The baseball season has dwindled to its last month, and there’s a minimal quantity of suspense.
The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees seem prone to battle for the American League East title all the best way to the top, the AL Central race is tantalizingly tight, and that’s about it. The opposite divisions appear to be (practically) settled, and the wild-card races aren’t all that shut.
And but, you by no means know.
It’s potential for a group to all of the sudden get scorching — actually scorching — within the final month of the season. The first instance comes from 2017, when Cleveland’s AL membership, then referred to as the Indians, ran off a 22-game successful streak between the ultimate week of August and the center of the next month.
The Indians already held a 4.5-game lead within the AL Central when the streak started, a margin they expanded to 13.5 video games by mid-September. Their general file for the ultimate month was 26-4, and their successful share of .867 stays the best for any membership within the Fashionable Period (1961 to the current) after the top of August.
Listed beneath are the ten golf equipment with one of the best information in September (and early October, if the schedule ran that lengthy) since ‘61. Every is listed with its wins, losses, and successful share via the top of August, adopted by the identical stats for the interval after that.
All 10 of those golf equipment certified for the playoffs, together with three that have been outdoors the postseason image as of September 1 (the 1974 Orioles, 1995 Yankees, and 2013 Indians). However not one of the 10 went on to win its league pennant. A lot for the idea of momentum.
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1. Indians 2017 (via August: 76-56, .576; after: 26-4, .867)
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2. Athletics 2001 (via August: 79-56, .585; after: 23-4, .852)
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3. Royals 1977 (via August: 76-54, .585; after: 26-6, .813)
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4. Orioles 1974 (via August: 66-65, .504; after: 25-6, .806)
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5. White Sox 1983 (via August: 75-57, .568; after: 24-6, .800)
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6. Mets 1988 (via August: 78-54, .591; after: 22-6, .786)
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6. Yankees 1995 (via August: 57-59, .491; after: 22-6, .786)
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8. Cardinals 2002 (via August: 76-59, .563; after: 21-6, .778)
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8. Indians 2013 (via August: 71-64, .526; after: 21-6, .778)
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8. Astros 2018 (via August: 82-53, .607; after: 21-6, .778)
You knew it was coming. The next record is the flip aspect of the one above, exhibiting the ten Fashionable Period groups that ran up the worst information after the top of August.
The 2002 Baltimore Orioles high the record. They performed respectably properly via the top of August — not nice, however moderately near .500 with a 63-71 file. That’s when the wheels got here off.
The Orioles misplaced 24 of their last 28 video games, together with the final 12 on their schedule. Baltimore had been third within the American League East at the start of the ultimate month, nevertheless it completed fourth, 36.5 video games out of first. Solely the horrendous play of the Tampa Bay Satan Rays (48 video games out) stored them from ending final.
Listed below are the ten weakest stretch drives since 1961:
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1. Orioles 2002 (via August: 63-71, .470; after: 4-24, .143)
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2. Blue Jays 1978 (via August: 55-80, .407; after: 4-22, .154)
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2. Tigers 1996 (via August: 49-87, .360; after: 4-22, .154)
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4. Rangers 1972 (via August: 49-76, .392; after: 5-24, .172)
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5. Pirates 1998 (via August: 64-71, .474; after: 5-22, .185)
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6. Tigers 1975 (via August: 52-81, .391; after: 5-21, .192)
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6. Tigers 2002 (via August: 50-85, .370; after: 5-21, .192)
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6. Giants 2018 (via August: 68-68, .500; after: 5-21, .192)
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9. Orioles 2008 (via August: 63-73, .463; after: 5-20, .200)
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9. Tigers 2017 (via August: 58-74, .439; after: 6-24, .200)
I’ve acquired the answer to the woes besetting the Chicago White Sox. They need to play solely the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays. No person else.
Chicago had gone 5-5 towards the Guardians and 4-2 versus the Rays when the present season hit the 21-week milestone on August 22. That’s a mixed file of 9-7 for a successful share of .563. Fairly good.
The Sox had received two video games apiece from a half-dozen golf equipment at that time: the Astros, Braves, Cardinals, Nationals, Purple Sox, and Rockies. Their file towards these six groups was 12-10 (.545).
The remainder of the information is discouraging, as you’d count on from a membership that shot previous 100 defeats earlier than the top of August. The White Sox had a single win this 12 months towards every of 10 groups, together with equivalent 1-12 marks towards two divisional foes, the Royals and Twins. Chicago’s mixed file towards these 10 golf equipment was 10-53 (.159).
That leaves eight groups that received each single sport, leaving the White Sox with a file of 0-27 (.000) towards them. (The Sox had not but confronted the Angels, Mets, and Padres after 21 weeks of play.)
At this time’s graph breaks down these sad stats from a really, very sad season:
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4 energetic pitchers have labored greater than 2,200 innings of their careers. At this time’s quiz pits them in 5 totally different classes, difficult you to choose the general leaders via the 21-week mark (August 22) of the 2024 season.
Scroll to the underside of this text for the solutions.
1. Who has essentially the most profession wins?
2. Whose profession ERA is one of the best?
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A. Johnny Cueto
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B. Clayton Kershaw
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C. Max Scherzer
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D. Justin Verlander
3. Who has gathered essentially the most strikeouts?
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A. Johnny Cueto
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B. Clayton Kershaw
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C. Max Scherzer
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D. Justin Verlander
4. Who has labored essentially the most full video games?
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A. Johnny Cueto
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B. Clayton Kershaw
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C. Max Scherzer
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D. Justin Verlander
5. Who has hit essentially the most batters?
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A. Johnny Cueto
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B. Clayton Kershaw
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C. Max Scherzer
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D. Justin Verlander
Shohei Ohtani, the celebrity designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is on observe for an unprecedented 50-50 season.
Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. got here closest to 50-50 when he bashed 41 residence runs and stole 73 bases in 2023, an incredible demonstration of energy and pace. However he nonetheless fell 9 homers in need of 50 in that class.
It stays to be seen if Ohtani can attain each requirements, although he has proven a capability to shortly add numbers on both sides of the ledger. He had eight video games (within the first 21 weeks) this 12 months by which he hit not less than one residence run and stole a number of bases.
Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds and Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets are the runners-up with six HR/SB video games apiece. A complete of eight gamers have had 4 or extra of those double-threat performances in 2024. Right here, with because of Baseball Reference, is the record:
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1. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers, 8 video games
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2. Elly De La Cruz, Reds, 6 video games
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2. Francisco Lindor, Mets, 6 video games
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4. Luis Garcia Jr., Nationals, 5 video games
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4. Gunnar Henderson, Orioles, 5 video games
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6. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Marlins-Yankees, 4 video games
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6. Jarren Duran, Purple Sox, 4 video games
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6. Spencer Steer, Reds, 4 video games
The Detroit Tigers took their foot off the fuel through the week of August 27 to September 2, 1984.
The pennant race within the American League East, for all intents and functions, was over. The ’84 Tigers (who rank as one of the best group of baseball’s Fashionable Period) started the week with a 12-game lead over the second-place Toronto Blue Jays.
Detroit bookended the seven-day interval with wins over the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics, however misplaced the 4 video games in between. Probably the most heartbreaking defeat was a 13-inning loss to the A’s, 7-6, on August 31. Mike Davis scored the successful run for Oakland on a wild pitch by Dave Rozema.
The Tigers nonetheless had a formidable 88-49 file on the morning of September 3, although their lead over Toronto had slipped to eight.5 video games.
The week of August 27 to September 2, 1962, began very properly for the New York Mets, who have been destined to endure 120 defeats that 12 months.
Pitcher Al Jackson tossed a three-hit shutout towards the Philadelphia Phillies on August 28, successful 2-0. It was Jackson’s seventh victory of the season (towards 17 defeats).
However the Phillies received the remaining three video games of their sequence, and the Mets then dropped a pair to the St. Louis Cardinals. The week ended with one other uncommon victory, 4-3 over the Playing cards on September 2. Jackson was the successful pitcher once more.
Their loss to Philadelphia on August twenty ninth was the a centesimal of the 12 months for the Mets. They ended the week with a 35-103 file, deep in final place within the Nationwide League, 55.5 video games behind the frontrunning Los Angeles Dodgers.
1-D. (Verlander holds a considerable lead over the sector. His 260 profession wins are 44 forward of runner-up Scherzer’s 216.)
2-B. (It’s Kershaw by a mile. His profession ERA is 2.48, adopted by Scherzer at 3.16.)
3-C. (Scherzer has 3,405 strikeouts, simply six forward of Verlander’s 3,399. The opposite two are far again.)
4-D. (Verlander has 26 full video games to his credit score, edging forward of Kershaw’s 25.)
5-A. (Cueto has pitched the fewest innings among the many foursome, but he has piled up essentially the most HBPs, 120 in all. Verlander is subsequent with 113 hit batters.)
