Tag Archives: Baseball

The Power of the Shortstop

Can Brandon Crawford win the World Series all by himself?

Lots of times people ask me who the most important person on the ball field is. They always are surprised when I don’t say pitcher or hitter, but shortstop. But without the shortstop, the hitters would be in power. Imagine if that instead of the fielding configuration that there is in baseball, there was four outfielders, similar to that of a softball configuration.  That one little change would make all the difference in the world. Continue reading The Power of the Shortstop

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The World Series

These World Series contestants really surprised me! Here’s an inside report about them.

Well, who saw THAT coming!?! Both Wild Card teams are in the playoffs!!! Oh, and of course the Giants are in it, too. Man, if the Olympics are happening, the Giants are winning! For the third time in a row now the Giants are in a World Series that falls on the same year as the Olympics. Like I said in Road To The World Series, statistically, this is the Giants year to win. However, the Royals have just as good of a chance to take home the title. Here’s why. Continue reading The World Series

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ALCS Game One

Wow! The road to the playoffs can be really crazy and exciting! Check out the results from game 1.

Well, the Royals have done it again! On Monday, the Royals played the Orioles in the first ALCS game. By the ninth inning, the score was 5-5 as Alex Gordon stepped up to the plate. On a pitcher’s count, Alex Gordon destroys a fastball, pulling it to left field and over the stands for a walk-off homer! The official score was 8-5 Kansas City. Now, I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but the Royals have been winning some games in extra innings recently. They defeated the A’s in extra innings, and now the O’s. My question is, is that a good thing? Many baseball games are decided by a single hit. But that’s always the case in extra innings. Anyone could make that one hit, it just happened to be the Royals those times. But what if the A’s had made that hit? the Angels would then have powered through to the World Series, and probably would have won, too. Another thing is, when I watched that series, I knew that the winner of that was going to the World Series. If the Angels won, they would be the best team in the playoffs. But the Royals swept them, so that would prove that the Royals were doing better than the Angels. That means that they were doing better than Albert Puljos, Jered Weaver, Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton, four of the biggest threats in baseball. The Orioles also proved that they’re a better team by defeating the Tigers, with Miguel Cabrera and the Cy Young winner trio. But statistically, who should win? Well, I like to decide with points. Question one: who had a better record, Angels or Tigers? The answer would be the Angels by 8 wins, giving the Royals 1 point for beating them. Second question: who’s record is better, the O’s or the Royals? The answer is the O’s, which gives both teams a point (the reason being is the Royals beat a more difficult team, yet the O’s had a better record). And the last question: who has a higher sum of all their runs in the playoffs, the O’s or Royals? The answer is the Royals have scored 22 runs thus far, whereas the O’s have scored 21, giving the Royals the last point. The score now is 3-2 in favor of the Royals. That score is how I think the series is going to end. It’s superstition about how the series ends, but I still think that the Royals will come out with the win.

Both teams are great teams. This series decides who is better

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Road to the World Series

As a sports fan, I’m usually thinking about one sport or sporting event for long periods of time. In this case, it’s the baseball playoffs.

First of all, the results really surprised me. It was crazy enough that the Oriole’s clinched a playoff spot outside of the wild card, but they beat the Detroit Tigers to move on. And not just beat them, sweep them. And how about the Royals sweeping the Angels? They REALLY have been playing like the 1985 Royals they were. The Giants really proved their worth, too, by defeating the Nationals, who had the second best record in baseball. Statistically, this year the Giants are supposed to win the World Series. Personally, I think the Giants need more World Series wins in an even-number year, but I don’t make the rules. But the Giant’s presence in the Wild Card sort of surprised me. I mean, we all know that the Giants are much better than the Wild Card. So what makes people think that they’ll win the World Series. According to Wikipedia, the last time a Wild Card team won the World Series was in 2011 by the St. Louis Cardinals, who are in the playoffs right now AND due up to play the Giants. To conclude, the Giants have too many teams better than they are to take home the victory.

The Orioles swept the Tigers, which proves their on to something. That means that despite the fact that three Cy Young Award winners pitched against them (David Price, Justin Verlander, & Max Scherzer), despite the fact that Chris Davis was suspended due to testing positive for amphetamine, despite the fact that Miguel Cabrera was playing well in the games, they swept them. But, now for the big question: are they really good enough to beat the Royals, who swept the Angels? The Nationals had the second best record in baseball, guess who had the best? Don’t answer that; the Angels. Both teams had all their starters with them, yet the Royals won anyway. Are the Orioles really ready for that? My prediction is, drum roll please…..no. I don’t think the Orioles are physically ready to play a team that can wipe out the Angels that easily. Now, I wouldn’t be speaking with that big of authority if they had won 3-2, or even 3-1, but they totally beat the heck out of them. Overall, the Orioles just aren’t ready for the Royals. Yet.

As for the Royals, I think it’s gonna be 1985 all over again. Alex Gordon’s playing well, so is Alcides Escobar, and Salvador Perez is just phenomenal. Despite the fact that the Orioles have the game in Orioles Park at Camden Yards, I think the lineup is going to be what haunts the O’s on Friday. Now, I am aware of J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis, but Hardy’s getting old and can’t give the O’s that magic that he used to. Nick Markakis, on the other hand, could give James Shields and the Royals a problem. If I were the O’s, I would incorporate Bud Norris into the mix.

As for my prediction for the World Series, I say the Royals win it 4 games to 3 against the Cardinals. It’s tough to consider the weather and AL pitchers at the plate, but these two teams can play through a lot of challenges. Like all playoffs, it won’t be easy for anyone. But it will all be worth it in the end.

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