MLB Week in Review (August 28-Sept. 3)
The pursuit of records is one of the best parts of the sports worlds as players are constantly trying to be the best ever.
They continue to put up numbers trying to pass legends in the all-time list of anything in an attempt to put their name among the best all-time.
In baseball these records are even more important as the league that values their history more than any other love to debate over records.
The main reason is the fact that baseball records are some of the toughest records to break.
The all-time record books are filled with names from long gone eras with only a handful of records come since 2010.
Names like Cy Young, Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose, and Babe Ruth still dominate the record list.
Despite the fact that great players have entered the league since any of those players played their last game they still hold records.
Many of these records are considered some of the most unbreakable records in all of sports.
There is Cy Young’s 511 career wins, a record he set in 1911, which nobody has come close to since then as only one pitcher has even broken 400 wins in a career.
There is Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hit streak a record who’s closest competitor was Pete Rose who had a 44-game hit streak in 1978.
Rickey Henderson has his own unbreakable record as his 1,4o6 career stolen bases have never been challenged as anyone even close played far before his time.
Then there is the record to end all records in baseball and throughout the sports world.
Twenty years ago this week Cal Ripken Jr. played in his 2,131st consecutive game for the Baltimore Orioles.
That game put him past Lou Gehrig for the most consecutive games played.
Ripken’s streak did not end there as he went on to play a total of 2,362 consecutive games.
That record is considered one of the most unbreakable record in all of sports. No other player, other than Gehrig, has cracked the 2,000 game mark and the new era of baseball won’t allow anyone to do that.
Rest is a part of the game now as players get days off every now and then to ensure that they are healthy and rested to make the long run through the season.
Teams always give these periods of rest while injuries to players continue to climb every year.
With more injuries and more rest it seems impossible that anyone will reach even 1,000 games ever again.
There is only one player in the modern era that had broken the 1,000 game mark as Miguel Tejada played 1,152 games in a row form 2000 until 2007.
Other than that every player in the top consecutive games list are from different eras where rest wasn’t even a consideration if you were the best at your position on the team.
That attitude is gone and so it is impossible that this record is ever broken.
The record itself is one of the most impressive in sports as the sport of baseball may not be the most physical of any sports but it is a grind.
Playing 162 games every year is not an easy thing as the grind would get to any athlete.
Having to travel all over the country and come out to play with the level of focus that is needed to be a good player in the MLB is far from a simple task.
To do so at such a high level that the team has no question than to start you in every game is that much more impressive.
That is what Ripken did as the Hall of Famer was consistently one of the best shortstops in the game while going out there every day from 1982 until 1998.
This week the Baltimore Orioles honoured their iron man as the 20th anniversary of breaking the record came and went with the O’s celebrating a fan favourite who gave everything on every day and now owns one of the most unbreakable records in all of sports.
Extra Innings
(More on this week in baseball)
More Changes in Miami
The Miami Marlins made a strange move in the middle of the season when they moved Dan Jennings from the GM to the manager role and now they are asking him to move back as they try to look for a new leader in South Florida
Scully Back Again
Vin Scully is one of the best announcers in the history of the MLB and at 88 years old he keeps going for the Dodgers as he announced that he will return again next year as the voice of the Dodgers while baseball fans everywhere rejoiced
One Ban Upheld
Rob Manfred made one decision on a lifetime ban this year although it wasn’t the one many were thinking of as “Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s lifetime ban for his role in the Black Sox scandal was upheld
Tragedy at the Ballpark
As the Yankees attempted to keep up in the division race against Atlanta baseball took a back seat as a fan in Atlanta fell from the top deck of Turner Field and was later pronounced dead in the hospital
Key Series:
St. Louis Cardinals 2 – 1 San Francisco Giants
– The Giants continued to try to fight their way into the postseason a year after they won the World Series as they took on the best team baseball but lost two games as they fell further away from the wild card
New York Yankees 2 – 1 Boston Red Sox
– The AL East rivalry continued as the Yankees attempted to make up ground in the battle for the division against the division’s worst team but the rivalry took over and the Yankees could not sweep the division
St. Louis Cardinals 2 – 1 Washington Nationals
– The Cardinals are best team in baseball and they will walk into the postseason for another year but the Nationals had a lot to fight for to get into the postseason and avoid a disappointing season but the series went to he Cards as the Nats fell further behind
Los Angeles Dodgers 3 – 0 San Francisco Giants
– The Giants had more than just the wild card to hope for as they faced the Dodgers trying to get closer to the division title but the Dodgers put an end to that sweeping the Giants in an important three game series
Upcoming Series:
Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays [Sept. 4/5/6]
– The Blue Jays are still leading the division but it is not by a lot as they enter this last month playing most of their own division, a group they have struggled against in the past, looking to extend their lead and break a 20-year playoff drought
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals [Sept. 4/5/6]
– The Cardinals are far ahead in the division but the Pirates would like nothing more than to chip away at that division lead as they hope to gain some extra cushion in the wild card and move to the postseason
New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals [Sept. 7/8/9]
– The Nationals were supposed to be the winners of the division this year but the Mets have snuck up to take the lead this year and they enter the last month looking to finish off the season while the Nats try to reduce their lead for the division lead
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Los Angeles Angels [Sept. 7/8/9]
– The Freeway Series is back again and this time both teams are looking to win and take the momentum to the playoffs as the Dodgers try to extend their lead in the west and the Angels try to get to the AL Wild Card
The Sport Addiction 