YEAR IN REVIEW : 2018 American League

Off the field...

The year started with some history making news in the National Football League as the Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl in franchise history, defeating the heavily favored (yet again) New England Patriots, 41-33, in Super Bowl LII, ending a 57-year championship drought.

In the American League...

The Detroit Tigers modified the Olde English D on their home jersey to match the D on the cap. This was the first major change to the Tigers' home jersey since 1934.

A "feel good" story of the year surrounded the return of Atlanta Braves pitcher Jonny Venters. The Tampa Bay Rays stuck with the determined lefty who had Tommy John surgery three times and successfully returned to the mound on April 25, 2018 - the first pitcher to make it back to the majors after three such operations.

In the National League...

The 89th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be held on July 17, 2018, at Nationals Park, the home of the Washington Nationals.

The National League & American League had a combined 7,335 strikeouts and 6,992 hits during the month of April. Never in Major League history had their been a month with more strikeouts than hits, until 2018!

Around the League...

All thirty Major League Baseball teams were scheduled to play an Opening Day game on March 29, 2018, the earliest start of a regular season in baseball history.

Major League Baseball implemented new pace of play rules in 2018, which include limiting the amount of mound visits for each team to six visits per nine innings. Teams will receive an additional visit for every extra inning played.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement reached in December 2016, the 2018 regular season was extended to 187 days in order to add four additional off-days for all teams.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Twenty years ago, when you talked to National League owners about the DH, you'd think you were talking some sort of heretical comment," Manfred told reporters Thursday at the owners meetings in Coral Gables, Fla. "But we have a newer group. There's been turnover. And I think our owners in general have demonstrated a willingness to change the game in ways that we think would be good for the fans, always respecting the history and traditions of the sport." - New York Daily News Staff Peter Botte (01/21/2016, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred says National League could implement DH by 2017, Source)

2018 American League Player Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls Mike Trout Los Angeles Angels 122 Top 25
Batting Average Mookie Betts Boston Red Sox .346 Top 25
Doubles Alex Bregman Houston Astros 50 Top 25
Hits Whit Merrifield Kansas City Royals 192 Top 25
Home Runs Khris Davis Oakland Athletics 48 Top 25
On Base Percentage Mike Trout Los Angeles Angels .460 Top 25
RBI J.D. Martinez Boston Red Sox 130 Top 25
Runs Mookie Betts Boston Red Sox 129 Top 25
Slugging Average Mookie Betts Boston Red Sox .640 Top 25
Stolen Bases Whit Merrifield Kansas City Royals 45 Top 25
Total Bases J.D. Martinez Boston Red Sox 358 Top 25
Triples Yolmer Sanchez Chicago White Sox 10 Top 25
Mallex Smith Tampa Bay Rays 10
2018 A.L. History | 2018 N.L. History | Year-by-Year History

2018 American League Pitcher Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games Jose Berrios Minnesota Twins 2 Top 25
Carlos Carrasco Cleveland Indians 2
Corey Kluber Cleveland Indians 2
James Paxton Seattle Mariners 2
ERA Blake Snell Tampa Bay Rays 1.89 Top 25
Games Ryan Pressly Minnesota Twins 77 Top 25
Houston Astros
Saves Edwin Diaz Seattle Mariners 57 Top 25
Shutouts Jose Berrios Minnesota Twins 1 Top 25
Mike Clevinger Cleveland Indians 1
Gerrit Cole Houston Astros 1
Andrew Heaney Los Angeles Angels 1
Corey Kluber Cleveland Indians 1
Sean Manaea Oakland Athletics 1
Daniel Mengden Oakland Athletics 1
James Paxton Seattle Mariners 1
Luis Severino New York Yankees 1
Masahiro Tanaka New York Yankees 1
Justin Verlander Houston Astros 1
Strikeouts Justin Verlander Houston Astros 290 Top 25
Winning Percentage Charlie Morton Houston Astros .833 Top 25
Wins Blake Snell Tampa Bay Rays 21 Top 25
2018 A.L. History | 2018 N.L. History | Year-by-Year History

2018 American League Team Standings

2018 All-Star Game | 2018 Team Standings | 2018 World Series

Boston Red Sox 108 54 0 .667 -- $206,247,686
New York Yankees 100 62 0 .617 8.0 $161,305,917
Tampa Bay Rays 90 72 0 .556 18.0 $69,605,999
Toronto Blue Jays 73 89 0 .451 35.0 $164,122,200
Baltimore Orioles 47 115 0 .290 61.0 $148,160,873
Cleveland Indians 91 71 0 .562 -- $136,652,167
Minnesota Twins 78 84 0 .481 13.0 $129,560,000
Detroit Tigers 64 98 0 .395 27.0 $111,286,000
Chicago White Sox 62 100 0 .383 29.0 $86,050,333
Kansas City Royals 58 104 0 .358 33.0 $115,483,116
Houston Astros 103 59 0 .636 -- $172,038,900
Oakland Athletics 97 65 0 .599 6.0 $62,652,500
Seattle Mariners 89 73 0 .549 14.0 $165,303,943
LosAngelesAngels 80 82 0 .494 23.0 $171,248,332
Texas Rangers 67 95 0 .414 36.0 $128,821,249
2018 American League Final Standings
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

George Springer (2018 Astros) hit a lead-off home run on Opening Day, March 29, 2018, and became the first player in Major League history to lead off back-to-back seasons (April 3, 2017) with a home run.

On April 5, 2018, Adrian Beltre became the all-time leader in hits by a player from Latin America. Beltre, from the Dominican Republic, passed Rod Carew of Panama (Canal Zone) with his 3,054th career hit.

Did you know that Roberto Osuna became the youngest pitcher in Major League history to reach 100 career saves in 2018? Osuna, on April 10, 2018, recorded his 100th save, reaching the plateau a year younger than the previous record holder, Francisco Rodriguez.