Results tagged ‘ Felix Hernandez ’
Clayton Kershaw 1,000 K’s; A.J. Burnett 2,000 K’s
In the second inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Padres, Dodgers’ Ace, Clayton Kershaw, struck out Yonder Alonso to notch the 1,000th strikeout of his MLB career.
Clayton Kershaw becomes just the thirteenth Dodger to ever reach 1,000 K’s in their career, and the second fastest Dodger to reach the mark–beating out numerous Dodger greats, including four Hall of Famers, in Sandy Koufax, Don Sutton, Don Drysdale and Dazzy Vance–at just 15.2 more innings pitched than Hideo Nomo.
Kershaw would go on to lose the game, allowing three runs, on three solo shots, increasing his season statistics to 2-2, with a 1.88 ERA. The 2012 National League Cy Young winner currently sits just five strikeouts back of the 2013 strikeout leader, A.J. Burnett, with thirty strikeouts so far this season.
Speaking of A.J. Burnett, he was stellar in his Wednesday night start against the Cardinals, carrying a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, before Carlos Beltran broke it up with a double. Beltran’s hit would turn out to be the only hit Burnett would allow, as he struck out eight, over seven innings pitched. The second of those strikeouts being the 2,000th of his career, making him one of just four active MLB pitchers with 2,000 or more career strikeouts.
Burnett moves to 1-2 on the year, with a 2.63 ERA, but more impressively, 35 strikeouts in just 24 innings pitched.
Best Players Going Into 2013–By Age
The first players reported to Spring Training nearly two weeks ago, however, the first official games are taking place today. The Tigers are set to take on the Braves at 1:05 EST, with the Reds-Indians, Royals-Rangers and Padres-Mariners games all beginning at 3:05 EST. The remaining teams are all playing their first game on Saturday.
With the first official baseball games of the season starting up, I wanted to take the time to post a “top players” list, of sorts, but instead of making my own version of a top 10 list, or whatever, I decided to make a list of the top player for each year of age throughout Major League Baseball. Meaning, of the 20 year olds in MLB, I’ll list the player I feel is the overall best of them all. With the same holding true for the players age 21, 22, 23, 24, and so on.
The range of ages runs from 20 years old, with Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, etc., all the way up to age 43, with Mariano Rivera. Just so you know, I’m going by the age each player will be to start the season. Therefore, a few players will be listed a year older than they currently are, due to them having a birthday between now and April 1st.
With there being SO many names, I’m not going to be listing my reasoning behind each pick; just a general list with players’ names. The player I feel is the best for their age category can be either a position player, or a pitcher:
20 years old: Bryce Harper
21 years old: Mike Trout
22 years old: Shelby Miller
23 years old: Giancarlo Stanton
24 years old: Stephen Strasburg
25 years old: Clayton Kershaw
26 years old: Felix Hernandez
27 years old: Evan Longoria
28 years old: Prince Fielder
29 years old: Miguel Cabrera
30 years old: Justin Verlander
31 years old: Josh Hamilton
32 years old: C.C. Sabathia
33 years old: Albert Pujols
34 years old: Cliff Lee
35 years old: Roy Halladay
36 years old: Michael Young
37 years old: David Ortiz
38 years old: Derek Jeter
39 years old: Ichiro Suzuki
40 years old: Andy Pettitte
41 years old: Henry Blanco
42 years old: Jason Giambi
43 years old: Mariano Rivera
So, there you have it. The best players by age, in my opinion, from 20 through 43, going into the 2013 season. Do you agree with my picks? If not, who would you pick to replace the name(s) you disagree with? Let me know in the comments section below.
Felix Hernandez Throws A Perfect Game
To say Felix Hernandez was dominant in Wednesday’s outing against the Rays would be an understatement, as Hernandez became the 23rd pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game. (The first perfecto in Mariners’ history, and the third this season.)
This coming on the heels of Melky Cabrera’s 50 game suspension for testing positive for testosterone; a performance-enhancing substance. I don’t want to spend a lot of time on Cabrera but at the same time I can’t NOT talk about it. So here it goes.
Melky Cabrera made the following statement in response to his suspension:
My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and I will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down.
A short while later the San Francisco Giants had this to say:
We were extremely disappointed to learn of the suspension of Melky Cabrera for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. We fully support Major League Baseball’s policy and its efforts to eliminate performance-enhancing drugs from our game. Per the protocol outline by Major League Baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Giants will not comment further on this matter.
I feel that basically covers it. (If you want to read into all the details just CLICK HERE.)
The only thing I’d like to add is this: The Giants without Melky Cabrera is like a bike with a loose bolt. Things might run smoothly for a little while, but eventually it’ll all fall apart. Mark my words on that.
With just over 40 games remaining in the season, the Gaints are facing a hefty challenge in the weeks to come. Without their most consistent hitter, I feel the Giants stand little chance of holding their current tie with the Dodgers for the lead in the NL West. It should be interesting to see in they can prove me wrong.
Moving back to Felix Hernandez and his pefect game.
Hernandez struck out 12 in his quest for perfection. Afterwards, he had this to say about his performance:
I don’t have any words to explain this. When Phil Humber threw his perfect game here, I said ‘I have to throw one. I have to.’ I’ve been working so hard, and there it is for you guys.
I’m thrilled for Hernandez. After 8 seasons of stellar pitching–including a Cy Young award, in 2010–he finally went the distance in Wednesday’s game. As stated earlier, this marks 23rd perfect game in MLB history–just the 7th by a former Cy Young winner.
Hernandez moves to 11-5 on the year, with an ERA of 2.60.
Matt Huddleston
