YEAR IN REVIEW : 2018 National 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.
"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." - Botte, Peter. New York Daily News Staff Writer. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred says National League could implement DH by 2017. 21 January 2016.
2018 National League Player Review |
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| Statistic | Name | Team | # | Top 25 |
| Base on Balls | Bryce Harper | Washington Nationals | 130 | Top 25 |
| Batting Average | Christian Yelich | Milwaukee Brewers | .326 | Top 25 |
| Doubles | Freddie Freeman | Atlanta Braves | 44 | Top 25 |
| Anthony Rendon | Washington Nationals | 44 | ||
| Hits | Freddie Freeman | Atlanta Braves | 191 | Top 25 |
| Home Runs | Nolan Arenado | Colorado Rockies | 38 | Top 25 |
| On Base Percentage | Joey Votto | Cincinnati Reds | .417 | Top 25 |
| RBI | Javier Baez | Chicago Cubs | 111 | Top 25 |
| Runs | Charlie Blackmon | Colorado Rockies | 119 | Top 25 |
| Slugging Average | Christian Yelich | Milwaukee Brewers | .598 | Top 25 |
| Stolen Bases | Trea Turner | Washington Nationals | 43 | Top 25 |
| Total Bases | Christian Yelich | Milwaukee Brewers | 343 | Top 25 |
| Triples | Ketel Marte | Arizona Diamondbacks | 12 | Top 25 |
| Statistic | Name | Team | # | Top 25 |
| 2018 N.L. History | 2018 A.L. History | Year-by-Year History | ||||
2018 National League Pitcher Review |
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| Statistic | Name | Team | # | Top 25 |
| Complete Games | Michael Foltynewicz | Atlanta Braves | 2 | Top 25 |
| Max Scherzer | Washington Nationals | 2 | ||
| Noah Syndergaard | New York Mets | 2 | ||
| Jameson Taillon | Pittsburgh Pirates | 2 | ||
| ERA | Jacob deGrom | New York Mets | 1.70 | Top 25 |
| Games | Brad Ziegler | Miami Marlins | 82 | Top 25 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | ||||
| Saves | Wade Davis | Colorado Rockies | 43 | Top 25 |
| Shutouts | Patrick Corbin | Arizona Diamondbacks | 1 | Top 25 |
| Michael Foltynewicz | Atlanta Braves | 1 | ||
| Miles Mikolas | St. Louis Cardinals | 1 | ||
| Max Scherzer | Washington Nationals | 1 | ||
| Chris Stratton | San Francisco Giants | 1 | ||
| Noah Syndergaard | New York Mets | 1 | ||
| Jameson Taillon | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1 | ||
| Trevor Williams | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1 | ||
| Strikeouts | Max Scherzer | Washington Nationals | 300 | Top 25 |
| Winning Percentage | Miles Mikolas | St. Louis Cardinals | .818 | Top 25 |
| Wins | Jon Lester | Chicago Cubs | 18 | Top 25 |
| Miles Mikolas | St. Louis Cardinals | 18 | ||
| Max Scherzer | Washington Nationals | 18 | ||
| Statistic | Name | Team | # | Top 25 |
| 2018 N.L. History | 2018 A.L. History | Year-by-Year History | ||||
2018 National League Team Standings2018 All-Star Game | 2018 Team Standings | 2018 World Series |
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| East | Team | Roster | W | L | T | WP | GB |
| Atlanta Braves | 90 | 72 | 0 | .556 | -- | |
| Washington Nationals | 82 | 80 | 0 | .506 | 8.0 | |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 80 | 82 | 0 | .494 | 10.0 | |
| New York Mets | 77 | 85 | 0 | .475 | 13.0 | |
| Miami Marlins | 63 | 98 | 0 | .391 | 26.5 | |
| Central | Team | Roster | W | L | T | WP | GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 96 | 67 | 0 | .589 | -- | |
| Chicago Cubs | 95 | 68 | 0 | .583 | 1.0 | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 88 | 74 | 0 | .543 | 7.5 | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 82 | 79 | 0 | .509 | 13.0 | |
| Cincinnati Reds | 67 | 95 | 0 | .414 | 28.5 | |
| West | Team | Roster | W | L | T | WP | GB |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 92 | 71 | 0 | .564 | -- | |
| Colorado Rockies | 91 | 72 | 0 | .558 | 1.0 | |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 82 | 80 | 0 | .506 | 9.5 | |
| San Francisco Giants | 73 | 89 | 0 | .451 | 18.5 | |
| San Diego Padres | 66 | 96 | 0 | .407 | 24.5 | |
| N.L. | Team | Roster | W | L | T | WP | GB |
| 2018 National Standings | ||||||
Joe Panik etched his name in baseball history during the 2018 season with the Giants, achieving a remarkable feat never seen before in Major League play: he launched home runs in back-to-back season-opening 1-0 victories for his team on March 29 and March 30. A clutch performance for the record books!
On April 10, 2018, Asdrubal Cabrera homered batting righty, then again lefty, in the same game - the twenty-second time the New York Mets have had a player accomplish the feat, most in National League history, second only behind the New York Yankees.
Did you know that Barry Bonds had his #25 retired by the San Francisco Giants on August 11, 2018 — the ninth player in franchise history (including time in New York) to have his number retired by the team?
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