A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Okay . . . let's try this again.

Moderators: Shirley, Sabo, brian, rass, DaveInSeattle

Post Reply
tennbengal
The Dude
Posts: 11975
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:07 pm

A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by tennbengal »

This one is suitable for sitting around and shooting the shit with baseball fans...and I came up with this one on my own:

There are 32 members of the 3000 hit club in MLB - but only one never had 180 or more hits in a season...

Name that player

(and don't look it up - this one is fascinating (to me anyway))
User avatar
mister d
The Dude
Posts: 29045
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:15 am

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by mister d »

First instinct is to say its Rickey because he walked so much.
Johnnie wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:13 pmOh shit, you just reminded me about toilet paper.
tennbengal
The Dude
Posts: 11975
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:07 pm

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by tennbengal »

mister d wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:52 am First instinct is to say its Rickey because he walked so much.
I hate you.
User avatar
brian
The Dude
Posts: 27740
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:52 am
Location: Downtown Las Vegas

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by brian »

[+] spoiler
My first guess was Eddie Murray and I was close! (His highest ever was 186 and only topped 180 three times).
Bandwagon fan of the 2023 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!
tennbengal
The Dude
Posts: 11975
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:07 pm

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by tennbengal »

And...yup.

This came up because of the hits after 40 question last week - I didn't go with Rickey because I wasn't sure if he fit the "2000 and after" limiter so I looked him up afterwards.

His career high in hits was just 179. His only other time even above 170 was one other year when he had 172.

That...when I looked at his stats, that just blew me away. I would have figured he fell into 200 hits at some point. The other limiting factor in looking at his games played was he missed a good chunk of time in a LOT of seasons.
User avatar
Nonlinear FC
The Dude
Posts: 10739
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 2:09 pm

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by Nonlinear FC »

[+] spoiler
Cal Ripken the younger
Only guessing this due to what would make you, personally, interested.
Last edited by Nonlinear FC on Thu May 21, 2020 9:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
You can lead a horse to fish, but you can't fish out a horse.
User avatar
brian
The Dude
Posts: 27740
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:52 am
Location: Downtown Las Vegas

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by brian »

Nonlinear FC wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:57 am Cal Ripken the younger
Asked and answered.
Bandwagon fan of the 2023 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!
tennbengal
The Dude
Posts: 11975
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:07 pm

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by tennbengal »

brian wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:56 am
[+] spoiler
My first guess was Eddie Murray and I was close! (His highest ever was 186 and only topped 180 three times).
That's who I would have guessed if I had been given this. With a second glance at Dave Winfield.
Joe K
Walter Sobchak
Posts: 4754
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2013 4:37 pm

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by Joe K »

mister d wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:52 am First instinct is to say its Rickey because he walked so much.
Bonds didn't quite get to 3K hits but he topped out at 181 in a season for this same reason.
tennbengal
The Dude
Posts: 11975
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:07 pm

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by tennbengal »

I am bad at this - I prob should have let more people guess. Mr D made me think it was too obvious in hindsight - but maybe it wasn't.

Mostly I want to marvel at Henderson's weird and awesome career.
User avatar
mister d
The Dude
Posts: 29045
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:15 am

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by mister d »

tennbengal wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:58 amThat's who I would have guessed if I had been given this. With a second glance at Dave Winfield.
Winfield was my second guess. Biggio would have been ideal.
Johnnie wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:13 pmOh shit, you just reminded me about toilet paper.
User avatar
mister d
The Dude
Posts: 29045
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:15 am

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by mister d »

tennbengal wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:59 am I am bad at this - I prob should have let more people guess. Mr D made me think it was too obvious in hindsight - but maybe it wasn't.

Mostly I want to marvel at Henderson's weird and awesome career.
He's a great counterbalance to "how were pre-analytics players supposed to know walking was good".
Johnnie wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:13 pmOh shit, you just reminded me about toilet paper.
User avatar
brian
The Dude
Posts: 27740
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:52 am
Location: Downtown Las Vegas

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by brian »

Henderson was somewhat unique though because of his speed. He could (and did) turn walks into triples.
Bandwagon fan of the 2023 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!
User avatar
A_B
The Dude
Posts: 23319
Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:36 am
Location: Getting them boards like a wolf in the chicken pen.

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by A_B »

brian wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 10:14 am Henderson was somewhat unique though because of his speed. He could (and did) turn walks into triples.
I just did a quick back of the napkin calculation and if you take the caught stealings, his modified OBP drops 25 points. Still good, but drops about 150 spots 0n the all time list. But the threat of the speed mattered as much as the steals, too.
You know what you need? A lyrical sucker punch to the face.
User avatar
brian
The Dude
Posts: 27740
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:52 am
Location: Downtown Las Vegas

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by brian »

A_B wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 10:18 am
brian wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 10:14 am Henderson was somewhat unique though because of his speed. He could (and did) turn walks into triples.
I just did a quick back of the napkin calculation and if you take the caught stealings, his modified OBP drops 25 points. Still good, but drops about 150 spots 0n the all time list. But the threat of the speed mattered as much as the steals, too.
Yeah, it was a different era and his CS puts the lie to the argument that he had some kind of inherent knowledge of analytics (not that anyone is arguing that), but he was a frustrating guy when your team was playing against him because of the threat of the steal.
Bandwagon fan of the 2023 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!
User avatar
Pruitt
The Dude
Posts: 18105
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:02 am
Location: North Shore of Lake Ontario

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by Pruitt »

brian wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 10:14 am Henderson was somewhat unique though because of his speed. He could (and did) turn walks into triples.
He was such an amazing threat.
"beautiful, with an exotic-yet-familiar facial structure and an arresting gaze."
User avatar
mister d
The Dude
Posts: 29045
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:15 am

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by mister d »

A_B wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 10:18 amI just did a quick back of the napkin calculation and if you take the caught stealings, his modified OBP drops 25 points. Still good, but drops about 150 spots 0n the all time list. But the threat of the speed mattered as much as the steals, too.
Is this without demeriting anyone else for baserunning?
Johnnie wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:13 pmOh shit, you just reminded me about toilet paper.
tennbengal
The Dude
Posts: 11975
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:07 pm

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by tennbengal »

Joe K wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:59 am
mister d wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:52 am First instinct is to say its Rickey because he walked so much.
Bonds didn't quite get to 3K hits but he topped out at 181 in a season for this same reason.
Huh. Fairly early on his career too (altho not as early as Henderson's highwater mark which was year two) - which makes sense. Bonds' batting eye showed itself fairly early.

Altho, man, while he was young for the first four years of his career, he didn't really have the breakthrough until 1990 at age 25 (altho his age 23 season in 1988 was damn fine).
Joe K
Walter Sobchak
Posts: 4754
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2013 4:37 pm

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by Joe K »

tennbengal wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 10:34 am
Joe K wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:59 am
mister d wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:52 am First instinct is to say its Rickey because he walked so much.
Bonds didn't quite get to 3K hits but he topped out at 181 in a season for this same reason.
Huh. Fairly early on his career too (altho not as early as Henderson's highwater mark which was year two) - which makes sense. Bonds' batting eye showed itself fairly early.

Altho, man, while he was young for the first four years of his career, he didn't really have the breakthrough until 1990 at age 25 (altho his age 23 season in 1988 was damn fine).
I think there's a significant chance MLB would still condone rampant steroid use if not for Bonds basically breaking the sport with how good he got. During the ten-year stretch in which he's believed to have been juicing (1998-2007), he had a .496 OBP (with more walks than hits), a .697 SLG, and struck out in only 11% of PAs. Even though he wasn't running anymore, that hitting profile is a total joke.
User avatar
L-Jam3
The Dude
Posts: 5949
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:43 am

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by L-Jam3 »

A couple weeks ago I was explaining how good Bonds was even before he started juicing (which I took as 1999 in response to McGwire/Sosa). I explained that in 1998 he was intentially walked with the bases loaded with a two-run lead, and even then, well before the widespread acceptance of analytics, the near-universal response to that decision was “yeah, that makes total sense.”
Last edited by L-Jam3 on Thu May 21, 2020 11:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
My avatar corresponds on my place in the Swamp posting list with the all-time Home Run list. Number 45 is Paul Konerko with 439.
User avatar
mister d
The Dude
Posts: 29045
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:15 am

Re: A Random Baseball Trivia Question - Bar Bet stlye

Post by mister d »

Yup. Just using his Pirate tenure (age 21-27), he led all hitters in WAR. The whole "Bonds only became great with PEDs" is insane revisionism.
Johnnie wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:13 pmOh shit, you just reminded me about toilet paper.
Post Reply