Playoffs will take place from October 4 through October 27, 2004. In 2004, the following players achieved significant milestones: On May 18, 2004, Randy Johnson threw the 17th perfect game in MLB history. Randy Johnson struck out Jeff Cirillo for his 4000th strikeout on June 29, 2004. Ichiro Suzuki had 262 hits, breaking George Sisler's 84-year-old record of 257. Suzuki also became the first player to reach 100 RBI before the All-Star Break since Joe DiMaggio in 1943.
In the Division Series between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, MVP candidates Alfonso Soriano and Prince Fielder went back-and-forth with home runs. Soriano hit two home runs in Game 1 against Randy Wolf while Fielder hit one off him in Game 2. Then in Game 3, both men hit two more home runs as the Cubs beat the Brewers 7-4. In the NLCS matchup between the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves, MVP candidate Pedro Martinez pitched seven strong innings and allowed just one run while hitting an incredible.500 (5 for 10). David Ortiz had three homers and nine RBI during this series.
In the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees, MVP candidate Barry Bonds broke the single-season home run record again. He finished the season with 70 home runs, which is one more than Roger Maris had in 1961. Miguel Tejada had several big games at the plate during this series including a game-winning homer in Game 3. Jorge Posada had eight RBI during this series.
Denny McLain's surname McLain became the most recent Major League Baseball pitcher (with a record of 31-6) to win 30 or more games in a season in 1968, a feat accomplished by only 11 players in the twentieth century. ...
| Denny McLain | |
|---|---|
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 131–91 |
| Earned run average | 3.39 |
| Strikeouts | 1,282 |
Carl Hubbell has the most consecutive victories (24) 1 out of 10 This is the only streak on this list that has a probability of being matched or bettered. Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants won the game on July 18, 1936, and then continued to win, finishing the season with 16 straight triumphs.
In his prime, the 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner was completely dominant, winning two ERA crowns and consistently exceeding the 230-inning mark (his 18 complete games rank fourth in this decade). He pitched the 23rd (and most recent) perfect game in baseball history in 2012.
This time span includes Carlton's all-time best season, a 1972 season in which he went 27-10 with a 1.97 ERA for a Phillies team that won only 59 games. No other pitcher had more than seven wins in a season, and he was a reliever.
This was a piece of cake. Trout's 10.1 WAR debut was one of the best seasons by any player of any age at any time, period, and it's not tough to argue that this was the finest rookie season in Major League history. Trout hit.326/.399/.564 that year and was one stolen base shy of completing 30/50, a feat accomplished just twice before. He also walked more times (81) than he struck out (75). In addition, Trout finished first in MVP voting for the second straight year.
Trout's Angels lost to the Texas Rangers in the World Series that year, but that's only because they were overmatched most games. If they had been able to win some more games, then perhaps they would have gone further than two rounds in the playoffs. Regardless, no rookie has ever had such a phenomenal season or inspired such optimism for future success.
Trout is already the winningest player in Anaheim history and is expected to continue his dominance for years to come. It's easy to see why many consider him to be not only the best hitter, but also the best baseball player in the world.
His teammate Albert Pujols is certainly no slouch either, so it's safe to say that both players are going to bring their A-games to every game they play.
It's also worth mentioning that Mike Trout is just 26 years old, which makes him the youngest player ever to win the MVP Award.
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