Baseball

Manny Ramirez is without a doubt one of the most powerful and productive hitters to ever play the game of baseball.  Manny has a career average of .313 and has hit 555 home runs in his colorful career.  Manny is a 12-time All-Star and has won the Hank Aaron award twice.  He has won two World Series rings with the Boston Red Sox (2004,2007) and was the World Series MVP in 2004.  

Since 2006, second baseman Dan Uggla has hit 154 home runs. The only person to hit more over that time is Albert Pujols.

Now the Atlanta Braves are hoping for more of the same from the 30-year-old right-handed hitter.

Uggla and the Braves agreed officially today on a five-year, $62 million extension, which will keep the second baseman through the rest of his prime years as a major leaguer.

Jose Bautista hit 54 home runs in just over 550 at-bats in 2010. The Seattle Mariners couldn’t even double that total in over 5,400 at-bats last season. The Mariners offense was historically bad, so bad that four teams had more home runs at the All-Star break than the Mariners had by the time they’d earned their AL-leading 101st loss.

Post originally published at the author's blog, with various code removed.

It is the favorite time of year for many a sports nerd like myself: the time when the Baseball Writers Association of America will make their picks for the Hall of Fame, and when the blogosphere is best equipped to mock and ridicule the inconsistent logic of many esteemed writers.

Happy New Year Bleacher Report, hope your 2011 is a good one for all of you.

For the Yankees, they are looking to have a strong 2011 after a disappointing end to the 2010 season. So far, they've re-signed Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, brining in Russell Martin and Pedro Feliciano as well.

Their main priority was getting stronger in the pitching department, but so far they have failed. They made a huge pitch to Cliff Lee, who turned them down to return to the Phillies.

The first week in January is one of baseball's most exciting time periods.

Sure, the regular season has been in hibernation for a few months, and a World Series champion has been crowned. The Hot Stove is cooling down quickly, with most big name free agents having already been signed to lucrative deals.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will have their work cut out for them in 2011. Fierce competition looms ahead, but not from the defending AL West Champion Texas Rangers or improved Oakland A's.

This season, the Angels' greatest challenge will be overtaking the Seattle Mariners—for third place in the division.

Chris Johnson burst onto the fantasy baseball scene in 2010 for the Houston Astros.  Playing 3B, among the shallowest positions, he caught fire in the second half helping to carry many to fantasy glory.  Overall, he had the following line:

362 At Bats
.308 Batting Average (105 Hits)
11 Home Runs
52 RBI
40 Runs
3 Stolen Bases
.337 On Base Percentage
.481 Slugging Percentage
.387 Batting Average on Balls in Play

Think back four years ago.

No, not to the point when unemployment was still under 6%, the debt was under $10 trillion or the St. Louis Cardinals were reigning World Series Champions, but to the voting in January 2007.

Baseball writers, fans and historians all knew that it was going to be a unique day, when Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, two of the surest Hall of Famers anyone who had watched baseball between 1982 and 2001 ever saw, went into Cooperstown.