You have to love what’s happening in Major League Baseball this year. Many were expecting a lackluster season in the face of more steroids allegations and other info that marred the integrity of the sport, but things are really looking like they did decades ago. Teams that we never thought had a shot at going anywhere somehow look good.
As I write this, 5 of the 6 divisions have first place teams with leads of 2 games or less. Granted, we’re still somewhat early in the season, but never has it really looked this close at this point in the year.
There are plenty of teams in the middle of the pack that also look to stake a claim in the pennant races later this year. It’s all about parity in 2010 and that’s the word you’ll hear many sportswriters throwing around as a result.
One of the best examples of this is in the National League, and most notably the East. The Mets, Phillies, Braves, Marlins, and Nationals all have a shot at winning this division and even the last place team is just a few games out of first.
What makes this race so interesting has everything to do with the constantly shifting balance of power within the division. A team can seemingly move from first to last place over the span of just a week. Every team seems to be neck and neck with the others in the division, which is very surprising to most fans.
Who would have expected the Nationals to be this good? Granted, they’re not great, but they’re playing near .500 ball and you can be certain that the arrival of Stephen Strasburg will fire this team up some more and breathe some new life into the pitching staff. What a debut he had!
There are so many similar races going on around the league that it would take too long to recap them all. However, one more surprisingly nice story line is going on in San Diego, where some of the best pitching in baseball is unexpectedly taking place. The team may just have what it takes to make the playoffs and an exciting pennant race should take us through the end of the season as they go up against Colorado, LA, and San Francisco.
At the end of the day, there are now a handful of new teams that we never thought we’d be taking seriously. That’s what baseball is all about.
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Sports are always a topic of debate, and baseball is no exception. If you are a fan, you will undoubtedly have been asked at sometime if you think that the best hitter you\’ve ever seen is Albert Pujols.
So that we all know who I\’m talking about, I\’m not going to go to players from days gone by, only from the 1980 onwards.
Going back even further doesn\’t give a very fair debate, as the whole nature of the game was different; equipment and fields etc. Ok, Willie Mays and Ted Williams were great in their day; to compare them with Pujols is unfair to all three of them.
Would Albert Pujols have been so formidable in a different era? How would Ted Williams have played in today\’s game? These questions are unanswerable, so let\’s just look at what Pujols has going for him in the modern game.
As he is still only 29, he can stay at the level he is at, or even improve further, in the years to come. The key to his success is how consistent he is, week in, week out. Here are just a few stats that other players would die for. The .334 career average of Albert Pujols is outstanding.
Albert Pujols has a career average that is capable of winning a league. His overall average is an amazing .334. His second season brought about the lowest average of .312 and his worst since has been .327.
The least amount of home runs that Pujols has hit during one season is 32. He has played 9 seasons in MLB and in 5 of those hit 40. This young man just keeps raising the bar and creating staggering statistics as he goes.
As every new season starts, we hold our breath to see if Pujols can maintain his stunning form, and he never lets us down. Is he the greatest hitter of our generation? That we can only answer when he finishes playing, but I wouldn\’t bet against him.
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If we rewind by a few years in the women’s tennis world, we’ll arrive at a time where Justine Henin was the world’s best female tennis player. Not only was she the best, but she was rather dominant.
Many were calling her the Roger Federer of women’s tennis, and deservedly so. She was simply unstoppable at her best. Why did she retire in 2008, then?
Her retirement had everything to do with the fact that she simply grew tired of the lifestyle that comes with that of a professional athlete. The training and the grueling schedule had taken their toll on this champion.
This would allow her to focus on both her charity work and her tennis school, as she took pride in training the many talented young kids who came to her school.
It wasn’t until a few months ago during the fall of 2009 in which Henin announced that she’d be planning a return to women’s professional tennis. Fans of the sport rejoiced, as her presence would certainly add an interesting element to the state of the female game.
Before her first match, fans of the sport had doubted her abilities, thinking that either age or rust would have gotten the best of her by now. This would be a natural expectations, as most athletes initially stumble on the comeback trail.
Boy, were they wrong. Justine Henin looked as if she never took a day off after easily beating Nadia Petrova in straight sets at Brisbane. The competitive fire still burns in this warrior. In fact, some people claimed that she looked as if she never even took a day off.
Going forward, tennis fans should rejoice about the fact that one of the true all-time greats is back in action. Let’s see how far she can go this time around.
About this writer: Aside from tennis, this writer additionally frequently writes about dinnerware set stoneware and discount fine china dinnerware.
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