What A Season!

I'm going to miss some things here. I mean, the 2017 regular season was such an historic, folkloric, sophomoric, unpredictable, spectacular, roller coaster ride, I don't know how I can possibly remember every amazing tidbit from the season.

So forgive me in advance.

But you might have noticed that nothing went as planned.

• The team with the best record in baseball lost 11 in a row and 16 of 17 -- and won 103 games. Wuh?
• Teams that lost 78, 87, 93 and 103 games in 2016 are the 2017 Wild Cards. 
• In 2016, the largest margin of victory in a division was 17.5 games by the eventual champs. In 2017, three teams coasted to 17-, 20- and 21-game cushions. Another won by 11 games. 
• A rookie of whom little was expected smashed 52 homers this season, set numerous rookie records and will contend for the MVP. Oh, he also fanned 209 times.
• The all-time game-wide home run record, established via chemicals 15 years ago, was splattered in a shower of long balls with weeks left in the season.
• The worst team in each league, just as you predicted, were San Francisco and Detroit. 
• On July 19, the Cleveland Indians stood 48-45, a half game ahead of Minnesota. They went 53-15 the rest of the way.
• Discounting their August slump, the Dodgers won 102 of 144 games, a 115-win pace.
• A record 33 batters pounded 30+ home runs, including known sluggers Stephen Souza Jr., Yonder Alonza, the immortal Stephen Schebler (quick, what team does he play for?), Red Sox reject Travis Shaw, career flameout Justin Smoak, leadoff hitter Charlie Blackmon, and Mike Moustakas, who set the Royals' all-time single season record with 38. In all, a record 110 players hit 20+ home runs, including your mom.
• The number of players with 500 at bats and single digit home runs is not a number. It is D.J. LeMahieu, Nick Markakis, Joe Mauer, Alcides Escobar, Billy Hamilton and Dee Gordon. That's the entire list. There were 19 such players 10 years ago.
• At the same time 136 players struck out 100+ times. Joey Gallo, accounted for 55% of his 355 outs (while batting .209 and cracking 41 bombs among his 94 hits), by whiffing -- 196 times. 
• In a season that set strikeout records as players swung for the fences, Joey Votto walked 134 times and fanned just 84. He still hit 36 dingers.
• Chris Sale became the first pitcher to strike out 300+ batters since Pedro 18 years ago.
• JD Martinez hit .305 with 45 home runs and the highest slugging percentage in baseball while missing 24 games. And the Tigers traded him for prospects. 
• The Yankees accumulated 10 relief pitchers who fanned more than a batter an inning, including Chad Green and Dellin Betances, who whiffed 203 in 129 frames.
• The AL MVP will likely come down to Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge, the shortest and tallest players in the game at 5'6" 165 and 6'7" 282.
• MLB tested Eric Thames for drug use repeatedly at the season's start because of a hitting binge that had him at .345 with 11 home runs in April. He finished at .247 with 31 homers, only eight of them in the second half.
• That lying, sanctimonious punk, Ryan Braun, made the error that allowed the Cardinals' winning run to score and eliminate Milwaukee from the playoffs. Karma is just getting started.
• Phillies rookie Rhys Hoskins announced himself to MLB by slugging 11 homers faster than anyone in history. He hit six homers in his next 107 plate appearances and none in his last 14 games.
• Remember the Mets and their star-studded pitching? Their entire starting staff hit the DL, the team skidded to 91 losses and by year's end half the roster had been traded. 2018 will be interesting.
• in an injury-plagued season, Madison Bumgarner struck out five times as many batters as he walked and earned a lovely 3.32 ERA. The Giants saddled him with nine losses against four wins. He did hit three homers in 34 at bats.
•  While you were focused on Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger, Athletics' rookie Matt Olsen slugged 24 homers in a third of a season and slashed .259/.362/.651. 
• And Cardinals' rookie outfielder Jose Martinez hit .306/.377/.517. These two guys could be Rookie of the Year candidates any other season.
• Cy Young favorite Cory Kluber had a slow start. From June on he went 15-2, 1.63 with 23 walks and 224 strikeouts.
• This is the year that pitcher usage jumped the shark. It's the first full season in which no starter lasted 215 innings. Even in shortened 1995 three hurlers cracked that ceiling.  The paradigm now is a starter who goes five and a series of specialists to follow.

Forgive me: I missed something noteworthy. It's been a hell of a season.