Throughout the 2018 baseball season, I have been sending baseball cards to numerous MLB players, past and present, through the mail. I am happy to say I have achieved a pretty high success rate, and I want to share my collection with YOU! Premiering in November, I will be sharing my autographs through a weekly photo blog format. Stay tuned!
The Bleacher Creature’s 2018 Award Predictions
Here are Jacoby Nolnaho’s predictions for the main BBWAA awards for the 2018 season:
MVP
National League- Christian Yelich
American League- Mike Trout
Cy Young
National League- Jacob deGrom
American League- Blake Snell
Rookie of the Year
National League- Ronald Acuna Jr.
American League- Miguel Andujar
Manager of the Year
National League- Craig Counsell
American League- Alex Cora
Is Buster Posey on Track to Being a Hall of Famer?
With Buster Posey out for the season with hip surgery, all baseball fans alike question Posey’s Hall of Fame case. The lifelong Giant has a curious career; Posey has a slew of awards with underwhelming stats. Over his ten years of service, he has 1,276 hits, 246 doubles, 635 RBIs, an impressive .306 batting average, and 133 home runs in 1,144 career games. Additionally, Posey’s home run numbers has been steadily declining since 2014, basing at only five in 2018. However, Posey has four Silver Sluggers, with the most recent coming in 2017. The three time World Series champ also won the Rookie of the Year in 2010 and the MVP and Comeback Player of the Year in 2012, to go along with six All Star appearances and a Gold Glove. Award wise, Posey is in very good shape at this point of his career. Posey is still far, but he stills needs to compile more awards and milestones if he wants to be enshrined among the immortals in Cooperstown.
National League Cy Young Tensions
As of August 25, with five weeks left of the regular season, the National League Cy Young of 2018 is certainly gaining traction. The National League possible front runners are the Mets’ Jacob deGrom, Phillies’ Aaron Nola, and the reigning winner, Max Scherzer. So far, Scherzer is 16-6 with a 2.13 ERA and a league leading 244 strikeouts in 181.2 innings. Nola is 15-3 with 169 strikeouts, all while matching Scherzer’s ERA. deGrom is currently has 214 strikeouts and is leading the NL with an immaculate 1.77 ERA. However, deGrom only has a .500 record (8-8). His lack of wins looks bad to the eye, but his minimal ERA contradicts the stat. In an age where Sabermetrics matter and people want to “kill the win,” deGrom has a better chance of winning this year than past decades. Scherzer is a better candidate than Nola because Scherzer has more innings under his belt, more strikeouts, and more wins while sustaining an identical ERA. So, the National Cy Young is up for grabs between Scherzer and deGrom.
Juiced Review
Summary: Juiced by Jose Canseco was published in 2005 and changed baseball forever. In this book, Canseco tells of his personal struggles and what he did to become a ballplayer. His story is inspirational as he was a scrawny young immigrant who became a professional baseball player. However, the meat of the story comes when he tells of steroids. Canseco rats out numerous players involved in steroids from his point of view. In the end, he admits about 90% of players used steroids during his time.
Opinions: I found this book both intriguing and disappointing. The book was fast moving and keeps your attention really well. Canseco vividly describes his life, making it easy to forget the book is about drugs. His personal experiences are interesting and sure to give you a good laugh. Overall, I highly suggest you to read the book.
Bobbleheads
Bobbleheads are one of the most loved collectibles on the market. You can get them free with you attend a baseball or you can buy them online. Bobbleheads go back as far as the 1960s when Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle had their own ceramic statues. Now, bobbleheads are made of a sturdy plastic. In 2015, after Mike Trout won the MVP award in 2014, the Angels made a lifesize bobblehead of him. It is currently the largest licensed MLB bobblehead to date. In second is the Derek Jeter bobblehead that stands outside Steiner Sports at the New Yankee Stadium. Overall, bobbleheads are a great and fun tradition of baseball.
Breaking News! Huge Trades After ASG
After the All Star Game, just before regular season games restart, two huge trades took place. Manny Machado was just traded to the Dodgers in his walk year. The multi-position All Star brings Gold Glove defense and a power bat to Los Angeles. The Dodgers are without their main shortstop Corey Seager for the season after he needed Tommy John Surgery.
The Cleveland Indians got a huge boost to their bullpen from the Padres on July 19. Dominant southpaw Brad Hand was traded in turn for a package of prospects. Hand carries in 24 saves with the Padres through 44.1 innings of work.
MLB TTM Status 2018
This year, I have adapted a new way of autograph collecting; through the mail autograph requests. Basically, I send out a letter, a card to be signed, and a self addressed stamped envelope to both former and current baseball players. As of July 17, I have sent out 32 letters. Out of the 32, I have gotten 11 back. I have gotten back Rob Manfred, Pat Neshek, Ken Singleton, Danny Duffy, Raisel Iglesias, Brad Ziegler, Chris Iannetta, Ryan Goins, Adeiny Hechavarria, Juan Gonzalez, and Ryne Sandberg. Of the 21 I still have out there, Mark Teixeira, Clayton Kershaw, Todd Frazier, and Greg Bird highlight the pending requests.
MLB Sent Something Amazing To Me!
On Monday, April 30, I received a package in the mail from the offices of Major League Baseball in New York City. Approximately ten days earlier, I wrote a letter to Commissioner Rob Manfred telling him how much I enjoyed baseball. I only asked for an autographed business card, but I got much more.
The package was sent first class in a bubble mailer. The shipping cost totaled at $3.75, which was a surprise since I did not send any money in. When I opened it, I found my requested signed business card along with a full sized official Major League Baseball. The baseball was signed in blue Sharpie across the sweet spot.
This is only my second through the mail autograph return, and I am really grateful. Five years ago I wrote a letter to Ken Singleton and got a signed 8×10 glossy picture. Acts like these make the game stronger and get more fans involved.
BP Report with Jacoby Nolnaho: 4/6/18
On April 6, 2018, I went to my first baseball game of 2018. As usual, it was the Yankees hosting the Orioles at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have now introduced a three hour batting practice block. In other words, on select Friday home games, the gates will open three hours before game time instead of the traditional two. This is great for ballhawks like me, giving us an extra hour of opportunities to catch balls. Using the Clear Lane, I was able to get into the stadium a tad before anybody else. Only the right and left field seats were open, but I was still in luck.
Within ten minutes of getting in, a worn baseball was sitting approximately twenty feet from the wall. Yankees reliever Adam Warren was making his way to the dugout when I exclaimed, “Hey Adam, over here!” Warren turned and threw a liner right to me. I did not realize I caught the ball until I turned around and saw it in my glove. I quickly turned around and thanked Warren along with giving him a thumbs up. Later during BP, I ran into Zack Hample (once again). I did not want to bother him because he was swarmed with ten year olds, so I simply said hello and moved on.
The game was long and very slow. The game went 14 innings with the Yankees leaving lots of men on base. I was originally sitting in the Budweiser Party Deck, but as the game moved on, I transitioned to the Toyota Terrace. I was over the Yankee bullpen when Orioles hitter Pedro Alvarez launched a game winning grand slam into the right field stands. The Yankees ended up losing to a final score of 7-4. I was happy the game ended since I was there right when the gates opened up until the final out. I was actually at Yankee Stadium well over ten hours.
Overall, I had a lot of fun and hope this game is just a beginning for good things to come in the 2018 Major League Baseball season.