1. BEST: Enterprise successes
Baseball, as everyone knows, is a enterprise.
Every membership has two interrelated targets — profitable video games and attracting followers. Success on the primary rely usually results in constructive outcomes on the second. (Although not all the time. That’s you we’re speaking about, Tampa Bay.)
I’ve devised a fast little index to evaluate this yr’s enterprise outcomes. Every franchise’s profitable proportion (W%) and common residence attendance per recreation (A/G) have been in comparison with the big-league norms as of August 1.
Every element is measured in opposition to a 50-point commonplace. A membership that matched the major-league averages of .500 for W% and 29,101 for A/G would earn twin scores of fifty, including to exactly 100 factors.
The next rating signifies {that a} given membership is extra profitable than the common crew, and nobody is doing higher in that sense than the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their index of 140.7 is predicated on a profitable proportion of .578 and a mean of 48,227 followers per residence recreation. Spectacular figures all the way in which round.
Beneath are the highest 10 golf equipment in 2024’s enterprise scores. You’ll see a couple of laggards on the sector who’re prospering on the field workplace (the Cardinals, Astros, and Cubs), and also you’ll additionally discover that two robust performers on the diamond are lacking right here. The Baltimore Orioles (eleventh within the enterprise index) and the Cleveland Guardians (thirteenth) are actually profitable video games, however they aren’t promoting as many tickets as they need to.
Every crew is listed with its two related stats as of August 1, adopted by its enterprise rating:
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1. Los Angeles Dodgers (W% .578, A/G 48,227), 140.7 factors
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2. Philadelphia Phillies (W% .602, A/G 41,440), 131.4 factors
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3. New York Yankees (W% .591, A/G 41,910), 131.1 factors
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4. San Diego Padres (W% .536, A/G 40,462), 123.1 factors
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5. Atlanta Braves (W% .542, A/G 38,190), 119.8 factors
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6. St. Louis Cardinals (W% .519, A/G 36,549), 114.7 factors
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7. Houston Astros (W% .519, A/G 34,716), 111.5 factors
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8. Chicago Cubs (W% .473, A/G 36,525), 110.1 factors
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9. Boston Crimson Sox (W% .533, A/G 32,885), 109.8 factors
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10. Milwaukee Brewers (W% .565, A/G 30,683), 109.2 factors
2. WORST: Enterprise failures
This has been a yr of abject failure for the Chicago White Sox, whose profitable proportion on the four-month mark was an atrocious .243. The Sox haven’t been doing nicely on the field workplace, both. Their common of 16,438 followers per residence recreation is the third-worst within the majors.
The result, as you’d count on, is that the White Sox are saddled with baseball’s worst enterprise index, simply 52.5 factors. That’s 47.5 % beneath the big-league common of 100.
Beneath are the ten groups with the worst enterprise scores for 2024. The most important shock is the inclusion of the Kansas Metropolis Royals, whose enchancment on the sector hasn’t been matched on the field workplace.
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1. Chicago White Sox (W% .243, A/G 16,438), 52.5 factors
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2. Oakland Athletics (W% .409, A/G 8,025), 54.7 factors
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3. Miami Marlins (W% .370, A/G 13,216), 59.7 factors
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4. Tampa Bay Rays (W% .509, A/G 16,849), 79.8 factors
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5. Detroit Tigers (W% .477, A/G 21,438), 84.5 factors
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6. Washington Nationals (W% .450, A/G 25,377), 88.6 factors
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7. Colorado Rockies (W% .358, A/G 30,812), 88.7 factors
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8. Kansas Metropolis Royals (W% .550, A/G 19,878), 89.2 factors
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9. Pittsburgh Pirates (W% .509, A/G 22,501), 89.6 factors
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10. Cincinnati Reds (W% .481, A/G 25,109), 91.2 factors
3. GRAPH: Catching thieves
It has gotten harder and harder for pitchers and catchers to regulate baserunners.
A part of the issue, in fact, is that the foundations have been tweaked a yr in the past to encourage thievery. Bigger bases and fewer pitcher “disengagements” have spurred a rise in stolen bases.
Much less famous is the commonly upward pattern in steals over latest a long time. Gamers in 1954 accounted for under 0.28 stolen bases per recreation, a determine that had risen nearly twice as excessive (0.51) by 2022, the yr previous to the rule adjustment.
There was a corresponding decline within the proportion of potential stealers who get caught. Almost half of them — 46 % — have been gunned down in 1954. That determine dropped to an all-time low of 19.8 % in 2023. It’s up barely to 22.2 % to this point this yr, which nonetheless implies that greater than three-quarters of all steal makes an attempt are profitable.
As we speak’s graph reveals the proportion of potential thieves who have been caught stealing (at 10-year intervals). The pattern is unmistakable.
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4. QUIZ: 4-month leaders
4 months down, two to go.
We’re nearly every week into August, a bit too early for the stretch drive, however late sufficient to pay critical consideration to the leaders in varied statistical classes.
As we speak’s quiz is concerning the major-league pacesetters as of August 1. The stats cited beneath aren’t the apparent ones — homers, RBIs, earned run common — although they’re actually important in their very own proper.
Are you able to title the frontrunners? The solutions, as all the time, will be discovered on the backside of this article.
1. Which participant has scored essentially the most runs?
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A. Gunnar Henderson
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B. Aaron Choose
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C. Juan Soto
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D. Bobby Witt Jr.
2. Who has hit essentially the most doubles?
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A. Alec Bohm
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B. Jarren Duran
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C. Ezequiel Tovar
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D. Bobby Witt Jr.
3. And what about triples?
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A. Corbin Carroll
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B. Elly De La Cruz
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C. Jarren Duran
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D. Mike Yastrzemski
4. Which beginning pitcher has the bottom WHIP (walks and hits allowed per inning pitched)?
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A. Logan Gilbert
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B. Tyler Glasnow
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C. Chris Sale
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D. Tarik Skubal
5. Video games completed (GF) is a hardly ever cited stat that’s not the identical as saves. It merely counts the variety of instances a aid pitcher wrapped up a recreation for his crew, win or lose. Who’s first on this class?
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A. Emmanuel Clase
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B. Kyle Finnegan
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C. Josh Hader
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D. Ryan Helsley
5. LEADERBOARD: Largest losers
It takes substantial means to turn out to be a big-time loser within the main leagues.
Say what?
My level actually ought to be an apparent one. A pitcher has to stay within the rotation to pile up numerous losses. No supervisor goes to maintain giving the ball to someone who lacks expertise.
That’s why the next record — a rundown of pitchers who’ve suffered essentially the most defeats through the Trendy Period (1961 to current) — is dominated by Corridor of Famers. Eight of the highest 10 have been enshrined in Cooperstown, led by Nolan Ryan, who received 324 video games in his 27-year profession, but additionally misplaced 292.
The one pitchers on the record who aren’t within the corridor? Frank Tanana and Tommy John. The next stats come that indispensable supply, Baseball Reference:
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1. Nolan Ryan (1966-1993), 292 losses
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2. Phil Niekro (1964-1987), 274 losses
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3. Gaylord Perry (1962-1983), 265 losses
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4. Don Sutton (1966-1988), 256 losses
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5. Bert Blyleven (1970-1992), 250 losses
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6. Steve Carlton (1965-1988), 244 losses
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7. Frank Tanana (1973-1993), 236 losses
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8. Tommy John (1963-1989), 231 losses
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9. Jim Kaat (1961-1983), 230 losses
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10. Greg Maddux (1986-2008), 227 losses
6. TRACKING THE BEST: ’84 Tigers
The 1984 Detroit Tigers — the best crew of baseball’s Trendy Period — started the week of July 30 to August 5 with a 12-game lead within the American League East.
It seemed to be time for the Tigers to change to cruise management, beginning to preserve their power for the postseason.
That’s exactly what they did, although a bit too abruptly for his or her followers. Detroit started the week by splitting a four-game sequence with the Cleveland Indians, then dropped a whole four-game set to the Kansas Metropolis Royals.
The Tigers’ cumulative file for the week was a depressing 2-6. They scored a complete of 28 runs and surrendered 39. Their division lead over the Toronto Blue Jays declined to eight video games by the morning of August 6.
A lot for cruise management.
7. TRACKING THE WORST: ’62 Mets
The New York Mets would lose 120 video games in 1962, a mark of ineptitude that is still the single-season file for defeats, although the 2024 Chicago White Sox are threatening to roar previous 120 and preserve going.
The Mets really loved a reasonably profitable week 62 years in the past. They went 3-4 between July 30 and August 5. It was particularly spectacular that their three victories have been consecutive, constituting New York’s longest profitable streak of the 1962 season.
The Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds by scores of 9-1, 3-2, and 5-2. Laborious-luck pitchers Roger Craig and Al Jackson — the mainstays of the membership’s rotation — every notched a victory through the streak. But their total data remained terrible: 6-17 for Craig, 6-13 for Jackson.
And the membership’s file was even worse. The Mets stood at 29-80 at dawn on August 6, mired deep in final place within the Nationwide League.
8. QUIZ ANSWERS: 4-month leaders
1-D. (Witt crossed the plate 91 instances for the Royals by means of the top of July. He was two runs forward of the runner-up, Soto of the Yankees.)
2-A. (Bohm held a good lead on this class after 4 months. The third baseman for the Phillies had a complete of 38 doubles. Second place went to Duran of the Crimson Sox at 33.)
3-C. (Duran sat on prime with 12 triples as of the morning of August 1. Bobby Witt Jr., who wasn’t listed as an possibility, was second with 10.)
4-A. (Gilbert’s WHIP of 0.896 for the Mariners was one of the best within the majors after 4 months. The runner-up was Skubal of the Tigers at 0.923.)
5-A. (Clase set the tempo with 46 video games completed within the first 4 months. The opposite three listed pitchers have been tied for second with 42 apiece.)
