End of Season Numbers--Records and Near Misses

[stringer bell]

Some interesting goals reached or just missed. Joe Ryan had 161.2 innings pitched, just a third of an inning short of qualifying for the ERA championship and rate stats. He also compiled 197 strikeouts, leaving him just short of 200 Ks and denying the Twins of having two pitchers with over 200 strikeouts for the first time in 56 years. Speaking of strikeouts, Pablo López finished just three Ks short of the AL lead. He will face the AL strikeout leader (Gausman) in the opener of the Wild Card round. 

The team finished with an MLB record of 1654 strikeouts, fifty more than the second-worst team. The rate stat of 27% Ks might be the worst ever, as well. On the flip side, the Twins set a team record and led the majors in strikeouts from their pitching staff. with all five of their principal starters averaging a strikeout per inning or more. 

Home runs--while Atlanta tied the 2019 Twins all-time homer record, the Twins tied Texas for the AL homer lead at 233. They did this with their top home run guy (Kepler) "only" hitting 24 bombs. They tied a club record with 12 players hitting double-figure homers and two who spent time on the IL (Larnach and Castro) just missing the ten-homer mark. They also tied the team record for grand slams, led by the rookies Lewis (4) and Wallner (2). The pitchers allowed 194 homers, giving the Twins a plus differential of 39. 

As a staff, the Twins did very well, As mentioned, they led MLB in strikeouts, they also led in Quality Starts. They were fourth in walks and WHIP, and sixth in ERA. The team allowed fewer runs per inning pitched than any team in the American League (tied with Seattle, but more innings pitched) and third overall in run suppression in MLB. Offensively, the Twins were tenth in runs scored and had a very respectable +119 run differential. Their Pythagorean 93-69 record indicates they lost more close game than they should have.

Individually, Max Kepler ended up with a very good season. His .260 batting average was his best ever. He challenged his career season of 2019 in OPS, OPS+ and had his second best numbers in almost all of his offensive stats. Willi Castro had a breakthrough as a utility player, starting games in six positions and playing good defense in all of them. He became a force on the base paths with 33 stolen bases. Also breaking through was Ryan Jeffers. Despite playing slightly less than half the time, he put up career highs in every offensive category and improved his OPS to .858, an OPS+ of 134. Pablo López exceeded his career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts and he and Joe Ryan both threw their first career complete game shutout. Sonny Gray finished second in ERA in the AL and threw his most innings since 2015, while leading MLB with an FIP of 2.79.

The team finished with 87 wins and rallied to end up 40-41 on the road. They won every series but one in September, but oddly failed to sweep anyone. The Twins finished 19-27 in one-run games, but did win 12 of 20 extra-inning contests. 

 

[stringer bell]

I'll add something about Willi Castro. He made two errors in the outfield in 83 games and none in around 50 games in the infield (286 innings). Castro made a number of highlight reel plays in the three positions he played most--left field, center field and third base--but was extremely reliable turning outs into outs. I'm certainly biased but Castro should be strongly considered for a Gold Glove as a utility player.

[Oldgoat_MN]

I'm old. Like, I remember the 1965 World Series old.

I do not remember the last time I was this optimistic about the Twins in the playoffs. 

Maybe 1991, but that turned out OK.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I felt this way in 2019 lol

But that's why they play the game. If the Twins sweep Toronto, Toronto will then be the owner of the longest postseason losing streak, at 7 games. (Texas currently sits at 6 losses, and Tampa Bay at 5, and they play each other)

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Like I said, I do expect a win tomorrow. But here is what is hanging over the fans right now: 

Current Postseason WIN/LOSS Streaks:

 

 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Twins also finished with 8 grand slams, tied for third most. Not bad, considering their bases-loaded ineptitude at the start of the season.

Royce Lewis hit grand slams in back to back days in August. This probably snuck under the radar, but Jazz Chisholm did the same thing for the Marlins in September.

What may or may not be forgotten is that against the Astros in 2020, the Twins left the bases loaded in the first without scoring in both games. Sano batted sixth and grounded out in game 1, and Kirilloff flew out in game two. That's why I think Royce Lewis should bat sixth in Game 1 tomorrow!

 

 

[HokieRif]

no mention of Correa challenging and falling just short of the single-season GIDP record????