Remembering the Season that Was: The Top 10
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Regardless of who you cheer for, it's been a great season to be a baseball fan. The year has had it's ups and downs, but if you ask me, it's been one of the more memorable seasons in recent history.
Without further ado, here's All on the Field's Top 10 from the regular season that was (in no particular order).
- The arrival of Dice-K. Despite all the hype surrounding the gyro ball and myths of the 28-inning game he pitched one time in Japan, Dice-K proved to be rather human after all. He did win 15 games and strike out 201, but teammate Dustin Pedroia will get the nod for AL Rookie of the Year.
- The triumphant return of Roger Clemens. Yes, I know that the dramatic comeback has become sort of an annual occurrence, but it looks like this might have been the last. At least, we can hope.
- Barry Bonds' 756th home run. The recovery, sale, and subsequent branding of the ball turned out to be more dramatic than the home run itself. But the pursuit and breaking of the home run record served its purpose for the Giants, who were able to lure people to the stadium despite fielding a AAA team. Once the record had been broken in their stadium by a player wearing their uniform, the Giants decided it was time to wash their hands of Bonds.
- Speaking of milestones, it was Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez, and Jim Thome all reaching the 500 home run milestone. Sammy Sosa hit #600. Isn't it crazy to think that Rodriguez could be the only one of that group to be voted into the Hall?
- The rise and fall of Rick Ankiel. Ankiel was Roy Hobbs, the Natural, when he got called up to the Bigs in August, and the story that began to unfold (9 home runs, a .300-plus average, leading the charge in St. Louis's pennant race) was almost too good to be true. That's because it was. The day of a two-homer, 7 RBI game, Ankiel was linked to HGH shipments from 2004. That news pretty much spelled the end of his Cinderella story and the Cardinals' season.
- The National League's incredible rookies, Hunter Pence and Ryan Braun. Pence was all the rage until he was sidelined by a broken his wrist, but he'll still finish the season with 17 home runs, 69 RBIs and a .322 batting average. Braun, called up at the end of May, has been ridiculous, to the tune of .324/34/97.
- Johan Santana's grand finale in Minnesota. On August 19 against Texas, Santana was dominant, allowing two hits and walking none while striking out 17 in a 1-0 victory. It wasn't his last start of the season, but it had to be bittersweet for Twins fans to watch, knowing that he could be gone as early as this offseason.
- Milton Bradley's non-baseball-related injury. Well, it was sort of related. The incident that happened last week is still fresh in our minds, so there's no need to go into any great detail. But most amazing about this story is the fact that Bradley may actually be the innocent party.
- Monster seasons by Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder. These guys are the MVPs of their respective leagues, but it's too bad that we'll only see one of them in the playoffs.
- Bizarre, back-and-forth, and down-to-the-wire pennant races. Not exactly the best baseball we've seen in recent memory, but certainly some of the tightest races to the finish. The Mets blow a colossal lead, the Cubs back into the playoffs and the Padres and Rockies need a one-game playoff tomorrow to determine the NL Wild Card winner. Gotta love it.
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