Philly Lists

Another baseball season has gotten underway with a smattering of baseball games on Thursday, and once again spring is here...figuratively, if not literally.

Baseball, of course, is driven by statistics more than any other sport, and the game is filled with wonderful statistical milestones that set apart the mortals from the immortals.

The 2011 season promises to see many players crossing significant career milestones, with Derek Jeter crossing that holiest of holy marks, the 3,000-hit barrier.

Let's have a look at 20 significant milestones that we may see in 2011.

Before the start of the season, I wanted to see which pitchers statistically had the best fastballs, curveballs, sliders, cutters, changeups and splitters of the 2010 season.

Here are a look at the top fastballs of the 2010 season. A few notes:

The Pitch Value data was created by Fangraphs.com. I will be using the statistic, wFA, which denotes the runs above average for a particular pitch—in this case a fastball.  

The Philadelphia Phillies have put together one of the best starting rotations on paper that MLB has seen in years.  Cole Hamels is listed as the number four starter in the rotation, but he has the talent to be a number one pitcher on most teams.  Here is a look back at the other great number four starters in MLB history.

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Albert Pujols will bat third when the St. Louis Cardinals open their season next week. The Boston Red Sox will slot in Jacoby Ellsbury as their leadoff hitter, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Ryan Howard is a pretty safe bet to bat fourth for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Yet not every manager likes to tip his hand so early in camp. New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi seemingly intends to keep fans scribbling and scratching out the names (written on backs of enveloped and restaurant napkins) of Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson until Opening Day.

It's been going on for many moons in leagues across the nation.

In Major League Baseball, it's no different. The rooks get messed with by the savvy vets.

The objective? Humiliation.

Over the past decade, hazing has gotten a bad rap, mostly due to the fact that high-school athletes seem to focus their hazing rituals on cruelty rather then good-natured fun.

While most stories involve cross dressing and costume shenanigans, let's take a look at some funny times in MLB hazing history.

Getting elected to an All-Star team in Major League Baseball means one thing: You had a stellar first half of the season.

Having good timing is everything for potential All-Stars. 

Fast starters are rewarded for their spring preparation. Those slower to come around are unfairly judged at midseason, likely costing themselves extra money in future negotiations and potentially hindering part of their hall of fame candidacy in the process.

With both the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues underway, Spring Training has officially begun. As pitchers fine-tune their command and overall "stuff" and hitters try to refine their swing, the rest of us can only look on in awe, now waiting for the games that actually count in eager anticipation. However, there are a select few who are looking forward.

All major league teams are now full bore in camp and the countdown until March 31st can't get here quick enough. With teams going through their full workouts and games starting last weekend, who are the "old timers" that came into camp maybe a little more fit than last year? Bleacher report will look at these aging stars and see if they can regain or increase their numbers from last year.

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With Major League Baseball's spring training just around the corner, most teams are about done with their offseason shopping.

But for most clubs, that's just the first step—even once everyone has signed, there are still big decisions to be made about who will play and where.

Here's a look at each team's biggest position battle heading into Spring Training.

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Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Don Mattingly.  You know the names because you've heard them a million times, and strung together you probably already know what the topic is: great players who never won a World Series.

In basketball, football and even hockey to a certain degree, greatness is measured with rings.  Despite complete and utter statistical dominance, Wilt Chamberlain is considered by knowledgeable basketball fans to be inferior to Bill Russell.  Why?  Count the rings.