The Cardinals have finished the 2015 regular season.
And since we have tons of time to kill between now and Friday evening, let’s take a look back on some of the stats that defined the NL Central champs…
Hitting –
- Total Runs: 647 (24th in MLB)
- Hits: 1386 (14th in MLB)
- Team Average: .253 (12th in MLB)
- Slugging: .394 (T-23rd in MLB)
- OPS: .716 (19th in MLB)
Pitching –
- ERA: 2.94 (1st in MLB)
- Strikeouts: 1329 (11th in MLB)
- Shutouts: 15 (T-4th in MLB)
- Quality Starts: 106 (1st in MLB)
- Batting Average Against: .247 (T-7th in MLB)
Defense –
- Fielding Percentage: .984 (T-20th in MLB)
- Errors: 96 (22nd in MLB)
- Assists: 1617 (T-15th in MLB)
So the narrative surrounding the ’15 Cardinals is pretty accurate. A really good pitching team. A pretty middling offensive team. An OK defensive team (outside RF/C – excellent). A weak power team.
2015 #STLCards Games Started Leaders
Lackey 33
Lynn 31
Wacha 30
Martinez 29
Garcia 20
Lyons 8
Cooney 6
Wainwright 4
Gonzales 1— The Birds On The Bat (@BirdsOnTheBat13) October 5, 2015
That quality start stat is the one that really pops, though. 106 in 162 games stands on its own, but the fact that the Lyons/Cooney/Gonzales trifecta of spot starters claimed 15 of the 162 makes it even more of an accomplishment.
Sensational season for John Lackey at Busch Stadium: 1.92 ERA over 17 starts. All 17 were quality starts. Had at least 7 IP in 15 of them.
— Jenifer Langosch (@LangoschMLB) September 27, 2015
The bullpen deserves a shout out too. Not only did Trevor Rosenthal record 48 saves (good for 2nd in MLB behind Pittsburgh’s Mark Melancon), but the bullpen as a whole was able to keep the ERA under 3.
.@MLB Team Leaders For Reliever's ERA
1 Pirates 2.67
2 Royals 2.72
3 Cardinals 2.82
4 Indians 3.12
5 Orioles 3.21— The Birds On The Bat (@BirdsOnTheBat13) October 6, 2015
The final ESPN Power Rankings:
Final MLB Power Rankings (via @BBTN):
1. Cardinals
2. Blue Jays
3. Pirates
4. Cubs
5. Royalshttps://t.co/nFBcxnAWXk— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 5, 2015
The offensive stats are a little, how shall we say, less encouraging.
.@MLB Team Hitting With RSIP
1 Blue Jays .286
2 Royals .281
3 Twins .280
4 Rockies .279
5 Giants .277
(27 Cardinals .242)— The Birds On The Bat (@BirdsOnTheBat13) October 6, 2015
.@MLB Team Leaders For HR
1 Blue Jays 232
2 Astros 230
3 Orioles 217
4 Yankees 212
5 Mariners
(25 Cards 137)— The Birds On The Bat (@BirdsOnTheBat13) October 6, 2015
It’s well trodden ground.
Surprisingly, though, the Cardinals run differential ended up at +124, good for 2nd in MLB. Yes much of that is dominant pitching that didn’t let off the gas during games. But the Cardinals have been able to scratch out runs when needed.
Jays' current run differential stands at +231. Rest of leaders: 2. Cardinals +124 3. Pirates +107 4. Astros +92 5. Yankees +80 6. Mets +78.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) September 30, 2015
But really, the only stat you care about?
#STLCards pic.twitter.com/3nV86NWqQU
— Brian Hendrian (@Hendomaniac1) October 6, 2015
Photo: WordPress
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