MLB players with 250 home runs for one team
In the span of one week, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun hit three milestone home runs. On August 12 he homered off of the Cubs’ Jason Hammel for his 250th HR, making him the 84th player in MLB history to hit 250 or more home runs for one team. On the 16th he hit a home run off the Phil’s Aaron Harang for his 251st HR as a Brewer, tying him with Robin Yount for the franchise career home run record. Then on August 19th against the Marlins Braun hit a solo HR off former teammate Chris Narveson in the bottom of the sixth for his 252nd HR, most career HRs in Brewers history.
The Brewers are now one of 21 MLB franchises to have two (or more) players with 250-plus career HRs with the club. There are still five franchises that have not had a player hit 250 home runs with their team. The five: Arizona, Miami, San Diego, Tampa Bay and Washington.
Here’s a quick look at the teams with the most players who have hit 250+ home runs with their team.
10: N.Y. Yankees
6: Boston
5: Atlanta, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati, Detroit, Oakland
4: Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Francisco
3: Houston, L.A. Dodgers, Minnesota, St. Louis, Seattle
2: Chicago White Sox, Colorado, L.A. Angels, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Texas
1: Cleveland, Kansas City, N.Y. Mets, Toronto
0: Arizona, Miami, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Washington
Who might be the next player added to the list of players to hit 250 HRs with a team? Up until a few days ago, Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies was a good choice to be the next man up. He, however, was traded to the L.A. Dodgers on August 19. Utley had 233 homers with the Phillies.
Barring any trades or retirements, there are two good candidates to join the list, most likely next season. Toronto’s Jose Bautista has 233 HRs with the Blue Jays; N.Y. Nets third baseman David Wright has 232 long balls with the Mets.
One final note: There are 26 players in MLB history with 500 or more home runs. The player that has come the closest to hitting 250 home runs with two teams is Manny Ramirez. He had 236 HRs with the Indians and 224 with the Red Sox.
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“250 Stats Every Packers Fan Needs to Know” book available September 10
Looking for a way to be a more knowledgeable Packers fan? Want to surprise family and friends with facts about the Packers that will make them envious of you?
“250 Stats Every Packers Fan Needs to Know” is an entertaining, informative and fun look at the 2014 Green Bay Packers season and past history. These stats are not your typical sports numbers… they provide insight to the 2014 Packers season (and past), addressing stats on the players, the team, coaches, opposing teams and players, and fun, off-the-wall numbers you can’t find anywhere else. For example, readers will discover:
* The stat that John Kuhn shares with only two other players in NFL history.
* The Packers win-loss record when Aaron Rodgers has more interceptions than TD passes in a game.
* How the Packers are only a .500 team in the last 15 years when they play games outside their time zone.
* How the Packers are the best NFL team when it comes to the last game of the NFL regular season.
* Based on statistics, why receiver Randall Cobb is one of the greatest runners in NFL history.
That’s just a sample of what this book contains. The overall theme of this book (and the focus on my writing and researching it) was to provide stats and numbers that readers will say, “I did not know that” when they read the 250 stats. I think this could be a great fun read for Packers fans and football fans in general.
Written by Jerry Tapp and published by Book Baby, “250 Stats Every Packers Fan Needs to Know” is now available in ebook format for Nook and Kindle (cost is $9.99). Printed versions of the book will be released on September 10 )cost is $12.99); Amazon and Barnes & Noble are currently accepting pre-orders for the book.
Packers Preview: Stats you need to know… Fun Stuff (Part One)
Over the next weeks until the 2015 NFL season starts on September 10, I will be posting some stats from my book, “250 Stats Every Packers Fan Needs to Know.” It is now available in ebook format through Amazon and Barnes and Noble (cost is $9.99). Amazon and Barnes & Noble are now accepting pre-orders for the printed versions (cost $12.99) which has a release date of September 10.
168 With their 12-4 record in 2014, the Packers remain in first place for the NFC’s best team of the century. Green Bay is 151-88-1 (.631 winning percentage) since 2000. They are six games ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles, who have a 145-94-1 record (.606) this century, the second-best record in the NFC. The AFC has the top three teams in the race for the “NFL Team of the Century”… the New England Patriots lead the way with a 175-65 mark (.729) followed by Indianapolis, 160-80 (.667) and Pittsburgh, 154-85-1 (.644). The only other team to have a winning percentage at .600 or above since 2000 are the Baltimore Ravens (144-96, .600).
172 In the Super Bowl era (since 1966), the oldest Packer to score a touchdown was Zeke Bratkowski. He was 39 years, 355 days when he scored a TD in a game in 1971. Here are the oldest Packers to score a TD since 1966 (listed in parenthesis is the year they scored the TD):
Zeke Bratkowski, 39-355 (1971)
Bart Starr, 37-337 (1971)
Wesley Walls, 37-299 (2003)
Donald Driver, 37-269 (2012)
Donald Driver, 37-224 (2012)
Brett Favre, 37-019 (2006)
The only other Packer player age 35 or older to score a TD in a game since 1966 was Lynn Dickey.
181 Did you know that two kickers have worn number 13 as Packers? Chester Marcol and Chris Jacke.
187 Green Bay is 8-11 since 1966 in games played outdoors in temperatures 80 degrees and above. They are 31-37-1 in games played outdoors in temperatures 70 degrees and above; they are 10-8 in those home games at 70 degrees and above.
190 Jordy Nelson has the most touchdowns for the Packers this decade (2010-14) with 45. Following is a by-decade look at the Green Bay player who had the most TDs in each decade:
1920’s: Verne Lewellen, 35
1930’s: Don Hutson, 38
1940’s: Don Hutson, 67
1950’s: Bill Howton, 43
1960’s: Jim Taylor, 81
1970’s: John Brockington, 32
1980’s: James Lofton, 40
1990’s: Sterling Sharpe, 52
2000’s: Ahman Green, 68
2010’s: Jordy Nelson, 45
Don Hutson had the most TDs in the 1900’s with 105; Ahman Green has the most Green Bay TDs this century with 68.
194 Thirteen NFL teams since the 1970 merger had more field goals than touchdowns in a season when they made the playoffs. The 1972 Packers were the second team to do so with 33 field goals and 29 TDs. Following are the 13 NFL teams that since 1970 had more field goals than TDs in a playoff season:
Team, Year, Field Goals made/Touchdowns scored (playoff outcome)
San Francisco 49ers, 2011: 44/35 (lost NFC Championship Game)
Tennessee Titans, 2007: 35/28 (lost Wild Card game)
Baltimore Ravens, 2000: 35/32 (Won Super Bowl)
Miami Dolphins, 1999: 39/30 (Lost AFC divisional playoff game)
Carolina Panthers, 1996: 37/36 (Lost NFC Championship Game)
Indianapolis Colts, 1996: 36/30 (Lost Wild Card game)
Dallas Cowboys, 1996: 32/27 (Lost NFC divisional playoff game)
Los Angeles Raiders, 1993: 35/29 (Lost AFC divisional playoff game)
Detroit Lions, 1993: 34/28 (Lost Wild Card game)
Washington Redskins, 1982: 20/19 (Won Super Bowl)
Tampa Bay Bucs, 1982: 18/15 (Lost Wild Card game)
Green Bay Packers, 1972: 33/29 (Lost NFC divisional playoff game)
Washington Redskins, 1971: 29/27 (Lost NFC divisional playoff game)
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MLB teams, divisions that have benefitted from the Wild Card
The Toronto Blue Jays are in second place in the American League East one and one-half games behind the division-leading New York Yankees. The Jays are, however, leading the A.L. Wild Card race with a three-game lead for the first of the two wild card playoff spots.
Since Major League Baseball went to the Wild Card format in 1995, the Blue Jays have never been a Wild Card team. Should they lose out to the Yankees for the A.L. East crown but win one of the two A.L. Wild Card spots, it would be a first for the team.
There have been 23 Wild Card teams in the MLB playoffs in each league since ’95 (MLB added a second Wild Card for each league starting with the 2012 season). Did you know which team has benefitted the most from the Wild Card since its inception? If you guessed the Boston Red Sox, give yourself a pat on the back. The Red Sox have been a Wild Card representative in baseball’s playoffs seven times. Their division-mates, the Yankees, are second on the list with four appearances in the post-season as a Wild Card team. The Cardinals and Rockies have made it to the MLB playoffs as a Wild Card three times each since 1995, tied for most in the National League.
Here’s a look at how many times each division has had a team win the Wild Card spot in the MLB playoffs since ’95.
American League East: 15
American League West: 5
American League Central: 3
National League Central: 10
National League West 7
National League East: 6
Through games of August 20, the Blue Jays and Angels hold the two A.L. Wild Card spots while in the National League a pair of N.L. Central teams, the Pirates and Cubs, are holding tight to the Wild Card spots.
Prior to the start of this season, there were eight franchises that have never won a Wild Card spot in the playoffs since 1995. They are: A.L. East (Toronto), A.L. Central (Chicago White Sox and Minnesota), A.L. West (Houston)*, N.L. East (Philadelphia and Washington), N.L. West (Arizona and San Diego).
- The Astros were a Wild Card team twice in the N.L. Central, but have not won a Wild Card spot in the A.L. West.
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Packers Preview: Stats you need to know… The Team (Part Two)
Over the next weeks until the 2015 NFL season starts on September 10, I will be posting some stats from my book, “250 Stats Every Packers Fan Needs to Know.” It is now available in ebook form through Amazon and Barnes and Noble; cost is $9.99. Amazon is now accepting pre-orders for the printed versions (cost $12.99) which has a release date of September 10.
104 The Packers in 2014 became the seventh NFL franchise to have two (or more) players amass 1,000 or more career points with the team. Ryan Longwell holds the team record with 1,054 points; Mason Crosby now has 1,037 career points with the Pack. The other franchises with multiple players with 1,000 career points with the team:
Chicago (Kevin Butler and Robbie Gould)
Cleveland (Lou Groza, Phil Dawson and Don Cockroft)
Detroit (Jason Hanson and Eddie Murray)
Kansas City (Nick Lowery and Jan Stenerud)
New England (Stephen Gostkowski, Adam Vinatieri and Gino Cappelletti)
Tennessee/Houston (Al Del Greco and Rob Bironas)
There are only two non-kickers who have totaled over 1,000 points in their NFL careers: Jerry Rice (1,256 points) and Emmitt Smith (1,052 points).
109 The last year the Packers started the season losing their first two games was in 2006. The Denver Broncos have not started a season 0-2 since 1999, the longest stretch in the league.
118 The Packers are 8-22-1 (.421 winning percentage) since 2000 in games where they had only seven points (or less) entering the fourth quarter. That was the case in 2014 when they faced Detroit in Week #3. They lost that game 19-7.
123 One key to the Packers success in 2014 was their ability to score quickly (and often) in the first quarter. Green Bay led the NFL in 2014 with 151 points in the first quarter. They were third in the league with 159 points scored in the second quarter, and led the league with 310 points in the first half. But the second half was a different story for the Pack. The Packers were 12th in the league in third quarter scoring (84 points) and 21st in fourth quarter scoring (92 points). They were 19th in the league in second half scoring (176 points). One more note: The Packers allowed opponents to score 133 points in the fourth quarter, third most in the league.
131 In Week #3 of the 2014 season, the Packers held the Detroit Lions to under 20 points. Unfortunately, the Packers were only able to score seven points in the game. Since 2000, Green Bay is 92-13 (.876) in games where they hold opponents under 20 points. The Packers have won 13 of their last 14 games when their defense keeps the opposition under 20 points.
148 Green Bay has won 24 of their last 26 regular season games in which their defense had two or more interceptions. Since 2000 the team is 73-13 (.849) in such games. In the playoffs the Packers are 3-1 in games where the “D” has two or more interceptions.
155 The Packers were tied at halftime in two games in 2014, both losses to New Orleans and Buffalo. Green Bay has now lost six straight in games where they are tied at halftime. The team is 3-10 since 2000 in games where they are tied at half.
161 In their 55-14 win over the Bears on November, 9, the Packers had six different players score a touchdown: Brandon Bostick, Randall Cobb, Casey Hayward, Eddie Lacy, Jordy Nelson and Andrew Quarless. That tied the team record for most players scoring TDs in a game; six players scored TDs in the Pack’s 55-7 win over Tennessee in 2012. The six: Cobb, Ryan Grant, DaJuan Harris, Greg Jennings, Aaron Rodgers and James Jones.
Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp
Sports Stats 'on Tapp' 