Baseball's Biggest Stories of 2008

Tampa Bay, Josh Hamilton and The Chicago Cubs Lead the Way

Aug 25, 2008

2008 hasn't been short on good baseball stories. Here are five of the best.

Let's face it: Tampa Bay has really sucked for an entire decade. During their first ten years of existence, the Rays finsihed dead last in the American League East. But an offseason name change that dropped the redundant "Devil" and left them just the "Rays," the maturing of a young and talented starting rotation and a balanced, speedy offensive attack have kept Tampa in first place since April.

As of August 25, Tampa leads what is arguably baseball's toughest division with a 79-50 record. Their five game lead over the Boston Red Sox and nine game spread ahead of the Yankees is extra impressive when one considers that those two teams spend almost $400 million on talent while the Rays curent payroll is approximatey $43 million.

Hamilton was having a great year before he slugged 28 home runs in the opening round of the All-Star weekend home run derby. That performance made him a household name. But Hamilton has been a big story for years; unfortunately, most of the news he made was off the diamond. The overall first round pick in the 1999 draft, Hamilton developed a drug problem while playing in the minor leagues. After failing several drug tests, Major League Basbeall suspended Hamilton for 30 days in 2004, a punishment that was extedned several times because of additional failed drug tests.

In October of 2005, however, Hamilton kicked his habit and by 2007, he was back in the big leagues with the Cincincinnati Reds. A promising season led the Rangers to trade one of their best pitching prospects (Edinson Volquez) for Josh. The move has worked out well. As of Augsut 25, Hamilton is batting .303 with 29 home runs and a big league best 115 RBI. Those numbers led All Star teammate Ian Kinsler to say of his centerfielder: "Joh Hamilton is the greatest baseball player to walk the planet."

One would be hard pressed to remember such an active trade deadline. First, it was Ken Griffey, Jr., one of only six players in baseball history with at least 600 home runs, being traded from Cincinnati to the Chicago White Sox. Then it was Ivan Rodriguez going to the Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth. Finally, the Red Sox moved Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers just weeks after Manny hit his 500th home run.

Throw in some "lesser" superstars, like C.C. Sabathia going from Cleveland to Milwaukee, Mark Teixiera being traded to the Angels, and Rich Harden becoming a Cub, and you've got the most memorable trade deadline in decades -- at least.

Everybody thought Mussina was finished. Almost 40 years old and coming off the worst season of his career, most baseball experts figured Moose would end up in the bullpen at some point this year. Instead, Mussina is having one of the best years of his career: as of August 25, Moose is 16-7 with an ERA of 3.35. The veteran had been one of the few bright lights on an otherwise dimal Yankee staff this year. The only question left is: can he finally win 20 games?

One hundred years is a long time. The least time the Cubs won the World Series, in 1908, World War I was still almost a decade away, Teddy Rooselvelt was president, and the spitball was still a legal pitch. But the Cubs have a good shot to end their near century of Championship futility. With an 80-50 record as of August 25, the Cubs lead the Brewers by 4 1/2 games in the N.L. Central, and have the best record in the National League. Maybe they really can avoid 100 years of losing.

The copyright of the article Baseball's Biggest Stories of 2008 in Baseball is owned by James Lincoln Ray. Permission to republish Baseball's Biggest Stories of 2008 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.