HRs, strikeoutshit recordhighs
Three teams get to 100wins for first time since 2003.
In a season NEW YORK — of record-high home runs and strikeouts along with record-lowcomplete games, there were some constants in Major League Baseball: Houston’s Jose Altuve and a Colorado Rockies player won batting titles.
There were 6,105 home runs hit in the season that ended Sunday, topping the 5,963 in 2000 at the height of the Steroids Era.
Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton hit 59, the most in the majors since BarryBonds set the record with 73 in 2001 andSammy Sosa hit 64. Drug testingwith penalties began three years later.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees led the AL with 52, breaking the rookie record of 49 set by Oakland’s MarkMcGwire in1987. There were 117 players with 20 or more, up from 111 last year, and 41 with at least 30, up from 38.
Along with the round-trippers came quick returns to the dugout. Strikeouts set a record for the 10th straight season at 40,105, topping last year’s 38,982.
Four pitchers tied for the MLB lead with 18 wins — the fewest ever to top themajors in a non-shortened season and 2017was just the fourth year with no 20-game winners after 1871, 2006 and 2009. The Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco and Corey Kluber, and Kansas City’s Jason Vargas tied for the high.
With managers going to the bullpen earlier and more often, complete games dropped to 59 and set a record lowfor the third straight season. Amongthose completegameswere27individual shutouts, the fewest since 25 in 1878, when there were just six teams.
Boston’s Chris Sale led pitchers with 308 strikeouts, the first to reach 300 since Arizona’s Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2002. Washington’s Max Scherzer topped the NL for the second straight year at 268.
In an era when analytical departments tell managers not to give away outs, sacrifice bunts dropped to 924, the fewest since 806 in 1900, when there were just eight teams. Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield’s 34 stolen baseswere the fewest for an AL leader since Luis Aparicio of the ChicagoWhite Sox had 31 in 1961. Miami’s Dee Gordon led the NL with 60.
The average runs per team per game rose from 4.48 to 4.62, the highest since 2008.
Batting titleswere decided long before the finalday, with Altuve leading the majors at .346 to win for the AL secondstraight seasonandthird time in four years. Charlie Blackmon led the NL at .331, the second straightColorado player to win and the 10th in 20 years. Helped by the thin air at Coors Field, other Rockiesbattingchampionsin the last two decades include LarryWalker (1998, ’99, ’01), ToddHelton (’00), MattHolliday (’07), Carlos Gonzalez (’10), Michael Cuddyer (’13), JustinMorneau (’14) and DJ LeMahieu (’16).
Stanton led the majors with 132 RBIs, and Seattle’s Nelson Cruz was first in the AL with 119.
Kluber led the majors in ERA at 2.25, and Kershawat 2.31was lowest in the NL for the fifth time. Tampa Bay’s Alex Colome led the major leagues with 47 saves, and Colorado’sGregHolland and the Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen shared the NL lead with 41 — the fewest for an NL leader since 1999.
At 104-58, the Los Angeles Dodgers had the best record in the major leagues for the first time since 1974. Cleveland (102-60) andHouston (101-61) combined with the Dodgers forMLB’s sixth season with three 100-win teams, the first since 2003.