Off To A Great Start: Austin Jackson

Most of the attention surrounding the Detroit Tigers this year has revolved around the trio of Cabrera, Fielder, and Verlander. However, perhaps no player has been more important to the team than Austin Jackson. He is truly having a remarkable breakout season at age 25, hitting at a .314/.397/.514 clip and leading the AL in triples with 8. Although he spent some time on the DL earlier in the year, he has still managed to put up 4.2 WAR according to b-r.com, and is on pace for about 5.9 at season's end. Somewhat surprisingly, he had already put up 4.8 WAR in each of his first two seasons, primarily due to his center field defense. This gives him three seasons at the start of his career with 4+ WAR, something only ten other players have ever done. Read on to see the list:

Getting On Without Getting Hits

Players with BA less than .240 and OBP greater than .350 (min. 3000 PAs):

Rk		BA	OBP	PA	H	BB
1	Eddie Lake	.231	.366	3199	599	546
2	Eddie Joost	.239	.361	6789	1339	1043
3	Wayne Garrett	.239	.350	3917	786	561
4	Joe Ferguson	.240	.358	3624	719	562

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used

Generated 8/5/2012.

Lake was an 11-year infielder who played for the Cardinals, Red Sox, and Tigers from 1939-1950. He drew over 100 walks from 1945-47; in 1945 he led the AL in OBP at .412, receiving MVP votes for his efforts.

Joost was a 17-year veteran shortstop who came into his own with the Philadelphia Athletics in the late 1940s. He drew over 100 walks each season from 1947 to 1952. He was an all-star in '49 and '52, and received MVP votes 5 times.

Garrett played 10 seasons in the big leagues at third base, mostly with the New York Mets. He played in the 1969 and 1973 World Series with the Amazins', hitting two homers and drawing five walks in the latter.

Ferguson spent 14 seasons behind the plate, primarily with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played in the 1974 and 1978 World Series with LA, and in 1973 he received MVP votes with a career best 25 homers and 88 RBI. 

Ike Davis's Three Homer Game

Tonight Ike Davis hit three home runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks, in a 6-3 loss. It is the first time that Davis has hit three in a game, and on only two other occasions has he hit even two:

Rk	Date	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB
1	2012-07-28	4	4	3	4	0	0	3	3	0
2	2010-07-17	4	4	2	2	0	0	2	3	0
3	2010-05-07	4	3	3	2	0	0	2	2	1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/29/2012.

This game was just the ninth 3-homer game in Mets history (interestingly, all including Ike's have come on the road):

Rk	Player	Date	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB
1	Ike Davis	2012-07-28	4	4	3	4	0	0	3	3	0
2	Carlos Beltran	2011-05-12	5	5	3	3	0	0	3	6	0
3	Jose Reyes	2006-08-15	4	3	3	3	0	0	3	4	1
4	Edgardo Alfonzo	1999-08-30	6	6	6	6	1	0	3	5	0
5	Gary Carter	1985-09-03	4	4	3	3	0	0	3	6	0
6	Darryl Strawberry	1985-08-05	5	4	4	4	0	0	3	5	1
7	Claudell Washington	1980-06-22	5	5	3	4	0	0	3	5	0
8	Dave Kingman	1976-06-04	5	5	3	3	0	0	3	8	0
9	Jim Hickman	1965-09-03	4	4	3	4	0	0	3	4	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/29/2012.

Finally, it should be noted that all three homers were of the solo variety, and that Ike also added a single. As a result Ike joins this list of players with at least 4 hits and 3 homers, with HR=RBI:

Rk	Player	Date	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB
1	Ike Davis	2012-07-28	4	4	3	4	0	0	3	3	0
2	Alfonso Soriano	2007-06-08	6	5	3	4	0	0	3	3	1
3	Barry Bonds	2002-08-27	5	4	4	4	1	0	3	3	1
4	Mike Cameron	2002-05-02	6	5	4	4	0	0	4	4	0
5	Ellis Burks	2001-06-19	7	7	3	5	1	0	3	3	0
6	Barry Bonds	2001-05-19	5	5	3	4	1	0	3	3	0
7	Mo Vaughn	1997-05-30	5	4	3	4	0	0	3	3	1
8	Geronimo Berroa	1996-05-22	4	4	3	4	0	0	3	3	0
9	John Valentin	1995-06-02	5	5	4	5	1	0	3	3	0
10	Tuffy Rhodes	1994-04-04	5	4	3	4	0	0	3	3	1
11	Dan Ford	1983-07-20	5	4	3	4	0	0	3	3	1
12	Eddie Murray	1980-09-14	6	6	3	4	0	0	3	3	0
13	Dave Kingman	1979-07-28	4	4	3	4	0	0	3	3	0
14	Bill Melton	1969-06-24 (2)	5	5	3	4	1	0	3	3	0
15	Duke Snider	1950-05-30 (2)	4	4	3	4	0	0	3	3	0
16	Bill Terry	1932-08-13 (1)	5	5	4	4	0	0	3	3	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/29/2012.

Welcome to the Big Leagues, Matt Harvey!

Matt Harvey made his major league debut last night for the New York Mets. The 7th overall pick of the 2010 draft had gone 20-10 with a 3.48 ERA and a 9.8 K/9 rate in about 246 minor league innings. Yesterday, Harvey pitched 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing just 3 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 11, setting a new club record for a debut. He also collected 2 hits in 2 trips to the plate, the first of which was a double. Here are some quick notes about his performance:

Worst of the Worst: 1962 Mets vs. 2003 Tigers

If I were to ask the casual baseball fan who the worst team ever was, the usual response would be the 1962 New York Mets. Technically speaking they would be wrong, as that honor belongs to the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, a team that lost 134 games and at one point endured a 24-game losing streak. In terms of modern baseball, however the Mets are a pretty decent choice for worst of the worst. But are they really at the very bottom? Personally, I believe that the 2003 Detroit Tigers are actually below the Mets. Read on to find out why.

My MLB All-Star Ballot

American League

C: Joe Mauer - .321/.414/.433 (He leads the AL in OBP)
1B: Paul Konerko - .333/.412/.549 (Cooled down recently but still has better numbers than Fielder)
2B: Robinson Cano - .308/.372/.580 (Is on pace for 40 HRs but only 90 RBI)
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera - .289/.373/.469 (Picking up where he left off at the AS break last year)
3B: Adrian Beltre - .333/.365/.538 (Barely beats out Miggy, who I would have picked two days ago)
OF: Josh Hamilton - .312/.375/.647 (Probably still the favorite for AL MVP)
OF: Mike Trout - .344/.402/.532 (Leads the AL in BA and SB - as a rookie; picked as write-in)
OF: Josh Willingham - .272/.384/.535 (Wanted Mark Trumbo but the ballot only has 1 write-in slot)
DH: David Ortiz - .309/.399/.628 (Leads the AL in runs, OPS, and OPS+)

National League

C: Carlos Ruiz - .364/.430/.591 (Somehow leading the NL in BA at age 33)
1B: Joey Votto - .353/.478/.643 (Easily the front-runner for NL MVP)
2B: Aaron Hill - .297/.361/.500 (Leads a very weak pack of NL second basemen)
SS: Jed Lowrie - .266/.355/.500 (Is currently on pace for 30 HRs)
3B: David Wright - .357/.449/.559 (Looking to be the 2nd straight Met to win a batting title)
OF: Andrew McCutchen - .342/.397/.586 (Where would the Pirates be without him?)
OF: Carlos Beltran - .312/.400/.582 (Leads the NL in both HR and RBI)
OF: Ryan Braun - .311/.392/.596 (Currently tied for the league lead in HR)

Early National League WAR-Stars (June 10)

C:  Carlos Ruiz, PHI; Yadier Molina, STL; A.J. Ellis, LAD;
      Jonathan Lucroy, MIL
1B: Joey Votto, CIN; Paul Goldschmidt, ARI
2B: Darwin Barney, CHC; Dan Uggla, ATL
SS: Starlin Castro, CHC; Jed Lowrie, HOU
3B: David Wright, NYM; Chase Headley, SDP
OF: Michael Bourn, ATL; Melky Cabrera, SFG; Martin Prado, ATL;
       Ryan Braun, MIL; Andre Ethier, LAD; Carlos Beltran, STL;
       Giancarlo Stanton, MIA; Matt Holliday, STL; Gregor Blanco, SFG;
       Angel Pagan, SFG
SP: Gio Gonzalez, WSN; R.A. Dickey, NYM; Stephen Strasburg, WSN;
      Johnny Cueto, CIN; Clayton Kershaw, LAD; James McDonald, PIT;
      Brandon Beachy, ATL; Lance Lynn, STL, Zack Greinke, MIL
RP: Aroldis Chapman, CIN; Matt Belisle, COL; Josh Roenicke, COL