Fourth year of four-by-four crowns new champions

The Minnesota Twins had a huge year in the 2019 four-by-four, winning the Northwest Conference and each of their league divisions. 

The baseball four-by-four, in its fourth year in 2019, produced two teams winning their conferences for the first time and three clubs winning league titles for the first time.

The novelty did not extend to the Southwest Conference, where the Houston Astros beat out the Dodgers for the second straight year. In the Northeast, the Cleveland Indians won for the second time in four years after winning it in 2017.

However, in the Northwest, the Minnesota Twins produced a fantastic season. They became the fourth team in the conference to win it in four years, following the Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies. The Twins also won both divisions as which the conference functions, becoming the first Northwestern team to win the conference and both divisions.

In the Southeast, the Atlanta Braves broke the Washington Nationals' stranglehold on the title. The Natties tied for the championship in 2016, then won it outright in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, the Braves outlasted Washington by 1½ games. But the conference would play out a little differently as league divisions.

In the East League, for example, the Tampa Bay Rays won the South Division by one-half game and six percentage points over the Braves. For that, the Rays were considered against the North Division champs, the New York Yankees, for the East League championship. Because the Yankees won the head-to-head meetings, 12-7, they were named the league champion.

In the South League's East Division, the Rays and Braves finished all but deadlocked. The Rays got the nod because, ultimately, we go by weighted winning percentage here, but the difference was less than a percentage point. The Braves had a one-game edge, but the percentage went to the Rays. 

As the East Division champs in the South League, the Rays were pitted against the Dodgers, who won the West Division over the Astros. The Rays won the title. They were 2-2 against the Dodgers head-to-head during the year, and they held a 24-22 advantage in runs.

The Southwest Conference's other division, the South Division of the West League, ended with the Astros ahead of the Dodgers by 10½ games. However, the Astros could not prevail as the West League champions, as they lost four of seven meetings during 2019 against the Twins, who won the West League's North Division.

The Twins were not so fortunate in their guise as the West Division champions of the North League. As such, they had to contend for the North League championship against the East Division champion New York Yankees, and that pairing almost never goes well for the Twins. The Yankees swept the Twins, 3-0, in an American League division playoff series, claiming the North League championship.

Yanks lead Elite Division, but playoffs will decide

The New York Yankees lead the Elite Division at the end of its first regular season, but this chase probably won't be decided until the end of the postseason.

Outfielder Aaron Judge is one of many who has powered the New York Yankees to the top of the Elite Division entering the 2019 playoffs (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

The baseball season that is entering its final and deciding stages happens to present our first reckoning of an Elite Division, which also will crop up in some other sports.

In concept, the Elite Division is a tournament of champions, but they are the champions documented in these pages. In short, the best teams from the pyramids, traveling championships and regional four-by-four arrangements shall be entered into the next season's Elite Division.

For example, the 2019 Elite Division is composed of the top half of the 2018 First Division, the top three clubs from the Second Division, the top two from the Third Division and the top club from the Fourth Division. Any traveling champions who haven't qualified in the pyramid will be entered, as well as qualifying teams from the four-by-four who haven't qualified in the pyramid or the travelers.

The mix this created for the 2019 Elite Division has produced a robust, even competition that remains far from decided entering the postseason. Seven of the top eight clubs in this 11-team Elite Division are going to the playoffs, with a mere 6 1/2 games separating first place from eighth place.

The New York Yankees lead the Elite Division ending the regular season, but their position is far from secure. It unlikely that the Yankees will finish on top of this pile without winning the World Series, and anything short of that for the Bronx Bombers stands to leave this championship up for grabs.

The Houston Astros are in second place, two games down and trailing the Yankees by 13 percentage points (.543 to .530) weighted to the mean, as we do these standings. The third-place club, the Arizona Diamondbacks, are the only contending club not in the playoffs. Thus, they are frozen at a mean weighted percentage of .528, which could win it if the Yankees and Astros both falter.

Or, the Atlanta Braves (.524), St. Louis Cardinals (.521) or Oakland Athletics (.511) could make a move. Anything can happen in these playoffs. If one of these clubs can turn up a four-game sweep anywhere in this near future, it's a race changer.

Way down these standings, almost at the very bottom, we find the Boston Red Sox, and this tells us something interesting about the Red Sox. It's true that the Red Sox have fallen a long way after winning two consecutive First Division titles and the 2018 World Championship. It's also true that it still took a pretty good club to beat the Red Sox in 2019.

Against this prestigious stack of clubs from the Elite Division, the Red Sox finished 25-39. But they were 88-74 overall, meaning they were 63-36 against everyone else. They did beat the teams that you have to beat. They just didn't beat the teams that you need to beat.

The Red Sox will not be in the 2020 Elite Division. However, the Yankees, Astros, Braves, Cardinals, Athletics, Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays already have either qualified for return to the Elite Division in 2020, or have all but qualified.


The winner of the Elite Division also will be qualified for next year's version so that it can attempt a defense of its championship.

Mariners clobber Rays for third AL traveling title

The Seattle Mariners, the only team to win multiple American League traveling championships this year, did it for the third time this season with a three-game sweep at home against the Tampa Bay Rays during the weekend. The Mariners outscored the Rays 28-7.

Mike Zunino drove in 10 runs for the Seattle Mariners during their three-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

The Seattle Mariners captured their third American League traveling championship of the season over the weekend, trouncing the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game sweep. 

Neither the series not any game within it was ever close. The tightest contest was a 7-1 Seattle win on Sunday. The Mariners outscored the Rays 28-7 over the three games in Seattle. 

The Rays failed in their bid to become the first team to defend the American League traveler twice this year. They won it by taking two of three from the Minnesota Twins in Minnesota May 26-28, then defended it by winning two of three from the Texas Rangers in Texas May 29-June 1. 

The Mariners are the only club that has won the AL traveler more than once this season. They last held it with a defense May 5-7 against the Rangers in Seattle, only to lose four straight against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto May 11-14. 

The Mariners batted .362 and OPSed .971 in the three games against Tampa Bay (totals from baseball-reference.com). Mike Zunino led the way for Seattle with 10 RBI, including seven in a 9-2 victory on June 3. Nelson Cruz hit two homers for Seattle, leading the club.

Seattle will put the American League traveler up against Minnesota in a three-game series at home Tuesday through Thursday. The Mariners are second in the AL with 11 games of title defense, following the Angels, who have 16.

Rangers nudge past three foes as best team in 2016 AL traveler

The Texas Rangers won their second Team of the Year designation in the American League traveling championship, winning three separate titles to hold off three other strong contenders.

The Texas Rangers prevailed in a wild 2016 for the traveling championship across the American League.

The Rangers did it in small pieces, winning three championships and holding them for a total of 28 games, nudging past challenges from the Minnesota Twins, the Baltimore Orioles and the Houston Astros.

The Rangers defended one of those titles only once and another not at all, but a three-week romp in June put them over the top. The difference was the tiebreaker in a four-game split at New York against the Yankees June 27-30. The Rangers outscored the Yankees, 24-18, to keep the prize for a meeting with the Twins, who then beat them two of three in Minneapolis July 1-3.

The Twins defended that championship twice, then won another in late July with three August defenses to come within reach of the Rangers. But the Texas club claimed another championship in September to seal the deal.

The Rangers won the Team of the Year for the second time, first winning it with a dominant performance in 2011. The Rangers are the first club to be Team of the Year in the American League twice.

The results from 2016 follow. First, here are the results from other seasons.


2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Rangers become sixth club to capture Cronin

The Texas Rangers took it all the way to the end, but they won on the final day of the 2015 regular season to become the latest champion in the Joe Cronin League.

Six seasons, six champions.

That's the story of the Joe Cronin League, a group of American League franchises central (more or less) to one old man's experience with the great game.

The winner in 2015, by just a nudge, was the Texas Rangers (39-31), who sneaked past the Minnesota Twins (38-31) by one-half game.

The Twins finished their Joe Cronin season by winning three of four at Cleveland Sept. 28-Oct. 1. As the Rangers opened their final series of the season on Oct. 1 with a 5-3 loss at home to the Angels, they were 38-29, while the Twins were in with their final record of 38-31.

It meant the Rangers needed only one win in their final three against the Angels to capture the title. And the Rangers took their time, finally securing that victory on the final day of the regular season with a 9-2 victory.

Six different champions in six years is a pretty good trick for a league that only had six clubs for the first three years of its existence. In 2013, the league added the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays due to the Astros joining the American League.

Now, the Astros and Rays are the only clubs that haven't won the Joe Cronin League. But there's always 2016. And 2017  ...

Twins win Killebrew annual, though it's disputed

The Minnesota Twins only broke even in their games for the American League Ear of Corn in 2015, but they receive the nod for Team of the Year because they were well better than anyone else at defending the prize.

In his first year as a Major League manager, Paul Molitor guided the Minnesota Twins to Team of the Year honors in the American League Ear of Corn (Public domain image).

The Minnesota Twins barely held onto the American League Ear of Corn for the second straight year. Despite winning only one of their last nine games in league corn competion, the Twins led the loop in every category except championships won.

The Twins won the championship twice, compared with three each for the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. But no team defended the title better than the Twins, who succeeded in five of seven title defenses.

The Twins finished only 17-17 in Harmon Killebrew games, holding it for 22 days to lead all clubs.

Toronto actually outplayed the Twins in games for the corn, going 19-12. However, the Jays only defended three of five championships.

Yankees, Twins meet in huge Killebrew series

The Minnesota Twins still lead the Harmon Killebrew Award standings after a big run of wins early this season. However, the New York Yankees are coming on strong and now have three Killebrews this year, the most of any team. Now that the Yankees have defended the Killebrew by winning the first two games of their series with the Twins this week, it remains to be seen if they will use this chance to overtake the Twins in the overall standings.

Glory in the Harmon Killebrew is one of few distinctions to escape the New York Yankees during their illustrious history, but manager Joe Girardi is trying to change that (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

It's only mid-August, and we can't predict the future, but something tells us that this week's series between the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium will tell us a lot about how the Harmon Killebrew Award shakes out for 2015.

The Twins and Yankees entered this week as the top two clubs in the Killebrew standings, and that situation will be unchanged at the end of this week. The Twins have two titles and 22 games of title defense. But the Yankees are coming, They won the opener Monday night, 8-7 win 11 innings, then trounced the Twins, 8-4, Tuesday to clinch a title defense. Now, the Yankees are second to the Twins with 16 games of title defense, but they still have it and they can keep adding.

With this weeks wins, the Yankees are in position to pile up victories in the Killebrew and, perhaps, surpass the totals the Twins still have on their side. The Twins could have fortified their league-leading performance by taking the Killebrew from the Yankees and adding from there.

The Yankees are having their best year with the Killebrew Award, which is to say little for their past performances. Their three Killebrews this year match their all-time totals from 2011 through 2014. But they didn't even once defend the titles they won in 2013 and 2014, and they didn't even win one in 2012. And, in fact, they didn't defend the Killebrew they won this May 7-10 by taking three of four from the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium.

However, the Yankees won the Killebrew in a four-game split against the Texas Rangers July 27-30 (the Yankees won on total runs, 35-19, largely because of a 21-5 win on July 28), then defended it against the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox before losing it in a three-game sweep against the Toronto Blue Jays Aug. 7-9.

The Yankees regained the Killebrew by winning two of three against the Blue Jays last weekend, just in time for the Twins to visit Yankee Stadium. The Twins built their lead in the Killebrew standings early. They have played for it only once since they last lost it on June 10. By June 10, though, the Twins had two titles and one run of four title defenses, still the longest such streak of the season for the Killebrew.

The Twins were looking at this time last year like they might walk away with the Killebrew, despite their otherwise lackluster season. But the Cleveland Indians pried the award from the Twins September 19-21, then the Kansas City Royals immediately took it from the Indians before running four strong title defenses that took it all the way through the American League playoffs.

The Royals ended up the Team of the Year in the Killebrew with a 27-16 record, four titles, 27 games of title defense and a six-for-nine showing in title defenses. The Twins finished 21-22 with five titles and 22 games of title defense, succeeding in only two of seven title defenses.

Harmon Killebrew Award
	W	L	P	T	G	D	A
Minnesota	17	16	11	2	22	5	7
New York	14	12	8	3	16	3	5
ANGELS	12	8	6	1	14	3	4
Baltimore	9	8	5	2	13	2	3
Kansas City	13	7	7	2	11	2	5
Texas	7	7	4	2	7	0	2
Tampa Bay	5	5	3	1	3	0	1
Boston	6	13	5	1	3	0	1
Chicago	3	7	4	1	1	0	1
Seattle	2	2	1	0	0	0	0
Toronto	8	4	4	1	6	1	2
Cleveland	1	5	2	0	0	0	0

Numbers in bold indicate league leaders.

W — Wins. L — Losses. P — Times played for title. T — Titles won. G — Number of games that team held title after winning it. D — Title defenses. A — Title defense attempts. Standings are given in order of games holding the title.

2015 Harmon Killebrew Award results
(Total runs tiebreaker given if series ends in a tie.)

Kansas City 3, Chicago 0 — April 6-9 at Kansas City.
Kansas City 3, ANGELS 0 — April 10-12 at Anaheim.
Minnesota 2, Kansas City 1 — April 13-16 at Minneapolis.
Minnesota 2, Cleveland 1 — April 17-19 at Minneapolis.
Kansas City 2, Minnesota 1 — April 20-22 at Kansas City.
Chicago 2, Kansas City 1 — April 23-26 at Chicago.
Baltimore 1, Chicago 0 — April 29 at Baltimore.
Baltimore 2, Tampa Bay 1 — May 1-3 at Tampa Bay.
New York 3, Baltimore 1 — May 7-10 at New York.
Tampa Bay 3, New York 1 — May 11-14 at Tampa Bay.
Minnesota 2, Tampa Bay 1 — May 15-17 at Minneapolis.
Minnesota 2, Chicago 1 — May 22-24 at Chicago.
Minnesota 3, Boston 0 — May 25-27 at Minneapolis.
Minnesota 2, Toronto 1 — May 29-31 at Minneapolis.
Minnesota 2, Boston 2 — June 2-4 at Boston (Minnesota, 13-11).
Kansas City 3, Minnesota 0 — June 8-10 at Minneapolis.
Boston 2, Kansas City 1 — June 19-21 at Kansas City.
Baltimore 2, Boston 1 — June 23-25 at Boston.
Baltimore 3, Cleveland 0 — June 26-28 at Baltimore.
Texas 3, Baltimore 1 — June 29-July 2 at Baltimore.
ANGELS 3, Texas 0 — July 3-5 at Arlington.
ANGELS 2, Seattle 2 — July 9-12 at Seattle (Angels, 20-19).
ANGELS 4, Boston 0 — July 17-20 at Anaheim.
ANGELS 2, Minnesota 1 — July 21-23 at Anaheim.
Texas 2, ANGELS 1 — July 24-26 at Anaheim.
New York 2, Texas 2 — July 27-30 at Arlington (New York 35-19).
New York 2, Chicago 1 — July 31-August 2 at Chicago.
New York 2, Boston 1 — August 4-6 at New York.
Toronto 3, New York 0 — August 7-9 at New York.
Toronto 3, Oakland 0 — August 11-13 at Toronto.
New York 2, Toronto 1 — August 13-15 at Toronto.
New York 2, Minnesota 0 — August 16-17, at New York, continuing, though Yankees have clinched.

(Editor's note: This story and the standings were revised late Tuesday night to reflect that the Yankees won and clinched the title defense.)

Angels unique among expansion teams

Just going by the regular season histories, the Angels are the most successful expansion franchise in  Major League Baseball, being the only expansion franchise with a winning record through its entire life. The Angels went over. 500 in July 2014 and they have kept winning.

Gene Mauch won two division managing the Angels before their golden age of the 21st century (Topps baseball card. It is believed this low resolution, cropped and watermarked image of a poster to identify the subject of this story is fair use in the absence of a public domain image of the subject.).

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

It's worthwhile to note a unique anniversary that passed last month for the Angels.

A year ago on July 10, the Angels became the first and only expansion team across the Major Leagues to achieve a winning record historically. The Angels went over the top for good (so far) with a 15-6 win against the Texas Rangers in Arlington that night, bringing their all-time record up to 4274-4273-3. Since then, the Angels are 99-71, bringing themselves up to 4,373-4,347 all-time entering games of August 1 (all numbers in this piece are from Baseball-reference.com).

Out of 30 Major League franchises, 13 are breaking even or better historically in regular season games. Of those 13, 12 are original "modern era" franchises, meaning they go back at least to the founding of the American League in 1901. 

Presumably, the traditional franchises would have winning records because they could fatten up on expansion teams through the years, but it hasn't always worked out that way, especially not in the American League, where three franchises lost so much before expansion that they still haven't caught up. They are the Baltimore Orioles (formerly the St. Louis Browns), the Minnesota Twins (formerly the Washington Senators) and the Oakland Athletics (formerly of Philadelphia and Kansas City), who could pretty reliably be counted upon to finish in the second division of the American League when it was said that the World Series wasn't official unless it included the New York Yankees.

The only pre-expansion National League team with an historical losing record is the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies also are more games under .500 (1,111) than any other pre-expansion team, followed by the Orioles (840), the Twins (698) and the Athletics (440). In the pre-expansion American League, one team won a lot (the Yankees) and three teams (the Senators, Athletics and Browns) lost quite a bit. In the pre-expansion National League, three teams won quite a bit (the Cardinals, Dodgers and Giants) and one franchise (the Phillies) lost a lot.

Behind the Angels, the next best expansion team relative to .500 is the Toronto Blue Jays, who are 59 games short of breaking even since their debut in 1977.

Two other teams in recent years have flirted with reaching .500 historically.

The Atlanta Braves succeeded, and they now are a robust 48 games over .500 in their 140-year history, which began in 1876 as the Boston Red Stockings of Harry Wright and George Wright. The Braves were so consistently terrible through their last 50 years in Boston that they didn't reach .500 until 2012. Think about this: The Braves won 14 straight division titles from 1991 through 2005, and that still wasn't enough to break them even.

The Houston Astros failed to become the first expansion team to reach .500 a couple of times in the last 10 years. A run of excellent Houston clubs from 1993 through 2006 brought the Astros within four games of .500 entering the 2007 season. But the Astros finished 73-89 in 2007, putting themselves 20 games under. An 86-75 effort for the Astros in 2008 brought them back within nine games of .500. But the Astros went 74-88 in 2009, and the losing has continued all the way up until this season. The Astros now are 205 games below .500 in their history.

Getting to .500 wasn't easy for the Angels, either. 

The Angels actually began their life with three winning seasons (and another year with 80 wins) in their first seven. But from 1968 until 2002, there wasn't a lot happening – just a couple decent clubs in the late 1970s and three good clubs in the late 1980s. 

The Angels were working from way behind going to 2002 – 234 games below .500 historically. So, they have moved fast, rolling up seven seasons with 90 or more wins in the last 14 complete seasons. Unquestionably, the 21st century has been a new era for the Angels, and it has been a good one.

The Angels entered the 2014 season 16 games below .500 historically, and their start, combined with their losing effort in 2013, gave little indication that much was to come. As of May 7, they were 16-17. They began then to win a little more than they lost, but they still were just 37-32 as of June 16. 

But the Angels then went on a huge roll, winning 21 of their next 26 games through July 18. They first reached .500 with a 5-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 7, bringing themselves up to 4,272-4,272-3 all-time. But they lost, 4-0, to the Jays the next night, dropping back below .500.

No problem, though, because the Angels were getting hot. An 8-7 win against the Jays on July 9 brought them back even, then the Angels went to Arlington and went over for good with their 15-6 win on July 10. 

The Angels still were 3½ games behind the Oakland Athletics in the American League West at that point and they wouldn't move into first place until Aug. 16. But they held first place once they took it and finished the regular season 98-64 before losing their only playoff series to the Kansas City Royals in a three-game sweep.

Henry Aaron Award: Royals move prize to AL

The Kansas City Royals have become the first American League club to hold the Henry Aaron Award this year, thanks to their dominance over the Milwaukee Brewers this week. The Royals also happen to hold the Harmon Killebrew Award, making them the first double champions this season.

Kansas City Royals left-hander Jason Vargas got his team off right in a Harmon Killebrew series last week in Minneapolis with six shutout innings. Vargas has since gone on the disabled list (Jeff Dunn [UCinternational crop]/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

A recent run of victories has enriched the Kansas City Royals in ways that they don't even know.

With their three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins last week and a two-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers this week, both on the road, the Royals became the first team this season to simultaneously hold the Harmon Killebrew Award and the Henry Aaron Award.

The Aaron, of course, is the traveling trophy that crosses the two Major Leagues, while the Killebrew is the traveling trophy that stays in the American League. The Royals also are the first American League club this season to hold the Aaron Award. Although the Aaron had been in the National League for the entire season until the Royals nabbed it this week, no club has at the same time held the Aaron and the Dick Allen Award, which is the traveling trophy that stays in the National League.

The Royals went to Minneapolis June 8-10 and won three straight to take the Killebrew Award from the Twins, who had held it for four consecutive defenses. In addition to giving the Royals the Killebrew Award, the three-game sweep had the more obvious virtue of giving the Royals a two-game lead on the Twins in the American League Central division.

Credit three terrific starts from the Royals rotation. Jason Vargas began it with six shutout innings in a 3-1 win, Chris Young followed with 6 1/3 shutout innings in a 2-0 win, then Edinson Volquez gave up one run while striking out seven in a 7-2 win to close out the series.

The Twins and Royals are shaping up as the principle players in the race for Team of the Year in the Killebrew. The Twins still lead the overall standings with 16 wins and 22 games of title defense, but the Royals now are 13-5 in games for the Killebrew, and they have tied the Twins with two titles this season. 

Following their series with the Twins, the Royals lost two straight to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Killebrew was safe with the Royals, however, because it doesn't go on the line in interleague games.

However, the Royals ran into the Aaron this week in Milwaukee, one of the Aaron's spiritual homes. The Milwaukee Brewers took the Aaron from the Pittsburgh Pirates June 8-10 by winning two of three on the road, then they defended it in a four-game split at home against the Washington Nationals (There is no tiebreaker in the Aaron, so it doesn't change hands unless the challenger wins outright).

The Royals and Brewers now have played three games this week, and the Brewers have yet to belong in any of these games. The Royals took the Aaron from the Brewers by sweeping two Monday and Tuesday in Milwaukee. The Royals won the opener, 8-5, with the Brewers scoring three times in the bottom of the ninth to make the final score artificially close. Next night, the Royals tacked up a 7-2 win to claim the Aaron.

This particular set of interleague series being played across the Major Leagues right now — two here/two there arrangements between 15 specific sets of two clubs — is being treated in a lot of media as if they were four-game series home-and-road. Here, each two-game set in each location is treated as a separate series. 

So, with the Brewers and Royals both going to Kansas City for two starting Wednesday night, a new series began. But it hasn't made any real difference. The Royals won, 10-2, Wednesday night, clinching their first title defense of the Aaron.

And that means the Aaron and the Killebrew both will be on the line this weekend, with the Royals defending both of them against the Boston Red Sox. It has been a lean season for the Red Sox. If they can win the series and take both traveling awards, it's likely to be the best thing that happens to them all year.

Harmon Killebrew Award: Jays to tackle Twins for trophy

Two teams with very different fortunes in the Harmon Killebrew Award will meet for the prize Sunday in Minneapolis, where the Minnesota Twins will meet the Toronto Blue Jays in the rubber game of their three-game series. The starting pitcher for each club has been through some strange times this year.

Drew Hutchison will try to pitch the Toronto Blue Jays to their first Harmon Killebrew Award in more than a year Sunday afternoon in Minnesota (Keith Allison [cropped]/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

In addition to being named after the greatest player in their history, another prosperous relationship has cropped up between the Minnesota Twins and the Harmon Killebrew Award. 

The Twins are winning it. The Twins lead the American League this year with two Killebrew captures, a record of 13-7 in Killebrew games and 14 days with the prize in 2015. And they're going for their third consecutive title defense Sunday at Target Field, when they take on the Toronto Blue Jays in the rubber game of a three-game series. 

The Twins also won the Killebrew five times in 2014, more than any other club. In the three years that the Killebrew was observed before 2014, the Twins won it a total of three times.

By stark contrast, the Blue Jays haven't won the Killebrew since Sept. 1, 2013, when they completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals. The Jays made only one successful title defense, sweeping the Twins Sept. 6-8 at Target Field. Last season, the Jays played for the Killebrew only once, losing two of three last April 15-17 in Minneapolis as the Twins made their only successful defense of their first Killebrew in 2014. The Blue Jays, who are taking their first crack at the Killebrew in 2015, were the only American League club to not win the Killebrew in 2014.

Sunday's pitching match-up presents a rather odd mix of ill and good fortune. The starting pitchers, Ricky Nolasco for the Twins and Drew Hutchison for the Blue Jays, both are sitting on a 5.12 ERA this season (around 30 percent higher than the American League ERA of 3.92 entering Saturday's games) and, yet, they have a combined record of 9-2, with Nolasco at 5-1 and Hutchison at 4-1.

We might write off Nolasco's ERA as an artifact of his first start, a disastrous performance in which he allowed six earned runs in three innings of an 11-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on April 8. Right after that, he went on the disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow. He has come back to go 5-0 this month, even though his ERA is of 3.77 in those games is more befitting a 3-2 pitcher. But the Twins have scored 32 runs in those five starts, averaging 6.4 runs of support per outing. That will make almost anybody 5-0.

Another oddity about Nolasco is the huge differential between his ERA and his Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) mark of 2.86. His ERA is a whopping 2.26 runs per nine innings higher. Nolasco has helped bring that about by allowing only one homer in his 31 2/3 innings this year, an average of 0.3 homers per nine innings. For his career, Nolasco allows 1.1 homers per nine innings, almost a full home run more.

According to Fangraphs.com, the 2.26 run differential between Nolasco's ERA and his FIP is the third-highest in the game among pitchers with at least 30 innings this year, behind the Miami Marlins' Mat Latos (2.66) and the Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg (2.58). Nolasco's Twins teammate, Trevor May, is fourth on the list at (1.96).

By the numbers, as one might expect from all that, the Twins aren't much of a defensive team. Entering Saturday's games, Baseball-reference.com put their defensive efficiency at .691, 11th in the AL and below the league average of .697. Baseball-reference also puts the Twins at minus-0.9 in defensive WAR and minus-11 in fielding zone runs above average. Not exactly according to form when we look at the better Twins teams General Manager Terry Ryan has put together through the years.

Hutchison also appears high on the Fangraphs list of ERA/FIP differential, 11th across the Major Leagues at 1.39. It's different with the Jays, though, as baseball-reference marks them up as a good defensive team – second in the AL at 25 zone runs above average (the Kansas City Royals lead with 26), tied for fifth at .705 defensive efficiency and 2.2 runs to the good in defensive WAR. 

Somehow, apparently, the Jays don't support Hutchison defensively they way they support their other pitchers. But they support Hutchison huge offensively. They have averaged 7.03 runs of offense in his 10 starts, and have scored fewer than six runs in his starts only twice.

In four different starts this year, Hutchison left the game in fewer than five innings, allowing four, six, six and seven earned runs in those starts. In every case, the Blue Jays scored enough to take him off the hook for the loss.

Hutchison was pretty good in his last start, though, tossing a complete game, four-hit shutout while striking out eight and walking no one for a 6-0 win against the Chicago White Sox on May 25.

If he shows up that way Sunday, the Jays are quite likely to win the Harmon Killebrew Award for the first time in more than a year, breaking the longest drought in the league.

2014 Bud Selig West standings and summary

The Angels won the Bud Selig West for the second time, blowing past the Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals for the 2014 title. The Angels, who won the 2014 title by 11 games, had last won the Bud Selig West title in 2011.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

There was basically no competition anywhere the Angels went in 2014, except for the American League playoffs, where they lost in three games to the Kansas City Royals in the divisional round.

The Angels finished 98-64 during their Major League season to win the American League West by 10 games over the Oakland Athletics. They also won the Joe Cronin League by 10 games, and, here in the Bud Selig West, they chalked up a title by 11 games over the Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals.

The Dodgers and Cardinals have fought mostly between themselves for the Bud Selig West since 2011, but this  title for the Angels gives them their second Bud Selig West championship. They won it the first time in 2011 by two percentage points over the Cardinals.

2014 Joe Cronin League standings and summary

The Angels took the Joe Cronin League in a dominant performance in 2014. The Angels' .704 winning percentage was the highest ever in the Joe Cronin, the Chub Feeney or either Bud Selig League. The Angels won it by 10 games over the defending champions, the Cleveland Indians.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Angels came from almost nowhere to win the Joe Cronin League in a romp in 2014.

In four previous seasons, the Angels never finished within five games of the Joe Cronin League lead. But they cruised in 2014 to a 50-21 record. Their .704 winning percentage was the highest ever in the Joe Cronin, Chub Feeney or Bud Selig Leagues.

The Angels finished 10 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians, who were defending their 2013 Joe Cronin championship. The Texas Rangers, who finished only three games behind the Indians in the 2012 Joe Cronin standings, fell all the way to last place in 2014, 22 1/2 games behind the Angels.

Finishing 29 games over .500 in the Joe Cronin League, the Angels built about half of that cushion against their Joe Cronin competition from the American League Central, hitting a combined 17-3 against the Indians, Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins.

2013 Bud Selig West standings and summary

The Texas Rangers won the American League pennant in 2010 and 2011, but not until 2013 did they win the Bud Selig West. The Rangers won by percentage points over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers still could have beaten both the Rangers and the Cardinals if they could have won in the National League Championship Series.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Texas Rangers had nice three-year run though the American League, winning pennants in 2010 and 2011, then going to the playoffs in 2012. But in none of those years did the Rangers win anything in the Joe Cronin or Bud Selig Leagues.

The Rangers weren't bad in 2013, either, though they missed the playoffs because they lost a tie-breaker to the Tampa Bay Rays. However, they did win the Bud Selig West in a very close race. In the games behind column, the Rangers and Cardinals actually tied, but the Rangers, at 54-31 and a .635 winning percentage, finished percentage points ahead of the Cardinals, who were 61-38 and .616.

The Dodgers finished 2½ games back and could have made a run for the title in their National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. If the Dodgers had just won the series in seven games, they would have finished 49-38 with a .636 winning percentage, enough for the percentage portion of the title, though they still would have finished a game behind the Rangers. A four-game sweep of the Cardinals would have given the Dodgers the whole title. Instead, though, the Dodgers lost the series in six games, taking them out of either half of the title.

2013 Joe Cronin League standings and summary

The Cleveland Indians improved from worst to first in the expanded Joe Cronin League, winning a red hot race with the Texas Rangers by three games. The Indians did all of their damage against the Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

A new alignment in the Joe Cronin League helped to produce a worst-to-first scenario.

Because the Houston Astros were moved in 2013 from the National League to the American League, they also had to be moved from the Chub Feeney League to the Joe Cronin League. In the interests of evening out all of these leagues, it became necessary to add an eight team to the Joe Cronin League, leading to the addition of the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays made a nice showing in their Joe Cronin debut, finishing in third place. But the winners were the Cleveland Indians, who finished last in the Joe Cronin League in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, the Indians rolled over the Joe Cronin League, much as the Chicago White Sox did in 2012.

The Indians actually were much better than that, 48-22. Despite their dominant .686 winning percentage, the Indians still won the Joe Cronin League by only three games over the Texas Rangers, who were 46-26. The Rangers finished with a .639 winning percentage, same as the Rays. But the Rays were 39-22, so they finished 4 1/2 games behind the Indians.

The Indians were a combined 36-9 against the White Sox, Astros and Minnesota Twins, meaning they were only 12-13 against the other Joe Cronin teams. The White Sox fell hard in the league, all the way from first place to seventh, 23½ games behind the Indians.

2012 Bud Selig West standings and summary

The Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals split the 2012 championship in the Bud Selig West. The Dodgers had the best winning percentage, but the Cardinals were more games above .500. Close behind the Dodgers and Cardinals were the Angels and Texas Rangers.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

A tight 2012 race in the Bud Selig West resulted in something of a split championship.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had the best record on a percentage basis, going 26-19 for a .578 percentage. However, the St. Louis Cardinals have a lot more games from year to year in the Bud Selig West. At 40-31, the Cardinals were more games over .500 than the Cardinals, even though their winning percentage (.563) was a little lower.

The Dodgers and Cardinals both chased the Cincinnati Reds in the Chub Feeney League during the 2012 season. But they were more successful in the Bud Selig West (the Reds are in the Bud Selig East), even though their winning percentages in the Bud Selig West were actually a little lower in that league than in the Chub Feeney League.

The Angels and Texas Rangers, who finished seven and eight games behind the Chicago White Sox in the Joe Cronin League, both were right there in the Bud Selig West, each finishing 1½ game behind the Cardinals with identical winning percentages of .550. The Rangers were 5-1 against Chub Feeney teams (the Houston Astros were the only one they played), while the Angels were 4-2 against the Chub Feeney League.

2012 Joe Cronin League standings and summary

The Chicago White Sox came from nowhere in 2012 to win the Joe Cronin League, winning nearly two-thirds of their games and romping to the title by seven games over the Angels and New York Yankees. The White Sox finished fourth out of six teams in the first two years of the Joe Cronin League.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Chicago White Sox finished in fourth place the first two years of the Joe Cronin League. And from looking at the American League standings in 2012, there's no reason to suspect the Sox should have done any better.

But the White Sox dominated the Joe Cronin League in 2012, winning almost a full two-thirds of their games to take the competition by a whopping seven games over the Angels and New York Yankees. As to their Major League performance, the White Sox finished a lackluster second place in the American League Central division at 85-77.

It just happened, as it sometimes does, that the Joe Cronin teams were the teams against whom the Sox prospered in 2012. They were 5-2 against the Yankees, 14-4 against the Twins and 6-3 against the Texas Rangers. The Sox were 6-12 against both the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals, but neither of those is a Joe Cronin team.

2011 Bud Selig West standings and summary

The Angels won the Bud Selig West for the first time in 2011, but they had to sweat out the World Series between two other Bud Selig West teams, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. The Angels prevailed, in the end, by two percentage points.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The 2011 World Series played a huge role in determining who would win the Bud Selig West. But the team that prevailed was the team that wasn't in the World Series.

The Angels took the title by two percentage points over the St. Louis Cardinals, .556 to .554. 

Entering the World Series, the Angels and Texas Rangers were in a flat-footed tie on top, both at 35-28. The Cardinals, at 32-26, were one-half game down.

By winning the World Series over the Rangers in seven games, the Cardinals moved into a tie with the Angels in the games column, but the percentage points went with the Angels. If the Cardinals had won the World Series in six games or fewer, they would have won the Bud Selig West. If the Rangers had won the World Series in any event, they would have won the Bud Selig West.

As it happened, the World Series broke the one and only way it could have for the Angels to prevail.

2011 Joe Cronin League standings and summary

The New York Yankees, who have won more World Championships than any other professional sports franchise in world history, won the Joe Cronin League for the first time in 2011. The Yankees beat out the Angels and the Texas Rangers for the honor.

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Minnesota Twins fell from first to worst in the American League Central from 2010 to 2011. They didn't fall quite that hard in the Joe Cronin League, barely missing the cellar.

The New York Yankees prevailed by 4½ games on the Texas Rangers and 5½ games on the Angels. The difference, much of it, anyway, was the Yankees' 7-2 record against the Rangers head-to-head.

The Angels made a huge move up after finishing last place in 2010.

The Twins finished in fifth place, 12 games out of first. The Cleveland Indians were the last-place club in this group, finishing 13½ games behind the Yankees.

2010 Bud Selig West standings and summary

Lacking a strong contender from the Chub Feeney League, the Minnesota Twins easily won the Bud Selig West. The best Chub Feeney League club in this mix, the St. Louis Cardinals, were only a .500 club in the Bud Selig West.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Minnesota Twins won the Bud Selig West pretty easily, as they did not face a strong contender from the National League.

The closest team to the Twins was the Texas Rangers, who finished third in the Joe Cronin League at 4½ games behind the Twins, but took second in the Bud Selig West, 5½ games behind Minnesota. The head-to-head games between the Twins and Rangers were especially telling in both races. The Twins won seven of the 10 meetings between the two clubs.

The St. Louis Cardinals were the best National League team in the Bud Selig West, but they finished only .500 in the league (32-32).

2010 Joe Cronin League standings and summary

The Minnesota Twins topped off a year in which they won the American League Central with additional championships in the Joe Cronin League and the Bud Selig West. The Twins won the Cronin by 3½ games over the New York Yankees. The Texas Rangers, who actually won the American League pennant, finished third in the Cronin.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Minnesota Twins had a big year in 2010, winning not only the American League Central Division, but something of a double championship in these idiosyncratic half-leagues, taking the Joe Cronin League and the Bud Selig West.

In the Joe Cronin League, which consists of American League teams in one man's proximity from time to time, the Twins won by 3½ games over the New York Yankees. Out of six teams in the Joe Cronin League, three went were among the four that went to the American League playoffs, so this was a tough group.

The other AL playoff team in this mix, the Texas Rangers, finished third in the Joe Cronin League, seven games behind the Twins. 

In the real American League competition, the Yankees actually had the best record among the Joe Cronin group, even though they went in as the wildcard with 95 wins. The Twins finished the AL season with 94 wins, while the Rangers won the AL West with 90 victories.

The Twins also won the Bud Selig West, which is the western half of the blend of teams from the Joe Cronin and Chub Feeney Leagues.