2008 Woodie Awards
America's Favorite Pastime Returns: Major League Baseball Season Starts
Juan Bernal
Issue date: 4/7/06 Section: Sports
In anticipation of the most exciting baseball season ever, the Chicago White Sox opened up by beating their AL Central Division rival, the Cleveland Indians 10-4 on Sunday night. Can the White Sox defend their title? That is one of the many questions that will be answered during the 2006 MLB season.
In the winter meetings that followed the conclusion the 2005 season, one thing the owners unanimously decided to do was tighten up the steroid policy. Eleven players were caught during random steroid testing last season. They were all suspended ten games, and there were no second time offenders. This season, the new policy calls for a 50 game ban for the first offense, a 100 game ban for the second transgression and the third ban results in a player receiving a lifetime ban.
Barry Bonds comes into the season with 708 home runs. He needs seven home runs to pass Babe Ruth, and 48 more home runs to pass Hank Aaron. However, do not look for it to be the biggest home run chase since Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in 1998. Many baseball fans say that they will not support Bonds' chase of the all time home run record because of his alleged steroid use. Bonds claims that he will retire at the end of the season, whether or not he breaks any home run records. Bonds missed most of last season with a bum knee, and at the beginning of the season he claimed that he was just trying to "stay sane" with all the stress and steroid allegations that his name has been associated with since the end of last season.
Another streak on the line is Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who has a 36 game hit streak coming into this season. He needs to get a hit in 21 consecutive games to break the legendary Joe DiMaggio's streak of 56 consecutive games with a hit. Rollins goes into the season as the best non-steroid story in baseball, and his highly anticipated debut comes against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The American League's Eastern division undergoes its second major overhaul in as many years. The Toronto Blue Jays spent $107 million in picking up high profile free agents pitchers A.J Burnett (from the Marlins) and B.J Ryan (Orioles), catcher Bengie Molina (Angels) and Troy Glaus( Diamondbacks) in order to contend with the Red Sox and Yankees. The most regarded move of the off season came when Johnny Damon turned his back on the Red Sox and signed a four year $52 million deal with the rival New York Yankees. Damon will patrol center field for the Yankees, and every starter for the Yankees has been an All Star at least once. As for the Red Sox, they filled the hole left in center field with former Cleveland Indians outfielder Coco Crisp. The Red Sox also added second baseman Mark Loretta and recently agreed to a four year contract extension with designated hitter David Ortiz, who is arguably the best hitter in baseball.
In the winter meetings that followed the conclusion the 2005 season, one thing the owners unanimously decided to do was tighten up the steroid policy. Eleven players were caught during random steroid testing last season. They were all suspended ten games, and there were no second time offenders. This season, the new policy calls for a 50 game ban for the first offense, a 100 game ban for the second transgression and the third ban results in a player receiving a lifetime ban.
Barry Bonds comes into the season with 708 home runs. He needs seven home runs to pass Babe Ruth, and 48 more home runs to pass Hank Aaron. However, do not look for it to be the biggest home run chase since Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in 1998. Many baseball fans say that they will not support Bonds' chase of the all time home run record because of his alleged steroid use. Bonds claims that he will retire at the end of the season, whether or not he breaks any home run records. Bonds missed most of last season with a bum knee, and at the beginning of the season he claimed that he was just trying to "stay sane" with all the stress and steroid allegations that his name has been associated with since the end of last season.
Another streak on the line is Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who has a 36 game hit streak coming into this season. He needs to get a hit in 21 consecutive games to break the legendary Joe DiMaggio's streak of 56 consecutive games with a hit. Rollins goes into the season as the best non-steroid story in baseball, and his highly anticipated debut comes against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The American League's Eastern division undergoes its second major overhaul in as many years. The Toronto Blue Jays spent $107 million in picking up high profile free agents pitchers A.J Burnett (from the Marlins) and B.J Ryan (Orioles), catcher Bengie Molina (Angels) and Troy Glaus( Diamondbacks) in order to contend with the Red Sox and Yankees. The most regarded move of the off season came when Johnny Damon turned his back on the Red Sox and signed a four year $52 million deal with the rival New York Yankees. Damon will patrol center field for the Yankees, and every starter for the Yankees has been an All Star at least once. As for the Red Sox, they filled the hole left in center field with former Cleveland Indians outfielder Coco Crisp. The Red Sox also added second baseman Mark Loretta and recently agreed to a four year contract extension with designated hitter David Ortiz, who is arguably the best hitter in baseball.