"Puig Mania"

Several days ago I sat down to watch Sunday night baseball for the first time in a long time just to catch a glimpse of Young Cuban phenom Yasiel Puig who has been tearing it up for the LA Dodgers as of late. I've heard tremendous things about this guy reading all of the baseball scouts raving about his tools as a ballplayer.

As he stepped into the box against San Francisco Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner I watched every little detail of this guy as a hitter. He worked the count to 1-1 and he had displayed solid plate discipline laying off a borderline second pitch. Watching what occurred on the 3^rd pitch was beautiful and impressive to watch a young player do. On a pitch low and away he churned those hips and swung at the ball. He stayed inside of it and hit it to the opposite field over the right field fence at Dodger Stadium for the7^th home run of his very short career. Many young players you see in the Majors have a problem with any pitches low and away and he just made it look eazy on that opposite field home run, he looked like the 2^nd coming of Yoenis Cespedes with that swing.

Although Puig is off to a hot start keep in mind that 20 games is still a very small sample size and that the MLB will make adjustments to him the question is how will he adjust back once the necessary adjustments are made, that’s when we find out how good he is. Looking at Puig statistically one thing bothers me which is his walk to strike out ratio which is 3 to 17. That shows me that he still has much room to grow in terms of plate discipline as do pretty much all hitters his age do.

With all of that said if he stays hitting at a high level and continues to increase his numbers I think he deserves some consideration for the All-Star game. You look at his current stats of 34 Hits, 14 runs scored, 7 homeruns, 14 RBI's while hitting 442. in 20 games that is just for lack of a better word “NASTY”. He is hitting on a torid pace and making a huge impact for the LA Dodgers. To put his numbers into perspective check out how he stacks up with Bryce Harper and Mike Trout in their 1^st 20 games of their rookie seasons in the tweet below.

Yasiel Puig has more HR (7 vs 5) & RBI (14 vs 13) in his 1st 20 games than Mike Trout & Bryce Harper in their 1st 20 career games combined.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 25, 2013

Puig is making history right now and is just plain entertaining to watch. He will eventually struggle as do all players do in baseball at some point but for now just enjoy “Puig Mania”.

It's Time For Some Baseball

Now that basketball season is over and I don't have to focus on the media circus that is the Miami Heat the blog will now be changing its focus to baseball. I will still write things about basketball with the draft and summer league coming out but it's time to focus on Americas past time the way I should be. Outside of the Marlins who I follow because they are my team I was very oblivious to most things going on in the MLB this season. I'm very happy my Marlins are playing better baseball winning 5 out of their last 8 against the Cardinals,D-Backs and Giants.

I'm excited to see if Miguel Cabrera can repeat and win the triple crown again as he currently leads in the batting average and RBI categories he is still chasing Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis who has 27 homeruns to Cabrera's 20. I think Miggy who is one of the most consistent hitters we have ever seen in baseball history will be right there when it's all said and done for the repeat.

I'm definitely excited to see if Giancarlo Stanton will be in the home run derby this season. As most baseball fans know his batting practices alone are a homerun derby and he posses once in a life time power that most people aren't really accustom to seeing so him at an event like the homerun derby would be nothing but a treat for the fans of the MLB.

Of course I will still have my card posts but I'm going to incorporate other pieces of exclusive memorabilia that I feel would be cool to share with you guys. So far all my guys here who collect baseball memorabilia /Cards and all that good stuff you will love all the stuff coming up.

Still love my baseball and can't wait to show you guys some of these great posts and videos I'm have coming up.

1972 Topps Willie Mays #49

 

 One of the 1st ever cards I ever purchased Of "The Say Hey Kid" several years ago I hit the jackpot when i scored this vintage Topps card of one of the games greats. The Cards feature Those Cartoon like letters that only the 70's could tolerate. All in all the vintage card i purchased was part of one of the premier Topps Sets in the 70's featuring one of the games premier players.

Opening Day Joy

As I sit here in My Marlins jersey the day Before most of the teams start play on Opening Day in Major League Baseball I can't help but think of the countless amount of fans around the world waiting to see they're teams play tomorrow. It has a Christmas like feel to it, where you can not sleep and keep tossing and turning. Baseball has a way of bringing the kid out in all of us and Opening day is big deal in my life. I still have fond memories of going to Sun Life/Pro Player stadium hours before gametime waiting to get autographs from my favorite players like Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis and Luis Castillo. I can't help but think of the countless amount of kids that will fall in Love with the game tommorrow and the countless amount of memories that will be created.

One of the great Joy's of opening day for many kids is missing school and playing hookie for the day with your dad for a trip to the ballpark. You can't really describe that feeling when you get those tickets in your hand, walk through those turnstiles and smell the aroma of Peanuts and Cracker jacks for the first time in spring. You Can't describe it until you are holding it in your hand and catch your 1^st glimpse of your local baseball cathedral on the way to your seats.

Baseball's Opening day represents a renewed sense of hope for fans and players alike. Every team will start off with a 0-0 record and every park will be soldout. New players will familiarize themselves with new teams and new fans will get familiar with new smells, sights and experiences at the ballpark. So whether you are the San Francisco Giants coming off a World Series Championship or the Houston Astros Coming off a franchise worst season every team will start off with a clean slate. When the teams are introduced,Fireworks go off and National anthem is sung just know it's time to play ball.

If your a nutritionist then consider tomorrow your cheat day substitute salad with Hot dogs and Peanuts and plop your behind down in your seats and prepare for the start of Baseball season. If you have Cheap seats or luxury seats remember what opening day and baseball are about-Kids and the one still inside of you

So Happy Baseball Season!

Watch the video down below for a song that perfectly depicts and personify's the spirit of Opening day.

"Say Hey" to the G.O.AT

“I think I was programmed to do good things when I came into the majors. I knew how to play”- Willie Mays

Willie as well as anybody who played against him won’t hesitate to agree with that quote. Mays could do it all he was the 1^st five-tool player and he was the best five tool player in baseball history. He did it all he could hit,steal,field, hit for power if he wanted to do your taxes or win an academy award he probably could have done that too. The “Say hey Kid” was the truth and his accomplishments are rather staggering

Baseball is a crazy game, it represents life as a game of daily struggles. It’s also crazy because there are so many great players over the course of time that it is hard to choose 1 player to identify as the Greatest of All-Time. You have guys like (Babe Ruth,Albert Pujols, CY Young, Ken Griffey JR, ETC). No disrespect to anybody that has played in the Major Leagues but Willie Mays is the greatest of All-Time. In many Ways he is to baseball what Michael Jordan was to basketball but before we had so many Media outlets. Willie was like Jordan because baseball hadn’t really seen anything like him in terms of all around talent. Being a 5 tool player  coupled with his personality, Borderline cocky attitude and Flair for the dramatic while playing the game made him a pioneer. Babe Ruth hit home runs, Ricky Henderson stole bases, Torii Hunter plays Gold glove defense….Willie Mays did all of those things.

“I think I was the best baseball player I ever saw”- Willie Mays on himself

There is a lot of truth behind that statement never at that time in baseball history had we seen somebody lead the league in so many different categories. In the years between 1954-1964 Willie Mays led in the following categories (Batting average, on base %,Hits, Homeruns, runs Scored, total bases, triples, Runs created, extra base hits, Slugging % and walks) at least once. There isn’t any player that impacted that many facets of the game at that high a level ever in baseball history. If you currently watch baseball and cheer for a team think about your franchise player leading in that many categories. Take for example I’m a Marlins fan and I could never see Giancarlo Stanton leading the League in hits, Homeruns, Runs scored, batting average all in the same year, as a ballplayer you got to sacrifice one of those to dominate in a particular area. Willy never won a triple crown but if you look how many times he led the league in a lot of categories you would be surprised that he didn’t at some point in his career. He was the 1^st player in Major league history to hit 300 Homeruns and steal 300 bases in a career.

Willie’s whole career is remembered by most for image. Just Like Michael Jordan free throw line dunk in the 1985 dunk contest or “The Drive” by John Elway for Mays there is the catch. The catch was an over the shoulder basket like grab that was a robbery of A Vic Wertz line drive that ultimately held the game at a tie and allowed the New York Giants to take game one of the 1954 World Series.

He played the game with style, Grace, Bravado and did it all respectfully he was a Kid ball player with a full grown major league swing. Willy was, is and will always be the greatest he said what he meant and meant what he said. He is the measuring stick of what 5 tool player should aspire to be. His swing was sweet, His speed unlimited but the mans career was once in a lifetime

• ·       24x All-Star
• ·        2xMVP
• ·        12 Gold Gloves
• ·        1951 Rookie of the Year
• ·        1954 Batting Title
• ·        660 Homeruns (4^th All-Time)
• ·        1954 World Series Champion
• ·        3,283 Hits
• ·        2,092 Runs scored

Throwback Thursday: 1989 Oakland A's

This afternoon The Oakland A’s Clinched the division tittle over the back to back AL Champion Texas Rangers. Against all odds with players who were cast offs from other teams came out of nowhere to win 94 games and capture the AL West title. With Oakland in the playoffs and the bay area once again buzzing about the green and gold the A’s are in the playoffs looking to do something they haven’t done since 1989 which is win a world championship and that’s our subject today the 1989 Oakland A’s.

Back in 1989 the A’s were the best team in baseball winning 99 games which was a league best that season. Guys like Mark Mcgwire, Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckerseley  and Dave Stewart dominated baseball and made teams respect and ultimately fear Oakland. Dave Stewart was 21-9 with a 3.32 ERA and arguably the most dominate pitcher that year. The line up featured Dave Parker, Mark Mcgwire, Rickey Henderson and was one of the best offenses in Baseball the A’s balance of speed,power, pitching made them contenders. Once they got to the playoffs though they made sure that nobody would stop them. They beat the Toronto BlueJays in dominant fashion 4-1 in the 1989 ALCS. Ricky Henderson was the ALCS MVP. They would play the crosstown rival San Francisco Giants and sweep them in 4 games winning by 3 runs or more in all of them to capture the 1989 World Series championship, Dave Stewart was the World Series MVP. The 2012 version of the A’s start their quest towards a championship for the 1st time since 1989 as they square of with Triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera and the AL Central Champion Detroit Tigers.