2022 Baseball Eligibles (23)
One of the more recognized Catchers in Major League Baseball through the bulk of his career A.J. Pierzynski was also one of the more notorious players in the game.
Angel Pagan would help the San Francisco Giants win the World Series twice (2012 & 2014) and would also lead the National League in Triples (2012). Pagan’s best baseball was in the Bay Area and his career would see the Puerto Rican Centerfielder record 1,143 Hits. Internationally, he was a member of the Puerto Rican Team that won the Silver Medal in both 2013 and…
Billy Butler spent the bulk of his career with the Kansas City Royals where he has a decent run as their Designated Hitter. Butler was a horrific fielder (thankfully he played in the American League) but he had some respectable offensive numbers over his career with 1,479 Hits and 147 Home Runs. He would be named an All Star, a Silver Slugger and the Edgar…
As a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Carl Crawford would easily show off his best run in Baseball. Crawford’s speed would see him lead the American League four times in Triples and in Stolen Bases and he would display enough power to also finish first in the Power/Speed# metric. Crawford’s career would also see him bat over .300 six times and he was…
Perhaps the possessor of one of the most fun names in baseball, Coco Crisp put together a solid career that saw extended success in Cleveland, Boston and Oakland. Crisp collected over 1,500 Hits in his career, his highest single season total where in 2005 as a Cleveland Indian he accrued 178. Later in 2007 as a member of the Boston Red Sox he helped bring…
Colby Lewis would carve together a relatively decent career in the Majors where his best work occurred during his second run with the Texas Rangers. In 2010, he helped the Rangers win the American League Pennant and won 2 Games in the ALCS and another one in the World Series, though Texas failed to win the title. Overall he won 77 Games in the Majors.
In 2007 Jake Peavy made a case as the best pitcher in baseball. Peavy won the Pitcher’s Triple Crown in the National League as a member of the San Diego Padres and had gone to his second All Star Game. That was by far the highwater mark for Peavy as he never had a 12 Win season again, though this does not mean that this…
Javier Lopez had a good run in the Majors where he was predominantly used in middle relief. Lopez did record 14 career Saves but far more worth mentioning was that he was a member of four World Series Championship teams, one with Boston and three with the San Francisco Giants. Lopez might have a limited chance to get onto the Hall of Fame ballot but…
Jeff Francouer was a first round pick who would secure four seasons of 160 Hits along with a Gold Glove in 2007. Francoueur would be a good defensive player over his career and would also record 160 Home Runs.
Joe Nathan was one of the more successful closers in the American League throughout the 2000’s a role he embraced after four undistinguished years for the San Francisco Giants.
Let’s forget about his fight with Bryce Harper shall we? While Papelbon’s fiery demeanor did not always win him the admiration of some of his teammates, the longtime closer did earn a lot of fans with his patented four seam fastball. Papelbon dominated with the Boston Red Sox and was a vital member of the Red Sox World Series Championship team of 2007. Papelbon may…
While Juan Uribe was never an All Star, it cannot be discounted that he had over 1,500 career Hits and was one Home Run shy of 200, which by all accounts makes a pretty solid career in Professional Baseball.
In the last half of the 2000’s Justin Morneau was one of the top offensive First Basemen in baseball. The Canadian went to four straight All Star Games (2007-2010) and he would belt 20 or more Home Runs for the Minnesota Twins in five consecutive campaigns (2005-09).
Kyle Lohse is one of the few players in Major League history to hold victories over all 30 teams, so needless to say he won a lot of Games!
Marlon Byrd played for ten teams over his Major League career (one team twice) and accumulated 1,534 Hits over his career. In 2010 Byrd was named a National League All Star and he had a career high 170 Hits. Later in his career he would have four seasons of 20 or more Home Runs, though he would be popped twice for Performance Enhancing Drugs, which…
Matt Thornton played almost all of his career in a set up role and was good enough at it that he would be named an All Star in 2010. Throughout his tenure he predominantly relied on his fastball, a tool that made him effective in his role and he pitched more than 700 Games in the Majors. He notably at one point was the all…
With incredible speed, Michael Bourn would lead the National League in Stolen Bases three seasons in a row (2009-2011) with a second place finish in 2012. Bourn also used his fleet feet to excel in defence, as he was a two time Gold Glove winner and he would lead the NL in Defensive bWAR in 2010 and is a two time league leader in Total…
Omar Infante was known as a stellar hitter over his fifteen years in Baseball but he did collect over 1,400 Hits on the professional level, which included three straight 150 Hit campaigns (2010-2012). Infante’s greatest contribution was his defensive versatility where he showed that he was adept at Second, Short and Third Base during his career, which was a major reason why he found work…
Prince Fielder reminded everyone of his dad Cecil, and how could he not?