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2018 Dodgers and an interesting record/statistic

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mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,188
4,100
I am a fan of the Dodgers team, both historically and also currently. I am not a rabid fan, following each and every move and game, but if asked, I claim the Dodgers as my team. I do watch relatively closely for new acquisitions, as they are also the central focus of my hobby interest. When a player joins the team, I try to grab up a cheap certified autograph if he has one, thinking if I have the chance later, I hope to upgrade to a Dodger signature. In general, I strip anything Dodger related from within a grouping of stuff and set it aside. If I get a free box of junk cards, I might toss most of it in the trash, but not before I sort out the Dodgers first. I never pass up a Dodger item.

Last year was a gut punch for me when they lost to the Astros in the World Series. I was in Chicago when they beat the Cubs twice in the NLCS and it was magical. The NLCS & World Series were hard to watch at times, but exciting. It was the closest I had followed the team in real time in a very long time, perhaps as far back as 1981. Then, I was a rabid fan watching everything I could as they would eventually beat the Yankees for their first World Championship since I had become a fan of the game 3 years earlier. Not a bad wait for a trophy for me personally. Sadly, they have only repeated that feat once more since, but it's better than my "home team" Mariners who have yet to do it in their 42 years as a franchise. Back to the Dodgers though, as they have been a really good team for most of the 2000s, yet perennially ending up a loser in the playoffs.

So, last year I began to take notice of their individual stats more than ever before. The team really had no standout superstar position player to speak of, although there were some very respectable performances. Turner was the only .300 plus hitter of the starters and even when you counted all the subs, only Kyle Farmer hit .300. They were the only two on the entire team! Everyone else was .299 or worse. No 200 hit season for anyone. No 100 RBI season for anyone. Nobody scored 100 runs! All of these stats were mental benchmarks for me as a kid when I would read the back of sports cards. The one exception was their home run hitters. Now Bellinger had a heck of a rookie year and banged out 39 to lead the team, still 40+ HRs always seemed to be that big HR hitter benchmark. Close, but not quite. However, 6 of their starters would go on to hit 20+ HRs. That just seemed special to me. I didn't know it at the time, but I eventually looked it up and found out that with those (6) 20+ HR hitters, they had tied a NL record with 6 other teams, 3 of which also did it in the same year (2017). All but 1 team (1965 Braves) had done it in the 2000s. The AL record was 7 players on a team with 20+ HRs and that was a 6 way tie, with all but one being in the 2000s again and the lone "older" team was the 1996 Orioles. Obviously this was a more recent trend in baseball to have so many HR hitters on a team, but it seemed to at least partially show that good teams no longer rode solely on the back of 1-2 superstar players, but relied on the contributions of the entire team as a whole.

As I watch the 2018 season unfold, the trend continues along again. The Dodgers really don't have anyone that stands out as a top star, but they have a bunch of solid contributors. Turner is again the only .300+ hitter with only 1 sub (Freese) breaking that barrier as well. Again, nobody broke 200 hits, 100 runs or 100 RBIs. The best of the bunch (so far with less than a dozen games left)...Bellinger with 137 Hits & 81 Runs, Kemp with 79 RBIs and Max Muncy with 33 HRs. Combine those 4 stat lines and that is a "weak" year for most superstars. When you look at the team and the individual stats, it frankly looks a bit pathetic across the board, again compared in my mind to the "old days" when the team stars just had better numbers.

This brings me to the point of my post. Those so-so 2018 Dodgers have just set a new NL record for the most 20+ HR players in a season with 7. They now stand alone atop the NL and are tied with 6 AL teams for this feat. Grandal (23), Bellinger (23), Pederson (23), Hernandez (20), Puig (22), Kemp (20) & Muncy (33). It's also possible, although unlikely, that Chris Taylor (17) could join his teammates and help set a new MLB record if he is able to go yard 3 more times before the season ends!

Oddly enough, the same mediocrity of individual stats carries through to their pitching staff, where not one pitcher has double digit wins! You heard right, their team leader in Wins is 38 year old Rich Hill with 9. Despite boasting a pitcher who has breached the 300 K plateau before, the team doesn't even have a 200 K pitcher this year. 21 different pitchers have at least 1 win out of 31 pitchers used this year. Maybe this is more common than I know, but could this be statistically the "worst" looking team to win it all if they were to do so?

Here is to hoping that they can hang on to their latest division lead, advance through the playoffs and finally win another Championship for the franchise on the 30th anniversary of their last one (1988).
 
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AnthonyCorona

Well-known member
Oct 6, 2014
9,600
68
Modesto, CA
Pretty damn interesting post! A lot of people focus on big numbers like JD Martinez has but it’s the totality of the team that wins the World Series. Quality post, especially for a Dodgers fan


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banjar

Well-known member
Mar 22, 2015
2,540
883
Lafayette, Colorado
That is interesting stuff. Had no idea that such a good team was putting up marginal numbers. Somehow they managed to sweep the Rockies this week, which pretty much gives them the NL West title, so more power to them. Bastards!!!!!!
 

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