The 2018 Major League Baseball season has been nothing short
of amazing in my opinion, and not just as a fan of the New York Yankees. We
have seen shutouts, no-hitters, come-from-behind victories, dominating pitching
performances, hitters putting on clinics and a pair of runs that saw teams go
17-2 over a span of 19 games. The Boston Red Sox did it first to open the 2018
season, but did the Yankees do it better? Let’s compare and borrow a tweet from
our good friend Jared Carrabis, because truth be told not all his tweets are
ridiculous after all.
Over the Red Sox 17-2 run, they hit .293 with an .858 OPS and a 2.17 starting pitching ERA. Over the Yankees 17-1 run, they've hit .250 with a .786 OPS and a 2.19 starting pitching ERA. https://t.co/0eTeaR4vyY— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) May 10, 2018
Stats are all fine and good, but who did the Red Sox beat during their span and who did the Yankees beat up on during their span? Because while parity may be a dream of MLB executives and Commissioner Rob Manfred, a reality it is not. There is a huge difference between going 17-2 over teams like the Baltimore Orioles who are on pace to lose well over 100 games and going 17-2 against potential playoff and first place teams.
NEW YORK YANKEES:
Gm# | Date | Tm | Opp | W/L | R | RA | Win | Loss | Save | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Thursday, Mar 29 | BOS | @ | TBR | L | 4 | 6 | Pruitt | Smith | Colome |
2 | Friday, Mar 30 | BOS | @ | TBR | W | 1 | 0 | Price | Roe | Kimbrel |
3 | Saturday, Mar 31 | BOS | @ | TBR | W | 3 | 2 | Porcello | Kittredge | Kimbrel |
4 | Sunday, Apr 1 | BOS | @ | TBR | W | 2 | 1 | Velazquez | Alvarado | Kelly |
5 | Monday, Apr 2 | BOS | @ | MIA | W | 7 | 3 | Johnson | Richards | |
6 | Tuesday, Apr 3 | BOS | @ | MIA | W | 4 | 2 | Hembree | Guerrero | |
7 | Thursday, Apr 5 | BOS | TBR | W-wo | 3 | 2 | Poyner | Kittredge | ||
8 | Saturday, Apr 7 | BOS | TBR | W | 10 | 3 | Porcello | Faria | ||
9 | Sunday, Apr 8 | BOS | TBR | W | 8 | 7 | Smith | Colome | Kimbrel | |
10 | Tuesday, Apr 10 | BOS | NYY | W | 14 | 1 | Sale | Severino | ||
11 | Wednesday, Apr 11 | BOS | NYY | L | 7 | 10 | Tanaka | Price | ||
12 | Thursday, Apr 12 | BOS | NYY | W | 6 | 3 | Porcello | Gray | Kimbrel | |
13 | Friday, Apr 13 | BOS | BAL | W | 7 | 3 | Rodriguez | Tillman | ||
14 | Saturday, Apr 14 | BOS | BAL | W | 10 | 3 | Velazquez | Cobb | Walden | |
15 | Sunday, Apr 15 | BOS | BAL | W | 3 | 1 | Hembree | Bundy | Kimbrel | |
16 | Tuesday, Apr 17 | BOS | @ | LAA | W | 10 | 1 | Price | Ohtani | |
17 | Wednesday, Apr 18 | BOS | @ | LAA | W | 9 | 0 | Porcello | Skaggs | |
18 | Thursday, Apr 19 | BOS | @ | LAA | W | 8 | 2 | Rodriguez | Tropeano | |
19 | Friday, Apr 20 | BOS | @ | OAK | W | 7 | 3 | Velazquez | Graveman |
Jared Carrabis and Red Sox fans can point out all the stats
they want to as they cherry pick to make themselves look good, but the bottom
line is the New York Yankees did it better. Period, and there isn’t any
argument to be had about it. Strength of schedule is a thing in MLB whether
anyone wants to recognize it or not.
All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference. Kudos to both
teams, whether the Yankees or Red Sox did it “better” or not is irrelevant,
winning 17 games out of 19 games is impressive nonetheless. Even if it was done
by the damn Red Sox.
Enjoy your Saturday everyone. Go Yankees!!