1894 again

[Ytown Tribe fan]

In 1894, the NL Boston Beaneaters scored 1220 runs in 133 games and the Louisville Colonels had 1206 hits in 130 games.

That was the last time that one major league team had more runs than another had hits in a full season for both teams.

It occurred a few times before that as well, from 1884-1886, when Cap Anson's White Stockings scored more runs than some teams had hits in similar numbers of games.

Sure, it's only May, but there's the remote possibility that the Yanks and Kittens will make that kind of history. The Yanks can certainly score more than 1000 runs this season. It would be much more difficult for Detroit to have fewer than 1000 hits.

[Craig S.]

The Yankees are up by about 20 right now, something like 180-158. I can't see it happening, though, because I can't imagine the Tigers hitting under .200 all season. It would be an amazing feat if it were to occur, and the fact that it's even possible is pretty clear evidence of just how awful the Tigers are right now.

[Skip]

I agree that this discussion is much more indicative of the Tigers' suckiness than it is of particular Yankee superiority. Not to belittle what the Yankees are doing this season, but if what YTown suggests does happen, it'll be more due to the Tigers' not performing than the Yankees overperforming.

And BTW YTown, thanks for pointing out that the most recent equivalent to the Tigers came from Louisville. 'Preshiadit.

[KCBOOMER]

I can't see this holding up. To ask the Yanks to score seven runs a game is asking a lot and even the Tigers will end up averaging seven plus hits a game.

In 1999 the Indians scored 1009 runs. Prior to that the last time a team scored more than 1000 runs was in 1950 when the Red Soz tallied 1027. So if the Yankees can somehow get to 1000 runs (very difficult) the Tigers would easily surpass that with a team batting average of .200.

And lest we forget the Beaneaters are todays Braves.

[sweaver]

At least the Tigers are over the 2.0 runs per game mark now, with 61 in 26 outings. But that 3-23 record has to cause more concern.

[Craig S.]

Originally posted by sweaver
At least the Tigers are over the 2.0 runs per game mark now, with 61 in 26 outings. But that 3-23 record has to cause more concern.

I think they're headed for the record books. That lineup is absolutely horrid.

The way the Tigers are playing, they may end up drawing the same number of fans as back in 1894. Yesterday, it was estimated that by the 7th inning of the second game, only about 100 people were in attendance, and this was before the rain came.

Dmitri Young complained after the game that the worse part of yesterday was that no one was around. Actually, that should have been the best part. If I were playing that bad, I would hope there would be as few people around to witness it. Also, Young complained that the people in Detroit don't care about the Tigers and that he'd rather play on the road.

Young shouldn't blame the fans. Unfortunately, baseball is part of the entertainment industry. Would anyone pay high box office prices to see a lemon of a movie? Of course not. So why would anyone want to pay high ticket prices just to see a minor league ball club. For people in southeastern Michigan, if they wanted to see minor league ball, all they would have to do is drive 30 - 45 minutes south of Detroit to see the Toledo Mud Hens play, who coincidentally are the AAA club for the Tigers.

It's been well documented how bad the Tigers have been in the 1990s. When Comerica Park was built, the fans thought the Tigers would follow the example of the Cleveland Indians, who put together a playoff-caliber club to go along with the opening of Jacobs Field. However, two years after the opening of Comerica Park, the Tigers gutted the best parts of their already sorry team and announced they were embarking on a "Five Year Plan". Oh, and they didn't reduce the ticket prices that were raised when they moved from Tigers Stadium to Comerica Park. How long did they expect that people would subsidize the new stadium when the product on the field was absolutely horrible?

Sorry about this long digression! In short, I think we could see the Tigers challenge and perhaps break many records of futility. That might be the only thing that would cause people to follow them!

[Ytown Tribe fan]

Well now -- you got me to thinking (that's always dangerous): what other records for futility could the Tigers break this season?

I doubt that the 1899 Cleveland Spiders are in any danger of being replaced in the record books.

The Spiders were so bad that no teams wanted to play them, even knowing they'd get almost-automatic wins out of the series, because they couldn't draw a paying crowd. They finished at 20-134, a .130 W-L%.

How about the 1916 A's? They finished 36-117, a .235 W-L%. Could the Tigers raise the bar for "modern day" futility? They'd have to finish 38-124 to best the A's. For that to happen, the pitching would really have to hold up their end.

Probably none of those things will happen, but the Tigers ARE in position to set a franchise record with 110 losses.

[gyb13]

Originally posted by Sopalt
Would anyone pay high box office prices to see a lemon of a movie?

how do you think Batman & Robin grossed more than $130 million?

Well, right now, the Yankees have scored 2 runs in their game against Oakland. A great chance for the Tigers to make up ground, right? After all, how hard is it to get 2 hits, especially off a Tampa Bay Devil Rays starter who entered the day with a career ERA of 4.59 (season ERA of 5.40)?

My mistake, I forgot that the D-Rays pitched their version of Sandy Koufax, Joe Kennedy. Kennedy threw a 1-hit shutout against the Tigers tonight!

[Ytown Tribe fan]

The Yanks and Tigers have played 24 matches so far. That is, they have played ballgames on the same day 24 times this season so far.

On those dates, the Yanks have scored more runs than Detroit had hits 9 times; Detroit had more hits than NY scored runs 12 times, and they are even on 3 days. Now Detroit played a double header yesterday and the Yanks only scored 2 runs, but that counts as only one match point for Detroit, even though they had more than 2 hits in each game.

It's close, but Detroit still has a slight edge with a lot of matches left to be played.


Another line to consider: Yanks longest losing streak this season vs Tigers longest winning streak.

I'm betting 3 for the Yanks and 3 for the Tigers.

[gyb13]

fewest hits DET has ever had in a full season: 1063 (in 1918)
most runs NYY has ever scored in a full year: 1067 (in 1931)

[Ytown Tribe fan]

Well, Detroit's above the Mendoza line, and now has more hits than any team has runs.

Maybe next year.