Thank you to everyone for an amazing year! 2023 is a year where my vision for the channel finally came to fruition. The INSANE Prime videos have allowed me the opportunity to cover the game’s all-time greats, and the support has been overwhelming! I greatly appreciate everyone who has watched, liked, commented, and contributed to the channel in any way. I look forward to 2024, and plan to continue improving and expanding to new horizons.
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2023 list of INSANE Prime videos (from earliest to latest)
Don Mattingly
Dale Murphy
Wade Boggs
Tony Gwynn
Darryl Strawberry
Kirby Puckett
Craig Biggio
Larry Walker
Vladimir Guerrero Sr.
Mike Schmidt
Frank Thomas
Ken Griffey Jr.
Buster Posey
Chipper Jones
Randy Johnson
Cal Ripken Jr.
Roberto Clemente
Miguel Cabrera
Josh Hamilton
Albert Pujols
Sandy Koufax
Ichiro Suzuki
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Outro: “Anamorphic” by baegel
Additional tags: Rewind 2023, 2023 rewind, 1900s baseball, 1950s baseball, 1960s baseball, 1970s baseball, 1980s baseball, 1990s baseball, 2000s baseball, 2010s baseball, 2020s baseball, INSANE Prime compilation, historic level
Matt Kemp turned 38 in September this year which is crazy to say it doesn’t feel like it’s been over 11 years since Kemp hit 39 homers and finished second in MVP voting which he arguably should have won it feels like most of the players I talk about there’s one year
That stands out Above the Rest a defining year if you will Matt Kemp had that year in 2011 he led the league with 115 runs scored 39 homers 126 rvis a 172 Ops plus and 353 total bases he was also a threat on the Bas is stealing 40
Achieving a sub2 ER in Major League Baseball will get you on the radar of any major league team the majority of pitchers that fall under this category usually are relief pitchers now achieving a sub one ER now that’s something you don’t see often and in terms of pitchers that fall under this
Category they often times are the closing pitcher otherwise known as the ninth inning pitcher who comes in to hold down a three-run or less lead two examples in recent memory that achieved a sub one RA are Zack Britain of the Orioles in 2016 when he posted a 0.54 ra
And saved 47 games without blowing a single one the other example that comes to mind is Blake Tran of the Athletics in 2018 when he posted a 78 erra in Sav 38 games both players with the closer for their respective team and were unable to recreate the success they saw
In their historically great season and then there’s a guy named JP fire rizen mutaka Mami is coming to Major League Baseball just not yet for those of you who are hearing his name for the first time please have a seat get comfortable because you’re in for a real treat today
Mutaka murakami is the third basement for the occult swallows in Japan’s MLB equivalent which is called the nipon professional baseball league often abbreviated mpb just last month on December 9th the swallows signed morakami to a three-year contract extension that will pay him an equivalent to $4.4 million a year in US
Currency after that contract extension expires muracami announced that he will be coming to the MLB in terms of what teams he may prefer to sign with he stated to the Press ideally I’d like to play for a West Coast team but I’m also interested in the New York Yankees the teams that come
To mind immediately on the west coast as Front Runners for his services are the Giants Dodgers Padres and Angels sorry Oakland considering the Padres signed Bogarts to an absurd contract and also made offers to Trey Turner and Aaron judge I would not count them out in the Mami sweep Stakes can you imagine
Pairing muracami and an infield that already features Bogarts Machado cronenworth and Hung Kim although that’s assuming that they’re all still there in 3 years which seems unlikely the most unlikely left-handed pitcher holds an MLB record that might never be broken think of the most memorable left-handed relief pitchers in baseball in recent
Memory Andrew Miller Zack Brittain aolis Chapman are three names that probably come to mind what if I told you that there’s a player who put up a season so special that there isn’t a single player in the history of Modern Baseball that’s been able to replicate this player had a
Season worth remembering that player is Tyler Olen Jung who Le of the kiom heroes is coming to Major League Baseball after the 2023 season the grandson of the wind as he is called will be posted to be signed by MLB clubs and will be one of the most highly
Sought after free agents after this upand cominging season comes to a close the reason for his cool nickname is because of his father Jong beam Lee who is a former kbo League MVP winner his nickname was Son Of The Wind describing his crazy good speed he stole 510 bases
Throughout his kbo career as well as 53 stolen bases in the npv Jang Huli is a career 342 hitter in nearly 800 games in the kbo Lee has never hit below 300 in a single season even dating back to his rookie season at age 18 it is extremely
Rare for a teenager right out of the draft to skip the kbo’s Futures league and go straight to the kbo his all-around Talent made the risk worth it as he wound up winning Rookie of the Year honors in the 2017 season combined against the Braves big three Tony Gwyn
Hit an absurd 381 with 25 extra base hits against them for his career he struck out just three times in 270 plate appearances to put that into perspective Tony Gwyn on average got 679 plate appearances in a single season if he kept that pace over an entire 162 Game
Season Tony Gwyn would have struck out just eight times the least he struck out in a full season was 14 times at age 39 it’s unreal to even fathom something that absurd it’s like Tony Gwyn leveled up whenever he played the Braves alltime great Trio and that’s saying something
Considering this is a guy who led his league in batting average eight times throughout his career Tony Gwyn was something else man there have been many debates regarding who the greatest catcher in baseball history is the two names that are brought up the most frequently include Yogi Bara and Johnny
Bench Yogi Bar’s calling card is 10 World Series rings the most of any player in the history of the game he is also a three-time MVP winner and 18-time Allstar bar was great at both offense and defense but never won a gold glove albeit it wasn’t created until his
Career was more than halfway over either way seems like a pretty compelling argument then there’s Johnny Bench who’s also known for his Elite defensive capabilities winning 10 gold gloves in a row he won two MVPs Rookie of the Year and made 14 all-star teams this also seems like a pretty compelling argument
Is historically great as these two players are I believe that Josh Gibson has a case to be considered as the greatest catcher of all time in terms of his Negro League stats the EML be officially made a part of the official records Josh Gibson for his career had
An incredible 374 batting average in over 2500 plate appearances which unfortunately has him 500 shy of qualifying for the highest batting average for a career in MLB history that would have ranked him higher than all-time leader Tai Cobb who hit 366 for his career Gibson throughout his career
Definitely had more than 3,000 plate appearances but the Negro Leagues back when he played were sporadic when tallying and keeping record of stats one thing that I want to make clear is that there’s no way to know with 100% certainty how Josh Gibson would have performed in the major leagues but but
Against white ball clubs which Gibson played in exhibition games he hit 375 for his career so I think it’s safe to say he probably would have done just fine but don’t forget the Negro Leagues contain some of the greatest players in the history of baseball Manny Machado isn’t going anywhere the Padre’s and
Manny Machado are finalizing an extension that will keep him in San Diego through the 2033 season when he will turn 41 years old this comes more than a week after the rumor that came out in regards to a deadline that machado’s camp had set for contract
Negotiations but that turned out to be a figment of the imagination as Machado and the Padre’s quietly worked on a new contract to keep Machado in San Diego for the rest of his career this comes as no surprise especially considering that whenever he was asked about the question
Machado would reiterate how much he enjoyed playing in San Diego and his desire to bring a title to the city Above All Else sure you hear this line used by a lot of Big Ticket players who are looking to use their impending free agency as leverage for earning more
Money but in the case of Manny Machado that was a looming opt out at the end of 2023 he already had stated to the press that he would be in fact walking away from the 5 years and $150 million remaining on the contract in favor of testing the free agency Waters the new
Contract that Machado and the Po’s agreed to is for 11 years and will pay him 350 million from June 11th 1986 to July 4th 1987 Eric Davis played in 162 Games Starting 152 of those he got 659 plate appearances which basically equates to a full season in this time
Frame Davis hit 47 homers scored 149 runs drove in 123 and stole 98 bases getting caught just 12 times which is equivalent to an 89% success rate I know that this isn’t the same season but Eric Davis did something in his 162 game stretch that some of the game’s greatest
Weren’t able to sniff Ken griffy Jr never stole more than 30 bases in any 162 game stretch in the most amount of bases Barry Bonds ever stole in a stretch in which he hit more more than 40 home runs was 44 Eric Davis was a one-of-a-kind player and unfortunately
Injuries plagued his career preventing him from ever getting close to this height of success the rest of his baseball career 16 teams took the field in hopes of winning the fourth ever World Baseball Classic in 2017 Team USA of course was one of those 16 teams and
They were favored to win it all prior to the 2017 WBC however in 20 games previous to the classic Team USA cumulative had just a 10 and 10 record in their previous three appearances they had fallen short in their hopes of bringing a title to the USA But if they
Were going to win it all 2017 was their year they had the odds in their favor in an absolutely stacked roster some key players they were able to recruit include the likes of Christian Yelich John Carlos Stanton Nolan Aron Alex bregman Chris Archer Adam Jones among many other fantastic big league players
Who created a force to be reckoned with in their division but now let’s get into the actual really cool part which is I got to meet a minor league baseball player so the baseball player that I met his name is Logan Wagner he just turned 19 a few days ago
And he is playing currently in spring training in Arizona that’s why he was at that World Baseball Classic Game he’s playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers so essentially what he kind of told me was that he moved over to Third Base almost immediately after getting drafted because there just was so much talented
Short Stops in that Dodger system that he felt like he didn’t have the mobility that they had and just like kind of the overall just range that they did he has a strong arm but overall that’s kind of better suited for third base other than that though there was a lot of cool
Other things he was sharing about he kind of overheard me talking about Ethan Salis the 16-year-old catcher for the San Diego Padres and that’s kind of what started the conversation the Atlanta Braves have an unfair amount of young Talent not only that but a lot of these players have already been locked into
Long-term extensions Aussie alz Ronald aunia Jr Austin Riley Matt Olsen sha Murphy and the hometown kid Michael Harris if you’re an active baseball fan like myself you might be surprised to see a video centered around the 2022 Rookie of the Year winner with the idea that he’s some unknown player he isn’t
But what I do know is that he had an incredible year that flew under the radar thanks to Julio Rodriguez Who lit up the baseball world with his insane pop and won the American League Rookie of the Year Michael Harris while he did get recognized as the best rookie was
Not even the most noteworthy rookie on his own team according to most news outlets the other player that hogged most of the spotlight was a fireballer named Spencer Strider the strikeout machine and owner of a killer mustache wow now I know we’re incredibly alike but don’t be confused we are not
Identical twins Baltimore’s greatest Duo played together with the same last name on their jerseys but when comparing the two the differences go beyond a different cultural background but first let’s discuss what they had in common they both were freak athletes that are often times overlooked as some of the
Greatest to ever play baseball in 1966 Brooks and Frank Robinson finished first and second in MVP voting the two most valuable players in the league were the Robinson twins in addition to their fantastic production in the regular season they were also able to lead the O’s to a World Series championship in
1966 together Brooks and Frank accomplished a lot in a relatively short time frame and it would take them both 10 years in the big leagues to land on that World Series team together today I will be covering Brooks Robinson’s story in milb hailly the special guest for
Today’s video will be doing the honors of telling us more about Frank Robinson I appreciate cam for allowing me to collaborate on this consider it a microcosm of the dynamic between Brooks and Frank coming together from opposite ends of the country for one common Focus the Baltimore Orioles of course Frank
Robinson was the youngest of 10 children raised by a single mother in a lowincome tenement dwelling in West Oakland California suffice it to say nothing in life came easy to Frankie in Oakland except for athletics get it sunflower seeds go with baseball like peanut butter goes with jelly the reasons for
Baseball players enjoying this snack during games goes well beyond how tasty they are including the wide variety of flavors you can buy at the grocery store today we’re going to delve into the history of sunflower seeds making its way into America’s pastime to start let’s introduce sunflower seeds as the
Name suggests they originate from sunflowers but the truly interesting part is that in one sunflower there can be up to 2,000 seeds to be harvested in addition to the kind of sunflower that contains the seeds used for baseball there is also a type of sunflower crop
That is grown for the oil if you’ve ever seen a sunflower seed you would know that the part you eat is wrapped up in a shell known as a hole which is black and white usually you’ll see on TV that ball players will throw several seeds in
Their mouth and they’ll crack the seed eat the good part and spit out the hole or in the case of Freddy Freeman in this clip he just puts the whole pack in his mouth wow baseball most famous knuckle baller had a year in 1978 that will blow
Your mind but at the time it was overlooked Phil nro in his career became the only knuckle baller to become a member of the 300 win 3,000 strikeout Club a historic group that cements a Hall of Fame career in the eyes of the voters in terms of War nro ranked 11th
All time among pitchers posting a 97 War for his career gum time bubble gum those two words probably bring to mind yourself or someone you know trying to blow a bubble whether it was in the middle of class or out on the ball field but first off before we talk about the
History of gum and baseball what even is this substance that people chew for fun the main component of bubble gum is the gum base also known as the gum core this is the part that makes gum chewy it is Created from tree resin generally produced by coniferous trees it’s
Different than sap which is produced on all trees the gum base is poured into a mixture which is where they add color and flavoring to it glucose syrup is then added to sweeten it up it also helps keep the gum soft and makes it easier to chew dextrose is a powdered
Sweetener that is added to help blend the ingredients is then stretched out and rolled into a much more manageable size which is then sent off to cool and shortly thereafter is wrapped up like what you see at the grocery store historically gum itself has been used worldwide since ancient times to clean
The mouth and freshen breath some players have liked bubble gum maybe a little too much just ask A-Rod who supposedly ate 36 pieces of bubble gum every single game Derek Jeter has endured a lot of hate in recent memory whether it’s the historically bad defensive metrics or the argument that
He’d be irrelevant on another team Jeter has continually found himself on list containing the most overrated players of all time but is the hate warranted we’re going to look into answering that question today coming from an Orioles fan this video in no way shape or form
Is biased in fact I grew up not liking the Yankees mainly because of the Rivalry and how year in and year out they made the playoffs but over the years I’ve grown to appreciate the rich history especially in regards to to the former Yankees Captain Derek Jeter
Donnie baseball may not be a Hall of Famer but he certainly had a prime that should be remembered Don madingley played 14 years in Major League Baseball all with the New York Yankees he batted a career 307 hitting 222 homers and tallying 2,153 hits not too shabby to pair up
With those incredible stats he had the awards to back it up in MVP winner six time Allstar n time Gold Glove winner and a batting title winner not to mention a mustache that’s up there with Wade bogs for the best of all time if we’re ranking the best defensive first
Baseman of all time Don madingley has to be in the top three Keith Hernandez with 11 go gloves definitely holds the crown for number one defensive first baseman the 1980s were not kind to the New York Yankees they made Just One World Series appearance which came in 1981 and they
Would fall to the LA Dodgers in that matchup the Yankees wouldn’t appear in another world series until 1996 Don mingle’s story is one that truly impressed me I didn’t grow up watching maddingly but now I have such a newfound respect for his leadership and humble nature that led him to become beloved by
His fellow peers coaches and Baseball fans in general while he got just one chance to play on October baseball mly proved that he could handle the pressure of postseason baseball and came through in some of the team’s biggest moments Donnie baseball through his actions on and off the field built himself a legacy
That should always be remembered cue the ominous music baseball players are very superstitious if I wanted this video to be 10 hours long I’d have enough content to do so but today let’s cover some of the most interesting and crazy superstitions that this game has ever seen but first let’s make one thing
Clear superstitions are not just specific to baseball historically there have been superstitions like knocking on wood to not jinx something avoiding breaking a mirror and the negative connotation associated with the number 13 hence why hotels typically don’t even utilize a 13th floor but come on now you’re not fooling anybody floor 14 Dell
Murphy owned the 1980s am I trying to say that there was no one better than him during this era no but we’ll see on another level absolutely while Murphy has not earned a Cooperstown nod yet that doesn’t mean it can’t occur in the future courtesy of a veterans committee
Induction in my opinion I can see it going either way Murphy had a Hall of Fame Prime that feels underappreciated and while that doesn’t necessarily warrant a Hall of Fame induction it certainly should always be remembered maybe if he’d won that elusive third MVP or had a couple more seasons to get him
Closer to 2500 hits this part of the video will look a lot different Corbin Carroll is incredibly fast so fast that he is ranked second in the big leagues in 2023 for Sprint speed only behind Bobby Wht Jr of the Royals Corbin Carroll has shown so much promise in his
Minor league and Big League career this far that the Diamondbacks decided to lock him up on an 8-year extension that will pay him a guaranteed $111 million while the leaderboard has Carol ranked second in the big leagues according to baseball Savant he’s not even the fastest player on his own team according
To teammates of Carol they don’t consider him to be the best all-around athlete that title is reserved for Dre Jameson a 25-year-old right-handed pitcher who has shown some great promise in the small sample size he’s recorded thus far his with percentage ranks him in the top 5% of MLB pitchers his center
Fielder Alec Thomas said I think we’ve got a lot of athletes on this team and I think the best one probably in all aspects of being athletic I think the best one pitched yesterday he’s a crazy all-around athlete so let’s see if you can tell the difference between Hall of
Fame closer Trevor Hoff and Francisco Rodriguez an extremely great closer in his prime in fact he holds an MLB record that might never be broken but before we talk about that let’s see if you can tell Hoffman and krod apart player one had a 2.86 career erra struck out
1,142 batters in their career won two Ro a relief Awards and made six all-star teams player two had a 2.87 career erra struck out 1,133 batters in their career they also won won two Ro a relief Awards and made Seven all-star teams did I stump you player one was krod and player
Two was Trevor Hoffman the similarities between their accolades and career numbers is shocking to those who’ve never compared them side by side now of course I am neglecting the save stat which is kind of important because it’s the primary reason for Hoffman’s Hall of Fame election his 601 saves at one point
Were the most in baseball history until Mariano Rivera came along but Francisco Rodriguez still has his fair share of saves he has the fourth most of all time with 437 he saved 40 or more games six times in his career and in 2008 krod had a season that would etch his name into
Baseball history on September 24th he nailed down his 62nd and final save of the Year Cal Ripken in 1983 had an incredible season he led the league in games play at bats run scored hits and doubles in route to making his first All-Star team winning his first career
MVP and and winning the Silver Slugger for American League shortstops to put the cherry on top the Orioles would take home not only the American League pennant but would go on to beat the Phillies to win the World Series Cal Ripken if he wasn’t already after a
Rookie of the year finish the year prior was an established stud at the major league level his Effectiveness on both sides of the ball is what contributed to his 95.9 career War according to baseball reference which ranks him third all time behind Honus Wagner and A-Rod however you can make the argument that
A-Rod does not qualify as his career was split between shortstop and third base no matter the true ranking Cal Ripken is a top three shortstop all time and there really isn’t a debate following his MVP finish Ripken would look to build off his 1983 season it was a high bar set
For himself but the future Hall of Famer had not yet reached his ceiling the finale of this series Steve in celebration of May the 4th be with you in Revenge of the 5th we are going to be talking about Star Wars today but first let’s talk about the
Origin of the film series Star Wars is one of the highest grossing and most popular movie franchises of all time the creator of Star Wars Lucas film was founded in 1971 and 6 years later the first Star Wars movie was released now it’s considered episode 4 is there have
Been three prequels released since the initial Trilogy When A New Hope was released on May 25th in 1977 it became an instant hit grossing $1.5 million in theaters during the opening weekend and $775 million overall because of the popularity especially in the United States Star Wars has also been able to
Infiltrate Sports such as baseball and that will be our Focus for today’s video jir Canó is 29 years old he was born in Cuba and he came over in the Jorge Lopez deal that occurred last year when the Orioles traded Jorge Lopez their All-Star closer to the Minnesota Twins
In exchange for a few players one of which was yanir Canó his Sinker is just f fantastic he’s got so much movement on it that some people even think that it looks like a change up more than a sinker in his Arsenal he has a fastball change up and slider that fast ball
Though is more like we said more like a sinker his change up has also got some great movement on it this guy came out of nowhere where do all these guys come from but it’s one of those things where you just can’t make this stuff up at the
Time of recording this video yanir Canó has a 1.2 War according to baseball reference a zero erra in 10 games pitched 12 Innings 13 strikeouts and a 0.083 whip the 2015 postseason contained some of the most memorable moments in postseason history the Royals and Mets battled it out in the World Series and
While the Mets didn’t come out on top I’ll always remember Matt Harvey begging manager Terry Collins to come back out and pitch in the ninth inning in game five of the World Series unfortunately that would backfire and put a stop to the reign of The Dark Knight he allowed
Two runs in the n9th and the Royals would go off for five runs in the 12th to seal the deal and win it all all but the World Series did not contain the most memorable moment of this postseason that title is reserved for the winner take all game five of the ALDS played
Between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays this series would eventually spark controversy between the two franchises involving brawls hit batters and much more Mike Trout is one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the sport he’s nearly passed Ken Griffey Jr in war according to baseball
Reference and is well on his way to a Cooperstown induction once his career is said and done the MVP in baseball is awarded to the most valuable player in both the American and National League trout has three of these Awards that’s a lot it ties him with guys like A-Rod and phol
Among several others for second all time the alltime leader is Barry Bond who won seven MVPs throughout the course of his career Wow Mike Trout had his work cut out for him if he wants to one day pass Barry Bonds for most MVPs all time but
It really should be a lot closer than it is in fact TR has been robbed just as many times as he’s one MVPs for his career Wade bogs not only has a funny nickname and remarkable mustache throughout his career he cemented himself as one of the all-time greats
From a beard chugging sensation to an allaround stud bogs is one of the games most unique when it comes down to it his ability to be disciplined at the plate and hit the ball to all Fields is what lifted him to a career that on post a
91.4 war tally 3,10 hits and post a career 328 batting average Wade bogs is truly a baseball Enigma the third and final one they’re going to test this one is just I mean who came up with this idea it is called the double hook DH rule not hookie from SpongeBob that
Actually might be a good rule this is the double hook rule let’s explain what it is so according to Fox Sports which partners with Major League Baseball the double hook DH rule allows clubs to use the designated hitter throughout the game provided that the club starting pitcher has completed at least five
Innings if the starter fails to make it through the fifth the club then loses the DH for the remainder of the game so this rule basically means that your DH is no more it is gonzo if you can’t make it through the fifth inning with your starting pitcher that is just crazy I
Think the real reason behind this rule being tested is to see if it actually encourages teams to leave their starter in and not baby them let them throw like 60 or 70 pitches and then just bring in all the big arms out of the pen I can
See that but in no way shape or form should this go to Major League Baseball Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lort in 1984 said how do you defend a hitter who hits the ball down the left field line the right field line and up the middle he poses an intriguing question and one
With the simple answer you can’t defending against Tony Gwyn is like trying to hit a bullseye with a blindfold on injuries to his fingers wrist knees and achilles tendon cost Gwyn around 500 games the equivalent to three full seasons had he played those games he could have finished
Significantly High higher than 18th on the alltime Hits list after his playing days Tony Gwyn continued his Devotion to community service he would create the Tony gwin Foundation to help fund organizations supporting children in need such as YMCA and the Police Athletic League for 14 years he hosted
The annual Tony Gwyn Celebrity Golf Classic to raise money for the foundation the San Diego Padres honored Tony Gwyn by making his name and number the official address of Petco Park 19 Tony Gwyn way which ow opened in 2004 Tony Gwyn became the head baseball coach
At his Alma modder at San Diego State immediately following his retirement from baseball he would take over the program in 2002 and won the Mountain West Conference coach of the year in his second season after leading the Aztecs to a league title in 2004 gwy would play a part in developing future Major
Leaguers Steven strawber and Justin Masterson throughout his coaching career Tony Gwynn’s son Tony Gwyn Jr would go on to play eight years in major league baseball starting in 2006 in 2007 Tony Gwyn and Cal Ripken Jr were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame both in their first year on the
Ballot two years after his passing the Padre’s build a statue that overlooks right field at Petco Park in honor of Mr Padre Tony Gwyn is an all-time great who was larger than life let’s all strive to be as charitable resilient and hardworking as he was his perseverance
Year in and year out while dealing with injuries many of which he played through is inspired ing unfortunately he was taken away from us way too soon but Tony gwy in the time he had was an inspiration to all and did it with a smile while I did say that no player has
Hit the warehouse during an official MLB game what I failed to mention is that in an exhibition tournament the Mount Everest of baseball was climbed by none other than the kid keng griffy Jr in 1993 was on top of his game he mashed 45 homers drove in 109 batted 309 posted a
1.0 25 Ops and put together a 71% better than League average season according to Ops plus he would finish fifth in MVP voting win a gold glove Silver Slugger and naturally would make his fourth straight All-Star Game during All-Star Weekend in 1993 the festivities Home Run Derby and All-Star Game would take place
At Camden Yards while the All-Star game was a great game with the American League eventually winning 9-3 over the national league that’s not what we’re going to focus on today the Home Run Derby took place on July 12th in 19 1993 the Derby had an incredible group of
Players that would battle it out for the Derby Crown in the final round it would come down to Juan Gonzalez versus keng griffy Jr both players were impressive and took down Barry Bonds and Company in order to make it to the finale Ken Griffey Jr would hit first and was
Cranking Majestic home runs left and right this Derby did not have a timer like there is today and each player had five outs to work with classified as anything hit that wasn’t a Dinger so realistically you could take a as many pitches as you wanted to albeit the guy
Throwing to you is throwing cookies down the middle but nonetheless griffy had all the Time in the World to put on a show griffy would smack three homers but would also record four outs in that time he was down to his last swing from here on out on the next pitch griffy reared
Back and sent an absolute moonshot that soared high above everything when it eventually landed there was a frenzy of Cheers on Utah Street the Home Run had hit the warehouse Daryl strawberry was a controversial player who throughout his career got into more trouble than just about any other player in Major League
Baseball not to mention that he had a severe problem with substance abuse while being one of the most talented players in the entire sport his prime surfaces countless questions none more prominent than this hypothetical what would have happened had he stayed away from drugs and alcohol Daryl strawberry’s rise to stardom occurred
Just as quickly as his Fall From Grace but more importantly Daryl strawberry was able to overcome a rough past in more recent times and it started to turn his life around for good currently he is an ordained minister in St Louis Missouri alongside his wife of 17 years
Tracy without a doubt Daryl strawberry’s mother would be very proud of her son the moral of the story is that it’s never too late if you’re struggling with addiction personal failure unfair circumstances among other things there’s help out there darl strawberry has written several books with his most
Recent being published in 2021 titled turn your season around how God transforms your life life the title being not only an Ode to his baseball playing days but to his mother a devout Christian who prayed for her son to find fulfillment in life and I’d say that Daryl strawberry has found more success
In the past several years than he did throughout his entire baseball career he may have been winning ball games but he certainly wasn’t winning at life while it took a long and winding road to get there Daryl strawberry is a completely different guy if he was able to change
For the better I don’t see how anyone else can’t do the same k rby Pucket is one of the best all-around players in the history of baseball his Relentless work ethic and extraordinary Talent are what drove him to success throughout his career Not only was he an elite hitter
He was a center fielder with a cannon for an arm and incredible range thanks to his wheels his shorter stature and stocke build never held him back from being one of the game’s best his infectious smile and outgoing personality made him a fan favorite in Minnesota speaking his most clutch
Performance into existence and cementing himself as the greatest Minnesota Twins player of all time is just the tip of the iceberg Kirby Pucket had an infectious energy and love for the game that we should always remember Craig viio holds a record that might never be broken he
Is one of the best baseball players from the 1990s and his Hall of Fame career will blow your mind the real question is how come we don’t talk about this guy more well he played all 20 years of his big league career with the Houston Astros and they would make the
Postseason in just six of those Seasons unfortunately Craig bigio never got a World Series ring I bring this up early because to truly appreciate Craig viio you have to realize his loyalty to the city of Houston was priority number one the fans loved him and he was an
Excellent example of what hustle looks like to his teammates and opposing players he shared the biggest achievement of his career with his buddy established himself as a versatile Fielder and thrived in whatever role the Astros asked of him and showcased immense Talent over 20 Big League Seasons all for the Astros a true
Houston lifer and I can’t think of a better person to be the poster boy for one of the nation’s biggest cities let us all strive to finish what we start and remember the insane Prime of Craig bigio Chris Davis Once Upon a Time was one of baseball’s best power hitters a
6’4 left-handed hitting first baseman who could hit moonshots but also produce strikeout numbers that made you wonder if it was really all worth it over time hearing the nickname Crush for his tape measure shots many of which landed on or close to Utah Street Davis was one of
The most popular players for the O’s and at one point the team hosted a giveaway night featuring him as a superhero next to his dog sidekick Samson off the field Davis is an extremely generous and charitable guy who has been involved with the University of Maryland children’s hospital he and his wife Jill
Have made it a priority to visit and contribute financially he has continued his involvement with the University of Maryland children’s hospital since retirement and has continued to be a great example to other ball players who get paid more money than they know what to do with there’s one story I didn’t
Mention earlier in regards to Chris Davis’s over 54 streak that’s worth mentioning and you’ll soon see why on the day he broke the slump Chris Davis received a heartwarming letter from Henry frasa a young Red Sox fan who encouraged him to stay positive and remember that his performance in the
Baseball field doesn’t change that he’s a great person even though Henry rooted for a division rival he found it within himself to write a letter of encouragement to the Orioles first baseman the reason I bring it up at this point in the video is because he couldn’t have been more right just
Because we root for different teams doesn’t mean we can’t be supportive of one another another none of us should be remembered by our biggest failure the historic downfall in Albatross contract should never distract us from this important fact Chris Davis is a human being the same as you and I let us never
Forget Chris Davis the person and his accomplishments as an orial because once upon a time Chris Davis was one of baseball’s best power hitters Larry Walker is one of the best Canadians to ever play baseball but originally that wasn’t the plan over time he realized that life had other plans in store for
Him and Rose to the top of his generation within Major League Baseball there aren’t many players who can compare to Walker in terms of overall game he had a rocket for an arm and could hit the cover off the ball he also has quite possibly the funniest blooper
In All-Star game history from his five tool talent to his iconic SpongeBob shirt there’s a lot to discuss surrounding the life and career of Larry Walker his positive attitude humble nature and comedic relief at times made Larry Walker a captivating player to watch day in and and day out to quote
SpongeBob one last time why don’t we all strive to Live Like Larry Vladimir Guerrero senior was such a unique ball player no matter where the ball was located there was a good chance that it was leaving the building and he wasn’t afraid to jump on the first pitch in
Fact he hit 126 home runs in these situations more than Barry Bonds and Mark Maguire and if you’re a pitcher don’t fall behind Vlad because for his career he batted 417 in 3-1 count and how can you forget about his absolute missile in right field in 2018
Vlad would get the highest honor a ball player can earn induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame when learning that he would be the first position player to be elected from the Dominican Republic Guerrero had this to say I’m extremely proud of that and I’m humbled there were
So many great Dominican players before me and I never thought I’d be the first position player to make it I know there’s a group coming that could give me some very good company from my country I know I’ll have some company very soon while he wouldn’t be playing
Baseball any longer he can now sit back and be a proud father to his son Vlad Jr who was signed by the Blue Jays in 2015 his eventual rise to Elite Prospect status and becoming a perennial All-Star in the majors has to feel rewarding for Vlad senior his example of consistency
Is a high bar to surpass but who knows maybe his son will one day join him in Cooper toown for his career Vlad put together a 59.5 war a Preposterous 318 career average tally 2590 hits mashed 449 homers drove in 1,496 runs and stole 181 bases let’s
Just say there’s a reason he has nicknames like super Vlad and Vlad the Impaler the guy could flat out hit and he did it on such a consistent basis that it’s hard to Fathom looking back on it if there’s one thing you should take away from this video is that throughout
His career vlad’s bat is what did the talking Mike Schmidt has been regarded as the greatest third baseman in baseball history to even be considered at the top of such a crowded list of alltime great is an honor in itself but how did Schmidt enter the conversation to begin with well he established
Himself as one of the most prolific power hitters of his generation played extraordinary defense and was as clutch as they come with two outs and runners in scoring position he posted a 905 Ops for his career that figure beats out all-time great third baseman like George
Brett Adrien bele and Wade bogs Mike was selected 30th overall in the 1971 draft notably the pick after the Royals SEL Ed George Brett good for almost 200 wins above replacement in consecutive picks he signed for $32,500 and bought a Corvette Stingray to report to Philadelphia in nearly as luxurious as
The used Camry that current draft picks report in inflation rules Mike started his minor league career off at doublea reading a tall order for even the most seasoned College bats to adjust to this level of play Mike batted 211 striking out 66 times in 268 play to appearances he still managed
To advance to AAA with the Eugene emeralds to begin the 1972 season where he would hit a stride batting 291 with 26 home runs as well as getting defensive reps all over the infield flashing the leather at second base in addition to Third Base enter the 1980
Season it feels impossible to do this year justice but I’ll start by acknowledging that Schmidt and the Phillies had some work to do in September the Montreal Expos were neck and neck with the Phils down the stretch run and when the stakes were at their highest point Schmid was was able to
Rise to the challenge amidst the hot streak sadly his grandmother passed away on September 26th she was the one who touched met had to hit a baseball when he was 4 years old as you can imagine that made it tough to stay focused on the end goal of winning a World Series
Ring but you couldn’t have scripted the leadup to the playoffs any better as Philadelphia took down the expose in a three-game win or take all series in Montreal Schmid came through with a homer and knocked in both runs in a 2 to1 win in game one in game two he
Smacked a two-run bomb in the 11th inning that would be the nail in the coffin for Montreal Schmid said it best himself I finally got the big hits when we needed them while he didn’t have an epic start to the postseason his teammates picked him up and won the
Championship series against the Houston Asos it wasn’t easy though as the final four games of the five game series went to Extra Innings for the first time in his career Schmidt was going to the World Series Frank was an offensive Juggernaut in 1993 he made his first
Allar our team and hit 41 homers with 128 RBI a 317 batting average in Ops north of a th000 a 177 Ops plus and more than double the number of walks to strikeouts the voters unanimously decided on Frank Thomas and awarded him his first career MVP inevitably he won
His second Silver Slugger Award after helping the white socks to an AL West Division Crown Frank got his first taste of October baseball his performance did not disappoint a 350 53 batting average a home run three RBI and 10 walks in six games is fantastic but the white socks
Lost a tough Series against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round the 1994 player strike cut the season short but Frank Thomas in 40 fewer games put together some video game numbers for a stat nerd such as myself digesting 94 Frank Thomas’s season is like a kid in a
Candy store let’s start with the power numbers 38 homers and 101 RBI is ridiculous in his previous three seasons he played in an average of 157 games had he played that number of games in 1994 he was on Pace to hit 52 homers and drive in 140 he batted a career-high 353
And his triple slash numbers led the league and are incomprehensible he was approaching a 500 on base percentage that’s Barry Bond’s territory and he wasn’t intentionally walked nearly as often last video I mentioned Mike Schmidt had a 198 Ops Plus in his 1981 MVP season Frank Thomas played 11 more
Games and put up a 212 Ops plus Frank was 112% better than the league average hitter in 1994 for good measure he led the league in walks offensive war and took home back-to-back MVP awards he made his second All-Star team and secured his third Silver Slugger the
Real kicker is that the White Soxs prior to the cancellation of the playoffs were a serious Contender after the league reworked the divisions the White Soxs were at top the newly formed Central Division it’s a shame because Frank wouldn’t get many opportunities the postseason and while they weren’t seen
As World Series favorites you never know what the end result could have been following the 94 season the White Sox signed Thomas to a new four-year contract that paid him an average of $7.25 million a year additionally he would receive endorsement deals from several companies including Reebok
Pepsic Cola and Bin LOM on Father’s Day June 20th 2004 King griffy Jr joined the exclusive 500 home run club with his dad in the stands it was a heartwarming moment moment that they were able to share together in ‘ 04 he made the All-Star team for the second time as a
Red but tore his hamstring in August cutting his season short again he had failed to reach a 100 games played in for the third consecutive season 2005 was a bounceback year for junior while he was sidelined by an ankle injury in September it was promising to see him on
The field for 128 games he batted 300 for the first time since 1997 and reached the 30 Homer Mark for the first time since the year 2000 his 144 Ops plus was more characteristic of prime Jr he received MVP votes for the first time as a red and won the national league
Comeback Player of the Year award in 2006 keng griffy Jr participated in the World Baseball Classic an international baseball tournament that features the best teams based on world rankings playing for Team USA junior was at the top of nearly every offensive category in six games he batted an absurd 524
Hitting three home runs and driving driving in 10 runs in 2007 krai Jr would start the tradition of honoring Jackie Robinson by wearing the number 42 60 years to the day after Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball he was granted permission from Robinson’s Widow Rachel and commissioner Bud seelig once word
Got out other players followed suit and two years later the practice became tradition every April 15th players coaches and umpires around the league wear the number four 42 to honor Jackie Robinson during this same season he returned to Safe Co field for the first time since being traded to the Reds he
Received a standing ovation and proceeded to hit two home runs in the final game of the series on June 9th 2008 the kid reached the 600 home run Milestone his time with the Reds came to an end at the trade deadline where he was sent to the Chicago White
Socks Buster posy returned in 2012 and upped his game to the next level his his gruesome injury that derailed his season did not affect his output on the field the Giants once again were looking primed to make a World Series run and posy was a driving force yet again the
Pitching staff had an incredible amount of trust in their Superstar catcher Buster caught three no hitters during his career one shy of the record on June 13th 2012 MATC threw the first perfect game in franchise history just 24 pitchers in the history of baseball have accomplished the feat Matt Kane said in
An interview years later that he didn’t shake off posy once during his Masterpiece outing High Praise coming from the team’s Ace Posey’s extraordinary defense was just half of the equation he reached career highs in nearly every major offensive category in 2012 hitting 24 homers driving in 103
Posting a 408 on base percentage and leading the league with an outrageous 171 Ops plus as a catcher a 7.6 overall war led the league and his 336 average earned him the batting title it was the first time since Ernie Lombardi in 1942 that a catcher led the national league
In batting average he was also selected to his first career All-Star team among primary catchers who spent at least 75% of their games at the position only Mike Piaza and Joe Mau had a higher offensive war in the past 40 years Posey’s 7.3 offensive war in 2012 has not been
Matched since his remarkable season would continue into the postseason where the Giants matched up with the Cincinnati Reds in the division series in the winter take all game five posy hit a grand slam it was The Knockout blow to eliminate the Reds the National League Championship Series featured the
Giants Taking on the St Louis Cardinals the Giants quickly dropped to a31 series deficit and with their backs against the wall won three straight games to secure their second World Series appearance of the 2010s San Francisco’s pitching was phenomenal with Barry Zito Ryan Vogal song and Matt King combining to allow
Outow one run in 20 in the third Innings the Giants matched up with the Detroit Tigers in the World Series San Francisco’s pitching staff continued their tour stretch and the team went up three games to none along the way they gave up just three runs all of which
Came in game one two consecutive shutouts put the Giants in Prime position for a 4 game sweep in the October classic game four proved to be the most thrilling of the set in the sixth inning posie hit a go-ahead two-run blast to put San Francisco on top the the Tigers answered in the
Bottom of the inning and the Giants were able to Win 4 to3 in extras they were World Series champions for the second time in three years following the season Buster Posey won his first career Silver Slugger Award and was named the comeback player of the year the voters agreed
That he was also the regular season MVP becoming just the 18th catcher in baseball history to win the award on a 1-1 count Pelon missed out over the plate and chipper crushed a fast ball into the seats a walk-off three-run bomb to win the game for Atlanta every win
Mattered in September for a Braves team in the middle of contention for a playoff spot the Braves would eventually secure their place as a wild card team the 2012 National League wild card game turned out to be a controversial one with an infield fly ruling costing the
Braves in a crucial moment of the game instead of the bases being loaded with one out it became second and third with two outs the Cardinals went on to win the game 6 to3 and Chipper’s career came to a close now now 40 years old his
19-year career was a shoe in for the Hall of Fame once eligible for his career he batted 303 becoming the only switch hitter in history to hit 300 or higher from both sides of the plate with a minimum of 1,000 plate appearances an 85.3 War 468 home runs
1,623 RBIs a 401 on base percentage 141 Ops plus and 150 stolen bases a World Series ring in 1995 the National League MVP in 1999 and a batting title in 2008 in 2012 Chipper Jones was named Marvin Miller Man of the Year a Player’s Choice Award given to the player who inspires
Others through onfield performance and contributions to the community in 11 years the Chipper Jones Family Foundation donated more than $2 million to several charitable organizations chipper has supported the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Camp Twin Lakes the Boys and Girls Clubs Of Georgia and Florida Stetson University and Children’s Healthcare of
Atlanta in his first season with the snakes Randy took his game to the next level by the end of the 99th season he would join Elite company during a bench clearing altercation between the Dbacks and Giants Randy hilariously put on the wrong hat ironically this was some mild foreshadowing following his sixth
All-Star appearance that summer he shut out his former team the Mariners on July 20th striking out 10 with no walks after the shutout he continued his d dominant 99 regular season an incredible second half put him at top many major pitching categories including ra game started complete games Innings pitched
Strikeouts batters faced ER Plus fif K per nine and War his duplicate ra of 2.48 from the 95 season earned him his second career ra title this was his second time with 300 or more strikeouts and he had a sizable lead among national league pitchers over second place Kevin
Brown who had 143 less strikeouts a year after finishing at the bottom of the National League West Division the Dbacks won 100 games and the division game one set the tone for the division series facing the New York Mets Randy Johnson’s outing was derailed in the ninth inning
Allowing three runs for a total of seven over 8 and A3 the Diamondbacks would fall to the Mets in four games it was a disappointing ending to an otherwise Stellar campaign he won the national league sa Young Award joining Pedra Martinez and Gaylord Perry as the only
Pitchers to win the saong award in both leagues at that time currently there are only six pitchers who have accomplished this feat Vince’s rise to base stealing stardom in 1985 did not go unnoticed he won Rookie of the Year honors and placed 11th in MVP voting his 110 stolen bases
Led the national league and placed him third on the all-time single season stolen base leaderboard in the modern era behind Ricky Henderson and Lou Brock Vince’s power numbers or lack thereof is crazy to think about 636 at bats in just one home run in inside the Parker go
Figure while he lacked a high slugging percentage when he reached first base it was often as good as a double or triple in 1986 Coleman got off to a slow start by his standards stealing eight bases in 18 games no need to worry Vince was just
Getting warmed up in may he had his best offensive month to date batting 319 with a 380 on base percentage leading to 16 stolen bases he stole no less than 19 in a single month from June onward June 1st 1986 held one of baseball’s wildest encounters the Cardinals were facing the
Reds and pitcher Chris Welsh was on the mound he walked Vince to begin the game Who proceeded to steal second and third for good measure while he got thrown out attempting to score on a sacrific fly the fear started to set in for Welsh next time up Vince hit a single one
After another Welsh threw over to First each time Coleman successfully got back to the bag a few instances were close calls but by the time the shenanigans were through Welsh had thrown over an astounding 17 times in MLB record the fans were so fed up with it that they
Booed him incessantly all this did was delay the inevitable as Vince eventually stole second base his ability to decipher between a pickoff attempt and when a pitcher delivered to the plate was remarkable this was magnified by the 17 pickoff Fiasco but it didn’t stop there later that same game Welsh was
Back at it again and finally got his man he picked off Coleman in this time it only took six throwovers this will never happen again as MLB allows pitchers just two pickoff attempts per plate appearance to put his speed into perspective he was once clocked at 31.6
Ft per second if Vince Coleman was in the major leagues in 2023 he would be Ellie De La Cruz ranked number one by more than 1 foot a second let’s go a step further the top 25 on this leaderboard are separated by one foot making Vince the fastest by far ahead of
The biggest steal threats in the game currently in 20 W cal made his 19th consecutive All-Star appearance he and Tony Gwyn were honored before the game Alex Rodriguez was named the starting shortstop and Cal the starting third baseman when they took the field A-Rod wanted Ripken to play short to honor him
In his final All-Star Game it took some coaxing from both A-Rod and manager Joe Tori but Ripken finally gave in in Cal’s first hit bat he had a home run against Dodgers pitcher chano Park becoming the oldest player to Homer in an All-Star
Game the AL went on to Win 4 to1 and Cal received All-Star game MVP honors he was the first American League player to earn this distinction twice in their career Cal ripken’s final game came at home fans honored him every time he came to the plate with a standing ovation what
An incredible moment they were able to share together in 2001 K and his brother Billy formed the Cal rkin senior Foundation which supports underprivileged children and gives them a chance to learn baseball through clinics and camps if you want to learn more about the foundation the link will be in the
Description of this video in 2002 Cal became an owner of the aine ironbirds a minor league affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles Cal Ren junor finished his career with 431 home runs 345 of those coming at the shortstop position the most all time one ahead of Alex Rodriguez Roberto Clemente changed Major
League Baseball forever leading by example he paved the way for other Latin American ball players to follow in his footsteps on the field he always hustled and gave his all every game Clemente shined in both offense and defense leading the league in batting average four times and throwing out more Runners
Than any right fielder in national league history his arm was among the best this game has ever seen off the field his humanitarian efforts inspired an award to be renamed in his honor Clemente overcame racial and societal barriers to become one of baseball’s all-time greats in total Clemente
Amassed a 94.8 war a 317 batting average 3,000 hits 240 home runs 1,35 RB and a 130 Ops plus among right fielders who spent 50% of their career at the position Clemente ranks third in war if you move the threshold to 90% Clemente is number one and for all outfielders he
Ranks ninth his 12 goal gloves are the most for a right fielder tying him with Willie ma for the most of any outfielder Roberto’s Five Seasons leading the league in assists is a national league record a career 266 assists is the most by any outfielder since 1920 a 15-time
All-Star 12 go gloves four batting titles the 1966 MVP a two-time World Series champ and was named World Series MVP in 1971 he played a total of 18 Big League Seasons all with the Pittsburgh Pirates the profound effect that Clemente had on the game is Everlasting
He was a Pioneer for Latin ball players in the MLB and his unwavering commitment to helping others persisted until the very end of his life Roberto Clemente is the most fitting individual to be honored with a baseball humanitarian award that commemorates his enduring Legacy in 2004 the Red Sox still had
Folklore casting a shadow on their postseason failures for 86 years in counting at the end of 1919 the Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees and since that deal they hadn’t been able to win a championship since the 2004 American League Championship Series is where this streak begins their
Opponent the New York Yankees in a best of seven series The Red Sox went down three games to none in game four the Yankees took a one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth and sent out the Sandman mariio Rivera to get the job done with the possibility of getting
Swept looming Boston needed a miracle Kevin Mar let off the inning by drawing a walk Dave Roberts long before he became manager of the LA Dodgers pinch ran for marar Roberts had one roll get in scoring position he did so by successfully stealing second base a crucial play when seeing how the series
Infolded Bill Miller drilled a single up the- middle to tie the game it took several Extra Innings but the Red Sox found themselves in Prime position to walk the game off when David Ortiz stepped to the plate in the midst of his greatest October performance he drilled
A two-run bomb to get Boston their first win of the series The Red Sox were able to string together four consecutive wins to become the first and only MLB team to overcome a 30 deficit Ortiz was a major contributor in this unprecedented comeback hitting 387 with three home
Runs and 11 RBIs at the time his 11 RBIs were a championship series record he was named MVP of the series and carried his success into the World Series as well facing the St Louis Cardinals the Red Sox continued their win streak eight consecutive W’s culminated in a sweep of
The Cardinals they finally broke the 86-year-old curse of the Bambino it was Manny ramirz that did a lot of the heavy lifting in this series batting 412 with a home run and four runs driven in to win MVP honors the steroid era of baseball took place from the late 1980s
Through the early 2000s where home runs increased to rec levels the sudden Spike was due to peeds or performance-enhancing drugs steroid testing did not begin until 2003 in 1998 Mark Maguire hit 70 home runs to set the MLB Mark and just 3 years later Barry
Bonds hit 73 bonds would go on to hit 762 for his career and rack up seven MVP awards both MLB records these achievements would become tainted in the years that followed in a time where guys were hitting 50 60 and 70 home runs a season many play players were overlooked
Including when they eventually made it to the hall of fame ballot this video will highlight some of the most underappreciated hitters that played during the steroid era Kenny Lofton much like Jim Tomy was overshadowed by Manny Ramirez and Albert Bell however Lofton and Tomy could not be more different in
Terms of their skill set Lofton led the league in stolen bases during each of his first five full seasons in the major leagues he averaged 65 a year and reached a career-high 75 steals in 1996 he was also a hitting machine and an incredible defensive center fielder he
Won four consecutive Gold Glove awards from 1993 to 1996 1994 was his greatest season in which he played Just 112 games due to the player strike he led the league with 160 hits and a 7.2 War he stole a league leading 60 bases and batted a career-high 349 he made his
First All-Star team won his second go glove and placed fourth in MVP voting the highest of his career the one thing that Lofton didn’t do was hit home runs he had just 130 of them during his 17 years in the big leagues during his Peak from 1992 to 1999 Kenny averaged just
Eight homers a season with teammates Manny Ramirez Albert Bell and Jim Tomy hitting 30 40 and even 50 homers a season Lofton was overshadowed for lofton’s career he totaled a 68.4 war batted 299 tallied 2,428 hits 622 stolen bases won four gold gloves and made six all-star teams
He certainly deserves to be strongly considered for a coopertown induction in 2012 migy took his game to the next level the Triple Crown in baseball is one of the most elusive accomplishments a player has to lead their respective League in home runs RBI and batting average at the midpoint of
The season the Triple Crown wasn’t on anyone’s radar even though Cabrera had a stellar first half and had made the All-Star team but in the second half he went on a rampage in just 75 games he had 26 singers drove 68 and batted 337 both the batting title and Home Run
Races in the American League were competitive he finished just four points ahead of second place Mike Trout and one Homer ahead of Curtis Granderson and Josh Hamilton Cabrera led the AL with 139 RBI 11 ahead of second place Josh Hamilton Miggy became the first player
Since Carl yky in 1967 to win the Triple Crown he was the 10th MLB player to accomplish this feat and no one has done it since the Tigers won the American League Central division for the second straight season and matched up with the Oakland Athletics in the division series
They were able to win in five games and went on to face the Yankees who won an Al best 95 games in 2012 the Tigers were seemingly Unstoppable sweeping New York in four games migy contributed with a Dinger and drove in four the Giants were their opponent in the World Series and
They gave Detroit a taste of their own medicine by sweeping them in four games considering the Tigers were shut out in two of these games migy had a solid series he had a go-ahead home Homer in game four but they were unable to keep up and lost the game in Extra Innings in
2012 migy set career highs in several categories including hits home runs RBIs and total bases he batted 330 with 44 home runs 139 RBIs 205 hits posted a 164 Ops plus and won his fourth Silver Slugger Award despite putting up this statline and winning the historic Triple
Crown Cabrera wasn’t a Surefire pick for the MVP award Mike Tred to put together a historically great rookie season he led the league in runs stolen bases Ops plus offensive war and Total War he played Premier defense in center field and was a true five- tool player in the
End the voters decided that cabera season was the better of the two and he won his first career MVP award off the field his humanitarian efforts led to a nomination for the Roberto Clemente award in 2012 Miggy was nominated N9 times throughout his career and has one
Last chance to win the award in 2023 Lance burkman is one of the most underappreciated Switch Hitters in baseball history throughout his 15year career he was incredibly productive offensively on average from 2001 to 2008 he bet a 304 with 33 homers 110 RBIs and a 151 Ops plus with the Houston Astros
He was a member of an amazing group referred to as the Killer Bees which included burkeman Jeff Bagwell and Craig bigio Derek Bell and Shawn Barry were two of the original members but both players left before he earned his killerb status in 2001 he set a record
For most doubles in a single season by a switch hitter with 55 Brian Roberts in 2009 would surpass it but burkeman still holds the National League record he set career highs in hits doubles average Ops and total bases he made his first All-Star team and placed fifth in MVP
Voting the following year he hit 42 dingers and led the league with 128 RBI he placed a career-high third in MVP voting behind Barry Bonds and Albert phol in 2006 burkman matched 45 homers AA TI him with 1999 Chipper Jones for third on the single season home run leaderboard among Switch Hitters the
Only player ahead of him is Mickey Manel in MVP voting burkman placed third behind Ryan Howard and Albert phol 2018 was arguably his greatest season burkman’s 6.9 war was a career-high he led the league with 46 doubles and was 60% better than League average according to Ops plus he was an All-Star and
Placed fifth in MVP voting even as a 35-year-old veteran with the Cardinals he was an elite Slugger he made his sixth and final All-Star team and placed seventh in MVP voting his clutch hitting made the difference in the 2011 World Series against the Rangers down to their
Final out in game six burkman hit a game tying single they went on to win the fall classic in his last season as a full-time player burkeman was incredible in 39 career World Series at bats hitting 410 burkman finished with 52 career War a 293 average 366 homers 1
1,95 hits 1,234 RBIs and a 144 Ops plus it’s not a perfect comparison but in over 500 less games burkman nearly matched David Ortiz in war his triple slash numbers are all higher than Big Poppy a first ballot Hall of Fame designated hitter burkman spent his career as an outfielder and first
Baseman he was on the Hall of Fame ballot for one year and only garnered 1.2% of the votes in 2010 Hamilton took his game to the next level he emerged as the best hitter in baseball he put together a 23 game hitting streak from June 4th to
June 30th in that time he batted an insane 457 with nine homers and 29 RBIs he won the AL player of the month honors for June overall he had an unbelievable first half he batted 346 hit 22 homers and drove in 64 he made his third allar
Team and had an even better second half in just 48 games he B A 384 with 10 homers and 36 RBI in early September while making a catch he crashed into the right center field wall he fractured two ribs and missed a month of action he returned for the final three regular
Season games and finished the year as the front runner to take home the MVP only 18 times has a player hit 400 or higher versus right-handed pitchers in a single season in 2010 Hamilton hit 401 the highest since Tony Gwyn in 1994 no one has done it since with an Al best
359 average he won a batting title he also led the league in slugging Ops offensive war and Total War in 133 games he had 32 homers drove in 100 and posted a 170 Ops plus all time 30 players have had a season where they batted 350 hit
30 plus homers and drove in 100 or more a majority of this group are Hall of Famers in 2010 the Rangers won the AL West Division and Hamilton played in October baseball for the first time the Rays were their opponent in the division series and the Rangers were able to
Advance Advance after game five Texas celebrated with ginger rail instead of alcohol so that Hamilton could participate he greatly appreciated the gesture it was the coolest thing for my teammates to understand why I can’t be a part of the celebration and for them to
Adapt it for me to be a part of it says a lot about my teammates the Rangers played the Yankees in the championship series and Hamilton came alive offensively in game one he had a three-run homer and stole a base in game two he walked four times two of those
Were intentional and he stole two bases in game three he had another Homer his two-run shot proved to be all the Run support they needed as the Rangers shot out the Yanks and took a 2-1 series lead in game four Hamilton homered in the seventh and Ninth Innings to punctuate a
10 to3 win the Rangers lost game five but were able to advance to their first World Series appearance in franchise history with a 6 to1 win in game six the Yankees intentionally walked Hamilton three more times to bring the total to five in the series in the six games
Against New York he batted 350 hit four dangers drove in seven and stole three bases he was named ALCS MVP the Rangers matched up with the Giants in the fall classic unfortunately Josh’s bat went cold and they fell to San Francisco in five games after the postseason Hamilton’s amazing regular
Season was recognized he won his second Silver Slugger and was rightfully voted the American League MVP beating out Miguel Cabrera for the award in 2009 phol took his game to the next level he led the league in runs homers on base percentage slugging Ops Ops plus total bases intentional walks
And War his 9.7 war was a career high he walked 51 more times than he struck out and set a career high with 115 walks Albert made the All-Star team for the eighth time and won his fifth Silver Slugger the Cardinals won the Central Division but were a first round exit
After losing three straight to the Dodgers following the postseason phos was named MVP in back-to-back season Seasons he is currently one of just 13 players to accomplish this feat 2010 ended Albert’s 10 consecutive Seasons batting over 300 to begin his career in a new decade phols continued to be a
Dual threat as an offensive and defensive minded first baseman he led the league in runs homers RBIs Ops plus intentional walks and War he made his ninth All-Star appearance reached 400 career home runs in August and reached the 40 Homer Mark for the sixth time of
His career phol won a gold glove Silver Slugger and finished runner up to Joey BTO in MVP voting with this latest near Miss pul joined Ted Williams in Stan mus with four times finishing second in MVP voting the most in baseball history Mike Trout is the only other player to match
It since from 2001 to 2010 Albert hit 408 home runs fun fact he is the only player in baseball history to hit 400 or more home runs in his first 10 seasons in 1963 kofax took his game to the next level on April 19th he pitched another Immaculate inning and dominated the
Houston Colt 45s in a complete Game shutout he struck out 14 batters Sandy missed three starts in late April and early may but quickly dispelled any injury concerns by tossing his second career no hitter against the Giants on May 11th he was nearly Flawless allowing just two walks one of which occurred
With two outs in the ninth inning then in his first three starts of July kofax was exceptional he threw three consecutive shutouts allowing a total of nine hits and two walks his last shutout was the best of the trio as he struck out 13 batters and lowered his ER to
1.63 his scoreless streak got up to 33 Innings taking the ball every fourth day kofax had an absurd first half of the 1963 season he won 14 games and only lost three posted a ridiculous 1.73 eray and threw eight shutouts he allowed just 34 walks and struck out 150 batters and
56 in the third Innings pitched kofax was selected to the All-Star team and had an excellent second half he played a pivotal role for a Dodgers team contending for another world series appearance kofax finished the year with 25 wins a 1.88 ER 306 strikeouts 20 complete games 11 shutouts and a 875
Whip by Leading the league in wins erra and strikeouts he claimed the MLB Triple Crown he led the national league in shutouts FIP whip hits per nine strike out to walk ratio and pitching War his 306 strikeouts were 41 ahead of Jim Maloney for the MLB lead and kofx had
Four more shutouts than the next closest pitchers Ray Herbert and Warren span the Dodgers won the pennant and matched up with the Yankees in the fall classic things had changed since their last encounter in 1956 this time it required a cross-country flight the Untouchable kofax would start game one he answered
The call and delivered nine innings of two-run ball with 5Ks to open a World Series game kovax tied in MLB record in the complete game he fanned a then world series record 15 batters the only player to surpass it was Bob Gibson in 1968 when he struck out 17 the Dodgers took
Game one by a 5-2 score with a narrow one to nothing win in game three La took a 30 series lead and kofax took the hill with a chance to bring home the title Sandy was dealing from start to finish he allowed six hits no walks and one
Earned run in a complete game win the Dodgers swept the Yankees to captured their second title in 5 years unsurprisingly kofax took home World Series MVP honors sy’s historic 1963 regular season was rewarded with a unanimous sayong selection until 1967 there was only one saong winner for all
Of Major League Baseball he also took home the MVP award just 11 pitchers have won both Awards in the same season in 2004 icho took his game to the next level in the first half he beted 321 and made his fourth consecutive All-Star team however the second half is where he
Caught fire in a hot streak from July 1st to September 6th ich amassed 121 hits and batted 458 in a 60 game span all time only Rogers Hornsby has a higher average batting 486 in 1924 erro streak put him on the map to chase the single season hits record of
257 set by George Syler in 1920 with 25 games remaining in the regular season icho was 31 hits away on October 1st he needed just two hits to make history with a packed house ich had a magical night in game 160 he broke George sisler’s 84-year-old record with a three
Hit game ich ended the year with 262 hits the single season hits record that no one has approached since with 9924 hits between 2001 and 2004 he totaled more hits than anyone in history over over any 4-year period Ichiro’s 2004 season is a statistical Marvel he led
The league in war batting average hits intentional walks at bats and plate appearances his 372 average earned him a second career batting title in addition icho became the first player to get 200 hits in his first four years in the big leagues it might feel like a footnote compared to everything previously
Mentioned but ich Rose 225 singles in a season set an MLB record he won a fourth consecutive Gold Glove in an MVP voting Ichiro was snubbed finishing seventh this low placement was certainly influenced by the Mariners finishing in last place Barry Bonds played 22 seasons and made Seven postseason appearances
More than any other player on this list with the pirates from 1990 to 1992 he beted 301 and averaged 31 homers 111 RBIs and 45 stolen bases a year he was named MVP twice and finished runner up in 1991 additionally he won Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards each year the
Pirates achieved three division titles in this time frame but made a first round exit on every occasion in 1997 bonds made it back to the postseason with the Giants but they lost to the eventual World Series winning Marlins in 2000 the Giants played the Mets in the
Division series but once again bonds was not able to make it past the first round 2002 was a different story in the midst of winning four consecutive MVP awards Barry was at his Peak San Francisco took down the Braves in the nlds and the Cardinals in the NLCS to face the angels
In the world series bonds was excellent with three homers in the division series and six RBIs in the championship series The Angels Giants matchup did not disappoint in the end the Angels were victorious and claimed their first title in franchise history in the most important series of his life bonds
Batted an astounding 471 in 7 games with four homers six RB and 13 walks Barry’s Dinger in game two traveled an estimated 485 ft his on base percentage slugging and Ops are the highest by any player in their world series career in 2003 the Giants fell to the eventual Champion
Marlins for the second time marking his last postseason appearance for Barry’s career he made 14 all-star teams won 12 silver Sluggers eight gold gloves seven MVP awards and two batting titles bond is fourth on the all-time War leader board and hits 762 home runs Ken griffy Jr is an all-time great
Five tool player he had a sweet swing and made difficult plays look easy in the Outfield his first chance in the playoffs came in 1995 facing the Yankees Seattle went down 0 and2 to start the division series but responded by winning three straight griffy Jr and Edgar Martinez led the charge in completing
This remarkable comeback Junior’s five homers nine runs scored and 24 total bases in a single ALDS set an MLB record unfortunately in the ALCS against the Indians the Mariners fell in six games injury stole a portion of the kid’s career but he posted video game numbers
From 1996 to 1999 he batted 294 he averaged 52 homers 142 RBI and 19 stolen bases he won both the gold glove and Silver Slugger awards every year in this span and was named MVP in 1997 this same year the Mariners had a short stay in
The playoffs as the Orioles won the ALDS in four games griffy Jr’s last postseason appearance was brief with the white socks in 2008 they lost to the race for his career Junior hits 630 homers which ranks him seventh all time he made 13 all-star teams won 10 gold
Gloves and seven silver Sluggers in 2016 he was nearly a unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame let me know in the comments down below your thoughts on the video If you enjoyed make sure to leave a like and consider subscribing thank you all for watching and I’ll see you
Guys in the next video later
17 Comments
Epic
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are you ready to rebrand to cam 24 for next year
Holy smokes
Proud of you Cam! Keep grinding!
Good year cam keep up the good work
Thank you all for a great 2023! Stay safe, and have a happy new year 🥳
Keep it hundo to the onedo and you’ll never go wrong
Happy New Year to you and your family Cam! My New Year's wish is for The Angelos family to sell the Orioles.Your Videos kept me going throughout a difficult time this year. Keep em coming you do a bang up job. Your definitely hitting them out of the park.
This is one of my favorite Baseballtube channels. Next year I want the prime of Bernie Williams and Hideki Matsui covered. Yankee legends who need their flowers!
hell yea happy newyear everyone
Looking back at this offseason, no doubt in my mind that Murakami is going to the Dodgers
I found your channel about a month or so ago and I’ve binged almost all your videos since! You do an amazing job and all your vids are such high quality and great content. Keep up the amazing work in 2024 and I hope you continue to blow up! ❤🎉
You deserve all the love you get, these vids are always high quality.
so many classic vids this year! keep up the great work can't wait to see what 2024 holds!
Please consider doing a video on giants legend Matt Williams. I don’t see him getting talked about enough. Love your vids btw
I'm a white sox fan, but Javy Baez when he was on fire was my favorite player to watch in that time span. I'm glad he's struggling in DET LOL, but he was a monster before the league figured him out.