Tater Talk (2048.05): Statatoes: the Spuds’ statistical feats of 2048

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Tater Talk (2048.05): Statatoes: the Spuds’ statistical feats of 2048

Post by woods » Sun Oct 17, 2021 5:50 am

Image Despite another forgettable season that will see Boise absent from the playoffs for the third straight year, the Spuds are never lacking in statistical quirks. Even though the stats may not all be good, they’re all interesting in their own way. So let’s take our annual look at the “strange but true” statistical achievements of 2048.

If there’s one guy to start with, it’s first baseman and designated hitter Carlos Muñóz. What a strange journey he’s had: he broke into the BBA with the Spuds in 2036, just the team’s second year of existence, and spent five seasons in Boise. Then he bounced around the league a bit, and was assumed to be finished in the majors after an injury-stricken 2043 season. That is, until he rejoined the Spuds this year on a minor league contract, promptly got promoted to the BBA and started putting up his best offensive numbers ever, with an OPS of 1.033 in 39 games.

But here’s the remarkable thing: he has accumulated 1.6 WAR for the Spuds this season, after spending four years out of the BBA entirely. That’s a feat so rare that our stat guys couldn’t even find the last instance of a player coming back after such a long break and being that productive (for non-UMEBA reasons).

In other news, Aleksandr Ginevglekov hit his first BBA home run this week, in his 312th career plate appearance. It was the second-longest homerless streak in the BBA at the time, behind Louisville’s Rodrigo Ríos, who hasn’t homered since 2042, when Alex was still in high school. It seems likely that Ríos will hold onto his streak for a while, and possibly forever, since Louisville designated him for assignment earlier this week.

And while we’re on the subject of players who haven’t homered, here’s an interesting one: outfielder Chris Jenkins has played 14 games for the Spuds since they claimed him on waivers, and not only has he not homered, but he also hasn’t hit any singles. That’s right — he currently has the strange stat line of 34 at bats, 2 hits, 1 double, and 1 triple. And while we do appreciate the extra-base hits, Chris, maybe shorten up a little in the box, because 2-for-34 isn’t going to cut it.

It seems like every year, this column points out Ismael Alfonzo and his knack for not striking out, but this season he’s reached new lows, striking out just 18 times in 345 plate appearances. That gives him a 5.2 SO%, second-lowest in the league behind Montreal’s Coy Skinner. But wait, there’s more: Alfonzo has struck out 160 times now in his five-year BBA career, which is less than Nashville’s Odemar Lock has struck out this season.

On the pitching side of things, Robin Cooper has been pretty hit-or-miss this year in general, but no more so than when he faces the Phoenix Talons. Here’s his game log against Phoenix:
  • May 5 in Boise: 0.2 IP, 7 ER
  • June 29 in Boise: 7.2 IP, 0 ER
  • July 22 in Phoenix: 1 IP, 6 ER
The Spuds are scheduled to host the Talons once more in September, and fans will be anxiously awaiting a potential start from Cooper in that series. The pattern would suggest he’s due another dominant, scoreless outing, like the one in June, but we don’t want to jinx anything, so we’ll just say that we hope both teams have fun.

Reliever José Castro has a 1.86 ERA, and if he can make it to 50 IP, it will be his third straight season of 50 IP and a sub-3.00 ERA. The only other active relievers who have such a streak are the elite relief arms of the BBA: Tiernan O’Macken, Keijo Reini, Gilberto Sosa and Eru Likiliki. Castro has by far the cheapest contract, however, and he’s available via trade for a team needing to boost their relief corps (sorry for the shameless plug, but this is a business, after all.)

Anyway, we can’t talk about interesting stats without devoting at least a paragraph to Boise’s star outfielder, Félix Román. Not only is Félix one of the premier players in the league, he’s also one of the most dependable. He has played in 114 of Boise’s 116 games this season, which puts him well on track for his ninth straight season of 155+ games played.

The only other player in the BBA with a streak of at least 9 such seasons is Hawaii’s Mike Campbell, though Mexico City’s Aaron Haney and Fernando Moreno also have active streaks and, like Félix, are on track to achieve their ninth season this year.

So while it may not be the most thrilling stretch run as the Spuds race to another seventh-place finish in the Frontier, at least we have a few things to watch for in September. And with so much of the season left to play, who’s to say that more statistical quirks won’t emerge before it’s all done? So let’s enjoy the ride.
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Re: Tater Talk (2048.05): Statatoes: the Spuds’ statistical feats of 2048

Post by Dington » Sun Oct 17, 2021 9:13 am

Hey! No need to drag Lock’s name through the mud!
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Re: Tater Talk (2048.05): Statatoes: the Spuds’ statistical feats of 2048

Post by DugoutDesperado » Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:50 pm

woods wrote:
Sun Oct 17, 2021 5:50 am

Reliever José Castro has a 1.86 ERA, and if he can make it to 50 IP, it will be his third straight season of 50 IP and a sub-3.00 ERA. The only other active relievers who have such a streak are the elite relief arms of the BBA:

Castro has by far the cheapest contract, however, and he’s available via trade for a team needing to boost their relief corps (sorry for the shameless plug, but this is a business, after all.)

Shameless reply to bring Castro back to Jacksonville - even though he turned down almost double the salary to stay this past off-season. :P We have little to no pride in Canes-nation.

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