20 reasons why baseball will be awesome in 2020
Posted 4 anni fa in Motori.
Pitchers and Xavier Williams Jersey catchers officially report in a matter of days (though tons of players are already in camp, working out), and spring training games start in a matter weeks.
Its enough to get any baseball fans heart beating faster.
The season cant arrive soon enough, so well whet your appetite just a bit, with 20 reasons baseball will be awesome in 2020. Thats enough of an intro, isnt it? Lets jump in.
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1. This year, its Opening Day, not opening day. Thats right, people. Capital letters. All 30 teams kick off the 2020 season on the same day, not the staggered starts of years past what a misguided idea and no overseas startto the seasons where two teams play real games while the spring training schedule still has a weeks worth of contests. Its a holiday, and we should absolutely treat it as such. Games on March 26 start at 1:10 pm ET the World Series champion Nationals play on the road against the Mets and the final one of the day starts at 10:10 pm ET, with the Diamondbacks hosting the Braves. This is the first time since 1968 that every MLB team has started on the same day. Take the damn day off and enjoy.
2. Mike Trout is entering his Age 28 season. A day will come when the skills of Mike Trout fail, when his health forsakes him and his fellowship with the MVP trophy ends, but today is not that day. His prime will not last forever (sigh). But today, Mike Trout is 28 years old, and hes very much in his prime. Every day we get with Trout on the baseball field is a gift.I know Ive pointed this out often, but his improved strikeout-to-walk ratio of recent years is just incredibly impre sive. When he won the 2014 AL MVP, Trout had 101 more strikeouts than walks (184 to 83). Over the past three years? He has eight more strikeouts than walks (334 to 326). His on-base percentage in those years is .447, and his OPS is 1.081. His on-base/OPS in the five Armani Watts Jersey years before that (remember, two MVPs, three second-place finishes): .410 and .975. Somehow, baseballs best player got significantly better for his Age 25-27 seasons, so, yeah, cant wait to see what his Age 28 season will produce in 2020.
3. Oh, and Christian Yelich is entering his Age 28 season, too. Speaking of a star who hit superstar status and then took it up a notch, Yelich was potentially closing in on his second consecutive NL MVP award when an injury ended his campaign 10 days into September. He still led the NL in average, slugging and OPS+ for the second consecutive year, while improving on his home run and stolen base numbers despite playing 17 fewer games. He says hes 100 percent recovered from the broken kneecap and ready for the 2020 season, and were 100 percent ready to see what he has Damien Wilson Jersey in store.
4. Milestones aplenty. Baseball loves its round numbers, and there are lots to watch for in 2020, the roundest-number year since 2000. With that in mind: Yadier Molina is 57 hits away from2,020 in his career, Melky Cabrera is 58 short and Ryan Braun is 87 shy. Joey Votto could get to 2,020 with 154 hits this year; hes topped that number seven times in his career, but hasnt gotten there either of the past two seasons despite 600+ PAs. With a spot of health, Molina and Edwin Encarnacionwill play their 2,020th MLB game this year (theyre at 1,983and 1,916, respectively). Chris Davis is 185 strikeouts short of 2,020 in his career, so he could get there if he plays 50 games or so (I kid, I kid Demarcus Robinson Jersey ).
5. More potential 2020 milestones! On the mound, David Price is 39 strikeouts short of 2,020 and Ervin Santana needs to find a job if hes going to get the 94 he needs to reach that number. If the Diamondbacks get a full, productive season from Madison Bumgarner, hell pitch the 174 innings he needs to reach 2,020. Same thing with the Giants and the 143 2/3 Johnny Cueto needs. And Mike Leake, Anibal Sanchez, Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson are all within 191 of 2,020 career frames.
In the field, Kolton Wong (44 away), Mike Moustakas (64 away) and Jose Iglesias (30 away) should all reach 2,020 career a sists in 2020.
6. The Cincinnati revival tent is open. Baseballis a better sport when the Reds are relevant. The baseball tradition in that city is unparalleled. Opening Day should always, always, always include baseball in Cincinnati; the Reds host the Cardinals to start 2020, so all is right in that aspect. And, after a couple of long years on the struggle bus, . Yeah, thats right. They WILL be better, not just SHOULD be better. This is a rotation thats playoff-worthy, and with a couple of nice offseason additions to the lineup (Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos) and, hopefully, a Joey Votto rebound, this is the year Cincinnati gets back to contention, not just participation.
7. Dusty Baker gets one more shot. Pretty much everything about the Astros is distasteful right about Joe Montana Jersey now, what with the sign-stealing scandal, the Brandon Taubman me s and the fact that Roberto Osuna is still on the roster. But bringing in Dusty Baker, the veteran manager who has on the regular, to try to right the ship was the right move. Hes good people.
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8. Dyersville, Iowa, will host a Major League Baseball game! I mean, its about time, right? You might not think "Field of Dreams" is the perfect baseball movie, but if theres even a bit of baseball in your soul, that soul has been stirred watching the cla sic Kevin Costner flick. The Yankees and White Sox will play their unforgettable contest on Aug. 13, though theyll play on a field adjacent to the movie site, not on the actual field from the movie. And I gue s thats OK, because logistically it would be really difficult and you dont want to ruin the field. For those of us lucky enough to have taken a few swings and shagged a few fly balls on that field, the game will be Tyreek Hill Jersey particularlyspecial. Lets have a catch, folks.
9. The spotlight will shine, again, on Shoele s Joe. He might still be on baseballs ineligible list, but you cant have a baseball game at the "Field of Dreams" site and ignore Shoele s Joe Jackson. He was, youll recall, the motivation for building the field in that movie (well, Joe and Ray Kinsellas dad). And all these years after Joe was banned from baseballafter the 1919 Black Sox scandal he allegedly knew about the plot to throw the series, though he batted .375 and set a World Series record for most hits (12) that stood until 1964 maybe its time to reinstate the legend. Oh, and at some point in 2020, the Joes hometown will reopen in its new location. Trust me, that should be on your baseball bucket list.