In 2007, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins made a bold statement claiming that the Phillies were the “team to beat in the National League East.” Many questioned Rollins after the Mets had just won the National League East easily in 2006. However, Rollins and the Phillies delivered on his prediction in 2007 as the New York Mets blew a 7 game lead in September and the Phillies won the National League East. The Phillies would be ousted that year to the surprising Colorado Rockies. During the offseason, the Mets acquired Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins via trade. Baseball analysts were already taking the Mets to make the playoffs and Mets fans were ready to print playoff tickets. Enter: Jimmy Rollins who refused to take the Mets this season. Jimmy once again had a prediction, predicting the Phillies to win 100 games. Fast forward to September 2008 and it was deja vu for Mets fans. The Mets once again faced elimination from the playoffs within the last two games. The Phillies clinched the division and were no longer the Mets worst enemy. In fact, the Brewers were not even the Mets worst enemy: they were their own worst enemy. The Mets fell once again and missed the playoffs. The Phillies? They went on to live out Jimmy Rollins’ prediction in a very unlikely World Series. The 2008 World Series did not include the usual Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees. It did not include the 2008 favorite Chicago Cubs or the mid-season favorite Chicago White Sox. No, this year included two teams that for years were in the shadow of the top of the division: The Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies went on to win the World Series behind the arm of Cole Hamels, the bat of Chase Utley, and the clutch saving skills seen all year from Brad Lidge. Hamels, like many great pitchers (Smoltz, Pettitte to name a few) made a name for himself in the playoffs and has the opportunity this following season to truly establish himself as a pitching great. Expect Santana and Hamels to battle it out for the National League Cy Young award. Oh yeah, and here’s an interesting fact: A former Mets farmhand named Fred Westfall was Hamels first pitching coach when he was in the Carmel Mountain Ranch Little League in San Diego and was the first to begin to teach Hamels the changeup. The Yankees/Boston rivalry seems to be fading a little bit for one reason: they aren’t facing each other in the playoffs, taking away from truly meaningful games. While the rivalry will probably never die, I am simply making an example. The Mets/Phillies rivalry is a very good rivalry and has the potential to become a great rivalry. The only way the rivalry can truly become great is a playoff series such as the NLCS. While I do not see anyone on the Mets or Phillies throwing an old man to the ground (unless the Mets resign Pedro in between now and then); the mix of Mike Schmidt and his e-mails, the two best pitchers in the NL in Hamels and Santana, and the two best shortstops in the national league, one cockier than the other, would set up for an amazing playoff series and the start of an amazing rivalry for years to come. (more…)

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       I was going to start this article by stating that for a baseball player, or any athlete for that matter, that “a championship is priceless.” Well, not only is that tremendously cliché, but I didn’t want to sound like a credit card commercial. So, I decided to get the facts about the Commissioner’s Trophy. The Commissioner’s Trophy, given to the World Series Champion each year, usually costs around $15,000 to make. The trophy was slightly redesigned from its original design in 1999, and is made by Tiffany & Co. The trophy is 24 inches tall, excluding the base, and has a diameter of 11 inches. It weighs approximately 30 pounds and is made of sterling silver. It features 30 gold-plated, hand-furled flags, one for each of the 30 MLB teams, which rise above an arched silver ox baseball with latitude and longitude lines that symbolize the world. The baseball also contains 24-karat vermeil baseball stitches. The baseball itself weighs over 10 pounds. The base contains an inscription and the signature of the commissioner.

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Growing up, what was your dream? Was it to throw the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl? Or maybe to throw a no hitter, or score the buzzer beater in the NBA Finals. Growing up, I remember playing the sports because I loved them. Growing up I played soccer, basketball, and baseball. In high school, I played football for four years. While I was never a stand-out player on the teams I was on, I loved the game. I loved every sport, especially football and baseball. If you’re like me, that’s why you played the game: because you loved it. (more…)