MLB History

The San Francisco Giants were in New York—not to face New York's most beloved team, as they usually did, but to face the New York Yankees on the weekend of June 7, 2002.

The visit marked the first time in 40 years that the Giants had returned to Yankee Stadium, but it seemed as if time stood still when the Yankees won the Friday night game, 2-1, in front of 55,053 fans.

Barry Bonds changed that the next day when he faced Yankees left-hander Ted Lilly in the first inning.

In today's game of free agency and rebuilding sell-offs, it's extremely rare for a player to stick with a team for much more than about a decade. Stars come and go, and the team's is the only name that lasts through a fan's lifetime.

But some players leave behind legacies that continue to capture the hearts of their fans long after they hang up their cleats.

Last week, Bleacher Report's MLB Featured Columnists completed our hardest poll yet: picking the top players in the history of each AL franchise (NL results will be up next week).

Pat Burrell’s return to Citizens Bank Park is a logical time to evaluate where “Pat the Bat” ranks among the Phillies best outfielders of all time.

The Phillies came full-circle during Burrell’s time in Philly, beginning as a last-place team during Pat’s rookie season in 2000 and ending as world champions of baseball by the time Burrell’s tenure ended after 2008.

The following rankings were based upon these three categories, listed in order of importance: Hitting, Longevity, Defense (CFs get a slight edge over LF and RFs).

"First we'll use Spahn, then we'll use Sain, Then an off day, followed by rain. Back will come Spahn, followed by Sain, And followed, we hope, by two days of rain."

Boston Post sports editor Gerald Hern wrote a poem that led to the above hoped-for sequence in 1948. Spahn and Sain were the only two solid starting pitchers on the pennant winning 1948 Boston Braves.

The Marlins, a young franchise, with two World Series titles on their resume, have to be excited for the future.  Over the years they have been the subject of ridicule for their attendance numbers and low payroll.  The fan base has witnessed not one, but two World Series teams get dismantled for financial reasons.

However, now more than ever, the enthusiasm behind this team is growing and here are the ten reasons why:

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While most 38 year old third basemen with 17 MLB seasons under their belts would probably call it a career after tearing their ACL with fifty games left in the season, Chipper Jones is going to rehab his injury with spring training in mind. How Jones' body reacts will remain to be seen, but this comeback is a must.

If you’ve watched the Mets this season, you know how much of a roller coaster it’s been. From the hot start to April to the inconsistent May, to a month of June where they looked like true contenders and then a July that put that talk to bed.

In MLB, a sophomore slump, also refer to as sophomore jinx, is identified when a player is not able to live up to the standards set by their rookie season. 

Reasons to blame for the "slump" may be injury or lack of adjustments.

Pitchers seem to be more likely to regress because of fatigue. The innings pitched in their rookie season may have dramatically surpassed the prior season; think of the "Verducci Effect".

As the baseball season nears its end, and the playoff races begin to heat up, everybody is debating about who will make the playoffs and who won't.

Well, I am here to talk about the AL MVP race and who I think will win it.

As of right now, the two main candidates for the AL MVP are obviously Miguel Cabrera and Josh Hamilton. They are both having outstanding season for the teams which are both in playoff races.

Alot of people think it's all about the batting statistics that determines the Most Valuable Player, but that is not true.