As the Rangers, Yankees, Giants, and Phillies start the American and National league Championships and take one step closer towards their goal of a World Series title, a slew of dominating pitchers and devastating bats are set to face off. The first round of the playoffs was amazing and we can only hope that we will witness equal excitement in round two. But some of MLB’s best performers from 2010 are going to be watching these championships at home on the couch, just like the rest of us. So this week I’d like to give a shout out to the best losers in baseball for the 2010 season.
First on the list is Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners. Hernandez led the AL with a 2.27 ERA and was second in strikeouts with 232, one less than Anaheim’s Jared Weaver and one more than NLCS Game 1 starter Tim Lincecum. With those numbers Hernandez still managed to end the season only one game over .500 at 13-12. But considering the Mariners finished dead last in their division and had over 100 losses, 13 wins is still a respectable total especially with six of those wins coming in complete games. King Felix is like the Sultan of Brunei, an imposing monarch who rules over a relatively powerless nation.
Our next best loser is Toronto Blue Jay Jose Bautista. After never hitting more than 16 homeruns in a season, Bautista belted 54 bombs this year to lead the majors. Paul Konerko, second in homeruns in the American League, didn’t even crack 40. Bautista stayed healthy, missing only one game this season, and his OBP of .378 was almost 30 points higher than his previous best. Unfortunately for Toronto, all those yardballs were pretty much meaningless outside of future contract negotiations because the Jays finished fourth in the AL East. Bautista turns 30 next week and if he can stay healthy he should be able to show this year wasn’t a fluke. But being in a division with the Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox, things aren’t getting any easier for the Blue Jays.
Another best loser candidate 2010 is pitcher Josh Johnson of the Florida Marlins. Johnson led the NL with a 2.30 ERA and his 186 strikeouts were only five back of his career high. Johnson’s WHIP was also a career low 1.11. The Marlins have played second fiddle to the Rays down in Florida for the last couple of seasons now and 2010 was no exception; the Marlins won only 80 games and finished third in the NL East while the Rays won their division and were just eliminated from the playoffs.
The breakout best loser of the year is Colorado Rocky Carlos Gonzalez. In his first full major league season CarGo led the NL with a .336 batting average and was second in the National league with 117 RBI. He and his Rockies made a valiant effort down the stretch this year, reeling off 10 in a row at one point just a few weeks ago, but ended up in third place in the division. However, together with the emergence of ace Ubaldo Jimenez and the continued leadership of shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies fans have a lot to look forward to in the future.
Although the Cardinals didn’t live up to preseason expectations, Albert Pujols was still one of the best losers in all of baseball. The Machine continued his cool domination, once again making a legitimate run at the NL Triple Crown by leading the National League in both homeruns with 42 and RBI with 118. Pujols’ .312 average was low by his astronomical standards but still impressive in comparison with the rest of the league. But Joey Votto and the Reds came out of nowhere to take the NL Central title from the second place Cards and leaving the Machine to rest and grease his joints for next season.
The last best loser for 2010 is Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. Cabrera also made a legitimate run for the Triple Crown in the American League and finished second in batting average at .328, third in homeruns with 38, and first in RBI with 126. This was Cabrera’s highest average since 2006 and his most homeruns ever in a single season. The Tigers as a team though, were the definition of mediocrity finishing third in the AL Central with an even 81-81 record.
In today’s world of sports, being the best loser isn’t such a terrible thing. Even stars on crappy teams get huge paydays. And if you’re lucky, you might even get bought up by the Yankees and given a real chance to play for something meaningful.
Brett Phelps is currently attending the Graduate School of English at New Mexico Highlands Universtiy and is living in a hermit’s retreat in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. When he isn’t cheating on his homework or preparing for the upcoming ski season, he is a contributing writer at TheGoldenSombrero. Any questions, comments, love or hate mail can be sent to brettsta04@yahoo.com
