FanPost

Cubs and double plays hit into/runners on base

During Saturday's game, after the Cubs hit into yet another double play, I posted in the Game Thread that it was the 71st time that the Cubs had done so this season, sixth most among all teams and fourth most in the National League.

Wildcat6 responded:

"I'm surprised we're that high, given how few baserunners we’ve had.

Wonder if there’s a stat DPs/Baserunners?"

I replied:

"No, but it's something I could calculate at some point."

And so have.

..........

Through Sunday's games, the Cubs' ranking among teams when it comes to hitting into double plays had not changed.

The Yankees had hit into 89 and the Astros, 88.

The Padres, with 80, led the NL by 1 over the Nationals and Reds, each with 79.

Then came the Cubs, still with 71, followed by the Giants and Rangers (both 69), Blue Jays and White Sox (both 68) and Angels (67).

No other team had more than 63.

The Rays had hit into by far the fewest, 36. The Marlins had done it 48 times; the Mariners, 49; the Pirates, 50; the Cardinals and Rockies, 41; and the Braves, 52. All other teams had at least 55.

..........

CUBS LAG IN RUNNERS

To determine the number of runners that each team has had, I added its hits, walks and batters hit by pitch. Then I subtracted its number of home runs. (I ignored runners safe on errors and catcher's interference, both very small numbers.)

Given their paucity of hits -- 7.33 per game -- it should not come as a shock to learn that the Cubs' 913 runners were the fourth fewest among all 30 teams and the second fewest among NL clubs.

The lone NL team with fewer, 897, was the Mets, and they had played only 90 games, 3 fewer than the Cubs.

The Indians had the fewest runners of all, 848, in 90 games. The Mariners had 886, in 94 games, so they had the lowest average number of runners per game, 9.43, to the Cubs' 9.82.

The Mariners also were the only team that had played at least as many games as the Cubs, yet had managed even fewer hits, 666 to the Cubs' 682.

...

The Astros had the most hits, 852, and also the most runners: 1,116, which is 203 more than the Cubs. They averaged 11.87 per game, or 21 percent more than the Cubs.

The Dodgers, with 1,105, were second in runners, with the Padres (1,078), White Sox (1,069) and Reds (1,046) rounding out the top 5. Six more teams had at least 1,000, and the Giants had exactly 999.

All 30 teams had a total of 29,382 runners. The 29 other than the Cubs had 28,469, an average of 982, which is 7.6 percent more than the Cubs' 913.

..........

DOUBLE PLAYERS PER RUNNER

I divided the number of double plays that each team had hit into by its number of runners, to determine the percentage of its runners who were out as part of a double play.

The percentages ranged from a low of 3.57, by the Rays, to a high of 9.04, by the Yankees.

The Yankees' percentage was more than a full point higher than that of any other teams.

The Astros (7.89) were next, by just .01 over the Nationals (7.88).

And then came the Cubs, at 7.78, fourth highest overall and second highest in the NL.

They were followed by the Rangers (7.63), Reds (7.55), Cleveland (7.43), Padres (7.42), Twins (7.17) and Blue Jays (7.03), for a total of 10 teams for which at least 7 percent of their runners were doubled up.

Eight teams ranged from 6.03 to 6.91, with the Angels, Giants and Mets all at the latter number.

Eleven teams ranged from 5.09 (the Pirates) to 5.74.

...

So, while the Cubs had the fourth FEWEST runners among all 30 teams, they had the fourth HIGHEST percentage of runners involved in double plays!

The average for all teams was 6.42 percent. For the 29 teams other than the Cubs, it was 6.38 percent.

The means, the other teams combined had 18 percent fewer runners doubled up than the Cubs had.

..........

DOUBLE PLAYS PER PLATE APPEARANCE

I also calculated the percentage of each team's trips to the plate that in which the batter hit into a double play.

The Cubs ranked sixth in that category, at 2.09, between the Padres (2.19) and Rangers (2.01).

The top 4 teams were the Yankees (2.60), Astros (2.42), Nationals (2.33) and Reds (2.22). Nos. 1-3 were the same, in the same order, as in the percentage of runners doubled up.

The Rays had the lowest percentage again, 1.01. Four other teams were below 1.50: the Marlins (1.40), Mariners (1.44), Pirates (1.45) and Rockies (1.47). The Cardinals were at 1.50 on the nose; the Braves, at 1.51.

The percentage for all teams was 1.82. For the 29 teams other than the Cubs, it was 1.81, or 13 percent lower than the Cubs' 2.09.

..........

DOUBLE PLAYS PER AT BAT

Finally, I calculated the percentage of each team's at bats in which the batter hit into a double play.

The Cubs again ranked sixth, at 2.36 percent.

The top 7 teams were in the same order as they were when using plate appearances: Yankees (2.96), Astros (2.74), Nationals (2.62), Reds (2.53), Padres (2.51), Cubs and Rangers (2.27).

The White Sox, 11th in PA, moved up to 9th in AB, at 2.26. The Giants (2.25) rose to ninth, from 10th; the Twins (2.24) slipped to 10th, from ninth; and the Blue Jays (2.22) dropped to 11th, from eighth.

The Rays continued to have by far the lowest percentage, 1.15. The Marlins were at 1.55; the Mariners, 1.61; the Pirates, 1.62; the Rockies, 1.64; and the Cardinals, 1.67. Thirteen teams in all were below 2 percent. The Orioles and Phillies both were at 2.01.

The percentage for all teams was 2.04. For the 29 teams other than the Cubs, it was 2.03, or 14 percent lower than the Cubs' 2.36.

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