At the conclusion of the first half of the baseball season, it’s time to open up the stat book and analyze the first half of the 2009 season. In a stat-rich sport such as baseball, plenty jumps out from the first half.
The 2009 season started with the unveiling of two new stadiums, both in New York. The Mets opened Citi Field to replace Shea Stadium. The Yankees opened New Yankee Stadium to replace the old Yankee Stadium, one of the oldest ballparks in the majors.
New Yankee Stadium has been dubbed a “hitter friendly” ballpark for the incredible amount of home runs hit. In the first half of the season, 142 homers have been hit. Newest Yankee, Mark Teixeira has hit the most out, with 13 so far.
The record for most home runs hit out of a ballpark in one season is 303 in 1999 (Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies).
Artful Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers have dominated the first half of the 2009 season. They have a record of 56–32, which is eight games better than the second best team in the NL, the Philadelphia Phillies. The Yankees and Red Sox are the only two other teams that have won over 50 games.The Rockies started the season slowly, and replaced manager Clint Hurdle with Jim Tracy. Since his hire on May 29, the Rockies are 29–13, which includes an 11-game winning streak. But they are still nine games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.
The Washington Nationals have the worst record in baseball at 26–61. The Nationals fired Manager Manny Acta on Monday, after two and a half years with the club. The Nationals finished last year with the worst record in baseball as well.
While Albert Pujols did not win the Home Run Derby on Monday, he leads the majors at the break with 32 homers. He is also the RBI leader with 87 on the season.
Catcher Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins leads the majors with a batting average of .373, starting the “.400 for the season” chatter early. The last player to hit .400 for the season was Ted Williams in 1941.
Two Boston hurlers, Josh Beckett and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, along with Jason Marquis of the Rockies, lead the majors with 11 wins.
Jered Weaver of the Angles is the hottest pitcher at the break having lost only one game in his last ten starts. His bullpen has been helpful, with closer Brian Fuentes leading the league with 26 saves.
The duo of Weaver and Fuentes will be needed in the stretch to help hold off the Rangers in the AL West race, which is currently the tightest in baseball.
Milestones
New names have been enshrined into the record books in several categories during the first half of the 2009 season.Garry Sheffield, of the Mets, hit his 500th home run on April 18, putting him 24th on the all-time list. He is the first Mets player to reach the 500 mark.
His 500th marked the first time in history that a player’s 500th home run was his first with the club.
Houston Astros catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez was one of six players to hit the 300-home run mark this year. He also broke Carlton Fisk’s record of 2,227 games caught against the Texas Rangers, a team with whom he debuted and played 12 seasons.
The hitters are not the only ones that enjoyed milestones so far this year. Jonathan Sanchez of the Giants threw the first no hitter of the season on July 10 against the Padres.
A few veteran pitchers finally reached significant career milestones this year. After 21 years in the majors, pitcher Randy Johnson got his 300th career victory. He is only the sixth lefty to achieve that feat.
Perhaps the biggest pitching landmark this year reached by Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. On June 29, he earned his 500th career save against the cross-town rival Mets. He is only the second pitcher to reach that feat.
Boston’s Fenway Park also celebrated a milestone by selling out for the 500th consecutive time.
