This week's MLB action (September 1–6, 2025) was a wild rollercoaster—think late-summer pennant chases, teams leapfrogging the Wild Card barrier like pros, some physics-defying batted balls, and the kind of statistical weirdness that’ll make even your Statcast app overheat. Let’s dive in, nerd out, and see who really stole the show!
This Week’s Win% Shockers
Wild Card warfare? More like Wild Card whiplash! The San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees each racked up a scorching .833 win percentage for the week, while the San Diego Padres took a sudden dive with—gulp—a goose egg in the win column. Who said September baseball was ever boring?
Just last week, the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets were breathing comfortably, but after a 4-2 week, the Boston Red Sox are nipping at NY’s heels, the Seattle Mariners hit a cold patch, and suddenly the Detroit Tigers went from top cats to taking a catnap. The Toronto Blue Jays and Yankees kept the AL East spicy, but with Texas stampeding forward, no one’s safe!
Ballistics Report: Exit Velocity vs Batting Average
Baseball’s not rocket science—except when it kind of is. This week’s Statcast fun: despite the Cubs posting an eye-popping 91.3 mph average exit velocity, their batting average lagged at .244. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays win “optimized effort,” turning an 89.2 mph exit velocity into a robust .284 average. Get you a team that can do both!
Stat of the Week: Of 180 major leaguers with 100+ balls in play this season, a record number posted 90th percentile exit velos above 105 mph—six more than all of last year.
Larceny Leaders: Stolen Bases for the Week
Swiping bags like it’s going out of style, the Kansas City Royals lead with 7 stolen bases, proving speed’s still cool—even as everyone obsesses over launch angle. Not to be outdone, the Rangers and Yankees each swiped 6 and 5, respectively.
Three Nerdy Stat Blasts
Reverse Sweep Club: The Colorado Rockies entered the “Strange But True” annals, blowing 9th-inning leads in three straight, but still won the series!
High-Octane Outliers: Season-to-date, only 36 current big leaguers have registered a batted ball at 115 mph or above…and two did it this week!
One-for-the-Books Comebacks: The Tigers staged a one-hit, two-out-in-the-ninth rally to win in extras—no other MLB team in modern history has replicated that scenario in a single game this decade.
Fresh From the Dugout: Analyst Notes
Will Leitch at MLB.com: “This final month is pure chaos—a late-season brew of hope, heartbreak and the occasional gravity-defying missile off the bat. The playoff picture? Far from set. Don’t blink.”
Quote of the week, via 42 Sports Analytics: “Sometimes, September isn’t about the hottest team—it’s the wildest, weirdest moments that baseball diehards obsess over for a lifetime.”
Bold Summary
MLB’s penultimate week: Standings flipped, exit velocities soared, runners ran wild, and baseball’s relentless oddball DNA stole the show. If you blinked, you missed a statistical fever dream from coast to coast.
Discussion Dugout
Which stat this week was the wackiest—and can anyone top that Rockies reverse sweep?
As exit velocities rise league-wide, are teams truly capitalizing, or do “soft skills” like situational hitting and speed still separate the contenders?
On-Deck Circle: Your Move
If this week’s baseball data fever got you thinking… hit reply with your own “weirdest stat of the week,” or repost with #42sportsanalytics on your favorite platform. Want more nerdy breakdowns? Subscribe to Round the Bases at Clubhouse 42 and never miss the madness.
Keywords/Tags
baseball, MLB, sports analytics, data-driven sports stories, MLB Weekly update, win percentage, stolen bases, exit velocity, weird baseball stats, Substack, LinkedIn
Sources:
MLB.com Standings, Baseball Savant, ESPN MLB, MLB Power Rankings, The Athletic Weird & Wild, Baseball America, 42 Sports Analytics.