The Curse of... oh, let's say, Clay Bellinger:



RSS 2.0 Atom

*ADVERTISEMENT*

*ADVERTISEMENT*

*ADVERTISEMENT*

*ADVERTISEMENT*

Newsday - Davidoff: Pettitte not happy with Yankees right now
(92 Comments - 1/8/2009 3:50:04 pm)

Yanks inclined to lower $10M Pettitte offer
(71 Comments - 1/8/2009 9:21:27 am)

Daily News: Mark Teixeira’s wife Leigh nudged hubby toward Yankees
(63 Comments - 1/7/2009 6:39:52 pm)

ESPN: Yankees will be must-see TV
(149 Comments - 1/6/2009 11:07:22 pm)

NY Daily News: Yanks almost ready to unveil Teixeira
(34 Comments - 1/6/2009 2:02:26 pm)

Salt Lake Tribune - Klapisch: Does Tex signing mean end for Jeter?
(178 Comments - 1/5/2009 8:15:48 pm)

Yankees.com: Big signings affecting Pettitte’s return
(94 Comments - 12/31/2008 12:36:41 pm)

An Early Look at the 2009 AL East
(70 Comments - 12/29/2008 10:26:38 am)

Merry Christmas, Red Sox Fans
(90 Comments - 12/26/2008 9:49:47 am)

So Who’s Got the Best Rotation in the AL East Now?
(122 Comments - 12/24/2008 10:24:16 pm)

Player

 Current Projected
Brian Bruney
11 G
15 G
12 IP
16 IP
Dan Giese
11 G
15 G
21.7 IP
29 IP
Damaso Marte
5 G
7 G
4.7 IP
6 IP
Edwar Ramirez
37 G
49 G
40.7 IP
54 IP
Mariano Rivera
44 G
58 G
48.3 IP
64 IP
David Robertson
14 G
19 G
16.3 IP
22 IP
Jose Veras
38 G
50 G
38.7 IP
51 IP
Total
274 G
364 G
328.3 IP
435 IP
Look what people have to say about Larry Mahnken's commentary!

"Larry, can you be any more of a Yankee apologist?.... Just look past your Yankee myopia and try some objectivity."
- Bernal Diaz

"Mr. Mahnken is enlightened."
- cordially, as always,
rm

"Wow, Larry. You've produced 25% of the comments on this thread and said nothing meaningful. That's impressive, even for you."
- Anonymous

"After reading all your postings and daily weblog...I believe you have truly become the Phil Pepe of this generation. Now this is not necessarily a good thing."
- Repoz

"you blog sucks, it reeds as it was written by the queer son of mike lupica and roids clemens. i could write a better column by letting a monkey fuk a typewriter. i dont need no 181 million dollar team to write a blog fukkk the spankeees"
- yan

"i think his followers have a different sexual preference than most men"
- bob

"Boring and predictable."
- No Guru No Method

"Are you the biggest idiot ever?"
- Randal

"I'm not qualified to write for online media, let alone mainstream media."
- Larry Mahnken

This site is best viewed with a monitor.

Disclaimer: If you think this is the official website of the New York Yankees, you're an idiot. Go away.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Top Twenty Offensive Yankee Seasons - Pitchers

Prior to the implementation of the DH in the AL, Pitchers actually had to hit. As sad of a spectacle as that is nowadays, there have been have some pretty fair-hitting pitchers in Yankee history. By request from mehmattski and sleepyirv here's a look at the top twenty offensive seasons by a Yankee pitcher.

I'm using the same methodology I used for hitters. The pitchers are compared to their park-adjusted peers in the same season.

So here are top ten Yankee pitchers on offense:

Rank Player Year Team Lg Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG BRAA psOPS+
1 Red Ruffing 1930 NYA AL P 52 99 15 37 6 2 4 21 0 0 7 7 .374 .415 .596 14 256
2 Red Ruffing 1936 NYA AL P 53 127 14 37 5 0 5 22 0 0 11 12 .291 .348 .449 13 224
3 Red Ruffing 1935 NYA AL P 50 109 13 37 10 0 2 18 0 0 3 9 .339 .363 .486 12 239
4 Ray Caldwell 1918 NYA AL P 65 151 14 44 10 0 1 18 2 0 13 23 .291 .352 .377 12 209
5 Joe Bush 1924 NYA AL P 60 124 13 42 9 3 1 14 0 0 7 6 .339 .374 .484 12 220
6 Red Ruffing 1931 NYA AL P 48 109 14 36 8 1 3 12 0 0 1 13 .330 .336 .505 12 245
7 Red Ruffing 1932 NYA AL P 55 124 20 38 6 1 3 19 0 0 6 10 .306 .338 .444 12 219
8 Ray Caldwell 1917 NYA AL P 63 124 12 32 6 1 2 12 2 0 16 16 .258 .343 .371 11 220
9 Carl Mays 1921 NYA AL P 51 143 18 49 5 1 2 22 0 0 4 7 .343 .365 .434 11 202
10 Red Ruffing 1941 NYA AL P 38 89 10 27 8 1 2 22 0 0 4 12 .303 .333 .483 11 280


Red Ruffing - 1930
Red Ruffing doesn't quite Gehrig this list, but he does take 7 of the top 10 seasons. This was his best year, as he was worth 14 batting runs above the average pitcher in just 99 AB. Ruffing was a good enough hitter that despite only pitching in 34 games as a Yankee, he got into another 18 games as a pinch-hitter. He also gave the Yanks a 15-5 record in 197.7 innings with an ERA of 4.14 after coming over from Boston early in the year.

Red Ruffing - 1936
Ruffing went 20-12 this year witha 3.85 ERA, and aided his cause by providing 13 BRAA. In addition to his 33 games pitched, he pinch-hit in 20 other games.

Red Ruffing - 1935
Ruffing put up a Robinson Cano-like line of .339/.363/.486 in 1935.

Ray Caldwell - 1918
Ray Caldwell was basically a league average pitcher throughout his career. He didn't have Ruffing's power, but he helped himself out pretty well with the lumber.

Joe Bush - 1931
I'm not sure how Leslie Ambrose Bush became Bullet Joe Bush, but that's what happened. Bush is another pitcher who was basically league average although he hung around for 17 seasons and won 195 games. He was only a Yank for three seasons, but two of those seasons made the Yankee top 20.

Red Ruffing - 1931
Red's back, following up his stellar 1930 with another good offensive season.

Red Ruffing - 1932
See Red Ruffing - 1931 and add a year to it.

Ray Caldwell - 1917
Caldwell's impressive 1917 saw him enter the 2-2 club (2 HRs, 2 SB).

Carl Mays - 1921
Carl Mays is best known for killing Ray Chapman with a pitch. Although it was not believed to be intentional, he was supposedly an ornery fellow. He was also a pretty good hitter for a pitcher, hitting .268/.313/.350 over his career.

Red Ruffing - 1941
This was Ruffing's last good season with the bat. In 1942 he hit .250/.302/.338 then came WW II and three final shortened seasons of poor hitting.

The list of 11-20 follows:
Rank Player Year Team Lg Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG BRAA psOPS+
11 Al Orth 1907 NYA AL P 44 105 11 34 6 0 1 13 1 0 4 0 .324 .355 .410 10 269
12 Red Ruffing 1938 NYA AL P 45 107 12 24 4 1 3 17 0 0 17 21 .224 .331 .364 9 201
13 Ray Caldwell 1915 NYA AL P 72 144 27 35 4 1 4 20 4 3 9 32 .243 .288 .368 8 186
14 Sam Jones 1922 NYA AL P 45 87 14 23 9 0 1 8 1 0 6 28 .264 .347 .402 8 206
15 Mel Stottlemyre 1970 NYA AL P 38 85 8 16 2 2 2 7 0 0 14 25 .188 .303 .329 8 223
16 Red Ruffing 1939 NYA AL P 44 114 12 35 1 0 1 20 1 0 7 18 .307 .347 .342 8 193
17 Al Orth 1906 NYA AL P 47 135 12 37 2 2 1 17 2 0 6 0 .274 .305 .341 7 208
18 Joe Bush 1922 NYA AL P 39 95 15 31 6 2 0 12 0 1 3 11 .326 .347 .432 7 218
19 Ray Caldwell 1911 NYA AL P 59 147 14 40 4 1 0 17 5 0 11 0 .272 .323 .313 7 170
20 Ed Lopat 1949 NYA AL P 31 76 9 20 8 0 1 4 0 0 7 8 .263 .325 .408 7 227


A few new names pop in there, including Mel Stottlemyre.

Here's how the top 20 breaks down by player:

Red Ruffing: 8
Ray Caldwell: 4
Al Orth: 2
Joe Bush: 2
Carl Mays: 1
Ed Lopat: 1
Mel Stottlemyre: 1
Sam Jones: 1

Red Ruffing was the man.

Since I was curious how this list compared to the all time top forty offensive seasons by a pitcher, I compiled that list as well.

Rank Player Year Team Lg Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG BRAA psOPS+
1 Bob Caruthers 1886 SL4 AA P 87 317 91 106 21 14 4 61 26 0 64 0 .334 .448 .527 47 262
2 Guy Hecker 1886 LS2 AA P 84 343 76 117 14 5 4 48 25 0 32 0 .341 .402 .446 33 217
3 Jim Whitney 1882 BSN NL P 61 251 49 81 18 7 5 48 0 0 24 13 .323 .382 .510 27 224
4 Jim Whitney 1883 BSN NL P 96 409 78 115 27 10 5 57 0 0 25 29 .281 .323 .433 27 180
5 Charlie Ferguson 1887 PHI NL P 72 264 67 89 14 6 3 85 13 0 34 19 .337 .417 .470 26 220
6 Billy Taylor 1884 SLU UA P 43 186 44 68 23 1 3 0 0 0 7 0 .366 .389 .548 23 241
7 Wes Ferrell 1935 BOS AL P 75 150 25 52 5 1 7 32 0 0 21 16 .347 .427 .533 22 307
8 Tony Mullane 1889 CN2 AA P 63 196 53 58 16 4 0 29 24 0 27 21 .296 .387 .418 21 207
9 Guy Hecker 1884 LS2 AA P 78 316 53 94 14 8 4 42 0 0 10 0 .297 .323 .430 21 169
10 Don Newcombe 1955 BRO NL P 57 117 18 42 9 1 7 23 1 0 6 18 .359 .395 .632 20 356
11 Jack Stivetts 1892 BSN NL P 71 240 40 71 14 2 3 36 8 0 27 28 .296 .369 .408 20 220
12 Win Mercer 1898 WSN NL P 80 249 38 80 3 5 2 25 14 0 18 0 .321 .369 .398 20 190
13 Don Drysdale 1965 LAN NL P 58 130 18 39 4 1 7 19 0 0 5 34 .300 .331 .508 20 363
14 Al Spalding 1874 BS1 NA P 71 362 80 119 13 1 0 54 2 1 3 0 .329 .334 .370 20 182
15 Al Spalding 1873 BS1 NA P 60 322 83 106 18 2 1 60 1 0 3 1 .329 .335 .407 19 189
16 Tony Mullane 1884 TL1 AA P 95 352 49 97 19 3 3 0 0 0 33 0 .276 .339 .372 19 166
17 Jack Stivetts 1891 SL4 AA P 85 302 45 92 10 2 7 54 4 0 10 32 .305 .331 .421 18 201
18 Wes Ferrell 1931 CLE AL P 48 116 24 37 6 1 9 30 0 0 10 21 .319 .373 .621 18 331
19 Bob Caruthers 1889 BR3 AA P 59 172 45 43 8 3 2 31 9 0 44 17 .250 .408 .366 17 182
20 Charlie Ferguson 1885 PHI NL P 61 235 42 72 8 3 1 27 0 0 23 18 .306 .368 .379 17 184
21 Wes Ferrell 1933 CLE AL P 61 140 26 38 7 0 7 26 0 0 20 22 .271 .363 .471 17 280
22 Jack Stivetts 1890 SL4 AA P 67 226 36 65 15 6 7 43 2 0 16 0 .288 .337 .500 17 229
23 Tom Parrott 1895 CIN NL P 64 201 35 69 13 7 3 41 10 0 11 8 .343 .377 .522 17 188
24 Jack Stivetts 1896 BSN NL P 67 221 42 76 9 6 3 49 4 0 12 10 .344 .380 .480 16 198
25 Al Spalding 1875 BS1 NA P 74 343 68 107 15 3 0 56 2 2 3 3 .312 .318 .373 16 171
26 Bob Lemon 1950 CLE AL P 72 136 21 37 9 1 6 26 0 0 13 25 .272 .340 .485 16 253
27 Schoolboy Rowe 1943 PHI NL P 82 120 14 36 7 0 4 18 0 0 15 21 .300 .382 .458 16 271
28 Lynn Nelson 1937 PHA AL P 74 113 18 40 6 2 4 29 1 0 6 13 .354 .387 .549 16 288
29 Ben Sanders 1892 LS3 NL P 54 198 30 54 12 2 3 18 6 0 16 17 .273 .330 .399 16 174
30 Babe Ruth 1917 BOS AL P 52 123 14 40 6 3 2 12 0 0 12 18 .325 .385 .472 16 280
31 Dave Foutz 1886 SL4 AA P 102 414 66 116 18 9 3 59 17 0 9 0 .280 .297 .389 15 154
32 George Uhle 1923 CLE AL P 58 144 23 52 10 3 0 22 2 1 7 10 .361 .391 .472 15 237
33 Warren Spahn 1958 ML1 NL P 41 108 10 36 6 1 2 15 0 0 7 24 .333 .381 .463 15 295
34 Doc Crandall 1915 SLF FL P 84 141 18 40 2 2 1 19 4 0 27 15 .284 .406 .348 15 237
35 Bob Lemon 1949 CLE AL P 46 108 17 29 6 2 7 19 0 0 10 20 .269 .331 .556 15 293
36 Babe Ruth 1915 BOS AL P 42 92 16 29 10 1 4 21 0 0 9 23 .315 .376 .576 15 309
37 Win Mercer 1901 WS1 AL P 51 140 26 42 7 2 0 16 10 0 23 0 .300 .402 .379 15 200
38 Al Spalding 1872 BS1 NA P 48 237 60 84 11 5 0 47 3 0 3 1 .354 .363 .443 15 178
39 John Ward 1879 PRO NL P 83 364 71 104 9 4 2 41 0 0 7 14 .286 .299 .349 15 152
40 Walter Johnson 1925 WS1 AL P 36 97 12 42 6 1 2 20 0 1 3 6 .433 .455 .577 14 289


The top five names all played other positions in addition to pitcher, so their counting stats are boosted. Wes Ferrell is the first pure pitcher in the list, although he did get some OF time in 1933.

--Posted at 8:59 am by SG / 46 Comments | - (794)


Page 1 of 1 pages: