By Kyle Soppe
As we enter the slowest 3 days of the baseball season, it is time to reflect on what we have seen thus far. It has been an entertaining couple of months as milestones have been reached, upper cuts thrown, and the continuing dominance of starting pitchers in this post-steroid era. Below are the top 5 odd or unique numbers from the first half of the season for each league
American League
– The largest lead in a division is a single game
– The Boston Red Sox play in the feared AL East, yet have compiled a 24-10 record inside the division as compared to a mediocre 31-25 outside of it.
– Of the 5 teams in the AL East, 4 of them have a winning record on the road. In stark contrast, the Central doesn’t have a single team with a winning road record.
– Parity is apparent in the West, as every team has won between 11 and 13 games against divisional foes.
– Staying West, it is the only division in all of baseball that has all of its teams above .500 at home.
National League
– With 4 out of 5 teams at or above .500, the NL East holds the highest winning percentage in the MLB.
– The Brewers are tied atop the Central, despite a pitiful 16-29 record on the road. An identical mark as the last place Astros.
– Speaking of the Astros, they hold the leagues worst record, by 7 games. The next worse team is Central mate, the Chicago Cubs.
– Remaining in the Central, the Reds have the best mark within the division (26-19), but are in 4th place.
– In the West, inter divisional play has been dominated by the Giants, as they are the only team that boasts a divisional record over .500.
Just some food for thought as we enter what should be a very competitive second half. Four of the 6 divisions are within a game, making every game from here and out important. last year, only 2 of the 6 division leaders at the ASB held on to win their division. With that said, over/under 2.5 teams that hold on this year? Another question I’ll float out there: why is the first “half” of the season longer than the second “half?” The Red Sox have played 90 games, and as a math major, I can assure you that is not the half way marker to 162.
Is it my idea or did you not mention the pirates as an oddity?
Just saying I even ran a find tool for both “Pittsburgh” and “Pirates” and both came back with nothing.
I tossed and turned over the Pirates. When it came down to it, I had a hard time including them as a “statistical” oddity. An oddity, yes. No doubt. But as far as stats go, a MLB team that is 4 games over .500 and trailing to teams in their division, isnt ground moving. I also wanted to avoid the obvious, and uncover some stats that may be a surprise. I get that its been forever since the city of Pittsburgh has had a reason to show any interest in the Pirates, and as far as story lines go, it ranks up there. The oddest part about the Pirates to me, is how there best player was excluded from the All Star Game.
I agree with Gino. The Pirates’ “first half” success is quite the oddity.
Very interesting stat on the Red Sox, Kyle. Keep in mind, though, that the Red Sox don’t have to play themselves. Between that and the way the Yankees have competed with them, this makes their AL East experience easier than most.
How about the Washington Nationals performance this year so far? Without checking, I think they’re right at .500. I think this is almost as big a positive surprise as Pittsburgh’s half season. And don’t forget about Cleveland’s quite unexpected standing very near the top of their division.
Biggest disappointments, for me at least:
— Adam Dunn is averaging like 1.5 whiffs per game and hitting around .170 … yuck!
— The Houston DisAstros at 30-61 are on pace to win only 54 games. Where does that stack with the expansion Mets of the early ’60s?
— The woeful Cubs! What a pile of horse****!
Very true Chas, that they dont play the best team in that division, being themselves. Even still, thats a big drop off. Most would consider the Yanks a top contender and the upstart Rays have been tough. Even the Toronto Bautistas, who for some reason continue to insist on being called the Blue Jays, prove to be a battle, and are the annual recipient of the “if they played in any other division, theyd be a playoff team” award.
The BoSox are as talented a team as there is out there, a drop off like that just surprised me. Its proof that during 162 game season, some games mean more to teams than others. I am not accusing the Sox of taking days off, but it wont surprise if they get super hot when it counts most, as theyve proven they can win the showcase games this year
Yes, I think EVEN the White Sox swept the Red Sox in a 3 gamer in late May or so … no question that Boston seems to take a few days off now and then.
Or, maybe they’re just streaky. 🙂
No … since “it is what it is”, then “they are what they are”. They are a 55-35 (.611) first place baseball team. Streaky, not streaky, who cares??? Damn good team. Yankmees, too.
Me, Wally, and Denny Green all agree on this one. “They are who we thought they were” and thats one of the most talented teams in the league. They take some days off, but when it comes down to it, they are the best the AL has to offer. That 55-35 record is without much of anything from Crawford, and some banged up pitching. Sure, Beckett may regress a bit in the second half, but other than that, was there anything that they did in the first half that they couldnt do in the second half? The pitching is enough, and that lineup is brutal. Call em streaky, but the season will be filled with much more hot streaks than cold, putting them in a good position to succeed