Cy Young

Baseball Bits #8: What The Unusual Amount of No-Hitters Means for Jordan’s Furniture Customers

Andrew Roberts Baseball Bits, MLB, Red Sox, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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As they do every year, Jordan’s Furniture, a major sponsor of the Red Sox, is having a big baseball sale.  This year, they offered to make any furniture bought between March 28 and today (May 20) free if a Red Sox pitcher or pitchers throw a no-hitter (games shorter than nine innings do not count) between July 17 and the end of the regular season.  Should you buy furniture? Will the Red Sox pitch a no-hitter after July 16?

 

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For those of you who are undecided on whether to give in and buy some new furniture, I have done some research about no-hitters based on the fact that there have already been 3 no-hitters in 2018.  Based on the data, I calculated the chance of a Red Sox no-hitter during the time that the Jordan’s Furniture sale counts towards (July 17-end of the regular season). You can also come to your own conclusions, as I have provided my official data below.  I looked at every regular season no-hitter since 1990 (according to ESPN) and tallied up all the no-hitters each year. I split it into no-hitters before July 17 and after July 16, and I also looked at how many were thrown by Red Sox pitchers.  

The Research

I have provided 5 PDFs with my research:

 

No-Hitters By Year After 7/16: Baseball Bits #8_ No-Hitters – After

No-Hitters By Year Before 7/17: Baseball Bits #8_ No-Hitters – Before

All No-Hitters By Year: Baseball Bits #8_ No-Hitters – All

Summary Pivot Table: Baseball Bits #8_ No-Hitters – Summary Pivot

List of All No-Hitters From ESPN (Cut out data from before 1990 and during the postseason) with data I added for this article: Baseball Bits #8_ No-Hitters – Master Data (Note: The “Count of No-Hitters” column was just used to help set up the pivot table)

 

The “Baseball Bits”

  • Since 1990, the average number of no-hitters per year is 2.79
    • There is an average of 1.03/year after July 16
    • There is an average of 1.76/year before July 17
    • Based on this data, not only are we ahead of the average pace for no-hitters before July 17, we are ahead of the average pace for no-hitters all season
    • However, in the last 10 years:
      • The average number of no-hitters/year is 3.6 (2.2 before July 17, 1.4 after July 16)
      • In the last 10 years, we are only a little ahead of average pace for # of no-hitters before July 17, and we are not quite at the average pace of no-hitters/year
  • Since 1990, there have been 5 other years when there have been 3 or more no-hitters before July 17 – in those years, the average number of no-hitters after July 16 is 2.2
    • We have not had 3 no-hitters by May 8th since 1969
    • Since 1990, there has only been one time (2010) where we have even had 3 no-hitters by June 1st
      • There were 5 no-hitters that year (1 was after July 16th)
  • The Red Sox have thrown 4 no-hitters since 1990
    • It has not happened since 2008
    • 3 were before 7/17 (thrown by Jon Lester (2008), Derek Lowe (2002), and Hideo Nomo (2001))
    • Only 1 was after 7/16, thrown by Clay Buchholz in 2007
  • Just a cool anomaly about this year’s no-hitters: They have all taken place in different countries (Paxton in Canada, Manaea in USA, Buehler/Garcia/Cingrani/Liberatore combined in Mexico)

 

The Verdict

Based on my research, my previous baseball knowledge, and WHIP of MLB starters in recent years, I have concluded that there is 60.5% (about 3 in 5 chance) of a no-hitter somewhere in the MLB after July 16.  The average of 2.2 no-hitters after July 16 when there has been 3+ before July 17 (data based on no-hitters since 1990) has had a big influence on these odds. But I couldn’t say there was a 100% chance of a no-hitter because I cannot tell the future.  You have to factor in the fact that although there has been an increase in recent years, no-hitters are still very rare and unpredictable. You really cannot be more than 75% confident that one will occur during that time. I have calculated the chances of a no-hitter by the Red Sox as a 2.82% chance.  This was influenced by the MLB odds because I divided those odds amongst all 30 MLB teams based on recent WHIP of starters and what I already knew before my research.

Image result for chris sale
If the Red Sox throw a no-hitter, it will likely be from one of two pitchers.  Chris Sale’s WHIP is extremely low, and if he gets into a good rhythm and limits his pitch count, he could toss a no-hitter.  However, you have to factor in late-season fatigue that is common for Sale as well as the fact that he often throws too many pitches to go deep into a game, even in the case of a no-hitter.  They will probably not keep him in for more than about 150 pitches even if he has a no-hitter, at least with Alex Cora managing. He could start off a combined no-no if he has thrown too many pitches by the 7th or 8th despite a dominant game.  He would need backup from an inconsistent bullpen for that though.

Image result for rick porcello

I think it is more likely that Rick Porcello throws a no-hitter.  His WHIP has been very low this season as it was in 2016, his Cy Young winning year.  Porcello is more of a ground-ball pitcher and is usually pretty consistent throughout the season.  These traits help increase his odds of a no-hitter, especially if he continues to dominate this season (he is 6-1 with a 3.39 ERA).

However, since it is extremely difficult to predict a no-hitter for any team, I would not recommend going all out buying furniture.  If you need furniture, go right ahead, but I wouldn’t spend much more than you normally would because I still think there is less than a 3% chance that the Red Sox pitch a no-hitter.

 

Sources

“MLB No-Hitters.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, http://www.espn.com/mlb/history/nohitters.

Baseball Bits #3: Could Red Sox have 3rd MVP/Cy Young Pair?

Andrew Roberts Baseball Bits, MLB, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

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The regular season is over and it’s the perfect time to consider the MVP and Cy Young winners.  The Red Sox have some good candidates.  The Red Sox have several MVP candidates starting with Mookie Betts who showed he is an all around 5-tool player.  David Ortiz in his final season performed better than any player in his final season is also considered a frontrunner for the AL MVP.  Rick Porcello is my top choice to win the Cy Young.  He’s 22-4 with a 3.11 ERA!

 

The Sox have a good chance to have both the AL MVP and AL Cy Young winners this year, I decided to do some research on the MVP and Cy Young award winners.  How many teams had both the MVP and Cy Young award winners and what happened to their teams?  Read on to find out.  

 

The Research

mvp-cy-young-winners

The “Baseball Bits”

 

  • Since 1956 when the Cy Young award began (it was split into 2 awards (AL and NL) in 1967), 28 teams have had an MVP and Cy Young winner in the same year (MVP/Cy Young pair)

 

  • From 1956 to 1966, there were 7 teams that had MVP/Cy Young pair in the same year

 

  • The last team to do it was the 2014 Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw won both awards)

 

  • 8 of the teams who had MVP/Cy Young pair in the same year had pitchers who won both

 

  • The last team to have different players who won MVP/Cy Young in the same year was the 2013 Tigers

 

  • 15 of the 28 Cy Young/MVP pairs came from the AL

 

  • The Red Sox only had a Cy Young and MVP Winner twice: in 1967 (Carl Yastrzemski & Jim Lonborg) and 1986 (Roger Clemens won both awards).  The Sox lost the World Series in both of those years

 

  • The Indians and Blue Jays, who could also achieve this in 2016, have never done it before

 

  • The Cubs, who are also candidates have done it once (1984, Ryne Sandberg & Rick Sutcliffe).  They lost in the NLCS.

 

  • Only one team who had an MVP/Cy Young pair in the same year missed the playoffs (the 1962 Dodgers)

 

  • 16 of the 27 (59%) who made the playoffs made the World Series, and 8 of the 16 teams won the World Series

 

  • 23 of the 27 teams (85%) made it past the ALDS/NLDS

 

The Verdict

 

One thing that this research proved is that MVP and Cy Young voters place value on players from playoff teams.  It’s not common (especially since 1968) for a team to have an MVP/Cy Young pair but it’s even less common to have that team not make the playoffs.  This year the Sox made the playoffs by winning the division so I think it increases the Red Sox’s chances to have their third MVP/Cy Young pair, especially since they dominated down the stretch to pull away from the pack.  

Below are my picks for who wins the AL and NL MVP and Cy Young:  

 

AL MVP Prediction: Mookie Betts

Mookie Betts has been on fire this year and the fact that he’s a 5 tool player just makes him more worthy of the award.  Betts and the Red Sox lineup have just been really impressive this year.  I also think even though guys like Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera would be good candidates, that the MVP and Cy Young should come from a playoff team and my research shows that voters do as well.  Betts is one of the best of this great Red Sox lineup and the Red Sox have been one of the best offensive teams in the league.  Betts has not only been a top offensive player but his defensive statistics show he’s a top gold glove candidate as well.  Big Papi may be a candidate too since it’s his last season but if voters focus purely on overall numbers, their vote will be for Betts.  

AL Cy Young Prediction: Rick Porcello

I really don’t think there are many good options besides Rick Porcello.  Corey Kluber could compete with him but I’m giving Porcello the edge.  Kluber has won before and was expected to do well this year.  He just won in 2014!  On the other hand, Rick Porcello was not expected to that well this year.  Instead, he’s top 5 in every key pitching category and first in wins so I don’t know how he does not win.  The fact that Porcello along with Hanley Ramirez, have had such great second seasons unexpectedly, vindicates Ben Cherington a bit.

NL MVP Prediction: Anthony Rizzo

Nolan Arenado would be a better candidate if team performance did not matter.  But have the Rockies done anything this season?  I was thinking of making an exception to picking MVPs and Cy Youngs from just playoff teams but there are other candidates that come from the 102-58 Chicago Cubs.  Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant would also make good candidates.  I picked Rizzo because he had a better average and more RBIs despite less home runs.

 

NL Cy Young Prediction: Max Scherzer

There are a lot of good NL pitchers that are worthy of this award.  But if anyone has proven all around excellence in pitching, it’s Max Scherzer.  Scherzer was a candidate last year but didn’t quite make it to the final 3 despite 2 no-hitters (1 that was almost a perfect game).  This year his ERA is good again (2.82) and he has a huge lead in strikeouts (277).  He also has an unbelieveable WHIP (0.94), and leads the NL in wins tied with Jon Lester.  All of those stats are Cy Young worthy.  

 

The Red Sox actually have a pretty good chance of an MVP/Cy Young pair.  I don’t see many players who can beat out Rick Porcello and the Sox have such a good lineup that I’m more than 50% sure a Red Sox player will win the MVP.  The chances are looking good but the winners would need to be really good because this has only happened 28 times.  Are the Red Sox a realistic candidate?  We’ll find out soon and hopefully that means they also have a good chance to win it all.