The sports world is filled with insane stats and facts. Some are so unbelievable, it is difficult to even comprehend how that is even possible. Here are seven crazy stats and facts, in no particular order.
7. Greg Maddux’ Command
I’m sure a lot of you had heard this stat before, but no matter how many times I hear it, it’s unbelievable to me.
The stat: Maddux faced 20,421 batters during his time in the league. In those 20,421 at-bats, only 310 hitters saw a 3-0 count. Out of those 310, 3-0 counts, 177 of them were intentional walks.
If this is your first time hearing this stat, let me break it down a little bit better for you. Maddux threw to 20,421 hitters in his career. Only .006% of those hitters saw a 3-0, not counting intentional walks. That shows how truly dominate Maddux was with his control.
6. Barry Bonds’ 2004 OBP
Yeah, he took steroids. Despite that, Bonds gave us some very entertaining seasons, and impressive stats. This stat right here is mind-boggling.
The stat: In 2004, Barry Bonds reached base more times than he had At-Bats. He had 617 plate appearances, 129 hits on 373 at-bats, with 232 walks. He also got hit by 9 pitches and reached base on errors 6 times for 376 times on base.
In Bonds’ 2004 MVP season, his OBP was .609! That almost unheard of, getting on base 60% of the time. Unreal.
5. Larry Fitzgerald – More Tackles Than Drops
Larry Fitzgerald has had nothing short of a Hall of Fame career. He doesn’t have exceptional speed, or route running. What made him special was his hands.
The stat: There has been a documented 29 drops in Fitzgerald’s 16 year career. He has 41 tackles, meaning he has more tackles than dropped passes in his career.
Only dropping 29 passes in your career is astounding itself, but to have more tackles than drops to go along with it? Amazing.
4. Is Wilt Chamberlain Human?
Nowadays, a teams star player plays about 32-35 minutes out of the 48 minute NBA game. You will most likely never see a player play an entire game. In the 1961-1962 season, Wilt Chamberlain didn’t just play one whole game, he did it almost the entire season.
The stat: During the 1961 season, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 48.5 minutes per game. He averaged more minutes in a game then there are minutes in regulation. The .5 comes from games he played in that went to overtime.
The endurance is takes to play a full NBA game is crazy, let alone do it for a whole season. Along with the 48.5 MPG, he averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds in that season.
3. The Legendary Career of Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky is regarded as the greatest NHL player ever to touch the ice. He was nearly unstoppable. Along with being in the Hall of Fame and a 9x Hart Award winner, he has some incredible stats, too.
The stat: Gretzky holds the record with 2,857 career points. He is in the lead by 970 points. If Gretzky didn’t score one goal in his entire career (894) he would still be the all-time point leader with 1,963 assists.
This stat shows Gretzky’s dominance in his 20 year career.
2. Brady and His Super Bowls
We all know Tom Brady is a winner. Do we really understand how dominate he is, though?
The stat: Tom Brady has a better chance to make a Super Bowl, than Steph Curry has to make a 3 pointer. Brady has played 20 full seasons in the NFL, and he has reached the Super Bowl 9 times. That means 45% of Brady’s seasons he’s made it to the Super Bowl. Curry’s current 3 point percentage is 43%.
Steph Curry is probably the best 3 point shooter of all time. This has to mean Tom Brady is the best winner of all time, right?
1. The Greatest Relief Pitcher Ever, Mariano Rivera
In the Playoffs, Mariano Rivera is untouchable. He has 96 appearances and only 11 earned runs given up in his postseason career. How impressive is that you may ask?
The stat – It is more common for a person to walk on the moon than for Mariano Rivera to give up a run in the playoffs. Rivera has 11 earned runs in the playoffs, and 12 people have walked on the moon.
I mean, this can’t be real, right?
