Welcome to Behind the Plate With DJ, a weekly look at what is going on in the world of baseball. This series will weigh in on the interesting, the controversial, and the downright cool. The play of the week could be an incredible play or an unusual one. If something made you scratch your head, you will probably find it here. So sit back, relax, and let’s take a look at the week that was.
The regular season has ended and the playoffs are under way. Now is a great time to look back on a year of Behind the Plate with DJ. Here are just some of the highlights from the 2016 season.
Opening Day was, as always, a day of hope and playoff dreams. BTP mentioned 3 teams that made a big offseason splash, the Red Sox, the Giants, and the Diamondbacks. The Red Sox won the AL East, the toughest division in baseball. The Giants had a great first half, then went into a free fall that cost them the NL West title. They used a strong finish to get into the Wild Card game, though, and since it’s an even year, they have a good shot at making a deep playoff run. The Diamondbacks did not even come close to their expectations. They fell out of the race early and it took a strong last week to stay out of the cellar in the NL West.
Pirate pitcher Francisco Liriano was the MLB RBI leader after he drove in the first run on Opening Day against the Cardinals. The Pirates went on to win 4-1. Later that night, the Royals hosted the Mets in a World Series rematch. The Mets had to watch as the Royals were presented with the World Series trophy and their World Series banner was raised. Then, a couple days later, the Royals received their World Series rings.
The Dodgers started the season by shutting the Padres out in 3 consecutive games. The Dodgers held the Giants scoreless until the fifth inning, giving them 31 straight scoreless innings to start the season, 1 shy of the record that the Cardinals set in 1963. The Padres went 30 straight innings before they scored their first run of the season, breaking the record of 26 innings set by the 1943 Cardinals.
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Rockies shortstop Trevor Story was the biggest story early in the season. Story had 6 home runs and 11 RBI in his first 4 games. Yes, I said 4 games. Unfortunately for him and the Rockies, his season ended with an injury on July 30. He finished with 27 home runs and 72 RBI and combined with third baseman Nolan Arenado, who had 26 RBI and 79 RBI at that time, to form the most powerful left side of the infield. Arenado would end the season tied for the NL lead with 41 home runs and he had 133 RBI, the most in baseball.
Felix Hernandez struck out his 2,163rd batter, making him the all-time Mariner strikeout king. By striking out Nori Aoki to lead off the game, King Felix passed Randy Johnson’s total as a Mariner. Hernandez finished the season with 2,264 career strikeouts, good for 52nd all-time. If he gets 150 or so strikeouts next season, it is conceivable that he could pass Luis Tiant for 40th on the list.
Bryce Harper did something that had never been done before. Facing the Cubs on May 8, Harper reached base 7 times without having a single at bat. He had 6 walks and was hit by a pitch, giving him 7 plate appearances with no at bats. He was walked intentionally twice in extra innings, and it worked out for the Cubs, as they got out of both of those innings and won the game 4-3 in 13 innings. Harper’s official line was 0-0 with 1 run scored.
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer joined Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood as the only pitchers to rack up 20 strikeouts in a single game. He did it on May 11 against the Tigers, and he did it without walking a batter. It was just the 4th time in MLB history that a pitcher struck out 20 batters. In contrast, there have been 23 perfect games.
The White Sox had the dishonor of becoming just the third team to lose a game in which they hit 7 home runs. All 7 of the home runs were solo shots, and they scored another run, but they lost to the Blue Jays by the score of 10-8. R.A. Dickey struck out the first two hitters in the second inning, then gave up back-to-back-to-back home runs before getting his third strikeout of the game. Said Dickey, “An outing where you strike out the side and give up three home runs, I don’t know if that’s ever been done.”
The Indians went on a 14-game winning streak in late June to go from a tie with the Royals for first in the AL Central to having a 7.5 game lead. They would go on to win the division and have the second best record in the American League, giving them home field advantage in the ALDS.
The Brewers completed a feat that is more rare than a perfect game. On August 11, they scored in every inning of a 9 inning game. It was just the 19th time that this was accomplished in the Modern Era, compared with the 21 perfect games thrown in the same time period. The Brewers beat the Braves 11-3.
August 24 was a milestone day in Major League Baseball. Albert Pujols hit his 584th home run, passing Mark McGwire for 10 on the all-time list. Jose Fernandez struck out 9 Marlins, giving him 213 strikeouts on the season, breaking the Marlins single-season record of 209. David Ortiz hit his 30th home run of the season, becoming the oldest player to hit 30 in a season. It also gave him 100 RBI, giving him a Red Sox record of 10 such seasons. Adrian Beltre reached 2,900 hits for his career with an RBI double against the Reds. Zack Greinke struck out his 2,000th career hitter. And finally, Ryan Braun hit a home run off of Rockies Chad Qualls, the 200th pitcher to have given up a home run to Braun.
And finally, the Marlins lost Jose Fernandez when he died in a boating accident. Fernandez was just 24 years old and was already the ace of the Marlins staff and one of the best pitchers in the league. He will certainly get Cy Young votes this season, and he even has a shot of winning. Fernandez loved the game and his joy was infectious. He will be missed by his team, all of baseball, and everybody who ever came in contact with him.
Play of the Week
Diamondback pitcher Archie Bradley made an incredible play on a comebacker. He deflected the ball, lost his glove, chased the ball down and fired a shot to first to get Yangervis Solarte out at first for the third out of the 5th inning and keeping a run off the board.
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