury-shortened 2011), he was ready to bounce back in 2016, putting his all into spring training to show he was still worth his contract. Then his 14-year-old son, Drake (have I mentioned him?), who had often accompanied him in the clubhouse, got on the nerves of Chicago's executive vice president, Kenny Williams. "Name one job in the country where you can bring your child to work every day," Williams would eventually say. At some point, an ultimatum was issued where Drake was to exit the clubhouse, never to return. LaRoche, who valued his family, said no. Williams insisted, and in response, Adam LaRoche retired from baseball, leaving $13 million on the table in the process. This situation was memed on from one side of the MLB to the other. LaRoche was called everything from a traitor to his team to a man who had clearly set his priorities in order. Williams was both villainized and praised, sometimes by the same people. White Sox ace Chris Sale and star Center Fielder Adam Eaton defended LaRoche's decision. GM Rick Hahn dodged the question, and team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said he had complete faith in his front office. The world was turned upside down, because as far as everyone was concerned, this was the strangest reason someone had retired they had ever heard. What they didn't know, and wouldn't for a couple weeks, was that Adam LaRoche, during the offseason, had worn a hidden camera and helped to expose underage sex trafficking in southeast Asia. It turns out, LaRoche did retire based on the treatment of young people, but it went far deeper than anybody understood at the time. But hey, at least it gave us Derek Jeter or Drake LaRoche, which I am mourning as it passed on when Flash died.
Adam LaRoche's career isn't unique from a numbers standpoint. His stats aren't actually too far off from someone like John Mayberry, but the story around them is one-of-a-kind. From the fluke 2012 season that wasn't actually a fluke, to playing on a team for nine days, to how his career ended, nothing was predictable when it came to The Rock. (wait that's his nickname? I could've had so many wrestling puns! Oh well.) Despite his inability to stand out statistically, LaRoche has no trouble getting his name out there in all kinds of other ways. Those ways do not include appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot, which, if I'm being honest, he didn't deserve. Sorry Dwayne LaJohnsone. (Okay maybe I should be glad I didn't know that was his nickname)
LaRoche would visit the Hall in a Washington Nationals cap for his 430 hits, 82 homers, and Silver SluggeGold Glove combo with the team. He'd go hand-in-hand with his son Drake LaRoche, who is turning 19 next month. No I don't feel old.
We're at a dozen now. Here are the other doughnuts if you're hungry.
#1: Randy Choate
#2: Kevin Gregg
#3: Dan Uggla
#4: Josh Hamilton
#5: Delmon Young
#6: Willie Bloomquist
#7: Grady Sizemore
#8: Kevin Correia
#9: David DeJesus
#10: Rafael Betancourt
#11: Clint Barmes

Better Know the Ones Left Off the Ballot #16: Chris Denorfia

And today on The Thing in the Title That I Don't Feel Like Typing Again, we have number four squared. If you're new here, basically Cooperstown feels like all the people who qualify for the ballot by playing for 10 years in the MLB aren't quite up to snuff, and a Selection Committee shortens the list to the ones they like. This series takes a look at the players the Selection Committee doesn't like. All the other entries can be found at the bottom. Now to you're regularly scheduled program.

Chris Denorfia

Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor: 0
Career bWAR (10 years): 10.8
Stats: .272/.330/.392, 103 OPS+, 587 H, 41 HR, 161 XBH, 196 RBI, 289 R
League Leading Stats: Double Plays turned as LF (1, 2013)
Awards: NL Wilson Defensive OF of the Year (2013)
Teams Played For: Reds (2005-06), Athletics (2008-09), Padres (2010-14), Mariners (2014), Cubs (2015)
Chris Denorfia has a funny name. It would be funnier if you just kept the "norf" part and discarded the rest, but it still functions as a humorous surname. And in more ways than one, that sums up his career rather well. Good things being somewhat lessened by their surroundings, but still being good regardless. It also functions as a reminder that having a funny name doesn't get you on the Hall of Fame ballot, especially when your career hit total would be a bad credit score. Neither does having 600 of your bobbleheads show up at some random house's doorstep, though that is certainly more creative.
Chris Delphinium was drafted 555th out of Wheaton College in the 19th round of the 2002 draft by the Cincinnati Reds. Once he began in the minors, a pretty consistent pattern emerged: spend up to a season in one level doing great, then get promoted and do well enough to stick around, then repeat. In rookie ball he hit .340, then got promoted to high-A, and spent his first year hitting .236. Then in the first half of 2004, he hit .312 in high-A, got promoted to double-A for the second half, and hit .249. Then he forgot what he was doing, because he hit .330 through the 46 games he played in AA before promotion, then broke the pattern by hitting .310 in AAA to punch his ticket to a September callup to Cincinnati. Denorfia's first two plate appearances were pinch-hitting gigs, but a home run in his second career at-bat prodded the Reds to give him a starting job soon after. He'd go on to start 7 more games down the stretch for a Reds team that was well out of the playoffs, plus 9 more pinch-hitting bit parts. Now that he'd had a taste of the Bigs, Chris Determinant had to get back.
Denorfia attended 2006 spring training, and after proving his mettle, made the Opening Day roster. He even pinch-hit in the first game of the season, hitting a double off Scott Williamson and scoring on a Ken Griffey Jr. sac fly. Now that's how you start a season! Ignore the part where all it did was make the final score 16-7 instead of 16-6! He'd have a much bigger impact in his next game, when he'd single in the bottom of the eighth, eventually scoring the go-ahead run with help from Adam Dunn. Denorfia's season wasn't quite as nonstop action as his first two games. He got sent down to AAA for three months before coming back in the middle of July. He'd make it into 49 games all told, batting .283/.356/.368. Enough to exceed his rookie limits, but not enough for his liking. And that spring training, Chris Deformity would show why he was special enough to stick around. Or he would instead require Tommy John surgery before March was over and end up having to miss the 2007 season. The next year would start very differently for him, because the Oakland Athletics had traded for him. With his goal the same despite the location change, Denorfia once again made the Opening Day Roster. He even got to start this time! Who cares that he was batting 9th! He tried his best to show he belonged, but after 25 games, the A's decided they'd prefer an outfield with Carlos Gonzalez instead of Chris Demoralized. After those 25 games, he'd only play 8 more as an Oakland Athletic. It had been a while since he'd practiced the pattern of mashing in a lower league to get promoted, so after struggling in AAA, the A's of the Majors saw no reason to keep him around. At the end of 2009, after getting a single hit in only 2 at-bats with Oakland all year, Chris Destratify was granted free agency. A month later, when a minor league deal with his funny name on it came from San Diego, Norf was headed Souf.
Chances are, most people who are familiar with Denorfia's name only know him as a Padre. What many don't realize, or at least what I wasn't aware of before I began research, is that Chris Dilophosaurus was actually very good with the Padres. His first year began in triple-A before he finally remembered the pattern, and socked 16 extra-base hits in 34 games to get promoted in the middle of May. The rest of his 2010 was spent as a platoon member of the outfield, getting rearranged every which way with Scott Hairston, Tony Gwynn Jr., and Will Venable. Of all of those guys, Denorfia performed the best at the plate, hitting .271/.335/.433 with 9 home runs, quadrupling his career total. You might look at that slashline and think that's not very good for the best bat in the outfield, and you'd be correct. And yet, in 2010, with a week to go in August, the Padres held the best record in the National League at 76-49. Ahead of the Reds and Braves with 73 wins, the Padres had achieved this feat not through powerful hitting, but through an absolute buzzsaw of a bullpen. Of the eleven arms who had more than 30 games pitched for San Diego that year, only 4 had ERAs over 3.00. And two of those guys were starters. Their five best bullpen arms combined for 286 innings of 1.76 ERA ball and 306 strikeouts to just 99 walks. Thus, despite only scoring a division-low 665 runs and a third-worst-in-the-Majors hits total of 1338, the Padres finished the season at 90-72. That was not good enough for the playoffs, as a 14-23 run to round out the year after holding the best NL record meant they relinquished their division lead to the 92-70 San Francisco Giants. The wild card went to the 91-71 Atlanta Braves, and so Chris Dehumidifier was deprived of his first playoff berth. Over the next couple years, he'd continue platooning with the revolving door of Padres outfielders with names like Ryan Ludwick, Carlos Quentin, and Mark Kotsay. With such volatility, Denorfia actually played a rather vital role in the Padres offense. At some point, manager Bud Black realized that while his overall batting numbers were good, his marks against lefties were decidedly better. His career splits show as much, with Defatigable hitting .262/.313/.372 off right-handed pitchers and .285/.353/.419 versus southpaws. Black had the genius-and-not-totally-obvious idea of platooning him more often against lefties, and thanks to that small adjustment, Denorfia's 2012 and 2013 seasons turned out excellent. Between those two years, he basically hit like he faced lefties the whole time. .285/.340/.419 across both seasons, only 13 OBP points from his career statline versus the liberal-handed ones. Ordinarily, those numbers wouldn't be anything to write home about, but in the 2012-13 National League, they were good for 4.0 oWAR, because the league average batter hit barely above .250. Add in some defense that rightfully earned him an NL Wilson Outfield Glove of the Year award in 2013, and you've got a premium player right there. 6.6 bWAR and 4.8 fWAR in just 2 years, including 4.2 bWAR in 2013 for the highest total from any member of that year's Padres. He also exclusively put up those numbers for teams with an asymptotic relationship to a .500 record. Across the 2012-13 seasons, the Padres were above .500 for exactly eight days. Eight. And that was it. Defenestrate's seasons flew by, and pretty much no one except Padres fans and the Wilson awards people noticed. He didn't make the All-Star team, he didn't receive any MVP votes, he didn't even get all that much credit when he turned a squib in front of the plate into an inside-the-park home run. He just didn't register nationally, because platoon members aren't sexy. By the time 2014 was around and he only got 7 hits in June, the Padres figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to see what they could get for him at the trade deadline. He was traded to the contending Seattle Mariners for Abraham Almonte, and to balance out the ridiculous name quota, Stephen Kohlscheen. Chris Differential would hit .195/.256/.317 in 32 games as a Mariner before they bid him adieu that offseason. Unnecessary clarification, the Mariners did not make the playoffs. Denorfia was 34 years old, and had just put up his career worst hitting numbers. Which cheap team who had nothing to play for would pick him up?
The 2015 Cubs had just had an interesting season in the outfield. Chris Coghlan had done all right for himself at the plate, but he was on an island. Regular lineup members Arismendy Alcantara, Nate Schierholtz, Junior Lake, and Ryan Sweeney all had OPSes below .650. In fact, the only other regular outfielder who hit respectably, Justin Ruggiano, had a negative bWAR season because his defense was atrocious. By 2015, Schierholtz had been released, Ruggiano had been traded, Alcantara was due to go back to the minors, and Sweeney was a couple months from getting released. With Coghlan the only sure thing, the Cubs traded for center fielder Dexter Fowler, handed starting duties in right to rookie Jorge Soler, and just to be safe, signed an aging platoon OF with a funny last name. Denorfia, Much like he did on the 2010 Padres, was part of one of the worse hitting offenses in the league. 1341 hits as a team ranked 3rd-to-last in the Majors. However, this Cubs team was similar to those Friars in more ways than one, with their pitching turning in a spectacular performance. Jake Arrieta's 1.77 ERA and 22-6 record won the Cy Young that year, and Dan Haren was the only pitcher with more than one game started to have an ERA above 4.00 (at 4.01). With a lockdown bullpen of Jason Motte, Justin Grimm, Pedro Strop, Travis Wood, and closer extraordinaire Hector Rondon, the Cubs won 97 games in 2015. That win total was good enough for third best in the entire MLB. It was also only good enough for third in their division because the 2015 NL Central was stacked. Denorfia's .269/.319/.373 line, his second-worst of his career, was just happy to be along for the ride, and maybe find time to jack a walkoff home run off Aroldis Chapman while he's at it. Even made his pitching debut in a blowout versus the Tigers. Denomorejokes returned to his roots in the playoffs, with no starts, but 6 pinch-hitting appearances, going 0-for-5. A walk in the Wild Card game was the extent of his playoff highlight reel. He'd get his walking papers once Daniel Murphy sent the Cubs packing in the NLCS. That offseason, Denorfia accepted a spring training invite from the Yankees that went nowhere, a minor league offer from the Giants that went nowhere, and a minor league offer from the Rockies that went nowhere. He finally waved the white flag on his MLB career when he accepted a front office position with the Cubs in March of 2018. He is currently the manager of the Hartford Yard Goats, whose mascots still haunt my dreams.
Chris Denorfia did all right for himself. Even if his career was just 808 games long, he stuck around long enough to stave off heartbreak. There's no way he was ever going to make the ballot, but there's still something to be said about his story. From the lefty splits, to the most valuable Padre in 2013, to the home run that hit the ground 10 feet in front of him, Denorfia got his name out there enough for it to be remembered. And it should be, because Denorfia is a name that deserves to be remembered regardless of who it's attached to.
Denorfia would visit the Hall in a Padres cap for his 456 hits, 1.8 dWAR, and 108 OPS+ with the team. He'd also be in a uniform with his name on it, but rearranged to say "A Friendo."
Mooooooore
#1: Randy Choate
#2: Kevin Gregg
#3: Dan Uggla
#4: Josh Hamilton
#5: Delmon Young
#6: Willie Bloomquist
#7: Grady Sizemore
#8: Kevin Correia
#9: David DeJesus
#10: Rafael Betancourt
#11: Clint Barmes
#12: Adam LaRoche
#13: Grant Balfour
#14: Randy Wolf
#15: Rafael Soriano

Better Know the Ones Left Off the Ballot #20: Jeff Francis

Second one of the day! This is actually as many as I got to last year, so as long as I do one more, I've done better this time. If you're wondering what this is, basically the Hall of Fame has too many people who are eligible for the ballot, so a Selection Committee cuts the list down to a manageable size. Here we take a look at the players they decided to cut. The rest of the players I've already looked at can be found at the bottom, and away we go!

Jeff Francis

Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor: 6
Career bWAR (11 years): 9.6 (10.1 w/o batting)
Stats: 72-82, 4.97 ERA, 93 ERA+, 217 GS, 1291.0 IP, 869 K, 384 BB, 1.442 WHIP
League Leading Stats: Fielding % as P 4x (1.000, 2005-07, 2011)
Awards: None
Teams Played For: Rockies (2004-08, 2010, 2012-13), Royals (2011), Reds (2014), Athletics (2014), Yankees (2014), Blue Jays (2015)
The story of Jeff Francis reminds me of a quote by former ESPN columnist John Sickels: "If you have a top prospect, you should never be disappointed when he turns out to be Lyle Overbay." I think I have a similar statement: "If you're the Colorado Rockies, and you have a top pitching prospect, you should never be disappointed when he turns out to be Jeff Francis." With the way he played as a prospect, Overbay could have very well been predicted to set the league on fire, but he "only" had a nice long career, being an average-to-above-average first baseman. Jeff Francis, likewise, was fantastic as a prospect, and did just all right in the MLB. But in both cases, expectation and reality must meet somewhere, and these two share the distinction of riding that line. Another thing the two have in common? Neither ended up on the Hall of Fame ballot. I already talked about Lyle, so here's what I have to say about Jeff.
To put it lightly, Jeff Francis had a nice college career. To put it heavily, the lefty's stats his last two years looked like this:

20-4, 1.35 ERA, 173 IP, 31 BB, 229 K

While it may have been true he was playing in Canada, that's still a statline you don't pass up in the first round of the 2002 MLB Draft. The Colorado Rockies certainly didn't, because they had the ninth pick, and driving six truckloads of money to Mike Hampton's doorstep hadn't solved their pitching woes. The pick actually made Francis the highest drafted Canadian player ever. Well, second highest, since fellow Maple Leaf Countryman Adam Loewen had been chosen just 5 picks prior. Still, Francis was a can't-miss future stud practically his whole minor league career. Just 4 runs allowed in his first 7 starts in low-to-mid A. 12-9 with a 3.47 ERA in a full high-A season, putting him at #93 on the Baseball America list. Promotion to AA resulted in his best season yet, starting 17 games, winning 13 of them, and allowing only 25 earned runs in 113.2 innings while also striking out 147 like it was no big deal. Moved on up to AAA, went 3-2 with 49 strikeouts and a 2.85 ERA in Colorado Springs. By the end of that stretch, his 2004 minor league numbers were sitting pretty at 16-3, a 2.21 ERA in 24 starts, and 196 strikeouts in 154.2 innings across double-and-triple-A. At season's end, he'd receive Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year Award. That trophy very often signified a lengthy and successful Major League career in store for the awardee. Other recipients include Derek Jeter, Jose Canseco, and Dwight Gooden. And now Jeff Francis adds his name to that list. Only reason he didn't have better stats was because the Rockies called him up in late August.
After Jeff Francis' first two starts, he'd allowed 14 runs, all earned. Welcome to the Rockies! Wait, both those games were on the road? Oh dear. After his year concluded with 7 Major League starts, he laid claim to a 5.15 ERA, 8 home runs allowed, and a .286 batting average against. All of this was actually about par for the course when it came to Rockies pitching, even if you account for 5 of his 7 starts coming away from Denver. And yet, given his minor league pedigree and the hype around having an actual good pitcher in Colorado, big things were still expected of him. Thanks to those expectations, his award for pitching very well, and a good spring training to boot, the 2005 Colorado Rockies starting rotation would have Jeff Francis as its third member. Now some might be rather surprised and say "letting a rookie with a 5.15 ERA in the Major League games he's started be your third rotation piece is insane!" To that I say two things: first, this is the Rockies. Second, they've done this before. In 2001, former first-round pick Jason Jennings pitched a complete game shutout in his first start as a Rockie, but struggled down the stretch, before a nice spring training and hype around a good Rockies pitcher slotted him as the number 5 starter for 2002. His year ended with a record of 16-8, only the third time a pitcher of any experience had ever reached that number of wins for Colorado. It also ended with him as the staff ace, standing atop what was left after established arms Denny Neagle and the previously mentioned Mike Hampton exploded. Jennings ended up winning Rookie of the Year, not because his numbers were especially impressive (his 4.52 ERA was the worst among qualified rookie starters, and he only had 13 Quality Starts, 9 of which weren't at Coors), but because he did all that as a rookie pitcher on the Colorado Rockies. The apparently Herculean task of pitching moderately well for that team had been accomplished by someone in their first full season, and for that, the voters agreed Jennings should be rewarded. Colorado's pitching had not gotten much better since then (including Jennings, who had slowed down as of late), and they were hoping that the card they'd put up their sleeve could help them here. That card, Francis, was their third starter, for better or for worse. How'd it go?
Jeff Francis started more games for the Rockies that year than any other pitcher. That's good! He also had more wins (14) and strikeouts (128) than any other Colorado pitcher. That's even better! He also laid claim to a 5.68 ERA, a WHIP above 1.600, and a measly 0.3 bWAR from the mound. That's not very good! One might even call that bad! Well, one might, if one were talking about anybody other than a rookie pitcher for the Colorado Rockies. Francis even provided some hope for the future of the team, because if you looked at his Home/Away splits, he actually pitched better at Coors than he did elsewhere. He even duplicated Jason Jennings' rookie number of 13 Quality Starts, but reversed the locational division by pitching 9 of them in Denver. Colorado still lost 95 games, but Francis did show up on a couple Rookie of the Year ballots. As previously mentioned, the voters saw he had 14 wins as a rookie on the team that played half their games in Home Run Derby: The Ballpark. 2006 carried a lot of promise for the Rockies pitching staff, and somehow, some way, they didn't let down. Francis did win fewer games, going 13-11, but he did so with a 4.16 ERA, over 1.50 lower than in 2005. The best part was it was second best on the staff, and only barely avoided being third. Jason Jennings (3.78) had returned to form, and number 2 starter Aaron Cook (4.23) blossomed into a legitimate option. Between the three of them, they only allowed 52 home runs in 600+ innings, roughly half of which were pitched at a veritable baseball trampoline meetup every time teams played there. Francis even pitched a complete game shutout against the eventual World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals, and he did it at Coors Field no less. The bullpen showed up too, with dependable closer Brian Fuentes saving 30 games, a 40-year-old Jose Mesa finding remnants of his better self, and youngsters like Ramon Ramirez and Manny Corpas doing their part as well. Them and the rest combined to allow 812 runs that year, the lowest total a Rockies team had ever allowed over a 162-game season. Pity the offense fell asleep. Todd Helton had a down year, as his .880 OPS was his lowest in almost ten years (this man was so good). To supplement, the regular hitting core of Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, and Brad Hawpe just didn't do enough to finish better than 76-86. However, the groundwork had been set, and with actual good pitching for the first time in what seemed like forever, the Colorado Rockies and Jeff Francis could, possibly, compete in 2007.
That next year, the Colorado Rockies won the NL Pennant. The biggest reasons that this happened were Matt Holliday and Todd Helton improving on their already stellar hitting numbers, Brad Hawpe batting in runs like there was no tomorrow, second baseman Kaz Matsui and rookie phenom Troy Tulowitzki holding the middle infield hostage with their amazing defense, and the dependable backstop of Yorvit Torrealba behind the dish. Add in a platoon at center field that had Steve Finley in it for some reason, Garrett Atkins having a down year in the field but still coming in clutch at the plate, and more utility players than you could shake a stick at, and you have the 2007 Rockies. That's the narrative that formed in the months and years following Rocktober. It also completely ignores just how instrumental the pitching was to that team. That staff and bullpen combined to allow just 758 runs, blowing the previous year's new low to pieces. Only 8 games would be started by pitchers whose ERAs were above 5 at the end of the year. That number had never been below 30. While bullpen arm Ramirez may have lost his touch, Fuentes and Corpas didn't, and they were joined by Jeremy Affeldt, LaTroy Hawkins, and Matt Herges as the best bullpen Colorado had ever seen. And hey, did I mention the rotation? While Jennings had been traded and Cook would do well before an injury, everyone else stepped up. Josh Fogg, who had struggled the past two years, put together his best season as a Rockie. Offseason acquisitions Rodrigo Lopez, Jason Hirsh, and Taylor Buchholz proved they could do just fine in Denver. A young fellow by the name of Ubaldo Jimenez even got his licks in, winning 4 games and striking out 68 in 15 starts. And then, at the top of the rotation, sporting a 17-9 record and 165 strikeouts which were both best on the team by a mile, was Jeff Francis. He had emerged as the ace, even receiving Cy Young consideration at the end of the year. This 26-year-old was the future of this team's pitching. Allowing just three runs in two playoff starts showed he could perform in the postseason as well. Ignore the 6-run outing in the World Series, that doesn't count. Clearly, the Rockies would be a force to be reckoned with for years to come, and any challengers to their throne would have to go through Jeff Francis, whose nerves of steel didn't care of he was pitching a mile above sea level or on the moon. Or at least, that's what it seemed like.
Don't get me wrong, Francis' 2007 year was great, and he earned the single fifth-place Cy Young vote he got. However, his numbers weren't the stuff that aces are made of, and his ballot inclusion strikes me more as "including the best pitcher on the team that won the pennant" than it does a vote for the fifth best pitcher that year. His 4.22 ERA wasn't even the best on the staff, and his 25 home runs allowed were far from exemplary. The excitement that surrounded that Rockies team was incredible, but it also cast aside any warning signs that Francis' numbers might have shown. The 2008 season would see him start Opening Day against the Cardinals, only for it to get rained out in the third inning. Thus his first real test came against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The last time they met, Francis threw a Quality Start, which just so happened to be Game 1 of the NLCS. Francis, who up to this point had owned Arizona, allowed 12 hits, 3 home runs, and 5 runs to take the loss. His next start was against the Diamondbacks again, but this time at Chase Field, which was a venue that he had not lost at in his four trips there. This visit would see Arizona lay 3 home runs on him again, and plate 7 runs for him to take the loss again. Cracks were beginning to show. By the end of June, Francis was 3-7, had allowed 63 earned runs and 17 homers, and was on his way to the DL with shoulder inflammation. After a couple rehab starts showed he was back in tip-top shape, he came back, and started 7 games, 6 of which were Quality Starts. He also got shut down in the middle of September, since the Rockies were out of playoff contention by that point, and his coaches felt it would be better for his shoulder. Francis' final numbers were 4-10, an ERA of 5.01, and 21 homers allowed in 24 starts. Things went even further south when it was announced in February of 2009 that the September shutdown hadn't stopped him from requiring arthroscopic surgery. Francis would miss the entirety of that year's season, further delaying the opportunity for his return to form. In spring training of 2010, it was determined he still wasn't quite ready, and he began that year on the DL. After a couple more rehab starts went his way, he returned in May, winning his first contest back against the Nationals after tossing 7 innings of 1-run ball. That season would see still more ups and downs, with eight of his starts being Quality, and eleven not so much. He finished the year 4-6 in 19 games started with an ERA of 5.00, but there were signs that things were improving. His FIP of 3.88 was the lowest of his career. His K/BB of 2.91 was the highest of his career. His 1.361 WHIP was the lowest it had been in years. Even his home/away splits were still roughly equivalent. And yet, the Rockies, who would most likely have needed to tender a contract of around $7 million to retain the lefty, didn't see that sort of value in him anymore. They granted him free agency at the end of the season, and just three years after being the star pitcher on a World Series team, Jeff Francis was without a job. Was it worth it for anybody to take a chance on him?
The Royals had just completed a 95-loss season, and were still rather far away from serious contention, but needed somebody to start games, so they gave Jeff Francis a call. A $2 million offer over one year got accepted, and a 6-16 record, 4.82 ERA, and overall "meh" season later, Kansas City bid him adieu. The Rockies, feeling sorry for the poor sap after a deal with the Reds fell flat, re-signed him for a couple years, watched him go 9-12 with an ERA hovering right around 6, and figured the good times had passed, turning him loose after 2013. In 2014, the Reds tried again. 8 triple-A starts and one losing MLB start with Cincinnati led to a waiver claim by the Oakland A's. Then 9 games in relief and one loss as an Athletic led to a trade to the Yankees. Two games of cleanup pitching and one win with New York led to a trip to free agency because they released him. Francis finished the year signing a contract with Toronto in October, and the Blue Jays were the only team he played for in 2015. He pitched in 14 games before getting reassigned to the triple-A Buffalo Bisons for the rest of the year, and once he wasn't brought back for the next year, Jeff Francis announced his retirement that December.
Sure, Jeff Francis wasn't the best at pitching. Sure, he lost more games than he won, and he could never really be considered "elite." Sure, injuries derailed his career from ever getting back to where it once was headed. All that may be true. But when it comes to Rockies pitching development, that's honestly par for the course. Actually it's a bit better than par. Maybe a birdie, but not quite an eagle. Jeff Francis' career went way better than many other Rockies top pitching prospects. Who remembers Chin-hui Tsao? Or Lariel Gonzalez? Or Dough Million? Exactly. Okay, you probably didn't remember Jeff Francis either, but trust me, he's better than those guys. All in all, the story of Jeff Francis doesn't get the credit I think he merits, especially for the part where he was the first Canadian pitcher to do a bunch of stuff. First Canadian to start a World Series Game 1, first Sorry-sayer to pitch to another Hockey-Lover, first Regular-Tim-Hortons-drinker to start Opening Day... too much?
Jeff Francis would visit the Hall of Fame in a Colorado Rockies cap for his 64-62 record, 742 strikeouts, and 8 years played for the team. He'd also wear his gold medal he won at the 2015 Pan America Games as part of Team Canada.
But wait, there's more! Too much more. Dear me.
#1: Randy Choate
#2: Kevin Gregg
#3: Dan Uggla
#4: Josh Hamilton
#5: Delmon Young
#6: Willie Bloomquist
#7: Grady Sizemore
#8: Kevin Correia
#9: David DeJesus
#10: Rafael Betancourt
#11: Clint Barmes
#12: Adam LaRoche
#13: Grant Balfour
#14: Randy Wolf
#15: Rafael Soriano
#16: Chris Denorfia
#17: Bruce Chen
#18: Cody Ross
#19: Scott Baker

Better Know the Ones Left Off the Ballot #14: Randy Wolf

Sup. You might be wondering what this is. In short, the Hall of Fame ballot doesn't include everyone who qualifies for it. Some dudes cut off names they don't like or remember to make it shorter. This is where I talk about the guys who got cut. I've done this 13 other times if you couldn't tell by the number and they're at the bottom if you want to read them after this one. Now to this one.

Randy Wolf

Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor: 6
Career bWAR (16 years): 22.8 (19.5 w/o batting)
Stats: 133-125, 4.24 ERA, 99 ERA+, 379 GS, 2328.1 IP, 831 BB, 1814 K, 1.349 WHIP
League Leading Stats: Games Started (34, 2009)
Awards: All-Star (2003)
Teams Played For: Phillies (1999-2006), Dodgers (2007, 2009), Padres (2008), Astros (2008), Brewers (2010-12), Orioles (2012), Marlins (2014), Tigers (2015)
Famed poet Lucille Clifton once wrote, "There is a girl inside. She is randy as a wolf. She will not walk away and leave these bones to an old woman." Seemed as good an opening as any to talk about the person that poem was clearly referencing, Randy Asa Wolf. (Please ignore the part where his middle name is actually Christopher) Wolf was a left-handed starting pitcher for 16 years, played on several teams, did pretty well sometimes, not so well some other times, and retired. Generally, pitchers like him are remembered in the hearts and minds of fans of the teams he pitched for, but not by an appearance on the ballot. Players like Steve Trachsel, Kevin Tapani, and Ismael Valdez suffered a similar fate. And so it was for Randy. All the same, he did a fair amount during his career. Certainly didn't walk away and leave those bones to an old woman.
When Randy Wolf was but a Randy Pup, he was drafted in the 25th round of the 1994 draft out of high school. He went to Pepperdine instead, and did so well that in 1997, the Phillies chose him with their 2nd round pick. He'd end up being their highest signed draft choice because J.D. Drew elected not to sign with them after being selected second overall. Much like wolf pups acclimate to the outside world in just a couple months, it didn't take very long for Randy to get used to the baseball world. His 5-0 record and 1.80 ERA in seven lower-A starts showed he was 100% worth the Phillies' high pick. The next year, before he'd even turned 22, Randy was starting games at the triple-A level, and doing very well. In roughly the same time it takes a wolf to reach full maturity, two years after he was drafted, Randy Canis Lupus was on a Major League roster. For his first appearance, he'd be starting a game versus the Toronto Blue Jays. A Blue Jays team whose heart of the lineup was Shawn Green, Carlos Delgado, and Tony Fernandez was held to only six hits and one run in 5.2 innings from Randy Wolf. After he'd captured a win in 5 of his first 7 starts, his spot in the rotation became permanent. Especially noteworthy considering he had competition like Chad Ogea and Carlton Loewer, who are recognized in several circles as "Who Now" and "Should I Know Him." Wolf's year ended on a sour note, both as a pitcher and a member of the Phillies. After that 5-0 start, Wolf would start 14 more games, and go 1-9 in them with a 6.90 ERA throughout. Likewise, Philadelphia, who were 67-59 a week before September started, went 1-16 over their next 17 games, and limped into the offseason at 77-85. While Wolf's 6-9, 5.55 ERA year was definitely worse than he'd wanted, it was still worth 0.3 bWAR. After all, this was the late 90s, and balanced breakfasts of testosterone and HGH were all the rage. He also struck out 116 so that helped too. The positives of his time starting games, coupled with the fact he was only 23 at season's end, all but glued his name to a rotation spot for the next year.
Much in the way that wolves stick together, Randy Wolf would remain a fixture in the Phillies rotation for the next seven years. He'd start 169 games, going 63-51 with a 4.06 ERA, 855 strikeouts, 367 walks, a 1.303 WHIP, and a 105 ERA+. He had his share of highs and lows with the team. And there were many highs, and many lows.

In 2000, he held the Brewers at bay with a quality start in early July, and gave the 38-44 Phillies a glimmer of hope that they could turn the season around. Then he watched the team trade staff ace Curt Schilling three weeks later, and despite Wolf’s 11-9 record and 3.0 bWAR, Philadelphia ended up losing 97 games.
In 2001, he had the best start of the Phillies' year in late September: a 1H, 1BB, 8K shutout of the Cincinnati Reds. He faced only 28 batters, and almost singlehandedly kept the team in the playoff hunt that day. Then Philadelphia finished at 86-76, losing the division race to the Braves with just three games left. 10-11 and a 3.70 ERA with 152 strikeouts in 25 starts was all Wolf could give, but it wasn't quite enough.
In 2002, Wolf took his turn as the staff ace, putting up the lowest ERA, the lowest WHIP, and the most strikeouts of any regular Phillies pitcher that year. Over a four-start stretch between August 16th and September 5th, Wolf pitched three complete games and 35 total innings, allowed only one run, struck out 30, and sent the Wolf Pack, his special cheering section, into a frenzy. He pitched those games, and another 8-inning 1-hit 2-walk no-run 11-strikeout masterpiece a week later, in memory of a member of that cheering section who tragically lost his life earlier that year. He also only got the Phillies just above .500 with those games, at a time when the wild card was all but out of reach. They'd finish at 80-81, 21.5 games behind the Braves, and 15 games behind the wild-card Giants.
In 2003, Kevin Millwood was acquired in the offseason, meaning Wolf, thankfully, would no longer be expected to be the staff ace. Nevertheless, after his first 17 starts, he was 9-3 with 100 third strikes. On the back of his record, and the unexpected success of the Phillies who were in a wild card spot at that point, he was voted into the All-Star game for the first time in his career. He slowed down toward the end of September, but was still good, finishing at 16-10 with a 4.23 ERA and a career best 177 strikeouts. The Phillies were within a game of the wild card with just five games left in the season. A three-game sweep by the team ahead of them, the Florida Marlins, ended their playoff hopes prematurely, with Wolf allowing four runs in four innings to lose the last of the series, and the wild card clincher, in Miami.
From 2004 to 2006 Wolf went 15-12 over the three-year stretch. His team would go from 86-76 to 88-74 to 85-77 over that time. He'd strike out 198 in his 48 starts, and while his 4.58 ERA was just good enough for a 99 ERA+, the Wolf Pack wouldn't let up. He even hit two home runs when he was facing the Rockies. Game was in Philadelphia, if you can believe it. And yet, he had injury problems that caused him to miss the majority of both June and September in 2004. Then after he hadn’t missed a start in 2005, he was diagnosed with a torn UCL right before the All-Star break and would require Tommy John surgery, shutting him down until the last week of July, 2006. His team was good during that time, but would also miss the playoffs all three years, and even if they hadn't, Wolf wouldn't have been able to pitch in any of them.

Finally, after the season when he turned 30 ended with a 5.56 ERA, the Phillies thanked him for his contributions, and made him a lone Wolf. Where might a pitcher find work having just started his fourth decade of life?
Not a month into free agency, as they often do, the lone Wolf found new territory far away from his previous home. Randy signed a 1-year, $7.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was a pack that had gone to the playoffs the previous year after some serious retooling, particularly in the pitching department. 36-year-old Aaron Sele and 40-year-old Greg Maddux had made serious impacts despite their AARP cards. Knowing that wasn't sustainable, the Dodgers' plan for Wolf was to inject some comparative youth into the rotation, try him out for one year, and leave the door open with a second-year option. He did okay to start out, with 6 of his first 11 Dodgers starts being Quality Starts, including a particularly good 7 innings of no-run 4-hit 11-strikeout stuff against the Cincinnati Reds. He finished May at 6-3 with a 3.41 ERA and 71 strikeouts. June wasn't as good, as he emerged at the end of the month with a 9-6 record and a 4.33 ERA after allowing at least 3 runs in each of his 6 starts. Then on July 3rd, after a particularly bad 3-inning 6-run outing, the Wolf began to hobble. His throwing shoulder was bothering him, and after electing to have surgery on it, his season was over. So was his time as a member of the Dodgers, who turned him loose that offseason. The Wolf found temporary shelter in a monastery as the Padres gave him a 1-year $5 million contract. In just his third start, against the Rockies, Randy was close to making that contract monumentally good. He had thrown 6 shutout, no-hit innings, which is generally not super noteworthy, but the San Diego Padres had never had a no-hitter in their history. Alas, it would stay that way, as person-who-dislikes-fun Brad Hawpe singled in the 7th, and Wolf was pulled after he finished the inning. It seemed to throw off his game as well, as after only allowing three runs through his first three starts combined for an ERA of 1.42, by mid-July, Randy had caused it to rise to 4.74. Pair that with a 6-10 record and a trend toward his worst career ERA+, and things weren't looking good. San Diego, who had already lost 60 games by that point, decided to save some money, and traded Wolf's $5 million to the Houston Astros for the league minimum of 26-year-old Chad Reineke. Apparently the Astros knew what they were doing, because, much like the constellation 9Lupus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupus_(constellation\)), when Wolf joined the stars, he shined. In 12 starts, he went 6-2, lowered his ERA on the season to 4.30, and struck out 57. Houston, who was 8 games below .500 when they acquired him, got as close as 2 games out of the Wild Card spot before finishing the year 86-75, an admirable turnaround. The next season would provide intrigue into whether they could keep that up. They would have to do it without Randy Wolf, who was once again granted permission to the pastures of free agency. At 32 years old, was there any chance this old dog still had some new tricks?
Despite being named the 27th best free agent available by MLB Trade Rumors and being one of the catalysts for a rather successful team down the stretch, Wolf swam the rivers of free agency for a good three months before finally being offered a contract to come back to the Dodgers. Yet another 1-year, $5 million contract, but it was far better than being left to fend for himself in that harsh wilderness. Unlike the 2007 Dodgers he was familiar with, who would go on to miss the playoffs after Wolf injured himself, the 2009 Dodgers were coming off a run to the NLCS. A recent foreign signing that paid off in Hiroki Kuroda, a proven young arm in Chad Billingsley, and a 21-year-old wild card named Clayton Kershaw were all ready to anchor a starting rotation. Wolf was brought on for his experience, and maybe if he could pitch here and there that'd be nice too. Well, he did that and more. At the age of 32, Randy Wolf had his best season in seven years. His record of 11-7 was his best since the year he was an All-Star. His 3.23 ERA was his best since the year he was the Phillies' ace. His 1.101 WHIP was his lowest in his career. He started 34 games, the first time he'd ever hit that high a number in a single season. Same goes for his 214.1 innings pitched. While Clayton Kershaw doubtless had the better mechanics, clearly exhibited in his lower peripherals in almost every pitcher vs. hitter metric, people who didn't care about all that stathead mumbo-jumbo saw Randy Wolf return to the mantle of staff ace. To top it all off, the Dodgers offense was exemplary. The outfield had a collective OPS above .825, and only two regular starters, Russell Martin the catcher and Rafael Furcal the shortstop, put up an OPS+ below 100. All that, plus a great bullpen, added up to a 95-67 record, and their second straight NL West division crown. Their quick dispatch of the Cardinals in an NLDS sweep was kicked off by Game 1 starter Randy Wolf, who earned a no-decision that day. He showed up again as the starter of Game 4 of the NLCS played against his old team in Philadelphia. Game 4 would end with Jonathan Broxton allowing a walkoff two-run double to Jimmy Rollins, who was teammates with Randy for six years. The Dodgers lost Game 4, then the decisive Game 5, and ended up watching the Phillies lose the World Series to the Yankees. Randy Wolf, on the other hand, was set to hunt for a team in the wooded country of free agency another time. Would this hunt fare any better?
Randy Wolf had the good fortune of being among a particularly lean crop of free agents, and having just had a year where he could be argued as the staff ace of a 95-win team, his value was as high as it ever had been. MLB Trade Rumors, therefore, rated him as the 5th best free agent available. The four names ahead of him, Matt Holliday, John Lackey, Jason Bay, and Chone Figgins, show just how weak this class was. Perfect prey for a wolf to pounce upon to gain ground. Monetarily, of course. And that he did, signing a 3-year, $29.75 million dollar contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. This contract was roughly equivalent to double what he'd earned over the past three years. It pays to be aggressive when it matters, whether you are prowling for food in the forest or prowling for a contract in the MLB. While Randy Wolf was certainly still crafty, the Brewers were giving a three-year contract with seven zeroes on it to a pitcher not named Randy Johnson or Nolan Ryan who would be 36 before it was over. Would the risk pay off? Well, old dogs can often still go in for the kill. In his first two years, Wolf went 26-22 in 67 starts. His 3.93 ERA and ERA+ of 101 was commendable, his total of 276 strikeouts was above average, and his 1839 batters faced were the most he'd ever endured over any two-year stretch of his career. Randy was even privy to some playoff action in 2011, when he allowed seven runs in a possible NLDS series-clincher against Arizona, but made up for it with a Quality Start and eventual Win in Game 4 of the NLCS. The Brewers won the series where he sucked, and lost the series where he was good. Wolf may have taken the wrong idea, because the next year he began sucking a lot more. By mid-August, he was 3-10 with a 5.69 ERA, but contrary to the previous experiment, Milwaukee was not doing well, and by this time was all but out of the playoff picture. On August 22, 2012, Randy Wolf was released by Milwaukee on what just so happened to be his 36th birthday. Told you his contract wouldn't end before then. A pity deal from the Baltimore Orioles led to two more starts and three more appearances, but didn't translate into an appearance on their playoff roster on account of another UCL tear that meant he would miss an entire year, this time not sandwiched between two seasons of play, but for the whole calendar year of 2013. Some might think that a 37-year-old coming off of his second Tommy John surgery would decide it was time to hang up his cleats and retire. Randy Wolf, not one to settle for easy meat, did not do that.
On Febraury 13th, 2014, after completing his rehab, Wolf signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. Then he got released after refusing to sign a waiver. Long story. A couple weeks later, he signed another minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite a 5-1 record over 6 AAA starts, the Snakes didn't want to keep him, and he was released again. That same day, he was picked up by the Marlins on another minor league contract. One month and 25.2 MLB innings of 5.26 ERA ball and a 1-3 record later, he was released again, only to be scooped up five days later on another minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. Four lackluster weeks of triple-A baseball later, Wolf was released again only for two weeks to pass before he was offered another minor league contract from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. ARE YOU STILL WITH ME?!? Good. The Angels kept him on their AAA squad for the remainder of the year. His previous season, he'd gone 6-2 with a 4.57 ERA in 19 triple-A games spread across three different organizations, and that sluggish performance in Miami was the only time he put on an MLB jersey during the regular season. Remember kids, someday signing a waiver might mean you don’t have to move house four times in one year. Anyway, the next spring training, Wolf signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays OH NO IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN. Except this time, the Blue Jays kept him on their triple-A squad for four months of the regular season. He went 9-2 with a 2.58 ERA in 23 starts. The Detroit Tigers saw that, said "what's the worst that could happen?" and in mid-August, traded their up-and-coming prospect Cash Considerations for Randy Wolf. He thanked them by going 0-5 in 7 starts, allowing 24 earned runs in 34.2 innings for a 6.23 ERA, and getting released that offseason. At long last, the Wolf saw that his final days were upon him, and signed a one-day contract with the Phillies to retire as a member of his original Wolf Pack. Is this the part where he cries to the blue corn moon?
To say Randy Wolf's career was one-of-a-kind would be a stretch. There are plenty of other lefties that have gone on to have similar careers, Floyd Bannister for one. Did Randy deserve to be on the ballot? That's a question that doesn't have an easy answer. Sure, he pitched for a long time, won more games than he lost, and was relatively good over a fairly lengthy stretch. He even places 116th on the all-time strikeouts list with 1814, right ahead of Hall-of-Famer and 350-game winner Pud Galvin. Heck, Ron Darling had similar stats across the board, and he even showed up on a ballot. And yet, to me there's just something about him that just says "he didn't belong there." Perhaps it's the fact that he was only the definitive staff ace on one team that only won 80 games. Perhaps it's the fact he only had four full seasons with an ERA below 4.00. It might even be the fact that after he came back despite the odds, he didn't do very well, and that's poisoning my thoughts on him. I don't know. I do know he wasn't on the ballot, and that's that. [Put another stupid wolf thing here]
Randy Wolf would visit the Hall of Fame in a Phillies cap for his 69-60 record, 971 strikeouts, and one All-Star selection with the club. While there he would let out a quiet but distinct howl when passing by Greg "Mad Dog" Maddux's plaque.
RIP Tommy Lasorda
#1: Randy Choate
#2: Kevin Gregg
#3: Dan Uggla
#4: Josh Hamilton
#5: Delmon Young
#6: Willie Bloomquist
#7: Grady Sizemore
#8: Kevin Correia
#9: David DeJesus
#10: Rafael Betancourt
#11: Clint Barmes
#12: Adam LaRoche
#13: Grant Balfour

major league baseball single season batting average record video

Single-Season TB Leaders:1.Babe Ruth+/457/1921, 2.Rogers Hornsby+/450/1922, 3.Lou Gehrig+/447/1927, 4.Chuck Klein+/445/1930, 5.Jimmie Foxx+/438/1932, 6.Stan Musial+ The 2003 batting titles went to Albert Pujols (.359) of the National League St. Louis Cardinals and Bill Mueller (.326) of the American League Boston Red Sox — both impressive, but neither close enough to make the top one-hundred with the only relatively recent player (played in 2005) with a Top 100 single season batting average is Larry Single-Season Leaders & Records for Batting Average Create your own custom leaderboards Become a Stathead today and run queries with our Season and Career Finders to see the best seasons in MLB history. This pronouncement is expected to make Gibson the new single-season batting average champion, with a .441 mark in 1943, edging out MLB’s Hugh Duffy, who hit .440 for the National League’s Batting Average Records. Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a record book full of baseball milestones for batting averages — including career marks, single season plateaus, and game related records. Important Note: In 1887, when a player received a bases on balls (walk) he was also awarded a hit in his official statistics. Look for your favorite MLB slugger in this impressive list of baseball's top 500 career batting leaders. MLB Single-Season (Post-1900) Batting Leaders Statistics: Batting | Pitching Josh Gibson, one of the greatest sluggers in the history of Negro Leagues, could become big league baseball's single-season batting average record holder with the .441 mark he set 77 years ago. Single Season Records: 1. Batting Average: .426 - Nap Lajoie (1901) 2. Wins: 41 - Jack Chesbro (1904) 3. Triples: 36 - Chief Wilson (1912) 4. Extra-Base Hits: 119 - Babe Ruth (1921) 5. Runs: 177 - Babe Ruth (1921) 6. Total Bases: 457 - Babe Ruth (1921) 7. RBIs: 191 - Hack Wilson (1930) 8. Doubles: 67 - Earl Webb (1931) 9. Look for your favorite MLB slugger in this impressive list of baseball's top 500 career batting leaders.

major league baseball single season batting average record top

WS1988 Gm1: Scully's call of Gibson memorable at-bat - YouTube

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Single-Season Leaders & Records for Batting Average

major league baseball single season batting average record

major league baseball single season batting average record - win

How much WAR would a perfect (yet shy) leadoff man accrue in a Major League season?