On the back of 5 solo home runs, the White Sox and Dallas Keuchel took down Trevor Bauer and the Reds 5-0 to reduce their magic number to clinch the Central Division to, you guessed it, 5. Meanwhile, on the north side, the Twins have a 7-1 lead over the Cubs heading into the bottom of the 7th, so it doesn’t look like we will be getting any additional help there tonight.
In other news, Tim Anderson raised his batting average up to .366 and trails DJ LeMahieu by .001 points for the league lead.
Despite tonight’s loss to the Reds, the White Sox saw their magic number to clinch the division drop down to 6 thanks to the Twins loss to the Cubs. Both series continue tomorrow.
The White Sox punched their post-season ticket and reduced their magic number for the Central Division title to 7 with today’s victory over the Twins. The team is now guaranteed to make their first playoff appearance since 2008 and hold a 3 game lead over the second-place Twins after taking 3 out of the 4 games in this crucial series.
Don’t stop now boys!
Following tonight’s victory over the Twins, the White Sox saw their magic number for clinching their first division title since 2008 drop to 9. Their magic number for clinching a playoff spot sits at 2.
As the immortal Hawk Harrelson was fond of saying, don’t stop now, boys.
What was planned to be the earliest non-international start in Major League Baseball history turned into the latest, thanks to a combination of the corona virus pandemic and pointless bickering between the MLBPA and team owners. With the 2020 baseball season finally set to get underway today, although with no fans in the stands, it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have identified as having attended dating back to 1984. Thanks to some eBaying of pocket schedules from the 80s, I was able to identify one additional game that I attended in 1988, a California Angels victory at Comiskey Park against the White Sox.
The Cubs look to bounce back from last year’s September collapse that kept them out of the postseason for the first time since 2014, while the White Sox hope their offseason additions push them towards contention as their young talent starts to blossom. With only 60 games to make their mark, the 2020 season should be an interesting one on both sides of town.
| Team Name | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 13 | 2 | 0.867 |
| Florida Marlins | 15 | 8 | 0.652 |
| Colorado Rockies | 10 | 6 | 0.625 |
| Boston Red Sox | 18 | 13 | 0.581 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 15 | 11 | 0.577 |
| New York Yankees | 15 | 11 | 0.577 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 19 | 14 | 0.576 |
| Cleveland Indians | 28 | 24 | 0.538 |
| Chicago Cubs | 219 | 197 | 0.526 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 10 | 9 | 0.526 |
| Houston Astros | 22 | 20 | 0.524 |
| Chicago White Sox | 306 | 287 | 0.516 |
| Continue reading → |
After months of delay due to the corona virus, the 2020 baseball season is finally scheduled to kick off today with two games, followed by a full slate of games featuring the remaining teams tomorrow. For the tenth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season. Although, given the circumstances of this season, this is more of a fool’s errand than usual.
East: Yankees
Central: Twins
West: Astros
Wild Cards: White Sox, Rays
AL Champion: Yankees
Cy Young: Blake Snell
MVP: Yoan Moncada
For reasons that I don’t entirely understand, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2021 schedule late last week, 3 weeks before the 2020 season begins. The local squads should have common goals in mind for 2021: competing for a title. Assuming, of course, that the 2020 season goes off as planned and the pandemic winds down enough for 2021 to proceed as planned. So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.
The White Sox open their season against the Angels in (Los Angeles, California, Anaheim), the first time that has happened since 1993. Which, I guess, is a decent sign if one’s looking for omens towards a division title. They return home a week later, facing the Royals for the home opener.
The interleague schedule pits the White Sox against the NL Central, with trips to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee and home series against the Reds, Cardinals, and the Pirates. The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a series at Wrigley at the beginning of August and a follow-up at Guaranteed Rate Field at the end of the month.
The season ends with a 5 game homestand against the Reds and Tigers.
On the north side, the Cubs open their season up at home against the Pirates, which seems to be a familiar Opening Day foe.
The interleague schedule pits the Cubs against the AL Central, with trips to Cleveland, Detroit, and Minnesota and home series against the Indians, Royals, and the Twins.
The Cubs end the year with a 12 of their final 14 games against the NL Central, with 9 of those coming against the Brewers and the Cardinals, who are likely to challenge them for the NL Central crown.
With baseball now officially on its way back after the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look back at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue things today with the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins originated in 1901 as the Washington Senators, one of the charter members of the American League. When Minneapolis was given an expansion team to begin play in 1961, owner Calvin Griffith requested to move the Senators to Minnesota, becoming the Twins, and to have the expansion franchise take over the Senators name in Washington. I’ve seen them play 59 times at 3 different stadiums, including the division-title deciding game 163 in 2008.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Oswaldo Arcia | 6 |
| Jason Kubel | 4 |
| Brian Dozier | 4 |
| Torii Hunter | 4 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Joe Mauer | 43 |
| Justin Morneau | 25 |
| Trevor Plouffe | 23 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Joe Mauer | 19 |
| Brian Dozier | 13 |
| Trevor Plouffe | 11 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Justin Morneau | 15 |
| Oswaldo Arcia | 14 |
| Torii Hunter | 11 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Trevor Plouffe | 6 |
| Justin Morneau | 5 |
| Oswaldo Arcia | 5 |
| Joe Mauer | 5 |
| Brian Dozier | 5 |
Triples Continue reading →
With baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers began life in 1961, joining the American League as the second incarnation of the Washington Senators after the original franchise moved to Minnesota to become the Twins. Following the 1971 season, the team moved to Arlington, Texas and became the Rangers. I’ve seen them play 37 times, across 2 states and 4 different stadiums.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Hank Blalock | 3 |
| Ian Kinsler | 3 |
| 6 tied with | 2 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Michael Young | 19 |
| Elvis Andrus | 17 |
| Ian Kinsler | 12 |
| Mark Teixeira | 12 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Michael Young | 12 |
| Elvis Andrus | 8 |
| Hank Blalock | 6 |
| Gary Matthews Jr. | 6 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Mark Teixeira | 13 |
| Michael Young | 11 |
| Hank Blalock | 8 |
| Ian Kinsler | 8 |
| Elvis Andrus | 8 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Michael Young | 7 |
| Elvis Andrus | 4 |
| 4 tied with | 3 |
Triples Continue reading →
Exactly 8 months since my last baseball game, the longest drought I’ve experienced since 1998 into 1999, I figured it was a good time to take another look at the last time I saw each of the 30 major league teams. For someone with season tickets to two teams, one in each league, you would think that I would cycle through each team every few years or so. And, for the most part, that does seem to be the case. I saw 21 of the 30 teams in 2019, going back to 2018, that number jumps to 23. That’s nearly 77% of the league in the past 2 seasons.
What about those remaining 7 teams? The Dodgers, Rays, Braves, and Padres last appeared in 2017, while 2016 takes care of the Reds. I somehow haven’t seen the Diamondbacks since 2014, despite being inside their home ballpark more recently than that. That leaves the Marlins, who I have somehow not managed to see in person since 2013. Anyway, here’s a look at each team and the last time I saw them play.
| Team Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Miami Marlins | 5/26/2013 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 5/10/2014 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 4/11/2016 |
| San Diego Padres | 5/13/2017 |
| Atlanta Braves | 9/2/2017 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 9/3/2017 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 10/19/2017 |
| Houston Astros | 4/22/2018 |
| Colorado Rockies | 10/2/2018 |
| Seattle Mariners | 4/6/2019 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 4/8/2019 |
| Kansas City Royals | 4/15/2019 |
| Boston Red Sox | 5/5/2019 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5/5/2019 |
| Continue reading → |