MLB milestone watch Acua Verlander Phill
Playoff berths and playoff positions are still on the line as we enter the final two weeks of the MLB season. Individual awards are still up for grabs, for the most part. Mike Trout is safe as the AL MVP, despite his season ,but there are cases to Stephon Gilmore Jerseys be made or blown over the remaining handful of games.
And there are a couple of milestones on the line, too. Lets take a look at three of them two good, one not so positive.
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Ronald Acua: 40-40The milestone: 40 homers, 40 stolen bases in a season
What he needs: 1homer, 4stolen bases
Thoughts: Acua is 21 years old. Twenty-one! His power/speed combo season 39 homers and 36 stolen bases so far would be pretty amazing for any player at any age, but to make a legit run at a 40-40 season at 21 years old (he doesnt turn 22 until December) is unprecedented. Heres a comprehensive list of MLB players other than Acuna to have even 30 homers and 30 stolen bases before the end of their Age 21 season: Trout, Mike (30 homers, 49 stolen bases in 2012). Thats it. Thats the entire list, just Trout and Acua.
And only four players (of any age) have compiled seasons of 40 homers Deonte Brown Jerseys and 40 stolen bases in MLB history. Jose Canseco was the first (42 homers, 40 stolen bases in 1988), followed by Barry Bonds in 1996 (42-40), Alex Rodriguez in 1998 (42-46) and Alfonso Soriano (46-41). A-Rod, by the way, was in his Age 22 season, and Canseco was in his Age 23 year.
And this is mostly unrelated, but the Braves have a shot at finishing with three players with at least 40 homers. Thats only happened three times: Atlanta in 1973, Colorado in 1996 and 1997. Acua, as mentioned, has 39, Freddie Freeman has 38 and Josh Donaldson has 37.
Justin Verlander: 3,000The milestone: 3,000 career strikeouts
What he needs: 19 strikeouts
Thoughts: Verlander isnt just a veteran hanging around collecting counting stats. He finished second in the AL Cy Young voting last year and is the odds-on favorite to take home that award this season. In his past 11 starts, hes recorded double-digit strikeouts nine times.
Hes set up to start at least two more games: Tuesday at home against the Rangers and Sept. 22 at home against the Angels. And if the games still matter in the race for home-field advantage in October, Verlander could make a third start on full rest in the season-ending series on the road against the Angels. If he makes that start (seems likely that hed at least throw a few innings to keep on a regular rotation schedule), hes a solid bet to get those 19 needed strikeouts. There are only 17 members of the 3,000-strikeout club, btw, a group that CC Sabathia joined early this season.
Phillies: 11,000The milestone Austin Corbett Jerseys :11,000 lo ses as a franchise
What they DONT need: Ninemore lo ses in their final 14 games
Thoughts: The Phillies have more lo ses than any other franchise, which says two things: Theyve been around a long, long time (137 years), and theyve lost a lot of baseball games (78 seasons under .500). Even though they cant avoid being the first franchise to hit the 11,000-lo s mark (they have 10,991and the Braves are next, with a relatively distant 10,652), it would be particularly cruel if they get to that markthis year, a season that started with sky-high expectations but has been, overall, pretty disappointing.
And I know what youre thinking: As long as they dont fall apart down the stretch, theyll avoid this Kamal Martin Jerseys milestone of futility. And thats true. But heres the thing: They've already lost seven of their past 11 games (including two at home to Boston this weekend) and no team faces a more difficult stretch run than the Phillies.
They're about to play11 consecutive games on the road against playoff-caliber teams: three in Atlanta, three in Cleveland and five in Washington. Yeah. The five contests in D.C. includea double-headerSept. 24. They finish with three at home against the Marlins, but if that road trip turns into a disaster remember how they lost 11 of their last 15 games last season? that series might not even matter.
Playoff berths and playoff positions are still on the line as we enter the final two weeks of the MLB season. Individual awards are still up for grabs, for the most part. Mike Trout is safe as the AL MVP, despite his season ,but there are cases to Stephon Gilmore Jerseys be made or blown over the remaining handful of games.
And there are a couple of milestones on the line, too. Lets take a look at three of them two good, one not so positive.
MORE:
Ronald Acua: 40-40
The milestone: 40 homers, 40 stolen bases in a season
What he needs: 1homer, 4stolen bases
Thoughts: Acua is 21 years old. Twenty-one! His power/speed combo season 39 homers and 36 stolen bases so far would be pretty amazing for any player at any age, but to make a legit run at a 40-40 season at 21 years old (he doesnt turn 22 until December) is unprecedented. Heres a comprehensive list of MLB players other than Acuna to have even 30 homers and 30 stolen bases before the end of their Age 21 season: Trout, Mike (30 homers, 49 stolen bases in 2012). Thats it. Thats the entire list, just Trout and Acua.
And only four players (of any age) have compiled seasons of 40 homers Deonte Brown Jerseys and 40 stolen bases in MLB history. Jose Canseco was the first (42 homers, 40 stolen bases in 1988), followed by Barry Bonds in 1996 (42-40), Alex Rodriguez in 1998 (42-46) and Alfonso Soriano (46-41). A-Rod, by the way, was in his Age 22 season, and Canseco was in his Age 23 year.
And this is mostly unrelated, but the Braves have a shot at finishing with three players with at least 40 homers. Thats only happened three times: Atlanta in 1973, Colorado in 1996 and 1997. Acua, as mentioned, has 39, Freddie Freeman has 38 and Josh Donaldson has 37.
Justin Verlander: 3,000
The milestone: 3,000 career strikeouts
What he needs: 19 strikeouts
Thoughts: Verlander isnt just a veteran hanging around collecting counting stats. He finished second in the AL Cy Young voting last year and is the odds-on favorite to take home that award this season. In his past 11 starts, hes recorded double-digit strikeouts nine times.
Hes set up to start at least two more games: Tuesday at home against the Rangers and Sept. 22 at home against the Angels. And if the games still matter in the race for home-field advantage in October, Verlander could make a third start on full rest in the season-ending series on the road against the Angels. If he makes that start (seems likely that hed at least throw a few innings to keep on a regular rotation schedule), hes a solid bet to get those 19 needed strikeouts. There are only 17 members of the 3,000-strikeout club, btw, a group that CC Sabathia joined early this season.
Phillies: 11,000
The milestone Austin Corbett Jerseys :11,000 lo ses as a franchise
What they DONT need: Ninemore lo ses in their final 14 games
Thoughts: The Phillies have more lo ses than any other franchise, which says two things: Theyve been around a long, long time (137 years), and theyve lost a lot of baseball games (78 seasons under .500). Even though they cant avoid being the first franchise to hit the 11,000-lo s mark (they have 10,991and the Braves are next, with a relatively distant 10,652), it would be particularly cruel if they get to that markthis year, a season that started with sky-high expectations but has been, overall, pretty disappointing.
And I know what youre thinking: As long as they dont fall apart down the stretch, theyll avoid this Kamal Martin Jerseys milestone of futility. And thats true. But heres the thing: They’ve already lost seven of their past 11 games (including two at home to Boston this weekend) and no team faces a more difficult stretch run than the Phillies.
They’re about to play11 consecutive games on the road against playoff-caliber teams: three in Atlanta, three in Cleveland and five in Washington. Yeah. The five contests in D.C. includea double-headerSept. 24. They finish with three at home against the Marlins, but if that road trip turns into a disaster remember how they lost 11 of their last 15 games last season? that series might not even matter.
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