New Hope, New Fish ~ A Miami Marlins Dynasty (MLB The Show 16)

[Number999]

Ichiro Suzuki joins the elite 3,000 hit club for MLB!

Simply saying legend would be under-selling what Ichiro Suzuki has brought to Major League Baseball.

On August 13th, 2016 in just a normal everyday Saturday afternoon game that would be played between the Miami Marlins and Chicago White Sox, we witnessed history happen. It didn't taken very long for it to happen. In the bottom of the 2nd inning with Ichiro batting in the clean-up spot (yes Don Mattingly put him there), Ichiro was able to gash a double in the gap against Jose Quintana who was the starting pitcher for the White Sox and achieve the 3,000 exclusive hit that has been evading him for the last few weeks as he was stuck on 2,996. The game paused, and the 35,000+ soldout crowd at Marlins Park rose to their feet to give their appreciation for Ichiro. The game was being televised on ESPN as well as nationally in Japan as Don Mattingly announced the day before that Ichiro would be starting for Marcell Ozuna in center-field, who had a monster grin on his face when Mattingly spoke.

Ichiro becomes just the 30th member in MLB History to join the 3,000th hit club.

He was already a legend in Japan in the Nippon Professional Baseball League in his homeland. At the age of 27-years old, he made the daring decision to transition his way on over to America and player in Major League Baseball where many thought he would be too small and too frail to survive. Boy... were they wrong. Ichiro hit 242, 208, 212, 262, 206, 224, 238, 213, 225, and 214 hits in his first 10 seasons with the Seattle Mariners. Saying he was dominant as a lead-off man would be selling him short, and the Seattle Mariners saw soaring success in his 1st season, winning an improbable 116 games before faltering in 5 games to the NY Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

Ichiro would not make the playoffs again as a member of the Mariners.

But that never meant he stopped trying. Those hits year in and year out told you that he was the last reason for why the Mariners failed to put supporting piece around him, and even further showed Ichiro's dedication despite all of the normalities stacked against him. Of course, all things must eventually come to an end. In the middle of the 2012 season with the Mariners in a rebuilding stage and well out of the plausibility that they can make the playoffs, Ichiro requested a trade as he was 38-years old and did not want to continue consuming a roster spot on a team that was rebuilding. The Mariners' fulfilled his demands by trading him to the team that knocked him out of his only career playoff appearance, the New York Yankees. Mariners fans didn't wanna admit it... but they were cheering for the Yankees now, just cause of Ichiro and all that he had done for them through his 11 years in Seattle.

Ichiro would spend his next 3 seasons there. For the remainder of 2012, he would play in 67 games and bat .320+ with 240 plate appearances. The Yankees would proceed to finish the year with a record of 95-67 and make the MLB Playoffs. They defeated the Baltimore Orioles in a tightly competitive American League Division Series, which the Yankees would win 3-2. But, just like in 2001, Ichiro's World Series dreams came to a screeching halt as the Detroit Tigers would go on to sweep the New York Yankees in the 2012 ALCS. Ichiro would sign a 2-year extension and played out the 2013 and 2014 seasons for the Yankees, but the Yankees failed to make the postseason finishing 85-77 and 84-78 in each season respectively.

As a free agent at the age of 41-years old, it would have been very easy for many MLB players to just retire. Ichiro had a remarkable career and he was arguably the most beloved guy in MLB History. Instead, he decided to take his veteran skills and go to the Miami Marlins, a place no one would have predicted Ichiro to sign with. In 2015, projected to just be a 4th outfielder, due to injuries to Giancarlo Stanton he played in 153 games and nearly managed to collect 400 plate appearances. Deciding to give it one more go, he signed a 1-year/3.8M extension to play his final year in the bigs at the age of 42 trying to reach this exclusive 3,000 hit club... he's finally done it, and now, surprisingly, Ichiro may have one last postseason to play in before calling it quits if things break the right way.

Here are Ichiro's stats to date on the day he reached 3,000 hits.

Ichiro's Stats:
Games: 2,433
At-Bats: 9,603
Runs: 1,367
Hits: 3,000
Home Runs: 113
RBIs: 761
Stolen Bases: 506
Batting Average: .312
On Base Percentage: .355
Slugging Percentage: .404
OPS: .760
Walks: 614
Strikeouts: 1,036
Doubles: 360
Triples: 91
WAR: 51.00

He truly is one of a kind. Thank you, Ichiro Suzuki.

[Number999]

Miami Marlins 2016 Simulation ~ July 31st - August 18th

I did not get to include the game since the Trade Deadline has suddenly popped up and I didn't wanna sim the day yet, but Game #105 or the 4th game in a 4-game series vs the St. Louis Cardinals ended 1-0 with the Miami Marlins winning in walk-off fashion at home. It was Dee Gordon who slashed in the RBI that brought Chris Johnson home to over-whelming applause from the crowd as the 30,000+ fans roared at Marlins Park. It was a humongous win to end July, and now the Marlins hope to carry that momentum into August.


34th Series: @ Chicago Cubs
Game #106: (W 6-0)
Game #107: (L 1-10)
Game #108: (5-6)

Series Recap: It took a really damn long time... but it finally happened. The Miami Marlins have lost a series for the 1st time since June 2nd, 2016. We're currently in August. It took the Cubs who are one of the best MLB teams at home to finally get them. The first game looked good for the Fish, as Stanton cranked out a whooping 3 doubles and Jose Fernandez carried the load as he pitched a complete game shutout while striking out 13 batters, continuing his utter dominance, as well as handing Jake Arrieta has 4th loss on the year. Sadly, the next two games did not go as well. Wei-Yin Chen got hammered for 5 runs in just the first 3.2 innings, and then Mike Dunn got hammered for 5 runs in the 5th inning while Jon Lester cruised to a complete game of his own. In the rubber match, a blown save by Tony Sipp which ended up harming Adam Conley is what did them in as it made homers by Marcell Ozuna and Martin Prado moot. Still, the important thing is that the Fish didn't get swept and now have to bounce back on the road against Colorado who are well below 20 games under .500


35th Series: @ Colorado Rockies
Game #109: (L 5-7)
Game #110: (W 9-7)
Game #111: (W 8-0)

Series Recap: Marlins fans were starting to get a little bit antsy after the 1st loss on the road to Colorado. It meant that the Fish had lost 3 games in a row and some started wondering hey... maybe we're regressing back down to earth. Luckily, because it's Coors Field, the Marlins offense didn't get de-moralized and showed off by scoring 17 runs in the next 2 games combined. The Marlins managed to win Game #2 despite the Rockies having 17 hits compared to their mere 10. Still, it's all about making your hits count and Miami managed to do just that. Then, as he does, the man who almost guarantees a win every 5th start came out and dominated. Jose Fernandez is dwarfing his rookie year with his performance this season, and that is REALLY saying something. This time out he pitched yet another complete game shutout while only allowing 3 hits to the Rockies, just a day after they had 17. Stanton also finally got out of a slump and hit a grand slam in the 1st inning. I guess that's one way to do it in style.


36th Series: vs San Francisco Giants
Game #112: (L 1-7)
Game #113: (L 2-4)
Game #114: (L 2-3)

Series Recap: Welp... it seems like the Marlins finally had their number matched, and it's by the 3x World Series Champions since 2010. This is the first time the Marlins have been swept since May 6th-8th vs Philadelphia. The losses pitching wise fell on Chen, Ramos, and Capps. The first loss mostly coming just cause the Marlins offense didn't produce and Johnny Cueto pitching a complete game only allowing 5 hits. The next day out, the Marlins actually held a 2-1 lead in the top of 9th. The the Giants scored 3 runs because AJ Ramos blew the game, and it negated the amazing game that Dee Gordon had strung together. Finally, hoping to avoid getting swept, the Marlins went all the way to 14 innings at home before Carter Capps allowed Brandon Belt to drive in the game-winning run on a RBI sacrifice fly. It would have been nice if the Marlins offense had helped out with more than 5 runs this entire series, but the pitching once they have the lead also has to perform superior if the Marlins want to stay the course and make the postseason.


37th Series: vs Chicago White Sox
Game #115: (W 6-2)
Game #116: (W 5-1)
Game #117: (W 3-1)

Series Recap: Is there even a better response to getting swept than sweeping the opposing team in the series right afterwards? The Marlins, pissed after getting swept, came out and made sure they responded. They showed that in Game #1 by scoring 5 runs in the first two innings with a 3-run homer by Bour and a 2-run homer by Realmuto. In Game #2, there wasn't much that needed to be done other than Ichiro's 3,00th hit which I already wrote about above! Why? Jose was pitching. It's over before it even begins with him. Yet another complete game, not a shoutout this time since Dionar NaVarro drove in a run against him but it's all good as Ichiro's greatness was the forefront of every story. Finally, looking for the sweep, Yelich drove in 2 runs with Ozuna tallying another as it was just Chen/Ramos who needed work together in the 3-1 victory. The Marlins are staying where they need to be, and that's 3-6 games ahead of the Mets for the NL East as well as 15-20 games above .500 for their regular season record.


38th Series: @ Cincinnati Reds
Game #118: (L 3-4)
Game #119: (L 1-2)
Game #120: (W 1-0)
Game #121: (W 5-3)

Series Recap: That was a very... weird series, and the worst part is, the worst possible thing that could have happened in Game #121 did. The first two nights were rough 1-run losses. Offense didn't crush, but you'd hope your pitching could win you a game on the road in a situation like that. In Game #2, you can blame the offense as they gave Tom Koehler little to no support. It appears as though the pitching staff heard the offense whining though, as Jarred Cosart, Mike Dunn, Keone Kela, and AJ Ramos all combined to give up just 4 hits to the Reds as Marcell Ozuna's 1-run homer was the only run of the game as the Marlins handed Raisel Iglesias his 5th loss of the year. Jose Fernandez pitched Game #4 and he was as crushing as he usually was allowing 3 runs in his 7 innings of work. The Reds had to capitalize there but didn't as Tony Cingrani gave up 2 runs in he top of the 9th as the Marlins would avoid losing the series with a 5-3 victory. Breaking 70 wins at this point is humongous, but an injury to one of the Marlins young players in this game was very bad news.

Record This Sim: 9-8
Overall Record: 70-51

Best Hitter: Christian Yelich: .287, 114 hits, 17 homers, 55 RBIs
Best Pitcher: Jose Fernandez: 16-1, 1.78 ERA, 0.99 WHIp, 212 strikeouts

[Number999]

JT Realmuto out for next 1-2 months with fractured shin

One of the biggest breaks for the Marlins through these first 120 games or so has been their remarkably lucky break with injuries this year as opposed to past seasons where superstars such as Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez suffered tremendous injuries, keeping them out of the lineup and rotation for months. Other than a few early season injuries to Adam Conley and Jarred Cosart which forced Erik Jokisch to get some starts in the big leagues, that has rang true the entire year for Miami and is one of the reasons they currently hold a record of 70-51 and are 1st in the NL East. Through 121 games, these are the # of games that each starter at their respective position has played.

# Of Games Played:
(2B) Dee Gordon: 115 games
(LF) Christian Yelich: 114 games
(RF) Giancarlo Stanton: 114 games
(3B) Martin Prado: 108 games
(1B) Justin Bour: 106 games
(SS) Adeiny Hechavarria: 105 games
(C) JT Realmuto: 102 games
(CF) Marcell Ozuna: 105 games

Impressive, no? Well.... it appears that luck has sadly finally run out.

In a 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Game #121, JT Realmuto was injured while sliding into 2nd base on a contested play in the 3rd inning and was writhing on the ground in utter pain. He would have to be assisted off the field, and later x-rays showed that he had suffered a fractured shin and would be out of the lineup for the Miami Marlins for at least the next 1-2 months. It is a sizable blow for the Fish considering Realmuto is one of the core pieces in a young nucleus that the Marlins are trying to build. At just 25-years old, this is just the 2nd season where Realmuto has assumed full-time catcher responsibility and his numbers between last year and this year represent that. This is the production at the catchers position the Marlins will be losing out on for the next 1-2 months.

JT Realmuto: 102 games, .259 batting average, .322 on base percentage, 8 homers, 25 RBIs, 1.75 WAR

It may not look like much to the average baseball eye, but the production Realmuto has provided to the Marlins lineup as a #7 and #8 hitter in the lineup normally is impressive. The year before in 2015 he also hit .259 but has far less walks than he has through this year which tells you he is growing as a hitter and becoming more patient. Currently, it is mid-August. Realmuto was only placed on the 15-day disabled list, but it is believed the quickest return for him would be at the very tail end of the regular season when the Marlins playoff-fate would already be decided. If things go well, he could make a postseason return and be that extra boost to propel the Fish.

In the meantime, the responsibility for catching will fall on two men. Veteran Jeff Mathis who is 33-years old and has been with the club since 2013 and in the majors since 2005. Secondarily, Tomas Telis. A 24-year old switch-hitting catcher who is already a better hitter than Mathis, but doesn't have the same experience or veteran leadership with his pitchers that Mathis could bring to the table. Telis has played the most games for the Marlins' minor league affiliate in the Zephyrs with 126 games. He's only hitting .238 through this year, and will be asked to step up in a role that he hasn't exactly ever been. He played in 18 games with the Texas Rangers in 2014 and hit .250, and was traded for Sam Dyson to the Fish in 2015 and played just 23 games while hitting .158. It's not going to be easy, but the Marlins are going to need Telis to hold the fort down at least a little bit if they do indeed want to make this playoff push and reach the MLB Playoffs for only the 3rd time in franchise history.

[Number999]

Miami Marlins 2016 Simulation ~ August 19th - Sept 4th

39th Series: @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Game #122: (L 4-6)
Game #123: (L 3-15)
Game #124: (L 3-10)

Series Recap: That was... wow... that was a total beatdown by Pittsburgh on us. Miami went out on the road after winning 2 straight against Cincy, and just got hammered on the final series before a sizable homestand. The first game was close to be fair. It went 12 innings and only ended when Andrew McCutchen hit a 2-run homer as a walk-off shot against Carter Capps to win the game. Fair enough. The next two games though... just ouch. A 3-15 beatdown is just unexplainable. Conley gave up 5 runs in 4 innings, Phelps gave up 4 runs in 2 innings, Dunn gave up 3 runs in 1 inning, and Kela gave up 2 runs in 1 inning. Just horrific in all honesty. The pitching didn't even bounce back the next game out as Koehler gave up 6 runs through 4 innings and Bryan Morris gave up 3 runs in 1 inning. Just atrocious pitching by the rotation and bullpen on the final 3 games of this road-trip. 4 or 3 runs isn't amazing for an offense, but you should at least have been able to win one of those games. Instead, Miami gets swept, and Pittsburgh is one of the few teams who have really had the Marlins number this entire season.


40th Series: vs Kansas City Royals
Game #125: (W 4-3)
Game #126: (L 0-3) (P)
Game #127: (W 3-0)

Series Recap: Well... I tried to come in after a sweep and get us back on track with back-to-back wins, but it actually looks like I hurt more than I helped. Game #1 was great. It went to extra innings, and since we're back home, justin Bour was able to hit a walk-off homer to win 4-3 as Mike Dunn picked up the victory. The following game where I played... Kris Medlen for the Royals was just unhittable. I couldn't see the ball well whatsoever, he went 8 innings and allowed just 2 hits while striking out 13 batters. Jose was ehh, going 6 innings and allowing 3 hits with 1 run. Considering the Marlins offense couldn't generate anything, it led to Jose being given only his 2nd loss on the year which was pretty deflating. Luckily, the team responded. Wei-Yen Chen gave the bullpen a night off as he just crushed the Royals offense. Going 9 innings and pitching a complete game shutout, those are the sort of performances we're gonna need more-of going forward. Also, a little individual player update. Tomas Telis has played in 4 games and has 12 plate appearances... he has just 1 hit which means he's batting .083, hopefully he turns it around sooner rather than later.


41st Series: vs San Diego Padres
Game #128: (W 6-5)
Game #129: (W 2-1)
Game #130: (L 0-2)

Series Recap: That's how you should respond after getting swept. The Marlins went 4-2 on this little homestand of theirs and 2 series wins back-to-back makes it all the sweeter. In Game #1, the Marlins were trailing 3-5 in the bottom of the 9th... then Justin Bour, like he has so often recently, saved the day by crushing a 3-run homer that fed off to the crowd as the Fish got the victory. Game #2 saw more of a pitchers duel, with Tom Koehler vs Robbie Erlin each going 6.1 innings but Koehler being victorious allowing just 1 run and 3 hits to Erlin's 2 runs and 8 hits. Finally going for the sweep, the Marlins offense just couldn't produce against Tyson Ross. He went 8 innings before Fernando Rodney came in and sealed the deal collecting his 31st save. The Marlins now head out for a massively important 4-game roadtrip against the New York Mets who are 6 games behind the Marlins for 1st place in the NL East. Stanton's power crushing bat has been silent for a little while, hopefully he awakes now in this big series?


42nd Series: @ New York Mets
Game #131: (W 6-1)
Game #132: (L 6-8)
Game #133: (W 12-1)
Game #134: (L 1-2)

Series Recap: You'll take a road split against a divisional rival who made the World Series the year prior. The first match saw a big-time pitchers duel in Jose Fernandez vs Jacob deGrom. deGrom was no match for Jose, as Jose went 9 innings and threw a complete game while only allowing 1 run off a Travis d'Arnaud homer. On the other hand, deGrom allowed 4 runs and 9 hits through his small 4.1 innings of work. The next day out, the pitching wasn't as excellent for Miami. Stanton, Yelich, and Chris Johnson all homered which was great to see but the entire Mets offense was able to light up the Marlins pitching staff. Chen allowed 4 runs, Sipp 1 run, and Dunn 3 runs. Of course, as it goes in these series, the Marlins responded by smashing the Mets faces into the pavement for Game #3 smoking them 12-1. Ozuna, Stanton, and Bour homered(back-to-back games where Stanton homers is great) and they collected the majority of the RBIs. Adam Conley had a high pitch count, but he was able to pitch all 9 innings and allowed just 1 run. Finally, hoping to take the series victory, the Marlins fell short. The only run came when Stanton drove in Christian Yelich, but that was it. Two big runs surrenderd by Tom Koehler and Tony Sipp in the bottom of the 7th inning played the biggest factor, and the Mets prevailed 2-1. Still, splitting 2/2 against New York isn't so bad, just as long the Fish continue taking care of business against weaker teams in the future schedule.


43rd Series: @ Cleveland Indians
Game #135: (L 5-6)
Game #136: (W 2-1)
Game #137: (L 2-7)

Series Recap: "Ehhh...." is really the best way to describe how many fans are feeling after this series vs the Indians. Yes, the Marlins were on the road and now they return for two series at home vs the Phillies and Dodgers but still. Jarred Cosart did a whatever job in Game #1 allowing 4 runs,a dn then AJ Ramos allowed Francisco Lindor to score the winning run on him in the bottom of the 9th for the heart-breaking 1 run loss. The next game out, it was Jose who saved the day. Stanton scored the only runs with a 2-run homer in the 3rd inning with Dee Gordon on base. Fernandez went 7 innings and struck out 10 batters, Kela went an inning and got the hold, and then Ramos bounced back and got the save. In the rubber match, it was sort of deja vu for the offense. Giancarlo Stanton drove in the only runs on a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th inning. Sadly, Chen and Bryan Morris didn't have the greatest games giving up 7 runs combined. Ruby De La Rosa who the Indians traded for at the deadline went 8.2 innings... still, the Marlins maintain the lead in the NL East, but things are starting to get closer.

Record This Sim: 7-9
Overall Record: 77-60

Best Hitter: Giancarlo Stanton: .274, 36 homers, 93 RBIs, 71 walks
Best Pitcher: Jose Fernandez: 18-2, 1.72 ERA, 214 innings 236 strikeouts

[BlueJays09]

Great read man. Will be following this for sure!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Number999]

Marlins / Nationals / Mets set in 3-way race for NL East

It's time for another update! After about 60 games had passed in the 2016 MLB Regular Season, I made a post about the NL East and the current race involved. Since then, a ton has changed. In fact, the only real legitimate thing that hasn't is that the Atlanta Braves are a really, really awful baseball team. Still, now that most teams only have around 25 games or so remaining in their season as we kick-off September, it's important we take a look at the standings to see what each team has to accomplish if they want to finish well down the homestretch. Here are the current NL East Standings.

NL East Standings:
#1. Miami Marlins (77-60)
#2. Washington Nationals (73-63)
#3. New York Mets (72-65)
#4. Philadelphia Phillies (60-76)
#5. Atlanta Braves (49-88)

Yeah... quite a difference from when you compare it to how the early season was going.

First of all, the Marlins! Sitting right around .500 back then, the Marlins turned out not to be a fluke and have strung together multiple impressive months that they were even buzzing around the 20+ games over .500 mark for a little while. As a result of that, they sit in 1st place and entering September are in position to win their 1st Division Crown in franchise history. To give you an idea of how remarkable of an accomplishment that would be, the only other team in Major League Baseball history that does not have a Division Crown in their resumé are the Colorado Rockies. It would be a humongous moment for the Marlins if they were able to finish off the job, especially with Micky Arison taking over, along with Stanton and Fernandez being the young faces of the franchises for hopefully years to come.

In second are the Washington Nationals who have recovered a bit since also being around that .500 mark after 60 games. Being led by Bryce Harper who is just having a stupidly monstrous year, it's a tiny surprise they aren't a little bit higher considering Max Schrezer and Gio Gonzalez are each having solid seasons. The Nationals have to put better talent surrounding Harper in the lineup moving forward if they truly want to become a top-flight contender. It felt like a few seasons ago in 2012 and 2014 when they won the division that they would be a constant playoff threat, but instead they lost in the NLDS both times and failed to make the postseason last year. Either wildcard spot isn't going to be easy to snag up either, as both the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals are damn good.

Oof... down in the 3rd after being 1st through those first 60 games are of course the New York Mets. They made the World Series last year and had their hearts broken by the Kansas City Royals. Now it's starting to look like they may not even get that. Yoenis Cespedes has been dominant this year and David Wright has regained some of his old form, so why aren't the Mets better? It appears it's actually their pitching staff letting them down a bit that was supposed to rival some of the greatest pitching rotations in MLB History. Matt Harvey has been great with a 2.33 ERA and 10-1 record, but others have been letdowns. Noah Syndergaard is 5-8 and has a ERA of 3.40+. Jacob deGrom is doing even worse than him with an ERA bordering around the 4.00 zone. Same goes for Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz, along with the fact Jeurys Familia has been poor this year. This is the risky game with elite, young arms that teams can play, and unless the young star pitchers can buckle down this last month of the season, the Mets may be watching November baseball from their couches.

In 4th... gah... the poor Philadelphia Phillies. You really do feel for the Phillies considering how much of a nice under-dog story they were. Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Roy Halladay, and Cole Hamels were all long gone and only Ryan Howard remained. It would have been so cool if they could have collected themselves and gone on a potential Wildcard run. Instead, post All-Star break, they saw a 3-game, 5-game, 4-game, 3-game, 5-game, and current 4-game losing streak throughout various times since the fun event in San Diego. That is just crushing to a fanbase. It appears the City of Brotherly Love will be without postseason baseball for another year, and they can only hope that strong surge out of the gate by all of their youngsters can carry over to next season and help them in 2017.

So that's what's happened to the big four contenders. I'm not going to dive into detail on the Atlanta Braves' roster since it's depressing. How each team closes this final month of September and very early October will be essential to their playoff lives. The Marlins have 6 games remaining against the Nationals including the final series of the year against them, as well as 3 games vs the Mets. The Nationals have 6 games against the Marlins and 3 games against the Mets. The Mets have 3 games against both the Marlins and the Nationals. May the best club win.

[Number999]

Giancarlo Stanton's 36 homers are proof of what he can do when healthy

Saying Giancarlo Stanton is a strong man is a little bit of an under-statement. The 26-year old has managed to play 129 out of the 137 games this year, and has managed to avoid a big-time devastating injury for the first in seemingly forever it feels like. Since being up with the club in 2010, he has hit 217 homers in his career with them going individually: 22, 34, 37, 24, 37, 27, and now of course 36. Many of those homer totals were cut short by the fact he was forced to missed a chunk of games. Now, hopefully, it looks like that isn't going to be the case this year as Miami makes a playoff push for this month of September. Why is this number significant though? Let's compare it to the home runs leaders in each respective league.

NL Home Run Leaders:
#1. Giancarlo Stanton (36, Marlins)
#2. Bryce Harper (36, Nationals)
#3. Yoenis Cespedes (36, Mets)
#4. Matt Carpenter (31, Cardinals)
#5. Joey Votto (31, Reds)

AL Home Run Leaders:
#1. Adam Jones (41, Orioles)
#2. Steve Pearce (37, Rays)
#3. Edwin Encarnacion (36, Blue Jays)
#4. Josh Donaldson (36, Blue Jays)
#5. Mike Trout (34, Angels)

Hmph... yeah those names seem familiar. The Top 3 are the Top 3 teams in the NL East each battling it out as respective superstars of their club. Then in the American League you have Adam Jones who is having the greatest year of his career at 30-years old but it doesn't matter since the Orioles are dead last in the AL East and have gotten smoked by the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Yankees... oh and the same thing could be said about Steve Pearce with Tampa Bay! Speaking of which, how about them Blue Jays! An absurd record of 85-51 is probably due in large chunk to the fact Encarnacion and Donaldson are having a home run race against each other in their own damn clubhouse.

The reason why this is a big deal is simple. Giancarlo Stanton is trying to break the single season Marlins home run record. He already owns the Marlins record for home runs hit with the club(sorry about that Dan Uggla), and now he is trying to chase down the 42 home runs that Gary Sheffield hit all the way back in 1996, the year pre-dating the Marlins miracle run when they won the World Series in 1997. Stanton as of right now owns 4 of the Top 6, with Sheffield being #1 and Miguel Cabrera holding #5 (oh how I miss you Miggy). Still, while it may not be a notable achievement to others, it would have some significance if Stanton could hit... 45-ish homers in a healthy year, break Sheffield's record, AND lead the Marlins to their 1st Division Crown in franchise history? He's only in the 2nd chapter of writing his $325 million dollar story with the Marlins, let's just hope this isn't the climax of it just yet.

[enyc718]

Guy, I followed that Heat dynasty and that **** was awesome.....Props to you. I wish I can come remotely close to duplicating what you do.....

Keep it up!!!