On April 3rd, Ohtani blasted a home run in the bottom of the 7th inning. It’s his first home run in the Dodgers uniform. Ohtani indicated that he was very relieved that he was able to hit the first homer. Ohtani’s first home run as a Dodger came in the 41st plate appearance of the season.
Pitchers of the Month for March/April were just announced a couple of days ago. Ranger Suarez is NL pitcher of the month and in the AL, the winner is Jose Berrios.
The 2024 Topps Big League arrived in late March 2024. Now, it seems that the Topps company uses this product to replace the Topps Opening Day, which was normally released before the regular season started.
April just came to an end. And the first month of the 2024 regular season came to an end. At the beginning of the 2024 season, several players have shown that they are well-prepared and they have a great start.
The 2024 Topps Series 1 was released in mid-February. Once this product is released, you know that the baseball season is coming back soon. In mid-March, I bought some hobby packs of the 2024 Series 1.
A few weeks ago, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, a reporter indicated a player’s main problem last season. That player is an All-Star. However, in 2023, his chase rate was over 40%, which was really high.
At the end of March, I watched some highlights of spring training games. In a highlight, a pitcher who was a rookie last season struck out the side in an inning. In that inning, his slider was absolutely fantastic.
In late March, I watched some highlights on the MLB website. In a highlight, it showed that a team had crushed a lot of home runs in spring training games. That team didn’t have a great season in 2023. In the 2024 spring training, it seemed that the team was ready for the new season, in particular, the batters looked well prepared.
A few weeks ago, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, an analyst indicated that a pitcher has been the most durable over the last 7 seasons. The analyst kept saying that the pitcher has been one of the best pitchers in the majors.
Before the Padres departed for Korea, they agreed to a blockbuster deal with the White Sox. In the trade, the Padres acquired Dylan Cease, who finished 2nd in the 2022 AL Cy Young voting. At the same time, the White Sox got 3 prospects and pitcher Steven Wilson. This trade is certainly a huge move for the Padres. While reading the news about this trade, I began to think about a question.
Before the 2023 season, the MLB announced three rule changes. One key change is that the size of the bases gets bigger. The base-size change has several impacts on baseball. An important change might be that bigger bases could lead to more steals.
A month ago, I listened to a podcast show and in the show, a guest indicated that a pitcher deserved more attention. The reason why she said that is because that pitcher used to finish 2nd in the Cy Young voting and he’s been one of the most reliable pitchers in the majors.
It’s been 3 weeks since the first game of the regular season was played in Korea. A lot of fans were watching the game between the Dodgers and the Padres. There are so many stars between these 2 teams. While I was watching the Opening Series, I was chatting with some friends about Mookie Betts’ performance. Mookie Betts moved to shortstops in the 2024 season and by far, he’s hitting .380/.530/.780 with 5 home runs and 11 RBI over 14 games. He’s certainly one of the hottest hitters in the majors now. However, it’s just the beginning of the season and it’s still too early to tell if it’s a good season for him.
In the first week of March, Josh Donaldson, who won the 2015 AL MVP award, announced his retirement. Donaldson made it into the big leagues in 2010, however, he didn’t play any games in the majors in 2011. In 2012, Donaldson played 75 games for the Oakland Athletics. Since 2013, he had been an infielder that drew a lot of attention. The last game he played was on October 1, 2023. In total, he spent 13 seasons in the majors, slashing .261/.358/.489 with 279 home runs and 816 RBI.
Not so long ago, a friend sent a message in a chat group. He indicated that a player would crush 70 home runs in 2024. Well, that message is a pretty interesting one. It’s not so easy to blast 70 home runs in a single season. By far, only 2 players used to smash 70 home runs in a single season. While reading that friend’s message, I began to think about a question.
A couple of weeks ago, I was watching some highlights on the MLB website. In a highlight, a pitcher threw a fastball in the top of the strike zone and the hitter swung. Boom! The ball was gone. It was a home run. While watching that home run, I began to think about a question.
Last November, the 2023 Topps Holiday was released. When this product is released, you know that the holiday season is coming.
In late February, I was browsing on Twitter and a tweet drew my attention. The tweet is about MLB's plan to drop the maximum number of 13 pitchers per team to 12. Well, the MLB is considering it and it’s still unclear if this change will happen. However, when I read this tweet, I was just thinking about a question.
After the Dodgers and the Padres played a two-game series in Seoul, South Korea to open the season. The 2024 MLB Opening Day is just around the corner. The new season is coming and we are going to see several pitchers make their first Opening Day starts.
The 2023 Topps Stadium Club was released in late January 2024. Well, yes, the product was delayed again. High quality photos are always the main theme of this brand.
In late February, a package that I ordered on amazon arrived. In the package, there’s a small box with 100 baseball cards. Among those 100 baseball cards, there are 2 hits. The 2 hits I got were 2 autograph cards. However, those 2 autograph cards aren’t so valuable.
Very soon, the Dodgers and the Padres will play the first game of the 2024 season. Lots of fans have paid huge attention to the opening series in Korea for several reasons. Firstly, it’s the first time that the MLB opens a season in Korea. Additionally, the Padres and the Dodgers each have a rich history of recruiting players from Asia. Thirdly, looking at each team's 40-man roster, in total, there are 6 Asian players.
Better late than never? Well, I don’t know if this is the right sentence. But, in mid-February, the process is completed. I got the redemption card.
A few weeks ago, I was just browsing on Facebook and I saw an interesting post on a page. The post showed the batters with a high batting average over the last several seasons. To be qualified, a batter needs to have at least 1500 plate appearances over the last few seasons.
Being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame is a great honor for baseball players and coaches. This year, three players were elected to the Hall. They are Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer.
In the first week of February, the Orioles and the Brewers agreed to a trade. The trade has drawn a lot of attention because the Brewers decided to send the former NL Cy Young award winner to the Orioles.
In late January, Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuna Jr. officially received their Most Valuable Player awards. It’s not the first time that these 2 players received awards. Back in 2018, these 2 players each won the rookie of the year award. Additionally, Shohei Ohtani won the 2021 AL MVP award. While seeing these 2 players receive MVP awards, I was just thinking about a question.
The 2023 Topps Baseball Japan edition was released in mid-December 2023. For me, it’s an interesting set and normally, I buy some packs of Topps Baseball Japan edition each year. A few weeks ago, I saw some hobby packs of the 2023 Topps Baseball Japan edition available in a store. I decided to buy this product to see if I could find something cool.
It’s March. In less than 3 weeks, the Dodgers and the Padres will play the first game of the season in Seoul, South Korea. Shohei Ohtani, who’s a 2-time AL MVP award winner and inked a 10-year deal with the Dodgers during the offseason, already smashed the first home run in the Dodgers uniform in spring training games. While watching Ohtani begin to play for the Dodgers, I began to think about what Ohtani might achieve this season.
The Topps Archives is one of my favorite brands in baseball cards. Each year, buying some packs of Topps Archives is necessary for me because I can collect baseball cards with designs from different years. And I’m looking for some cool cards from this brand.
It’s the last week of February. This week, all 30 MLB teams will play in spring training games. Each team is trying to build up a team that is ready for the Opening Day. In particular, for each team, it’s surely important to identify the pitchers in the rotation. While watching some spring training games, it’s quite clear that pitchers are still building up innings.
The 2024 spring training games just kicked off. So, baseball is back. A couple of days ago, we took a look at some milestones that several hitters could reach in the 2024 season. This time, let’s take a look at the stats on the mound.
According to the MLB’s announcement, the first MLB spring training game will officially begin on February 22nd. Hence, very soon, there will be spring training games. Baseball fans must be ready to watch baseball games in the 2024 season. Moreover, in 2024, several things could happen.
In late December, I was browsing the amazon website, just trying to see if there’s something interesting. I saw that the 2023 Topps Allen and Ginter blaster box was available and the price was reasonable. I only bought some hobby packs of the 2023 Topps Allen and Ginter after this product was released last September. So, I thought that it might be worth buying a blaster box of the 2023 Topps Allen and Ginter.
On January 1, I was just spending time on my phone and saw a post on Twitter, well, I still call it Twitter, instead of X. I saw there was a lucky bad product available. In a lucky bag, a random autograph card was included. Well, it might not be an ideal product to purchase because you really don’t know what autograph card you will receive.
A couple of days ago, I watched some highlights on the MLB website. In a highlight, a pitcher was dominant and eventually, he finished the season with an ERA below 2. An ERA below 2, well, that made me think about a question.
The Red Sox hired Craig Breslow as the Chief Baseball Officer in late October 2023. To lead the Boston Red Sox’s baseball operations isn’t easy. Breslow certainly has a lot to do in this job. Adding a starting pitcher is surely necessary. In early January, the Boston Red Sox and Lucas Giolito finalized a 2-year deal.
In late December, the Dodgers introduced Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto as a Dodger for the first time. Yamamoto pitched for the Orix Buffaloes from 2017 to 2023, posting a 1.82 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP over 897 innings. Yamamoto was posted in late November and the Dodgers won the bidding war. Eventually, the Dodgers and Yamamoto agreed to a 12-year deal.
A few weeks ago, I read an article on a well-known sports media website. In the article, the baseball writer indicated that a former MVP’s exit velocity dropped in the 2023 season but another former MVP’s exit velocity increased last season.
Shohei Ohtani decided to join the Angles in December 2017. The 2018 season was his first season in the MLB. Since 2018, Ohtani has drawn a lot of attention in the world of baseball. This off-season, Ohtani signed a 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's certainly big news in baseball.
It’s February. A couple of weeks later, pitchers and catchers will report to spring training. In the off-season, several teams signed players on the free agent market. For several teams, the top priority is to enhance the rotation. However, nowadays, no one can ignore the importance of relief pitchers in baseball games. Hence, during the off-season, there are several teams which decided to ink a deal with relievers to enhance the bullpen.
The Dodgers front office is quite busy during the off-season. The team and 2-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani agreed to a historic 10-year deal. After signing with Ohtani, the Dodgers didn’t stop. Also, they agreed to a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. In the trade, the Dodgers sent Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca to the Rays. At the same time, they acquired Tyler Glasnow, Manuel Margot and cash from the Rays.
The 2023 Topps Heritage high number was released in mid-December 2023. When it was released, I didn’t realize that this product was available. However, on the day of the release, I coincidentally went to a sports card shop. The shop owner told me that the 2023 Topps Heritage high number just arrived, and I could give it a try.
The 2023 Topps Chrome Update was released in mid-November. This product has become popular because many collectors are looking for rookie debut patch autograph baseball cards. Well, those rookie debut patch autographs are one of one. It’s not that easy to find.
For the Dodgers fans, the 2023 season was a disappointing one. However, in the off-season, the Dodgers signed 2-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani. With Ohtani in the lineup, the Dodgers certainly have one of the best lineups in the majors. Well, Dave Roberts might have to figure out how to construct the lineup. Nonetheless, without many doubts, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani will be the top 3 batters in the lineup.
On December 10, 2023, two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani announced that he decided to join the Los Angeles Dodgers after playing 6 seasons for the Angels. It’s certainly the biggest news in baseball or even in the world of sports. In early December, lots of fans were following the news to see where Shohei Ohtani would eventually go. In the end, Ohtani didn’t go too far. He still stays in Southern California.
In late December, I was just exploring if there’s something interesting on Twitter (X), well, I still call it Twitter. Of course, there were many rumors of trades or free agent signings on Twitter. However, suddenly, a highlight truly drew my attention. It was a highlight of Barry Zito’s curveballs.
Last December, the Boston Red Sox sent outfielder Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees and acquired Richard Fitts, Nicholas Judice and Greg Weissert from the Yankees. The Red Sox-Yankees rivalry is one of the most famous rivalries in the world of sports. However, these 2 teams would agree to a deal, sometimes. While reading the news that Verdugo was traded to the Yankees, I was just thinking about the trades between the Red Sox and the Yankees.
In early December, the Milwaukee Brewers decided to ink a one-year deal with veteran pitcher Wade Miley. Last season, Miley made 23 starts for the Brewers, posting a 3.14 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP over 120.1 innings. Additionally, opponents batted .223 against him.
