The Buzz: Looking Back and Ahead

In many ways, Major League Baseball is the ultimate reality show. Sure it is not based off the constant drinking and “hooking-up” that the MTV Show Jersey Shore is about, but it provides more reality than Jersey Shore – or any show for that matter- could ever bring to people’s attention. The 2010 season was case and point as to why Major League Baseball will always be America’s nationals pastime.

In 2010, there were countless storylines to follow, as well as the return of a what the game should be about. Lets take a quick look back at what the 2010 season in Major League Baseball provided us with.

• Year of the Pitcher– The biggest story that came out of the 2010 season, was that return of pitching was finally on display in Major League Baseball. The past decade was filled with steroid infested players hitting monster home runs which led to pitching being irrevelant. However, with stricter punishments now in place, baseball in 2010 was based off pitching and not the glorious home runs. During the 2010 season, we saw an incredible 5 no hitters – not including Roy Halladay’s no hitter in the postseason- 2 of which were perfect games.  If there was one thing to take away from this past season, it was that you no longer are going to win games by the three run home run, instead you are going to need steady pitching to lead you to success.
• Year of the Phenom- There really has not been a year in Major League Baseball that had been focused on young phenoms that have been called up to the Major Leagues. That proved not be the case this year, as Braves Phenom Jason Heyward made his presence felt on opening day when he hit a three run home run off Carlos Zambrano in his first at bat. After Heyward, we saw the likes of Starlin Castro, Mike Stanton, and Buster Posey all make there brilliant debuts onto the big league scene. Even with these young players all making an impact for their respective teams, everyone in Baseball were just counting down the days until Stephen Strasburg made his debut. While Strasburg did excel in the major leagues, it was short lived, as he was later sidelined with Tommy John Surgery. But, this new found emphasis on young players should really increase the interest level in Major League Baseball. Because, for many years now, the thing that has put MLB behind the NFL and NBA is their lack of young players making an impact immediately when they are drafted. Because a lot of interest is generated into the NBA and NFL, because of their respective drafts. Meanwhile, there is almost no interest in the Major League draft, outside of those who are seriously interested in baseball.
• Instant Replay- One of the biggest controversies of the entire 2010 season, was whether or not Major League Baseball should regulate the use of instant replay throughout the entire course of a game. Currently, instant replay is only used on debated foul or fair home runs. Those who are against the instant replay movement note that it would only extend the duration of the game. The game is already 3 or even 4 hours longs, so it really is irrevelant to argue over an extra 30 minutes at the most. Also, instant replay would allow the game to be played under the correct circumstances. In this case, Armando Galarraga would have had a perfect game, instead of being robbed of the opportunity on a blatant error by field umpire Jim Joyce.

However, the 2011 season is setting up to be another interesting year from the fans perspective. Here are a few reasons why…

• The Future Albert Pujols- As much as everyone loved the whole LeBron James frenzy this past summer in the NBA, the Albert Pujols frenzy is sure to be equally as interesting. As of now, the expectation is that Pujols could be seeking a “mega-deal”, one that would pay him $27MM-$29MM per season for 7-10 years. If that is the case, the St Louis Cardinals may not be in the position to keep their long time superstar. I would not be surprised if each and every team in Major League Baseball will be interested in Pujols when he hits the open market. To be honest, Pujols is the type of player you make an exception for, regardless of what your first base depth is right not.
• The Phillies Rotation- Last winter, we heard about the fantasy scenarios where both Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee would be on the same rotation for the Philadelphia Phillies, at the time most of thought that this dream would ever come to fruition. Well, now we have the chance to potentially see history, as both Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay are in fact on the same rotation for the Philadelphia Phillies. Both Lee and Halladay were two of the most dominating pitchers in all of baseball last season, which left many people hoping to see the two duel each other in the World Series. Now, the two will pair up and try and win the World Series together. But that is only half of what could possibly be the best rotation of all time, as both Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt will also be a part of the fearsome Phillies rotation. To simply put it, watching that pitching rotation next season will be very fun for fans everywhere.
• Increased Competition- The World Series matchup between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants last season should have been the first indicator that the competitive level has changed in the Major League Baseball. Time after time we would see the same ol’ teams make the World Series, and eventually win it, it is finally nice to see new unexpected teams take home the prize. With more small market teams like the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox (even though they are in Chicago), and Detroit Tigers all being aggressive this winter with trades and free agency, that is sure to result in increased competition this season. In the end, Major League Baseball will be in a much better position if there was more parity, and less superiority.