All baseball fans concentrate on statistics, sometimes the positive statistics, sometimes the negative. How fans treat statistics usually depends on their favorite teams.
So, for the National League (NL), who “led the league” in negative statistics during the 2011 season?
Starting and Reliving Pitchers:
Losses – Derek Lowe led the NL in losses, with 17. He won nine games, and had an earned run average (ERA) of 5.05.
Blown Saves – Though he had 34 saves, Carlos Marmol of the Chicago Cubs blew 10 saves, to lead the NL in this category. He had a 4.01 ERA, not good for a closer.
Hits Surrendered – In 206 innings, the Florida Marlins’ Ricky Nolasco gave up a league-leading 244 hits. His record was 10-12, his ERA 4.67.
Runs Allowed – Bronson Arroyo, starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, was first in runs allowed, with 119. His record was 9-12, with a 5.07 ERA. Arroyo was also first in earned runs, with 112.
Walks Allowed – The “walking man” of the year was Jhoulys Chacin of the Colorado Rockies, who surrendered 87 walks. His record was 11-14, with a 3.62 ERA.
Under the walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP) category, Jake Westbrook of the St. Louis Cardinals and Charlie Morton of the Pittsburgh Pirates tied with a 1.53 mark. Despite the high WHIP, and ERA (4.66), Westbrook’s record was 12-9. Morton was 10-10, with a 3.83 ERA.
National League Hitting:
Lowest Batting Average – With those over 500 at-bats, the Milwaukee Brewers’ third baseman Casey McGehee had the lowest batting average (.223). He had only 13 home runs (HRs) and 67 runs batted in (RBI). Not good for a third baseman. Third base is considered a power position. Obviously, McGehee got the least hits (122) in 546 at-bats.
Lowest Runs Scored – As far as runs scored, again with over 500 at-bats, first baseman Aubrey Huff of the San Francisco Giants didn’t see the plate much. In 521 at-bats, Huff scored only 45 runs. First base is another power position. However, Huff only produced 12 HRs and 59 RBI.
Most Strike Outs – Center fielder Drew Stubbs of the Cincinnati Reds has the dubious distinction of striking out the most (205). Stubbs was the leadoff hitter most of the year, a batting position that requires making contact with the bat, which he didn’t do much of. His on-base percentage was .321, not good for a leadoff hitter, although he stole 40 bases (second most in the NL), and scored 92 runs.
Caught Stealing – Michael Bourn, who split time with the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros, led the NL in steals (61) but also led the league in the caught stealing category (14). A better candidate for base stealing futility is Brandon Phillips of the Reds. He stole 14 bases, but was caught stealing nine times.
On-Base Percentage – Alex Gonzalez of the Braves was last in the league in the on-base percentage category, with a .270 mark. The shortstop also has a lifetime OBP of just .291. Part of Gonzalez’s problem was that he walked only 22 times in 149 games.
Most Errors By Position:
Here is a list of the players who made the most errors at their positions. The rule is these players (with the exception of pitchers) must have played 130 or more games at one position.
Pitcher: Matt Garza of the Chicago Cubs was far and away the negative leader in the errors department, with seven. The next highest group of pitchers had four errors. Garza’s fielding percentage was .788, which is extremely low for any player.
Catcher: Yadier Molina (St. Louis Cardinals) is the only catcher to start over 130 games (131 to be precise) and made five errors. Molina, considered a defensive specialist, can be forgiven, because he was virtually the “everyday starter” for the Cards. Not many catchers can say that.
First baseman: The Milwaukee Brewers’ Prince Fielder led all first sackers with 15 errors. He started 159 games at first. I wonder if “Fielder” is the right last name for this fielder.
Second baseman: Dan Uggla of the Atlanta Braves committed 15 errors, starting 157 games at the position. However, Uggla was third in the league in total chances, with 749. The Washington Nationals’ Danny Espinosa, who started 155 games at the second sack and led in total chances with 784, made 14 errors. So, the more the ball is hit to a player, the greater that player’s chance of making an error. On the other hand, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Neil Walker was runner-up in total chances with 781, but made only six miscues.
Third baseman: Here’s Casey McGehee again. As a fielder, he started 139 games at “the hot corner”, committing 20 errors. However, he did lead in total chances with 347.
Shortstop: The Chicago Cubs’ Starlin Castro led all shortstops with 29 errors. But Castro played 158 games at short, first in the league, and was also first in total chances with 742.
Left field: Another Cub, Alfonso Soriano, made the most miscues as a left fielder. I’m breaking a rule here (see above) because Soriano only appeared in left field in 126 games. Compare Soriano’s numbers to the Brewers’ Ryan Braun, who led in left field appearances (146) and made just one mistake.
Center field: Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates started 153 games in center field, and made seven errors. However, the Pirates Center fielder led the league in total chances with 430, and was fourth in games started. Although not meeting the criteria of 130 games played at one position, the Colorado Rockies’ Dexter Fowler played 117 games in center and committed eight errors. And, the New York Mets Angel Pagan, who also appeared in 117 games in center, made 10 errors, the only center fielder with double-digit errors at the position.
Right field: Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks led all right fielders in miscues with 13. But, once again, while Upton committed the most errors, he also played the most games in the position (156), as well as leading in total chances (357).
Sources:
National League Pitching Statistics:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_/seasontype/2/league/nl/sort/losses
National League Batting Statistics:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/year/2011/seasontype/2/league/nl
National League Fielding Statistics, by position:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/fielding