Mid-Season Baseball Stories
As we glide into the second half of the Major League Baseball season, with the playoffs just a speck on the horizon, there looms in many a diamond-centric mind the trends, controversies, and questions that this season has presented and must eventually address. A quick look at the emerging winners and losers in this go-around reveals a hot and exciting season putting pressure on the players we love to watch.
Jeter’s Last Stand
We’ll start off with a classic; this is Hall of Fame bound Derek Jeter’s last season, and though it won’t affect his chances of making it to Cooperstown (he’s a shoo-in), he has a long way to go to raise his final year stats. Even with an impressive 3,390 hits, 530 doubles, 350 stolen bases and 250 home runs, he still falls short of capping any of those categories. We already know he’s good, but with a little luck, he could take the record for career doubles by beating the existing tie between Rogers Hornsby and Albert Pujols, barring Pujols breaking the record himself. (doable, as he needs only one more).
The Royal Family
Next we see an amazing reversal from the, until recently, Rotten Royals. The dubious trend of sitting out the post season could at long last be broken! Kansas City hasn’t seen a playoff game since they beat St. Louis in the 1985 World Series, which was before half their current roster was born. Redemption is in sight as they sit less than two games out of the wild-card race.
Fire Arms
Hot Rod for sale in this next one. Southpaw ace Jon Lester becomes a free agent after this season, and he’s only been adding to his value, as of late. With a 2.92 ERA in 17 games, including 115 strikeouts in 114 innings and 29 starts, the Red Sox initial offer of $70 million over four years is a bargain basement pipe dream, especially considering some of his colleagues’ deals; Felix Hernandez is getting $175 million from the Mariners and the Dodgers signed Clayton Kershaw for $215 million! Lester and his representatives broke off talks with the Red Sox earlier this spring after the initial offer, but agreed to resume after season’s end, as both sides are weary of the problems a distraction like this may elicit.
Manny Gets His Fanny Spanked
Remember last month when Orioles Manny Machado threw a temper tantrum, and his bat, down the third base line after Athletics’ pitcher, Fernando Abad buzzed him with a couple brush back pitches? Both players were thrown out of that game, but it wasn’t until recently that Major League Baseball upheld his 5 game suspension. It’s hard to tell if he’s learned his lesson. On receiving the news, he said, "People make bad mistakes in their lives, but all you can do is learn from it and keeping play the game how I play. I'm not going to change how I play the game.”
