Historical milestones in sight in the final stretch of the 2021 season

Some teams of MLB are focused on making the postseason and others’ goal is in the future, but each team has at least one record to aim for for the rest of the year. Below are some records – either by the club or by one of the players – heading into the last six weeks of action.

Tiles: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in search of the 50

It looks difficult for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to reach the mark set by his compatriot José Bautista in 2010 when he hit 54 homers, but the young gunner, who has 35 in the year, still has a chance of reaching 50.

The 47 of George Bell (1987) is the second most in the club’s history. So even if Guerrero doesn’t break the mark, he will be close to the lead in every category. Things can get interesting late in the season, with Guerrero and Shohei Ohtani battling for the home run crown.

Rays: Cruz climbs all-time home run charts

Nelson Cruz, the 41-year-old gunner who shows no sign of slowing down in his quest for a World Series with the Rays, has two notable names at his fingertips on the home run list.

He started Friday night with 443 career home runs, beating Dave Kingman for 42nd place in history. If he hits seven more in the year, hitting the 450 mark, he’ll take the 40th spot solo, beating out Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and compatriot Vladimir Guerrero.

That would put Cruz within a 30+ homers season of beating the immortals Willie Stargell, Stan Musial and Chipper Jones. Cruz averaged 41 homers per year between 2015 and 2019.

Yankees: Chapman near 300 saves

The Cuban who owns the fastest fastball in the Statcast era is one game saved from hitting 300 in his career – a number that has only reached 30 pitchers in history, with Kenley Jansen being the most recent. Of Chapman’s 299 saves, 137 have been with the Yankees (146 with the Reds, 16 with the Cubs).

Royals: Salvador seeks club record for most HR in a season

It seems like a distant goal, because Salvador Perez, who hit his 31st home run on Friday, has a projection of 41 now. The Royals’ record is 48, set by Cuban Jorge Soler in 2019.

But in the way he’s been hitting this season, who dares say Perez can’t catch up with him? His 30 homers are already a personal best, after hitting 27 in 2017 and 2018, and he is one of five players in the majors with at least 30 in 2021, along with Matt Olson, Ohtani and the Dominicans Fernando Tatis Jr. . and Guerrero Jr.

With 20 of those homers as a catcher, he is four short of his own record of 24 boards for a catcher in 2017.

Tigres: Miguel with his sights on 3,000 hits

Once Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera joins the 500 home run club, his next goal will be to become the seventh player to reach 3,000 hits and 500 homers – a list that includes Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Albert Pujols, Cuban Rafael Palmeiro and Alex Rodríguez. Cabrera needs to average just over one hit per game to hit the mark this year.

Angels: Ohtani aims for franchise home run record

Shohei Ohtani’s performance this season has been incredible and the two-way player entered Friday as the MLB leader with 40 home runs. The franchise record of 47 home runs, set by Troy Glaus in 2000, is within Ohtani’s grasp. It would be a tremendous achievement for a player who has also pitched like an ace on the mound and is the favorite to win the AL MVP award.

Athletics: Marte goes for the stolen bases title

No A’s player has led the majors in rip-offs since Rickey Henderson stole 66 bases in 1998. Obviously, if the Dominican achieved the feat, it should be noted that his first 22 stolen bases of the season were as a member of the Marlins. . In just 19 games with Oakland since he came through the trade on July 28, the Quercus has stolen 13 bases in as many attempts. In that way, Marte came to Friday tied with Whit Merrifield for first place in the Major Leagues with 35 scams apiece.

Rangers: Garcia seeks HR record of a Texas rookie

Rookie outfielder Adolis Garcia hit his 27th home run of the year in the Rangers’ loss to the Mariners on Thursday. With that number, he surpassed Mark Teixeira (2003) to claim second place in home runs for a rookie in franchise history since the club moved to Arlington in 1972. Pete Incaviglia hit 30 home runs as a rookie in 1986. With little to do more than a month into the season, Garcia could easily catch up with Incaviglia. Garcia also has 71 RBIs, which puts him fourth among Texas rookies behind Incaviglia (88), Teixeira (84) and David Murphy (74 in 2008).

Marlins: Aguilar tries to make personal and team history

Jesus Aguilar needs seven homers to reach 100 in his eight-year career in the majors. The Venezuelan leads the Marlins with 22 home runs this season. It’s the most homers he’s hit in a year since he hit 35 in 2018. Aguilar, 31, also hopes to join Giancarlo Stanton as the only players in the franchise to lead the National League in RBIs, as he has been the leader of the Old Circuit in that sense most of the season.

Nationals: Soto goes for HR # 100 in GL

Juan José Soto could hit triple digits in home runs this season, which is only his fourth in the majors. The Dominican lacks 11 homers to reach the round number. After splicing 11 homers in 79 games in the first half of the season, Soto gained momentum as he has hit nine home runs in 30 games since the All-Star break.

Parents: Tatis looks to make history with HR and BR

Few players in history have combined speed and power like Fernando Tatis Jr. does. The Padres star leads the National League in home runs and stolen bases, a rare sight. Only three players in recorded history have accomplished such a feat, the last being Chuck Klein of the Phillies in 1932. The other two did so more than 100 years ago – Ty Cobb in 1909 and Jimmy Sheckard in 1903. Needless to say, But baseball was very different back then.

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