Month: May 2016

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Top Ten Best Speedsters

There are the power hitters and power pitchers in baseball. There are also the contact hitters and defenders who make diving plays every day. One thing nobody really breaks down is the speedsters. Whether they are speedy outfielders or players that are just on the base paths, they are still some of the best speedsters. In this article we break down the top ten speedsters.

         Top Ten Speedsters

  1. Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki played the 2014 season with the New York Yankees. Primarily used as a utility outfielder, Ichiro got quite a few chances to play right and center field when Jacoby Ellsbury or Carlos Beltran got injured. In 143 games, Ichiro stole 15 bases. Earlier in his career Ichiro won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves thanks to his amazing fielding.

  1. Lorenzo Cain

Lorenzo Cain is the speedy center fielder of the Kansas City Royals. In the 2014 postseason, Lorenzo robbed many batters of hits with his diving plays. Along with that, he stole a base every now and then. During the regular season in 2014, he stole 28 bases. His speedy skills would earn him the 2014 ALDS MVP award.

  1. Carl Crawford

Not having the speed he used to have, Carl can still light up the base paths. He used to be able to steal 50-60 stolen bases a season. This left fielder used to have some power in him, too. Back in 2010, Crawford hit a career high 19 home runs. In 2014, Carl Crawford stole 23 bases in 105 games.

  1. Brett Gardner

Brett Gardner is the star studded left fielder of the New York Yankees. In 2014, Brett had a breakout year in power numbers. In 148 games, Brett socked a career high 17 home runs. Those power numbers didn’t stop him for stealing. He also stole 21 bases that year. In 2011 he tied the league lead in stolen bases with 49.

  1. Jarrod Dyson

Jarrod Dyson was a big part of the Kansas City Royals run in 2014. He helped them win the Wild Card Game with his speed. During the regular season, Dyson stole 36 bags. That one stolen base would be the only one during the 2014 Postseason.

5. Jacoby Ellsbury

Jacoby Ellsbury used to be a Red Sox but in the offseason of 2013, he signed a huge contract with the New York Yankees. In his first year with the Bronx Bombers, Jacoby stole 39 bases in 44 attempts. In back-to-back seasons in 2008 and 2009, Jacoby really proved to be the speedster he really is. In 2008 he stole 50 bases in 61 attempts and in ’09 he stole 70 bases in 82 attempts. He also has one World Series ring with the Red Sox in 2007.

  1. Jose Altuve

Jose Altuve is the second baseman for the Houston Astros. He broke the Astros’ all time record for hits in a single season with 225. He also stole 56 bases that year, too. On top of that, he was one of the defensive second basemen in the game and had a .341 batting average.

3. Mike Trout

Maybe the best in baseball ranks number 3 on the top ten speedster list. Although his stolen base numbers have dramatically declined over the years, he still shows off his speed in the outfield. Mike Trout robs home runs on a daily basis making it look it easy. It takes speed to get to the wall. He also makes diving catches courtesy of his speed. He also has his skills at the plate which gets him on base for stolen base opportunities. The past three years Mike Trout has lead the American League in runs. In his brief 4 year career (as of 2014), Trout scored 373 times, has 26 triples, and has 102 stolen bases. He won the American League Most Valuable Player award in 2014 after finishing up behind Miguel Cabrera for the previous couple of years. He also led the American League in stolen bases in 2012 with 49.

2. Billy Hamilton

Billy Hamilton is the speedy young center fielder for the Cincinnati Reds. Billy made his debut in the Majors in 2013 as a 23 year old rookie. He even stole four bases in one game! In the 13 games he played in, he averaged a stolen base per night. In 2014, it was his time to shine. He was an official rookie. In his first full season, Billy stole 56 bases! The bad thing is he got caught stealing 23 times. Besides that, Billy got driven in 72 times thanks to the rest of the Reds lineup. He would be a candidate for the rookie of the year award.

All of these players are fast but aren’t speedy enough to catch the number one speedster on this list. He is very aggressive on the base paths and most of the time slides in safe. He helped his team in lots of ways. Without further ado, the number one speedster in all of baseball is…

1. Dee Gordon

Dee Gordon has proven to be the best speedster in baseball the past couple of years. This young superstar was with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014 but was traded to the Miami Marlins in the offseason of that year. In 2014, Dee Gordon led all of MLB in stolen bases in 2014. His total stolen base number was an outstanding 64. He was caught stealing 19 times in search for 83 stolen bags on the year. The young second baseman was great at turning two with the shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Dee Gordon was in 84 double plays at 144 games at second base. He only got 12 errors on the year. He all did this in 148 games. Gordon also scored 92 times in 2014, too. The 2014 season brought Dee’s career stolen base total to 130. As you can see, Dee Gordon is the best speedster in the game we call baseball.

         Acknowledgments

All the statistical numbers are courtesy of ESPN’s wide selection of stats. I found both fielding and batting stats off of this wonderful website.

ESPN.COM

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Top Ten Pitchers in MLB

There are a lot of pitchers in MLB. The pitchers decide if the batter is good or bad. This top ten ranking is based on the best pitchers in MLB.

            Top Ten Pitchers

  1. Jered Weaver

Jered Weaver is the famed ace of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This pitcher has led the league in wins multiple times and also led the American League in strikeouts in 2010.

  1. James Shield

James Shields has proved to be a workhorse over the last seven years. Pitching over 200 innings in each, he is really durable. Being the ace of the Royals in 2014 helped them go to the World Series.

  1. Jon Lester

Jon Lester isn’t the shutdown ace he used to be. Traded to the Oakland Athletics in 2014, he didn’t really do much. Jon struck out 220 batters in 219.2 innings. He also got 16 wins. Back in 2008, Jon pitched a no-hitter.

7. David Price

David Price was very good in 2014. The Rays traded him to the Tigers so they wouldn’t have to pay him. That would be a mistake because he would lead the American League in strikeouts with 271.

  1. Stephen Strasburg

Stephen Strasburg had an amazing year striking out 242 batters. The young pitcher hopes to become a Cy Young Award winner someday.

 Adam Wainwright

Adam Wainwright is a regular 20 game winner. He is more of a ground ball pitcher than a strikeout pitcher. With Yadier Molina behind the plate, they make a great combo.

  1. Felix Hernandez

Felix Hernandez is a shutdown pitcher who plays for the Seattle Mariners. Back in 2010, Felix won the American League Cy Young award. He also is one of the only pitchers to pitch a perfect game.

 

  1. Johnny Cueto

Johnny Cueto had an amazing year as the ace of the Cincinnati Reds. He went 20-9 with 242 strikeouts. He pitched multiple complete games and did many other great things for the Reds.

  1. Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer was the famed ace of Detroit Tigers in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, Max Sherzer won the Cy Young Award for the American League going 21-3 with 240 strikeouts. In 2014 Max tied the American League leaders with 18 wins.

All these players are good but not good enough to beat the most dominant pitcher who ranks number one. This pitcher worked hard to achieve this goal. The number one pitcher in all of baseball is…

1. Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw is obviously the best pitcher in the game. In 2014, he went 21-3 with 239 strikeouts. That was good enough to get him the NL Cy Young award and the MVP award. He also won numerous Gibby awards, too. He also won the Cy Young award 2 other times in 2011 and 2013. In 2014, he pitched a no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies with 15 strikeouts. All that helped him get his team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, to the postseason.

          Notable Runner Ups

We couldn’t fit all the good pitchers in just ten places. The runners up are Jordan Zimmermann, Matt Harvey, Jacob DeGrom, and Jose Fernandez.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Baseball Card Collecting

As long as baseballs been around, so have cards.  Baseball cards first appeared in cigarette packs.  In this article, you will learn about cards and  how to take care of them.

What’s a Baseball Card?  

A baseball card is a piece of cardboard with a picture of a player and his position on the front.  On the back of the card are the stats and birthday of the player.

 Golden Rule of Card Collecting

If you want to be an expert card collector, follow the Golden Rule.  The Golden Rule is never get rid of any rookie cards or draft picks.  A lot of parents and grandparents got rid of their baseball cards thinking  they were worth nothing.  People might have gotten rid of a Mickey Mantle Rookie card thinking nothing was good about.  But really they just trashed or traded over 500,000 dollars!  Draft pick cards are even more valuable.  A Derek Jeter draft pick card could send you to every single bleacher seat Yankee game for about 20 years!( Not including Derek Jeter Day.)

The Two Terrible T’s

In card collecting, there are the two terrible t’s.  They stand for trash and trade.  Never trade baseball cards unless the player took steroids, you have a double card, or the player is a backup player.  If you don’t want to trade, then you would think to trash it.  But you should change your mind.  As the saying goes, ”One man’s trash could be another man’s treasure.”  Try giving it to your little brother or a friend.  Baseball cards aren’t exactly cheap these days.  Today,  you have to pay three bucks for ten cards while in the old days you could buy fifteen cards and a pack of bubble gum for a quarter.  Plus, if you are an inexperienced collector, you may not know who this is or what it’s worth.

Baseball Card Companies

Today, there are a lot of card companies.  I recommend getting Topps or Upper Deck.  Bowman used to be the best one until the rival company Topps bought it. Topps is the most common card company.  Plus, Topps offers more relics such as parts of bats and jerseys.

Cash Cards

Everybody wants to know what the most valuable card is. The answer is a 1909 Honus Wagner card.  It was found in a box of cigarettes.  Only 43 were ever made.  The stopped the production of them because Wagner didn’t give them permission to use him.   It is worth over 2 million dollars!!!

Tips from a Collector

As a collector myself, I know a few tricks to preserve your cards.

  1. Never trash baseball cards.
  2. Keep your cards away from pets.
  3. Never show your cards to someone you don’t trust.
  4. Keep your cards out of direct light. Doing so could fade them or even catch fire.
  5. Don’t put cards in your pocket. They could get folded or go in the washing machine.
  6. Try not to keep buying cards from the same series. You could end up with triplets.
  7. Buy team packs when you stop buying random packs. You might get a double.
  8. Organize your cards.
  9. Keep Rookie Cards.
  10. Keep draft pick cards.

Greatest Question: Shoe Box or binder?

One of the greatest card collecting questions: Where do I put them? Everybody says,” Put them in a shoebox with rubber bands.”  Do not listen to that.  The binder is the way to go.  In shoe boxes, they get tumbled around.  Also, when you put the rubber bands on, the cards start to crease.  If you leave them in the sun, the rubber bands might melt while nothing happens to them in a binder.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Michael Kay

Michael Kay is the lead play-by-play broadcaster of the New York Yankees. Michael Kay started out as a newspaper writer. He then would step up to broadcast alongside Jon Sterling on the radio. The YES network noticed him and asked him to do the interview show Centerstage. Centerstage is a show where Michael Kay interviews famous people, including former baseball players, singers, and movie stars. Since Michael Kay is an unbelievable interviewer, he ended up winning an Emmy from doing that show.

Michael didn’t stop there. He also took over for Mike Francesa when he left YES. Michael Kay now has the Michael Kay Show, too. It is a really interesting show where Michael and Don Lagreca talk about New York sports. It includes interviews, live look-ins, and lots of opinions. It can be heard on ESPN radio and on the YES Network.

Michael Kay is most famous for being the lead play-by-play broadcaster at YES. His iconic ‘’See Ya’’ call is in the heads of all Yankees’ fans. He has passion for the game with a sense of humor. He also delivers a well-developed speech either when somebody retires or when somebody gets inducted to Monument Park. As you can see, Michael Kay is one of the best interviewers and broadcasters around the league.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

The Bleacher Creature

Stay tuned with The Bleacher Creature for the entire baseball season. Enjoy articles about your favorite player or most hated team. Learn facts you never knew before. Kick back and relax with head-to-head comparison articles with two of the best players. Learn SABR metrics, Statcast, and the old school traditional values. Though not associated/approved by Major League Baseball or the Players Association, the source is credible and entertaining. The Bleacher Creature is a website made by a fan for many fans. The Bleacher Creature, the unofficial site for official fans!

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Ichiro

Ichiro Suzuki is one of the most historic hitters in baseball history. We now look into his legacy.

Ichiro Suzuki is a player with some of the most valuable back ground ever. Since he left Japan, he has gotten lots of hits and stolen bases. In his first year in the States, he signed with the Seattle Mariners. He had an unbelievable rookie year with them. Since he was so good, he won the American League Rookie of the Year award, the MVP award, and the Gold Glove for right fielders in the American League. That wasn’t it for his accomplishments. A couple years later he would do something that no other players had done before. After his rookie campaign, Ichiro went on to break the record for the most hits in a single season. Ichiro has the most hits in a single season. Ichiro also used to be really good on the base paths but he has slowed down a little the past couple years. A couple of years ago the Seattle Mariners traded Ichiro to the New York Yankees. With the Yankees he got his 4000th hit combined in the Major leagues and Japan. All the Ichiro fans went to see him at the game. As you can see, Ichiro Suzuki is one of the most historic players in baseball history.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Nelson Cruz

Nelson Cruz is a great designated hitter. We now look into this great slugger.

Nelson Cruz is one of the great sluggers who played with the Baltimore Orioles in 2014. He was the Orioles key to success. Cruz has always been a great power hitter in the past. He used to be fast and had a mind blowing average. It looked like he would have a great Hall of Fame career until he ruined it. Back in his days with the Texas Rangers, he was often lost in the shadows of Josh Hamilton during his glory days. But really Nelson was the best all-around player on the team. He stole bases, slugged home runs, and even had a great average. He played with the Texas Rangers until the Biogenesis scandal news started flying around the air. On the suspension list was Cruz’s name. He would be suspended from playing Major League Baseball for fifty games. With a few exceptions, most of the players on that list would leave their teams including Nelson Cruz. Nelson Cruz would leave the Texas Rangers and sign with the Baltimore Orioles. He would be a superstar with the Orioles. Nelson Cruz was almost always on most highlight shows for his great home run skills. With Cruz, the Orioles were able to pull of the most home runs for any team in all of baseball. Nelson’s grand total of home runs in the 2014 season was 40. So people start to question if he was back to taking steroids again. It looked kind of suspicious that he was suspended the year before and hit 40 home runs the very next year. Did he take steroids again? That is a question we will never know for sure.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Greinke and Kershaw

During the 2015 season, the Dodgers’ two aces dominated the National League. Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke put up incredible numbers that led the league. Clayton Kershaw struck out an incredible 301 batters while Zack Greinke pitched to a 1.66 ERA. Zack Greinke also had 200 strikeouts on his own, too.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Jason Heyward

Jason Heyward is an award winning defense player who played for the Atlanta Braves in 2014. We now look at Jason Heyward.

Jason Heyward was an award winning defender who played for the Atlanta Braves in 2014. He was really good with the Braves. His best season was when he was in the 20-20 club. He hit 27 home runs and stole more than 20 bases! Although he is a good hitter, he is an even better defender. He doesn’t make errors, he also makes diving catches, and has a great arm. He is able to throw out runners who are trying to score on him. All of this skills helped him earn the overall Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award in 2014.

A tragedy happened in 2012. Just like what happed to Giancarlo Stanton in 2014, Jason got hit in the face and broke his jaw! That is why he wears an extra-big helmet when he comes up to bat. Although he is most known for his defensive skills, Jason does swing the bat well. He doesn’t have the power he used to have though. His speed has gotten better and is stealing more. In the offseason of 2014, there was a rumor that the St. Louis Cardinals had traded two players for Jason Heyward. The rumor turned out to be true. Many people were confused. Jason Heyward was really good with the Braves and the Braves really only got Shelby Miller. The MLB network analysts found out that the Cardinals needed a new right fielder to replace Oscar Tavares who died about a month earlier. As you can see, Jason Heyward is really good.