MLB History

If you were looking to pick your greatest ever Athletics lineup, based on single-season offensive performances, where would you start?

For a team with a storied 109-year history, there are options from every era and at every position.

The outfield might be as good a place as any, with a host of Hall of Fame members and All-Stars among their number.

How about the stars from the championship-winning teams that three-peated in the mid 1970s?

This is the second in my new series in which I will name what I feel are the top ten players in each MLB franchise's history.

Despite a slow start as a franchise, the Rays finally seem to be heading in the right direction, as years of drafting at the top of the draft have led to a bevy of talented young players.

I have included the players stats during their time with the team, as well as where those stats rank all-time for within the franchise.

I look forward to hearing where you the reader would differ in your top ten, and I welcome your comments.

Most athletes have good luck charms and superstitions.

Lucky socks. Not changing their underwear. Rally monkeys. Beards during playoffs.

But Alex Rodriguez had a lucky charm and superstition in one, according to Yankees fans anyway.

Kate Hudson was the “thing” that made A-Rod great in the 2009 season, helping him lead the Yankees to win the World Series.

There were 36 pitchers from the 1890's that pitched at least 200 games. That is the lowest number of any decade in the history of Major League Baseball, other than the 1870's and 1880's.

The 1890s are an interesting decade to write about, because it was a poor decade for starting pitching numbers. In fact, it is the worst decade in history for starting pitching numbers, other than this decade.

This is when it sets in.  Same time every year.  The leaves fall.  The skies turn cold and grey.  The winds of November whip across the Great Lakes.  And baseball fanatics …the kind that subscribe to the Sporting News , play fantasy baseball and always read the line scores….go into withdrawal mode.

Curtis Granderson is now officially a New York Yankee. 

More importantly, he is now an ex-Tiger.  Granderson came up through the ranks in Detroit and debuted way back in 2004 and has been a fixture in center field since that magical 2006 season.

Now that he’s gone, where does Granderson rank in team history? 

His time in Detroit was relatively short lived, but here are a few facts about Granderson that helps make some sense about where he falls in Tigers history:

One of 31 Tigers to hit at least 100 homers in a Detroit uniform.

Were Carlos Delgado and John Olerud more valuable with the bat than Keith Hernandez—a star with the glove two decades earlier?

Is David Wright's combination of speed and power enough to see off Howard Johnson—the All-Star who took the current face of the franchise under his wing this winter to iron out his swing?

Is power more important than speed? Is the past worth more the present?

It all points to one question with hundreds of possibilities: Which New York Met had the greatest offensive season at his position?

The first article I ever wrote for Bleacher Report was my 1990s All-Decade Cubs team, to which the link is below:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/164257-all-1990s-chicago-cubs-team

So here it is, the sequel, my All-2000s Cubs Team. This one was a lot less painful to compile as I did not have to include such past studs as Steve Buechele and Brian McRae like I did for my 1990s team.

However, as awful of a decade for Cubs baseball as the 1990s was, the 2000s were almost worse for Cubs fans, as heartbreak after heartbreak be felled the North Siders.

Year: 1905

Record: 79-74

Win %: .516

Win % Change: 108

Run Differential: -90

Pythagorean Record: 65-88

AL Finish: 3rd of 8

Manager: Bill Armour

Best Transaction

Year: 1970

Record: 79-83

Win Percentage: .488

Win Percentage Change: -68

Run Differential: -65

Pythagorean Record: 74-88

AL Finish: 7th of 12

Manager: Mayo Smith