New Kid on the Block

By Chrystopher Mulligan

NFL PRO ZACH Staff Writer

For a long time, this American League West Coast team battled age and injuries to get back to relevance.  After a few years of merely being a speed bump to the other teams in the division, this team finally found what it was looking for in a young, 20 year-old hot shot.  This young phenomenon made his debut at 19 and the hype surrounding his bat was surely just as large as that surrounding his name.  A kid whose father who had ties in baseball, not only made his professional debut as a solid ball player, but as an athlete whose future would shine as bright as his potential.

Ken Griffey Jr. 

Honestly, how many people thought of Ken Griffey Jr. right there?  The player that comes to mind these days is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s 20 year old center fielder Mike Trout.  Born and raised in New Jersey, Trout has emerged as a baseball superstar this year.  A former first round pick, taken 25^th overall by the Angels in the 2009 MLB Draft, Trout quickly became an instant star this season putting up numbers that have entered him in both the AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP discussions.  As the season progresses, the son of a former Minnesota Twins farmhand, has accomplished things that is making him iconic for the sport; allowing the MLB to market a player who is that good and that young for the first time since guys like Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. burst onto the scene.  The latter of those two former Mariners became one of baseball’s greatest hitters and easily one of the best ambassadors the sport has ever seen.  Trout’s storyline so far is almost identical to that of Junior’s and the comparisons are not a stretch of the imagination by any standard.

Mike Trout has become a household name this season ever since spring training began in late February.  The constant question surrounding the Angels was when will they call up baseball’s top prospect after he had a very brief Major League debut at age 19 in 2011.  Angels’ and baseball fans alike did not have to wait very long as the Angels’ General Manager Jerry Dipoto made the decision on April 28^th after designating their aging outfielder Bobby Abreu for assignment.  The Angels front office knew what they had in their young outfielder, making the decision to call him up that much easier although, there is always risk when summoning the help of such a young player.  During Trout’s short stretch in the Majors as a 19 year old, he hit .220 with an on-base percentage of only .281 in 40 games and 123 ABs.  Those numbers do not quite stick with the ones Griffey put up as a 19 year old in 1989 when he hit 16 home runs in 127 games with a batting average of .264 and 61 RBI.  During that full season, debuting after being selected #1 overall in 1987, Griffey finished 3^rd in the Rookie of the Year voting.  As a 20 year old Griffey played 155 games, hitting .300 with 22 homers, 80 RBI and 16 stolen bases while playing Gold Glove center field representing the Mariners in the All Star Game and finishing 19^th in AL MVP voting.  “The Kid” was recognized with these accomplishments all but a year before Mike Trout was even born.  Fast forward 22 years to Trout’s first full season in the Majors and he’s putting up Griffey-like numbers; hitting .349 in  85 games so far this season with 19 home runs, while leading the American League in Runs (86) Stolen Bases (33) Offensive WAR (Wins Above Replacement) at 6.0 and only second in Slugging (.602) to David Ortiz.  This year Mike Trout was an All Star center fielder for the Angels and will certainly be in the discussion for the Gold Glove award.  He all but locked in the Rookie of the Year Award this season and should finish in the top 3 for MVP, if not win the prize.

Mike Trout

As the season chugs along, there is no doubt that the Angels’ center fielder of the future has created his own name with his accomplishments.  He is well on his way to becoming the best center fielder in that division and the best player in baseball.  Trout is making a name for himself because of his work ethic and his achievements which make it truly amazing to watch. Although he resembles a former great in Junior, he is surrounded with players that will help him produce a little bit more than what Griffey had in his lineup with the Mariners.  Hopefully Trout will stay healthy and win that elusive title one day that the Kid never could reach.

Comparisons are fun to play around with in any walk of life.  Ken Griffey Jr., endured many lasting injuries throughout his career and still finished among the greatest to ever play the game.  He is not a player who needs to be compared with to recognize his achievements on and off the field, though it is fun to use his legacy as a guideline for future stars.  There is no doubt that when you look at Trout’s make up, his position, division and most importantly his stats that you cannot find yourself thinking “What if?”.  Ken Griffey Jr. was a hell of a baseball player and his accomplishments cemented him as one of the greatest center fielders to ever play the game, even without a ring.  So it is fun to dream about what Trout can become if the Angels win it all this year.  Most baseball fans over the age of 20 have had the privilege to share some of Griffey’s iconic moments in their early years when he became baseball’s greatest story.  He was an absolute fan favorite and a player that everyone wanted to see wearing their favorite team’s uniform.  So it is out of sheer greed in which we hope to see another great player of the game grow in front of our own eyes.

           

Liverpool Versus Tottenham! Soccer Lives in Baltimore!

            

By Chrystopher Mulligan

NFL PRO ZACH Staff Writer

On July 28, 2012 Camden Yards welcomed two of the most revered franchises in international soccer to M&T Bank Stadium. 

There guests were Tottenham Hotspur Football Club who faced off against the Liverpool Football Club.  Two of the Barclays Premier League’s better clubs kicked off a different type of football in the home of the Baltimore Ravens.

           Any spectator there that is an avid soccer fan, or is not color blind, will surely testify to the fact that Saturday the fans of Liverpool took over the streets of Baltimore.  M&T Bank Stadium, the home of the Purple and Gold was blanketed in red as 42,723 fans enjoyed a friendly match between the two teams on a blistering hot afternoon in July.  The home stadium for the Ravens was not only infiltrated by Liverpool fans in the designated cheering section but all throughout the stadium and the local surrounding pubs near Camden Yards.  One destination that avid Reds fans flocked to was the No Idea Tavern located on S. Hanover St., just blocks away from the stadium lots.  

            The pub opened for business early that morning, quickly closing the street and jamming bodies inside a taped off section that was comprised off three makeshift plywood boards used as an outdoor bar.  The line to get in was wrapping itself around the corner and the bartender there, Rob Gant, told us simply it was “Wild. 7 a.m. wild.”  The early morning wake up call was just the beginning as the fans were prepared for the day’s festivities. 

            There we met a group of travelers from Canada who made the 12 hour drive down to Maryland from the Toronto area.  One couple, Malcolm and Denise Slater, originally from Liverpool, have been to more matches than they can remember.  As the avid Reds fans they are, they found no issue embarking on a cross continent journey to see their favorite team once more. 

           

This international friendly was a spectacular day for not only the Maryland Stadium Authority who helped run the match but for the fans as well.  And although the outcome did not favor either team both fan bases, Liverpool exceptionally, surely had a great time.

Drifting Off Course

By: Chrystopher Mulligan

NFL PRO ZACH Staff Writer

Jason Kidd Accident Vehicle

Today’s sports universe is one that strongly displays both sides of the field. In the past athletes only had to worry about the things that Sports Illustrated or ESPN wrote about them. Yet now, in the age of Twitter and 24/7 information, it has become clear that the spotlight can be both a blessing and a curse. Lately, many professional athletes are finding themselves in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Now a days athletes embrace the gossip side of sports. Their lives are now side pieces for journalistic outlets like TMZ and People Magazine. With the overwhelming attention, it has become a lot harder for athletes to have aspects of their lives hidden from the public. One area of their lives that will forever be a topic of debate amongst fans is their social lives.

In society today, it’s quite clear that partying and friendships will factor into your social status. Who you are with and where you are at are two subjects that ultimately effects the way you are seen by other people. It can be a sign of power or, if not handled properly, a signal of distress. Lately, the latter is happening at an alarming rate. It seems as though in the past few weeks, professional athletes are auditioning to be on a marathon of COPS. Since the Super Bowl on February 5^th, there has been 29 arrests of 27 NFL players¹, most recently Kenny Britt of the Tennessee Titans. Britt was arrested early Friday morning after trying to enter the Fort Campbell Military Base. He declined an administered breathalyzer and was taken into custody on DUI charges. Britt’s DUI arrest is yet another in the string of DUIs in the past few weeks involving professional athletes. Jason Kidd of the New York Knicks, David Diehl of the New York Giants, Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks and Nick Fairley of the Detroit Lions all have had notable arrests in recent months revolving around drinking and driving.

Jason Kidd - Mug Shot

The common denominator in all of these cases, besides alcohol and automobiles, is that all these men are making large sums of money, more than the average person, and still getting behind the wheel of their own car when they have the luxury of not needing to. Kidd and Lynch being the most notable of the aforementioned men having both been arrested over the weekend of July 14^th, each signing new contracts in their respective leagues in the past four months. Lynch secured a top-tier contract for a running back in the NFL, coming in at $31 million dollars, $17 million guaranteed over 4 years, while the point guard’s new contract with the Knicks is $9 million over 3 years. The point of all this is that between the $40 million dollars invested in these two men as well as the Super Bowl bonus for the Giants’ offensive lineman and Nick Fairley still earning his rookie contract of about $15.7 million dollars from the Lions is that the combined wealth should easily afford a fleet of taxis let alone a personal driver for each.

The separating factor from these athletes and the rest of society is that after all the salary figures and what not, these men still had the desire to get behind the wheel. Since 1990, the US has averaged a steady one-third rate of alcohol related car accidents out of all automobile accidents in the US². That is a scary statistic to look at considering the amount of fender benders an average person could see on their drive to and from work in a week. The fact of the matter is that drinking and driving is and will be prevalent in the US for quite some time and the only way we can break that trend would be by setting a better example, starting with those in the spotlight first.

Now this is in no regards a generalization of all professional sports figures. Many athletes show respect and regard for the law. But that does not mean that this should be ignored. Leagues should begin to attack offenders and levy a strong punishment to those who hold the law in disregard. These men are very well aware of their finances, leaving their inability to properly hold their lives and the lives of others in high regard all the more disappointing. No sports fan wants to see their favorite players suspended or banned, but sports fan would hate to see themselves lose a loved one due to a careless decision by an individual. Just ask the Reyes family.

1 http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1266007-does-the-nfl-have-a-problem-with-player-arrests

2 http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1105.pdf

Thoughts on the MLB ALL STAR GAME

By Chrystopher Mulligan

NFL PRO ZACH Staff

As we near the middle of the baseball season we take the moment to reflect on what has happened over the first half of the year. In doing so we understand that at the end of this month we will see the proverbial mile marker, in the trade deadline, which symbolizes that the season is coming to the close.  So as the All Star Game draws nearer, players and fans alike begin to take a break from baseball, resting and enjoying the long summer days.  Yet the All Star Break is not necessarily a vacation as 35 players from each league will take their place in the spotlight representing their teams and their personal first half successes.  The All Star Game is an event that baseball tends to draw high praise for because of the way it is conducted and how much of a positive effect it has in pulling the sport together.  Though, this year, as we move within days of Major League Baseball’s 83^rd All Star Game we are beginning to see flaws in the system that has held so faithful to the sport over and over again.

Pablo Sandoval

            Some flaws that have been making headlines this past week are ones that we have subtly seen over the past few years.  The Fan Vote is a tremendous tool for the MLB to increase a fan’s personal interaction into the sport.  But with the growing age of awareness and technology it is becoming quite clear that it is not always in the best interest of the sport for the MLB to reach out to fans who have made it known that a unification of a fan base is the most powerful thing of all.  The best example of this comes with this year’s National League lineup for the ASG.  The sign that I see most fitting is third base, headlined by starter Pablo Sandoval (SFG) and reserve David Wright (NYM).  Both are quality third basemen in baseball’s senior circuit and both are deserving of all star nods in their careers.  But during this particular season it is clear that San Francisco’s fan base worked harder for their guy than New York did.  It’s an important to look at how the fans effect the All Star Game because it has such a large effect on a team like San Francisco’s post season. With their presence they made Sandoval a starter when Wright may have deserved the nod.  Looking back at the first half of the season it’s good to note that Wright leads all NL third basemen with a .354 average in 277 ABs while Sandoval doesn’t even qualify for a batting title with only 170 ABs.  Wright is the only eligible NL third basemen hitting over 

David Wright

.300 and supremely leads that list in OBP., SLG., OPS., and RBI. It is fair to note that Sandoval missed 35 games with a broken hamate bone in his left hand that occurred May 2^nd against Miami but with the Giants one game up on the Dodgers and the Mets only 3.5 games out of 1^st and .5 games back from the second wild card spot, wouldn’t you want the best team on the field.  The fan vote works for a majority of it’s purposes, but with a game that ultimately decides home field advantage in the World Series, its safe to say the best teams should be assembled.

            Ultimately, the blame is on the fans in this one.  David Wright is having an MVP-caliber season and they did not support him like he deserved.  That does not mean Sandoval is not having a good season.  But it gives us with an intriguing look into whether or not a game with such importance should be left to the people who do not hold any positions inside the MLB.  The concern over the fan’s role in voting is magnified with players who are excelling on poor teams but it comes into play because of how important the ASG is to the World Series.