The baseball season has dwindled to its remaining month, and there’s a minimal quantity of suspense.
The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees seem prone to battle for the American League East title all the best way to the tip, the AL Central race is tantalizingly tight, and that’s about it. The opposite divisions appear to be (almost) settled, and the wild-card races aren’t all that shut.
And but, you by no means know.
It’s doable for a workforce to all of a sudden get sizzling — actually sizzling — within the final month of the season. The first instance comes from 2017, when Cleveland’s AL membership, then generally known as the Indians, ran off a 22-game profitable streak between the ultimate week of August and the center of the next month.
The Indians already held a 4.5-game lead within the AL Central when the streak started, a margin they expanded to 13.5 video games by mid-September. Their total file for the ultimate month was 26-4, and their profitable share of .867 stays the best for any membership within the Trendy Period (1961 to the current) after the tip of August.
Listed beneath are the ten golf equipment with the perfect information in September (and early October, if the schedule ran that lengthy) since ‘61. Every is listed with its wins, losses, and profitable share by way of the tip of August, adopted by the identical stats for the interval after that.
All 10 of those golf equipment certified for the playoffs, together with three that had been outdoors the postseason image as of September 1 (the 1974 Orioles, 1995 Yankees, and 2013 Indians). However not one of the 10 went on to win its league pennant. A lot for the idea of momentum.
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1. Indians 2017 (by way of August: 76-56, .576; after: 26-4, .867)
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2. Athletics 2001 (by way of August: 79-56, .585; after: 23-4, .852)
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3. Royals 1977 (by way of August: 76-54, .585; after: 26-6, .813)
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4. Orioles 1974 (by way of August: 66-65, .504; after: 25-6, .806)
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5. White Sox 1983 (by way of August: 75-57, .568; after: 24-6, .800)
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6. Mets 1988 (by way of August: 78-54, .591; after: 22-6, .786)
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6. Yankees 1995 (by way of August: 57-59, .491; after: 22-6, .786)
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8. Cardinals 2002 (by way of August: 76-59, .563; after: 21-6, .778)
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8. Indians 2013 (by way of August: 71-64, .526; after: 21-6, .778)
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8. Astros 2018 (by way of August: 82-53, .607; after: 21-6, .778)
You knew it was coming. The next listing is the flip facet of the one above, exhibiting the ten Trendy Period groups that ran up the worst information after the tip of August.
The 2002 Baltimore Orioles high the listing. They performed respectably properly by way of the tip of August — not nice, however fairly near .500 with a 63-71 file. That’s when the wheels got here off.
The Orioles misplaced 24 of their remaining 28 video games, together with the final 12 on their schedule. Baltimore had been third within the American League East originally of the ultimate month, but it surely completed fourth, 36.5 video games out of first. Solely the horrendous play of the Tampa Bay Satan Rays (48 video games out) saved them from ending final.
Listed below are the ten weakest stretch drives since 1961:
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1. Orioles 2002 (by way of August: 63-71, .470; after: 4-24, .143)
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2. Blue Jays 1978 (by way of August: 55-80, .407; after: 4-22, .154)
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2. Tigers 1996 (by way of August: 49-87, .360; after: 4-22, .154)
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4. Rangers 1972 (by way of August: 49-76, .392; after: 5-24, .172)
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5. Pirates 1998 (by way of August: 64-71, .474; after: 5-22, .185)
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6. Tigers 1975 (by way of August: 52-81, .391; after: 5-21, .192)
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6. Tigers 2002 (by way of August: 50-85, .370; after: 5-21, .192)
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6. Giants 2018 (by way of August: 68-68, .500; after: 5-21, .192)
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9. Orioles 2008 (by way of August: 63-73, .463; after: 5-20, .200)
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9. Tigers 2017 (by way of August: 58-74, .439; after: 6-24, .200)
I’ve received the answer to the woes besetting the Chicago White Sox. They need to play solely the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays. No person else.
Chicago had gone 5-5 in opposition to the Guardians and 4-2 versus the Rays when the present season hit the 21-week milestone on August 22. That’s a mixed file of 9-7 for a profitable share of .563. Fairly good.
The Sox had gained two video games apiece from a half-dozen golf equipment at that time: the Astros, Braves, Cardinals, Nationals, Crimson Sox, and Rockies. Their file in opposition to these six groups was 12-10 (.545).
The remainder of the information is discouraging, as you’d anticipate from a membership that shot previous 100 defeats earlier than the tip of August. The White Sox had a single win this yr in opposition to every of 10 groups, together with equivalent 1-12 marks in opposition to two divisional foes, the Royals and Twins. Chicago’s mixed file in opposition to these 10 golf equipment was 10-53 (.159).
That leaves eight groups that gained each single sport, leaving the White Sox with a file of 0-27 (.000) in opposition to them. (The Sox had not but confronted the Angels, Mets, and Padres after 21 weeks of play.)
In the present day’s graph breaks down these sad stats from a really, very sad season:
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4 lively pitchers have labored greater than 2,200 innings of their careers. In the present day’s quiz pits them in 5 totally different classes, difficult you to choose the general leaders by way of the 21-week mark (August 22) of the 2024 season.
Scroll to the underside of this text for the solutions.
1. Who has probably the most profession wins?
2. Whose profession ERA is the perfect?
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A. Johnny Cueto
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B. Clayton Kershaw
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C. Max Scherzer
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D. Justin Verlander
3. Who has accrued probably the most strikeouts?
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A. Johnny Cueto
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B. Clayton Kershaw
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C. Max Scherzer
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D. Justin Verlander
4. Who has labored probably the most full video games?
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A. Johnny Cueto
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B. Clayton Kershaw
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C. Max Scherzer
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D. Justin Verlander
5. Who has hit probably the most batters?
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A. Johnny Cueto
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B. Clayton Kershaw
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C. Max Scherzer
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D. Justin Verlander
Shohei Ohtani, the famous person designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is on monitor for an unprecedented 50-50 season.
Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. got here closest to 50-50 when he bashed 41 house runs and stole 73 bases in 2023, a tremendous demonstration of energy and velocity. However he nonetheless fell 9 homers wanting 50 in that class.
It stays to be seen if Ohtani can attain each requirements, although he has proven a capability to rapidly add numbers on both sides of the ledger. He had eight video games (within the first 21 weeks) this yr through which he hit not less than one house run and stole a number of bases.
Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds and Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets are the runners-up with six HR/SB video games apiece. A complete of eight gamers have had 4 or extra of those double-threat performances in 2024. Right here, with because of Baseball Reference, is the listing:
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1. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers, 8 video games
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2. Elly De La Cruz, Reds, 6 video games
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2. Francisco Lindor, Mets, 6 video games
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4. Luis Garcia Jr., Nationals, 5 video games
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4. Gunnar Henderson, Orioles, 5 video games
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6. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Marlins-Yankees, 4 video games
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6. Jarren Duran, Crimson Sox, 4 video games
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6. Spencer Steer, Reds, 4 video games
The Detroit Tigers took their foot off the gasoline through the week of August 27 to September 2, 1984.
The pennant race within the American League East, for all intents and functions, was over. The ’84 Tigers (who rank as the perfect workforce of baseball’s Trendy Period) started the week with a 12-game lead over the second-place Toronto Blue Jays.
Detroit bookended the seven-day interval with wins over the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics, however misplaced the 4 video games in between. Essentially the most heartbreaking defeat was a 13-inning loss to the A’s, 7-6, on August 31. Mike Davis scored the profitable run for Oakland on a wild pitch by Dave Rozema.
The Tigers nonetheless had a powerful 88-49 file on the morning of September 3, although their lead over Toronto had slipped to eight.5 video games.
The week of August 27 to September 2, 1962, began very properly for the New York Mets, who had been destined to undergo 120 defeats that yr.
Pitcher Al Jackson tossed a three-hit shutout in opposition to the Philadelphia Phillies on August 28, profitable 2-0. It was Jackson’s seventh victory of the season (in opposition to 17 defeats).
However the Phillies gained the remaining three video games of their collection, and the Mets then dropped a pair to the St. Louis Cardinals. The week ended with one other uncommon victory, 4-3 over the Playing cards on September 2. Jackson was the profitable pitcher once more.
Their loss to Philadelphia on August twenty ninth was the a hundredth of the yr for the Mets. They ended the week with a 35-103 file, deep in final place within the Nationwide League, 55.5 video games behind the frontrunning Los Angeles Dodgers.
1-D. (Verlander holds a considerable lead over the sector. His 260 profession wins are 44 forward of runner-up Scherzer’s 216.)
2-B. (It’s Kershaw by a mile. His profession ERA is 2.48, adopted by Scherzer at 3.16.)
3-C. (Scherzer has 3,405 strikeouts, simply six forward of Verlander’s 3,399. The opposite two are far again.)
4-D. (Verlander has 26 full video games to his credit score, edging forward of Kershaw’s 25.)
5-A. (Cueto has pitched the fewest innings among the many foursome, but he has piled up probably the most HBPs, 120 in all. Verlander is subsequent with 113 hit batters.)
