SIX STATS you may not know about… Miguel Cabrera
Miguel Cabrera made his major league debut at age 20 in 2003 with the Florida Marlins by hitting a walk-off home run, at that time the third player in MLB history to hit a game-winning HR in his big league debut. Since then Cabrera has been a nine-time All-Star, two-time league MVP and a triple Crown winner. Recently, Cabrera, who now plays for Detroit, hit his 400th HR and collected his 1,400th RBI within five days of each other.
Following are a few stats you may not know about Cabrera.
1. Cabrera on May 16th became the 53rd player in MLB history to reach 400 home runs. Of the 53 players with 400-plus HRs, Cabrera has the sixth highest career batting average (.320), the ninth highest slugging percentage (.565) and the 12th highest OPS (.962).
2. Cabrera became the 28th right-handed hitter to reach the 400-HR mark. Of the 53 players with 400 career HRs, 25 are already in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
3. Cabrera became the 45th player in baseball history to reach 400 HRs and 1,400 RBI. He was the 70th player to collect 1,400 career RBIs.
4. Since his debut in 2003, Cabrera’s 400 HRs ranks fourth behind Albert Pujols (457), Adam Dunn (417) and David Ortiz (414). His 1,400 RBIs are the most of any player in baseball since ’03. Of players with at least 5,000 at-bats since 2003, Cabrera’s .320 career batting average is first on the list.
5. Cabrera has played for two teams in his 13-year career, five seasons with the Marlins and eight with the Tigers. He ranks fifth on the Marlins all-time list in home runs with 138 and third on the RBI totals with 523. His .313 career batting average in a Marlins uniform is the best in the franchise’s history. He is fourth on Detroit career HR list with 262 four-baggers, 13th on the list with 877 RBI, and sixth in the team’s history with a .326 average.
6. Cabrera is one of only four players to appear in the Top Five in career home runs with two franchises. The four: Cabrera (4th with Detroit; 5th with Florida), Vladimir Guerrero (1st with Washington/Montreal; 5th with L.A. Angels), Rafael Palmeiro (2nd with Texas; 5th with Baltimore), Barry Bonds (2nd with San Francisco; 4th with Pittsburgh)
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The 2014 fall of the Boston Red Sox
No team was happier to see the 2014 MLB season end than the Boston Red Sox. Last year’s World Series champs this season struggled for most of the year and finished 71-91 (.438 winning percentage) 25 games behind the division-winning Baltimore Orioles. The Red Sox also finished in last place in the A.L. East.
If that wasn’t enough, there are a few other stats that help define the Boston collapse:
* Their .438 winning percentage after winning the World Series the previous year was the second worst following season after a World Series title in baseball history. Only the Florida Marlins had a worse drop after a world championship; in 1997 the Marlins won the World Series… the following year they were 54-108 (a .333 winning percentage). That’s the worst drop in winning percentage for a team winning the World Series one year to the next.
* The Red Sox became only the fifth team in MLB history to play under .500 one season, win the World Series the following season, and then finish under .500 the year after winning the title. The others:
L.A. Dodgers: 1987 (.451); won title in 1988; 1989 (.481)
Cincinnati: 1989 (.463); won title in 1990; 1991 (.457)
Florida: 1996 (.494); won title in 1997; 1998 (.333)
Anaheim: 2001 (.463); won title in 2002; 2003 (.475)
The 2012 Red Sox had a .426 winning percentage; they won the title in 2013; their winning percentage in 2014 was .438.
* Boston had the biggest differential in wins from 2013 to 2014. The Red Sox dropped 26 wins… from 97 in 2013 to 71 in 2014. The biggest gain in victories? The L.A. Angels with a +20; they went from 78 wins in 2013 to 98 this past season.
Here’s a look at the teams with the biggest gains (and drops) in wins from 2013 to 2014. (Notice how the top three spots in the biggest gainers are all A.L. West teams.)
Biggest gainers
L.A. Angels +20 (78 to 98)
Houston +19 (51 to 70)
Seattle +16 (71 to 87)
Miami +15 (62 to 77)
San Francisco +12 (76 to 88)
Baltimore +11 (85 to 96)
Chicago White Sox +10 63 to 73)
Washington +10 (86 to 96)
Biggest drops in wins
Boston -26 (97 to 71)
Texas -24 (91 to 67)
Atlanta -17 (96 to 79)
Arizona -17 (81 to 64)
Tampa Bay -15 (92 to 77)
Cincinnati -14 (90 to 76)
Note: Of the 30 MLB teams, 16 improved their win total in 2014 from 2013, one (Philadelphia) had the same win total in 2013 and 2014, and 13 saw a drop in victories from 2013 to 2014. Fourteen of the 30 MLB teams saw a change of at least 10 wins (more wins or fewer wins) from 2013 to 2014.
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