This week of baseball was rather quiet but it had some interesting moments. The notoriously outspoken Trevor Bauer went off on his team the Los Angeles Dodgers after a five-series losing streak. His frustration seemed to provide a spark as the Dodger were able to win both of their series this week.
The Chicago White Sox are now the hottest team in baseball with a 24-15 record. After a scary collision in a game against the Royals, reigning AL MVP Jose Abreu came back to provide the game-winning run a few days later. After a slow start to the season he is gaining back his form.
Pujols stays in Los Angeles
After last week’s disappointing departure with the Los Angeles Angels, it seems that Albert Pujols is going to get the send off he deserves. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed him to a deal that will have him remain with the team for the rest of the season.
The defending champions Dodgers are the heavy favorites to win the World Series this year. Although he is not the player he once was, Pujols still has an affinity to hit home runs. To prove how good he has been throughout his career, Pujols has 667 home runs, 3,253 hits, and 2,112 runs batted in (which is third all-time to only Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth).
With him on the roster, the Dodgers now have four former MVPs and three former Cy Young Winners on their club.
Judge Dominates the O’s…again
The Orioles cannot stop Aaron Judge. Since his rookie year in 2017, he has hit 23 home runs against Baltimore. He has hit seven of those 23 home runs this year in only ten games. Four of those seven home runs came in this week’s three-game series.
Judge hit two home runs in game 1 of the series in which the Yankees prevailed 5-4. In game 2, Judge hit another home run in an 8-2 thrashing. He hit his fourth home run in a 10-6 game 3 loss, but the Yankees had already won the series.
After a 6-10 start to the season, when fans were literally throwing garbage on the field, the American League favorites Yankees are getting their groove back as they now stand at 22-18 with a series coming up against the lowly Texas Rangers.
Judge now leads the league with 12 home runs on the season.
Machado in another Controversial Incident
Padres shortstop Manny Machado is a superstar player, but he has gained a reputation for being a dirty player, and has had many incidents in his young career. The list was added on Sunday after Machado took out the legs of St Louis Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman. Edman fell head first, but got up with no further incident. Many, including me, believed Machado’s slide was not dirty, but it brought back memories of his earlier controversies.
Controversy 1: Manny throws bat at Third Baseman
In 2014, in a game against the Oakland Athletics, after nearly being hit by a pitch, Machado flung a bat at the third baseman. The Athletics players furiously charged Machado leading to a bench-clearing brawl. Machado was suspended five games.
Controversy 2: Manny Charges the Mound
In 2016, the late Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura hit Machado with a 99 mph pitch. Machado charged Ventura and punched him leading to another bench-clearing brawl. Machado was suspended four games for the incident.
Controversy 3: The Pedroia Incident
In 2017, arguably Machado’s most notorious controversy, Machado ran into second base and slid spikes up into the leg of Boston Red Sox superstar second baseman Dustin Pedroia, injuring him. Although it looked accidental, the Red Sox took exception and their pitchers threw at Machado several times following the incident.
Pedroia was never the same after the injury and ultimately retired.
Controversy 4: Manny’ Antics in the 2018 Postseason
In the minds of baseball players, Machado’s controversies reached a boiling point after several incidents in the 2018 postseason. In the ALCS, he tried to trip Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia in a play at second.
The following game, he stepped on the foot of Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar. Aguilar yelled at Machado and the benches cleared. In the World Series, he did the exact same thing to Red Sox first baseman Steve Pearce.
It was these incidents that some gave Machado a negative reputation in the league.
Although many believe that Machado’s slide on Edman was not dirty, the Cardinals might come after him the next time they play due to his past.
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