A couple of months ago, a friend and I were discussing the MVP award winner. My friend asked me whether Shohei Ohtani would win the AL MVP award again. Well, I thought Aaron Judge would win the award. Eventually, the 2022 AL MVP award winner is Aaron Judge and Ohtani finished 2nd in the 2022 AL MVP voting.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I bought some lucky bags on an online sports card shop. After opening some packs, I found a card that truly surprised me. It’s a relic card with a piece of jersey worn by Ichiro Suzuki. Additionally, I checked on information online and it seems that it’s a 2001 Upper Deck baseball card.
In late November, Jose Abreu and the Houston Astros agreed to a 3-year deal. Jose Abreu is a 3-time All-Star and in 2020, he won the AL MVP award. Abreu spent 9 years with the White Sox, hitting .292/.354/.506 with 243 home runs and 863 RBI. He’s surely one of the most dangerous hitters in the majors. However, does the Astros front office actually make the right decision to sign with Jose Abreu?
A couple of months ago, I listened to a podcast show and during the interview, a player indicated that he likes to hit at Globe Life Field because he sees baseballs clearly. After listening to the interview, I was wondering whether he did hit a lot of home runs at Globe Life Field.
Earlier this month, Jacob deGrom and the Rangers agreed to a 5-year deal. After spending 9 seasons with the New York Mets, deGrom decided to move to Texas. The Rangers have spent a lot of money signing free agents in the offseason these 2 years. After watching the news that deGrom signed a contract with the Rangers, I was just wondering whether this deal would be a great one.
Bobby Witt Jr. was a top prospect and in 2022, he made the Royals Opening Day roster. After he made his MLB debut, I was looking forward to getting a Bobby Witt Jr. rookie card. Eventually, I found a Bobby Witt Jr. rookie card while opening a hobby jumbo pack of the 2022 Topps Update.
A few weeks ago, I saw that a card shop sold an interesting product. It’s a lucky bag. In the lucky bag, there are 3 hobby packs and a hit, which is an autograph card or a relic card.
2022 Topps Allen & Ginter was released in mid-November. It’s always an interesting brand for collectors because you might find something unexpected in the packs. For example, you can find some pop star cards inside. Additionally, rip cards also bring lots of fun to collectors.
Topps Chrome is a popular brand for collectors. This year, Topps Cosmic Chrome provides a new selection on the market. 2022 Topps Cosmic Chrome was released in mid-November. After this set was released, I went to a sports card shop to check if this product is worth collecting.
The universal DH rule is back in 2022. Previously, pitchers in the National League games were required to bat and in a game, we frequently saw managers use pinch hitters to replace pitchers. After implementing the universal DH rule, I was wondering whether this rule would dramatically decrease the use of pinch hitters.
It’s December. The year of 2022 is coming to an end soon. There’s no baseball recently. However, it’s a good time to review this season.
A few weeks ago, I saw an interesting post on Twitter. It showed a comparison of two teams. After watching the post, I’m thinking about comparing something interesting.
The 2022 Topps Update Series was released last month. It’s one of the Topps’ flagship products and each year, this brand helps us review some top rookies and All-Stars. For me, it’s a must-collect product and each year, I bought some packs of Topps Update series.
A couple of weeks ago, I was working in a coffee shop. After finishing some work, I began to browse a website of a sports card shop. Previously, I used to try to purchase some packs from that shop. However, a staffer sent me an email, indicating that they had to cancel the order because they couldn’t ship those cards internationally. Nonetheless, this year, the policy has changed and there are some products that can be shipped internationally.
The 2022 season is over. The Astros defeated the Phillies to win the World Series title. It’s the second World Series title of the franchise. For the Astros, a key to win the Champions is their solid bullpen. In the postseason, how great was the Astros bullpen?
During the regular season, lots of fans were watching the Yankees games on TV to see whether Aaron Judge would break the AL home run record. Eventually, Judge crushed 62 home runs in 2022 and became the new record holder. Hitting 60+ home runs in a single season is surely not easy and in history, only 5 other players used to blast at least 60 home runs in a single season.
A couple of months ago, I watched a baseball game on TV. A batter decided to swing and he hit the ball. The ball didn’t seem to be hit hard, however, the outfielder kept going back. The ball actually went deep. Gone. It was a home run.
A couple of months ago, I bought some lucky packs from a sports card shop. After opening some packs, I found a Nate Pearson jumbo patch card from Topps Triple Threads. It’s a low-numbered card and for me, it’s great to add it into my collection.
A couple of months ago, I was listening to a podcast show and in the show, the host indicated that it has been quite a while without seeing any players from “a team” hit 40+ home runs in a single season. Nowadays, hitters tend to hit the ball in the air and there are more home runs in today’s baseball games. However, blasting 40 home runs in a single season is not so easy.
The 2022 season is over. There are so many great moments in 2022. In particular, the Mariners eventually clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2001. Additionally, Julio Rodriguez made the Mariners Opening Day roster and he had a great start in his career. Moreover, Julio Rodriguez and the Mariners agreed to a long-term deal. He is expected to be a cornerstone player of the Mariners.
A few weeks ago, I was browsing on an online sports card shop and I found an interesting product. It was a lucky bag, in which you can get a memorabilia card and an encased autograph card. This product truly drew my attention and I decided to buy some packs.
Watching the 2022 MLB postseason games was surely very entertaining. The Astros just defeated the Phillies in the World Series. Additionally, the 2022 NLCS was quite interesting. In particular, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado were both on the field. Back in 2010, Bryce Harper was the first overall pick and Manny Machado was the third overall selection.
After missing the entire 2021 season, Justin Verlander is back. When Verlander is healthy, he’s surely one of the most dominant pitchers on the mound. He tossed 175 innings in 2022, posting an outstanding 1.75 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP. Additionally, in the postseason, he just passed Clayton Kershaw for the most strikeouts of all time. Verlander now has 230 strikeouts in the postseason. While seeing his record, I’m just thinking about the hitters in the postseason. Which batters actually were struck out a lot in the postseason?
In September, I was watching a baseball game on TV and a baseball analyst indicated a batter who had a great 2021 season struggled against fastball this season. After watching the game, I was just wondering who else had the same problem.
I’ve been watching several postseason games on TV. In a game, I saw a player who hit a baseball hard, it seemed that it was going to be a hit. However, the outfielder caught it. Well, it was a hard-hit ball, but the outcome wasn’t as the batter expected. After watching the game, I was just wondering which batters did have a lot of hard-hit flyouts during the regular season.
Topps chrome is a colorful set and it always attracts many collectors’ attention each year. I frequently buy some hobby packs of Topps Chrome. This year, things don’t change. 2022 Topps Chrome was released in mid-September and I went to a card shop to get some packs.
A couple of days ago, I watched a postseason game and a pitcher who had pitched well during the regular season did a great job in that game. Over these two seasons, he has been mentioned as a Cy Young favorite several times. After watching the game, I’m just wondering whether he is one of the best pitchers of this decade.
Baseball is fun and watching baseball games is surely a great thing to do in daily life. Meanwhile, I also like to see whether there are any interesting marketing campaigns. During the regular season, I saw a marketing campaign about “10 strikeouts.” Well, I’m not going deep about the campaign. However, I would like to check which pitchers frequently threw 10 strikeouts in a game.
During the regular season, I watched a game between the Dodgers and the Padres. In the game, Manny Machado collected a hit and the Padres scored. Machado was on the base and waved his hands. The body language clearly showed his emotion. Machado must be really excited to collect a hit against the Dodgers. After watching the game, that makes me think about whether he has collected more hits than any other players since he joined the Padres.
We’ve seen that some pitchers did generate more swings and misses by throwing pitches out of the strike zone. This season, some batters decided to swing more pitches that were outside the zone and the results were not truly satisfying.
Baseball is an interesting sport with a lot of fun. For a pitcher, he has to throw strikes. Additionally, he has to throw pitches outside of the strike zone to deceive batters. In the 2022 season, some pitchers did deceive batters well because they threw pitches outside the strike zone and successfully generated swings and misses. In particular, some pitchers generated much more swings and misses than they did in 2021.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw a tweet and a pitcher indicated that he used to toss a lot of complete games in his career. Well, complete games have become rare in today’s baseball games. However, some pitchers still show their abilities to throw an entire game.
Last month, I saw a pitcher who was dominant on the mound and he struck out a lot of batters in that game. Last season, I didn’t see him throw that many strikeouts. Hence, I was just wondering if his strikeout rate significantly increased this season.
Topps Fire is back again this year. In September, I went to a card shop to get some packs of 2022 Topps Fire. For me, I would like to get some cool rookie cards.
October baseball is coming. This season, there are 12 teams in the postseason. And the Wild Card Series will be played on three consecutive days. The best-of-three Wild Card Series will begin on October 7. Before “play ball” is announced, let’s take a quick preview of the series.
At the beginning of the 2022 season, I listened to a podcast show and the host indicated that a pitcher’s fastball velocity dropped a lot, which might cause some concerns. After a long season, I’m just wondering which pitchers’ fastball velocity also drops.
October just arrived and baseball fans are ready for October baseball. But, before that, let’s see which players had a great month of September.
The 2022 regular season is almost coming to an end. For some teams, they already clinched a spot in the playoffs and have to be well prepared for the postseason. At the same time, some teams are fighting hard for a spot in the postseason. During the regular season, for some teams, they decide to make a tough decision, which is to part ways with the manager. By far this season, we have seen 4 managers be fired.
It’s been almost 2 months since the 2022 trade deadline. Several teams decided to acquire pitchers to add pitching depth. As we are getting close to the end of the season, let’s see whether some teams did benefit from making “great” trades.
October is just around the corner. Hence, October baseball is coming soon. Several teams have been eliminated, but there are several teams that are still fighting hard for a playoff berth. Meanwhile, 6 teams already clinched a spot in the postseason. For these teams, what could be the most interesting things in the postseason?
Injuries are inevitable in sports. In professional sports, injuries have not only impacted a player’s career, but also influenced a team. In the 2022 season, several players suffered serious injuries, hence they couldn’t contribute much to their teams.
We have seen that there are more balls hit in the air. However, ground balls still exist in baseball games. And, this season, there are several players who have lots of hits by hitting ground balls.
Last month, I watched a baseball game. The home team was behind, however, a huge opportunity came. Bases loaded, one out, fans looked quite excited. The batter was ready and swung. In the end, it was an inning-ending double play. After watching the game, I was wondering whether this batter is not hitting well with bases loaded.
Topps Gallery is an interesting set for me to collect. I did buy some packs of 2019 Topps Gallery. Additionally, I bought several hobby packs of the 2020 Topps Gallery and I used to open a Mega box of the 2020 Topps Gallery. The 2021 Topps Gallery was released last December.
In the 2019 season, Cody Bellinger slashed .305/.406/.629 with 47 home runs, 115 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 156 games. At the same time, Christian Yelich played 130 games and batted .329/.429/.671 with 44 home runs, 97 RBI and 30 stolen bases. These two players each had a great 2019 season. But, there is only one NL MVP winner. Cody Bellinger was named the 2019 NL MVP and Christian Yelich finished 2nd in the 2019 NL MVP voting. Back then, it seemed that these two players would be the most dangerous hitters in the league.
On August 4, the Los Angeles Angels crushed 7 solo home runs in a game against the Oakland Athletics. Unfortunately, the Angeles didn’t win the game. However, after watching the game, I thought about solo home runs. By far this season, which teams do hit more solo shots?
A few months ago, I was browsing on a sports card shop online and there were some marketing campaigns. I bought some lucky bags and after opening some packs, I found a Robinson Cano scouting report relic card. Well, the card isn’t that special since Cano violated the PED policy twice.
