Results tagged ‘ Sports ’
This Day In MLB History…
March 13th, 1954: During an exhibition game against the Yankees, recently acquired Brave Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle in three places and will be sidelined until July 14.. The ’51 National League playoff hero is replaced by a promising prospect named Hank Aaron.
Promising? I guess you can call it that. When Henry Aaron stepped in the the injured Bobby Thompson and ended up having a decent rookie campaign in 1954 with a .280 average, 13 home runs, and 69 RBI, I’m sure plenty of people thought he was going to have a nice career, but I doubt few would have pinned him as the man to pass Babe Ruth for most career home runs. I have to admit that when I hear Aaron’s name or talk about him in any respect, I make the mistake of only thinking about his 755 home runs. Obviously, that’s a pretty big detail to miss, but it has always prevented me from seeing how much of a complete player he really was, not only at the plate, but in the field as well. The 21-time All-Star won three straight Gold Glove awards, recorded 4,139 putouts in Right Field (5th all-time at the position), and 177 assists in that position (4th all-time).
OK, so maybe the fact that he played for 23 seasons allowed him more opportunities to record those putouts and assists out in Right Field. Very fair assumption. However, it was the combination of both his defense and overall offensive talents that led him to win one MVP award and finish within the top-15 of voting for the award 16 other times. We all know he’s second on the all-time home run list to Barry Bonds now, but check out all of the other things he accomplished with the bat:
MLB Diamond Notes: March 12th, 2012.
Johan Santana continues to make progress.
For the Mets, this week was quite unnerving leading up to Johan Santana’s start against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the first time New York’s ace took the mound against Major League competition since September 2010, before he started the long road to recovery back from his elbow surgery. His line after his start against St. Louis: 2 innings pitched, no runs, one hit, one run, 29 pitches, 17 strikes, one huge smile, and a big sigh of relief. The biggest questions for Santana was not his actual performance, but how his arm would respond after his outing. After he threw a 40-pitch bullpen and reported no pain or stiffness, he was cleared to continue to prepare for his next start against the Miami Marlins, and even though his start was interrupted by the weather, he continued to impress. As of right now, all signs are pointing to Santana being on the mound for the Mets opening day next month, which is huge for this organization.
He is more than just an ace for them, he’s their everything. Manager Terry Collins said that as well, and pointed to an event in Spring Training back in 2010 when Johan stopped an infield drill and scolded the fielders for going through the motions. Players don’t forget things like that. Everyone looks up to him, and it’s about time they look up to him while he’s actually on the field. His fastball reached 90 mph on a couple of occasions last week, and the Mets wonder if he can either maintain that velocity or improve upon it.
Michael Young: The Ultimate Utility Player.
Michael Young is entering his 13th season in Major League Baseball, all of which have been with the Texas Rangers. He has had a unique career because he has played all over the diamond, while continually being one of the most consistent players in Arlington. When Young was call up to “The Show,” he was manning second base for the Rangers. After a few years, he moved over to shortstop, where he thought he would be for the duration of the five-year/$80 million contract extension, which takes him through the 2013 season. Then, Elvis Andrus came up through the Rangers system, and Young was willing to move over to third base not only to make room at that time for the young prospect, but because he believed that having Andrus in the line up would make the rest of the team better, even though he just won his first Gold Glove at the position.
Then, after playing well at third base and continuing his consistent offensive output, the Rangers then went out and signed free agent Adrian Beltre to a five-year/$80 million contract, with a vesting option for a sixth year, which could bring the total value of the contract to $96 million. So, that obviously meant that Young would once again be displaced for a younger player. This latest signing at the time did create a rift between Young and the Rangers front office, and I don’t blame him one bit. Since 2002, he has played in at least 155 games nine times, with the sole season that finished with less than that amount being 135 games.
Yadier Molina Contract Extension Analysis.
The St. Louis Cardinals have finally learned their lesson after they were unable to strike a deal with Albert Pujols before the close of Spring Training last year and then lost him in free agency to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Word broke in the middle of last week that the organization had agreed to terms for a five-year/$75 million extension with their catcher, Yadier Molina. Cardinals GM John Mozeliak stated that the franchise didn’t feel any added pressure to sign Molina before he hit the open market due to what happened to Pujols, but it was important to lock him up for the long-term because he’s an elite core player. The deal keeps Molina with in St. Louis until at least 2017, and has a $15 million mutual option for 2018. This deal makes him the second-highest paid catcher in the Major Leagues, behind the one and only, Joe Mauer.
MLB Diamond Notes: March 5th, 2012.
Zumaya injured; will miss season, again.
It only took 13 pitches into a live batting practice session to derail Joel Zumaya’s latest attempt at a comeback to Major League Baseball with the Twins. He felt discomfort in his right elbow, which led to the MRI that revealed he tore his ulnar collateral ligament. This injury requires Tommy John surgery and for him miss yet another season. The former Tigers flamethrower has endured five different surgeries since he entered the league in 2006, and hasn’t stayed healthy for an entire season since then. Even through all of his injuries, Zumaya came back in 2010 and his fastball averaged 99 mph. Even though it’s obvious that he has a unique arm, the fact that he can’t stay healthy is concerning for his long-term health.
