Happy Homers and Happy Birthday!

When the Anaheim Angels arrived in Washington, DC earlier this week to take on the Washington Nationals, all the talk was about phenoms Mike Trout and Bryce Harper playing against each other.  Both young outfielders won the Rookie of the Year award for their respective leagues in 2012, and both are hard-working, hustling guys who play the game hard (except Trout is having a better season than Harper so far, plus he does commercials for Subway and Bryce does not).  Another reason that this series was under the radar of baseball fans was that José Alberto Pujols (known to everyone in the world except his family as "Albert"), was coming to DC with 498 career home runs under his belt.  After having the worst season of his career in 2013, most people (including me) thought that he may hit number 499 during the series, but 500 didn't seem likely for a few more days.

Well, at Tuesday night's game with the Nationals' Taylor Jordan on the mound, Albert Pujols became the only player to hit home runs 499 and 500 in the same game.  He is one of only 26 players to reach the 500 home run milestone, and is only 5 homers away from passing Hall of Famer Eddie Murray.  Pujols is only the fourth player in the 500 Home Run Club to be born outside of the US, with Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Manny Ramirez being the other 3 (with Pujols being the only one who has never been implicated in any kind of steroid scandal).  He's one of those Derek Jeter-type of likable guys who gives money to charity and loves playing the game.  Pujols is a true family man, having created a foundation with his wife to increase awareness of Down's Syndrome (a condition that one of his children has).  Oh, and I can say I saw him play twice - as a St. Louis Cardinal against the Nationals in 2012 and as an Angel against the Orioles in 2013.

Instead of filling my post with all sorts of statistics and listing all the accolades that Pujols has earned during his Major League tenure both with the Angels and the Cardinals, I surfed the Internet looking for the most interesting fact that I could find on Albert and here's what I found in Wikipedia (you can choose to believe it or discard it):  Albert Pujols scored a perfect 100 on his citizenship exam when he became a U.S. citizen in 2007.  Have you SEEN some of the questions on that exam?  Pretty impressive, if you ask me.

Also worth noting is that Chicago's Wrigley Field, home of the sorry Cubs, is celebrating its 100th birthday.  "The Friendly Confines," with its ivy-covered outfield and manual scoreboard, is an icon of baseball history, having housed players like Ernie Banks (who I was surprised is still alive!), Ferguson Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, and Andre Dawson.  Like Busch Stadium in St. Louis, I've only been to the outside of this historic ballpark, but I'm hoping to visit in the next couple of years.  I'm sure the bathrooms smell like 100 years of pee and the concession stands and concourse area are cramped, but it's a piece of Americana that all baseball fans must visit.  Happy centennial, Wrigley Field, and "felicidades" to José Alberto Pujols!

It's Not Over Yet!

There may only be one week left in baseball’s regular season, but things are just starting to heat up.  Wild Card slots have to be determined, batting races are wrapping up, and teams with losing records are already looking forward to next season (like the poor Houston Astros, with their 51-105 record).

So if you read this blog just to be nice and you’re not sure what’s going on, let me fill you in on which teams are moving on to the post-season so you have a clue as to what the people on the Metro or at the water cooler are talking about when they reference players like Puig, Miggy, and Yadier.  Here is your quick tutorial to the post-season.  

First of all, as of today (Monday, September 23), not all playoff spots have been filled.  There are still Wild Card slots up for grabs, and the AL Central champion hasn’t been determined yet.  But that’s what makes this last week so exciting, so please pay attention.

In the American League East, the Boston Red Sox have clinched their division.  Many of the players have scraggly beards, which must be what makes them play well (since they won the World Series in 2004 with scraggly guys like Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, and Pedro Martinez).  They were in last place early in the season but can possibly end the season with 100 wins.

In the American League Central, the Detroit Tigers are 5 games in front of the Cleveland Indians, but unless they lose every game and the Indians win the next five, they pretty much have the division title to themselves.  As much as I would like to see Cleveland win it, the Tigers would certainly make the playoffs more exciting with players like Miguel Cabrera (this is where the “Miggy” reference comes in), Justin Verlander, and Matt Scherzer.  Plus that poor city needs some excitement.

In the American League West, the Oakland A’s have clinched their division.  I hope they get eliminated early in the playoffs so they don’t have to play any games in the west coast time zone and I can get my regular amount of sleep.  Yes, Oakland is a very good team, but they need to understand that I need my sleep!

Regarding the AL Wild Card, there are four teams in the running for the two available spots - Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Texas, and Kansas City.  The Orioles aren’t far behind, but I’m afraid that mathematically they’re probably not going to make it.  The two Wild Card teams will face each other in a one-game elimination, so that will leave four teams in the American League to play the American League Divisional Series (ALDS).  That will then leave two teams that will face each other to crown the American League Champion that goes on to the World Series.  (Did you notice I didn't mention the Yankees?  They're not going to the playoff this year - ha ha!)

Now for the National League… The Atlanta Braves have clinched the NL East after pretty much dominating for the entire season.  The team that led the league in Disabled List transactions hopes to overcome their opponents and make it to the World Series.  I hope they don’t make it, because that “tomahawk chop” that their fans do during games is downright obnoxious.  I'm banning it when I become Commissioner.

In the National League Central, things aren’t so clear.  The St. Louis Cardinals have clinched a playoff spot, but not necessarily as the Division champs.  This is because both the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates are 2 games out of first place, and they still have 3 games to play against each other this coming weekend.  This division is going to come down to the wire at the last possible minute, and that's the excitement I love.

In the National League West, the Dodgers clinched their division what seems like months ago, and they’re not letting that stop them from wanting to win the last few games of the season.  I like the Dodgers, but again, they’re in the wrong time zone, and that Yasiel Puig guy is kind of an enigma.  I’m curious to see how he will handle the pressures of the post-season.

Regarding the Wild Card slots in the National League, the two will probably go to the Reds or Pirates, unless one of them ends up clinching the division and then the remaining spot will go to the Cardinals.  The Washington Nationals are not mathematically out of it yet, but they would have to win their last 7 games and the Reds and Pirates would have to collapse.  I’m afraid my Nats will not be going to the post-season this year.  L

So what are my predictions?  I think it will be a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series, though I hope the Pirates make it to the post-season somehow.  There is still a LOT of baseball to be played before then though, so stay tuned for updates.  All I know is that If the World Series ends up being between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland A’s and they play in the evenings so the players don’t have to contend with shadows on the field, I definitely won’t be getting much sleep!