The best, and perhaps only, word to describe the past 12 months in Major League Baseball would be theatrical.
There were scintillating individual performances on the field, stunning collapses and comebacks, bizarre espionage allegations, bitter breakups, courtroom battles, extravagant number retirement ceremonies, smear campaigns and tragedies.
And that was just in Boston.
I kid, Red Sox fans, but you get the point.
Before the calendar flips to 2012, it’s worth taking a moment or few to reflect on what was truly an unforgettable year in Major League Baseball.
BEST SPENDING SPREE
Before lunch on Dec. 7 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim owner Arte Moreno shelled out some $329 million on Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, a stunning single-day expenditure that caused even the likes of Antoine Walker to blush. The Angels owner paid more for Pujols and Wilson than he did to originally purchase the franchise. Moreno’s willingness to spend whatever he feels is necessary to win is dream for Angels fans and a nightmare to those who refer to him as “dad” or “grandpa.”
Honourable mention: Jeffrey Loria’s five-day, $191 million spending bender on Heath Bell, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle at the winter meetings was impressive. Over-under on how many years now before he sells the Marlins: three.
WORST SPENDING SPREE
Seven years ago then-happily married Frank McCourt bought the Los Angeles Dodgers for a reported $430 million, mostly through financing. But his wife Jamie, whom he had appointed Dodgers CEO, was allegedly having an affair with her driver. In 2009, the pair split, launching a nasty divorce proceeding in which they have been accused of looting the team’s TV money to finance their debts and forcing the team into bankruptcy court this past June.
Dishonourable mention: Did New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon make or lose a fortune investing with his old pal Bernie Madoff? No one seems to know for sure, but what we do know is that the Mets received a $40 million loan from Bank of America this past November, 49 per cent of the team is up for sale and Wilpon could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in litigation after being named in a suit on behalf of the Madoff victims.
BEST DEREK JETER MOMENT, BY DEREK JETER
You’ve got to hand it to the man; he sure knows how to do things in style. Say what you will about his defence, his alleged parting gifts for his lady friends, or his Tiger Woods-like mastery of the cliché, but after seeing how No. 2 collected his 3,000th hit this past July, it’s hard to argue he’s anything other than a truly special ballplayer.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the Bronx, the 37-year-old reached the milestone by going yard off David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays. In doing so he became the first player in the Yankees’ history to reach the number, and the fourth youngest in the history of the game trailing only Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron and Robin Yount.
The dramatic conclusion to the chase for 3,000 also probably saved the otherwise forgettable HBO doc: Jeter 3K. Oh well, at least he now has something new to add to his gift baskets.
COOLEST MOMENT FOR JAYS FANS
How about we roll three into one? And those three would have to be Roberto Alomar and Pat Gillick’s Hall of Fame speeches this past summer when they were inducted into Cooperstown and when Alomar’s No. 12 was retired by the Jays in a July 31 ceremony at Rogers Centre. Alomar, the first player to be enshrined wearing a Blue Jays cap, is arguably the greatest player in franchise history. As for Gillick, a strong case could be made he has been its most important employee.
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GAME 162: OH REALLY, DAN…?
Where were you on the night of Sept. 28, 2011?
If it was anywhere other than glued to your TV and/or iPad and/or computer, our condolences, because that evening featured the most riveting conclusion to the regular season in MLB’s 142-year history and we’re fortunate enough to live in a generation in which every are-you-kidding-me moment was available to us live.
It was a night when two teams (Red Sox and Braves) completed arguably the biggest September collapses in the history of the sport and one team (Tampa Bay) qualified for the playoffs after rallying from a 7-0 hole through seven, in large part thanks to a two-out, game-tying, pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth from a backup catcher batting .119 at the time.
It was a night when the Red Sox — who had entered the game with a perfect 89-0 record in 2011 when leading after eight innings — blew a ninth-inning lead to the last-place Baltimore Orioles after closer Jonathan Papelbon — who had struck out the first two batters of the inning — gave up back-to-back hits to the Orioles’ Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, for the game-tying and winning runs.
It was a surreal night and everyone who followed it — regardless through which medium — will never forget it.
Want a more thorough –and more eloquent– take on the evening’s theatrics? Give John Lott’s piece a read here.
BEST SOAP OPERA
With apologies to the cast of the Young and the Restless, in 2011 the Boston Red Sox 25-man roster, management and ownership not only gave us arguably baseball’s greatest collapse, but an underhanded smear campaign against Terry Francona worthy of Victor Newman himself.
Their year-long storyline began all the way back to last winter when they were hailed by one local paper as the Best Red Sox Team Ever following the additions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez.
Then they got off to a horrible start. Then they went on a mid-season tear, winning 20 games in July alone. Then they made way too big of a deal over Tim Wakefield’s 200th career win on Sept. 14 before blowing a late lead to the Jays the next day. Then Game 162 happened. Then Crawford began apologizing for his poor play. Then the Boston Globe published Inside the Collapse. Then Francona quit was fired. Then Theo bolted for the Cubs. Then they hired Ben Cherington. Then the John Farrell rumours began. Then they hired Bobby Valentine.<br.
Did we miss anything? Oh yeah, they also lost Heidi Watney to the Lakers.
BEST JOB OF LIVING UP TO THE HYPE
When Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay locked up in Game 5 of the NLDS it was only the third time in the 55-year history of the Cy Young Award that two former winners met in a winner-take-all game of a playoff series.
And on a chilly and intense Friday night at Citizens Bank Park in Philly, the two close friends and former Toronto Blue Jays teammates did not disappoint.
Two batters into the game, the Cardinals went up 1-0, but that would be it for the scoring as the two aces went into lockdown mode from there with Carpenter prevailing after tossing a masterful three-hit shutout to send his team to the NLCS and the $160 million Phillies home shockingly early.
Halladay went eight innings giving up just the single run on six hits with seven strikeouts, but he could only watch as his high-priced offence failed to deliver and then as first basemen Ryan Howard — whose five-year, $125 million extension doesn’t even kick in until 2012 — tore his Achilles’ tendon on the game’s final play.
BEST SINGLE GAME
Game 6. Need we type anymore? Probably not, but since I’m paid to do so and because all of our attention spans and memories are a little worse for wear these days, let’s look back at the madness.
After being delayed by a day due to bad weather (see, poor memories) the Cardinals forced Game 7 with a ridiculously improbable 10-9 win in 11 innings. How improbable? Twice the Cardinals found themselves down to their final strike.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals were trailing 7-5 with David Freese down in the count 1-2 and with runners at first (Lance Berkman) and second (Albert Pujols). Shaky Rangers closer Neftali Feliz (see subsequent Joe Nathan signing) then served up a high 98 m.p.h. heater that Freese lined just over the head of the out-stretched arm of Rangers right-fielder Nelson Cruz for a game-tying triple.
Josh Hamilton responded for the Rangers in the top of the 10th with a two-run shot to give them a 9-7 lead, but in the bottom of the frame, Berkman tied things up with another two-out, two-strike base hit before David Freese capped off the insanity with a solo shot to begin the bottom of the 11th.
It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing game at times — the early innings featured several errors by both teams — but as the night went on and the stakes grew higher, so too did the drama and the heroics.
Trivia: Prior to this year when was the last time a team blew a lead in Game 6 when they were one strike away from the championship? That would be 1992 and the Blue Jays in Atlanta. Fortunately for them, two innings later Dave Winfield stepped into the batter’s box with runners at first and second.
BEST LIL’ MAN
Or…
In this corner: Seven-year-old Curtis Hopkins of Acton, Ontario (aka Lil’ Bautista). MLB.com captured his 15-minutes of fame this past summer here.
In the other corner: Seven-year-old Liam Roybal. Each pint-sized impersonator displayed tremendous commitment to their craft, Hopkins by covering his face in black marker and Roybal by shaving his head down the middle. Personally, I can’t see how anyone doesn’t vote for Roybal (he shaved his head!) but to each their own…
POLL:
Who was the best Lil’ man in 2011?
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NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN
Best conspiracy theory: Blue Jays Man in White.
Most embarrassing case of elevated testosterone levels: Ryan Braun.
Worst use of a landline: Tony La Russa.
Best example of collective bargaining: Bud Selig and Michael Weiner.
Best tribute to a lost friend: Jim Palmer on Mike Flanagan.