Comments on: The Worst Stretch Of Hitting… Ever?

By: BigJared

BigJared — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:44:30 +0000

Willie isn't here for his hitting. He's here for his Gritting! Ted Williams may have hit .400 but The WFB grits 1.000! .400 looks pretty paltry next 1.000. He may not hit much, but he grits better than anyone! He's not much of a hitter, but he's a HOF gritter! You don't have to hit the ball when you can grit the ball. He gets his uniform dirty. He doesn't steal bases, he obtains 'Moneybags'. So sayeth The Rizzs. Rickey might have 1400+ SB's but how many Moneybags does he have? Huh?

By: Breadbaker

Breadbaker — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:04:31 +0000

Rob Neyer has an article on ESPN.com about who’s chasing records and shamefully neglected to mention Willie.

By: mln

mln — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:28:40 +0000

“PURE EVIL IN SPIKES” is a great nickname.

It’s better than WFB, Willie Ballgame, or Princess Willie!

By: jimbob

jimbob — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:46:40 +0000

Willie gets more playing time than he logically deserves because the Mariners are more interested in making money than winning games. He’s a local Charlie Hustle good guy underdog, “The Igniter” always ready for a quote for the Seattle Times. Mariner fans are diverse, with a substantial number from places like Kent and Renton who are just looking for someone they can identify with, not worrying how many consecutive games he’s gone without an extra base hit.

By: Breadbaker

Breadbaker — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:35:48 +0000

67: So if he plays regularly, he could have the first three by the end of July. A consummation devouted NOT to be wished.

By: Jack Howland

Jack Howland — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:14:06 +0000

Here are the five unofficial records that I see Willie chasing along with the all time leaders. I gave partial game credit on ABs and PAs on each end of the streak which is why my numbers differ slightly from DEO’s calculations. If somebody wanted to check my math, that would be great:

100 – Consecutive games without an XBH – Greg Gross
223 – Consecutive at bats without an XBH – Jose Valdivielso
266 – Consecutive PAs without an XBH – Larry Lintz
124 – Full season with no XBH in ABs – Dwain Anderson
144 – Full season with no XBH in PAs – Dwain Anderson

This is where Willie Stands:

76 — Consecutive games without an XBH
146 – Consecutive at bats without an XBH
166 – Consecutive PAs without an XBH
77 — 2008 season with no XBH in ABs
90 — 2008 season with no XBH in PAs

By: Benne

Benne — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:00:41 +0000

Then tomorrow we can have the joy of waiting to see who writes about how terribly hard we are on consummate strikethrower Silva, even as he loses a head-to-head versus recently DFA’d Cha Seung Baek and the hated SD Fathers!

If Baek throws a shutout against us I’m going to weep tears of blood for the irony of it all.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:44:47 +0000

Larry Lintz hold the record at 263 consecutive plate appearances without an extra base hit.

I saw Larry Lintz play a season of D ball, back in the dark ages before the lowest level was A.

You would never know it from looking at his major league career stats, but I remember him well because at the D level anyone good enough to be a marginal major leaguer is going to stand out so well that a young kid would take notice.

By: smb

smb — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:35:50 +0000

Then tomorrow we can have the joy of waiting to see who writes about how terribly hard we are on consummate strikethrower Silva, even as he loses a head-to-head versus recently DFA’d Cha Seung Baek and the hated SD Fathers!

By: Jeff Nye

Jeff Nye — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:06:00 +0000

I still blame them for printing it!