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MLB regular season was full of oddities, accomplishments

By Wayne Stewart

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No longer a kid, events like birthdays don’t quite thrill me any longer. However, it is now the time of year which ranks next to Christmas (there’s still some little kid left in me) as the best time of them all. Another MLB regular season has come to an end and the postseason has taken center stage. It’s a time when I love to leaf through all of the season’s final stats to come up with a list of odd, surprising and/or interesting items.

Here are just a few to share today with two more installments next week.

Aug 24, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Mark Reynolds (7) reacts after striking out in the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Strikeout totals continue to soar in the majors. While no batter topped the 200-strikeout plateau in 2014, the overall totals remain alarming.  Ryan Howard’s 190 whiffs led the majors and he fanned in 32 percent of his at-bats. As bad as those numbers are, consider the stats from the unholy four of single-season strikeout victims, the only batters to date to strike out 200+ times in a season:

  • Mark Reynolds (122 K’s this year over 378 AB)— In 2009, he set the single season record with 223 strikeouts and he also holds down the fourth, sixth and twelfth-worst marks in a single season, as well – in his first six full seasons. Lifetime he averaged striking out in 37 percent of his at bats and he exceeded the 200 K mark a record three times.
  • Adam Dunn (159 times striking out this year in 429 AB)— In 2012, he went down on strikes 222 times, then a record, now second-most ever. His strikeout percentage is 34.5 percent.
  • Chris Carter (182 K’s in 2014)— Last season he joined the 200-strikeout club with 212, the third-worst output ever in a single year. Perhaps more alarmingly, his strikeout percentage of nearly 40 (to be precise, 38.5%) is the highest for the men listed here.
  • Drew Stubbs (136 K’s in 388 AB in 2014)—His 200-strikeout season came in 2011, with 205, a total which stands a fifth on the list. He whiffs at a rate just over one-third of his plate appearances.

Dunn ranks third on the all-time strikeout list and another player listed as still having “active” status, Alex Rodriguez, ranks fifth. Two others who just retired this season share the 13th slot on that list— Bobby Abreu and Derek Jeter, each with 1,840.

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Meanwhile, the complete game is going the way of the rotary dial phone. There were just three pitchers with five or more complete games in 2014 and Clayton Kershaw led all pitchers with just six.

To put these numbers in perspective and to show how the game has changed so drastically, consider the fact that one could add in the totals of the top three pitchers in the majors in 2014 for complete games and that amount would merely tie the amount of shutouts Grover Cleveland Alexander chalked up in one season alone (in 1916 when his 16 shutouts set the single-season record). That season he finished with 36 complete games over his 42 starts.

Of course, the season record all-time high for the modern era blows Kershaw’s six CG out of the water—Jack Chesbro had 48 in 1904 and failed to finish just three of his starts all season long.  A Hall of Famer, Chesbro is also famous for his 41 wins that season, the most ever among pitchers from the modern era.

Baseball can be a funny, humbling game. Several big name pitchers were traded in headline swaps this year, pitchers whose presence on their new clubs was supposed to help enormously. Surprisingly, in several cases things didn’t quite turn out so well.

The Chicago Cubs had one man who everyone recognized as a hard luck pitcher, one who was doing his job, but was getting little support. That man, Jeff Samardzija, was 2-7 despite a stellar 2.83 ERA with Chicago. However, when he went to the A’s his ERA actually rose a bit, to 3.14, and his win-loss record, though better, wasn’t exactly great (5-6).

Fellow Cub Jason Hammel looked good in his Chicago uniform (8-5, 2.98), but with the A’s he floundered (2-6, 4.26). Even David Price, whose trade from Tampa Bay to Detroit made huge news, only posted a 4-4 slate with the Tigers and an ERA of 3.59 after going 11-8 with a 3.11 ERA with the Rays.

Finally, although the seemingly arbitrary numbers for the following record which was tied in 2014 may be a bit contrived, the accomplishments of the two men involved are noteworthy. Houston’s Jose Altuve joined Ty Cobb as the only big leaguers ever to enjoy a season with 225+ hits, 55 or more extra base hits and more than 55 stolen bases.

Not only does this feat put Altuve in elite company, it also helps shine a spotlight on his early talent— he’s managed this and more in just three full seasons. Just 24, he also topped the majors in hits with 225 and in batting at .341 and he led the American League in steals with 56.

It’s clear that – although the game continues to evolve – the 2014 regular season was not short of remarkable and eye-catching performances across-the-board.

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