As we near the midpoint of the 2006 Major League Baseball season, let's take a look at some of the players that have raised a few eyebrows so far this year.
Kenny Rogers, Detroit: So, you thought his career was over. Well, you're not alone, many of us did. After building a respectacble resume in his first stint with the Texas Rangers, Rogers had a few less-than-admirable stops, including the Yankees, Oakland, the Mets, two more stops in Arlington, and a year in the Metrodome. His career has been spattered with ups-and-downs, bad years following good ones (compare his first and second years with the A's), and a lack of success in towns that he genuinely enjoyed playing in (see Yankees career).
Who would have thought, that in his 18th season as a journeyman pitcher, that Kenny Rogers would be reborn in, of all places, Detroit.
But that is exactly what has happened. In his first year with the Tigers, Rogers has become the first pitcher in the American League to reach the 10-win plateau, he's given up less hits than innings pitched for just the sixth time in his career and the first since 1999 with the Mets, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is better than 2-1 for just the fifth time in his career, and his earned run average, which is at 3.44 at the moment, is his best since '98 when it was 3.17 with the A's.
At 41 years old, Kenny Rogers may be saving his best for last.
Jose Contreras, Chicago White Sox: Speaking of careers that we thought were over, how about Contreras? Here's a guy that could not buy an out at the end of his stay in New York, and now he's pitching lights-out in the windy city.
Contreras is undefeated in his 13 starts with an 8-0 record, and his 3.15 ERA ranks him third in the American League.
Jose Contreras has certainly turned things around.
Tom Gordon, Philadelphia: Gordon began his career as a fireballing starter. Eventually converted to a closer, the Yankees brought him in as a setup man for Mariano. It was an experiment that had just about as many failures as it did successes, but Gordon was never comfortable in the role.
Fast forward to 2006, and we see Gordon back in his old role, as closer for the Philadelphia Phillies. Was his career on its way out? Some people in New York thought so, but back in a familiar role with a team that's contending for the National League Wild Card, Gordon is third in the NL with 20 saves, and he probably would have several more had the club not had some late-inning implosions.
Nomar Garciaparra, Los Angeles Dodgers: This man has gone from no-play to no-can-get-me-out. Nomar has spent so much time on the disabled list the last few seasons that it became a pre-season ritual for fans to start their own pool to see who can come the closest to guessing when Nomar would go down with a season-ending injury. This season, Garciaparra has let the water out of everyone's pool, as he has not only stayed healthy, not only has become an integral part of his club, but he's doing it in style, as his league-leading .362 batting average is 10 points higher than his nearest competitor, Matt Holliday of Colorado.
David Wright, N.Y. Mets: Not so much of a surprise, but this is a player that has got to be mentioned when talking about this season's early producers. Wright is now beginning to flourish and show the talent that he was touted to have, and he's impressing everyone in the process.
His 18 home runs puts him in a four-way tie for 10th with Atlanta's Andruw Jones, Houston's Morgan Ensberg, and Philadelphia's Pat Burrell. He's tied for fourth with Andruw Jones with 64 RBIs, he's in a three-way tie for 15th in the National League with 19 doubles, and is tied with teammate Jose Reyes for second place with 98 hits. If that's not enough, Wright ranks sixth in slugging percentage, ninth in on-base percentage, sixth in batting average, and is tied for 25th in the league in walks. This kid looks like he's going to be a stud in the league for years to come.
Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati: Phillips was traded from Montreal to Cleveland in 2003, and he was considered a bust, as he hit just over .200 for the season. The Indians were not pleased with his production or his cockiness. A Cincinnati scout pestered the GM to take a chance on him in the spring, and it paid off. So far, Phillips is batting .310, he has seven home runs, and 43 RBIs.
Alex Rios, Toronto: In his third year with the Blue Jays, Rios is showing that Toronto's patience has paid off. In his first two seasons, Rios' slugging percentage was below .400 both years and he had a total of 11 homers.
This season, Rios is proving the nay-sayers wrong. In 71 games, Rios has taken his slugging percentage to an amazing .602, he's got a .323 batting average, 15 home runs, and 51 runs batted in.
Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh: I'm putting Sanchez in as an honorable mention. His numbers are not mind-blowing, but they have improved. In his third season with the Bucs, Sanchez is developing as a hitter, as he's second in the National League with a .355 batting average and above-average play at third base.
Andy Phillips, N.Y. Yankees: Another honorable mention because he's not an every-day player, Phillips has been buried in Triple-A Columbus for several seasons, knocking the cover off of the ball and waiting to be called up. He had a couple of cups of coffee with the big club in '04 and '05, but this season, with all of New York's injuries, Phillips has done a fantastic job in his sporadic role. In 55 games, Phillips has five homers, five doubles, a pair of triples, and is hitting .294 with a slugging percentage of .496.
Kenny Rogers, Detroit: So, you thought his career was over. Well, you're not alone, many of us did. After building a respectacble resume in his first stint with the Texas Rangers, Rogers had a few less-than-admirable stops, including the Yankees, Oakland, the Mets, two more stops in Arlington, and a year in the Metrodome. His career has been spattered with ups-and-downs, bad years following good ones (compare his first and second years with the A's), and a lack of success in towns that he genuinely enjoyed playing in (see Yankees career).
Who would have thought, that in his 18th season as a journeyman pitcher, that Kenny Rogers would be reborn in, of all places, Detroit.
But that is exactly what has happened. In his first year with the Tigers, Rogers has become the first pitcher in the American League to reach the 10-win plateau, he's given up less hits than innings pitched for just the sixth time in his career and the first since 1999 with the Mets, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is better than 2-1 for just the fifth time in his career, and his earned run average, which is at 3.44 at the moment, is his best since '98 when it was 3.17 with the A's.
At 41 years old, Kenny Rogers may be saving his best for last.
Jose Contreras, Chicago White Sox: Speaking of careers that we thought were over, how about Contreras? Here's a guy that could not buy an out at the end of his stay in New York, and now he's pitching lights-out in the windy city.
Contreras is undefeated in his 13 starts with an 8-0 record, and his 3.15 ERA ranks him third in the American League.
Jose Contreras has certainly turned things around.
Tom Gordon, Philadelphia: Gordon began his career as a fireballing starter. Eventually converted to a closer, the Yankees brought him in as a setup man for Mariano. It was an experiment that had just about as many failures as it did successes, but Gordon was never comfortable in the role.
Fast forward to 2006, and we see Gordon back in his old role, as closer for the Philadelphia Phillies. Was his career on its way out? Some people in New York thought so, but back in a familiar role with a team that's contending for the National League Wild Card, Gordon is third in the NL with 20 saves, and he probably would have several more had the club not had some late-inning implosions.
Nomar Garciaparra, Los Angeles Dodgers: This man has gone from no-play to no-can-get-me-out. Nomar has spent so much time on the disabled list the last few seasons that it became a pre-season ritual for fans to start their own pool to see who can come the closest to guessing when Nomar would go down with a season-ending injury. This season, Garciaparra has let the water out of everyone's pool, as he has not only stayed healthy, not only has become an integral part of his club, but he's doing it in style, as his league-leading .362 batting average is 10 points higher than his nearest competitor, Matt Holliday of Colorado.
David Wright, N.Y. Mets: Not so much of a surprise, but this is a player that has got to be mentioned when talking about this season's early producers. Wright is now beginning to flourish and show the talent that he was touted to have, and he's impressing everyone in the process.
His 18 home runs puts him in a four-way tie for 10th with Atlanta's Andruw Jones, Houston's Morgan Ensberg, and Philadelphia's Pat Burrell. He's tied for fourth with Andruw Jones with 64 RBIs, he's in a three-way tie for 15th in the National League with 19 doubles, and is tied with teammate Jose Reyes for second place with 98 hits. If that's not enough, Wright ranks sixth in slugging percentage, ninth in on-base percentage, sixth in batting average, and is tied for 25th in the league in walks. This kid looks like he's going to be a stud in the league for years to come.
Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati: Phillips was traded from Montreal to Cleveland in 2003, and he was considered a bust, as he hit just over .200 for the season. The Indians were not pleased with his production or his cockiness. A Cincinnati scout pestered the GM to take a chance on him in the spring, and it paid off. So far, Phillips is batting .310, he has seven home runs, and 43 RBIs.
Alex Rios, Toronto: In his third year with the Blue Jays, Rios is showing that Toronto's patience has paid off. In his first two seasons, Rios' slugging percentage was below .400 both years and he had a total of 11 homers.
This season, Rios is proving the nay-sayers wrong. In 71 games, Rios has taken his slugging percentage to an amazing .602, he's got a .323 batting average, 15 home runs, and 51 runs batted in.
Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh: I'm putting Sanchez in as an honorable mention. His numbers are not mind-blowing, but they have improved. In his third season with the Bucs, Sanchez is developing as a hitter, as he's second in the National League with a .355 batting average and above-average play at third base.
Andy Phillips, N.Y. Yankees: Another honorable mention because he's not an every-day player, Phillips has been buried in Triple-A Columbus for several seasons, knocking the cover off of the ball and waiting to be called up. He had a couple of cups of coffee with the big club in '04 and '05, but this season, with all of New York's injuries, Phillips has done a fantastic job in his sporadic role. In 55 games, Phillips has five homers, five doubles, a pair of triples, and is hitting .294 with a slugging percentage of .496.
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