Comparing the Major League Debut Classes of 1995 and 2015.

In 1990, Topps created a set honoring the players who made their MLB debut during the 1989 campaign. It was a relatively successful set, with future HOF's like Ken Griffey, Jr., and Deion Sanders (okay, he's in the Football HOF) and others. In 2009, I created a post comparing the MLB Debut classes of 1989 and 2009 in honor of that set. To coincide with the MLB Debut 1990 and 1991 boxed sets, I also wrote a post comparing the MLB Debut classes of 1990 and 2010 and again for the MLB Debut classes of 1991 and 2011.

Sadly, they stopped creating this set. I wish they would bring it back, if only so that every player who makes it to the majors has at least one Topps card to call his own. But even though Topps stopped the MLB debut sets (and they don't plan on making them any time soon), I continued comparing the MLB Debut classes of 1992 and 2012, 1993 and 2013, & 1994 and 2014. As the 2015 MLB season ended a few weeks back, and it looks like we know who's going to the World Series (maybe next year guys), now would be a good time to review this year's 2015 MLB debutantes and compare them to the class of 1995. These have been fun posts for me to write, and it's nice to look back to see how the future stars of my youth (I was 19 in 1995), performed over the years.

According to Baseball Reference, 18,662 athletes have entered their names into the annals of Major League Baseball record-keeping. In fact, 254 of them made their MLB Debuts in 2015. That's 254 more players that have etched their names into history books, baseball encyclopedias, and baseball websites. Two hundred fifty-four more players who finally reached the pinnacle of their professional careers, no matter how long or how brief their stay was. They can honestly say that they have arrived.

In 1995, 247 players made their big league debuts, up from 114 players the year before. Remember, the strike that started in 1994 carried over into 1995. Spring Training consisted of 27 teams of replacement players (the Orioles did not run a MLB camp, their minor leaguers did get their work in though). When the strike ended all 28 teams had three weeks to get their rosters together. One location was set up for MLB players who were free agents and were looking for a place to play. Among the first of nine players to debut was Todd Hollandsworth (who debuted on April 25, 1995), the last was Gary Bennett (who made his first appearance on September 24, 1995). Thirty players who would debut during the 1995 campaign would go on to become All-Stars at some point in their careers. We'd all get to know their names on a regular basis like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Billy Wagner, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada, Mike Sweeney, Troy Percival, Andy Pettitte, Jason Schmidt, Johnny Damon, and the man who is credited for breaking down the door for Japanese players to make their impact in MLB, Hideo Nomo. Players who had high expectations, but eventually faded from the spotlight (Jason Bates, Carlos Perez, Terrell Wade, Vaughn Eshelman) also made their debuts in 1994.

Believe it or not, one player who made his debut in 1995 was still on a MLB roster during the 2015 season (and he announced that 2015 would be his final year in the majors). The debutantes of 1995 (as of the end of the 2015 season) combined for 31 All-Star Game appearances, 5,658 home runs, 26,050 runs batted in, 4,011 stolen bases, and a batting average of about .267. Pitchers who debuted in 1995 have gone on to a combined record of 3344-3417, saved 2,820 games, completed 300 games, faced 263,361 batters, struck out 43,084 of them, gave up 7,265 home runs, and had a cumulative ERA of 4.50.

At any given point during the 2015 season, there were 750 players on active rosters (not counting those on the disabled list). And in amongst the shuffling of talent, 254 baseball players, some who'd toiled in the minors for a very long time (Junior Guerra signed with the Braves in 2001 and spent more than 14 years between the minor and independent leagues), and at least six players who were drafted in the 2015 free agent draft, got to step onto the field of a major league stadium for the very first time and play at least one inning of major league baseball. One hundred four of them were position players, the other 150 stepped onto the pitcher's mound for the very first time. Of the 254, one was born in 1995 (Roberto Osuna), and the oldest player to debut was 32 years old (Angel Castro).

The 2015 debutantes combined for one All-Star Game appearance (Kris Bryant), 360 home runs, 1,396 runs batted in, 206 stolen bases, and a cumulative .249 batting average. Pitchers went 235-280 with an ERA of 4.42, striking out 3,936 batters, and saved 38 games.

Just for fun, let's compare both classes:

• Players making debut: 1995 = 247; 2015 = 254
• Position Players/Pitchers: 1995 = 94/153; 2015 = 104/150
• Earliest Debut: 1995 = Quilvio Veras, Antonio Osuna, Mike Myers, Todd Hollandsworth, and Matt Dunbar (April 25, 1995); 2015 = Devon Travis, Micah Johnson, Odubel Herrera, J. R. Graham, and Miguel Castro (April 6, 2015)
• Latest Debut: 1995 = Gary Bennett (September 24, 1995); 2015 = Gary Sanchez (October 3, 2015)
• Youngest at time of Debut: 1995 = Karim Garcia (born October 29, 1975, or 19 years, 308 days old); 2015 = Roberto Osuna (February 7, 1995, or 20 years, 60 days old)
• Oldest at time of Debut: 1995 = Edgar Caceres (June 6, 1964, or 31 years, 2 days old); 2015 = Angel Castro (November 14, 1982, or 32 years, 176 days old)
• Shortest Career: 1995 = Dennis Konuszewski (1 game, 0.1 innings pitched, 3 hits, 1 walk, 2 earned runs, 54.00 ERA) and Noe Muñoz (2 games, 0-1, .000 AVG); 2015 = Chris Beck, John Cornely, Jose De Paula, Daniel Fields, Brian Johnson, Zach Lee, Akeel Morris, Toru Murata, Matt Tracy, and Kyle Waldrop each have only one MLB game under their belt (Waldrop entered as a pinch hitter in the 5th-inning, striking out in his lone at bat. Morris, in his 0.2 innings of faced 8 batters, allowed 3 hits, 3 walks, and 5 earned runs, for a 67.50 ERA).
• Longest Career, Seasons: 1995 = LaTroy Hawkins; 2015 = only time will tell.

Of the players from the debut class of 2015, just like in 1995, there could be some Hall of Fame candidates. Most may go on to All-Star caliber, or very long careers in the bigs. And for some, this may be their only year in the majors. But all of them can say that they achieved their dream of being a Major League Ballplayer.

And nothing can take that away from them.

I've clamored before about wanting to bring back the Major League Debut set. But I know in today's age of exclusive contracts and rookie card restrictions that a set of this type might never see the light of day again. And although I have a feeling that many collectors would not want to get a set that might have stars but plenty of "never will be's" amongst them, a set like this could contain the only card of a player who played in one inning of major league ball.

Who knows what the future will bring for the 254 players who first appeared in 2015. Most might never play in the majors again, disappearing in the obscurity of minor league baseball for the rest of their professional careers. Creating a set called the 2016 MLB Debut 2015 would give them a slim piece of cardboard immortality.

Oh well, I can dream, can't I???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. The annual Guess the Topps All-Star Rookie Team contest will be postponed this year because of time restraints. No sense in trying to get contest entries when, one, I haven't had time to write up the annual Rookie Review, and two, the readership of this humble, little blog has nosedived. I will still write my thoughts on who will make the team, but we'll skip the contest for this year. Hopefully, I'll have a bit more time next year to devote to the blog. jba

Betances, Kemp Win 1st Ever HBC Final Man Roster Spots

After I posted my End-of-the-Year All-Star Teams last month, I gave whatever readers I have left the opportunity to vote one of the players I had to leave off onto the teams. Called the "HBC (Hobby Blogging Community's) Final Man," I picked five players that I thought could have been on either the AL or NL team, but because of roster space and other factors, they did not make it initially.

This was the first time I have done asked the public to help me with these "fantasy" teams since I started doing this back in 1989. I also said that if that if there was enough interest in this, I'd consider running a final man ballot every year. Turnout, considering how often I have posted these last two years, was surprisingly good. So I will do this next year too.

Summary:

There were ten players I selected for the initial final ballot. Five players per league. Readers who voted were allowed to vote for one player per league. Voting ran for two weeks. Those players were:

American League RP Dellin Betances, Yankees DH Chris Carter, Astros SP Wei-Yin Chen, Orioles 2B Ian Kinsler, Tigers DH David Ortiz, Red Sox

National League OF Charlie Blackmon, Rockies 1B Freddie Freeman, Braves OF Matt Kemp, Dodgers RP Francisco Rodriguez, Brewers 2B Neil Walker, Pirates

Now for the results:

From the very beginning, both Dellin Betances of the Yankees and Matt Kemp of the Dodgers led their respective ballots.

By the time it ended, Betances earned 16 of the 40 votes cast, followed by Ortiz (9), Kinsler (8), Carter (6), and Chen of the Orioles (1). Betances becomes the fourth Yankees player added to the 2014 AL squad, joining Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, and David Robertson.

Kemp outpaced the rest of the NL field, with 18 votes, followed by Freeman (5), Blackmon, Rodriguez, and Walker (3 each). Kemp's addition brings the Dodgers' contingent up to 6 players, joining Adrian Gonzalez, Dee Gordon, Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, and Kenley Jansen.

When SBS Baseball comes out with the team rosters from the 2014 campaign, I will go ahead and add Betances and Kemp to the rest of the rosters. This will be the first time ever that I will have one more pitcher on one side and another batter on the other side. Should be interesting to see which team has the advantage.

Thank you very much to everyone who voted.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610’s 2014 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams…The Final Rosters

I was a bit busy yesterday, so I'm sorry if you were waiting for this post (sure you were, right??!)

After going over stats and arguing with myself as to who deserves to be on the team, I have finally finished completing my 36-man teams. I think I can say with confidence that the players who made my All-Star Teams were worthy of inclusion, not just because many of them are major superstars, but because their statistics were high enough above their peers that made them stand out from the rest. And believe me, it was tough to choose. Certain players were left off (I'll list them at the bottom for honorable mentions...and a possible twist.

So, without further ado, here are the players who made my 2014 MLB End of Year All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

American League First Basemen Jose Abreu, White Sox Miguel Cabrera, Tigers Albert Pujols, Angels Second Basemen Jose Altuve, Astros Robinson Cano, Mariners Brian Dozier, Twins Third Basemen Adrian Beltre, Rangers Josh Donaldson, Athletics Evan Longoria, Rays Shortstops Erick Aybar, Angels Alexei Ramirez, White Sox Jose Reyes, Blue Jays Outfielders Jose Bautista, Blue Jays Michael Brantley, Indians Yoenis Cespedes, Red Sox Nelson Cruz, Orioles Jacoby Ellsbury, Yankees Torii Hunter, Tigers Adam Jones, Orioles J. D. Martinez, Tigers Mike Trout, Angels Catchers Yan Gomes, Indians Brian McCann, Yankees Salvador Perez, Royals Designated Hitter Victor Martinez, Tigers Pitchers Zach Britton, Orioles Wade Davis, Royals Felix Hernandez, Mariners Greg Holland, Royals Corey Kluber, Indians Jon Lester, Athletics David Robertson, Yankees Fernando Rodney, Mariners Chris Sale, White Sox Max Scherzer, Tigers Jered Weaver, Angels

National League First Basemen Lucas Duda, Mets Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers Anthony Rizzo, Cubs Second Basemen Dee Gordon, Dodgers Daniel Murphy, Mets Chase Utley, Phillies Third Basemen Todd Frazier, Reds Casey McGehee, Marlins Anthony Rendon, Nationals Shortstops Starlin Castro, Cubs Ian Desmond, Nationals Johnny Peralta, Cardinals Outfielders Carlos Gomez, Brewers Matt Holliday, Cardinals Andrew McCutchen, Pirates Hunter Pence, Giants Seth Smith, Padres Denard Span, Nationals Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins Justin Upton, Braves Jayson Werth, Nationals Catchers Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks Buster Posey, Giants Designated Hitter Justin Morneau, Rockies Pitchers Madison Bumgarner, Giants Aroldis Chapman, Reds Johnny Cueto, Reds Zack Greinke, Dodgers Kenley Jansen, Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers Craig Kimbrel, Braves Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals Adam Wainwright, Cardinals Tony Watson, Pirates Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals

Most of the position players were chosen based on statistics comparing the top eight position players in each league (hits, runs, home runs, rbi's, walks, strikeouts, stolen bases, caught stealing, and batting average). In most cases, the players I had chosen earlier due to the one person per team rule made the top three.

In previous years, I tended to show a little more bias to Chicago players (on both sides) in cases where if I thought I could choose them over another person, I would (hey, I'm from Chicago, what can I say). But since I'm now announcing these publicly (compared to doing this privately in my mind), I thought I'd try to be as open minded as I can and pick the proper deserving players. Although both Chicago teams didn't fare very well this season (heck, even the priest of our church said prayers couldn't help them win the division this year, and this was before Opening Day). But all five Cubs or White Sox players who were selected to participate in the game (save the guy who was traded to Oakland) made it onto the teams this year. Sole player reps on teams this year include the Astros (Altuve), Rangers (Beltre), Rays (Longoria), Red Sox (Cespedes), Twins (Dozier), Diamondbacks (Montero), Padres (S. Smith), Phillies (Utley), and Rockies (Morneau). The Tigers send a league-high five players to the AL squad. The Nationals again have five players to the team, most in the NL. The Orioles and Cardinals each send four players onto the All-Star Teams.

There are 22 players on both rosters making my All-Star Teams for the very first time, eleven on each side.

Are there snubs? You bet. On the AL, as mentioned before, the DH spot was an issue, only because I only allow one spot on the roster for it. It was a three-man race between the Astros' Chris Carter, the Red Sox' David Ortiz, and the Tigers' Victor Martinez. Although MLB makes the AL add two DH's to their team (a starter voted by the fans, and then a backup voted by the players), with all of the great hitters already on the team, I see no need to add more than one DH to the teams, especially when I actually run simulations. Second base was also very contentious. Because I picked Brian Dozier of the Twins during my "every team needs a rep" portion in selecting the teams, it knocked out the Tigers' Ian Kinsler. It was a toss-up either way between Kinsler and Cano, for the last second base position.

On the NL side, I decided to place NL batting champion Justin Morneau as the DH. That left one first baseman spot open. It was also a tossup between the Braves' Freddie Freeman and the Dodgers' Adrian Gonzalez, with Gonzalez eventually being my pick. Second base was a tough call between Dee Gordon of the Dodgers and the Pirates' Neil Walker. Because I'm taking into consideration that I am actually simulating games, I decided to add the speedy Gordon rather than the Walker as there are enough sluggers on the NL side. The NL outfield started with Stanton, Smith, and Gomez. I actually wound up picking two more RF's (Pence/Werth), CF's (McCutchen/Span), and LF's (Holliday/Upton). But those picks left out players like Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies, Matt Kemp of the Dodgers, and Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins.

Now it's time to add a poll to this website, something I haven't done in quite a while, and will leave it up and running for a while. This is also the first time I'm going to let the readers (if I have any out there) have a say on who makes these teams, so if this works (meaning I get enough people voting), it may be something I'll do every year.

Just like MLB's Final Man Vote, I am going to list five players for each league. Tell me which snub should have been added to the team. The players are:

American League RP Dellin Betances, Yankees DH Chris Carter, Astros SP Wei-Yin Chen, Orioles 2B Ian Kinsler, Tigers DH David Ortiz, Red Sox

National League OF Charlie Blackmon, Rockies 1B Freddie Freeman, Braves OF Matt Kemp, Dodgers RP Francisco Rodriguez, Brewers 2B Neil Walker, Pirates

I'll give this a go for two-weeks. The players with the most votes (and you will only be allowed to pick one player, unless you go on multiple computers and continually vote) will be added to the above teams in what I will call the "HBC Final-Man selection." They will be added to the rosters when I run my simulations next year. Again, if there are enough votes for this, I will make this a yearly thing. Otherwise, this might just be a one-hit wonder and will be scrapped.

So ends the presentation for my 2014 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams. Please feel free to comment, debate, tell me that I did a good job, or that I don't know what I'm talking about and should have put in this person for another.

I promise I will get to running the simulations (thanks to SBS baseball) once the stats are uploaded onto the website next year. This way, we can see which of the above squads would win if they faced each other. I will also make sure images of all the cards of the players (if I have to, I'll try and make some) once the Cyber Museum uploads images of the 2014 Update Series cards on their site.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 2014 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...Every Team Needs a Representative

With the pitching staffs set in our last All-Star Team post, the next step is to make sure that every team gets at least one representative. I believe in the All-Star rule that every team, no matter how well or how poorly they did, has at least one person they could tag as an All-Star, based on his performance on the field. If it means that another person gets snubbed, that's sadly the way it goes. It does not matter how many spots there are on an All-Star team, someone always manages to be left out.

Now the pitching staffs from both sides locked in one representative from nine of the AL teams and seven of the NL teams. So that means in this post, I am going to name six position players in the AL, and eight in the NL.

On the American League side, the Orioles, White Sox, Indians, Tigers, Angels, Royals, Yankees, Athletics, and Mariners have representatives. These six players will ensure that the AL has all 15 teams represented:

• OF Yoenis Cespedes, Red Sox (.260, 22 HR, 100 RBI)
• 2B Jose Altuve, Astros (.341, 7 HR, 59 RBI)
• 2B Brian Dozier, Twins (.242, 23 HR, 71 RBI)
• 3B Evan Longoria, Rays (.253, 22 HR, 91 RBI)
• 3B Adrian Beltre, Rangers (.324, 19 HR, 77 RBI)
• OF Jose Bautista, Blue Jays (.286, 35 HR, 103 RBI)

With two of the three 2B and 3B positions filled, it's going to be very tough to pick the player who takes the final spot. Many worthy candidates will be left out, I can sadly guarantee. The hardest team to find a proper player rep was probably the Red Sox. Yes, the defending World Series champs had an extremely bad year. And yes, David Ortiz had another fantastic year. The problem is that there is only one spot for the DH, and there were too many guys to consider there. Now, I'm not going to say if Big Papi made the team yet (stay tuned on Thursday to find out), but I figured that Cespedes, with his combined numbers with the A's and Red Sox, was a proper pick. Now, could he be the only BoSox player going?

In the NL, the Braves, Reds, Dodgers, Pirates, Cardinals, Giants, and Nationals have representatives. These eight players will ensure that the NL has all 15 teams represented:

• C Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks (.243, 13 HR, 72 RBI)
• 1B Anthony Rizzo, Cubs (.286, 32 HR, 78 RBI)
• 1B Justin Morneau, Rockies (.319, 17 HR, 82 RBI)
• OF Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins (.288, 37 HR, 105 RBI)
• OF Carlos Gomez, Brewers (.284, 23 HR, 73 RBI)
• 1B Lucas Duda, Mets (.253, 30 HR, 92 RBI)
• 2B Chase Utley, Phillies (.264, 25 HR, 85 RBI)
• OF Seth Smith, Padres (.266, 12 HR, 48 RBI)

Before you go screaming that the 1B spots are now full and that someone may be left out, understand that Justin Morneau won the NL batting title this year, so he needs to be on here. Now, does this mean that he can't be moved over to the DH position (as that is usually filled by the hitter with the best average who had not been picked for the team after the fielding positions were filled)? Duda and Rizzo were picked because they were the best power hitters on their respective teams (Mets and Cubs). Adding Stanton, Gomez, and Smith leaves six outfield spots open, which works out well considering that normally, the OF spots are usually filled by guys who wind up being the sole representative of their team.

Now before you start to say, "Where's this guy?" or, "Why didn't my guy make the team?" Please keep in mind that I'm not done filling out the team. These 14 guys are only here so that all 30 teams have a player. The best (trust me) is still yet to come.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 2014 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...The Starting Pitchers

Yesterday, I named the bullpens for each of my 2014 End of the Year All-Star Teams. Now it's time to name the starters.

To recap, here is my American League relief corps:

• Zach Britton, Orioles
• Wade Davis, Royals
• Greg Holland, Royals
• David Robertson, Yankees
• Fernando Rodney, Mariners

and the National League bullpen:

• Aroldis Chapman, Reds
• Kenley Jansen, Dodgers
• Craig Kimbrel, Braves
• Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals
• Tony Watson, Pirates

So, who would they be relieving???

Starting with the American League six-man rotation, we have (in alphabetical order):

• Felix Hernandez, Mariners (15-6, 2.14 ERA, 248 K's)
• Corey Kluber, Indians (18-9, 2.44 ERA, 269 K's)
• Jon Lester, Athletics (16-11, 2.46 ERA, 220 K's)
• Chris Sale, White Sox (12-4, 2.17 ERA, 208 K's)
• Max Scherzer, Tigers (18-5, 3.15 ERA, 252 K's)
• Jered Weaver, Angels (18-9, 3.59 ERA, 169 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to (meaning, if I had more space, I'd would have added) Wei-Yin Chen of the Orioles (16-6, 3.54, 136 K's), Phil Hughes of the Twins (16-10, 3.52, 186 K's), Matt Shoemaker of the Angels (16-4, 3.04, 124 K's), David Price of the Tigers (15-12, 3.26, 271 K's), and Dallas Keuchel of the Astros (12-9, 2.93, 146 K's). Most teams cringe just thinking about facing just one of these six aces, imagine if they were all on the same team.

In the National League, my All-Star six man rotation includes:

• Madison Bumgarner, Giants (18-10, 2.98 ERA, 186 K's)
• Johnny Cueto, Reds (20-9, 2.25 ERA, 242 K's)
• Zack Greinke, Dodgers (17-8, 2.71 ERA, 207 K's)
• Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (21-3, 1.77 ERA, 239 K's)
• Adam Wainwright, Cardinals (20-9, 2.38 ERA, 179 K's)
• Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals (14-5, 2.66 ERA, 182 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to Doug Fister of the Nationals (16-6, 2.41 ERA, 98 K's), Wily Peralta of the Brewers (17-11, 3.53 ERA, 154 K's), Tyson Ross of the Padres (13-14, 3.54 ERA, 1954 K's), Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (10-5, 2.53 ERA, 167 K's), and Julio Teheran of the Braves (14-13, 2.89 ERA, 186 K's). These guys had great numbers in 2014, and would make a dominant rotation on their own.

So the pitching staffs are done. Next, we'll get to the position players. The first step is to ensure that every team has a representative, regardless of what position he plays. At this point, five AL teams and seven teams from the NL need to have a player. I have a few people in mind. Who will they be? Tune in some time tomorrow and find out.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 2014 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...The Relief Pitchers

As the playoffs are going into full swing, it's time for my favorite time of the year, the naming of bdj610's End of the Year All-Star Teams.

With the introduction of the 2014 bdj610's End of the Year All-Star Teams, it will be the 26th straight season that I've been creating these imaginary teams. How significant is this? Let's put it this way. Twenty-nine MLB teams have made the playoffs since I first started this back in 1988. The final team, the Royals, just made the playoffs for the first time since 1985. And by the way they're playing, they'll be really hard to beat.

But I digress.

If you want to know what the heck I'm talking about and why I have created All-Star Teams for both leagues since I was 12 years old, please review the introduction and brief history (ahem...brief???) as to why I have done this every year for the past 26 years.

Quick rules on how I comprise the teams:

• Two teams, one American League team, and one National League team
• There are 36 spots on each team (three first basemen, three second basemen, three third basemen, three shortstops, nine outfielders, three catchers, six starting pitchers, four relief pitchers/closers, one relief pitcher/set-up, and one DH-the NL spot is taken by the player with the highest average who did not make the team at any position)
• Every team gets a representative. No exceptions. If a player gets snubbed by a guy who is only there because a team needed a rep, then that's sadly the way it goes.

This is going to be a four-post process. Today, I will announce the bullpen staffs for each team.

Why start with the bullpens?

Because it's relatively simple. The top four guys with the most saves are automatically on the teams. Usually.

Last year, I started with the National League staff, this time, I'll begin the American League closers. On this year's team are:

• Fernando Rodney, Mariners (1-6, 2.85, 48 saves)
• Greg Holland, Royals (1-3, 1.44, 46 saves)
• David Robertson, Yankees (4-5, 3.08, 39 saves)
• Zach Britton, Orioles (3-2, 1.65, 37 saves)

These four players led the American League in saves. Others I had considered were actual 2014 All-Stars Sean Doolittle of the Athletics (2-4, 2.73 ERA, 22 saves, 0.73 WHIP) and Glen Perkins of the Twins (4-3, 3.65 ERA, 34 saves).

The National League closers for the 2014 team are:

• Craig Kimbrel, Braves (0-3, 1.61, 47 saves)
• Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals (2-6, 3.20, 45 saves)
• Kenley Jansen, Dodgers (2-3, 2.76, 44 saves)
• Aroldis Chapman, Reds (0-3, 2.00, 36 saves, 0.83 WHIP)

I get that Aroldis was out for a period earlier in the season (thanks to a line drive to the head), but based on his numbers, if he were to pitch another 10 to 15 games, he could have easily been up there with Kimbrel and Rosenthal. The fact that he came back as soon as he did and not miss a beat is incredible enough. Francisco Rodriguez of the Brewers (5-5, 3.04, 44 saves, 0.99 WHIP), Steve Cishek of the Marlins (4-5, 3.17, 39 saves), and Jonathan Papelbon (2-3, 2.04, 39 saves, 0.90 WHIP) were also considered for the bullpen spots. Side note:  Rosenthal becomes the third different Cardinals closer to make it onto the All-Star team for the third consecutive season (Edward Mujica in 2013, Jason Motte in 2012).

If recent All-Star Game history has shown us, it's that middle relief pitchers, those guys who ride the bullpen, and barely ever get any baseball cards, are now an important part of any All-Star bullpen. So many great pitching performances this year by so many different players, it's just so hard to choose just one player to fill this spot. But one spot is available on both sides for a middle reliever. When all was said and done though, the two players I selected were more than qualified to make it onto the respective teams.

The AL Middle Reliever for the 2014 team is Wade Davis of the Royals. He led the AL in holds with 33, earned an impressive 9-2 record (which means that he was able to hold the opposing team down just before the Royals would mount one of their famous comebacks), an ERA of 1.00, struck out 109 batters, and achieved a 0.85 WHIP. Opposing batters could only muster a .151 batting average against him. The only other person who was considered was Yankees' All-Star Dellin Betances (5-0, 1.50 ERA, 135 K's, 1.09 WHIP, .149 BAA, 22 holds).

The NL Middle Reliever for the 2014 team is the Pirates' Tony Watson. His 34 holds were good for second in the NL, but a 10-2 record (which also means that he kept opposing teams down before his Bucs would rally), along with a 1.63 ERA, 81 strikeouts, and a 1.02 WHIP was more than enough to get him added as the middle reliever. Others in consideration for this spot include Tyler Clippard of the Nationals (7-4, 2.18 ERA, 82 K's, 40 holds), and Pat Neshek of the Cardinals (7-2, 1.87, 68 K's, 0.79 WHIP, 25 holds).

So right now, we've named the bullpens for each team. Who will fill out the rest of the rosters? Tomorrow, I will name the six starting pitchers that will round out the pitching staffs on each team.

By Wednesday, every team will get a representative as I announce just some of the players who will take spots on both leagues' rosters.

And finally on Thursday, I will round out the rest of the rosters and introduce the complete American and National League teams.

Wait and see. It's going to look good I promise.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Comparing the Major League Debut Classes of 1994 and 2014.

In 1990, Topps created a set honoring the players who made their MLB debut during the 1989 campaign. It was a relatively successful set, with future HOF's like Ken Griffey, Jr., and Deion Sanders (okay, he's in the Football HOF) and others. In 2009, I created a post comparing the MLB Debut classes of 1989 and 2009 in honor of that set. To coincide with the MLB Debut 1990 and 1991 boxed sets, I also wrote a post comparing the MLB Debut classes of 1990 and 2010 and again for the MLB Debut classes of 1991 and 2011.

Sadly, they stopped creating this set. I wish they would bring it back, if only so that every player who makes it to the majors has at least one Topps card to call his own. But even though Topps stopped the MLB debut sets (and they don't plan on making them any time soon), I continued comparing the MLB Debut classes of 1992 and 2012 & 1993 and 2013. As the 2014 MLB season ended just ended, now would be a good time to review this year's 2014 MLB debutantes and compare them to the class of 1994. These have been fun posts for me to write, and it's nice to look back to see how the future stars of my youth (I was 18 in 1994), performed over the years. This article will be a bit more special for me as I will be attending my 20 Year High School Reunion next week.

According to Baseball Reference, 18,408 athletes have entered their names into the annals of Major League Baseball record-keeping. In fact, 234 of them made their MLB Debuts in 2014. That's 234 more players that have etched their names into history books, baseball encyclopedias, and baseball websites. Two hundred thirty-four more players who finally reached the pinnacle of their professional careers, no matter how long or how brief their stay was. They can honestly say that they have arrived.

In 1994, 114 players made their big league debuts, down from 203 players the year before (don't forget that the season ended a bit early thanks to the players' strike). Among the first of nine players to debut was Alex Gonzalez (who debuted on April 4, 1994), the last was Duane Singleton (who made his first appearance on August 4, 1994). Eleven players who would debut during the 1994 campaign would go on to become All-Stars at some point in their careers. We'd all get to know their names on a regular basis like Alex Rodriguez, Garret Anderson, Armando Benitez, Jeff Cirillo, Charles Johnson, Mike Lieberthal, Ricky Bottalico, Jon Lieber, Jose Lima and Chan Ho Park. Players who had high expectations, but eventually faded from the spotlight (William VanLandingham, John Hudek, Gar Finnvold, Kurt Miller) also made their debuts in 1994.

Believe it or not, one player who made his debut in 1994 was still on a MLB roster during the 2014 season (ehh...technically, he was...right?). The debutantes of 1994 (as of the end of the 2014 season) combined for 30 All-Star Game appearances, 2,489 home runs (654 by A-Rod), 10,705 runs batted in, 1,283 stolen bases, and a batting average of about .262. Pitchers who debuted in 1993 have gone on to a combined record of 1379-1464, saved 829 games, completed 100 games, faced 111,690 batters, struck out 18,750 of them, gave up 3,344 home runs, and had a cumulative ERA of 4.59.

At any given point during the 2014 season, there were 750 players on active rosters (not counting those on the disabled list). And in amongst the shuffling of talent, 234 baseball players, some who'd toiled in the minors for a very long time (Jumbo Diaz and Guilder Rodriguez come to mind), and at least one player who was drafted in the 2014 free agent draft (Brandon Finnegan), got to step onto the field of a major league stadium for the very first time and play at least one inning of major league baseball. One hundred two of them were position players, the other 132 stepped onto the pitcher's mound for the very first time. Of the 234, two were born in 1994 (Rougned Odor and Dilson Herrera), and the oldest player to debut was 33 years old (Tsuyoshi Wada).

The 2014 debutantes combined for two All-Star Game appearances (Jose Abreu and Masahiro Tanaka), 247 home runs, 1,140 runs batted in, 179 stolen bases, and a cumulative .243 batting average. Pitchers went 200-233 with an ERA of 4.06, striking out 3,304 batters, and saved 18 games.

Just for fun, let's compare both classes:

• Players making debut: 1994 = 114; 2014 = 234
• Position Players/Pitchers: 1994 = 46/68; 2014 = 102/132
• Earliest Debut: 1994 = Hector Carrasco, Tim Davis, Alex Gonzalez, James Hurst, Tim Hyers, Blaise Ilsley, James Mouton, Roberto Petagine, and A. J. Sager (April 4, 1994); 2014 = Alex Guerrero (March 22, 2014)
• Latest Debut: 1994 = Duane Singleton (August 4, 1994); 2014 = Jose Pirela (September 22, 2014)
• Youngest at time of Debut: 1994 = Alex Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975, or 18 years, 346 days old); 2014 = Rougned Odor (February 3, 1994, or 20 years, 94 days old)
• Oldest at time of Debut: 1994 = Billy Taylor (October 16, 1961, or 32 years, 171 days old); 2014 = Tsuyoshi Wada (November 5, 1981, or 33 years, 137 days old)
• Shortest Career: 1994 = Duff Brumley (2 games, 3.1 innings pitched) and Quinn Mack (5 games, 5-21 with 2 rbi, 1 walk, and a .238 AVG); 2014 = Ryan Buchter, Jarrett Grube, Justin Marks, Melvin Mercedes, Hector Neris, Rudy Owens, Red Patterson, Francisco Pena, Jorge Rondon, and Drew VerHagen each have only one MLB game under their belt (Pena was a 9th-inning defensive replacement in his lone game and does not yet have an official plate appearance. Buchter, Grube, and Neris each faced 3 batters, but only Grube is credited with 0.2 innings pitched).
• Longest Career, Seasons: 1994 = Alex Rodriguez (suspended for the entire 2014 season due to the Biogenesis scandal); 2014 = only time will tell.

Of the players from the debut class of 2014, just like in 1994, there could be some Hall of Fame candidates. Most may go on to All-Star caliber, or very long careers in the bigs. And for some, this may be their only year in the majors. But all of them can say that they achieved their dream of being a Major League Ballplayer.

And nothing can take that away from them.

I've clamored before about wanting to bring back the Major League Debut set. But I know in today's age of exclusive contracts and rookie card restrictions that a set of this type might never see the light of day again. And although I have a feeling that many collectors would not want to get a set that might have stars but plenty of "never will be's" amongst them, a set like this could contain the only card of a player who played in one inning of major league ball.

Who knows what the future will bring for the 234 players who first appeared in 2014. Most might never play in the majors again, disappearing in the obscurity of minor league baseball for the rest of their professional careers. Creating a set called the 2015 MLB Debut 2014 would give them a slim piece of cardboard immortality.

Oh well, I can dream, can't I???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. Some time this week, I will post my picks as to who I think will make the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie team. There will be a contest involved. Details to come soon. jba

Comparing the Major League Debut Classes of 1993 and 2013.

In 1990, Topps created a set honoring the players who made their MLB debut during the 1989 campaign. It was a relatively successful set, with future HOF's like Ken Griffey, Jr., and Deion Sanders (okay, he's in the Football HOF) and others. In 2009, I created a post comparing the MLB Debut classes of 1989 and 2009 in honor of that set. To coincide with the MLB Debut 1990 and 1991 boxed sets, I also wrote a post comparing the MLB Debut classes of 1990 and 2010 and again for the MLB Debut classes of 1991 and 2011.

Sadly, they stopped creating this set. I wish they would bring it back, if only so that every player who makes it to the majors has at least one Topps card to call his own. But even though Topps stopped the MLB debut sets (and they don't plan on making them any time soon), I did continue comparing the MLB Debut classes of 1992 and 2012. As the 2013 MLB season ended a couple of weeks ago, now would be a good time to review this year's 2013 MLB debutantes and compare them to the class of 1993. These have been fun posts for me to write, and it's nice to look back to see how the future stars of my youth (I was 17 in 1993), performed over the years.

According to Baseball Reference, 18,174 athletes have entered their names into the annals of Major League Baseball record-keeping. In fact, 230 of them made their MLB Debuts in 2013. That's 230 more players that have etched their names into history books, baseball encyclopedias, and baseball websites. Two hundred thirty more players who finally reached the pinnacle of their professional careers, no matter how long or how brief their stay was. They can honestly say that they have arrived.

In 1993, 203 players made their big league debuts up, from 162 players from the year before (this was the year that MLB expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins). The first of three players to debut was Scott Pose (who debuted on April 5, 1993), the last was Carlos Delgado (who made his first appearance on October 1, 1993). Twenty-five players would go on to become All-Stars at some point in their careers. We'd all get to know their names on a regular basis like Manny Ramirez, Chipper Jones, Trevor Hoffman, Jim Edmonds, Robb Nen, Aaron Sele, Shawn Green, Carl Everett, Mike Hampton and Curtis Pride. Players who had high expectations, but eventually faded from the spotlight (J. Owens, Domingo Jean, Ty Van Burkleo, Bob Hamelin) also made their debuts in 1993.

Believe it or not, one player who made his debut in 1993 was still on a MLB roster during the 2013 season. The debutantes of 1993 (as of the end of the 2013 season) combined for 60 All-Star Game appearances, 5,213 home runs, 21,455 runs batted in, 2,751 stolen bases, and a batting average of about .264. Pitchers who debuted in 1993 have gone on to a combined record of 2353-2432, saved 1963 games (601 by Hoffman), completed 164 games, faced 184,666 batters, struck out 28,901 of them, gave up 5,020 home runs, and had a cumulative ERA of 4.50.

At any given point during the 2013 season, there were 750 players on active rosters (not counting those on the disabled list). And in amongst the shuffling of talent, 230 baseball players, some who'd toiled in the minors for a very long time, and at least six players who were drafted in the 2012 free agent draft, got to step onto the field of a major league stadium for the very first time and play at least one inning of major league baseball. One hundred fourteen of them were position players, the other 116 stepped onto the pitcher's mound for the very first time. Of the 230, none were born in 1993, but five were born in 1992 (Xander Bogaerts, Nick Castellanos, Jose Fernandez, Taijuan Walker, and Jose Ramirez), and the oldest player to debut was 37 years old (Chang-Yong Lim).

The 2013 debutantes combined for one All-Star Game appearance (Jose Fernandez), 272 home runs, 1,133 runs batted in, 169 stolen bases, and a cumulative .242 batting average. Pitchers went 193-208 with an ERA of 4.05, striking out 3,245 batters, and saved 19 games.

Just for fun, let's compare both classes:

• Players making debut: 1993 = 203; 2013 = 230
• Position Players/Pitchers: 1993 = 99/104; 2013 = 114/116
• Earliest Debut: 1993 = Frank Bolick, Benji Gil, Scott Pose (April 5, 1993); 2013 = Joe Ortiz (March 31, 2013)
• Latest Debut: 1993 = Carlos Delgado (October 1, 1993); 2013 = Kevin Kiermaier (September 30, 2013)
• Youngest at time of Debut: 1993 = Julian Tavarez (born May 22, 1973, or 20 years, 77 days old); 2013 = Jose Fernandez (July 31, 1992, or 20 years, 250 days old)
• Oldest at time of Debut: 1993 = Greg Tubbs (April 31, 1962, or 30 years, 335 days old); 2013 = Chang-Yong Lim (June 4, 1976, or 37 years, 95 days old)
• Shortest Career: 1993 = Zak Shinall (1 game, 2.2 innings pitched) and Larry Gonzales (2 games, 1-2 with 1 rbi, 1 walk, and a 1.167 OPS); 2013 = Mike Belfiore, Christian Bethancourt, Zach Clark, Justin Freeman, David Holmberg, Phil Irwin, Kevin Kiermaier, Sean Nolin, Enny Romero, and
  Matt Shoemaker each have only one MLB game under their belt (Bethancourt, Holmberg, and Irwin each have one at-bat, Freeman pitched in 1 inning).
• Longest Career, Seasons: 1993 = Darren Oliver and Chipper Jones (20 seasons each, Jones retired in 2012, Oliver is still active after the 2013 season); 2013 = only time will tell.

Of the players from the debut class of 2013 just like in 1993, there could be some Hall of Fame candidates. Most may go on to All-Star caliber, or very long careers in the bigs. And for some, this may be their only year in the majors. But all of them can say that they achieved their dream of being a Major League Ballplayer.

And nothing can take that away from them.

I've clamored before about wanting to bring back the Major League Debut set. But I know in today's age of exclusive contracts and rookie card restrictions that a set of this type might never see the light of day again. And although I have a feeling that many collectors would not want to get a set that might have stars but plenty of "never will be's" amongst them, a set like this could contain the only card of a player who played in one inning of major league ball.

Who knows what the future will bring for the 230 players who first appeared in 2013. Most might never play in the majors again, disappearing in the obscurity of minor league baseball for the rest of their professional careers. Creating a set called the 2014 MLB Debut 2013 would give them a slim piece of cardboard immortality.

Oh well, I can dream, can't I???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. Some time this week, I will post my picks as to who I think will make the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie team. There will be a contest involved. Details to come soon. jba

bdj610’s 2013 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams…The Final Rosters

What should have been posted last Friday was delayed due to outside circumstances. So what better time than now to do post my final rosters for the 2013 All-Star Teams.

After going over stats and arguing with myself as to who deserves to be on the team, I have finally finished completing my 36-man teams. I think I can say with confidence that the players who made my All-Star Teams were worthy of inclusion, not just because many of them are major superstars, but because their statistics were high enough above their peers that made them stand out from the rest.

So, without further ado, here are the players who made my 2013 MLB End of Year All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

American League First Basemen Chris Davis, Orioles Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays Prince Fielder, Tigers Second Basemen Robinson Cano, Yankees Jason Kipnis, Indians Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox Third Basemen Adrian Beltre, Rangers Miguel Cabrera, Tigers Evan Longoria, Rays Shortstops J. J. Hardy, Orioles Jed Lowrie, Athletics Alexei Ramirez, White Sox Outfielders Chris Carter, Astros Coco Crisp, Athletics Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox Alex Gordon, Royals Torii Hunter, Tigers Adam Jones, Orioles Nick Markakis, Orioles Alex Rios, Rangers Mike Trout, Angels Catchers Joe Mauer, Twins Salvador Perez, Royals Carlos Santana, Indians Designated Hitter David Ortiz, Red Sox Pitchers Bartolo Colon, Athletics Yu Darvish, Rangers Greg Holland, Royals Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners Jim Johnson, Orioles Matt Moore, Rays Joe Nathan, Rangers Mariano Rivera, Yankees David Robertson, Yankees Max Scherzer, Tigers C. J. Wilson, Angels

National League First Basemen Freddie Freeman, Braves Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks Joey Votto, Reds Second Basemen Matt Carpenter, Cardinals Daniel Murphy, Mets Brandon Phillips, Reds Third Basemen Pedro Alvarez, Pirates David Wright, Mets Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals Shortstops Ian Desmond, Nationals Jean Segura, Brewers Troy Tulowitzki, Royals Outfielders Domonic Brown, Phillies Jay Bruce, Rays Michael Cuddyer, Rockies Carlos Gomez, Brewers Matt Holliday, Cardinals Andrew McCutchen, Pirates Nate Schierholtz, Cubs Will Venable, Padres Jayson Werth, Nationals Catchers Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers Yadier Molina, Cardinals Buster Posey, Giants Designated Hitter Chris Johnson, Braves Pitchers Aroldis Chapman, Reds Tyler Clippard, Nationals Jose Fernandez, Marlins Zack Greinke, Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers Craig Kimbrel, Braves Cliff Lee, Phillies Edward Mujica, Cardinals Sergio Romo, Giants Adam Wainwright, Cardinals Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals

Most of the position players were chosen based on statistics comparing the top eight position players in each league (hits, runs, home runs, rbi's, walks, strikeouts, stolen bases, caught stealing, and batting average). In most cases, the players I had chosen earlier due to the one person per team rule made the top three.

In previous years, I tended to show a little more bias to Chicago players (on both sides) in cases where if I thought I could choose them over another person, I would (hey, I'm from Chicago, what can I say). But since I'm now announcing these publicly (compared to doing this privately in my mind), I thought I'd try to be as open minded as I can and pick the proper deserving players. And it hurt, really hurt. I would have loved to add Adam Dunn and Chris Sale to the AL side, and Anthony Rizzo onto the NL side, but just couldn't fit either of the three. There is just one White Sox player on the AL team this year (Ramirez), and one Cub player on the NL side (Schierholtz). Other one-person teams this year include the Astros (Carter), Blue Jays (Encarnacion), Mariners (Iwakuma), Twins (Mauer), Diamondbacks (Goldschmidt), Marlins (Fernandez), and Padres (Venable). The Orioles send five players to the AL squad, while on the NL side, the Cardinals and Nationals each have five players to the team, most in the NL. The Rangers, Tigers, and Reds each send four players onto the All-Star Teams.

Topps' 2014 theme is "The Future is Now." There are 27 players on both rosters making my All-Star Teams for the very first time.

Are there snubs? You bet. On the AL, as mentioned before, the DH spot was an issue, only because I only allow one spot on the roster for it. Adam Lind had his usual great year, and so did Adam Dunn. If I allowed three DH's, both certainly would be listed above. In the catchers spots, the Astros' Jason Castro and the Pirates' Russell Martin could have been added to the teams. Carlos Beltran, Marlon Byrd, Hunter Pence, Jon Jay, Shin-Soo Choo were tough cuts as NL Outfielders. Daniel Nava, Michael Brantley, Brett Gardner, Austin Jackson, and Yoenis Cespedes were among the last cuts made on the AL side.

So ends the presentation for my 2013 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams. Please feel free to comment, debate, tell me that I did a good job, or that I don't know what I'm talking about and should have put in this person for another.

Later on, I will run the simulations, just like I did last off-season, for these teams to see which one is better. I am still working on the simulations for my All-Star Team tournament (which can be found here) to determine which of my All-Star teams are the best of All-Time. It will give me something to do before the 2014 Topps cards come out. Hopefully, this can be accomplished without major headaches.

Let the debates continue.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610’s 2013 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams…Every Team Needs a Representative

With the pitching staffs set in our last All-Star Team post, the next step is to make sure that every team gets at least one representative. I believe in the All-Star rule that every team, no matter how well or how poorly they did, has at least one person they could tag as an All-Star, based on his performance on the field. If it means that another person gets snubbed, that's sadly the way it goes. It does not matter how many spots there are on an All-Star team, someone always manages to be left out.

Now the pitching staffs from both sides locked in one representative from eight of the NL teams and nine of the AL teams. So that means in this post, I am going to name seven position players in the NL, and six in the AL, to each of their respective league's rosters.

In the NL, the Braves, Reds, Dodgers, Marlins, Phillies, Cardinals, Giants, and Nationals have representatives. These seven players will ensure that the NL has all 15 teams represented:

• 1B Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks (.302, 36 HR's, 125 RBI's)
• OF Nate Schierholtz, Cubs (.251, 21 HR's, 68 RBI's)
• OF Michael Cuddyer, Rockies (.331, 20 HR's, 84 RBI's)
• OF Carlos Gomez, Brewers (.284, 24 HR's, 73 RBI's)
• 3B David Wright, Mets, (.307, 18 HR's, 58 RBI's)
• 3B Pedro Alvarez, Pirates (.233, 36 HR's, 100 RBI's)
• OF Will Venable, Padres (.268, 22 HR's, 53 RBI's)

The easiest spots to place players is in the outfield (Schierholtz of the Cubs for example). With nine spots to fill, it's relatively easy to assign a player whose team would not have an All-Star otherwise. The hardest? Probably first base? There is so much talent in that position, it's hard to pick three guys without leaving someone out. Fortunately, there is that one DH position. Two of the three 3B slots are now filled with Wright and Alvarez.

On the American League side, the Orioles, Tigers, Royals, Angels, Yankees, Athletics, Mariners, Rays, and Rangers, have representatives. These six players will ensure that the AL has all 15 of its teams represented.

• 2B Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox (.301, 9 HR's, 84 RBI's)
• SS Alexei Ramirez, White Sox (.284, 6 HR's, 48 RBI's)
• C Carlos Santana, Indians (.268, 20 HR's, 74 RBI's)
• OF Chris Carter, Astros (.223, 29 HR's, 82 RBI's)
• C Joe Mauer, Twins (.324, 11 HR's, 47 RBI's)
• 1B Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays (.272, 23 HR's, 67 RBI's)

Here, two of the three catchers spots have been filled. And while I had no problem putting Chris Carter of the Astros as one of the nine outfielders, selecting Alexei Ramirez as one of the three shortstops leaves me with two very competitive shortstop positions to fill, plus probably another worthy candidate from the Pale Hose off the roster (I haven't finalized this yet, so please breathe slowly before you send in your complaints).

Now before you start to say, "Where's this guy?" or, "Why didn't my guy make the team?" Please keep in mind that I'm not done filling out the final rosters. These 13 guys are only here so that all 30 teams have a player. The best (trust me) is still yet to come.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 2013 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...The Starting Pitchers

Yesterday, I named the bullpens for each of my End of the Year All-Star Teams, and boy did you guys let me have it. I do not claim to be an expert, and I'll be honest, thanks to the lack of enthusiasm in part because of a lousy Chicago baseball season, I did not watch as much of the game as I would have liked.

Readers of this humble, little blog, have told me that I failed to consider Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers and Koji Uehara of the Red Sox as the middle relievers for my teams. I told you that it was difficult to choose. But I'll be honest. I was using MLB's site for statistical purposes and sorted the relievers by saves and holds. Had I thought of using WHIP and strikeouts, both Jansen and Uehara would have come up much higher on the lists. But they were so far down saves wise, (Jansen's 28 tied him for 11th in the NL and Uehara's 21 placed him in a tie for 14th in the AL) that I didn't think to look at either of them. When it was time to sort by holds, Uehara falls to 28th in the AL with 13 and Jansen's 16 places him in 19th place. So yes, both guys weren't even close to peripheral radar. When I first thought of adding middle relievers to the All-Star Teams, it was so that I could start featuring players who are unrecognized, whose contributions to the team seem to be under-appreciated, and go unnoticed unless something went horribly wrong that day. With that said, maybe I will have to re-think how to choose the position, especially since the roles of relief pitchers have changed dramatically in the last 15 years.

But now it's time to name the starters.

To recap, here is my National League relief corps:

• Aroldis Chapman, Reds
• Tyler Clippard, Nationals
• Craig Kimbrel, Braves
• Edward Mujica, Cardinals
• Sergio Romo, Giants

And the American Leauge bullpen:

• Greg Holland, Royals
• Jim Johnson, Orioles
• Joe Nathan, Rangers
• Mariano Rivera, Yankees
• David Robertson, Yankees

So, who would they be relieving???

Starting with the National League six-man rotation, we have (in alphabetical order):

• Jose Fernandez, Marlins (12-6. 2.19 ERA, 187 K's)
• Zack Greinke, Dodgers (15-4, 2.63 ERA, 148 K's)
• Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (16-9, 1.83 ERA, 232 K's)
• Cliff Lee, Phillies (14-8, 2.87 ERA, 222 K's)
• Adam Wainwright, Cardinals (19-9, 2.94 ERA, 219 K's)
• Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals (19-9, 3.25 ERA, 161 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to (meaning, if I had more space, I'd would have added) Matt Harvey (9-5, 2.27, 187 K's), Andrew Cashner (10-9, 3.09, 128 K's), Travis Wood (yes, even with a record of 9-12, 3.11, 144 K's), Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-8, 3.00, 154 K's), Jorge de la Rosa (16-6, 3.49, 112 K's) and Francisco Liriano (16-8, 3.02, 163 K's). Tough decisions here as the W-L records are much lower (guess that goes hand in hand with the roles in the bullpen...no wonder many people aren't using them as measuring sticks of how well a pitcher performed anymore). But you still have two 19-game winners, a combined ERA of 2.63, 1169 strikeouts, and a combined WHIP of 1.026 between the six of them.

In the American League, my All-Star six-man rotation includes:

• Bartolo Colon, Athletics (18-6, 2.65 ERA, 117 K's)
• Yu Darvish, Rangers (13-9, 2.83 ERA, 277 K's)
• Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners (14-6, 2.66 ERA, 185 K's)
• Matt Moore, Rays, (17-4, 3.29 ERA, 143 K's)
• Max Scherzer, Tigers (21-3, 2.90 ERA, 240 K's)
• C. J. Wilson, Angels (17-7, 3.39 ERA, 188 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to Felix Hernandez (12-10, 3.04, 216 K's), Anibal Sanchez (14-8, 2.57, 202 K's), Justin Masterson (14-10, 3.45, 195 K's), Chris Tillman (16-7, 3.71, 179 K's), Jon Lester (15-8, 3.75, 177 K's) and Chris Sale (11-14, 3.07 ERA, 226 K's). The AL rotation shows a lot of balance between power pitching, and while the usual suspects aren't in this year's rotation (Verlander, Sabathia, Price, et.al) , the AL starting staff consists of the majors' only 20 game winner and strikeout king. It's dominant enough.

So the pitching staffs are done. Next, we'll get to the position players. The first step is to ensure that every team has a representative, regardless of what position he plays. At this point, six AL teams and seven teams from the NL need to have a player. I have a few people in mind. Who will they be? Tune in some time tomorrow and find out.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 2013 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...The Relief Pitchers

With the introduction of the 2013 bdj610's End of the Year All-Star Teams, it will be the 25th straight season that I've been creating these imaginary teams. How significant is this? I have been making up these teams longer than the recently ended Pittsburgh Pirates losing season streak of 21 seasons (you can easily say that the Barry Bonds curse is finally over). Pittsburgh youth have never even seen this team have a winning season until now.

But I digress.

If you want to know what the heck I'm talking about and why I have created All-Star Teams for both leagues since I was 12 years old, please review the introduction and brief history (ahem...brief???) as to why I have done this every year for the past 25 years.

Quick rules on how I comprise the teams:

• Two teams, one American League team, and one National League team
• There are 36 spots on each team (three first basemen, three second basemen, three third basemen, three shortstops, nine outfielders, three catchers, six starting pitchers, four relief pitchers/closers, one relief pitcher/set-up, and one DH-the NL spot is taken by the player with the highest average who did not make the team at any position)
• Every team gets a representative. No exceptions. If a player gets snubbed by a guy who is only there because a team needed a rep, then that's sadly the way it goes.

This is going to be a four-post process. Today, I will announce the bullpen staffs for each team.

Why start with the bullpens?

Because it's relatively simple. The top four guys with the most saves are automatically on the teams. Usually.

Last year, I started with the American League staff, this time, I'll begin the National League closers. On this year's team are:

• Craig Kimbrel, Braves (4-3, 1.20, 50 saves)
• Aroldis Chapman, Reds (4-5, 2.54, 38 saves)
• Sergio Romo, Giants (5-8, 2.54, 38 saves)
• Edward Mujica, Cardinals (2-1, 2.78, 37 saves)

Now I know that Rafael Soriano of the Nationals finished second in the NL with 43 saves, and Jason Grilli was one of the key reasons why the Pirates had an extremely dominant bullpen in 2013, but it's hard to overlook Soriano's 3.11 ERA and the fact that Grilli missed a long stretch of the season (even though he had 33 saves and a 1.06 ERA).

The American League closers for the 2013 team are:

• Jim Johnson, Orioles (3-8, 2.94, 50 saves)
• Greg Holland, Royals (2-1, 1.21, 47 saves)
• Mariano Rivera, Yankees (6-2, 2.11, 44 saves)
• Joe Nathan, Rangers (6-2, 1.39, 43 saves)

I would have loved to pick Addison Reed of the White Sox as he was one of the really few bright spots on a really bad White Sox team, but the four closers above had excellent seasons. And besides, what better way for the All-Time leader in saves to go out than to add him to the team. The fact that he had a great final season, coming back from a disastrous 2012, was just icing on the cake.

If recent All-Star Game history has shown us, it's that middle relief pitchers, those guys who ride the bullpen, and barely ever get any baseball cards, are now an important part of any All-Star bullpen. So many great pitching performances this year by so many different players, it's just so hard to choose just one player to fill this spot. But one spot is available on both sides for a middle reliever. And this year, the pitchers selected have been in this situation before, named to the 2011 teams in fact.

The NL Middle Reliever for the 2013 team will be the Tyler Clippard of the Washington Nationals. He is the 2013 NL leader in holds with 33, had a 6-3 record, sports a dazzling 2.41 ERA, a minuscule 0.86 WHIP, and struck out 73 batters. He beats out NL All-Star Mark Melancon of the Pirates (3-2, 1.39 ERA, 70 K's, 0.96 WHIP, 71.0 IP, 26 holds), who filled in amicably for Grilli after the All-Star Break (16 saves in 21 opportunities), and Luis Avilan of the Atlanta Braves (5-0, 1.52 ERA, 38 K's, 0.95 WHIP, 65 IP, 27 holds).

The AL Middle Reliever for the 2013 team will be David Robertson of the New York Yankees. Although he finished second in the AL in holds in 2013 with 33, Robertson went 5-1 this year with a 2.04 ERA, 77 strikeouts, and a 1.04 WHIP. Others considered include Rays pitcher Joel Peralta (3-8, 3.41 ERA, 74 K's, 1.14 WHIP, 71.1 IP, MLB leading 44 holds), and Rangers reliever Tanner Scheppers (6-2, 1.88 ERA, 59 K's, 1.07 WHIP, 76.2 IP, 27 holds).

So right now, we've named the bullpens for each team. Who will fill out the rest of the rosters?

On Wednesday, I will name the six starting pitchers that will round out the pitching staffs on each team.

By Thursday, every team will get a representative as I announce just some of the players who will take spots on both leagues' rosters.

And finally on Friday, I will round out the rest of the rosters and introduce the complete National and American League teams.

Wait and see. It's going to look good I promise.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610’s 2012 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams…The Final Rosters

After pouring over stats and arguing with myself as to who deserves to be on the team, I have finally finished completing my 36-man teams. I think I can say with confidence that the players who made my All-Star Teams were worthy of inclusion, not just because many of them are major superstars, but because their statistics were high enough above their peers that made them stand out from the rest.

So, without further ado, here are the players who made my 2012 MLB End of Year All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

American League First Basemen Chris Davis, Orioles Prince Fielder, Tigers Albert Pujols, Angels Second Basemen Robinson Cano, Yankees Ian Kinsler, Rangers Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox Third Basemen Adrian Beltre, Rangers Miguel Cabrera, Tigers Kyle Seager, Mariners Shortstops Elvis Andrus, Rangers Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians Derek Jeter, Yankees Outfielders Alex Gordon, Royals Curtis Granderson, Yankees Josh Hamilton, Rangers Adam Jones, Orioles Josh Reddick, Athletics Mike Trout, Angels Mark Trumbo, Angels Josh Willingham, Athletics Ben Zobrist, Rays Catchers Joe Mauer, Twins A. J. Pierzynski, White Sox Carlos Santana, Indians Designated Hitter Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays Pitchers Ryan Cook, Athletics Matt Harrison, Rangers Felix Hernandez, Mariners Jim Johnson, Orioles Joe Nathan, Rangers David Price, Rays Fernando Rodney, Rays Chris Sale, White Sox Rafael Soriano, Yankees Justin Verlander, Tigers Jered Weaver, Angels

National League First Basemen Freddie Freeman, Braves Adam LaRoche, Nationals Joey Votto, Reds Second Basemen Jose Altuve, Astros Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks Brandon Phillips, Reds Third Basemen Chase Headley, Padres Aramis Ramirez, Brewers David Wright, Mets Shortstops Starlin Castro, Cubs Jose Reyes, Marlins Jimmy Rollins, Phillies Outfielders Carlos Beltran, Cardinals Ryan Braun, Brewers Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies Jason Heyward, Braves Matt Kemp, Dodgers Jason Kubel, Diamondbacks Andrew McCutchen, Pirates Alfonso Soriano Cubs Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins Catchers Yadier Molina, Cardinals Buster Posey, Giants Carlos Ruiz, Phillies Designated Hitter Matt Holliday, Cardinals Pitchers Mitchell Boggs, Cardinals Matt Cain, Giants Aroldis Chapman, Reds Johnny Cueto, Reds R. A. Dickey, Mets Gio Gonzalez, Nationals Cole Hamels, Phillies Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers Craig Kimbrel, Braves Jason Motte, Cardinals Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies

Most of the position players were chosen based on statistics comparing the top eight position players in each league (hits, runs, home runs, rbi's, walks, strikeouts, stolen bases, caught stealing, and batting average). In most cases, the players I had chosen earlier due to the one person per team rule made the top three.

In previous years, I tended to show a little more bias to Chicago players (on both sides) in cases where if I thought I could choose them over another person, I would (hey, I'm from Chicago, what can I say). But since I'm now announcing these publicly (compared to doing this privately in my mind), I thought I'd try to be as open minded as I can and pick the proper deserving players. And it hurt, really hurt.  I would have loved to add both Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn to the AL side, and Darwin Barney to the NL side, but just couldn't fit either of the three.  There are two White Sox players on the AL team this year (Pierzynski and Sale), there are two Cubs players on the NL side (Castro and Soriano). Other one-person teams this year include the Blue Jays (Encarnacion), Red Sox (Pedroia), Royals (Gordon), Astros (Altuve), Padres (Headley), Pirates (McCutchen), and Rockies (Carlos Gonzalez). The Rangers send six players to the AL squad, most players from one team on either league, the Angels and Yankees each send four. On the NL side, the Cardinals have five players to the team, most in the NL, the Phillies and Reds each send four.

Lots of familiar names to recent All-Star Teams are absent this year. There is no A-Rod, no Ichiro, no Longoria, no Hanley, et al. Changing of the guard perhaps? Probably. There are 25 players on both rosters making my All-Star teams for the very first time.

Are there snubs? You bet. On the AL, as mentioned before, the DH spot was an issue, only because I only allow one spot on the roster for it. David Ortiz had his usual great year, and so did Adam Dunn.  If I allowed three DH's, both certainly would be listed above. Probably the biggest surprise on either roster was the inclusion of Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager.  The twenty-four year-old infielder had more home runs than ARod (20 to 18), more RBI's (86 to 57), and struck out less (110 to 116).  Yes, ARod played less games, but the intangibles favored Seager than the other six third baseman who were in the running for the final third baseman's spot.  In the shortstop position, both real All-Stars Jeter and Cabrera are here. Alcides Escobar, Alexei Ramirez, Erick Aybar, J. J. Hardy, Mike Aviles, Jhonny Peralta, and Andrus among others were put to the statistical comparison described above. And once again, Elvis scored the highest.

There were six outfield positions filled due to the one-man requirement on the NL Side (Kubel, Soriano, CGonzalez, Stanton, Braun, and McCutchen). Beltran had an incredible year for the Cardinals and was an automatic pick (I think there'd be protests if I didn't have him on). Kemp may have been out for a good portion of the year, but he had better numbers than most with full seasons.  Jason Heyward bounced back from a subpar 2011 season.  Jay Bruce, Justin Upton, Allen Craig, Angel Pagan, or Dexter Fowler were considered as well.

So ends the presentation for my 2012 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams. Please feel free to comment, debate, tell me that I did a good job, or that I don't know what I'm talking about and should have put in this person for another.

Later on, I will run the simulations, just like I did last off-season, for these teams to see which one is better. I am still working on the simulations for my All-Star Team tournament (which can be found here) to determine which of my All-Star teams are the best of All-Time. It will give me something to do before the 2013 Topps cards come out. Hopefully, this can be accomplished without major headaches.

Let the debates continue.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 2012 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...Every Team Needs a Representative

With the pitching staffs set in our last All-Star Team post, the next step is to make sure that every team gets at least one representative. I believe in the All-Star rule that every team, no matter how well or how poorly they did, has at least one person they could tag as an All-Star, based on his performance on the field. If it means that another person gets snubbed, that's sadly the way it goes. It does not matter how many spots there are on an All-Star team, someone always manages to be left out.

Now the pitching staffs from both sides locked in one representative from eight of the NL teams and nine of the AL teams, pretty much half the teams in either league. So that means in this post, I am going to name five position players in the AL, and eight in the NL.

On the American League side, the Orioles, White Sox, Tigers, Angels, Yankees, Athletics, Mariners, Rays, and Rangers have representatives. These five players will ensure that the AL has all 14 teams represented:

• 2B Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox (.290, 15 HR's, 65 RBI's)
• C Carlos Santana, Indians (.252, 18 HR's, 76 RBI's)
• OF Alex Gordon, Royals (.294, 14 HR's, 72 RBI's)
• C Joe Mauer, Twins (.319, 10 HR's, 85 RBI's)
• DH Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays (.280, 42 HR's, 110 RBI's)

Two of the three catchers' positions have now been filled.  I normally don't add the DH until the very end, but in my opinion, leaving Encarnacion off the squad, after the incredible year he had, would have been an injustice.  Besides, when Jose Bautista went down to injury during the second half of the year, it looks like Encarnacion picked up the slack.  And no, choosing him over the White Sox' Adam Dunn has nothing to do with how I feel about that team from the south side.  My Chicago bias would have picked him under normal circumstances, but I already have a White Sox player on the pitching staff, so at least they're covered (and there will be more than one player from that team represented...believe me).

In the NL, the Braves, Reds, Dodgers, Mets, Phillies, Cardinals, Giants, and Nationals have representatives. These eight players will ensure that the NL has all 16 teams represented:

• OF Jason Kubel, Diamondbacks (.253, 30 HR's, 90 RBI's)
• OF Alfonso Soriano, Cubs (.262, 32 HR's, 108 RBI's)
• OF Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies (.303, 22 HR's, 85 RBI's)
• 2B Jose Altuve, Astros (.290, 7 HR's, 37 RBI's)
• OF Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins (.290, 37 HR's, 86 RBI's)
• OF Ryan Braun, Brewers (.319, 41 HR's, 112 RBI's)
• OF Andrew McCutchen, Pirates (.327, 31 HR's, 96 RBI's)
• 3B Chase Headley, Padres (.286, 31 HR's, 115 RBI's)

Because I have nine outfield spots on each side, I have noticed that many players who wind up being the only person on their team to make the list normally is an outfielder. And that might be the case here as six of the nine slots are filled.  That leaves only three spots to fill, and there are a lot of deserving outfielders that could easily take their place here.

Now before you start to say, "Where's this guy?" or, "Why didn't my guy make the team?" Please keep in mind that I'm not done filling out the team. These 13 guys are only here so that all 30 teams have a player. The best (trust me) is still yet to come.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 2012 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...The Starting Pitchers

Yesterday, I named the bullpens for each of my 2012 End of the Year All-Star Teams. Now it's time to name the starters.

To recap, here is my American League relief corps:

• Ryan Cook, Athletics
• Jim Johnson, Orioles
• Joe Nathan, Rangers
• Fernando Rodney, Rays
• Rafael Soriano, Yankees

and the National League bullpen:

• Mitchell Boggs, Cardinals
• Aroldis Chapman, Reds
• Craig Kimbrel, Braves
• Jason Motte, Cardinals
• Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies

So, who would they be relieving???

Starting with the American League six-man rotation, we have (in alphabetical order):

• Matt Harrison, Rangers (18-11. 3.29 ERA, 133 K's)
• Felix Hernandez, Mariners (13-9, 3.06 ERA, 223 K's)
• David Price, Rays (20-5, 2.56 ERA, 205 K's)
• Chris Sale, White Sox (17-8, 3.05 ERA, 192 K's)
• Justin Verlander, Tigers (17-8, 2.64 ERA, 239 K's)
• Jered Weaver (20-5, 2.81 ERA, 142 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to (meaning, if I had more space, I'd would have added) Hiroki Kuroda (16-11, 3.32, 167 K's), Max Scherzer (16-7, 3.74, 231 K's), Yu Darvish (16-9, 3.90, 221 K's), Phil Hughes (16-13, 4.23, 165 K's), and CC Sabathia (15-6, 3.38, 197 K's). Teams cringe just thinking about facing just one of these six aces, imagine if they were all on the same team.  Pitching numbers were lower across the board in 2012, but this starting rotation screams still screams dominant. I could have plugged any of the honorable mentions onto this rotation, and it probably wouldn't miss a beat.

In the National League, my All-Star six man rotation includes:

• Matt Cain, Giants (16-5, 2.79 ERA, 193 K's)
• Johnny Cueto, Reds (19-9, 2.78 ERA, 170 K's)
• R. A. Dickey, Mets (20-6, 2.73 ERA, 230 K's)
• Gio Gonzalez, Nationals (21-8, 2.89 ERA, 207 K's)
• Cole Hamels, Phillies (17-6, 3.05 ERA, 216 K's)
• Clayton Kershaw, Giants (14-9, 2.53 ERA, 229 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86 ERA, 143 K's), Mat Latos (14-4, 3.48 ERA, 185 K's), Yovani Gallardo (16-9, 3.66 ERA, 204 K's), Tim Hudson (16-7, 3.62 ERA, 102 K's), and probably the toughest cut to make, Lance Lynn (18-7, 3.78 ERA, 180 K's). Imagine how powerful a team could be if they had all of these guys in one rotation. Unstoppable comes to mind.

So the pitching staffs are done. Next, we'll get to the position players. The first step is to ensure that every team has a representative, regardless of what position he plays. At this point, five AL teams and eight teams from the NL need to have a player. I have a few people in mind. Who will they be? Tune in some time tomorrow and find out.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 2012 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...The Relief Pitchers

As I have done every year for the last 24 years, I am going to compile lists of players for my 2012 End of the Year (or 2013 MLB) All-Star teams. If you want to know what the heck I'm talking about, please review 2008's introduction and brief history (ahem...brief???) as to why I have done this every year for the past 24 years. And while you're at it, please feel free to review the rosters of past teams, and the results of simulated games by clicking the links along the sidebar.

Quick rules on how I comprise the teams:

• Two teams, one National League League team, and one American League team
• There are 36 spots on each team (three first basemen, three second basemen, three third basemen, three shortstops, nine outfielders, three catchers, six starting pitchers, four relief pitchers/closers, one relief pitcher/set-up, and one DH-the NL spot is taken by the player with the highest average who did not make the team at any position)
• Every team gets a representative. No exceptions. If a player gets snubbed by a guy who is only there because a team needed a rep, then that's sadly the way it goes.

This is going to be a four-post process. Today, I will announce the bullpen staffs for each team.

Why start with the bullpens?

Because it's relatively simple. The top four guys with the most saves are usually guaranteed automatic spots on the teams. Emphasis on the word 'usually' though.

Last year, I started with the National League staff. This time, I'll begin with the American League. The closers on this year's AL team are:

• Jim Johnson, Orioles (2-1, 2.49, 51 saves)
• Fernando Rodney, Rays (2-2, 0.60, 48 saves)
• Rafael Soriano, Yankees (2-1, 2.26, 42 saves)
• Joe Nathan, Rangers (3-5, 2.80, 37 saves)

Now I know that both Chris Perez of the Indians has more saves than Nathan (39 saves), but Nathan has better numbers in WHIP (Nathan 1.06, Perez 1.13), Strikeouts (Nathan 78 to Perez 59), and innings pitched (Nathan 64.1, Perez 57.2).

The National League closers for the 2012 team are:

• Craig Kimbrel, Braves (3-1, 1.01, 42 saves)
• Jason Motte, Cardinals (4-5, 2.75, 42 saves)
• Aroldis Chapman, Reds (5-5, 1.51, 38 saves)
• Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies (5-6, 2.44, 38 saves)

Others in the running included Joel Hanrahan of the Pirates (5-2, 2.72, 36 saves), and Huston Street of the Padres (2-1, 1.85, 23 saves, 0.72 WHIP...if only he had a full season).

The AL Middle Reliever for the 2012 team will be Ryan Cook of the Athletics. While he isn't the 2012 AL leader in holds (that would be Joel Peralta of the Rays with 37 while Cook has 21), Cook has the advantage in batting average against (Cook .166, Peralta .200), ERA (Cook 2.09, Peralta 3.63), a better record (Cook 6-2, Peralta 2-6) and WHIP of (Cook 0.94, Peralta 0.99).  He even went to the All-Star Game.  Others considered for this role were Joaquin Benoit of the Tigers, David Robertson of the Yankees, Mike Adams of the Rangers, and Matt Thornton of the White Sox.

Choosing the NL Middle Reliever for the 2012 team was a lot tougher as the competition was fierce. But in the end, I am choosing Mitchell Boggs of the Cardinals. He finished the year with 34 holds, which was good for the lead in the NL, but also went 4-1 with an ERA of 2.21 while striking out 58 (his WHIP was a low 1.05). The competition for the one middle relief spot came from Pirates reliever Jason Grilli, Francisco Rodriguez of the Brewers, and Sergio Romo of the Giants.

So right now, we've named the bullpens for each team. Who will fill out the rest of the rosters?

On Friday, I will name the six starting pitchers that will round out the pitching staffs on each team.

By Saturday, every team will get a representative as I announce just some of the players who will take spots on both leagues' rosters.

And finally on Sunday, I will round out the rest of the rosters and introduce the complete National and American League teams.

Wait and see. It's going to look good I promise.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama