Numbers to Think About While Dodgers Start Play

Some relevant numbers to keep in mind as the Dodgers open the season today:

--Mariano Duncan was successful in 83% of his attempted steals (38 out of 46) last season. Atlanta’s Bruce Benedict was the only catcher able to throw out Duncan twice.

--Ken Landreaux hit 10 of his 12 home runs with the bases empty last season. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Landreaux batted .140 last season after averaging .326 the previous three seasons.

--Bill Madlock is batting .563 (9 for 16) with the bases loaded in the last two seasons.

--Mike Marshall’s batting average against left-handers has risen in each of his first four seasons: .211 in ‘82, .238 in ‘83, .278 in ‘84, .287 in ’85.

--Greg Brock batted 98 points higher against right-handers than left-handers last season, the second largest difference in the league. He is hitting .201 lifetime against left-handers, .242 against right-handers.

--Mike Scioscia’s walk-to-strikeout ratio of 3.67 was the highest in the National League since 1976, when Dave Cash of Pittsburgh had 54 walks and 13 strikeouts for a 4.15 rate.

--Steve Sax had the fewest extra-base hits (13) of any major leaguer to qualify for the league batting championships last season.

--Fernando Valenzuela allowed seven first-inning runs in 35 starts last season, the second-lowest rate in the league and a marked improvement over the season before, when he allowed 24 first-inning runs in 34 starts.

--Orel Hershiser allowed one home run per 30 innings, the best rate in the majors.

--Bob Welch has held Mets’ star Darryl Strawberry hitless in 14 career at-bats, striking him out eight times. Also, Welch’s 1.76 ERA on artificial turf was the lowest in the league.

--Jerry Reuss had a 1.21 ERA in his wins, a 7.03 ERA in his losses. Also, he has not walked a man with the bases loaded in 82 chances since 1978.

--Rick Honeycutt’s average of 5.30 innings per start was the fifth lowest among NL pitchers.

--Ken Howell collected 11 of the Dodgers’ first 22 saves and only one of their last 14.

--Tom Niedenfuer’s average of 4.25 strikeouts per walk was the highest among NL relievers last season.

--Carlos Diaz faced 65 left-handed batters without allowing a walk, highest total in the 11-year history of Elias’ player analysis statistics.

The source of all these numbers: The 1986 Elias Baseball Analyst (Collier Books, 1986).