baseball stoopidstats: wins and losses through 2021

 I'm a bit late on this, since spring training starts soon -- or would start soon if not for the lockout. But I finally assembled my annual analysis of baseball's cumulative win totals, games over .500 and ranking (of win totals) for all of major league baseball. To remind, I do these by franchise, by location (as indicated in the team's name), by state or state-like entity, and by team nickname.

The job was more complicated this year because of the decision, made last year, to include some of the Negro Leagues as Major League. This meant the addition of 64 franchises that were never before listed as Major League. I am using baseballreference.com as my source of data and of truth. So I didn;t decide whether to include the Negro Leagues, or which leagues in what year to include. I don't know how baseballreference decided. Maybe the offices of MLB decided and br just accepted their decision. I don;t doubt that more Negro Leagues will be added in the years to come. Among those that were included were several teams that had two home locations at once, and some that had no location indicated in their names. For those with no location (e.g., the "Cuban Stars West"), I indicated "N/A") For those with two locations, I created new categories such as "Indianapolis/Detroit" which necessitated new listed states such as "Indiana/Michigan." It's not perfect, but that's what I did since the data don't neatly fit the structure that I had built.

Adding the new data presented new challenges as well, in that Excel is kind of choking on the volume of data. I hope that my next computer is better able to handle it. But because of the issues I ended up recreating my file from the ground up. The bright side? I figured out more-efficient ways of building the file. Things that go in the realm of "Duh, why didn't I think of that before?"

As always, I used baseballreference.com as my source for data. I ran into a few data issues:

• Adding up the records for all teams in 1890, there were 1580 wins, 1581 losses and 61 ties. This is mistaken on its face, but I have no better source to go with. So that's what I have.
• Similarly, in 1928 the records add up to 1614 wins, 1614 losses and 19 ties.
• Similarly, in 1933 the records add up to 1379 wins, 1379 losses and 27 ties.
• Similarly, in 1942 the records add up to 1499 wins, 1500 losses and 30 ties.

In creating the rankings by wins, I used games over .500 as the first tiebreaker and ties as the second tiebreaker. I still ran into a few ties which I did my best to resolve in a logical manner, such as which team preexisted the other.

I am not including the full file here -- actually, I don't know how to embed an Excel file in a blogpost (assuming it's even possible). But if anyone is reading this and wants the file, feel free to contact me and we'll figure something out.

Some of the graphs are at the bottom of this post. I freely admit that this is an exercise in bad data presentation, but I like the way the graphs look.

But before the graphs, some congratulations are in order.

The Miami Marlins went 67-95, pushing Miami (the location) to 653 wins, which was enough to move up two rankings to 33rd. It passes Indianapolis (638 wins, most recently 32 in 1948) and Homestead (629 wins, most recently 44 in 1948). Congratulations, Miami.

The Tampa Bay Rays went 100-62, pushing the name "Rays" to 1,181 wins, which was enough to move up one ranking to 37th, It passes "Monarchs" (1,120 wins, most recently 60 in 1948). Congratulations, "Rays."

The Houston Astros went 95-67, pushing the name "Astros" to 4,529 wins, which was enough to move up one ranking to 19th. It passes "Browns" (4,488 wins, most recently 54 in 1953). Congratulations, "Astros."

The New York Mets went 77-85, pushing the name "Mets" to 4,551 wins, which was enough to move up one ranking to 18th. It passes "Browns" (same as above -- yes, "Browns" moved down two rankings). Congratulations, "Mets".

The Kansas City Royals and The Milwaukee Brewers each passed the 4,000 win mark (for the franchises). The name "Athletics" passed the 10,000 win mark (for the name). The names "Brewers" and "Royals" passed the 4,000 win mark (for the names),

The Cleveland Indians name is being changed to Cleveland Guardians effective this year. Our cultural zeitgeist being what it is, I don't see another franchise calling itself "Indians" in the foreseeable future. So that name stops making progress at 8,532 wins. This year will be the first time there's a Major League team called "Guardians."

And now for some graphs:

Wins by franchise:

Wins by location:

Wins by state:

Wins by nickname:

Games over .500 by franchise:

Games over .500 by location:

Games over .500 by state:

Games over .500 by nickname:

You're welcome

cinema history class: zorro (1975)

 

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: Masked Men, Both Good and Evil (week 4)
Movie: Zorro (1975)
Directed by Duccio Tessari

Plot:

At a time and place where corrupt officials take what -- and whom -- they want, one masked swordsman -- Zorro -- stands up for justice. Spaghetti ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

I have to admit that none of the stuff I don't like about this movie should be held against it. When I say that, I am primarily referring to the humor. There's plenty of action here to be sure, but the whole things is played for laughs. Which is fine if you like that sort of thing. But it's not what I want in a spaghetti western. Just like I don't want the clearly-defined good guys and bad guys -- which is another thing we've seen this whole session. I already knew -- through Keith's various presentations and classes -- that there were plenty of spaghetti westerns with strong emphasis on comedy. But this may be the first one I've seen. Now, of course, if Keith is reading this he may very well remind me of one that I have seeen.

So there was lots of fun and humor, accompanying a plot that was somewhere in that vague area between coherent and incoherent. And I did enjoy it way more than I really want to admit.

Ratings

Me: 8.5

Bob-O: 10

Dave: 9.8

Ethan: 8

Joe 10

Cats: No cats, but there was one dog named Assassin, who provided much comic relief.

cinema history class: the masked thief (1971)

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: Masked Men, Both Good and Evil (week 3)
Movie: The Masked Thief (1971)
Directed by Mario Bianchi

Plot:

A masked thief is robbing people. Meanwhile, the local sheriff looks suspiciously like a rapist. Spaghetti ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

Ethan had it right when he noted that this seemed strongly influenced by giallos. The costuming, the prevalence of knives as weapons, the masked killer, the slow-motion death scene -- all of those elements are giallo elements. And I suppose he would have liked this a lot less than he did if not for those elements. For me, I was missing what I like best about spaghetti westerns -- the ambiguous hero who isn;t really a good guy.

Actually, As the first action sequence was getting set up, I thought we were going to have that conflicted, ambiguous hero. The setup reminded me of the opening of 1966's Django. In that ealier film, the hero comes upon a scene of criminals whipping a woman. He watches briefly before intervening, rescuing her. The opening here looked similar. a stagecoach is being robbed, and the action is being watched by a mysterious black-clad figure. He grins maniacally as he watches the events unfold. Then, when he's seen enough he gets involved. For a moment I thought he was going to kill the thieves, saving the stage passengers. But instead he shoots one of the passengers, proving to be partnered with the thieves.

While that scene surprised me, it got things off to a great start. Craig Hill did a great job in a dual role, playing twins who had taken very different paths in life. As Cassidy, he was wonderfully manic, which was a sharp contrast to his serious demeanor when he was Sheriff Hill. He was wonderful with the little affectations that differentiated the two, though it also helped him that the two had different voice actors dubbing their dialog.

I do have to note one thing that really annoyed me about this movie, though. Four years pass between the aforementioned robbery and the subsequent events. When we jump from scene to scene, there is nothing done to indicate that passage of time. We have to kind of just figure it out from some of the dialog that came later. Keith noted that this, being a spaghetti western, it's possible that the time issue was handled better in the original script than in the final English dub. Still and all, it irked me.

The Masked Thief is a fun movie, made more enjoyable by the Craig Hill -- who was much more charismatic than the leading men in the prior two films. Still and all, not one of my favorites.

Other Interesting Tidbits:

The Masked Thief is better known by another title: In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Colt. In many ways I like the longer title better, as it's less generic. The problem with it is that it really has nothing to do with the actual movie.

Ratings

Me: 8.25

Bob-O: 9

Dave: 9.3

Ethan: 8

Joe 9.5

Cats: No cats. But lots of horses.

no more freecycling?

Grumpy me says that we should stop giving stuff away on Freecycle. I don't know if it will last, but if I get my way...

Freecycle is a very simple concept. People give away items that are still usable but that they no longer want. Blair and I have been active users of Freecycle for years -- on both the giving and receiving ends. We have gotten and given many items including clothes, furniture, tools and a lot else. I've never been particularly enthusiastic about it because of the logistics. But as long as Blair did the work I never had reason to object. It has definitely saved us some money on things we would have had to buy otherwise. And I've had fun receiving the occasional box of assorted CDs.

But things have gotten more annoying recently.

There are the flakes -- people who ask for something and then don't show up to pick up as promised. We recently threw out a box of books that had gotten soaked in rain and snow because the person who had promised to pick them up never showed. And then there have been times that people don't show up as promised, but come a week ore more later -- after Blair has given the items to someone else -- and gotten annoyed that it was gone.

Another issue that we has been coming up is when Blair puts out several items promised to different people. Sometimes people just grab stuff that's been promised to someone else. It shouldn't be a hard rule to understand -- if you're coming for a bag of used trousers, just take the bag of used trousers. Don't grab the dinner plates.

But the final straw -- for me anyway -- was when someone grabbed the snack box. We keep a box of snacks out for the mailman, delivery people, and the sanitation men. I blogged about that here, here and here. On Saturday afternoon Blair looked out the window just in time to see a couple taking the whole snack box back to their car. She ran out to stop them, and explained that the snacks weren't being Freecycle. They complained that the dishes that they were there for were gone, and grumbled about returning the snacks. By Sunday morning, however, the snack box was gone. I don't know if that same couple came back for it or if someone else took it, but it's really annoying. And I wonder if I need to wait awhile before replacing it -- so that whoever took it stops coming by.

So I told Blair that I want to stop giving stuff away on Freecycle. She said OK. I don't know if it will stick, but we'll see.

cinema history class: starblack

 

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: Masked Men, Both Good and Evil (week 2)
Movie: Starblack (1966)
Directed by Giovanni Grimaldi

Plot:
I really enjoyed Starblack while we were watching it. Starblack seemed like a character out of a comic book-inspired TV show. There are obvious nods to The Lone Ranger, and the whole dynamic of Jimmy/Starblack's interaction with Caroline is reminiscent of the Clark/Superman/Lois Lane triangle in Superman. Though there is a lot of violence, a lot of the movie -- notably the extended barroom fight scene early on -- is played for laughs.

But, while Starblack is enjoyable, it's not really memorable. Too much of the plot was too easy to figure out. I found myself thinking things like "it can't be that simple" and "there has to be a twist in there." But no. It was that simple, and there were no real twists to be had.

Starblack is much more like an American western than I really like in my spaghetti. It's an unambiguous story of good vs. bad with good prevailing in the end. And I'm used to grayer, bleaker scenery than the lush beautiful greens that this offered.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

The biggest problem with 

Ratings

Me: 8

Bob-O: 9.2
Christina: 9.5

Dave: 9.7

Ethan: 8

Cats: No cats.

happy zmedsday!! (cix)

 

goodbye r32

It's been nearly six decades since the R32 subway car first entered service -- they were running in the system before I was born*. And today is their last day. I believe they've already been taken out of regular service, but the TA is running a few special trains so that railfans and sentimentalists can get ride them one last time. The R32 is my favorite of the cars in active service -- it has been since they took the R33s and R36s (then running on the 7 train) out. As of tonight I won't have a favorite.

The R32 dates back to when subway cars had style and beauty. In my mind that ended with the R42s. Those from the R44 on seem like characterless plastic shells -- cars to be ridden but not enjoyed. I remember once when I was in school, going home on an F train. At that point all the Fs were R46s. At Union Turnpike an E train of R32s pulled in. It surprised me because my Es and Fs had been exclusively R46s. But I got off the F just as the doors closed and ran across the platform to get the E. It would be a longer ride -- at that time the E and F both went to 179th Street in Jamaica, but the F was an express and the E was local. I stood on that train amazed. It seems odd now, but I remember the odd sensation marveling over it. "I'm on a E train, and it's R32s!" Most people probably can't understand it. I hope that some railfans can. It turned out that the TA was just starting to switch things up. R32s were replacing The R46s on the E and F. I have no idea where the R46s were going. I also have no idea why the TA decides to move car types around, but that's another matter. Within a month all the Es and Fs were R32s.

I will always associate the R32s with a few of the models that came later -- the R38s, R40s and R42s -- as representing a specific generation of designs. I don't know of any real reason to associate those few models. Maybe it's aesthetics. The R32s had stainless steel exteriors, while the predecessors didn't. That feature was carried over to the 38s, 40s and 42s. The R44s and R46s were very much a departure designwise, so I think of them -- whether rightly or wrongly -- as representing a new generation. And I didn't like the new generation. They seemed all plasticy and fake. And the motorman's cab spans the full width so it's not as easy or fun to look out the front window. I will acknowledge that it's probably more comfortable for the motorman and conductor.

But of its generation, I like the R32s the best. The R40, with its sleek slant end, had a certain unique style --even if they had to change that for safety reasons. And I liked the windows in the doors at the ends of the slant-40s. They went down low enough that even a young short railfan could experience the rush of standing at the front window as the train barreled along. But those seats! The R40s and R42s had the most uncomfortable seats in the system. The back was straight and angles badly, with the top being low enough to make it even worse. I never wanted a seat on those cars. The R38 was fine -- I have nothing bad to say about it. But I just never warmed up to it the way I did the R32. That may be because I didn't ride them as much. There were fewer in the system. That said, the corrugated exterior of the R32, with its tighter crinkles that go all the way up, was just more attractive than the wider crinkles that went only halfway up the side of the R38.

For a lot of my life the F train (and for a while the E too) was my home line. The R46 is the subway car that I most associate with the F. of course, it wasn't always R46s. My earliest subway memories -- going to elementary school -- include cars in the R1-9 series, and of course I remember R32s and others. Now they us cars that are post-R46 -- cars whose model numbers I don't really know

I thought about heading to Brooklyn to take one of those final rides. At another point in my life I definitely would have. But none of my kids is interested, though Ethan said he would go if I really wanted him to. It's not something Blair really wants to do, but she said she's go and have a good time if I wanted to. Still, I'll skip it. I suspect it will be crowded, and I won't get a spot by the front of back window. So sometime late today I'll think about the R32. In my mind I'll raise a toast to a great subway car and a bygone era.

cinema history class: quintana: dead or alive

  

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: Masked Men, Both Good and Evil (week 1)
Movie: Quintana: Dead or Alive (1969)
Directed by Vincenzo Musolino

Plot:
Governor de Leyra loves Virginia. But Virginia loves Don Manuel. So the masked hero, Quintana wants to save Manuel from de Leyra. Spaghetti ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

One thing I love is a compelling antihero. The TV dramas I watched in recent years -- Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, The Americans (and others) -- feature them. And that's one thing I like about Spaghetti Westerns. While American Westerns typically featured good guys and bad guys, the Italian ones featured bad guys and worse guys. Sadly, that was something Quinatana lacked. Quintana is a Zorro-like hero -- a good man waging war against bad people. And I find that boring.

Another boring thing about the character is his brilliance with a gun. I wouldn't try guessing his kill count, but he just keeps shooting them down as they come at him (and they seem to all do pirouettes as the go down). I realize that great gun skills are a hallmark of Western heroes, but Qunitana's seem to go beyond the normal greatness.

Add to that the fact that the plot is pretty basic with nothing in the way of innovative twists, and there's no real character development. I had a hard time finding much to hook into to keep my interest.

There were some things that I liked in the movie, though they were mostly in the realm of the odd. I did find a couple of lines of dialogue amusing for their clunkiness: "The man's no more violent than a watermelon" and " For a long time I've found your love extremely boring" come to mind. And there's a scene in which one of the priests is kneeling and praying in front of a crucifix. The crucifix answers him in a gruff voice, advising that violence can sometimes be helpful. Admittedly, I am not sure if we, the viewers, are supposed to interpret it as God actually answering or if it's just the priest's drunken delusion.

The camera work was odd. Most of the film was shot at a slant -- the way the Batman TV show showed the criminals' lairs. The soundtrack was a mixed bag. The music was great. But the dialogue and sound effects seemed oddly disconnected from the film. And the constant loud clip clop of horse hooves -- even when there were no horses to be seen was offputting.

Ratings

Me: 5.5

Bob-O: 7.5
Christina: 8.2

Dave: 9.3

Ethan: 7

Cats: No cats.

multi-car crashes: a question

There's something I've been wondering about for a while. It's on my mind now because I was in a long online chat with someone at GEICO. I was getting Sharon added to my car insurance, since she just got her license. I asked the agent my question and he didn't know the answer. Big sad.

When there's a car accident, the relevant insurers have to come to a determination of who is at fault, or who shoulders what percent of the fault. They do this by reviewing police reports and whatever other information there is. Maybe they question the drivers. I assume there are various formulae to cover the more common situations.

But what about those freaky hundred-car pileups on frozen interstates in winter? Every so often you read about those. How on earth do the insurance companies figure out who to blame? I work in insurance, but I'm a life actuary, and car insurance is a P&C line. And, besides, I doubt that assessing the damage and assigning blame is part of what the property-casualty actuaries do.

If anyone knows, please answer in the comments. Thanks.

a coffin for me

Keith is proceeding with the work necessary for his next feature, Three Slices of Delirium. He hasn't started shooting yet, but he's been working on casting, assembling the props, creating a green screen for scenes that will need one. And he bought my coffin.

Yes, there will be a scene with me in a coffin.

It's actually kind of an interesting story how this coffin made its way into Keith's possession. Now, I may be getting some of the details wrong, but this is essentially it.

Some guy in Canada was constructing a coffin in the hopes that he would be buried in it when he died. He then died before completing it. Honestly, I've seen it, and I'm not sure what else needed to be done. At any rate, his family decided that it wasn't feasible -- or it was more expensive or more trouble -- to complete the coffin and bury him in it. So they decided to sell it.

It was bought by a guy on Long Island who was hoping to use it for furniture. He wanted to put it in his living room and wire it up so that, with the push of a remote control it would open and his TV would slide up out of it. Seems to me it was actually an interesting idea in a weird creepy sort of way. But his wife said no way. She doesn't want a coffin in her living room. Too bad they didn't work all that out before he bought it and paid to ship it across national boundaries.

It was fortunate for Keith, though, since he was looking to buy a coffin just as this guy wanted to sell it. So now he has his own coffin. And after he's done shooting Three Slices he can rent it to other Long Island filmmakers.

As long as he knows I'm not laying down in it until the locks are removed.