MLB History

Every year during spring training, there are some prospects that are much more hyped up than others.

As we saw last year when he reached the majors, Stephen Strasburg lived up to the hype. However, for every player like Strasburg, there is another player who is undeserving of the hype that he receives.

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On July 27, 1994, a 22-year-old outfielder named Garret Anderson made his MLB debut with the California Angels. Now, 17 years and 2,228 games later, he is calling it a career.

Angels fans will also remember Anderson as the owner of the franchise record books. In his fifteen years with the Halos, he set club records in almost every major offensive stat, including hits (2,368), RBI (1,292), runs (1,024) and total bases (3,743).

Duke Snider, the great Brooklyn Dodgers center fielder, passed away on Sunday.

The Duke of Flatbush was a Hall of Famer and an eight-time All Star.

But, even though he is immortalized in Terry Cashman’s “Willie, Mickey and the Duke," it’s no surprise that he comes after Mays and Mantle: Right or wrong, Snider is never mentioned in the same breath as Mays and Mantle for the game’s all-time greatest players.

Duke Snider Was A True Dodger Legend

Duke Snider, the famous Dodger centerfielder, passed away yesterday at the age of 84. 

Known throughout the 1950s as "The Duke of Flatbush" (Flatbush was section of  Brooklyn in which the Dodgers home park, Ebbets Field, was located), Snider was one of the greatest players in team history.

Here's a quick look back at the man who hit four home runs in the 1955 World Series, the only championship in Brooklyn Dodgers history. 

Willie, Mickey and the Duke.

With the passing of Duke Snider, now only Willie Mays survives from the great triumvirate that patrolled center field in New York in the 1950s—and the Boys of Summer are down a man.

Will the New York Mets toss a no-hitter in 2011? No? How about slugging a walk-off grand slam, a steal of home, a triple play or back-to-back-to-back homers?

Spring training games got underway this weekend and that means that Opening Day is just a month away.

With that in mind, here are 20 single-game accomplishments up for grabs in 2011.

Some, like a complete game or a multi-home run outing, are sure bets. Others, like hitting for the cycle are less likely, but still very much possible.

I grew up just outside Motown, during a time when the Detroit Tigers, much like the local economy, toiled to stay afloat in the midst of global change. This was the late-1990s.

This season marks the 10th anniversary of the 2001 season, which is famous for Barry Bonds, the debut of Ichiro, the domination of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, and Luis Gonzalez’s bloop single to win the World Series.  

However, I prefer to think of it as the season that was so offensively dominated that it crossed the line into outrageous before simply becoming hilarious.  Over the years, it has become my go-to year to talk about how baseball has changed since I began following it.  

The Phillies staff this year—if they play the way sports commentators and analysts predict they will—will be great. I am not knocking on their 2011 pitching rotation. They have Roy Halladay (two Cy Young Awards), Cliff Lee (one Cy Young Award), Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels as their projected 1-2-3-4 starters.

If one of them does not win they Cy Young Award this year, then I will be shocked. They should be able to win many games and help the Phillies make the playoffs. 

Did you know that Major League Baseball is the only sport where the ground rules are different from venue to venue?  Because of this strange stipulation, each ballpark has its own unique feature, dimensions and quirks.

This is the reason some stadiums like Yankee Stadium are such hitter's parks, and other stadiums like CitiField are such pitcher's parks.

Here is a list of the 20 most interesting quirks in MLB history:

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