Clear frontrunners for the 2 Cy Younger Awards often emerge by this level of the baseball season.
Not this 12 months.
Three contenders are intently bunched in every league, in keeping with my calculations of total base worth after 19 weeks of play.
OBV is the variety of bases a pitcher has allowed (via hits, walks, hit batters, stolen bases, and sacrifices), in comparison with the quantity that a median pitcher would have surrendered below the identical circumstances. A constructive OBV signifies {that a} pitcher has been stingier than regular, saving his crew the required variety of bases.
Contemplate Tarik Skubal, the lefthanded ace for the Detroit Tigers. He yielded 213 bases and obtained 436 outs in his 23 begins via August 8. The standard pitcher would have allowed 295 bases whereas getting the identical variety of outs. Skubal’s whole is 82 bases decrease, which is why his OBV is plus-82, the very best determine within the majors.
However Skubal doesn’t have a transparent path to the American League’s Cy Younger Award. Logan Gilbert of the Seattle Mariners (OBV of plus-77) and Seth Lugo of the Kansas Metropolis Royals (plus-69) are inside placing distance.
The Cy Younger race within the Nationwide League is even nearer, with Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, Dylan Stop of the San Diego Padres, and Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies all tightly bunched. Sale’s OBV of plus-63 places him three bases forward of Stop and Wheeler, who’re tied with values of plus-60.
Listed below are the ten greatest pitchers in every league on the season’s 19-week mark:
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1. Tarik Skubal, Tigers, OBV 82
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2. Logan Gilbert, Mariners, OBV 77
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3. Seth Lugo, Royals, OBV 69
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4. Emmanuel Clase, Guardians, OBV 59
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5. Tanner Houck, Purple Sox, OBV 58
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6. Garrett Crochet, White Sox, OBV 48
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6. George Kirby, Mariners, OBV 48
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8. Tyler Holton, Tigers, OBV 47
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9. Bryce Miller, Mariners, OBV 45
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9. Bryan Woo, Mariners, OBV 45
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1. Chris Sale, Braves, OBV 63
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2. Dylan Stop, Padres, OBV 60
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2. Zack Wheeler, Phillies, OBV 60
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4. Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers, OBV 55
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5. Paul Skenes, Pirates, OBV 51
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5. Ranger Suarez, Phillies, OBV 51
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7. Max Fried, Braves, OBV 47
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8. Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies, OBV 46
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9. Shota Imanaga, Cubs, OBV 45
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10. Logan Webb, Giants, OBV 41
If there have been a reverse model of the Cy Younger Award, I feel it needs to be named after Milt Gaston.
I’ve defined my reasoning earlier than. Gaston posted the worst file for any pitcher with no less than 250 choices, going 97-164 (.372) between 1924 and 1934. He twice led the American League in losses.
Logan Allen of the Cleveland Guardians and Patrick Corbin of the Washington Nationals could be the main candidates for 2024’s Milt Gaston Awards, if solely they existed.
Allen’s OBV of minus-56 signifies that he surrendered 56 bases greater than the typical pitcher would have yielded via August 8. That’s the worst determine within the American League, although not as unhealthy as Corbin’s worth of minus-64 within the Nationwide League.
Allen’s 8-4 file appears to belie his horrible OBV, although his ERA of 5.56 confirms that this has been a troublesome season. Corbin’s marks of 2-12 and 5.88 are simply plain terrible all the best way round.
Listed below are the 5 pitchers in every league with the worst OBVs as of August 8:
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1. Logan Allen, Guardians, OBV -56
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2. Kenta Maeda, Tigers, OBV -44
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2. Triston McKenzie, Guardians, OBV -44
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4. Carlos Carrasco, Guardians, OBV -43
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5. Chris Flexen, White Sox, OBV -42
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1. Patrick Corbin, Nationals, OBV -64
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2. Ty Blach, Rockies, OBV -52
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3. Roddery Munoz, Marlins, OBV -48
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4. Jordan Montgomery, Diamondbacks, OBV -44
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5. Yonny Chirinos, Marlins, OBV -40
The Seattle Mariners can’t hit.
No crew — not even the woeful Chicago White Sox — had a decrease batting common on the 19-week mark of the 2024 season. The Mariners had been hitting .217 as a unit, the worst crew BA within the majors.
And but Seattle was tied for first place within the American League West with the Houston Astros, the membership with the third-highest BA within the huge leagues (.261).
How is that attainable?
The reply, after all, is pitching. Seattle’s employees had a collective ERA of three.47, the very best within the majors as of August 8. The Mariners additionally allowed the fewest hits per 9 innings (7.5) and the fewest walks per 9 (2.4).
The result’s a wholesome lead in total base worth among the many 30 big-league staffs. Seattle’s pitchers have allowed 266 fewer bases than the typical employees would have yielded, which supplies the Mariners an OBV of plus-266.
The Philadelphia Phillies are a distant second with an OBV of plus-176 for his or her pitchers, whereas the Colorado Rockies have the worst worth, minus-365. Which means Colorado’s pitchers have surrendered 365 extra bases than regular.
This week’s graph exhibits the highest three and backside three staffs on the 19-week mark:
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The season is barely greater than 4 months outdated, and followers are beginning to pay extra consideration to the standings. It can quickly be time to start out speaking about magic numbers and playoff berths.
This week’s quiz places a twist on the standings, a few of the extra obscure accomplishments by varied groups over the primary 19 weeks. Scroll to the tip of this text for the solutions.
1. Which crew has the very best successful share in highway video games?
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A. Baltimore Orioles
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B. Boston Purple Sox
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C. New York Yankees
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D. San Diego Padres
2. And who has been taking part in the worst ball on the highway?
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A. Chicago White Sox
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B. Colorado Rockies
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C. Miami Marlins
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D. Oakland Athletics
3. Which membership has the very best file in day video games?
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A. Boston Purple Sox
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B. Cleveland Guardians
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C. Milwaukee Brewers
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D. Minnesota Twins
4. Who has received the most important variety of video games by one-run margins?
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A. Arizona Diamondbacks
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B. New York Mets
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C. St. Louis Cardinals
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D. Seattle Mariners
5. Which crew has probably the most wins in interleague play?
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A. Atlanta Braves
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B. Los Angeles Dodgers
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C. Milwaukee Brewers
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D. Tampa Bay Rays
Ryan Helsley, the flame-throwing nearer for the St. Louis Cardinals, is the major-league chief in saves. He had 36 as of August 8.
The sheer dimension of that quantity means that Helsley is a machine. He enters within the ninth inning and — one-two-three — routinely clinches one other St. Louis victory.
That’s not the case in any respect. Helsley has 4 losses and one other two blown saves on his file this 12 months. And he has allowed two or extra hits on eight events, together with 5 wherein he was credited with saves.
It may well really be mentioned that not all saves are created equal.
That’s why I’ve provide you with the “clear save,” which is awarded to any nearer who works no less than one inning, permits no baserunners in any respect, and locks down a win. Helsley is the chief on this class as properly. His 18 clear saves account for exactly half of his total save whole of 36.
9 pitchers had no less than 10 clear saves as of August 8. Right here they’re:
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1. Ryan Helsley, Cardinals, 18
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2. Emmanuel Clase, Guardians, 15
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2. Carlos Estevez, Angels, 15
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4. Craig Kimbrel, Orioles, 14
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5. Kyle Finnegan, Nationals, 13
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5. Raisel Iglesias, Braves, 13
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7. Mason Miller, Athletics, 11
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7. Robert Suarez, Padres, 11
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9. Josh Hader, Astros, 10
The 1984 Detroit Tigers — ranked as the very best crew of baseball’s Trendy Period (1961 to the current) — began the week of August 6-12 in powerful vogue.
They performed a doubleheader in opposition to the Boston Purple Sox on Monday the sixth, then one other doubleheader the subsequent day. Detroit cut up these 4 video games, misplaced a Wednesday contest to Boston, and closed the week by sweeping a three-game set with the Kansas Metropolis Royals.
Jack Morris, the longer term Corridor of Famer, received the center sport of the Okay.C. collection, boosting his file to 15-8.
The Tigers remained firmly in charge of the American League East as of August 13, 1984. They’d a 77-41 file, 9 video games higher than the second-place Toronto Blue Jays.
This 12 months’s White Sox are giving them a run for the cash, however the 1962 New York Mets stay the crew with probably the most losses within the Trendy Period.
The Mets performed their position to perfection 62 years in the past this week. They misplaced six of seven video games between August 6 and 12, 1962.
New York’s solely win was a 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants, who had been destined for the World Sequence that 12 months. Left fielder Frank Thomas and third baseman Felix Mantilla bashed a pair of two-run homers within the fifth inning to interrupt the sport open. Roger Craig pitched an entire sport to choose up the win and enhance his file to 7-17.
The Mets clung tightly to final place within the Nationwide League on the morning of August 13. Their 30-86 file put them 47.5 video games behind the frontrunning Los Angeles Dodgers.
1-C. (The Yankees had been 38-22 in away video games as of August 8, giving them a .633 successful share on the highway. The Orioles and Padres had been tied for second at .596.)
2-A. (A straightforward one, proper? It couldn’t be anyone else however the horrific White Sox, whose 11-49 highway file labored out to .183. The Rockies had been subsequent worse at .283.)
3-D. (The Twins love taking part in within the sunshine, as evidenced by their 34-19 file in day video games to date this 12 months. That’s a .642 tempo. The Guardians had been the runner-up on the 19-week mark with a daytime successful share of .628.)
4-C. (The Cardinals notched 22 one-run victories within the first 19 weeks. The opposite three listed golf equipment had been subsequent with 21 apiece.)
5-C. (It’s the Brewers by a mile. Milwaukee had 26 wins in opposition to American League groups as of August 8. The Braves got here subsequent with 22 interleague victories.)
