Hot Stove: 12/24

Reporting from Jeffersonville, Indiana, at the end of the road of my baseball pilgrimage to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum.
 
Stat of the Day: On Base Percentage

Abbreviation: OBP.  Leaders: All Time: Ted Williams (.482).  Single Season: Barry Bonds (.609 in 2004).  Active: Todd Helton (.419).  2012: Joe Mauer (.416).

OBP is calculated by adding hits, walks, and hit-by-pitches, and dividing it all by plate appearances.  An OBP of .400 is comparable to a batting average of .300.  To me, the main difference in what OBP and average tell about a player is that average measures how good a player is, and OBP measures how valuable he is to the team.  Average affects OBP, but walks also play a big role in how the number turns.  It has gained a lot of publicity in recent years with the book and movie Moneyball, where Billy Beane is a huge advocate for the stat.  Ted Williams, who only once in his entire career posted an OBP under .400, holds the all time record at .482.  From 1941-1949, he posted six straight seasons of at least .490 (the years 1943-1945 were lost to WWII service).  In 1941, the year he batted .406, his OBP reached an astonishing .551, the third best single season total of all time and the highest by someone not on steroids (Barry Bonds holds the top two marks).  Babe Ruth is number two on the all time list, holding a career number of .474.  He posted five seasons with an OBP of at least .500, topping out at .545 in 1923.  Currently, there are 38 players with career OBP's of .400 or higher, ending with Chipper Jones at .401.  During the first decade of the 21st century, Barry Bonds was king of OBP because of his massive walk rates.  In 2002, he set the single season record at .582, smashing Ted Williams' 61 year old record of .551.  In 2004, Bonds became the first player in history to push a single season OBP over .600, weighing in at .609, aided by 232 walks.  It also helped that he batted .362.  He finished his career with a mark of .444.  
 
News

Former Reds outfielder Ryan Freel repordetly committed suicide at his Florida home.  He was 36.
 
Freel was one of the more fun players to watch during the last decade, exciting Reds fans with his all out style of play.  His best year was 2006, when he hit eight home runs and batted .271 with 37 stolen bases.  Over his eight year career, he hit 22 home runs and batted .268 with 143 stolen bases.  From 2004-2006 alone, he stole 110 bases, finishing in the top seven of the NL each year.  In 2004, he was fourth with 37.  In 2007, he won the Reds Heart and Hustle award. 
 
Free Agent Signings

Indians agreed to terms with Nick Swisher (24 HR, 93 RBI, .272 AVG, 2 SB, 2013 age: 32) on a four year, $56 million deal ($14 million per season).

Diamondbacks signed Cody Ross (22 HR, 81 RBI, .267 AVG, 2 SB, 2013 age: 32) to a three year, $26 million deal ($8.67 million per season).

Mariners agreed to terms with Raul Ibanez (19 HR, 62 RBI, .240 AVG, 3 SB, 2013 age: 41) on a one year, $2.75 million deal (plus up to $1.25 million in incentives).

Cubs signed Nate Schierholtz (6 HR, 21 RBI, .257 AVG, 3 SB, 2013 age: 29) to a one year, $2.25 million deal.

Astros signed Jose Veras (5-4, 3.63 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 1 save, 2013 age: 32) to a one year, $1.85 million deal.

Twins signed Rich Harden (missed 2012 season, 59 career wins, 3.76 ERA, 2013 age: 31) to a minor league deal.

Mariners also signed Jeremy Bonderman (missed 2012 season, 67 career wins, 4.89 ERAm 2013 age: 30) to a minor league deal.

Indians also agreed to terms with Scott Kazmir (missed 2012 season, 66 career wins, 4.17 ERA, 2013 age: 29) on a minor league deal.
 
Nick Swisher will join Cleveland, which is close to his hometown of Parkersburg, West Virginia (on WV/OH border).  He has played four years for the A's, one for the White Sox, and four for the Yankees.  He is known as a power/on base switch hitter, and will help anchor a lineup that just lost Shin-Soo Choo.  He broke out in 2005, when he hit 21 home runs, knocked in 74, and batted .236 for the A's.  In his second full season, 2006, he had arguably the best year of his career, when he hit 35 home runs, knocked in 95, and batted .254.  His power dropped in 2007, then his average followed suit in 2008, but he rebounded when he joined the Yankees.  After a good 2009, he matched his 2006 production in 2010 by hitting 29 home runs, knocking in 89, and batting .288 for the Bombers.  Last year was another solid year, when he hit 24 home runs and batted .272.  His .361 career OBP stands 43rd among active major leaguers, between Josh Willingham (42nd) and Hideki Matsui (44th).  His 209 home runs are tied with Dan Uggla for 42nd. 
 
Cody Ross, who is a similar player to Swisher, is another example of a player joining his hometown team.  Ross grew up in New Mexico and currently lives in Arizona.  His father was a professional bull rider.  The right handed hitter will join Justin Upton, Jason Kubel, and Paul Goldschimdt in the middle of the D-Backs lineup.  He has thrice hit 20 home runs in a season, including a career high 24 in 2009.  That year, he knocked in 90 runs and batted .270 for the Marlins.  He became a hero during the 2010 Postseason, batting .294 with five home runs and 10 RBI for the Giants, winning the NLCS MVP award.  Last year, for the Red Sox, he posted one of the best years of his career, batting .267 with 22 home runs.  Over his nine year career, he hit 122 home runs and batted .262 with 30 stolen bases.

--
Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies

If your team is not included, please email me and I will add them.

HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman