The Sox are in unchartered waters heading into the mid-summer classic. This is the first time in at least ten years (might be longer, I'm sure Cooch will throw me a vine) the Sox have hit the all-star break in first place in the AL East.
Why are you telling us this Lavinius, you query?
First off, you're the query. ;)
Secondly, it segues perfectly into a stat I saw on Baseball Tonight:
155 teams have hit the all-star break with division leads. Of those teams, 103 of them have gone on to win the division. (66.5%)
I likey!
Also aiding the Sox chances is them easily having the most favorable second half schedule of the AL contenders:
Red Sox: 43 HOME/32 AWAY
Baltimore: 34 HOME/41 AWAY
NY Yankees: 33 HOME/43 AWAY
Minnesota: 37 HOME/39 AWAY
The Sox also have 24 of their final 36 games at home, a luxury I'm sure those other teams do not have. I'm more than happy heading into the all-star break up two games in the division with the most favorable second half schedule waiting for us when play resumes...
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FYI, 1995 was the last time the Sox were leading at the all-star break...
Thank you homey! I had a feeling they were leading at the break in '95- but I don't like to state speculation as fact.
How many games were they up at the break that year?
If my calculations are correct, the following is true at the all-star break:
Red Sox 39-29
Tigers 37-33
Orioles 33-35
Yankees 30-36
BlueJys 27-40
Therefore, Sox would have had a 3.0 game lead at the break... Interestingly enough, Detroit lost their first 8 games after the break and 15 of 18... Detroit went 7-21 in August and went a dismal 23-51 after the break - i.e., they totally collapsed.
Final standings:
Red Sox 86-58
Yankees 79-65
Orioles 71-73
Tigers 60-84
BlueJys 56-88
Trivia:
Who led the team with wins and ERA that year? Tim Wakefield (16 wins, 2.95 ERA)...
Who was voted the league MVP? Mo Vaughn...
One last trivia piece - name the three players that played on both the 1995 and 2003 Sox squad...
I wouldn't count on the Yankees dropping 8 in a row and 15 of 18 coming out of the break. Detroit folded like a cheap suit that year.
Also, this year's Sox have the Yanks and Oreos on their tail, whereas they just had Detroit on their tail in '95; then they collapsed. No doubt these current Sox have the tougher road to hoe.
I'll take a shot at your trivia:
Tim Wakefield
Bill Hasselman
Jeff Suppan
You are correct on the trivia - I won't even take points off for spelling "Haselman" incorrectly... Honestly, I don't even recall him playing in '03...
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