Play ball! People spring is in the air and it is now time for some baseball. College baseball started their season a little less than 2 weeks ago. And spring training started 2 weeks ago as well with the first spring training games starting earlier this past week on Wednesday. There were many stories heading into the beginning of America’s past time. Will the Minnesota Twins be able to sign reigning AL MVP Joe Mauer to a long term contract? Will Mark McGwire come clean about his steroid usage when he was a player for the Oakland Athletics and Saint Louis Cardinals? Will Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman start the league as the fifth starter for the Cincinnati Reds or start the year in Triple-A affiliate Louisville Bats?
Some of the most recent news on the contract status of Joe Mauer seems to be on the positive. He is entering the year of his contract that he signed back in 2007 that was 4 years and worth $33 million dollars. Current talks as of now have numbers around the $80 million range with 6 years. If there is one thing for sure, Mauer is worth every penny he gets. This past season, Mauer hit .368, along with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs, to win the AL batting title for the third time in four years last season. He also has two Gold Gloves to go along with last year's MVP for his hometown Twins.
Everyone remember Mark McGwire for his home run record that himself and Sammy Sosa both broke the same year. That record was the longest standing record (which was held by Fargo native Roger Maris) to be broken besides Joe “Jolten” DiMaggio 56 game hit streak. Many believed that McGwire had used steroids during that season, but yet nothing was done since steroids weren’t a banned substance quite yet in the league. This offseason he returned to the league with the St. Louis Cardinals as the hitting coach. The league however took action on the move and made him confess to congress that he took steroids during his career before allowing him to return to the league. Many believe and I do to that there should be an asterisk by his home run total just as Barry Bond’s should as well.
Aroldis Chapman defected from Cuba during an international baseball tournament that took place in the Netherlands. When he defected, he took up residency in Andorra. He signed a 6 year deal worth $30.25 million with a bonus of $16.25 million. He was one of the most coveted international players since Ichiro. He has a nasty pitch arsenal and has been clocked at 102 mph. The Red’s were originally not even in the picture to sign this lefty, as the Mets, Marlins and Red Sox were the original teams favored. What made him sign with the Red’s was the strong Hispanic heritage that was on the team before during the “Big Red Machine” days and the current roster has at least 11 of the 25 man active roster including the pitching coach Dick Pole and manager Dusty Baker. His first MLB action comes Monday, when the Reds face the Royals in Cactus League games.
