Another week brings another batch of historic achievements. With the 2007 All-Star line-ups set to be announced later this evening, let’s take a look at who may have increased their chances of getting picked during the final week of voting, and who may have done the opposite.
Biggio 3000 – Craig Biggio’s nineteen year journey to 3000 hits reached its conclusion on Thursday night. Some will breathe a sigh of relief. Over the last season or so, the impending landmark has loomed large over both Biggio and the Astros. Indeed, there have been points when it has appeared to be more important than the Astros’ place in the standings. Whether Biggio has deserved to stay in the line-up virtually every day is debatable (he has played in 74 of the Astros’ 81 games and his OBP is under .300), but he has and his hit total has steadily grown. Still, concentrating on the negatives would be extremely harsh. It’s a phenomenal achievement and the fact that he has recorded every hit in an Astros uniform is something to be celebrated in this modern era where few sports stars stay in one place for too long. Biggio is certain to make the Hall of Fame and he will do so wearing an Astros cap.
500 up – Thursday was a big day for the record books. Barely hours before Biggio enjoyed his big moment; Frank Thomas hit his 500th career home run. The Big Hurt became only the twenty-first player in Major League history to reach this mark. 448 of those homers were hit in a White Sox uniform and it is a shame that he left on a slightly sour note with the organization. Thomas was one of five players who entered 2007 with a shot at reaching 500, with A-Rod being the best bet to get there next.
Umpires strike back – The players always take the headlines, but the umpires gave both Biggio and Thomas a gentle reminder as to who is in charge on their historic night. Biggio attempted to stretch his 3000th hit into a double, but the second base umpire promptly called him out. Meanwhile, Frank Thomas’ night ended early when he was ejected from the game for arguing with the home plate umpire. Record books be damned; don’t mess with the umps!
More home runs – Another record was broken this week as Ryan Howard became the fastest player to reach 100 home runs. Howard got there in only his 325th game, beating the previous record held by Ralph Kiner by a whole sixty games. It wasn’t a cheap homer either: estimates have the record-breaking shot at travelling just over 500 feet. Will he join Frank Thomas and the rest in the 500 club one day? Possibly, but don’t forget that although he has only been in the Majors for a few seasons, he is already twenty-seven years old.
“Bad week†of the week – While home run hitters are having a blast, some pitchers are not enjoying themselves quite so much. Brian Fuentes was having a very solid season for the Rockies, collecting twenty saves from twenty-two opportunities and looking a good bet to make his third All-Star game; however a closer’s fortunes can turn very quickly. In eight days, Fuentes managed to blow four straight save opportunities, including giving up two walk-off homers to the Astros, as the Rockies went on an eight-game slide. Consequently, Fuentes has been relieved of his closer duties for the time being.
A perfect pitching prospect – Other pitchers aren’t finding life so tough. The Brewers have brought through some great young talent over the last couple of years and it looks like they might have another on the horizon. Manny Parra, a twenty-four year old prospect, pitched a perfect game on Monday for the Brewers’ Triple-A team: the Nashville Sounds. That Parra replaced Yovani Gollardo in the rotation, after the latter was promoted to the Majors, shows they’ve got plenty of depth in their system.
Age before beauty – It’s not just the young pitchers who are proving their worth. On Wednesday, Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Clemens, Williams and Moyer combined to make history by becoming the first group of six, forty-plus year old starters to take the mound on the same day in the Majors. While the Braves’ former big three all got wins (teaching young pups Cain, Reyes, and Bowie a lesson in the process), Roger Clemens was dealt his third loss of the season by twenty-seven year old Erik Bedard, who was just five years old when the Rocket made his Major League debut.
Rod Beck R.I.P. – Finally, the sextet of forty-plus pitchers starting on Wednesday only served to make the death of Rod Beck all the more tragic. The former All-Star reliever was a colourful character during his time with the Giants, Padres, Cubs and Red Sox. Sadly, Shooter battled with substance abuse issues and passed away at just thirty-eight years old last Sunday.