Challenge Accepted!

Last week, one of the most die-hard baseball fans I’ve ever known, told me that he believed he had witnessed something for the first time in his 45 years of baseball fanaticism. The oddity in question occurred during the Yankees sweep of the Blue Jays (Sept 5th — 7th), in which three different Yankees pitchers recorded saves in the three game series. This feat was overshadowed by the drama of the series, and I couldn’t wait to research this phenomenon. So ... has this ever happened before?  

Challenge Accepted!

As I began my research I realized the scope of this topic is practically infinite. The save, as a stat, was first adopted for the 1969 season, however baseball researchers have since worked through the official statistics retroactively and have calculated saves for all major league seasons before 1969 as well. Needless to say, I became immediately overwhelmed by my task at hand. Luckily for me, Elias Sports Bureau (Elias Says ...) noticed the feat as well and decided to include a mention in their daily update on ESPN.com. Here it is:

“ Betances, Parker and Clippard record saves in sweep

The Yankees swept three games from the Blue Jays with Dellin Betances, Blake Parker and Tyler Clippard ending each with a save. The Yankees swept a series of at least three games with a different pitcher earning a save in each victory only once before. In April 1989, they won all three games of a matchup against the White Sox in the Bronx, with Dave Righetti, Dale Mohorcic, and Lance McCullers recording saves in that series. “

So ... not only has this happened before but it’s happened in the last thirty years twice for the New York Yankees. Seems like a pretty crazy coincidence, especially since it takes a unique combination of scenarios for a team to even have the opportunity to accomplish this anomaly. Although the question was answered, my curiosity was not quenched and so the comparison begins.

Similarities/Differences

First of all, as we start to compare the two series in question, the glaring difference between the two sweeps are the months in which they took place. The sweep of the White Sox began on April 28th just twenty-one games into the 1989 season and, although both teams were a few games under .500, there were not any immediate pennant/playoff implications on the line. Conversely, the 2016 Yankees were entering the September series with the Blue Jays within 5 games of an AL Wild Card spot and just a couple more games out of first place (worth mentioning that the Blue Jays were the team currently holding onto first place).  

The next similarity lies in the fact that the Yankees, both the 1989 and 2016 team, had an undisputed Closer — 1989/Dave Righetti; 2016/Dellin Betances. The importance of that statement should not be underestimated considering it’s not uncommon for a team’s Closer to get multiple saves in a row. In fact, Righetti had already gotten saves on Monday (April 24th, 1989) and Thursday (April 27th, 1989) of that week going into Friday’s game, and Betances had closed out games on Wednesday (August 31st, 2016) and Sunday (September 4th, 2016) going into the Monday night game. Needless to say, both teams knew exactly who was going to get the ball in the ninth as long as they were available (i.e. rested and ready to go).

Game 1, 1989: Dave Righetti, S; 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 2 BF, 3 Pit, 5.12 aLI

Game 1, 2016: Dellin Betances, S; 1 IP, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 3 BF, 10 Pit, 1.0 aLI

                                               * glossary of specific terms used at end of blog post

Looking at the first game of each series, the similarities continue as the Closers for each team ended up with the Save.  

Betances had a “typical” save, or at least what you’d like a save to look like, quickly disposing of 3 consecutive batters in the ninth. According to Baseball-Reference, the aLI (or Average Leverage Index) that Betances was facing was 1.0 (or average) meaning it wasn’t an extremely intense situation he was working through. However, he did let the number 9 hitter, Dioner Navarro, work a full count before striking him out and then he faced the top of the Blue Jays order. Betances did his job efficiently and the Yankees left with their 2nd straight win and Betances’ second straight save.

Dave Righetti wasn’t quite in the same situation as Betances, he came in with the score 3-1 (same spread as Betances) with one out and runners on first and second and proceeded to load the bases when a pinch hitter, Fred Manrique, hit a slow infield single; the aLI was up to a decently high 5.12 (additional into and context to come later on this) and Righetti was about to face the leadoff hitter, Ozzie Guillen. With the bases loaded and one out, Righetti was spared a loss when Guillen’s line drive was caught by the second baseman, Steve Sax, who was able to double up Eddie Williams at second base for outs two and three. Dave Righetti was effective, but, as is often said about baseball, the box score doesn’t tell the whole story. Either way, the Yankees of 1989 were also able to close out the first game of their series and secure the second straight win (and second straight save for Dave Righetti).

Game 2, 1989: Dale Mohorcic, S; 3.1 IP, 2 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 12 BF, 43 Pit, 0.36 aLI

Game 2, 2016: Blake Parker, S; 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 K, O BB, 2 BF, 7 Pit, 8.29 aLI

Game 2 for each team highlights both aspects of the definition of a save in baseball, and I suppose it’s about time to address that definition.

A save is registered if the pitcher satisfies one of the following conditions: He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning. He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, at bat or on deck. He pitches for at least three innings.

Well, in 1989, the Yankees won game two of their series by six runs (8-2) so at first glance it doesn’t make sense that there would be a save situation in the game. However, when Dale Mohorcic entered the game, in the top of the sixth inning, the lead was only three runs (5-2) and there were runners on first and second with two outs satisfying the first condition of the save definition. Mohorcic quickly got Dave Gallagher (the cleanup hitter) to ground out for the third out of the sixth, and proceeded to pitch three more scoreless innings, while the Yankees offense added a three run cushion.

For the second condition of the save definition, we fast forward to 2016 where Joe Girardi asked Blake Parker (with only 8 IP as a Yankee) to come into a one run game with one out and the bases loaded and Kevin Pillar up to bat (3 for 3 in the game including a go-ahead 2 RBI double in the eighth). As if that wasn’t enough drama, Joe Girardi was standing on the mound waiting for Blake Parker to trot out after taking that same ball out of Dellin Betances' hand (the aforementioned Closer of the Yankees who had just given up two runs on two hits and three walks)  

Just to give you context, this is what it would have looked like if Dave Righetti had been removed from that game:

Here’s what it actually looked like (fast forward to 2:02):

If you watched the rest of the clip, you can certainly understand why the aLI when Parker entered the game was a dramatic 8.29 (8 times higher than an average situation) and he performed admirably getting Pillar to strikeout looking on 6 pitches and Justin Smoak to fly out to end the game.   Although, Blake Parker probably gives all the credit here to Brett Gardner for making an outstanding catch at the wall for the last out.

Game 3, 1989: Lance McCullers, S; 3.2 IP, 1 H, 5 K, 3 BB, 14 BF, 55 Pit, 1.16 aLI

Game 3, 2016: Tyler Clippard, S; 1 IP, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 3 BF, 11 Pit, 1.0 aLI

In game 3 for the 2016 Yankees, Tyler Clippard delivered another one of those “typical” saves facing the minimum batters in the ninth inning and striking out both Jose Bautista and Dioner Navarro on 5 pitches each, and getting Troy Tulowitzki to fly out on the first pitch he saw to end the game drama free.  Speaking of “typical” saves, this would have clearly been a situation for Dellin Betances to come into the game, but considering he pitched in the previous three games, and threw over 40 pitches the previous night, he was not available allowing the historic coincidence to remain intact.

Lance McCullers, father of current Houston Astros pitcher of the same name, earned the third save for the 1989 Yankees with an excellent showing.  He entered the game in the top of the sixth inning and struck out the two batters he faced swinging to end the inning and leave runners on first and second.  He then went on to allow only one hit over the next three innings, while striking out three more and walking three batters.  In fact, Dallas Green had so much confidence in McCullers on the day that he left McCullers in the game in the ninth, which because of a pinch hitter in the eighth, meant the Yankees had to forfeit the DH for the rest of the game.  Don Mattingly moved from DH to 1B and if the White Sox had started a rally in the ninth and tied the game, the Yankees would have been forced to have the pitcher bat or use more of their bench players.

Three Up, Three Down!

With their sweep in 1989, the Yankees made it back to .500 on the season, however that would be one of the last times they managed that all season.  The 2016 Yankees are faring much better after their sweep, which subsequently dropped the Blue Jays out of first place in the AL East, holding on to their playoff hopes if only by hair.  Maybe one day I’ll be able to scour the box scores and calculate how many times this amazing team accomplishment has occurred.

*aLI, a stat created by Baseball-Reference — within a game, there are plays that are more pivotal than others. We attempt to quantify these plays with a stat called leverage index (LI). LI looks at the possible changes in win probability in a given situation; situations where dramatic swings in win probability are possible (e.g. runner on second late in a tie game) have higher LIs than situations where there can be no large change in win probability (e.g. late innings of a 12-run blowout).

The stat is normalized so that on average the leverage is 1.00. In tense situations, the leverage is higher than 1.00 (up to about 10) and in low-tension situations, the leverage is between 0 and 1.0.

Other Stats = S — save, IP — Innings Pitched, H — Hits, K — Strikeouts, BB — Walks, BF — Batters Faced, Pit — Pitches Thrown