Miguel Cabrera Here’s a look—from number 1 through 100—at some facts and figures from the 2015 major league season.
1
• Blue Jays reliever LaTroy Hawkins became the 13th pitcher to record at least one save against each active franchise. The other 12 include Rick Aguilera, Armando Benitez, Brian Fuentes, Kevin Gregg, Jason Isringhausen, Jose Mesa, Jonathan Papelbon, Rafael Soriano, Huston Street, Ugueth Urbina, Jose Valverde and Bob Wickman.
2
• Kris Bryant of the Cubs became the second rookie in big league history to hit two walk-off homers and two grand slams. The only other first-year player to match this feat was Wally Westlake of the Pirates in 1947.
• Max Scherzer of the Nationals became the sixth pitcher in big league history to throw two no-hitters in one season. The other pitchers with two no-hit games in the same year are Johnny Vander Meer (1938), Allie Reynolds (1951), Virgil Trucks (1952), Nolan Ryan (1973) and Roy Halladay (2010).
3
• When Jake Arrieta of the Cubs tossed his no-hitter against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 30, he became only the second pitcher (since 1900) to strike out the final three batters of the game in order to end a no-hit game. The other pitcher to do it was Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers against the Cubs at Dodger Stadium—almost 50 years to the day (Sept. 9, 1965) since Arrieta duplicated the feat.
4
• By leading the American League with 122 runs scored and 123 RBI, Toronto’s Josh Donaldson became only the fourth third baseman in big league history—since 1900—to pace the league in both categories.
• With a .338 batting average, Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera captured his fourth league batting title to make him 13th player to win four or more batting titles, joining Ty Cobb (11), Honus Wagner (8), Tony Gwynn (8), Rogers Hornsby (7), Stan Musial (7), Rod Carew (7), Ted Williams (6), Nap Lajoie (5), Wade Boggs (5), Harry Heilmann (4), Roberto Clemente (4) and Bill Madlock (4).
• With 32 starts, Mark Buehrle became only the fourth pitcher to start 30 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons. The others are Hall of Famers Cy Young (19), Warren Spahn (17) and Gaylord Perry (15).
5
• With 205 hits, 58 stolen bases and only 88 runs scored, Dee Gordon of the Marlins became just the fifth player in history to score fewer than 100 runs while totaling 200 hits and 50 steals. The others to match this are Ty Cobb (1907), Sam Rice (1920), Juan Pierre (2006) and Jose Altuve (2014).
6
• There were 33 catcher interference calls in 2015 with the Yankees benefitting from the rule the most, having six batters reach base from catcher’s interference.
7
• The seven no-hitters thrown in 2015 were the most in one season in the major leagues, tying the mark set in 1990 and equaled in 1991 and 2012.
• Albert Pujols is now one of seven players to have a 40-homer season in both the A.L. and N.L. after he clubbed 40 for the Angels in 2015. He previously had 40-HR campaigns with the Cardinals in the N.L. The other sluggers to accomplish this include Adam Dunn, Darrell Evans, Shawn Green, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire and Jim Thome.
• Carlos Correa became the seventh rookie shortstop to hit 20 or more home runs when he belted 22 for the Houston Astros. The other SS to accomplish this are Tom Tresh, Ron Hansen, Bobby Crosby, Troy Tulowitzki, Cal Ripken and Nomar Garciaparra.
• Seattle’s Nelson Cruz became the seventh player to have back-to-back 40-homer seasons while playing for different teams. He belted 44 this year with the Mariners and 40 in 2014 with the Orioles. The other players to do this include Greg Vaughan (1998 Padres/1999 Reds), Jim Thome (2002 Indians/2003 Phillies), Alex Rodriguez (2000 Mariners/2001 Rangers), Rafael Palmeiro (1998 Orioles/1999 Rangers), Ken Griffey Jr. (1999 Mariners/2000 Reds) and Andres Galarraga (1997 Rockies/1998 Braves).
8
• Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon became the eighth player in history to lead his league in batting average (.333) and stolen bases (58) in the same season. The others to accomplish this are Jackie Robinson (1949) and Honus Wagner (1904, 1907, 1908) in the National League and Ty Cobb (1907, 1909, 1911, 1915, 1917), George Sisler (1922), Snuffy Stirnweiss (1945), Ichiro Suzuki (2001) and Jose Altuve (2014) in the A.L.
• There were eight players who clubbed 40 or more homers in the majors, the most in one season since 2006 when there were 11.
• Chris Sale of the White Sox fanned 10 or more batters in eight consecutive starts, tying the major league record set by Pedro Martinez in 1999.
9
• Max Scherzer fanned nine batters in a row during his Oct. 3 no-hitter, becoming the sixth pitcher since 1900 to strikeout nine batters in succession. The others are Tom Seaver (10), Jake Peavy, Ricky Nolasco, Aaron Harang and Doug Fister all with nine.
10
• In 229 innings pitched, Jake Arrieta surrendered only 10 home runs, the fewest allowed by any hurler with 200-plus innings pitched in 2015.
• Chris Carter of the Astros became the 10th player in MLB history to hit 20 or more homers in a season while posting a batting average below .200 when he clubbed 24 HR and hit .199.
11
• The Cleveland Indians pitching staff led the major leagues with 11 complete games. The average complete game total per club was 3.5.
12
• Matt Duffy of Giants stole the most bases in the majors last season without being thrown out attempting to steal. The rookie third baseman swiped 12 bases without being caught.
13
• The Chicago Cubs led the majors with 13 walk-off wins.
• The most home runs in one month by a player was 13, by Bryce Harper of the Nationals in May and Albert Pujols of the Angels in June.
14
• On Aug. 1, Mark Teixeira of the Yankees hit a home run from each side of the plate in one game for a major league record 14th time. Three weeks later on Aug. 22, Nick Swisher of the Braves equaled Teixeira’s mark when he hit homers from both sides of the plate for the 14th time in his career.
• Ending the season with 47 homers and zero triples, Chris Davis of the Orioles became the 14th player in big league history to club 45 or more homers in a season without getting credit for a triple.
15
• Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers became the 15th pitcher since 1900 to strike out 300 or more batters in a season when he fanned a MLB high 301. He is also the eighth left-hander to accomplish the feat.
16
• When Orioles slugger Manny Machado hit two home runs and stole two bases in a game on Oct. 1, he became the 16th player, since 1900 to have multiple homers and stolen bases in one game. The others to match this feat are Braggo Roth (1919), Jack Fournier (1921), Don Koloway (1941), Tommie Agee (1971), Joe Morgan (1973), Howard Johnson (1987), Dante Bichette (1994), Kirk Gibson (1995), Gary Sheffield (1995), Chipper Jones (1999), Carlos Beltran (2004), Rafael Furcal (2005), Chris Duffy (2006), Ryan Spilborghs (2009) and Brandon Phillips (2015).
17
• Max Scherzer registered 17 strikeouts in his Oct. 3 no-hitter against the Mets. The 17 whiffs tied Nolan Ryan’s mark of most strikeouts in a no-hitter—Ryan fanned 17 in his July 15, 1973 no-hit gem for the Angels against the Tigers.
18
• Zack Greinke is one of 18 pitchers, since 1900, to finish a season with exactly 200 strikeouts. The pitchers to accomplish this include Greinke (2012, 2015), Yovani Gallardo (2010), Javier Vazquez (2008), Al Leiter (1996, 2000), Chuck Finley (1999), Alex Fernandez (1996), Tim Belcher (1989), Dwight Gooden (1986), Sid Fernandez (1986), Nolan Ryan (1980), Jerry Koosman (1976), Dennis Eckersley (1976), Don Sutton (1973), Tom Griffin (1969), Earl Wilson (1966), Dazzy Vance (1928), Grover Alexander (1917) and Cy Young (1904).
• There were 18 pitchers who finished the year with 200 or more strikeouts—11 in the National League and seven in the American League.
19
• Greinke, Gerrit Cole of the Pirates and Collin McHugh of the Astros all finished the year with 19 wins.
• Madison Bumgarner of the Giants led all pitchers with 19 hits last season. He hit five homers and two doubles to go with his nine RBI, .247 BA, .275 OBP and .468 slugging percentage.
20
• Four players reached the 20-homer, 20-stolen base club in 2015—A.J. Pollock, D’backs (20 HR, 39 SB), Manny Machado, Orioles (35 HR, 20 SB), Paul Goldschmidt, D’backs (33 HR, 21 SB) and Ryan Braun, Brewers (25 HR, 24 SB).
21
• By scoring 21 runs in Houston’s 21-5 victory over the Diamondbacks on Oct. 2, the Astros tallied the most runs in a game that earned a pitcher—Dallas Keuchel—his 20th win of the season in baseball history dating back to 1900.
22
• Jake Arrieta led the majors with 22 wins, the most since 2011 when Justin Verlander won 24 for Detroit. It’s the most in the N.L. since 2008 when Brandon Webb won 22 with the Diamondbacks.
23
• The Yankees have had a winning record in each of the last 23 seasons, the longest active winning streak among teams in the majors. The last time the Bronx Bombers finished with a losing record was in 1992 when they went 76-86 under manager Buck Schowalter.
24
• From May 23 through Sept. 27, Braves right-hander Shelby Miller went 24 consecutive starts without a victory. During that streak, he was 0-16 with 3.83 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 143 innings. The Braves were outscored by their opponents 120 to 48 during Miller’s winless streak.
25
• Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit 25 home runs over a 47-game stretch from July 10 through Sept. 4. If he kept that pace in the 153 games he appeared in during the 2015 campaign, he would have clubbed 81 homers.
26
• Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion’s 26-game hitting steak was the longest in the majors in 2015. During his skein (July 6 – Aug. 31) he hit .412 with 12 doubles, 11 homers and 35 RBI.
27
• David Ortiz of the Red Sox became the 27th player in MLB history with 500 career home runs, finishing the year with a lifetime total of 503.
28
• Orioles slugger Chris Davis entered the All-Star break with 19 home runs, sixth most in the American League. He belted a major league high 28 homers after the break to capture his second A.L. home run crown with 47.
• Yoenis Cespedes became the 28th player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season while splitting the year with two teams and hitting at least one HR for each club. Cespedes finished with 35 homers—18 for the Tigers and 17 for the Mets.
29
• Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks topped all major league batters with 29 intentional walks—the 27th highest single-season total in history.
• On June 19, Alex Rodriguez became the 29th player to collect 3,000 or more lifetime hits. In the process of A-Rod’s historic hit, he became the third player to hit a home run for his milestone hit—the two other players to homer for hit No. 3,000 are Wade Boggs and Derek Jeter.
• Eddie Rosario of the Twins became the 29th player in baseball history to hit a home run on the first pitch he faced in the majors leagues on May 6, 2015.
30
• Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs led the majors with 30 hit by pitch at-bats, making him the second player in MLB history to complete a season with 30 or more HBP and 30-plus homers. The only other player to match this was Don Baylor who did it with the Red Sox in 1986.
• Zack Greinke topped all starting pitchers with 30 quality starts.
31
• Mark Teixeira and Anthony Rizzo ended the year with 31 home runs, bringing the total of players who have completed a major league season with 31 homers to 137 times. The only players to lead the league with 31 HR are National Leaguers Mike Schmidt (1981), Joe Medwick/Mel Ott (1937), Chuck Klein (1931) and Jim Bottomley/Hack Wilson (1928).
32
• The lowest difference between homers and strikeouts by a player with 20 or more HR was 32 by Albert Pujols of the Angels. He hit 40 home runs and struck out 72 times.
• The Philadelphia Phillies finished in last place for the 32nd time in franchise history since 1900.
33
• James Shields (13-7, 3.91) of the Padres and Kyle Kendrick (7-13, 6.32) of the Rockies surrendered 33 home runs last season, the most in the majors.
• The New York Yankees used 33 different pitchers during the season, more than any other club. When the Yankees won 114 games in 1998, they used only 19 pitchers and in 1927 when the club won 110 games, only 10 pitchers were used during the course of the season.
• Albert Pujols became the 33rd player to hit 100 or more career home runs in each league. He ended the year with 445 lifetime homers in the N.L. with the Cardinals and 115 in the A.L. with the Angels.
34
• Cubs pitcher Jon Lester wore uniform No. 31 during his tenure with the Red Sox, but that number is retired for Cubs Hall of Famer pitchers Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux so Lester chose number 34 in honor of Chicago’s greatest No. 34, NFL Hall of Famer Walter Payton, Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and Cubs fan-favorite Kerry Wood.
• Chris Archer of the Rays led all major league pitchers with 34 starts.
35
• A player driving home six or more runs in one game last season occurred 35 times by 33 different players—Yoenis Cespedes and Carlos Gonzalez each had two games with six or more RBI. The single-game high mark was nine by Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays and Mike Moustakas of the Royals.
• A’s shortstop Marcus Semien led the majors with 35 errors.
36
• With 36 saves, Andrew Miller became the sixth closer in Yankees history to save 36 or more games in a season. The others are Mariano Rivera, Dave Righetti, John Wetteland, David Robertson and Rafael Soriano.
37
• Last season Boston’s David Ortiz clubbed 37 home runs, the ninth time he has hit 30 or more homers with the Red Sox. Only 12 other players have had nine or more 30-homer seasons with one franchise—Hank Aaron (15-Braves), Babe Ruth (13-Yankees), Mike Schmidt (13-Phillies), Barry Bonds (12-Giants), Willie Mays (11-Giants), Albert Pujols (11-Cardinals), Sammy Sosa (11-Cubs), Lou Gehrig (10-Yankees), Eddie Mathews (10-Braves), Harmon Killebrew (10-Senators/Twins), Mickey Mantle (9-Yankees) and Jeff Bagwell (9-Astros).
38
• Jose Altuve’s 38 stolen bases led the American league, that’s the lowest total to lead the A.L. since 1962 when Luis Aparicio’s 31 steals paced the junior circuit.
39
• The Washington Nationals threw 39 wild pitches, the lowest of any major league team. The most was 81 by the Tampa Bay Rays and the major league average per club was 58.
40
• From 1920 through 2014, a player hitting 40 or more homers with fewer than 100 RBI was accomplished 16 times by 13 different players. In 2015, five players hit 40-plus homers with fewer than 100 RBI—Nelson Cruz (Mariners 44 HR, 93 RBI), Bryce Harper (Nationals 42, 99), Mike Trout (Angels 41, 90), Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies 40, 97) and Albert Pujols (Angels 40, 95).
• Dee Gordon of the Marlins became the 40th player in MLB history to have 50 or more steals (58) and 20 or more caught stealing (20) since 1900.
41
• Pirates left-handed setup man Tony Watson paced all major league relievers with 41 holds.
42
• Washington’s Bryce Harper and Colorado’s Nolan Arenado tied for the N.L. lead with 42 home runs. It was the 12th time in N.L. history, since 1920 when the live ball era began, that players tied for the league home run title.
43
• Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis clubbed 43 doubles to become the 35th player in Indians franchise history to hit 40 or more doubles in a season.
44
• Padres catcher Derek Norris topped all major league catchers by throwing out 44 runners attempting to steal—12 more than runner up in that defensive category, Russell Martin, who threw out 32.
45
• Zack Greinke went 45 — actually 45.2 — consecutive innings without allowing a run, a streak that began on June 18 and ended on July 16. It is the fourth longest skein in baseball history.
46
• Over the last 84 MLB seasons (1932-2015), the New York Yankees have qualified for the postseason in 46 of those years, and captured the World Series title 24 times in that span.
47
• Chris Davis of the Orioles led the major leagues with 47 home runs. It is the 23rd time in baseball history a player finished a season with 47 homers, a feat accomplished by 22 players. Rafael Palmeiro is the only player to have two 47-HR seasons. Among the 23 times a player hit 47 homers, it was the league-leading total 12 times.
48
• Reds first baseman Joey Votto put together the longest consecutive game streak of reaching base safely in 2015 when he got on base through hit, walk or hit by pitch in 48 games in a row from Aug. 11 through Oct. 2. The 48-game streak is tied for the 50th longest in MLB history since 1914.
• The Cubs won the most games away from home with a 48-33 won-lost record on the road.
49
• The Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies hit the most team triples with 49. The Rockies team leader was Charlie Blackmon with nine and Detroit’s was Rajai Davis with 11.
50
• There were 50 games in the majors during the 2015 campaign in which a pitcher struck out 10 or more batters without issuing a walk. The leader in that category was Clayton Kershaw, who had five games with 10 or more strikeouts and no walks.
51
• With his major league-leading 51 saves, Pirates closer Mark Melancon became the 12th reliever to record 50 or more saves in a season. He joined Francisco Rodriguez, Bobby Thigpen, Dennis Eckersley, Randy Myers, Rod Beck, Eric Gagne, Mariano Rivera, John Smoltz, Trevor Hoffman, Jim Johnson and Craig Kimbrel.
• Jason Kipnis of the Indians collected 51 hits in the month of May to become the 30th player over the last 50 seasons (1965-2015) to collect 50 hits in one month, a feat accomplished 35 times over that span.
• Red Sox starter Wade Miley yielded 51 doubles, the most among pitchers in the majors in 2015. The major league record was set by Rick Helling of the Rangers in 2001 when he surrendered 68.
52
• Chris Davis of the Orioles led the majors with 47 home runs in 2015, but the total could easily have been 52. Davis was robbed of five home runs by outfielders who leaped with their gloves extended past the outfield wall to steal home runs away from Davis. The outfield culprits were Mookie Betts of the Red Sox, Avisail Garcia of the White Sox, J.B. Shuck of the White Sox, J.D. Martinez of the Tigers and Billy Burns of the A’s.
53
• The team average for hit by pitch was 53 in the major leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates leading the majors with 89 HBP and the Diamondbacks and Rockies having the fewest with 33.
54
• Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris threw the most pitches in a single inning in 2015 with 54 on Sept. 29. In the first inning, Norris allowed five runs on three hits and a walk and threw 33 strikes and 21 balls. He was pulled after 17 pitches and two outs in the second inning.
55
• The Cardinals and Dodgers tied for the major league lead with 55 wins at home. Both clubs posted a home record of 55-26 for a .679 winning percentage.
56
• St. Louis led the majors with 56 wins at the All-Star break, going 56-33 (.629). After the Midsummer Classic, the Cards went 44-29 (.603).
57
• Julio Franco, who played 23 years in the major leagues, continued his 32-year playing career at age 57 as player/manager of the Ishikawa Million Stars—a semi-pro team in Japan.
58
• Dee Gordon of the Marlins became the 15th player to finish a season with exactly 58 stolen bases. Among those 15, six captured a league stolen base title with those 58 steals—Gordon (2015 N.L.), Carl Crawford (2006 A.L.), Tony Womack (1998 N.L.), Chuck Carr (1993 N.L.), Rickey Henderson (1991 A.L.) and Max Carey (1918 N.L.)
59
• Dating back to 1900, a pitcher striking out 200 more batters than he walked during a season has been accomplished 59 times. The feat was achieved by four pitchers in 2015, including Clayton Kershaw (301 strikeouts/42 walks), Max Scherzer (276 SO/34 BB), Chris Sale (274 SO/ 42 BB) and Corey Kluber (245 SO/45 BB).
60
• The Atlanta Braves used 60 different players as fielders, the most in the major leagues. The Chicago White Sox employed the fewest with 38 and the major league average was 44.
61
• Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler led the major leagues with the most multi-hit games in 2015 with 61.
• There were 156 different players who had a multi-homer game and among those sluggers, 61 of them had more than one multi-homer contest during the 2015 season. Baltimore had the most multi-homers games with 18 and the O’s first baseman Chris Davis had the most among players with eight.
62
• The Toronto Blue Jays were credited with 62 sacrifice flies, the most in the majors. The big league average per club in 2015 was 41.
63
• Among the 206 walk-off wins in the major leagues in 2015, there were 63 game-ending home runs, with eight players having multiple walk-off homers—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays belted three and Chris Davis (Orioles) James McCann (Tigers), Ian Kinsler (Tigers), Jason Castro (Astros), Brian Dozier (Twins), Kris Bryant (Cubs) and Starling Marte (Pirates) all with two.
64
• There were 64 players in the major league who clubbed 20 or more homers—35 in the A.L., 27 in the N.L. and two who split the season in both leagues.
65
• Mets closer Jeurys Familia led all major league pitchers with 65 games finished. Among those games he closed out, the right-hander saved 43 games—tied for most in team history with Armando Benitez, who saved 43 games for the Mets in 2001.
66
• Over the past two seasons (2014-2015), starters Johnny Cueto, Chris Archer, Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer, Julio Teheran and David Price all started 66 games and fanned at least one batter in each of those starting assignments.
67
• Giancarlo Stanton had 27 homers and 67 RBI before he was lost for the season with a broken hand that he suffered on June 26. Stanton was on pace for a 58-homer, 146-RBI year.
68
• Yankees reliever Dellin Betances wears uniform No. 68 to reflect his height of 6-foot-8.
69
• Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros became the 69th player in the major league history, since 1900, to have back-to-back 200-hit seasons. He totaled 225 hits in 2014 and 200 safties in 2015.
70
• With two 3-run homers in 2015, Alex Rodriguez now as 70 three-run homers in his career, most among active players and tied for 14th all time with Jeff Bagwell and Gary Sheffield. The career leader is Babe Ruth with 98.
71
• Torii Hunter was credited with five sacrifice flies last season to bring his career total to 71, ninth highest among active players.
72
• The Chicago Cubs’ 97-65 won-lost record was the 72nd time, since 1878, that a team in franchise history finished with a .500 or higher winning percentage.
73
• Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday played in only 73 games, the fewest number of games he has appeared in during a season since he entered the major leagues in 2004. During those 73 appearances, he reached base in 60 of them, including 46 consecutive games to start the season.
74
• A.J. Pollock of the Diamondbacks became the 74th player in MLB history to hit 20 or more homers and steal 30 or more bases in the same season when he clubbed 20 homers and swiped 39 bases.
75
• The Los Angeles Dodgers committed the fewest errors with 75. The major league average was 94 and the team with the most miscues was the Oakland A’s with 126.
76
• Russell Martin of the Blue Jays led all major league catchers with 76 runs scored—the most by a backstop since 2012 when Joe Mauer of the Twins scored 81 and Buster Posey of the Giants tallied 78.
77
• It was 77 years ago (1938) that for the first time in big league history, two players hit 50 or more homers in the same season when Hank Greenberg led the American League with 58 homers and Jimmie Foxx of the Red Sox finished second with 50. The feat has been accomplished eight other seasons since (1947, 1961, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2006).
78
• Skip Schumaker of the Reds led the majors in both pinch hit at-bats (78) and pinch hits (19). He hit .244 with six doubles and seven RBI in that role.
79
• Only a few players have worn uniform No. 79 in a major league game, with the most notable player being Jose Abreu of the White Sox who won A.L. Rookie of the Year honors in 2014 and clubbed 30 HR with 101 RBI last season. He first wore No. 79 in Cuba after his mother told him it was an unusual uniform number and it would standout so fans would remember him by it.
80
• There were 80 players who scored 70 or more runs in the big leagues, with the Blue Jays and Royals leading the majors with five players with 70-plus runs scored.
81
• Cardinals left-hander Kevin Siegrist led all pitchers with 81 appearances while posting a 7-1 record with six saves, 90 strikeouts and a 2.17 ERA in 74.2 innings.
82
• The most extra-base hits surrendered by one pitcher in 2015 was 82 by Wei-Yin Chen of the Orioles in the A.L. and James Shields of the Padres in the N.L. Chen gave up 50 doubles, four triples and 28 home runs while Shields was tabbed for 43 doubles, 33 homers and six triples.
83
• There were 2,505 stolen bases combined among the 30 major leagues teams in 2015 for an average of 83 per club. Going back 30 years to 1985, the combined total among 26 teams was 3,097 with an average of 119.
84
• Padres right-hander Tyson Ross, who had a solid season with a 10-12 record, 3.26 ERA and 212 strikeouts, led all big league pitchers by issuing 84 walks.
85
• Albert Pujols became the 15th player in history to hit 40 or more homers in a season while scoring 85 or fewer runs when he finished with 40 HR and 85 runs scored. The other players to match this feat include Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Matt Williams, Juan Gonzalez, Davey Johnson, Dick Stuart, Gus Zernial, Paul Konerko, Todd Hundley, Rocky Colavito, Adam Dunn, Sammy Sosa, Darrell Evans and Hank Aaron.
86
• Alex Rodriguez ended his 21st big league season with 2,220 career strikeouts, leaving him 86 shy of tying Sammy Sosa (2,306) for the most lifetime whiffs by a right-handed batter. Reggie Jackson is the all time record-holder with 2,597 lifetime whiffs
87
• Kris Bryant of the Cubs paced all rookies with 87 runs scored, four more than Rangers first-year player Delino DeShields, who led American League rookies with 83.
• The Tampa Bay Rays led the majors with 87 save opportunities, but converted only 60 of those chances.
88
• Right-hander Jeff Samardzija of the White Sox had the fewest pitches thrown in nine-inning complete-game in 2015 with 88. On Sept. 21, he threw a one-hit shutout against the Detroit Tigers while allowing no walks and striking out six batters. Among his 88 pitches, 60 were strikes and 28 were balls.
89
• Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado led the major leagues with 89 extra-base hits by finishing the year with 43 doubles, four triples and 42 home runs.
90
• Mike Trout of the Angels finished the year with 41 homers and 90 RBI, tying the mark for the lowest RBI output for a 40-homer guy in history. The players he tied were Ken Griffey Jr., who clubbed 40 homers in 1994 and Barry Bonds, who belted 45 HR in 2003.
91
• Among the 13 pitchers who won 15 or more games, Toronto’s Mark Buehrle (15-8) struck out the fewest batters with 91.
92
• Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce had the most at-bats with runners in scoring position and two outs with 92. He hit only .152 by collecting 14 hits and 22 RBI.
93
• Eric Hosmer of the Royals finished the year with 93 RBI while hitting 18 home runs to be one of only two players with 90 or more RBI and less than 20 homers. The other was Giants catcher Buster Posey (19 HR, 95 RBI). Hosmer also became the seventh player in Royals history to have a season with 90 or more RBI and fewer than 20 homers.
94
• Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo scored 94 runs, the second most in a single-season by a Korean-born major leaguer . . . the record is 107 by Choo in 2013 with the Cincinnati Reds.
95
• Since making his major league debut in 2003, Miguel Cabrera has averaged 95 runs scored per season during his 13-year career.
96
• During the regular season, there were 96-player ejections and 100-manager ejections.
97
• The 97 wins by the Chicago Cubs set a record for most victories by a third-place team since divisional play began in 1969.
98
• The 98 losses by the Cincinnati Reds tied the 1937 team for the third most in the franchises 134-year history. The only Reds teams to lose more were 1982 (101) and 1934 (99).
• The Pittsburgh Pirates set a National League record for the most wins by a wild card team with 98.
99
• Kris Bryant of the Cubs finished his first year in the majors one RBI shy of 100, becoming the fourth MLB player to end his rookie season with 99 RBI. The others are Pinky Higgins, 1933 A’s; Willie Montanez, 1971 Phillies and Garrett Atkins, 2007 Rockies.
100
• The St. Louis Cardinals led the major leagues with 100 wins this year, the ninth time in franchise history that the club finished the regular season with 100 or more victories. The Yankees (19) and the A’s (10) are the only major league franchises with more 100-victory campaigns.
1
• Blue Jays reliever LaTroy Hawkins became the 13th pitcher to record at least one save against each active franchise. The other 12 include Rick Aguilera, Armando Benitez, Brian Fuentes, Kevin Gregg, Jason Isringhausen, Jose Mesa, Jonathan Papelbon, Rafael Soriano, Huston Street, Ugueth Urbina, Jose Valverde and Bob Wickman.
2
• Kris Bryant of the Cubs became the second rookie in big league history to hit two walk-off homers and two grand slams. The only other first-year player to match this feat was Wally Westlake of the Pirates in 1947.
• Max Scherzer of the Nationals became the sixth pitcher in big league history to throw two no-hitters in one season. The other pitchers with two no-hit games in the same year are Johnny Vander Meer (1938), Allie Reynolds (1951), Virgil Trucks (1952), Nolan Ryan (1973) and Roy Halladay (2010).
3
• When Jake Arrieta of the Cubs tossed his no-hitter against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 30, he became only the second pitcher (since 1900) to strike out the final three batters of the game in order to end a no-hit game. The other pitcher to do it was Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers against the Cubs at Dodger Stadium—almost 50 years to the day (Sept. 9, 1965) since Arrieta duplicated the feat.
4
• By leading the American League with 122 runs scored and 123 RBI, Toronto’s Josh Donaldson became only the fourth third baseman in big league history—since 1900—to pace the league in both categories.
• With a .338 batting average, Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera captured his fourth league batting title to make him 13th player to win four or more batting titles, joining Ty Cobb (11), Honus Wagner (8), Tony Gwynn (8), Rogers Hornsby (7), Stan Musial (7), Rod Carew (7), Ted Williams (6), Nap Lajoie (5), Wade Boggs (5), Harry Heilmann (4), Roberto Clemente (4) and Bill Madlock (4).
• With 32 starts, Mark Buehrle became only the fourth pitcher to start 30 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons. The others are Hall of Famers Cy Young (19), Warren Spahn (17) and Gaylord Perry (15).
5
• With 205 hits, 58 stolen bases and only 88 runs scored, Dee Gordon of the Marlins became just the fifth player in history to score fewer than 100 runs while totaling 200 hits and 50 steals. The others to match this are Ty Cobb (1907), Sam Rice (1920), Juan Pierre (2006) and Jose Altuve (2014).
6
• There were 33 catcher interference calls in 2015 with the Yankees benefitting from the rule the most, having six batters reach base from catcher’s interference.
7
• The seven no-hitters thrown in 2015 were the most in one season in the major leagues, tying the mark set in 1990 and equaled in 1991 and 2012.
• Albert Pujols is now one of seven players to have a 40-homer season in both the A.L. and N.L. after he clubbed 40 for the Angels in 2015. He previously had 40-HR campaigns with the Cardinals in the N.L. The other sluggers to accomplish this include Adam Dunn, Darrell Evans, Shawn Green, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire and Jim Thome.
• Carlos Correa became the seventh rookie shortstop to hit 20 or more home runs when he belted 22 for the Houston Astros. The other SS to accomplish this are Tom Tresh, Ron Hansen, Bobby Crosby, Troy Tulowitzki, Cal Ripken and Nomar Garciaparra.
• Seattle’s Nelson Cruz became the seventh player to have back-to-back 40-homer seasons while playing for different teams. He belted 44 this year with the Mariners and 40 in 2014 with the Orioles. The other players to do this include Greg Vaughan (1998 Padres/1999 Reds), Jim Thome (2002 Indians/2003 Phillies), Alex Rodriguez (2000 Mariners/2001 Rangers), Rafael Palmeiro (1998 Orioles/1999 Rangers), Ken Griffey Jr. (1999 Mariners/2000 Reds) and Andres Galarraga (1997 Rockies/1998 Braves).
8
• Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon became the eighth player in history to lead his league in batting average (.333) and stolen bases (58) in the same season. The others to accomplish this are Jackie Robinson (1949) and Honus Wagner (1904, 1907, 1908) in the National League and Ty Cobb (1907, 1909, 1911, 1915, 1917), George Sisler (1922), Snuffy Stirnweiss (1945), Ichiro Suzuki (2001) and Jose Altuve (2014) in the A.L.
• There were eight players who clubbed 40 or more homers in the majors, the most in one season since 2006 when there were 11.
• Chris Sale of the White Sox fanned 10 or more batters in eight consecutive starts, tying the major league record set by Pedro Martinez in 1999.
9
• Max Scherzer fanned nine batters in a row during his Oct. 3 no-hitter, becoming the sixth pitcher since 1900 to strikeout nine batters in succession. The others are Tom Seaver (10), Jake Peavy, Ricky Nolasco, Aaron Harang and Doug Fister all with nine.
10
• In 229 innings pitched, Jake Arrieta surrendered only 10 home runs, the fewest allowed by any hurler with 200-plus innings pitched in 2015.
• Chris Carter of the Astros became the 10th player in MLB history to hit 20 or more homers in a season while posting a batting average below .200 when he clubbed 24 HR and hit .199.
11
• The Cleveland Indians pitching staff led the major leagues with 11 complete games. The average complete game total per club was 3.5.
12
• Matt Duffy of Giants stole the most bases in the majors last season without being thrown out attempting to steal. The rookie third baseman swiped 12 bases without being caught.
13
• The Chicago Cubs led the majors with 13 walk-off wins.
• The most home runs in one month by a player was 13, by Bryce Harper of the Nationals in May and Albert Pujols of the Angels in June.
14
• On Aug. 1, Mark Teixeira of the Yankees hit a home run from each side of the plate in one game for a major league record 14th time. Three weeks later on Aug. 22, Nick Swisher of the Braves equaled Teixeira’s mark when he hit homers from both sides of the plate for the 14th time in his career.
• Ending the season with 47 homers and zero triples, Chris Davis of the Orioles became the 14th player in big league history to club 45 or more homers in a season without getting credit for a triple.
15
• Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers became the 15th pitcher since 1900 to strike out 300 or more batters in a season when he fanned a MLB high 301. He is also the eighth left-hander to accomplish the feat.
16
• When Orioles slugger Manny Machado hit two home runs and stole two bases in a game on Oct. 1, he became the 16th player, since 1900 to have multiple homers and stolen bases in one game. The others to match this feat are Braggo Roth (1919), Jack Fournier (1921), Don Koloway (1941), Tommie Agee (1971), Joe Morgan (1973), Howard Johnson (1987), Dante Bichette (1994), Kirk Gibson (1995), Gary Sheffield (1995), Chipper Jones (1999), Carlos Beltran (2004), Rafael Furcal (2005), Chris Duffy (2006), Ryan Spilborghs (2009) and Brandon Phillips (2015).
17
• Max Scherzer registered 17 strikeouts in his Oct. 3 no-hitter against the Mets. The 17 whiffs tied Nolan Ryan’s mark of most strikeouts in a no-hitter—Ryan fanned 17 in his July 15, 1973 no-hit gem for the Angels against the Tigers.
18
• Zack Greinke is one of 18 pitchers, since 1900, to finish a season with exactly 200 strikeouts. The pitchers to accomplish this include Greinke (2012, 2015), Yovani Gallardo (2010), Javier Vazquez (2008), Al Leiter (1996, 2000), Chuck Finley (1999), Alex Fernandez (1996), Tim Belcher (1989), Dwight Gooden (1986), Sid Fernandez (1986), Nolan Ryan (1980), Jerry Koosman (1976), Dennis Eckersley (1976), Don Sutton (1973), Tom Griffin (1969), Earl Wilson (1966), Dazzy Vance (1928), Grover Alexander (1917) and Cy Young (1904).
• There were 18 pitchers who finished the year with 200 or more strikeouts—11 in the National League and seven in the American League.
19
• Greinke, Gerrit Cole of the Pirates and Collin McHugh of the Astros all finished the year with 19 wins.
• Madison Bumgarner of the Giants led all pitchers with 19 hits last season. He hit five homers and two doubles to go with his nine RBI, .247 BA, .275 OBP and .468 slugging percentage.
20
• Four players reached the 20-homer, 20-stolen base club in 2015—A.J. Pollock, D’backs (20 HR, 39 SB), Manny Machado, Orioles (35 HR, 20 SB), Paul Goldschmidt, D’backs (33 HR, 21 SB) and Ryan Braun, Brewers (25 HR, 24 SB).
21
• By scoring 21 runs in Houston’s 21-5 victory over the Diamondbacks on Oct. 2, the Astros tallied the most runs in a game that earned a pitcher—Dallas Keuchel—his 20th win of the season in baseball history dating back to 1900.
22
• Jake Arrieta led the majors with 22 wins, the most since 2011 when Justin Verlander won 24 for Detroit. It’s the most in the N.L. since 2008 when Brandon Webb won 22 with the Diamondbacks.
23
• The Yankees have had a winning record in each of the last 23 seasons, the longest active winning streak among teams in the majors. The last time the Bronx Bombers finished with a losing record was in 1992 when they went 76-86 under manager Buck Schowalter.
24
• From May 23 through Sept. 27, Braves right-hander Shelby Miller went 24 consecutive starts without a victory. During that streak, he was 0-16 with 3.83 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 143 innings. The Braves were outscored by their opponents 120 to 48 during Miller’s winless streak.
25
• Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit 25 home runs over a 47-game stretch from July 10 through Sept. 4. If he kept that pace in the 153 games he appeared in during the 2015 campaign, he would have clubbed 81 homers.
26
• Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion’s 26-game hitting steak was the longest in the majors in 2015. During his skein (July 6 – Aug. 31) he hit .412 with 12 doubles, 11 homers and 35 RBI.
27
• David Ortiz of the Red Sox became the 27th player in MLB history with 500 career home runs, finishing the year with a lifetime total of 503.
28
• Orioles slugger Chris Davis entered the All-Star break with 19 home runs, sixth most in the American League. He belted a major league high 28 homers after the break to capture his second A.L. home run crown with 47.
• Yoenis Cespedes became the 28th player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season while splitting the year with two teams and hitting at least one HR for each club. Cespedes finished with 35 homers—18 for the Tigers and 17 for the Mets.
29
• Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks topped all major league batters with 29 intentional walks—the 27th highest single-season total in history.
• On June 19, Alex Rodriguez became the 29th player to collect 3,000 or more lifetime hits. In the process of A-Rod’s historic hit, he became the third player to hit a home run for his milestone hit—the two other players to homer for hit No. 3,000 are Wade Boggs and Derek Jeter.
• Eddie Rosario of the Twins became the 29th player in baseball history to hit a home run on the first pitch he faced in the majors leagues on May 6, 2015.
30
• Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs led the majors with 30 hit by pitch at-bats, making him the second player in MLB history to complete a season with 30 or more HBP and 30-plus homers. The only other player to match this was Don Baylor who did it with the Red Sox in 1986.
• Zack Greinke topped all starting pitchers with 30 quality starts.
31
• Mark Teixeira and Anthony Rizzo ended the year with 31 home runs, bringing the total of players who have completed a major league season with 31 homers to 137 times. The only players to lead the league with 31 HR are National Leaguers Mike Schmidt (1981), Joe Medwick/Mel Ott (1937), Chuck Klein (1931) and Jim Bottomley/Hack Wilson (1928).
32
• The lowest difference between homers and strikeouts by a player with 20 or more HR was 32 by Albert Pujols of the Angels. He hit 40 home runs and struck out 72 times.
• The Philadelphia Phillies finished in last place for the 32nd time in franchise history since 1900.
33
• James Shields (13-7, 3.91) of the Padres and Kyle Kendrick (7-13, 6.32) of the Rockies surrendered 33 home runs last season, the most in the majors.
• The New York Yankees used 33 different pitchers during the season, more than any other club. When the Yankees won 114 games in 1998, they used only 19 pitchers and in 1927 when the club won 110 games, only 10 pitchers were used during the course of the season.
• Albert Pujols became the 33rd player to hit 100 or more career home runs in each league. He ended the year with 445 lifetime homers in the N.L. with the Cardinals and 115 in the A.L. with the Angels.
34
• Cubs pitcher Jon Lester wore uniform No. 31 during his tenure with the Red Sox, but that number is retired for Cubs Hall of Famer pitchers Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux so Lester chose number 34 in honor of Chicago’s greatest No. 34, NFL Hall of Famer Walter Payton, Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and Cubs fan-favorite Kerry Wood.
• Chris Archer of the Rays led all major league pitchers with 34 starts.
35
• A player driving home six or more runs in one game last season occurred 35 times by 33 different players—Yoenis Cespedes and Carlos Gonzalez each had two games with six or more RBI. The single-game high mark was nine by Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays and Mike Moustakas of the Royals.
• A’s shortstop Marcus Semien led the majors with 35 errors.
36
• With 36 saves, Andrew Miller became the sixth closer in Yankees history to save 36 or more games in a season. The others are Mariano Rivera, Dave Righetti, John Wetteland, David Robertson and Rafael Soriano.
37
• Last season Boston’s David Ortiz clubbed 37 home runs, the ninth time he has hit 30 or more homers with the Red Sox. Only 12 other players have had nine or more 30-homer seasons with one franchise—Hank Aaron (15-Braves), Babe Ruth (13-Yankees), Mike Schmidt (13-Phillies), Barry Bonds (12-Giants), Willie Mays (11-Giants), Albert Pujols (11-Cardinals), Sammy Sosa (11-Cubs), Lou Gehrig (10-Yankees), Eddie Mathews (10-Braves), Harmon Killebrew (10-Senators/Twins), Mickey Mantle (9-Yankees) and Jeff Bagwell (9-Astros).
38
• Jose Altuve’s 38 stolen bases led the American league, that’s the lowest total to lead the A.L. since 1962 when Luis Aparicio’s 31 steals paced the junior circuit.
39
• The Washington Nationals threw 39 wild pitches, the lowest of any major league team. The most was 81 by the Tampa Bay Rays and the major league average per club was 58.
40
• From 1920 through 2014, a player hitting 40 or more homers with fewer than 100 RBI was accomplished 16 times by 13 different players. In 2015, five players hit 40-plus homers with fewer than 100 RBI—Nelson Cruz (Mariners 44 HR, 93 RBI), Bryce Harper (Nationals 42, 99), Mike Trout (Angels 41, 90), Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies 40, 97) and Albert Pujols (Angels 40, 95).
• Dee Gordon of the Marlins became the 40th player in MLB history to have 50 or more steals (58) and 20 or more caught stealing (20) since 1900.
41
• Pirates left-handed setup man Tony Watson paced all major league relievers with 41 holds.
42
• Washington’s Bryce Harper and Colorado’s Nolan Arenado tied for the N.L. lead with 42 home runs. It was the 12th time in N.L. history, since 1920 when the live ball era began, that players tied for the league home run title.
43
• Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis clubbed 43 doubles to become the 35th player in Indians franchise history to hit 40 or more doubles in a season.
44
• Padres catcher Derek Norris topped all major league catchers by throwing out 44 runners attempting to steal—12 more than runner up in that defensive category, Russell Martin, who threw out 32.
45
• Zack Greinke went 45 — actually 45.2 — consecutive innings without allowing a run, a streak that began on June 18 and ended on July 16. It is the fourth longest skein in baseball history.
46
• Over the last 84 MLB seasons (1932-2015), the New York Yankees have qualified for the postseason in 46 of those years, and captured the World Series title 24 times in that span.
47
• Chris Davis of the Orioles led the major leagues with 47 home runs. It is the 23rd time in baseball history a player finished a season with 47 homers, a feat accomplished by 22 players. Rafael Palmeiro is the only player to have two 47-HR seasons. Among the 23 times a player hit 47 homers, it was the league-leading total 12 times.
48
• Reds first baseman Joey Votto put together the longest consecutive game streak of reaching base safely in 2015 when he got on base through hit, walk or hit by pitch in 48 games in a row from Aug. 11 through Oct. 2. The 48-game streak is tied for the 50th longest in MLB history since 1914.
• The Cubs won the most games away from home with a 48-33 won-lost record on the road.
49
• The Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies hit the most team triples with 49. The Rockies team leader was Charlie Blackmon with nine and Detroit’s was Rajai Davis with 11.
50
• There were 50 games in the majors during the 2015 campaign in which a pitcher struck out 10 or more batters without issuing a walk. The leader in that category was Clayton Kershaw, who had five games with 10 or more strikeouts and no walks.
51
• With his major league-leading 51 saves, Pirates closer Mark Melancon became the 12th reliever to record 50 or more saves in a season. He joined Francisco Rodriguez, Bobby Thigpen, Dennis Eckersley, Randy Myers, Rod Beck, Eric Gagne, Mariano Rivera, John Smoltz, Trevor Hoffman, Jim Johnson and Craig Kimbrel.
• Jason Kipnis of the Indians collected 51 hits in the month of May to become the 30th player over the last 50 seasons (1965-2015) to collect 50 hits in one month, a feat accomplished 35 times over that span.
• Red Sox starter Wade Miley yielded 51 doubles, the most among pitchers in the majors in 2015. The major league record was set by Rick Helling of the Rangers in 2001 when he surrendered 68.
52
• Chris Davis of the Orioles led the majors with 47 home runs in 2015, but the total could easily have been 52. Davis was robbed of five home runs by outfielders who leaped with their gloves extended past the outfield wall to steal home runs away from Davis. The outfield culprits were Mookie Betts of the Red Sox, Avisail Garcia of the White Sox, J.B. Shuck of the White Sox, J.D. Martinez of the Tigers and Billy Burns of the A’s.
53
• The team average for hit by pitch was 53 in the major leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates leading the majors with 89 HBP and the Diamondbacks and Rockies having the fewest with 33.
54
• Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris threw the most pitches in a single inning in 2015 with 54 on Sept. 29. In the first inning, Norris allowed five runs on three hits and a walk and threw 33 strikes and 21 balls. He was pulled after 17 pitches and two outs in the second inning.
55
• The Cardinals and Dodgers tied for the major league lead with 55 wins at home. Both clubs posted a home record of 55-26 for a .679 winning percentage.
56
• St. Louis led the majors with 56 wins at the All-Star break, going 56-33 (.629). After the Midsummer Classic, the Cards went 44-29 (.603).
57
• Julio Franco, who played 23 years in the major leagues, continued his 32-year playing career at age 57 as player/manager of the Ishikawa Million Stars—a semi-pro team in Japan.
58
• Dee Gordon of the Marlins became the 15th player to finish a season with exactly 58 stolen bases. Among those 15, six captured a league stolen base title with those 58 steals—Gordon (2015 N.L.), Carl Crawford (2006 A.L.), Tony Womack (1998 N.L.), Chuck Carr (1993 N.L.), Rickey Henderson (1991 A.L.) and Max Carey (1918 N.L.)
59
• Dating back to 1900, a pitcher striking out 200 more batters than he walked during a season has been accomplished 59 times. The feat was achieved by four pitchers in 2015, including Clayton Kershaw (301 strikeouts/42 walks), Max Scherzer (276 SO/34 BB), Chris Sale (274 SO/ 42 BB) and Corey Kluber (245 SO/45 BB).
60
• The Atlanta Braves used 60 different players as fielders, the most in the major leagues. The Chicago White Sox employed the fewest with 38 and the major league average was 44.
61
• Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler led the major leagues with the most multi-hit games in 2015 with 61.
• There were 156 different players who had a multi-homer game and among those sluggers, 61 of them had more than one multi-homer contest during the 2015 season. Baltimore had the most multi-homers games with 18 and the O’s first baseman Chris Davis had the most among players with eight.
62
• The Toronto Blue Jays were credited with 62 sacrifice flies, the most in the majors. The big league average per club in 2015 was 41.
63
• Among the 206 walk-off wins in the major leagues in 2015, there were 63 game-ending home runs, with eight players having multiple walk-off homers—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays belted three and Chris Davis (Orioles) James McCann (Tigers), Ian Kinsler (Tigers), Jason Castro (Astros), Brian Dozier (Twins), Kris Bryant (Cubs) and Starling Marte (Pirates) all with two.
64
• There were 64 players in the major league who clubbed 20 or more homers—35 in the A.L., 27 in the N.L. and two who split the season in both leagues.
65
• Mets closer Jeurys Familia led all major league pitchers with 65 games finished. Among those games he closed out, the right-hander saved 43 games—tied for most in team history with Armando Benitez, who saved 43 games for the Mets in 2001.
66
• Over the past two seasons (2014-2015), starters Johnny Cueto, Chris Archer, Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer, Julio Teheran and David Price all started 66 games and fanned at least one batter in each of those starting assignments.
67
• Giancarlo Stanton had 27 homers and 67 RBI before he was lost for the season with a broken hand that he suffered on June 26. Stanton was on pace for a 58-homer, 146-RBI year.
68
• Yankees reliever Dellin Betances wears uniform No. 68 to reflect his height of 6-foot-8.
69
• Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros became the 69th player in the major league history, since 1900, to have back-to-back 200-hit seasons. He totaled 225 hits in 2014 and 200 safties in 2015.
70
• With two 3-run homers in 2015, Alex Rodriguez now as 70 three-run homers in his career, most among active players and tied for 14th all time with Jeff Bagwell and Gary Sheffield. The career leader is Babe Ruth with 98.
71
• Torii Hunter was credited with five sacrifice flies last season to bring his career total to 71, ninth highest among active players.
72
• The Chicago Cubs’ 97-65 won-lost record was the 72nd time, since 1878, that a team in franchise history finished with a .500 or higher winning percentage.
73
• Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday played in only 73 games, the fewest number of games he has appeared in during a season since he entered the major leagues in 2004. During those 73 appearances, he reached base in 60 of them, including 46 consecutive games to start the season.
74
• A.J. Pollock of the Diamondbacks became the 74th player in MLB history to hit 20 or more homers and steal 30 or more bases in the same season when he clubbed 20 homers and swiped 39 bases.
75
• The Los Angeles Dodgers committed the fewest errors with 75. The major league average was 94 and the team with the most miscues was the Oakland A’s with 126.
76
• Russell Martin of the Blue Jays led all major league catchers with 76 runs scored—the most by a backstop since 2012 when Joe Mauer of the Twins scored 81 and Buster Posey of the Giants tallied 78.
77
• It was 77 years ago (1938) that for the first time in big league history, two players hit 50 or more homers in the same season when Hank Greenberg led the American League with 58 homers and Jimmie Foxx of the Red Sox finished second with 50. The feat has been accomplished eight other seasons since (1947, 1961, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2006).
78
• Skip Schumaker of the Reds led the majors in both pinch hit at-bats (78) and pinch hits (19). He hit .244 with six doubles and seven RBI in that role.
79
• Only a few players have worn uniform No. 79 in a major league game, with the most notable player being Jose Abreu of the White Sox who won A.L. Rookie of the Year honors in 2014 and clubbed 30 HR with 101 RBI last season. He first wore No. 79 in Cuba after his mother told him it was an unusual uniform number and it would standout so fans would remember him by it.
80
• There were 80 players who scored 70 or more runs in the big leagues, with the Blue Jays and Royals leading the majors with five players with 70-plus runs scored.
81
• Cardinals left-hander Kevin Siegrist led all pitchers with 81 appearances while posting a 7-1 record with six saves, 90 strikeouts and a 2.17 ERA in 74.2 innings.
82
• The most extra-base hits surrendered by one pitcher in 2015 was 82 by Wei-Yin Chen of the Orioles in the A.L. and James Shields of the Padres in the N.L. Chen gave up 50 doubles, four triples and 28 home runs while Shields was tabbed for 43 doubles, 33 homers and six triples.
83
• There were 2,505 stolen bases combined among the 30 major leagues teams in 2015 for an average of 83 per club. Going back 30 years to 1985, the combined total among 26 teams was 3,097 with an average of 119.
84
• Padres right-hander Tyson Ross, who had a solid season with a 10-12 record, 3.26 ERA and 212 strikeouts, led all big league pitchers by issuing 84 walks.
85
• Albert Pujols became the 15th player in history to hit 40 or more homers in a season while scoring 85 or fewer runs when he finished with 40 HR and 85 runs scored. The other players to match this feat include Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Matt Williams, Juan Gonzalez, Davey Johnson, Dick Stuart, Gus Zernial, Paul Konerko, Todd Hundley, Rocky Colavito, Adam Dunn, Sammy Sosa, Darrell Evans and Hank Aaron.
86
• Alex Rodriguez ended his 21st big league season with 2,220 career strikeouts, leaving him 86 shy of tying Sammy Sosa (2,306) for the most lifetime whiffs by a right-handed batter. Reggie Jackson is the all time record-holder with 2,597 lifetime whiffs
87
• Kris Bryant of the Cubs paced all rookies with 87 runs scored, four more than Rangers first-year player Delino DeShields, who led American League rookies with 83.
• The Tampa Bay Rays led the majors with 87 save opportunities, but converted only 60 of those chances.
88
• Right-hander Jeff Samardzija of the White Sox had the fewest pitches thrown in nine-inning complete-game in 2015 with 88. On Sept. 21, he threw a one-hit shutout against the Detroit Tigers while allowing no walks and striking out six batters. Among his 88 pitches, 60 were strikes and 28 were balls.
89
• Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado led the major leagues with 89 extra-base hits by finishing the year with 43 doubles, four triples and 42 home runs.
90
• Mike Trout of the Angels finished the year with 41 homers and 90 RBI, tying the mark for the lowest RBI output for a 40-homer guy in history. The players he tied were Ken Griffey Jr., who clubbed 40 homers in 1994 and Barry Bonds, who belted 45 HR in 2003.
91
• Among the 13 pitchers who won 15 or more games, Toronto’s Mark Buehrle (15-8) struck out the fewest batters with 91.
92
• Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce had the most at-bats with runners in scoring position and two outs with 92. He hit only .152 by collecting 14 hits and 22 RBI.
93
• Eric Hosmer of the Royals finished the year with 93 RBI while hitting 18 home runs to be one of only two players with 90 or more RBI and less than 20 homers. The other was Giants catcher Buster Posey (19 HR, 95 RBI). Hosmer also became the seventh player in Royals history to have a season with 90 or more RBI and fewer than 20 homers.
94
• Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo scored 94 runs, the second most in a single-season by a Korean-born major leaguer . . . the record is 107 by Choo in 2013 with the Cincinnati Reds.
95
• Since making his major league debut in 2003, Miguel Cabrera has averaged 95 runs scored per season during his 13-year career.
96
• During the regular season, there were 96-player ejections and 100-manager ejections.
97
• The 97 wins by the Chicago Cubs set a record for most victories by a third-place team since divisional play began in 1969.
98
• The 98 losses by the Cincinnati Reds tied the 1937 team for the third most in the franchises 134-year history. The only Reds teams to lose more were 1982 (101) and 1934 (99).
• The Pittsburgh Pirates set a National League record for the most wins by a wild card team with 98.
99
• Kris Bryant of the Cubs finished his first year in the majors one RBI shy of 100, becoming the fourth MLB player to end his rookie season with 99 RBI. The others are Pinky Higgins, 1933 A’s; Willie Montanez, 1971 Phillies and Garrett Atkins, 2007 Rockies.
100
• The St. Louis Cardinals led the major leagues with 100 wins this year, the ninth time in franchise history that the club finished the regular season with 100 or more victories. The Yankees (19) and the A’s (10) are the only major league franchises with more 100-victory campaigns.
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