MLB Tag

Before we get into the heart of this month’s travel blog I feel it would be best to introduce myself to you all. My name is Jake Alleruzzo, the newest addition to the Sports Traveler staff. I myself have a very deep passion for sports travel and thought writing our latest blog entry would be a great way to share my experiences with you fellow sports travelers.

About a month ago I took a trip to Missouri to a beautiful region called Lake of the Ozarks, located just a few miles south of Kansas City. Being in the far western edge of Missouri is quite a unique experience, considering the mixed fandom between Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals fans. While we were in the western tip of Missouri I could have sworn I was in the heart of Kansas City as I drove through town and saw Royals flags hanging about. This goes to show you that you never know what kind of fans you can find as you travel through any given town.

Now going through this town you would figure there is not much to do besides

Whoa!  The sports world is going crazy right now!  So much going on and it is all too exciting to miss.  To catch up with the sports world I have harnessed all the major news/results from the recent events.  I am going to briefly hit on each sport and give a few predictions for the Masters, MLB, NBA, and NHL.  Ready?  Lets go!

NHL

Seems like the season just started but it will shortly be coming to an end.  But I guess that's what happens when you are in a shortened and compressed 46 game season.  Thanks lockout.  The story early on in the season was the winning streak by the Chicago Blackhawks and then both the Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins went on their own winning streaks.  Although no one has matched a start like the Blackhawks, it seemed for a while like the Penguins might be the best team.  Now that Crosby is out the battle for best appears to be between the Ducks and Blackhawks.

Super Bowl Sidebar

What a week folks.  As if there aren't enough headlines for the Super Bowl, we get slapped in the face with allegations from SI that Ray Lewis used a banned substance.  It seems no sport, including golf, is safe from PED's.  Vijay Singh also admitted that he was using the same product Lewis has allegedly used.  Miami New Times also released a story this week that a company down in Florida was selling PED's to several MLB players.  It is a sad state of affairs when every sports accomplishment seems tainted these days.  At some point I think we all just have to accept that PED's have been and will always be prevalent in professional and collegiate sports.  The drive to be the best is what put these athletes in the position they are in and many times an athlete will compromise integrity for success.  We can sit here and judge all day but can you honestly say you would do different?  I would like to think I would but until put in that position I'm not sure how I would respond.  We now know how athletes like Alex Rodriguez and Ray Lewis allegedly responded.

Well that was quite a season folks.  Yesterday marked the end to 2012 MLB regular season and it seemed like history was being made all over the place.  The two individuals who lead the way with historical accomplishments were Mike Trout and triple crown winner Miguel Carbrera.  Both of these players had outstanding seasons and figure to be the only 2 competing for the AL MVP award.  Before I get into to Cabrera's triple crown feat, I just want to briefly list off the highlights of Mike Trout's season.

Mike Trout (2012)
R - 129
H - 182
HR - 30
RBI - 83
SB - 49
AVG - .326
OBP - .399
OPS - .963

- Set AL rookie record with 14 straight games with a run.
- Youngest player to hit 20 HR's and steal 40 bases.
- Set Angels record for most runs in a season.
- Fourth rookie in baseball history to record 120 runs.
- Set Angels rookie record for most hits.
- First rookie ever to hit 30 HR's and steal 40 bases.
- Youngest player to join 30-30 club.

This Labor Day weekend we will watch the calendars flip over to September and on we go into the final month of the MLB regular season.  Lots of news worthy stories have been fluttering around baseball all season.  It has been a season with 3 perfect games, a possible PED stained batting title, major trades, and in the first season of the additional wild card spot we could see both the Nationals and Orioles in the postseason.

The 2012 season has been more packed with history than any season I can remember in recent past.  Aside from the things I've already mentioned, we might have a rookie win both ROY and the MVP.  Not since 2001 has anyone completed this feat and Mike Trout would be just the third player ever to do so.  Heck, why not?  Trout has already become the only player to achieve 20 HR/40 SB as a rookie among other "first player ever to" distinctions.  And any time in baseball you are the first player to do something it is a pretty incredible feat.  Lets just say there have been a few games played over the years and plenty opportunity for just about anything and everything to happen.

As we approach the coveted month of October it is interesting to experience the playoff races for the first time in the era of two wild card spots per league.  Seems like there won't be as much panic for teams until the final couple weeks.  There is a little more breathing room to make the playoffs.  Although I will say that there is a clear advantage to being the division winner so don't look for the teams at the top to let off the gas at all.

Last night Matt Cain became the first San Francisco Giant to throw a perfect game and he did so in exciting fashion.  It isn't often that you see a pitcher throw a complete game with 14 strikeouts and certainly not a perfect one at that.  Throwing 14 k's in a game is impressive enough but doing it while being perfect is practically unheard of.  His 14 punch-outs tied Sandy Koufax and his modern era record for most strikeouts during a perfect game.

There is a lot of buzz going around that this might be the greatest game ever pitched.  Now I did not get to see the game but the numbers are ridiculous.  Here is the stat line from Matt Cain's perfect game last night.

IP - 9.0
R - 0
SO - 14
GB - 6
FB - 7
P - 125

(innings pitched, runs, strikeouts, ground ball outs, fly ball outs, pitches thrown)

Its only May 10th and we have already had an incredible year in baseball.   Thanks to Phillip Humber we have seen the 21st perfect game in MLB history, and on Tuesday night Josh Hamilton belted 4 dingers in one game to become only the 16th player to do so.  These two incredible achievements have never been accomplished in the same season until now.

In addition, Angels pitcher Jered Weaver pitched the 10th no-hitter in Angels franchise history on May 2nd.  This is the second no-hitter for the Angels in as many years.  Ervin Santana hurled the other no-hitter on July 27th of last year.

In other historical news, Jamie Moyer became the oldest player in MLB history to win a game at 49 years old.

The MLB season is officially now in full swing.  See what I did there?

Silly puns aside, teams around the league are beginning to hit their early stride as players start to get a feel for the 2012 season.

Every year the city of Chicago looks forward to the start of baseball.  Not only does the Windy City have 2 historic teams to help usher in the spring, but it also seems like people want to get past the cold winter as soon as possible.   The sooner baseball gets going, the sooner the warmth arrives.

In late March 30 teams started their journey towards earning a playoff spot and ultimately winning the World Series.  After a total of 4,860 games, all the stats have been recorded and the tale of the regular season comes to a end.  This season was full of milestones, wild finishes, and lots of really good pitching.  The last few weeks of the season provided fans with a great preview of what is to come this October.  At the end of the day we are left looking at 8 teams who could possibly win the fall classic.*

Tomorrow we will all flip the calendar over to September, and with it comes 40 man rosters and do or die situations for teams across MLB.  Teams that find themselves in a hunt for the playoffs will try to put everything together in the last month of the season to earn a playoff spot.  At this point in the season there are several teams with comfortable divisional leads and several others find that they are underachieving and might be looking at spending October on the couch.