So far, Elian Herrera is making Dodger history

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Having a great first season in the majors while in your mid-20s is a rare thing. Sure, there are late bloomers – Paul Lo Duca and Maury Wills immediately come to mind –  but most of those late bloomers need a cup of coffee or four before they make a noteworthy impact.

In fact, in the 55 seasons of the Los Angeles Dodgers, only 19 players have notched at least 100 plate appearances in their first season after turning 24. And of those 19 players, so far, Elian Herrera (who added two doubles and three RBI Friday to his magical 2012) has a higher on-base percentage and adjusted OPS than any of them.

Rk Player OPS+ PA Year Age G HR SB CS OBP SLG OPS
1 Elian Herrera 118 115 2012 27 29 0 3 1 .395 .388 .782
2 Andre Ethier 113 441 2006 24 126 11 5 5 .365 .477 .842
3 Dick Gray 106 221 1958 26 58 9 1 1 .327 .472 .799
4 Norm Larker 102 291 1958 27 99 4 1 1 .352 .427 .779
5 Ted Sizemore 94 650 1969 24 159 4 5 5 .328 .342 .670
6 Mickey Hatcher 90 102 1979 24 33 1 1 3 .327 .366 .692
7 Wes Parker 87 240 1964 24 124 3 5 4 .303 .341 .644
8 Oscar Robles 86 399 2005 29 110 5 0 8 .332 .368 .700
9 Jack Fimple 83 167 1983 24 54 2 1 0 .300 .358 .658
10 Lee Lacy 80 266 1972 24 60 0 5 3 .312 .313 .625
11 Chad Fonville 75 338 1995 24 88 0 20 5 .328 .302 .630
12 Jason Repko 74 301 2005 24 129 8 5 0 .281 .384 .665
13 Eric Young 69 144 1992 25 49 1 6 1 .300 .288 .588
14 Henry Rodriguez 66 156 1992 24 53 3 0 0 .258 .329 .587
15 Justin Sellers 63 139 2011 25 36 1 1 0 .283 .301 .583
16 Tracy Woodson 62 148 1987 24 53 1 1 1 .284 .324 .607
17 Larry Burright 60 276 1962 24 115 4 4 3 .264 .317 .581
18 Mike Ramsey 57 138 1987 26 48 0 2 4 .287 .296 .583
19 Maury Wills 55 258 1959 26 83 0 7 3 .298 .298 .596
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used. Generated 6/16/2012.

It’s not as if he can claim a better first season than Andre Ethier had in 2006, for example, but it’s still pretty amazing. In fact, even if you eliminate the age component, Herrera still has the fifth-best season in adjusted OPS for a Dodger in his first season, and second-best OBP.

Rk Player OPS+ PA Year Age G HR SB CS OBP SLG OPS
1 Bill Sudakis 165 102 1968 22 24 3 1 0 .382 .471 .854
2 Willy Aybar 140 105 2005 22 26 1 3 1 .448 .453 .901
3 James Loney 125 111 2006 22 48 4 1 0 .342 .559 .901
4 Steve Yeager 124 124 1972 23 35 4 0 0 .374 .406 .780
5 Elian Herrera 118 115 2012 27 29 0 3 1 .395 .388 .782
6 Andre Ethier 113 441 2006 24 126 11 5 5 .365 .477 .842
7 Jim Lefebvre 106 631 1965 23 157 12 3 5 .337 .369 .706
8 Dick Gray 106 221 1958 26 58 9 1 1 .327 .472 .799
9 Jerry Sands 102 227 2011 23 61 4 3 3 .338 .389 .727
10 Norm Larker 102 291 1958 27 99 4 1 1 .352 .427 .779
11 Russell Martin 101 468 2006 23 121 10 10 5 .355 .436 .792
12 Ted Sizemore 94 650 1969 24 159 4 5 5 .328 .342 .670
13 Blake DeWitt 93 421 2008 22 117 9 3 0 .344 .383 .728
14 Dee Gordon 92 233 2011 23 56 0 24 7 .325 .362 .686
15 Todd Hollandsworth 91 115 1995 22 41 5 2 1 .304 .398 .702
16 Steve Sax 91 127 1981 21 31 2 5 7 .317 .345 .662
17 Mickey Hatcher 90 102 1979 24 33 1 1 3 .327 .366 .692
18 Wes Parker 87 240 1964 24 124 3 5 4 .303 .341 .644
19 Oscar Robles 86 399 2005 29 110 5 0 8 .332 .368 .700
20 Bill Russell 86 238 1969 20 98 5 4 1 .301 .344 .645
21 Matt Kemp 85 166 2006 21 52 7 6 0 .289 .448 .737
22 Jack Fimple 83 167 1983 24 54 2 1 0 .300 .358 .658
23 Tony Abreu 82 178 2007 22 59 2 0 0 .309 .404 .713
24 Mike Scioscia 81 152 1980 21 54 1 1 0 .313 .328 .641
25 Henry Cruz 81 101 1975 23 53 0 1 1 .317 .319 .636
Rk Player OPS+ PA Year Age G HR SB CS OBP SLG OPS
26 Nate Oliver 81 178 1963 22 65 1 3 4 .298 .307 .605
27 Mariano Duncan 80 620 1985 22 142 6 38 8 .293 .340 .633
28 Lee Lacy 80 266 1972 24 60 0 5 3 .312 .313 .625
29 Andy LaRoche 78 115 2007 23 35 1 2 1 .365 .312 .677
30 Chad Fonville 75 338 1995 24 88 0 20 5 .328 .302 .630
31 Jason Repko 74 301 2005 24 129 8 5 0 .281 .384 .665
32 Franklin Stubbs 74 245 1984 23 87 8 2 2 .273 .341 .614
33 Adrian Beltre 73 214 1998 19 77 7 3 1 .278 .369 .648
34 Billy Ashley 69 100 1992 21 29 2 0 0 .260 .337 .597
35 Eric Young 69 144 1992 25 49 1 6 1 .300 .288 .588
36 Henry Rodriguez 66 156 1992 24 53 3 0 0 .258 .329 .587
37 Jeff Hamilton 66 151 1986 22 71 5 0 0 .232 .361 .592
38 Justin Sellers 63 139 2011 25 36 1 1 0 .283 .301 .583
39 Tracy Woodson 62 148 1987 24 53 1 1 1 .284 .324 .607
40 Jim Fairey 61 166 1968 23 99 1 1 1 .241 .276 .517
41 Larry Burright 60 276 1962 24 115 4 4 3 .264 .317 .581
42 Mike Ramsey 57 138 1987 26 48 0 2 4 .287 .296 .583
43 Maury Wills 55 258 1959 26 83 0 7 3 .298 .298 .596
44 Dave Anderson 41 131 1983 22 61 1 6 3 .244 .261 .505
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used. Generated 6/16/2012.

Using Wins Above Replacement, a cumulative stat as measured by Baseball-Reference.com, Herrera is already the Dodgers’ 20th-best first-year major-leaguer … with room to climb.

Rk Player WAR/pos PA Year Age G HR SB CS OBP SLG OPS
1 Jim Lefebvre 4.2 631 1965 23 157 12 3 5 .337 .369 .706
2 Ted Sizemore 4.0 650 1969 24 159 4 5 5 .328 .342 .670
3 Andre Ethier 2.2 441 2006 24 126 11 5 5 .365 .477 .842
4 Russell Martin 1.9 468 2006 23 121 10 10 5 .355 .436 .792
5 Bill Russell 1.7 238 1969 20 98 5 4 1 .301 .344 .645
6 Mariano Duncan 1.5 620 1985 22 142 6 38 8 .293 .340 .633
7 Blake DeWitt 1.4 421 2008 22 117 9 3 0 .344 .383 .728
8 Lee Lacy 1.4 266 1972 24 60 0 5 3 .312 .313 .625
9 Bill Sudakis 1.2 102 1968 22 24 3 1 0 .382 .471 .854
10 Steve Yeager 1.0 124 1972 23 35 4 0 0 .374 .406 .780
11 Dick Gray 1.0 221 1958 26 58 9 1 1 .327 .472 .799
12 Tony Abreu 0.9 178 2007 22 59 2 0 0 .309 .404 .713
13 James Loney 0.9 111 2006 22 48 4 1 0 .342 .559 .901
14 Willy Aybar 0.9 105 2005 22 26 1 3 1 .448 .453 .901
15 Chad Fonville 0.9 338 1995 24 88 0 20 5 .328 .302 .630
16 Norm Larker 0.9 291 1958 27 99 4 1 1 .352 .427 .779
17 Justin Sellers 0.8 139 2011 25 36 1 1 0 .283 .301 .583
18 Jack Fimple 0.7 167 1983 24 54 2 1 0 .300 .358 .658
19 Wes Parker 0.7 240 1964 24 124 3 5 4 .303 .341 .644
20 Elian Herrera 0.6 115 2012 27 29 0 3 1 .395 .388 .782
21 Dee Gordon 0.6 233 2011 23 56 0 24 7 .325 .362 .686
22 Steve Sax 0.6 127 1981 21 31 2 5 7 .317 .345 .662
23 Mike Scioscia 0.4 152 1980 21 54 1 1 0 .313 .328 .641
24 Mickey Hatcher 0.4 102 1979 24 33 1 1 3 .327 .366 .692
25 Oscar Robles 0.3 399 2005 29 110 5 0 8 .332 .368 .700
Rk Player WAR/pos PA Year Age G HR SB CS OBP SLG OPS
26 Jerry Sands 0.1 227 2011 23 61 4 3 3 .338 .389 .727
27 Andy LaRoche 0.1 115 2007 23 35 1 2 1 .365 .312 .677
28 Adrian Beltre 0.1 214 1998 19 77 7 3 1 .278 .369 .648
29 Nate Oliver 0.0 178 1963 22 65 1 3 4 .298 .307 .605
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used. Generated 6/16/2012.

This won’t guarantee future stardom – several of these players are balloons that inflated quickly and then popped. It’s not like Dick Gray carved out a legendary career But it is a measure of just how valuable Herrera has been to this point. I can’t think of a bigger surprise for the Dodgers in 2012.

  • foul tip

    Cliff Corcoran thinks Ethier overpaid, based largely on Jones’ contract.

    Mentions team payroll limitations, which seems based more on previous times than now, when owners have far deeper pockets–if they’ll dig into them.

    Based on the following, we may see some young pitchers traded for bats.

    “They also did so (signed Ethier) because they are a team with very little long-term offensive potential.”

    “Looking over Kevin Goldstein’s list of the organization’s top 20 prospects coming into the season, the top six men are pitchers and none of the hitters who follow them project as stars.”

    http://mlb.si.com/2012/06/12/dodgers-make-their-move-and-its-an-overpay-for-ethier/?sct=mlb_bf2_a6

    • Anonymous

      The fact is, there will be no way to know whether Ethier has been overpaid or not until after a few years from now.
      Who will be more overpaid, Ethier or Puljols? I’ll bet there will be many players in MLB who are more overpaid than Ethier when all is said and done.

      • Anonymous

        I hate to harp on this point on an Elian Herrera post, but no, you don’t have to wait a few years to see whether Ethier is overpaid. Only way to “justify” the Ethier-signing, it seems, is to claim some marketing premium Ethier brings to the Dodgers (and to no other team). Well, that also means no other teams besides the Dodgers would have paid him that premium, so why jump the gun and give him 5 years in June?

        Comparing Ethier to Pujols is just crazyness. It takes about 4 Ethiers to equal one Pujols.

        • Anonymous

          Oh – so you already know how Ethier is going to perform over the length of his contract? No – the only way we will know how much Ethier is going to be overpaid is by comparing his performance during the years of his contract with the performance of players who made equal to (and more than) Ethier over the same span. And I will guarantee you that there will be many players more overpaid than Ethier when all is said and done – including Pujols.

        • Anonymous

          If one Pujols is equal to four Ethiers, by your standards Ethier should take at least a 50 percent pay cut to re-sign with the Dodgers.

          • Anonymous

            Yes, he should’ve signed for Cuddyer or Willingham money. He’s not an elite hitter, never has been.

      • Anonymous

        >> Who will be more overpaid, Ethier or Pujols?
        .
        In which year?  You have to keep in mind that, when a contract like Pujols’s is signed, the team knows going in that it’s extremely unlikely that he’ll be worth $28-30 million/year when he gets to his age 39-41 seasons.  Those years are included in the contract, at that price, because that’s what it took to get him to sign.  The assumption is that he will be extremely overpaid in those later years of the contract, but the hope is that he will be extremely underpaid in the early years of the contract.  (He’s “only” making $12 and $16 million in 2012-2013, but bumps up to $23 million in 2014 at age 34.)  And one of the really good things for the Dodgers in the Ethier contract is that they didn’t have to overpay Ethier for his age 37+ seasons in order to sign him.
        .
        One other aspect of any contract is marketing – the ability to make a star the “face of the team” and thereby draw fans to the stadium.  (IOW, the economic benefit he brings to the team, rather than strictly the individual’s and the team’s performance on the field.)  It’s difficult to assess this, partly because there’s no way to measure it and partly because it’s impossible to know how successful the entire team would have been with someone else instead.  It’s a bit easier with a star starting pitcher, for whom you can check attendance and see that he draws so many thousand fans more per game than when anybody else is pitching.

        • Anonymous

          Regardless, provided the money is there, I think I take Pujols contract over Ethier contract 100 times out of 100. Sure Pujols will decline and be a shell of himself when he’s 40 years old, but he’s Albert Pujols. Ethier belongs with Swisher and Willingham, whereas Pujols keeps company with guys like Bonds and Ruth. I get that big market teams sometimes overpay, but it’s profoundly disappointing and anticlimactic that our overpay is so uninspiring.

          It’s difficult to assess the impact of individual players on marketing, but I think it’s fair to assume that no one goes to the games to watch Ethier, and no one will stop coming just because Ethier is replaced by Swisher.

          • Anonymous

            By the way, St. Louis is 3rd in the league in attendance right now. Attendance is up by 4000 per game from last season. The idea that Ethier was key to Dodgers’ credibility and market-presence is just…. it doesn’t work.

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=713935344 Jason Ungar

            Just watch the game and check the stands. Ethier is a very popular jersey. More than Kemp even. The thing is to me is that the Ethier contract sends a great message to the organization, they lock up one of the better hitters they could have gotten on the FA market on a team desperate for hitters and we can still get others. I think it keeps the ball rolling in a positive direction, no distractions and I think it’s an underpay in that if he went to FA someone would have paid him more.

          • Anonymous

            >> they lock up one of the better hitters they could have gotten on the FA market

            …without having to sign him to his age 36-41 seasons like any good free agent will receive.  Great move by the Dodgers!

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=713935344 Jason Ungar

             This is not true. Ethier has a huge fan base…

          • Anonymous

            I don’t understand how anyone can compare Ethier – who is an above-average hitter, a darn good fielder, and an All-Star with a .294 career batting average - to Josh Willingham, who is an aging below-average outfielder with a .263 career batting average.

          • Anonymous

            Because batting average is one of the worst stats you can use to evaluate a hitter.

          • Anonymous

            @TiensyGohan:disqus Maybe career batting average is not an adequate stat to evaluate a hitter, but then, that’s will go even more in Andre’s favor.  How many walk-off and late innings homers/heroics do you recall hit by Andre?  He, we got one recently.  And then the Dodgers’ factor.  How many MLB games has Andre has played for another team besides the Dodgers? None.  And yes, @nsxtasy:disqus You’re absolutely correct, Josh Willingham is nothing special, that why he is earning 7m and have played for 4 teams @ age 33, menwhile the ‘overpaid” recently extended Andre Ethier is making spectacular plays in fathers’day, just ask CCapuano.  I think the ones overpaying are really other teams, not the Dodgers.  And finally I will take Andre Ethier & Cole Hamels over Pujols!!

    • Anonymous

       We can be pretty sure than Elián Herrera is not overpaid.

  • foul tip

    Maybe a few smiles from the over-the-hill cougar dept–

    Foul tip into a local store late this week a few minutes before closing.  Only customer there.  Rather weathered clerk, a lady long in tooth foul tip estimates at 70+, quickly announces she is going to lock the door.  But says FT doesn’t have to be in a hurry to leave.

    “But don’t worry.  I don’t want a man.  Not another one at least.” These words, spoken as she locked it, will stay with foul tip a while.

    It crossed foul tip’s mind to wonder how she got her first man…and what may have become of him, or if he might be locked up somewhere.  Foul tip thinks he really may not want to know those answers.  He does not ask.

    She did unlock unlock the door–after some small talk which foul tip carefully keeps neutral–and let FT out with his $2 purchase.  Foul tip was not greatly worried, especially since he’s quite a bit bigger than clerk.  OTOH, she was the one with the key…and who knows what else.

    Just to be sure, future FT visits to this store will be well before closing time.

    It comes to foul tip to muse on the old saying that the women all get prettier at closing time.  And to wonder…

    • Onlyatriple

      what happened to that DT guy who did those funny third person comments for a while, a year or two ago…Are you still here under another name?

    • Anonymous

      Why does FT talk in the third person?  An homage to Rickey Henderson, perhaps?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1813400086 Howard Kulzer

    Got a chance to see Albuquerque play the Iowa Cubs last night. A good game for the Aussie Oeltjen 2-3 with a walk and  Luis Cruz who drove in two runs with a double in the 8th. Stephen Fife did well with his 6 innings and the Isotopes took the game 4-3.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1813400086 Howard Kulzer

       I should also mention that the losing picture for the I-Cubs was one Mike MacDougal. Did the Cubs pick him up after the Dodgers released him?

      • Anonymous

        Yes, he was signed by the Cubs to a minor-league deal four days after his release by the Dodgers on May 11.

        • Anonymous

          Just for fun, I am willing to bet that MacDougal does not voluntarily retire which is what Miles did. The Dodgers did not want him to leave although they did not care very much.

        • Anonymous

           Do you mean Henry’s?

  • Anonymous

    Loney’s slugging % in 125 PA’s his rookie season jumps out of those columns at me.

    • foul tip

       The thing that jumps out at me about Loney isn’t from these charts.  It’s the number of homers in one month—7, I think–that he turned in early in his career.

      No one was going to keep up that pace.  But I’ve often wondered what happened to that power and that hitter.

      Some of it probably was pitchers adjusting.  A lot more of it may have been Loney’s constant tinkering with his swing, his listening to too many people.  Didn’t he hit something like .390 at AAA?

      The question now is will he hit 7 all year, let alone in one month.

      • Anonymous

        He hit .380 in 2006, his first year at Vegas in AAA.  There was even more cause for optimism when he hit .331 with 15 HR in 96 games with the Dodgers in 2007.  But nobody knew at the time that he would never equal either of those figures again on a full-season basis.

  • Anonymous

    >> only 19 players have notched at least 100 plate appearances in their first season after turning 24. And of those eight players, so far,
    .
    I think you mean, “of those NINETEEN players, so far…”  :)

  • Anonymous

    Herrera’s a pleasant surprise, but any discussion of his performance for us so far should include the fact that he’s carrying a .400 BABIP. Still, even with .300 BABIP he would have like .330 OBP, which is more than you can ask for from an emergency AAA call-up.

    • Anonymous

      Another fun Adam Kennedy fact posted by Braunstein at ESPNLA: The Dodgers are 18-4 in games when Kennedy is a starter, including 6-0 when he starts at second base.

      • Anonymous

        Give that man a 5 year contract!

  • Anonymous

    Looks like Tony Jackson has some kind of obsession with Alexei Ramirez.  In his two articles following last night’s game, three times he stated that Ramirez hit a home run.  All three references were to home runs that were actually hit by Alex Rios.  Right team, right initials, wrong guy.  :)

  • Anonymous

    Don’t forget, for those who don’t pay for subscriptions to PrimeTicket or MLB Extra Innings, tonight’s game will be on the MLB Network.

  • Adam Luther

    Whatever happened to…Jack Fimple and Chad Fonville…

    • Anonymous

      Fimple was a favorite of mine, even though his ceiling was that of a short-term backup catcher. Fonville looked for a moment like a keeper, which might be a cautionary tale against putting too great a hope in Elián, who appears to have similar tools. Still, you can’t argue with the results so far.

  • http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/ Jon Weisman

    Fonville was a guy getting by on speed and the bunting ability you wished Gordon had. Herrera, if nothing else, has the appearance of a ball player.

    Fimple was a folk hero, whom I’ll always remember fondly.

    • Anonymous

      Don’t misunderstand me, I’m delighted with Herrera and think he’s earned the right to play himself out of the lineup, but there are quite a few other names on that list for whom we had great expectations.

      Fimple was indeed a folk hero, though I’m not quite sure why.

      • Anonymous

        Fimple was a folk hero for various reasons:
        1) his name sounded funny
        2) he came up when the Dodgers had lost both starting catchers to injury
        3) when he came up, the Dodgers started to come back on the Braves and eventually won the NL West. 

        The Dodgers were 6 games out of first when he came up and they won the division by 3 games. So they made up 9 games on the Braves. The Dodgers were 28-19 when Fimple started.

        • Anonymous

           Thanks for the summary, timmer, my memory isn’t what it used to be.

  • KT

    As I was saying last night I think Herrera is the current months MVP

  • Anonymous

    I wish Herrera would get some starts at SS

  • Anonymous

    Didnt he mostly play SS in AAA this year? Wonder why he hasnt even played at SS yet with Dodgers. Maybe they think he cant handle it in the bigs? But sounded like he is a pretty good defensive player so seems he could handle it.

    • Anonymous

      He played 34 games at SS last year, had 9 errors. So yes, he would be an improvement over Dee.

      • Anonymous

        I guess he hasnt played as much SS in the minors as I thought and hasnt played it well when he has either it seems.

    • Anonymous

      No, he played in only 4 games at ss this season handling 12 chances. The AAA ss is Luis Cruz.
      Herrera was in AA last year in reply to TG.

  • Anonymous

    “Most of his errors  came some time ago, and I think his defense has been much better lately”
    This is a quote from WBB, a poster I respect on Dee Gordon. I did ask myself, how does he know that? since I don’t know it. I tried to find stats, by month for example, but could not; so, I decided to go though game by game. I stopped to post this when I found that Dee had made errors on June 15, 13, 12. I was going backwards because of the claim which now seems false, but; I will continue.

    • Anonymous

      So my impressions were more or less correct. I think many of Gordon’s errors, in any event, stem from faulty judgment rather than lack of physical ability. With experience, those sorts of errors should diminish.

      • Anonymous

        Why do you think Gordon will improve on his errors? He never has. Look at his pro-ball record:
        2009 – 34 Errors / 127 GS 2010 – 37 Errors / 133 GS2011 – 29 Errors / 127 GS2012 – 13 Errors / 59 GSHe’s always hovered around .940-.950 fielding.

        • Anonymous

           Because he’s a young player who’s still learning.

          • Anonymous

            Or not learning, if we go by his actual track-record. I’m just honestly baffled as to why people think Gordon will improve just because he’s young.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1813400086 Howard Kulzer

    My favorite person on this list is Bill Sudakis. There was not much to celebrate Dodger wise in ’68-69 but “Spud”  made those two seasons interesting.
     

  • Anonymous

    On fielding, Herrera, and WAR:
    Rfield is a component of WAR ( how that all works I don’t know) Rfield is the # of runs a player is better or worse than the average player in fielding. Dodger worst in Rfield is Gordon with -11, next is Kemp with -6, then Herrera with -4. If Herrera was, according to these calculations, average, his WAR would jump,I think possibly, to 1.

  • foul tip

    Jon posted a link the other day of the top game scores for pitchers since 1918–which Matt Cain  joined this week, tho his doesn’t seem to appear yet. 

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=jfm2N

    A few things off those stats strike me.  [Full disclosure: sometimes odd things strike me.  Sometimes I strike back.]    ;-]) 

    There are 9 games listed, all scores from 105 down to100.  Nolan Ryan has 3 of them.  He also has 7 of the total 13 BB issued over the 9. Which is kinda fitting.  Koufax threw the fewest pitches, 113, followed by Unit with 117. 

    Pitcher # 4 on this list is way far from a household name.  In fact, it’s a name you have to stretch to remember….Brandon Morrow. 

    Pitchers allowed a total of 4 hits over these 9 games.  They struck out 146, an average of over 16 per game.

  • foul tip

    In that same vein, wonder what Harvey Haddix’s game score was for the game in which he pitched 12 perfect innings?

    It’s widely regarded as the greatest game ever pitched and one of baseball’s 50 greatest moments.  Haddix lost 1-0 on an unearned run in the 13th.  His Pirates could not score despite 12 hits.

    “Didn’t anyone else ever lose a thirteen inning shutout?”–  Harvey Haddix

    Opposing and winning pitcher Lew Burdette also went the distance.  He struck out  2.  Yes.  Two.

    http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/05261959.shtml

  • Anonymous

    I’m not trying to be cute– and I haven’t red all the comments carefully–but I haven’t seen AJ Ellis in the lists above. Is it because he isn’t having that good a year, or because he didn’t hit the bigs until his 30′s. Really just curious.

    • http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/ Jon Weisman

      This isn’t his first year.

  • http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/ Jon Weisman

    TiensyGohan –
    Many young ballplayers improve once they have no more levels to climb and begin mastering more skills – or in particular in this case, judgment.

    I’m not sure what Gordon’s ceiling is, but I don’t know why one should assume he’d completely stagnate. He might not ultimately make it, but the theory behind him improving doesn’t seem baffling.

    Gordon is 24 years old. At age 24 (in 2009), Elian Herrera spent the year in A ball. Why would Herrera be able to improve but Gordon not?

  • http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/ Jon Weisman

     NPUT