MLB Weekly Digest September 23rd Edition: Castellanos in Rarified Air

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The prior week in MLB was about an outfielder in the National League making history, a rookie slugs his way into the record books, and a pitcher in the American League will have a new role when the playoffs begin.

Chicago Cubs Outfielder Nicholas Castellanos Makes History

Chicago Cubs outfielder Nicholas Castellanos made history this past weekend, as he crushed his 58^th double of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals, he’s only two doubles shy of becoming the first player in 83 years with 60 doubles.

Nicholas Castellanos picks up his 58th double of the year!

It’s just the 10th time in @MLB history a player has hit 58 doubles in a single season. pic.twitter.com/qHxE2owGwi

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 21, 2019

He’s the first right-handed hitter to accumulate at least 57 doubles since 1936 when it was accomplished by Hall of Famers Billy Herman (57) of the Chicago Cubs in 1935 and Joe Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals (64) in 1936.

Castellanos is just the third hitter since 1950 with at least 57 doubles in a season, joining Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton, who both reached the mark in 2000, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/1175140808598675457

There are just six players in baseball history who have tallied 60 or more doubles in a season.

The list includes Charlie Gehringer in 1936 for the Detroit Tigers (60), Paul Waner in 1932 of the Pittsburgh Pirates (62), Hank Greenberg in 1934 for the Tigers (64), and George H. Burns in 1926 for the Cleveland Indians (64).

The record of 67 doubles is held by Earl Webb of the Boston Red Sox in 1931.

The outfielder has been a welcome surprise for the Cubs as they acquired him at the trade deadline. Castellanos had 37 doubles with the Detroit Tigers and is at 21 with the Cubs.

He’s just the fourth player to have 20 or more doubles with two teams in the same season, per Eric Stephen of SB Nation.

Speaking of Castellanos, he has 20 doubles with the Cubs after hitting 37 with the Tigers. He’s just the 4th player ever with 20 doubles for 2 different teams in the same season, along with Cliff Floyd (2002), Shannon Stewart (2003), and Randy Winn (2005)

— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) September 20, 2019

Castellanos will be a free agent at the end of the season and should receive contract offers from several teams, given his terrific 2019 campaign.

New York Mets First Baseman Pete Alonso Continues Historic Season

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso is having a 2019 season for the ages.

The rookie slugger crushed his 50^th home run of the year against the Cincinnati Reds a couple of days ago.

A special moment for a special player. ❄️🐻 pic.twitter.com/lGOdlSMwzm

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 21, 2019

Alonso is the second rookie to hit at least 50 home runs in a season, joining New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who had 52 homers in 2017, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Pete Alonso is the 2nd rookie with 50 HR in a season in MLB history, joining Aaron Judge (52 in 2017). pic.twitter.com/7XWbAARKd9

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 21, 2019

Alonso is just the fifth MLB player to record a season with 50 or more home runs this decade, per Tim Healey of Newsday.

Most home runs in a season this decade:

1. 2017 Giancarlo Stanton (59)
2. 2010 Jose Bautista (54)
3. 2013 Chris Davis (53)
4. 2017 Aaron Judge (52)
5. 2019 Pete Alonso (50) <——

— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) September 21, 2019

He’s been the best hitter for the Mets during the 2019 campaign, as indicated by his .264 batting average and .952 OPS in 153 games with 97 runs scored, 149 hits, and 115 RBIs.

Alonso is the favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year and will probably garner some MVP votes as well.

New York Yankees Starting Pitcher CC Sabathia to Have New Role in Postseason

New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia will have a new role when the postseason begins.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone mentioned several days ago Sabathia will pitch out of the bullpen for the remainder of the regular season to prepare him for a relief role in the postseason, per Randy Miller of NJ.com.

Cc Sabathia will pitch out of bullpen twice in final week of #Yankees season to get ready for bullpen role in playoffs, Boone just said.

— Randy Miller (@RandyJMiller) September 20, 2019

Sabathia will be entering uncharted territory by pitching out of the bullpen.

The left-hander has made 560 regular-season appearances in the majors to date, and all have been as a starting pitcher.

Sabathia has one relief appearance in his career, and this occurred in Game 5 of the 2011 American League Division Series against the Tigers.

The 2019 season for Sabathia hasn’t been great as he’s been placed multiple times on the injured list with a knee issue.

He made MLB history earlier in the season when he became the 17^th pitcher and third left-hander in history to tally 3,000 strikeouts.

About Post Author

Chris Lacey

Chris is a New Jersey native whose favorite sports team is the Arizona Diamondbacks. He previously attended Western New England College to study Sports Management. Chris has been following the Diamondbacks since he was 12. You can find him on Twitter at @aecanada12.

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