When was the last time your MLB team had a player with 50-plus HRs?
Miguel Cabrera (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
With 36 games left in the Orioles 2013 schedule, Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis looks like a shoo-in to hit 50 or more home runs this season. He would become the first Orioles player with 50-plus homers since Brady Anderson hit 50 in 1996.
There is an outside chance that Miguel Cabrera will reach the 50-HR mark. Cabrera has 40 round-trippers with 36 games left. If he could reach the 50-mark, he would become the first Tigers players to reach 50 home runs since Cecil Fielder hit 51 in 1990.
Looking at each of the current 30 MLB franchises, 11 of them have never had a player hit 50 or more HRs in a season. Here are those 11 teams; also listed is the player who holds the club record for home runs in a season.
Team (Franchise HR record)
Chicago White Sox (Albert Belle, 49 in 1998)
Colorado (Todd Helton, 49 in 2001; Larry Walker, 49 in 1997)
Houston (Jeff Bagwell, 47 in 2000)
Kansas City (Steve Balboni, 36 in 1985)
Los Angeles Angels (Troy Glaus, 47 in 2000)
Los Angeles Dodgers (Shawn Green, 49 in 2001)
Miami (Gary Sheffield, 42 in 1996)
Minnesota (Harmon Killebrew, 49 in 1969)
New York Mets (Carlos Beltran, 41 in 2006; Todd Hundley, 41 in 1996)
Tampa Bay (Carlos Pena, 46 in 2007)
Washington (Alfonso Soriano, 46 in 2006)
Of the remaining 19 teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates have had the longest wait for a 50-HR player. The Pirates last player to hit 50 or more homers in a season was in 1949 when Ralph Kiner slugged 54.
Here’s a look at the last time the other 19 teams had a player hit 50 or more HRs in a season.
Team (Player, HRs, season)
Pittsburgh (Ralph Kiner, 54 in 1949)
Cincinnati (George Foster, 52 in 1977)
Detroit (Cecil Fielder, 51 in 1990)
Baltimore (Brady Anderson, 50 in 1996)
Oakland (Mark McGwire, 52 in 1996)
Seattle (Ken Griffey, Jr., 56 in 1998)
San Diego (Greg Vaughn, 50 in 1998), 65 in 1999)
St. Louis (Mark McGwire
Arizona (Luis Gonzalez, 57 in 2001)
Chicago Cubs (Sammy Sosa, 64 in 2001)
San Francisco (Barry Bonds 73 in 2001)
Cleveland (Jim Thome, 52 in 2002)
Texas (Alex Rodriguez, 57 in 2002)
Atlanta (Andruw Jones, 51 in 2005)
Boston (David Ortiz, 54 in 2006)
Philadelphia (Ryan Howard, 58 in 2006)
New York Yankees (Alex Rodriguez, 54 in 2007)
Milwaukee (Prince Fielder, 50 in 2007)
Toronto (Jose Bautista, 54 in 2010)
Did you know? As you might expect, the Yankees have the most season with a player hitting 50 or more home runs with 8. The Cubs are next with five; the Giants have had four.
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99 Stats Until Kickoff (#85) POP Score rankings reveal 2012 most efficient offense in the NFL
From May 30 and every day until September 5… the start of the 2013 NFL season… Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ will publish “99 Stats Until Kickoff” a daily dose of NFL stats that will get you ready for the 2013 NFL season.)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The New England Patriots were the NFL’s leading offensive team in 2012, ranking first in points scored and first in yards gained. They were also ranked the number one team in a new offensive stat that measured the offensive efficiency of each team. The Pats ranked first in the league in POP Score rankings for 2012.
POP Score is based on the simple premise that it is the offensive team’s objective to score a touchdown (or at the least, kick a field goal) in each possession. POP Score stands for Points per Offensive Possession.
Here’s how it works: The Falcons in Week One had nine possessions in their game. On four of the possessions, they scored a touchdown. On four of their possessions they kicked a field goal. They punted once. They scored 24 points on their four TDs (extra points are not included in Pop Score); 12 points on their four field goals. The Atlanta offense scored 36 points on nine possessions. By dividing the 36 points by the nine possessions, you get a POP Score of 4.0. Maximum POP Score is 6.0, which would indicate that a team scored a touchdown every time they had an offensive possession.)
Notice that eight of the 12 teams that made the playoffs last season are ranked in the top 12 teams in this category.
Here’s a look at the POP Score rankings for the 2012 regular season.
- Team, POP Score, (Season Offensive Scores/Possessions)
- New England 2.53 (89 scores in 177 possessions)
- New York Giants 2.21 (77 scores in 164 possessions)
- Atlanta 2.17 (77 scores in 167 possessions)
- Denver 2.14 (75 scores in 174 possessions)
- Washington 2.11 (71 scores in 168 possessions)
- Seattle 2.09 (67 scores in 157 possessions)
- New Orleans 2.08 (71 scores in 179 possessions)
- Green Bay 2.06 (70 scores in 173 possessions)
- San Francisco 1.98 (68 scores in 168 possessions)
- Dallas 1.86 (66 scores in 166 possessions)
- Baltimore 1.83 (69 scores in 177 possessions)
- Minnesota 1.82 (69 scores in 171 possessions)
- Tampa Bay 1.81 (68 scores in 179 possessions)
- Carolina 1.8 (57 scores in 163 possessions)
- Cincinnati 1.8 (69 scores in 180 possessions)
- Houston 1.78 (72 scores in 190 possessions)
- Detroit 1.73 (70 scores in 187 possessions)
- Indianapolis 1.68 (60 scores in 168 possessions)
- Pittsburgh 1.64 (62 scores in 177 possessions)
- Buffalo 1.58 (57 scores in 177 possessions)
- Chicago 1.56 (59 scores in 174 possessions)
- San Diego 1.51 (55 scores in 169 possessions)
- Oakland 1.47 (59 scores in 177 possessions)
- Philadelphia 1.41 (55 scores in 176 possessions)
- Miami 1.41 (51 scores in 168 possessions)
- Cleveland 1.4 (57 scores in 182 possessions)
- Tennessee 1.32 (52 scores in 179 possessions)
- St. Louis 1.32 (49 scores in 171 possessions)
- New York Jets 1.21 (47 scores in 181 possessions)
- Jacksonville 1.15 (50 scores in 187 possessions)
- Kansas City 1.04 (45 scores in 178 possessions)
- Arizona 1.0 (46 scores in 201 possessions)
NFL POP Score league average for 2012: 1.7
“99 Stats Before Kickoff” (Stats you need to know before the start of the 2013 NFL season) is available from e-book publisher Smashwords. Go to www.smashwords.com to download a copy, including a pdf version which can be viewed on your home computer. Cost is $2.99.
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