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MLB's diamond and cubic zirconia of May
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Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer singles off Tampa Bay Rays starter James Shields
on Friday, May 29, 2009 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
50 games deep into the season, I would like to introduce a new series with a female twist. Every month, three players will be highlighted for their exceptional performance, disappointing performance, or dashing good looks.
Enjoy!
Diamond of May: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
In May, the Twins’ Mauer ranked in the top five in five of the nine hitting categories in MLB.
The catcher led the Majors in batting average (.414) and slugging percentage (.838), while ranking second in runs (27), home runs (11), and RBI (32).
His hitting prowess is not a common thing for a catcher. In fact, his performance in May even set a team record for a pitcher—in May of 1961, Harmon Killebrew had 29 RBI and Mauer bested that stat by three.
While the All-Star says he hasn’t changed anything about his swing, he admits he has been seeing the ball better.
Mauer remains a constant threat in the lineup as he leads the Twins, who are 3.5 games behind the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers.
Cubic Zirconia of May: Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers
Chavez Ravine has been buzzing with Manny-delight from the moment he arrived in Los Angeles. There were billboards, wigs, shirts, and Mannywood. He was the offensive spark the team needed.
Then in May, Mr. Ramirez was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for testing positive for a banned substance.
Worry surfaced. What was going to happen with the Dodgers now? What happened was that the Dodgers became the best team in Major League Baseball.
Sparkly Icing on May’s Cake: Alex Rios, Toronto Blue Jays
When the Blue Jays were in Oakland in the pleasant month of May, I was able to take in the sights of their glorious right fielder, Alex Rios. He is a focused ballplayer—this was made apparent through his consistent ability to ignore various cat calls directed his way from the right field bleachers (who was that?). Rios patrolled the outfield and made the job look sexy.
The 6’5 28-year-old is a treat to one’s eyes—and he hit .302 in May, so his pretty smile isn’t his only positive attribute.
Let’s applaud Rios’ killer bat and killer smile. Here’s to the sparkly icing of May.
For more information:
**thanks to sanjoaquinvalley for pointing out some embarrassing errors!
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