Monthly Archives: August, 2020

Stats the Fact, Jack; August 31, 2020

(A weekly look at several sports stats you may not know)

  • Josh Hader had a truly dreadful stat line on Friday August 29; coming in the game in the ninth inning in a save situation against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Hader ended up with a blown save after walking five batters and recording only one out (he allowed two earned runs). He left the game with the Brewers behind in the contest, but the team eventually came back to win the contest. Hader became the 20th pitcher since 1909 to pitch less than 1/3 of an inning and record five or more walks. The last time it happened was in 2016 when Steve Delabar of the Reds lasted 0.1 innings and also had five walks. Lou Brissie, a pitcher with the Philadelphia A’s in 1950, is the only pitcher in MLB history to pitch less than 0.1 innings in a game and have six walks.
  • Let’s take a look at the flipside of Hader’s stats: Of all MLB pitchers with 200 or more career innings pitched, Hader tops the list with the highest strikeouts per nine innings. Hader had 363 career strikeouts in 214.1 innings, a per nine innings ratio of 15.24. He is one of only five pitchers to have a career strikeouts per nine innings ratio above 14. The others: Aroldis Chapman (14.81), Edwin Diaz(14.7), Craig Kimbrel (14.64) and Dellin Betances (14.44). All five of the pitchers listed above are active this season. Of those pitchers no longer active, Rob Dibble has the highest strikeouts per nine innings ratio, 12.03.
  • Is it possible that the Baltimore Ravens could win 15 or 16 games this season? If they continue their winning trend over the past five seasons, it might happen. The Ravens won five games in 2015, increased that win total to 8 in 2016, 9 in 2017, 10 in 2018, and won 14 games last season. The only others NFL teams to increase their win totals over the past two seasons are the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks; the Broncos have increased their win totals from 5-6-7 over the past three seasons, while the Seahawks have won 9-10-11 over the past three years. It’s interesting to note that the Tennessee Titans have won exactly nine games in each of their last four seasons.
  • The Green Bay Packers will open the 2020 season against the Minnesota Vikings. The Pack and Vikes have opened the season six times, the last being in 2008 when the Packers won 24-19. The teams are each 3-3 in season-opening contests against each other.
  • There is a pretty good chance that Giannis Antetokounmpo will soon become the fifth Bucks player in team history to surpass the 1,000 point mark in playoff games for the team. Giannis has 934 career points in playoff games. Topping the list is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 1,692 career playoff points for the Bucks. He is followed by Sidney Moncrief (1,451), Marques Johnson (1,163) and Bob Dandridge (1,126). Khris Middleton has jumped into 10th place on the list with 684 career playoff points.
  • In the Giannis-era (since the 2013-14 season), the Bucks have now played in seven playoff series… their eighth will be the upcoming conference semifinals against the Miami Heat. In the previous seven series, the Bucks are 3-4 in the first game of the series. In the four series since 2015 where they lost Game One, the Bucks went on to win the series twice.
  • Ryan Braun recently became the 119th player in MLB history to have 800 or more extra base hits in a career. Of those 119 players, 68 are currently in the Hall of Fame. Braun is only the second Brewers player to reach 800 career extra-base hits; Robin Yount had 960 with the club. Can you name the other three Brewers players who ended their careers with the team with 500 or more career extra-base hits? The three: Paul Molitor (651), Cecil Cooper (579) and Geoff Jenkins (521).
  • Did you know that the Green Bay Packers record for most passing yards in a season-opening game is 333… held by three different QBs? Lynn Dickey (in 1983), Brett Favre (in 1999) and Aaron Rodgers (in 2013) each passed for 333 yards in a Packers season-opening game, most in team history. Dickey holds the team record for most TD passes in a season-opening game with five.

 

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Stats the Fact, Jack: August 17, 2020


(A weekly look at several sports stats you may not know)

  • The Brewers are at the .500 mark (a 10-10 record through games of August 16) with the season one-third of the way complete. The Brew Crew is averaging only 4.0 runs per game in the first 20 games of this season; if the season ended today, that would be the 12th lowest offensive output in team history. The fewest runs per game for a Brewers team was 3.16 in 1972. The second lowest was 3.54 in 1976. That, however, is not the worst news… through games of August 16 this year, the Brewers team batting average is .221; the lowest team batting average for a season was 1971 when the team hit .229. In fact, the four lowest team batting averages were all under .243 and happened in the first four seasons of the franchise: 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1972. One more dreadful stat through the first 20 games: The Brewers offense has averaged 10.1 strikeouts per game. The most strikeouts per game the team have averaged in a season is 9.7 in 2017.
  • Bob Uecker is a Hall of Famer… broadcaster, that is. He has gotten a lot of comedic mileage out of the fact that he had a very mediocre MLB career, and his nickname of “Mr. Baseball,” which came from Johnny Carson, certainly takes advantage of that fact. But did you know that Uecker may have had one of the worst seasons of all time for a player? In 1967, Uecker had 221 plate appearances and a season batting average of .150. He is one of only 11 players since 1901 to have 200 or more plate appearances and a batting average of .150 or below in a season. If that isn’t enough, in that same season, Uecker led the league with the most errors and most passed balls by a catcher. I guess it was a good thing that he was so funny.
  • Aaron Rodgers is one of 28 quarterbacks in NFL history to have 100 or more TD passes in a career and less than 100 career interceptions… Rodgers has 364 career TD passes and only 84 career interceptions. Of all the NFL QBs with fewer than 100 career interceptions, Rodgers has the most TD passes with 364. Russell Wilson is second on the list with only 68 interceptions and 227 career TD passes.
  • Defense will be a big key as the Bucks try to win an NBA title this season. Consider this: The Bucks were 56-17 this season, best record in the NBA; however, they were 11-12 (.478 winning percentage) in games when they allowed the opposition to score 115 or more points in a game, and were 45-5 (.900) when they kept their opponents under 115 points in a game. The Bucks were a perfect 26-0 this season when the defense held foes to 102 or fewer points in a game.
  • Over the last 21 college football seasons, the University of Wisconsin has had four different running backs lead the nation in rushing yards: Ron Dayne (1999), Monte Ball (2011), Melvin Gordon (2014) and Jonathan Taylor (2018). In the last 21 years, only one other school had multiple players lead the nation in rushing yards… San Diego State (Donnel Pumphrey, 2016, and Rashaad Penay, 2017).
  • In the Brewers 6-4 win over the Twins on August 11, the Brew Crew offense hit four home runs. Since 2015, the Brewers are 29-3 in games where they hit four or more HRs. Since 2015, the Brewers are 5-23 in games when their pitching staff allows four or more home runs.
  • Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams has 50 or more receptions in five straight seasons. He joined four others Pack receivers who had 50+ receptions in five or more seasons; Donald Driver tops the list with nine seasons with 50+ catches for the Pack. He is followed by Sterling Sharpe with seven consecutive 50-catch seasons, Antonio Freeman with six straight seasons, and Greg Jennings with five straight seasons with 50 or more receptions for the Packers.
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the 2019-20 NBA season with a points per game average of 29.5 and 13.6 rebounds per game. It was the third season in his career that he averaged 25 or more points and 10 or more rebounds per games in a season. He became the 17th player in NBA history to have three or more 25 points/10 rebounds seasons in an NBA career. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal each had 10 25/10 seasons, most in league history.
  • The “Greek Freak” also finished this NBA season with an amazing stat: He upped his per game points average for the sixth straight season. He averaged 6.8 points per game in his rookie campaign and has upped that stat to 12.7, 16.9, 22.9, 26.9, 27.7 and 29.5 in each subsequent year. What’s even more noteworthy is that he has also upped his rebounds per game stat in each of his seven seasons in the league… he averaged 4.4 boards his rookie year and then upped that stat to 6.7, 7.7, 8.8, 10.0, 12.5 and 13.6.
  • Can you imagine going a whole MLB career without a stolen base? There are quite a few players who never swiped a base in their MLB career, but four of them had 2,000 or more plate appearances and never had a steal. The four: Russ Nixon (2,715 plate appearances and no steals; he played from 1957-68), Chris Snyder (2,459 PA, 2004-13), Johnny Estrada (2,244 PA, 2001-08) and Aaron Robinson (2,191 PA, 1943-51). The Brewers have seven players who had 500 or more plate appearances in a Brewers uniform but no stolen bases. Topping the list is Jesus Aguilar, who had 1,139 plate appearances with the Brewers and no stolen bases. He is followed by Wes Helms (1,030 plate appearances), Hank Aaron (851), Chad Moeller (669), Marc Newfield (583), Adam Lind (572) and Charlie O’Brien (559). The MLB record for most plate appearances with only one career stolen base is held by Gus Triandos, who played from 1953-65. He had 4,424 career plate appearances and only one career stolen base. The Brewers record for most plate appearances with only one career stolen base is 1,664 by Casey McGehee.

 

 

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Stats the Fact, Jack: August 10, 2020

(A weekly look at several sports stats you may not know)

  • Can you have a home field advantage in baseball if there are no fans in the stands? Interesting question. Based on some numbers from the early games played in this year’s abbreviated version of Major League Baseball, it appears that maybe cheering fans do play a role in their team’s success at home. Through games of August 8, MLB home teams are 105-100, a .512 winning percentage. Last season home teams had a winning percentage of .529 for the season. We’ll have to see how this stat plays out the rest of this season.
  • In the Brewers’ 8-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on August 6, Christian Yelich had a home run and walked four times. Yelich became the 100th player in MLB history to have at least one home run and four or more walks in a game in baseball history. It was the 123rd time this feat was accomplished. He also became the first Brewer player to reach these numbers in a game. Yelich also scored three runs in the contest; it was the 43rd time in MLB history that a player had a home run, four or more walks and three or more runs scored in a game in MLB history. Barry Bonds accomplished the feat of a home run and four walks in a game six times in his career… Ted Williams did it five times… Edgar Martinez did it four times… and Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire did it three times each in their careers.
  • The Milwaukee Bucks were the only NBA team this season that had a shot at winning 60 games when the season resumed play in late July. They would have become the 14th team in NBA history to have back-to-back 60-win seasons, but will fall short of the 60-win season this year. The 13 teams that accomplished the feat of back-to-back 60-win seasons: Philadelphia (1967-68), Milwaukee (1971-72-73), L.A. Lakers (1972-73), Boston (1981-82-83), Boston (1984-85-86). L.A. Lakers (1985-86-87-88), Chicago (1991-92), Chicago (1996-97-98), Utah (1997-98), Dallas (2006-07), Cleveland (2009-10), Golden State (2015-16-17), San Antonio (2016-17).
  • The Chicago White Sox have a Rookie of the Year (ROY) candidate in centerfielder Luis Robert. Through the first 15 games of this season, Robert is batting .322 with nine runs scored, six RBI and four stolen bases. The Sox have had six ROY in their history: Jose Abreu (2014), Ozzie Guillen (1985), Ron Kittle (1983), Tommie Agee (1966), Gary Peters (1963) and Luis Aparicio (1956).
  • Did you know that based on a player’s age as of June 30, Prince Fielder hit the most HRs with the Brewers in his 20’s? Fielder hit 230 home runs with the Brewers in seasons age 20-29. Second on the list is Ryan Braun, who hit 211 home runs with the Brewers in his 20s. Robin Yount hit 11 homers as a teenager with the Brewers, tops in that age group (Gary Sheffied is second with four dingers). Most home runs by a Brewer player in his 30’s? Ben Oglivie with 158 followed by Cecil Cooper (144). Hank Aaron has the most HRs by a Brewers player in his 40s with 22. He is followed by Jim Edmonds with eight. (Source: Research on baseball-reference.com).
  • There has been speculation in the media that the Packers might take a look at former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown to upgrade their receiving corp. Might not be a bad idea based on this stat: Brown holds the NFL record for most consecutive games with seven or more receptions with 14 games. He is followed by Michael Thomas (New Orleans) and Demaryius Thomas (Denver) who each caught seven or more passes in eight consecutive games. The Packers record is held by Davante Adams who caught seven or more passes in five straight games.
  • When Aaron Rodgers throws his first TD pass in the 2020 regular season, he will become the second Packers QB to have thrown a regular season TD pass in three different decades. Rodgers had his first TD pass in 2007, tossed a bunch of them in the 2010s, and will likely throw a few this decade. The other Packers QB to have a TD in three different decades is Bart Starr. He had his first TD pass for the Packers in 1956 and then threw TD passes in the 60’s and 70’s.
  • The Brewers 1-0 win over the White Sox on August 5 was their first 1-0 win since April 3, 2019 when they defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0. It was the 80th 1-0 win for the Brewers in the team’s history. Since 2015, there have been 213 1-0 games in the majors. The San Francisco Giants have won 14 of those games, tops in the majors. The other teams with 11 or more 1-0 wins since 2015: L.A. Dodgers (13), Chicago Cubs (13), Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay (each with 11).
  • San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. recently became the ninth player in MLB history to hit 30 home runs in the first 100 games of his career. The others: Mark McGwire (he hit 37 in his first 100 games), Cody Bellinger (34), Rudy York (33), Pete Alonso (33), Gary Sanchez (33), Jose Abreu (31), Tatis Jr. (30), Aaron Judge (30) and Ryan Braun (30).
  • The Brewers have gotten off to a relatively slow start which may not bode well in this shortened season. They may have to depend on another September charge to make the playoffs. In September of 2018 and 2019, the Brewers had the second-best record in the majors. The Brew Crew was a combined 40-14 (.741) in regular season games after September 1 in 2018 and 2019. The Houston Astros were 40-12 (.769) those two seasons in September contests, tops in the majors. If you go all the way back to 2010, the Brewers were 159-123 in September games, fifth best in the MLB.
  • One final thought: Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick are no longer dating… Patrick said she was a Bears fan before her and Rodgers started dating… former Bears QB Jay Cutler and wife Kristin Cavallari are headed for divorce… does it make sense for Jay Cutler to start dating Danica Patrick? Just wondering.

 

 

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Stats the Fact, Jack: August 2, 2020

(A weekly look at several sports stats you may not know)

  • On June 29, four Brewers pitchers (Brandon Woodruff, David Phelps, Devin Williams and Josh Hader) combined on a one-hit shutout in the team’s 3-0 win over the Pirates. It was the first one-hit shutout by the Brew Crew pitching staff since May 7, 2011 when Yovani Gallardo and John Axford combined on a one-hit shutout of the Cardinals in a Brewers’ 4-0 victory. The last one-hit, complete game shutout by one pitcher for the Brewers was August 31, 2008 when CC Sabathia did it against the Pirates in a 7-0 Brewers win.
  • In that same June 29th game, the Brewers pitching staff had 14 strikeouts. It was the 92nd game in team history where the pitching staff had 14 or more strikeouts. The Brewers are 62-30 in those games.
  • Through the first six games of the 2020 season, Christian Yelich was one-for-27, a .037 batting average. In his previous two seasons in Milwaukee, Yelich was 9-for-22 (in 2019) and 10-for-26 (in 2018) in his first six games of those two seasons, a combined average of .396. In his career prior to this season, Yelich was 51-for-170 in the first six games of a season, a .300 average.
  • From 2010-19, the New England Patriots were 24-0 in games where one of their players amassed 100 or more yards rushing, the only undefeated team in that timeframe. The league as a whole was 761-284-7 (a .727 winning percentage) when teams had one player gain at least 100 yards rushing in a contest. The Packers were 20-5-1 (.788) from 2010-19 in games where they had a running back gain 100 or more yards in a game.
  • Former MLB manager John McNamara died on July 28, 2020 at the age of 88. He was the skipper for six different MLB teams in his career (Oakland, San Diego, Cincinnati, California, Boston and Cleveland) and won 1160 games in his managerial career. He is one of 64 managers in league history to win 1,000 or more games as a manager. He managed in one World Series… with the Boston Red Sox in 1986.
  • On one baseball broadcast I watched, there was discussion about how many home runs would lead the majors in the game-shortened season (60 games). The announcers opined that they thought 20 might lead the league this year. For the record, the most home runs in the first 60 games of a season is 32 by Barry Bonds in 2001. He is followed by Mark McGwire with 28 in the first 60 games of the 1998 seasons; Mickey Mantle with 27 HRs in the first 60 games of the 1956 campaign; and Babe Ruth with 27 long balls in the first 60 games of the 1928 season. The most home runs by a Brewers player in the first 60 games of a season happened last year when Christian Yelich had 22 in the first 60 games. Prince Fielder held the record with 21 HRs after the first 60 games of the 2007 season. Carlos Lee (2006) and Richie Sexson (2003) each hit 19 homers in the first 60 games of a season with the Brewers.
  • Prior to the start of the eight-game bubble season for the NBA, the Bucks had two players averaging over 20 points per game for the 2019-20 season: Giannis at 29.6 and Khris Middleton at 21.1. If they both finish the season over 20 points per game, it would be the third time in four years that the Bucks had two players average 20.0-plus points per game in a season. In 2017-18, Giannis and Middleton averaged 26.9 and 20.1 respectively; in 2016-17, Jabari Parker averaged 20.1 and Giannis averaged 22.9 per game. In three straight years starting with the 1999-2000 season, Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson each averaged over 20 points per game in a season for the Bucks, the only time in team history that the same two players averaged 20 or more points per game in three consecutive seasons.
  • Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones tied with Christian McCaffrey for the most TDs in the NFL last season with 19. Jones was 12th in the league with 1,084 rushing yards. Tennessee’s Derrick Henry led the league in rushing with 1,540 yards. The Packers have had a player lead the league in rushing only once in team history: Jim Taylor led the NFL in rushing in 1962 with 1,474 yards.
  • The shortened MLB season will likely prevent a few players from reaching important milestones in their careers. The Cubs’ Jon Lester started the season with 190 career wins and appeared a sure bet to reach 200 this season; he had won at least 10 games in 11 of his 15 seasons. Now reaching 200 this year could be a tough road for him. On the batters’ side, Yadier Molina and Ryan Braun were two players who looked like they would pass the 2,000-hit mark this season. Molina started the year with 1,963 career hits; Braun had 1,933.
  • Speaking of 2,000 hits, Ian Kinsler, who played for the San Diego Padres last season, announced his retirement in December, 2019. Kinsler had 1,999 career hits in a 14-year career and it looks like he will end his career one hit short of 2,000. One other MLB player ended his career with 1,999 hits: Jimmy Collins, who played from 1895-1908.

 

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