Have a Safe and Happy Independence Day!
Happy 4th of July, Everyone! Today The Pecan Park Eagle is pleased to present a second consecutive column by Bill Gilbert of the SABR Austin Chapter named for Rogers Hornsby. on how the triple milestone competition among batters and pitchers in MLB looks at mid-season. What an appropriate day it is to examine this material. On a day generally given over to celebration by fireworks, Bill Gilbert looks at the big leagues and invites the rest of us to join him in wondering: Where have all the fireworks gone?
Thanks, Bill for another fine job of analysis and clear writing.
Bill Gilbert is a vetrean member of SABR and a regular contributing writer for The Pecan Park Eagle,
Where Have All the Hitters Gone?
By Bill Gilbert
With major league teams reaching the season’s mid-point by playing are on target for the triple milestones of a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs and pitchers on target for 20 wins, 200 strikeouts and an ERA below 3.00.
Times have changed. In 2000, 26 hitters achieved all three triple milestones but no pitchers achieved all three of their milestones. Last year only three hitters and one pitcher (Max Scherzer) reached all three. Similar numbers are being recorded at mid-season in 2014 with 3 hitters and 2 pitchers on target.
Table 1: HITTERS IN LINE TO GET 3X MILESTONE IN 2014
| 1ST TIME TRIPLE MILESTONERS | BA | HR | RBI |
| VICTOR MARTINEZ | .328 | 20 | 52 |
| MIKE TROUT | .313 | `8 | 59 |
| GIANCARLO STANTON | .312 | 21 | 59 |
TABLE 2: OTHER HITTERS CLOSE TO 3X MILESTONE NOW
| CLOSE TO 3Milestones | BA | HR | RBI | NEEDS |
| TROY TULOWITZKI | .351 | 18 | 45 | MORE RBI |
| MIGUEL CABRERA | .321 | 13 | 64 | GOING FOR 8; HR |
| JOSE BATISTA | .305 | 15 | 49 | SHOULD MAKE IT |
| ADAM JONES | .302 | 14 | 47 | STRONG 2ND HALF |
| PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT | .299 | 15 | 53 | Made it last year |
| NELSON CRUZ | .289 | 25 | 66 | BOOST BA |
TABLE 3: PITCHERS IN LINE FOR 3X MILESTONE IN 2014
| 3X MILESTONE PITCHERS | W | K | ERA | COMMENT |
| MASAHIRO TANAKA | 11 | 119 | 2.11 | ROOKIE |
| ADAM WAINWRIGHT | 10 | 105 | 2.01 | CLOSE IN 2013 |
TABLE 4: OTHER PITCHERS WHO ARE CLOSE, BUT NEED W’S
| CLOSE = NO CIGAR | W | K | ERA | COMMENT |
| FELIX HERNANDEZ | 9 | 128 | 2.24 | NEVER WON 20 |
| ZACK GREINKE | 9 | 101 | 2.89 | GOING FOR 1ST |
| MADISON BUMGARNER | 9 | 114 | 2.90 | ANOTHER 1ST TIMER |
| CLAYTON KERSHAW | 8 | 94 | 2.24 | DID IT IN 2012 |
| JOHNNY CUETO | 8 | 122 | 1.88 | CAREER YEAR |
| YU DARVISH | 7 | 118 | 2.62 | 20 WINS A REACH |
| JULIO TEHERAN | 7 | 103 | 2.34 | ACE OF BRAVES |
The most difficult targets to hit are the .300 batting average for hitters and 20 wins for pitchers. There are reasons for both. Hitters are now generally more inclined to go for power rather than average which results in more strikeouts and lower batting averages. Most analysts would agree that we are in a strong pitching era. However, pitcher’s wins are frequently not necessarily controllable by the starting pitcher, especially if he pitches only 6 or 7 innings, which is now frequently the case.
Bill Gilbert
7/4/14
Hope your 2014 4th of July weekend is healthy and happy, peaceful, and free.
Tags: A Mid-Season Look at the Triple Milestone competition in 2014, Bill Gilbert
The Pecan Park Eagle 
July 4, 2014 at 2:46 pm |
“In 2000, 26 hitters achieved all three triple milestones but . . . Last year only three hitters . . . reached all three.” This is hardly a conundrum. In 2000, PED use was rampant and unchecked whereas now there are drug tests for PEDs and stiff penalties in effect. While I’m not naive enough to think PEDs have been eliminated – last year’s Biogenesis scandal is ample evidence of that – their use has been curtailed. The result is that hitters’s numbers are more in line with what they used to be before the PED era.
As for pitchers not reaching their milestones, the overuse of pitch counts (with 100 seemingly a magic number) and relief specialists has deprived many starters of being able to pitch the number of innings necessary to garner more wins and strikeouts.