Major League Baseball: 2014 Season

[AnthonyD1993]

Looks like the current MLB dynasty is in California. 3 WS wins in 5 years. That is pure dominance.

 

[Ken]

Giants won it 2010, 2012, and now 2014. Guess who my money is on for the 2016 WS?

 

[ildd]

Giants won it 2010, 2012, and now 2014. Guess who my money is on for the 2016 WS?

Astros, of course

na but realistically I could see them in the alcs by 2017

 

[Ken]

Astros, of course

na but realistically I could see them in the alcs by 2017

I could see them make a run in the next few years. Their farm system is the best in all of baseball.

 

[phillgt2002]

 

[OnlyMe]

I was rooting for KC, but I guess the giants well deserved the win. Great game 7. Bumgarner is simply awesome. Over this whole WS, I've been realy impressed by Joe Panik. I feel that kid's got a great future in the game. Fantastic double-play he made in the 3rd last night!

Only four months till ST Let's see if we can get the trophy back to St.Louis in 2015

Oh, and last but not least: watching Hunter Pence still makes me feel queesy

 

[JohnBM01]

Ever since this past Wednesday, the season has concluded. I've just stayed away from this thread mostly since.


So concludes another season of baseball. Now, all the dealing and such will transpire now that all the games- both exhibition and meaningful have all ended for 2014. Thirty Major League Baseball teams all had the same goal and the same chance to become great. The game has seen everything- walk-off wins, plunked batters, diving catches, long throws to take out batters, rundowns, tags, ejections, arguments with officials... just another day at the office. Of those 30, only 10 proven to be worthy enough to compete for a championship. First came the Wild Card games. Then came the Divisional Series. Then came the League Championship Series. 10 became 8, 8 became 4, 4 became 2... and then comes the World Series. Two Wild Card teams proven to be better than everyone else. Or... perhaps they were the luckiest. You know after all, some say it's better to be lucky than good. And in the crazy world of baseball, being lucky can be a serious virtue. The San Francisco Giants towered over everybody as champions. The Kansas City Royals surely have to be commended for the season they had, though they came up short of the title. So when the 2015 season begins, all 29 other teams will be wanting to dethrone the current and defending champions.


This season has long been over. You're free to share your final thoughts on this season and perhaps even provide your own assessment on your team(s) or even give us something to look forward to for next season.

The only thing I'll say about this season is that it has been pretty memorable for the most part. I'll mostly remember 2014 for Derek Jeter's retirement (since it's been the majority of the talk this season). I certainly will remember 2014 as my Houston Astros finally being able to win games and not be a doormat like the previous three seasons prior to 2014. All along, I've followed the Gallery Furniture promotional challenge of the Astros trying to win 63 or more games this past season. We did that and then some- some 70 or 71 wins on the season. The wildest dream for me as an Astros fan is for the Astros to return to the World Series and WIN it. The 2005 Astros got swept by the Chicago White Sox. So if the Astros ever return to the World Series, they have a chance to do two things the 2005 Astros never did- win a WS game and (more importantly) win the World Series.


Time to look back on this past season. What will you remember? What are your thoughts on how your team(s) did this past season? Let's generate a little extra buzz!

 

[Ken]

My team, the Yankees, sucked. I think Girardi lost the respect in the clubhouse. I also think that we have to many egos and old timers on the field. It's time for a major change.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

The Tigers got swept out of the playoffs. What I fail to get about Dave Dombrowski (Tigers GM) is this- if you force him to be smart and work with a limited budget, he can win a World Series (1997 Marlins), but when you give him a blank checkbook, he can't produce a WS ring. It makes no sense.

 

[CodeRedR51]

If Arizona doesn't finish last in 2015, it will be an improvement.

 

[Blitz24]

If the Mets finish over .500 and end up with a playoff contending team, it will be a successful year. Anything less will be a disappointment.

 

[Blitz24]

Double Post but here are the 2014 AL and NL Gold Glove Winners:
C: Salvador Perez, Kansas City
1B: Eric Hosmer, Kansas City
2B: Dustin Pedroia, Boston
SS: J.J. Hardy, Baltimore
3B: Kyle Seager, Seattle
OF: Alex Gordon, Kansas City
OF: Adam Jones, Baltimore
OF: Nick Markakis, Baltimore
P: Dallas Keuchel, Houston

NL
C: Yadier Molina, St. Louis
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles
2B: D.J. LeMahieu, Colorado
SS: Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta
3B: Nolan Arenado, Colorado
OF: Christian Yelich, Miami
OF: Juan Lagares, New York
OF: Jason Heyward, Atlanta
P: Zack Greinke, Los Angeles

 

[JohnBM01]

I saw on Facebook that Dallas Keuchel was up for a Golden Glove. I'm obviously proud for him on a job well done. He was certainly the finest pitcher on the Astros staff this past season.

 

[ildd]

Glad to see both D.K. and D.J. win the gold glove, D.J. Lemahieu is very underrated.

 

[Blitz24]

New York Mets have signed Michael Cuddyer to a 2 year contract.

 

[Patrick]

Gave up the 15th pick for a 36 year old OFer. Smrt.

 

[Blitz24]

Some awards:
ROTY: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets and Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox.
Manager: Buck Showalter, Baltimore and Matt Williams, Washington.
Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers and Corey Kluber, Cleveland.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Some awards:
ROTY: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets and Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox.
Manager: Buck Showalter, Baltimore and Matt Williams, Washington.
Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers and Corey Kluber, Cleveland.

Damn and damn. I knew Cueto wouldn't win the Cy Young and Hamilton was iffy for ROY, but at least they were clear 2nd place finishers.

 

[Blitz24]

Damn and damn. I knew Cueto wouldn't win the Cy Young and Hamilton was iffy for ROY, but at least they were clear 2nd place finishers.

Hamilton got done in when deGrom was near Kershaw like from July til the end of the year. Also didn't help that deGrom got 8 straight K's to begin the game and it became highlight reel work.

 

[Patrick]

Marlins discussing a 10+ year extension for over $300M. Holy ****.

 

[Blitz24]

Marlins discussing a 10+ year extension for over $300M. Holy ****.

Hell is about to freeze over. Not the one in Michigan.

Your AL MVP is Mike Trout, getting it in his worst statistical season to date.
Your NL MVP is Clayton Kershaw, becoming the first NL Pitcher to win MVP since Bob Gibson in 1968.

 

[JohnBM01]

Giancarlo Stanton- $300M man? That would be some serious coin the Miami Marlins would shell out for this man. I do like Giancarlo Stanton. But THAT much? Tell you what- he'd better deliver a championship to Miami or something if that $300M is to be validated.

 

[ildd]

Heard it has settled to something like 13 years, $325m, no trade clause with an opt out clause, although not sure how many years. Great for arod Stanton, not so much for the Marlins or fans...

 

[AnthonyD1993]

They probably think that he will be the next Miguel Cabrera. You know, the guy who helped Miami win the 2003 World Series as a rookie and made it quickly known that he was going to be a mega superstar. The same guy that the Marlins traded to the Tigers for two major prospects in 2007. Miguel later went on to win the Triple Crown and 2 AL MVP awards as a Tiger while the two guys Detroit traded to Miami to acquire him are no longer in the MLB.

Stanton will be a beast in the future without question. I think that they are playing it smart to help the franchise out in the long term. They made the mistake of letting a guy who had the talent to be a superstar (which, to be frank, Cabrera was clearly becoming somebody by the time he was traded), and Miami doesn't want to make that mistake again.

 

[Blitz24]

They probably think that he will be the next Miguel Cabrera. You know, the guy who helped Miami win the 2003 World Series as a rookie and made it quickly known that he was going to be a mega superstar. The same guy that the Marlins traded to the Tigers for two major prospects in 2007. Miguel later went on to win the Triple Crown and 2 AL MVP awards as a Tiger while the two guys Detroit traded to Miami to acquire him are no longer in the MLB.

Stanton will be a beast in the future without question. I think that they are playing it smart to help the franchise out in the long term. They made the mistake of letting a guy who had the talent to be a superstar (which, to be frank, Cabrera was clearly becoming somebody by the time he was traded), and Miami doesn't want to make that mistake again.

The contract better be front loaded or same value. If it's backloaded then the team could instantly regret the deal.

 

[ildd]

 

[Blitz24]

Russell Martin signed for 5/86 with Toronto.