Okay, so I’ve been digging into some old baseball stats, right? And let me tell you, it’s a wild ride back in time. I wanted to figure out what the best seasons ever were, and boy, was I in for a surprise.
First off, I started with the pitchers. I found this guy named Tim Keefe. Back in 1883, this dude pitched a whopping 68 complete games. Can you believe that? 619 innings! And get this, his team, the 1883 New York Metropolitans, only used two pitchers the whole season. Keefe pitched like 71% of the team’s innings. Just two guys!
- Tim Keefe, 1883: 68 complete games, 619 innings.
Then, I started looking into the best team records. I stumbled upon the 2001 Seattle Mariners. They won 116 games and only lost 46. That’s nuts! Turns out, the 1906 Chicago Cubs also won 116 games.
- 2001 Seattle Mariners: 116 wins, 46 losses.
- 1906 Chicago Cubs: 116 wins.
After that, I got curious about individual player performances. You know who everyone’s talking about these days, right? Shohei Ohtani. He did something no one had ever done before: 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in one season. His final count was 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. I found out other players had 40-40 seasons, like Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano and Ronald Acuña Jr.. Acuña Jr. is the only player to achieve a 40-70 season, achieving this feat in 2023.
- Shohei Ohtani: First player with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season (54-59).
- 40-40 club: Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Shohei Ohtani.
- 40-70 club: Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2023.
I kept digging and found some mentions of Babe Ruth‘s 1921 season and Mike Trout‘s 2012 season as being pretty epic. There was also talk of Mickey Mantle‘s 1956 season, saying he was basically the best hitter on the planet from 1952 to 1964.
- Babe Ruth, 1921.
- Mike Trout, 2012.
- Mickey Mantle, 1956.
My Realization
So, after spending hours on this, I’ve realized that “best” is kind of subjective. You’ve got pitchers throwing crazy innings, teams winning a ridiculous number of games, and individual players pulling off feats that seem impossible. It is very difficult to pick just one season as the “best.”
