May 08, 2008
Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle in the Twins 13-1 crushing of the White Sox Wednesday night. He started big and worked his way smaller:
One night after Chicago's Gavin Floyd lost a no-hitter in the ninth, Gomez homered off Mark Buehrle (1-4) on the game's third pitch. He added an RBI triple in the fifth, doubled in a run in the sixth and completed the cycle with an infield single to lead off a six-run ninth. The ball deflected off reliever Ehren Wasserman, forcing a rushed throw by shortstop Alexei Ramirez that sailed wide.
He thought about bunting, but changed his mind.
That single made Gomez -- acquired from the New York Mets in the Johan Santana trade -- the eighth Twins player to hit for the cycle and the first since Puckett on Aug. 1, 1986, against Oakland. He was also the first player to hit for the cycle against the White Sox since Oakland's Mike Blowers on May 18, 1998. Gomez was 4-for-6 while driving in three runs and scoring two.
"When I got the cycle, I thought of my family," Gomez
You can watch the highlight here. He was helped by some bad defense. The homer and the triple were legitimate. The double came because Quentin dives for the ball and it gets by him. If he plays it on a hop, that's a single. Still congratulations to Carlos Gomez on a big night, and making the Twins fans feel a bit better about the Santana trade. The Twins continue to win in the division with a 13-7 record, the reason they're in first place by 1 1/2 games.
On a related note, the White Sox put some clothes on the girls. :-)
Posted by StatsGuru at 08:00 AM
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July 03, 2006
My baseball fact calendar tells me it's the fortieth anniversary of pitcher Tony Cloninger hitting two grand slams against the Giants. It was the first time a National League player hit two grand slams in one game. Here's the boxscore. Notice both came with two outs. Note, too that the first baseman and leadoff hitter that day for the Braves was current manager Felipe Alou. Earlier in the day, his wife gave birth to a son name Moises. Lots of fireworks for Felipe that day!
Correction: Felipe played for the Braves, not the Giants that day.
Posted by StatsGuru at 08:26 AM
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June 04, 2004
Keith Emmer at NY Sports Express examines why there have been an increasing number of perfect games.
The truth is, a perfect game is more of a statistical anomaly than the mark of a great pitcher. Which is why when the commentators are saying expansion is a prime factor in the recent run of perfect games, they may be right—but for the wrong reasons. In 1904 there were 16 teams in the two leagues; a full season had 1,232 games. In 2004 there are 30 teams; they play 2,430 games in total. With twice as many games, there are twice as many chances for a perfect one. The simplest answer is sometimes the perfect one.
The more opportunities, the more likely an unlikely event will happen. I'd also hazard that two other factors have a big impact. Error rates for fielders have been steadily decreasing since the early part of the 20th century. If the chance of an error decreases, the chance for a perfect game increases. Also, strikeout rates have been rising. The more batters strike out, the less chance that a ball in play will go for a hit.
Posted by StatsGuru at 01:06 PM
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