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FB4: Week 25

A tremendous week, pulling in my second highest weekly total of the year and my second highest single day total of the year and all-time.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, where I managed a pedestrian 3200 steps.  Monday was a nice bounce back, coming in at over 9800 steps thanks to going back and forth between Willow and South.  Tuesday was another nice day, finishing just shy of 7900 steps.  Wednesday combined work, a trip out with IBM, and some last minute shopping to come in close to 11,000 steps.  Thursday improved on that, finishing over 11,500 steps, thanks to a trip to the airport after work to head to Virginia with Val.  Friday was a slow day, as we spent the day working in Jeff’s apartment before heading out at night.  Saturday was the big day of the week, as we hiked up to McAfee Knob in the Appalachian Mountains.  All told, the day ended with 27,278 steps, taking over second place since I started tracking steps 8 years ago.

Total steps: 74,769

Daily average: 10,681.3

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2018 All Star Break Pitching Leaders

Now that the All Star Game is behind us and we await tomorrow’s start of the second half of the season, let’s take a look at the first half leaders on the defensive side of the ball for the 20 games I attended:

Wins

Name Total
Lucas Giolito 2
Jon Lester 2
16 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
James Shields 3
Kyle Hendricks 2
15 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Danny Duffy 0.00
Jon Lester 0.00
Jon Gray 1.29
Jace Fry 2.79
Nick Kingham 2.84

Strikeouts

Name Total
Lucas Giolito 19
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2018 All Star Break Batting Leaders

With the All Star Game on tap for tonight in Washington, with four total representatives from the Cubs and White Sox, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 20 games I attended:

Home Runs

Name Total
Anthony Rizzo 3
Tim Anderson 3
Carlos Correa 2
Welington Castillo 2
Matt Davidson 2
Nick Castellanos 2

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 19
Yolmer Sanchez 17
Tim Anderson 13
Adam Engel 13
Matt Davidson 12

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 11
Matt Davidson 9
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FB4: Week 24

Another good week, thanks, in part, to the new working arrangement.  Things got off to a slightly slow start on Sunday, coming in just over 6000 steps.  Monday came up big, finishing over 11,300 steps, thanks to walking back and forth between plazas at work multiple times.  Tuesday was another strong day, coming in over 9600.  Wednesday was slightly lower, finishing a whole 209 steps beneath Tuesday’s total.  Thursday was the low day of the work week, falling just short of 7900 steps.  Friday was the big day of the week, combining a morning of work, an afternoon on the golf course with IBM, and night in the city with Val for a Sharp Objects event.  All together, I ended up with just over 13,000 steps.  Saturday used a trip down to Guaranteed Rate Field for a mere 6500 steps.

Total steps: 63,981

Daily average: 9140.1

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2018 All Star Break Standings

As the baseball world turns its sights to Washington for Tuesday night’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 20 games I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a mish-mash of excitement, followed by disappointment, giving way to uncertainty about what the second half will hold.

2018 Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Detroit Tigers 3 0 1.000
Houston Astros 2 0 1.000
Oakland Athletics 1 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 1 0 1.000
Colorado Rockies 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 4 2 0.667
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 1 0.500
Minnesota Twins 1 1 0.500
Milwaukee Brewers 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 5 11 0.313
Texas Rangers 0 1 0.000
San Francisco Giants 0 1 0.000
Philadelphia Phillies 0 1 0.000
Baltimore Orioles 0 1 0.000
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FB4: Week 23

After a disappointing start to the week, a nice bounce back due to some changes at work.  Sunday got off to a slow start, as I spent all day inside the house and finished with a whopping 1900 steps.  Things improved immensely on Monday, thanks to a move to Willow and my continuing to park at South and spend some of my time there in the lab.  I finished the day with over 9200 steps.  Tuesday was also a good day, coming in 11 steps shy of 9000.  I celebrated Independence Day on Wednesday by taking off for a long walk, including a stop at the (not so) local Starbucks, which was good for nearly 15,700 steps.  Thursday and Friday finished a mere 10 steps apart, both over 7400 steps.  Saturday used a trip to the grocery store and an afternoon walk to finish over 8100 steps.

Total steps: 58,812

Daily average: 8401.7

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Book 13 (of 52) – Teammate

Teammate: My Journey In Baseball And A World Series For The Ages – David Ross and Don Yaeger

When David Ross announced that he would be retiring following the 2016 season, he agreed to keep a journal to use as the basis for a memoir about his career.  Little did he know that the season would end with the Cubs finally breaking their 108 year curse and winning the World Series, or that he would hit a home run in his final at bat in game 7 against the Indians.  Using that magical season as the through line, Ross tells tales of his career and how he learned to become a good teammate.

Ross, alongside co-authot Don Yaeger, does a good job of switching between his personal story and the trip through the 2016 season.  His is one of the surprisingly few books written about the season, and the only one from an insider.  From that perspective, it was well worth the read.

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FB4: Week 22

A good week, with 6 out of the 7 days coming in over my daily goal of 7000 steps.  Sunday got things off to a good start, finishing with over 7300 steps.  Monday kept the good times rolling, coming in at nearly 9300 steps.  Tuesday was the highlight of the week, coming in at almost 13,700 steps thanks to a trip to Wrigley Field for Season Ticket Holder Family Day.  Wednesday was back to work for day 2 of PI planning, which garnered me over 8400 steps.  Thursday was spent packing up the last remaining things in my cube, just 67 steps shy of 10,000.  Friday was a down day, thanks in part to dealing with a flat tire, ending up with just over 5400 steps.  Saturday bounced back to over 7400 steps, thanks to a trip to Guaranteed Rate Field for Grinder Bash.

Total steps: 61,508

Daily average: 8786.9

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FB4: Week 21

A decent week, with poor weekend totals taking down an impressive work week.  Things got off to a slow start, with only 4300 steps on Sunday.  Monday was a vast improvement, coming in over 12,100 steps thanks to Jason Heyward bobblehead night.  Tuesday was another decent day, almost 400 steps above goal.  Wednesday jumped back up to over 9000 steps.  Thursday came in just shy of 7300 steps.  Friday was back up to 9400 steps, before Saturday fell off the cliff, finishing just over 4200 steps.

Total steps: 53,810

Daily average: 7687.1