Fewest Walks

A tweet about Greg Maddux was recently going viral, how he won 355 games and pitched 5008 innings, but went to a 3-0 count less than 700 times. Many clever yet uncreative soles claimed the wide strike zone umpires allegedly afforded him was the cause, and not his super high rate of throwing the first pitch right down the middle for strike one.

A few brought up analytics, and two compared Maddux to Roger Clemens and Dan Quisenbury. Let’s add Curt Schilling and Maddux-wannabe Max Scherzer. While closer Quisenberry is an outlier as a closer, Mad Dog’s ultra-low walks per inning rate is lowest among starters. Pretty sure I blogged about that before. Several times.

YR.INN…BB..IBB….K..K/BB.BB/INN

24 4917 1580 063 4672 2.96 ,321 Roger

23 5008 0999 177 3371 3.37 .199 Maddux

12 1043 0162 070 0379 2.34 .155 Quis

20 3261 0711 043 3116 4.38 ,218 Curt

14 2537 0677 020 3020 4.46 .267 Max

Of the nineteen pitchers with 3,000 career strikeouts, CURT SCHILLING [SABR Bio] has the best second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio, with 3,116 Ks to 711 BB for a 4.38 avg in 569 career games. Max Scherzer passed Schilling with 4.46 after recently recording his 3000th strikeout. Schilling received votes for the Cy Young Awards only four times, thrice finishing runner-up. In 2001 & 2002, he finished just behind Randy Johnson; in 2004 behind Johann Santana. In 1997, while leading the majors in GS & Ks, he finished fourth. Part of his white hosiery was tinted bright red during a playoff game on 19-Oct-2004.

I'm surprised Red Sox fans haven't made a bloody sock lamp, similar to the Christmas Story leg lamp.

Tim Keller: "The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever hoped."

Denison compares John Madden to...Jesus Christ?

https://www.denisonforum.org/columns/daily-article/why-was-john-madden-so-beloved/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=199592294&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9BYLv1nZuLYtzR0es4IWS_OOn01uLAOnSBCekCD8gLTZw0xHFF8gTrmoxFzwj_7TAgQ2b8aPRfJOaLTjviAINxOs-lTg&utm_content=199592294&utm_source=hs_email

The story behind the 'Star Trek IV' punk on bus.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.sfchronicle.com/culture/amp/The-story-behind-the-Star-Trek-IV-punk-on-15944341.php__;!!AE29DT8V!HRHlzP_IFqUh0FV_Kaz19lF8PTIFG1LHHREOWK7EGkzF1A219a5-VijfqBbad2NKw-E$

Idolatry should be rejected.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://notthebee.com/article/its-called-idolatry-and-christians-should-reject-it__;!!AE29DT8V!HuMFzCiUftYKkl_bPllQQem8e9kwwccTdgtv3JryfNlrc3I3S09gbxj71jCTJCCWYXo$

SAM McDOWELL [SABR Bio] was a highly-touted Pittsburgh recruit, who appeared in New York City on the To Tell the Truth television show before debuting in the majors at age nineteen. He went 6-1/3 innings in his debut 15-Sep-1961, six days before his 20th birthday. He pitched batting practice to the major league team in his hometown while still a junior in high school. McDowell grew up just a few blocks from Forbes Field and was a favorite of the Pirates. A four-sport star in high school, he pitched at every level and was recruited heavily while in high school. He had thrown forty no-hitters before turning professional.

JUSTIN VERLANDER  [B-R Bio] got fifteen wins in his team's first 125 games. Verlander won his 15th game on 21-Aug-2006, Detroit's 125th game that season. He won two more, and won the AL ROY as his team won the AL pennant. In college he played for Old Dominion University Monarchs. Pitching in college for three years, he averaged with11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He had 427 K in 335⅔ innings while pitching for ODU. His height (6'5") no doubt helped him regularly hit triple digits on the radar gun. Earlier in his career, a Verlander fastball at 100+ mph was not unusual.

ERNIE LOMBARDI  [SABR Bio] was the first Cincinnati Reds player to receive the National League Most Valuable Player Award, 1938  He was the first alumnus from his high school to be elected to the Hall of Fame, but he wasn't the last. Lombardi grew up in Oakland, California.  He attended McClymonds High School, the same school as Frank Robinson. Curt Flood and Vada Pinson also went there, as well as basketball HOFers Bill Russell & Paul Silas. A catcher, he caught both of Johnny Vander Meer's no-hitters, on 11-Jun- vs. Boston, then 15-Jun-1938 at Brooklyn.