As I started jotting down ideas for this column a week or so ago, it suddenly hit me that MLB’s Opening Day has probably jumped ahead of Christmas Day and my birthday as the single day of the year that I look forward to the most.
Now it’s the day of Opening Night, I’ve decided that the word ‘probably’ can be taken out of that sentence.
The start of any sporting season or tournament you follow is always exciting, but what makes MLB’s arrival just that little bit more special than the rest is that it heralds six solid months of day-after-day regular season drama – short All-Star Break excepted – topped off by a month of stirring playoff action.
We go from the famine of the offseason to the feast of 2430 regular season contests. You don’t need all of your fingers to count the number of days between now and the end of September when there will not be at least one game to enjoy, and often there will be the full complement of 15.
Whether you are a long-term baseball fan used to this feeling of anticipation or are experiencing it for the first time, here are 10 key topics as we head into the 2014 MLB season.
1. Opening Days
Opening Day is so much fun that MLB likes to stretch it out over several days. We have Opening Night on Sunday (the Padres hosting the Dodgers), we then have Opening Day on Monday for 26 other teams and then Opening Day for the Astros and Yankees on Tuesday.
What’s more, these openers are only the Stateside versions this season. The Diamondbacks and Dodgers already have two regular season games under their belts thanks to last weekend’s sojourn to the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Arizona will go into their ‘opener’ with an 0-2 record while L.A. have the bonus of a 2-0 headstart on everyone else, although a slight injury to Game One winner Clayton Kershaw takes the sheen off that minor prize.
2. Replay reviews coming to a ballgame near you
2014 will be the first year in which MLB uses a replay challenge system and now that the first game under this new era is upon us, so the realisation kicks in on what a significant change this will be.
Yahoo.com’s Jeff Passan was one of a select group of journalists treated to a tour of the hi-tech Replay Operations Center (ROC) in New York this week and his report on both the facilities themselves and what could go right and wrong with their use in this debut season is worth a read.
The key points to note about the system are:
- Each manager will get one challenge per game and they will receive another if their initial challenge is upheld.
- Umpires can only choose to review a decision from the seventh inning onwards and if the manager of the team on the wrong end of the original decision doesn’t have a challenge left to use.
- The decision will be reviewed by a current MLB umpire, who will take it in turns throughout the season to be based in the ROC. They have to find clear and convincing evidence if they are to overturn the original decision.
- The reviewing umpire will decide if the original call is either a) Confirmed (replay clearly shows the original decision was correct), b) Stands (replay still leaves doubt either way so the call on the field stands), or c) Overturned (if there is clear evidence that the original decision was incorrect).
- Once the decision is made, fans at the ballpark and those watching on TV will get to see the defining footage on which the review umpire based their decision. A written explanation on every decision will also be published on MLB.com.
Replay will not bring a complete end to controversial umpiring moments and it’s to be expected that the system and process won’t work perfectly every time in the first year, but there’s a much greater likelihood that clear umpiring mistakes will no longer turn a game and that’s got to be a positive development, for both the umpires and the teams involved.
3. It pays to play baseball
Business is booming in baseball with MLB revenues exceeding $8bn last year. All teams are seeing a boost in their income and, for those that actually choose to spend it on their Major League roster, are investing in either obtaining quality players or keeping hold of them.
Seattle sensationally snatched second baseman Robinson Cano from the Yankees’ grasp by offering him a 10-year, $240m contract. The Yankees responded by investing $458m in four players: Japanese pitching star Masahiro Tanaka ($155m contract plus a $20m posting fee), ex-Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury ($153m), ex-Braves catcher Brian McCann ($85m) and ex-Cardinal Carlos Beltran ($45m). Shin-Soo Choo was the other main free agent signing, heading to the Texas Rangers on a seven-year, $130m deal.
As for keeping hold of players, the Dodgers looked to have made the biggest splash of the offseason by agreeing a seven-year,$215m contract extension with two-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. However, that was put in the shade in the last couple of days by the Detroit Tigers’ decision to sign MVP Miguel Cabrera to an eight-year, $248m contract extension. It amounts to the most lucrative financial commitment handed out to any player across all major North American sports when adding on the $44m they will pay him over the next two seasons before the extension kicks in.
Cabrera’s two MVP seasons have been inextricably linked with the incredible performances of the Angels’ outfielder Mike Trout. The shock of Cabrera’s contract extension was followed by musings on what it might mean for Trout and we found out almost immediately when the 22-year old signed a six-year, $144.5m contract with the Angels. It says a lot about Trout’s performances, and the finances in MLB, that the commitment seems entirely reasonable and potentially sets up Trout for a gargantuan free-agent contract when this current deal would expire.
4. Wealth is relative
The money flooding into MLB, alongside various arrangements to share the revenue around the 30 teams, calls to mind the old economic phrase that a rising tide lifts all boats.
The sentiment is accurate, yet it’s still the case that some teams have modest dinghies while others have floating luxury mansions.
The L.A. Dodgers usurped the New York Yankees from the top of the spending charts last year and, based on the recently-released Opening Day payroll predictions, they will remain at the top in 2014 with just over $235m committed to their Opening Day roster. The Yankees then come in second with $202m having ditched plans to keep under the luxury tax threshold of $189m after the relative disaster of missing the playoffs in both of the past two seasons.
5. Underdogs still have some bite
The two lowest spenders – Houston Astros at $44.5m and Miami Marlins at $47.5m – can be put to one side in the competition debate as they are there through choice (in compliance with the rules but in opposition to sporting fair play) rather than financial constraints, so raise a cheer for the next lowest four teams – Tampa Bay Rays ($77m), Pittsburgh Pirates ($78.1m), Cleveland Indians ($82.5m) and Oakland A’s ($83.4m) – who, despite spending similarly modest sums, all made the playoffs last year.
6. Young stars rising
The likes of the Angels’ Mike Trout, the Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton, the Orioles’ Manny Machado (although a knee injury will delay his season debut), the White Sox’s Chris Sale and the Nationals’ duo of Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper will continue the process of establishing themselves as some of the best young players in the game this season.
A number of new potential stars played in the Majors last season, from Rookies of the Year Jose Fernandez (Marlins) and Wil Myers (Rays), to the enigmatic Cuban Yasiel Puig (Dodgers) and pitchers Gerrit Cole (Pirates), Michael Wacha (Cardinals) and Sonny Gray (A’s). All but Fernandez gained postseason experience in their first MLB season, as did Xander Bogaerts who helped the Red Sox to a World Series triumph and will be a favourite to win a Rookie of the Year award this year as Boston’s starting shortstop.
The Reds’ lightning fast outfielder Billy Hamilton also wasted little time in showing off his incredible speed by averaging a stolen base per game in his 13 appearances at the end of last season. If he is able to get on base on a regular basis, he’ll cause havoc on the basepads and be another RoY contender.
Other young players that are on their way to the Big Leagues include Yordano Ventura (Royals), Oscar Taveras (Cardinals), Javier Baez (Cubs), Jonathan Gray (Rockies) and outfielder Byron Buxton (Twins), the latter generally being considered to be the best prospect in baseball right now and who might make his Major League debut later this season despite being only 20 years old.
7. Players on the sidelines
Although there will be plenty of exciting young players on show, unfortunately a number of players have undergone elbow surgery and will miss the entirety of the 2014 season.
The fallen include the A’s Jarrod Parker, both Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlen for the Braves, Partick Corbin for the D-Backs, Cory Luebke for the Padres, Luke Hochevar for the Royals, Bruce Rondon for the Tigers and the Twins’ third-base prospect Miguel Sano.
The Mets’ Matt Harvey underwent Tommy John surgery last October and whilst it’s possible he may make a few short outings in September, for all intents and purposes he’s considered to be on the shelf for 2014.
The Tigers’ shortstop Jose Iglesias is also likely to miss the entire season due to stress fractures in both legs.
8. Performance-enhancing drugs still a leading topic
The fall-out from the Biogenesis saga will continue into 2014. Alex Rodriguez may well be conspicuous by his absence as his ugly offseason legal dispute with MLB mercifully was brought to an end when he accepted the decision to ban him for the entire 2014 season. Something tells me A-Rod will still find a way into the headlines at some point this year.
Whilst Rodriguez will sit out 2014, fellow ‘Biogenesis bad guy’ Ryan Braun has now completed his suspension and will look to rebuild his career. Although some will always hold the saga against him – not least due to his bare-faced lies when he got caught the first time – if he regains his previous form and helps the Brewers back to playoff contention then his past transgressions may be forgiven, if not forgotten.
However, MLB and the Players Association have responded to the negative news stories of last year by announcing on Friday increased testing and tougher penalties for those that are caught, including banning the offending player from that year’s postseason even if they have served their ban earlier in the season.
9. A Hall of Fame ceremony to look forward to
The ‘drug issue’ also clouded the recent offseason as this year’s Hall of Fame voting process brought more of the so-called ‘steroid era’ players onto the ballot and served to make what was already a muddled moral maze even more difficult. Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell, all great players of their time, join the cases of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in having longer to write induction speeches that may never need to be read aloud.
Still, there were so many outstanding players on the list that even in these confused times there will not be a repeat of the 2013 damp squib where no players were elected. Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Frank Thomas rightfully will be inducted into Cooperstown on 27 July, with legendary managers Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre joining them in what will be one of the most memorable induction days in years.
10. Predictions
There are clear favourites in each of the three National League divisions – the Nationals, Cardinals and Dodgers – and it’s difficult to look past them when predicting how the regular season will pan out, yet that’s not to say all three will definitely make it (pretty much everyone had the Nationals as nailed-on favourites 12 months ago, for example). As for the Wild Cards, both went to NL Central teams last season, but I think the Braves will still be strong enough to make it to the playoffs despite their injury problems, and the Giants are a good bet to make it back to October.
The American League is much more difficult to call once we make the only sensible choice of predicting the Central as being the Tigers’ to lose. I’m sticking with my Oakland A’s to make it three AL West titles in a row, with the Rangers edging the Angels to take a Wild Card. In the East, the Yankees and Orioles could make it a four-way battle, but I’ll take a repeat of 2013 and predict the Red Sox to win the division and the Rays to take the Wild Card.
