Will These MLB Records Fall?
The baseball season has hit the homestretch. With just over a month until the postseason begins, here are three records that appear as though they might be eclipsed.
1. Wins in a season. As it currently stands, the record for wins in a 162-game season belongs to the 2001 Seattle Mariners, with 115. Right now, the Red Sox are 88-37. That is a winning percentage of 70.4%. If that is extrapolated over 162 games, Boston would be expected to finish with 114 wins, one shy of tying the vaunted Mariners squad of the early 2000s.
Will they do it? I don’t think so. As well as Boston has been playing, it is tough to envision a team playing at such an extraordinary level for the entirety of a season. I figure that between the regression to the mean phenomenon and the fact that the Red Sox are so far ahead of the Yankees in the AL East, and thus will lose interest and focus in September, that they will fall short of setting a new single season benchmark for wins.
2. Saves in a season. No, Mariano Rivera does not own this record, nor does Trevor Hoffman. The MLB record for saves in a season is held by Francisco Rodriguez, also known as “K-Rod”, who in 2008 recorded 62 saves. So far this season, Edwin Diaz, the Mariners closer has tallied 47 saves.
Will he do it? I think he will, but it is tough to predict save totals because for a save to be rewarded the game must be within three runs in the ninth inning. The Mariners have 38 games remaining. Assuming Seattle maintains their current winning percentage of 57.2%, we can expect them to win approximately 22 games the remainder of the regular season. Say, that five to seven are blowout victories, that would leave fifteen to seventeen opportunities for Diaz to add to his league lead. It is also worth noting that the Mariners and the Rockies are the only teams in baseball vying for a playoff spot on teams that have a negative run differential. What does that mean? Well, when they win they do so narrowly and when they lose they get blown out. Therefore, it is fair to expect the Mariners to be in a bunch of nail biters in September where saves opportunities are on the table, it will just be a matter of Diaz converting them.
3. Home Runs by a team in a season. The Yankees have crushed 202 home runs this year. The record is 264 by the 1997 Seattle Mariners. Thus far this season, the Bronx Bombers have averaged 1.63 home runs per ballgame; multiply that by 162 and the result is 265, or one better than the current record.
Will they do it? Yes. I said so before the season and remain steadfast in my stance on this one. The Yankees play in one of the most hitter friendly ballparks in all of the major leagues. Aaron Judge being sidelined certainly doesn’t help their cause, but I would be surprised if they do not etch their names in the record books come season’s end.
