![]() ![]() After three years as a punching bag for unsatisfied Yankees fans, life as a dependable hurler for a Twins team looking for pitching stability sounds pretty. Happ is perpetually solid - not great, not bad, just fine. Sound familiar? Now he's in Texas and is a prime candidate to be dealt at the deadline and throw some big innings for a contender down the stretch. He used to be a mediocre starter, then the Royals made him a good reliever. ![]() I wrote about Valdez in the season preview, but the changeup virtuoso has continued to fool hitters with his magical Dead Fish and is currently tied for the AL lead in saves. He has settled in as a shockingly reliable closer, with electric stuff for a 36-year-old. He returns a national hero and could become the league’s Rookie of the Year as a 38-year-old, which would be outstanding.Īfter a seven-year absence from MLB that included a thousand minor-league stops, a battle with the yips and a retirement from baseball, Bard completed his inexplicable comeback in 2020. The greatest Korean hitter in MLB history returned home this offseason for his KBO League debut (Choo went straight to the minors out of high school). But in 2021, he's finally starting to show his age, and unless Uncle Charlie can repair his uncle Charlie, this might be Wainwright's last hurrah. Wainwright has been successfully fending off Father Time for a few years now, getting outs and racking up wins despite diminished velocity. Dick Mountain has been counted out before, only to rise from the ashes, but this time around, it might actually be curtains for everyone’s favorite candy-smashing hurler. It has been a rough go in 2021 thus far for the eternally curveballing lefty. The oldest big-leaguer on the list of old big-leaguers. At least he had the play of Opening Day this year. Maybe he has just enough juice for one last renaissance, but I'm skeptical he can stay healthy. He's hurt again and was already struggling before he got hurt. *Sad sigh.* Miggy hasn't been healthy, good, full-season Miggy since 2016. He has somehow never been on the Giants, even though he feels like the exact type of guy who would have been inexplicably good for an early 2010s Giants team. If you told me that Matt Joyce retired in 2017, I’d have believed you. He currently sits at 99.8 Baseball Reference WAR for his career and -0.2 so far this season, so if he can just get back to zero for 2021, dorks like me would go crazy. The man is a future Hall of Famer, contractually obligated to continue playing baseball even though his body is inferring that maybe that’s not the best idea. Pujols isn’t what he once was, but none of us is. If you open a dictionary of baseball-specific terms and flip to the entry for "Fourth Outfielder," you’ll see this picture of Dyson. He doesn’t have the blazing speed anymore, but Dyson’s decade-plus of MLB experience means he Knows How To Play The Outfield™. The 2016 ALCS MVP hasn’t been the same dominant force since joining the Cardinals, but he’s still decent and still throws lefty and still has tree limbs. When bearded, Miller kind of reminds me of a lankier Elmo. He also has been the best pitcher on the Angels so far this year, apparently. I had to put the guy named Junior on the list of seniors. He has been bad so far this year, but he’s in Oakland, and they always have good old relievers, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. One of the game's most gregarious characters, Romo and his endless arsenal of sliders have built one hell of a career. OK, yes, he's suspended all season after getting popped for PEDs again, but you have to reluctantly admit that he’s still pretty decent at baseball for a 38-year-old, even if his longevity was acquired fraudulently. Pérez rolls up, chucks junk from the left side and gets enough outs to keep earning one-year deals from Cleveland. Twenty-two years later, he’s still going, whereas my baseball career fizzled out years ago. I was 4 years old when Pérez signed his first professional contract with the Padres in 1999. If you’re at a game with some friends who don’t watch a ton of baseball (sounds like a great time) and Darren O’Day comes in, you’ll get a lot of "Whoa, what’s that guy’s deal?" The side-slinging righty specialist has been dynamite for a depleted Yanks bullpen and will certainly feature prominently as the team seeks to climb back into contention. Despite his proximity to the big 4-0, he’s still one of the best hitters in Nippon Professional Baseball, knocking .308 with 18 taters last year. The two-time Comeback Player of the Year isn't on a team right now, but that's all a setup for his third Comeback Player of the Year Award.Īnyone still able to squat for nine innings at age 36 gets a large huzzah from me and deserves to be on this list.Īfter six seasons in MLB, the high-energy outfielder returned to his homeland of Japan in 2018. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |