{"id":13604,"date":"2017-04-04T13:10:44","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T17:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=13604"},"modified":"2017-04-04T13:10:44","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T17:10:44","slug":"opening-day-2017-fun-stats-and-other-useless-information","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=13604","title":{"rendered":"Opening Day 2017; Fun stats and other useless information"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/OpeningDay2017.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13612\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-13612\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/OpeningDay2017-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"OpeningDay2017\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/OpeningDay2017-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/OpeningDay2017-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/OpeningDay2017.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Happy Opening day!<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s my recurring \u201cOpening Day\u201d trivia\/useless information post.\u00a0 Here was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=12093\">2016&#8217;s version<\/a>, \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=10401\">2015<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8704\">2014<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=5997\">2013<\/a>. \u00a0I also reference many Google XLS\/Google Doc creations with historical data below, all of which have been updated for 2017.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Nats 2017 Opening day Payroll<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1wcvf9J3nBsqAGAsD9BH7az3aGcsfCUn3IYRgvpM8Tes\/edit#gid=0\">$164,335,555\u00a0according to Cots<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/sports\/mlb\/nationals\/salaries\/2017\/team\/all\/\">$162,742,157 per USA Today<\/a> and<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/13GS4MmOUQk4GzSm6jCprCPytTZuhpDl1qkPYJvKQoRw\/edit?usp=sharing\">$146,922,929 per my personal calculations<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Why are these values different? \u00a0 Cots and USA today disagree on Strasburg&#8217;s 2017 salary to the tune of about $2M, and that&#8217;s about the difference between their two figures. \u00a0 My XLS counts all salaries in *current dollars* only, as opposed to the salary cap figures that USA Today and Cots do (Cots also splits out the signing bonuses prorated to each year of the contract). \u00a0Plus I count in payments to former players (in our case, Petit and Norris). \u00a0I believe this is a better representation of how the team and the Lerners see their payroll. \u00a0Teams that have huge payments to former players (like the Dodgers and Padres) should absolutely have those &#8220;dead money&#8221; payments included. \u00a0Roughly speaking, Strasburg and Scherzer both are getting $15M in current dollars but more than $40M combined in these claculations, which is a huge part of the delta between my XLS and Cots&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, by the way, the Nats now have $199 MILLION dollars of deferred payments on the books when adding in Blanton&#8217;s (mostly) deferred salary.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Opening Day Payroll; MLB wide<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>See this link for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/sports\/mlb\/salaries\/2017\/team\/all\/\">list of all team payrolls at USA Today<\/a>. \u00a0And Here&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseballprospectus.com\/compensation\/\">Cot&#8217;s\/Baseball Prospectus&#8217; compensation home page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/17repkDJECuLnWDKOCM25n_c8HjGle3cNwhNQ1eINCaM\/edit?usp=sharing\">put both of these lists side by side into this little handy Payroll XLS<\/a> to demonstrate how ridiculously bad the USA Today figures are. \u00a0They&#8217;re off by $35M for the Padres and by $53M for the Los Angeles Dodgers. \u00a0Thats because the USA Today figures don&#8217;t account for any salaries being paid for former players, which in the modern game has more and more become a standard. \u00a0So, basically I ignore USA Today&#8217;s figures and always use Cot&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>The Dodgers continue to lead the way (by either measure). \u00a0The Brewers are now dead last, just ahead of the purposely tanking Padres. \u00a0You may have seen posts that noted that\u00a0<strong>Clayton Kershaw<\/strong> gets paid more this year than the Padres entire 25-man roster, and that&#8217;s true, but it ignores the $30M+ of dead money on their payroll.<\/p>\n<p>The Nats are 9th on both lists. \u00a0Imagine what we could spend with a market value RSN!!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Home Openers Information<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/gameday\/marlins-vs-nationals\/2017\/04\/03\/490105#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=490105\">Opening Day 2017 attendance<\/a> was announced at 42,744 .\u00a0 That&#8217;s\u00a0up more than a thousand from last year. \u00a0Here&#8217;s all our home openers in order with attendance, time of game, weather:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2017: 42,744 (1:05 monday game, 66 and cloudy)<\/li>\n<li>2016: 41,650 (4:05 thursday game, 60 and 1.5hr rain delay)<\/li>\n<li>2015: 42,295 (4:05 monday game, 75 and gorgeous)<\/li>\n<li>2014: 42,834 (1:05 friday game, 50s and overcast)<\/li>\n<li>2013: 45,274 (1:05 monday game, 60 and beautiful)<\/li>\n<li>2012: 40,907 (1:05 thursday game 56, partly cloudy)<\/li>\n<li>2011: 39,055 (1:05 thursday game, 41 degrees and overcast)<\/li>\n<li>2010: 41,290 (1pm game monday, beautiful weather 80s and sunny): Phillies invasion<\/li>\n<li>2009: 40,386 (3pm game on a monday, chilly 53degr and overcast)<\/li>\n<li>2008: 39,389 (season and stadium opener), 8pm sunday night, Braves, nat&#8217;l tv clear but cold.<\/li>\n<li>2007: 40,389 (in rfk, 1pm game vs Florida, 72degrees<\/li>\n<li>2006: 40,516 (in rfk, tuesday day game vs Mets, 72degr and sunny)<\/li>\n<li>2005: 45,596 (in rfk, debut of entire franchise, 62degr and clear, evening game).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here\u2019s some attendance milestones for the franchise:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Nats park capacity for 2017\u00a0somewhere between <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/team\/stadium?name=was\">41,506<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/was\/ballpark\/information\/index.jsp?content=facts_figures\">41,546<\/a> depending on your source.<\/li>\n<li>2013&#8217;s opening day attendance of 45,274 remains the regular season record attendance.<\/li>\n<li>All time record attendance?\u00a0 The ill-fated 2012 NLDS game 5: 45,966. \u00a0No playoff games in 2014 or 2016 came close.<\/li>\n<li>The first game in franchise history; 2005 in RFK: 45,596, which stood until the 2012 NLDS record-setting game.<\/li>\n<li>The long-running regular season attendance record was the great Fathers day 2006 game in RFK against the Yankees: 45,157.\u00a0 That record stood for more than 6 years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Home Openers\u00a0Box Scores and Results<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nats are 5-8 in their home openers now since moving to Washington. \u00a0<b>Stephen Strasburg<\/b>&#8216;s 2017 start joins him with\u00a0<strong>Livan Hernandez <\/strong>as the only two pitchers to throw more than one home opener for this team.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong> When Livan gets elected to Cooperstown, I hope he&#8217;s wearing the curly W. \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2017; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/gameday\/marlins-vs-nationals\/2017\/04\/03\/490105#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=490105\">mlb.com<\/a>: Nats d Marlins 4-2. \u00a0WP: Strasburg, LP Phelps (Starters: Strasburg and Volquez)<\/li>\n<li>2016: <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2016_04_07_miamlb_wasmlb_1#game=2016_04_07_miamlb_wasmlb_1,game_state=Wrapup,game_tab=box\">mlb.com<\/a>: Marlins d Nats 6-4.\u00a0 WP: David Phelps, LP Tanner Roark (Starters: Brian Conley and Roark).<\/li>\n<li>2015: <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2015_04_06_nynmlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=box\">mlb.com<\/a>: Mets d Nats 3-1.\u00a0 WP: Bartolo Colon.\u00a0 LP: Max Scherzer<\/li>\n<li>2014: <a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2014_04_04_atlmlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=box&amp;c_id=was#gid=2014_04_04_atlmlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=box\">mlb.com<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/WAS\/WAS201404040.shtml\">b-r.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Braves d Nats 2-1.\u00a0 WP: Luis Avilan.\u00a0 LP: Tyler Clippard.\u00a0 (Starters: Jordan Zimmermann and David Hale).<\/li>\n<li>2013: <a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2013_04_01_miamlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was#gid=2013_04_01_miamlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=box\">mlb.com<\/a>\u00a0or<a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/WAS\/WAS201304010.shtml\"> b-r.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Nats d Marlins 2-0.\u00a0 WP: Stephen Strasburg.\u00a0 LP: Ricky Nolasco<\/li>\n<li>2012: <a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2012_04_12_cinmlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=wrap&amp;c_id=mlb#gid=2012_04_12_cinmlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=box\">mlb.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Nats d Reds 3-2.\u00a0 WP: Craig Stammen. LP: Alfredo Simon (Starters: Gio Gonzalez and Mat Latos)<\/li>\n<li>2011: <a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_03_31_atlmlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=wrap&amp;c_id=mlb#gid=2011_03_31_atlmlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=box\">mlb.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Braves d Nats 2-0.\u00a0 WP: Derek Lowe.\u00a0 LP: Livan Hernandez<\/li>\n<li>2010: <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2010_04_05_phimlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=wrap\">mlb.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Phillies d Nats 11-1.\u00a0 WP: Roy Halladay.\u00a0 LP: John Lannan<\/li>\n<li>2009: <a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/news\/wrap.jsp?ymd=20090413&amp;content_id=4251894&amp;vkey=wrapup2005&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;team=home&amp;c_id=was\">mlb.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Phillies d Nats 9-8.\u00a0 WP: Jamie Moyer.\u00a0 LP: Saul Rivera (Nats Starter: Daniel Cabrera)<\/li>\n<li>2008: <a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/news\/wrap.jsp?ymd=20080330&amp;content_id=2467836&amp;vkey=wrapup2005&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;team=home&amp;c_id=was\">mlb.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Nats d Braves 3-2.\u00a0 WP: Jon Rauch.\u00a0 LP: Peter Moylan (Starters: Tim Hudson and Odalis Perez)<\/li>\n<li>2007: <a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/news\/wrap.jsp?ymd=20070402&amp;content_id=1874785&amp;vkey=wrapup2005&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;team=home&amp;c_id=was\">mlb.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Marlins d Nats 9-2.\u00a0 WP: Dontrelle Willis.\u00a0 LP: John Patterson<\/li>\n<li>2006: <a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/news\/wrap.jsp?ymd=20060411&amp;content_id=1394878&amp;vkey=wrapup2005&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;team=home&amp;c_id=was\">mlb.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Mets d Nats 7-1.\u00a0 WP: Brian Bannister.\u00a0 LP: Ramon Ortiz<\/li>\n<li>2005: <a href=\"http:\/\/nationals.mlb.com\/news\/wrap.jsp?ymd=20050414&amp;content_id=1015977&amp;vkey=wrapup2004&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=was\">mlb.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Nats beat Arizona 5-3. WP: Livan Hernandez. LP: Javier Vazquez<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>How about Season openers<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p>Record: 6-7.\u00a0 # times home\/away: 7 home, 6 away.<\/p>\n<p>The Nats managed to lose 6 of their first 7 season openers &#8230; only winning in 2008 when debuting their new stadium.\u00a0 And <strong>Jon Rauch<\/strong> did his darndest to blow that opener too, coughing up the lead in the 9th to give <strong>Ryan Zimmerman<\/strong> a chance at glory.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2017 home: Nats d Marlins 4-2. \u00a0WP Strasburg, LP Phelps (starters Strasburg, Volquez)<\/li>\n<li>2016: away: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/ATL\/ATL201604040.shtml\">Nats d Braves 4-3<\/a>.\u00a0 WP Treinen, LP O&#8217;Flarity (starters Scherzer, Teheran)<\/li>\n<li>2015: home: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/WAS\/WAS201504060.shtml\">Mets d Nats 3-1<\/a>.\u00a0 WP: Bartolo Colon.\u00a0 LP: Max Scherzer<\/li>\n<li>2014: away: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/NYN\/NYN201403310.shtml\">Nats d Mets 9-7<\/a>.\u00a0 WP Aaron Barrett, LP Familia (starters Strasburg, Dillon Gee)<\/li>\n<li>2013: home: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/WAS\/WAS201304010.shtml\">Nats d Marlins 2-0<\/a>.\u00a0 WP: Stephen Strasburg.\u00a0 LP: Ricky Nolasco<\/li>\n<li>2012: away: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/CHN\/CHN201204050.shtml\">Nats d Cubs 2-1<\/a>.\u00a0 WP Clippard, LP Marmol (starters: Strasburg and Ryan Dempster)<\/li>\n<li>2011: home: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/WAS\/WAS201103310.shtml\">Braves d Nats 2-0<\/a>.\u00a0 WP: Derek Lowe.\u00a0 LP: Livan Hernandez<\/li>\n<li>2010: home: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/WAS\/WAS201004050.shtml\">Phillies d Nats 11-1<\/a>.\u00a0 WP: Roy Halladay.\u00a0 LP: John Lannan<\/li>\n<li>2009: away: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/FLO\/FLO200904060.shtml\">Marlins d Nats 12-6<\/a>.\u00a0 WP: Nolasco, LP; Lannan<\/li>\n<li>2008: home: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/WAS\/WAS200803300.shtml\">Nats d Braves 3-2<\/a>.\u00a0 WP: Jon Rauch.\u00a0 LP: Peter Moylan (Starters: Tim Hudson and Odalis Perez)<\/li>\n<li>2007: home: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/WAS\/WAS200704020.shtml\">Marlins d Nats 9-2<\/a>.\u00a0 WP: Dontrelle Willis.\u00a0 LP: John Patterson<\/li>\n<li>2006: away: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/NYN\/NYN200604030.shtml\">Mets d Nats 3-2<\/a>.\u00a0 WP: Glavine, LP: Hernandez<\/li>\n<li>2005: away: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/PHI\/PHI200504040.shtml\">Phillies d Nats 8-4<\/a>.\u00a0 WP: Lieber, LP: Hernandez<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Opening Day Starter Trivia<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s my <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1Mv8gLgJOuJHEAf_pXNwPWGCNRL4RnYEyulH6rxMuudA\/edit?usp=sharing\">Opening Day starters worksheet<\/a> in Google docs, updated for the 2017 slate.\u00a0 Here&#8217;s the answer to some fun Opening Day Starter trivia:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Leader in Opening day starts: remains <strong>C.C. Sabathia<\/strong> with 11, though he&#8217;s not extending his record and will be caught next \u00a0year.<\/li>\n<li>Leader in consecutive opening day starts: <strong>Felix Hernandez<\/strong>, making his 9th consecutive, 10th overall.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Justin Verlander<\/strong> returned to Opening Day duties, getting his 9th career opening day start; he remains in 3rd place actively.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clayton Kershaw<\/strong> now has seven straight and may be in a position to challenge the all time records.<\/li>\n<li>For the Nats; <strong>Stephen Strasburg<\/strong>\u00a0gets his fourth. \u00a0<strong>Max Scherzer<\/strong> has two. \u00a0<strong>John Lannan<\/strong>, now back as a submarining lefty in AAA, also has two.<\/li>\n<li>Twelve (12) pitchers made their first career opening day start in 2017, including (surprisingly)\u00a0<strong>Yu Darvish<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Edinson Volquez<\/strong> got his 5th career opening day start &#8230; on four different teams.<\/li>\n<li>The Mets have now used 7 different opening day starters in the last 7 seasons. \u00a0But that pales in comparison to what&#8217;s going on in Texas: 9 straight different opening day starters there. \u00a0 Miami has used 6 different guys in a row and there&#8217;s a few other teams that have used 4 or 5 different guys over the last 4-5 seasons.<\/li>\n<li>The most ever?\u00a0 <strong>Tom Seaver<\/strong> with 16.\u00a0 The most consecutive?\u00a0 <strong>Jack Morris<\/strong> with 14.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Happy Opening day! Here&#8217;s my recurring \u201cOpening Day\u201d trivia\/useless information post.\u00a0 Here was 2016&#8217;s version, \u00a02015, 2014\u00a0and 2013. \u00a0I also reference many Google XLS\/Google Doc creations with historical data below, all of which have been updated for 2017. Nats 2017 Opening day Payroll: $164,335,555\u00a0according to Cots $162,742,157 per USA Today and $146,922,929 per my personal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[47,426,369,589,407,575,39,865,44,41,1037,36,38,1130,300,2313],"class_list":["post-13604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-natsgeneral","tag-cc-sabathia","tag-clayton-kershaw","tag-derek-norris","tag-edinson-volquez","tag-felix-hernandez","tag-jack-morris","tag-john-lannan","tag-jon-rauch","tag-justin-verlander","tag-livan-hernandez","tag-max-scherzer","tag-ryan-zimmerman","tag-stephen-strasburg","tag-tom-seaver","tag-yu-darvish","tag-yusmeiro-petit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13604"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13613,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604\/revisions\/13613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}