Albert Pujols grounded into 3 double plays on Opening Day
Posted by Andy on April 2, 2011
By now you've probably heard that Albert Pujols grounded into 3 double plays on Opening Day.
Grounding into at least 3 double plays doesn't happen all that often.
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | GDP | WPA | RE24 | BOP | Pos. Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Bruce | 2010-08-17 | CIN | ARI | W 6-2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.201 | -2.550 | 1.484 | 5 | RF |
| 2 | Placido Polanco | 2010-06-25 | PHI | TOR | W 9-0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.096 | -1.774 | .836 | 2 | 3B |
| 3 | Miguel Tejada | 2009-09-10 | HOU | ATL | L 7-9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.365 | -2.641 | 1.796 | 5 | SS |
| 4 | Kevin Kouzmanoff | 2009-08-05 | SDP | ATL | L 2-6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.144 | -1.809 | 1.153 | 4 | 3B |
| 5 | Matt Diaz | 2009-08-04 | ATL | SDP | W 9-2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.006 | -1.179 | 1.206 | 8 | RF |
| 6 | Ryan Howard | 2009-04-10 | PHI | COL | L 3-10 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.189 | -3.127 | 1.150 | 4 | 1B |
| 7 | Yunel Escobar | 2008-08-29 | ATL | WSN | L 3-7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.296 | -3.405 | 1.572 | 5 | SS |
| 8 | A.J. Pierzynski | 2008-08-09 | CHW | BOS | L 2-6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -0.263 | -3.175 | 1.405 | 2 | C |
| 9 | Alexis Rios | 2008-05-29 | TOR | OAK | W 12-0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -0.077 | -3.155 | .733 | 3 | CF |
| 10 | Gary Matthews | 2008-04-12 | LAA | SEA | L 3-8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.293 | -3.372 | 1.280 | 2 | CF |
| 11 | Jeff Baker | 2007-06-02 | COL | CIN | W 4-1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.120 | -2.262 | .757 | 7 | 3B |
| 12 | Joe Crede | 2006-09-20 | CHW | DET | L 2-6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.260 | -3.270 | 1.430 | 7 | 3B |
| 13 | Todd Greene | 2004-09-29 | COL | LAD | W 4-1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -0.248 | -1.579 | 1.360 | 7 | C |
| 14 | Milton Bradley | 2004-05-05 | LAD | FLA | L 0-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.261 | -1.912 | 1.505 | 3 | CF |
| 15 | Jody Gerut | 2004-04-09 | CLE | KCR | L 1-3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.216 | -1.619 | 1.550 | 3 | RF |
| 16 | Carlos Lee | 2003-06-19 | CHW | BOS | L 3-4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.563 | -3.092 | 2.436 | 6 | LF |
| 17 | Javier Valentin | 2003-06-17 (1) | TBD | NYY | W 11-2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.003 | -1.391 | .506 | 8 | C |
| 18 | Juan Rivera | 2003-06-01 | NYY | DET | W 10-9 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -0.820 | -4.504 | 2.396 | 8 | LF |
| 19 | Omar Vizquel | 2003-04-20 | CLE | CHW | W 7-4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -0.071 | -1.848 | .548 | 2 | SS |
| 20 | Scott Rolen | 2002-08-27 (1) | STL | CIN | L 4-5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -0.501 | -2.097 | 2.772 | 5 | 3B |
| 21 | Kevin Millar | 2002-04-12 | FLA | ATL | L 0-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.409 | -2.732 | 2.290 | 6 | RF |
| 22 | John Mabry | 2001-08-04 | FLA | STL | L 0-3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.266 | -2.483 | 1.660 | 3 | RF |
| 23 | Johnny Estrada | 2001-05-30 | PHI | NYM | W 6-3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.391 | -4.274 | 1.484 | 7 | C |
| 24 | Fernando Seguignol | 2001-04-26 | MON | STL | W 4-3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -0.265 | -3.201 | 1.342 | 6 | LF |
In the last 10 seasons it's happened just 24 times total.
Going back to 1919, the PI couldn't find a single instance when it happened before on Opening Day (meaning in any team's first game of the season.)
April 2nd, 2011 at 8:08 am
I had to see if anyone had hit into more than three DP. Joe Torre is the only one:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN197507210.shtml
0 for 4 with 4 GIDP. That's just a painful day.
April 2nd, 2011 at 9:10 am
not too often? it seems to happen at least twice a year!
April 2nd, 2011 at 9:12 am
opening day is what makes it rare
April 2nd, 2011 at 9:18 am
I was trying to find Pujols WPA for that game. Is it possible to calculate WAR after only one day? I was just curious to see how funny it'd be if, for one day only, he had an absurdly low WPA/WAR for the season.
April 2nd, 2011 at 9:20 am
It would be a pretty interesting twist on the Pujols contract saga if he were to go out and have a mediocre (for him) season and show signs of decline or aging taking their first toe hold.
April 2nd, 2011 at 9:44 am
These teams went 11-13, now 11-14 in those games. So it doesn't have as big an effect on the team as one might think.
April 2nd, 2011 at 10:34 am
@6: I think that's mostly a function of small sample size. I wouldn't think that such teams would lose more often than would make their win % say .350 (which is about as bad as it gets in baseball). Using that number, there's a ~8.9% chance that after 24 games the record would be 11-13 exactly, a ~18.3% chance it would be 11-13 or better. If you double the number of games (so that the record was 22-26), that 8.9% drops to .3%. If you run it with .400 as a win %, then you jump to a 13.7% chance of hitting 11-13 exactly, a 35.0% chance of hitting 11-13 or better, and a 8.2% chance of hitting 22-26 exactly.
So not all that unreasonable
April 2nd, 2011 at 10:49 am
Following up on the idea of record and GIDP, you have to have runners on base to be hitting into double plays.
There have been 12 teams who have had seasons where, as a team, they have hit into 3 or more GIDP in game in fifteen or more games. Five had winning records in those games. They range from the 1951 Red Sox (13-3) to the 1941 New York Giants (3-11-1). Those Red Sox had two games where they had 20 or more hits and walks. Three GIDP isn't going to hurt too much when you're getting that many men on.
April 2nd, 2011 at 10:59 am
After Joe Torre's 4DP game, he gave a great self effacing interview where he said something like - "first, i'd like to thank Felix Milan, who made this all possible by going 4-4" - something like that.
April 2nd, 2011 at 11:58 am
-- Over the past 10 seasons, teams with exactly 3 GDPs in a game had a .428 W% (717 wins, 960 losses). That projects to a 69-93 record in a full season.
-- Over the past 50 seasons, teams with 4 GDPs in a game, as the Cardinals did Thursday, had a .361 W% (407-721), which projects to 58-104 in a full season.
So despite what it implies about runners on base, any one player grounding into 3 DPs is very bad for a team's chances of winning.
April 2nd, 2011 at 11:59 am
Not related...
On the moblie version of this site/blog is it possible to have the Comment numbers next to the comments? Many people start off by replying to a comment and use the number of the comment so as to clue everyone in as to which one they are talking about. It just makes it kinda difficult to keep track when there are a dozen or more comments to a particular post.
April 2nd, 2011 at 12:09 pm
[...] On the Cardinals’ side, Albert Pujols went 0-for-5 and grounded into three double plays, which was not only unexpected but also beautiful. Only Joe Torre has hit into more double plays in a game, and a mere 24 players have pulled the trifecta in the past decade. [...]
April 2nd, 2011 at 12:24 pm
BTW, now that the first day's boxscores have been posted on B-R, we know that Albert's WPA for the 3-GDP game was -0.436. That's the 2nd-worst WPA of his 1,558-game career.
His worst WPA was on 4/13/2005, when he went 1 for 5 with a killer GDP. The bottom of the 9th began with the Cards down 2 runs. Danny Graves walked the leadoff man (ah, memories!), and with 1 out allowed a single and a ground-rule double, putting the tying and winning runs in scoring position and Larry Walker coming up. They intentionally walked him to face Pujols, and Albert hit into a 5-5-3 DP to end the game.
Albert was hitting .241 after that game, the 7th of the year, but he went on to win his first MVP Award.
With just 1 game of -0.4 WPA or less from 2001-10, Albert ranked 70th among all players in that span, tied with 203 other players. That's pretty good (duh), considering that he ranked 6th in PAs and 4th in games played.
(Of the top 10 in PAs from 2001-10, Michael Young had 4 such games; Jeter, Rollins, Tejada and Damon had 2 each; Ichiro had 1; and Abreu, Orlando Cabrera and A-Rod had none. Take that, haters!)
P.S. Edgar Renteria stands "atop" that list with 5 games of WPA -0.4 or worse in the last 10 years. But I don't think the World Series MVP is sweating it.
April 2nd, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Looking at all 99 instances in the B-R output for 3+ DPs in a game, the record of the team in those games was 42-57. While it's a different data slice than what John provided, the results are almost identical.
The truly rare event, of course, would be if two teammates managed to hit into 3 DPs each in the same game.
April 2nd, 2011 at 12:38 pm
From 1919-2010, the team record for GDP in a game is 7, done just once -- by the Giants on 5/4/1969, in 9 innings. They lost, 3-1. Six different players had a GDP. One came with the bases loaded, and three were with 2 men on (including the game-ender by 3B Bobby Etheridge, the only repeat offender).
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU196905040.shtml
April 2nd, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Don @14 -- Funny, I went looking for teammates with 3 DP in a game, but alas, it hasn't happened in the searchable era. And no team has had more than 2 guys with 2+ GDP in the same game.
When I get back, I want to check on opposing teams and players with the most GDP in one game.
April 2nd, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Surprised to see Ryan Howard on there since he strikes out so much and I assume hits plenty of fly balls too.
April 2nd, 2011 at 1:43 pm
[...] Worst Opening Day performance ever? Not quite. Posted by Neil Paine on April 2, 2011 « Albert Pujols grounded into 3 double plays on Opening Day [...]
April 2nd, 2011 at 2:02 pm
His penchant for GIDP is perhaps Pujols' only weakness as a hitter. Most other great power hitters hit about 10-15 GIDP per season, but also average 120-150 strikeouts per season. Pujols average about 20 GIDP per season but only about 65 strikeouts per season. Personally, I would take 5-10 more GIDP's over 60-80 more strikeouts.
April 2nd, 2011 at 2:34 pm
But is GIDP really somethng you can control as a hitter? Sean, how can it be a hitting weakness for Pujols? GIDP should correlate with having runners on base (which is a team stat) and not striking out which is an individual stat.
A batter would have to deliberately adjust his stroke in GIDP situations which would make Albert into a slap hitter.
April 2nd, 2011 at 2:46 pm
In regard to that 4 GIDP performance by Torre which set the record: I can remember him once saying that after all his years in the game it was his only line in the record book.
April 2nd, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Totally changing the subject (except for the opening day aspect) to focus on positive accomplishments.
J.P. Arencibia had 2 HR and a triple in the Jays' season opener yesterday. Last August, in his first major league game, he had 2 HR and a double.
Not sure if that's a unique feat (2 HR in first big league game followed by 2 HR in following season opener), but Play Index lists only 7 players with with 2 HR is 2 different season openers, and only 4 (including Arencibia) with 2 HR in first career game.
For Arencibia's sake, I hope he follows up yesterday's big season debut better than he did last year. After going 4 for 5 in his debut in 2010, he went 1 for 30 over 10 susbequent games the rest of the season. Talk about coming back down to earth.
April 2nd, 2011 at 3:01 pm
@22
Doug, John Farrell isn't even starting him today. Gotta be a rookie manager mistake !?!
April 2nd, 2011 at 3:34 pm
@Niel L.
I agree to some degree. GIDP is, to me, a mix of circumstance and the batter's ability to perfrom in a certain way in that circumstance. Perhaps Pujols could avoid swinging at bad pitches and take more walks instead of always trying to move the runners over with hits, which might decrease his GIDP.
April 2nd, 2011 at 3:52 pm
@20, Neil -- There is a wide variance in GDP rates among batters who are otherwise similar in contact rate and speed. One reason is their ground-ball rates.
In 2010, there were 39 qualifying batters who also had between 120 and 170 strikeouts. The GDP totals ranged from 23 (Derrek Lee) all the way down to 2 (Carlos Pena); the median was 12. Jonny Gomes, a RHB with no particular speed, had just 4 GDP, yet had enough men on base to get 86 RBI. Dan Uggla, another righty who's no burner, has averaged 9 GDP per 162 games for his career.
The observation that Albert's high GDP rate is a "weakness" in his game is not to say that he should do anything differently. (Although, incidentally, I think becoming a "slap hitter" would lead to more DPs, not fewer.) His high GDP rate has two main factors -- rarely striking out, and hitting the ball on the screws. Since those factors have more upside than downside, and since his overall results are so outstanding, no one would dream of trying to change his approach in DP situations.
But some people talk about having a low K rate as if it is the holy grail for all hitters. Some people take a negative view of all the hitters who uppercut and swing for the fences, because of all the "unproductive" flyouts. Those people generally ignore the GDP damage done by some hitters with the old-school approach.
I'm as impressed by Placido Polanco's low K rate as the next guy. But since he's a singles hitter who doesn't walk, the fact that he's averaged about 17 GDP per year puts a big fat hole in the offensive contribution that he makes with his .303 batting average.
April 2nd, 2011 at 4:36 pm
@25
Vert astute observations, John. I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I think Pujols could decrease his GIDP if he wouldn't put so much pressure on himself to get a hit with runners on base. From my observations over the years, he tends to swing at bad pitches much less often when the bases are empty. He is pretty good at drawing walks but I feel he could be better at it. A lot of his walks in his career have been intentional walks. If he would lock in more and only swing at pitches in his wheel-house he would be an even better hitter, if that's possible. Like you said, it's hard to criticize anything Pujols does since his results are so outstanding.
I think that Pujols is pretty close to reaching a declining stage in his career, where his power numbers will go down. The best thing he can do so that his production doesn't fall off too dramatically is to become a more patient hitter. His swing and his reflexes will most assuredly slow down as he continues to age and get worn down with playing so many games, so increasing his walk ratios and being more selective with pitches he swings at would be a smart idea for him. We'll see what happens over the next few years.
April 2nd, 2011 at 4:50 pm
@25 & @26
Sean, you only only put pressure on yourself when you have a weak supporting cast in the line up. I'm not sure if that is the case for Albert.
Are you saying Albert Pujols will become more like a Jim Thome this year? In my opinion, he's too young!
April 2nd, 2011 at 4:55 pm
@Neil L
No, I think he's still a year or two away from noticable decline. I think his numbers this year will be around .315 BA, 35 HR's 115 RBI. Unless he starts changing his approach a little to be more selective, his numbers will go down every year until in 3 or 4 years he will at around .290 BA, 25 HR's 85 RBI.
April 3rd, 2011 at 9:01 am
Goose Goslin hit into 4 DP's also.
April 28, 1934
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET193404280.shtml
April 3rd, 2011 at 10:16 am
But were all of them ground balls? I remember one league or the other tracked all double plays instead of just GIDP from 1933-38.
April 3rd, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Observations and things that left me wondering:
1. None were DH's.
2. None were pitchers. I can imagine a pitcher grounding into double plays on botched bunt attempts.
3. None of the AL players were batting 9th. One NL player was batting 8th - and he hit a home run in that same game!
4. One thing I'm wondering about but don't have time to check - were any of these in extra inning games?
5. I may have watched the game in which Ryan Howard grounded into three double plays - and after the first of these, I probably tried to shout at him through the T.V. screen to please strike out instead of hitting into a double play. I did this during one of the televised spring training games, and he listened to me. But it was still almost a DP because the runner on first almost got nailed trying to steal second. (In today's game, Howard lined out to the 2nd baseman playing between 1st and 2nd with the bases loaded and two out. I felt that if there had been nobody out, that could quite possibly have resulted in a triple play.)