In this second edition of “3 Cool Stats”, we dive into the 2001 season. The Arizona Diamondbacks won their first, and only, World Series in 7 games against the Yankees. The Seattle Mariners set the MLB record for wins in a season with 116. Barry Bonds went some where no one has ever gone, or has been since. It was a year to remember.
1.) Barry Bonds, San Fransisco Giants: 73 Home Runs
A MLB record, and one that truly may never be touched again, Bonds homered 73 times in one season. Incredibly enough, the 36-year old Bonds struck out only 93 times, just 20 more than he homered all season. Bonds, who has the single season home run record, also did something that he never managed to accomplish prior or after this season. He surpassed the 50 home run mark. Yes, I know he hit 73, but in no other season did he ever hit more than 49. This means Bonds was able to clear the 50, 60 and 70 home run milestone, just ONE time in his career.
3 Cool Stats: Major League Baseball 2000 – (bussball.com)
2.) Matt Morris, STL and Curt Schilling, ARI: 22 Wins
I truly had to double check the stats I read because it is truly so absurd compared to what occurs in present day. Matt Morris and Curt Schilling tied for the MLB lead in Wins with 22. That in itself is impressive, considering there have only been a handful of players to reach that mark since, and none since 2016. Altogether, there were 7(!) pitchers in 2001 that met or exceeded the 20-win mark. Pitchers would go deeper into games back then, so more were able to squeak out wins.
MLB’s Most Unexpected League Leader Battles – (bussball.com)
3.) Randy Johnson, ARI: 372 Strikeouts
You read that right. In 2001, Randy Johnson struck out 372 batters, in 249 innings. He faced a grand total of 994 batters, which means over 37% of batters that Johnson faced during the 2001 season were sent back to the bench with the bat on their shoulders. The only pitcher to even come near his 372 mark in recent years is Gerritt Cole, who struck out 326 batters for the Astros in 2019. As far as the single season record goes, all of the pitchers that have more k’s in a season have at least 300 innings, most are from the 1800’s and have 500+ innings. Johnson, in his ageless prime, was truly a magnificent sight.
Leave a Reply