RIP Yogi Berra

Last night the baseball world lost a legend. At the age of 90 years old, Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra passed away. Berra's baseball career was highlighted with many awards including 3 MVPs, 10 World Series Rings, and he caught Don Larson's perfect game during the 1956 World Series. One thing that Berra will always his funny saying he always had.

Six or seven years ago I had bought the book Tales from the Dugout: The Greatest True Baseball Stories Ever Told by Mike Shannon. It is a collection of different stories from different people in the baseball world. My favorite story featured the New York Yankees playing the Detroit Tigers and Yogi Berra. I do not remember the other players involved other then Yogi, but the story goes the Tigers were pitching and every time the pitcher threw a fastball, the Yankees first base coach would whistle. If it was an off-speed pitch he wouldn't. After he did this a few times, the Tigers' pitcher walked over and told him next time I hear you whistle I'm beaning the batter. Now I believe it was Mickey Mantle at the plate and the first base coach did the same thing and the next pitch drilled Mantle. Next up to the plate was Yogi and the coach still was giving signs to him. After Yogi heard the whistle, he yelled to the pitcher "I hear him whistling, but I'm not listening to him!"

Rest in Peace Yogi Berra!

Trade #3: They meet again

Back in 2009 the Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the New York Yankees would do a three team trade. The Tigers would send Edwin Jackson to the D'backs and Curtis Granderson to the Yankees in return of Phil Coke from the Yankees, Max Scherzer, and Daniel Schlereth of the D'Backs. The Yankees would also send Ian Kennedy to the D'backs as well. Now going into the 2015 season these three teams would match up again to pull off a three team trade.

Didi Gregorius was part of a crowd middle infield in Arizona. With Chris Owing, Aaron Hill, Cliff Pennington, and Nick Ahmed, the D'backs needed to move someone. They flipped Gregorius to the Yankees. The Yankees needed another option at shortstop now with Derek Jeter's retirement. Gregorius is not known for his bat, but more for his glove. He has big shoes to fill in New York and it will be interesting to see how he handles it.

Robbie Ray was first traded from the Nationals to the Tigers in the off-season in 2014. He was part of the Doug Fister trade. A lot of Tigers fan were upset with this trade. The Tigers are known for having one of the worst farm systems and Ray going into last season was the highlight for their farm system. With injuries last year Ray made his debut for the Tigers on May 6th. After one season in Detroit, the Tigers flipped Ray to the D'backs along with Dimingo Leyba, a shortstop prospect.

The New York Yankees would part ways with their young back end of the rotation pitcher Shane Greene. He would have a okay rookie season with an ERA+ of 103. He best start was probably against the Tigers when he pitched 8 innings giving up 5 hits and no runs and lead the Yankees to a 1-0 win. I have heard comparisons of Greene to Doug Fister and even John Smoltz predicted Greene to surprised people this season.

I would say it is safe to say the Detroit Tigers won the trade in 2009 with what they got from Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, and Cy Young winner Max Scherzer. This trade the Yankees and the Tigers addressed their needs and the D'backs added depth to their rotation. It will be fun to watch how this trade plays out for all three teams.

#TwoForTuesday

For my post today it is about to future Hall of Famers. One just retired and the other still has a few years to go. Both have had dominating careers highlighted with my accolades.

Albert Pujols was a 13th round pick in the 1999 draft to the St. Louis Cardinals. He wouldn't take long before breaking into the major league in 2001 at the young age of 21 years old. He would have a slash of line .329/.403/.610 in his rookie season to take home the Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger, and finish 4th in the MVP voting. He would spend 11 seasons with the Cardinals leading them to 3 World Series and winning 2 of the 3 series. After winning his last World Series in 2011 he would go on to sign a big off season contract with the Los Angeles Angels. His career has since been on the decline, but when he was with the Cardinals he was known as one of the best hitters in the game. Going into the 2015 season he has 520 home runs and over 1,600 RBIs to his name. As long as he can stay healthy enough for at least another 3-4 seasons (if not sooner) he should reach the 3,000 hit mark as he currently stands with 2,519 hits.

Derek Jeter aka The Captain has had what you could say a story book career. Drafted 6th overall in 1992 by the New York Yankees Jeter would work his way through the minors and play his first full season in pinstripes in 1996. Just like Pujols he would win the Rookie of the Year. The Captain has many accolades to his name 14 All Star appearance, 2000 MVP, 5 Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, and 5 World Series rings. Jeter joined the 3,000 hit club on July 9th, 2011 with a home run and a five hit performance off of the Tampa Bay Rays. His final at bat came this past season and it would cap off a historical career when he would walk off the Yankees with a base hit over the Baltimore Orioles. Jeter was the face of baseball for many years and will also go down as one of the greatest Yankees of all time, right up there with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio. He will without a doubt be a first ballot Hall of Famer.