Shut Up, Pete Rose!

Earlier this week, the Miami Marlins' Ichiro Suzuki raised his career hits total to 4,257, passing Pete Rose's record Major League Baseball total.  The issue here is that 1,278 of those hits came while Ichiro was playing professional baseball in Japan; therefore, "only" 2,979 of those hits were while playing Major League Baseball here in the US.  No one really seems to care where his hits came from, because we all love Ichiro and we know that professional baseball in Japan is serious business with top-caliber talent - except for Pete Rose.

For those of you unfamiliar with Pete Rose, he was a very very very good baseball player.  He was known for his hustle, his competitiveness, and for betting on baseball.  Now, I actually read Pete Rose's autobiography, where he admits to betting on his team while he managed the Cincinnati Reds (and he also went into great detail over his time spent in prison, including how his wife snuck in a Whopper for him during a visitation), so I consider myself an unofficial authority on Pete Rose and his betting habits (which allegedly still continue, mainly with horse betting).  It was because of this betting on baseball that Rose has been banned from being inducted into the Hall of Fame, even though his name is there several times due to his impressive hitting career (and deservedly so, statistics-wise).  Rose is also kind of an ass, lacking basic decorum and always sounding like a brash redneck (though his comments are sometimes quite humorous).  So it came as no surprise to me when I read an Associated Press article in which Rose was quoted as saying "I'm not trying to take anything away from Ichiro, he's had a Hall of Fame career, but the next thing you know, they'll be counting his high-school hits."  Just shut up, Pete!

So what would have been a better thing for Rose to say?  Gee, let's see, how about something gracious like "I'm not sure if I would count the hits that Ichiro got while playing in Japan, but hey, he's a great baseball player and I'm so glad that he has had such a long and illustrious career," or "Good for Ichiro - I've never met the guy because I was banned from baseball for so long, and I envy the fact that he will someday be in the Hall of Fame, but it's a great accomplishment that I am happy to share with him."  Rose could have even declined to comment on the matter and that still wouldn't have sounded as whiny and sore-loser-ish as what he said.   Let's face it - Pete Rose is an idiot.  

So what's so great about Ichiro that makes him such a likable guy?  The Washington Nationals' first baseman, Ryan Zimmerman, has said that Ichiro has been his favorite player to meet at first base, because he's always friendly and chatty and has nice things to say.  At All-Star games, Ichiro is the player whom other all-stars flock to and want to meet.  For Ichiro, it's always been about his teammates and about his fans.  He is known throughout the world as a model athlete who has transcended demographics and race.  And he's a damn good baseball player.  So don't listen to Pete Rose complaining about Ichiro's Japanese hits counting towards his professional career total.  Personally, instead of worrying about what a washed-out has-been who uses way too much Grecian Formula thinks, I'm going to focus on Ichiro's next 21 hits - the amount he needs in order to tie Roberto Clemente in the all-time Major League Baseball hits list with 3,000.

It's Opening Day - Time to Multitask!

Hello, my friends! It might be 40 degrees outside here in Maryland,  but it's time to play some baseball!   Opening Day "light" is today (only three games are on today's schedule), and as always, I am thrilled.

It was a long winter for us, having dug ourselves out of three feet of snow after a record-breaking blizzard. But Easter has passed, the snow has melted,  and the Boys of Summer are ready to play.

In our house,  this is an extremely busy time of year. My daughter has outdoor track, my son has baseball, and my husband and I are taking classes in addition to our busy work schedules. So here I am typing this on my tablet while watching the Cardinals-Pirates game, running downstairs to the computer in between innings to finish my class assignment, and periodically checking on the laundry. It's definitely time to multitask even more now that baseball is starting.

So what do we have to look forward to this season?  Well as far as my Washington Nationals, they had a very good spring training and are all starting the season healthy. They have a decision to make as far as having Michael Taylor or Ben Revere in center field (I would go for Taylor), but that's a good problem to have.  Personally, I just need to get used to manager Dusty Baker always having that darn toothpick in his mouth and I'll be fine. I think Dusty is a good addition to the Nationals - the mostly-white organization was definitely in need of some diversity.

We can also look forward to the retirement of Alex Rodriguez (good riddance! ).  While he's not 100 percent sure if this is indeed his final season, we can be certain that his retirement won't have the season-long fanfare that Derek Jeter's had last year.

Then there's 42-year-old Ichiro Suzuki. If you don't love Ichiro, you're an idiot.  Ichiro has 2,935 hits (5 million if you count the hits he got playing pro ball in Japan).  With 65 more hits, Ichiro will join the elite 3000 hit club. We know you can get it done, dude!

Before I go (gotta move clothes from the washer to the dryer and finish that darn assignment for tomorrow night's class), I wanted to advise that you keep an eye on Francisco Liriano and the Pirates. You all know I don't like to make predictions, but Pirates fans may want to keep their calendars clear in October. Just sayin'.

It's Almost Time! It's Almost Time!!!

Oh my goodness - are you all as tired of the cold weather as I am?  Well Spring Training for Major League Baseball is just around the corner (pitchers and catchers report to camp starting February 17!), so warmer temperatures should soon follow (I hope!).  What do we have to look forward to in the 2016 baseball season?  Plenty!

• For starters, David Wright only needs 18 more home runs to pass Darryl Strawberry as the New York Mets' all-time home run leader.  I followed the Mets back in Strawberry's day, but I'm OK with Wright passing him - Wright is a quiet yet consistent player - let's just hope none of those home runs come against the Nationals.
• Also worthy of note this season is Ichiro Suzuki, who is only 65 hits away from reaching 3000 MLB hits (he already reached that milestone if you count the hits he got while playing professionally in Japan).  Everyone loves Ichiro (including me), so hey - go for it.
• Speaking of old guys, Albert Pujols and David Ortiz are very close to reaching the 500 home run/600 doubles club (joining Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron).  Pujols needs 17 more doubles (doable), and poor "Papi" needs 16 (not so doable).  But it's Ortiz's last season, so he'll enjoy all the attention and gifts he'll receive when he visits each city one last time even if he's too slow to steal any bases.
• And as much as I don't like Alex Rodriguez, I have to mention that he only needs 13 more home runs to reach 700.  Whatever.  On a brighter note, my man Miguel Cabrera only needs 8 doubles to reach 500.  There's that.
• And what about the switch hitters?  Well Carlos Beltrán (392) and Mike Teixeira (394) are looking to become only the fourth and fifth switch hitters to reach 400 home runs.  Any idea who the other 3 are?  Some guy named Mickey Mantle, a former Oriole by the name of Eddie Murray, and cutie-patootie Chipper Jones - not too shabby of a list, huh?
• What is WRONG with me - I still haven't mentioned any catchers!  Well Yadier Molina (if he can stay healthy) will break the record for most games caught by a Cardinal.  But "Yadi" is still recovering from thumb surgery, so we'll have to see how many times he can get behind the plate.  Getting old, Yadi!
• And of course there's this year's Hall of Fame inductees - Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey, Jr - who will have their jersey numbers retired by the Mets and Mariners respectively.  I was never a big Piazza fan, but you just couldn't help but love Griffey - his smile, his dedication, his commitment to the fans and the game.  Cooperstown will be lucky to have him.
• As far as the young guys, last year's AL Rookie of the Year, Carlos Correa, needs 36 more home runs to pass A-Rod as the hitter with the most home runs at short stop at the age of 21 or younger.  Yes, it's an obscure statistic, but since Correa is Puerto Rican, I had to mention it.
• Finally, it's important to note that the Dodgers' veteran broadcaster Vin Scully will be retiring for real at the end of this season.  Scully has significantly cut back on the games that he does (home games only), but he is truly a broadcasting legend who will be deeply missed by Dodger fans (I'm not going to miss him, because I don't get Dodger home games in my neck of the woods).

Then there are the questions surrounding the upcoming season:

• Will the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton have his first 40-home run season ever?  (I hope not!)
• Will the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw have his third career sub-2.00 ERA season?  The last pitcher to do that was Sandy Koufax, and that was a LONG time ago!
• Will Nolan Arenado win his fourth Gold Glove award?  If so, he would be the first player since Ichiro to do so in his first 4 years in the Majors.
• Will the Chicago Cubs have their first 100-win season since 1935?  I hope so!
• Will the National's Bryce Harper (last season's NL MVP) win the Triple Crown?  I highly doubt it, because RBIs have been hard to come by for the Nationals, but it will be fun to watch him try.  Let's hope he stays healthy and continues to grow up (he matured nicely this past season, so hopefully the tantrum days are long past).
• Will my husband and I visit more ballparks this season?  Well we're at least going to Philadelphia, so there's that.  My quest to visit all 30 ballparks is taking way longer than expected!

So there you have it - plenty to look forward to this baseball season, which means I'll have a lot to blog about throughout the upcoming months.  Stay tuned, and for the love of Pete, get rid of all this snow!