Braun goes for rookie slugging record

Cyril Morong · August 6th, 2007, 10:10 AM

Sorry if this has been posted already. His slugging percentage is .664 right now. According to the Sporting News Record Book, the NL record for SLG by a rookie in 100+ games is .621 by George Watkins in 1930. The AL record is .618 by McGwire in 1987. So if he plays enough, he can break this record (and if he stays away from Aaron Rowand).

Cyril Morong · August 13th, 2007, 11:49 AM

As of yesterday, Aug 12., he is at .666. I estimate if he plays every game the rest of the season, he needs to slug about .552 in those games to finish at .622 to break the record. Looks like he has a good chance.

bedir than average · August 13th, 2007, 05:53 PM

Cyril, here's a silly version of a related question, but how close is he to the rookie OPS record? It would seem that since he's doing so well in slugging that he woudl be close.

Cyril Morong · August 13th, 2007, 06:28 PM

My best guess is Joe Jackson in 1911. He had a .590 SLG and a .468 OBP for an OPS of 1.058. He had 115 ABs before this season in his career. So I think that would qualify him as a rookie since that is less than 130. I think the rule says that once you have passed 130 career ABs, any season played after that you are no longer a rookie. So if you had 100 ABs last year. If this year you clear 30 ABs, that is your rookie year. I have asked my friends in SABR to see if they have a better answer and I will pass anything new along here.

I used the Lee Sinins Complete Baseball Encyclopedia. I called up the 500 best seasons ever in OPS and kept looking for young ages. That is how I came to Jackson.

Cyril Morong · August 13th, 2007, 07:01 PM

I went and checked my copy of "The SABR Baseball List & Record Book." Looking at tables 669 & 670, it is pretty clear that Ted Williams holds the record for highest OPS by a rookie. He had the 3rd highest OBP (.436) and the 4th highest SLG (.609). That makes his OPS 1.045 as a rookie in 1939. Looking at the other players listed, no one can top that.

The Sporting News Record Book uses 100 games as the minimum for rookie records. So I don't know if someone out there who qualified to be a rookie but had fewer than 3.1 plate appearances per scheduled game (the standard used by "The SABR Baseball List & Record Book") can top Williams. It looks like Pujols, at 1.013, holds the NL record.

Cyril Morong · August 20th, 2007, 07:30 AM

His SLG is now .663. I estimate that he needs to slug about .540 the rest of the way to finish at .622 to break the record. He has played 76 games. I think he should make it because he has slugged .686 in August. In June he slugged .716 and in July it was 673. In May it was only .370. So the trend for him his definitely good. Slugging .540 the rest of the way should not be a problem

Cyril Morong · August 26th, 2007, 04:36 PM

Through Sunday's game, his SLG is .648. I estimate he has to slug .556 the rest of the way to finish at .622. His August SLG is now .624.

Cyril Morong · September 2nd, 2007, 04:27 PM

Through Sunday's game, his SLG is .634. I estimate he has to slug .582 the rest of the way to finish at .622.

Today's 3 for 4 with a HR was a good turn around after a bit of a slump. His SLG fell from .651 on Aug 31 to .624 on Sept 1. His SLG in Aug was .574. So he does need to pick it up a bit.

Cyril Morong · September 9th, 2007, 01:30 PM

He hit 2 HRs in 4 ABs in Sunday's game. So his SLG is now .648. I estimate he needs to slug just .499 the rest of the way to get to .622 and break the record. His SLG in Sept in 31 ABs is .839.

Cyril Morong · September 16th, 2007, 08:18 PM

He did not play today. His SLG is now .631. I estimate he needs to slug .561 the rest of the way to finish at .622. He could play one more game to get to 100 games (the Sporting News Record Book minimum), go 0 for 4 and be at .624. That would give him the record. But him playing just one more game is not likely.

He only slugged .300 in his 20 ABs since last Sunday (4 singles and 1 double). His Sept. SLG is .627. So he needs to pick things up a bit over this past week.

bedir than average · September 16th, 2007, 08:22 PM

He's on track to finish top 3, likely number one, in the Rookie of the Year voting.

Cyril Morong · September 23rd, 2007, 04:27 PM

He is now at .627. If gets 28 more ABs in the remaining games and gets 15 TBs to SLG .536 in those 28 ABs, he will finish at .622. His Sept SLG is now .584.

Cyril Morong · September 27th, 2007, 09:33 PM

He is now up to .639. If gets 12 more ABs and gets no hits, he will still finish with a .622 SLG. He has 281 TBs right now. If he finishes with 452 ABs and 281 ABs, his SLG will be .62168 or .622.

Cyril Morong · September 30th, 2007, 03:39 PM

After today's game, he finishes at .634 to break the record. He also finished with 492 plate appearances, 10 short of qualifying for the league lead. But if he is charged with 10 ABs, his SLG would be 286/461 = .620. That is still higher than the .618 that McGwire had in 1987, which is the record for players qualifying for the league lead. To see a list of the best rookie SLGs for qualifiers go to

Beyond the Box Score :: A Sabermetrics Blog

If you look at that list, it is very illustrious. Braun should have a pretty good career. With Fielder, that will be a great one two righty/lefty punch.

August 6th, 2007, 10:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Braun goes for rookie slugging record Sorry if this has been posted already. His slugging percentage is .664 right now. According to the Sporting News Record Book, the NL record for SLG by a rookie in 100+ games is .621 by George Watkins in 1930. The AL record is .618 by McGwire in 1987. So if he plays enough, he can break this record (and if he stays away from Aaron Rowand).

August 13th, 2007, 11:49 AM	#2 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Braun As of yesterday, Aug 12., he is at .666. I estimate if he plays every game the rest of the season, he needs to slug about .552 in those games to finish at .622 to break the record. Looks like he has a good chance.

August 13th, 2007, 05:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
bedir than average Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Starbucks Posts: 8,258	Cyril, here's a silly version of a related question, but how close is he to the rookie OPS record? It would seem that since he's doing so well in slugging that he woudl be close. __________________ I'm sorry I left for a while. I needed a vaction, and then work changed substantially. I'm over 50 hour weeks, plus two hours a day of commuting time. A few weeks ago I launched my own blog about Seattle Sounders FC and Life in Puget Sound. I won't be by these parts often as my focus has changed. Sorry about the unannounced retirement.

August 13th, 2007, 06:28 PM	#4 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Rookie OPS record My best guess is Joe Jackson in 1911. He had a .590 SLG and a .468 OBP for an OPS of 1.058. He had 115 ABs before this season in his career. So I think that would qualify him as a rookie since that is less than 130. I think the rule says that once you have passed 130 career ABs, any season played after that you are no longer a rookie. So if you had 100 ABs last year. If this year you clear 30 ABs, that is your rookie year. I have asked my friends in SABR to see if they have a better answer and I will pass anything new along here. I used the Lee Sinins Complete Baseball Encyclopedia. I called up the 500 best seasons ever in OPS and kept looking for young ages. That is how I came to Jackson.

August 13th, 2007, 07:01 PM	#5 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Rookie OPS Record I went and checked my copy of "The SABR Baseball List & Record Book." Looking at tables 669 & 670, it is pretty clear that Ted Williams holds the record for highest OPS by a rookie. He had the 3rd highest OBP (.436) and the 4th highest SLG (.609). That makes his OPS 1.045 as a rookie in 1939. Looking at the other players listed, no one can top that. The Sporting News Record Book uses 100 games as the minimum for rookie records. So I don't know if someone out there who qualified to be a rookie but had fewer than 3.1 plate appearances per scheduled game (the standard used by "The SABR Baseball List & Record Book") can top Williams. It looks like Pujols, at 1.013, holds the NL record.

August 20th, 2007, 07:30 AM	#6 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	August 20 Update His SLG is now .663. I estimate that he needs to slug about .540 the rest of the way to finish at .622 to break the record. He has played 76 games. I think he should make it because he has slugged .686 in August. In June he slugged .716 and in July it was 673. In May it was only .370. So the trend for him his definitely good. Slugging .540 the rest of the way should not be a problem

August 26th, 2007, 04:36 PM	#7 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Through 8-26 Through Sunday's game, his SLG is .648. I estimate he has to slug .556 the rest of the way to finish at .622. His August SLG is now .624.

September 2nd, 2007, 04:27 PM	#8 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Through 9-2 Through Sunday's game, his SLG is .634. I estimate he has to slug .582 the rest of the way to finish at .622. Today's 3 for 4 with a HR was a good turn around after a bit of a slump. His SLG fell from .651 on Aug 31 to .624 on Sept 1. His SLG in Aug was .574. So he does need to pick it up a bit.

September 9th, 2007, 01:30 PM	#9 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Through Sunday Sept 9 He hit 2 HRs in 4 ABs in Sunday's game. So his SLG is now .648. I estimate he needs to slug just .499 the rest of the way to get to .622 and break the record. His SLG in Sept in 31 ABs is .839. Last edited by Cyril Morong; September 9th, 2007 at 01:32 PM.

September 16th, 2007, 08:18 PM	#10 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Through Sunday Sept 16 He did not play today. His SLG is now .631. I estimate he needs to slug .561 the rest of the way to finish at .622. He could play one more game to get to 100 games (the Sporting News Record Book minimum), go 0 for 4 and be at .624. That would give him the record. But him playing just one more game is not likely. He only slugged .300 in his 20 ABs since last Sunday (4 singles and 1 double). His Sept. SLG is .627. So he needs to pick things up a bit over this past week.

September 16th, 2007, 08:22 PM	#11 (permalink)
bedir than average Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Starbucks Posts: 8,258	He's on track to finish top 3, likely number one, in the Rookie of the Year voting. __________________ I'm sorry I left for a while. I needed a vaction, and then work changed substantially. I'm over 50 hour weeks, plus two hours a day of commuting time. A few weeks ago I launched my own blog about Seattle Sounders FC and Life in Puget Sound. I won't be by these parts often as my focus has changed. Sorry about the unannounced retirement.

September 23rd, 2007, 04:27 PM	#12 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Through Sunday Sept 23 He is now at .627. If gets 28 more ABs in the remaining games and gets 15 TBs to SLG .536 in those 28 ABs, he will finish at .622. His Sept SLG is now .584.

September 27th, 2007, 09:33 PM	#13 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Thru Thursday Sept 27 He is now up to .639. If gets 12 more ABs and gets no hits, he will still finish with a .622 SLG. He has 281 TBs right now. If he finishes with 452 ABs and 281 ABs, his SLG will be .62168 or .622.

September 30th, 2007, 03:39 PM	#14 (permalink)
Cyril Morong Rookie Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 14	Braun Breaks Record After today's game, he finishes at .634 to break the record. He also finished with 492 plate appearances, 10 short of qualifying for the league lead. But if he is charged with 10 ABs, his SLG would be 286/461 = .620. That is still higher than the .618 that McGwire had in 1987, which is the record for players qualifying for the league lead. To see a list of the best rookie SLGs for qualifiers go to Beyond the Box Score :: A Sabermetrics Blog If you look at that list, it is very illustrious. Braun should have a pretty good career. With Fielder, that will be a great one two righty/lefty punch. Last edited by Cyril Morong; September 30th, 2007 at 03:49 PM.