Kuzul

Tonight, nobody cares that Josh Hamilton hasn’t played more than 135 games but once in his career. Nobody cares that his past alcohol and drug abuse may shorten the career of one of the most talented players of his generation.

Tonight, May 8, 2012, Josh Hamilton is just the 16th player in major league history to hit four home runs in a single game—and just the fifth since 1986.

Fun fact about the accomplishment: Three of the last four occurrences have been in the month of May, but before that, it hadn’t been done in May since Bobby Lowe became the first player ever to hit four jacks in a game on May 30, 1894. 

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Everyone has seen sports video games in which you can draft your own team from the entire player pool? Well, what would happen if all the current major and minor leaguers were placed into a pool and drafted by the league’s 30 general managers? 

How would age come into play? How would they consider defensive prowess, off-the-field concerns, injury history or leadership reputation? How would players like David Ortiz or Jesus Montero be valued considering their probably DH status? Also, would teams be pressured to reach for fan favorites?

The baseball world would speculate for months leading up to the draft on where top prospects would be drafted, in relation to the established stars of the game. It would be projection paradise. Now consider this scenario… 

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Every fantasy owner has trades they look back on at the end of the year and say “what was I thinking?” But that is not what this article is meant to prevent. That will happen every year because, in all reality, you can’t see the future, so some trades are bound to not work out. 

This article is meant to stop the trades you regret the next day. Its important to note these are not rules, but merely tips and suggestions coming largely (though not exclusively) from personal experience. 

Lastly, I strongly encourage anyone with other tips and experiences to share in the comments when you’re done reading. Every league is different, and no one is immune to bonehead mistakes. 

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Why on-base percentage? For those in standard rotisserie or points leagues, why do you care about on-base percentage? Because in most roto formats, runs are a category, and you can’t score without getting on base. Stolen bases are a category, and you can’t steal without getting on base (cut to frustrated Austin Jackson owners). 

These are not necessarily sleepers to have amazing, breakout years. These are guys who are being drafted in the mid to late rounds and will get on base to help you in multiple ways. 

Some of these players are going as late as they are due to poor 2011 seasons, and they wouldn’t be listed here if I didn’t expect some level of bounce back, at least enough to make their current draft position a legitimate bargain.  

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We are close to three weeks into the season, and few things are going as expected. Some teams have players that are surprising, and other teams are simply outperforming their expectations.

Its a long season, and things change, but some of these surprises are legitimate, and have some staying power. Cleveland may not necessarily be in for a major losing streak, and the Red Sox may not be the 100-win team people were expecting.

If nothing else, these starts have exposed to hot-air-balloon expectations placed on some teams and some players before the season started. Time to get real. (organized from worst winning percentage).

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This is NOT a list of the two greatest hitters for each team. This is a list of the greatest individual seasons for two hitters on each team. 

Steroids are ignored. Barry Bonds is on this list. So is Alex Rodriguez (twice, actually, and not with the Yankees). Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, and other known or assumed users are here. 

Listed by division, not ranked by greatness. 

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Manny Ramirez has announced his retirement from major league baseball, rather than continue with the league’s drug use program.

The slugger is just the most recent in a litany of elite hitters who have seen their reputations tarnished by the use of performance-enhancing drugs. How great could they have been without?

Manny will go down as one of the greatest pure hitters of his generation, and will never sniff the Hall of Fame because “great” wasn’t enough.

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When baseball fans hear the names of certain players, they may not think of their most recent accomplishments.

When you hear Alfonso Soriano, you don’t think .240 and 24 home runs. Anyone who has followed baseball the last few years will think of one of the most exciting power/speed combinations in the game. 

These are some players who have a chance this season to relive their past exploits—some in good ways and some in bad. They are trying to go back in time to a specific year to a stat line we could see them repeat in 2011.  

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Every team has someone they look at and envision lifting The Commissioner’s Trophy. Stop it! There is not a single player in the minor leagues today who will “lead your team to a title” immediately.

That being said, there are some guys to be excited about. These are talented young players who, if handled correctly, could develop in to the next face of your organization. 

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We now know that cheating was a part of baseball for the last two decades. There are legitimate reasons to believe between 50 percent and 80 percent of players were using some form of performance enhancing drugs. For many, the improvements flew under the radar, preventing suspicion.

But in a few belligerent examples of perceived immunity, players exploded for other-worldly numbers. These are a few of the most glaring examples of such seasons.  

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