|
|
|
A Look at Baseball Batting Gloves
The first baseball gloves to hit the field were created sometime in the late 1800s. These gloves were simplistic compared to today's models. Early gloves were usually made of thin pieces of leather and were precursors to the advanced baseball gloves...
Bo Sox Power
Bo Sox Power As a Yankee fan for over 40 years I have seen many Yankee comebacks. 1978 was a great year. After being down 14 games the Bronx Bombers stormed back to overtake the Red Sox in the one game playoff. Bucky Dent sure had his baseball...
Improve Your Game with Sport Performance Sunglasses
Sunglasses are fundamental in protecting the eyes from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays and eye damage. With the popularity of almost every imaginable outdoor sport such as snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking, rock climbing, kayaking and golfing to...
Paintball-One of the Safest sports today!
Paintball One Of The Safest Sports Out There Today. While
membership in the "Extreme Sports" category implies a whiff of
danger, only Paintball is handicapped by a huge injury
taboo--one that exists in the public mind, but not in the
statistics....
Plan to Succeed - As a Baseball or Softbal Coach!
If it's so easy to coach youth baseball and do it well, why do you see so many poor coaches? In my years as a player and as a coach, I can tell you that my opinion of poor coaching can be simply boiled down to: A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE AND A LACK OF...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Top 5 Baseball Speedsters
5. Joey Gathright- Tampa Bay Devil Ray(OF, Minors)
Joey Gathright has been called the fastest player in the league, he's even been called the fastest man in the world, but he hasn't yet received big-league playing time. Gathright could be that guy, who gets to the 100 SB mark. He'll have to wait however with a crowded list of OF's on Tampa Bay. Joey Gathright is so fast, so athletic that he can jump over a car... the long way. "But I can't do it anymore," Gathright said. "It's in my contract. I'm not allowed to jump over cars anymore. Can't jump fences, either." Gathright could get a call to the majors sometime in 2004. Steals projection this season: 45, between Minors and Majors.
4. Rafael Furcal- Atlanta Braves(SS)
If Rafael Furcal got more SB opportunities he could easily steal 50+ bases in a single season, but the Braves don't send him enough. Furcal stole 25 bases last year, and was caught stealing just twice. With Furcal's speed, he should get twice as many steals as he did last season. In 2000, Furcal stole 40 bases, so why aren't they sending him now? SB aside, Furcal showed his speed last season when he scored 130 runs in the Braves leadoff role, good enough to place him 3rd in the majors. With some of the big-name sluggers gone from Atlanta, the Braves need to find a new way to produce runs, and Furcal will be a key part in that. Steals projection this season: 40
3. Carlos Beltran - Kansas City Royals(OF)
Carlos Beltran stole 41 bases last season, and was only thrown out 4 times. That's a ration of 10 steals per 1 time being thrown out, and thats an amazing ratio. Beltran can not only run the basepaths well, but he hit
25 HR, batted in 100 RBI and batted .307 last season. Carlos Beltran is an all-around fantasy god. He should steal more bases this season, because he missed 20 games last season due to injuries. Carlos Beltran is a 4-10 pick overall, and he won't disappoint you with his speed. Steals projection this season: 55
2. Juan Pierre - Florida Marlins(OF)
Pierre led the leagues in SB last season, so why isn't he the top speedster? Well he did get CS 20 times. Pierre is on a Florida team that loves to run, 5 Florida hitters stole double-digit bases last season, and Pierre was their leader. Batting at the top of the order, Pierre would get on base and then he would proceed to try to steal second. Pierre attempted a steal about once every 3-4 times he got on base. Pierre's fantasy value skyrocketed last season, and he should get around the same amount of steals this season as he did last year. Steals projection this season: 58
1. Carl Crawford - Tampa Bay Devil Rays(OF)
So you might be asking, why Crawford over Pierre or Beltran? Carl Crawford stole 55 bases last year, in his first full season, Crawford stole 55 bases and was CS 10 times. That's 5.5 SB per 1 CS, which is a whole lot better than Juan Pierre's ratio. Crawford should only improve his speed over the next few seasons, in which his whole team will be improving around him. In his best season Crawford could steal 70+ bases and score 120+ runs. Steals projection this season: 63
About The Author
Kevin Bourassa is a writer for http://www.sportznow.com.
kevin@sportznow.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
