My Top 10 MLB Players

My Top 10 MLB Players

Today I will talk about my top 10 Favorite MLB players. I will start with four and put the other favs in future blogs. Let the Countdown begin!

Number 10

Roy Halladay

Ta-Da, here is #10 on my list. On the night of May 29th, the Philadelphia Phillies played the Florida Marlins. The starting pitcher was Roy Halladay. Not long before this game Halladay was traded from Toronto to Philadelphia. This game was a great night for Halladay because he retired all 27 at bats the Marlins gave him. In other words he pitched the second perfect game in the Phillie's history. The only other pitcher to do this was Jim Bunning. In 1964 he pitched a perfect game against the NY Mets. Now that I gave a highlight of Halladay here are some stats:

• Halladay first started playing for Toronto in 1998

• Halladay was traded to Phillie on December 16th, 2009

• Halladay's ERA is 2.40

• 131 strikeouts

• Ranks 1st in NL with 154 innings pitched

So with these stats I would say that he is one of the best pitchers in the MLB today. In my personal opinion one day he will be in the Hall of Fame.

Number 9

Albert Pujols

On the evening of June 14th, the St. Louis Cardinals played the Seattle Mariners. Albert Pujols of the Cardinals was sliding into home plate when outfielder Jose Lopez of the Mariners threw the ball to home and hit Pujols in the back of the head. Pujols was able to come back into the game he just had a great big welt on the back of his head. Now that I have gave a highlight of Pujols it is time for some stats.

• Albert Pujols was drafted to the Cardinals in 1999

• Pujols has a .307 batting average

• 21 HR

• 64 RBIs

Albert Pujols has been one of the best hitters in the MLB for a while now. He has a really unique batting style. He squats low to the ground with his bat high. I think this is why he is one of the best home run hitters. I have no doubt if he can hit 21 home runs he can make it to the hall of fame.

Number 8

Joe Mauer

Congratulations! Joe Mauer you are my numero eight fave player. First, an in game highlight for Joe Mauer. During a game the evening of May 2nd, Joe Mauer was sliding into first when he bruised his heel. Now, from personal experience, I hurt my heel one time and I was out of commission for a while. Now that I gave a highlight or in other words a dim light(pun intended), it is time for some stats on Mauer.

• Mauer was drafted to the Twins in 2001

• Hasn't been traded to any other team

• He has a .297 BA

• (Surprisingly) only 4 home runs

• 40 RBIs

Now looking at these stats I would say he is one of the best hitters. He doesn't strikeout but %9.9 of the time. That is %91.1 that are mainly hits. I will admit 4 HR after the All-Star break is not good. He is one of my favorite baseball players (not because he is on one of my fave video games) because he has hit a bunch of runs and runs batted in.


Number 7

Stephen Strasburg

My number seven pick is Jamie Moyer( KIDDING!) Actually it is Stephen Strasburg from the Washington Nationals. This kid ROCKS! He just started playing about two months ago and he is great. For example, every baseball fan heard about Strasburg's first major league start. Strasburg pitched against the Pittsburg Pirates on June 8th. A sell out crowd of over 40,000 stood as he threw the first pitch, Aww! Man a 97mph fastball thrown for a ball. Although the first pitch was a ball, he pitched for 7 innings with 14 strikeouts. He only had one blemish, he gave a two runner in the game. Needless to say a good big league start. Now that I gave a highlight time for some stats.

• Strasburg was drafted in the first round by the Washington Nationals

• Has 2.32 ERA with a 5-2 W-L record

• 75 Strikeouts

• This season has allowed only 3 HRs

Now from what you have read wouldn't you say that Strasburg is one of the best pitchers today? I would. I can't wait to see this guy pitch a perfect game and trust me it is COMING!

I will be back with another group of favorites soon.

What Has Happened to A.J. Burnett?

Is the Yankees hurler on the slide?

Is it me or has A.J. Burnett of the New York Yankees been on a down-slide lately? One example came on the afternoon of July 17th. Burnett was pitching against Reid Brignac of the Tampa Bay Rays and gave up a two run homer. Later he threw a wild pitch and hit Evan Longoria. The final straw came when Carlos Pena hit an RBI off of him producing another score. His own frustration ended his day in just the third innning (Yankees can't overcome Burnett's short start). Manager Joe Girardi had to pull him from the game.

Here's a little background on Burnett:

• He's 33 years old
  
• Has been playing in the major leagues for eleven years
• Played for the Marlins from 1999 (his debut in the MLB) until 2005
• Played for the Blue Jays from 2006 until 2008
• In 2003 until mid-2004 he was out for Tommy John surgery
• He ended his first game of the 2007 season with a 27.00 era
• in 2008 he led the league with 231 strikeouts

When he was playing with the Marlins (I believe those were the best years of his career) he led the NL with 5 shutouts, Now his ERA is over 6.00 and his losses outweigh his wins. To me this is a sign that A.J. Burnett is either getting old or losing his touch. I bet the Yankees are wishing they would've gotten him in his younger days. In my opinion, Burnett is on the ropes, and eventually those ropes are going to snap. In his case, his weak rope is his arm. The Tommy John surgery may have actually hurt him. It seems like everyone who gets this surgery comes out worse than when they went in. I believe Burnett is going to go from the Yankees eventually, and it will be soon.

The Officials

Love 'em or hate 'em, the men in stripes are here to stay

Nobody loves an official. While watching baseball, have you ever wanted to yell, "Kill the umpire!" Ever since they were brought into sports they have been known to make the dumbest calls we've ever seen.

For example, during the recent World Cup, USA player Maurice Edu kicked the ball into his opponent's goal, but a penalty was called on the USA team. Replay clearly showed that it should have been called on the opposing team (Slovenia). If that goal would have counted, the USA would have possibly remained in the running for the World Cup.

Another example comes from baseball. Detroit's pitcher Armando Galarraga was close to pitching a perfect game when the umpire, Jim Joyce, messed it up. The ball was thrown to the first baseman with the runner still about a foot away. The first baseman caught the ball with his foot on the bag before the runner got there, but Joyce called the runner safe. My eyes bugged out when I saw that replay. Honestly, I think Instant Replay needs to be used a lot more in baseball.

Don't even get me started on football, where they always seem to call the wrong player on holding or call holding where there wasn't any holding at all. How many times have we seen them call pass interference on a player when the ball was uncatchable. Also, let's not forget that the Denver Broncos lost to the San Diego Chargers last season when Ed Hochuli's whistle malfunctioned. I'm being sarcastic. It didn't malfunction, he just blew it TOO SOON!

It's needless to say that officials make mistakes--they can surely put the err in error. Love 'em or hate 'em, they will always be a part of sports--so maybe I should just try to get used to them.