Ten for Tuesday - Best International MLB Players

Hey guys, Drew back here! Yesterday, news was made in Tokyo when baseball was one of eight sports to be recommended to be added to the 2020 Olympic Games. Baseball hasn't been much of a success when brought into the Summer Games, but baseball's enormous presence in Japan could make for one of the most exciting events to look forward to when the time comes. With that in mind, I wanted to investigate who I would definitively rank as the greatest Foreign Born player in MLB history.

My criteria for this list was simple. Each player I considered had to be born outside of the United States, which excluded Alex Rodriguez since he was born in New York City. Also, the player was only to be considered for their exploits in Major League Baseball alone, and not for their performance in any other league. And as you will see, players who have been caught for performance enhancing drugs were not viewed as highly as their statistics may have garnered them.

Top 10 Foreign Born MLB Players in History

Honorable Mentions - Roberto Alomar (Puerto Rico), Ferguson Jenkins (Canada), Vladimir Guerrero (Dominican Republic), Bert Blyleven (Netherlands), Rafael Palmeiro (Cuba)

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I debated over Alomar and the tenth ranked player for quite some time, and ultimately Robby fell just shy of making this list. Alomar was one of the more underrated players of his era, and he could simply no wrong throughout his illustrious 17 year career. He won 10 Gold Glove awards and is widely considered one of the best defensive second basemen of all time. He also came up within 300 hits of reaching the 3,000 hit plateau and was a 12 time All Star. I've talked about writing a post about the most underrated players in the Hall of Fame for several weeks now, and when that list does indeed come out, Alomar just might come to mind.

Vladimir Guerrero is one of my all time favorite players who never wore pinstripes. Watching him hit was one of the most entertaining sights, and keeping him off this list was especially tough. Rafael Palmeiro is one of five players to compile 3,000 hits and 500 home runs (congratulations to Alex Rodriguez on recently becoming the 5th), but he managed to fall short as well.

10 - Ivan Rodriguez, C, Puerto Rico

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The second coming of the "Pudge" moniker barely cracked this Top 10, which speaks to just how tremendous of an impact foreign players have made on the game. Rodriguez has been labeled as the best defensive catcher of this past generation, but he was no slouch at the plate either. He has more hits than any other catcher ever, and retired with a lifetime batting average of .296. He may not come before Berra and Bench on All Time lists, but he isn't as far behind them as one may think. The Hall of Fame should be calling him sooner rather than later, even despite the PED suspicion surrounding his legacy.

9 - Juan Marichal, SP, Dominican Republic

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It wouldn't make sense keeping the "Dominican Dandy" from making the cut. Juan Marichal was anything but dandy to face throughout his prime, going 154-65 with a 2.34 ERA between 1963 and 1969 alone. He made ten All Star teams and won more games than any other pitcher through the 1960's with help from a high leg kick and fearsome delivery. Marichal may not have stood out much more than Canada's Ferguson Jenkins and the Netherlands' Bert Blyleven statistically (who were listed as Honorable Mentions), but he was one of the first Hispanic pitchers who found success in the big leagues which gives him the edge here. Unfortunately, he was often overlooked because of the pitching-rich era he played during, which also featured legends like Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax.

8 - Miguel Cabrera, 1B/3B/OF, Venezuela

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When Miguel Cabrera calls it a career, we may view him as one of the greatest offensive forces to ever step into the batter's box. He is on pace to join not only the 500 Home Run club but the 3,000 hit club as well, and could achieve much more if health remains to be on his side. This season, Cabrera is mashing .350 with a .456 OBP, 15 Home Runs and 52 RBI, already making up for a "bad" 2014 in which he batted .313 with 25 Home Runs. He is the best hitter I have had the pleasure of growing up with in my personal opinion, and I can't wait to see what more he will do before he calls it a career. It is safe to say "Miggy" will be closer to the top of these ranks by then.

7 - Manny Ramirez, OF, Dominican Republic

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The highest ranked known PED user on this list was as dangerous an offensive weapon as could be in the mid 2000's. Ramirez was a colorful personality for several teams over his 19 year career; always finding some way or another to make headlines. But what would always take the biggest stage was his bat, which helped lead the Red Sox to 2 World Series titles and brought him to 12 All Star Games and 9 Silver Sluggers. Between he and David Ortiz, he fell just short of being listed on the Honorable Mentions on this list, the Red Sox had a 3-4 lineup punch that could not be denied. He retired with 555 Home Runs and over 2,500 hits. Tainted or not, it was quite a career for a man who thrived on simply being himself.

6 - Rod Carew, 1B/2B, Panama

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Ah, yes. Hall of Famer Rod Carew. Carew's sweet swing led him to seven batting titles and over 3,000 career hits. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1967 and won the AL MVP in 1977. He wasn't known for being a powerful bat, but was one of the greatest contact hitters in history. Carew was an All Star in every year but one throughout his 19 years in the big leagues, showing that he was not only a tremendous talent but a fan favorite as well. It isn't much of a surprise that he holds one of the higher places here. His trademark red batting gloves gave him all the extra flair he needed as his batting averages consistently soared to the top of the charts.

5 - Mariano Rivera, CP, Panama

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Rivera is one of my top 3 All Time Favorite Players, and the best closer in history. His cutter was unhittable on most nights throughout his excellent career, and he has become one of the most beloved athletes in New York sports history. His trophy shelf is enormous, and along with his various awards he also was named to 13 All Star teams. He was so good that he alone could change the outcome of a game when he entered, which is pretty rare to expect from a relief pitcher. Rivera will be most likely inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019 when he first arrives on the ballot, and it will be about time by then.

4 - Ichiro Suzuki, OF, Japan

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The next active player on this countdown currently is stuck in the freakshow that is the Miami Marlins' organization, led by General Manager and Manager Dan Jennings. But rather than focus on the now, let's all do Mr. Suzuki some respect and reminisce on the good times. He followed in Japanese hurler Hideo Nomo's footsteps when moving on from Nippon Professional Baseball to the Major Leagues in 2001, and from the very first game it appeared as though he never left. His quickness, precision, and dominance could all be felt in a heartbeat, and he went on to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in his rookie season. He has since made ten All Star teams, won ten Gold Glove Awards, and has racked up over 2,800 hits (not including another 1,278 in Japan, giving him over 4,000 professional base knocks!) in one of the most impressive careers to date.

3 - Pedro Martinez, SP, Dominican Republic

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I'm not one of the guys who puts Pedro among the top shelf of pitchers ever. But I do recognize the impact he left behind with this sport, and how dominant his prime seasons were. Pedro will be on his way into the Hall of Fame this summer after a brilliant career spanning 5 teams in 18 years. His years with the Boston Red Sox were of the most significance; where he won 3 Cy Young Awards in a 4 year stretch (he finished 2nd the other year of those 4). He was a vintage-type performer on the mound; never afraid to unleash his fastball on any player willing to put up a fight. At times, he could be dangerous, throwing at batters to make amends, but that was Pedro. And clearly, if the Hall of Fame voters put him in the Hall as quickly and deliberately as they did, his strategy worked.

2 - Roberto Clemente, OF, Puerto Rico

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When originally thinking of making this list, I was almost positive Clemente would reign supreme over all of today's stars. However, this was not the case. Clemente had a fantastic career, garnering exactly 3,000 hits before dying in a tragic plane crash at the age of 38. He made 15 All Star teams, won 12 Gold Glove Awards, the NL MVP in 1966, and was part of two Pirates World Series winners in 1960 and 1971! He was a true 5 Tool Talent, and was capable of hurting teams on both sides at a Hall of Fame caliber. He was clearly the most impactful and influential man to ever come to the big leagues from outside the country, considering he was the best of the initial wave of foreign players. But one man's talent was able to unseat him from his throne, becoming (in my opinion) the greatest all around International player in MLB history.

1 - Albert Pujols, 1B, Dominican Republic

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The Machine. Since Albert Pujols signed his mega deal in Los Angeles, a lot of people, myself included, have turned our attention to Miguel Cabrera instead. Pujols got off to a bad start, battling injuries, and Cabrera was crushing the ball better than ever before. How could we not drop Pujols with talent like that emerging? Besides, Pujols' contract far outweighs the best player on his own team, Mike Trout, and people like me began to doubt what Angels management was doing. This may not keep up, but 2015 has shown that the best supposedly clean power hitter of our generation is back at full health, and he hasn't lost a step.

Pujols' rookie season in 2001 was just as spectacular as Ichiro's, but the National League was filled with slugging superstars such as Bonds and Sosa, which kept him from also winning the MVP that year. Since then, he stole the show for much of the mid to late 2000's, winning 3 NL MVP Awards, 2 World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, and making 9 All Star teams. He hit his 500th career Home Run last year, and is cruising up the leaderboard (now 16th All Time with 543, chasing Mike Schmidt). This man had a presence that could be felt from miles away in his prime, and it's exciting to see slices of that tremendous past come back on occasion. When all is said and done for Prince Albert, he could potentially reaching 700 Home Runs and 3,000 hits. The only other player who has done that currently is Hank Aaron, but Alex Rodriguez may reach it as well if he hangs on long enough.

People are going to argue that Clemente was a better player than Pujols. That's okay. We as people tend to look back on the past and see it as better than the current. When you're young, you're prone to believing much of what you see, magnifying iconic athletes, celebrities, and musicians to be larger than life and far superior to others of their respective kinds. I'm not trying to slight Roberto by any sense of the word, but if you really compare their statistics and think about their individual dominance in baseball, they can relatively easily be compared. Nobody can match the impact Clemente left behind as a person, but on the field, I'll take Pujols.

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below if you think otherwise!

*UPDATE: Sorry, this was meant to be posted yesterday. However, it's my blog, so I can do what I want with it. Call it "Ten for Wednesday" if it makes matters easier. Times have been especially tough lately on a personal note, and this was the best I could do, but I hope you all enjoy it!*

See Ya!

2011 Topps Hobby Box Break Review!

Hey guys, Drew back here! So about a week ago, Dad bought me a box of 2011 Topps to break, and I got really excited! A week previous to that, we went to the card shop to see if any Topps was in, but the snow had delayed it. Nothing could top a fresh box though! Well, I know this is gonna be a long post, so let's get it started with the product information:

PRODUCT CONTENT
36 Packs Per Box
10 Cards Per Pack
360 Cards Per Box
1 ToppsTown Insert Per Pack
12 60 Years of Topps Inserts Per Box
6 Diamond Giveaway Redemptions Per Box
9 Diamond Anniversary Parallels Per Box
9 Kimball Champions Mini Inserts Per Box
9 Diamond Duos Inserts Per Box
9 Topps 60 Inserts Per Box
4 Reproduction Inserts Per Box
3 60 Years of Topps "The Lost Cards" Per Box
2 History of Topps Inserts Per Box
Look for Gold Parallels /2011 As Well
1 Autograph or Relic Card Per Box

Topps continues to have an addiction to plenty of inserts, especially to recycle the wonderful past designs of Topps history. That was supposed to be sarcastic. More on that later. Also, for the first time in a few years, we didn't have Turkey Red, which may have been a good idea to rest it a little. We've got a lot to break, so let's rip!

MY BOX BREAK:

Base Set: 251/330 (76%)

The base cards this year are ridiculously nice! A lot of bright action photos, many unique from one another, prove that Topps has obviously stepped their game up over the last 3 years or so. I love the Swisher card, probably my favorite of any of the cards I pulled, and only a little because of my bias towards him. I also really like the Brian Wilson base, mainly due to his amazing beard and intimidation he brought to the hitters in the postseason last year.

Gold Parallels: 5/330 (1.5%)

- Edgar Renteria
- Andre Ethier
- R.A. Dickey
- Ike Davis
- Andrew Cashner

A staple of Topps' flagship brands throughout the years, the gold parallels are always pretty cool. This time I pulled a few Mets, iww. I think these cards are more rare this year than they have been in the past, so they may be trying to increase the value of them.

Diamond Anniversary Parallels: 9/330 (2.7%)

- Mark Ellis
- Jonathan Papelbon
- Ryan Raburn
- Jorge Cantu
- Brian Matusz
- Mike Napoli
- Mark Buehrle
- Wade LeBlanc
- Rafael Soriano

These cards have created some of the biggest buzz of all of the cards released in this product, and there's good reason why. These are really cool looking, and while an occasional blogger hates on them, I feel that they are the nicest cards in the product. I didn't pull the strongest group of players, but I didn't mind Mark Buehrle and Rafael Soriano.

Black Parallel: 1 (Andrew Bailey)

Oh man, that's nice. Not too bad of a pull, numbered 11/60 of one of my favorite closers in baseball. The card is off center but I love the black border concept, so this probably will be a keeper for me.

ToppsTown: 36/50 (72%)

Topps, I know you really want to get kids involved in this, but coming from a kid (me), this insert set sucks. It's improved this year, I will say, but the concept, design, and boringness (if that's a word) is extremely stupid. I will beg and beg that these are gone next year.

60 Years of Topps: 12/59 (20%)

- Roy Campanella
- Frank Robinson
- Reggie Jackson
- Mike Schmidt
- Robin Yount
- Dennis Eckersley
- Greg Maddux
- Barry Larkin
- Mariano Rivera
- Alex Rodriguez
- Vladimir Guerrero
- Troy Tulowitzki

Ok, so what exactly are we supposed to do with these? Can't we just, you know, GET THESE CARDS? Instead of having to get some stupid "insert", either take this garbage out or put some buybacks in! I do like the Campanella one though.

60 Years of Topps Original Back: 1 (Frank Robinson/Brooks Robinson)

The actual card is nice, but the reprint. Yawwwwwnnnnnn.

60 Years of Topps "The Lost Cards": 3/10 (30%)

- Bob Feller
- Stan Musial
- Duke Snider

The difference between this set and the set I just showed is that these cards never existed. Topps maybe didn't have a contract with the players at the time or the set got cut off or due to some certain circumstances, these players didn't have cards in the sets they are shown in. The 3 I got I'm definitely keeping, I have autos of Feller and Snider and boy I wish I had Musial. I love the looks of the Feller card, I bet that would be a famous card if it existed.

Reproduction Set: 4/30 (13%)

- Babe Ruth (BOS)
- Babe Ruth (NYY)
- Honus Wagner
- Johnny Mize/Enos Slaughter

Apparently since Topps is the "Exclusive Trading Card of Major League Baseball", they won't have to worry about getting sued by other companies. Here they use a couple of the oddball sets from before their time, to show off some of the cooler vintage pre-1952 Topps. 1916 Sporting News was Babe Ruth's official rookie card, and it's extremely valuable due to how rare it is. We also see 1921 National Caramel, 1910 Tip Top Bread, and 1941 Double Play of these 4 cards. Interesting concept, but still, not really needed.

Kimball Champions Minis: 9/50 (18%)

- Ryan Braun
- Ty Cobb
- Roy Halladay
- Mike Stanton
- Joey Votto
- Jon Lester
- Stephen Strasburg
- Hunter Pence
- David Ortiz

Now here is a cool insert set. I'm pretty sick of retro designs outside of Allen & Ginter, but these are a hit in my mind. These are modeled after the 1888 N184 Kimball Champions cards, and boy did Topps do a great job bringing these cards back to life. If I'm going to want to complete any insert set from this series, this would be the one. The backs are really pointless though, and they only show the checklist and card #. I'll probably be sick of these by the end of the year because we all know how great of a job Topps does at making us throw up by the sights of a legendary product gone haywire.

Diamond Duos: 9/30 (30%)

- Ryan Howard/Jason Heyward
- Evan Longoria/Ryan Zimmerman
- Tom Seaver/Aroldis Chapman
- Jason Heyward/Freddie Freeman
- Ian Kinsler/Elvis Andrus
- Hanley Ramirez/Mike Stanton
- Carlos Gonzalez/Troy Tulowitzki
- Tommy Hanson/Mike Minor
- Joe Mauer/Buster Posey

Our wonderful insert overkill continues with a set that looks EXACTLY like a pointless set from last year, but even worse! I liked the Legendary Lineage series from last year but it got worse as it went on, especially in the stat comparison they give for these combinations. Ryan Howard: 253 HR, 748 RBI, .279 average, Jason Heyward: 18 HR, 72 RBI, .277 average. What kind of comparison is that? Really Topps? Tom Seaver: 311 Wins, 3640 Strikeouts, 2.86 ERA, Aroldis Chapman: 2 Wins, 19 Strikeouts, 2.03 ERA. Wow...

Topps 60: 9/50 (18%)

- Mickey Mantle
- Ian Kinsler
- Alex Rodriguez
- Carl Crawford
- Keith Hernandez
- Josh Johnson
- Adam Dunn
- Shin-Soo Choo
- Hanley Ramirez

Alright, these don't look too bad. Not needed, but better than half of the other inserts we have here. I think a good idea would be to cut down the amount of inserts per insert set, because when they bring these sets through 3 products as a continuation, 150 cards is a RIDICULOUS amount of cards for an insert set. I like the Mantle and A-Rod but could really care less about the rest of them.

History of Topps: 2/10 (20%)

By far the WORST insert set I've ever seen. I NEED these out of my house.

Diamond Giveaway Code Cards: 6

The concept of this is simple. Million Card Giveaway + Other Prizes= Diamond Giveaway. The cards you unlock with these could be 1/1 base parallels that you can order to receive in person. After you get your card, you get to dig up certain parts of a baseball field, and the parts typically give you a virtual ring, but you have chances to win more.

Of the cards, this 1967 Ron Herbel was the only card worth noting. But I did pull a sweet prize in the Diamond Dig...

Yeah, its a bad photo, but I dug up the 2011 Topps factory set! That means, for the cost of shipping, when this set comes out, I can get it for pretty much nothing! Wooooot! I may still build the set though, because, what else will I build for those months? I'm really pumped about winning this though.

Topps 60 Relics: 1 (Manny Ramirez)

Manny is almost never a bad pull. Having played a lot of his career with the Red Sox and now joining the Rays, I have no clue why I still don't really hate him. I guess I've always liked his personality, and while he certainly doesn't look like he's exerting a lot of effort in games, he has fun and plays the game the right way- outside of steroids of course. This isn't the worst pull, but the value of this compared to the box retail value is just not there. This is for trade of an equal Yankee relic from the new product, but may be negotiable for something else.

Overall Thoughts: I'm a big fan of the new base design this year, but after that, there's not a whole lot more that I'm excited about. The Diamond Parallels and Diamond Giveaways are fun though, and I hope to win some more cool prizes in the future. I think the vintage reprints and stuff really need to be cut down on before they wreck the love we have for some of the greatest cards ever produced. I wouldn't be saying that if they hadn't done it also for the "59th Anniversary of Topps". Also, the duo cards should go, because if you include them as a set based off another design, out of what I pulled, there were 6 insert sets on old designs or concepts. That is sad. Be creative Topps! Even though there's no competition between companies, there's competition between good and bad in collector's minds, and if it's good, you make money, if it's bad, you make less money. Make it good. Grade: B-

Do you agree with me? And what did you think of the box? See Ya!

Mystery Packs from eBay: Is It a Good Idea?

Hey guys, Drew back here. So one day I was just surfing around eBay looking to buy something nice for my PC when I came across a seller who was selling mystery packs. With Griffey Jr. autos and Hall of Fame relics galore, and 2 hits plus inserts for 6 dollars a pack (free shipping), I thought it was a great deal. It seems like out of the 50 packs made total, that I got 3 of the lower end packs. But was it still worth the price? Let's take a look:

So, in addition to the 2 "big hits" per pack, you get a few nice inserts. I combined the 3 packs in this post, but anyway, I love the refractors. I think I liked some of these cards more than the hits. With 2 Strasburgs and 2 Heywards popping up, they made for a nice rookie group of cards, and I love the orange refractor cards, even though I've never seen them before and I have no clue what they are. The purple refractors are all pretty sweet too, even though I don't know these prospects. They are numbered to 899.

Next were 8 Moments and Milestones. It's kind of sad to consider these cards "inserts" just because they are numbered, because this was actually a base set and Topps' dumb concept to completely confuse us collectors. All of these but Sheffield and Granderson are for trade.

Here is a 2010 Topps Chrome Hunter Pence purple refractor numbered to 599. This is a really nice card, and I think Topps did a good job at bringing purple into the refractor rainbow, even though most people would normally think thats a terrible idea. Pence is a solid player, but this is also for trade.

TIME FOR THE INSANE MOJO!! Here we have an unbelievable looking 2006 Upper Deck Ovation JJ Hardy gray jersey card! Wow! In all honesty, this is a pretty awful hit to start it off. Don't worry it gets better, I guess.

Ok, it's not getting much better. Nothing better than a 2006 Cliff Floyd bat card! For trade.

From 2004 Topps Pristine, a Moises Alou jersey card. While Alou was a very good player, and this card is way nicer than the first 2 hits shown so far, the value of this card is close to nothing. Relic overproduction? Maybe, but this is just boring.

Continuing on our journey from junk relic to the next, this is a familiar face in my collection. A 2006 Upper Deck Rafael Palmeiro relic. Again, a great player, but this is just boring! The funny thing is that I actually owned this card, but traded it away a long time ago to William, so now, I have it again. And its for trade. Again.

Woah, Rafael Palmeiro again? I haven't seen you in a while! From 2001 Donruss, a bat chip of his numbered to 550. Yawwwwwwwwwwwn.

Almost done here guys, don't worry. Here's a 2008 Sweet Spot Manny relic. One of the biggest collector pet peeves is used here, and I bet it stands out nice and big to you right now. Red Sox uniform? Dodgers logo? No, Upper Deck, what were you thinking?

The final card is 10x better than any of the above cards, because of the tiny black piece of patch in the corner of the relic. The card is of ex-Yankee Austin Kearns, numbered to 250 from 2003 Leaf Certified. This is a sweet card in person, so I think I'll hang on to this for now.

So I think the most valuable thing I bought with this purchase outside of lots of trade bait was a lesson. A lot of sellers do a great job of showing off the stuff that have horrible odds, and you get sucked right in. I can't be the only one to do this, right? Do you guys think this heap of junk was worth $18? An average blaster produces 1 relic and like 5 inserts, so this owned those odds, but I think I could've done better with that money. Whatever, you live and learn.

Have any of you guys tried "mystery packs" out? How did you do? See Ya!

Johnny Damon Happy.... Again

Hey guys, Drew back here. It took me a day or two to remember how the Yankees played before Johnny Damon, and then after. The Yanks did go to the ALCS in 2004, but if Johnny Damon (and Dave Roberts) were never there, we may have gone on to win it all. In 2005, we got Randy Johnson as a free agent and we made the playoffs but struggled. In 2006, we got Johnny Damon away from the Sox and away from that creepy haircut. We made the postseason year after year yet he never made it far. In the 2008 season, we did not make it at all, and of course in 2009, they won it all. Johnny made one of the smartest plays I've ever seen on the bases, here it is if you haven't seen it before, he stole second and nobody was covering 3rd so he completely out ran the 2nd baseman to 3rd. I couldn't find a great video on YouTube. It was MUCH smarter than the Ruben Rivera play:

Anyway.... Damon wasn't the reason for the Yankees failures, not at all. The team struggled, and several players were injured year to year. Johnny hit .285 with 77 homers and 296 RBI in his 4 seasons with the Yankees, and in 2009, at 35 years old, Damon hit .282 with 25 home runs and 82 RBIs. He was great in some spots and not so great in others. He's fast, and a good outfielder at covering the field, but he can't throw at all. I guess that's an upgrade right there. One of my favorites, although he did get hurt in the process, was when Youk hit that ball, Damon crashed into the wall, and the ball got stuck on top of the wall. That was funny, but not for long when he got hurt

He was on the Red Sox on this play, and it was hilarious. It's on blooper videos all the time, and is another example of "Manny being Manny", as those Sox fans put it. Damon shows off his weak arm on a hit by David Newhan on the Orioles, and Damon tries to throw it into the infield. Manny jumped out of nowhere as the cut-off guy and dove feet to the side of his body to get the ball. It looked a bit like this:

And that is probably the only thing I will ever like that was wearing those dirty uniforms. I gotta admit that that play was hilarious. The best part was that it was an inside the park home run, unlike Ruben Rivera, see top of page for video footage of an epic fail, hahaha.

Anyway, I just wanted to share a few Johnny Damon memories of mine, he now calls Detroit home and I don't really mind, he played well for us but now we have an upgrade in left field with Curtis Granderson. I'm looking forward to the new season, but the Yanks won't be good because of these Bad News Bears. Those guys I hope aren't too much of a waste of money or time. Guess what? We got this guy back too! We're so gonna be contenders, deja vu of 2004, except Damon won't be there and we win it all. See Ya!

New Blog, and a follow up to last post

Hey guys, Drew back here, before I talk about last post, I just wanted to advertise for my new blog, Top Lists on the Mountain Top, which can be found here. This blog is a countdown list blog, and the 1st countdown will be the Top 50 Most Influential Musicians of All Time! So please check out the blog, the beginning of the countdown will start soon. I am truly a fan of new music, whether its hip hop/rap, rock, pop, or R&B, I always keep myself in the music no matter what.

Anyway, I wanted to follow up on last post a little bit. Especially after I read the huge comment from Offy defending his team. First off I want to say sorry for acting jerkish about that, I was just really excited that I thought I sniped out a couple players, especially on the Red Sox. Since nothing has happened with them, and a Red Sox employee made this list and sniped out Yankee players consistently, I wanted to proove that my team wasn't the only one cheating. Of course, the Rangers and Athletics are also up there (especially with Canseco in town, sorry Mario), but there is NO proof at all whether these Yankees caught used them while on the team. Here is a list of who is on and where they used them (apparently):

Alex Rodriguez: Used while on the Texas Rangers, caught in 2003.
Andy Pettitte: Caught using HGH while on the Houston Astros in between his 2 Yankee stints, reportedly to heal an injury.
Roger Clemens: Used while on Blue Jays, although hasn't admitted, this is close enough:



Jason Giambi: I don't remember off hand, but I'm pretty sure he used while on the A's.

So, really, none of the Yankees caught were caught while on the Yankees. You never know though, the only tests shown are from 2003 and that time stint. Some of them may have used with the Yankees, I'll admit. But Offy, that was the one part I saw that really stuck out in that comment, and I wanted to address it. Maybe they didn't say Ortiz and Manny used steroids, but they did fail the test, obviously meaning that they used. That's all I got with me right now. See Ya!

Spot-On Accuracy!!!

If you don't know why I said this check out this link and find out:
http://drewsbbcards.blogspot.com/2009/06/steroids-thoughts.html#comments

Alright guys, I don't wanna brag but I will say this: I WAS RIGHT!!!

Please tell me I wasn't right!

Oh wait, hmmm, him too:

Now once they reveal that Manny supported steroids to Ortiz my story before is exactly the news. If you don't know what I'm saying, last month I posted an entry saying how Manny and Ortiz (I thought) used roids and my entire theory about it. Apparently today in the New York Times writer Michael Schmidt reported that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were caught using steroids in 2003. I said quote: "Manny's HGH he used is a post steroid substance, something only players use after steroids. My guess is that he has used a steroid or two before, maybe even in Cleveland, but most likely in Boston." Spot On, Spot On.

Here is what I said with Ortiz:

"Now, David Ortiz lifetime as a Twin, hit 58 home runs in 6 seasons, with 238 runs batted with 393 hits total. The next year he was dealt to the Red Sox, with Manny already on the team, and he finished 5th in MVP voting (2003). He went on to finish in the top 5 in MVP voting 5 years in a row starting in 2003, and the next year he started a streak of All Star Games played until this point, which doesn't look good for Papi."

"Ortiz's home run totals went from 20 in 2002, to 31 in 2003, to 41 in 2004, to 47 in 2005, and to 54 in 2006! His weight has stayed the same throughout his career at 230, but may not mean anything in the long run. When Manny left Boston, in 2008, Ortiz struggled. I can't find his 2nd half stats from last year, but lets say that he hit 20 home runs total, and his batting average dropped 68 points! This year, Ortiz has 6 home runs and a current .213 batting average, and only 30 RBI!"

Nuff Said. Leave comments, especially you Offy, I know you'll find a way to defend this. I'm excited about this. This is incredible. Ciao!

Steroids Thoughts

I have been thinking. Since Manny Ramirez was supposedly caught for using women HGH garbage, I think I have an idea. The Red Sox were NEVER caught for using a drug like that, and you know what, I think that John Henry, the owner, is covering something up. I just finished reading the book: Cover Up by John Feinstein, which was a great book, and it has given me some ideas. Here they are:

Manny's HGH he used is a post steroid substance, something only players use after steroids. My guess is that he has used a steroid or two before, maybe even in Cleveland, but most likely in Boston. Now, David Ortiz lifetime as a Twin, hit 58 home runs in 6 seasons, with 238 runs batted with 393 hits total. The next year he was dealt to the Red Sox, with Manny already on the team, and he finished 5th in MVP voting (2003). He went on to finish in the top 5 in MVP voting 5 years in a row starting in 2003, and the next year he started a streak of All Star Games played until this point, which doesn't look good for Papi. Manny finished 6th in the voting in 2003. Now take a look of Ortiz in 2002 and Ortiz in 2003.

The card on the right is from 2004, but shows a picture from 2003.

Big difference. But my theory is that Manny Ramirez may have been a steroid supplier to David Ortiz, and someone else, one you will hear about in just a minute. Ortiz's home run totals went from 20 in 2002, to 31 in 2003, to 41 in 2004, to 47 in 2005, and to 54 in 2006! His weight has stayed the same throughout his career at 230, but may not mean anything in the long run. When Manny left Boston, in 2008, Ortiz struggled. I can't find his 2nd half stats from last year, but lets say that he hit 20 home runs total, and his batting average dropped 68 points! This year, Ortiz has 6 home runs and a current .213 batting average, and only 30 RBI! It's not like he didn't get the run support! Dustin Pedroia ahead of him, and Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay behind him. Youkilis came in 3rd in MVP voting last year, and Dustin Pedroia won the MVP! If he can't live with that than that is emmbarressing! Now I want to throw a curveball at you, Kevin Youkilis. Look at his changes from a 2006 card and a 2009 card:

Again, it looks like a lot but he did stay the same weight. Barry Bonds may have been the only player other than Canseco and Giambi that gained a LOT of weight during steroids. Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro stayed relatively the same size, but did grow for sure. The stats with Youkilis. Before 2008, Youkilis had 38 home runs and 199 runs batted in. In 2008 his average went up 24 points from the year before and set career highs in every category imaginable! The only time he has ever been an all star was 2008 and soon to be 2009. He's not cooling off, but who knows, maybe he is taking women roids too!

Alright, that pretty much sums this up. I know Offy will reply to this and I'm expecting some ugly comments from this, but I think I have a point and I'm sick and tired of Curt Schilling pointing out Yankees doing roids and I think his team has to be looked at. We'll end this post with something happy. And this is your 2008 AL MVP!