April 12, 2000

Doctoring The Numbers

Consistent Relief, Brady Anderson and Gabe White

by Rany Jazayerli

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Consistent Relief

John Wetteland's name has been dropped from discussions of the game's best closers, but his consistency in the most capricious role in baseball is still the standard for the new generation of relief aces. Wetteland has amassed 25 or more saves for eight straight seasons, and his low season of 25 saves came in strike-shortened 1994. The longest streaks of 25 or more saves:

Name                      Years

Lee Smith          13 (1983-95)
John Wetteland      8 (1992-99)
Dave Righetti       7 (1984-90)
Dennis Eckersley    6 (1988-93)
John Franco         6 (1986-91)
Rod Beck            6 (1993-98)
Bruce Sutter        6 (1977-82)
Jeff Reardon        5 (1985-89)
Gregg Olson         5 (1989-93)
Jeff Montgomery     5 (1991-95)
John Franco         5 (1994-98)
Roberto Hernandez   5 (1995-99)
Trevor Hoffman      5 (1995-99)

Wetteland's streak is a testament to his pitching as much as to his opportunity: last season was the first time in the streak that his ERA was above 3.00. Anyone looking to build a platform for Lee Smith's Hall of Fame chances should look closely: only two pitchers in history have a 25-save streak even half as long as the all-time saves leader.

Hell Yes, It Was a Fluke

Last season, Brady Anderson hit 24 home runs, which was a career-high...if you don't count his 50-homer explosion in 1996. Granting that his career isn't over yet, the difference between Anderson's two highest homer totals is the greatest in baseball history:

Name               HR (Best)  HR (2nd-Best) Diff

Brady Anderson     50         24             26
Davey Johnson      43         18             25
Roger Maris        61         39             22
Joe Charboneau     23          4             19
Ken Hunt           25          6             19
Willard Marshall   36         17             19
Terry Steinbach    35         16             19
Ned Williamson     27          9             18
Bob Cerv           38         20             18
Hack Wilson        56         39             17
Jay Bell           38         21             17
Andre Dawson       49         32             17

(Only active players with more than five seasons in the majors were considered, as otherwise Troy Glaus--29 homers as a sophomore, one as a rookie--would top the list.)

It's probably just a coincidence that Anderson's manager in 1996, Davey Johnson, formerly held the fluke-power title. But if Devon White lights the lamp 45 times this year, we'll dispatch a research team immediately.

Oh, He's Going to LOVE Colorado

Gabe White, the most recent pitcher to break down crying in his manager's office after being asked to change into a Rockies uniform, is already quite familiar with the gopher ball. While effective at keeping runners off base (just 11.23 BR/G for his career), White has given up homers to 15.1% of those baserunners, easily the highest percentage of any active pitcher (minimum 250 innings):

Name              HR      BR     HR/BR

Gabe White        47     312     0.151
Brian Anderson   111     855     0.130
Hideki Irabu      68     539     0.126
John Wasdin       74     593     0.125
Bob Wolcott       62     504     0.123
Rick Helling     110     935     0.118
Robert Person     69     604     0.114
Dennis Springer  103     911     0.113
Kevin Jarvis      57     507     0.112
Jose Lima         98     882     0.111

Rany Jazayerli is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
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