Ramirez has 4th Highest Batting Avg. Among 500+ HR Hitters

Some interesting stats from the Globe:

Ramírez accomplished the feat in 7,263 at-bats, the 24th player (same as his uniform number) to hit 500. He did it in the eighth-fewest at-bats and he's the 12th youngest at 36 years 1 day. He also has the fourth-highest batting average among 500-home run hitters - .312.

Full story:
Boston Red Sox - Huge sigh of relief after a big fly - The Boston Globe

U.S. Financial Services Industry - Profits & Jobs

Another interesting stat from the The Economist.

In 2007 the financial services sector accounted for 40% of total U.S. corporate profits and 5% of private sector jobs.

Guatemala's Murder Rate

This stat jumped out at me while reading, Guatemala | A test of will in the Economist:

"Guatemala is one of the world's most violent countries, with 43 murders per 100,000 people last year, according to a government estimate. In neighbouring El Salvador charges are filed in 45% of murders; in Guatemala that figure is just 2%."

Guatemala looks to have a top 2 or 3 homicide rate, making that 2% charge-filing rate all the worse.

For anyone interested, I also found from Wikimedia Commons a graphic representation of global homicide rate data.

Helio Ocean vs iPhone

While not the same as checking Jim Rice's career batting average, this kind of counts as 'stats'.

Full disclosure: I own a Helio Ocean. And I am not saying the iPhone doesn't have its cool points. I've briefly fiddled with one and it is pretty cool. But, personally, I'm waiting for next generation or two of advances before I make that kind of investment.

Original, slightly larger and easier to read version of chart below appears here.

Jim Ed Rice - "Slugger and a Hitter"

Overall solid articlefrom Nick Cafardo in the Globe.

Including this nice nugget, courtesy of the Rem Dog:

"What Remy likes to point out is Rice was not only a slugger, he was a hitter. Rice is the only player in history with 35 or more homers and 200 or more hits in three consecutive seasons. He's one of 31 players with more than 350 homers and a .290-plus career batting average."

Originally posted 12/25/06

The Oil Equation - Something to Think About

I heard a reporter from The Economist lay out pretty succinctly the big challenge the US faces re: oil/energy independence. Full interview can be found in the Jan 24, 2007 episode of the NPR Technology podcast. But, if I recall correctly, here is the reality of it:

Consumption:
The US consumes 25% of the world's oil and 50% of the world's gasoline.

Resources:
The US sits on 3% of the world's known oil reserves.

That kind of sums it up right there. If we don't wish to be reliant upon foreign oil sources, we have a lot of work to do and we need to seriously modify our behavior as a nation. I won't be holding my breath. It's far too important for people to be seen driving their 4mpg SUVs on the 3 mile round trip to the grocery store.

Originally posted2/1/07