Now that the MLB schedule is set for 60 games this year, there are thousands of new stories to be written on various “60-game” topics. Today, we focus on those articles which center around the never before seen season that we are about to experience.
Best 60-game record for each MLB team | MLB.com
It’s no fun to have to lead with the division-rival Dodgers, but in an article about every team’s best 60 game stretch, there’s no other place to start than here. In 2017, the Dodgers went 51-9. If that doesn’t sound impressive enough by itself, here’s some perspective. In 162 games last year, the Detroit Tigers won a total of 47 games. That run for the Dodgers expanded their NL West lead from two games to 20. Fingers crossed they don’t do that this year.
While I expected to see 2007 when I got to the Rockies portion of the article, 2009 actually brought about the best stretch in franchise history. Between June 4 and August 10, the Rockies put together a 42-18 run that firmly planted them in the playoff picture, eventually leading to a wild card berth. The usual suspects of that era did the heavy lifting: Troy Tulowitzki, Todd Helton, and Ubaldo Jiménez.
MLB players first 60 games big performances | MLB.com
Speaking of Ubaldo Jiménez, his epic start to the 2010 season made this MLB list looking at some of the craziest 60 game feats. It’s hard for any Rockies fans to forget just how magnificent that year began for Ubaldo. 60 games in and Jiménez stood with a minuscule 0.93 ERA (and 1.29 at Coors Field nonetheless). Through those first 12 starts, hitters were only managing a .176 batting average and on a special April 17 in Atlanta, opposing hitters put together a grand total of zero hits. As of now, it sadly looks like Ubaldo won’t be making an appearance on the Rockies 2020 roster, the potential comeback that had many Rockies fans feeling nostalgic may just fall short. But with a 60 game schedule on tap for the year, the Rockies would love to have a similar stretch from one of their current pitchers.
Just about every article you read about baseball these days talks about how chaotic a 60-game season will be, with valid reason. Some “bad” teams will be good and not have the time to get bad. Some “good” teams will be bad and run out of games to get good. Great starts for individuals will equal great full seasons. And various leaderboards will probably be topped by unexpected players, maybe even someone we haven’t heard of (except for Mike Trout, it’s probably a pretty safe bet that he’ll finish first in at least one stat).
The moral of the story here is that 60 games means some crazy things are going to happen. If you’ve been following our Sim Rockies, you’ll just be glad the Rockies have a do-over on their first 60 games.
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