Sports
10 statistical races that could go down to the wire
3:35 AM UTC
With about one month remaining in the regular season, some individual statistical races are already decided. Nobody is catching Aaron Judge in home runs, for example.
But many other categories are shaping up to be a fight to the finish, with two or more players jockeying for leaderboard position. Here is a subjective look at the 10 most intriguing battles to watch down the stretch.
1. NL home runs
Top contenders: Kyle Schwarber (PHI) 36, Austin Riley (ATL) 35, Paul Goldschmidt (STL) 34, Mookie Betts (LAD) 33, Pete Alonso (NYM) 32
Not only is this a crowded race, but the stakes are high. Goldschmidt is looking to win the first NL Triple Crown since fellow Cardinal Joe Medwick in 1937, and he currently leads the batting race while sitting one ahead of Alonso in RBIs. But he is behind in homers — albeit within striking distance of Schwarber. Goldy will have to blow well past his career high of 36 long balls (2013 and ‘17) to get the job done, and he will have to contend not only with Schwarber but also some other stiff competition.
2. AL WAR
Top contenders (via Baseball-Reference)^: Aaron Judge (NYY) 7.9, Shohei Ohtani (LAA) 7.6
The WAR chase is always undercut a bit by the fact that it is less clear than your more traditional categories. There is more than one version (Judge is a bit further ahead, according to FanGraphs), and the formula is complex.
But with that being said, there is something fascinating about the Judge-Ohtani showdown. It’s not just that they are clearly the top two AL MVP candidates. It’s also how they have arrived at those numbers, with Judge putting together a historically great power-hitting season and Ohtani being roughly a top-10 hitter and a top-10 pitcher at the same time.
3. NL hits
Top contenders: Freddie Freeman (LAD) 168, Trea Turner (LAD) 164, Paul Goldschmidt 158 (STL)
While Turner did lead the NL in hits just last year after arriving in L.A. at the Trade Deadline, would you believe that no player who spent the entire season with the Dodgers has accomplished that since Steve Garvey in 1980? Well, it’s almost certainly happening in 2022. But the question is: Which Dodger will do it?
Turner and Freeman have battled all year in this category, and it’s been fun to watch, especially for Dodgers fans. This would be the second NL hits title for Freeman, while Turner could become the first to win three straight NL crowns since the Reds’ Frank McCormick (1938-40).
4. AL ERA
Top contenders: Justin Verlander (HOU) 1.84, Dylan Cease (CHW) 2.13, Shane McClanahan (TB) 2.20, Alek Manoah (TOR) 2.48, Shohei Ohtani (LAA) 2.58
It looked like Verlander was running away with his second career AL ERA title, until a calf injury sent him to the IL last week. Now the question that looms largest is not so much whether the 39-year-old can avoid a late slide, but whether he will return in time to pitch at least 10 more innings, thereby reaching the 162-inning mark to qualify for the title at season’s end.
For that matter, the same applies to McClanahan, who also just hit the IL with a shoulder issue and still needs 14 2/3 innings to qualify. If neither of the top two can reach that threshold, it should clear the way for Cease, who also is making a serious, last-minute Cy Young Award push.
5. NL ERA
Top contenders: NL ERA: Julio Urías (LAD) 2.29, Sandy Alcantara (MIA) 2.36, Zac Gallen (ARI) 2.42, Max Fried (ATL) 2.48
A couple of months ago, this didn’t look to be much of a race. On July 10, Urías gave up five runs to the Cubs, bloating his ERA to 3.01. That same day, Alcantara blanked the Mets for seven innings, dropping his to 1.73. But in nine starts apiece since then, those numbers have flipped (1.13 for Urías, 3.73 for Alcantara), with Urías jumping in front on Saturday.
More contenders lurk. That includes the red-hot Gallen and his 41 1/3-inning scoreless streak, as well as three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, who has a 2.26 ERA but currently does not have enough innings to qualify (he also exited his last start after five innings with side fatigue). If Scherzer makes five more starts for the Mets, he would need to average just under 7 innings per outing — only a bit above what he has done since returning from the IL in early July.
6. NL doubles
Top contenders: Freddie Freeman (LAD) 43, Matt Olson (ATL) 41
Sometimes, the narratives write themselves: The former Atlanta cornerstone first baseman and the younger version brought in last offseason to replace him, going head to head. While all that maneuvering caused a lot of emotional upheaval, it also has worked out for all involved, with both players enjoying strong seasons and both teams soaring toward another postseason.
If Freeman can hold off Olson, he would become the first player to win at least three doubles titles in either league over a five-year span since Don Mattingly went back to back to back in the AL from 1984-86.
7. NL saves
Top contenders: Kenley Jansen (ATL) 31, Josh Hader (SD) 30, Taylor Rogers (MIL) 30, Edwin Díaz (NYM) 29, Daniel Bard (COL) 28
The first thing you notice here is that two of these pitchers (Hader and Rogers) were traded for each other before last month’s Deadline. But that hasn’t done wonders for their chances in this race, with the pair combining for three total saves with their new teams, and Hader in particular enduring some mighty struggles.
That might mean that this ends up as a race between Jansen and the dominant Díaz, one that would play out alongside their teams’ duel for the NL East crown. Perhaps it will even come down to the final head-to-head showdown, Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Atlanta.
8. AL stolen bases
Top contenders: Jorge Mateo (BAL) 30, Cedric Mullins (BAL) 29, Randy Arozarena (TB) 27, Bobby Witt Jr. (KC) 26
The Orioles are shaping up to be one of the most fun teams to watch down the stretch — an up-and-coming, ahead-of-schedule club with a nothing-to-lose attitude. One of Baltimore’s strengths is baserunning (fourth in MLB in FanGraphs’ baserunning runs metric), and two of its best are Mullins and Mateo, who also ranks in the top 10 in the Majors in sprint speed.
Of course, it’s not just a two-Oriole race. And if Mullins or Mateo winds up tied with Arozarena, it would be reminiscent of 2007, when Baltimore’s Brian Roberts and Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford did the same.
9. NL strikeouts
Top contenders: Carlos Rodón (SF) 201, Corbin Burnes (MIL) 200, Aaron Nola (PHI) 190
Even if Burnes doesn’t repeat as the NL Cy Young Award winner, this is another box he could check. That would be significant for Milwaukee, which is one of four franchises (along with the Marlins, Royals and Rockies) to never have a pitcher lead the AL or NL in K’s. Two of those, Miami and Colorado, are more recent expansion teams.
It won’t be easy, though. Nola is trying to help pitch the Phillies into their first postseason since 2011, while Rodón is sharpening a case to be one of the offseason’s most coveted free agents, assuming he opts out of his contract.
10. NL on-base percentage
Top contenders: Paul Goldschmidt (STL) .417, Juan Soto (SD) .411
This one is interesting mostly because it’s an extreme example of how to players can arrive at roughly the same stat in wildly different ways. Goldschmidt has raked this year, piling up 158 hits — a whopping 51 more than Soto. But Soto is blowing away the rest of the MLB field with 117 walks — 48 more than Goldy. The result is similar OBPs, despite more than an 80-point difference in batting average and nearly a 150-point gap in slugging.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury in U.S. District Court ordered the NFL to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages Thursday after ruling that the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.
The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.
The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of Sunday games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.
The NFL said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.
Should the NFL end up paying damages, it could cost each of the 32 teams approximately $449.6 million.
“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the league said in a statement. “We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.
“We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit.”
The trial lasted three weeks and featured testimony from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
“Justice was done. The verdict upholds protection for the consumers in our class. It was a great day for consumers,” plaintiffs attorney Bill Carmody said.
During his closing remarks, Carmody showed an April, 2017, NFL memo that showed the league was exploring a world without “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, where cable channels would air Sunday afternoon out-of-market games not shown on Fox or CBS.
The jury of five men and three women deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching its decision.
Judge Philip S. Gutierrez is scheduled to hear post-trial motions on July 31, including the NFL’s request to have him rule in favor of the league because the judge determined the plaintiffs did not prove their case.
Payment of damages, any changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package and/or the ways the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon games would be stayed until all appeals have been concluded.
The league maintained it had the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs said that only covers over-the-air broadcasts and not pay TV.
Other professional sports leagues were also keeping an eye on this case since they also offer out-of-market packages. A major difference though is that MLB, the NBA and the NHL market their packages on multiple distributors and share in the revenue per subscriber instead of receiving an outright rights fee.
DirecTV had “Sunday Ticket” from its inception in 1994 through 2022. The league signed a seven-year deal with Google’s YouTube TV that began with the 2023 season.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco but was dismissed in 2017. Two years later, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reinstated the case. Gutierrez ruled last year the case could proceed as a class action.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Olympic team is one of a handful that will supply air conditioners for their athletes at the Paris Games in a move that undercuts organizers’ plans to cut carbon emissions.
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland said Friday that while the U.S. team appreciates efforts aimed at sustainability, the federation would be supplying AC units for what is typically the largest contingent of athletes at the Summer Games.
“As you can imagine, this is a period of time in which consistency and predictability is critical for Team USA’s performance,” Hirshland said. “In our conversations with athletes, this was a very high priority and something that the athletes felt was a critical component in their performance capability.”
The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada and Britain were among the other countries with plans to bring air conditioners to France.
Olympic organizers have touted plans to cool rooms in the Athletes Village, which will house more than 15,000 Olympians and sports officials over the course of the games, using a system of cooling pipes underneath the floors.
The average high in Paris on Aug. 1 is 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). The objective is to keep the rooms between 23-26 degrees (73-79 degrees Fahrenheit). The rooms will also be equipped with fans.
“I want the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental point of view,” Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has said about the plans for the Olympics.
According to the International Energy Agency, fewer than 1 in 10 households in Europe has air conditioning, and the numbers in Paris are lower than that. The study said that of the 1.6 billion AC units in use across the globe in 2016, more than half were in China (570 million) and the United States (375 million). The entire European Union had around 100 million.
The Olympics mark the most important stop on the athletic careers of the 10,500-plus athletes who will descend on Paris, which has led some high-profile countries to undercut environmental efforts for the sake of comfort.
“It’s a high-performance environment,” Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Strath Gordon explained to The Post.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers seemed determined to keep playing. And playing. And playing.
The teams opened their Eastern Conference final playoff series with Florida’s 3-2 victory in four overtimes early Friday, with the game ranking as the sixth-longest game in NHL history.
Matthew Tkachuk’s goal came at the 19:47 mark of the fourth OT to end this one, which marked the 15th four-overtime game in NHL history and the longest game in franchise history for each team.
The longest game in NHL history came on March 24, 1936, when the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Maroons 1-0 in the sixth overtime on Mud Bruneteau’s goal at 116 minutes, 30 seconds of extra play.
Florida’s previous record for longest game was 104:31 in Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup final against Colorado. Carolina’s previous record was 114:47 for Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup final.
The only good news for the teams is they had an extended break before this series began. Carolina closed out New Jersey exactly a week earlier, while Florida eliminated Toronto a day later.
But this game ended roughly six hours after Thursday night’s puck drop, and the teams have a Game 2 in less than 48 hours.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
