Unfortunately, TPJ has not yet rewritten Mendoza's line

by benfunke on Jun 19, 2009 1:58 PM EDT Comment 28 comments

He's just ANOTHER Mendoza. It would at least be some sort of consolation prize if TPJ's futility were enough to be canonized as Mendoza's was (or at least be somehow remarkable by rivaling Bill Bergen (the worst hitter of all time) or Hal Lanier (the worst hitter in modern baseball)). But no, I would contend that TPJ has yet to amass enough PAs or a quite bad enough stat line to eclipse Mendoza (but Trey and Dayton are working on it). At least Bill Bergen is thought of as one of the better defensive catchers of all time. Rafael Belliard is the worst hitter I could find since Lanier with over 1800 ABs (granted, I didn't look for more than about 5 minutes), just presented for some perspective.

Hal Lanier 1964-73, 3940 PAs, OPS+: 49 -- high 75, low 38

Bill Bergen 1901-11, 3228 PAs, OPS+: 21 -- high 41, low -4

Tony Pena, Jr. 2006-09, 850 PAs, OPS+: 46 -- high 66, low 7

Mario Mendoza 1974-82, 1456 PAs, OPS+: 41 -- high 63, low 25

Rafael Belliard 1982-98, 2524 PAs, OPS+ 46 -- high 101, low 31

All stats from http://www.baseball-reference.com

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Interestingly, Mendoza had a lifetime .215 average

Most plate appearances with a batting average exactly at .200?

P Freddie Fitzsimmons who played for the Giants and Dodgers from 1925-1943. For non-pitchers its catcher Tom Egan of the Angels and White Sox from 1965-1973.

Bob Uecker had an average of exactly .200 in 843 PAs

In the divisional era, the most PAs for a .200 hitter is Fernando Valenzuela. For non-pitchers its C John Orton who played for the Angels from 1989-1993.

Most PAs as a Royal with a .200 average as a Royal – Scotti Madison who was up 56 times for the Royals from 1987-1988.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jun 17, 2009 3:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Lowest OPS in MLB history (min. 850 PAs, the number TPJ has) among position players

1. Bill Bergen 1901-1911 – 28
2. Angel Salazar 1983-1988 – 36
3. Donnie Sadler 1998-2007 – 39
4. Luis Gomez 1974-1981 – 40
5. Mario Mendoza 1974-1982 – 41
6. Mick Kelleher 1972-1982 – 42
7. Jerry Zimmerman 1961-1968 – 42
8. Jack Ryan 1901-1913 – 42
9. Ray Berres 1934-1945 – 43
10.Fritz Buelow 1901-1907 – 43

14. Tony Pena Jr. 2006-2009 – 46

Sadler and Salazar are former Royals. Let’s hope TPJ is soon.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jun 17, 2009 3:20 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Shaking my head

Not 1, not 2, but 3 Royals in the top 14 for this?

Wow.

Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!

by loyal2sdad on Jun 17, 2009 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

showing the “Top” 10 for 850+ ABs also illustrates just how few ABs Pena has had for his career. he needs to get at least 1500 (if not the standard 3000) to really qualify as something “special”.

by benfunke on Jun 17, 2009 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can't endure that many seasons of TPJ

I will quit being a fan if he is here in 2011. Even next year is pushing it unless he finds something and quick.

by AxDxMx on Jun 17, 2009 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'll call ya back in 2012

I’ll stick it out. Fan for life here.

Yeah? From what I hear, you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a f@#%ing boat.

by BillyMojo on Jun 17, 2009 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Me too, but this is ridiculous

Just overpay for somebody awesome already. I’m sick of this crap. I’d even be satisfied with Bloomers at SS permanently for this year. Screw TPJ and Luis Hernandez. Poor Tug Hulett can’t even get a chance those 2 are so good.

by AxDxMx on Jun 17, 2009 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

hells yeah

If we had Gud back he’d be my starting SS every freakin day

but then again I’m beer drinkin’ moron

Yeah? From what I hear, you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a f@#%ing boat.

by BillyMojo on Jun 17, 2009 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gud= Grud-zee-LON-ick

my keyboard don’t like “r”

Yeah? From what I hear, you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a f@#%ing boat.

by BillyMojo on Jun 17, 2009 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Retro I think eras could be a factor here

there’s only one player in this top 10 (Donnie Sadler) from a similar era.

I would say Mario Mendoza had to work harder in his day and age and in today’s era would totally pwn TPJ.

Put Junior on the field back in the mid 70’s and I don’t think he’d even look as “good” as he does now.

just an opinion.

Yeah? From what I hear, you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a f@#%ing boat.

by BillyMojo on Jun 17, 2009 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

but then again

if TPJ was an everyday SS for some club in the NL, say the Nationals? and faced the obviously weaker NL pitching, say maybe TPJ would now be worried less about maintaining a .100 avg but more worried about maintaining a .200 avg.

Could that be a case? Could Tony Pena Jr. be a .200/.250/.200 offense guy in the NL?

Yeah? From what I hear, you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a f@#%ing boat.

by BillyMojo on Jun 17, 2009 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

now that I think about it,

probably not.

he’d

FAIL

Yeah? From what I hear, you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a f@#%ing boat.

by BillyMojo on Jun 17, 2009 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Since 1990

Worst OPS+ (min. 850 PAs)

1. Donnie Sadler 39
2. Rafael Belliard 46
2. Tony Pena Jr. 46
4. Alex Diaz 52
5. Alberto Castillo 54
5. Matt Walbeck 54
7. John Mcdonald 55
8. Manny Alexander 56
9. Peter Bergeron 58
9. Jorge Fabregas 58
9. Andy Sheets 58

Four Royals!

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jun 17, 2009 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm Glad To

See John McDonald, our future starting SS, in the middle of that list.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jun 19, 2009 1:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

isnt OPS+ adjusted for era?

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Jun 18, 2009 12:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Four

If you count Luis Pujols who very briefly played for the Royals, and comes in at #11.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jun 17, 2009 3:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If TPJ's true batting average is .100

he has a 1/100,000 chance of getting 5 hits in a row (not a 5 for 5 game, just 5 hits in a row).

That translates to once every 154 seasons! Please Dayton, more TPJ!

A .333 hitter has a .041 chance of that, or 1 in 244, which means roughly 2.5 times per year. A .333 hitter also has a slightly better chance to get 10 hits in a row than TPJ does for 5 in a row.

by AxDxMx on Jun 17, 2009 6:05 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

wow

when you put it into translatable real life output, it is kinda scary that the Royals are going to have to have TPJ around for 154 seasons. Dayton better start looking into cryogenics and the sort to keep TPJ going at his phenomenal rate.

by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Jun 17, 2009 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

seeing as how walk rates tend to go up with age

he’s going to be an OBP machine — maybe because of his shrinking strike zone

by benfunke on Jun 17, 2009 8:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

his strike zone will not shrink until his arms get shorter....

b/c obviously thats why he swings at balls a foot off the plate in his eyes…

thanks ryan

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Jun 18, 2009 12:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

His defense is good but not the best by far....

I see why they keep him around defensively… but it’s all defensive potential. Not where he’s at… I have the feeling we could get him through waivers… I also get the feeling that we could expose him to the rule 5 draft and he’d still be a royal at the end of it….

Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.

by 306008 on Jun 18, 2009 12:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

that's pretty daring

(winky face)

“Fortunately,” the only guy in baseball who thinks he’s worth claiming runs the Royals.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

by devil_fingers on Jun 18, 2009 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am more certain about what I am about to type as I am about anything I ever have or probably ever will type into a comment box:

Tony Pena Jr. would make it through waivers.

There isn’t a team in Holy Heck that wants anything to do with him (save one). Plus, they don’t want to do the Royals any favors by helping rid them of this Multiple-Vortex Suck Machine. (Maybe Tampa would out of pity, just because they know what it’s like to be where we are.)

by benfunke on Jun 18, 2009 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey guys!

I’ve been lost at sea since last june. Anyways, just wondering how that Michael Aviles guy in Omaha is doing, perhaps we could call him up and give him a shot at the big leagues? It may be too early to call Pena Jr. a bust, but why not check this so-called AAAA player a shot? Eh?

by kansasjhawk044 on Jun 20, 2009 12:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs