The 2015 Minnesota Twins season is dead and gone.
People mourn the end of the baseball in different ways. One way is to stare at tons of numbers on a computer screen trying to make sense of the season. For instance, did you know Trevor Plouffe was terrible when facing fastballs? Or that Kyle Gibson threw the fewest in-zone pitches among all qualified starters?
Here are all the little statistical tidbits from 2015...
Can't handle the heat? Trevor Plouffe's .220 average against fastballs was the fourth-lowest among all qualified hitters. On the other hand, he was one of the game's best when it came to doing damage on breaking balls (curves and sliders). His OPS against those pitches was .820 -- 9th-highest among MLB hitters. In fact, Plouffe collected 25 extra base hits on breaking balls (only Yoenis Cespedes [26] had more) and was able to do that damage because he attacked the hangers up in the zone.
Plouffe also had five extra base hits with the bases loaded this season. Only Boston's Xander Bogaerts had more (6).
Miguel Sano's season was incredible for a 22-year-old. According to Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index, dating back to 1914 Sano's .916 OPS is the 21st highest among 22-year-olds with a minimum of 300 plate appearances. He demonstrated a unique blend of patience and power as he drew walks in 15.8% of his plate appearances (11th highest among 22-year-olds) and, according to BaseballSavant.com's batting ball velocity, he put balls in play at an average of 94.45 MPH. Only Miami's Giancarlo Stanton pelted balls harder (97.73 MPH).
On September 30, Sano hit this Zach McAllister 95.2 MPH fastball into the bleachers at 114 MPH. This would be the hardest hit ball for the Twins in 2015, according to BaseballSavant.com:
Sano's .916 OPS also ties him with Tony Oliva for the highest OPS by a Twins' rookie.