Ben Sheets first came into the eyes of casual baseball viewers when he stunned the Cubans with a complete game shutout for the Olympic Gold. And, as I stated earlier, he has seemingly resurrected his career this year.

Last night, Sheets got his third win in as many games for the Braves. Upon hearing this, I said (or, rather, tweeted):

It’s an Olympic Year. Ben Sheets does well in those.

— Dan J. Glickman (@DanJGlickman) July 28, 2012

This led me to wonder if it was indeed true, and if, indeed, Ben Sheets does better in Olympic years (AKA Leap Years, AKA Presidential Election Years). If I were a member of SABR, and if SABR gave out a version of the Ig Nobel Prize, I would totally be on my way to getting one. More after the jump.

The Raw Data:

Here are what Ben Sheets’ stats have been in Olympic years during his professional career, along with what his average year was between them.

2000 (split between AA Huntsville and AAA Indianapolis): 27 G, 26 GS, 8-8, 2.40 ERA, 1.223 WHIP. Won Gold Medal in Sydney Olympics.

Average 2001-2003 (MLB stats only): 31 G, 31 GS, 11-13, 4.42 ERA, 1.352 WHIP. One All-Star appearance.

2004 (Milwaukee Brewers): 34 G, 34 GS, 12-14, 2.70 ERA, 0.983 WHIP. All-Star.

Average 2005-2007: 21 G, 21 GS, 9-7, 3.63 ERA, 1.134 WHIP. One All-Star appearance.

2008 (Milwaukee Brewers): 31 G, 31 GS, 13-9, 3.09 ERA, 1.150 WHIP. All-Star start.

2010 (Athletics, only season between 2008 and 2012 in which Sheets was active): 20 G, 20 GS, 4-9, 4.53 ERA, 1.391 WHIP

2012 so far (Braves): 3 G, 3 GS, 3-0, 0.50 ERA, 1.000 WHIP.

The Analysis

This is a highly unscientific study, using averages for years that don’t have February 29 on their calendars. However, even with that being kept in mind, it’s clear that Sheets does, indeed, do better every fourth year. He made the All-Star team in 2004 and 2008, and his ERAs and WHIP in Olympic years are usually lower than his average years that surround them.

So what does this mean?

Absolutely nothing. But, hey, I got an answer to the question my tweet brought up to myself.