Here We Go Again

On August 8th the Indians defeated Minnesota in the last game of a series, breaking an 11-game losing streak, the second longest in franchise history. They then split a 4-game series with Boston and won the opener against Anaheim, giving them four wins in a six-game stretch. On August 14th, they lost to the Angels, then they lost again on the 15th, and again... You get the idea. As of this moment, the Indians have lost nine games in a row, just two and a half weeks after they ended that 11-game skid. You can do the math and see they're one loss away from a second 10-game losing streak in the same season. Maybe they'll beat the Yankees tonight, bad teams beat good teams in baseball all the time, but if not, just what kind of company will they be joining?

With a little help from the trusty Baseball-Reference Play Index, I found every team in history to ever lose at least ten consecutive games more than once in the same season. It turns out, there have been 30 of them (this is for seasons going back to 1918, which is as far back as B-R's streak tracker goes).

Incredibly, the 1928 Phillies, 1961 Senators (they became the Rangers), 1962 Mets, and 1965 Mets managed to lose at least ten straight games THREE times during the season. Those 1962 Mets are especially (un)impressive, because their streaks were of 17, 11, and 13 games. That was the first season in franchise history for the Mets and they lost 120 games, the modern record.

That Senators team was also new to baseball when they had their streaks and it turns out that most of the teams that lost ten or more games in a row more than once did so before the expansion era.

In looking at the Astros recent (current) run of awful baseball, I discovered that the three worst 50-game stretches in modern history were all pulled off by the old Philadelphia Athletics. Those A's turn up twice among the 30 teams here, in 1937 and 1945. The Phillies are on the list for 1919, 1928, 1939, and 1961. The city of Philadelphia sure did see some losing baseball back in the day.

On the other hand, the Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Pirates, White Sox, and Yankees have all been around since before 1918 (which, as I said, is when this research dates back to) without ever having lost ten straight more than once in a season. That club may shrink from seven clubs to six this evening.

Back to the failures though, as I concluded in looking at the worst 50-game stretches in modern history, teams just aren't losing in bunches the way they used to. Only eight teams have accomplished this feat since the 1960s:

1989 Reds
1989 Tigers
1996 Tigers
1998 Marlins
2002 Orioles
2003 Tigers
2004 Diamondbacks
2006 Royals

Not a single team joined the list between 1970 and 1988, thought the late 90s and early 2000s saw a solid bump in membership. Those 1996 Tigers are one of only five teams in history to lose at least twelve straight games twice in one season, along with those 1962 Mets and 1928 Phillies, plus the 1919 Phillies and 1935 Braves. So, the '96 Tigers were the only team in the last fifty seasons to lose 12+ twice AND the only team in American League history ever to do it. The 1996 Detroit Tigers, ladies and gentlemen!

Can the Indians become the newest member of the club? I await with bated breath.


Houston, You Have a Problem (Worst 50-Game Stretches in Baseball)

Yes, that was just about the most obvious headline in history. There simply weren't any other quotes from "Apollo 13" that worked well, and when I woke up this morning, I swore I'd work a quote from a mid-90s Tom Hanks movie into a headline. I thought it might be something from "That Thing You Do," but that's not how things shook out.

The Houston Astros are bad this year, really bad. Entering today, they're 39-86, which is easily the worst record in baseball, and puts them on pace for a 51-111 season. The last team to do that poorly was the 2004 Diamondbacks. Houston has just gotten worse as the year has gone, especially after trading away what little they had to offer other teams at the deadline. Over their last 50 games, the Astros' record stands at 7-43.

Every team goes through good patches and bad patches during a season, but 50 games can hardly be called a "patch," and 7-43 goes far beyond what might be considered "bad." I found myself wondering if Houston had ever had a stretch of baseball quite that awful. Before this season, the Astros worst ever 50-game stretch came in at 11-39, so they've cleared that by a pretty good distance.

Once I knew this was well beyond any such stretch of baseball Houston had ever had, I started to look at how this run might stack up against the worst runs in modern baseball history (which dates to 1901, when the American League was formed). It turns out, this current mess of baseball being played by the Houston Astros is tied as the third-worst in modern history.

I repeat...


THIS IS THE THIRD-WORST 50-GAME STRETCH IN MODERN HISTORY.


The only teams to ever lose so many games over that portion of the schedule:

The 1915 Philadelphia Athletics, the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, and the 1937 Philadelphia Athletics

Hooray for the Philadelphia Athletics!!!

The 1937 team had a stretch where it won just 6 of 50 games. The 1916 team though, that was a bunch that knew how to lose, they went just 4-46 over 50 games. In fact, from May 24th and August 8th, they went an incredible 6-63 (so they had a bunch of 4-46, 5-45, and 6-44 stretches in there).

The worst 50-game stretches:

1) 4-46 (1916 Athletics)

2) 6-44 (1937 Athletics)

3) 7-43 (1915 Athletics, 2012 Astros)

5) 8-42 (1902 Giants, 1907 Cardinals, 1923 Braves, 1932 Red Sox, 1943 Athletics, 1949 Senators,                                 1961 Phillies, 1979 Athletics, 1982 Twins, 1996 Tigers, 2004 Diamondbacks)

Those are the 15 teams with the worst 50-game stretches in modern history. Incredibly, the Athletics are responsible for five of them.

Also, only 3 of these 15 stretches came in the last 30 seasons. Teams just don't seem to lose like they used to.

Here is the worst 50-game from each season so far this century:

2000: 12-38 (Cubs)
2001: 14-36 (Orioles, Pirates, Rays, Reds, Rockies, Tigers)
2002: 12-38 (Orioles)
2003: 10-40 (Tigers)
2004: 8-42 (Diamondbacks)
2005: 13-37 (Royals)
2006: 12-38 (Royals)
2007: 13-37 (Rays)
2008: 14-36 (Athletics, Mariners, Nationals, Orioles, Pirates)
2009: 12-38 (Pirates)
2010: 13-37 (Pirates)
2011: 10-40 (Twins)
2012: 7-43 (Astros)

Among all 30 teams, the Rockies have the "best" bad stretch, they've never gone worse than 14-36 over any 50 games. Of course, they've only been around for twenty years, so they have an advantage. The Pirates hold the record for "best" bad stretch among the teams that have been around all the way back to 1901, at 12-38.

Here is every team's worst 50-game stretch:

Angels: 11-39 (1999)
Astros: 7-43 (2012)
Athletics: 4-46 (1916)
Blue Jays: 11-39 (1979)
Braves: 8-42 (1923)
Brewers: 12-38 (1969, 1975)
Cardinals: 8-42 (1907)
Cubs: 10-40 (1999)
Diamondbacks: 8-42 (2004)
Dodgers: 11-39 (1905, 1944)
Giants: 8-42 (1902)
Indians: 11-39 (2012)
Mariners: 12-38 (1980)
Marlins: 11-39 (1998)
Mets: 9-41 (1962)
Nationals: 12-38 (1969, 1976)
Orioles: 9-41 (1954)
Padres: 9-41 (1969)
Phillies: 8-42 (1961)
Pirates: 12-38 (1952)
Rangers: 9-41 (1961)
Rays: 13-37 (2002, 2005, 2007)
Red Sox: 8-42 (1932)
Reds: 11-39 (1914)
Rockies: 14-36 (1993, 2001, 2005, 2012)
Royals: 12-38 (2006)
Tigers: 8-42 (1996)
Twins: 8-42 (1949, 1982)
White Sox: 11-39 (1932)
Yankees: 9-41 (1909)

Further evidence that losing ain't what it used to be, among the 16 original teams, 9 of them had their worst 50-game stretch at least 80 years ago (the Athletics, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Reds, Red Sox, White Sox, and Yankees).

Who knows how bad things will look by the end of the year. Houston could end up losing 30 of its last 37 games and finishing 46-116, which would be the worst record in the National League in fifty years. They could also rebound, win 19 of these last 37 and end up at 58-104, which would still be the worst record in the league, but not historically bad. In any case, they've already accomplished that no team but the Philadelphia Athletics ever experienced.


The Quarter Pole: National League

The season is now 75% of the way over. It seems like a good time to look around and see how things are shaping up for the final 40 games or so. Who's likely to win each division? Who's likely to win the wildcard spots in each league? What might happen once the playoffs arrive? Which players could be headed to an MVP or Cy Young award? All good questions. I don't just want to focus on the good though, I'm interested in the worst teams and players too! So, get caught up on what you may have missed and laugh at me as I try to guess what happens the rest of the way! 


(and click here for my take on the American League)

THE WEST

Since the end of May, the Giants and Dodgers have spent every single day within 5 games of one another. Since June 22nd they've spent every day within 3 games of one another. The Giants have spent most of August in front, but not by much and it will be interesting to see how they respond to Melky Cabrera's suspension, which will keep him out for the rest of the season. At one point in mid-July it looked like the Dodgers might fade out of the race, but they recovered. Their new ownership group has not been afraid to throw some money around and their trade for Hanley Ramirez has paid off handsomely, he has a 148 OPS+ since joining L.A., which matches his number from 2009, the best season of his career. Whether it's been the move back to shortstop, a change of scenery, or just random fluctuation from a small sample of appearances, he's been a beast for them. Arizona had crept within 2 games of 1st three weeks ago, but they've fallen back again now and at 6 games back of San Francisco and 5 games out of a wildcard spot, they're only fringe contenders for the postseason

THE CENTRAL

Before the season I thought this was the toughest division to call, with three very real playoff contenders. Instead, Cincinnati is running away with the division (their 7.5 game lead is the largest in baseball) and while there are three playoff contenders, Milwaukee has been replaced by Pittsburgh in that bunch. The Reds play in a hitters' park, but their bullpen has the best ERA of any team in baseball and their starters have been solid too. The Pirates haven't made the playoffs, or even had a winning season, since 1992, but, led by a fantastic season from Andrew McCutchen, they're currently sitting on the second wildcard spot, which would be pretty, well... wild. That said, Pittsburgh was tied for 1st five weeks ago, but has been fading. They're 8-12 in August and if that trend continues, they're going to fall behind St. Louis (and maybe a couple others). Speaking of St. Louis, the Cardinals are a half-game out of the playoffs right now, but they have the best run differential of any team in baseball. Teams with the best run differential tend to make the playoffs and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the Redbirds make it. Milwaukee has been a disappointment and the Cubs have been about as bad as expected. Then there are the Astros. They started a respectable 22-23. Since then they're 17-61. They are 7-41 since June 28th, which barely computes in my mind.For those curious, that would work out to a 24-138 record over a full season. Good times!

THE EAST

So, the Phillies have sure had a great season! Washington has taken control of the division as Philadelphia's mini-dynasty seems to be ending (or at the very least, it's on a hiatus).Bryce Harper was called up earlier than expected and has been good. Stephen Strasburg and the rest of the starting rotation have been great, far and away the best unit in baseball this year. Before the season, Nationals brass talked about Strasburg being on an innings limit, having returned from Tommy John surgery only very late in 2011. If the team were running at .500 or so, that wouldn't be a big deal, shutting him down for the last three weeks of the season or so. With the best record in baseball though, the playoffs are a near certainty; the notion of a healthy Strasburg sitting on the bench for the playoffs seems crazy to many, but the Nationals are still claiming that will be the case, once he hits 180 innings (he's at 145, so he probably has 5 or 6 more starts in him, unless the plan changes). I respect a cautious approach to recovering from a major surgery, but I can't get on board with holding healthy players back from the playoffs when they're this good. The Braves seem to be headed to the playoffs too (though a 3.5 game lead is far, far, far from a sure thing). Chipper Jones has been great in his final season, Jason Heyward has gotten back on track after a poor 2011, and they've got the third best record in the league.


PREDICTIONS

The Dodgers fall just short of the Giants in the West and of Atlanta and St. Louis for the wildcard (then they spend a lot of money in the off-season). The Reds and Nationals both win their divisions comfortably. The Pirates continue to fade and finish a few games back of the wildcard teams, but they do manage to finish above .500, ending that awful streak. The Nationals then decide they can't possibly let Strasburg ride the bench all postseason.

West: Giants
Central: Reds
East: Nationals
Wildcards: Braves and Cardinals

Champion: Washington

MVP Contenders: McCutchen, Buster Posey, David Wright, Ryan Braun, Jason Heyward, Yadier Molina
Cy Young Contenders: Johnny Cueto, Clayton Kershaw, R.A. Dickey, Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann


 

The Quarter Pole: American League

The season is now 75% of the way over. It seems like a good time to look around and see how things are shaping up for the final 40 games or so. Who's likely to win each division? Who's likely to win the wildcard spots in each league? What might happen once the playoffs arrive? Which players could be headed to an MVP or Cy Young award? All good questions. I don't just want to focus on the good though, I'm interested in the worst teams and players too! So, get caught up on what you may have missed and laugh at me as I try to guess what happens the rest of the way!

(and click here for my take on the National League)

THE WEST

The Rangers are comfortably in first place here, but that's not much of a surprise.

What's happened to the Angels?! After a rough April put them in a deep hole, they were perhaps the best team in baseball over the next three months. Then August rolled around and the Angels have been a complete mess, going just 5-13 since the calendar turned. They'd pulled within 3 games of Texas on July 31st, but now they're 9.5 games back. They've also gone from sitting on a wildcard spot to being 4 games out. Mike Trout has been an absolute monster and after his awful first month or so of the season, Albert Pujols has been Albert Pujols; it's the offense that's to blame. Trading for Zack Greinke was supposed to solidify the Angels rotation as the best in the American League, but the team is carrying a 6.76 ERA for the month, far and away the worst in baseball. They have time to bounce back again, but had better get on with it if they're going to.

Meanwhile... Oakland. At the end of play on June 10th they were 26-35, in last place in the division. Since then? They've gone 39-21, which is the best record in the American League. They're not going to catch Texas, but they're only half a game out of the second wildcard, so that's certainly in play. They have the second best ERA in the A.L. and while some of that us due to their ballpark, their arms are legit. Their lineup isn't great, but they just filled the black hole they've had at shortstop all season (an OPS of just .568 for the season there) by trading for Stephen Drew, who (if healthy) should be a good-sized upgrade.

THE CENTRAL

The Tigers were supposed to be the class of the division and win it by a comfortable margin, but that's not how it's played out. Led by Justin Verlander, their rotation has been fairly solid, but their offense, which many expected to be the best in baseball, has been pretty close to league average. Miguel Cabrera continues to be arguably the best hitter in baseball, Prince Fielder has been pretty close to his career norms (which are not quite as impressive as his reputation), and Austin Jackson has taken a legitimate step up at the plate and turned into a star, but the rest of the lineup has been inconsistent at best and downright bad at worst. Many still see Detroit as the best team in the division, but aside from a three-week stretch in July, they have not looked like it.

The White Sox have spent most of the season in 1st place. They've never had a lead bigger than 3.5 games and on more than one occasion they've looked like they were going to come apart, but since taking over first on May 29th, they've spent just eight days behind anyone else in the division. They've scored the third most runs in the A.L. They got a great start from Paul Konerko before injuries slowed him. Adam Dunn is leading the league in home runs, walks, and strikeouts, which only five players in history have ever done (Babe Ruth, Hack Wilson, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, and Dale Murphy), none since 1985. A.J. Pierzynski has set a career high in home runs at the age of 35, hitting more home runs at such an advanced age than any catcher in baseball history but Carlton Fisk. Alex Rios is giving Dunn a run for comeback player of the year. July acquisition Kevin Youkilis was dreadful in Boston for fifteen weeks, but has been great for the Pale Hose over the last month. The Sox have also allowed the 4th fewest runs in the league, led by Cy Young candidate Chris Sale and the best Jake Peavy we've seen in years.

Meanwhile, the Royals, Indians, and Twins have been the three worst teams in the American League. Minnesota currently has the worst record, but Cleveland has the worst run differential, and has been slowly falling towards the bottom in wins and losses too.

THE EAST

The Yankees sit in 1st place, as they have for most of the season. Their lead had ballooned to 10 games five week ago, but is down to 4 games now. It should not be surprising that a team with so many veteran players has lost some production to the disabled list. CC Sabathia has missed some time recently, but is expected back soon and Hiroki Kuroda has been outstanding of late, the rotation has been something of a rough patchwork beyond those two, but the results haven't been too bad. Robinson Cano has led the offense, which has been among the best in baseball, same as in just about every season over the last two decades.

The Rays are 15-4 over the last three weeks, in which time they've gone from being out of the playoffs, to sitting on a 2.5 game lead in the wildcard standings and just 4 games back of New York for 1st place in the East and the best record in the American League. After some injuries earlier in the year, the team has gotten fairly healthy and seems a good bet to make the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, after finishing in last place for nine of the team's first ten years in existence.

Baltimore is currently sitting in the second wildcard spot, though it's hard to say how. They have one of the worst offenses in baseball and their starting pitching is below average too. They've been outscored by 47 runs over the course of the season, which is not something that's said about playoff teams. With 40 games to play, it's certainly possible they make the playoffs, but it seems equally possible that they go something like 14-26 over those 40 games and finish with a losing record. Strange team.

Boston is here, but the less said about them, the better.

PREDICTIONS

The Angels play better than they have in August, but not well enough to undo the damage. Detroit pulls ahead of Chicago, but the Sox have enough games left against the dregs of the Central to hold off other wildcard contenders. The Yankees get guys back, put a little more space back between themselves and Tampa, and finish with the best record in the A.L. The Rays finish a few games ahead of any other 2nd place team though.

West: Texas
Central: Detroit
East: New York
Wildcards: Tampa and Chicago

Champion: New York

MVP Contenders: Mike Trout
Runner-Up Contenders: Robinson Cano, Miguel Cabrera, Austin Jackson, Edwin Encarnacion
Cy Young Candidates: Verlander, Chris Sale, Felix Hernandez, Jered Weaver, David Price, Hiroki Kuroda






Brothers in Baseball


Recently, brothers B.J. and Justin Upton each hit their 100th career home run on the very same night, just an hour apart, which is a pretty cool feat. That made them just the sixth pair of brothers in baseball history with 100+ home runs apiece. Their accomplishment got me thinking about other baseball siblings and wondering where the Uptons might rank among all the brothers who've ever played. I've created just such a list, one man's opinion of the very best siblings in baseball history.

There have been almost 400 sets of brothers to each play in MLB, but the vast majority of those families include at least one brother who played only a few games. Many of the families among those 400s were in baseball's earliest days. I suspect that oftentimes back then, players' brothers were brought in when regulars on the team were injured, which of course would no longer be permitted by modern roster guidelines. Having discovered the nearly 400 candidate families, I set out to determine the best.

I don't think you can simply add two (or more) players statistics together for this sort of exercise. Hank Aaron and Honus Wagner each had a brother who played in the Majors briefly; if I just added their stats together the totals would outpace probably any other pair --did you know the Aaron brothers hit a combined 768 home runs?!-- but that's not quite what I'm after. I'm looking for cases where both brothers were fairly productive players.



Honorable Mention (11-20 in alphabetical order):

Roberto and Sandy Alomar
George and Ken Brett
Harry and Stan Covelski
Bob and Ken Forsch
Brian and Marcus Giles
Livan and Orlando Hernandez
Bob and Roy Johnson
Bob and Irish Meusel
Jesse and Lee Tannehill
Deacon and Will White


Top Active Brothers:

5) Bengie, Jose, and Yadier Molina - Yadier is one of the best catchers in baseball, but since my rankings are based on production from multiple siblings, he can only move the family so far up the list on his own and Jose isn't likely to add much more. to the family's total.

4) B.J. and Justin Upton - The youngest players on this list, they have the greatest remaining potential to shoot up the all-time list. If each Upton were to double their career production so far, they'd be on the cusp of the all-time top ten below.

3) Jeff and Jered Weaver - Jered is one of the five or ten best pitchers in baseball and has a good chance of accomplishing a great deal more in his career. Jeff was good but not great, which limits their potential for climbing onto the all-time list.

2) J.D., Stephen, and Tim Drew - Only Stephen is still playing, but he's still just 29 and could do enough to shoot the Drews onto the all-time list if he ever stays healthy. Plus, J.D. could still return and add a little more too. Tim didn't do much in his brief career, but is included anyway.

1) Livan and Orlando Hernandez - Barely still active and with the way Livan has pitched this year, he isn't adding any further value. So, they're not likely to climb any further on the all-time list, but until Livan hangs 'em up, they're the best brothers with an active member in baseball.



Top Ten Sets of Brothers in MLB History:


10) Felipe, Matty, and Jesus Alou
Career bWAR: Felipe 39.2, Matty 21.5, Jesus -1.0

All three brothers played all three outfield positions and a little 1B and each played for a number of different teams. In 1963, all three of them played for the Giants. All three brothers compiled over 1,000 career hits, Felipe had 2,101 and also hit 206 home runs, while the other two had little power. Felipe and Matty both appeared in multiple All-Star Games, while Jesus, was never more than an average Major League player.


09) Mort and Walker Cooper
Career bWAR: Mort 31.7, Walker 27.2 

They played during the 1940s and 50s, both mostly for the Cardinals. Mort was a pitcher, with a career ERA of  2.97 and a 124 ERA+. He was the NL MVP in 1942, when he led the league in ERA, WHIP, and shutouts. Walker was a catcher and had a career batting line of .285/.332/.464 with a 116 OPS+ in over 5,000 PA. He was named to 8 All-Star teams.


08) Ed, Jim, Joe, Tom and Frank Delahanty
Career bWAR: Ed 66.5, Jim 17.2, Joe 0.5, Tom -0.3, Frank -1.9

The only family in history with five brothers to play in the Major Leagues, their mom and dad must have been  very proud. Ed was one of the best players of the 1800s and is in the Hall of Fame. His 101 career home runs seem quite modest by today's standards, but thy were enough for him to rank 8th on the all-time list when he retired in 1903. Among the other brothers, only Jim appeared in more than 300 games, but he was a solid player, with 1,159 career hits.


07) Ken, Clete, and Cloyd Boyer
Career bWAR: Ken 58.7, Clete 25.5, Cloyd 0.2

Ken was one of the finest 3B in history, we was strong with both the bat and the glove. He was an All-Star in seven different seasons, won five gold gloves, won the 1964 NL MVP, finished in the top ten three other times, and ought to be in the Hall of Fame. Clete was an even better defensive 3B than Ken, certainly one of the ten best ever and arguably second only to Brooks Robinson, but he didn't have his brother's bat. Cloyd was a pitcher, but not a very accomplished one; his career was brief and adds little to the combined Boyer value.


06) Wes and Rick Ferrell
Career bWAR: Wes 57.2, Rick 26.3

Wes was one of the best pitchers in baseball in the late 20s and early to mid 30s, first with the Indians, then the Red Sox. Wes was also a fine hitter, his .446 slugging percentage is the highest in history among pitchers with at least 500 career PA (Wes had over 1,300) and his 38 home runs are the most by any pitcher in history. Rick appeared in nearly 2,000 games, every one of them at catcher. He was named to the American League All-Star game seven times. The Ferrells are the best pair of brothers featuring both a pitcher and a position player in history, in my opinion.


05) Paul and Lloyd Waner
Career bWAR: Paul 69.8, Lloyd 22.0

Big Poison and Little Poison, both of the brothers are in the Hall of Fame (though Lloyd is a fairly questionable inductee, I think). They played together for the Pirates from 1927 to 1940, giving them more games together than any other brothers. Paul had 3,152 career hits, he was the 7th player in history to get to 3,000. He won the 1927 NL MVP and finished in the top five three other times. Lloyd collected 2,459 hits, no other brothers have both collected 2,000+ hits, or even come particularly close.


04) Pedro and Ramon Martinez
Career bWAR: Pedro 80.5, Ramon 24.2

Pedro was one of the greatest pitchers in history. His prime was shorter than many other pitchers', but the quality of his best seasons matches up well with that of any pitcher. His career 154 ERA+ is the best in history among all pitchers with 1,500+ IP (he pitched 2,827.1 innings). His 291 ERA+ in 2000 is the highest in modern history. No one was ever better than Pedro was between 1997 and 2000. Often lost in all that is the fact that his brother Ramon was also a fine pitcher, with a career ERA of 3.67 in almost 2,000 career innings. Twice he finished in the top five in NL Cy Young voting.


03) Phil and Joe Niekro
Career bWAR: Phil 90.7, Joe 26.2

Two of the finest knuckleball pitchers in history. Phil pitched 5,404 innings, the 4th most in history. Eleven times he was among the top ten in the league in innings pitched. His ERA+ was among the top ten seven times, so he wasn't just quantity, there was a ton of quality there too. He was undervalued during his career; he probably deserved both the 1978 and 1979 NL Cy Young Awards, but finished outside the top five in voting both times. He was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame however. Joe pitched 3,584.1 innings, which would lead most families. He was closer to a league average pitch for most of his career, but had a couple very strong seasons, including 1982, when he carried a 2.47 ERA through 270 innings.


02) Gaylord and Jim Perry
Career bWAR: Gaylord 84.5, Jim 38.3

Gaylord won the 1972 AL Cy Young with Cleveland and the 1978 NL Cy Young with San Diego. He also had 2nd and 4th place finishes in other years. He ranks 6th all-time in innings and 9th in strikeouts. He finished in the top ten in the league in ERA 11 times and in strikeouts 12 times. He is in the Hall of Fame. Jim won the 1970 Cy Young with Minnesota, making the Perry family the only one in history with multiple Cy Young winners. He finished in the top ten in the league in ERA five times. Jim gets my vote for being the best player in history who wasn't the best player among his siblings, and if this were limited to only two brothers per family, the Perry brothers would rank #1.


01) Joe, Dom, and Vince DiMaggio
Career bWAR: Joe 75.1, Dom 29.8, Vince 15.9

The DiMaggio family has what no other family can match, three legitimately good brothers. Joe and Dom would rank #2 by themselves, Vince pushes them over the top. Joe is a legend and among the very best players in history. He won three AL MVP Awards, finished in the top ten seven other times, and of course had the 56-game hitting streak that still stands as the Major League record. Dom played his entire career for the Red Sox; he was a seven-time All-Star and collected 1,680 hits, despite missing three full seasons due to his military service during WWII. Vince sent ten seasons over in the National League, where he had 959 career hits, including 125 home runs. He was named to a pair of All-Star Games.


There you have it, the very best brothers in baseball history. The Upton brothers are to be congratulated for each having hit 100+ home runs. They have a chance of eventually becoming the first brothers ever to hit 200+ and of entering the top ten siblings in baseball history, but they've got a ways to go yet.

The Indians are Going Streaking! (UPDATED)


On July 26th the Indians played the Tigers. Justin Verlander, the best pitcher in baseball, was on the mound for Detroit. Cleveland was down by two going into the bottom of the 7th; Verlander was cruising, he'd given up just 3 hits all night and looked well on his way to another complete game. But Carlos Santana hit the first pitch of the inning into the rightfield seats and Travis Hafner hit the second pitch of the inning into the centerfield seats, suddenly the game was tied. Three more hits led to two more runs, putting the Indians ahead, and they held on from there for a 5-3 win. The victory pushed their record to 50-49, a hair above .500, and left them 3.5 games out of first place in the American League Central. I certainly didn't consider them likely to win the division, but they were in the picture.

* In 1901 the Cleveland Blues (they weren't known as the Indians until 1915) debuted in the new American League. Things did not start well, as less than two weeks into that first season, the team lost 11 straight games. The Blues were outscored 71-32 during that streak, an average score of 6.5 to 2.9, for an average margin of defeat of 3.6 runs.

On July 27th the Indians began a nine-game road trip in Minnesota. The Twins entered that game with the worst record in the American League. That night, Minnesota exploded for eleven runs. Indians starter Josh Tomlin gave up eight of those runs and was chased from the game during the 5th inning. Cleveland had just three hits and scored zero runs, only the third time all season the Twins shut a team out. It was only the 11th time all season that any team had been shutout while allowing ten or more runs, and ugly, ugly game for the Indians.

* In 1905 the Naps (now named after their star player, Nap Lajoie) were dominating the A.L. during the first-half of the season. Their record stood at 53-31 the morning of July 27th, when suddenly they went into a tailspin, losing 10 games in a row. They were outscored 59-30 during that streak, an average score of 5.9 to 3.0, for an average margin of defeat of 2.9 runs.

On July 28th the Indians managed to score some runs, five of them in fact. Four of those five runs came late though, and by the time it got to be late in the game, the game was way out of hand, because the Twins offense decided to outdo itself and score twelve runs this go round, their new second-highest output of the season. Minnesota hadn't scored double-digits runs in consecutive games all season until this. Justin Masterson lasted all the way to the 6th inning, but gave up ten runs along the way. A second very ugly loss in a row.

* Late in 1909 the Naps set off on a four-week road trip to end their season (that's right, FOUR WEEKS). During that trip, they managed to lose 11 straight games. They were outscored 57-15 during that streak, an average score of 5.2 to 1.4 (!), for an average margin of defeat of 3.8 runs.

On July 29th the Indians Ubaldo Jimenez made it to the 7th inning and allowed only five runs, easily Cleveland's best start of the weekend, but the game ended as a 5-1 loss. The Indians had been swept by a team with only one other sweep all season.

* In September of 1928 the Indians were nineteen years removed from their last losing streak of 10 games or more, when they strung together an 11-game streak. They were outscored 86-39 during that streak, an average score of 7.8 to 3.5, for an average margin of defeat of 4.3 runs.

On July 30th the Indians licked their wounds.

* In May of 1931, the Indians lost 12 games in a row. They were outscored 102-54 during the streak, an average score of 8.5 to 4.5, for an average margin of defeat of 4.0 runs. It was early in the year when the streak began, and the Tribe recovered to finish the season 78-76. The 12 straight losses set a franchise record that has stood for 81 years.

On July 31st the Indians began a series with the Kansas City Royals. Sweeping the Indians allowed Minnesota to move out of the cellar, so for the second series in a row, Cleveland was facing the team with the worst record in the American League. Derek Lowe started for the Tribe, promptly gave up seven runs before the end of the 3rd inning, and was pulled. The game ended 8-3, Royals. Not satisfied with merely getting Lowe out of the game, the team released him later that night.

* It may surprise you to know that the Indians got through the rest of the 1930s, all of the 1940s and 50s, and most of the 1960s without ever losing 10 games in a row. Some of the best teams in franchise history came in those years, including the 1948 team that remains the last World Series winning Indians team.

On August 1st a new month began much the same way the last one had ended, with another loss. Zach McAllister gave up five runs in six innings, while the offense managed just five hits.

* In 1969 the Indians got off to a dreadful start. They were 0-5 before they won their first game, and after that victory, they lost 10 games in a row, the team's first such streak in 38 years. They were outscored 83-33 during that streak, an average score of 8.3 to 3.3, for an average margin of defeat of 5.0 runs

On August 2nd Corey Kluber made his first career start. He gave up six runs in the 1st inning. The Indians clawed back though. Carlos Santana, the one Indian who'd been hitting the ball well during the losing streak, singled in a pair of runs in the 3rd and then hit a two-run homer in the 5th, tying the game. The Royals put a couple men on base in the 11th and with two outs Cleveland's closer, Chris Perez entered the game. The first batter he faced lined a single to left, game over. The Royals hadn't won two games in a row since June, suddenly they'd won three. The streak was now at a season high (low) six straight losses.

* The Indians lost their final 7 games of that 1969 season, ending the season with a record of 62-99, the worst record in the American League. They were also an incredible 46.5 games out of 1st place. The Tribe began 1970 with 3 more losses, bringing the streak to 10 games and over 6 months. They were outscored 58-23 during that streak, an average score of 5.8 to 2.3, for an average margin of defeat of 3.5 runs.

On August 3rd the Tribe began a series in Detroit. The Tigers were the last team they'd beaten, eight days earlier, so maybe the streak would end here. Justin Masterson became the first pitcher to start a second game since the streak began. He saw to it that the streak would not end this night, giving up seven runs in just four innings. The game ended 10-2, the Indians third loss of the streak by seven runs or more.

* In 1973 the Indians lost 10 straight games between late May and early June. They were outscored 63-36 during that streak, for an average score of 6.3 to 3.6, for an average margin of defeat of 2.7 runs. The team would finish the year 71-91, 11th (out of 12) in the A.L.

On August 4th Ubaldo Jimenez made his second start since the streak began, he gave up six runs before exiting during the 6th inning. Detroit's Doug Fister had a perfect game going into the 6th inning and a shutout going into the 9th; he had to settle for a one-run complete game in a 6-1 win for the Tigers instead. The losing streak was at eight games, five of the losses by five runs or more. The streak was at eight games.

* In June of 1979 the Indians again lost 10 games in a row, including 6 against Baltimore. They were outscored 52-34 during that streak, an average score of 5.2 to 3.4, for an average margin of defeat of 1.8 runs. 6 of those 10 losses were by just 1 run, 3 others were by just 2 runs. It's rare that a team would lose so many close games strung together that way. The Indians weren't a bad team that year, finishing 81-80, it was a touch luck streak though.

On August 5th Chris Seddon became the second Indians pitcher to make his first start of the year during the streak. He gave up four runs and didn't survive the 5th inning. The Indians got some offense going though; they took the lead in the 1st, 5th, and 7th innings, but Detroit kept tying it back up. The Indians went ahead again in the 10th, 8-5 this time. Chris Perez came into the game for his first save opportunity in ten days and retired the first two hitters. After eight losses, the streak was going to end... until it didn't. Two walks and a double put the tying run into scoring position and then a single knotted things at eight. Unlike Detroit's three previous comebacks, they didn't stop at tying it this time. Instead, Miguel Cabrera hit a massive home run to win the game. It was the hardest loss to take from the entire streak, maybe from the entire season. The Indians have been around since 1901, but they'd NEVER gone on a road trip of nine or more games without winning any of them. Never until now, that is.

* The Indians never lost 10 games in a row during the 1980s or 90s, or during the first few years of the 2000s. That stretch included the great teams of the late 90s, but also some very bad teams both before and after those good years, so it's a bit of a surprise that they went 29 years without a 10-game losing streak. It gives you some idea of how hard it is to lose so many games in a row.

On August 6th the Indians loaded the bases against Minnesota with nobody out in the 1st inning. The road trip had been a nightmare, but it was over now, and the team looked ready to break the streak. Alas, from "bases loaded with nobody out," just one run was scored. In the top of the 2nd, Minnesota came one run away from their franchise record for most runs in an inning, they scored ten in the frame. Carlos Santana misplayed a throw to first, extending the inning, and starter Zach McAllister then could not escape. He gave up nine runs before mercifully being pulled from the game, which ended 14-3. The Indians now had the 12th ten-game (or more) losing streak in franchise history. 

* In 2008 the Indians were coming of a year in which they'd been a win away from the World Series. They were up and down during the first half of 2008, not playing very well, but not out of it either. Then they strung together 10 losses in a row. Adding insult to injury, 8 games into the streak CC Sabathia was traded away. The Indians were outscored 74-39 during that streak, an average score of 7.4 to 3.9, for an average margin of defeat of 3.5 runs.

On August 7th the Indians took a 5-1 lead into the 7th inning. It was the largest lead they'd held at any point during the streak. Corey Kluber had given up just one run on five hits through six innings, the first good performance by an Indians starting pitcher since the streak began. The Twins doubled to start the inning, and then an error by Asdrubal Cabrera put a second man on base. Kluber exited. The next two hitters made outs, the inning would be over if not for the error. Instead, a walk, a hit batter, and a brutal, right between the legs error by Jason Kipnis allowed three runs to score, making it a 5-4 game. With one out in the 9th, Casey Kotchman made an error, and before you knew it, the score was 7-5, Twins. Chris Perez (with a lot of "help" from the defense) had his second blown save in three days.

* In September of 2009 the Indians were winding down what had already been a very bad season, when they turned it into an even worse one by losing 11 games in a row. That's right, not 10, but 11, they're longest losing streak in 78 years, since the franchise record 12 gamer in 1931. the Indians were outscored 71-30 during that streak, an average score of 6.5 to 2.7, for an average margin of defeat of 3.8 runs. 

The 2012 losing streak stands at eleven games now. There has been just one good starting pitching performance during this awful stretch of baseball and the team has batted just .224 (84 hits in 375 at bats). The Indians have been outscored 95-36 during this streak, an average score of 8.6 to 3.3, for an average margin of defeat of 5.3 runs.

The Indians have twelve 10 (or more) game losing streaks in franchise history. The current one has included the most runs allowed per game and has also featured the worst average margin of defeat. The Indians have gone from 3.5 games out of 1st place to 10.5 games out (and only 3.5 games ahead of last place). This hasn't been the longest losing streak in team history (yet?), but it has been the ugliest.

UPDATE: On August 8th, the Indians won a game, beating the Twins 6-2. Let there be much rejoicing.