Chris Coghlan Named NL's Top Rookie

Major League Baseball has announced that Chris Coghlan of Florida Marlins has taken home 2009 National League Rookie of the Year honors posting .321 batting average with 9 homeruns while driving in 47 rbi in 128 games played. Coghlan also posted an .390 on base-percentage, a .460 slugging percentage and a .850 Slugging plus on base percentage.

Andrew Bailey Captures AL Rookie of the Year Award

Major League Baseball announced that Oakland A's right-hander Andrew Bailey has won the 2009 American Rookie of Year Award having recorded 26 saves while posting a 1.84 ERA in 83.1 innings pitched.

Masanori Murakami: First Japanese player in MLB History

We all know the monumental accomplishments that Jackie Robinson made in shaping Major League Baseball for African-Americans as well as opening the door for many other ethnic groups to play the game. Major League Baseball is truly a global sport due to the various diversity and cultures of the players that exist within the league. In fact, the 2009 World Series M.V.P. was one of Japanese descent, Hideki Matsui. Throughout the course of Major League Baseball history, there have been many Japanese players past and present who have achieved various accolades for their ability and outstanding play on the field; Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki, Hiroki Kuroda, etc.

However, many might not be aware of the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball, who ultimately paved the way for future Japanese players. His name is Masanori Murakami, a former pitcher who played for San Francisco Giants. Murakami saw success as a reliever, debuting at the age of 20 in 1964. Murakami showed extreme potential to be a superb and effective ball player. In 1965, he struck out over one batter per inning pitched and posted a sub 4 ERA with 8 saves.

Unfortunately, Murakami's stint in Major League Baseball was short lived. In 1964, the Nankai Hawks of the Japanese Pacific Coast League had originally sent him, along with two other young players, to the San Francisco Giants' Single- A Fresno team as a baseball exchange student. Murakami was originally only scheduled to stay in the United States until June, but the Hawks neglected to call him back to Japan, so he stayed with the Giants for the rest of the season. In August of the same year, he was promoted to the majors, and on September 1, 1964, he became the first Japanese player to play in the major leagues. Murakami pitched extremely well as a reliever, and because of it, the Giants refused the Hawks' order to return him to Japan. The argument escalated during the 1964 off-season, and the Japanese baseball commissioner was called in to make the final decision on which team Murakami would play with. The commissioner made a compromise; Murakami would return to the Hawks after he had played for another full season with the Giants. He wore number 10 with the San Francisco Giants.

Murakami headed back to his original Japanese club due to contractual obligations as previously agreed upon. In Murakami's Major League Baseball career, he posted a 5-1 record with a 3.41 ERA and 100 strikeouts.

Top 10 MLB Free Agents

This list comes courtesy of mlbtraderumors.com which has compiled what many believe to be the best available players on the market, but to acquire their services will come with a hefty price tag. Let's see what the project salary is for each potential suitor and what team has the most interest in signing these players:

1. Matt Holliday - Mets. The Mets could grab headlines by signing Holliday to a six or seven-year deal for more than $100MM.

2. John Lackey - Yankees. Last winter's strategy of signing the best two starters and the best hitter available contributed to the Yankees' World Series title. With rotation question marks after C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, it makes sense that the Yanks will pursue the best available starter in Lackey.

3. Jason Bay - Red Sox. It's been rumored the Red Sox are willing to offer four years and $60MM to Bay. That seems to be a fair opening bid, given his defensive struggles.

4. Chone Figgins - Angels. The Angels have internal options at third base, but he'd be hard to let go after a career-high .395 OBP and excellent defense at the hot corner.

5. Randy Wolf - Mets. The Mets regrettably chose Oliver Perez over Wolf a year ago. As the best available starter aside from Lackey, Wolf is primed to get a three-year deal worth more than $30MM.

6. Andy Pettitte - Yankees. With all the good vibes surrounding Pettitte's work this year, it's hard to see him anywhere else. The Yankees might have to guarantee more than $5.5MM this time though.

7. Jose Valverde - Phillies. One way to shore up a shaky bullpen: sign the best closer available. Few teams are seeking closers, and even fewer have money, so the Phillies should be able to get a relative bargain.

8. Marco Scutaro - Red Sox. It's difficult to place Scutaro, because not many teams with shortstop vacacies will be willing to pay the three years and $18MM+ he'll likely demand. The Sox would be getting the best available shortstop here, but they could instead choose Jed Lowrie and/or Alex Gonzalez.

9. Adrian Beltre - Twins. The Twins made a large upgrade at shortstop by acquiring J.J. Hardy. Beltre would give them fantastic left-side infield defense and another possible 20 home run bat. The Twins had no interest in trading for Beltre a year ago, though the Scott Boras client added them to his no-trade clause.

10. Rich Harden - Red Sox. A one-year deal with a $7MM base salary would be difficult for Harden to resist. His injuries are maddening, but he leads free agent starters with a 10.9 K/9.

Silver Slugger Awards

The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball (MLB). These voters consider several offensive categories in selecting the winners, including batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, in addition to coaches' and managers' general impressions of a player's overall offensive value. Here are the winners from each league:

American League:

1B -- Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees 2B -- Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays 3B -- Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays SS -- Derek Jeter, New York Yankees OF -- Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners OF -- Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox OF -- Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels C -- Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins DH -- Adam Lind, Toronto Blue Jays

National League:

1B -- Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals 2B -- Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies 3B -- Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals SS -- Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins OF -- Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers OF -- Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers OF -- Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers C -- Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves P -- Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs

MLB Hands Out Annual Awards For Outstanding Individual Performances

At the end of every season, Major League Baseball presents one player at each respective position with the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, which is an award given annually to the Major League Baseball players who exhibited superior individual fielding performances and stellar defensive ability at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), as voted by the managers and coaches in each league..

Here are the winners for the A.L.

P Mark Buehrle-White Sox
C Joe Mauer-Twins
1B Mark Teixeira-Yankees
2B Placido Polanco-Tigers
3B Evan Longoria-Rays
SS Derek Jeter-Yankees
OF Torii Hunter-Angels
OF Ichiro Suzuki-Mariners
OF Adam Jones-Orioles

Here are the winners for the N.L.

P Adam Wainwright-Cardinals
C Yadier Molina-Cardinals
1B Adrian Gonzalez-Padres
2B Orlando Hudson-Dodgers
3B Ryan Zimmerman-Nationals
SS Jimmy Rollins-Phillies
OF Shane Victorino-Phillies
OF Michael Bourne-Astros
OF Matt Kemp-Dodgers

Yankees....The Legacy Continues

The 2009 New York Yankees are baseball's top team, and I'm not just talking in terms of payroll, as they have captured their 27th world title in their illustrious history. It had been almost a decade since the New York Yankees captured a World Series Championship and while most franchises in Major League Baseball would hardly consider that a drought, it feels more like a twenty or thirty year hiatus to Yankee fans.

Commonly referred to as the "Evil Empire," due to their ability to monopolize free agent talent which coincides with an exuberant payroll, makes the Yankees one of the most despised sports franchises amongst the majority of non-New Yorkers, but I am here to actually commend the Yankees and to congratulate them on their World Series crown, as it takes more than deep pockets to achieve a World Series Championship.

I present to you exhibit A; the New York Mets, whos 2009 team payroll totaled $135,773,988 compared to that of the 2009 Yankee team payroll which was $201,449,289. Now granted, that is significantly more, but it balances out when you consider where the Mets finished in the 2009 Season. The Mets 2009 record was 72-90 placing them fourth in the National League East Division standings only in front of the Washington Nationals, who finished last in the division. The New York Mets and New York Yankees have been the top two franchises in terms of payroll in Major League Baseball dating back several decades, and all though the Mets franchise has only been around since 1962, it has produced just two world series championships; 1969 and 1986. To put this in comparison, the Florida Marlins, whos payroll is nearly a quarter of what the Mets payroll is, has two world championships in its franchise history, and they have only been in existence since 1993!

The point is this, spending inordinate amounts of dough and attempting to buy a world series doesn't always work and more often than not, this is not the recipe for success. You have to have good ownership, a crafty general manager, superb scouts, an excellent coaching staff, team chemistry, etc. There are plenty of MLB franchises that consistently spend well over 100 million dollars in an effort to field a winning club and lure free agent talent away from smaller market clubs. These high priced teams have had little to no World Series success, let alone a pennant. The Chicago Cubs stand out in my mind, as they spent $135,050,000 in 2009 and have consistently been in the top 5 in terms of team payroll in recent history. What have those spending results netted them? Only two world series championships...in 1907 and 1908!!

I am so sick of people complaining about the New York Yankees buying championships and how it's not fair that they can spend that much money, as its not about how much money you spend, but what players you spend it on. Take for example the San Francisco Giants, who shelled out a $126,000,00 contract for Barry Zito. This contract is the third richest contract to ever be given to a pitcher in baseball history and this contract has in no way, shape, or form, contributed to Giants' ultimate goal of winning a title. In fact, this bloated contract has merely been a hindrance as it has handicapped their ability to fill other necessary holes offensively. Barry Zito was a decent pitcher when he hit the free agent market, but you didn't see the New York Mets or New York Yankees come in there and outbid the San Francisco Giants for Zito's services, why? Because its not about the money, its about evaluating the talent, then spending appropriately.

The New York Yankees are the most successful franchise in sports history because they have made ingenious moves in regards to fielding a winner throughout the course of their franchise existence, which has led to championships, which in turn has led to a high revenue stream, which has led to the ability to spend. Their greatness is not because of how much they are capable of spending, its because they spend wisely and have received mass return on their investments, which ultimately created the domination of the league at the hands of the Bronx Bombers.

There is a nickname in the rap game, when individuals are jealous and despise other's accomplishments in which they are incapable of achieving themselves, its called, "haters." One does not need a high payroll to win a World Series Championship and many Major League Baseball teams have proven this point in the past. The main reason that non-native New York fans hate the Yankees is simple, because they are consistently successful while their teams are usually failures and rather than ridicule their own team, they will justify their team sucking by saying, "well, if we had the money the Yankees did, we could win the World Series too." Uh, sure, you just keep telling yourself that!