Escapism

The O's get pummeled 10-3...Barry Bonds is the new homeruns champ...the Yankees are claing their way back into the AL East race...

Man, baseball sucks today. Time to have some fun with statistics and create a nice diversion for myself and maybe for you guys too.

Erik Bedard - Strikeout King

Erik Bedard has 192 K's with about 7 starts left on the year. Barring injury, he looks to be a cinch to pass Mike Mussina who currently holds the Baltimore Oriole record for stikeouts in a season with 218. However, he also has a shot at an even more impressive feat of passing the franchise record for K's in a season. Bedard only needs 41 mores punch-outs to surpass Rube Wadell's total of 232 that he set for the St. Louis Browns, a record that has stood since 1908!

O(riole)PS+ Leaders

OPS+
Frank Robinson, 1966 199
Frank Robinson, 1967 188
Jim Gentile, 1961 184
Boog Powell, 1964 176
Ken Singleton, 1977 165
Frank Robinson, 1969 165
Chris Hoiles, 1993 163
Boog Powell, 1970 163
Cal Ripken, 1991 162
Boog Powell, 1969 160

First off, I knew Chris Hoiles had a monster year in 1993 but I had no idea how favorably it would compare to, say, Cal Ripken's MVP season. In retrospect, he was completely overlooked for MVP consideration that year, placing 16th in voting despite putting up the 4th highest OPS in the AL that season from the catcher's position! He didn't even make the All-Star team even though he hit .300 with 18 homers in the first half! Robbery!

Oh, to be an O's fan in the late 60's. You could've seen Frank Robinson put up three of the six best slugging seasons in team history. And you would have seen Boog Powell put up three more in the top 10 (give or take a year).

He's a Winner?

Since he arrived in 2004, only Erik Bedard has as many wins (39) as Daniel Cabrera. I don't know if that means anything...just sayin'.

How Good is It?

Brian Roberts' season? Pretty extraordinary for a secondbaseman. At this pace, he will steal 45 bases, hit 40 doubles and bat better than .300 this season. In the history of baseball, no other player has matched that combination of speed, power and contact except for Craig Biggio's amazing 1998 campaign (.325, 51 2B, 50 SB).