Hawk & Steve's baseball blog

* The White Sox are hoping to carry over into 2006 the incredible momentum they finished 2005 with. On their way to winning the World Series, the Sox finished the year with 16 wins in their last 17 games, including postseason. Only the mighty 1970 Orioles have finished a season on such a roll.

Best Record in Last 17 Games - World Series Winners

(record includes postseason games)

                                     Next Season

1970 Orioles#     .941 (16-1)  101-57, Lost World Series

2005 White Sox    .941 (16-1)  -----

1927 Yankees      .882 (15-2)  101-53, Won World Series

1942 Cardinals    .882 (15-2)  105-49, Lost World Series

1969 Mets         .882 (15-2)  83-79, 3^rd in NL East

1998 Yankees      .882 (15-2)  98-64, Won World Series

# The 1970 Orioles had an even longer season-ending roll than the 2005 White Sox, going 18-1 over their final 19 games including the postseason.

* The Indians also know a little bit about great runs to end a season. From July 31 through the end of the regular season, the Tribe had the best record in baseball.

Best W-L Record, 2005 MLB – 7/31 thru End of Regular Season

Indians               39-18      .684

Yankees               40-20      .667

Red Sox               37-22      .627

Angels                35-23      .603

Cardinals             35-24      .593

Despite the way they finished the year, the White Sox were actually only four games over .500 from July 31 through the end of the regular season (32-28).

* In the history of baseball only one team has had more players than last year’s Indians collect 50-plus extra base hits in a single season.

Most Players With 50+ Extra Base Hits in a Season, All-Time

2003

Boston

2005

Cleveland

2003

Atlanta

1997

Seattle

* But the extra base hits did not come without a price.

Most Players With 115+ Strikeouts, 2005

Cleveland

Texas

Boston

4 Teams Tied With        2

* Cliff Lee was a mainstay for the Tribe last season, posting one of the better winning percentages of the last several seasons. Lee has improved his winning percentage in each of his first four seasons in the big leagues.

Highest Single Season Win Pct. by AL Lefthander, Since 1998

(min 15 Decisions)

Player         Team Year        Win Pct. (W-L)

Barry Zito     Oak  2002           .821 (23-5)

David Wells    NYY  1998           .818 (18-4)

Johan Santana  Min  2003           .800 (12-3)

Cliff Lee      Cle  2005           .778 (18-5)

C.C. Sabathia  Cle  2001           .773 (17-5)

* No one had a hotter finish to the 2005 regular season than Jose Contreras. Not even Cliff Lee, who was very good down the stretch as well.

Highest Winning Percentage, July 20 to End of Last Season

(min 5 Decisions)

Aaron Small, NYY              1.000 (10-0)

Jose Contreras, CWS           .909 (10-1)

Cliff Lee, Cle                .889 (8-1)

John Lackey, LAA              .875 (7-1)

Chris Carpenter, StL          .875 (7-1)

-- Contreras’ 1.83 lifetime ERA versus the Tribe is his lowest against any opponent he has faced more than twice in his career.   

* Although Contreras and the rest of the Sox starters would like to finish the games they start, it helps to know you have a reliable bullpen you can turn to in a pinch.

White Sox, Lowest Pct. of Inherited Runners Scoring, Since 1974

2005                25.3% (62 Scored of 245 Inherited)

1981                27.6%

1995                28.2%

1986                28.5%

1998                29.1%

* 2005 ALCS MVP and newly-appointed White Sox captain Paul Konerko is one of only five players to have at least 40 homers and 100 RBI in each of the last two years.

Players With 40+ HR & 100+ RBI in Each of Last Two Seasons

                    2004     2005

Paul Konerko        41/117    40/100

Manny Ramirez       43/130    45/144

David Ortiz         41/139    47/148

Albert Pujols       46/123    41/117

Adam Dunn           46/102    40/101

* Over the last two seasons Victor Martinez has established himself as one of the more reliable hitting backstops in baseball. Only four other American league catchers in the history of baseball have done what

Martinez

AL

(Caught 120+ games in

AL

Victor Martinez, Cle          2004-05   

Ivan Rodriguez,

Tex

Carlton

Yogi Berra, NYY               1950-51, 1953-54

Bill Dickey, NYY              1937-39