Julio Franco may be the oldest player in Major League history to hit a home run (he also holds a number of other oldest player records), but Jamie Moyer has established himself as the game’s new Ageless Wonder. In throwing a two-hitter against the Braves on May 7th, the 47-year-old became the oldest player to throw a complete game shutout.
A perfect Mother’s Day
In case you missed it, Dallas Braden guaranteed his place in the record books earlier this month by throwing the 19th perfect game in Major League history. A perfect game is always difficult to achieve, but throwing one against the Rays – the best team in baseball – is that much more impressive. What’s also worth noting is that this was the first Complete Game of Braden’s career. That said, the most perfect aspect about the achievement was that it occurred on Mother’s Day, with Braden’s grandmother, who raised him after his mother died of skin cancer, in the stands.
How ‘bout that?
How about Andre Ethier? Leading all three Triple Crown categories (.392 AVG, 11 HR, 38 RBI’s) in the National League as of a week ago, Ethier is the most feared hitter in the Dodger lineup (even more than Manny Ramirez), but will spend at least the next couple weeks on the Disabled List with a broken bone in his pinky finger. His injury is bad news for the Dodgers.
How about Ty Wigginton? After hitting 11 home runs all of last season, Wigginton is tied for second in the majors with 12 homers and still has a week and a half left to play in the month of May! The Oriole infielder slugged just .400 in 2009 but boasts a .617 slugging percentage through the first eight weeks of 2010.
How about the Padres? Expected by many to finish at the bottom of the NL West, the Friars instead lead their division with a 24-17 record, making them the second-best team in the National League. San Diego owns an NL-best 2.78 ERA and has shut out the opposition eight times – three more times than any other team in the league. Led by a relatively unknown rotation – Jon Garland is the only one with more than 30 career wins – the Padres hope their pitching staff will carry them to their first postseason birth since 2006. (The one-game playoff against the Rockies in 2007 does not count.)
Another season, another ballpark
I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a while, as I’m planning to attend my first game at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago on Sunday afternoon. I’ve seen two games at Wrigley but have not been to the park on the south side of Chicago. I always enjoy visiting new ballparks, and this will mark the sixth year in a row that I will visit a stadium I had never been to before. As a bonus, the scheduled matchup is Josh Johnson for the Marlins and Freddy Garcia for the White Sox as interleague play gets underway.
Keywords: Andre Ethier, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Dallas Braden, Florida Marlins, Freddy Garcia, Jamie Moyer, Jon Garland, Josh Johnson, Julio Franco, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Triple Crown, Ty Wigginton, U.S. Cellular Field, Wrigley Field
