Amazin’s Clinch! – DN&N congratulates the New York Mets who on Monday became the first team this season to clinch their division when they knocked off the Marlins 4-0.  In doing so, the Amazin’s also became the first team other than Atlanta to win the NL East since the Philadelphia Phillies back in 1993.  That was the last season the Braves played in the NL West.  Steve Trachsel (15-7) got the win and Jose Valentin hit two home runs in support.  At 91-58, their record is the best in baseball, a half a game better than the cross town Bombers.  The Yankees magic number to clinch the AL East is down to three after New York downed the Blue Jays in Toronto.  Alex Rodriguez helped to erase an early lead with his 34^th home run and Derek Jeter added to his potential MVP credentials with a go-ahead two-run homer in the 7^th.  Toronto got a three-run home run by Troy Glaus in the ninth off of Octavio Dotel (7.2 IP – 12 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 8 BB, 7 K – 11.05 ERA) but Jose Veras came on to record his first major league save as the Yanks held on for the 7-6 win.

 

Jeter’s Streak – Jeter’s hit streak came to an end on Sunday as the fourth longest in the majors this year at 25 straight games.  It was also the 7^th longest streak in club history, just behind Babe Ruth’s 26-gamer back from 1921, though obviously way behind the all-time club mark held by some cat named DiMaggio.  The Yankee top ten all-time hitting streaks:

 

Joe DiMaggio	56	1941
Hal Chase	33	1907
Joe Gordon	29	1942
Roger Peckinpaugh	29	1919
Earle Combs	29	1931
Babe Ruth	26	1921
Derek Jeter	25	2006
Don Mattingly	24	1986
Joe DiMaggio	23	1940
Joe DiMaggio	22	1937

 

Hitting Streak Trivia Question – Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 straight games for the Yankees in 1941 and in 1933 he hit safely in 61 straight for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League.  Can you name the only player that had a longer hitting streak in professional baseball history? (answer below)

 

The Chase is Wild

 

The Tigers won their 90^th game of the season on Monday and in doing so dealt the defending champion White Sox playoff hopes a severe blow.  It was former Sox OF Magglio Ordonez who struck the biggest blows by socking a pair of home runs off former teammate Mark Buehrle in Detroit’s 8-2 win.  The loss dropped Buehrle to 12-13 on the year with a 4.79 ERA and left the Sox 4 ½ games behind the idle Wild Card leading Twins and 6 games behind the Tigers with just 12 games left on their schedule.  They have lost four in a row after getting swept this past weekend by the Oakland A’s and another former White Sox hero, Frank Thomas.  Jim Thome in the loss hit his 40^th home run of the season.

 

AL Wild Card

Minnesota        – 88-61 –

Chicago            – 84-66 4.5

 

It was – though largely un-noticed by the entire east coast – quite possibly the most important game of the year in major league baseball.  After San Diego took two of three over the weekend from the Dodgers to take over 1^st place by a half a game in the West – leaving L.A. as the Wild Card leader – the Padres highly touted bullpen self-destructed in one of the wildest games of the season Monday night in Chavez Ravine.  The Padres scored four in the first off of Brad Penny with ace Jake Peavy (2.44 ERA in his last 10 starts) on the mound but L.A. chipped away with single runs in the first and second and tied it with two in the third.  The game then remained tied until the Pads scored two in the 8^th but the Dodgers came right back with one of their own.  San Diego appeared to have put it away with 3 more in the 9^th off of closer Takashi Saito but L.A. scored four times in the ninth on four consecutive solo home runs, including a pair off of Trevor Hoffman – looking for his 476^th career save – to tie it back up.  The Padres once again took the lead in the 10^th on a Josh Bard single but Nomar Garciaparra followed a Kenny Lofton leadoff single with his 18^th home run of the game to win the game 11-10 and put L.A. back in front of the NL West by a half a game.  Los Angeles hit 7 home runs in the game, 5 of them in the final two innings.  It was just the fourth time in history – and first since Minnesota in 1964 – that a team has hit four consecutive home runs.  Three of the home runs came on consecutive pitches.  Marlon Anderson went 5-for-5 in the win with two home runs and is batting .448 (13-for-29 – 4 HR) since being acquired by L.A. on August 31.

 

Meanwhile the Cubs won their 3^rd straight game, and 6^th in their last 8 – all against playoff contending teams – getting two 3-run homers and 7 RBI from Aramis Ramirez to help down the Phillies 11-6.  Cubs starter Sean Marshall allowed 6 runs in the 4^th inning – including a grand slam to Jose Hernandez – but five Chicago relievers shut the door on the Phillies and Ramirez gave the Cubs all the offense they would need.  Jon Lieber allowed 5 runs (4 earned) in 2 1/3 to take the loss.  The Phils nevertheless have won 5-of-7 and sit a game and a half behind San Diego for the Wild Card lead. 

 

Before heading to St. Louis last weekend, San Francisco had the best record in baseball since August 14 (20-9).   Monday they lost for the third straight game, fourth in their last five and fifth time in their last seven.  Lost however, is almost too kind a description as the Rockies tied a club record with 20 runs in the drubbing that left the Giants 4 games out of the Wild Card with just 13 games to play (though their rainout with St. Louis on Sunday will only be made up if necessary).  In their last three games the Giants have allowed 40 runs – including 14 in the first inning – on 39 hits.  After watching his team score three runs in the top of the first to jump out in front, starter Noah Lowry saw the Rox first 6 batters score before recording an out.  All told he allowed 9 runs (all earned) in 1.1 IP, including two 3-run home runs to Jeff “Home Run” Baker.  The homers were the 3^rd and 4^th of Baker’s big league career.

 

The Marlins Wild Card hopes were dealt a severe blow by the Mets whose 4-0 division clinching win came at their expense and left the Fish 4.5 games behind the Padres with just 12 games left on their schedule.  They have lost three in-a-row and 5-of-6 and have to face Tom Glavine (288 career wins) on Tuesday.

 

NL Wild Card

San Diego        – 78-71 –

Philadelphia      – 77-73 1.5

San Francisco   – 74-75 4.0

Florida             – 74-76 4.5

 

Can You Sign This For Me? – Pete Rose managed to lower his chances of making the Hall of Fame even lower on Monday when it was revealed that the all-time hit king signed more than 30 baseballs for private collectors with the inscription “I’m sorry I bet on baseball.”  The balls will be put up for auction by a New Jersey auction house next April. Rose, whose business agent Warren Greene said the former player “made zero dollars for signing them,” is certain to find himself deeper inside commissioner Bud Selig’s doghouse than ever before despite Greene’s contention that Rose didn’t want the balls put up for sale.  The balls were signed by the hits leader for private collectors and some 30 of them were given to memorabilia collector and former Yankee limited partner Barry Halper before his death last December.

 

Hitting Streak Trivia Answer – Joe Wilhoit hit .257 in 782 big league at bats for four different teams over parts of four years but is best known for recording the longest hitting streak in professional baseball history when he hit safely in 69 straight games for Wichita, an independent league team, in 1919.  Wilhoit batted .505 (155-for-299) during his amazing streak and then batted .333 (6-for-18) that September for the Boston Red Sox.  That was his last major league season.

 

Free Swinger Update Pt I – DN&N’s favorite free swinger Jeff Francoeur this past week continued to exhibit a new found patience at the plate, drawing three more walks since last week – including one on Monday – to give him a total of 21 (6 intentional) for the season in 637 plate appearances.  He has really picked up the pace drawing a season high 6 for the month of August and already in September he’s tied that mark by drawing 6 more, giving a total of 12 since August 1.  You might think those can be attributed to intentional base on balls but he’s only had two of those in this stretch as opposed to 4 out of his first 9 walks.  One possibility may be an increase in left handed opponents against whom he does much better (.296/.340/520/.860 vs. LHP - .252/.280/.421/.701 vs. RHP) and draws more BB, though on Monday he drew a walk against right hander Tony Armas Jr.  Let’s break Jeff down a little more then shall we?

 

Francoeur	PA	AB	BB	IBB	ABB	AB/BB	PA/BB	ab/abb	pa/abb
Season	637	604	21	6	15	28.76	30.33	40.27	42.47
Aug	118	109	6	1	5	18.17	19.67	21.80	23.60
Sept	69	63	6	1	5	10.50	11.50	12.60	13.80
April - July	450	432	9	4	5	48.00	50.00	86.40	90.00
Aug - Sept	191	175	12	2	10	14.58	15.92	17.50	19.10
vs. right	475	452	12	1	11	37.67	39.58	41.09	43.18
vs. left	162	152	9	5	4	16.89	18.00	38.00	40.50

 

Free Swinger Update Pt II – With a walk now once every 30.33 PA for the season, Francoeur has not only fallen well off the pace set by Woody Jensen in 1936 (43.50), but he is now behind the pace of both free swinger’s Alfonso Soriano (32.22 PA in 2002) and Larry Bowa (31.17 in 1974).  Unless he picks up the pace even more however, he’s got a shot to produce just the 13^th season in major league history with an OBP under .300 while recording over 700 PA.  His current mark of .295 would tie free swinging former Yankee Bobby Richardson (1 every 22.07 career) for the 11^th worst in history with as many PA.  Out of the 12 previous times that “feat” has occurred, Richardson is the only player with multiple instances (3).  The lowest single season mark in major league history with that many PA?  That belongs to Don Kessinger who recorded a low .283 OBP in 707 PA back in 1968.

 

The top ten free swinging seasons all-time – minimum 700 PA

 

Rk	Player	Year	PA	AB	BB	IBB	ABB	AB/BB	PA/BB	PA/ABB
1	Woody Jensen	1936	731	696	16		16	43.50	45.69	45.69
2	Alfonso Soriano	2002	741	696	23	1	22	30.26	32.22	33.68
3	Larry Bowa	1974	717	669	23	0	23	29.09	31.17	31.17
4	Lou Brock	1967	724	689	24	6	18	28.71	30.17	40.22
5	Felipe Alou	1966	706	666	24	6	18	27.75	29.42	39.22
6	Granny Hamner	1943	700	662	25		25	26.48	28.00	28.00
7	Tony Fernandez	1986	727	687	27	0	27	25.44	26.93	26.93
8	Willie Wilson	1980	745	705	28	3	25	25.18	26.61	29.80
9	Juan Samuel	1984	737	701	28	2	26	25.04	26.32	28.35
10	Neifi Perez	1999	732	690	28	0	28	24.64	26.14	26.14

 

Free Swinger Update Pt III – In recent weeks, DN&N has – though vigorous research at the behest of reader Jim McLean of azsnakepit.com – discovered and presented to you some of the freest swinging seasons in history as well as some of the freest swingers of all-time.  This week however we will put Francoeur’s career in historical perspective and present to you DN&N’s list of the top 20 freest swingers of all-time, including baseball’s ultimate all-time free swinger.  We’ll also present to you our favorite free swinger in the history of major league baseball.  We’ve set the qualifying bar at 1,500 lifetime plate appearances.  Francoeur is currently 1 season away from acquiring enough PA to make the list.  So just where would he stand among the all-time free swingers?  Here are Jeff’s career numbers.

 

Francoeur	PA	AB	BB	IBB	ABB	AB/BB	PA/BB	ab/abb	pa/abb
Career	907	861	32	9	23	26.91	28.34	37.43	39.43

 

1 base on balls every 28.34 PA (39.43 adjusted for IBB) is pretty free swinging but if he keeps up this run of patience he’ll miss out on infamy.  His career mark currently ranks him 24^th on DN&N’s all-time list.  Here are numbers 2-20 on that “un-official” list.  Any readers who should come across someone who belongs on this list are highly encouraged to write in to let us know!

 

	Player	Yrs Pld	PA	AB	BB	IBB	ABB	AB/BB	PA/BB	PA/ABB
2	Whitey Alperman	06-09	1758	1632	30		30	54.40	58.60	58.60
3	Boss Schmidt	06-11	1592	1480	36		36	41.11	44.22	44.22
4	Virgil Stallcup	47-53	2131	2059	51		51	40.37	41.78	41.78
5	Woody Jensen	31-39	2869	2720	69		69	39.42	41.58	41.58
6	Tuck Stainback	34-46	2383	2261	64		64	35.33	37.23	37.23
7	Andres Thomas	85-90	2185	2103	59	13	46	35.64	37.03	47.50
8	Bill Bergen	01-11	3228	3028	88		88	34.41	36.68	36.68
9	Jesus Alou	63-79	4577	4345	138	32	106	31.49	33.17	43.18
10	Deivi Cruz	97-05	4375	4124	132	12	120	31.24	33.14	36.46
11	George Stovall	04-15	5596	5222	172		172	30.36	32.53	32.53
12	Hobe Ferris	01-09	5111	4800	161		161	29.81	31.75	31.75
13	Damaso Garcia	78-89	4124	3914	130	11	119	30.11	31.72	34.66
14	Ossee Schreck	97-08	3216	3057	102		102	29.97	31.53	31.53
15	Shawon Dunston	85-02	6276	5927	203	44	159	29.20	30.92	39.47
16	Harry Bemis	02-10	2405	2229	79		79	28.22	30.44	30.44
17	Bill Killefer	09-21	3400	3150	113		113	27.88	30.09	30.09
18	Ozzie Guillen	85-00	7133	6686	239	25	214	27.97	29.85	33.33
19	Art Fletcher	09-22	6039	5541	203		203	27.30	29.75	29.75
20	Paul Casanova	65-74	2930	2786	101	25	76	27.58	29.01	38.55

 

Note on Bill Bergin (8^th) – Bergin, an ultra-soft hitting catcher recorded a .194 career on-base percentage to go with a .170 career batting average and a .201 career slugging percentage in his remarkably long 10-year major league career with both the Reds and Dodgers. 

 

Free Swinger Update Pt IV – So who does that leave as the freest swinger of all-time?  It’s none other than former Athletic, Brewer and Angel Rob Picciolo - the man who once came to the plate 128 times in a single season without drawing a walk, the third highest such total in history.  Peach drew a total of 25 walks (1 intentional) in 1,720 career plate appearances, an astounding rate of 1 walk every 68.80 times he came to the plate to edge out noted free swinger Whitey Alperman (2 BB in 442 PA in his final season in 1909) who averaged one walk every 58.60.

 

	Player	Yrs	PA	AB	BB	IBB	ABB	AB/BB	PA/BB	PA/ABB
1	Rob Picciolo	77-85	1720	1628	25	1	24	65.12	68.80	71.67

 

Free Swinger Update Pt V – What is even more astounding about Picciolo’s rate is that among all free swingers we’ve uncovered in our research, even most of those with less than 1,500 PA (some significantly less) have lower rates than our man Peach.  Here are some more prolific free swingers without enough qualifying PA.  And yes, that Kenny Williams is none other than the current White Sox GM.

 

Player	Yrs Pld	PA	AB	BB	IBB	ABB	AB/BB	PA/BB	PA/ABB
Alejandro Sanchez	82-87	215	214	1	0	1	214.00	215.00	215.00
Bob Thorpe	51-53	343	331	6	1	5	55.17	57.17	68.60
Angel Salazar	83-88	932	886	19	1	18	46.63	49.05	51.78
Gus Getz	09-18	1172	1114	24		24	46.42	48.83	48.83
Bobby Sturgeon	40-48	1279	1220	34		34	35.88	37.62	37.62
Grover Land	08-15	966	910	27		27	33.70	35.78	35.78
Bert Adams	10-19	725	678	23		23	29.48	31.52	31.52
Joe Cassidy	04-05	1242	1157	40		40	28.93	31.05	31.05
Red Downs	07-12	846	790	28		28	28.21	30.21	30.21
Mario Mendoza	74-82	1456	1337	52	4	48	25.71	28.00	30.33
Kenny Williams	86-91	1253	1154	56	0	56	20.61	22.38	22.38
Chico Ruiz	64-71	1255	1150	58	5	53	19.83	21.64	23.68

 

Free Swinger Update Pt VI – Ok, so if not Picciolo then just who is DN&N’s favorite free swinger of all-time?  Well we don’t know if he’s some distant relation, but in 1905 Ike Van Zandt came to the plate 339 times and drew 7 walks for a rate of 1 every 48.43 PA.  Van Zandt made his debut with the New York Giants in 1901 and played in parts of just three major league seasons.  His career was short and not so sweet (.224/.242/.283) but DN&N proudly proclaims him as our most favorite free swinger ever! 

 

	Yrs Pld	PA	AB	BB	IBB	ABB	AB/BB	PA/BB	PA/ABB
Ike Van Zandt	01, 04-05	356	339	7		7	48.43	50.86	50.86

Questions or comments for Richard? Richard Van Zandt is a staff writer for Baseball Evolution who lives in San Francisco, California. You can reach him at richard@baseballevolution.com.