Hello Baseball Fans,
Major League Baseball is back in action! Opening Day 2018 has already been spectacular with some extra innings, walk-off blasts and an inside-the-park homer to boot. And the day’s games aren’t even over yet as some are just starting while VFTD writes this! Anyway, before we get into some big predictions or analysis of the first game, let’s dedicate a space to reflect on how we got to 2018. Seven is often considered a lucky number so we’ll roll with that.
Hmm, seven years seems like a good era to cover as far as having some relevance to today’s game among its statistical leaders who are both established and new. 2011 thru 2017 it shall be. But, from those years, what to cover? As you know, there are a ba-zillion stats, numbers, etc. to stack up in baseball. Well, how about a mix of traditional bubble-gum card stuff and some other stuff you don’t usually see or hear presented by highlight shows? Sound like fun; OK here goes!
Jams: Here, we’re going to run the combo of yearly strikeout leaders (SO) and batting average against (BAA) leaders. Between those two categories, your typical hitter is in a jam whenever facing these guys upon the hill. First, the K-men: Chris Sale 308 in 2017, Max Scherzer 284 (2016), Clayton Kershaw 301 (2015), David Price 271 (2014), Yu Darvish 277 (2013), Justin Verlander 239 (2012), and Verlander again 250 back in 2011. Wow, that’s a lot of wiffs; cool breezes all around!
And now for the leaders of we’re-not-letting-you-go two for four (BAA): Max Scherzer (.178) in 2017, Jake Arrieta (.194) in ’16, Jake Arrieta (.185) in ’15, Johnny Cueto (.194) in ’14, Jose Fernandez (.182) in ’13, Gio Gonzalez (.206) in ’12, and Justin Verlander (.192) in ’11. Notice here that Verlander led the big leagues in both strikeouts AND BAA in 2011 while pitching in the A.L. That’s a big, big part of why he won both the Cy Young and MVP awards that year.
Guns: OK, we hear it all the time. This guy can really throw the ball. However, you often don’t get much meat to go with those potatoes. So, we’ve got the numbers for you. For part one, we’ve got Outfield Assists Leaders: Adam Duvall (15) in 2017, Adam Eaton (18) in ’16, Avisail Garcia (17) in ’15, Yoenis Cespedes (16) in ’14, Alex Gordon (17) in ’13, Jeff Franceour (19) in ’12, and Alex Gordon (20) in 2011. Apparently, if you’re a MLB outfielder and your first name starts with ‘A’, you probably have an above average throwing Arm between the aforementioned Adam, Adam, Avisail, and Alex (two times). Go figure!
For our second part of Guns, we of course have to go with the catchers. You often hear the percentage of thrown out base stealers. But what does that typically quantify to, you may (or not) wonder. Well, wonder no more! Tucker Barnhart chucked out 29 runners in 2017, Salvador Perez (37) in ’16, Derek Norris (44) in ’15, Russell Martin (37) in ’14, Russell Martin (36) in ’13, and Alex Avila along with Russell Martin again with 40 nabbed runners in 2011. Martin was in Pittsburgh in 2013 and 2014 and was a Yankee in 2011 while Avila caught for Verlander’s historical 2011 pitching season in Detroit.
Bombs: There is absolutely no need to be, at least in part, traditional here so without further adieu, here’s the MLB leaders in HRs: Giancarlo Stanton an amazing 59 in 2017 (60 would’ve been fun forever), Mark Trumbo (47) in ’16, Chris Davis (47) in ’15, Nelson Cruz (40) in ’14, Chris Davis (53) in ’13, Miguel Cabrera (44) in ’12 (while winning the A.L. Triple Crown with 139 RBI, and .330 average), and Jose Bautista (43) in 2011. Note that Davis’ two seasons along with Trumbo and Cruz made four consecutive years that the MLB Home Run king hailed from Baltimore.
And now for the neo-stat that’s actually been around long enough at this point. It accompanies bombs rather well. W.A.R. Wins Above Replacement. This is purely on the offensive side, as both O and D are tallied separately. And if the numbers seem small, remember that this is the value of wins a player can obtain for your team versus a mediocre player in his place. And the scale does NOT start at zero! You can actually be below average and be in the negatives. Here we go: Jose Altuve with a monster 2017 at 8.3, Mike Trout (10.6) in ’16, Bryce Harper (9.9) in ’15, Mike Trout (7.9) in ’14, Mike Trout (9.2) in ’13, Mike Trout (10.7) in ’12, and Ben Zobrist (8.5) in 2011.
If that WAR section seems like it could have a few type-os, it does not. Mike Trout is THAT good. And to add on to that gaudiness, he only played 114 games last year and STILL had a WAR, which is relative to playing time, of 6.7 (8th overall) while leading the big leagues in OPS at 1.071. And in 2015, when Harper went all sorts of MVP all year long for that 9.9 WAR, Trout posted a just as impressive 9.4. Never mind the likes of Harper, Aaron Judge, Stanton, and Joey Votto, and Charlie Blackmon or whoever else. Mike Trout is your leader. He is your guide.
That’s all for now kids,
Later Baseball Fans.