Day: May 13, 2016

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Dellin Betances

 

                  Dellin Betances is one of the best bullpen pitchers in the game. Let’s now look into his dominance.

In 2014, a rookie named Dellin Betances made one of the best breakout rookie campaigns ever. He led all qualifying relief pitchers in strikeouts. He was so good with strikeouts that he even replaced the great Mariano Rivera’s name for the most K’s for a pitcher in the ‘pen for a single season.

Dellin even once struck out the side two times in back-to-back innings. Since he was so amazing and overpowering, he awarded himself a place on the 2014 all-star game. He sadly didn’t make an appearance at all due to the amount of pitchers they had. He would help his team win until he really didn’t have his best stuff during the second half of the regular season. He gave up a grand slam and a couple of home runs here and there. But he still was able to strike out a batter every appearance he made. Since he was so good with striking out batters, they moved him from a middle relief spot to the set-up man spot. People said that the Betances-Robertson combo was like the Rivera-Wettland combo, too.

Since Dellin Betances led all qualifying relievers in strikeouts, his fellow peers also helped with the strikeouts. The Yankees had the most strikeouts from the bullpen in all of baseball. The only bullpen that may have been better than the Yankees would probably be the Kansas City Royals. They had great pitchers, but not as good as the Yankees. Dellin also helped the Yankee bullpen by going undefeated with a save. As you can see, Dellin Betances is one of the most overpowering pitchers in all of baseball.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Mark Teixeira

 Mark Teixeira is the Yankees main power hitter.  We now look at the outstanding current career of my favorite player.

Mark Teixeira is the gold glove first base man for the New York Yankees. He is the Yankees cleanup hitter which causes him to drive in a lot of runs. The Yankees signed him in the winter of 2008.  In his first year with the Yankees he helped lead them to a World Series.  Mark Teixeira is also a great power hitter.  In 2009 he tied the league lead in home runs with 39 and RBIs with 122.  That is a lot of home runs and RBIs!  The following year in 2010 he led the league in runs with 113. He is also one of the best infielders.  He has a gold glove in New York. Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter’s Gold Gloves.     Mark Teixeira is usually found making diving plays to first base. Mark Teixeira spent most of his time in 2014 on the DL.  He suffered a lot of injuries but he still was able to pull off 22 home runs.  As you can see, this is why Mark Teixeira is my favorite player.

 

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Story Book: Trevor’s Historic Rookie Month

For the month of April, baseball fans became familiar with an iconic phrase by the experienced Drew Goodman. “Take a good look; you won’t see it for long! Another home run for Trevor Story!” Trevor Story became a household name overnight.

For Trevor Story, who was drafted in 2011, was held back from making his Major League debut for a number of years. When the face of the franchise Troy Tulowitzki was traded, the doors for Story finally opened. The scouts knew he could field, but the question was can he hit? Analysts found Story’s defense exceptional but thought he would need to bat to stay at shortstop.  The debate would continue until he made his MLB debut, and wrote another chapter to his story.

As Trevor Story stepped up against Zack Greinke on Opening Day, no one was prepared for what would happened next. He hit a home run, which was the first of many. Over the course of the next three days, Trevor would hit six bombs, proving his spot in the lineup. He set a record for the most home runs in a rookie week.

Trevor would continue to tear throughout April. At the end of the month, Trevor piled up 10 homers. This total amount of jacks tied a rookie record for the most home runs in a month. Jose Abreu is the only other player to accomplish this record doing so in 2014.

Trevor has also shown signs of great glove work. He was seen flashing the leather making all three outs on May 7. Trevor also made a diving stop in April to punch a runner out at first.

With his hot bat and brilliant glove work, Story can join Nolan Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez as the elite hitters not only in the Rockies lineup, but in the entire league. In 2015, Nolan Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez hit 40 home runs back to back in the lineup. Arenado tied the National League home run lead with 42 and lead Major League Baseball with 130 RBIs. Nolan also received his third Gold Glove in as many years. He supported Story by hitting 10 home runs of his own in April. Carlos Gonzalez hit 40 home runs in 2015 and looks to have a repeat of 2015 in 2016.

Despite Story’s success with the long ball, he has struggled with the strikeout. As of May 7, Trevor has a league leading 45 strikeouts. If he stays on this pace, he will strike out a predicted 251 times! That would be a Major League record!

Will Story be able to keep up his playing time? He was called up because Jose Reyes was suspended 80 games due to abusing his wife at a hotel in Hawaii. The Rockies owe Reyes $22 million dollars while owing Story only $300,000. When Reyes returns, Story will have to fight for his job or be benched. So far, it is looking like he is doing a good job subbing for Jose.

Now as it stands, Trevor Story’s short career have set a plethora of records. Can he field? Can he hit to stay at his position? These questions have been answered in his short stint. As he leads the new class of young shortstops including Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, and Francisco Lindor, he also leads his team.

Opponents fear when #27 comes up to bat. They already know that if they make a tiny mistake, they could co-write another chapter of his story.

So when you are flipping through the channels on the TV, stop at the Colorado Rockies game. But when Trevor Story’s at-bat comes around, you have to take a good look because you won’t see it for long!