Dodger’s 2013 Tootblan Stats, Tootblans Galore!

The Tootblan has been an integral part of the game for many years. As a matter of fact the Tootblan has been a part of Major League Baseball since the first runner got on base and then was picked off for no apparent reason. Unfortunately nobody kept track of Tootblans until recent years, or even knew exactly what they were.

Puig trying to avoid a Tootblan-Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

In case some of you don’t know, the Tootblan stands for “Thrown out on the bases like a nincompoop”. Basically the definition of a Tootblan is when a runner is thrown out on the bases in a retarded or incompetent way. It’s just plain base running incompetence in so many words.

The Tootblan was created by Wrigleyville23.com, a now defunct Chicago Cub’s blog that coined the phrase for then Cub and former Dodger Ryan Theriot, whom they believed to be the worst base runner in the major leagues.

Sure enough once Theriot was with the Dodgers, we quickly learned why the Modern day Tootblan was created for him. Theriot could be considered the father of the modern-day Tootblan.

The Tootblan has become more popular in recent seasons with the invention of twitter, the interwebs and other tools that can be used to track them. It has been pushed into the forefront of the American popular culture.

The Tootblan is actually a subjective stat, which means that not every base running blunder is a Tootblan. For instance, just because a player gets thrown out trying to steal a base, doesn’t mean it’s a Tootblan. But getting picked off for falling asleep? Tootblan. Tying to go to third from second when there is nobody at first, and the ball is hit IN FRONT of you, Tootblan. Or forgetting to tag up on a fly ball, and being called out, oh you better believe that’s a Tootblan.

As you can see there are many different types of Tootblans, and some of them can be a grey area. So how do we track these things? What’s a Tootblan aficionado to do? These days there are people who keep track of these things. They even have a Tootblan database. No seriously, check it out.

Tootblan tracker was created to keep count of all the Tootblans that happen around the majors. Every day and every game there is a Tootblan. It is ubiquitous. Tootblans are everywhere. You can’t really escape them.

The good people at the Tootblan tracker do there very best to count every single Tootblan that goes on. I’ve already written before about how poor the Dodger base running was last season, but how were they last year in the Tootblan category?

Well according to the Tootblan tracker, they were one of the league leaders in Tootblan. Apparently the Dodgers made 69 Tootblans total in 2013, which ranked them seventh highest in all of MLB. Not surprisingly, Yasiel Puig was the club leader with 13 confirmed Tootblans.

According to the numbers, the Dodgers made 17 Tootblans at first base, 17 at second base, 17 at third base, and 18 at home plate in 2013. 12 Dodgers were picked off, and ten more were doubled off. Here’s a crazy stat, the Dodgers Tootblaned 25 times in losses, and an unreal 44 times during wins. They had more Tootblans in games they won!

More whacky stats are as follows…..

The Dodgers Tootblaned 11 times against the Dbacks

The Dodgers Tootblaned the third out at third base six times

The Dodgers scored 12 runs on Tootblans in the 2013 season

Yasiel Puig Tootblan machine

The tracker calls Puig a “Tootblan machine”. The guy could make enough Tootblans himself to last a whole season. Puig generates a lot of Tootblans thanks to his aggressive nature, and style of play. Without Puig, the Dodgers would have just been a middle of the road Tootblan team, says the tracker. Check out the Tootblan stats for Puig during 2013.

Puig finished 4th in MLB in TOOTBLANs – despite not being called up until June 3

6 Puig TOOTBLANs were the 3rd out of the inning

Puig’s aOBP was .345 – 46 points lower than his .391 OBP

Puig was thrown out taking an extra base 6 times

Puig made a non-force on-base out once every 8.45 times he got on base

Now, the last stat, means Puig was in the top three in Tootblans and Tootblans per base in the entire league. Puig Tootblaned once every 8.45 times getting on base. That puts him third behind Alejandro De Aza (10.28), and Jose Altuve (9.17)

Source:Everyjoe.com-Theriot was a pioneer of the Tootblan

Dodger leaders in 2013 Tootblans

Yasiel Puig 13

Hanley Ramirez 9

Michael Young 7

Adrian Gonzalez 7

( Can somebody tell me how in the world Young had so many Tootlbans in such a short time with the club last year?)

So there you have it. I’ve already written before about how atrocious the Dodger base running was in 2013. Here is more proof. Not only were the Dodgers one of the worst teams in the league at taking extra bases, and going from first to third on a hit, they made a ton of Tootblans. Needless to say the base running needs to improve in 2014.

Tootblans are here to stay. They’re not going anywhere, and need to be properly documented. They are also very hilarious. As time goes on, the tools we use to track and count the Tootblans will only become more sophisticated. Rest assured whenever or wherever there is a Dodger Tootblan in 2014, the Tootblan Tracker and Lasorda’s Lair will let you know about it.