100 Facts About the 2023 MLB Season

With the offseason in full force and rumors swirling the endless parade of free agents and possible trades, we can finally close the book on the 2023 MLB season. The Rangers are (finally!) champions, we already know all major award winners, and so it seems like a good time to acknowledge some of the most shocking, interesting, and weird stats and feats of 2023. This is not a space for speculation and hot takes, just plain ol’ facts.

 

The new rules

 

#1 – Stolen base attempts climbed to 0.72 per team game, the highest number since 1997.

#2 – 15 players stole at least 30 bases (only 6 did so in 2022).

#3 – Attempting base stealers had the highest success rate of all time, with an 80.2% mark. (Rickey Henderson’s career rate was 80.8%).

#4 – Despite the limits on pick-off attempts, Patrick Corbin led MLB with seven, becoming only the second pitcher in the past five years to reach that number.

#5 – The collective league batting average rose to .248, a year after falling to a 50-year-low .243.

#6 – Accordingly, the league BABIP climbed to .297, a welcome sight after 2022’s ghastly .290 mark.

#7 – Despite the quickly enacted defensive shift restrictions, the season only had four defensive positioning violations called.

#8 – With only 15, the Mariners were the best team in avoiding pitch-clock violations. On the other hand, the Mets “led” the league with 55.

#9 – Craig Kimbrel was the league’s most frequent culprit from the mound, with 13 violations. From the batter’s box, Washington’s Ildemaro Vargas led all of MLB with five.

#10 – The MLB average game duration was 2 hours and 42 minutes, slashing 24 minutes from 2022’s average.

#11 – Only nine games that ended in nine innings lasted at least three and a half hours (in 2021, there were 390 such games).

#12 – On September 14, the Pirates’ 2-0 win over Washington needed all of 1 hour and 50 minutes to be completed – the quickest nine-inning game on record since 2010.

#13 – According to MLB’s official attendance numbers, over 70 million fans attended regular season games. This marked the first season since 2017 to eclipse that mark.

 

Winning/Losing extremes

 

#14 – The Tampa Bay Rays started the season with a 13-0 record, marking the longest-ever winning streak to start a season, and the longest by any team in 2023.

#15 – Only three other teams had double-digit winning streaks: the Dodgers, Reds, and Giants. Two of them missed the playoffs.

#16 – The Braves had six streaks of at least five wins, topping at nine straight from June 24 to July 3.

#17 – The Nationals were the only team without a five-game winning streak in 2023.

#18 – The Baltimore Orioles were not swept in any regular-season series (only to suffer an ALDS sweep at the hands of Texas).

#19 – Unsurprisingly, the longest losing streak belonged to Oakland, with 11 (they had 10 separate losing streaks of at least five games).

#20 – The two longest losing streaks by eventual playoff teams belonged to… the Diamondbacks (9) and Rangers (8).

 

Individual Feats

 

#21 – On June 28, Domingo Germán pitched the season’s only perfect game. It was the first MLB perfecto since 2012. German ended the season with a 4.56 ERA.

#22 – From August 16 to 19, Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez collected 17 hits, establishing a new modern record for a four-game stretch.

#23 – On May 11, Justin Verlander earned the win against the Cincinnati Reds. This win made him only the 21st pitcher in history with a win recorded against 30 franchises.

#24 – Julio Rodríguez became the first player to record consecutive 25/25 seasons to start his MLB career.

#25 – On May 13, Zack Greinke struck out Milwaukee’s Brice Turang and Joey Wiemer, reaching 1,000 different hitters with a K for his career. He became only the fifth pitcher ever to reach this milestone.

#26 – From May 12 to the 14th, Cleveland’s Josh Naylor hit go-ahead homers in the eighth inning or later in every game against the Angels. He had entered this series with three total homers.

#27 – Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel joined the 400-save club, which includes only eight closers.

#28 – On September 26, Adam Wainwright won his 200th career game. He finished the season as the league’s worst pitcher in terms of bWAR (-2.0).

#29 – Ronald Acuña posted the first 40/70 season in MLB history, earning his first career MVP award.

#30 – Andrew McCutchen, Elvis Andrus, Freddie Freeman, and Jose Altuve reached 2,000 career hits.

#31 – Corbin Carroll became the first rookie to amass 25 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season. He was the unanimous NL Rookie of the Year.

#32 – On September 5, Giancarlo Stanton hit his 400th career home run. He became only the 58th player in history to reach this total.

#33 – On May 23, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole earned his 2,000th career strikeout. He became the 87th pitcher in this select club.

#34 – On July 30, Justin Verlander earned his 250th career win. Following a trade to the Astros, he would later start his 500th career game.

#35 – On April 18, Clayton Kershaw earned his 200th career win. He became only the sixth pitcher ever to reach this mark while also having fewer than 100 losses (the last pitcher to accomplish this was Pedro Martinez).

#36 – Facing the Royals on April 10, Rangers pitcher Andrew Heaney tied the AL record by striking out nine consecutive batters.

#37 – Yu Darvish became the all-time strikeout leader among Japanese pitchers, surpassing Hideo Nomo.

#38 – Michael Lorenzen and Framber Valdez threw no-hitters (the Tigers also pitched a combined no-hitter).

#39 – Despite a .309 OBP and negative WAR, Oakland’s Esteury Ruiz set an AL rookie record by stealing 67 bases.

#40 – Royce Lewis became the first player to hit four grand slams over an 18-game span. He has only 17 career homers to date, with five of them coming with the bases loaded.

#41 – On April 22, Rangers slugger Adolis García became the fourth batter ever to post a three-homer, two-double performance.

#42 – Ronald Acuña scored 149 runs, becoming the highest single-season total since Jeff Bagwell had 152 in the year 2000.

#43 – Luis Arraez became only the second player ever with batting titles in both leagues, reaching this milestone in consecutive seasons.

#44 – Bobby Witt Jr. became the first player in Royals history with a 30/30 season, coming one steal short of an even more impressive 30/50 campaign.

#45 – Freddie Freeman led the majors with 59 doubles, which were 17 more than #2 (Corey Seager).

 

Team Milestones

 

#46 – Atlanta became the first team ever to post a collective slugging percentage above .500 over a full season. For reference, only 20 eligible batters reached that mark in 2023 (5 of them play in Atlanta).

#47 – Despite missing the playoffs, the Yankees extended their string of winning seasons to 31 by finishing 82-80.

#48 – The Dodgers became the first team since 1955 to have three players posting at least 100 RBI (Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Max Muncy).

#49 – On August 1 and 2, facing the Reds, the Cubs became the first team ever with at least 10 extra-base hits and five homers in consecutive games.

#50 – The Rays hit at least one homer during their first 21 games of the season, setting a new MLB record.

#51 – Atlanta reached 11,000 franchise wins back in August, becoming the fifth team to reach this number.

#52 – The Cubs reached 15,000 franchise all-time homers, becoming only the third team with this total.

#53 – The Marlins set a new MLB record by winning 12 straight one-run games. They ended the season with a 33-14 mark in such contests.

#54 – The Padres went 2-12 in extra-inning games and 9-23 in one-run games.

#55 – The Orioles became the first team to defeat all other 29 franchises in the same season, a quirk made possible by the new balanced schedule.

 

The Playoffs

 

#56 – The Rangers and Diamondbacks broke playoff droughts of at least five years and then won their respective pennants.

#57 – After allowing six runs in the first inning of the NLDS against Arizona, Clayton Kershaw was removed, marking the shortest outing of his career.

#58 – The Minnesota Twins ended their 18-game losing streak in the playoffs, defeating the Blue Jays and eventually reaching the ALDS.

#59 – For the first time in history, four teams with fewer than 90 wins reached the championship series.

#60 – The Astros reached the ALCS for the seventh straight season, extending their own record.

#61 – The Astros vs Rangers ALCS marked the first-ever championship series featuring teams from the same state.

#62 – Corey Seager walked five times in Game 2 of the ALDS. He became the first player to accomplish this in the postseason.

#63 – Only one playoff game went to extra innings (Game 1 of the World Series).

#64 – With the Diamondbacks and Rangers reaching the World Series, it marked the first Fall Classic since 2016 to not feature at least one of the Astros or Dodgers.

#65 – With the Rangers winning their first title, now only the Brewers, Rockies, Mariners, Padres, and Rays are still without a World Series championship.

#66 – Nick Castellanos hit back-to-back multi-homer games in Games 3 and 4 of the NLDS against the Braves, becoming the first player to do it in the playoffs.

#67 – Arizona’s Ketel Marte set a major league playoff record with a 20-game hitting streak.

#68 – In the clinching NLDS Game 3 against the Dodgers, the Diamondbacks became the first team ever to hit four home runs in the same inning.

#69 – The Rangers finished the playoffs with a 10-game road winning streak, setting a new all-time record.

#70 – Only 41 out of a possible 53 playoff games were played, as six series ended in sweeps and only two winner-take-all games were held.

 

Weirdness

 

#71 – On March 30, Opening Day, all 30 teams took the field. It marked the first time since 1968 that all franchises started the season on the same day.

#72 – On September 10, Corbin Burnes and the Milwaukee bullpen held the Yankees hitless for 10 innings…only to lose the game in the 13th.

#73 – On September 9, the Orioles allowed 23 hits to the Red Sox over nine innings…but still won by a score of 13-12.

#74 – On July 18, 12 teams scored at least 10 runs, including four games in which both squads posted double digits. This was the first time on record with such an offensive explosion on the same day.

#75 – After being promoted by the Reds, prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand became the player with the longest last name to ever play an MLB game (somewhere, Jarrod Saltalamacchia weeps).

#76 – Only one manager was fired in-season, as the Giants announced the removal of Gabe Kapler on September 29.

#77 – For the first time ever, MLB allowed teams to wear advertisements on their uniforms. 16 franchises debuted these patches in 2023.

#78 – After being part of the London Series for the Cardinals, Paul Goldschmidt became the first player in history with a game played in five countries: US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and England.

#79 – On August 18, the Rays hit into a triple play and gave up a grand slam to the Angels…and still won the game.

#80 – The San Diego Padres had a +104 run differential, third-best in the NL, only to miss the playoffs.

#81 – The Miami Marlins had a -57 run differential, fifth-worst in the NL, and made the playoffs for only the fourth time in franchise history.

#82 – Kyle Schwarber led the league in strikeouts, had a .343 OBP despite a .197 batting average, and hit only one more single (48) than he hit homers (47).

#83 – Eventual NL Cy Young Blake Snell led the league in ERA and walks, becoming the first pitcher ever with that dual accomplishment.

#84 – The top three teams in total payroll (Mets, Padres, and Yankees) missed the playoffs.

#85 – Trea Turner went 30-for-30 in stolen base attempts.

#86 – Royals pitcher Jordan Lyles had the worst ERA in baseball (6.28), but also led the league in complete games (3).

#87 – Seattle’s first baseman Ty France led the league with 34 hit by pitches, 13 more than #2 (Pete Alonso).

#88 – Luis Arraez led the league with a strikeout rate of 5.5%. He was the only qualified hitter under 10%.

#89 – Seattle pitcher George Kirby led the league with a BB/9 of 0.90. He was the only qualified pitcher below 1 BB/9.

#90 – With a .521 winning percentage, home teams posted the lowest success rate for home squads since 1999.

 

Shohei

 

#91 – Shohei Ohtani struck out 10 batters on Opening Day but still lost the game, becoming the first pitcher with such tough luck in MLB history.

#92 – With 608 strikeouts on his ledger, Ohtani is now the only player with at least 600 strikeouts on the mound and 100 homers as a hitter.

#93 – As a hitter, he led the AL in homers, OBP, slugging, OPS, and total bases.

#94 – On July 27, Ohtani pitched a one-hit shutout in game one of a doubleheader in Detroit. In game 2, he hit two homers.

#95 – He earned his second career MVP, second Silver Slugger award, and third All-Star designation.

#96 – Ohtani posted his second-straight 10 fWAR season, leading the league by almost two wins despite missing the final month of the season.

#97 – He induced 16 double plays as a pitcher, while only hitting into nine as a hitter.

#98 – Ohtani stole 20 bases and only allowed five steals on the mound.

#99 – Ohtani became just the fourth player with multiple Baseball America’s Player of the Year awards, joining Mike Trout, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez.

#100 – The next time Shohei takes the mound, he will continue a string of 20.1 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.