Another example of just how jacked up this season has been...
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Another example of just how jacked up this season has been...
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
This post comes courtesy of @dkineejr, who asked this question on Twitter today:
Has there ever been a playoff team with only 1 player eligible for the batting title?
The answer is no, at least not in the expansion era (1961 to present). This is relevant because the Phillies almost surely will finish the season with only Jimmy Rollins eligible for the batting title. To qualify, a player must finish the season with at least 502 plate appearances. With 19 games remaining, Rollins has 624 plate appearances. Next closest to qualifying is John Mayberry Jr., who has 409 plate appearances (meaning he'd have to average more than five plate appearances per game the rest of the way to reach the threshold.
How weird of a season has it been for the Phillies? Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino are currently second and third on the team in plate appearances. Pence is 31 ahead of Mayberry. Victorino is 22 ahead. Of the players still on the roster, Ty Wigginton is fifth on the team.
Since 1961, only 12 teams have finished a season with fewer than two players who qualified for the batting title. The only one of those teams to finish with a winning record was the San Francisco Giants of last season. Those Giants did not qualify for the postseason.
For the record, the Phillies still need a lot of things to work in their favor in order to qualify. Keep in mind the Dodgers and Cardinals play each other in a four-game series coming up. With 19 games remaining, it's getting late early. Still, it's a good story, so enjoy it.
Murph, with the Dodgers and Cards going head-to-head in a 4 game series, what's the best outcome for the Phils if, say, they can sweep the Astros? 2-2 split? 3-1 Dodgers?— centard- 2-2 split is the best case scenario. It gives the Phillies a chance to climb up 2 games, and it gives neither team (STL or LAD) momentum. You don't want either of those teams to gain momentum right now.
— the_anti_negadelphian 
This article, which I think is at best, bizarre, only goes to show how well Charlie managed the team. And that they traded two starters before the trade deadline.— Barneyboy- GGGGGOOOOOOOO PPPPPHHHIIIILLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIEEEEEESSSSSS— Marcfromphilly
- —yeah it's a jacked up season, but baseball has been jacked up for the past twenty five years. You don't think the '93 Phillies—known in the annals as "the Original 'Roid Boys"— were a jacked up team?
—You could call it baseball in wartime. It seems like baseball but it's a different game. Nevertheless it's the only one we got. As for the Phillies chances: Just win, baby. If the Phillies keep winning, they gonna go far. Like Branch Rickey or Paul Richards—one of them— once said, Pitching is 75% of baseball.— aintnorep - Every player is eligible/qualifies.— thenutz72
