Best "Half" Seasons From the Past Decade

Now that it’s been rumored that the season could come back with roughly half the games of a normal season, it got me thinking about some of the best half-seasons we’ve seen in recent years. The small sample sizes of these short season allow for some noise. Would these players have regressed if their seasons had continued? Did their injuries prevent us from experiencing some all-time great seasons? Mind-boggling stats at the end of the season are always fun to look at, and maybe a short 2020 will provide us some new examples. Here are some of my favorite short seasons from the previous decade. Not a lot of analysis going on here but this was still something fun for me to look at.

Hanley Ramirez, 2013 (86 games)

Hanley had a weird career arc up to this point. From 2007 to 2010, he was one of the best players in the game, then unexpectedly became average during his next two (age 27 and 28) seasons. In 2013, Ramirez had his first full year as a Dodger where at the plate, he was surprisingly better than ever. That year, he hit .345/.402/.638 for a 189 OPS+ along with 20 home runs. Unfortunately, Ramirez got hurt in that year’s WBC and later tore his hamstring after rejoining the Dodgers. Hanley missed most of the first half but definitely made the most of the 86 games he was able to play. In that limited time, he was worth 5.2 bWAR and still finished eighth in MVP voting.

Even into the playoffs, he played great, hitting 8-16 in the NLDS that year. Then the injuries found him again in his very first NLCS plate appearance when he fractured a couple of his ribs after a Joe Kelly HBP.

Giancarlo Stanton, 2015 (74 games)

Everyone knew Stanton had the power to hit 50 home runs in season. In 2012 and 2014, he hit 37 in each, leading the league in slugging both times. We all know that he hit 59 in that amazing 2017 season, but I can remember watching 2015 thinking it was going to be his first huge power year. Stanton hit .265/.346/.606 that year with 3.7 bWAR. The number to focus on though was that he hit 27 homers in only 74 games. Prorated over 159 games, the number of games he played in 2017, that would be about 58 home runs. It was fun seeing Stanton display such crazy power, especially during the first year we had StatCast. Unfortunately, on June 26^th, he broke a bone in his left wrist and was done for the season. Through July 19^th, Stanton was still leading baseball in home runs.

Justin Morneau, 2010 (81 games)

This season, Morneau slashed .345/.437/.618 with 18 home runs for a 187 OPS+ and 4.7 WAR. He had been a great player for a while, winning MVP back in 2006, so it was a surprise for me to see that he was still only 29 at this point. On July 7^th, Morneau sustained a concussion and ended up missing the rest of the season with symptoms. I can’t find a video but I remember it happening when he slid into second base on a play. What really bums me out is he was never really the same after this season. He had some good years still, like winning the batting title with Colorado in 2014, but he only hit for a 106 OPS+ for the six remaining years in his career before retiring at 35.

Troy Tulowitzki, 2014 (91 games)

Tulowitzki had been the best shortstop in the game for a while, and while it was clear Trout was the best player in the game by that point, I can remember people saying Tulowitzki was still a contender for that title with the start he had to the year. That year, he hit .340/.432/.603 (170 OPS+) with 21 home runs, 5.8 bWAR, 50 walks versus 57 strikeouts, while still playing good defense at a premier position. He played his last game on July 19^th, when he hurt his left hip and ultimately needed season-ending surgery. Unfortunately, he already had the reputation of an injury prone player at this point but his talent always shined when he did play. After this however, like Morneau, he never was quite the same, hitting for a 97 OPS+ the rest of his career and the injuries got only worse.

David Ortiz, 2012 (90 games)

Ortiz was fortunate enough to stay healthy most seasons in his career. In 2012, he was already 36 years old but seemingly in the midst of a second prime. He had one of the best slashlines of his career in limited time: .318/.415/.611 for a 173 OPS+. He also had 23 home runs and more walks than he did strikeouts. He hurt his right Achilles in July, and while he did come back to play one game in August before heading back to the injured list, it effectively ended his great season.

Brandon Beachy, 2012 (13 GS)

Remember this guy? In 2012, Beachy pitched to a 2.00 ERA in 81 innings (200 ERA+) with 68 striekouts versus 29 walks. Beachy had put together a nice start to his career but needed Tommy John Surgery half-way through this breakout season. He last pitched in the majors in 2015 but did pitch last year in MiLB with the Giants organization.

Hyun-Jin Ryu, 2018 (15 GS)

Ryu just finished second in Cy Young voting this past year, and his 2018 was a glimpse for what was to come. In 82.1 innings, Ryu pitched to a 1.97 ERA (198 ERA+) with 89 strikeouts to 15 walks. Ryu did not have a season-ending injury like most other player on the list. He started six games through May 2^nd to begin the season before hurting his groin. He came back on August 15^th, pitched nine more starts to complete the season and ultimately pitched in the World Series. What’s remarkable about this season is that many people saw his 3.00 FIP as an indication that he had overperformed in his limiting innings. In 2019, in 182.2 innings, he again bested his 3.10 FIP to a 2.32 ERA.

Clay Buchholz, 2013 (16 GS)

Funny enough, I really could have included Buchholz’s 2018 season with Arizona on the list as well. Buchholz started 16 games that season with a 2.01 ERA. His 2013 season was even better; he posted a 1.74 ERA (237 ERA+) in 108.1 innings. Like Ryu, Buchholz’s season was interrupted by an injury in the middle. Buchholz made 12 starts through June 8^th before a neck injury kept him out until September 10^th. Ultimately he pitched well the rest of the way and Red Sox won the World Series. His whole career is weird to me in this way of performing well in short bursts. He was dominant briefly as a rookie (even throwing a no-hitter in his second start) before being shut down. He followed up his rookie year with some disappointing seasons, then a breakout 2010. He followed up his short, great 2013 with one of the worst seasons of his career and a 5.34 ERA. Last year, after his brief stint in Arizona, he had a 6.56 ERA with the Blue Jays.