50 Fun Facts About 2018 MLB Season

Which statistic outnumbered hits across a full Major League Baseball season for the first time in 2018?

Strikeouts beat hits 41,207 to 41,019 in 2018, something no earlier season had produced. April 2018 had already been the first single month in which batters whiffed more often than they hit safely.

Which Dodgers slugger ended the longest game in World Series history with an 18th-inning walk-off homer in 2018?

Max Muncy homered seven hours and 20 minutes after the first pitch of Game 3, giving Los Angeles its only win of the series. Oakland had released him in the spring of 2017.

Which Japanese newcomer won the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year Award with the Los Angeles Angels?

Shohei Ohtani hit 22 homers and went 4–2 as a starting pitcher in his first American season. An elbow injury then sent him for Tommy John surgery that autumn.

Which outfielder won the 2018 AL MVP Award along with a batting title, a Gold Glove and a World Series ring?

Mookie Betts was the first player to collect an MVP, a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger, a batting crown and a championship in one season. He hit .346 for Boston.

Which slugger won the 2018 Home Run Derby in his home ballpark, edging Kyle Schwarber 19–18 in the final?

Bryce Harper drew level on the last pitch of regulation, then won it in bonus time with 16 seconds to spare. He left for Philadelphia as a free agent the following winter.

Which first-year Boston manager became the first skipper from Puerto Rico to win a World Series in 2018?

Alex Cora won a franchise-best 108 games and became only the fifth manager to take the title in his debut season. He had won a ring as a Boston infielder in 2007.

Which outfielder, traded from Miami that winter, won the 2018 NL MVP Award after two cycles against Cincinnati?

Christian Yelich hit both cycles within 19 days, the first time anyone had done it twice to one opponent in a season. He also won the batting title at .326 for Milwaukee.

Which Mets ace won the 2018 NL Cy Young Award with a 1.70 ERA despite earning only ten wins?

Jacob deGrom finished just 10–9, yet his 26th straight start allowing three runs or fewer broke a record that had stood since 1910. His ERA was the lowest in the majors.

Which team hit a then-record 267 home runs in 2018, breaking a mark the Seattle Mariners had held since 1997?

The New York Yankees were also the first team to get at least 20 homers from every one of the nine spots in the batting order.

Which journeyman first baseman, acquired by Boston in a June trade, was named MVP of the 2018 World Series?

Steve Pearce homered three times in the last two games, twice in the Game 5 clincher at Dodger Stadium. Boston had picked him up from Toronto for a minor leaguer.

Which reigning NL MVP joined Aaron Judge in the Bronx for 2018 after a 59-homer season in Miami?

Giancarlo Stanton was only the second player traded in the winter after a 50-homer season, following Greg Vaughn. He added 38 more in his first year in pinstripes.

Which All-Star shortstop did the Dodgers acquire from Baltimore in July 2018 to replace the injured Corey Seager?

Manny Machado helped Los Angeles reach the World Series, then signed a 10-year, $300 million contract with San Diego that winter. It was the largest free-agent deal in American sports history at the time.

Which slugger's 3,000th hit in May 2018 made him the fourth player with that many hits and 600 home runs?

Albert Pujols singled off Seattle's Mike Leake on May 4 to join Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez in that club. He was the 32nd player to reach the hit milestone.

Which outfielder debuted in April 2018 as the youngest player in the majors and won NL Rookie of the Year?

Ronald Acuña Jr. hit 26 homers in 111 games for Atlanta, and in August became the youngest major leaguer to go deep in five consecutive games.

Which defending World Series champion did the Boston Red Sox beat in five games in the 2018 ALCS?

The Houston Astros had won 103 games and took the opener at Fenway Park, then lost four in a row. Boston's Jackie Bradley Jr. was named the series MVP.

Which retired shortstop ran the Miami Marlins as chief executive in 2018, his first full season as an owner?

Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman struck a deal to buy the club in August 2017, and the new regime quickly traded away its star outfield. He stayed in the job until February 2022.

Which city hosted the 2018 MLB All-Star Game, an 8–6 American League win featuring a record ten home runs?

Washington, D.C. staged the game at Nationals Park, where all but one of the runs scored on a homer. The old record for an All-Star Game had been six.

Which Nationals ace fanned exactly 300 batters in 2018 and shared the National League lead with 18 wins?

Max Scherzer reached the mark on September 25, becoming the 17th pitcher since 1900 to do it in a season. He still finished second in the Cy Young vote.

Which ace started Game 1 of the World Series for the same team in both 2017 and 2018?

Clayton Kershaw was the first pitcher to open back-to-back Fall Classics since Cliff Lee in 2009 and 2010. He took the loss in both of his 2018 starts against Boston.

Which manager, whose stolen base sparked Boston's 2004 comeback, lost the 2018 World Series to his former team?

Dave Roberts, born in Japan to an American Marine, was managing Los Angeles in a second straight Fall Classic. It was the first World Series between two managers of color.

Which team lost the NL Central tiebreaker and the NL Wild Card Game at home on consecutive days in 2018?

The Chicago Cubs fell to Milwaukee at Wrigley Field on October 1, then lost 2–1 to Colorado in 13 innings there the next night. They had won 95 games and were out within 48 hours.

Which social network streamed MLB games exclusively in 2018, starting with a Mets–Phillies game in April?

Facebook showed the games free on its Watch platform under an exclusive deal struck with the league before the season. No American television channel carried them.

Which pace-of-play limit did MLB introduce in 2018, allowing each team six per nine innings?

Mound visits were capped for the first time in 2018, with one more granted for every extra inning played.

Which cartoon logo did the Cleveland Indians wear on their uniforms for the final time in 2018?

Chief Wahoo was last worn in a Division Series loss on October 8, 2018, and the Hall of Fame barred the logo from future plaques. The club became the Guardians after 2021.

Which former slugger had his No. 25 retired by the San Francisco Giants before an August 2018 game against Pittsburgh?

Barry Bonds, baseball's career home run leader with 762, was honored in a pregame ceremony with his former club in the other dugout.

Which longtime Mets captain played his final game in September 2018 after years of battling spinal stenosis?

David Wright had been named only the fourth captain in Mets history in 2013. He missed significant time from 2015 onward before doctors told him his back would not improve.

Which 44-year-old outfielder rejoined the Seattle Mariners in 2018, then moved into the front office in May?

Ichiro Suzuki became special assistant to the chairman on May 3 but refused to rule out playing again. He did return in 2019 and announced his retirement at the Tokyo Dome.

Which former ESPN analyst became a first-time manager in the Bronx for 2018 with no coaching experience at all?

Aaron Boone had hit the walk-off homer that won the 2003 pennant for the same club. His team won 100 games in his first season in the dugout.

Which Atlanta Braves third baseman entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018 in his first year of eligibility?

Chipper Jones went in with Jim Thome, another first-ballot pick, plus Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman.

Which Boston left-hander, winless in his first 11 postseason starts, won the clinching Game 5 of the 2018 World Series?

David Price pitched into the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium and allowed a single run on three hits. He was also voted the AL Comeback Player of the Year.

Which left-hander won the 2018 AL Cy Young Award with 21 wins and a league-best 1.89 ERA?

Blake Snell led the majors in wins and held opposing hitters to a .178 batting average in his breakout year. He won the award again in 2023 as a Padre.

Which slugger signed a five-year, $110 million deal with Boston in February 2018 and led the majors with 130 RBIs?

J. D. Martinez became the first player to win two Silver Slugger Awards in one season, one as an outfielder and one as a designated hitter.

Which Oakland Athletics designated hitter led the majors with 48 home runs in 2018, ten more than the NL leader?

Khris Davis was named the year's outstanding designated hitter, and his club won 97 games to reach the Wild Card Game.

Which Boston utility man hit for the first cycle in postseason history during a 16–1 Division Series rout in 2018?

Brock Holt did it in Game 3 on October 8, and it was the second cycle of his own career. No one had managed one in more than a century of postseason play.

Which third baseman was named MVP of the 2018 All-Star Game after a go-ahead home run in the 10th inning?

Alex Bregman connected off Ross Stripling to become his franchise's first All-Star Game MVP. He also led the American League with 51 doubles that year.

Which Nationals outfielder debuted at age 19 in May 2018 and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting?

Juan Soto was the first player born in 1998 to reach the majors, and he became the first teenager with three multi-homer games in a season.

Which team popularized the opener in 2018, using reliever Sergio Romo to start games, and still won 90 games?

The Tampa Bay Rays first tried the tactic on May 19 and went on to their first winning season since 2013. They still missed the playoffs for a fifth straight year.

Which Seattle Mariners second baseman was suspended 80 games in May 2018 after testing positive for a banned diuretic?

Robinson Canó tested positive for furosemide while he was already sidelined by injury. A second positive test later cost him the entire 2021 season.

Which Texas Rangers third baseman retired after 2018 with 3,166 hits, the most ever at his position?

Adrián Beltré had passed Rod Carew in April 2018 to become the career hits leader among players from Latin America at the time. He also finished with 477 home runs.

Which Mexican city hosted the 2018 series in which four Dodgers pitchers combined to no-hit the San Diego Padres?

Monterrey saw Walker Buehler throw the first six innings of the franchise's first combined no-hitter. With another in Canada four days later, 2018 had no-hitters in three countries.

Which Auburn right-hander did the Detroit Tigers select with the first overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft?

Casey Mize had thrown a no-hitter for his college team that March. Detroit held the top pick only through a tiebreaker, having matched San Francisco's 64–98 record.

Which Oakland Athletics left-hander threw a no-hitter against the eventual champion Boston Red Sox in April 2018?

Sean Manaea fanned ten in a 3–0 win at the Oakland Coliseum. One Boston runner was first ruled safe on an infield single, then called out for leaving the baseline.

Which Seattle Mariners left-hander, nicknamed Big Maple, threw a no-hitter in Toronto in May 2018?

James Paxton became the first Canadian big-league pitcher to throw a no-hitter on Canadian soil. The only earlier one by a Canadian-born pitcher was Dick Fowler's in 1945.

Which closer led the majors with 57 saves in 2018, becoming the youngest pitcher to reach 50 in a season?

Edwin Díaz did it for Seattle at 24 and was named the AL Reliever of the Year. His total tied Bobby Thigpen for the second most in a season, behind Francisco Rodríguez's 62.

Which 45-year-old Texas Rangers pitcher became the winningest Latin American-born pitcher in MLB history in August 2018?

Bartolo Colón was the oldest active player in the majors and the last who had played for the Montreal Expos. He had passed Juan Marichal for the Dominican wins record in June.

Which Boston pitcher recorded the final three outs of the 2018 World Series, fanning all three Dodgers he faced?

Chris Sale, normally a starter, had posted a 2.11 ERA in a regular season cut short by a shoulder injury. He had also started the opening game of the series.

Which Boston pitcher threw 97 pitches in relief during the 18-inning Game 3 of the 2018 World Series?

Nathan Eovaldi had been slated to start Game 4 but became the last reliever of the marathon and took the loss. Boston had acquired him in a July trade.

Which late pitcher had his No. 32 retired by the Toronto Blue Jays on Opening Day 2018?

Roy Halladay had died the previous November when the small plane he was flying crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. He was voted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot the following January.

Which writing system appeared on Baltimore Orioles jerseys for one game in September 2018, a first in pro sports?

Braille spelled out the team name and every player's surname, marking 40 years since the National Federation of the Blind moved its headquarters to Baltimore.

Which Minnesota Twins veteran returned behind the plate for a single pitch in his final game in September 2018?

Joe Mauer had not caught since a concussion in 2013, and he retired that November after spending all 15 of his seasons in Minnesota.