It will be five months until baseball returns to Chicago, so I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  We continue today on the defensive side of the ball with saves.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are once again the leaders in this category, seeing as they are the teams I’ve seen most often.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the Blue Jays lead the way with a little more than one save every other game.  At the bottom end of the spectrum are the Anaheim incarnation of the Angels, the Miami version of the Marlins, and the Devil Rays, who did not, or have yet to, manage to earn a single save.

Saves

With 3 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with walks.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are, once again, the teams I’ve seen the most.  When you adjust the numbers per game, however, the California iteration of the Angels lead the way with an exceedingly high 5.5 walks per game.  Only four teams averaged less than three walks per game, cut in half from the last time we looked at these numbers, with the Miami version of the Marlins continuing to bring up the rear with just 2.5 walks per game.

Walks

We are days away from crowning the champion to the 2022 season and now just five months away from baseball returning to Chicago. I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the defensive side of the ball with batters hit by a pitch.

Again, based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most. When you adjust the numbers per game, the Guardians and the Devil Rays lead the way, followed, surprisingly, by the Tigers, who hit a little more than 1 batter every other game.  The Mets are at the bottom, hitting less than one batter every nine games, while the California version of the Angels and the Miami version of the Marlins have yet to hit a batter in a game I’ve seen.

Hit By Pitch

With one game of the 2022 World Series in the books, we still have about five months now until baseball returns to Chicago.  I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  We continue today back on the offensive side of the ball with stolen bases.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs continue to be the far and away leaders in this category, as they are the two teams I’ve seen the most by a wide margin.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the Devil Rays and the California and Anaheim versions of the Angels jump to the top of the heap.  The White Sox fall to the bottom of the middle third and the Cubs are squarely towards the low end, with just under one stolen base every other game.  The Braves are the worst team that I have seen somewhat often, with less than 0.3 stolen per game, while the Miami incarnation of the Marlins have yet to steal a base in a game I have attended.

Stolen Bases

With the postseason now in full swing, it will be a long six months until baseball returns to Chicago.  I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  We continue today with our first look at the defensive side of the ball with home runs surrendered.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, which is to be expected as they are the teams I’ve seen most often.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the Expos jump to the top (or bottom, depending on your point of view) of the heap, with an even two home runs given up per game.  The Rockies, Phillies, Nationals, Diamondbacks, the Miami version of the Marlins, and Devil Rays are the only teams below one home run per game.  The remaining teams fall in between.

Home Runs Surrendered

While the postseason is just getting underway, it will be six months until baseball returns to Chicago.  I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  We start today on the offensive side of the ball with team batting average.

The newly christened Cleveland Guardians take over the top spot and join the California Angels, who I only saw live and in person twice, are the only teams to post an average over .300.  The Washington Nationals, who, sadly, have now had thirteen games to make a mark, are still the only team to post an average under .200.  In between, there is a slight correlation between the teams’ batting average and their record in these games, though with some surprising anomalies.

Batting Average