There are just two weeks remaining in the 2006 MLB season and most races have yet to be won. While leading the AL in seven statistical categories, Johan Santana has AL Cy Young locked up, the Rookie of the Year honors, NL Wildcard and AL Batting Race are still up for the taking. In this edition of Inside the Numbers we’ll examine all the major races as the season comes to a close.

(my selections are highlighted in orange)

Playoffs
American League
AL East – N.Y. Yankees 91-59 (10 games ahead of Boston)
AL Central – Detroit 90-60 (1.5 games ahead of Minnesota)
AL West – Oakland 86-63 (6.5 games ahead of L.A. Angels)

The Athletics play the Angels in the final four games of the season.

Wildcard
Minnesota 88-61 .591
Chicago White Sox 84-66 4.5 games back

National League
NL East – N.Y. Mets 91-58 .611 (14.5 games ahead of Philadelphia)
NL Central – St. Louis 79-69 .534 (7 games ahead of Cincinnati)
NL West – L.A. Dodgers 79-71 .527 (.5 games ahead of San Diego)

Wildcard
San Diego 78-71 .523
Philadelphia 77-73 1.5 games back
San Francisco 74-75 4 games back
Florida 74-76 4.5 games back

If Playoff started today
Oakland @ Detroit, Minnesota @ N.Y. Yankees
San Diego @ N.Y. Mets, L.A. Dodgers @ St. Louis

Is another Subway series looming?

Batting Race
American League
1. Joe Mauer, MIN .344
2. Derek Jeter, NYY .340
3. Vladimir Guerrero, LAA .328
4. Miguel Tejada, BAL .327
5. Reed Johnson, TOR .321

National League
1. Freddy Sanchez, PIT .341
2. Miguel Cabrera, FLA .340
3. Matt Holliday, COL .332
4. Albert Pujols, STL .330
5. Garrett Atkins, COL .324

Home Runs
American League
1. David Ortiz, BOS 49
2. Jermaine Dye, CHW 42
3. Travis Hafner, CLE 42
4. Jim Thome, CHW 40
5. Frank Thomas, OAK 38

National League
1. Ryan Howard, PHI 57
2. Pujols 46
3. Albert Soriano, WAS 45
4. Lance Berkman, HOU 41
5. Adam Dunn, CIN 40

MVP
Candidates
American League
David Ortiz .283, 49 HR (1st), 129 RBI (1st), 107 walks (2nd), 107 runs (4th), 1,031 OPS (3rd), .625 SLG% (3rd), .405 OBP (7th)
Derek Jeter .340 (2nd), 14 HR, 95 RBI, 109 R (3rd), 32 SB (7th), .414 OBP (4th), 198 H (3rd)
Vladimir Guerrero .327, 29 HR, 110 RBI, 87 R, 15 SB, 189 H, .538 SLG
Jermaine Dye .320, 42 HR, 117 RBI, 95 R, .512 SLG
Justin Morneau .320, 33 HR, 123 RBI, 88 R, .571 SLG

National League
Carlos Beltran .277, 40 HR (5th), 114 RBI (4th), 121 R (1st), 85 BB (9th), .603 SLG (4th)
Ryan Howard .312 (6th), 57 HR (1st), 140 RBI (1st), 91 BB (7th), .673 SLG (2nd), .413 OBP (5th), 1.086 OPS (2nd)
Albert Pujols .330 (4th), 46 HR (2nd), 126 RBI (2nd), 112 R (5th), .682 SLG (1st), .431 OBP (5th), 1.113 OPS (1st)

Cy Young Race
American League
Johan Santana 18 W (1st), 2.77 ERA (1st), 237 K (1st), 220.2 IP (1st), 0.98 WHIP (1st), .213 BAA (1st), .783 Win% (1st)
Roy Halladay 16 W (5th), 3.20 ERA (2nd), 131 K, 216.2 IP (2nd), 1.10 WHIP (2nd), .762 Win% (3rd)

National League
Brandon Webb 16 W (2nd), 2.92 ERA (2nd), 1.14 WHIP (2nd), 163 K, 5 CG (1st), Win% .727 (1st), 216 IP (2nd)
Brad Penny 16 W (1st), 4.13 ERA, 138 K
Chris Carpenter 15 W (4th), 2.79 ERA (1st), 173 K (5th), 1.04 WHIP (1st)
Carlos Zambrano 15 W (4th), 3.38 ERA (6th), 194 K (1st), 108 BB (1st), .210 BAA (2nd)

Rookie of the Year
American League
Jonathan Papelbon - 4-2, 0.92 ERA, 35 saves, 75-13 KK/BB ratio
Justin Verlander - 16-8, 3.42 ERA, 20 quality starts:
Francisco Liriano - 12-3, 2.16 ERA, 144-32 KK/BB ratio
Jered Weaver - 11-2, 2.15 ERA, 96-30 KK/BB ratio

National League
Dan Uggla - 294, 26 home runs, 89 RBI
Josh Johnson - 12-7, 3.10 ERA, 133 K
Ryan Zimmerman - .280, 18 HR, 97 RBI
Prince Fielder - .280, 26 HR, 73 RBI
Matt Cain – 13-9, 3.75 ERA, 163 K

Rolaids Relief Man
American League
1. Francisco Rodriguez 2-2, 1.78 ERA, 42 S, 3 TSV, 4 BSV = 121 PTS
2. Bobby Jenks 3-4, 3.92 ERA, 40 S, 4 TSV, 4 BSV = 114 PTS
3. Joe Nathan 6-0, 1.76 ERA, 33 S, 1 TSV, 2 BSV = 108 PTS
4. Jonathan Papelbon 4-2, 0.92 ERA, 35 S, 3 TSV, 6 BSV = 100 PTS

National League
1. Billy Wagner 3-2, 2.11 ERA, 38 S, 0 TSV, 5 BSV = 106 PTS
2. Trevor Hoffman 0-2, 2.09 ERA, 39 S, 0 TSV, 5 BSV = 103 PTS
3. Joe Borowski 3-3, 4.04 ERA, 34 S, 0 TSV, 7 BSV = 86 PTS
4. Tom Gordon 3-4, 3.15 ERA, 31 S, 0 TSV, 4 BSV = 83 PTS

Question of the Day:
Will Ryan Howard hit over 61 HR? And if he does, is he the real home run champion?

Matt Lawrence can be contacted at Matt@CREATiVESPORTS.com