‘Six Stats’ you may not know about this year’s Cy Young Award winners
Clayton Kershaw (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Congratulations to Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer for winning this year’s Cy Young awards. For Kershaw, it was his second Cy Young honor in three years, while this was Scherzer’s first. Kershaw becomes the 16th pitcher in major league history to win two or more Cy Young awards in his career.
Here’s six stats you might not know about these pitchers and their honors.
1. Of the 16 pitchers who have won multiple Cy Young awards, Kershaw became the fifth pitcher to win his second award before his 25th birthday (he is also the first left-hander to accomplish this feat). The others: Roger Clemens, Tim Lincecum, Denny McLain and Bret Saberhagen.
2. Kershaw became the third pitcher to win multiple Cy Young honors before he had pitched in 200 games in his career. Clemens had 105 games under his belt when he won his second Cy Young in 1987, and Tim Lincecum had only pitched in 90 major league games when he won his second Cy Young Award. Kershaw has pitched in 184 games in his career.
3. Scherzer, who had a 21-3 record, this season became only the third pitcher in MLB history to win 20 or more games and not have a complete game. Scherzer joins Roger Clemens (he had 20 wins with the Yankees in 2001 and no complete games) and Mike Mussina (he won 20 games in 2008 with the Yankees without a complete game).
4. Kershaw had a record of 16-9 in 2013. He became the sixth starting pitcher to win the Cy Young with less than 17 victories (does not include pitchers who won the awards in strike-shortened 1981 and 1994 seasons). The six starting pitchers to win the Cy Young with less than 17 wins in that season:
1984: Rick Sutcliffe, 16-1
2006: Brandon Webb, 16-8
2009: Tim Lincecum, 15-7
2009: Zack Greinke, 16-8
2010: Felix Hernandez, 13-12
2013: Clayton Kershaw, 16-9
5. Kershaw became the 20th pitcher in the history of the Cy Young Award to win the award with an ERA under 2.00. Kershaw now holds the 11th best ERA of all Cy Young Award winners. The ten pitchers in front of Kershaw: Rollie Fingers (1981) 1.02, Bob Gibson (1968) 1.12, Eric Gagne (2003) 1.20, Dwight Gooden 91985) 1.53, Greg Maddux (1994) 1.56, Greg Maddux (1995) 1.63, Dean Chance (1964) 1.65, Sandy Koufax (1966) 1.73, Ron Guidry (1978) 1.74, Pedro Martinez (2000) 1.74.
6. Scherzer became the sixth pitcher in MLB history to win 20 or more games with three or fewer losses. The six pitchers:
1951: Preacher Roe, Brooklyn, 22-3
1978: Ron Guidry, NY Yankees, 25-3
1988: David Cone, NY Mets, 20-3
2001: Roger Clemens, NY Yankees, 20-3
2008: Cliff Lee, Philadelphia, 22-3
2013: Max Scherzer, Detroit, 21-3
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World Series win gives Red Sox a turnaround for the ages
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Not only did the Boston Red Sox give their hometown fans a gift by allowing them to celebrate a World Series title in Fenway (a 95-year wait), but their victory over the St. Louis Cardinals has given the Angels, Blue Jays, Brewers, Giants, Mariners, Mets, Padres, Phillies and Rockies a glimmer of hope as these teams approach the 2014 MLB season. (The glimmer may be somewhat smaller for the Astros, Cubs, Marlins, Twins and White Sox.)
The Red Sox became the 14th team in MLB history to win the World Series a year after finishing with a winning percentage under .500. In 2012, the Red Sox were 69-93 (a .426 winning percentage). Their .426 winning percentage the year prior to their World Series title is the lowest in major league history.
Here’s a rundown of the teams that won World Series the year following a sub .500 season.
World Series champion year, Team (previous season winning percentage)
2013: Boston Red Sox (.426 in 2012)
2002: Florida Marlins (.488)
2001: Anaheim Angels (.463)
1996: Florida Marlins (.494)
1990: Minnesota Twins (.457)
1989: Cincinnati Reds (.463)
1987: Los Angeles Dodgers (.451)
1986: Minnesota Twins (.438)
1968: New York Mets (.451)
1964: Los Angeles Dodgers (.494)
1958: Los Angeles Dodgers (.461)
1953: New York Giants (.455)
1932: New York Giants (.468)
1913: Boston Braves (.457)
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Torii Hunter, Carlos Beltran hoping to finally get World Series appearance
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Team members and coaches of the Cardinals, Dodgers, Red Sox and Tigers are hoping that their team will get four wins in their respective league championship series and make it to the World Series. For two players, however, that desire for a trip to the World Series may be burning a little hotter than his teammates.
Detroit‘s Torii Hunter and St. Louis Carlos Beltran currently rank second and third on the list of active major league players who have played the most regular season games without playing in the World Series. Hunter has played in 2,091 games and Beltran has 2,064 games under his belt without making an appearance in the World Series. For Beltran, this is his fourth time playing in an LCS (the final stop before the World Series). Hunter is making his third appearance in an LCS; this is the seventh season that he has played in the post-season.
Of players who played in the majors in 2013, Miguel Tejada tops the list; he has played in 2,171 games without getting to the Fall Classic.
Here’s a look at the active players (players who played in 2013) with the most games without playing in the World Series.
Player (2013 team), Games
Miguel Tejada (Kansas City) 2,171
Torii Hunter (Detroit) 2,091
Carlos Beltran (St. Louis) 2,064
Ichiro Suzuki (NY Yankees) 2,061
Aramis Ramirez (Milwaukee) 1,924
Mark Kotsay (San Diego) 1,914
Adam Dunn (Chicago White Sox) 1,870
Vernon Wells (NY Yankees) 1,731
Eric Chavez (Arizona) 1,571
Ramon Hernandez (L.A. Dodgers*) 1,526
* Hernandez was released by the Dodgers in June
While Hunter and Beltran have over 2,000 games played without a World Series appearance, they are still several games short of the all-time leader. Rafael Palmeiro played in 2,831 MLB games in his career, appeared in two LCS and played in the post-season in three seasons. He did not, however, ever see action in the World Series.
Here are the players who played the most games in MLB history without playing in the World Series.
Player, Games
Rafael Palmeiro, 2,831
Ken Griffey Jr., 2,671
Andre Dawson, 2,627
Ernie Banks, 2,528
Julio Franco, 2,527
Billy Williams, 2,488
Rod Carew, 2.469
Luke Appling, 2,422
Mickey Vernon, 2,409
Buddy Bell, 2,405
Four of the players listed above not only never played in the World Series, they also never played in any post-season game. The four: Banks, Appling, Vernon and Bell. Carew made four appearances in the LCS, but his team never won the chance to advance to the World Series.
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
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Cards, Pirates and Reds all reach 90-win mark
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
For the sixth time in the last 20 years, three teams from the same division will win 90 or more games. This year the Cardinals, Pirates and Reds, all playing in the National League Central Division, each won 90-plus (through games of 9/27/13, Cardinals had won 95, the Pirates had won 92 and the Reds had won 90). Major League Baseball went to a three-division format in each league in 1994.
This is the third consecutive year that three teams from the same division have won 90 or more games. Here’s a look at the five previous times this has happened:
A.L. East, 2012: Yankees (95), Orioles, 93, Rays (90)
A.L. East 2011: Yankees (97), Rays (91), Red Sox (90)
A.L. Central, 2006: Twins (96), Tigers (95), White Sox (90)
N.L. West, 2002: Diamondbacks (98), Giants (95), Dodgers (92)
A.L. West, 2002: A’s (103), Angels (99), Mariners (93)
With three teams in the N.L. Central winning 90 games this season, the N.L. East Division is the only division that has not had three teams win 90-plus in the same year since the three-division format began in ’94.
One final note: Of the five previous times when three teams in a division won 90-plus games, none of those teams that won the most games of the three 90-win teams made it to the World Series that year. Ironically, three of the teams that had the second most wins of the 90-win trio made it to the World Series (2002 Angels, 2002 Giants and 2006 Tigers). Could that be good news for the Pirates this season?
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Runaway divisional title no guarantee for World Series
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Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
This season of Major League Baseball marks the 20th anniversary of the sport going to three divisions in each league.
Since 1994, just under 25% of the divisional winners won their division by margin of 10 games or more.
Through games of September 10, two teams (Atlanta and Los Angeles Dodgers) lead their divisions by 10 or more games and one division leader (Boston) has an 8.5 game lead.
Does winning a division by 10 or more games guarantee success in the post-season? Or an assurance of a World Series appearance?
Of the 28 teams that won their division by 10 or more games since 1994, only six made it to the World Series… and only two won the World Series. Here’s a quick look at those six teams:
Won division by 10-plus games and appeared in World Series that year
2011: Texas (won division by 10 games) Lost in World Series
2004: St. Louis (won division by 13 games) Lost in World Series
2001: New York Yankees (won division by 13.5 games) Lost in World Series
1998: New York Yankees (won division by 22 games) Won World Series
1995: Cleveland (won division by 30 games) Lost in World Series
1995: Atlanta (won division by 21 games) Won World Series
Did you know?
* No team won their division by 10 or more games in 2012.
* In 2002, four of the six division champs won their division by 10 or more games. The two teams that did not win their division by 10 games or more, Anaheim and San Francisco, appeared in the World Series that year.
* Five teams have won their division by 20 or more games since 1994. The last to do so were the Angels in 2008. They won the A.L. West by 21 games.
* The Atlanta Braves franchise has won the most division titles by 10 games or more. They have done it five times since ’94. The Yankees and Cardinals have each done it four times.
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