2018 Regular Season In Review

Although there's two Game 163's today and the postseason is about to start, let's take a look back at some of the most notable moments from this season, notable MLB debuts that happened as well as the leader boards among pitchers and hitters. We can't just erase what happened over the past 6 months as there was a ton of action and plenty to be remembered!

Most Notable Moments

APRIL: 

• April 1st: Jose Berrios tosses the first complete game of the season against the Baltimore Orioles. 
• April 7th: Andrew McCutchen has a career high 6-hit game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  
• April 10th: New York Mets win 9 of their first 10 games for the best start in franchise history. 
• April 15th: Boston Red Sox become first team, since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers, to win 13 of their first 15 games. 
• April 21st: Oakland A's Starter, Sean Manaea, throws a no-no against the Boston Red Sox and records 10 strikeouts while doing so. 
• April 30th: Yankees shortstop, Didi Gregorious, finished the month of April with a league leading 10 home runs along with a .739 slugging percentage. 
• April: The Arizona Diamondbacks finish the month of April with a 18-7 record or a .720 winning percentage, leading to the best start in franchise history. 

MAY: 

• May 5th: Kevin Gausmann, of the Baltimore Orioles, shines as he tosses a complete game against the Oakland A's. 
• May 6th: Chris Sale records 12 strikeouts against the Texas Rangers. 
• May 13th: Freddy Peralta makes his MLB debut and shines tossing 5 and 2/3 innings against the Colorado Rockies and recording 13 punchouts. 
• May 16th: Trevor Bauer completes another brilliant start recording 10 strikeouts - giving him a 2.59 ERA on the year with 67 strikeouts and a 1.12 WHIP. 
• May 17th: Astros workhorse/starter, Justin Verlander, recorded his 2,500th career strikeout and it came against none other than Shohei Ohtani! 
• May 24th: Bartolo Colon turned 45 years old - There are 6 managers in the MLB younger than him (AJ Hinch, Mickey Callaway, Alex Cora, Gabe Kapler, Andy Green, and Kevin Cash)! 
• May 26th: Angels star, Mike Trout, went deep sea fishing at Yankee Stadium as he went 5-for-5 with a Home Run and 4 RBI. 
• May 30th: After tossing 8 shutout innings against the Orioles, Nationals starter Max Scherzer, recorded his 150th career win. 

JUNE: 

• June 2nd: The Boston Red Sox become the first team in the MLB to reach 40 wins. 
• June 2nd: After being hospitalized for almost a month recovering from a brain aneurysm, White Sox Pitcher, Danny Farquhar, threw out the first pitch. 
• June 3rd: Eddie Rosario records 3 Home Runs along with 4 RBI against the Cleveland Indians - Gave Rosario 30 Home Runs, 30 Doubles, and a .905 OPS dating back to All-Star Break 2017! 
• June 4th - June 6th: Hundreds of aspiring Major League players saw their dreams come true during the MLB Draft. 
• June 4th: Following the MLB Draft, the Toronto Blue Jays possessed five sons of former Major League players including: Griffin Conine, Kacy Clemens, Cain Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., and Bo Bichette. 
• June 6th: Madison Bumgarner makes his official season debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 
• June 8th - June 10th: The Arizona Diamondbacks came ready to hit as they recorded 29 runs in their 3-game series against the Colorado Rockies. 
• June 12th: The Milwaukee Brewers became the first National League team to reach 40 wins. 
• June 13th: Juan Soto captured all of baseball as he hit two home runs at Yankee Stadium becoming the youngest player to do so since, Ken Griffey Jr., in 1989. 
• June 14th: Big Sexy made history once again as he joined the 2,500th strikeout club which came against Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers. 
• June 14th: Future Hall of Famer, Adrian Beltre, surpassed Ichiro Suzuki on the hits list with his 3,090th career hit - the most hits by an international player. 
• June 20th: The Colorado Rockies captured the bright lights at Citi Field as they hit back-to-back-to-back home runs against the New York Mets. 
• June 21st: The Houston Astros became the first team in the MLB to reach the 50-win plateau. 
• June 22nd: Both the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners had themselves quite the slug fest, but Boston came out on top winning 14-10. 
• June 26th: In a resurgence season, Braves outfielder, Nick Markakis, became the first player in the MLB to reach 100 hits on the season. 
• June 28th: Madison Bumgarner became the fourth fastest lefty to reach the 1500 carer strikeout plateau. 
• June:  The New York Yankees Finished the month of June with the best bullpen in baseball (1.32 ERA over 88.2 IP), while the Colorado Rockies finished with the worst (7.78 ERA over 83.1 IP). 

JULY: 

• July 1st: Yankees Slugger, Aaron Hicks, hit three taters against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. 
• July 2nd: Courtesy of Brad Miller, the Milwaukee Brewers, recorded a walkoff win via a walk against the Minnesota Twins. Remember, anything can happen at the ballpark! 
• July 6th: As a member of the New York Mets, Jose Bautista slugged his first career grand slam against the Tampa Bay Rays. 
• July 8th: Shin-Soo Choo made history as he got on base for a 47th consecutive game, the longest on-base streak in Texas Rangers history. 
• July 11th: Potentially former Orioles Skipper, Buck Showalter, managed his 3,000th career game. 
• July 15th - July 17th: The Futures Game, Home Run Derby, and All-Star Game all took place at Nationals Park. 
• July 21st: Joe Bauer surpassed Minnesota Twins Legend, Kirby Puckett, with his 415th career double. 
• July 31st: MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline takes place - Some Notable Acquisitions: Chris Archer to the Pirates, Manny Machado to the Dodgers, Roberto Osuna to the Astros, Mike Moustakas to the Brewers, and Cole Hamels to the Cubs. 

AUGUST: 

• August 6th: Monday, August 6th, was quite the day as there were four starting pitchers in baseball (Justin Verlander, Chris Sale, Gerrit Cole, and Trevor Bauer) all of whom had recorded at least 200 strikeouts on the year. 
• August 7th: The baseball world gets introduced to Matt Carpenter's "Famous Salsa" as Carpenter reaches base for his 25th consecutive game and gives thanks to the salsa for helping him to accomplish that feat. 
• August 8th: Marked the 30-year anniversary since the first night game was held at Wrigley Field. It ended up being rained out back in 1988, but still a significant moment in the Cubs history. 
• August 12th: Ronald Acuna begins play, with 14 home runs on the season, more than Hank Aaron had before turning the ripe young age of 21! 
• August 13th: Nick Castellanos had himself quite a night going 5-for-5 against the Chicago White Sox with 1 home run and 5 RBI. 
• August 14th: Colorado Rockies skipper, Bud Black, records his 800th career win. 
• August 15th: The Philadelphia Phillies matched their entire 2017 season, win total, with their 66th victory of the season. 
• August 16th: For the first time since June 3rd, 1912, the Texas Rangers completed a triple play, where the batter was not retired. What a rarity! 
• August 25th: Former Colorado Rockies slugger, Matt Holliday, returned to his former team at the big league level, after inking a minor league deal earlier in the month. 
• August 28th: Royals starting pitcher, Jakob Junis, had himself a day as he tossed his first complete game, at the MLB level, against the Detroit Tigers. 
• August 29th: Jean, Jean The Hitting Machine was in full effect as Mariners shortstop, Jean Segura, recorded his 1,000th career hit. 
• August 31st: MLB Waiver Trade Deadline - Notable acquisitions: Andrew McCutchen to the Yankees, Josh Donaldson to the Indians, Ryan Madson to the Dodgers, and Gio Gonzalez to the Brewers. 
• August: The St. Louis Cardinals ended the month of August with 22 wins, the most since July 1968. 

SEPTEMBER: 

• September 3rd: Angels star, Shohei Ohtani, returned for his second Shotime sequel. 
• September 5th: Roberto Clemente Day was honored once again around the entire game - honoring the life and legacy left behind by Pirates great, Roberto Clemente. 
• September 7th: Milwaukee Brewers skipper, Craig Counsell, locked down his 300th career victory. 
• September 18th: Blake Snell locked down his 20th win of the season along with his 200th strikeout of the year. Add that to Snellzilla's impressive season resume! 
• September 19th: The Baltimore Orioles recorded their 108th loss of the season - that's the most losses for the team since the team moved to Baltimore. 
• September 21st: The Cole Train, aka Gerrit Cole, recorded his 1,000th career strikeout. 
• September 22nd: Following Saturday's game, the Cleveland Indians became the first team, in MLB history, to have four starting pitchers (Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, and Trevor Bauer) to record at least 200 strikeouts over a single season.
• September 30th: The MLB Regular Season comes to a conclusion and for the first time ever, there would be two Game 163's, that took place on October 1st. 

League Leaders

TOP 5 STARTING PITCHERS: 

1. Max Scherzer (2.53 ERA over 220.2 IP with 300 Strikeouts) 

2. Jacob deGrom (1.70 ERA over 217.0 IP with 269 Strikeouts) 

3. Corey Kluber (2.89 ERA over 215 IP with 222 Strikeouts) 

4. Justin Verlander (2.52 ERA over 214 IP with 290 Strikeouts) 

5. Aaron Nola (2.37 ERA over 212.1 IP with 224 Strikeouts) 

TOP 5 RELIEVERS: 

1. Blake Treinen (0.78 ERA over 80.1 IP with 100 Strikeouts) 

2. Jeremy Jeffress (1.29 ERA over 76.2 IP with 89 Strikeouts) - Still In Progress 

3. Jose Leclerc (1.56 ERA over 57.2 IP with 85 Strikeouts) 

4. Colin McHugh (1.99 ERA over 72.1 IP with 94 Strikeouts) 

5. Edwin Diaz (1.96 ERA over 73.1 IP with 124 Strikeouts) 

TOP 5 HOME RUN LEADERS: 

1. Khris Davis (48 Home Runs over 576 At Bats) 

2. J.D. Martinez (43 Home Runs over 569 At Bats) 

3. Joey Gallo (40 Home Runs over 500 At Bats) 

T-4. Jose Ramirez (39 Home Runs over 578 At Bats) 

T-4. Mike Trout (39 Home Runs over 471 At Bats) 

T-5. Francisco Lindor (38 Home Runs over 661 At Bats) 

T-5. Giancarlo Stanton (38 Home Runs over 617 At Bats) 

As is the case every season, there are also a handful of players/managers who aren't expected to return next season or who have already announced that they won't be back. Here's the list for both and best wishes to every individual listed below!  

PLAYERS RETIRING/EXPECTED TO RETIRE/NOT RETURN TO FORMER TEAM: 

1. Chase Utley - Retiring 

2. Victor Martinez - Retiring 

3. Adrian Beltre - Likely Retiring 

4. Joe Mauer - Likely Retiring 

5. Adam Jones - Likely Not Returning to the Orioles 

6. Hunter Pence - Likely Not Returning to the Giants 

MANAGERS NOT RETURNING TO FORMER TEAM/STEPPING DOWN: 

1. Mike Scioscia - Stepping Down 

2. John Gibbons - Stepping Down 

3. Buck Showalter - Likely Stepping Down 

4. Jeff Banister - Not Returning to Rangers (Already Let Go) 

5. Bryan Price - Not Returning to Reds (Already Let Go) 

6. Mike Matheny - Not Returning to Cardinals (Already Let Go) 

While this review might not have covered everything that happened this season, it certainly was intended to cover as much as possible and give the proper recognition to the right individuals. As with everything in life, all good things must come to an end and that is definitely the case here, but now bring on postseason baseball!