Trout Dominance To Lead The American League?

Opening Day has finally arrived.

After a lengthy off-season that saw huge free agent signings from James Shields, Giancarlo Stanton and Max Scherzer, along with the mega San Diego Padres/Atlanta Braves only 24 hours ago, the season is surely one not to miss. There are numerous questions heading into this season regarding who will be the contenders come October, will there be another surprise late season playoff rush similar to the Kansas City Royals and how will the returning Alex Rodriguez be received.
Let's take a brief look at the American League and what there is to expect.

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

Reigning AL MVP Mike Trout heads a revitalized Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim coming off a 99 game win season prior to being swept in the ALDS by the eventual AL Champion Kansas City Royals. The offensive combination of Trout, Albert Pujols, Cole Calhoun and upcoming CJ Crohn is sure to complement the starting rotation. Questions headed into the season is the returning future ace, Garrett Richards coming off a season-ending knee injury in Boston, the state of Josh Hamilton and whether or not CJ Wilson can return to form.

The Seattle Mariners are the Angels surefire competition in the division this year with the additions of Nelson Cruz and Seth Smith to an offense that already includes Robinson Cano, Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager. The balanced batting order providing protection to Cano will provide the Angels toughest competition and run support to the rotation headed by Felix Hernandez. Don't be surprised to see Taijuan Walker make a run at the AL Cy Young Award this year. Billy Ball continued in an offseason frenzy that saw the Oakland A's rebuilt through multiple trades and free agent departures. Did you really think the likes of Jon Lester and Jeff Samardzjia would stick around this season? I didn't. The team who dominated the West in consecutive years provide offense in acquired DH Billy Butler that they will lack following the trades of Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson.

The Houston Astros look to finally climb their way out of the cellar by adding free agents Evan Gattis and Colby Rasmus who will provide protection to Jose Altuve and the constant Home Run threat Chris Carter. Last but not least, how will Prince Fielder and Shin Sin Choo perform in their second year with the Texas Rangers?

The West is the Angels division to lose, but don't be surprised if the Mariners are knocking on the door deep into the summer months.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

The Detroit Tigers look to continue their dominance of the American League Central following a fourth consecutive division title. Questions are aplenty in Motown heading into Opening Day this season. Max Scherzer departed for the Washington Nationals, David Price is signed through the end of 2015 and will Justin Verlander could start the season on the DL? The starting rotation was considered baseballs best two years ago has seen the departures of Scherzer, Doug Fister, Rick Porcello and Drew Smyly, with the addition of David Price in a trade last year is a s state of uncertainty just like its aging bullpen. Yoenis Cespedes provides a needed offensive bat to provide support to starts Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez who are entering the season coming off recent injuries. This is where a future star in J.D. Martinez can step up and provide additional support.

The Kansas City Royals shocked Major League Baseball en route to a World Series appearance against eventual champions, San Francisco Giants. The departures of "Big Game" James Shields, Nori Aoki and Billy Butler in free agency netted little in return of an aging starting pitchers Edinson Volquez and Chris Young presents a need for Yolando Ventura to have a breakout season for any hope in returning to the post season. Look for the Royals to compete in a division that could once again be wide open.

Much like the Cubs, the Chicago White Sox had a busy off season signings of Jeff Samardzjia, David Robertson, Melky Cabrera and Adam LaRoche are sure to add a much needed offensive threat that the White Sox look to continue following the success of Jose Abreu in 2014. The biggest question this year for the White Sox is the health of ace Chris Sale who will start the season on the Disabled List. Corey Kluber heads up the Cleveland Indians following his CY Young winning season. Still many questions going into the season for the Tribe. Michael Brantley heads up the offensive workload that is set to continue well into this season following a run at the AL MVP last year. Then there are the Minnesota Twins to made news in the off season wit the feel good story following the re-signing of Torii Hunter, signing of Ervin Santana and departure of Michael Cuddeyer. The Twins have failed to reach the post season since winning the Central in 2010 due to numerous injuries from key players. Rising star Brian Dozier looks to head up a subpar lineup that includes 2009 MVP Joe Mauer.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

The Boston Red Sox on paper are the clear favorite to run away with the American League East this season. Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez join a roster that already contains "Big Papi" David Oritz, Dustin Pedroia and Mike Napoli that is sure to be a force to be reckoned with. Hanley Ramirez provides a star presence in the shadows of the green monster that has been missed since Manny Ramirez departed long ago for the Dodgers. Returning to the Red Sox this season is former pitcher, Justin Masterson who makes up a new look rotation that includes Clay Bucholz and fellow off-season acquisitions Wade Miley and Rick Porcello. The Red Sox appear to be all-in for another run at the World Series title following a dismal 2014 season.

Reigning AL East champions, the Baltimore Orioles will miss the weapons of Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis who departed in the off season, but will welcome back star Chris Davis following a suspension and down year of production. J.J. Hardy and Matt Weiters will begin the season on the disabled list. The success in 2015 for the Orioles depends on the health of Manny Machado, Chris Davis and how the starting rotation will fare heading into a long summer.

The once powerful New York Yankees said goodbye to longtime captain Derek Jeter last season, opening up the position to Didi Gregorious. A roster of aging stars presents many questions headed into Opening Day. How will Alex Rodriguez fare following his season-long suspension for 2014, is Mark Teixeira still a threat at the plate and how will the starting rotation fare? Don't count out the Toronto Blue Jays as a sleeper team in 2015.

Russell Martin, Josh Donaldson and Justin Smoak join a roster that is ready to pounce with power from Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnarcion. The Jays will be without former closer Casey Janssen who departed for the Washington Nationals and Marcus Strohman who is on the 60-day disabled list. Then there are the Tampa Bay Rays. The team who has produced quality starting pitchers and offensive power is without former ace David Price who was traded at the deadline to Detroit, multi positional player Ben Zobrist and ex-manager Joe Madden in the off season for the Chicago Cubs. New manager, Kevin Kash brings a line-up headed by star Evan Longoria, Desmond Jennings and Asdrubal Cabrera. Known for making late season pushes for the playoffs, this season will be an unknown for the Rays. Hopefully they can finally lock in a new stadium deal in hopes of bringing in prized free agents.

PREDICTIONS

AL West - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL Central - Detroit Tigers
AL East - Boston Red Sox
WILD CARD - Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles

A National Dominance Of The Mid-Summer Classic

National League dominance at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game will continue following the announcement of the Washington Nationals hosting the 2018 edition of the mid-summer classic. Traditionally, the All-Star game has followed a rotation where the American and National League stadiums host the game every other year since the mid-1960s.

The criteria for hosting the game has followed a course of newly built stadiums and stadiums that haven't hosted in some time being awarded it. Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati will host its first All-Star game later this year since 1988, while San Diego's Petco Park will showcase their beautiful downtown stadium. The Miami Marlins will host the cities first ever All-Star game at Marlins Park in 2017, while the game makes its return to our nations capital in 2018 at Nationals Park. Washington hasn't hosted the classic since 1969 when the Senators played at RFK Stadium.

Following the announcement of the 2018 host stadium, many questions still persist for stadiums that have yet to host it, or haven't in decades. The Tampa Bay Rays Tropicana Field is the only stadium that has yet to host the All-Star Game. Given the recent announcement that the team is still struggling to find potential sites for a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area, it is unlikely that the team will land the game until a new stadium is built.

While the All-Star Game is the showcase of Major League Baseball's best, 35-years have passed since the legendary Dodgers Stadium has hosted the game. Many would assume that given the recent upgrades to the stadium that is home to the reigning National League and CY Young winner, Clayton Kershaw, would make perfect sense as a future host stadium, 2019 any beyond.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards

History was made in Baltimore, Maryland on April 6, 1992 when the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball opened their new ballpark, Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The ballpark that would be known as "The Ballpark That Forever Changed Baseball" would spark a trend in construction of traditional, outdoor ballparks built in downtown locations through-out the U.S. Prior to its completion, big league ballparks were designed as multi-purpose "cookie cutter" stadiums that could host baseball and football games in one central location. These stadiums were featured in Seattle (Kingdome), Minneapolis (Metrodome) and Philadelphia (Veterans Stadium) that were cost efficient for the stadium but not friendly to the fans.

Camden Yards was built on the land that once served as the rail yard for B&O Railroad Camden Station. Paying homage to its predecessor, the former B&O Warehouse dominates much of the ballpark view located in right field. The warehouse has since been converted into Orioles team offices, the team store and several restaurants located along the Eutaw Street entryway.

The Eutaw Street entrance, located between the stadium and warehouse is closed to vehicle traffic. Prior to the scheduled start of the ballgame, fans can explore this part of the stadium without needing a ticket to the game. Many shops and restaurants line one side of Eutaw Street to the other including Dempsey's Brew Pub and the Orioles Team Store. Most notably located along Eutaw Street are small baseball-shaped bronze plaques marking the spot where home run baseballs landed. This began following Mickey Tettleton's home run on April 20, 1992 that has still continued through the 2013 season. Former Seattle Mariner and Cincinnati Reds great, Ken Griffey Jr., holds the distinction of the only MLB player to ever hit a home run off the B&O Warehouse during the 1993 MLB All-Star Game Home Run Derby. If you're planning on visiting Eutaw Street for a 7:00 pm game, make sure you arrive before 4:00 pm as the street temporarily closes in preparation for that evenings game.

During the 2012 season, Camden Yards celebrated its 20th anniversary. To celebrate the anniversary, the Orioles organization unveiled six bronze statues of the six Orioles greats who have had their numbers retired by the organization. Each statue was unveiled in separate ceremonies through-out the 2012 season. Prior to the unveiling of his statue on September 29, 2012 in the stadium, Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson was honored with a statue depicting him preparing to throw the baseball to first base. The statue that most notably is gray in color with the exception of a gold colored baseball glove is located on Washington Boulevard 300 feet from the Camden Yards statue of Baltimore native Babe Ruth.

Food options are a plenty when visiting Camden Yards. The ballpark provides a wide variety of offerings including Boog's BBQ, Beers of the World, Dempsey's Brew Pub and Restaurant and Eutaw Market. During my trip I took in a quick bite to eat at Dempsey's after exploring Eutaw Street. Dempsey's is a sports-themed restaurant open year round that is located inside of the former B&O Warehouse building. The restaurant named after the Orioles great Rick Dempsey features Orioles memorabilia and displays of the on-field accomplishments of the 1983 World Series MVP and Orioles Hall of Famer. If you decide to take in a meal at Dempsey's, you are treated to a spectacular view of Camden Yards while being surrounded by TVs showing other games happening around the league.

I was fortunate enough to visit Camden Yards on September 12, 2013 after taking an overnight bus after seeing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Center the night before. The game that I would be seeing later that evening would have historical value as it would be the final game at Camden Yards for future Hall of Famer and New York Yankees great, Mariano Rivera, who would be retiring at the end of the season. After several rain and lightning delays, the game got underway just after 8:30 that night. Given the significance with Mariano Rivera being at Camden Yards for the final time, a short ceremony honoring the MLB legend took place prior to the game. The Orioles presented Rivera with a sculpture depicting a baseball shattering a bat.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards historical facts:
Major League 2 (1994) a movie about the Cleveland Indians was filmed here while Progressive Field was under construction
Named the number 3 ballpark in the U.S. by Trip Advisor in March 2013
First major league ballpark to have an outfield wall made up entirely of straight wall segments since Ebbets Field
September 6, 1995: Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak of 2,130 games.
September 6, 1996: Eddie Murray hit his 500th career home run exactly one year after Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak
August 22, 2007: The Texas Rangers Ramirez hit is 500th career home run
May 8, 2012: Josh Hamilton tied the MLB record for home runs in a game with 4
August 19, 2008: Fastest ballpark to reach 50 million fans in history. Took only seventeen seasons to reach the mark.
1993 MLB All-Star Game

Comeric Park - Detroit Tigers

Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It serves as the home of the Major League Baseball Detroit Tigers organization, replacing historic Tiger Stadium in 2000.

One day after visiting the legendary football stadium, "The Big House" in nearby Ann Arbor, I had a few hours to explore the Detroit area before heading to Toronto that evening. The city of Detroit is known by two familiar nicknames, The Motor City and Motown, while also going by popular 20th century nicknames, including Hockeytown after the legendary Detroit Red Wings NHL franchise and Detroit Rock City after the popular KISS song. Comerica Park was part of a revitalization plan for Detroit that included the construction of Ford Field, home to the Detroit Lions of the National Football League.

Several minutes after arriving to Comerica Park, I had purchased my ticket for the tour of the ballpark and met the tour guide, Stanley. Since the tour wasn't scheduled to begin for several minutes, I took turns sharing baseball stories with Stanley and his fellow tour guide. As I came to find out, one of them used to live in the same city as I do, so talk about a small world after all. Much to my surprise, the tour guide took off his Detroit Tigers 2012 American League Championship ring off and let me take a look at it. Never did I think on this day here I would have been given permission to physically touch but get to see the Tigers 2012 ALCS ring as close as I did. Sure, I've seen various awards through-out the past few years, but this was amazing!

The tour kicked off a few minutes later as our tour group proceeded into the part of the stadium nicknamed, "The Jungle." This area of the park is located within the Pepsi Porch picnic deck between the 100 and 200 levels. The next area that we visited on the tour was a living tribute to Detroit Tigers legends that could be compared to the New York Yankees "Monument Park" at Yankee Stadium. Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, Hal Newhouser, Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg and Al Horton have individual statues dedicated to them, each made in a unique way that the player was known for in their playing time.

Just shy of the player statues is the massive LED video scoreboard that I was informed reaches nearly 10 stories in height, ranking 4th in MLB stadiums. Located at the ends of the scoreboard are two of the eight Tigers statues that are located through-out the ballpark. These tigers eyes light up following a home run or victory for the team.

>Many tours of professional sporting venues always include a brief visit to a "designated suite" on the tour that can be your typical suite that anyone can purchase if they have the money or in some cases, the owner suite. We were treated to the Detroit Tigers Champions Suite on this tour. Four suites were converted into the Champions Suite that contains the legendary Tigers 1968 and 1984 World Series trophies, Justin Verlander's 2011 American League MVP and Cy Young Awards and Miguel Cabrera's 2012 American League MVP Award. In route to winning the 2012 AL MVP Award, Miguel Cabrera left his mark in MLB history becoming the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win the Triple Crown in batting. The Triple Crown Award is located inside the Champions Suite only a few feet from his MVP Award.

Comerica Park contains many artifacts and historical pieces that make up the Tigers history spanning one generation to another. Making up a unique portion of the lower seating bowl is the Tigers Den, special seats that offer in-seat service, VIP hospitality and great views of the ballpark. These seats are are sold as full and partial season ticket plans. Leftover seats are also offered as single game tickets. Stanley informed us to check StubHub should we ever want to sit in these seats.

Our tour of Comerica Park ended with a visit to the press box, visitors locker room and dugout, the training room and playing field. This was the fifth tour I've taken of an MLB ballpark and is one that I won't forget for sometime.

COMERICA PARK FACTS:
Hosted the 76th MLB All-Star Game in 2005
2006 and 2012 World Series
Sold-Out Jay-Z/Eminem concert on September 2nd and 3rd, 2010
Vans Warped Tour annual stop

Citi Field - MLB New York Mets

I paid a visit to Citi Field in the Queens borough of New York City. Citi Field replaced the aging Shea Field as the home of the New York Mets just a few feet away. The exterior of the stadium is reminiscent of Ebbets Field with an entrance named the Jackie Robinson Rotunda after the Brooklyn Dodgers legend. The rotunda honors Robinson's life and accomplishments. Unlike many stadiums, Citi Field features orange foul poles rather than the standard yellow, which make this field unique.

Getting to Citi Field takes a little bit of time from midtown Manhattan by the New York Subway 7 train at Mets-Willets Point. The stadium is located within an area of Flushing that is home to USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center where the annual US Open tennis grand slam tournament is held and the Unisphere, the iconic 12-story high stainless steel globe that served as the centerpiece for the 1964 New York World's Fair.

This day in particular was unique as it was my first visit to Citi Field, but it was the 11th anniversary of the September 11th attacks in the city. The Mets played host to rival NL East Washington Nationals. Prior to the game, a moment of silence as a tribute to the anniversary occurred along with a moving tribute to the events that had occurred earlier in the day in Benghazi. Being in the city on this day was surreal and I took in every minute that I could. Anytime I go to a new stadium, I make it a priority of exploring every part of it not knowing when I will make my return. Little did I know that while walking through the upper deck in left field I would lay my eyes on a piece of American History that I would never forget. Each year on this day, the city of New York as a tribute displays two massive light towers that shine into the sky on the site where the twin towers once stood. These lights were visible to the eye as far as Citi Field and were something that I had to see up closer later that night. The photo below I took on this night last night atop Rockefeller Center.

Citi Field in its own right is a beautiful stadium to visit, whether for the first or last time. The 2012 season marked the 50th Anniversary of the Mets organization that was in the process of its promotional marketing campaign for this years MLB All Star Game.