THE
Baseball Research
JOURNAL
Volume 41
Number 1
Spring 2012
Published by
the Society for American Baseball Research
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THE BASEBALL RESEARCH JOURNAL, Volume 41, Number 1
Editor: Cecilia M. Tan
Design and Production: Lisa Hochstein
Cover Design: Lisa Hochstein
Fact Checker: Clifford Blau
Front cover: Bob Gibson, July 1, 1973. Photo by St. Louis Cardinals, LLC/Getty Images.
Published by:
The Society for American Baseball Research, Inc.
4455 E. Camelback Road, Ste. D-140
Phoenix, AZ 85018
Phone: (800) 969-7227 or (602) 343-6455
Fax: (602) 595-5690
Web: www.sabr.org
Twitter:@sabr
Facebook: Society for American Baseball Research
Copyright © 2012 by The Society for American Baseball Research
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 978-1-933599-32-8
All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited.
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Contents
Note from the Editor Cecilia M. Tan 5
RECORDS, NUMBERS, AND ANALYSIS
Pitchers Dig the Long Ball (At Least When They Are Hitting) David Vincent 7
The Bible and the Apocrypha: Saved Runs and Fielding Shares Jon Bruschke 12
Hank Greenberg’s American League RBI Record Herm Krabbenhoft 20
Are Baseball Players Superior to Umpires in Discriminating
Balls from Strikes? Christoph Kreinbucher 28
Breaking Balls with a Runner on Third
A Game Theoretical Analysis of Optimal Behavior William Spaniel 32
MAJOR LEAGUERS AND THE MINORS
Johnny Vander Meer’s Third No-Hitter Ernest J. Green 37
“Sparky†Steve Ames 42
Pop Kelchner, Gentleman Jake, The Giant-Killer, and the Kane Mountaineers Ed Rose 46
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
American Women Play Hardball in Venezuela Jennifer Ring 53
Global World Series, 1955–1957 Bob Buege 57
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Baseball Frank Ardolino 67
Babe Ruth and Eiji Sawamura Robert K. Fitts 70
BIG LEAGUE MOMENTS