Results tagged ‘ AL ’
2012 BBWAA ROY, Cy Young and MVP Award Finalists
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) award finalists for 2012 Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP were announced Wednesday night on MLB Network. For the most part I agree with the finalists, but there are a few I’m surprised about, so I thought I’d take the time to share my thoughts, starting with Rookie of the Year:
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
American League: Yoenis Cespedes, Yu Darvish and Mike Trout.
There’s really no contest when it comes to American League Rookie of the Year. If your last name isn’t Trout, you don’t stand a chance. While both Cespedes and Darvish had great rookie seasons, neither came close to the year that Mike Trout had. Posting a .326 batting average with 30 home runs and 83 RBI’s, Trout led all AL rookies in every conceivable category. So, unless they change the voting procedure and decide to draw the winners’ name out of a hat, Mike Trout will be the recipient of the award.
National League: Todd Frazier, Bryce Harper and Wade Miley.
As far as National League Rookie of the Year goes, it’s a bit more of a challenge to make a selection–especially when your original pick isn’t one of the finalists. I still feel that Wilin Rosario (my original pick for the award) should at least be in the final three, but alas he’s nowhere to be found. I knew it was a long shot for Rosario to win, but to not be a finalist is a real shame in my opinion. But anyway, looking at the players that did make the final list, I would have to say that Bryce Harper stands the best chance of winning the award by popularity alone. Having been in the spotlight for so long, that’ll probably be just enough to put him over the top with the voters.
CY YOUNG
American League: David Price, Justin Verlander and Jered Weaver.
A lot of people feel that Fernando Rodney should be one of the finalists for American League Cy Young, but personally I’m glad he isn’t. I don’t like the idea of a non-starter winning the award; even if Rodney did have an ERA of 0.60. Of the finalists, I still side with my original pick of Jered Weaver, but I have a feeling it’s going to be David Price that wins the award, though to be honest, I wouldn’t be shocked or disappointed with any of the three winning. They’re all worthy.
National League: R.A. Dickey, Gio Gonzalez and Clayton Kershaw.
As with the AL, many feel that closers Aroldis Chapman and/or Craig Kimbrel should be finalists for National League Cy Young. You already know how I feel about closers winning the award, so I’ll move on to picking between the three remaining pitchers. My original pick of Clayton Kershaw is one of the finalists, but I don’t feel very confident that he’ll win. I think it’ll go to Dickey or Gonzalez, but as with American League, I wouldn’t be upset with any of them taking home the award.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League: Adrian Beltre, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout.
As far as the American League portion goes, you can go ahead and eliminate Beltre, Cano and Hamilton. They all had great years, but it’s going to come down to Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout. As I’ve stated many times, I feel strongly that Trout should win the award. He exemplified just what it means to be the Most Valuable player to your given team, which is what the award is all about. So, while many feel Cabrera should win the MVP–mainly because he was the first player in 45 years to win the Triple Crown–I’m still sticking with my original pick of Mike Trout.
National League: Ryan Braun, Chase Headley, Andrew McCutchen, Yadier Molina and Buster Posey.
My opinion of who should win the National League MVP isn’t quite as strong as with the AL portion, but I still feel that Ryan Braun should win the award over Buster Posey. One of the reasons people are leaning towards Posey over Braun is that Posey and the Giants won the World Series while Braun and the Brewers didn’t even make the playoffs, but that’s not really a fair thing to base your vote on. MVP is an individual award for the player who most impacted their team, and in my opinion that was Ryan Braun.
The winner of each award will be announced next week on MLB Network.
Here’s the schedule:
AL & NL Rookie of the Year : Monday, November 12th
AL & NL Cy Young: Wednesday, November 14th
AL & NL Most Valuable Player: Thursday, November 15th
As stated in a previous blog post, I plan on posting a recap of the winner–along with a look at how well I did with my predictions–in a blog entry following the day each award is announced. So be sure to check back for that…..
Finally Back Up and Running
Question: What do you get when you combine a shattered computer screen with an internet connection problem?
Answer: A two week gap in blog posts–which is the case here.
Unfortunately, since I wasn’t able to hop on my laptop and type up a blog entry over the past couple of weeks, I missed out on writing about the World Series like I had been planning to. In addition, I was unable to post entries on the Gold Glove awards, as well as the Player’s Choice awards, but although I missed out on those, I’m still planning to post something on the Silver Slugger awards, which are set to be announced Thursday night.
After that will come posts on the 2012 Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP award winners. They will be published the day after each is announced and will include a recap of the winner along with a look at how well I did with my predictions (probably not all that well).
Following the award winners blog posts–which will run through the end of next week–I’m just planning to post my thoughts on the latest MLB news as it happens. That’ll be the case for most of the offseason, but I might change it up here and there; I haven’t decided yet. One thing I am going to attempt to do is post an offseason Q and A with a MiLB or MLB player once every two weeks starting after next weeks’ awards posts. I should be able to pull it off, but it really comes down to player cooperation.
So, as of right now, that’s the plan for the offseason. Keep in mind, however, that a lot can happen between now and the beginning of the 2013 MLB season, so make sure to check back often. I’ll be sure to let you know if my plans change….
My Prediction for the 2012 World Series
With last night’s win over the Cardinals, it’s official: The San Francisco Giants will be taking on the Detroit Tigers in the 2012 World Series; which begins Wednesday in San Francisco.
Now that the matchup is set, I wanted to take the time type up a blog post with my prediction of who I think will win the World Series. Though I’m normally way off when making predictions–I had the Rangers and Angels making the World Series in my March predictions–I feel fairly confident this particular time. (After all, I have a 50 percent chance of getting it right.)
With that said, this is how I feel it’s going to play out:
Game 1- Tigers
Game 2- Giants
Game 3- Giants
Game 4- Tigers
Game 5- Tigers
Game 6- Giants
Game 7- Giants
That’s right. Not only do I have the World Series going seven games, but I strongly feel the Giants are going to pull it out–both of which many people disagree with. A lot of people seem to think the Tigers are going to mow down the Giants with little effort whatsoever, and while that’s not out of the question, I just don’t see it happening.
First of all, the Tigers are going into the World Series on five days rest, while the Giants merely have today. While logic would tell you that rest is a good thing, in the case of post season baseball, I see it as working just the opposite. The Giants have momentum that the Tigers don’t, and while the Tigers seem to be the favorite to win the World Series I think they’re going to surprise a lot of people; and not in a good way.
One of the main reasons I think people feel the Tigers are going to be SO dominant against the Giants is because of the way they clobbered the Yankees in the ALCS. Something you have to keep in mind is that the Yankees weren’t themselves during the series. Lets face it: They sucked. That’s about as straight forward as I can put it. The only reason the Tigers were so impressive is because the Yankees played horribly. While I’m not trying to take anything away from the Tigers, I just want to get the point across that had the Yankees of played like THE Yankees, things wouldn’t have gone the way they did; in terms of a sweep.
Now, something the Tigers have that the Giants don’t is Justin Verlander. Every time he’s on the mound, you have to like the Tigers chances of pulling out a victory. But while they have one of the best pitchers in baseball–along with the Triple Crown winner, in Miguel Cabrera–in the end, I don’t think they’ll be able to hold off the surging Giants. The Giants have too much going for them.
In the end, no matter who you have winning the World Series, as a baseball fan, you have to be excited about the upcoming week of Major League Baseball. Anytime you have a couple of teams as good as these going head-to-head in a pressure filled Fall Classic situation, you’re sure to have some incredible games.
So that’s who I have winning the World Series. Who’s your pick?
Leave a comment below with who you have winning, and in how many games.
My Thoughts On the A-rod Situation
Alex Rodriguez is struggling at the moment; there’s no denying that.
Posting a mere batting average of .130 (3-23) so far this postseason, Rodriguez has quickly found himself in an uncomfortable situation. A situation that has subsequently led to an even more trying predicament for Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who for the second straight game regretfully elected to exclude A-rod from the starting lineup. But as many are asking: Is the decision to bench Rodriguez truly the smart one?
That’s the one thing no one can seem to agree on.
“We’re trying to do what’s the best thing to win games”, said Joe Girardi, in response to his decision to bench A-rod. “This is difficult. When I went into the postseason, this is not 
what I imagined having to do. You thought you’d have a set lineup and you might change it against a right-hander or a left-hander a little bit, but the struggles have been tough. We felt we had to make changes.”
But these “changes” aren’t the correct ones in my opinion. Yes, Rodriguez is performing horribly so far this postseason, but you don’t bench the one player on the team that can make a drastic impact with one swing of the bat; even when it seems they’re completely lost at the plate.
You can’t possibly tell me that Eric Chavez in the lineup makes the Yankees better than with A-rod. Chavez is yet to notch a hit (in 14 at-bats) this postseason. Why would you opt to play him over Rodriguez? It truly baffles me.
Rodriguez had this to say in response to his benching:
“I’m obviously not doing somersaults. I’m not happy about it. Obviously you come to the ballpark feeling that you can help the team win, and when you see your name is not in the lineup, you’re obviously disappointed. You’ve got to just shift to being a cheerleader and also make sure that you’re ready when your number is called.
“….for me, it’s tough”, added Rodriguez. “I’m a competitor, I’ve been that way since I was 5 years old, and I love to compete. I really feel in my heart that anytime I’m in that lineup the team’s a better team, without a question. So we’ll disagree there till the end.
“I’ve played this game for a long time and bottom line is, anytime I’m in any lineup, I think that lineup is better. It has a better chance to win. I feel I can bring that type of impact, 
and I’m also at any point ready to break through. I thought my at-bats in some of those games got a little bit better. The last two [in Game 3], I hit two rockets. Anytime I’m in the box, the game can change, and everyone knows that.”
Indeed; everyone does know that. Which leads me to question Girardi’s decision.
All it takes is just one hit–one swing of the bat–for Rodriguez to fall back into the groove of things.
Alex Rodriguez is one of the greatest players the game has ever seen. Admittedly, when he’s struggling like he is, benching him is the easy thing to do; but that doesn’t make it the right thing to do–especially when Rodriguez isn’t the only one having a tough time at the moment. As a team, the Yankees are batting .200 (58-290) so far during the playoffs, and show no signs of improving anytime soon.
All the more reason to give A-rod another shot.
Rodriguez could very well fail, yet again, but he could also surprise the world and get a hit in a big spot. Without him in the lineup, however, no one will ever get the chance to find out.
My Vote for American League Cy Young
This is the second in a series of four blog posts that I plan to type up between now and Friday; all of which will focus on who I feel should win the three major awards of Most Valuable Player (MVP), Cy Young and Rookie of the Year (ROY). (If you haven’t read my posts on who I think should win the AL MVP and NL MVP, go ahead and check those out now.)
When making a pick for American League Cy Young, I feel I can rely on stats (and not just personal opinion) more so than I did with Most Valuable Player. Unlike with MVP–where I didn’t let stats influence my decision–stats played a big role in my decision making for AL Cy Young; as the numbers don’t lie.
But don’t get the impression that the decision was an easy one. There are SO many good candidates for AL Cy Young that it made it impossible for me to choose just one player. So I ended up letting the stats do the deciding for me.
I took the American League starting pitchers with ERA’s below 3.00 (Price, Verlander and Weaver) and compared them from 20 different statistical angles. (I chose to use so many different stats to compare them because I felt that using Wins, ERA and strikeouts alone didn’t tell the whole story of how good a particular pitcher was.)
My method works as follows: The pitcher with the best numbers in a given category receives 1 point; with the 2nd and 3rd place pitcher receiving 2 and 3 points, respectively. (The occurence of a tie in a particular category results in the tied players receiving the same point amount.) In the end, the pitcher with the lowest combined total would be my pick for the Cy Young award.
It took me awhile to crunch all of the numbers, but once I finally finished, this was the result:
As stated earlier, the pitcher with the lowest combined total is declared (by me) as the winner. Which makes Jered Weaver the statistical choice (as well as my pick) for AL Cy Young.
I’m a bit shocked by the results, but not THAT shocked. (It’s not like Jered Weaver doesn’t deserve it.) Posting a record of 20-5, with a 2.81 ERA, Weaver is definitely worthy enough. He led the league in opponent batting average (.214), as well as WHIP (1.02), and in addition, pitched a no-hitter on May 2nd against the Twins.
Just icing on the cake for Jered Weaver–my pick for 2012 American League Cy Young.
Do you agree or disagree with me?
As always, feel free to leave a comment below.
My Blogging Plans for Next Week
If you’ve been following this blog for awhile you know that every now and then I like to post an entry detailing my blogging plans for the next week or so. It’s just something I like to do to give you (the reader) a general idea of what’s to come.
All of next week I’m going to be posting blog entries on which players I feel deserve the three major awards of Most Valuable Player (MVP), Cy Young and Rookie of the Year (ROY). I’ll be giving my take on both the American League and National League, and as of right now, the plan is as follows:
Tuesday, October 9th: National League Most Valuable Player
Wednesday, October 10th: American League Cy Young
Thursday, October 11th: National League Cy Young
Friday, October 12th: American and National League Rookie of the Year
While the blog posts are going to be about which player I feel deserves each award, I don’t want you to think of them as predictions. Just because I think a particular player deserves an award doesn’t necessarily mean that’s who I think will win it–as was the case with my post on American League M.V.P.
Now, you may be wondering why I’m taking the time to blog about awards, that won’t be voted on until November, during a time when the playoffs are beginning to heat up. It’s really quite simple: I can’t blog about EVERY game that’s taking place at the moment–that would take too much time and effort–and closer to voting time the World Series will be taking place (which I fully plan to blog about, just as I did last year). So in reality, this is the only shot I have at fitting it in.
If anything MAJOR happens in the playoffs between now and Friday I’ll be sure to blog about it, but odds are that while there will definitely be some dramatic moments, nothing extremly blog worthy will occur.
So, unless something unexpected happens, get ready for a busy week of blog posts.
Latest MLB Leaders (March 28th-September 30th)
With the 2012 MLB regular season beginning to wind down, I thought I’d take the first day of October to recap the season to this point.
Instead of talking about the events that have taken place this year I decided to make a list of different categories and beside them name the player(s) that leads that particular category. I’m planning on posting one final entry like this towards the end of this week–after the final regular season game has been played–so check back for that.
The following lists are categorized into hitting and pitching, but NOT AL or NL:
MLB LEADERS (AL and NL)- HITTING
Most games Played-Four players tied for most. (159)
Most At-Bats-Derek Jeter (670)
Most Hits-Derek Jeter (213)
Highest Average-Buster Posey (.337)
Most Runs-Mike Trout (127)
Most Triples-Angel Pagan (15)
Most Home Runs-Miguel Cabrera and Josh Hamilton. (43)
Most RBI’s-Miguel Cabrera (136)
Most Base On Balls-Adam Dunn (104)
Most Strikeouts-Adam Dunn (218)
Most Stolen Bases-Mike Trout (48)
Most Caught Stealing-Starlin Castro and Rajai Davis. (13)
Most Intentional Base On Balls-Prince Fielder and Joey Votto. (18)
Most Hit By Pitch-Prince Fielder, Carlos Quentin and Kevin Youkilis. (17)
Most Sacrifice Flies-Mark Teixeira (11)
Most Total Bases-Miguel Cabrera (368)
Most Extra Base Hits-Miguel Cabrera (83)
Most Grounded Into Double Plays-Miguel Cabrera (28)
Most Ground Outs-Derek Jeter (303)
Most Air Outs-Ian Kinsler (227)
Most Number of Pitches Faced-Michael Bourn (2,873)
Most Plate Appearances-Derek Jeter (726)
MLB LEADERS (AL and NL)- Pitching
Most Wins-Gio Gonzalez (21)
Most Losses-Ubaldo Jimenez (17)
Best ERA-David Price (2.56)
Most Games Started-Zack Greinke (34)
Most Games Pitched-Randy Choate (80)
Most Saves-Jim Johnson (50)
Most Innings Pitched-Justin Verlander (238.1)
Most Hits Allowed-Rick Porcello (222)
Most Runs Allowed-Luke Hochevar (127)
Most Earned Runs Allowed-Luke Hochevar (118)
Most Home Runs Allowed-Ervin Santana (39)
Most Strikeouts-Justin Verlander (239)
Most Walks-Ricky Romero and Edinson Volquez. (105)
Most Complete Games-Justin Verlander (6)
Most Shutouts-Felix Hernandez (5)
Most Hit Batsmen-Gavin Floyd (14)
Most Games Finished-Jose Valverde (66)
Most Groundouts Achieved-Clayton Richard (313)
Most Double Plays Achieved-Henderson Alvarez (30)
Most Wild Pitches-Tim Lincecum (17)
Most Balks-Franklin Morales (5)
Most Stolen Bases Allowed-A.J. Burnett (35)
Most Pickoffs-Clayton Kershaw (10)
Most Batters Faced-Justin Verlander (956)
Most Pitches Thrown-Justin Verlander (3,768)
Q and A With Stephen Vogt
Stephen Vogt was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 12th round of the 2007 draft. Since the draft, Vogt has been able to steadily work his way up 
through the ranks of the Rays’ system, all the way up to AAA Durham; where he currently resides. (This year with Durham, Vogt has posted a .269 batting average, with 9 home runs and 43 RBI’s.)
Earlier this season Vogt received a taste of what it’s like to play in the big leagues, as he spent 10 games with the Rays. Things didn’t go as planned for Vogt, however, as he went hitless in all 17 of his at-bats; though he did put the ball in play in all but 2 of them.
Although his short stint in the Majors didn’t go all that well, Vogt still has a good shot of making it back to the big leagues in the near future, if he can continue to post decent numbers. (Something he’s been able to do fairly consistently throughout his baseball career.) He certainly has the work ethic, and determination to make it happen.
Stephen Vogt–utility man in the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization–took the time recently to answer some of my questions:
1.) At what age did you first become interested in baseball? Who was your biggest baseball influence growing up?
I was always interested in playing baseball from a very early age. I loved playing anytime, all the time. My father and brother helped me the most at a young age.
2.) Who was your favorite baseball player growing up? Why?
Barry Bonds was my favorite player because I was a huge Giants fan and [he] is one of the greatest hitters of all time. Every time I went to watch him play it was the most exciting moment, whenever he stepped in the box.
3.) You were drafted by the Rays in the 12th round of the 2007 draft. What was that process like for you? Where were you when you found out? Initial thoughts?
I was a senior in college and was hoping to just get a chance to play. I was at my parents house with some friends and my wife just waiting to see my name pop up on the computer and fortunately it did.
4.) You made your MLB debut on April 6th of this year. How did you receive the news that you’d been called up? What do you remember from that game?
I was told by our hitting coach in AAA, Dave Myers, that I was going up and I immediately began to shake and just have an overwhelming excitement come over me. I remember getting my name announced with all the great players of the Rays and Yankees and thinking how honored I was to be there. My journey through baseball had so many twists and turns that I was just humbled and honored to be there.
5.) After spending 10 games with the Rays you were sent back down to AAA Durham. What aspect of your game are you currently working on most to hopefully help speed up your journey back to the big leagues?
I am working mostly on my quality of at bats. I learned a lot about hitting in my short stint in the big leagues to know how much more detailed everything has to be. At bats are much different than AAA.
6.) Playing at the Triple-A level, do you feel any more pressure to perform well in every game then you did in the lower ranks of the Rays’ organization, when you weren’t just a phone call away from ‘The Show’?
The only pressure you feel is the pressure you put on yourself. I have to just relax and play the way I know how.
7.) Favorite thing to do on an off day during the season?
Nothing! Honestly the pool and a nice BBQ’d steak for dinner are what make me happy on off days.
8.) Favorite food?
Steak and potatoes.
9.) Favorite TV show?
White Collar and Saved by the Bell.
10.) Lastly, what advice would you give to kids who are just starting out that dream of playing professional baseball one day?
You have to love the game and be dedicated to working everyday to be the best you can be. In a professional season you will get worn out and tired and the love of the game and hard work will get you through any tough times you may have. Also, family will keep you focused on the goal. Without my wife Alyssa’s support I would never be where I am today.
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Big thanks to Stephen Vogt for taking the time to answer my questions.
You can follow him on twitter: @SVogt1229
Latest MLB Leaders (March 28th-August 31st)
With the first five months of the 2012 MLB season in the books I thought I’d take the first day of the September to recap the season thus far.
Instead of talking about the events that have taken place so far this year, I decided to make a list of different categories and beside them name the player(s) that leads that particular category. I’m planning on posting an entry like this on the first day of each month. (That would make 1 more of these if you’re keeping score at home.)
The following lists are categorized into hitting and pitching, but NOT AL or NL:
MLB LEADERS (AL and NL)- HITTING
Most games Played-Michael Bourn and Chase Headley. (132)
Most At-Bats-Derek Jeter (553)
Most Hits-Derek Jeter (177)
Highest Average-Melky Cabrera (.346)*
Most Runs-Mike Trout (106)
Most Triples-Dexter Fowler (11)
Most Home Runs-Adam Dunn (38)
Most RBI’s-Josh Hamilton (112)
Most Base On Balls-Adam Dunn (94)
Most Strikeouts-Adam Dunn (190)
Most Stolen Bases-Mike Trout (42)
Most Caught Stealing-Jose Tabata (12)
Most Intentional Base On Balls-Prince Fielder (17)
Most Hit By Pitch-Carlos Quentin (16)
Most Sacrifice Flies-Mark Teixeira (11)
Most Total Bases-Miguel Cabrera (300)
Most Extra Base Hits-Miguel Cabrera (67)
Most Grounded Into Double Plays-Miguel Cabrera (23)
Most Ground Outs-Derek Jeter (256)
Most Air Outs-Ian Kinsler (185)
Most Number of Pitches Faced-Adam Dunn (2,488)
Most Plate Appearances-Michael Bourn (608)
MLB LEADERS (AL and NL)- Pitching
Most Wins-Johnny Cueto, Gio Gonzalez and R.A. Dickey. (17)
Most Losses-Erik Bedard, Ubaldo Jimenez and Tim Lincecum. (14)
Best ERA-Felix Hernandez (2.43)
Most Games Started-Seven players tied for most. (28)
Most Games Pitched-Shawn Camp (68)
Most Saves-Jim Johnson (41)
Most Innings Pitched-Felix Hernandez (196.2)
Most Hits Allowed-Rick Porcello (194)
Most Runs Allowed-Ricky Romero (105)
Most Earned Runs Allowed-Ricky Romero (99)
Most Home Runs Allowed-Tommy Hunter (32)
Most Strikeouts-Justin Verlander (198)
Most Walks-Edinson Volquez (91)
Most Complete Games-Justin Verlander (6)
Most Shutouts-Felix Hernandez (5)
Most Hit Batsmen-Gavin Floyd (14)
Most Games Finished-Alfredo Aceves (54)
Most Groundouts Achieved-Clayton Richard (277)
Most Double Plays Achieved-Henderson Alvarez and Clay Buchholz. (26)
Most Wild Pitches-Ubaldo Jimenez (15)
Most Balks-Franklin Morales (5)
Most Stolen Bases Allowed-Ubaldo Jimenez (28)
Most Pickoffs-Clayton Kershaw and Ricky Romero. (8)
Most Batters Faced-Justin Verlander (784)
Most Pitches Thrown-Justin Verlander (3,084)
Manny Machado Tearin’ It Up With the Orioles
Anytime a guy comes up to the Major Leagues and excels as much as Manny Machado has so far, I find myself thinking, “now THAT’s a guy I’d love to meet.” Well, in Machado’s case, I actually *have*. The sad part being that I didn’t even realize it. Let me explain:
Remember the picture I posted as part of my blog entry on the 2012 State Farm Home Run Derby of Cal Ripken Jr. talking to “some guy” that I couldn’t identify? If you do, I applaud you. For those of you like me that have a hard time recalling things that happened more than a day ago, here’s the pic:
Now, take a look at Manny Machado’s profile picture on his twitter account, and see if you notice anything:
Get where I’m going with this? The mystery guy who was talking to Ripken, was in fact Orioles’ top prospect Manny Machado.
Now that I know who Ripken was talking to I feel like such an idiot. I, of all people–keeping up with the top prospects, and such–should’ve been able to recognize Machado when I saw him. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that I was standing 10 feet away from him and had absolutely NO idea. The only thing I can think of is that it was 6:00 in the morning and my brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders. That sounds like a fairly decent excuse to me; so that’s the one I’m sticking with.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let me move onto the thing you really care about: Manny Machado, and the absolutely incredible start to his Major League career.
Machado–who made his MLB debut on Thursday–put up great numbers in his first game; going 2-4, including a triple for his first career hit. Pretty good, but nothing compared to what he did on Friday night. Machado once again went 2-4, but this time his hits didn’t consist of a single and a triple, but instead, a pair of home runs:
The first and second home runs of his career. (Which, interestingly enough, were caught by the SAME fan.)
I was a bit leary of the Orioles’ decision to call up Machado from AA Bowie, but so far he’s done nothing but prove me wrong. Whether or not Manny Machado can keep up the hot streak (4 RBI’s and 2 HR’s, in 2 career MLB games) is yet to be seen, but I guarantee you one thing: You’ll be hearing a lot more from Manny Machado in the many years to come.
You can count on it.
Matt Huddleston
