March Madness is finally finishing up (despite being a week into April) and giving way to a baseball season that is already off to an exciting start. Only a week into the season there are stories aplenty around the sport.
The top two players in the game at the moment, highlighted by their first and second place MVP finishes in 2013 and 2012, both signed contract extensions in the past week. Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers added another $248 million on to his existing deal and could make $352 million from this date to the end of his contract. Even taking into account the other massive salaries in baseball that figure still seems colossal.
The other player to be extended is the Angels’ Mike Trout, who is on pace to break all kinds of records as his career continues. At just 22 years old entering the 2014 season he has already recorded 64 home runs and 86 stolen bases, not to mention a .315 career batting average and elite centerfield defense. So it came as little surprise that he commanded a $144 million extension for his next six years despite four of those being subject to a reduced rate due to lack of veteranship in the majors.
As for the games themselves there have already been some classics. The standout among these has to be the Mets’ match up with the Reds. In the ninth inning, down by just one run, the Mets’ first baseman Ike Davis stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. Davis proceeded to do what every kid watching baseball dreams of and hit a grand slam for the walk off win.
In the early look at potential end of season award winners, the National League looks to be more competitive this year as Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw, winner of the 2011 and 2013 NL Cy Young, has come down with an early injury. Though it’s not likely to keep him out for long, it may be enough to give young phenom Jose Fernandez an opening. Through two starts, Fernandez already has two wins and 17 strikeouts to show.
Meanwhile, in the early race for American League Rookie of the Year, the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox’s young phenom Xander Bogaerts is off to a hot start. The 21-year-old shortstop is currently maintaining a .412 average with a .524 on base percentage. Bogaerts will hope to challenge Derek Jeter’s reputation for the starting shortstop job in the All-Star game. Another rookie seeking to win the award in the AL is the Yankees’ pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka came over to the MLB this off season after dominating the Japanese NPB league for seven years. In his only start as of the time of this writing Tanaka looked promising, throwing seven innings with eight strikeouts and allowing two earned runs.
The qualifying offer saga is still continuing as well with Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales still without teams and threatening to wait until after the draft (when teams will no longer have to sacrifice a pick to acquire them) to sign.
At this point every team is still in the playoff race, leading to a refreshing optimism among all fan bases. It’s shaping up to be yet another thrilling season of baseball.
