Category: Bullz-Eye Sports Channel (Page 31 of 38)

My source for this information only goes back as far as 1985, but really, what players are making now in a single season may have been a career’s worth back then anyway. So here are the top earners of all-time, and naturally there are several active players on here.

1. Barry Bonds ($188,245,322)—Are you kidding? Almost $200 million over the course of his career? And you surely can’t put an asterisk on that statistic. But how much of Barry’s nest egg has gone and will go to legal fees?

2. Alex Rodriguez, ($170,416,252)—A-Rod signed that ridiculous 10-year, $250,000 contract with Texas back in 2001, and I believe he’s still honoring said deal with the Yankees. That’s a lot of money spent for zero World Series rings, isn’t it?

3. Randy Johnson ($152,449,473)—The Big Unit has earned it all, and has been maybe the most feared pitcher in the game over the last fifteen seasons. My favorite stat is that Johnson struck out 1417 batters between 1999 and 2002, an average of 354 per season, and won four straight Cy Young Awards in the process.

4. Greg Maddux ($143,845,000)—In most areas, a $500,000 home would be pretty freaking nice. If your lifetime salary can afford you 286 of them, that’s just insane.

5. Manny Ramirez ($143,328,346)—Think about this. Man-Ram is still only 36 and I’m guessing he’s got at least five more seasons left in him. And over sixteen seasons he’s averaged .312 with 40 homers and 132 RBI per season. Holy crap.

6. Gary Sheffield ($140,682,244)—Sure, this guy has hit the snot out of the ball, but in 2007 Sheff hit .265 with 25 homers and 75 RBI. Is that worth $11 million?

7. Derek Jeter ($139,630,000)—He’s not a power hitter per se (200 career homers over 14 seasons), but a leader on a consistently great team, and arguably the game’s most popular player today.

8. Ken Griffey Jr. ($139,070,987)—If anyone on this list has been underpaid, it’s this guy. He currently has 605 home runs and is the epitome of class.

9. Pedro Martinez ($134,446,234)—Pedro is on his last leg, or make that arm, with the Mets in 2008. But when he was with Montreal and Boston, he had some of the most wicked stuff I’ve ever seen.

10. Mike Mussina ($133,462,590)—I was going to say that $11 million, his 2008 salary, is ridiculously high. But Mussina is on pace to win 19 games for the Yanks when they need him the most. And he’ll take the Steinbrenners’ money all day long.

Source: Baseball Reference

When you think about baseball iron men, you most likely think of Cal Ripken Jr. or Lou Gehrig. Those guys set the benchmark for consecutive games with 2632 and 2130, respectively. But in career games played, Ripken ranks only eighth all-time. Gehrig ranks well below that, but that’s only because his career was cut terribly short by ALS, which also prematurely ended his life. As for today’s active iron men, here is the top of the heap, excluding “active” players who likely have played their last game, like Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa:

1. Omar Vizquel, San Francisco Giants (2632)—Here’s a guy who has always looked ten years younger than he actually is. Vizquel is 41, and has been playing in the majors since 1989. Still, he’s never played a full 162-game season, and his .153 batting average in 2008 might signify the end of a great career – in particular as one of the premier defensive shortstops ever.

2. Luis Gonzalez, Florida Marlins (2541)—When I say this guy’s name, you probably think “2001 World Series,” because that’s when Gonzalez had his shining moment, a game-winning Game 7 hit to give his Diamondbacks the title. And check out these numbers from that season: 57 homers, 142 RBI, .325 batting average. That was only good for third in the NL MVP voting, behind two guys named Bonds and Sosa.

3. Ken Griffey, Jr., Cincinnati Reds (2466)—For my money, this guy has the sweetest power stroke of any active player, and one of the best ever. He would be at the top of the list, too, if it weren’t for all the nagging injuries during his time in Cincinnati.

4. Gary Sheffield, Detroit Tigers (2416)—Sheffield, who is Dwight Gooden’s nephew, began his career in 1988 at the age of 19. He’s been hampered a bit by injury, but even if he were 60 I wouldn’t want to pitch to the guy.

5. Frank Thomas, Oakland Athletics (2295)—The Blue Jays thought he was washed up, and released him. The A’s re-signed him, but he hasn’t played a ton since then. Too bad, because Thomas may have eventually joined the 600 home run club.

6. Jeff Kent, Los Angeles Dodgers (2255)—Has anyone ever accused Jeff Kent of juicing? I know he’s never appeared to blow up physically, but this guy was an average hitter with the Mets and Indians. Then with the Giants, Astros and Dodgers since 1997, he’s almost always in the 30 homer, 120 RBI range. I’m not accusing him, I’m just scratching my head a bit.

7. Ivan Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers (2225)—A catcher with a career .302 batting average over 18 seasons? Just why is this guy an after-thought behind guys like Johnny Bench and Mike Piazza?

8. Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox (2096)—Along with this mark, Thome is also the game’s active windmill leader, with 2123 career strikeouts.

9. Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox (2038)—I know I said this before recently, but the fact that Man-Ram and Thome hit in the same lineup together, along with Albert Belle and Eddie Murray, is just scary. Can anyone tell me why the Indians haven’t won a World Series since 1948?

10. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (1976)—Ol’ Larry has been bit by the injury bug many times during his career, otherwise he’d be up a few notches here. But he’s still a great hitter, and putting up huge numbers even at the age of 36. I think this guy plays another seven or eight seasons.

Source: Baseball Reference

When you stop and think about all of the work and traveling involved in a 162-game baseball season, it’s no wonder that the game is littered with characters and funny stories. And while there have been your share of light-hearted songs about the game of baseball over the years, such as “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and “Talkin’ Baseball,” it was high time that someone poke a stick in the collective belly of the sport. Enter this group of wise guys – Scott McGaughey (R.E.M.) and Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate). After enlisting Peter Buck (R.E.M.) and Linda Pitmon (Golden Smog) to round out The Baseball Project, the group whipped up thirteen songs and hit the studio, and the result is Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails. Nothing is sacred here, including maybe the best song title ever, “Ted Fucking Williams.” They also pick on guys like Curt Flood, Harvey Haddix, and Fernando Valenzuela. But perhaps the best track of all is “The Yankee Flipper,” a reference to rocker and former pitcher Jack McDowell, about the time he flipped off 50,000 booing fans at Yankee Stadium. But here’s a bonus – the music is really good. It’s raunchy garage rock with R-rated lyrics, but melodic enough to suit most musical palates. Serious fans of both baseball and music should own this one and look forward to Volume 2. (LABEL: Yep Roc)

The Baseball Project MySpace Page

Some pitchers are a little wild, and while some may give you a good, fat fastball to hit sometimes, they also try to toy with a batter’s head and pitch them inside. And when the pitcher in question throws upwards of 95 mph, it’s a scary proposition for the dude at the plate. Here is a Top 10 list of the active MLB pitchers who have a tendency to hit batters.

1. Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks (185)—Okay, so it’s not enough that this guy is 6’10” and it looks like the ball is coming from the upper deck when he throws it (I have never faced him, but I am making a strong assumption). The Big Unit also is a bit wild sometimes, and I can’t imagine any of those 185 batters he’s hit were by way of a curve or change-up.

2. Tim Wakefield, Boston Red Sox (158)—Wakefield’s knuckleball has kept him in the game for sixteen seasons now. Sometimes that knuckler is on target and baffling hitters, and other times it’s baffling his own catcher. And it’s times like that that a batter can’t help but get in the way.

3. Pedro Martinez, New York Mets (135)—It doesn’t matter that Pedro doesn’t have the same fastball he did when he was winning Cy Young Awards in Montreal and Boston. He still owns the inside part of the plate, and if you lean over it, Pedro’s coming in there.

4. Greg Maddux, San Diego Padres (133)—Maddux might look like an engineer or an accountant, but he’s all business on the mound. And the fact that he’s an artist that paints the corners of the plate to be effective, it’s no surprise that Maddux has hit 133 batters during his long career.

5. Chan Ho Park, Los Angeles Dodgers (127)—Park seems to have revived his career back where it started in the big leagues, with the same kind of nasty stuff he had after coming over from Japan. In 2001, Park hit 20 batters. Ouch.

6. Kenny Rogers, Detroit Tigers (125)—Here’s another guy who has been pitching for so long (since 1989) that he’s bound to let a few slip out of his hands. He also doesn’t like cameramen.

7. Jamey Wright, Texas Rangers (123)—Jamey Wright is a lifetime 75-106 pitcher, and has a bit of a wild streak as evidenced by his 123 hit batsmen, 58 wild pitches and 782 walks over thirteen seasons.

8. Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies (120)—Another lefty junk ball pitcher who normally has decent control, but has had double-digits in hit batsmen three times during his career.

9. Jeff Weaver, Milwaukee Brewers (118)—Weaver is currently toiling in the minors with AAA Nashville, and waiting for that call-up to the Brewers. (Has Ben Sheets really remained healthy the whole season?). Weaver is lanky, throws hard, and sometimes is a bit wild.

10. Julian Tavarez, Milwaukee Brewers (92)—I saw this guy come up with Cleveland in 1993, and it’s hard to believe he’s now in his sixteenth season, albeit with nine different teams.

Source: Baseball Reference