Matt Forte carries the rushing workload for the Bears
Matt Forte... Image via Wikipedia
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Sunday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.
There has been a lot written that Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte is looking for a new contract. If workload alone was a criteria for Forte’s request, the running back who leads the Bears in most yards rushing and most yards receiving, deserves a new contract.
Forte has gained 672 of the Bears 803 yards rushing, 83.7% of the team’s rushing total. This percentage is tops among the 32 NFL teams. There are seven running backs who have 70% or more of their team’s rushing yards. The seven:
Matt Forte, Chicago 83.7%
Michael Turner, Atlanta, 78.7%
Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville, 78.0%
Cedric Benson, Cincinnati, 72.5%
Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants, 72.1%
Chris Wells, Arizona, 71.9%
Fred Jackson, Buffalo, 71.0%
On the other side of the coin, a handful of NFL teams are spreading the wealth when it comes to the ground attack. For example:
* Dallas and Indianapolis each have two players with 250 or more rushing yards.
* Philadelphia has two players with 350 or more rushing yards.
* Houston has two players with 400 or more rushing yards.
* New Orleans has three players with 200 or more rushing yards.
* Carolina has three players with 250 or more rushing yards.
SIX STATS you might not know about… World Series Game Seven!
SIX STATS… is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ and is published every Friday.
Image via Wikipedia
Game Seven… tonight… in St. Louis. This is the first Game Seven of the World Series since 2002 when Anaheim defeated the San Francisco Giants.
Does either team have the upper hand? Maybe a few of these stats will give us a hint:
1. The home team has won the last eight Game Sevens and nine of the last 11. Since 1969, the home team is 9-4 in the deciding Game Seven of the World Series.
2. The team that scores first in Game Seven has won 21 and lost 13. The team that has scored first has won 13 of the last 19.
3. A team scoring four or more runs in Game Seven is 23-4; teams scoring four or more runs in a Game Seven have won 10 of the last 11 times it has happened. The last team to score four or more runs in a Game Seven and lose were the Boston Red Sox in 1986, who lost 8-5. You can probably expect a low-scoring game… the last five Game Sevens have been 4-1, 3-2, 3-2, 1-0, 4-2.
4. A team that scores two or more runs in one of more innings is 28-12 in Game Sevens; the first team to score two or more runs in an inning in a Game Seven is 21-8.
5. Teams that have not committed an error in Game Seven has won 19 and lost 11.
6. The team that had the better regular season record has won 14 Game Sevens and lost 19. Two teams with the same regular season record played in a Game Seven.
BONUS: The winner of Game Six (to tie the series at 3-3) has won 8 of the last 9 Game Sevens. Could this stat and St. Louis being the home team spell a Game Seven win for the Cardinals?
Where does Albert Pujols rank among baseball’s all-time greatest hitters?
Albert Pujols... Image via Wikipedia
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog that is published every Wednesday and Friday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.
With his three HRs in Game Three of the World Series, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols continues to build an impressive resume that will likely get him into baseball’s Hall of Fame five years after his retirement. He has won three National League MVP awards (and finished second in the balloting three times), was the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 2001, and has been selected to nine N.L. All-Star teams.
But here’s the question: Where does Pujols rank among baseball’s all-time greatest hitters? Consider… a .328 career batting average, 445 homers and 100 or more RBIs in ten of his 11 seasons. Great credentials and numbers!
Let me offer the following criteria to analyze Pujols and how he compares with the other great hitters in the game’s history. My definition of a great hitter would include a player who hits for a high average, someone who hits for power, and a hitter with a great eye at the plate. To quantify what I just said, let’s look at how many hitters have accomplished the following in a season (Why the following criteria? It’s my blog!):
* Hit .300 or better
* Hit 30 or more home runs
* Walk 100 or more times
* Strike out less than 100 times.
With these numbers as a definition of a player who had a “great hitter” season, we see that only 28 players have had one or more “great hitter” seasons in major league history. In fact, this year only one player met the above criteria: Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. Cabrera hit .344, slugged 30 home runs, walked 108 times and struck out 89 times.
Following are the players in baseball history who had one or more seasons where they batted over .300, hit 30 or more HRs, walked 100 or more times, and had less than 100 strikeouts.
‘Great Hitter’ Seasons, Player
11….. Babe Ruth
9….. Lou Gehrig, Barry Bonds
8….. Ted Williams
5….. Jimmie Foxx, Frank Thomas
4….. Mel Ott, Mickey Mantle
3….. Stan Musial, Gary Sheffield, Albert Pujols
2….. Ralph Kiner, Jason Giambi, Todd Helton
1….. Hack Wilson, Hank Greenberg, Duke Snider, Norm Cash, Willie McCovey, Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Smith, George Brett, Dwight Evans, Jeff Bagwell, Chipper Jones, Brian Giles, Luis Gonzales
There’s no doubt that Pujols is one of the game’s greatest players and is definitely one of its great hitters. Exactly where does he rank among the greatest hitters? You be the judge! In fact, send me your ranking of your three greatest hitters in major league history. We’ll see how the voting plays out.
The NFL’s winningest coaches… by the alphabet!
Jeff Fisher... Image via Wikipedia
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Friday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.
Not only did Jeff Fisher leave the Tennessee Titans after the 2010 season as their winningest coach, but he also left as the winningest coach in NFL history with the last name starting with “F.”
For a little light-hearted fun, here’s a look at the winningest coaches in NFL history… based on the alphabet. The only active coach on the list? San Diego’s Norv Turner who tops the “T” coaches with 103 wins.
A: George Allen, 116
B: Paul Brown, 213
C: Bill Cowher, 149
D: Tony Dungy, 139
E: Weeb Ewbank, 130
F: Jeff Fisher, 142
G: Bud Grant, 158
H: George Halas, 318
I: Lindy Infante, 36
J: Jimmy Johnson, 80
K: Chuck Knox, 186
L: Tom Landry, 250
M: Jim Mora, 125
N: Chuck Noll, 193
O: Steve Owen, 151
P: Bill Parcells, 172
Q: (None)
R: Dan Reeves, 190
S: Don Shula, 328
T: Norv Turner, 103
U: Rube Ursella, 12
V: Dick Vermeil, 120
W: Bill Walsh, 92
X: (None)
Y: Swede Youngstrom, 4
Z: Jim Zorn, 12
SIX STATS you might not know about… the World Series
Image via Wikipedia
“SIX STATS…” is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ and is published every Friday.
1. The only two franchises that joined Major League Baseball after 1969 that have never appeared in a World Series are the Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals (previously Montreal Expos).
2. The six teams that have played in the World Series but have never won are: Houston, Milwaukee (previously Seattle Pilots), San Diego, Colorado, Tampa Bay and Texas (could this be their year?). The two teams that have played in only one World Series but won that series are Arizona (2001) and Anaheim (2002).
3. The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates are the last team to win a World Series Game Seven on the road. Game Seven has been won by the home team in the last eight World Series where a Game Seven has been played.
4. Eighteen of the 106 World Series have been four-game sweeps.
5. Two American League Wild Card teams have won the World Series: Anaheim (2002) and Boston (2004). Two National League Wild Card teams have won the World Series: Florida (1997) and Florida (2003).
6. The New York Yankees have played in 40 World Series, tops in the A.L. The St. Louis have now played in 18 World Series, tied with the Dodgers and Giants, for most appearances in the NL. The Yankees and the Cardinals have played against each other five times in the World Series (1926, 1928, 1942, 1943, 1964). Either the Yankees or the Cardinals (or both) have appeared in 53 of the 107 World Series.
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