Kansas City Royals v Cleveland Indians
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Now hold on just a second. Before we fully lose ourselves in the loving arms of the 2020 MLB postseason, let's take one final moment to pay tribute to the top performers of the 2020 regular season. In doing so, let's pay particular heed to those who broke or came tantalizingly close to breaking all-time records for those who played no more than 60 games or pitched no more than a 60-game season's worth of innings. Astute readers may recall that we explored that 60-game record book coming into the season. Spoiler: One moundsman very central to the first day of postseason color television intrigue has now barged his way into said record book.

Now on with the leaders and their historical standing. First up, the hitters. Again, for the historical reference point, we're citing records for those hitters who played no more than 60 games during the season in question. 

Hits

2020 leader: 68, Trea Turner, Nationals
All-time 60-game record: 81, Reb Russell, Pirates, 1922

It was an outstanding season for the D.C. shortstop, who batted .335/.394/.588 in 2020. However, he didn't really sniff Russell's record for a 60-game season. 

Batting average

2020 leader: .364, DJ LeMahieu, Yankees
All-time 60-game record: .374, Earle Brucker, Athletics, 1938

LeMahieu became the first player in MLB history to win a batting title in both the NL and AL, but he fell short of the 60-game single-season record. 

OPS+

2020 leader: 212, Juan Soto, Nationals
Previous all-time 60-game record: 188, Willie McCovey, Giants, 1959

Here we have our first record-breaker of 2020. Soto, who's still just 21 years of age, absolutely destroyed the ball in 2020, as evidenced by that lofty OPS+. Given what he's already accomplished at the highest level, Soto is worthy successor to the Hall of Famer McCovey. 

Home runs

2020 leader: 22, Luke Voit, Yankees
All-time 60-game record: 24, Matt Olson, Athletics

Voit was a huge and stabilizing presence in the Yankee lineup this season. En route to slugging .610, Voit cracked those 22 homers above. He just misses Olson's record for a 60-game season.

Doubles

2020 leader: 23, Freddie Freeman, Braves
Previous all-time 60-game record: 18, Bubba Trammel, Devil Rays, 1998; Bo Bichette, Blue Jays, 2019

Freeman, who may be the NL MVP frontrunner, pretty well crushed the existing 60-game record for two-baggers. That tally put him on pace for 62 doubles across the usual 162-game season. 

Triples

2020 leader: 6, Kyle Tucker, Astros
All-time 60-game record: 8, Reb Russell, Pirates, 1922

It is not and has not been for some time a triples era, but Tucker worked against those trends and came within sniffing distance of the record. The 23-year-old Tucker was one of the few bright spots for the Astros this season, as he slashed .268/.325/.512. 

RBI

2020 leader: 60, Jose Abreu, White Sox
All-time 60-game record: 75, Reb Russell, Pirates, 1922

Abreu, the White Sox's philosopher-king, was one of the most productive hitters in baseball this season, but he wound up well shy of Russell's ribbie total. 

Runs scored

2020 leader: 51, Freddie Freeman, Braves
All-time 60-game record: 51, Reb Russell, Pirates, 1922

And we have a tie. Look, you don't sniff the likes of 1922 Reb Russell unless you've had one hell of year. That certainly describes Freddie Perilous. 

Stolen bases

2020 leader: 24, Adalberto Mondesi, Royals
All-time 60-game record: 16, Eric Davis, Reds, 1985

The KC shortstop is nothing if not an entertaining throwback, and he indeed dominated the stolen base record for a 60-game season. Mondesi, however, also led the majors in times caught stealing with eight. 

Strikeouts by a hitter

2020 leader: 90, Miguel Sano, Twins
All-time 60-game record: 96, Javier Baez, Cubs, 2014

Despite the high strikeout total, Sano with 13 homers and a 104 OPS+ was still a somewhat useful hitter in 2020. 

WAR for position players

2020 leader: 3.4, Mookie Betts, Dodgers
Previous all-time 60-game record: 3.3, Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays, 2011

Is Betts the new best player in baseball? That's a reasonable question to ask these days. He'll certainly challenge Freeman for the NL MVP award, and he's now the record-holder for WAR in a 60-game season. 

Now let's turn the pitching side of the ledger. By way of reminder, pitchers this season must have logged at least 60 innings to quality for rate-based leaderboards like ERA. In determining the all-time 60-game records for pitchers, we limited our pool of eligibles to those with no more than 12 starts in a season (and for rate-based metrics, at least 60 IP -- the qualifying figure for 2020). For relievers, we'll limited it to those with no more than 25 appearances in a season. 

Wins

2020 leader: 8, Shane Bieber, Indians
All-time 60-game record: 9, Ken Holtzman, Cubs, 1967

Bieber, the runaway favorite for AL Cy Young honors, came up just short here, but we've not heard the last of him. 

Strikeouts

2020 leader: 122, Shane Bieber, Indians
Previous all-time 60-game record: 92, Stephen Strasburg, Nationals, 2010

Yep, Bieber completely incinerated this particular record. Second to Bieber this season was Jacob deGrom, but he's all the way back at 104 strikeouts. 

Home runs allowed

2020 leader: 15, Matthew Boyd, Tigers; Trevor Williams, Pirates
All-time 60-game record: 18, Jerad Eickhoff, Phillies, 2019

Boyd and Williams mercifully miss out on making 60-game history in this instance. In related matters, Boyd and Williams this season combined to allow 88 runs in 115 2/3 innings. Not optimal!

Saves

2020 leader: 16, Brad Hand, Indians
Previous all-time 60-game record: 13, Ryan Kohlmeier, Orioles, 2000

The record now belongs to the Cleveland lefty Hand, who was a perfect 60 for 60 in save opps while also striking out 29 batters against just four walks in 22 innings. 

ERA

2020 leader: 1.63, Shane Bieber, Indians
Previous all-time 60-game record: 1.64, Josh Johnson, Marlins, 2011

Bieber, who as you may have already figured out won the pitcher's triple crown this season, now has the lowest ERA ever across no more than 12 starts. Bieber allowed one or zero runs in seven of his 12 starts in 2020. 

WAR for pitchers

2020 leader: 3.2, Shane Bieber, Indians
All-time 60-game record: 3.8, Cliff Curtis, Doves (Braves), 1909

Not quite for Mr. Bieber on this one, but overall it's clear he also merits some consideration for AL MVP laurels in addition to becoming -- assuming common sense prevails -- the unanimous choice for the Cy Young. 

Speaking off all things Shane Bieber, he'll be in action against the cloutin' Yankees on Tuesday as the postseason gets underway. 

OK, now let's have some playoffs.