It’s one thing to come in last place in Major League Baseball. It’s another thing to come in last place and to be so far out of first place that you set a record.

That’s what happened to the Baltimore Orioles this past season. The O’s finished in last place in the American League East, 61 games behind first place Boston. That’s right… 61 games out of first place.

The 61 games out of first place stat are the most games behind by a team in the majors since baseball went to a three-division format in 1994. Prior to that, the record was held by the 1998 Florida Marlins who finished 52 games out of first place in the National League East.

Following are the teams that finished more than 40 games (or more) out of first place in their division since 1994.

National League
2017: San Francisco, N.L. West, 40 games behind
2012: Houston, N.L. Central, 42 games behind
2011: Houston, N.L. Central, 40 games behind
2004: Arizona, N.L. West, 42 games behind
2002: Milwaukee, N.L. Central, 41 games behind
1998: Florida, N.L. East, 52 games behind

American League
2018: Baltimore, A.L. East, 61 games behind
2013: Houston, A.L. West, 45 games behind
2005: Kansas City, A.L. Central, 43 games behind
2003: Detroit, A.L. Central, 47 games behind
2002: Tampa Bay, A.L. East, 48 games behind
2001: Texas, A.L. West, 43 games behind
2001: Anaheim, A.L. West, 41 games behind
1998: Tampa Bay, A.L. East, 51 games behind
1995: Minnesota, A.L. Central, 44 games behind

Adrian Beltre retires
Adrian Beltre recently announced his retirement. He began his career in 1998 at the age of 19 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. A sure-fire Hall of Famer, Beltre had a career .286 average with 477 home runs, 1,707 RBI and 3,166 hits.

Beltre is also one of only 21 players in baseball history to end their careers with 12,000 or more plate appearances. He had 12,130, good enough for 17^th on the all-time list.

Here are the 21 players with 12,000 or more plate appearances in a career: Pete Rose (15,890), Carl Yastrzemski (13,992), Hank Aaron (13,941), Rickey Henderson (13,346), Ty Cobb (13,099), Cal Ripken (12,883), Eddie Murray (12,817), Stan Musial (12,718), Barry Bonds (12,606), Derek Jeter (12,602), Craig Biggio (12,504), Willie Mays (12,496), Dave Winfield (12,358), Robin Yount (12,249), Alex Rodriguez (12,207), Paul Molitor 12,167), Adrian Beltre (12,130), Eddie Collins (12,078), Rafael Palmeiro (12,046), Omar Vizquel (12,013) and Tris Speaker (12,011).

Christian Yelich – Part One
The numbers were enough to give him a straight path to the 2018 National League MVP: 110 RBI, 118 runs scored, 36 home runs, 22 stolen bases, a .326 batting average. With those stats, Christian Yelich also became the 19^th player in baseball history to have 100 or more RBI, 100 or more runs, 30 or more HRs, 20 or more stolen bases, and a batting average of .320 or better in a season. (It’s interesting to note that fellow Brewer Ryan Braun is the only player in history to reach these numbers in two seasons.)

Here are the 19 players who have accomplished these numbers in a season:

2018: Christian Yelich (Milwaukee)

2015: Paul Goldschmidt (Arizona)

2011: Matt Kemp (L.A. Dodgers), Jacoby Ellsbury (Boston), Ryan Braun (Milwaukee)

2010: Carlos Gonzalez (Colorado)

2009: Ryan Braun (Milwaukee)

2007: David Wright (N.Y. Mets)
2005: Alex Rodriguez (N.Y. Yankees)

2002: Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal)

1999: Ivan Rodriguez (Texas)

1997: Larry Walker (Colorado)

1996: Ellis Burks (Colorado)

1993: Barry Bonds (San Francisco)

1978: Dave Parker (Pittsburgh)

1970: Carl Yastrzemski (Boston)

1961: Hank Aaron (Milwaukee), Frank Robinson (Cincinnati)

1932: Chuck Klein (Philadelphia)

1922: Ken Williams (St. Louis Browns)

Christian Yelich – Part Two

Yelich became the eighth Brewers player to hit 30 or more home runs for the team before he turned 27. (Yelich turns 27 on December 5^th.)

Following are the seasons when a Brewers player had 30 or more HRs before turning 27 (age for the season as of June 30 of that year).

Player, year                    Home Runs                   Age

Rob Deer, 1986                     33                           25

Geoff Jenkins, 2000             34                           25
Richie Sexson, 2001             45                           26
Bill Hall, 2006                        35                           26
Ryan Braun, 2007                 34                           23
Prince Fielder, 2007             50                           23
Ryan Braun, 2008                 37                           24
Prince Fielder, 2008             34                           24
Ryan Braun, 2009                 32                           25
Prince Fielder, 2009             46                           25
Prince Fielder, 2010             32                           26
Domingo Santana, 2017      30                           24
Christian Yelich, 2018          36                           26

Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp