The Top Ten First Baseman Today

Today, I revive this blog out of yet another extended coma, although you could say I picked a good day to begin an extended rest (September 29, the day after the most insane night in baseball history). However, after a thrilling and entertaining postseason that culminated with the Cardinals capturing an unprecedented 11th championship, it's time to get this bad boy going again.

We sit just days away from a majority of teams reporting to Spring Training, including the White Sox, who just happen to be one of the last teams to have their pitchers and catchers report (February 23). Since baseball does not really begin for me until the Sox hit camp in Arizona, I figure I will fill in the time by providing you with my own lists of the top ten players at each position. MLB Network has been airing their top ten lists all winter, and there is not a better way to gear up for the start of Spring Training by examining the best players in baseball today, and who could be on the verge of breaking out! Today we begin with the best first basemen in the game. In order to remain consistent with the way MLB Network does their list, keep in mind that this is the top ten first baseman right now, which means what they did last year will heavily account for where each player is ranked on here. What they accomplished in 2004 will not carry much weight on this list. Defensive abilities will also be taken into account.

10.) Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
2011 stats: .282 avg., 21 HRs, 76 RBI, .795 OPS
While there was not a great deal of hype surrounding Freeman when he debuted with Atlanta last year, many Braves fans still expected big things from the 22-year-old lefty. Freeman did not disappoint, finishing with rock-solid numbers in his rookie season. Look for him to climb higher on this list in the coming years.

9.) Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Philles
2011 stats: .253 avg., 33 HRs, 116 RBI, .835 OPS
It would be an understatement to say that the Phillies will miss having Howard's bat in the lineup to start the 2012 season due to injury. Until his unfortunate injury at the end of the division series where he tore his left achilles, Howard displayed his durability during the season, playing in 152 games while finishing third among NL first basemen in home runs and second in RBI. His strikeout total continues to be very high (172 last year) but as long as he produces those kind of numbers, that can and will be easily overlooked.

8.) Michael Morse, Washington Nationals
2011 stats: .303 avg., 31 HRs, 95 RBI, .910 OPS
Perhaps this is a bit of a surprise for some of you to see Morse on this list, however, he was a very underrated bat in Washington's lineup last year. With third baseman Ryan Zimmerman battling injuries throughout the season, Morse stepped up and became the offensive leader on the Nationals, leading the team in home runs, RBI, OPS and batting average. His OPS was also good enough to rank third among all NL third basemen, trailing only Joey Votto and Prince Fielder. We will find out this year if Morse's season was just a fluke, or if he is really here to stay as one of the best first basemen in the game.





7.) Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox
2011 stats: .300 avg., 31 HRs, 105 RBI, .906 OPS

In Lindy's Sports Baseball Preview Magazine this season, one of the adjectives they used to describe Konerko was "regal." It is a fitting sobriquet for the long-time first baseman of the White Sox, as he continues to be the silent and dignified leader of a team that has been known for being anything but quiet in the headlines the past several seasons. He lets his play do the talking for him, and he has been doing a lot of talking through his bat lately, as he put together another terrific season in spite of the team's dismal third-place finish. Konerko's 31 home runs were second among all AL first baseman, and his .906 OPS was third trailing only Adrian Gonzalez and Miguel Cabrera. The fact that he continues to put up great numbers in a pathetically underachieving lineup the last couple of seasons has been nothing short of remarkable, and it is a shame that it has not been noticed by more people. While his glove is not quite as good as Teixeira's, those who watch Konerko on a regular basis will see that he is a better fielder than many people give him credit for, sabermetricians included.



6.) Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
2011 stats: .248 avg., 39 HRs, 111 RBI, .835 OPS
Despite the glacial atrophy of his batting average the last couple of seasons (it has dropped 44 points since 2009), Teixeira continues to rake and take advantage of the cozy dimensions inside of the new Yankee Stadium. His 39 homers led all AL first basemen and his 111 RBI was second only to Adrian Gonzalez. Perhaps the only reason why I gave Teixeira the edge over Konerko was because of his continued defensive excellence at first base.

5.) Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
2011 stats: .309 avg., 29 HRs, 103 RBI, .947 OPS
While Votto's 2011 campaign was not nearly as spectacular as his MVP season of 2010, he still proved that he belongs in the discussion of the best first basemen in baseball with a terrific statistical year for the Reds. He led all NL first basemen in batting average, on-base percentage (.416) and OPS, while finishing third in RBI and fifth in homers. Along with this, he continues to display an underrated defensive prowess in the field.








4.) Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers
2011 stats: .299 avg., 38 HRs, 120 RBI, .981 OPS
He was the second-biggest free agent available on the market, and that was only because some guy named Pujols was also a free agent. Fielder had another dominant season, showing why he is indeed one of the best first baseman in the game. Fielder finished third in the NL with a .981 OPS and he finished second in homers behind Matt Kemp's 39. One aspect that people tend to overlook with Fielder is his durability, as he played in 155 or more games every year of his career except his rookie campaign in 2005. He was part of a two-man wrecking crew in Milwaukee with Ryan Braun for several seasons, and now he will try to recreate that in Detroit with Miguel Cabrera while trying to bring the city its first World Series title since 1984.

3.) Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox
2011 stats: .338 avg., 27 HRs, 117 RBI, . 957 OPS, 45 doubles
It certainly is a shame that it took a trade to Boston before people began to recognize how great of a first baseman Gonzalez is on both sides of the ball. Before anyone suggests that it was only because he played in San Diego, remember he had a MVP-caliber season with them in 2010, hitting .298 with 31 homers, 101 RBI and a .904 OPS in a far weaker lineup that missed the playoffs by just one game. Nonetheless, he had a fantastic year for the Carmines, tying for second in the AL in batting average, while finishing sixth in doubles and third in OPS. Teammate Jacoby Ellsbury ended up receiving more accolades as the season progressed, but Gonzalez's efforts will not be ignored in baseball-mad Boston as long as he continues to have years like the one he had in 2011.

2.) Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
2011 stats: .344 avg., 30 HRs, 105 RBI, 1.033 OPS, 48 doubles
I was a bit reluctant to place Cabrera on this list, as he will no longer be a regular first baseman for the Tigers with the arrival of Prince Fielder. However, with the kind of season he put together last year, I simply could not ignore him. Cabrera was not only phenomenal, he was certainly capable of winning the AL MVP last year, as he was the anchor of Detroit's lineup. His 1.033 OPS was the best among AL first basemen last year and was also second overall in the Junior Circuit, trailing only Jose Bautista. His .344 average was tops in the AL as well. While he certainly is not a gold glove-caliber first baseman, he fields what comes to him, while coming up with the occasional great play.





1.) Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels
2011 stats: .299 avg., 37 HRs, 99 RBI, .906 OPS

It must be nice when you are so good, a year like the one above can be considered an "off-year." For Albert's standards, it certainly was. For the first time in his career, the mighty Pujols did not reach the century mark in RBI, nor did he achieve a .300 average. Nonetheless, his OPS still ranked in the top ten in the National League, and his 37 homers were good enough for third in the Senior Circuit. In addition to this, Pujols continues to flash an above-average glove at first base, proving that he is not just a good hitter who is thrown at first base just so he can have a position to play. Let's face it, Pujols would not have been the most coveted free agent during the past offseason if he was not the best hitter in the game today.

The 30 Day/30 Team Report Cards: Day 30- New York Yankees

Alas, we have reached our final report card of 2009 (even though it is 2010). Today's final team will be the World Champions, the New York Yankees. Let's take a look at the Bronx Bombers of 2009:

New York Yankees:
Record: 103-59 (AL East Champions, World Series Champions).

Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Derek Jeter (.334)
Home Runs: Mark Teixeira (39)
RBIs: Mark Teixeira (122)
On-base Percentage: Derek Jeter (.406)

Pitching Leaders:
Wins: CC Sabathia (19)
ERA: CC Saabathia (3.37). Bullpen- Mariano Rivera (1.76).
Strikeouts: CC Sabathia (197)
Innings Pitched: CC Sabathia (230)
WHIP: Mariano Rivera (0.90). Starters- CC Sabathia (1.15)
Saves: Mariano Rivera (44)

Highlight of the Season: Winning their 27th World Championship on November 4, over the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Duh!

Lowlight of the Season: Tie between getting clobbered by the Indians at home, 22-4 on April 18, and losing two out of three at home to the lowly Nationals on June 16-18.

The Lowdown:
At long last, after years of spending and even more spending, the Yankees were finally World Champions again, giving their long-suffering fans happiness and a reason for excitement once again. Of course, I was only being facetious with that previous statement, but the Yankees seemed to finally find that right mix of talent to carry them to the promised land in October for the 27th time. After years of bulking up their offense, and spending millions of ill-advised dollars on flukish or mediocre-to-terrible pitchers (does Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown or Kei Igawa ring a bell for anyone?), the Yanks finally found their front-of-the-rotation pitching aces that would carry them to October, and they would be in the form of CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. However, it doesn't hurt to beef up your offense when you have the opportunity, and the Yankees did just that, as they were able to land Mark Teixeira as a free agent during the '08-'09 offseason. He would end up joining an already potent lineup that featured Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, and Hideki Matsui, among others.

The dawn of the 2009 season also marked the first time since 1922 that the Yankees would not be playing in "The House that Ruth built," as they moved across the street to the shiny, expensive, brand-spanking-new Yankee Stadium, that ended being even more of a haven for power-hitters than its predecessor. Home runs flew out of the new ballpark at an alarming rate last year, which no doubt made the Yankees' lineup all the more intimidating. However, they still had to have effective pitching to quell the offensive explosion at the new ballpark, and their staff, as a whole, was up to the task. When you combine one of the best offenses in baseball with some of the best pitching in baseball, it comes as no surprise that the Yankees finished atop the baseball world in 2009.

Offense:
Thanks to their homer-happy new ballpark, and to Mark Teixeira, the Yankees' offense was as explosive as ever in 2009. Their lineup featured a remarkable seven people who hit at least 20 home runs in 2009, and Teixeira led the way for them, as he drilled 39 in his first season in the Big Apple. It goes without saying that he put up a very MVP-worthy season, as he had a robust 122 RBIs, .292 batting average and .383 on-base percentage to go along with his 39 homers. However, he lost out in the MVP race to Minnesota's Joe Mauer, who put up an equally fantastic season behind the plate.

The other major power threat in New York's lineup was obviously, Alex Rodriguez. Despite missing some time due to injury, A-Rod still put up solid numbers, as he hit .286, with 30 homers and 100 RBIs, to go along with a robust .402 on-base percentage. Nonetheless, the aforementioned stats will not be what Yankees fans will remember about A-Rod in '09, as he was able to finally shake the postseason monkey off his back in October. He would end up leading the Yankees in all four major offensive categories during the play-offs, as he hit .365, with six home runs, 18 RBIs and a .500 on-base percentage. In fact, the only debate that you will find about A-Rod among Yankees fans is which of his home runs during the play-offs was bigger: his game-tying two-run homer off of Twins' closer Joe Nathan in Game Two of the Division Series, or his game-tying home run in the 11th inning of Game Two of the LCS against the Angels? Both home runs came in games in which the Yankees would eventually win. I'll let you be the judge.

Two other major contributors in the Yankees' lineup were the double-play tandem of Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano. Jeter was simply Jeter once again in 2009, as he hit for an outstanding .334 average, to go along with 18 home runs and a fantastic .406 on-base percentage. He also reached a major milestone during the season, as he passed Lou Gehrig for the Yankees' all-time hits record with his 2,722nd hit against the Orioles on September 11. His partner up the middle, Robinson Cano, also put together a fantastic season of his own, as he hit .320, with 25 home runs and 85 RBIs. It goes without saying that these are some excellent numbers for a second baseman, but despite this, his season was largely overshadowed by his other higher-profile teammates.

Overall, the Yankees would finish first in MLB in runs scored (915) home runs (244), on-base percentage (.362), and would tie with the Angels for first in hits (1,604). They would also finish second in batting average (.283), third in doubles (325) and first in total bases (2,703). While other lineups around baseball appeared to be just as potent on paper, the Yankees, by far and away, featured the best lineup in baseball in 2009.
Final Grade: A+

Pitching:
The biggest reason for the Yankees' success in 2009 lies not within their lineup, but within the pitching rotation. For the first time in several years, the Yankees had a solid rotation, and not one that could be considered "shaky, at best." Pitching was the key formula to their three consecutive championships from 1998-2000, and the Yanks found it again this year with a great rotation that featured CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain making up the bulk of the starts. Sabathia picked right up where he left off in his stellar '08 campaign, as he finished 19-8 this year, with a 3.37 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Innings also were not a problem for the big lefty either, as he gobbled up 230 of them on the rubber last year. He certainly silenced the prognosticators at the beginning of the season who said that he was due to regress in '09, and he would have definitely received more consideration for the Cy Young last season if it weren't for Zack Greinke's monster year in Kansas City.

Backing him up in the number two slot was A.J. Burnett, who finally put together back-to-back 200 inning seasons for the first time in his career. While he did not receive as many wins last year as he did in Toronto in '08 (when he went 18-10), he was still solid in the Yankees rotation, going 13-9 last year, with a 4.04 ERA and 195 strikeouts in 207 innings pitched. While many around baseball knew that a dominant Sabathia would be a big key to the Yankees success, many also knew that if they were going to go deeper into the play-offs than in recent years, Burnett had to be healthy and producing, too. The once injury-prone Burnett proved that he was healthy once again in '09, and that he was definitely up to the task.

In the number three spot was a familiar face, and that was Andy Pettitte. In his third season back with the Yankees after a brief sojourn to Houston, Pettitte continued to be the wise and experienced presence on the staff, as he was one of the remaining left-overs from the Yankees' glory years of 1996-2000. He would continue to prove to everybody that he still had something left in the tank, as he went 14-8 last year, with a 4.16 ERA in 194.2 innings. While he is no longer a front-of-the-rotation starter, he is still quite adequate as a number three starter, and he is still a guy the Yankees have no problem handing the ball to in big games.

Rounding out the major four starters for the Yankees is Joba Chamberlain. While he was certainly serviceable as a number four starter (finishing 9-6, with a 4.75 ERA in 31 starts), his season could have certainly been better, considering how much talent he has. However, 2009 marked his first full season as a starter in the bigs, so I'll cut him some slack. Plus, it seems that the Yankees have finally found out what they wanted to do with him, so I wouldn't be too surprised if he improved substantially in 2010. As long as they don't keep threatening to shuffle him off to the bullpen, he will be fine.

Speaking of the bullpen, the Yankees had a very youthful crew coming into ballgames in '09, as Phil Coke, Phil Hughes, David Robertson, Brian Bruney and Alfredo Aceves were all 27 or younger during the season. This young bunch would be backed up by the sage-like presence of the great Mariano Rivera closing out games, who no doubt had to be a big influence on the rest of the 'pen this year. While the youngsters were effective during the season (four out of the five aforementioned pitchers would finish with ERAs under four except for Coke), it was Rivera who was the best of them all in the 'pen once again, finishing with 44 saves in 46 chances, a 1.76 ERA and a ridiculous WHIP of 0.90. Rivera- who was 39 during the season- seems to be like a fine wine; he just continues to get better and better with age.

Overall, the Yankees rotation definitely held their own amongst all of the teams in MLB, as they tied for 11th in ERA (4.26), finished 17th in runs allowed (753), 13th in walks (574), fourth in strikeouts (1,260) and fifth in "batting average against" (.251). While they weren't in the same category of pitching excellence as the Giants and Dodgers, they were still better than most teams in MLB.
Final Grade: A-

Wild Card: Homegrown Talent
Yeah, that's right, I said it. The Yankees have much more homegrown talent than most people realize. These weren't just marginal players either who contributed very little to the team's success. These were major players, guys who made a difference to the team this year, who, without them, the Yankees would not have achieved the level of success they earned this year. Here is a list of the major contributors on the Yankees in 2009 who came out of their farm system at some point:
Derek Jeter
Andy Pettitte
Jorge Posada
Mariano Rivera
Robinson Cano
Phil Coke
Phil Hughes
Joba Chamberlain
Brett Gardner
Melky Cabrera
David Robertson
Alfredo Aceves

By my count, that is twelve people, which is damn near half of their team. I might have still left out some people, but those were the guys who came to mind for me. While the Yankees do spend a lot of money (the last team to have a higher opening day payroll than them was the 1998 Baltimore Orioles), they also have a great eye for finding talent as well. The only difference is that they have the money to lock them up once contract time comes. You can rip the Yankees all you want for spending big bucks for free agents, but don't accuse them of not being able to develop their own talent, because clearly, they have.
Final Grade: A+

Overall:
Don't let the Phillies' acquisition of Roy Halladay fool you, the Yankees are still the team to beat coming into 2010. They are the best team in baseball right now.
Final Grade: A+

Well everybody, that will do it for our "Report Cards" series. I would like to thank each and every one of you that decided to take time out of your day to come on to my little website to read about baseball! We had the opportunity to learn about the some of the best and worst baseball had to offer in 2009, and some of the surprising stars and unsung heroes of many teams as well. With that, I bring the "009 Report Cards"series to a close. Make sure to stay posted for updates on the White Sox and MLB right here on "Miracle on 35th Street!"