Since June of 1920, there have been 138 pitchers to wend and wield and wind and whiff and wow to the tune and rhythm of at least five starts and five wins with no losses during this first month of summer. Athletics right-hander Slim Harriss was the first to brand […]
The 2025 Cubs – first in the NL Central, pouring out 5.49 runs per game (second best in the Majors) – can look themselves in the mirror and see four qualifying players with an OPS+ of at least 140: Kyle Tucker comes in with a 155, Michael Busch holds a […]
Below, there will be a few words and pursuits dedicated to, among others, left-handed starters Tarik Skubal, Robbie Ray, Kris Bubic and Jesús Luzardo. It was not only a jazzy Sunday for these southpaws, it’s been mostly effective and sometimes superbly spirited seasons for this quartet, who are four of […]
In 2024, Shohei Ohtani produced 411 total bases and tied Barry Bonds from 2001 for the 10th most in National League history. Through 43 team games last year, the eventual league MVP and scripter of one of the more joyously outlandish offensive seasons ever had 108 total bases. This year, […]
Stan Musial is famous for a lot of things when it comes to feats on the diamond. Considering the abundance his 22-year saga provided, the very beginnings of that journey are perhaps a bit overshadowed by what followed. But like so much of his career symphony, the overture was pretty […]
The 2007 Devil Rays finished the year 30 games below .500 and posted their 10th losing season in as many years of existence (it was also the ninth time in those 10 seasons the club had failed to reach even 70 victories). Pretty bleak, for certain. But on September 5 […]
On April 22, 1983, George Brett, batting genius, stroked a double as his Royals improved to 7-4 on the year. The two-base hit gave the future Hall of Famer nine doubles to go along with four home runs and gave him more extra-base hits through his club’s first 11 games […]
Almost exactly one year ago, 27-year-old Tarik Skubal opened the Tigers’ season with six innings of three-hit, no-run ball. The 1-0 final in Detroit’s favor was, in a way, the initial abracadabra in what turned out to be a magical, fantastical year for both pitcher and team. Now, Skubal – […]
For his efforts during the 1999 season, Pedro Martínez was the unanimous winner of the AL Cy Young Award. “Efforts” is probably the most mundane, vanilla, blah descriptive ever for the right-hander’s season, for it was a supernova display, a realization of a magician and genius at the height of […]
Collectively, the 20 most recent postseasons (2005-2024) have produced 85 examples of a starting pitcher finishing his work with at least seven innings and no runs allowed. Strolling through the list, one finds that Giants’ hurlers have the most such efforts, with 11. The Dodgers, Phillies and Tigers come next […]