Not quite. It looks like Judge can get to .315331 with a 4-4 day. Arraez is at .31501, but you’re probably right that’s practically, if not mathematically, over.
The 5 best teams in low strikeout percentage (for hitters) all made the playoffs. With the tweaks to the game next year, we may start seeing actual results in being able to watch a game that’s more interesting and less Three True Outcomes focused.
That is good news. Hopefully the trend continues.
Interesting factoid:
The Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, and NY Mets have reached 100 wins. That ties the record from 2019 at 4 teams.
BUT, the Yankees could still get there with a win today and that would set the record.
The Oakland As, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Nationals have all reached 100 losses.
BUT, the Reds could still get there with a loss today and that would tie the record (2019, 2002).
Ohtani hit 162 IP, qualifying him for the ERA title (he’ll finish 4th). He’s 3rd in wins, could tie for 2nd by the end of the day, and 3rd in Ks. 2nd in pitching WAR as well. What a mind-boggling season he’s had.
So is Judge. Not in the lineup for game 162. No Triple Crown winner this year (as with most years).
Arraez actually was in the lineup at DH and went 1 for 2 with two walks. He finished at .316
How bad are the Washington Nationals? From 1921 to 1971, the perennial cellar-dwelling Senators had only one season with a worse W-L percentage (1949) than this year’s Nats.
Well, that’s a wrap. Per my post above, MLB tied the records for both most teams with 100 or more wins and most teams with 100 or more losses at 4 of each.
On a personal note, the Cubs, while not good, were not quite as bad as I thought they would be at the start of the year. There’s something to build on there, I hope.
And my Nationals beat both the Dodgers in the NLDS and the Astros in the World Series on their way to winning the title as the home-field Wild Card team that year.
I don’t think this is a good sign. I guess we’ll see how 2023 goes.
2022 attendance was just over 64 million. The last real season, 2019, it was over 68 million. If you dismiss 2020 and 2021, that year to year drop is an ENORMOUS drop, about five percent, the biggest drop of modern times that didn’t involve Bud Selig cancelling a World Series.
This can probably be explained by the fact no one went to Oakland games. Except some obnoxious drummers.
I’ll be interested to see what next season will bring, this has been such a screwy year of readjusting to things being open and being able to travel.
For me, I went to only 2 games this year, by far my lowest in a normal season since I’ve had an adult job and discretionary income. But I also had a European vacation and had lots of people visiting me over the summer, so I just couldn’t fit games in.
In a microcosm of the disappointing second half of their season, the Brewers lost their final game, to the Diamondbacks, when one of their relievers gave up 3 runs, via two homers, in the top of the 9th. ![]()
O’s finish 83-79, just 2 games over .500, but a 31-game improvement over last year. If they add a few key players here and there, combined with what they’ve got coming up through the farm system, they could be scary good in another season or two.
But the Senators played 40+ games per season combined against the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns. They couldn’t all lose at the same time when they played head to head.
Mike Trout hit 40 HRs and didn’t even have enough at bats to qualify for the batting title. Can the Angels organization reach sentience and remove themselves from Arte Moreno’s evil clutches?
They were legitimately relevant this year all the way up to the end. That’s an accomplishment. Most teams don’t get anywhere near that.
While this record is 2 more wins than a .500 record, I always thought that 83-79 would be 4 games over .500.
My Google-fu is failing to help me in ascertaining if this is a first.
ETA: I remembered that Hank Aaron did this, in 1973. Aaron actually had 34 fewer plate appearances than Trout did this year.