Best of 2010: The 50 Biggest MLB Stories This Year
Stories 50-46
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50. Trevor Hoffman's 600th Save. A big accomplishment for one of the best closers in MLB History.
49. Bob Sheppard Passes. "Now batting for the Yankees, the shortstop, number two, Derek Jeter, number two."
48. All-Star Game. The NL finally wins one in one of the lowest-rated, most unexciting All-Star Games in recent memory.
47. Daniel Nava's Grand Slam. The Red Sox rookie hit a Grand Slam in his first Major League at-bat, of course it was against Joe Blanton.
46. A.J. Burnett's Nightmare Season. One of the worst seasons ever for a Yankee starter, symbolically capped off by his performance in Game 4 of the ALCS
Stories 45-41
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45. Ron Washington's Testing Positive for Cocaine. His admission set the tone for a Rangers team that was built around second chances.
44. Carlos Zambrano's Meltdown. Zambrano sent home after getting into an altercation with Derrek Lee in the dugout. Trade rumors might suggest Cubs have finally had enough.
43. Beards. Between Brian Wilson's and Jayson Werth, the Johnny Damon look was in once again in baseball.
42. Ron Santo Passes. Deserved to be in the Hall of Fame before he passed away.
41. The Tenth Inning. Ken Burns' epilogue to the Baseball documentary crystallizes the last 15 years phenomenally.
Stories 40-36
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40. Felix Hernandez' Cy Young. King Felix proved that Cy Young winners don't need to have 20 wins.
39. Jon Miller/Joe Morgan fired. Media's wondering where Miller will land; founders of Fire Joe Morgan have found Utopia.
38. Mariners' mess. They started the season as favorites in the AL West. They ended looking for a new manager.
37. Pat Burrell Lands in the Bay. The Giants sign Burrell for peanuts from the free-agent heap. They got more than peanuts back in return.
36. Derek Jeter's Contract Negotiation. Has there ever been a testier negotiation that involved one team?
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Stories 35-31
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35. Dave Niehaus Passes. The iconic play-by-play voice who called every game the Mariners' ever played.
34. H2O. Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt form a dominant trio. Still not enough to get the Phillies to the World Series.
33. The Rays' Last Stand. Tampa wins its second AL East Title in three years before the team gets gutted in the offseason.
32. A-Rod's 600th Home Run. By the end, everyone was just glad he finally did it.
31. Sparky Anderson Passes. One of the best and most iconic managers in MLB history.
Stories 30-26
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30. Aroldis Chapman's Debut. There's a reason why he's called the Cuban Missile.
29. Ernie Harwell Passes. One of the best announcers of the old guard. Heaven has another golden voice.
28. Joe Torre Resigns. We think this is it for him. We think.
27. Brooks Conrad's Series to Forget. After the ALDS Conrad had, Verne Lundquist would've called him The Sickest Man in America.
26. Target Field Opens. Finally, Minnesota has a open-air baseball stadium again. And a gorgeous one at that.
25. Jim Thome's Resurgence
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Jim Thome was brought to Minnesota as a bench presence and an extra bat to spell the regulars. By the end of the season, he was a starter and a star in the Twins' lineup.
And all the while, Thome was still Thome, pulling the ball to deep right field and the courtyard porch at Target Field. He continued to drill deep bombs, drilling one off the flagpole in right. He put up his most home runs since 2008 and his highest batting average since 2006.
He showed that he can still be an effective player at age 39.
24. Spit-Gate
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During the ALCS, news broke from the Lee camp that there was an incident between the Yankee fans and Lee's wife. Mrs. Lee said that Yankee fans from the upper deck had spit on and threw beer at her. As Lee's free-agency loomed, the news became bigger and bigger.
It turned into baseball chaos. The New York Daily News put it on its front page. Rangers' owner Chuck Greenberg called out the Yankee fans before later apologizing. Lee later downplayed the incident, but it created a stir in the heat of the moment.
23. The Revenue Sharing Scandal
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During the Summer, the blog Deadspin uncovered documents from Major League teams. What they found was that, not surprisingly, some small-market teams were pocketing using the money coming from revenue-sharing instead of pumping it back into the teams. Ergo, teams like the Marlins were having profits even with low attendance and minimal payrolls.
The heat turned squarely on the Marlins, who had gotten Miami to fit the bill for a new stadium on the Orange Bowl site despite securing pretty solid profits.
22. Andre Dawson Gets the Call
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Andre Dawson was the prototypical five-tool player. He was a star in the 1970s and 1980s, becoming a star patrolling center field in Montreal before becoming an icon in Wrigleyville, where he won a MVP. He is the sixth player to have 300 homers and 300 steals, joining names like Mays and Bonds. He also wasn't a Hall of Famer.
That changed in July, when Dawson finally took his place in Cooperstown as part of the Class of 2010.
21. The Return of the Reds
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The city of Cincinnati and the Reds have a long and proud baseball history, even before the Big Red Machine. But all that seemed to be a distant memory entering the 2010 season. The Reds hadn't been to the postseason since 1995 and had become just another mid-market team.
But thanks to Dusty Baker and a crop of young stars, the Reds scrapped, clawed (and in terms of the Cardinals, karate kicked) their way through the schedule and into contention. And when a Jay Bruce launched a home run into a September night, the Reds had their first division title in more than a decade.
20. The Pitching Padres
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The Padres had their payroll slashed and were supposed to be a bottom-feeder in 2010. The closer and the first baseman were expected to be out of town by June and there wasn't supposed to be enough offense to carry the team.
Well, two of the three were wrong.
The Padres carried one of the best staffs in baseball and their first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the top of the NL West for most of the summer. Eventually, the summer caught up to them and the Padres lost the division on the season's final day.
19. Dallas Braden's Wild Ride
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Dallas Braden was just one of the young arms the Athletics have stockpiled, but hadn't really stood out from the rest of the pack. That changed on April 22, when a harmless foul ball started it all.
Alex Rodriguez trotted back to first base on a foul ball, and walked across the mound. Braden took offense, and eventually started a war that even got his grandmother involved. It was minor, but Braden became the "Get Off My Mound" guy.
On Mother's Day, he also became the "guy who threw a perfect game" guy.
18. Fight Night In Cincinnati
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The Cardinals came into Cincinnati for a big summer series. St. Louis was trailing the Reds at the time, and Brandon Phillips took it upon himself to publicly state his disdain for the Cardinals. The Cardinals, namely Yadier Molina took exception. What ensued was a melee of giant proportions, complete with players pinned against the backdrop and Johnny Cueto kicking Chris Carpenter.
St. Louis swept the series, but the Reds made the announcement that they're not backing down.
17. Expanding the Playoffs
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When the Wild Card first came into play more than a decade ago, it was considered a foreign idea. But eventually it caught on and now it's no longer a pipe dream that a Wild Card can win the World Series. So now, Selig wants to expand that idea.
Inspired by the furious pennant races in the National League, there's been talk of expanding the playoffs once again to include another Wild Card. It's obviously a cash grab, as more playoff games means more TV and more attendance.
Nothing's been decided yet, but this seems more and more like an eventuality.
16. The Curious Case of Jose Bautista
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Jose Bautista was an utility infielder in his career as a Pirate before being shipped off to Toronto. His career high in homers was 16 in 2006, and that was mostly as a lead-off hitter for Pittsburgh. So to say that his 2010 season was unexpected would be an understatement.
54 home runs. 54.
Almost 40 more than his career high. A career high in RBIs as well. The guy who had bounced around with Baltimore, Kansas City and Pittsburgh finally found a home north of the border. And a new contract as well.
15. Dueling McCourts
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The divorce case of Frank and Jamie McCourt has been something out of a soap opera. There's been testimonies of tax evasion, infighting and affairs. It wouldn't be a big thing if the Dodgers weren't caught in the cross-hairs.
Instead, the two have been fighting over full ownership of the team, and the fans have suffered. The same team that made back-to-back trips to the NLCS fell on hard times this season, and now is cutting payroll to boot.
Only in Hollywood.
14. The Amazing Ubaldo
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Ubaldo Jimenez was also a player who hadn't had a banner year before 2010. Even when he had the first no-hitter back in April, he was still a relative unknown. But for the first few months of the season, Jimenez was putting up numbers that made Zack Greinke's 2009 season look pedestrian.
Eventually, Jimenez came back down to earth and won 19 games. But for most of the season, he was as dominant as any pitcher in the game. And that's including Roy Halladay.
13. The Say Hey Kid
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I guess we should've known when Heyward homered in his first major league at-bat that he was something special. I mean, he was a pretty highly-touted prospect coming out of the Braves' system.
What resulted was a special year when Heyward was the heart of a scrappy, never-say-die Braves team that fought hard for their manager.
12. Rookies Galore
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Heyward was just one member of an outstanding rookie class that included Chapman and Steven Strasburg. But perhaps no one rookie did more for his team than Buster Posey.
The former first round pick stepped into the Giants lineup in June and made an immediate impact, so much so that the Giants were willing to ship starting catcher Bengie Molina off to Texas.
He successfully backstopped one of the better rotations in the league, and got a championship ring for his efforts.
11. The Natural
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Potential has always been intertwined with Josh Hamilton's name, even at his lowest point. In the few years he's been in the league, he's shown he is one of the best hitters in the game, hitting for average and power.
But 2010 might be remembered as the year when Hamilton finally reached his full potential.
He did it all, and did so while missing time with various injuries as well. Hamilton even produced some of those tape-measure blasts that he showed off at the 2008 Home Run Derby.
10. Goodbye To the Kid
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If you grew up watching baseball in the 1990s, you probably idolized Ken Griffey. The power, the speed, the defense, the athleticism.
And the swing, oh the swing. The sweetest swing you'll ever see.
So it was hard not to feel a little melancholy when Griffey retired in the middle of the season, after a phenomenal Hall of Fame career. It's hard not to think what would happen if he wasn't stricken by injuries that broke him down.
By the end of his career, he was a shell of himself. But he still had that swing. And that's what we'll remember.
9. Bobby Cox Retires
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You can question a lot of things about Cox, but you can't question the man nor the record. He's one of the best to ever manage in this game—the wins and the awards say that.
He was a winner in Toronto and he was a winner in Atlanta, grabbing his only World Series titles behind probably one of the greatest three-man rotations in baseball history.
And there were the ejections, and the fiery style that made it clear he was from the Billy Martin managing tree.
But if there was any doubt about his place in the game, the ovation he got at the end of the NLDS should answer that.
8. The Debut
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Many times in sports, the event doesn't live up to the hype. And perhaps no debut in baseball history was more hyped than the debut of phenom Stephen Strasburg back in June. It was so big that the MLB Network even rolled out Bob Costas.
And in his opening performance, Strasburg didn't disappoint: Seven innings, two runs, no walks and 14 strikeouts. A dominant performance.
Strasburg pitched well the rest of the year before he was shut down for Tommy John surgery that will keep him out until 2012. But for the first time, there's hope in Washington.
7. The Passing of the Boss
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Regardless of what you think about Steinbrenner the person, it's hard to doubt that he was willing to do whatever it took to win. He was the champion of free agency in the mid-'70s and was never afraid to shell out millions to bring the best to New York.
He demanded a champion.
There were personal and professional flaws. But for everything Steinbrenner was, he was one of the most influential people in baseball history.
And there's no questioning the empire he built in the Bronx.
6. Year of the Pitcher
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This type of year was unprecedented in our lifetimes. It felt like 1964 all over again, the only thing missing were Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax mowing down hitters left and right.
No-hitters and perfect games dominated the landscape, starting with Braden and Roy Halladay's perfect games in May.
Ubaldo Jimenez, Edwin Jackson and Matt Garza also added no-hitters and this was an unprecedented year of pitching dominance, at least in this era.
5. Free Agent Frenzy
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Big money by big clubs in baseball is nothing new, especially recently. But the amount of money thrown at specific players was outstanding.
The Red Sox gave seven years and nine digits each to Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, while the Yankees threw seven years at Cliff Lee.
But perhaps no move shocked the baseball world more than when the Nationals emerged from the woods and gave Jayson Werth a gigantic contract.
4. Lee Spurns the Yankees...Twice
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All through the summer of 2010, all we seemed to hear was that Cliff Lee would be a Yankee eventually. If it wasn't through a trade with sinking Seattle, then it would be in free-agency.
Of course, as expected, news broke in July that the Yankees had a deal in place to land Lee. But Seattle backed out and used the Yankees to get more out of Texas, and Lee became a Ranger.
So when free-agency came, it was expected that Lee would become a Yankee. But to the shock of the baseball world, Lee took a pay cut and less years to return to Philadelphia.
The Phillies got one of the best rotations in recent memory, the Yankees got left at the altar.
3. Almost Perfect
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Perhaps no story brought out more emotion that the tale of Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce. We've heard the story by now: Galarraga needs one more out for a perfect game, but Joyce awards an infield single to Cleveland's Jason Donald on a play that should've been called out.
The Detroit fans and players booed at Joyce, while Galarraga finished off the game. Joyce was bombarded and apologized.
But in the true spirit of the season, and perhaps showing that every cloud has a silver lining, Galarraga and Joyce buried the hatched so to speak a day or so later, in a touching moment that even brought a tear to Joyce's eye.
2. Twice In a Lifetime
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We've seen no hitters before and we've even seen perfect games. Heck, Roy Halladay had a perfect game back in May. But only once was there a no-hitter in the Playoffs, a perfect game by Don Larsen in the 1956 Series.
No one really knew what to expect on a rainy October day when Halladay made his first-ever playoff start. But as the innings piled up, all of a sudden the entire crowd began to realize what was happening. And as the final out was recorded, the disbelief of the moment crystallized itself in jubilation on the mound.
A playoff no-hitter. The second in baseball history.
1. The Drought Is Over
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There wasn't an official name for it, perhaps it was the Curse of the Polo Grounds, but the Giants hadn't won a World Series since moving to San Francisco. The Giants had come close before, but had never been able to break through.
One look at the lineup for the 2010 Giants and not a lot of people thought a championship was possible either. All we heard was that the pitching would have to carry the hitting. In the end, the pitching held up its part.
But thanks to a bunch of role players, the Giants secured their first championship since the '50s and finally put the ghosts of New York behind them.
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