I’ve been watching baseball for a lot of years, and I have to say of all the seasons that I have been privileged enough to follow, this one is classified as one of the more surprising ones – on many different levels.
Below is my rundown of some of the more shocking moments of the season in the American League thus far:
1. The Baltimore Orioles: For all intents and purposes on paper this team should be in the bottom two within their division. There is a lot of steady talent on the team, but there isn’t a lot of superstar talent. As it stands right now, they are battling it out for the New York Yankees (the team with the highest payroll in the league), for the first place in the AL East.
What has been the key ingredient for their success? I think there are a lot of factors that come into play, but my sense is that Buck Showalter is a key ingredient to the success of this team. A strong coach can make all the difference, and Buck has a tendency to turn teams around into solid division contenders (as he has done with both the Yankees and Diamondbacks in the past.) Next season will be truly telling as to whether or not he can maintain this momentum, or if it was a flash in the pan.
2. Mike Trout: Has been nothing short of spectacular all season, and I think this fact has been overlooked by many watchers and pros alike. For a new player to come into the league and feel so comfortable – especially on a team that is stacked with superstars. Trout seems poised to bring home both the MVP award and Rookie of the Year honour in the same season – a feat that hasn’t been achieved in its truest sense since Fred Lynn in 1975 (Ichiro Suzuki did accomplish this, but he already came in to the majors an experienced player).
3. Wrong Blue Jay in the Home Run Race: At the beginning of the season, it was pretty much assumed that Jose Bautista would be near the top of the pack for the AL home run tally; and after a bit of a slow start, this seemed to be holding true. After Bautista suffered a wrist injury, Edwin Encarnacion (who was having a great season in his own right), stepped in as the team slugger. As it stands right now, Encarnacion is second in the league for home runs (with 40) only two behind stalwart Josh Hamilton. Where did this guy come from?
4. The Oakland A’s(wesome)! Much like Baltimore, many baseball aficionados didn’t give the A’s much of a chance this season going into April. However, the A’s have been taking down all the big boys in the league, and in a division that was to be owned by Texas or Anaheim, Oakland has been maintaining a comfortable playoff spot for most of the season – flip-flopping with Texas for the division league, or staying atop the Wild Card rankings.
5. Ichiro Suzuki a Yankee: If there is any one team that has the ire of non-fans in major league baseball, it’s the New York Yankees. For year George Steinbrunner made it his mission to spend as much as possible to build an impossible to beat baseball machine. To-date the Yankees have had one of the most bolstered roster’s in the league. Every time there is a big name free agent on the market, it’s a guarantee that the Yank’s are going to make a strong bid. So, while it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Yankees would make a run at Ichiro, what is more surprising is that the Mariners would give up one of their franchise and fan favourite players – it would be like when the Oilers traded Gretzky, total blind side.
And there you have it for the American League to date. I’m sure we’ll get some more surprising and exciting stories in the weeks to come as we head towards the playoffs, but in the meantime, I’ll take a look at some of the more surprising National League stories later in the week.
… and that is the last word.
