Happy Trails to the 2012 MLB Season

The Major League Baseball regular season is almost over and for the players and managers of twenty teams, it will be time to put a bow on things and head home for a little bit of normal life.  The playoffs will sustain us for the next month, weaning us off of our  baseball fix until February.  While the closing of the season is always sad for me, baseball has experienced a resurgence over the past two seasons and that makes me feel pretty good about the future of the game.   This season, just like any other, was packed with spectacular happenings; some good, some not so good.  The following is a list of things that I will take away from this season (in no particular order).

*This season may (and hopefully will) mark the first Triple Crown winner in MBL since 1967 when Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox was able to pull of the magnificent feat.  Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers enters play tonight in sole possession of the lead in all three TC categories (batting average, homeruns, RBIs).  I have never been a big Miggy fan but it would be great if he were able to achieve the accomplishment since it has never happened in my lifetime.  (Heck, it's never happened in my sister's lifetime and that's saying something).

*While looking at some career numbers on Cabrera, which are absolutely unworldly, I was impressed to note that since the beginning of the 2004 season (his first full season in the show) Cabrera has never played less than 150 games in a season and has averaged 158 over that span.  The only thing more impressive is the guy holding down the other corner of the Tiger infield, Prince Fielder.  Since the start of his first full season in 2006, Fielder has missed only 13 ballgames, and 12 of those came in his first three years. 

*The no-hitter lives and can strike at any moment.  With two days left to play, there have already been seven no-nos this season.  Jered Weaver, Matt Cain, Philip Humber, Homer Bailey, Johan Santana, Felix Hernandez, and a combined effort by the Mariners achieved this amazing feat.  In the past three years, there have been 16 no-hitters, five of which were perfect games and one was the second ever postseason no-no. 

*Kris Medlen and Craig Kimbrel have become household names.  Medlen has been the second coming of Greg Maddux since being moved into the starting rotation for the Atlanta Braves.  The Braves have won Medlen's last 23 starts (dating back to 2010) setting a major league record and he has been named NL Pitcher of the Month for August and September.  Kimbrel has been nearly unhittable out of the pen this season, saving 42 games while dominating hitters.  He has struck out 113 of the 227 batters he has faced this season and has an 8:1 strikeout to walk ratio.  Kimbrel has put himself in position to get several votes for the NL Cy Young award.

*Mike Trout and Bryce Harper have proven that they belong with the big boys.  Trout has had such a great season that he will get several votes for AL MVP and may get enough to win.  If he was 30 years old and had ten years experience in the league, his numbers  would be ridiculous but when you consider he is only a 20- year-old rookie, they are almost hard to fathom.  Try this on for size: 30 HR, 83 RBI, .325 AVG, 48 SB (only been caught four times), .910 OPS, and 129 runs scored.  Harper has had a nice rookie season as well, one that could get consideration for the greatest teenage season ever.  Don't be surprised if he puts up Trout-like numbers next year when he's a seasoned 20-year-old.

*R.A. Dickey is an amazing story.  I won't go into his back story here but it is nothing short of amazing.  He finished the season with a 20-6 record, a 2.73 ERA and a chance to lead the league in strikeouts and innings pitched.  Hopefully he can pull down a Cy Young this year to add a final chapter to his amazing tale.

*Three teams have come out of nowhere this season to make the playoffs.  The Nationals, Orioles, and A's have had unbelievable seasons and find themselves playing October baseball.  The Nationals have been the whipping boys of the NL East ever since moving to the nation's capital, but not this season.  They have won 97 games and will probably be the top seed in the NL.  The Orioles are neck and neck with the Yankees for the AL East crown and make their first playoff appearance since 1997.  The A's have played a little moneyball this season and find themselves tied with the Rangers with onehead-to-head matchup left.  All three teams have won with largely unknown players even though the Nationals do have Harper and Stephen Strasburg to boost their name recognition.

*In a storyline fitting of Charles Dickens, Boston and Atlanta are indeed a Tale of Two Cities.  After both historically collapsed last September, many wondered how the two teams would respond.  Boston responded by cleaning house and trying to start over with the controversial Bobby Valentine at the helm.  Needless to say, this year has been a continuation of last September with the Red Sox losing 91 games and dumping much of their roster.  The Braves decided to not make any administrative changes and only slight changes on the field, including hiring a new hitting coach.  Manager Fredi Gonzalez adjusted the way he uses his bullpen and had great results.  As a result, last September is a long-forgotten memory as the Braves have won 93 games this season and will play in the wild card game on Friday.

*Joe Maddon is a great manager.  He has taken a Tampa Bay team that was a laughing stock for their first decade of existence and has led them to five consecutive winning seasons and three playoff appearances.  He has accomplished this feat with largely anonymous players and great young pitching.  He seems like a guy who genuinely enjoys being around the game.  With the job he has done, the Rays deserve much better fan support than they get. 

*Adam Greenberg finally got his first official major league at bat.  If you haven't heard this story, it is truly amazing and inspirational.  Greenberg made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2005 when he was asked to pinch hit against the Marlins.  The first pitch hit Greenberg in the back of the head and he suffered from post-concussion syndrome for a long time after.  Since he was hit, he never recorded an official at bat.  A campaign was recently started for a major league team to sign Greenberg to a one-day contract to let him get his official at bat.  The Marlins agreed to take him up on the offer and seven years later Greenberg got an official at bat against knuckleball king, R.A. Dickey.  Greenberg struck out but I am willing to bet that it never felt so good to get whiffed.

*Melky Cabrera took a sharp fall from grace; going from All-Star Game MVP to humiliated cheater after testing positive for PEDs.  I have nothing for Melky after spending an uneventful year in Atlanta but he did win some points by asking that a loophole that would have allowed him to win the NL batting title not be put to use.  The Giants also won some points by saying they were not going to add Cabrera to the postseason roster even though he would be eligible after five playoff games.

*The game is better for having Chipper Jones be a part of it the past 18 years.  There are not many like him left in the game.

*Just a few days away from the debut of the Wild Card game and I already don't like it.  There is too much at stake for this to be a one game situation.  Should the team that loses the Wild Card game actually be able to claim they made the playoffs?  It certainly won't feel like they did.

Hopefully October 2012 will be as interesting and fulfilling as October 2011 was and with a little bit of luck, great pitching, and timely hitting, the Braves will send Chipper Jones into the sunset with a second World Series championship.