Baseball is a slow game. It is also filled with an endless stream of statistics. The combination of time on one’s hands and a tremendous amount of data can lead to some interesting storytelling. Baseball commentary is frequently littered with arcane trivia that present players in a different light than their on field performance would suggest.
As an example, look at the performance of New York Giants pitcher Monty Kennedy. He was a slightly below average performer that managed to turn a good showing on WW2 Army ballfields into a big league career.
There’s not a lot to generate excitement in these numbers. However, casually dropping some big names alongside some technically true but misleading stats can make Kennedy sound like one of the better players to ever take the mound.
True facts about Monty Kennedy’s pitching career:
- He struck out more batters per 9 innings than Cy Young
- He has a better career ERA than Andy Pettitte
- He stranded a higher percentage of baserunners than Eddie Plank
- He won more games than Miami’s Jose Fernandez and lost hundreds of fewer games than Walter Johnson
- He has more career saves than Nolan Ryan
- He compares favorably to Ryan again, walking fewer batters per 9 innings
- He pitched more innings than Billy Wagner
- For the sabermetrically inclined, Kennedy boasts a better FIP than Jim Abbott and is just 0.2 games away from Bo Jackson in career WAR
A Favorite Non-Topps Kennedy Card
I really like the Bowman card of Monte Kennedy issued in 1952. It features a seldom-used photo angle and captures the Polo Grounds grandstands in the background.
