Interesting Sports Facts and Statistics

[JayMac]

10 hours ago, BBTV said:

 

Barry Larkin was an outstanding player, but if he's a HOFer (which I believe he should be), then Jimmy Rollins should easily be in.

I definitely think Rollins should be in the HOF but I'm not sure if he was better than Larkin. Larkin was a better contact hitter and they were pretty comparable in the field (Rollins may have been a bit better). Larkin's WAR is better (if you're into that kind of stuff). He also was voted to the All-Star Game 12 times; Rollins was only voted 3 times. I know that might not be the best benchmark to use as it is somewhat of a popularity contest, but it does show that Larkin was the best SS in the NL for a while. He and Ripken were the best in that era at that position. Just providing an argument but I'll say again that Rollins definitely deserves to be in Cooperstown.

[Bomba Tomba]

Dunno if this has been posted, but during the NASCAR Cup race on 07/07/07, car #07 finished 7th

 

https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2007_Pepsi_400/W/

[BBTV]

2 hours ago, JayMac said:

I definitely think Rollins should be in the HOF but I'm not sure if he was better than Larkin. Larkin was a better contact hitter and they were pretty comparable in the field (Rollins may have been a bit better). Larkin's WAR is better (if you're into that kind of stuff). He also was voted to the All-Star Game 12 times; Rollins was only voted 3 times. I know that might not be the best benchmark to use as it is somewhat of a popularity contest, but it does show that Larkin was the best SS in the NL for a while. He and Ripken were the best in that era at that position. Just providing an argument but I'll say again that Rollins definitely deserves to be in Cooperstown.

 

It's a fair argument, and there's nothing I could ever say to disparage how good Larkin was.  I'm old enough to have watched him play a lot of games, and he's a deserving HOFer.  Looking closer on Baseball Reference, Larkin has better hall credentials using their systems, and it's a little more tilted in his favor than I thought, with the best argument being that for at least some period of time, he was the top SS, whereas Rollins was maybe a little overlooked in an era where there were other stars at the position and the "eye test" became a little devalued as analytics started to make things a little more calculated, without regard for intangibles. 

 

They each have an MVP, Rollins was the catalyst of a team that won 5 divisions and a WS (though Larkin has a WS as well, but not nearly the playoff accolades), Rollins is the all-time hit leader for a team nearly as old as the Reds, and I think his intangibles should get him in, even if just barely.  I think a case against Rollins is that he was on a team of superstars, with potential HOFer Chase Utley next to him, and Ryan Howard - who seemed destined for the HOF and 500+HR before tearing his achilles against the Cardinals - next to Utley.  He had a lot more around him than Larkin did, but he really the player who "drove" them from the doldrums of the early 00s to the peaks of the late 00s/early 10s.  I can't remember off the top of my head who the other great SSs were in that era, so I can't say for sure if he was the best fielder, but he was outstanding, and may have been the best ("only" has 4 GGs tho).  They won while Utley, Howard, and others were on the DL, but had a rough during the one period that Rollins missed significant time.

[OnWis97]

The T-Wolves sweep of Phoenix is the first sweep of a seven-game series by a Minnesota team.

[DCarp1231]

From 2005 to 2008, Adam Dunn hit exactly 40 HRs in each season

[TrueYankee26]

Alex Ovechkin was held to zero goals and assists in a playoff series (Round 1 vs NYR) for the first time in his career.

 

The Capitals have not defeated the Rangers in a playoff series since 2011.

 

Rangers swept a playoff series for the first time since 2007 against the Thrashers (who are now the Jets).

[TrueYankee26]

 

[Sec19Row53]

No team in MLB, NBA, or NHL have blown a 3-1 series lead in back-to-back seasons.

 

We almost had our first in the Bruins.

[TrueYankee26]

The Oakland Athletics trail 553 sports teams in the US in attendance

[FiddySicks]

I’m not sure where else to put this, but a woman swam from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallon Islands this week. That is absolutely bonkers. I get nervous just reading about the Farallones and the “Red Triangle”. It’s some of the most treacherous ocean in the world and is the inspiration for the San Jose Sharks name. She’s the first known person to ever do that. 

[Bomba Tomba]

 

[TrueYankee26]

7 hours ago, Bomba Tomba said:

 

NHL currently have 2 unrelated people named "Sebastian Aho", one was born in 1997, is Finnish, and plays centre for the Carolina Hurricanes from 2016-present, and the other was born in 1996, is Swedish, and plays defenceman for the New York Islanders since 2020 (and debuted in 2017).

[Bomba Tomba]

Also during the 2019-20 season, FC Metz had two Malian players called Adama Traore, both born in June of 1995

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adama_Traoré_(footballer,_born_28_June_1995)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adama_Traoré_(footballer,_born_5_June_1995)

[schlim]

Possibility of transparent side panels now in play

 

http://stadiumdb.com/news/2024/05/australia_transparent_stadium_concept

 

 

 

Sorry, had no idea where else to put this

[TrueYankee26]

Wednesday marked 2 calendar years since the Orioles were swept in a regular season series

[Bomba Tomba]

On 4/29/2024 at 9:22 PM, DCarp1231 said:

From 2005 to 2008, Adam Dunn hit exactly 40 HRs in each season

From 2016 to 2019, Justin Tucker scored exactly 141 points in each season

[DCarp1231]