The earlier two editions of this text ranked the very best infielders and outfielders in the course of the first half of the present season, utilizing the standard cutoff level of July 4.
We lengthen our examination at the moment to the 2 remaining offensive positions — catchers and designated hitters.
I calculated the general base values (OBV) for all batters who made at the very least 150 plate appearances as much as Independence Day and performed at the very least 50 p.c of the time behind the plate or as a DH.
OBV is calculated by evaluating the bases reached by a given hitter (by singles, doubles, triples, residence runs, walks, hit batters, stolen bases, and sacrifices) with the quantity that a mean batter would have attained underneath the identical circumstances.
Take Shohei Ohtani, the DH for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani gathered 279 bases by July 4, and he made 237 outs. The standard big-league hitter would have reached 158 bases with the identical variety of outs. Ohtani surpassed that complete by 121 bases, thereby setting his OBV at plus-121.
The highest catchers in OBV had been Connor Wong of the Boston Purple Sox within the American League and Willson Contreras of the St. Louis Cardinals within the Nationwide League.
The latter undoubtedly comes as a shock. Willson Contreras missed a substantial portion of the primary half with a forearm fracture, whereas brother William Contreras of the Milwaukee Brewers began the season on hearth and was voted the NL’s beginning catcher within the All-Star Sport. However Willson really gathered a bigger OBV than his brother in 44 fewer video games.
The highest designated hitters within the first half had been Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros within the AL and Ohtani within the NL.
Listed under are the highest 5 gamers in each leagues at each positions.
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1. Connor Wong, Purple Sox, OBV 27
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2. Adley Rutschman, Orioles, OBV 25
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3. Salvador Perez, Royals, OBV 22
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4. Ryan Jeffers, Twins, OBV 18
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4. Logan O’Hoppe, Angels, OBV 18
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1. Willson Contreras, Cardinals, OBV 33
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2. William Contreras, Brewers, OBV 23
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2. Will Smith, Dodgers, OBV 23
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4. Patrick Bailey, Giants, OBV 15
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5. Elias Diaz, Rockies, OBV 8
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1. Yordan Alvarez, Astros, OBV 69
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2. Brent Rooker, Athletics, OBV 44
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3. Ryan O’Hearn, Orioles, OBV 28
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4. Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees, OBV 12
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5. Justin Turner, Blue Jays, OBV 3
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1. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers, OBV 121
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2. Marcell Ozuna, Braves, OBV 67
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3. Kyle Schwarber, Phillies, OBV 48
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4. Joc Pederson, Diamondbacks, OBV 41
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5. J.D. Martinez, Mets, OBV 24
I additionally, after all, tabulated lists of the gamers who had the worst stats at at the moment’s two positions.
The catchers with the bottom general base values on the July 4 cutoff had been Christian Vazquez of the Minnesota Twins within the American League and Nick Fortes of the Miami Marlins within the Nationwide. The corresponding tailenders amongst designated hitters had been Nelson Velazquez of the Kansas Metropolis Royals and Nick Martini of the Cincinnati Reds.
All had OBVs that had been under zero, indlcating that they reached fewer bases than a typical main leaguer would have attained underneath the identical circumstances.
Listed here are the underside three for every class.
The Los Angeles Dodgers sit in first place within the Nationwide League West. Yawn.
What else is new?
L.A. is comfortably on its method to its eleventh NL West title since 2013. Its solely miss — and it hardly appears truthful to name it that — got here in 2021. The Dodgers rolled that yr to a 106-56 file, which might have given them a first-place margin of at the very least six video games in every other division. However the San Francisco Giants stampeded to a 107-55 mark and gained the NL West by a single sport.
The next graph tracks the Dodgers’ divisional finishes for the reason that flip of the century. They’ve gained 14 titles in all (counting this yr’s anticipated win), and so they’ve by no means completed final. Not as soon as.
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It’s onerous to consider, however 2024 is the twenty fifth season of the twenty first century. Meaning we’re nearly 1 / 4 of the best way by. (I don’t subscribe to the idea that the century started in 2001, as I’ve beforehand famous. I’m with 2000 all the best way.)
Immediately’s quiz covers hitting accomplishments in the course of the first 24 seasons (2000-2023), leaving us simply in need of the quarter pole. Flip to the underside of this text for the solutions.
1. Which batter had essentially the most video games within the twenty first century with three or extra residence runs?
2. Who had essentially the most video games with at the very least six runs batted in?
3. Which runner attained at the very least three stolen bases within the largest variety of video games since 2000?
4. Which batter had essentially the most video games with 4 or extra walks?
5. Who suffered at the very least 5 strikeouts in essentially the most video games?
A.J. Burnett loved loads of success. The righthander gained a complete of 164 video games for the Marlins, Blue Jays, Yankees, Pirates, and Phillies, together with 160 victories between the start of the century (2000) and his retirement (2015).
Burnett topped 200 strikeouts in three totally different seasons, and he even led the American League with 231 Okay’s for the Jays in 2008.
However he additionally had his erratic durations. He twice led the American League in wild pitches — and as soon as did the identical within the Nationwide League. His twenty first century complete of 161 wild pitches, the truth is, stays essentially the most for any huge leaguer.
Listed here are the ten pitchers who uncorked essentially the most wild pitches between April 2000 and July 4, 2024, in accordance with Baseball Reference:
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1. A.J. Burnett (2000-2015), WP 161
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2. Felix Hernandez (2005-2019), WP 156
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3. John Lackey (2002-2017), WP 125
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4. Edwin Jackson (2003-2019), WP 108
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5. Tim Lincecum (2007-2016), WP 107
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5. James Shields (2006-2018), WP 107
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7. Ervin Santana (2005-2021), WP 104
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8. Sonny Grey (2013-2024), WP 103
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9. Zack Greinke (2004-2023), WP 101
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9. Clayton Kershaw (2008-2023), WP 101
The victorious model of the 1984 Tigers returned to prominence on the week of July 16-22. Detroit had stumbled to a 5-10 file between June 25 and July 12, however three subsequent triumphs in Minnesota set the stage for a bounce again to successful methods.
The Tigers welcomed the White Sox and Rangers to Detroit between the sixteenth and twenty second. They took two of three from Chicago and all 4 from Texas. The mixed rating for the week was Tigers 37, Opponents 22.
Detroit’s file at dawn on July 23, 1984, was 66-29 for a .695 successful share. The membership, which ranks as the easiest of baseball’s Trendy Period (1961 to at the moment), held a nine-game lead that morning over the Toronto Blue Jays, the second-place group within the American League East.
There was a sure monotony for the Trendy Period’s losingest group, the New York Mets, in the course of the week of July 16-22, 1962. They dropped all seven video games they performed.
The week started with a good 3-2 defeat by the hands of the San Francisco Giants. Roger Craig surrendered just one earned run in seven innings of labor, but he nonetheless took the loss for the Mets. That dropped his file to 5-13.
The Pittsburgh Pirates then took a pair from New York, and the Cincinnati Reds gained 4 straight. Craig suffered one other heartbreaking defeat on July 20, giving up solely seven hits whereas pitching an entire sport. However the Mets fell 3-1 to the Reds.
The worst was but to return. Supervisor Casey Stengel introduced Craig in from the bullpen within the backside of the ninth on July 22, simply two days after his newest begin. The rating was tied 3-3. The one batter the reliever confronted, Marty Keough, blasted a game-winning homer for Cincinnati.
Craig ended the week with a 5-15 file, and the Mets had been 24-70. New York languished 39 video games behind the Nationwide League leaders, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1-A. (Betts could seem the least probably slugger on this group, however he had six video games with three or extra homers. Rodriguez got here subsequent with 5.)
2-C. (Rodriguez piled up six or extra RBIs in 13 totally different video games. The one different batter to succeed in double digits within the twenty first century was Cruz with 10 video games of six-plus runs batted in.)
3-B. (Hamilton stole at the very least three bases in 19 video games. Unusual-Gordon was second with 14.)
4-A. (Bonds was the straightforward winner, drawing at the very least 4 walks in 16 video games within the present century. He doubled the overall of the runner-up, Thome, who had eight.)
5-A. (Baez struck out 5 occasions in three totally different video games, an sad accomplishment unmatched within the twenty first century.)
