Daily Baseball Update: 9/8

Historical Individual Seasons: Cal Ripken 1991
Stat Line: 34 HR, 114 RBI, .323 AVG, 6 SB.
Hall of Famer Cal Ripken had his best season in 1991.  Playing in all 162 games (when does he not), he knocked 34 home runs, drove in 114, and batted .323.  He started the All Star Game and went 2-3 with a home run and three RBI, earning All Star MVP honors.  He singled off Tom Glavine (20-11, 2.55 ERA) and knocked a three run home run off Dennis Martinez (14-11, 2.39 ERA).  At the season's close, he led the majors in games, total bases (368), and extra base hits (85).  He also finished second in the AL in hits (210), doubles (46), and slugging percentage (.566).  His 11.5 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) led the majors by a wide margin over Tom Glavine's 9.3 and Roger Clemens' 8.0.  His incredible season earned him the AL MVP over Cecil Fielder (44 HR, 133 RBI, .261 AVG) and Frank Thomas (32 HR, 109 RBI, .318 AVG).  Despite his MVP season, the Orioles finished a dismal 67-95, sixth place in the seven team AL East and 24 games behind the division winning Blue Jays. 

News
Nationals outfielder Denard Span extended his hitting streak to 18 games.
The Blue Jays and Cubs have been eliminated from contention in their respective divisions.
White Sox lost their ninth straight game.

Game Scores
Nationals (72-69) beat the Marlins (53-87) 9-2.
Red Sox (87-57) beat the Yankees (75-67) 13-9.
Phillies (65-77) beat the Braves (85-56) 6-5.
Reds (81-62) beat the Dodgers (83-58) 4-3 (10 innings).
Mariners (65-77) beat the Rays (77-64) 6-2.
Brewers (61-80) beat the Cubs (60-81) 5-3.
Royals (74-68) beat the Tigers (82-60) 4-3.
Top Scorer: Red Sox beat the Yankees 13-9.

Standings
AL East: Red Sox (87-57, .604 WPCT).  AL Central: Tigers (82-60, .577).  AL West: A's (82-60, .577).
NL East: Braves (85-56, .603).  NL Central: Cardinals (82-60, .577).  NL West: Dodgers (83-58, .589).
AL Wild Cards: Rangers (80-61, .567) and Rays (77-64, .546).  NL Wild Cards: Pirates (81-60, .574) and Reds (81-62, .566).
Bottom Team: Astros (47-95, .331).  Longest W Streak: Red Sox, 5 games.  Longest L Streak: White Sox, 9 games.

League Leaders
Offensive: AVG: Miguel Cabrera (Tigers), .356 (175-492).  Home runs: Chris Davis (Orioles), 48.  RBI: MigueL Cabrera, 133.  Stolen bases: Jacoby Ellsbury (Red Sox), 52.
Pitching: Wins: Max Scherzer (Tigers), 19.  K's: Yu Darvish (Rangers), 240.  ERA: Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), 1.89 (209 innings, 44 earned runs).  Saves: Craig Kimbrel (Braves), 44.

Top Performers
Offensive: Freddy Galvis (Phillies): 4-5, home run (5), 2 RBI, run, AVG up .019 from .197 to .216, hitting streak to 1 game (4-5, .800 AVG).
Pitching: Dan Straily (A's): Win (9-7), 7 shutout innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 7 K's (109), ERA drop: 0.23 runs from 4.38 to 4.15.
Worst Pitching Performance: David Huff (Loss (2-1), 3.1 innings, 9 earned runs, 8 hits, no walks, 2 K's (18), ERA jump: 3.13 runs from 3.32 to 6.45.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman