Money has a funny way of inspiring people to perform even better than expected. This is true in several career paths and certainly doesn’t exclude baseball. In baseball, the money up for grabs is anywhere from the league minimum of $400,000 to the $27.5 million Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees makes annually. Salaries are based on a combination of what a player has done and what is reasonable to expect he can do. Top performers in their mid- to late twenties and early thirties are those who can expect the big bucks. Players can either sign a contract extension with their current team or they can wait until their contract expires and they become a free agent. Both scenarios have pros and cons.
As far as a contract extension goes, it is guaranteed money, and who doesn’t like job security? Baseball is a gruelling sport and every player is one injury away from seeing his career end. With a long-term contract, even if the unthinkable happens, the injured player still gets paid. Free agency, on the other hand, usually means a lot more money. It can also be a strong motivator for good players to have great seasons. (Adrian Beltre’s 2004 and 2010 seasons anyone?) 
The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crew rolled into the Wichita State Campus on Thursday. Everyone was invited to Eck Stadium for the big surprise. It was announced via Ty Pennington’s blow horn that former Shocker baseball player Carl Hall would be receiving a new home.
The Rookie of the Year award is as important to the player as well as the franchise for which he works. Having a different player from the same team challenge for the award year in and year out is a great sign for your organizational depth. In 2010, both leagues had great races for the award. The Detroit Tigers had two players—Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch—seemingly poised to take the trophy at the start of the year, winning top rookie honours in April, May, and June. They eventually lost to Neftali Feliz of the Texas Rangers. In the National League, there was a two man race between Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves and Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants, with Posey eventually winning out.
Today begins the Division I college baseball season. Teams are traveling from all over the country to begin their out-of-conference play. Northern teams board flights to head down south to warmer climates to get their games in before conference play starts in a little over a month. Southern schools and universities out west are holding their annual invitational tournaments so that other teams in colder weather states can still play against good competition and keep up with everyone else. The season is beginning and the first weekend does look like it will disappoint. Here are some key matchups for some of the nation’s top teams, their schedules for the first week of play, and some things I expect to see from the opening weekend. 
Last season’s Wild Card winning franchises are no strangers to success. The New York Yankees have failed to make the playoffs just once—in 2008—in the last 16 seasons. The Atlanta Braves returned to the playoffs, after missing five seasons in a row, but before that they had made the playoffs in 14 straight seasons. They differ in the amount of money they spend on their teams, with the Braves at a modest $86 million while the Yankees are paying their players a whopping $196 million. 
Usually the top recruiting classes throughout the country for Division I baseball comes as no surprise to fans. Perennial powerhouse schools such as Louisiana State University, Texas, UCLA, Florida, Florida State, and Georgia Tech are all universities that would come as no surprise to baseball fans everywhere if they brought in the best recruiting class. No one would bat an eye if North Carolina or Cal State Fullerton brought in an outstanding recruiting class (which they do pretty much all the time). However, the school’s recruiting class that was ranked number one by Baseball America for last year may come as a bit of a surprise for people everywhere. And they are ready to make their splash onto the scene this month. 
For reasons that haven’t made themselves clear yet I am unofficially marking today as the opening of Fantasy Season. Recently, last year’s booms and busts(yeah yeah, you got Cargo in the 14th. I’ll put it on your epitaph) have been discussed over cold beers and crisp, clean fantasy magazines with only the faintest beginnings of chicken-scratched notes. And because I spent more of Superbowl Sunday preparing for drafts that are still over a month away than I did watching football, I feel obligated to share findings, musings and other points of interest with the readers of this post. Both of you.
In 2010, the best teams in all of Major League Baseball came from the East Division in each league. Both divisions were home to the wild card winners, the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees. They were also home to baseball’s two best records, 97 by the Philadelphia Phillies and 96 by the Tampa Bay Rays. What fate awaits the monsters of last year’s regular season? Will these teams once again be playing in October?
Since the hiring of manager Buck Showalter in late July, the Orioles had an incredible end to the season. Finishing at 34-23 under Showalter, the Orioles had a better last two months than the Yankees, who finished a mediocre 29-30 in the same time frame.