Jose Fernandez Is A Big Time Pitcher

The Miami Marlins are by no stretch of the imagination this year a good baseball team but like any struggling team they have a few bright spots and the brightest happens to come in the form of rookie 21 year old right hand pitcher Jose Fernandez. Here is some background Fernandez.

• Drafted 14^th overall in 2011 by the Marlins
• Never picthed above A ball before this season started
• Became only the 7^th player in MLB history under the age of 21 to record at least 8 strikeouts in his debut since 1916
• Named an to the all-star game at 20 years old
• Struck out Dustin Pedroia and Chris Davis at the all-star game.

So odds are you aren't familiar with Jose Fernandez but that’s ok because most of the baseball world is slowly but surely figuring out who he is. Prior to the season starting the Marlins had a shortage of arms in the starting rotation so they rushed Fernandez to the big leagues and named him as the opening day starter. I was very critical of that move because this was a guy who hadn't pitched above A ball and now he his the opening day starter against the New York Mets, it's a pretty big jump. Fernandez quickly put to bed any doubt of good he would be for the rest of the season with a performance of 5 innings pitched 3 hits, 1 earned run and 8 strikeouts.

When you watch him pitch Fernandez does a great job establishing his fastball command and sets up his secondary pitches very well. Many baseball experts have compared Fernandez to Seattle Mariners all-star Felix Hernandez. People who aren't familiar with Fernandez might disagree but if you watch both of them pitch they have a lot of similarities. Fernandez like King Felix sets up hitters very well and can bury you with multiple pitches. He can thrown it by you with his fats ball or paint the outside corner with his curve ball. The Comparison is valid.

Statistically when you look at Jose Fernandez he is even more impressive. He has an 8-5 record on the worst team in the national league. The Marlins are not an offensive juggernaut in fact its hard to get run support when the whole team collectively has scored the 363 runs the entire season which ranks them dead last in baseball. So to be 3 games over 500 as a pitcher for them is impressive. Recently in the last few weeks he did something very historic. In his July 28^th and August 2^nd starts he faced 2 quality teams in the National league leading Pittsburgh Pirates and then then Cleveland Indians who are in the playoff hunt. In his start against the Pirates he has a very good outing going 8 innings giving up 2 earned runs on 5 hits with 13 strikeouts for a win. You think to yourself “ wow he can't pitch any better then that” well your wrong. Very next start against the Indians he goes 8 innings only allows 3 hits, collects 14 strikeouts and shuts out the Indians. So do the math 14+13=27 Jose Fernandez in 2 starts struck out 27 hitters. Thats just ridiculous for a guy his age to be doing that. In doing that he put his name in some elite company (see tweets below).

Jose Fernandez is the 4th-youngest pitcher with consecutive 13-strikeout games since 1900. Check out the list: pic.twitter.com/vNtAP655jj

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 3, 2013

As you can see Fernandez put his name in same company with some former all-stars but he also has his opponents in aw of him. Rays manager Joe Maddon who is one of the best in baseball praised Fernandez.

— Joe Maddon (@RaysJoeMaddon) May 31, 2013

 So the word on Jose Fernandez is finally getting out and if healthy it looks like the Marlins have an ace for years to come. The only question is how many years before he gets traded?

Ken Griffey Jr: Never Be Another One

Baseball is a great game but the current state of the MLB is far from great. Players in this day and age are under constant scrutiny as the league is trying to clean up its image from all the greats who did the game dirty in the past like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens. When you look at Major league baseball in this day and age there aren't to many elite all around talents who dominate at the level Ken Griffey Jr did on and off the field. On the field when in his Prime Griffey was talented enough to be an All-star, win MVP, win a gold glove, win a silver slugger award and lead the league in home runs all in the same year. Off the field he served as the guy who elevated the popularity as the spokesman for Nike and Nintendo. The enjoyability of watching him on the field and the marketability of him off the field combined all at the same time make Ken Griffey Jr a once in a life time player. When speaking about the future hall of famer I think the only thing we can say is that there will never be another one.

Lets knock the obvious out of the way, Griffey is a very great and well decorated ballplayer some of his accomplishments listed down below are proof of that. When speaking about his accomplishments this is just scratching the surface with Griffey.

• 13 time all-star
• 1992 all-star game MVP
• 1997 MVP
• 10 gold gloves
• 7 silver slugger awards
• 630 Home runs

It's what he did for baseball in terms of popularity that speaks volumes to his greatness though. Let me ask you this question and I want you to really think about it. Who was the last baseball player who was just as big by himself as the game of baseball? Think about it. Players in Griffeys day like Mark Mcgwire and Barry Bonds were tremendous players and popular in baseball circles but did any of them do anything to transcend baseball popularity and make it appeal to the casual fan? Look at it from this perspective someone who knows nothing about baseball won't know who Mark Mcgwire was (pre steroid era) because his popularity is only within the baseball/sports fan realms. Now lets look at Griffey he had his own sneaker with Nike and a video game with Nintendo. Stuff like that was monumental for the game of baseball's popularity because Griffey is getting exposed to many people who who normally wouldn't watch baseball and then people find out who he is along with baseball which could eventually lead to them becoming a fan of the game. Being someone who grew up in the Nintendo generation I can't tell you how many times I heard kids say “Griffey is the best” or “This guy makes me like baseball, this game is awesome”. Ken Griffey Jr is just the kind of guy who leaves an imprint on your mind but in a positive way.

Beyond all of mass endorsements and commercials Ken Griffey Jr actually lived up to the hype. During my younger days I saw a lot of great players come to Miami to play baseball at Pro Player Stadium like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and David Ortiz but none put on the effortless hitting display I saw Griffey take. It was every thing you saw at the home run derby hat tilted backwards, smile on his face and last but not least that sweet effortless swing that he used to deposit baseballs into those empty orange seats. I remember everyone in the stadium stopped what they where doing just to watch this guy swing a bat. Yeah it was just batting practice but Griffey was a performer.

I once heard someone say the following about Ken Griffey Jr. “He was the type of person kids can love and adults can respect”. I was lucky enough to actually Meet Griffey face to face, I use to go to Pro Player Stadium 5-6 hours before the Marlins play and wait for them and whoever they were playing and try to get autographs from my baseball heroes. I would get the roster for the opposing teams and my Marlins then gather up whatever baseball cards I had on those players the night before the game. There was one day where the Marlins were playing the Reds in the middle of the season and Ken Griffey Jr was sitting on 599 career home runs so I wanted to see him hit 600.

Before I met Griffey I had gotten Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce to sign some baseball cards but then the bus arrived. I didn't care about any other player not even the ones on the Marlins I just wanted a chance to meet Griffey. I saw him and ran straight up to him with my baseball card and sharpie in hand. Most players are stuck up and would have told me no or just walked away Griffey smiled and happily signed my card. He actually took 2-4 minutes and we talked baseball I picked his brain about playing center field because I played it for my little league team at the time and he gave me some tips and then said bye to me.....WOW!

People always say baseball is a kids game but few players actually take the time to help the kids when they are in the major leagues by just simply signing an autograph or just talking to them. They get caught up in the celebrity of being a ball player in the majors and forget where they came from and don't sign autographs for those little kids and ignore them. Griffey didn't do that and he is even greater because of that to me.

So he had all the stats, he helped grow the game like very few players, he is a humble person and most importantly he is the ONLY player in the 90's who didn't take steroids. Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmerio all these guys took steroids but the only one who did it clean was Griffey. The fact that he is part of that whole era but didn't par take in the actual activity of performance enhancing drugs makes his legacy even greater. He did it the right way and had he not been injured in Cincinnati his legacy would have been untouchable. He would have in all honesty broken the home run record set by Babe Ruth, have more gold gloves and everything statistically would be greater. Baseball right now needs another Ken Griffey Jr type star.

I think in terms of talent, personality, marketability when it comes to Ken Griffey Jr I can honestly say there will never be another one.

Five Random Cards #1

Recently I Got a PWE from my main man Kevin from “The Diamond King” as part of graduating from high school. I also completed a trade with my man Dustin from Cootveal and Vealtones so they're are cards all around my house. So I decided to start a new series of posts called “5 random cards” where I will randomly grab 5 cards and just put them in a blog post. So here we go.

Card #1 Score 1991 Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. in 1991 was in the process of starting one of the greatest careers in baseball history in his 3^rd season in the show hit 327. banged out 22 home runs along with 100 RBI's. Griffey was on his way to becoming one of the most feared players in the game along with collecting his 2^nd gold glove and silver slugger awards in 1991.

Card #2 Topps Gold Label 1999 Cliff Floyd

Going to my 1^st Marlins game in the same year this card was manufactured I got a chance to see Cliff Floyd live in person and he was a big guy 6 foot 5 inches tall along with 220 pounds and a vicious left handed swing. Cliff never became the star that most people thought he had potential to be but still put together is fair share of nice seasons. Like in 2001 where he hit 317. along with 31 home runs and 103 RBI's earning the only All-Star appearance of his career.

Card #3 Fleer 1990 Eddie Murray

Eddie Murray had a long 21 year career many his best years with the Baltimore Orioles. People forget though he had some solid years in LA with the Dodgers. In 1990 the same year as this card Eddie hit 330. with 26 home runs and 95 RBI's which earned him a silver slugger that year. So remember Eddie as an Oriole but don't forget the Dodger version either he was pretty good.

Card #4 Topps 1994 Jeff Conine

In 1994 Jeff Conine had already earned the “Mr.Marlin” mantle and wore it proudly playing the game the right way. Conine was apart of both Marlins World Championship teams in 1997 and 2003 . In 1994 though he earned his 1^st of 2 all-star appearances and hit 319. that season which was the highest of any season in his career.

Card #5 Upperdeck SPX 2002 Juan Encarnacion

Not the best player on the 2003 world championship team but certainly an overlooked part of it. People like to focus on Miguel Cabrera, Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis and many others but Juan Encarnacion was a very valuable piece. In 2003 he had a career year when in 2003 hit 270. with 19 Home runs and 94 RBI's. He was also solid on defense with a perfect 1.000 in 156 games he played and didn't win the gold glove that year.

Ichiro a Yankee

Its been a very odd 2 days in Seattle for baseball fans. On Monday the New York Yankees aquired 10 time All-star Ichiro Suzuki from the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro in another uniform is weird enough but Ichiro playing his 1st game in Seattle with the Yankees batting 8th is even more odd. In a press conference held at Safeco field the former Mariner franchise player said “I’m going from a team with the most losses to a team with the most wins so it’s hard to contain my excitement” . He stepped up to the plate like he’s done many times before wearing #31 he was greeted by 29,911 of the Seattle faithful with a standing ovation and a tip of the cap. He dug in ready to face Kevin Milwood and very quickly he smacked a single right up the middle and got on base in the 2nd inning. He wasted no time Stealing his 16th base of the season and a lot of fans probably started saying “where was that yesterday” in they’re mind. Ichiro would go 1-4 with a stolen base and rbi on route to a 4-1 Yankee win in his debut. As odd as Monday night was Tuesday night might have even been a more odd sight to see. During the top of the 3rd inning Ichiro had his 1st plat appearance against “King Felix” Hernandez. If you are a Mariner fan this was a sight too see the All-time hit Leader vs. one of best pitchers in franchise history. The 2 Seattle cornerstones squared off and Felix got the better of Ichiro jamming him inside and getting him to pop out to 3rd baseman Kyle Seager. In the top of 6th the elite hitter got revenge on his former teamate Doubling  down the right field line for his 16th double of the season. The duel between the former teamates would end afte Ichiro got hit by a pitch in the 7th inning and Felix was taken out of the ballgame. So what does Ichiro in New York city mean? It mean the at for the 1st time in his career he truly has a chance to get the only thing he hasn’t accomplished in his illustrious baseball career. He gets to do it on one of baseball’s biggest stages ina huge media market. Playing in New York should give Ichiro a breath of freah air and rejuvenate him back to All-star form. He was only hitting 261. In Seattle which is far from normal for the Japanese phenom. As much as I hate the Yankees I wouldn’t mind seeing one of my generations greatest players finally get a ring.