The 2012 baseball regular season was one of excitement and surprises.
Only part of the story is what was seen from game to game, and taking a closer
look at numbers can bring even more richness to what transpired over the past
six months. I love statistics, particularly when they are within the context of
baseball, and while completely useless, there are all sorts of interesting
numbers from this past year that elaborate on another great season. Just a few
that I found include:
***Knuckleball pitchers are known for their inability to hold base
runners, as evidenced by the Niekro brothers, Charlie Hough, Tom Candiotti, and
Tim Wakefield, who allowed a combined 2,000 stolen bases during their
illustrious careers. By comparison only 7 players even attempted to steal against
R.A. Dickey this season, with only 4 (Everth Cabrera, Todd Frazier, Dexter
Fowler, and Jose Reyes) being successful.
***The Minnesota Twins weren’t very good, going 66-96, but when they
won, more often than not it was because of star Joe Mauer. The catcher played
in 59 of those wins, hitting a blistering .433 with 7 home runs, 63 RBI, and a
Bondsian .520 OBP.
***Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel was a strikeout machine, fanning
an unbelievable 16.7 per nine innings. Even more impressive were his 120 total strikeouts,
which were 18 more than team ace Tim Hudson, despite pitching in 116.1 fewer
innings.
*** Kimbrel failed to record a strikeout in only 7 of his 63 games.
Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman was even better, failing to punch out at
least one hitter in only 6 of his 68 games
***Fernando Rodney was nearly unhittable as the Tampa closer, posting a
0.60 ERA on the year. He only strengthened as the season wore, on, allowing
just 1 earned run after the All Star Break; good for a 0.25 ERA in his final 36
games.
***Orioles’ slugger Mark Reynolds made the most of playing the majority
of his games in the AL East. In divisional games (61) he hit .255 with 17 home
runs and 42 RBI. In his other 74 games he slumped to just .191/6/27.
***Adam Dunn turned out to be pretty predictable, striking out (222), walking
(105), or homering (41) in 56.7% of his plate appearances.
***The Colorado Rockies had the worst team ERA in the majors at 5.22. They
were so putrid that only one pitcher, Jeff Francis (113), even cracked 100
innings on the year.
***The Boston Red Sox were 43-32 when rookie Will Middlebrooks played,
and 26-61 in all other games.
***The Pittsburgh Pirates starting outfield of Alex Presley, Andrew
McCutchen, and Jose Tabata combined for 137 RBI, which were only 9 more than outfielder
Josh Hamilton had all on his own in 710 fewer at bats.
***J.D. Martinez led the Houston Astros with 55 RBI, which is the lowest
number to lead a team since catcher Tom Haller drove in 53 with the 1968 Los
Angeles Dodgers.
***Mike Trout stole an impressive 49 bases, while getting thrown out
just 5 times. The Mariners had his number, as they nabbed him 3 times. By
contrast, Trout stole 15 bases in 16 attempts in just 18 interleague games.
*** The last time Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched without walking at least one
hitter was July 11, 2010, against the Toronto Blue Jays- a streak of 32 consecutive
games.
***Clayton Kershaw hasn’t allowed 10 hits in a game since July 22, 2008
against the Rockies, during his rookie season- meaning his current streak stands
at 142 consecutive games. In fact that game marks the only time he has allowed
double digits hits in his career.
***The last time Justin Verlander went less than 5 innings in a game was
June 22, 2010, when he lasted 2 innings in an 8-5 loss to the New York Mets.
Since then he has made 85 consecutive 5+ inning starts.
***Although he only hit 9 home runs on the year, San Diego Padres
outfielder Cameron Maybin led the majors in average homer distance, with an
impressive 427.1 feet per blast. His stats were padded by a 485 foot bomb he
hit against the Trevor Cahill and the Diamondbacks on July 2nd.
Much of the beauty of baseball is that behind every statistic there are
a hundred stories that can be told. These stories spawn debate and discussion,
and are a prime reason why fans are so drawn to the game and constantly seeking
new ways to interpret what they have seen. These numbers may be relatively
useless in the grand scheme of things, but they are part of the lifeblood of the
game, and that makes them worthwhile to many.
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