Coming Up On Twenty…
It has been a crazy few weeks and I’m happy to be back behind my keyboard. Sitting here thinking about what has already been quite a 2024 Baseball season and we are less then 20 games in. Let’s take a look at some trends, sightings and notable events that have been taking place thus far!
Once you pull on thread…
I would certainly be remiss if I didn’t start my column each week with the obvious outlook for my hometown Boston Red Sox. If you watch or listen to our weekly podcast, Unraveling the Red Sox, you’re missing out on the best discussion of one of the leagues most storied franchises! And this week when I join Bill, I will delve more into this thought, but man, this team was much more fragile then I realized!
The loss of 2 players on this roster has sent the team into a tail spin. After such a promising 7-3 start to the season where pitching was looking dominant, defense was much improved and the team was scoring runs in bunches they have reverted to the team we have been forced to watch for the past few seasons going 2-6.
Team leaders Trevor Story and Nick Pivetta have been shelved with injuries, Superstar Rafael Devers is dealing with an injury as well and this team is completely unraveling! The depth, once this inevitability came to fruition, just isn’t there. Now the focus has to become ‘What CAN they do to fix this?’
Keep listening to Unraveling the Red Sox in the Top Fan Locker Room to keep up to date on our thoughts!
The Once Mighty
As I finish lamenting the shocking turn around of the Red Sox, I change my focus to the silver lining there. If the Sox played in the AL West, they would be tied for 1st place!
The Texas Rangers, last years World Series Champs, are leading the AL West! That’s great for them, except, their record is 9-9. This division has in past years produced multi World Series Champs, a team that holds the single season wins record and a team that has arguably the BEST player in baseball today. Yet they are hands down the WORST division through the 1st 20 games. What is going on in the West? Is it a matter of schedule or is this truly indicative of the talent on these teams? Again, we are only 20 games in, but if we extrapolate the sample size, it may only take 80 games to win this division!!
The One to Watch
In my last column I predicted that Bobby Witt Jr. would be this years AL MVP. So far, he hasn’t disappointed! The Royals are off to a great start (11-6) behind Witt and cornerstone Salvador Perez. Through 17 Games Bobby is hitting over .300 (22 for 70), has scored 17 runs, blasted 4 HRs and has an OPS of 1.025.
If Bobby stays healthy and continues to lead a team that has been down trodden for the last decade, then his name will continue to be in the discussion of MVP. And I am excited to continue to watch this young superstar continue to emerge. This column will continue to update you on this prediction throughout the season!
The Consistent One
Injuries and hype around teammates has taken over the conversation surrounding Mike Trout the past few seasons. But we can not forget that this guys is the Mickey Mantle of our generation. For now, he is healthy. Hopefully that keeps up, as Mike Trout is still at the top of his game. Let’s peak his numbers and track them throughout the season periodically, because for my money, Mike Trout is the most consistent player in the game! Hitting .284 (19 for 67) with 7 HRs, 11 runs scored, 10 RBI’s and crocked numbers in every stat category there is. His Career WAR is one of the best all time at 86.4 and continuing to grow. Enjoy every chance you have to watch this generational talent play.
The first two and half weeks have baseball have been exciting, unpredictable and hopefully reinvigorating to fans. As they like to say, we haven’t seen anything yet! So stay tuned to hear the ramblings from the Mind of this Top Fan.
By Michael Carreiro