Welcome to Behind the Plate With DJ, a weekly look at what is going on in the world of baseball. This series will weigh in on the interesting, the controversial, and the downright cool. The play of the week could be an incredible play or an unusual one. If something made you scratch your head, you will probably find it here. So sit back, relax, and let’s take a look at the week that was.
Baseball’s Hit King*
On June 15, Ichiro Suzuki led off a game against the Padres with an infield single. It was no big deal, he has been doing that since signing with the Mariners in 2001. Later in the game, he hit a double to right. Again, he has done that for over 15 years.
What made these two hits special was that they were hits number 4,256 and 4,257 in his professional career, passing Pete Rose. Of course, this includes 1,278 hits that Ichiro had in Japan and do not include the 427 that Rose hit in the minor leagues.
Nobody is trying to claim that Ichiro is a better hitter than Rose, or that his accomplishments overshadow those of Rose. It is just a neat little statistical nugget. It is an amazing feat that Ichiro reached that number, but to me that only makes Rose’s record that much more impressive.
Next up for Ichiro is the magical 3,000 hit club. He needs just 17 more hits to get there. It is possible that he could reach 3,000 in the 16 games that remain before the All-Star Game. If not, he surely will get to the milestone shortly after the break.
Championship Droughts
The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship, ending the longest championship drought for a major sports city. The last championship that a Cleveland team won was when the Browns beat the Baltimore Colts 27-0 in the 1964 NFL Championship Game.
That leaves Milwaukee as the city with the dishonor of having the longest current championship drought. The Bucks swept the 1971 NBA Finals against the Baltimore Bullets, giving them a 45-year championship drought.
What about baseball? The Indians last won a World Series in 1948. The Brewers have never won one, but the Milwaukee Braves beat the Yankees in seven games in 1957. Those are the two longest current World Series Championship droughts for a city. The third longest belongs to Pittsburgh, whose Pirates last won in 1979.
Of course, the longest drought for a team that has won a World Series belongs to the Chicago Cubs, who have not won since 1908. In fact, they have not even been in one since 1945. But the city of Chicago saw a World Series title when the White Sox won in 2005.
Advanced Stat of the week
Every week, Behind the Plate will look at an advanced stat that is being used in baseball. These stats give a better idea on what value a player gives a team. This week’s stat is Exit Velocity.
Exit Velocity is one of the stats that is tracked by StatCast, a system that tracks player and ball movements at all 30 MLB ballparks. The Exit Velocity is the speed of the ball after it is hit by the bat. The higher the Exit Velocity, the harder the ball was hit.
Because of the StatCast technology, fans are getting an unprecedented look at what is going on. Radar guns have shown the pitch speed for years, now there is a way to see the speed of the ball off the bat, and it is fast.
Giancarlo Stanton currently has the top 5 Exit Velocity readings in 2016, ranging from 118.9 mph to 123.9 mph. In contrast, Aroldis Chapman has the fastest pitch at 103.2 mph.
A high Exit Velocity does not always result in the ball going further. Of those top 5 velocities that Stanton had, he went 3 for 5 with 3 singles. His 123.9 mph shot actually ended up turning into a double play. In fact, only 4 of the top 50 Exit Velocities ended up going for home runs.
Stanton has the second longest home run of the season (475), and that left the bat at 112.8 mph. Nomar Mazara hit a 491-foot home run that had an Exit Velocity of 107.8 mph. Obviously, there is more to home runs, and even hits for that matter, than Exit Velocity, but if a hitter hits the ball hard consistently, there is a better chance of success over the long haul.
Play of the Week
This week’s play of the week is a pretty standard 4-6-3 double play from the June 21 game between the Angels and the Astros. Angel second baseman Johnny Giavotella made a great diving stop, flipped the ball to Andrelton Simmons, who threw to first baseman C.J. Cron.
What makes this double play unusual enough to be included as the Behind the Plate Play of the Week is the flip from Giavotella to Simmons. Giavotella threw the ball with his glove, then Simmons caught it with his bare hand.
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