Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. will give the keynote address at the Hutch Award Luncheon and presentation on Feb. 1 at Safeco Field in Seattle, Fred Hutchinson’s hometown. The event raises funds to benefit early cancer detection research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Butler, a 25-year-old native of Orange Park , Fla., made his major league debut with the team in 2007, having been selected by the Royals right out of high school in the first round of the 2004 draft.  In his rookie season Butler batted .292 with eight home runs and 52 RBIs; two years later he achieved a .301 batting average while surpassing 500 at bats.

Despite his desire to play on the field, Butler was given full-time duty as the Royals’ designated hitter in 2011; he turned the assignment into an opportunity to become one of the best, most consistent hitters in the American League, finishing the season with a .291 batting average, 44 doubles, 95 RBIs and 19 home runs.

Off the field, Butler is known for his selfless attitude and desire to help others. In 2008, Butler and his wife, Katie, started the Hit-It-A-Ton campaign to help feed disadvantaged families in the Kansas City area. Through the program, $250 is donated for each home run Butler hits (and $125 for each double). In its first three years, the campaign raised more than $200,000, providing more than 960 tons of food through two food banks and a community kitchen run by Kansas City ’s Bishop Sullivan Center .

When Butler comes to Seattle to receive his Hutch Award, he will visit cancer research labs at the Hutchinson Center as well as the Hutch School, a unique K – 12 accredited education program that serves young cancer patients and school-age family members of patients.

The Hutch Award recipient is selected annually through a vote of all surviving former awardees. A total of 46 players have been honored since 1965, when Mickey Mantle accepted the inaugural award. Baseball Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie McCovey and Lou Brock all received the Hutch Award; in more recent years Jamie Moyer, Craig Biggio, Jon Lester, Mark Teahen and Tim Hudson have joined their ranks.

Our featured bloggers that provided us with the in depth Report Card series that has just concluded are back to give everyone an in depth look at what the off season holds for the major league teams they cover.  A look at what each team needs, what each team has already gained and lost, and some of the youth in each team’s system will be examined in these articles.  You can find all of the author’s information at the bottom of the article.

With more pieces in place than in any off-season in recent memory, the Royals are hoping less is more. As in less off-season movement will lead to more significant off-season movement.

Roster turnover has become as much a winter routine in Kansas City as the lighting of the Plaza lights. But with the current youth movement percolating to the top, the lineup has become very much set.

Rookies stepped in at catcher, first, second and third and became quickly entrenched. Meanwhile, the new outfield trio of Alex Gordon, Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera exceeded all expectations. There wasn’t the pressing for an overhaul that is typically felt in KC.

Without the cash to shop at the Tiffany’s of free agency, the Royals have typically rummaged through the thrift stores in hopes of finding bargains. That approach paid big dividends last season when they lured Francoeur and Cabrera to KC with minimal investment.

The team parlayed the Cabrera signing into a trade for a proven big-league starter – Jonathan Sanchez.

There was no question the Royals had to improve their starting pitching. And Cabrera was the one starter the team seemed willing to move. Having just had a career year, Melky was probably never going to be worth more than he is right now. And his centerfield spot was the one position where the Royals had a major-league-ready replacement in Lorenzo Cain.

Sanchez has just one year left on his contract, as does Cabrera. So in a sense, the Royals just acquired a year of Sanchez for a year of Cabrera. Or even better, Sanchez plus Cain for Cabrera.

The real question is, which Sanchez will the Royals get – the one who won 13 games and threw a no-hitter for the 2010 World Series champion, or the one who went just 4-7 last year.

The other significant move of the off-season required no movement at all. The Royals re-signed their best pitcher from 2011, Bruce Chen, to a two-year deal. Chen led the team last season with 12 wins and a 3.77 ERA.

So Sanchez will probably join Chen, Luke Hochevar, Felipe Paulino and Danny Duffy in the starting rotation. Should the Royals be forced to look within for another starter, they have some less-than-desirable options. Vin Mazzaro and Sean O’Sullivan failed miserably when given cracks at the rotation last year, but are both still around.

Aaron Crow pitched brilliantly in a setup role for about half a season. He may make another attempt at starting, which he did with mixed results in the minors.

Free-agent Jeff Francis remains an option as well, but he was just 6-16 with a 4.82 ERA last year. He has failed to regain the form he showed in Colorado three seasons ago, and is not likely to be re-signed.

The Royals, owners of last winter’s top farm system, have some talented arms in the pipeline. But just one minor leaguer will have a clear shot at the starting rotation – Mike Montgomery. Regarded one of the top lefties in all the minors a year ago, the 22 year old couldn’t have been much worse last season. But his talent will warrant a long look in the spring.

Cain joins an otherwise settled lineup. He is not young (26 in April), nor is he inexperienced (49 big league games under his belt), and he should be hungry after spending an entire season blocked by Cabrera. Cain tore up Triple-A last summer, batting .312 with 16 homers and 16 steals. He may not match Cabrera’s breakout numbers from 2011, but he is more athletic and probably has a higher ceiling.

The Royals hope they have a nucleus in place that won’t need much more tweaking. Eric Hosmer looks like a budding star, and Gordon finally lived up to his considerable expectations. Francoeur will hold onto the right field job indefinitely, and Alcides Escobar is entrenched at short.

Rookies Mike Moustakas (third base), Johnny Giavotella (second base) and Salvador Perez (catcher) are some of the top prospects at their respective positions, and each gained valuable experience in KC last season.

With the addition of Sanchez, the Royals should expect to top the .500 mark for the first time since 2003. If Gordon and Francoeur don’t regress, if the rookies take another step forward, and if the pitching isn’t as awful as last year, Kansas City might just challenge for the AL Central.

And less (off-season movement) will equal more (wins in 2012).

Todd Fertig
I-70 Baseball

These report cards were written by twenty nine talented individuals across the internet that keep a close eye on the team they cover.  It was the first of our “Featured Blogger” series.  The second part, an Off-Season Outlook, will be brought to you the remainder of this week.  The same writers will return in the Spring to provide a 2012 Season Preview about the teams.

This year’s Featured Bloggers are listed below along with their website and the link to their Report Card:

American League East
Baltimore Orioles - Austin Gisriel, Seamheads
Boston Red Sox – Michael Lynch, Seamheads
New York Yankees – William Tasker, The Flagrant Fan
Tampa Bay Rays – Yossi Feins, The Rays Rant
Toronto Blue Jays – Peter DeMarco, Some Thoughts On Baseball

American League Central
Chicago White Sox – Terry Keshner, Planet Back
Cleveland Indians – David Henderson, Tribe Cards
Detroit Tigers – Nick Waddell, Seamheads
Kansas City Royals – Todd Fertig, I-70 Baseball
Minnesota Twins – Von Hendry, Seamheads

American League West
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Bryan Grosnick, Roto Hardball
Oakland As – Jason Leary, Junk Ball
Seattle Mariners – Nick Waddell, Seamheads
Texas Rangers – Dan Edmonson, Chicken Fried Baseball

National League East
Atlanta Braves – Andrew Martin, Baseball Historian
Florida Marlins – Eddie Gilley, Eddie Gilley Blogspot
New York Mets – AC Wayne, Mets Public Record
Philadelphia Phillies – Matthew Buesing, Fire And Ice Sports
Washington Nationals – Aaron Somers , District On Deck

National League Central
Chicago Cubs – Robert Harris, Blue Batting Helmet
Cincinnati Reds – Gary Schatz, Full Of Schatz
Houston Astros – Michael Barr, Fan Graphs
Milwaukee Brewers – Paul Heinz, Paul Heinz.com
Pittsburgh Pirates – Ryan Sendek, Analysis Around The Horn
St. Louis Cardinals – Daniel Shoptaw , C70 At The Bat

National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks – Patrick Lagreid, Baseball On My Brain
Colorado Rockies – Michelle Hoag, Rockies Woman
Los Angeles Dodgers – Paul F Sullivan, Sully Baseball
San Diego Padres – Michael Metzger, Padres Trail
San Francisco Giants – Julian Levine, Giants Nirvana

Bill Ivie is the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com and the founder of i70baseball.com, an official Baseball Digest website covering the Cardinals and Royals.

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BaseballDigest.com aims to keep up that tradition.  This season, we bring you a Report Card on each team in Major League Baseball from writers that cover that team directly.  At the bottom of each write up, you will find the writer’s name, website, and any other pertinent information.  

The revolving door has spun crazily in Kansas City the last several years, but the turnover may finally have come to a halt. The decade-long “youth movement” may finally have produced some youth worth keeping. The Royals minor league system earned a number one ranking last winter, and though the big league team lost 91 games, one by one top prospects matriculated to KC. By the end of the season the team’s entire starting lineup was 27 years old or younger, and only dreadful pitching kept the youngsters from contending in the AL Central.

Rotation: F
Hopes for the Royals’ pitching staff were especially low entering 2011, so you would think it would be hard for the starters to disappoint. But the Royals’ youthful offense and fielding were unexpectedly strong, making the weakness of the rotation all the more glaring.

Kansas City finished 27^th in the league in quality starts, as well as team ERA, and 26^th in opponents’ slugging and OPS. Royal starters managed a mere two complete games, and just six shutouts. To comprehend just how directionless was the staff, consider that for an extended period KC utilized a six-man rotation, prolonging the Kyle Davies train wreck. He finished 1-9 with a 6.75 ERA before he was mercifully released.

It’s hard to believe the team’s best starter was nearly left off the roster prior to the season.  But after searching high and low for anyone else, the Royals kept Bruce Chen, who wound up the team’s only starter with a winning record. Chen led the team in wins (12) and ERA (3.77).

Danny Duffy gained experience, but that’s about all you can say. Jeff Francis was a stop-gap at best. But Luke Hochevar may have turned a corner – he went 6-3 after the All-Star break, and finished with a 1.283 WHIP. Felipe Paulino was a revelation, posting 8.6 SO/9 and a 1.372 WHIP.

Bullpen: D
Though the bevy of young arms in the pen gained a measure of acclaim, this group was not really all that effective as a whole in 2011. Closer Joakim Soria’s troubles were well documented. Soria blew several saves when the Royals still had hopes of contending, and the psychological effect of those collapses on the rest of the club cannot be overestimated. Soria had never posted an ERA above 2.48. This year it was 4.03.

Setup man Aaron Crow started with the sizzle the Royals hoped for from a first-rounder. But after being named to the 2011 All-Star Game, he let teams hit .313 and score 4.34 earned runs after the break. The cast of Tim Collins, Louis Coleman, Blake Wood, Nate Adcock and Greg Holland was at times serviceable, while at other times atrocious.

BD Report Cards brought to you by Seamheads

Catchers: C-
The Royals foolishly hoped Jason Kendall had something left in the tank. The 37-year-old never made it off the DL. Matt Treanor filled in admirably, but there was never a hope he would hit. Bryan Pena disappointed at the plate as well, and the Royals finally turned to 21-year-old phenom Salvador Perez in September. His lock on the position is now rock-solid.

Infield: B
Seemingly every month, an infield position was handed over to one of the Royals’ coveted prospects. Alcides Escobar assumed the shortstop duties on opening day. In May, first baseman Eric Hosmer made his feverishly-anticipated debut. June saw Mike Moustakas move in at third base. The transition was complete in August when Johnny Giavotella took over at second.

Giavotella and Moustakas had mixed results. Moustakas struggled mightily for much of the season. But he broke loose with 12 doubles, four homers and 19 RBI in his last 36 games. During that span, only one player bested his .379 average.

Hosmer asserted himself as the team leader and will only get better. The 21-year-old made a push for Rookie of the Year with 19 homers and 78 RBI in just 128 games. Escobar, meanwhile, looks to be the long-term answer at short.

Billy Butler is a capable fill-in at first, and is arguably one of the best designated hitters in the league. He hit .291 and found his power stroke in the second half to finish with 19 homers and 44 doubles.

Outfield: A
A very convincing argument could be made that Alex Gordon, Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur made up THE BEST outfield in all of baseball in 2011. Defensively, they blew the curve with 49 assists. Gordon earned a Gold Glove in left, and Francoeur got snubbed in right in favor of Nick Markakis.

The trio was also a doubles machine. They combined for 136 doubles, each finishing in the top 8 of the league. As a group they also belted 61 homers.

At the plate, Gordon had one of the best seasons by a Royals outfielder in history. He was one of just five players in all of baseball to hit better than .300 with 20+ homers and 45+ doubles.

Top Offensive Player
Gordon’s 5.9 WAR was KC’s highest since 2003. In just his second year in left field, he became one of the best.

Top Pitcher
Chen missed more than a month, or his numbers might have been even more impressive. Even so, he continues to pitch like an adult, as opposed to Davies, Hochevar, Duffy, etc. Few in baseball get more from their physical ability than Chen.

Todd Fertig
I-70 Baseball

Epstein fired manager Mike Quade on Wednesday after just a little over one season in Chicago. The Sun-Times has the story.

Dodgers fans are ecstatic that the McCourts are selling. The LA Times has the full story.

The Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander was the most dominant pitcher in the game en route to 24 wins. Jose Bautista didn’t match his 54 home runs of a year ago, but had another 40+ home run season. Lance Berkman looked like his career was done in 2010, but he hit 30 home runs this season and is an NL MVP candidate. Jacoby Ellsbury was the king of the AL DL a year ago, but this season was a candidate for both the comeback player of the year and AL MVP awards.

Curtis Granderson had a bust out season, topping 40 home runs for the first time in his career. Teammate Derek Jeter picked up his 3,000th hit, while another, Mariano Rivera, broke the all-time record for career saves. Across town, Jose Reyes won his first batting title in what might be his last year as a Met.  Albert Pujols had an “off” year and still hit 35 dingers and Matt Kemp met and exceeded all expectations.  With all of that in mind, the finalists for the individual awards in each league should look something like this…

AL MVP – Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano (NY), Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS), Jose Bautista (TOR), Justin Verlander (DET)

AL Cy Young – Justin Verlander (Det)

AL Rookie of the Year – Jeremy Hellickson (TB), Ivan Nova (NY), Eric Hosmer (KC), Mark Trumbo (LA), J.P. Arencibia (TOR)

AL Manager of the Year – Manny Acta (CLE), Jim Leyland (DET), Ron Washington (TEX), Joe Girardi (NY)

AL Comeback Player of the Year – Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS), Melky Cabrera (KC)

NL MVP – Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder (MIL), Matt Kemp (LA), Lance Berkman (STL), Justin Upton (AZ)

NL Cy Young – Ian Kennedy (AZ), Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee (PHI), Clayton Kershaw (LA)

NL Manager of the Year – Kirk Gibson (AZ), Ron Roenicke (MIL), Clint Hurdle (PIT), Charlie Manuel (PHI)

NL Rookie of the Year – Freddie Freeman and Craig Kimbrel (ATL), Danny Espinosa (WAS), Javy Guerra (LA)

NL Comeback Player of the Year – Carlos Beltran (NY,SF), Lance Berkman (STL)

But baseball isn’t about the individual, it’s about the teams.

Early on the Indians, Royals, and Pirates played beyond expectation. In fact the Indians held first place in the AL Central for 85 days. The three teams would eventually fade, but the Arizona Diamondbacks did just the opposite. They were six games under .500 in mid-May, but played at a torrid pace the rest of the season to win the division title. Meanwhile Boston and Atlanta entered the final month of the season as virtual locks to make the post-season only to be eliminated on the final night of the season.

The LA Dodgers and the Mets had ownership and money issues, the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds were huge disappointments, and the Baltimore Orioles, despite much promise, finished last in the AL East for the fourth straight year. In the end the Yankees, Tigers, Rangers, Phillies, Brewers, and Diamondbacks captured their divisions while the Rays and Cardinals entered the playoffs as wild card entries.

What’s that? How did the Baseball Digest team do at predicting the post-season teams? Let’s take a look.

Well it appears, ahem, one person knew what they were talking about with the AL East. Yes, that would be me. Michael Maher, likewise, was the only one of our bunch who had the insight to pick the Tigers in the AL Central. He was also the only one to pick the Rays to win the AL wild card. Four out of seven dentist, er writers, chose the Rangers correctly in the AL West, while none of us had the Diamondbacks sniffing a title in the NL West.

Bill Ivie stuck his neck out picking the Braves to win the NL East, while everyone else selected the Phillies. Needless to say, his neck hurts. Bill’s beloved Cardinals didn’t win the NL Central as he had selected, but he was brought joy on the night of Game 162 when they made the post-season. Meanwhile Simon Sharkey-Gottlieb, Kirk Verner, and Matt Wilson all correctly chose the Brewers for the Central crown, but just like the NL West, no one got the NL wild card correct either. So the finally tally of correct predictions..drum roll please…four writers with 3 right each. Meanwhile Josh Landsburg, Mark Healey, and Bill Ivie…um, better luck next year. (In fairness, Bill did get 2 playoff teams correct, just in the wrong spots)

Michael Maher 3
Drew Sarver 3
Simon Sharkey-Gottlieb 3
Matt Wilson 3
Shai Kushner 2
Kirk Verner 2
Josh Landsburg 1
Mark Healey 1
Bill Ivie 0

Please check back after the league championship series for updated standings, and be sure to bookmark Baseball Digest to view all of our post-season coverage.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Baseball Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr. will give the keynote address at the Hutch Award Luncheon on Feb. 1, 2012. Proceeds will benefit early cancer detection research at the Hutchinson Center .

This year’s Hutch Award nominees are:

• Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals
• Tony Campana, Chicago Cubs
• Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins
• Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees
• Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
• Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Justin Masterson, Cleveland Indians
• Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
• Jake Peavy, Chicago White Sox
• Josh Willingham, Oakland Athletics

The Hutch Award recipient will be selected this fall through a vote of all surviving former awardees. A total of 46 players have been honored since 1965, when Mickey Mantle accepted the inaugural award. Baseball’s Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie McCovey and Lou Brock all received the Hutch Award; in recent years Jamie Moyer, Craig Biggio, Jon Lester, Mark Teahen and Tim Hudson have joined their ranks.

The Hutch Award is given annually to a Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of legendary baseball player and manager Fred Hutchinson. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center – founded by Fred’s brother, Dr. Bill Hutchinson, after Fred succumbed to cancer at age 45 – is an independent, nonprofit research institution dedicated to the understanding, treatment and prevention of cancer and related diseases.

For more information about the Hutch Award, including a full list of past recipients, or to learn more about the luncheon, visit www.fhcrc.org/hutchaward.

Most Impressive Team - Omaha Storm Chasers  No longer the Omaha Royals, the 2011 innaugual season of the Storm Chasers is a good ‘ol baseball story. Affiliated with the Royals since it’s inception in 1969, the newly named Pacific Coast League team begins a new era on the right foot as they head back to the playoffs after a twelve year absence. While the development of players is the point of it all, there was one really good reason why the Chasers success would be a sweet victory. 2011 marked Mike Jirschele’s 8th season as the Triple-A club’s manager and his 12th in the Royals system. They had never finished higher than third in his entire tenure, including last season, and when he arrived in 2003 they finished in 11th place with. The fact that the team had not been to the playoffs since 1999, gave young players a little something more to play for. With players like Mike Moustakas, Mike Montgomery, and Eric Hosmer on their roster at some point during the season, fans had many great reasons to support the team.

Most Impressive Manager - Andy Haines, Greensboro Grasshoppers – It was down to the wire for the Grasshoppers. They defeated the Kannapolis Indians in extra innings to become second-half champs of the Northern Division. Haine’s knows he has to help the development of players at a low-level. Excellence is not easily achieved. But the Grasshoppers finished with a 79-60 overall record and spent May and June notching victories. They have been a consistent team with excellent offense. Starting pitchers like James Leverton came through in the final stretch . It is not easy to manage at that level. But Haines understands the job and that’s the key. Now after a twelve-year absence, the Grasshoppers are playoffs bound.

Most Impressive Hitter – Paul Goldschmidt, Mobile BayBears, Southern League, Arizona Diamondbacks – Goldschmidt is exactly what the Diamondbacks need. The first-baseman is providing excitement Arizona baseball fans are lacking. Before his call-up, he was putting together a tremendous season for the Double-A BayBears. He led the minors with 30 home runs and 94 RBI. The twenty-three-year-old also worked an astounding 82 walks. His .626 SLG percentage is the league’s best to end the season.

Most Impressive Starting Pitcher -Matt Moore, Durham Bulls, International League, Tampa Rays – Strikeouts. That is the first word you likely think of when reflecting on Moore’s 2011 season with the Bulls and Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. His 210 K’s led all of minor league baseball. 163 of them were in the Southern League before his promotion. He went 4-0 for Durham with a 1.37 ERA in his final ten starts.

It also often helps them determine which name they’d like to put on the back of a customized jersey.

To put on a Major League uniform for the first time and make an impact is one thing. To do it in a foreign land, amid culture shock on top of the always present obstacles for rookies is another. Hideo Nomo is one of those players to accomplish the feat and was the first Japanese player to ever relocate permanently in order to play in MLB.

Aside from his ROY honors, when you hear the name Hideo Nomo, the first thing that comes to mind is his unique wind up motion. In the Nippon Professional Baseball league, Nomo was a coveted talent racking up over 1,200 strike outs from 1990-1994 for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Earning the nickname ‘The Tornado’, after media and opponents witnessed his unique back-to-the-plate delivery, early on Nomo gained national attention in his debut season with the Buffaloes striking out 287 hitters in 235 innings. His stats earned him the 1990 Pacific League MVP and Rookie of The Year honors.

Fans and members of the media were more appreciative of the results Nomo produced than the Buffaloes however. After the 1994 season, wrapping up a stretch within the first four years where he compiled 17 or 18 wins per season, Nomo demanded a multi-year contract.

What was the Buffaloes’ loss, turned out to be the Los Angeles Dodgers’ gain.

After retiring from Japanese baseball in order to get out of his contract with the Buffaloes, Nomo found a new opportunity in Los Angeles. His career in the States started off oddly enough, very similar to the way his career began in Japan. Due in large part to his unique delivery, batters were unable to solve the pitching mystery Nomo presented every five days in each start and he ended up leading the league in strike outs with 236, finished second in ERA at 2.54. Along the way, he broke Koufax’s team record of strike outs per nine innings with 11.101 to Koufax’s 10.546, started the All-Star Game and won the NL Rookie of the Year award.

Many would argue that a professional ballplayer with years of experience in Japan should not be up for MLB Rookie of The Year voting consideration. I understand that mentality, however, a player’s first year in the league is just that, no matter where their prior experience comes from. Also, it can be argued that the player coming in from Japan or some other international location is up against much more than the rookie of the year contender that is from the United States. The language, culture, nuances, and comfort are not the same as they were in their other league. The player from the international league has to figure out how to survive on the playing field as well as within their new surroundings off the field. The argument could certainly be made that an outstanding rookie campaign by an international star is much more difficult. That argument was made in 1995 and the pro-Nomo side won. Future star, Chipper Jones, finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year race that year as voters gave the advantage to Nomo. Or perhaps I should say, disadvantage.

Baseball Digest’s John Kuenster highlighted Hideo Nomo’s performance as one of the bright spots of the 1995 season. An interesting read about one of the great young pitchers to wear the Dodgers’ uniform.

Like other great puzzles that are tough to figure out such as the Rubik’s Cube, Sudoku or ‘what happened to Tony Soprano at the end of ‘The Sopranos’?', eventually the answer is found and they get a little easier to figure out. (Ok, perhaps that Sopranos one is still left up in the air). NL batters finally got used to seeing an opposing pitcher’s back before the release of a pitch and Nomo’s efficiency lacked as his stats became less impressive. Despite finishing as the only other pitcher to strike out at least 200 batters in each of his first three seasons, the early years of his MLB career are definitely the most impressive.

There must be something in the water at Dodger Stadium. When Nomo won the NL Rookie of the Year, he became one of 13 Dodger debuts to earn the honor, the most of any team in the National League. Dating back to 1952, the team has had a rookie win the award in back-to-back seasons three times. The most recent time coming in a stretch where Nomo was one of those rookies as the team won the award in five consecutive years (Eric Karros, 1992; Mike Piazza, 1993; Raul Mondesi, 1994; Nomo, 1995; Todd Hollandsworth, 1996). In recent years the Florida Marlins have dominated the category however, for a stretch, it was the Dodgers system producing the best young talent in the league, Nomo included.

One stand out highlight of Nomo’s latte portion of his career came on April 4, 2011. It was Nomo’s first start as a member of the Boston Red Sox and he would once again come out of the gates quickly with his new team. The Orioles were the team he would face that day and they would provide Nomo with a no-no as the team was unable to muster up a single hit against Beantown’s new star pitcher. In doing so, Nomo became the fourth pitcher in the history of the game to throw a no-hitter in both the American and National Leagues. After a couple more productive years after returning to his first major league home in America from 2002-2003, Nomo started to fade.

His career path led to signing with the Kansas City Royals, who ultimately released him on April 29, 2008. Nomo retired from MLB that same July. Nomo was both a journeyman and a pioneer in his time as a professional baseball player. In MLB, he would go on to spend time displaying his unique ‘tornado’ wind up for fans across the country, proudly wearing the uniform of the Dodgers, Mets, Brewers, Tigers, Red Sox, Devil Rays and Royals.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the meaning of the name ‘Hideo’. Turns out it means ‘excelling man’. After analyzing Nomo’s career, you’ll realize he compiled over 3,100 strike outs in his time between the NPB and MLB competition. Excelling man? Sounds about right to me.

Hideo Nomo turns 43 today.

Also Born Today

Frank Robinson turns 76 today. Robinson’s career saw him spend time  playing with the Reds, Orioles, Dodgers, Angels and Indians. He managed the Indians, Giants, Orioles and Expos/Nationals. At the end, it all added up to a plaque in Cooperstown. Robinson is the only player to win MVP honors in both the American and National Leagues and finished his career with a batting average of .294, 586 home runs, 2,943 hits and 1,812 RBI. Robinson won the World Series with the 1966 and 1970 Orioles, winning MVP honors in 1966. Other career highlights include NL Rookie of the Year (1956), 14 All-Star appearances (MVP in 1971), AL Manager of the Year (1989) and he had his number retired by both the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles.

Eddie Plank was born on this day in 1875. Plank pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Terriers and the St. Louis Browns. Eight times, Plank finished a season with twenty or more wins. He has the 13th most wins in MLB history, led the American League in shutouts twice and has more career shutouts by a left-hander than anyone in MLB history (66). Plank’s win-loss record of 326-194 matched with his career ERA of 2.35 and 2,246 strike outs earned him induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame by vote of the Veteran’s Committee in 1946.

Ryan Maloney is a staff writer for BaseballDigest.com, author of the popular Chicago Cubs blog titled ’Prose and Ivy, and a contributing writer to MLB.com.

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The five chosen this time managed to play solidly through the July heat and into the final couple of weeks of their season.

Matt Moore, LHP, Durham Bulls, International League, Tampa Rays – For starters there’s that 0.88 ERA. Add to that his 8-1 record and that between July 22nd and August 12th he mowed hitters down in each of his five starts. Moore posted a 0.69 ERA for July,  striking out 49 batters in 30.2 innings. Highlight: His July 27th gem. Over 8 scoreless innings he allowed just 3 hits and struck out 13.

Gary Sanchez, C, Charleston Riverdogs, South Atlantic League, New York Yankees – Before going on the DL, Sanchez was putting together a productive season. In August he got 13 hits in 9 games, hitting.433 with 5 multi-hit games. Highlight: On August 3rd he hit two home runs and then did it again on August 10th.

Mike Trout, CF, Texas Travelers, Texas League, Anaheim Angels – Trout’s consistency through July and August was just more of the same. He hit .300 in July and is hitting .358 through the first two weeks of this month. He has a 9-game hitting streak going, with 13 hits accumulated. Highlight: On August 6th Trout went 3-3 with an RBI and a walk.

Greg Billo, RHP, Kane County Tigers, Midwest League, Kansas City Royals – While a pitcher’s record doesn’t always reflect his performances, in this case it does. Billo is 9-2 with a 0.75 ERA through the first two weeks of August. He finished July with a 1.19 ERA. In five starts he’s allowed just six earned runs. Billo has pitched deep into games, logging 55 innings in ten starts. Highlight: On August 10th he picked up the win against Peoria after pitching a seven-inning one-hitter.

Mason Williams, OF, Staten Island Yankees, New York Penn League – Through 10 games in August he has 18 hits, putting his average at .500. He finished July hitting .357, improving his average steadily throughout the season. Williams has struck out just once in his last five games. Highlight: On August 6th he got 3 hits, a walk, and stole two bases.

My eye on… Erik Arnesen, RHP, Harrisburg Senators, Eastern League, Washington Nationals: On August 14th against the Trenton Thunder, the big righty came back from a shaky first inning to pitch six scoreless innings . He struck out ten Thunder hitters by mixing speeds and attacking the strike zone. It was Arnesen’s 8th win of 2011.

If we were to truly honor Deion Sanders, the right way, this article would include a link at the bottom of the page leading to its continuation at NFL.com.

If we were to truly honor Deion Sanders, the right way, this article would include not only a link to a previous Baseball Digest print edition mention of Sanders’ career, it would include a video making it stand out among the rest, done in Flash.

If we were to truly honor Deion Sanders, the right way, this article would no longer refer to Deion Sanders as ‘Sanders’, but ‘Deion’. ‘Neon Deion’ would be even better. However, like Sanders at the end of his induction speech this past weekend into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, applying a bandana to his bronze likeness, we’re going to simply make do.

As one of the greatest two-sport athletes of all-time, Sanders excelled in both football and baseball. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Sanders attended Florida State University, where he made a name for himself on the basepaths, the gridiron, and in track and field competitions. One story has it that Sanders once played game one of a doubleheader, left to compete in a leg of a 4×100 relay only to return to start in the second game of the doubleheader.

Sanders wasted no time getting a jump on a collegiate career that would result in records being set and his football jersey number being retired. In his freshman year, Sanders started on the football team in the secondary, played outfield leading his team to rank fifth in the nation and took advantage of his base-swiping speed to help lead his track and field squad to a conference title.  While the Seminoles had no reason the keep their receipt when it came to Sanders, it was Deion who would do all the returning. As a two-time All-American cornerback, Sanders intercepted 14 passes over his career including three in bowl games and broke the longest interception return for a TD by one yard when he managed to grab a pass on defense and return it the entire length of the field in 1988.

Considering how much Sanders accomplished in his collegiate career, it is no wonder both professional baseball and football teams alike were interested in signing him. I’m guessing if there were a National Track and Field League with the same impact across the nation as MLB or the NFL, where kids hang posters of track and field stars in their room the way they do their favorite baseball and football stars, an NTFL team would have looked to draft Sanders as well.

The New York Yankees selected Sanders in the 30th round of the 1988 draft and he signed with the team in June of that year. I give credit to the Kansas City Royals for having the foresight to draft Sanders years ahead of the Yankees. The Royals drafted Sanders while he was still playing for Fort Myers High School however, Sanders decided not to sign with a professional team at that time. The NFL also came calling for Sanders’ services as the Atlanta Falcons selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft.

To play two professional sports in a lifetime is an incredible feat. To play two professional sports within a same season is incredible. To play two professional sports within the same season at the level Sanders was able to is other-worldly. Bo Jackson is probably the only other athlete who could relate to what it took for Sanders to continue a professional football and baseball career at the same time. Sanders definitely knew what Bo knew, and vice versa.

In his young professional career, like at Florida State, Sanders got out of the box quickly in both sports. He returned his first career punt return for a touchdown. With the Yankees, in 1989, Sanders hit a home run in pinstripes and later that week scored a touchdown wearing Falcon black. He remains to this day, the only player to ever do so. Another honor bestowed to Sanders ,and only Sanders, is that he is the only professional athlete to ever play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.

Not a fan of arrogant professional athletes? Then you probably aren’t a fan of Sanders. Actually, according to this recent Hall of Fame speech, it’s not that you aren’t a fan of Sanders, you aren’t a fan of Prime Time. Prime Time is a character, a persona, that Sanders came up with at Florida State. He knew he would need to stand out amongst the other great athletes of his time and Prime Time was his way of putting his numbers up against the stats of other great players, and then giving himself the advantage when it came to being remembered and earning an unbelievable living for himself as a professional athlete. Once, as a Yankee, Sanders came up to bat, dug in, and drew a money sign with his bat before taking his stance. Future Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk, catching that game, took offense to the gesture and let Sanders have it after Sanders didn’t run out a pop up to the infield. Arrogance was something that Prime Time delivered to make Deion Sanders even more entertaining. High stepping touchdowns became a cultural phenomenon, and started with  Sanders. I don’t recall ever seeing him high step in a run on the baseball diamond which is probably a good thing. I highly doubt Carlton Fisk would have appreciated that either.

The June 2004 edition of Baseball Digest featured an article displaying how Curt Schilling felt about Sanders’ antics on the baseball diamond. You can read what he had to say here.

It was while playing with the Atlanta Braves that Sanders’ juggling act really stepped up a notch. Clearly, the longer the baseball season lasts, the more it interferes with the football schedule. The Yankees weren’t exactly making the playoffs in the late ’80s, however, once Sanders started wearing a jersey with Atlanta across the chest, this calendar juggling became more of an issue because the Braves were in the post-season and in the early ’90s, on quite a regular basis.

In 1991, Sanders contributed to the Braves’ run to the National League West division title. However, because of a clause in his contract with the Falcons, he had to report to his football job the very next day and went on to miss the postseason. This prompted a reworking of his deal with the Falcons. He would now be able to report to the Falcons for training camp in August after playing baseball April-August, however, if the team were to make the playoffs, he could now rejoin the Braves for the postseason.

That renegotiation came with some impeccable timing. The Braves did in fact make the playoffs in 1992 and even earned their way into the 1992 World Series. If it weren’t for Dave Winfield’s heroics in game 6, the Braves may have found a way to win that Series and Sanders would have been a great reason why. Sanders played in four games in the 1992 World Series and batted .533 with 4 runs, 8 hits, 2 doubles and 1 RBI. All of that was accomplished while playing with a broken foot.

One knock on Sanders, in which he called out his critics during his Hall of Fame speech, was that people believed he didn’t like to tackle. That he avoided contact. While Sanders had his own answer for his football critics, the baseball folks that followed his career would be slow to say the same thing. On the baseball diamond, Sanders enjoyed contact. He amassed 558 hits in his career and led the NL in triples in 1992 with 14. Sanders is a career .263 hitter, with 39 HRs and 186 stolen bases, having played with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.

Showcasing your athletic skills on two grand stages provided to you in the way that MLB and the NFL do, the media is bound to take notice. College Football News named Sanders #8 in its list of 100 Greatest College Football Players of All-Time. ESPN named Sanders #74 in its list of the 100 Great Athletes of the Century, released in 1999. While Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past weekend, you won’t see a Deion Sanders plaque in Cooperstown. His numbers simply don’t warrant that type of honor. However, there is no doubt that Sanders had an impact on the game of baseball. Attend a Braves game at Turner Field. Do you hear that annoying chant all around you? That’s the tomahawk chop and Sanders is credited for bringing it to Atlanta upon his arrival.

This article will not continue in a link leading to NFL.com and while that would be appropriate given the subject of the piece, it’s simply not going to happen. Canton is a more appropriate place for Sanders to be enshrined as opposed to Cooperstown. The fact that he left his mark on two professional sports while in his ‘prime’ is impressive enough to warrant a feature story here.

In Sanders’ Hall of Fame speech, he made it very clear that he did all of it for his mama. All the hard work, all the antics, all the dedication and desire. He had a lot to thank her for and he made it clear that she was his motivation behind his success. Obviously there is one more thing he has because of her, that helped make all things possible. One more thing to thank her for, Deion. Look at today’s date. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

Also Born Today:

Jayson Heyward turns 22 today. Heyward, a current stand out and right fielder for the Atlanta Braves, was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey. With stars like Chipper Jones aging and soon to wrap up his time with the team, it will be on youngsters like Heyward to carry the load and continue the success the team has seen in recent years forward. Heyward hit a home run in the first at-bat in each of his first two years in the majors and is a career .277 hitter.

Troy Percival turns 42 today. Percival played in the majors from 1995-2009, splitting time between the Angels, Tigers, Cardinals and Rays. He is one of only six Angels pitchers to strike out 100 batters in a season with starting a single game. Percival, a four-time All-Star selection, has a career ERA of 3.17 and won the World Series with the Angels in 2002.

Ryan Maloney is a Staff Writer for BaseballDigest.com, author of the popular Chicago Cubs blog, Prose and Ivy and contributing writer to MLB.com/Entertainment.

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As we enter the end of the season and look forward to the playoffs for some teams and towards 2012 for others, it is time that the rookies of this season start getting some recognition and find the spotlight falling on them.

Here are three offensive players and three pitchers in the American League that qualify for the Rookie Of The Year award.  If you are not watching these guys by now, it is time to start.

The offensive rookies in the American League are a bit more clear cut.  The Royals own Eric Hosmer is putting together a solid season with a balanced attack and showing Royals fans that first base is a position they can get behind.  Angels fans would tell you that first base is definitely the position of the future for them as well as Mark Trumbo is killing the ball in Anaheim.  Toronto, on the other hand, has a catcher that is showing the he can handle the bat as well, and J.P. Arencibia is getting noticed quickly.

The Odds On Favorite For Rookie Of The Year
Sorry Royals fans, it is hard to argue with what Mark Trumbo is doing for the Angels.  He leads the American League rookies in Games Played and At Bats but there is a reason for that.  His .261 batting average and .301 on base percentage leave some room for improvement, but his power numbers are nothing to sneeze at.  With 20 doubles, 22 home runs, 63 runs batted in, and a .495 slugging percentage have him well in place to grab the Jackie Robinson Award in the American League this year.

The Runner Up
Royals fans can relax a little bit as Eric Hosmer is not too far behind Trumbo.  Hosmer is posting a .282 batting average while knocking 10 home runs and driving in 47 runs batted in.  Add in 19 doubles and a total of 93 hits and you can bet that the future has arrived in Kansas City and the future looks bright.

He Deserves A Look
Toronto’s young backstop, J.P. Arencibia may not be hitting for a good average, his is only .216, but what he is hitting is going a long way.  He is second to Trumbo for the most home runs by a rookie in the American League with 18 and pairs that with 52 runs batted in.  The drop off from there is tremendous, however, as he only posts 13 doubles and 3 triples, leaving him with a .452 slugging percentage.  His on base percentage plunges below .300 and he is striking out at an alarming rate.  The Blue Jays have a solid power hitter on their hands, they just hope he can learn some patience.

If it seems the offensive rookies are a bit sparse in the American League, the pitching prospects across the league are enough to get any baseball fan excited about the future.  The Royals put their share of pitchers into any conversation with Aaron Crow, Danny Duffy, and Tim Collins.  Jeremy Hellickson and Ivan Nova are both posting double digit wins for the Rays and Yankees, respectively.  Jordan Walden, meanwhile, is closing games at a solid pace for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  Up north in Seattle, Michael Pineda is racking up the innings, and strikeouts, at a rapid pace.

The Odds On Favorite For Rookie Of The Year
Speaking of Michael Pineda, he is running away with this category in 2011.  He leads all rookies with 130 innings pitched and 133 strikeouts.  He has only walked 43 batters and given up 12 home runs.  He is posting a 3.53 earned run average and has won 9 games for a team that is struggling to win games as it is.  Pineda is showing some dominance at times and not showing any signs of slowing down, at least until his pitching arm falls off.

The Runner Up
It is Jordan Walden of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim that is equally as impressive as Pineda.  Walden has posted 25 saves in 32 chances, posted a 3 wins, 3 losses record.  Over the course of 45 innings pitched, he has struck out 48 hitters and only walked 18.  With only one home run allowed and a 2.80 earned run average, the Angels have a closer they can count on for a long time to come.

He Deserves A Look
Call me old fashioned, but I still like a pitcher that wins games without giving up a ton of runs, even if he is not striking out everyone he faces.  For that reason, take a look at the Rays’ pitcher Jeremy Hellickson who has won 10 games  over 7 losses while posting a 3.15 earned run average.  He is going deep into games with 122.2 innings pitched and has struck out 79 hitters while walking 45.  He will not bring home any hardware, but he’s worth keeping an eye on.

Around the league there are pitchers and hitters that will look to capitalize on solid rookie seasons and avoid the Sophomore Slump.  While these players are showcasing themselves around the American League, it is important to take a look at one player that is not on this list that will mean something more to our i70baseball fans.  Here is our honorable mention.

i70baseball Honorable Mention
The honorable mention here goes to a player that is pitching impressively despite not being in a key role, which will keep him out of discussions based on stats.  Aaron Crow may be the closer of the future in Kansas City after pitching his way to an earned run average below 2.00 and striking out 49 hitters in 51.1 innings pitched.  Crow has allowed five home runs this season.  He has scattered 37 hits over his innings of work and taken the mound 43 times.  Crow will keep fans excited to see the bullpen doors swing open in Kansas City for many future seasons.

As the season comes to an end, keep an eye on these seven players and their impact on their teams and the league when the dust settles.  One of these players will take home a Jackie Robinson Award and etch their name into the history books.  The rest will attempt to build on a solid rookie campaign and make a career out of it.  Time will tell how well these names will become known.

Bill Ivie is the editor at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

Done Deals

Boston – Kansas City: The Red Sox have added to their depth by picking up Mike Aviles from the Royals for infielder Yamaico Navarro and pitcher Kendal Vez. In Aviles, the Red Sox get a player who can play 2B, SS, and 3B, all positions that have seen players banged up this season. He also swings a decent stick. Aviles fell victim to the youth movement in KC and was sent to the minors at one point this season. He could face a demotion again when Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie returns from the DL.

Texas – Baltimore: The Rangers spoke with a number of teams about relievers and were hoping to land the Padres’ Heath Bell.  But the asking price was too high for the pitchers that Texas most coveted. So instead, the Rangers went a cheaper route by sending corner infielder Chris Davis and pitcher Tommy Hunter to the Orioles for Koji Uehara.

It’s a low risk move for both teams. Uehera is good, but not outstanding. He’s a strikeout pitcher despite not having overpowering stuff, but also can’t be used on back-to-back days due to his tendency to get banged up. Davis has been a productive hitter in the minor leagues, but hasn’t been able to put it together in “The Show”. He strikes out way too much and can’t hit left-handed pitching. Unless the Orioles deal Derrek Lee, Davis will probably only see occassional playing time at DH and 1B.

Hunter is a #4 starter at best. He pitches to contact and isn’t going to blow anyone away.  The Rangers’ number one pick in 2007, Hunter got off to an 8-o, 2.31 start last season, but went 5-4, 5.07 in his final 14 starts plus one relief appearance. Hunter is also an injury risk and missed a good chunk of this season with a groin injury.

Detroit – Seattle: The Tigers wanted to shore up their starting rotation for the stretch run and feel they did so by picking up Doug Fister from the Mariners. Fister can’t be judged by the 3-12 record he amassed with a bad Mariners club. In 21 starts, Fister allowed less than a hit an inning and walked just two hitters per nine innings while he struck out 5.5 batters. He also allowed just four home runs and had a 2.8 WAR with the Mariners.

Reliever David Pauley accompanied Fister to give the Tigers some depth in their bullpen. In return, Seattle received pitcher Charlie Furbush, outfielder Casper Wells, third baseman Francisco Martinez and a player to be named later.

Furbush is a 25-yr old left-handed strikeout pitcher that was used as both a starter and reliever by the Tigers. No word yet if he’ll replace Fister in the rotation or Pauley in the pen. Wells is a fourth outfielder that can play all three outfield spots, but doesn’t hit much.  Martinez is a highly touted third baseman, but only the second best hot corner man in the Tigers organization. The 20-yr old Venezuelan is still developing his power, but had pretty good splits (.282/.319/.405) for Single-A Erie.

Arizona – Washington: The Diamondbacks added to their rotation by sending infielder Zach Walter, a former 9th round draft pick, to the Nationals for veteran starter Jason Marquis. The soon-to-be 33-yr old joins his sixth organization after 1+ seasons in the Nation’s capital. Marquis was 8-5, 3.95 in 20 starts this season and averaged six innings each time out. With a WHIP over 1.4 and 0.8 WAR, Marquis is a shaky back-end-of-the-rotation starter. He missed most of last season with elbow surgery.

Rumors

Ubaldo Jimenez: The Rockies have reportedly lowered their demands since they have yet to make a deal.  The Red Sox, Reds, and Indians are said to be negotiating the most, while the Yankees are still in play.

Hiroku Kuroda: The Dodgers right-hander really doesn’t want to leave LA, but has reportedly told the cash-strapped team that he’d be willing to accept a trade to the Rangers, Red Sox, or Yankees.

Josh Willingham and Ryan Ludwick: The A’s and Padres outfielders are still being talked about and are expected to be moved at some point this weekend. Right now it appears A’s GM Billy Beane is asking too much for Willingham.

Heath Bell: Unless the Padres lower their demands, the team’s closer won’t be going anywhere.

Denard Span: The Nationals have been working for days to try to land the Twins’ outfielder. A rumor spread earlier this afternoon that the Twins were trying to get the Yankees involved in a possible three-team deal.

Rafael Furcal: The shell-of-himself shortstop is close to being sent from the Dodgers to the Cardinals.

Update 7:20 PM

Hiroki Kuroda has refused to waive his no-trade clause and will remain an LA Dodger. The ramifications of Kuroda off the market is that the Rockies can now boost their asking price back up for Ubaldo Jimenez.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Long before that though, the future Hall of Fame member was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1890. He was a good athlete growing up and quit high school to play for the Kansas City Blues of the American Association. He later played in the Northern Association and the Blue Grass League, but still studied to become a dentist.  Obviously, baseball won out and Stengel was chosen by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1911 draft. He appeared in 17 games for the Dodgers in 1912, hitting .316 with one home run and 13 RBI.

Stengel hit .284 in six seasons in Brooklyn (who were known as the Dodgers, Superbas, and Robins during that time; they didn’t become the Dodgers full time until 1931.), and helped lead them to the World Series in 1916. He was 4-11 (.364) in the Series, but the Dodgers lost to Babe Ruth and the Boston Red Sox in four games. His final four seasons were in the tutelage of legendary manager Wilbert Robinson.

In 1918, Stengel was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a deal for another future Hall member, pitcher Burleigh Grimes. Stengel was dealt three more times in his career, to the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants, and Boston Braves. One of his best seasons with the Giants was in 1922 when he hit .368/.436/.564 with 48 RBI in only 84 games. He also went 2-5 in that year’s World Series when the Giants topped the Yankees. One year later, he was on the losing end to the Yankees, but hit .417.

During his time in Pittsburgh, Stengel’s reputation for nutty/funny behavior was best exemplified when his Pirates team visited his old Brooklyn team. The fans booed Stengel mercilessly until he stepped into the batters’ box, doffed his cap, and a bird flew out.

Learn more about “The Old Perfessor” in Milton Richman’s 1957 profile in Baseball Digest. Click here to read all about it!

Stengel retired early in the 1925 season to become player/manager of the Worcester Panthers of the Eastern League. A year later he began a six year stint at the helm of the Toledo Mud Hens of the America Association. (He saw some playing time as well in five of the six years.) Then it was back to the Major Leagues and Brooklyn as a coach for two years before Stengel was named as the Dodgers manager. Unfortunately for Stengel, the Dodgers lacked talent and didn’t finish higher than 5th place before Stengel was fired after the 1936 season.

Stengel got another chance with the Boston Bees/Braves in 1938, but the talent level was no better than in Brooklyn. Boston had four seventh place finishes in Stengel’s first five seasons, but that may not have hurt as much as the broken leg Stengel suffered when a car hit him in April, 1943.  Casey missed 46 games, but the Braves continued their losing ways when he returned, though the  team moved up a notch to sixth place. With the Braves coming under new ownership prior to the 1944 season, Stengel decided to resign, saying he did not want to “embarrass the new stockholders…”.

Stengel’s best days were ahead of him though, as were many more games to manage. After one season running the minor league Milwaukee Brewers he returned to his roots as the skipper of the Kanas City Blues in 1945. Then it was three years at the helm of the Pacific Coast League’s Oakland Oaks before Stengel got the break of a lifetime. The Yankees and manager Bucky Harris agreed to a mutual departure after the 1948 season and Stengel was hired. He would wear the Yankees’ pinstripes and road greys for 12 seasons (Kind of sounds a little like the Joe Torre story, no?).

Stengel became one of the first managers to heavily utilize platooning. He inherited an aging DiMaggio, a young  Mantle, and stalwarts like Berra and Rizzuto. Though he would sometimes clash with veterans and maybe liked the attention he got a little too much, it’s hard to argue with “The Old Perfessor’s” success. 10 pennants and seven world championships, including five straight titles from 1949-1953. He was nearly fired after losing the 1957 World Series to the Milwaukee Braves and then fell behind three games to one to the Braves in the 1958 series. But the Yankees rallied to win three straight games and the Series. Among his memorable moments as Yankees manager was his 1958 anti-trust testimony in front of Congress, in which he had everyone in stitches with his rambling style.

Yankees ownership decided to go in a new direction after the 1960 season and let Stengel go. He would be out of the Majors for one season before accepting a job across town with the expansion New York Mets. The Mets were short on talent so they knew they needed a charismatic figure to help boost attendance. The 71-yr old Stengel was the perfect fit, it didn’t really matter what the Mets did on the field. Good thing too since they lost 120 games that first year and dropped over 100 in the next two seasons as well.

In July, 1965, the 75-yr old manager broke his hip getting out of a car and, on advice from his doctor, retired in August. A year later, the Veteran’s Committee selected Stengel for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Casey is the only person to wear the uniform of all four 20th century teams in New York and both the Mets (1965) and Yankees (1970) retired Casey’s #37.

The baseball world was saddened on September 29, 1975 when Casey Stengel passed away at age 85. He was married to his beloved Edna for 51 years.

Also Born Today:

Clint Hurdle (Big Rapids, MI 1953): Clint Hurdle was a Sports Illustrated cover boy in 1978 and was predicted to be a star in Major League Baseball. Though his time with the KC Royals and three other organizations never lived up to the hype, Hurdle has made a successful career for himself in post-playing days. He’s currently in his first year as manager of the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates, who are in the running for a division title for the first time in nearly 20 years. Hurdle previously managed the Colorado Rockies from 2002-2009 and took the team to it’s sole World Series appearance in 2008.

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Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

The slugger? Rick Ankiel. The occasion? His first game back in the Majors since 2004 – and his first-ever game as an outfielder. The storybook moment capped a journey that had taken Ankiel, who today turns 32, from the pitcher’s mound to the lowest level of the minor leagues and back again.

Richard Alexander Ankiel was born on July 19, 1979, in Fort Pierce, Fla. He attended Port St. Lucie High School and the lefty excelled at pitching. During his senior year, he went 11-1 with a 0.47 ERA, striking out 162 batters in 74.0 innings pitched and was named the 1997 High School Player of the Year by USA Today. Offered a scholarship to the University of Miami, he also was drafted by the Cardinals as the 72nd overall pick. He received a $2.5 million signing bonus upon signing in late August, the fifth-highest bonus at the time.

Ankiel’s time in the minors was brief and successful. In 1998, he was the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year as well as Baseball America’s first-team Minor League All-Star starting pitcher. He led all minor league hurlers in strikeouts with 222. The next year, he was named the Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America and USA Today, and again was named the Cards Minor League Pitcher of the Year. On Aug. 23, he made his Major League debut in Montreal. He pitched in nine games that season, posting a record of 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 33.0 innings.

In 2000, Ankiel was the second-youngest player in the league. He posted an 11-7 record and 3.50 ERA, with 194 strikeouts in 175.0 innings and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. He also was named The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year. However, none of that is what most people remember about his 2000 season – instead it’s his performance in Game One of the National League Division Series against the Braves.

The Cardinals had a 6-0 lead when Ankiel returned to the mound for the third inning. Then he inexplicably fell apart. He faced eight batters that inning, threw 35 pitches, got two outs, allowed two hits, walked four, allowed four earned runs – and threw a major league-record five wild pitches before being removed from the game. (The Cardinals won the game 7-5.)

His next start, in Game Two of the National League Championship Series against the Mets, Ankiel was removed in the first inning after throwing 20 pitches, five of which went past the catcher (with only two official wild pitches). He appeared in relief in Game Five of the NLCS and faced only four hitters, walking two and throwing two wild pitches.

Ankiel began the 2001 season with the Cardinals, but still had issues with control on the mound. He walked 25 batters in 24 innings and threw five wild pitches before being sent to Triple-A Memphis. Yet his troubles there worsened – in only 4.1 innings, he walked 17 batters and threw 12 wild pitches. He was sent to the Cardinals Rookie League team in Johnson City, Tenn., where he was both a starting pitcher and a part-time designated hitter.

A feature in the August 2001 issue of Baseball Digest looked at pitchers who suddenly lose control — including Rick Ankiel. Check it out here.

He sat out the 2002 season with an elbow sprain, then made 10 minor league starts in 2003 before hurting his elbow again and undergoing Tommy John surgery. Healthy later in the 2004 season, he made six minor league starts and only allowed two earned runs. On Sept. 7, 2004, he returned to pitching for the Cardinals with a scoreless inning in relief. He made five relief appearances that season, allowing six earned in 10.0 innings, and earned a win on Oct. 1.

But in spring training 2005, after a game in which he threw only three strikes in 20 pitches, he announced he was done as a pitcher and would become an outfielder. He began the season as a right fielder for Single-A Quad Cities and moved up to Double-A Springfield. During spring training 2006, he hurt his knee and ultimately needed knee surgery that caused him to miss the entire season.

Healthy in 2007, he began the season at Triple-A Memphis. Although his average was only .267, he hit 32 homers and had 89 RBI in 102 games before he was called up to St. Louis for that memorable Aug. 9 debut. Ankiel received a long standing ovation before his first at-bat that game, where he popped out to the shortstop. In 47 games through the rest of the season, he hit .285 with 11 homers and 39 RBI.

He remained with the Cardinals in 2008 and 2009, hitting .264 and .231 respectively. He hit 25 homers in 2008 and 11 in 2009 – while also striking out 100 times and 99 times.

In January 2010, Ankiel signed with the Kansas City Royals and began the season as their starting center fielder. He was on the disabled list from May through late July, then was traded to the Atlanta Braves on July 31. On Oct. 8, in Game Two of the National League Division Series against the Giants, Ankiel hit his first post-season home run – a game-winning 11th-inning shot into McCovey Cove that gave the Braves their only victory in the Division Series.

Last December, Ankiel signed with the Washington Nationals. After battling injuries with two trips to the disabled list, he’s currently hitting .230. In his first trip to St. Louis as a visiting player in April, he remembered the kindness and support of the Cardinals fans throughout his many years with the team – taking out a newspaper ad to thank the fans.

Also born today:

Preston Wilson, born in 1974 in Bamberg, S.C. He is both the nephew and stepson of former N.Y. Mets star Mookie Wilson. The Baseball America 1992 High School Player of the Year, he was drafted by the Mets in the first round that year. He made his Major League debut in May 1998 and, just two weeks later, was traded to the Florida Marlins. He joined the 30-30 club in 2000, hitting 31 homers and stealing 36 bases. His most successful season was with the Rockies in 2003, where he was an All-Star and hit .282 with an NL-leading 141 RBI and 36 homers. He also played for the Nationals, Astros and Cardinals.

Phil Cavarretta, born in 1916 in Chicago, spent nearly his entire career with the Cubs. His 20 seasons playing for the team, 1934 to 1953,  are the second-most in franchise history behind Cap Anson. Cavarretta was the 1945 National League MVP as he led the Cubs to the pennant while winning the batting title with a .355 average. He managed the Cubs in his final three seasons with the team, then played for the White Sox in 1954 and 1955. He was a minor league manager, scout and coach for the Detroit Tigers and Mets organizational hitting instructor. He died Dec. 18, 2010, following complications from a stroke.

Christine Coleman is the senior St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball of the Aerys Sports network. Follow her on Twitter, @CColeman802, or email aaronmilesfastball@gmail.com.

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Drafted out of high school by the Astros in 1973, Puhl spent just four seasons in the minor leagues before joining the big league club. He hit .296 in the minors, and didn’t miss a beat when he hit .301 in 60 games with the Astros in 1977.

Michael Janofsky of the Miami Herald wrote about the potential for four players to break out in the 1980′s, including Terry Puhl, in a July 1981 issue of Baseball Digest. Click here to check it out!

Puhl’s immediate impact on the lineup was evident, as he earned his first and only All-Star nod in his first full season in 1978. By 1980, Puhl helped the Astros to their first franchise trip to the postseason, hitting .526 in a losing effort to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS.  His .526 average was, at that time, a record for a single series batting average.  The Astros reached the postseason in 1981, but fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers; Puhl hit just .190 in the five game series.

Puhl rebounded to provide a solid offense for the Astros over the course of the early to mid 1980′s.  By 1985, Puhl was hampered by injuries and transitioned to a part time player over the next few seasons.  The Astros returned to the NLCS in 1986 against the New York Mets, and the opportunity provided Puhl another chance to show flashes of his early years. In just three at bats, he had two singles and a stolen base.

In the late 1980′s, the outfielder has a resurgence, first as a pinch hitter(.303 batting average in 1988). When he earned more playing time in 1989 than he had in the previous five years, he responded with a .271 average on the season. It essentially became the swan song for Terry Puhl, as injuries shortened his 1990 season, at least in Houston.

Following the 1990 season,  he was signed by and subsequently released by the New York Mets prior to the start of the 1991 season and the Kansas City Royals scooped him up. He played just 15 games with the Royals before being released in early June of that year. He retired with a .280 batting average, and an OPS of 112 over 15 seasons.  He also ranks first all-time with a .994 fielding percentage for right fielders since 1954.

Since retirement, Puhl has been inducted into the Saskachewan Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame.  He has since become a manager, first with the Canadian National Olympic team, and most recently as the head coach of the University of Houston at Victoria.  His collegiate managing record stands at 96-44 over three seasons.

Also Born Today:

Alan Ashby(b.1951), logged 17 seasons in the big leagues as a catcher and may be best remembered for catching three no hitters in his career. His career in Houston overlapped with Terry Puhl’s, and both were a member of the team during their several postseason appearances.

Ivey Wingo(b.1890), played 17 seasons, mostly with the Cincinnati Reds.  He was a member of the 1919 World Series Champion Reds, the winner of the infamous Black Sox Scandal. Wingo was not known for his defense, as he led the league in errors by a catcher on seven different occasions.

Michael Maher is a senior writer with BaseballDigest.com.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BD_Maher or check out his blog.

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New Hometown:

It really hasn’t been that difficult. They have kind of the same philosophy. The hardest part is just meeting new people. It didn’t take me long to make friends. I feel like I was drafted by the Royals. I feel at home.

In The Zone:

Everything is working for me. If you can get all your pitches over for strikes it’s going to help you. I’m working off my fastball and I just go out there and try to throw strikes. I just feel comfortable on the mound right now. I feel at ease.

Precision:

The higher you go the better the hitters are and the more pitches they lay off. You have to be somewhat perfect with your pitches. You can’t make too many mistakes. You have to keep the ball down in the zone and throw pitches for strikes.

No Mind Games:

[I don't really] feel pressure. There’s pressure in anything you do. It’s gotten magnified becuase I was in the [Zach] Greineke trade. It’s a pressure-situation, but you can’t dwell on them. If I start thinking about it, I’ll start doing things I don’t normally do. You just can’t focus on things like that.

Steve Laubber:

Strength/Weakness:

Jake’s biggest strength is his fastball. He has a smooth delivery and the ball really comes out of his hand well. He gets on the hitter and he’ll throw the ball by them. He has times that he locates the ball really well, at times he has pitches up too much. He doesn’t tend to get hit at this level. But we think at the next level he’ll get hit more, so that’s our biggest priority working with him.

Off-speed:

His pitches are good. His curveball, slider and changeup are all pretty good. He just needs to use them more. If he beats people with his fastball here, his tendency is to keep throwing his fastball to the point that his repetitions on his curve, slider, and change are not high enough. Those pitches are going to get better with more use.

Strikeouts:

He shows himself to have ability to throw the ball on the corners. But sometimes we think he tries to be a little too fine and rely on the umpire to call some pitches, and then when he doesn’t get the call it runs his pitch count up. He doesn’t have to throw and be that fine. That’s something we’re trying to teach him.

Innings Monitor:

At the pace he’s going he will not be a huge amount over last’s years numbers. 25-30 innings more with each year is usually how it goes. I think he told me he threw 130 innings last year, if he goes 155 or 160 that will obviously mean he’s getting people out. That means he’s averaging six innings an outing. If he’s doing that, he’s getting the experience he needs.

Walks:

His walks per game are usually good. I think he’s only had one game where he walked three guys, so usually it’s one walk, maybe two.

Staying Composed:

I think he’s gotten frustrated really only one game. But I think he was frustrated because he thought he’d made pitches that could have been called and they’re might have been a couple, but that’s something he has to work through like every young pitcher.

Odorizzi is 5-2 with a 2.71 ERA in 66.1 innings this season. He’s given up 57 hits, allowed 24 runs, 20 earned runs, and 20 walks. He’s struck out 93.

His initial call up to the Majors was an embarrassment- a little fish in a big pond. He couldn’t hit big league pitching and even worse, he looked like an ant trying to cover Yankee Stadium’s spacious centerfield and the adjacent gaps. He eventually worked his way up to a regular position, but performed miserably in 2008 and was sent to the minors. But Cabrera came into the 2009 season with a different attitude and eventually overtook Brett Gardner as the starting centerfielder. It was then that the Melkman began to deliver.

The Yankees had a number of new players and a new tradition, including pie ala A.J. Burnett in the face of any walk-off winning run producer. It began early in the season, April 22nd against Oakland- a 14-inning affair was decided when Cabrera hit his second home run of the game for a 9-7 victory. On May 24, the Yankees rallied in the 9th against the Philadelphia Phillies and closer Brad Lidge. Down 4-2 entering the inning, the Yankees tied things up and had the winning run on second base. That’s when Cabrera singled to bring home his best buddy, Robinson Cano, with the winner.

Cabrera wasn’t just a walk-off wizard with the eventual champion Yankees, he excelled at the plate when the innings grew late. There was an 8th inning game-winning home run against Texas in June and an RBI single in the same frame to top the Angels in the first game in May. In late and close games, he hit .304 with 19 RBI and a .754 OPS.  Though he wasn’t credited with a walk-off salutation, it was his 13th inning grounder in Game 2 of the ALCS that Maicer Izturis threw away to give the Yankees the win.

But the Yankees were not completely happy with Cabrera, most likely because of his relationship/influence on Cano, as well as his tendency to carry too much weight on his six-foot frame. Cabrera was jettisoned to Atlanta after the season and his offense plummeted. His OPS dropped to .671 and he drove in just 42 runs in 509 plate appearances. But the Melkman still had some late inning deliveries in him. An August 2-run single in the 9th inning toppled the Dodgers at Turner Field. In May, Cabrera’s infield single combined with a David Wright error gave the Braves a last inning 3-2 win over the New York Mets.

Cabrera moved on again for the 2011 season after Atlanta released him in October. This season is on average about 20 games old, but Kansas City has quickly learned the lore of  “late inning Melky”. Cabrera provided the game winning, 12th inning hit on April 5th to push the Royals’ record to 4-1. Two weeks later, Cabrera threw out the Indians’ Carlos Santana at the plate in the 8th inning to hold the Royals deficit at two. Then in the 9th, he capped off a three run rally with the game winning single. The Melkman had left his calling card once again.

Though he has had an up and down career with the bat, Cabrera has maintained his late inning heroics. His nine walk-off winners since 2006 are the third highest total in Major League baseball (only Andre Ethier (11), and Ryan Zimmerman (10) have more). He may not have a Hall of Fame career, he may be relegated to the bench at some point, but when the game is on the line, fans know that Melky Cabrera can be counted on to set off a celebration.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Salazar, who played for the 1984 pennant winning San Diego Padres, was leaning on the railing at the top of the dugout when he was struck. Thankfully, no brain damage occurred, but his left eye was removed Tuesday after undergoing three surgeries in attempt to save it.

AL East

Baltimore: What would a season be without Brian Roberts having some kind of physical issue? This spring it’s been his back acting up after a head first slide into 1st base tweaked something. Buck Showalter told MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli that Roberts has a 50/50 chance of playing this weekend.  First year Oriole Derrek Lee has yet to see game action due to tendinitis in his right wrist, but may also play this weekend. Pitcher Koji Uehara (sore elbow) is scheduled for a bullpen session, while catcher Craig Tatum’s fight to be the back up to Matt Wieters continues to be delayed by a sore oblique. Free agent pick up Justin Duchscherer is still a couple of days away from throwing as he continues to recover from hip surgery.

Boston: J.D. Drew was considering retirement earlier this year, but his nagging left hamstring inury feels great now and he’s ready to split outfield time with Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron.

New York: Joba Chamberlain is out indefinitely, but Sergio Mitre has begun to throw again after both suffered strained obliques. Francisco Cervelli has, for the moment at least, lost the back up catching job after he fractured his foot on March 2. He’ll be out until mid-April.

Tampa Bay: Reliever J.P. Howell is not expected back in the majors until May as he continues to rehab from shoulder surgery. Shortstop Reid Brignac missed some time last week with a sore groin, but is back in action. Jeremy Hellickson finally pitched in a game last Friday after missing time with a bad hammy.

Toronto: It’s slow and steady for possible closer Frank Francisco after his right pec tightened up on him while throwing. Having thrown in only two games this spring it is not likely Francisco will be ready for the season opener. That means Jon Rauch or Jason Frasor could open the season as closer. New manager John Farrell told the Toronto Sun, “While warming up in his last scheduled outing he felt some tightness in his right pec. He came in yesterday, threw long toss and another 15 pitches off the mound. He improved as far as the feeling goes but we’re going to work him through some long toss and continue on the flat ground.”

“We feel like if we can get him three or four games (additional) before we leave camp he’ll be fine. He’s not overly concerned or overly alarmed. He feels this is a spring training aches and pains type thing that he’s going through. The red flag is not up per se with Frankie.” The Blue Jays could also be without reliever Octavio Dotel who has been shutdown with a bad hamstring. Farrell also announced that former starter Dustin McGowan will work out of the bullpen when, and if, he’s ready to come back from a pair of shoulder surgeries. The one time highly regarded prospect hasn’t thrown in a Major League game since 2008. 2nd Baseman Aaron Hill has been slowed by a quad injury, but should be ready for opening day.

AL Central

Chicago: Jake Peavy continues his come back from last year’s surgery to repair a torn latissimus dorsi muscle.  After his last start on Monday, Peavy told ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla that he would be ready to go when the season starts. He may miss his next start though with a virus. Dayan Viciedo suffered a broken thumb when he was hit by a pitch on March 10 and is likely out a month.

Cleveland: Grady Sizemore hopes to make his spring training game debut this weekend or Monday. Sliding is the final piece of the puzzle in his recovery from microfracture knee surgery. Since that’s how he hurt the knee, he is concerned. “It’s probably the last thing we’re going to try out,” Sizemore told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. “Obviously, it’s a little bit of a concern — since that’s how I hurt it, and the fact that it’s the leg that I’ll be landing on. We’ll want to do what we can to protect that in any way we can.”

Catching sensation Carlos Santana seems to be full recovered from his left knee surgery, but the Tribe is playing it cautious just the same.  It has included playing Santana at 1st base, something the The Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes spoke to manager Manny Acta about. “It’s all about Carlos getting more at bats,” said manager Manny Acta. “We wanted get him as many at bats as possible, but with him coming back from surgery, you can’t throw him back behind the plate every day.

Outfielder Trevor Crowe has been bothered by a fatigued rotator cuff all spring, but hopes to test it out by throwing tomorrow. The injury has already cost him an extra outfield spot on the Major League roster. Pitcher Anthony Reyes made his spring debut this week after having Tommy John surgery back in 2009.

Detroit: The Tigers official website reported Monday that both infielder/outfielder Carlos Guillen and reliever Joel Zumaya will start the season on the DL. Guillen is still recovering from knee surgery, while Zumaya has been slow in coming back from elbow surgery.

Kansas City: Jason Kendall continues his rehab from off-season right shoulder surgery; he’s played in a couple of games, but is likely to start the season on the DL.

Minnesota: Closer Joe Nathan continues his comeback from last year’s Tommy John surgery. He’s appeared in six spring games so far, and although the results have not been good (5.1 IP 6 H 6 ER), he’s feeling good. If Nathan’s struggles continue into the regular season, manager Ron Gardenhire will simply go to Matt Capps to close. 1st Baseman Justin Morneau is seeing regular time after returning from lingering concussion symptoms. Catcher Joe Mauer appeared in his first spring game yesterday as the DH after sitting out due to off-season left knee surgery. The Twins M&M boys are expected to be ready to go on opening day.

Michael Cuddyer could play in his first spring game tomorrow after having a wart removed from his foot three weeks ago.

AL West

Los Angeles: Free agent Scott Downs was supposed to bolster the Angels bullpen, but he’s out indefinitely after breaking his toe on Saturday. The injury occurred while he was playing with his kids. 1st baseman Kendry Morales, who infamously broke his leg last season after hitting a game winning home run, has yet to play in a game this season. In fact, he’s yet to run the bases and is not likely to be ready for opening day. “He’s going to get his work in here and tomorrow he’s back out there on the progression,” Mike Scioscia told the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett on Wednesday. “He’s moving forward. He still has some things he has to do before he gets in games and running the bases is one of them.”

Oakland: A’s closer and former AL Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey is out indefinitely with a strained elbow. Bailey left Monday’s game in excruciating pain and paid a visit to renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews. Bailey and the A’s were relieved to find out it was just scar tissue that was causing the pain and the reliever should be able to begin throwing again next week. It’s unknown though if he’ll be ready for the season opener. If that’s the case, manager Bob Geren would use Brian Fuentes as closer.

Oft-injured Rich Harden has been out with a strained lat, but according to the SF Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, is scheduled to resume throwing tomorrow. Harden will start the season on the DL as will infielder Adam Rosales who is out until May after having foot surgery. Lefty specialist Craig Breslow is also questionable for opening day as he recovers from a hamstring strain.

Seattle: Closer David Aardsma has thrown on flat ground three times in his rehab from hip surgery, but has yet to step on a mound. Brandon League is expected to be the interim Mariners closer once the season start, though skipper Eric Wedge hasn’t announced his decision. New starting catcher Miguel Olivo missed two weeks with a strained groin, but caught a bullpen session yesterday, and barring a setback, should be ready for the M’s opener. Lefty Nate Robertson will be out a month after hvaing arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow yesterday.

Texas: Nothing significant to note; a nice way to start 2011 for the defending AL champions.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Throughout the history of the game, teams will go through cycles that involve them building, rebuilding, competing and not competing.  Through all of this, fans stick by their club and know when to be excited and when not to be excited.  Fans understand when a team is going through a rebuilding phase.  The Royals, however, are showing the world that a rebuilding phase has never looked like this.

The year of 2011 will show little to the Major League Baseball world when it comes to baseball in Kansas City.  The fan that studies the game, minor league and otherwise, will see the development of a team that will be exciting fans on the west side of the I-70 Baseball rivalry for many years to come.

Starting Pitching: The pitching staff of the Kansas City Royals quickly became one of the worst in the American League in 2010.  With an under-productive ace in Zack Greinke and the consistent Gil Meche on the disabled list, the rotation would suffer.  One of the few bright spots, Bruce Chen, did agree to terms to return to the club in 2011 after a surprising 12-7 season with a team best 4.17 earned run average.  He will be joined by fellow staff mates Kyle Davies and and Sean O’Sullivan and newcomers Vin Mazarro and Jeff Francis.  The rotation promises to underachieve, but the wild card may be a young player like Everett Teaford.  With a good spring and/or a solid showing at AAA Omaha (now named the Stormchasers), Teaford could see significant playing time in 2011.  If that happens, Royals fans will get a glimpse of their immediate future in the here and now.

Bullpen – All discussions surrounding the Kansas City Royals begin and end with the player formerly known as “The Mexicutioner”, Joakim Soria.  Soria has been dominant and productive since his arrival in the major leagues in 2007.  Last season would be one of his best, posting a 1.78 earned run average, striking out 71 hitters while throwing 65.2 innings, and saving 43 games.  Keep in mind, the Royals only won 67 as a team last season.  The bullpen is configured to simply get the ball to Soria and does not have much of anything else worth discussing.

Infield – One of the most productive offensive players of 2010 was also one of the most atrocious fielders in recent memory on any roster, any where.  Fortunately for the Royals (and unfortunately for Greinke), the Brewers took Yuniesky Betancourt as part of the trade that sent the former ace to Milwaukee, returning a defensive gem in Alcides Escobar to patrol short.  Mike Aviles will see plenty of playing time all over the infield, which is something the Royals need if they are going to get things going in any positive manner.  The true excitement for fans will be the young first base/designated hitter tandem of Kila Ka’aihue and Billy Butler.  The young players are quickly becoming fan favorites on and off the field and their production is consistently climbing as well.  The wild card, and the future, here are the young studs Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas.  Both of which are going to challenge the Royals management to find a place for them sooner rather than later.  The young men handle themselves with respect towards the game and those around them while also playing the game at a level that has every baseball writer everywhere talking about the Royals for the first time in a very long time.

Outfield – A completely retooled outfield will see the team rely on Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur, along with youngster Alex Gordon, to hold down the field for 2011.  Youngsters Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson will not wait long for any of the above, most notably Cabrera, to slip up.  The young players will be pushing for playing time early on this season and the team will find themselves in a position early on to let the kids play to evaluate what they might bring to the table in 2012.

In 1969, the Kansas City Royals would staff their first club by way of the expansion draft.  During that season, Moe Drabowsky would sit down with Joe McGruff of the Kansas City Star to discuss his return to the city as part of the expansion.  That visit was chronicled in the June 1969 issue of the magazine and you can read the entire story by clicking here.

Catcher – Fans may disagree with Jason Kendall and his declining skill set behind the plate, but a young team and pitching staff will need a veteran leader like him to help guide the way.  That being said, young backstop Brayan Pena looks poised to make his surge onto the team and into regular playing time.  Look for Kendall to be a field coach this year as he begins his ride into the sunset.

Manager – One of the game’s most respected managers, Ned Yost, will lead the Royals onto the field in 2011.  Even from this point of view, the focus is on the future.  Yost is a manager capable of working with young players as they begin their strive towards stardom.  His tenure at Kansas City will last well beyond the mediocre rise of 2011.

Front Office/Ownership – This is the one wild card for the young Royals.  The team will have a very low payroll.  Flexibility will be there to improve at the mid-season point should they desire to.  Fans and experts have clamored throughout the off-season that the worst thing that can happen to this club in 2011 is for Dayton Moore to feel that he can improve this team to “win now”.  The team has to show patience and constraint in the upcoming season and keep their focus on the team they are capable of becoming in years to come.

Bill Ivie is the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com and the founder of i70baseball.com, an official Baseball Digest website covering the Cardinals and Royals.

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