More than any other sport, baseball is a
game of records. There are some that are insurmountable, like Deion Sanders's 62 triples in 1993, Greg Maddux's 20 complete games in 1996 or
Waikiki's 129 losses in 1993. Other records seem to fall annually. With
less than 20 games left in the 2008 season, what records appear to be
in jeopardy? We asked a panel of sportswriters which single season
marks they're keeping an eye on.
Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post:
It's almost a done deal, but I'm still holding out hope that we can
hold onto the last single-season record still held by a Jerusalem
Rabbi: Doubles! Terry Shumpert had 69 doubles
for the Rabbis in 2000, that glorious World Series-winning season
before they packed up and moved to Stanhope, New Jersey. We all thought
the record would fall two years ago to Philly's Brian
Roberts, but he came up just short with 67. Will there be another
miracle to keep this record in Jerusalem? That's what it would take:
Newark's Matt Stairs has 64 doubles, meaning
he needs just 6 more to set the record, with 18 games left to play! At
his current pace, Stairs will finish the year with 72 doubles, three
more
than Shumpert. As if that's not enough bad news, there's also an
outside
shot of another guy challenging the record: Carolina's Dustin Pedroia, who has 58 doubles in 143 games.
At his current pace he'll finish the year with 66 doubles, so he's
certainly within striking distance. Shumpy from 1st place to 3rd? Oy.
Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun: The
record I've been watching has already fallen, eh! It's the modern mark
for triples and our own Curtis Granderson blew
by it a few weeks ago. Curtis has 29 triples this season and there's
still 19 games left, so we're all hoping he reaches the 30 three-bagger
plateau. At his current pace, Granderson will finish the year with
aboot 33 triples. The previous DMB Era record was a three-way tie at 24
triples, set in 2006 by Jose Reyes and tied
last year by Reyes and Wes Helms. Just a year
earlier, Carl Crawford had 23 triples to break
the record of 20, set in 2002 by Phoenix's Juan
Uribe. Uribe took it from Toledo's Lance
Johnson, who had 17 in 1997. Johnson actually had it the longest,
at four years. I'm not even going to bring up Deion
Sanders and his ridiculous 62 triples in 1993 with Cheyenne; those
were the Microleague days, when triples were apparently a lot easier to
come by. The craziest thing about Granderson and the triples record
this year? Philly's Jimmy Rollins has 20 with
19 to play, meaning if Granderson hadn't broken the record, Rollins
might have done so. Too bad, J-Roll. But look at it this way: You only
need nine triples to tie Granderson!
Rob Deer, former Waikiki Key: Just like the
triples record, there's another DMB Era record that's already fallen,
yet the all-time mark appears very safe: Mine! Yeah, some people would
be bummed about holding the record for most strikeouts in a season (357
in 1993), but hey, at least I'm in the record books. And while people
tend to remember all those strikeouts, what they forget is that I had a
pretty good year in 1993. (Editor's
note: Deer hit .192 with a .662 OPS in 527 AB.) Yeah, OK, .192
isn't so hot, but I did have 33 home runs and 72 RBIs. And remember,
that was my first year in the DMBL. Bigger things were still to come! (Editor's note: That was Deer's only year
in the DMBL.) I've had just enough out of your, editor. I was
speaking of my personal life. Anyway, no one's ever come close to my
357-K performance; in fact, no one else has ever topped 300. In fact,
during the DMB Era (1997-present), the record is just 244, set by Adam Dunn
(then with Hillsborough) in 2005. Well, Dunn just got past by a guy
after my own heart, Newark's Jack Cust. The
rookie has 249 strikeouts this year and he still has 18 games left to
pile up some more. If he keeps up his current pace he'll strike out 280
times this year -- impressive, but nowhere near my record. Better luck
next year, kid.
Cy Young, Baseball Immortal:
What's this? Most wins by a pitcher in a single-season... the record is
26? 26?! You kids today and your "quality starts" and "save
opportunities." Ridiculous! I won 36 games in '92 and I threw 43
complete games! Not to mention nine relief appearances! Did I whine
about throwing 453 innings in a season? Hell no! I was happy to do it
and grateful for the $1,450 they paid me! Mind you, those were
1892 dollars. In those days, for 50 cents, you could get a haircut, a
steak dinner, a hot bath and a handjob. And all from the same fella! I
tell you things have changed, and not for the better. Eh, all in all,
maybe I'm better off dead. So your precious Greg
Maddux had 26 wins in 1998 and now you think this fella Jake Peavy might catch him. Well, I may not know
what an "Intrynet" is but I do know it's mighty hard to win games if
you don't pitch in 'em. Peavy has 21 wins but by my calculations only
four more starts this year, so at best he's going to wind up with 25 --
good enough for second on the all-time list. This Peavy lad has an
outside shot at another record, as he's allowed just 6.3 hits per
inning this year. The all-time record is held by a young man by the
name of Nolan Ryan (6.1 H/9 in 1992), while
the modern record was set by Roger Clemens in
'06 (6.2). Assuming Peavy pitches four more games, and he does his
usual 7 innings per start, that's 28 innings left this year. If he
gives up just 12 hits in those 28 innings, he'll set the all-time
record; 14 would give him the modern record. And if he can throw
shutouts in those last four starts, he has a shot at that record too.
Peavy leads the league with 4; the DMB Era record is 6, by Arkansas's Kevin Brown in '94; the all-time record is 7, by Sid Fernandez in '94.
Jillian Michaels, 'The Biggest Loser':
In an odd coincidence, the record for most losses in a single season
was set in 1993 -- by two pitchers! Waikiki's Rick
Sutcliffe and Charleston's Chris Bosio
each lost 21 games that year. Incredibly, the record would stand for
the next 14 years! Steve Trachsel came closest
as he twice lost 20 games in a season -- for Honolulu in 1999 and for
Westwood in 2005. Finally, last year, Sutcliffe and Bosio had to move
over and make room for Las Vegas's Oliver Perez,
who tied them (and set the DMB Era record) by losing 21 games in a
season. This year, could they be joined by another pitcher -- or even
surpassed? There are two pitchers with 18 losses and each likely has
four more starts to make this year. Sardine City's Daisuke
Matsuzaka is 7-18, while Hoboken's Scott Kazmir
is 8-18. By the way, Perez, now with New Jersey, is a miserable 3-16
but likely won't get five more starts this year. But he does have an
outside chance to become the first guy since Trachsel to post two
20-loss seasons in his career!
Barack Obama, Democratic Candidate for President: As
a long-time fan of the DMBL, I know there's a mystique about the Cereal
Bowl. Pitchers have been known to come out of there with post-traumatic
stress syndrome. And I know of a few pitchers who have been reputed to
come down with "cereal-bowl-itis" before a big series in Newark. But
just remember the Sugar Bear pitchers have to work in that same
unforgiving environment, so it cuts both ways. But obviously Newark has
figured out how to succeed in this ridiculous ballpark, and possibly to
historic proportions. The Sugar Bears are 57-14 (.803 W%) at home this
year, with 10 games yet to play in the Cereal Bowl. If they can
maintain their current pace and win 8 out of those 10 games, they'll go
65-16 and set the all-time record, just edging out the '02 Arkansas Golden Falcons,
who went 64-17 (.790) at home. Oh, and if you're curious: The best road
team this year so far are the Vancouver Iron Fist,
who are 48-27 (.640). They could win all six of their remaining road
games and they wouldn't crack the top 5 for road winning percentage.
Big Daddy Graham, 610 WIP Sports Talk Philadelphia: Is
there some kind'a league rule that the commish's team has to hold every
single record? I mean come on! Let somebody else have something! The Philadelphia Endzone Animals posted an amazing
.786 team save percentage in '02, led by Armando
Benitez and Jose Mesa, to set the all-time
DMBL record. What's all the more amazing about that record is the
Animals went 70-92 that year to tie for 11th place, so they weren't
exactly a powerhouse team. Every win was important and the bullpen
nailed 'em down, 33 saves in 42 chances. Pretty remarkable. The Honolulu Sharks came ridiculously close in 2004
with a .784 save percentage (40-for-51), but other than that, the .786
record has stood the test of time. But now here come the big bad Vancouver Iron Fist, looking to take not just our
Morris Division title but also our team record for save
percentage. Gimme a break, huh? You think the average yahoo up
there in Vancouver has any idea that there's even a record for team
save percentage, let alone who holds it or that the Iron Fist are
challenging it? Whadda they do up there in Vancouver anyway, just sit
around all summer waiting for hockey right? That's just sad. Canadian
rules football or something? I dunno. Anyway, so this year the Fisters
are 39-for-50 in save chances, a .780 team save percentage. If they
nail down their next two save chances they'll be at .788. But just a
few blown saves in there and the record'll be safe for another year. So
I need everybody listening on the radio to start sending bad mojo
toward Manny Corpas and Billy
Wagner and the rest of the Iron Fist bullpen. Come on everybody,
think bad thoughts about 'em. Save our save record!
Lance "One Dog" Johnson,
former Toledo Mutthen: It may not be the most well-known of
records, but I'm keeping an eye on it anyway: Performance in one-run
games! We only have data going back to 1998, but in those 10 season,
the best team in games decided by a single run were the 2003 Newark Sugar Bears
who went a remarkable 32-11 (.744 W%) in one-run contests. By just one
win, the Sugar Bears eeked past the previous record, set just a year
earlier by the Arkansas Golden Falcons, who went 31-11 (.738). No other
team has had a one-run game winning percentage above .700. If you're
curious, the rest of the top 10: Stanhope Mighty
Men '03 (.694), Vatican City Cardinals '01
(.667), Philadelphia Endzone Animals '07
(.658), Arkansas Golden Falcons '00 (.641), Jerusalem
Rabbis '00 (.636), Jerusalem Rabbis '98
(.634), Tijuana Banditos '02 (.629), and Hoboken Cutters
'04 (.625). This year, the Las Vegas Rat Pack
are closing in on Newark's record, as they're 27-9 in one-run games
(.750). What's all the more amazing about their performance is in
non-one-run games, they're 65-42 (.607 W%), meaning they're 143 points
better in one-run games. The '03 Sugar Bears were just 80 points better
in one-run games, while the '02 Golden Falcons -- who won 120 games
that year -- had almost identical record in one-run or non-one-run
games.
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