Tagged: Matt Kemp
50 Things I Want to see in Major League Baseball in 2013
Football season is over and pitchers and catchers are beginning to report throughout Florida and Arizona. In a few days Spring Training games will begin and before you know it, March 31st will be here and the Rangers and Astros will be kicking off the 2013 MLB season. Now is the time that every team and all their fans are optimistic and filled with hope before the harsh realities of the season kick in. This year we get the added bonus of the World Baseball Classic. Whether or not you’re a fan of the tournament, it’s a good way to see how baseball is developing around the world and anything that can grow the game should be seen as a positive. As always, the season will somehow magically fly by and before one even realizes it, we’ll be wrapping up what will hopefully be a great World Series and tremendous season. With that in mind, and in no particular order, here are 100 things I want to see happen around baseball over the next eight-plus months.
50. Less talk about PEDs and more talk about VORP, ERA, and RBIs.
49. Giancarlo Stanton and Ricky Nolasco give Marlins fans a reason to come to the ballpark even if their ownership doesn’t.
48. No snow for the Rockies’ home opener on April 5th. (Or any other cold weather city for that matter)
47. Felix Hernandez to justify his enormous contract…and the Mariners to field a competitive team around him.
46. The Pittsburgh Pirates finish with a winning season.
45. The Kansas City Royals finish with a winning season.
44. Derek Jeter fully recovers from his ankle surgery and posts another 200-hit season.
43. Tim Lincecum shows 2012 was a fluke and returns to the Cy Young form he showed in 2008 and 2009.
42. Matt Kemp bust through the 40-40 barrier.
41. Buster Posey continue to evolve as the face of the San Francisco Giants, as well as Major League Baseball.
40. No somersaults from Aroldis Chapman…or anyone else for that matter.
39. Prince Fielder best his father, Cecil, and hit at least 52 home runs for the Tigers.
38. Continued good health for Johan Santana so we might get another glimpse at just how good he once was.
37. A return of playoff baseball in Canada.
36. Justin Upton, B.J. Upton, and Jason Heyward to be recognized as the best outfield in baseball, not just a great black outfield.
35. Another winning season for Tampa Bay, even when everyone always counts them out before the season begins.
34. Yonder Alonso becoming the next great Cuban player.
33. Chase Headley starting AND finishing the season with the Padres.
32. Yoenis Cespedes finishing with a 30-30 season.
31. A fifth straight 200-plus strikeout season for Yovani Gallardo.
30. CC Sabathia continuing on a Hall of Fame career path.
29. World Series games that start early enough for young children to watch and have their own dreams about World Series success.
28. Albert Pujols reversing his downward trend of the past two seasons and return to form as the best hitter in baseball.
27. Somehow come to grips with Kevin Youkilis in Yankee pinstripes.
26. Curtis Granderson to finish with more games played than strikeouts.
25. Let the Red Sox play well enough so we can all forget about Bobby Valentine.
24. Joakim Soria completely recover from Tommy John surgery.
23. A return to health, and dominance for Mariano Rivera.
22. 200-plus innings pitched for Stephen Strasburg…and at least that many strikeouts.
21. Jim Leyland letting Justin Verlander pitch a complete game on Opening Day.
20. Starlin Castro continue to outdo himself in the field and at the plate.
19. Kate Upton in the next MLB video game commercial.
18. One last chance for the Phillies to prove they are a team of veterans, not old men.
17. 150 games played for Justin Morneau.
16. Bryce Harper have the type of age 20 season that Mike Trout had last season.
15. Mike Trout to have the greatest age 21 season in the history of baseball.
14. One more rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” by Stan Musial on his harmonica on the jumbo screen at Busch Stadium on April 8.
13. April 15 continued to be recognized as the best day of the baseball season. And more recognition to those that came before Jackie Robinson to make what he did possible.
12. Andrew McCutchen continues his rise to the top of baseball and is named MVP, while leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to the playoffs.
11. Ryan Braun continues on the track of a Hall of Fame career, despite another suspicion on the validity of his use of PEDs.
10. Zack Greinke pitches as well at Dodger Stadium as he did at Miller Park.
9. Miguel Cabrera continues to keep his weight under control and shows why he’s still the best pure hitter in baseball.
8. Another year of misery for the Cubs. (Apologies to all my friends that cheer for the baby bears.)
7. A season of three-run home runs in Baltimore, just to give Earl Weaver something to smile about up in Heaven.
6. The Nationals being able to pitch Stephen Strasburg in a decisive playoff game.
5. Hanley Ramirez to play for an entire season the way we all think he’s capable of playing.
4. Vin Scully call postseason baseball for the Dodgers and then return for the 2014 season.
3. A Dodgers-Nationals NLCS.
2. A Tigers-Blue Jays ALCS.
1. A champion team crowned in the nation’s capital.
Ryan Braun Should Win the 2011 NL MVP Award
Coming into the 2011 season, Ryan Braun had already established himself as one of the best players in the game. In fact, Braun was off to the kind of start to a career that will one day see him enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Despite such a prodigious start to his career, many fans and media members questioned Braun’s abilities to improve. His power numbers had been consistently dropping since his rookie year, and some felt that he had reached his maximum potential despite being just 27 years old.
With his performance thus far in 2011, Braun has proven his doubters wrong as he is on pace to have a career year statistically while leading the Milwaukee Brewers to their first division title since 1982. Although he isn’t even the only candidate on his own team, Braun is the player that should win the 2011 NL MVP Award.
Braun is hitting .328, second only to the Mets Jose Reyes. His 25 home runs are tied for ninth best in the league and his 85 RBI places him fifth in the league in that category. He’s already stole 28 bases, which is a career high, and is tied for seventh in the league. He also leads the league in slugging (.586), OPS (.985), and runs scored (95).
Others that should garner votes for the award include perennial MVP candidate Albert Pujols, Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton and Braun’s teammate, Prince Fielder,
While each player is having a superb season, none match up to Braun when looking at the situation with a more critical eye.
Albert Pujols has rebounded quite well from a slow start and injury to his wrist earlier in the year. For any other player in the league 2011 would be considered a career year, however, despite leading the league in home runs, he is having an off year. Currently, he’s hitting .289, over 20 points less than his career low of .312 last year.
Additionally, as crazy as it sounds, Pujols isn’t as valuable to the Cardinals as one may think. The Cards remained quite competitive and atop the NL Central while he was out with the wrist injury but sit a full 10 games behind the Brewers as the teams enter play today. The first baseman is still a great player and will command an enormous contract this winter, but he isn’t the MVP this season.
Matt Kemp is having an outstanding season for the Dodgers. Unlike Pujols, who is having a down year, Kemp is in the middle of a career year. He has an outside chance of joining the 40-40 club and should hit well over .300, but how valuable is he really on a team that currently sits in last place in the NL West with a 59-69 record? There’s no denying his talents on the field, but he isn’t the MVP of the league.
Justin Upton is a very interesting and surprising entrant into the MVP race. Almost every fan and prognosticator picked the Diamondbacks to finish last in their division in Spring Training, but it appears more and more every day that they’ll win their division and be returning to the Playoffs in October. Upton is the central figure in the team’s success.
He’s hitting .298 with 25 home runs and 77 RBI, while stealing 19 bases, and scoring 81 runs. He is fulfilling his vast potential and establishing himself as one of the best young talents in the game. Although his numbers are great, Braun bests him in every one of those categories and is on the superior team. Add in the fact that while the Brewers don’t get much coverage nationally, they get more than the Diamondbacks do. Upton’s best hope to win would be to continue putting up his great numbers and hope Braun and Fielder split votes among the voters.
Speaking of Fielder, he may be Braun’s stiffest competition for the award. The duo has become the best one-two punch in baseball and along with a very good pitching staff have led the Brewers to a commanding lead in the NL Central.
Free agency is imminent for Fielder, and he has done his best to make himself very marketable for the offseason. He’s hitting .300 with 28 home runs and became the first person in baseball this season to have 100 RBI. He also leads the league with 24 intentional walks.
Fielder is seen by some as the face of the franchise, but it is Braun whom the team has invested in long-term. While Fielder is an RBI machine, Braun is just as proficient at knocking in runs, while setting the table himself for Fielder to knock in so many runs. While each may suffer next year apart from one another, this year they are the most feared combo in the game.
Braun has expanded his game to become a great all-around player and may very well win a Gold Glove this year. His power numbers are back to the level of his rookie season and he has a legitimate shot at winning his first batting crown.
Earlier this season he became just the ninth player in Major League history to hit 150 home runs and drive in 500-plus RBI in his first five seasons as a pro. He already has a Rookie of the Year trophy and four All-Star game appearances to his credit, but he is now poised to win his first MVP Award and be recognized among the game’s elite players.
Baseball Dreaming 