This Day in MLB History…
April 3, 1989: In his first major league at bat, Mariners’ center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. doubles off of Oakland’s Dave Stewart. The 19-year old ‘Junior’, the son of an active major leaguer outfielder playing with the Reds, will establish himself as one of the game’s superstars before retiring in 2010.
For those of us that were born in the 1980s and early 1990s, Ken Griffey Jr. was THE MAN. Everyone wanted to play like Junior, with the bat and with the glove. I have a number of memories from watching him as a kid, but the one that sticks out the most is when he would wear his hat backwards while dominating the Home Run Derby. Most of the damage he did on the field in his career came within the first 10 years of his 22-year career, but his overall body of work is impressive.
Griffey Jr. was elected to 13 All-Star games, won 10 Gold Glove awards, seven Silver Sluggers, and one MVP during his career. He was a .284 career hitter and eclipsed the .300 mark on seven occasions, enjoyed nine 30+ home run seasons (lead the league four times), and scored 100+ runs in a season six times (led league once). There aren’t enough words that can describe how special of a player Griffey was; he was the only active player to be named to the MLB All Century team in 1999 and his career statistics put him in great company with some of the best ballplayers ever; his spot in Cooperstown is waiting for him. Some of his career marks include:
MLB Diamond Notes; April 2nd, 2012
Cabrera Cleared to play; expected to be ready Opening Day
After fracturing a bone under his right eye almost two weeks ago while fielding a ground ball at third base, Miguel Cabrera has been cleared to get back on the field with the Tigers. Rumors were flying that Detroit’s third baseman and best hitter might not be able to take the field on Opening Day April 5th, but team doctors cleared the 2011 AL batting champion to begin getting ready for the season. This was great news for the organization; it was such great news that manager Jim Leyland broke his normal, mundane persona when he heard the good news. The Tigers are favored to repeat as AL Central champions, especially with the acquisition of Prince Fielder, but Cabrera is a vital part of this lineup. Having him run on the field with the team this week is a huge boost; these lofty expectations are a tough cross to bear, and it is important for Detroit to get off to a good start. The best way to do that is to have their most feared hitter in the lineup.
Introducing: The MLB Hall of Fame Class of 1970
Lou Boudreau: Shortstop, Cleveland Indians
.295 average, 861 runs scored, 1779 hits, 68 home runs, 789 RBI, 51 stolen bases
Lou Boudreau was a slick fielding shortstop that could not only field and hit, but was the ultimate multi-tasker because he managed at the same time. During his 15-year playing career, he spent all but two seasons with the Cleveland Indians, helping them win the World Series back in 1948 as a player manager. In addition to winning the World title, Boudreau also won the AL MVP award that same year. He was elected to eight All-Star games, hit over .300 in a season four times (won one batting title), led the league in doubles three times, and lead all AL shortstops in fielding percentage ten years in a row. As a manager, his record was 1162-1224, with his biggest claim to fame being that he was the first to put the Ted Williams shift into play, because from the hitting charts being kept by his team, he saw that all Tedddy Ballgame did was pull the ball.
Jamie Moyer Just Keeps Going And Going
After Jamie Moyer went under the knife for Tommy John surgery and wasn’t able to pitch for the Phillies in 2011, most analysts thought we saw the last of him after his 24-year career took him to the age of 47. However, that’s not the case. Moyer rehabbed from surgery and signed a minor league deal this past winter with the Colorado Rockies that included an invite into spring training. Now 49 years old, Moyer has been doing a great job this Spring, compiling a 2-0 record, 1.00 ERA, and seven strikeouts in nine innings pitched. Batters are only hitting .133 off of him; who says you can’t continue to play into your forties? This man is almost 50 and he’s still playing professional baseball. Rumors are circling that he will be making the Rockies 2012 starting rotation as well.
Mariners and Athletics Kick Off 2012 In Tokyo
The 2012 Major League Baseball season has officially started, but it has started halfway around the world from the United States of America in Tokyo as the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics square off in Japan. Opening Day is one of the happiest days of the year to me because even though the day pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training is awesome, there is still about a month and a half to go before regular season games are under way. The two games that Seattle and Oakland are playing are happening a week before the first game in America on April 4th between the Cardinals and Marlins, but Opening Day signifies the start of another year, another chance for all 30 MLB teams to write their own story as they pursue a World Series.
Both the Athletics (74-88) and Mariners (67-95) are coming off a disappointing 2011 season, with neither team being in contention for most of the year, finishing the season 22 and 29 games behind the Texas Rangers, respectively. Looking ahead to this season, Oakland and Seattle would like to repeat what they did on the pitcher’s mound, but improve upon what they did on the offensive side. In 2011, the team ERA for the Athletics was 3.71 (10th in MLB) and the team WHIP was 1.31 (17th in MLB), both which are quite respectable. However, it will be very hard to repeat that type of performance this year after they traded away young pitching stars such as Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, and Andrew Bailey. On the flip side, their offense was one of the worst ones in the league; their .244 team batting average (27th in MLB) and 645 runs scored (20th in MLB) show the real reason why they were 14 games under .500 in 2011. In order to give a spark to their offense, GM Billy Beane acquired players like Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes, Manny Ramirez, and Coco Crisp.
