As we enter the later part of the baseball season, people are finally starting to pay attention to who might emerge at the top of their divisions, rather than who took what or who said what. There are some great playoff races in the works, but many are more concerned about the beginning of NFL season.
I love football as much as every other American sports fan, but I'm really loving what's going on in baseball more for now. Come November, I'll feel that way about football, but now's baseball's time. So many teams have shots at wild cards, the Red Sox and Yankees are duking it out, and some dark horses are emerging in both leagues. What's not to love about that?
Meanwhile, we are having a few of the best seasons in recent memory, going almost unnoticed. First, no catcher ever has led their respective league in Batting Average, Slugging Percentage, and OBP in the same year, Joe Mauer is leading the AL in all of those categories.
Then there's Albert Pujols, still vying for an NL triple crown. Tops in the league in HRs along side Prince Fielder, and a bit behind Hanley Ramirez in the batting average department, but he stands a chance nonetheless. Never underestimate the abilities of Pujols.
How about the pitching? Tim Lincecum is having one of the best pitching seasons in recent memory. On pace for almost 300 strikeouts (no one's done this since 2002), a ERA in the low 2s, and a ton of complete games. Talk about a beast!
Plus, with American League pitchers, you have on of the tightest Cy Young races ever. There's Josh Beckett, who's 1st in the AL in Wins, 5th in ERA, and 5th in Strikeouts. There's Justin Verlander, who's 2nd in Wins, 1st in Strikeouts, and 7th in ERA. There's King Felix Hernandez, who's T-3rd in Wins, 4th in Strikeouts, and 2nd in ERA. There's the phenom, Zack Greinke, who's 2nd in Ks, 1st in ERA, and has 11 wins with the lowly Royals.
And Lastly, there's Doc Halladay in Toronto, who's 3rd in ERA, and has carried the Blue Jays throughout despite being on the trading block for some of the year, with the 3rd most innings pitched in the AL despite 3 less starts than the leader, and leads the Majors in Complete Games with 5 complete games.
I don't know about you, but I'm loving these last few months of baseball. It looks like we're in for some really exciting story lines and a true race to the finish line.
I love football as much as every other American sports fan, but I'm really loving what's going on in baseball more for now. Come November, I'll feel that way about football, but now's baseball's time. So many teams have shots at wild cards, the Red Sox and Yankees are duking it out, and some dark horses are emerging in both leagues. What's not to love about that?
Meanwhile, we are having a few of the best seasons in recent memory, going almost unnoticed. First, no catcher ever has led their respective league in Batting Average, Slugging Percentage, and OBP in the same year, Joe Mauer is leading the AL in all of those categories.
Then there's Albert Pujols, still vying for an NL triple crown. Tops in the league in HRs along side Prince Fielder, and a bit behind Hanley Ramirez in the batting average department, but he stands a chance nonetheless. Never underestimate the abilities of Pujols.
How about the pitching? Tim Lincecum is having one of the best pitching seasons in recent memory. On pace for almost 300 strikeouts (no one's done this since 2002), a ERA in the low 2s, and a ton of complete games. Talk about a beast!
Plus, with American League pitchers, you have on of the tightest Cy Young races ever. There's Josh Beckett, who's 1st in the AL in Wins, 5th in ERA, and 5th in Strikeouts. There's Justin Verlander, who's 2nd in Wins, 1st in Strikeouts, and 7th in ERA. There's King Felix Hernandez, who's T-3rd in Wins, 4th in Strikeouts, and 2nd in ERA. There's the phenom, Zack Greinke, who's 2nd in Ks, 1st in ERA, and has 11 wins with the lowly Royals.
And Lastly, there's Doc Halladay in Toronto, who's 3rd in ERA, and has carried the Blue Jays throughout despite being on the trading block for some of the year, with the 3rd most innings pitched in the AL despite 3 less starts than the leader, and leads the Majors in Complete Games with 5 complete games.
I don't know about you, but I'm loving these last few months of baseball. It looks like we're in for some really exciting story lines and a true race to the finish line.
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