#59

Dayton's All Stars

AL

C- Salvador Perez, Stephen Vogt

1B- Chris Davis

2B- Jose Altuve, Robinson Cano, Ian vKinsler

SS- Francisco Lindor, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa

3B- Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado, Evan Longoria

LF- Ian Desmond

CF- Mike Trout, Jackie Bradley Jr, Adam Eaton

RF- Mookie Betts, Mark Trumbo

DH- David Ortiz

SP- Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Jose Quintana, Masahiro Tanaka, Danny Salazar, Steven Wright, Aaron Sanchez, Cole Hamels, Ricky Nolasco

RP- Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, Zack Britton, Roberto Osuna

Just missed:

Kyle Seager, Michael Fulmer, Adrian Beltre, Todd Frazier, NelsonCruz

NL

C- Buster Posey, Wilson Ramos, Jonathan Lucroy

1B- Wil Myers, Anthony Rizzo, Paul Goldschmidt

2B- Daniel Murphy, Ben Zobrist

SS- Corey Seager, Brandon Crawford

3B- Nolan Arenado, Matt Carpenter, Jake Lamb

LF- Starling Marte, Carlos Gonzalez, Christian Yelich, AdamDuvall

CF- Marcell Ozuna, Dexter Fowler

RF- Bryce Harper, Gregory Polanco

DH- Kris Bryant

SP- Jose Fernandez, Clayton Kershaw*, Noah Syndergaard, Johnny Cueto, Jake Arrieta, Stephen Strasburg*, Madison Bumgarner, Aaron Nola, Julio Teheran, MaxScherzer

RP- Jeurys Familia, Kenlry Jensen

Just missed:

DJ LeMahieu, Trevor Story, Jacob deGrom, Jon Lester, Aledmys Diaz

Bold: starter

Asterisk*: injured

#58

AL East

Red Sox- 90

Rays- 89

Blue Jays- 83

Yankees- 79

Orioles- 70

AL Central

Royals- 92

Indians- 89

Twins- 82

Tigers- 78

White Sox- 68

AL West

Astros- 95

Rangers- 87

Mariners- 77

Angels- 69

Athletics- 65

NL East

Mets- 98

Nationals- 92

Marlins- 75

Braves- 63

Phillies- 60

NL Central

Cubs- 101

Cardinals- 98

Pirates- 92

Brewers- 65

Reds- 64

NL West

Dodgers- 95

Giants- 93

D’Backs- 83

Padres- 74

Rockies- 64

NLCS: Cubs over Dodgers

ALCS: Astros over Royals

World Series: Cubs over Astros

NL MVP: Jason Heyward

AL MVP: Manny Machado

NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom

AL Cy Young: Chris Sale

NL Rookie of the Year: Corey Seager      

AL Rookie of the Year: Blake Snell

#57

At a Braves game in Minneapolis in 2010, I had Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen sign a ball together. I figured somewhere down the line it would be a cool keepsake of the young cornerstones of the Braves rotation.

Tommy and Meds were best friends coming up through the Braves system. Both from Southern California and signed weeks apart in 2006, they were roommates as they ascended through the Atlanta minor leagues. In a surprise at the time, Kris, a good, but not great prospect made it to the majors a few weeks before Tommy, who burst on to the scene as the best pitching prospect in the game.

Both had early success in the majors, pitching the Braves to playoff appearances in 2010 & 2012. Both seemed to be smart, funny, decent young men. Both had a series of injuries befall them. While Medlen's right arm allowed him to return and succeed after each setback, Hanson's did not. In a one year span, Hanson was traded, released, and had his brother suddenly passed. His life and baseball career never seemed to recover.

A week after Kris Medlen became a World Series Champion, Tommy Hanson passed away. I've been trying to make any sense of the situation, but can not, other than to say to treasure every second with the people you love.

#57

At a Braves game in Minneapolis in 2010, I had Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen sign a ball together. I figured somewhere down the line it would be a cool keepsake of the young cornerstones of the Braves rotation.

Tommy and Meds were best friends coming up through the Braves system. Both from Southern California and signed weeks apart in 2006, they were roommates as they ascended through the Atlanta minor leagues. In a surprise at the time, Kris, a good, but not great prospect made it to the majors a few weeks before Tommy, who burst on to the scene as the best pitching prospect in the game.

Both had early success in the majors, pitching the Braves to playoff appearances in 2010 & 2012. Both seemed to be smart, funny, decent young men. Both had a series of injuries befall them. While Medlen's right arm allowed him to return and succeed after each setback, Hanson's did not. In a one year span, Hanson was traded, released, and had his brother suddenly passed. His life and baseball career never seemed to recover.

A week after Kris Medlen became a World Series Champion, Tommy Hanson passed away. I've been trying to make any sense of the situation, but can not, other than to say to treasure every second with the people you love.

#56

My view on the Hall of Fame: The institution is as imperfect as its members and voters. To pretend it is holy, or that letting some player in would ruin the Hall’s purity is laughable. For instance:

·       Whitey Ford and Gaylord Perry admitted to doctoring baseballs throughout their careers.

·       Willie Mays and Mike Schmidt admitted to using amphetamines for much of their careers. Hank Aaron admitted to trying them.

·       Ty Cobb beat up a handicapped man. Juan Marichal beat an opposing player with a bat during a game. Paul Molitor admitted to cocaine use. Orlando Cepeda did jail time for smuggling drugs.

·       Paul Waner, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and Hack Wilson all admitted to playing drunk and drinking during games.

·       Scores upon scores of racists, segregationists, womanizers, addicts, game fixers, doers of unsavory deeds (alleged, implied, or generally acknowledged) and numerous all around awful human beings. All of this was public knowledge before they were elected.

·       Most notably, it’s impossible to know who *didn’t* do what. We’ll never know for 100% certainty that Griffey or Ripken or Maddux or anyone didn’t do bad things.

Playing the morality police or pretending to know who did or didn’t do what when is sanctimonious and pointless. All we can truly know is what happened on the field, and that’s all we should focus on. Let individuals draw their own conclusions.