Last year this time, we were wondering whether Barry Bonds would hit 70 home runs. This year this time, we're wondering if the Devil Rays can become the first American League team since the '96 Tigers to lose more than 105 games.

Well, that's just our way of reminding you that history comes in all shapes and sizes. And with the finish line of another season just days away, here's a rundown on just some of the history chasers in our midst:

The Good
The .370-44 club. With a week left in the season, Barry Bonds was hitting .370, with 44 home runs. Among his many other historic accomplishments this year, Mr. Bonds can join two players you may have heard with a batting average this high and this many home runs -- Babe Ruth (five times) and Lou Gehrig (1927). Pretty cool group.

	Barry Bonds Left Field San Francisco Giants Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS AB HR RBI BB OPB AVG 392 44 106 191 .581 .370

The always-on-base club. OK, how about one more Barry Bonds feat? Even if he never gets on base the rest of the season, Bonds has set a National League record for most times reaching base (surprise, surprise). He was up to 345 hits-plus-walks-plus-HBPs, with a week to go. We're pretty sure you've heard of the only two men in history to spend that much time on base, too -- the Babe (379 in 1923, 353 in 1921, 346 in 1924) and Ted Williams (348 in 1949, 345 in 1947). So if Barry makes it to 350, which he could (literally) do with his eyes closed, it will be just him and that Bambino. Amazing.

The 200-200-200-200-200-200-200 club. Alfonso Soriano and Ichiro Suzuki blew by the 200-hit line over the weekend. But four more AL hitters -- Bernie Williams, Miguel Tejada, Nomar Garciaparra and Garret Anderson -- were within nine hits of 200 heading into the final week. Great feat. Bet you didn't know there have been just two seasons since the out-of-control 1930s in which six men from one league reached 200 hits: 1986 AL (Don Mattingly, Kirby Puckett, Tony Fernandez, Wade Boggs, Joe Carter, Jim Rice) and 1970 NL (Pete Rose, Billy Williams, Joe Torre, Lou Brock, Matty Alou, Bobby Bonds).

The fan club. Back in Randy Johnson's first full year in the big leagues (1989), exactly one starting pitcher averaged a strikeout an inning or better -- some guy named Nolan Ryan. This year, in the National League alone, six starters were averaging at least a strikeout per inning -- Johnson, Curt Schilling, Jason Schmidt, Matt Clement, Brandon Duckworth and Kerry Wood. That's more pitchers than did that in any season in the entire pitching-crazed decade of the 1960s. And the record for any league in any season is four (in the NL, in 1996 and '98). So this one is a lock.

The tag team. Speaking of Schilling and Johnson, we get the feeling people almost take for granted that they're supposed to be this dominating. Well, let's straighten that out right now. Nobody is supposed to be this dominating. The Unit is 23-5. Schilling is 23-6. To find the last time two 20-game winners in the entire National League were at least 17 games over .500, you have to go all the way back to 1966 (Sandy Koufax 27-9, Juan Marichal 25-6). To find the last time two NL 20-win teammates were at least 17 over, you have to travel back slightly farther -- to 1908, when the Cubs' Three Finger Brown was 29-9 and Ed Reulbach was 24-7. In fact, Johnson and Schilling would be the second set of 20-win teammates in either league to finish plus-17 or better since 1910. The others: Mel Parnell (25-7) and Ellis Kinder (23-6), of the 1949 Red Sox. All their teammates went 48-45. The rest of the Diamondbacks through Sunday: 48-52.

	Tanyon Sturtze Starting Pitcher Tampa Bay Devil Rays Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS W-L IP H BB R ERA 4-17 218.1 263 87 137 5.19

The Bad
The quadruple frown. Down in scenic Tampa Bay, Tanyon Sturtze(4-17) won't be losing 20 games. That's the good news. The bad news is, he headed into the final week leading the American League in losses, hits allowed (263), runs allowed (137) and walks (87). C.C. Sabathia (85 BB) could still catch him in walks. Jeff Suppan (132) could still catch him in runs. But if Sturtze hangs on, he would be the first pitcher to win this dubious quadruple crown since Phil Niekro (1977 and '79). He'd be the first non-knuckleballer since the great Stoney McGlinn in 1907, just the fourth pitcher to do it since 1900 (joining Togey Pittinger in 1903) and the first American Leaguer ever.

Worst to first. While we're on the subject of pitchers who lead their league in losses, Giants "ace" Livan Hernandez has a shot at one of the most impossible feats of the century. He went into the last week tied with Milwaukee's Ben Sheets for the league lead in losses. But at least Sheets' team has lost 100 games. Hernandez's team is probably going to the playoffs. We took a trip through Total Baseball to determine that no pitcher has ever led his league in losses for a team that made it to the postseason. So for Livan Hernandez, this week is dramatic in more ways than one.

The centurians. The Devil Rays, Tigers and Brewers didn't need to go down to the final week to lose 100 games. The Rays lost their 100th faster than any team since the '49 Senators. The Brewers lost 100 for the first time in team history. And the Tigers now have lost 100 games more times since 1989 (three) than they did in their first 88 seasons combined (two). But the real drama this week revolves around the Royals. If they lose four of their last six, they'll make this the first season in history featuring four 100-game losers. But at least they'll be the first team since the 1965 Red Sox to lose 100 and not finish last -- thanks to those hospitable Tigers.

Don't walk this way. Say, did we just mention the Tigers? They're the team responsible for our favorite stat of the month. Walks in September by Barry Bonds: 36. Walks by the Tigers (every darned one of them): 26. Think how hard that is to do. But not for this team. They walked only 346 times in their first 155 games. So they'd pretty much have to take every pitch the rest of the season to avoid becoming the first team since the 1993 expansion Rockies (388) to walk under 400 times in a non-strike year. They'd be the first non-expansion team since the 1980 White Sox (399), And they'd be only the fifth of the division-play era. The record since division play began in 1969: 358 walks, by the 1972 Angels. Is there any way these Tigers walk 13 times in a week? Can't beat that for drama.

	Randall Simon Designated Httr Detroit Tigers Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS AB HR RBI BB K AVG 474 18 79 11 30 .297

The Goofy
Swingaholics anonymous. There is no one in this sport quite like the ultimate Tiger, noted hack machine Randall Simon. He's the toughest man in the league to strike out (474 at-bats, 30 whiffs). He's the toughest man in the league to walk (11 walks, only nine of them unintentional). And let's just say that in modern times, there have been very few players like this guy. In the last half-century, only three players with this many at-bats have drawn fewer than 15 walks and struck out fewer than 35 times in a season -- Ozzie Guillen (27 K, 10 BB) in 1996, Tim Foli (22 K, 14 BB) in 1982 and Tommy Helms (27 K, 10 BB). Incredibly, those other three all became coaches. So at least Randall Simon should have a fine future ahead of him when he's finished hacking.

The Rob Deer hunter. On the North Side of Chicago, Mark Bellhorn has been a nice little find for those always-fascinating Cubbies. He's hit 27 home runs. That's good. But out of those 27 home runs -- and his other 83 hits -- have come just 55 RBIs. Which means Bellhorn has driven in his teammates only one more time (28) than he's driven in himself (27). Only two players since 1900 have hit this many home runs and driven in himself as much as his teammates: the legendary Rob Deer (32 HR, 64 RBIs) in 1992 and the almost-as-legendary Barry Bonds (73 HRs, 137 RBIs) last season. So Bellhorn is one solo homer away from putting himself in mighty cool company.

The 40-20 club. The effervescent Alfonso Soriano headed into the last week just one homer away from the much-ballyhooed 40-40 club (40 HR, 40 SB). But at least that club has some members. He's also one homer away from a much more exclusive club. He headed into the last week with 39 homers but only 21 walks. If he gets to 40, he would be the first player ever to homer that much and walk that little. Fewest walks ever by a 40-homer man: 22, by Dante Bichette in 1995. Fewest in a non-strike year: 32, by Andre Dawson in 1987 (49 HR) and Tony Armas (43 HR) in 1984. Stay tuned.

Not as easy as 1-2-4. Tim Wakefield lowered his ERA to 2.75 after Monday's game. That would be the fourth-best ERA in the American League, just behind Barry Zito (2.74), except that Wakefield is barely short of enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. So if he pitches another 4 2/3 innings in his final start and keeps his ERA in the same range, he'll give the Red Sox the first rotation in 35 years -- and sixth in the last 75 seasons -- to have three of the top four in the league in ERA. (Pedro Martinez is first, Derek Lowe second). Unfortunately, they'll be only the second team in the last 75 seasons to do that and not finish first. The other was the 1967 White Sox, who finished fourth, despite the pitching heroics of Joel Horlen, Gary Peters and Tommy John. The Red Sox, by the way, also will be the third team in the last 25 years to have two 20-game winners and not make the playoffs (joining the 1993 Giants and 1980 Orioles). But who's counting?

Stuck in the middle (and everywhere else). Finally, there's something about the AL East that looks familiar. The standings, for instance. At the top, the Yankees and Red Sox are guaranteed to finish 1-2, in that order, for the fifth straight year. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that's never happened -- in any league, any division, any season. But that's not all. Unless the Orioles get real hot this week or the Blue Jays forget to win again, the entire division is going to wind up in the exact same order again, too -- for the fifth straight season. Obviously, that's never happened, either. So ... anyone want to place a wager it won't happen again next year? Not us.

Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com.