Top 10 Single-Season MLB Records

By Brad Boeker, Yahoo! Contributor Network

Mar 2, 2:29 pm EST
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ycn-11011160


As Major League Baseball approaches opening day 2012, it's intriguing to look at some of the greatest single-season records in baseball history.


A new season always means one or more of these marks may finally fall. I focused on offensive records for this list.


Ichiro Suzuki, 262 hits, 2004 - It took 84 years for someone to top George Sisler's 1920 season of 257 hits, so this record is set to last a long time.


Rogers Hornsby, .424 batting average, 1924 - For this record, I did not consider seasons that occurred in the so-called Dead Ball Era, generally thought to have ended after the 1919 season. Ted Williams is the last hitter to have broken the .400 mark with his .406 average in 1941.


Barry Bonds, .609 on-base percentage, 2004 - Bonds also holds 2nd place on this list, a .582 mark in 2002. Those percentages were driven by huge numbers of intentional walks (120 in 2004). For players not suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs, Ted Williams' .553 OBP in 1941 is tops.


Babe Ruth, 457 total bases in 1921 - The last time a player came within 10 of this mark was 1927, when Lou Gehrig had 447 TB.


Hack Wilson, 191 RBIs in 1930 - I find it interesting that when one takes a look at the top-10 seasons for runs batted in, every player on that list is in the Hall of Fame. Manny Ramirez drove in a phenomenal 165 runs in 1999, and he was still a very good month (26) short of Wilson's number.


Ricky Henderson, 130 stolen bases in 1982 - With apologies to Hugh Nicol and Arlie Latham, who stole a combined 267 bases in 1887, Henderson's is the true stolen base mark, topping Lou Brock's 118 in 1974.


Ron Hunt, 50 times hit-by-pitch, 1971 - I include this record because I admire Hunt's willingness to take one for the team—repeatedly. This seems to have been a specialty of Hunt's. He was hit 243 times in his career, #6 on the all-time career list.


Omar Moreno, 560 outs made, 1980 - This is just a fun record, though probably not for Omar. 560 outs means a whole lot of times walking back to the dugout.


Mark Reynolds, 223 strikeouts in 2009 - Reynolds is amazingly good at striking out. He holds numbers 1, 2, 4, and 9 on the single-season strikeout list. To be fair, the year he set the record he also hit 44 home runs and drove in 102 runs.


Earl Webb, 67 doubles in 1931 - Todd Helton took a run at this mark in 2000, finishing with 59 doubles.


Records and statistics found at http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders.


Brad Boeker is an avid MLB fan. He lives in Illinois and roots for the Cardinals.

M's may hit Lopez second behind Ichiro

http://www.king5.com/

06:44 AM PDT on Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Associated Press

SURPRISE, Ariz. - Jose Lopez is likely to be hitting second in the Seattle Mariners' lineup next week when Seattle opens the regular season against Texas.

Heading into Tuesday night's game against Texas, Lopez was hitting .347 (8-for-23) since manager John McLaren inserted him into the second slot on March 17.

"We're thinking about it strongly, I think that's safe to say," McLaren said Tuesday. "He's hit behind the runner. He's swinging at more strikes. I'm not going to say it's 100 percent but we're leaning that way."

It's a move Lopez welcomes.

He hit .290 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs while hitting in the second spot during his All-Star season of 2006 and has looked relaxed and comfortable batting there this year.

The move up in the lineup means Lopez will be batting behind speedy leadoff hitter Ichiro Suzuki, whom the Mariners are pushing to steal more bases in 2008. That will require Lopez to be more disciplined at the plate, something Seattle's second baseman is prepared to do.

"When Ichiro gets on base in the first couple innings, you want to take a pitch and let (him) run and move the runner," Lopez said. "The pitcher, when Ichiro's on first base, he wants to throw a strike. He doesn't want a breaking pitch."

The Mariners experimented with several different players hitting in the second spot of the lineup this spring, including designated hitter Jose Vidro and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. Since Lopez was inserted at No. 2, Vidro, who batted second eight times this spring, has been dropped to third, fifth and seventh.

Lopez batted second in 74 games during the 2006 season and hit .282 overall. He hit there only 30 times last season, batting .266 and finished the year with a .252 overall average.

The 24-year-old, who spent his winter in Venezuela working on his batting stroke, was batting primarily in the seventh spot before the Mariners made the change last week.

"From day one he's had an excellent attitude," McLaren said. "His whole approach has been outstanding for me."

As for hitting behind Suzuki, who went into Tuesday having stolen five bases without being caught, McLaren says Lopez will be learning on the fly.

"Part of hitting No. 2 is when Ichiro takes off and you don't have two strikes, you gotta know when to take a pitch and give him an opportunity to steal a base," McLaren said. "It's going to be kind of a little bit of a learning process for him and we'll see how it goes. I'm very confident that he'll fit in the slot very well."

Miguel Batista, Ichiro Suzuki lead Mariners in 6-6 tie with Padres

Mar 21, 2008

http://canadianpress.google.com

PEORIA, Ariz. — Ichiro Suzuki broke out of his spring training slump, Miguel Batista became the first Seattle starter to pitch six innings and the Mariners tied the San Diego Padres 6-6 in 10 innings Thursday night.

The right-hander, who was 16-11 with a 4.29 ERA in 33 games last year, allowed three runs and seven hits. San Diego's Chase Headley hit a tying, two-run homer off Eric O'Flaherty in the ninth.

Suzuki, who started the spring hitless in 21 at-bats, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored. He raised his batting average to .174.

"I thought (Batista) threw the ball hard," Seattle manager John McLaren said. "He showed signs of really pitching well. I thought he got careless a little bit in that one inning when he gave up three. He settled down and pitched well after that."

New centre fielder Jim Edmonds, who hasn't played since March 6 because of a right calf strain, could start the season on the disabled list, according to Padres general manager Kevin Towers.

"I think he's still a ways away from being in a game," Towers said. "It's tough to tell."

Padres manager Bud Black said his starter, Justin Germano, has pitched well since camp opened.

Competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, Germano allowed four runs - three earned - and six hits in five innings. He finished with three strikeouts and a walk.

Black said the key to Germano's success is that he's thrown his improved changeup more often this spring. Last season, Germano was 7-10 with a 4.46 ERA in 26 appearances for the Padres.

"I think his changeup is solid," Black said. "That development has been a pleasant surprise and his fastball command has been good. He's thrown well."

Germano said he didn't do any extra work on his changeup in the off-season but has had a good feel for it all spring.

"I've seen quite a bit of swings and misses," Germano said. "That's definitely a good sign. Definitely my first choice is going to be that fifth spot in the rotation. I feel like I've been consistent."

San Diego right fielder Brian Giles, who is coming off microfracture knee surgery, singled and walked in three plate appearances.