Fun Time on Baseball Reference

A couple of discoveries while perusing baseball-reference:

1. Will Greg Maddux sit third on the all time wins list before it's all said and done? He needs 15 more wins to tie for fifth and 24 to tie for third. He's averaged 14 wins/year over the last three. Can he pitch until 44, and maintain those averages? Even now, Clemens and Spahn are his only contemporary company. After those two, there's Pete Alexander who finished pitching in 1930. And as far as "the greatest pitcher of our generation conversation," it'll be the complementary exclamation point to go with the question mark raised by the Clemens-steroids links.


2. Ricky Henderson is maybe the most unique baseball player ever. Sure maybe we already knew that, but its startling to look at the similarity scores and names that baseball-reference generates. Whereas the number one spot is usually occupied with a score in 800s, Biggio is most similar at 721. The rest of the list is in the 600s. But what's even more telling is the variety of players on the list. From Biggio to the classic lead-off man Brock to lightly hitting DH Molitor to Joe Morgan and Al Kaline, two guys who were regarded as power hitters.