2012 AL West Predictions & Preview
I’ve posted predictions for the AL East and AL Central recently, and I’ll wrap things up by offering my predictions for 2012 for the AL West. The AL West is an interesting division because it now contains two of the elite teams in all of baseball, the Rangers and the Angels. It will be interesting to watch these two teams battle it out all year long.
I’ll be using the 2012 Major League Baseball Yearbook & Fantasy Guide as a reference to give you each player’s 2012 statistical projections. If you see a roster error, please leave a comment so that I may fix it.
1st Place: Los Angeles Angels (My prediction 97-65)
The Angels are going for it in 2012, and made it known to the rest of baseball by signing Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson.
Besides having the best hitter in the game in Pujols, they also have Jered Weaver headlining their rotation. Weaver went 18-8 with a 2.41 ERA last year.
He is joined in the rotation by Wilson, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and a fifth starter – likely Jerome Williams. It’s a very strong rotation – one of the top rotations in baseball.
The Angels also have some excellent young players in Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout.
If aging veterans Bobby Abreu, Vernon Wells, and Torii Hunter still have something left to contribute, this team could push the 100 win mark.
2012 Statistical projections:
C Chris Iannetta .235-12-48
1B Albert Pujols .307-40-109
2B Howie Kendrick .280-17-71
3B Alberto Callaspo .285-6-47
3B Mark Trumbo .252-20-63
SS Erick Aybar .288-9-57
LF Peter Bourjos .268-9-34
CF Vernon Wells .234-25-70
RF Torii Hunter .271-25-90
DH Bobby Abreu .252-11-66
DH Kendrys Morales .297-17-56
SP Jered Weaver 17-9, 2.81 ERA, 224 IP, 217 K
SP Dan Haren 16-11, 3.48 ERA, 233 IP, 199 K
SP CJ Wilson 16-8, 3.02 ERA, 220 IP, 200 K
SP Ervin Santana 15-12, 3.49 ERA, 214 IP, 163 K
SP Jerome Williams 10-9, 4.31 ERA, 142 IP, 102 K
RP Jordan Walden 3.05 ERA, 35 saves, 65 IP, 73 K
RP Scott Downs 2.19 ERA, 2 saves, 62 IP, 43 K
2nd Place: Texas Rangers (My prediction: 95-67)
The Rangers have come close to winning the World Series the last two seasons. I believe that they are good enough again to make it back to the playoffs, although I think the Angels will squeak past them to win the division. The Rangers are very solid offensively.
Mike Napoli is probably the best offensive catcher in the major leagues having belted 30 home runs last year. Additionally, he can play first base and DH to keep his bat in the line up.
Ian Kinsler hit 32 home runs last year and ranks #2 of all second basemen in the MLB Yearbook magazine.
Adrian Beltre smashed 32 homers and knocked in 105 runs last year. This is his age 33 season, so he probably has another decent year or two before age starts to slow him down.
Then there is Josh Hamilton. Hamilton, a recovering drug and alcohol addict, went through a much-publicized relapse this offseason when he had a few drinks at a bar. He played through pain last year and smacked 25 HR despite missing time with injuries.
The Rangers also have Nelson Cruz, another power threat who hit 29 home runs. Cruz isn’t the greatest defender and his misplay of David Freese’s triple in the World Series ended up costing the Rangers than championship.
As for the Rangers rotation, they are solid. They can move Neftali Perez to a starter spot with Joe Nathan on board, and they also brought in Yu Darvish, Japan’s best pitcher. It’ll be interesting to watch how Darvish does. Most people predict he’ll fare better than Daisuke Matsuzaka did with Boston several years ago. This is the majors though, so don’t expect him to put up ridiculous numbers like in Japan. (Career 76-28, 1.72 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 1024 IP, 1083 K)
2012 Statistical Projections:
C Mike Napoli .306-29-73
1B Mitch Moreland .258-17-60
2B Ian Kinsler .261-28-72
3B Adrian Beltre .285-27-88
SS Elvis Andrus .275-4-57
LF David Murphy .284-10-43
CF Josh Hamilton .309-30-107
RF Nelson Cruz .276-37-105
DH Michael Young .327-13-98
SP Colby Lewis 13-11, 4.18 ERA, 202 IP, 179 K
SP Alexi Ogando 14-9, 3.34 ERA, 189 IP, 148 K
SP Neftali Feleiz 13-8, 3.27 ERA, 182 IP, 147 K
SP Derek Holland 15-7, 4.10 ERA, 200 IP, 168 K
SP Matt Harrison 13-12, 3.97 ERA, 190 IP, 141 K
SP Yu Darvish 14-9, 3.83 ERA, 183 IP, 167 K
RP Joe Nathan 3.09 ERA, 29 saves, 55 IP, 62 K
RP Koji Uehara 2.70 ERA, 4 saves, 57 IP, 77 K
3rd Place: Seattle Mariners (My prediction 73-89)
After the Angels and Rangers, the Mariners and Athletics will be left to battle things out for the third spot in the division. I’m going to give the edge to the Mariners, because I don’t think their offense can be as bad as it was in 2011 again. They only averaged 3.43 runs per game last year, worst in major league baseball. It led to a 67-95 record.
Chone Figgins underperformed last year, hitting on .188 with 1 homer. The Mariners paid him $9.5 million last year.
Ichiro Suzuki also underperformed, only hitting .272 with 5 HR. It was the first year in his major league career that he didn’t hit over .300 and collect at least 200 hits in a season. Maybe he pressed too much, trying to ignite an offense that was powerless. At any rate, manager Eric Wedge has pledged to bat Ichiro Suzuki third this season while moving Chone Figgins to the leadoff spot.
The Mariners also finally acquired a big bat, albeit a prospect bat in Jesus Montero. No Mariners player hit over 20 home runs last year. Montero has that kind of power. He hit 21 homers in AAA in 2010, and 22 split between AAA and the Yankees last year. Prior to 2011, he was ranked as the #3 prospect in the MLB.
I think that the Mariners will see a small improvement in 2012, because they can’t be that bad for two years in a row? Can they?
As a side note, I also I can’t wait to go here:
And stay here. I love Washington state. It’s on my list of places to live after I finally get sick of Pennsylvania.
2012 Statistical Projections:
C Miguel Olivo .236-11-59
1B Justin Smoak .258-22-80
2B Dustin Ackley .271-9-55
3B Chone Figgins .255-2-28
SS Brendan Ryan .243-3-51
LF Trayvon Robinson .241-8-48
CF Franklin Gutierrez .241-4-33
RF Ichiro Suzuki .287-6-46
DH Mike Carp .276-15-56
DH Jesus Montero .292-14-51
SP Felix Hernandez 14-12, 2.97 ERA, 234 IP, 218 K
SP Jason Vargas 9-12, 4.22 ERA, 181 IP, 114 K
SP Blake Beavan 9-12, 4.48 ERA, 175 IP, 91 K
SP Charlie Furbush 8-13, 4.07 ERA, 166 IP, 115 K
RP Brandon League 3.21 ERA, 32 Saves, 67 IP, 52 K
RP George Sherrill 3.99 ERA, 1 save, 48 IP, 44 K
4th Place: Oakland Athletics (My prediction: 68-94)
The Oakland Athletics looked to be in full blown rebuilding mode for 2012, trading away their ace pitcher Gio Gonzalez to the Nationals and their closer Andrew Bailey to the Red Sox. However, they surprised everyone in baseball when they swooped in and signed Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes to a six year contract. Cespedes figures to have every change to earn a spot as a starter on the opening day roster. I just want to see him take some batting practice. He looks like he could be a beast in BP.
The Athletics also raised eyebrows when they signed Manny Ramirez to a minor league contract. Ramirez, if he performs well, will likely make the team after serving a 50 game suspension for performance enhancing drugs. Personally, I don’t think Ramirez has anything left and will be a bust. Luckily for the A’s, they will only lose about $330,000 on the deal if he fails miserably.
If Manny wasn’t enough, the A’s also have another potentially washed up pitcher in Bartolo Colon, also trying to make the squad. Colon was out of baseball before having a medical breakthrough surgery on his elbow with stem cells to rejuvenate his career.
It might be just me, but I think it will be a tough year for the A’s, although they will have lots of media attention with Ramirez and Cespedes.
2012 Statistical Predictions:
C Kurt Suzuki .244-14-53
1B Daric Barton .250-4-39
2B Jemile Weeks .305-3-50
3B Scott Sizemore .249-10-51
SS Cliff Pennington .290-9-64
LF Michael Taylor .253-9-58
CF Collin Cowgill .254-10-45
RF Josh Reddick .264-14-76
OF Yoenis Cespedes .273-18-74 (rotochamp prediction)
DH Brandon Allen .240-12-39
DH Manny Ramirez .273-12-42 (rotochamp prediction)
SP Brandon McCarthy 12-10, 3.36 ERA, 212 IP, 158 K
SP Guillermo Moscoso 11-13, 3.56 ERA, 167 IP, 98 K
SP Dallas Braden 9-10, 3.79 ERA, 145 IP, 92 K
SP Jarrod Parker 8-9, 4.08 ERA, 141 IP, 115 K
SP Tyson Ross 7-9, 3.99 ERA, 122 IP, 89 K
SP Bartolo Colon 6-9, 4.20 ERA, 143 IP, 116 K
RP Brian Fuentes 3.25 ERA, 28 saves, 53 IP, 42 K
RP Grant Balfour 2.72 ERA, 1 save, 60 IP, 57 K
So, to review, I’ve got:
1) Angels
2) Rangers
3) Mariners
4) A’s
I think it’ll be a two tiered race though, with the Angels/Rangers battling for first, while the Mariners and A’s duke it out for third.
How do you think they’ll finish?
There’s only 42 days until opening day, 9 days until the first broadcasted game on MLB TV (Yankees vs Phillies), and 4 more days to win a Phillies shirt.
Ballhawking: Stadium Leaders
This post deals with the realm of ballhawking. Using the database on mygameballs.com, I decided to make a list of ‘stadium owners,’ or the person that has snagged the most amount of baseballs at each ballpark. There’s obviously probably some regulars that don’t document their baseballs – for example, I’m sure that someone has to have snagged more than 32 balls at Target Field - they just haven’t become mygameballs.com official yet.
Here’s the list:
Stadium Owners (mygameballs ID)
Angel Stadium of Anaheim – Rob McCoy 992 (bbshagger)
AT&T Park – Scott Mystery 40 (mysteryCA)
Busch Stadium – Wayne Peck 48 (waynepeck)
Chase Field – Zack Hample 73 (zackhample)
Citi Field – Zack Hample 363
Citizens Bank Park – Zack Hample 250
Comerica Park – Zack Hample 37
Coors Field – Rockpile Ranter 126 (ranter)
Dodger Stadium – Jose Mannywood 348 (mannywood)
Fenway Park – Zack Hample 43
Great American Ballpark – Rocco Sinisi 356 (roccosinisi)
Kauffman Stadium – Garrett Meyer 326 (garrett37)
Miller Park – Shawn Bosman 997 (shawn77)
Minute Maid Park – Donny Haltom 162 (dhaltom)
Nationals Park – Aaron King 386 (aaronk)
New Yankee Stadium – alexk 178
Oakland Coliseum – Rick Gold 721 (jqfc)
Oriole Park at Camden Yards – Zack Hample 495
PETCO Park – Leigh Barratt 569 (padreleigh)
PNC Park – Erik Jabs 1,155 (erikj)
Progressive Field – Erik Jabs 255
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington – Dirk Elliot 237 (ballguy)
Rogers Centre – Zack Hample 82
Safeco Field – Max Van Hollenbeke 140 (mvanholl)
Target Field – Zack Hample 32
Tropicana Field – Mike Calabro 106 (mike357)
Turner Field – Zack Hample 143
US Cellular Field – Rick Crowe 251 (onabounce)
Wrigley Field – Zack Hample 38
Current Stadium Owners Top 3:
1) Erik Jabs 1,155 PNC Park
2) Shawn Bosman 997 Miller Park
3) Rob McCoy 992 Angel Stadium
Rather cool to see that I have the most balls snagged at any one current park. Of course this doesn’t include old stadiums such as Shea or Yankee stadium.
Who owns your stadium? Is there someone that’s legendary that you know that doesn’t put their stats on mygameballs? You should tell them to get on that.
There’s only 43 days until opening day, and 10 days the first broadcasted game on MLB TV (Yankees vs Phillies), and 5 more days to win a Phillies shirt.
2012 AL Central Predictions & Preview
I posted a blog post several days ago about the AL East and my projections. I chose the Yankees to win the division, with the Rays finishing second and earning one of two wild card spots. Today, I’ll offer my predictions about the AL Central.
I’ll be using the 2012 Major League Baseball Yearbook & Fantasy Guide as a reference to give you each player’s 2012 statistical projections. If you see a roster error, please leave a comment so that I may fix it.
1st Place: Detroit Tigers (My prediction 95-67)
The Detroit Tigers made a big splash over the winter by landing Prince Fielder to be their every day first baseman. The Tigers took a hit when they lost Victor Martinez for the season, but the signing of Fielder more than made up for that. Reigning MVP and Cy Young Award Winner Justin Verlander will anchor a decent rotation from top to bottom. If I’m any other team in the Central, I’m not too happy about having the Tigers in my division. The Tigers were offer a few interesting story lines to follow. First, everyone will watch Prince Fielder to see how well he transitions from the NL to the AL.
Second, Miguel Cabrera has slimmed down from about 300 pounds to 260? Giving him a better chance to perform adequately at third base this year. The last time he played third base regularly was in Florida in 2007, and he put up less than average defensive metrics.
And the third story line to follow is how Justin Verlander follows up on his MVP and Cy Young award season.
The Tigers will be a fun bunch to watch.
2012 Statistical projections:
C Alex Avila .287-18-76
1B Prince Fielder .292-43-129
2B Ryan Raburn .272-18-63
2B Brandon Inge .220-7-36
3B Miguel Cabrera .346-31-108
SS Jhonny Peralta .282-18-83
LF Andy Dirks .251-10-45
CF Austin Jackson .263-10-49
RF Brennan Boesch .268-12-43
DH Delmon Young .278-15-60
SP Justin Verlander 21-6, 2.87 ERA, 235 IP, 237 K
SP Doug Fister 10-13, 3.24 ERA, 203 IP, 129 K
SP Max Scherzer 13-10, 3.85 ERA, 189 IP, 183 K
SP Rick Porcello 13-10, 4.51 ERA, 186 IP, 107 K
SP Jacob Turner 8-7, 4.34 ERA, 133 IP, 98 K
RP Jose Valverde 2.44 ERA, 39 SV, 66 IP, 65 K
RP Joaquin Benoit 2.47 ERA, 1 SV, 66 IP, 73 K
2nd Place: Cleveland Indians (My prediction 83-79)
After the Detroit Tigers, choosing among the Indians, Royals, and Twins was rather difficult. I see all of them as strong contenders for the second spot in the division, but I’m going with the Indians in hopes that their young players can continue to progress rapidly and Ubaldo Jimenez bounces back.
The Indians have a lot of questions as players such as Shin Soo Choo, Travis Hafner, and Grady Sizemore try to bounce back from injuries and poor seasons. What will become of Roberto Hernandez aka Fausto Carmona and his fate with the team after being arrested for using false identification?
I’m an Indians fan, so I hope things turn out well for them this year. I think they’ll definitely be competitive and I can’t wait to attend more games at the Prog. Hopefully there’s a lot to celebrate this year in Cleveland.
2012 Statistical Projections:
C Carlos Santana .245-24-73
1B Casey Kotchman .300-10-43
1B Matt Laporta .269-16-72
2B Jason Kipnis .256-21-63
3B Lonnie Chisenhall .272-14-46
3B Jack Hanrahan .246-7-35
SS Asdrubal Cabrera .272-19-75
LF Michael Brantley .262-7-61
CF Grady Sizemore .262-17-63
RF Shin Soo Choo .282-18-75
DH Travis Hafner .274-15-62
SP Justin Masterson 10-12, 3.85 ERA, 215 IP, 164 K
SP Ubaldo Jimenez 14-11, 3.95 ERA, 201 IP, 192 K
SP Derek Lowe 12-15, 4.75 ERA, 186 IP, 131 K
SP Josh Tomlin 7-9, 5.31 ERA, 141 IP, 73 K
SP “Fausto Carmona” 10-14, 4.20 ERA, 210 IP, 123 K
SP Kevin Slowey 6-12, 5.37 ERA, 134 IP, 93K
RP Chris Perez 3.02 ERA, 27 SV, 60 IP, 49 K
RP Vinnie Pestano 2.81 ERA, 3 SV, 64 IP, 87 K
3rd Place: Kansas City Royals (My prediction: 82-80)
The Royals haven’t had a winning season since 2003, when they placed 3rd in the Central. They are stocked with young talent that could possibly lead to them being much more competitive in 2012. There have been several baseball columnists that have chosen the Royals as the break out or surprise team of 2012. They will be playing in front of more people this year, as the All Star game has spiked season ticket sales. Eric Hosmer, taken 3rd overall in the 2008 draft right after Pedro Alvarez looks to be on the path to stardom.
My main concern is their pitching staff. Luke Hochevar looks to be their ace, but he hasn’t really proven himself as a front line pitcher yet, even though he was the Royals #1 draft pick in 2006.
I’m hoping the Royals can put together a winning season in the year they host the All Star game. And, as a side note, I’m likely going to Kauffman stadium this summer for one game.
2012 Statistical Projections:
C Salvador Perez .262-11-63
1B Eric Hosmer .298-22-89
2B Johnny Giavotella .265-6-46
3B Mike Moustakas .283-14-86
SS Alcides Escobar .251-4-44
LF Alex Gordon .292-24-84
CF Lorenzo Cain .266-3-42
RF Jeff Francouer .282-18-78
DH Billy Butler .297-19-94
SP Luke Hochevar 12-12, 4.62 ERA, 206 IP 140 K
SP Bruce Chen 11-10, 4.39 ERA, 170 IP, 121 K
SP Jonathan Sanchez 11-10, 4.68 ERA, 167 IP, 174 K
SP Felipe Paulino 7-12, 4.42 ERA, 155 IP, 128 K
SP Danny Duffy 9-10, 4.92 ERA, 155 IP, 145 K
RP Joakim Soria 3.92 ERA, 33 SV, 60 IP, 64 K
RP Jonathan Broxton 3.63 ERA, 5 SV, 69 IP, 87 K
4th Place: Minnesota Twins (My prediction: 75-87)
The Twins had a disastrous 2011 campaign in which they posted a record of 63-99. Joe Mauer, who had just signed a 8 year $184 million mega contract prior to the 2010 season, suffered through injuries along with former AL MVP Justin Morneau.
Morneau only had 4 HR last year in a partial season. Just another reason the Twins had to hang their heads in ’11
These are not the results that ownership expected in the first couple seasons of their beautiful new home, Target Field.
2012 Statistical Predictions:
C Joe Mauer .310-11-81
1B Justin Morneau .300-17-78
2B Alexi Casilla .259-2-26
3B Danny Valencia .258-13-69
SS Jamey Carroll .288-0-19
LF Ben Revere .266-0-51
CF Denard Span .265-3-34
RF Josh Willingham .252-27-88
DH Ryan Doumit .286-14-59
SP Carl Pavano 12-12, 4.20 ERA, 217 IP, 112 K
SP Scott Baker 9-7 3.87 ERA, 144 IP, 126 K
SP Francisco Liriano 13-10, 3.79 ERA, 188 IP, 179 K
SP Brian Duensing 13-14, 4.78 ERA, 194 IP, 140 K
SP Nick Blackburn 8-11, 4.78 ERA, 151 IP, 71 K
RP Matt Capps 3.70 ERA, 29 saves, 66 IP, 43 K
RP Glen Perkins 2.85 ERA, 4 saves, 66 IP, 68 K
5th Place: Chicago White Sox (My prediction: 72-90)
The White Sox have some talent, but most of their players have really been a disappointment. There’s Jake Peavy, former Cy Young award winner of 2007, who hasn’t done much since.
Then, there’s Adam Dunn, nicknamed the Big Donkey. He was nothing more than a big goat in 2011, despised by the White Sox faithful for hitting .159 with 11 home runs. That’s right .159! The White Sox might as well forfeit their use of the DH and hit pitchers than this guy. What makes things worse is that Dunn signed a 4 year, $56 million contract prior to 2011. So White Sox fans, you could have three more years of this.
The league has figured out Alexei Ramirez, who set all of his career highs in home runs, RBIs and batting average during his rookie season in 2008.
Sorry, but it might be a long summer at US Cellular Field.
2012 Statistical Projections:
C AJ Pierzynski .283-9-48
1B Paul Konerko .278-31-101
2B Gordon Beckham .234-10-46
3B Brent Morel .277-15-54
SS Alexei Ramirez .271-15-68
LF Alejandro De Aza .286-8-52
CF Alex Rios .244-15-56
RF Dayan Viciedo .276-16-49
DH Adam Dunn .212-21-65
SP John Danks 11-11, 4.07 ERA, 186 IP, 146 K
SP Gavin Floyd 11-12, 4.21 ERA, 188 IP, 151 K
SP Jake Peavy 7-7, 4.61 ERA, 109 IP, 97 K
SP Philip Humber 8-15, 4.15 ERA, 174 IP, 135 K
SP Chris Sale 11-8, 3.78 ERA, 155 IP, 160 K
RP Addison Reed 2.65 ERA, 24 saves, 54 IP, 77 K
RP Matt Thornton 3.09 ERA, 7 saves, 58 IP
In closing, I think the AL Central will be:
1) Tigers
2) Indians
3) Royals
4) Twins
5) White Sox
What are your picks?
There’s only 44 days until opening day, and 11 days the first broadcasted game on MLB TV (Yankees vs Phillies), and 6 more days to win a Phillies shirt.
Philadelphia Phillies Shirt Giveaway
This week’s giveaway is a Philadelphia Phillies T-Shirt. It is the fourth in a series of weekly giveaways leading up to opening day. I’ve been posting everyday (30 consecutive so far) leading up to opening day, and giving stuff away to thank my readers.
To date,
I’ve given away a Matt Wieters shirt to Joey Orr,
a Brandon Phillips shirt to Matt Jackson,
and a Dustin Pedroia shirt to Stephen D.
The shirt(s) I’m giving away this week are…
A Ryan Howard Nike shirt.
This shirt not only is very colorful, but also is the perfect shirt to wear when sitting near the Phillies dugout. Ryan Howard will probably end up with the third out ball in about half of the innings. Simply stand up in this shirt and raise your glove. He’ll see the shirt and have to hook you up.
I’m also giving away this Philadelphia Phillies shirt:
It features the ‘classic print’ design, which is one of my favorite Majestic shirts designs.
Or, how about a Roy Halladay shirt?
That’s right, it says Doc-tober, and I think you can figure out why.
How about a clever Hunter Pence shirt?
Get it? Pence-ylvania… Pennsylvania.
The winner of this weeks entry gets their choice of any of those four shirts. I can get you pretty much any size you want, as the local sports store has many different sizes in stock.
I post blog entries every day. All you have to do is leave a comment or retweet my blog link on twitter.
So, again, to enter:
1) Leave a comment.
You can enter up to seven times per week simply by leaving a comment. Non-pertinent, spam, or inappropriate comments will not be accepted. If you comment multiple times on the same blog entry, it still counts as one entry. For example, if you commented on three different blog posts from this week, you’d have three entries. If you’d comment three times on the same blog posting, it would could as one.
2) Retweet (RT) my posts on Twitter
You can find me on twitter under 333greystreet. Simply retweet my daily posts of my blog link and I’ll count that as an entry. My blog is connected to my twitter so that I automatically tweet once I post a new entry. Each day, I’ll search who’s retweeted me and enter those users into a hat along with the commenters. By the way, you do not need to retweet my every tweet, only the tweets that announce a new blog post and url. For example, if I tweeted, ‘Rerun of the Pirates Opening Day 2011 on tonight,’ if you retweeted it, it wouldn’t count as an entry.
At the end of the week on Sunday, I’ll have Olivia, Amy or I will choose a name from a hat and announce the winner.
Also, I’ve decided to giveaway more shirts this week based on the performance of my blog. For each day that my blog gets over 1,000 views, I’ll choose another Phillies shirt winner at the end of this week. So, I could possibly be giving away seven Phillies shirts this week.
Why spend $25 in a store or $15 on ebay when you can get them for free here?
Since my blog began in 2008, I’ve had four days that I’ve had over 1,000 views, with my busiest day coming back in April 2011 when I had 11,441 views.
That’s because of THIS VIDEO that I shot.
So far this month, I’ve had a few days where I’ve been between 600-700 views, but haven’t been able to break that elusive 1,000 barrier in a day yet this year.
Maybe all of the Phillies fans out there will change that. Maybe a Phillies player will tweet this giveaway to Phillies fans and make me honor my offer and give away a bunch of shirts. I hope so.
Anyhow, my question is, in an NL East consisting of the Phillies, Braves, Marlins, Nationals, and Mets, where do you think the Phillies will finish?
If you have them finishing first? How far do you think they go in the playoffs? If they’re not winning their division, who is?
I think the Phillies are too good of a team to not win the division. The Marlins and Nationals are much improved and will be major players this year, so I don’t think the Phillies will win 102 games again this year, but they’ll be in the mid 90′s and well on their way to another shot at the World Series.
There’s only 45 days until opening day, and 12 days the first broadcasted game on MLB TV (Yankees vs Phillies).
Dustin Pedroia Jersey Shirt Winner
The winner of the Dustin Pedroia shirt as been announced!
Watch the video to see who won!
Congratulations!
Previous giveaways were for this Brandon Phillips shirt which was won by Matt Jackson. The first winner of this Matt Wieters shirt was Joey Orr.
I’ll have near gear to give away tomorrow. I think I’ve narrowed down to a National League team since this past week was an AL giveaway.
46 days until opening day, 13 days the first broadcasted game on MLB TV (Yankees vs Phillies).
Finally! Pitchers & Catchers report to Spring Training
If you’re a true baseball fan, then you get excited each winter when you hear the phrase ‘pitchers & catchers.’ It signifies the end of a long off season and the beginning of a new baseball season.
Today, pitchers and catchers from the Orioles, Twins, Athletics, Cubs, Reds, Phillies, Pirates, Cardinals and Giants reported to spring training. In addition to the pitchers and catchers, often times position players will show up as well to get some early work in and shake off the rust from the winter months.
I love Spring Training. I’ve gone to Florida for Spring Training for five years in a row, starting in 2007. The winters in Pennsylvania are often very gloomy, so heading down to Spring Training really brightens my mood. I’m not in Florida right now, but I did find some pictures to cheer you baseball fans up from the winter doldrums.
Baseball is back!
New Pirates first baseman Casey McGehee hasn’t played much first in his career, but is already practicing the position in Spring Training:
Pedro Alvarez has been a bust so far in his young major league career. He’s still young, and the third base job is his to lose. If he does lose it, McGehee will move to 3B. Here’s Pedro working on his fielding:
New Pirates pitcher Erik Bedard delivers a pitch while pitching coach Ray Searage does his best not to distract him by not saying anything:
Neil Walker does some soft tossing with Pedro Alvarez:
In the Phillies camp, Roy Halladay pulled into Spring Training in a car from about a hundred years ago:
And Jonathan Papelbon did some long tossing.
The Reds pitchers did some light stretching and for me, might just be the favorites to win the NL Central:
In Giants camp, jerseys for Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson, and Matt Cain are ready to go for the first day of workouts:
And Matt Cain addressed the media:
The defending World Series champion St Louis Cardinals reported to camp and new manager Mike Matheny fielded a bevy of questions from the media:
While their pitchers worked out on a practice field:
And Yadier Molina showed up to camp with a brand new tattoo. I guess he’s not counting on winning the world series in 2012, because I don’t see place to fit ’2012′ on that trophy anywhere.
The hapless Cubs were ready to go as Theo Epstein and Dale Sveum held a media session. The Cubs have so many problems with bad contracts. Will these guys be able to save this sinking ship?
And Bryan LaHair signed autographs for a young fan at Fitch Park:
The Oakland Athletics had some buzz in camp as news swirled that they may sign ex-slugger and major distraction Manny Ramirez. In the meantime, the jerseys were hung with care in the clubhouse:
And Tommy Milone warmed up on the A’s spring training field.
The Twins will try and rebound off of a horrific season in which they lost 99 games. Carl Pavano lounged in the clubhouse and explained exactly how they would turn things around:
And finally, the Orioles reported to their spring training home to try and figure out how to perform better this year than the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays.
Is anyone else excited for the 2012 season?
47 days until opening day, 14 days the first broadcasted game on MLB TV (Yankees vs Phillies), and 1 day left to win this Dustin Pedroia T-Shirt.
Pirates/Yankees AJ Burnett Trade
Earlier today, the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired AJ Burnett from the New York Yankees for $13 million in cash and low level prospects Diego Moreno and Exicardo Cayones. The Yankees will also cover the other $20 million that is owed to Burnett over the final two years of his current contract.
AJ’s best years may be behind him, but I like the move. It was a good trade for both the Yankees and the Pirates. There is no loser in this deal. The trade allows the Yankees to go out and sign a DH with the money the Pirates are sending in the deal – likely Raul Ibanez, Johnny Damon, or Eric Chavez. The Pirates deepen a rotation that flopped in the second half of the season last year.
The move gives the Pirates six legitimate starting pitchers in their rotation.
Here’s the Pirates rotation candidates along with their 2011 stats:
Charlie Morton 3.83 ERA, 29 GS, 171 IP, 110 K
James McDonald 4.21 ERA, 31 GS, 171 IP, 142 K
Jeff Karstens 3.38 ERA, 26 GS, 162 IP, 96 K
Kevin Correia 4.79 ERA, 26 GS, 154 IP, 77 K
Erik Bedard 3.62 ERA, 24 GS, 129 IP, 125 K
AJ Burnett 5.15 ERA, 32 GS, 190 IP, 173
So, who comes out of the rotation? Charlie Morton may not be ready for opening day, as he is coming off of a hip injury. Assuming he is ready, I think that Kevin Correia is the odd man out. Correia was a surprising All Star for the Pirates in 2011, but his season drastically changed when he was awarded a spot on the All Star team. In the first half, he was 11-7 with a 4.01 ERA, a WHIP of 1.28 and a opponents avg/slug of .270/.414. In the second half, he was 1-4 with a 7.23 ERA, a WHIP of 1.74 and an opponents avg/slug of .338/.597. He was shut down at the end of August with a strained oblique. Because of Correia’s contract, I think he would probably fill the role of a long man in the bullpen and be the go to guy if a starter went down.
Will AJ Burnett be successful in Pittsburgh? I think he will be. First, he will be out of the spotlight and will be able to focus on pitching. He also will be close to his home, a mansion in Monkton MD, which is 4.5 hours from Pittsburgh.
AJ chose Pittsburgh in part because of its proximity to his home – he even nixed a trade that would’ve sent him to the playoff likely Angels for Bobby Abreu because he didn’t want to play 100 games on the West Coast.
Secondly, AJ will face a much weaker offense division than in the AL East. I looked into AJ’s career stats against the current players of each team in the NL Central:
Brewers vs AJ: .252 BA, .325 OBP, .324 SLG, 1 HR, 111 AB
Cardinals vs AJ: .263 BA, .365 OBP, .343 SLG, 2 HR, 99 AB
Cubs vs AJ: .160 BA, .263 OBP, .230 SLG, 2 HR, 100 AB
Astros vs AJ: .375 BA, .474 OBP, .438 SLG, 0 HR, 16 AB
Reds vs AJ: .192 BA, .261 OBP, .269 SLG, 0 HR, 78 AB
Those are impressive stats. Too bad Jason Michaels has owned AJ Burnett, or the Astros stats would be lower. Since the Astros will be playing with minor league caliber players in 2012, I’m not too worried about how he fares against them.
Thirdly, AJ will pitch half of his games in PNC Park, which typically surrenders home runs at a pace near the bottom of baseball. One reason is because of the Pirates offense, but another is that its a rather large field.
So, what did the Pirates give up? Besides the cash, not much. There’s Diego Moreno, a pitcher who throws 98 MPH, but was suspended from the Pirates minor league team for unprofessional conduct for making out with a fan during a game in the bullpen.
His career line in 5 minor league seasons is 11-9, 2.41 ERA, 116 G, 194 IP, 212 K. When left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft, he went ignored by the other 29 teams in the MLB.
The other prospect is Exicardo Cayones, who is basically a reincarnation of Rafael Belliard, except he plays the outfield. He has no power whatsoever.
His career line in 3 minor league seasons is .272 avg, .372 obp, .380 slg, 1 HR in 558 plate appearances. He would be more valuable if he were fast since he seems to be able to get on base, but he only has 14 career steals in 28 attempts in the minors.
Kudos to Neal Huntington for not giving in to the Yankees original request of AJ Burnett for Garrett Jones.
Great trade.
What’s everyone else think of this deal?
48 days until opening day, 1 day until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, and 2 days left to win this Dustin Pedroia T-Shirt.
2012 AL East Predictions
Opening Day is fast approaching, spring training camps are set to open any day now, and many teams have begun selling individual game tickets. Fans all around the country are getting ready for baseball season and offering their opinions on how their team is going to do. I’ve decided to do the same. Rather than do a team-by-team break down, I’ll offer my predictions by division.
I’ve also included 2012 Predicted statistics from the 2012 Major League Baseball Yearbook and Fantasy Guide
I’ll start with the American League East.
In 2011, the Yankees took the division, while the Rays capitalized on the Red Sox epic collapse to earn second place and a wild card spot. Toronto played decent ball in baseball’s toughest division, finishing with as many wins as losses, and Baltimore brought up the rear of the division.
So, here’s my picks:
1st place: New York Yankees (My projection 96-66)
The Yankees made a major move during the offseason, acquiring Michael Pineda from the Mariners to shore up their rotation. Their rotation is anchored by CC Sabathia, who along with Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia, and Pineda, should be about average.
The Yankees have a great offense. C Russell Martin is not much of an offensive threat, but the Yankees have Mark Teixeria, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, and Nick Swisher to provide the firepower – all of who have 25+ home run potential. It will be interesting to see how Derek Jeter does as he enters his age 38 season. Might this be his last as a starting shortstop before age necessitates a position switch to the outfield or DH? Speaking of Jeter, will he still hit leadoff, or will Girardi put speedster Brett Gardner there?
Of course, the Yankees have a weapon that no other team has in Mariano Rivera, the best closer in Major League Baseball history.
Here’s the Yankees 2012 Statistical Projections (AVG-HR-RBI):
C Russell Martin .242-15-59
1B Mark Teixeira .253-36-108
2B Robinson Cano .308-28-114
3B Alex Rodriguez .271-26-101
SS Derek Jeter .297-8-65
LF Brett Gardner .261-6-37
CF Curtis Granderson .258-35-103
RF Nick Swisher .268-23-84
SP CC Sabathia 21-8, 3.12 ERA, 231 IP, 213 K
SP Hideki Kuroda 15-12, 3.49 ERA, 211.1 IP, 171 K
SP Ivan Nova 14-7, 4.10 ERA, 167 IP, 101 K
SP Freddy Garcia 12-7, 4.13 ERA, 153 IP, 96 K
SP Phil Hughes 13-9, 4.60 ERA, 172 IP, 134K
SP Michael Pineda 13-12, 3.96 ERA, 200 IP, 203 K
RP Mariano Rivera 1.78 ERA, 61 IP, 57 K, 40 Saves
RP David Robertson 2.19 ERA, 66 IP, 98 K, 2 Saves
2nd Place: Tampa Bay Rays (My prediction 90-72)
I kept going back and forth between the Rays and Red Sox for my second place pick. I ultimately decided that the Rays had a better pitching staff that the Red Sox along with miracle worker Joe Maddon.
The Rays offense isn’t nearly as strong as the Yankees and Red Sox. They have Evan Longoria, but besides him, there’s not much else that makes me say, ‘wow.’ BJ Upton has been up and down his whole career, but there’s some in the business who think that he could break out in a big way in 2012 – just like Matt Kemp did for the Dodgers last year.
I really like the Rays pitching staff. All five starters are dependable and should keep the Rays in the game day in and day out.
Here’s the Tampa Bay Rays’ 2012 Statistical Projections:
C Jose Molina .266-8-39
1B Carlos Pena .236-32-93
2B Ben Zobrist .264-18-91
3B Evan Longoria .268-36-91
SS Sean Rodriguez .229-9-51
LF Desmond Jennings .269-15-50
CF BJ Upton .241-20-72
RF Sam Fuld .266-2-23
OF Matt Joyce .270-21-86
DH Luke Scott .249-22-59
SP James Shields 14-13, 3.57 ERA, 227 IP, 226 K
SP David Price 15-11, 3.12 ERA, 219 IP, 216 K
SP Jeremy Hellickson 15-9, 2.92 ERA, 219 IP, 145 K
SP Matt Moore 12-10, 3.99 ERA, 160 IP, 163 K
SP Wade Davis 11-10, 4.09 ERA, 189 IP, 114 K
RP Kyle Farnsworth 2.30 ERA, 23 saves, 55 IP, 51 K
RP Joel Peralta 3.44 ERA, 5 saves, 71 IP, 73 K
3′rd place: Boston Red Sox (My prediction 87-75)
The Red Sox crashed and burned in 2011, missing the playoffs despite holding a nine game advantage heading into September. I believe that they will narrowly miss the playoffs again in 2012. Red Sox nation is excited to have Bobby Valentine at the helm. A new manager will bring a new voice and hopefully hold all of the players accountable for their actions. Are the Red Sox players too whiny? How will they take to Bobby V? The Red Sox have an offense that rivals that Yankees, but they’re pitching staff isn’t as good. And my bold predictions are the Kevin Youkilis absolutely tanks this year while Carl Crawford rebounds from a poor 2011.
2012 Red Sox Statistical Projections:
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia .230-18-62
1B Adrian Gonzalez .337-34-136
2B Dustin Pedroia .308-24-101
3B Kevin Youkilis .282-24-99
SS Mike Aviles .275-9-45
LF Carl Crawford .274-13-68
CF Jacoby Ellsbury .316-25-81
RF Ryan Sweeney .272-4-53
DH David Ortiz .292-26-96
SP Jon Lester 16-9, 3.43 ERA, 194 IP, 197 K
SP Josh Beckett 13-9, 3.67 ERA, 191 IP, 176 K
SP Clay Buchholz 13-7, 3.27 ERA, 154 IP, 112K
SP Alfredo Aceves 12-7, 3.72 ERA, 172 IP, 122 K
SP Daniel Bard 4-3, 3.03 ERA, 62.1 IP, 65 K
SP Daisuke Matsuzaka 6-5, 4.89 ERA, 96 IP, 80 K
RP Andrew Bailey 2.52 ERA, 38 SV, 54 IP, 49 K
RP Mark Melancon 3.39 ERA, 4 SV, 72 IP, 67 K
4th Place: Toronto Blue Jays (My prediction 79-83)
I am the least familiar with the Toronto Blue Jays of the five teams in the AL East. Their only player that I keep an eye on is Jose Bautista, who for a while was my favorite player on the Pirates. I loved that he was versatile and played infield and outfield for the Buccos. He used to play center field and toss balls into the stands between innings. I caught his 10th career home run on the fly. I’ve loved the guy ever since. Of course, the Pirates traded him for some bum named Robinzon Diaz, and then he became arguably the best player in the MLB after he left town.
Here’s their 2012 statistical predictions:
C JP Arencibia .223-25-83
1B Adam Lind .246-25-83
2B Kelly Johnson .238-22-59
3B Brett Lawrie .304-13-70
SS Yunel Escobar .298-10-53
LF Eric Thames .257-13-40
CF Colby Rasmus .254-18-62
RF Jose Bautista .284-41-99
DH Edwin Encarnacion .268-21-65
SP Ricky Romero 15-10, 3.30 ERA, 213 IP, 170 K
SP Brandon Morrow 13-12, 4.65 ERA, 201 IP, 230 K
SP Brett Cecil 10-14, 4.08 ERA, 212 IP, 146 K
SP Henderson Alvarez 10-9, 4.13 ERA, 146 IP, 105 K
SP Dustin McGowan 7-8, 4.10 ERA, 123 IP, 102 K
RP Sergio Santos 3.64 ERA, 29 saves, 59 IP, 88 K
RP Casey Janssen 2.78 ERA, 1 save, 58 IP, 53 K
5th Place: Baltimore Orioles (My prediction: 69-93)
The Baltimore Orioles haven’t had a winning season in years. Fourteen years to be exact. They’ve toiled at or near the division for all these years, not able to succeed with the big spending Yankees and Red Sox in their division. You have to feel bad for them. I can relate. My favorite team, the Pirates, haven’t had a winning record in 20 years. However, I do believe the Pirates have a better chance of a winning season that the Orioles since the Buccos don’t play the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox 18 times. That’s tough. Frustratingly tough.
The Orioles have a few decent players in Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis, but not much else. Their rotation looks dreadful.
2012 Statistical Projections:
C Matt Wieters .280-23-74
1B Mark Reynolds .219-36-85
2B Brian Roberts .260-8-42
3B Josh Bell .260-9-40
3B Wilson Betemit .286-9-44
SS JJ Hardy .266-28-82
LF Nolan Reimold .247-21-72
CF Adam Jones .285-27-83
RF Nick Markakis .286-15-72
DH Chris Davis .273-9-35
SP Jake Arrieta 12-11, 5.05 ERA, 162 IP, 118K
SP Tsuyoshi Wada 11-11, 4.23 ERA, 202 IP, 136 K
SP Zach Britton 11-10, 4.76 ERA, 144 IP, 91 K
SP Brian Matusz 7-15, 5.97 ERA, 146 IP, 118 K
RP Jim Johnson 2.63 ERA, 22 SV, 82 IP 66 K
RP Kevin Gregg 4.25 ERA, 12 SV, 59 IP, 56 K
So, to summarize, I’ve got
Yankees
Rays
Red Sox
Blue Jays
Orioles
How do you think they’ll finish?
Leave a comment. Thanks to Frank Peavy for pointing out several roster moves that weren’t reflected in this post. They’ve since been edited.
49 days until opening day, 2 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, and 3 days left to win this Dustin Pedroia T-Shirt.
Dave Matthews Band 2012 Summer Tour Dates
The Dave Matthews Band released their 2012 Summer Tour Dates today:
5/18/12 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands TX
5/19/12 Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas TX
5/20/12 Gulf Shores Beach, Gulf Shores AL
5/22/12 Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta GA
5/23/12 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte, Charlotte NC
5/25/12 Comcast Theatre, Hartford CT
5/26/12 Comcast Theatre, Hartford CT
5/28/12 Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain, Scranton PA
5/29/12 Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati OH
6/2/12 The Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto ON
6/3/12 Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls OH
6/5/12 Comcast Center, Mansfield MA
6/6/12 Comcast Center, Mansfield MA
6/8/12 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs NY
6/9/12 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs NY
6/12/12 Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre, Wantagh NY
6/13/12 Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre, Wantagh NY
6/16/12 Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow VA
6/17/12 Farm Bureau Live at VA Beach, Virginia Beach VA
6/22/12 Klipsch Music Center, Noblesville IN
6/23/12 Klipsch Music Center, Noblesville IN
6/26/12 Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden NJ
6/27/12 Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden NJ
6/29/12 HersheyPark Stadium, Hershey PA
6/30/12 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel PA
7/3/12 Darien Performing Arts Center, Darien Center NY
7/6/12 Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy WI
7/7/12 Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy WI
7/10/12 DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston MI
7/11/12 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre St Louis, Maryland Heights MO
7/13/12 First Niagra Pavilion, Burgettstown PA
7/14/12 First Niagra Pavilion, Burgettstown PA
7/18/12 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, Tampa FL
7/20/12 Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach FL
7/21/12 Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach FL
8/31/12 The Gorge Amphitheatre, George WA
9/1/12 The Gorge Amphitheatre, George WA
9/2/12 The Gorge Amphitheatre, George WA
9/7/12 Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, Chula Vista CA
9/8/12 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine CA
9/9/12 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View CA
In my life, I have attended exactly 50 Dave Matthews Band concerts, yes fifty. I only saw them once last year in 2011, and that was just an acoustic Dave & Tim show in Charlottesville VA. I’ve decided that I will attend six concerts in 2012. I’m likely headed to see DMB at Cuyahoga Falls in after ballhawking a Twins vs Indians afternoon Sunday game. The game begins at 3:05, so I’ll probably get to stay and watch some of this game before heading south to Cuyahoga Falls for DMB. It’s only 39 minutes away, and DMB doesn’t take the stage until 8:15, so I’ll have plenty of time to get there. The last time I was at Cuyahoga Falls was in 2009:
Then, I’ll likely head to see DMB at Starlake, I mean, Post Gazette Pavilion, wait, I mean First Niagara Pavilion in Burgettstown, which is south of Pittsburgh. Every time I get used to the venue name, they change it. I’ve seen the most concerts (14) of the fifty there. The last time I was there, I saw the Mayor, Sean Casey:
He was pretty drunk and kept high fiving me every time he went to the bathroom, but it was pretty cool to have an MLB player right in front of you when you’re not expecting it. He was really into the concert too.
The icing on the cake will be heading to the Gorge for a second time. The plane tickets are booked. While there, I will try and ballhawk one, maybe two games at Safeco Field in Seattle. The last time I was there was 2010.
It’s probably the most beautiful peaceful place that I’ve been to.
Here’s a video I shot of the amphitheatre when I was there in 2010:
I usually go to lots of Dave Matthews Band concerts every summer, and after taking last summer off, I can’t wait to get back to a few shows. I love that Dave Matthews Band doesn’t play the same set every night. You never know when they’re going to pull out a song that they haven’t played in years.
In the fifty shows I’ve been to, I’ve seen 159 different songs played, 929 total songs played, and been to 19 different venues.
I’ll get back to baseball talk tomorrow.
Until then, remember,
50 days until opening day, 3 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, and 4 days left to win this Dustin Pedroia T-Shirt.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I’m going to dedicate this entry to my love of baseball. I love Amy, Olivia and my family most, but I also love baseball. Here’s what I love about it. 51 reasons. 51 days to opening day.
1. I love attending a game with Amy and Olivia and snagging baseballs while they watch.
2. I love turning around after catching a homerun and seeing Amy smiling at me.
3. I love going to batting practice early before the music is blaring through the stadium and hearing the crack of the bat, the smack of the ball in the glove, and the chatter from the field.
4. I love the fact that I’ve personally experienced three Pittsburgh Pirates division championships, and will again someday. When that day happens… Sheer joy!
5. I love hitting a home run and it barely feels like you hit the ball because you connected so well.
6. I love watching the ball disappear beyond the fence.
7. I love when a speedster takes a large lead and makes the pitcher nervous.
8. I love watching the first game of Spring Training and having the feeling that baseball is back.
9. I love watching a play at the plate.
10. I love a 6-4-3 double play when my team turns it.
11. I love when a manager gets ejected.
12. I love when the home team is a strike away from winning and the whole crowd is standing, hanging on every pitch.
13. I love a pennant race.
14. I love the creative jeers that the bleacher creatures hurl at visiting outfielders.
15. I love it when the player acknowledges those jeers.
16. I love a pitcher’s duel.
17. I love watching a line score at the ballpark when a no hitter is taking place.
18. I love a diving catch.
19. I love throwing a perfect knuckleball.
20. I love scooping a bad throw out of the dirt.
21. I love watching a prospect’s major league debut.
22. I love looking at old baseball cards and reminiscing about what life was like when I got that card.
23. I love finding an easter egg (baseball) hidden in the seats during batting practice.
24. I love a run down.
25. I love watching the other team throw a baseball away.
26. I love watching a pitcher’s pitch count increase well over 100, wondering how much gas they have left in the tank.
27. I love when the bases are loaded and there’s nobody out.
28. I love it when the umpires decide to play through a steady rain.
29. I love going to a road game and experiencing the quirks of a new ballpark for the first time.
30. I love home run chases among players for the league title.
31. I love getting my season tickets in the mail and scrutinizing their design.
32. I love the playoffs and World Series.
33. I love the All Star game introductions.
34. I love rivalries.
35. I love milestones, such as 3,000 hits or 500 home runs.
36. I love watching great players such as Mariano Rivera pitch or Albert Pujols bat.
37. I love getting baseballs thrown to me by visiting players after switching my outfit.
38. I love explaining the game of baseball to folks that are trying to learn more about it.
39. I love how the game isn’t constrained by time like football, basketball, and hockey.
40. I love how baseball jargon shows up in everyday conversations, such as, “you threw me a curveball.”
41. I love how the Baltimore Orioles fans scream “OHHHH” during the national anthem at the “Oh say does that star spangled banner” part.
42. I love draft day and anticipating who the Pirates are going to pick.
43. I love when teams take batting practice on Sundays, when I’m not expecting it.
44. I love when a pitcher breaks 100 mph on the stadium radar gun.
45. I love it when people leave behind their promotional items after a game and I can get a few extras to sell.
46. I love the smell of a baseball.
47. I love competing for baseballs in the stands and also on mygameballs.
48. I love watching a triple unfold, or a player stretching a single into a double.
49. I love how the stadium is decked out in red white and blue banners on Opening Day.
50. I love singing take me out to the ballgame with 35,000 other fans.
51. I love the same game that I’ve loved since I was a boy, and always will.
What do you love about baseball?
51 days until opening day, 4 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, and 6 days left to win this Dustin Pedroia T-Shirt.
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