Kuzul

When the player’s strike of 1994-95 ended, Major League Baseball began its 120th season of play. In the first 119 years, 50 home runs was a nearly unreachable plateau, reserved for the game’s true elite: It had been done only 18 times, by 11 players. Cecil Fielder had last reached the lofty mark, in 1990. Before him, no player had smashed 50 since George Foster in 1977.

That season, despite a strike-shortened 143-game schedule, Albert Belle cranked 50 home runs (and 52 doubles). It was the beginning of the long-ball era, and for 12 years there would be no letting up. Beginning with Belle, 23 players reached or exceeded 50 bombs in a single season from 1995-2007. Much of this, of course, was the result of well-documented steroid use. Still, the tater frenzy is historically remarkable.

For two consecutive seasons, though, the long balls dried up. No superstar, not even the venerable Albert Pujols, reached 50 homers in 2008 or 2009.

To re-open the doors to what was once one of baseball’s most elite sanctums, it took a virtually unknown 29 year-old journeyman named Jose Bautista. In a year otherwise known for the dominant performances of a dozen or more pitchers, Bautista‘s 52 home runs (with a week still to play) stand out.

But where does Bautista‘s power binge rank among the all-time list of 50-homer sluggers? The following is a ranking of all 42 50-home run season in MLB history. In formulating the rankings, steroid allegations and relative strength of league were considered, as was the run environment of the era in which the feat was accomplished.

Who’s No. 1? Who’s No. 42? Where do the infamous but dominant campaigns of Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire rank? Read on.

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One of the reasons, if not the reason, I got into baseball writing was to challenge conventional wisdom. Challenging conventional wisdom is what we learned from Bill James and from Billy Beane, and it is the reason we tend to speak unfavorably of Joe Morgan.

Since moving to Philadelphia, one bit of local conventional wisdom I have been quick to challenge has been the notion that Ryan Howard is one of the greatest run producers of all time. This hasn’t made me incredibly popular amongst my local readers and fellow writers (Jamie Ambler?), but it is a notion to which I have never warmed.

Are You Saying Ryan Howard isn’t a Good RBI Guy?

There can be no doubt in that during the last five baseball seasons, Ryan Howard has established himself as one of the premier RBI men in Major League Baseball. Howard has led the National League in RBI in three of the last four seasons and the only reason he didn’t lead the league in 2007 was because Matt Holliday won the RBI crown in a season-ending tiebreaker game with San Diego.

(By the way, counting one-game playoffs to be regular season games: There’s a rule worth revisiting.)

How unique is Howard’s performance over this period? Consider the following:

Since the advent of the American League in 1901, only six players in Major League Baseball have led their league in RBI’s three years in a row: Ty Cobb (1907-1909), Babe Ruth (1919-1921), Rogers Hornsby (1920-1922), Joe Medwick (1936-1938), George Foster (1976-1978), and Cecil Fielder (1990-1992).

If not for the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres finishing the 2007 season tied for second place in the NL West, Howard would have become the first player since 1901 to lead his league four years in a row; consider also that Howard only played 144 games in 2007, and you have to say “wow.”

So How Can You Say He Isn’t a Great Run Producer?

Nevertheless, given the potency of the Philadelphia Phillies lineup over that period and the general discrediting of the RBI as an indicator of value, however, I have been quick to discredit any sort of significance that has been placed upon Howard and his RBI totals.

After all, from a statistical perspective, Howard is not the best hitter in the National League; indeed, he is not really even the best hitting first baseman in the NL, and he may not even be in the top five.

And so my theory went thus: If you were to plug Albert Pujols or Adrian Gonzalez into the Phillies‘ lineup, not only would they easily lead the NL in RBI, but they may even set the National League record for RBI in a season.

This is not an unsupportable conclusion to reach, for Howard’s RBI have not been a one man show.

In 2006, when Howard first led the NL in runs driven in, Chase Utley led the league in runs with 132, and Jimmy Rollins didn’t finish too far behind with 127.

In 2007, Howard did not lead the NL but finished with an astounding 136 ribs nonetheless, and that season, J-Roll led the NL in runs scored with 139 while Utley and Aaron Rowand each scored over 100 runs.

In 2008, when Howard once again led the NL, the Phils had three guys score 100 runs, and when he did it again in 2009, they had four guys score 100 runs.

Doesn’t it seem like Pujols, Gonzalez, or any other elite hitter would be able to easily pace the National League in this category if they had the luxury of hitting behind Rollins, Utley, and company?

Good Point. Maybe Ryan Howard Isn’t Actually a Great Run Producer.

But then a funny thing happened: the 2010 season came along and challenged everything we know to be true.

Remember when we used to think that the Phillies had an “American League-style” offense? Not any more we don’t. We have become a team that plays a ton of one-run nail-biters.

Remember when we used to think that the Phillies were the type of team that won games with an elite offense in spite of their pitching? In 2010, our pitching has become our strong suit, and it is our offense that makes us want to look away.

As an aside, this is no reason for panic and no knock on this team. In fact, I believe that an argument could be that the 2010 team, with a simply dominant front three of Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt, is more well-equipped to win the playoffs than either the 2008 team or the 2009 team. But I digress.

Where was I? Right. The 2010 Phillies offense has been terrible.

And it isn’t really their fault; The 2010 Phillies have suffered injuries to every major offensive contributor other than Jayson Werth, who himself has had mysterious issues at the plate. If this team had been healthy, who knows what we would have looked like on offense.

Which brings me back to Ryan Howard, and my point.

Finally.

Hitting behind scrubs and subs this season, with an incredibly inconsistent and unspectacular lineup, and himself having suffered injuries and hitting slumps, Howard has nevertheless collected 95 RBI this season.

Which, somehow, puts him fourth in the National League and only five RBI behind league leader Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies. Somehow, in an injury-plagued and slump-marred season, Howard has only three fewer ribs than Pujols and four fewer than Joey Votto, both of whom are having significantly better overall seasons, and whom most watchers expect to be vying for the NL MVP.

Unlike previous seasons, you can’t discredit this one. You can’t point to Utley and Rollins and say that anyone would produce runs behind those guys. You can’t point to the Phillies offense and say it is designed to score runs. You can’t even really credit the Phils’ ballpark.

When all is said and done, the point is becoming undeniable: Ryan Howard is one of the greatest run producers of all time.

How conventional.

Asher B. Chancey lives in Philadelphia and is a co-founder of BaseballEvolution.com.

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Sunday night games on ESPN are bound to be a roller coaster ride. Tonight was no exception for the New York Yankees.

It all started when starting pitcher A.J. Burnett was scratched in the third game of a four game set between the Yankees and the Red Sox. Burnett had back spasms and was filled in by the newly acquired Dustin Moseley. Alex Rodriguez, a day after getting hit in the leg by a line drive, was back in the lineup.

It was also a day of the milestones for the Yankees. Derek Jeter hit a single in the second inning, giving him his 2,874th career hit, passing Babe Ruth on the all-time hits list.

Mark Teixeira followed with his 25th home run of the season. That locked up 25 home runs for Teixeira in each of his first eight seasons. He is just the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to accomplish that feat.

Then A-Rod collected his 300th career stolen base, making him the third player to get 600 home runs and 300 stolen bases in his career. 

But the story of the night was still Dustin Moseley. In an emergency start, Moseley pitched 6 1/3 innings, giving up just two runs to the division rival Red Sox. It appears as though Moseley can provide the Yankees with a lot of help in the future.

Through much turmoil and excitement, the Yankees came through with a victory, lengthening their lead in the AL east. That, above all, is enough to satisfy the Yankees.

You can e-mail me at jess@jesskcoleman.com or follow me on Twitter @jesskcoleman.

This article is featured on Examiner.com.

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The records keep on piling up for Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees. He entered the Yankees-Red Sox game on Sunday night tied with The Great Bambino, Babe Ruth, on the all-time career hits list. It came against a very familiar foe in the Boston Red Sox with Josh Beckett on the mound. 

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Baseball is an absurd game. And I think that’s why we love it.

I was reminded of this when I happened across The Sandlot as I was skimming through channels the other day. In an odd sort of bummer, I tuned in at the very end, just after the gang has finally defeated Hercules and Smalls and Benny have their meet and greet with James Earl Jones. Alas, I had missed out on all the fun stuff.

The good news is that I was in time for the money shot.

Now, a proper way to conclude the film would have involved Smalls being mercifully beaten by Dennis Leary for stealing his Babe Ruth ball – a warning to all kids who would dare to recreate Smalls’ tomfoolery. But no. Instead, we get a classically cathartic Hollywood ending. It turns out that Benny and Smalls have both found careers in baseball: Benny as a prolific pinch runner for the Dodgers, and Smalls as his ever-faithful broadcaster. The movie ends when Benny (“The Jet”) takes off from third and steals home just ahead of the tag, thus ending the game. The Dodgers win, and The Jet’s teammates carry him off the field amidst the commotion of a standing ovation. And then we see the grown-up Smalls grinning contentedly beneath the bill of his outrageous hat as he shares a thumbs up with his old friend.

Back in the day, I had to fight back the tears. But I’m older now, and all the nostalgia that was welling up inside my chest was not enough to keep me from scratching my beard. I got a real curious feeling. I understood why the filmmaker’s chose to have a straight steal of home serve as the climax for their film. It is, after all, the most exciting play in sports.

But a straight steal of home to win the game? Has that ever even happened before?

Click “Start Slideshow” to find out about that, and many other stealing home tidbits.

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So many huge names, yet such a small club.

As Alex Rodriguez enters the 600 HR club, here is my ranking of the club’s best members.

NOTE: This list is very flexible, as each member can be argued as the best player of their era. This list is not only about HRs. It’s about overall statistics. Everyone has their own opinions. Thank you and enjoy!

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With one of the most exciting times of the baseball season, the trading deadline, behind us, the contenders should begin to take shape within the next month as we move closer to October baseball.

With so much talk of trades the past several weeks, I decided to look back and name what I feel is the best trade, be it deadline, off-season, or otherwise, in the history of each MLB team.

Some decisions were certainly easier than others, with moves like the Lou Brock and Jeff Bagwell trades a no-brainer. However, for other team’s it was much harder to settle on a best trade. And I will allow you to start thinking now, but a great Dodgers trade is nowhere to be found.

So with that, here are what I feel are the best trades in the history of each MLB team. I hope that this will spark some lively debate, and I encourage you to chime in with any great trade I may have excluded.

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Alex Rodriguez is on the threshold of joining an elite club.

Currently sitting at 599 homers, A-Rod will become one of only seven major league players to ever reach the 600 mark.

At only 34 years old, Rodriguez has a chance to surpass Barry Bonds for the all-time home run lead.

Six of the top 10 sluggers of all-time played for an average of 22 seasons.

In order for Rodriguez, currently in his 17th season, to eclipse Bonds, he will have to average nearly 30 home runs per season over the next five and a half years.

I ranked the top 10 home run hitters based on home runs per season, home runs per at bat, RBI per home run, and strikeout to home run ratio.

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Last year, Kenley Janson was the Netherlands’ starting catcher in the World Baseball Classic. Now he’s pitching for the LA Dodgers.

Janson is among a short list of guys who used to be position players but couldn’t hit their weight or perhaps field their position, so they turned into pitchers instead.

Meanwhile, there were other guys who switched from pitcher to position player, though not all of them did so because they couldn’t pitch, as we will see.

Jansen recorded a save on Sunday in his second big-league game, so he’s the story du jour. But he’s not the first, or only major league player to have started his career one way and then was converted.

Here are some of the other guys…you may recognize some of these names.

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With six of the contestants in this year’s Home Run Derby recently announced, this seemed like a good time to reflect back on some of the best sluggers to ever play the game.

What would your dream Home Run Derby field look like if you could include any player, past or present?

I will admit, I cheated a bit, making a list of 10 when the field is generally set at eight participants. However, my two extra additions are a bit outside the box, and I think the field could be expanded to accommodate them.

With only ten, there is sure to be someone I left off that you feel belongs, so let the debate begin.

Let me know who I left out that you would include in your fantasy Home Run Derby.

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