Go Figure: On the anniversary of baseball's return, a blend of 2020, 2021 stats
One year ago, on July 23, the 2020 Major League Baseball season began. Since then, teams have played, on average, 156 games - 60 last year and 96 this year - just shy of a regular 162-game season.
In looking at year-to-year statistical leaders, whether because of injury, a dip in performance, or other factors, it's relatively rare to find a player who is consistently in the lead pack.
Take last year's AL and NL home run champions: Luke Voit of the New York Yankees and Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves. In '20, they had 40 homers in 116 games; this year, they have managed a mere 10 in 77 contests.
And consider the 2020 AL and NL batting champions, Yankees first baseman D.J. LeMahieu (.364) and Nationals outfielder Juan Soto (.351). When factoring in their numbers this season, they drop to .303 and .318, respectively. Viewing the last calendar year as a full season, neither of those men would get the batting title; the AL honor would go to Houston Astro outfielder Michael Brantley (.320), while Soto's Washington National teammate, shortstop Trea Turner (.326), would pace the NL.
Blending the 2020 and 2021 numbers through Thursday night turns up other intriguing discoveries.
Note: Teams have played as few as 92 games (Blue Jays) and as many as 99 contests (Padres) this season, so these are not perfectly apples-to-apples comparisons.
Most runs batted in
Jose Abreu, White Sox: 135, with Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers second at 117 RBI. In the NL, San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado leads the way with 112, one ahead of teammate Fernando Tatis Jr.
Most home runs
Fernando Tatis Jr.: 46. He is followed, with 41 each, by Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani.
Most strikeouts by a batter
Javier Baez, Cubs: 202. The shortstop's 29 home runs and 85 RBI this past year, remarkably, duplicate his 2019 numbers in those departments.
Among pitchers, some blended 2020-2021 leaders:
Wins:
Kyle Hendricks, Cubs, 18, followed by AL leader Gerrit Cole of the Yankees, 17.
Earned Run Average
Jacob deGrom, New York Mets, 1.63. Second-best in the majors is Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers (2.14), though he's teetering on the cusp of the 1 inning per game minimum. The AL leader: Cleveland Indian (soon to be Guardian) Shane Bieber (2.52).
Strikeouts
Gerrit Cole, 252. NL leader: Jacob deGrom, 250.
Saves
Mark Melancon (Braves in 2020, Padres '21), 39; the AL leader, with 37, is Liam Hendriks. After notching 14 with the Oakland A's last year, the intense Aussie has secured 23 saves this year for the White Sox.
Blending Cubs and White Sox Numbers:
White Sox: 93 wins, 63 losses.
Cubs: 81 wins, 76 losses.
Jake Arrieta ERA: 5.84. Arrieta's ERA has gone up every season since his Cy Young Award campaign of 2015, when he posted a 1.77 ERA.
Yu Darvish ERA: 2.65. After Hendricks' 18 victories and Cole's 17, Darvish is one of five MLB pitchers who has recorded 15 wins between 2020 and '21 (Lance Lynn, Clayton Kershaw, Chris Bassitt and Julio Arias are the others).
The Cubs signed Darvish instead of Arrieta in 2018, then traded Darvish to the San Diego Padres after his runner-up Cy Young 2020 campaign. Meanwhile, the team brought back Arrieta this year, after his three mediocre, injury-marred years with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Arrieta-Darvish shuffle is one illustration of the Cubs' 2021 troubles.
After a promising start to the season, Arrieta has struggled enormously, with five straight losses dropping his record to 5-9. Even worse, he gave up 10 earned runs while recording only 10 outs in his last two starts.
Darvish, meanwhile, is 7-4 with a 3.09 ERA, and earned his fifth All-Star selection. His 2.65 ERA the past year is fifth-best in the NL.
• Matt Baron supplements his baseball brainpower with Retrosheet.org for research.