A category containing the top ten of everything MLB! This selection gets updated during the offseason!
What would baseball be with its franchises? Nothing. This is an article about the franchises who have made a major impact on our national pastime.
10. Kansas City Royals
9. Texas Rangers
8. Houston Astros
7. Pittsburgh Pirates
6. Baltimore Orioles
5. New York/San Francisco Giants
4. Chicago Cubs
3. Boston Red Sox
2. Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers
1. New York Yankees
The shortstop position is an important position. They need to turn double plays and are expected to be great at bat and on the base paths. 2016 saw a ton of young shortstops. This is a ranking of the top ten shortstops in Major League Baseball.
10. Troy Tulowitzki
9. Eduardo Nunez
8. Addison Russell
7. Didi Gregorius
6. Aledmys Diaz
5. Xander Bogaerts
4. Trevor Story
3. Carlos Correa
2. Corey Seager
1. Francisco Lindor
The New York Yankees are one of the most storied franchises in all of baseball. This is a document ranking the top ten Yankees of 2016. The rankings are a combination of the players 2016 performance and their overall career statistics.
10. Brett Gardner
9. CC Sabathia
8. Mark Teixeira
7. Starlin Castro
6. Masahiro Tanaka
5. Didi Gregorius
4. Aroldis Chapman
3. Dellin Betances
2. Andrew Miller
1. Carlos Beltran
Mike Trout is a young superstar who plays for the Los Angeles Angels. This is a breakdown to categorize the most important things to know about Mike Trout.
10. His Birthplace
Millville, New Jersey.
9. His Birthday
August 7, 1991.
8. His Team
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
7. His Number
27.
6. His Nickname
The Millville Meteor.
5. All Star Teams
Through his age 24 season, Trout has participated in five All Star Games.
4. His Home Run Total
157 home runs in 742 career games.
3. His Stolen Base Record
128 steals in 150 attempts during his 742 career games.
2. Rookie of the Year
He won the American League Rookie of the Year in 2012.
1. MVP Totals
He won the MVP award unanimously in 2014 and finished runner up three times. He also won the All Star Game MVP twice: in 2014 and in 2015.
The catcher is one of the most difficult positions on the baseball diamond. From calling games to framing pitches to throwing out runners, the defense is enough to wear out any player. In this article I will rank the top ten catchers based on the statistics and opinion.
10. David Ross
9. A.J. Pierzynski
8. Francisco Cervelli
7. Russell Martin
6. Brian McCann
5. Wilson Ramos
4. Jonathon Lucroy
3. Yadier Molina
2. Salvador Perez
1. Buster Posey
The backstops have the roughest position on the baseball diamond. The gloved hand getting pounded all day with the ball and throwing with all their might to get the baserunner out. Don’t even get me started on the old collisions. We now rank the top ten catchers.
Being in the city of brotherly love, Carlos Ruiz has never left the Philles. In Philly, Carlos caught a perfect game and made multiple World Series appearances.
Picked up by the New York Yankees in the 2013 offseason, Brian did some surprising things. Taking advantage of the small left field wall, Brian socked 23 home runs. He also had a good percentage of thrown out base stealers.
Alternating between first base and the catcher, Carlos has proved to be a great power hitter for the Cleveland Indians.
7. Kurt Suzuki
Kurt Suzuki is a really good catcher who plays for the Minnesota Twins. He took over for Joe Mauer once he moved to first base. Kurt did a good job as the backstop making the all-star team as the backup catcher for the American League.
Matt Wieters had a great arm for throwing out baserunners until he was shut down by Tommy John Surgery. He made the all-star team as a starter only playing in 26 games in 2014.
5. Devin Mesoraco
Devin Mesoraco, the all-star catcher for the National League, led all of baseball for home runs by a catcher. Devin socked 25 of them. Devin also caught the famous Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman.
Russell Martin is one of the best catchers in the game. He won a Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award for backstops in 2014. In 2014, Russell had monster on base percentage with the Pirates. He also hit 11 home runs in 111 games. It was no surprise when the Blue Jays signed Russell Martin in the offseason for 3 years.
3. Salvador Perez
Salvador Perez had a great breakout year in 2014. Salvador already had a Gold Glove under his belt to start the 2014 season. By the end of the season, Sal had two. Salvador Perez had 17 home runs also in 2014. He would be the all-star starting catcher due to Matt Wieters injury. Salvador Perez helped lead the Kansas City Royals to their first World Series appearance in 29 years.
Buster Posey is the heart and soul of the San Francisco Giants. He is also the face of the franchise. Back in 2011, he had a monster collision which left him with a broken leg, a broken ankle, and a concussion. Besides that tragic collision, Buster Posey helped lead the Giants to three World Series in five years. He won the Rookie of the Year award for the National League in 2010 and also won the 2012 NL MVP award, too.
All these catchers are great but aren’t great enough than number one. This catcher has a great glove and an even better arm. The number one catcher in all of baseball is…
Yadier Molina is the best catcher in Major League Baseball. Yadier has 7 Gold Glove awards in his trophy room. One of those Gold Gloves came in 2014. Also in 2014, Yadier Molina won the Platinum Award. The Platinum Glove is awarded to the best defender of all the positions. Yadi’s best season came in 2012 where he hit 22 home runs. People said that is going in history as one of the best hitting catcher seasons. On top of that, Yadi has a pair of World Series rings. Yadi has a really good shot of going into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.