Opening Day!

Its is finally here: Opening Day of 2012. Everyone starts out with hope and the promise of a fresh start. Fans get to see their old favorites return, young players grow and develop, the new faces in the lineup, the team chemistry. All of it comes out of this one day.

Its the one time of the year where the Pirates have the same record as the Yankees. Neither team is superior to one another on this day. Speaking of the Pirates, they start the season off by playing their in state rival, the Phillies. Jim Thome of the Phillies will be playing his first game at first base in numerous years after serving as a designated hitter in the American League.

The Mets get Johan Santana back after rehabing for a year and a half to recover from shoulder sugery. Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw are setting out to defend their Cy Young award. Prince Fielder gets to hit behind Miguel Cabrera and the two of them could be the most powerful duo in the game today.

No matter who you root for, their is nothing to dislike about the Opening Day in baseball.



The Top 10

The list of the top 10 players in the league has been release, according to ESPN. This list is composed of five pitchers and five batters. There are two Detroit Tigers in the top four (Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander). The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim picked up the number one player in the league today in this past free agency, Albert Pujols.

Pujols is very consistant and is very rarely injured. The guy hits the ball with great power, but he also hits for a very high average. That is what separates him from a player like Ryan Howard. Howard hits just as many, if not more, home runs that Pujols. The strike out totals and terrible batting average is what holds the Phillies first basemen back.

Clayton Kershaw is ranked at number seven and has the potential to rise to the top spot. When he first came in to the league, he immediately drew comparisons to the great Sandy Koufax. His curveball is devastating and his numbers from this past season are remarkable. Its no wonder why he has won his first Cy Young at the age of 23.

I believe Robinson Cano should be ranked a little higher than 10. The guy hits for average, power, drives in runs, and is very good defensively. He is the best second baseman in the game today.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7769773/ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-1-10

The number one player in Major League Baseball, Albert Pujols.