MLB 2011: Philadelphia Phillies

Charlie Manuel, new contract in hand, skippers the N.L. favorites

Whatever you may want to call the Phillies starting pitching rotation, and there have been at least a half dozen nicknames tossed around town over the last few months, it will be those arms that make or break this particular version of the Fightin' Phils as they shoot for a 4th straight N.L. East division title. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels make for the best starting pitching rotation that baseball has seen for years, perhaps ever.

Halladay will turn 34 years old in mid-May, and he is clearly the Ace among Aces. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner last year in his first season with the Phils (it was his 2nd career Cy Young), the man known as 'Doc' tossed a perfect game last season, and then pitched a no-hitter to open the playoffs. He has been an all-star in 7 of the past 9 seasons. He has logged more than 220 innings pitched for the past 5 straight seasons.

When Cliff Lee turned down the Yankees tens-of-millions in order to return to a place that he claimed to love, he immediately renewed what was becoming a passionate affair with Phillies fans over the last few months of the 2009 season. After leading that Phils club to the World Series, Lee moved to Texas and led that club to it's first-ever Series appearance last year. He has been comfortably above the 200 innings pitched mark the past 3 seasons, and won the 2008 A.L. Cy Young Award. He won't run 33 until Labor Day weekend.

Roy Oswalt turns 34 a day before Lee turns 33, and would be the lead Ace on almost any other team in the Majors. Oswalt has been over the 200 innings pitched in 6 of the last 7 seasons, and was the 2005 NLCS MVP when he led the Astros into that franchise' only-ever World Series appearance. Cole Hamels is the kid of the group at 27 years of age, and is the only career-long member of the franchise. The 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP, Hamels has been over the 180 innings pitched mark for the last 4 straight years, and may be in line for a dominating season pitching out of the #4 slot in the rotation.

Put those four arms at the front of any team in baseball, and you have a contender. But that's not all the Phillies have at their disposal on the mound. There is the current 5th starter, Joe Blanton, who is a legitimate #3 for most teams and solid #3-4 on any contending club. The 30-year old righty has been over the 170 inning mark in every single full season that he has pitched. 26-year old Kyle Kendrick pitched over 180 innings last year. Clearly the Phils have more than enviable depth that not only would serve them well throughout a long season, but it also can make for valuable trade bait should any holes develop in the everyday lineup or bullpen.

That everyday lineup has previously been the Phillies calling card. The booming bats and lightening legs combination in the batting order of Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and supporting players such as Pat Burrell, Placido Polanco, Raul Ibanez and others led the Fightin's to their early successes in winning the 2007 division title and the 2008 World Series. Longtime cornerstones Burrell and Werth are gone now (Pat the Bat having won another World Series last year with the Giants) and both injuries and age are creeping up on some of the rest.

Let's start out with the apparently healthy guys. Ryan Howard is believed to have had a down year last season. But the 31-year old slugging 1st baseman bashed 31 homers and drove in 108 runs despite missing nearly a month with an injury. In his prime, healthy, and in shape, Howard should be primed for another big 35-40 homerun season out of the cleanup slot. At 30 years old, the dynamic Shane Victorino has now won 3 straight NL Gold Gloves in centerfield, and he was 3rd in the league last year in both triples and stolen bases. Left fielder Raul Ibanez will turn 39-years old in early June, and is likely beginning his final season in Philly. He is a supporting bat now, still fully capable of a .270-20 homer-80 rbi season. Carlos Ruiz is the catcher, and one of the best in the game at both handling a pitching staff and in his catch-and-throw skills. He is also a tremendous clutch hitter.

The rest of the bats may make or break the entire Phillies season. At the start of spring training it was expected that top prospect phenom Domonic Brown would battle veteran Ben Francisco to replace the productive Werth in right field. But Brown broke the hamate bone in his hand early in camp, and Francisco had a strong spring to apparently nail down the job, at least to start the season. His ability to be productive in his first real chance as a starting regular in the Majors will be one key, as will Brown's return from injury by mid-summer. 3rd baseman Placido Polanco is now 35-years old and coming off a solid season in which he was limited by an elbow injury. He has been slow this spring to recover fully, but should be healthy and the Phils should be able to expect a little more than last year's 6 homers and 52 rbi.

The biggest questions and answers in the Phillies lineup concern the mega-talented Keystone combo of 2nd baseman Chase Utley and shortstop Jimmy 'JRoll' Rollins. Both players turned 32 years old this winter, missed major chunks of the 2010 season with injury problems, and are going in completely opposite directions this spring. For JRoll it appears to be a year of recovery and a return to being the dynamic, driving force at the top of the team's batting order. For Utley, it's more injury concerns, this time a chronic, cranky right knee that has just not responded thus far to simple rest. Chase has not played in a game during spring training, will start the year on the DL, and is likely out at least until May.

The Phillies can likely get by with Utley out even for a couple of months. As long as Rollins, Howard, Ibanez, Polanco, Victorino, Francisco and Ruiz remain healthy, the lineup will have plenty enough offensive strength to compliment the outstanding starting pitching. 2nd base will likely be professionally manned for defensive purposes by Wilson Valdez, who was excellent spelling Utley, Rollins and Polanco last season during their various injuries. Veteran Luis Castillo has been brought in at the end of spring for a quick look-see, but must seriously impress to stick. The bench has talent and experience in Ross Gload, Brian Schneider and John Mayberry. Either Michael Martinez or Brian Bocock are also likely to help as depth.

Besides the big losses of Utley and Brown, the bullpen is where the 3rd big loss has developed. Closer Brad Lidge is now scheduled to begin the season on the DL for the 3rd time in his 4 seasons with the Phillies. The man who was "Lights Out" and perfect for the '08 World Series champs collapsed in '09, but then rebounded nicely last year. Until he is ready to go, the end of games will likely fall to either perennial back-end guy Ryan Madson or wily veteran Jose Contreras. Veteran lefty J.C. Romero is also back. The rest of the pen will come from some combination of righties Danys Baez and Scott Mathieson, and lefties Antonio Bastardo and Mike Zagurski. All may be needed at one time or another to get the club through, though with the Big Four starters all burning up major innings totals, that will alleviate a need for middle-innings relief most nights.

Fortunately for the Philadelphia Phillies, they are being guided by one of the most professional players managers in the history of the game in Charlie Manuel. The man who has gone from a talk-show joke to the beloved "Uncle Charlie" thanks to his success was rewarded this off-season with a contract extension. Manuel's calm hand and down-home style guided the team through last year's injury debacle, and he is the perfect man at the helm of this ship to guide it through almost any type of storm. He is likely to ride the big horses in his rotation and whatever regulars in the lineup are healthy as far as they will take him, which should be pretty far once again.

In my previous two MLB predictions articles here, I tipped my hand that I was predicting the Phillies to win their 5th straight N.L. East crown, their 3rd National League pennant in 4 seasons, and then lose a dramatic and exciting World Series to the Boston Red Sox. The Fightin' Phils could just as easily win that Series if all of their starting pitchers are healthy and clicking come October. However, the one big thing that could keep the team from even meeting that ultimate goal is injuries. The fans who will once again sellout every date at Citizens Bank Park have to hope that the Utley, Lidge and Brown situations don't end up becoming a harbinger of things to come.

MLB 2011: American League

I wonder how Philadelphia Phillies fans would feel about Terry Francona (above) managing his club to a World Series title for the 3rd time? Especially if this time those Boston Red Sox defeat the Fightin' Phils for the world championship, as I am predicting is going to happen in late October of 2011.

The American League's East Division is where you can find the greatest blood feud in baseball history, that between the Bosox and their hated southern neighbors, the dynastic New York Yankees. Both clubs have had recent success, with the Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007, and the Yanks winning it all in 2009. For this coming season, I am picking the two clubs to battle for the A.L. East crown, and for Boston to come out on top.

The Red Sox struggled through an injury-marred 2010 and missed the post-season. But over this past winter the club was reinforced with a pair of game-changing offensive talents in 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez and left fielder Carl Crawford. AGonz will bang the ball all over Fenway Park, and Crawford's speed paired with that of Jacoby Ellsbury will give the Bosox' game something new with which to challenge opponents. Add in 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia, 3rd sacker Kevin Youkilis, and veteran right fielder J.D. Drew and Boston has some of the best offensive talent in the game. On the mound the Sox are deep and talented in both their rotation and in the bullpen, with a tremendous mix of veterans such as Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon and kids such as Jon Lester and Daniel Bard. This is, given reasonable health, clearly the team to beat.

The Yankees lineup is aging in spots, particularly on the left side of the infield where future Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez perform. But both of these players will be back and should perform well in the coming season, and Jeter should become the first Yankee in history to reach the 3,000 career hits milestone. With Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano, this may be the best all-around infield in baseball. The Yanks appear to be a little short on outfield pop, and their starting pitching has serious depth problems.

However, the bullpen has the best closer in baseball history in Mariano Rivera being setup now by one of the best in recent years, Rafael Soriano. The Yanks also now have shutdown lefty relievers, and have plenty of cash with which to eventually shore up any weaknesses. They will contend once again.

In 2 of the past 3 seasons, it has not been Boston or New York that has won this tough division. Instead, the Tampa Bay Rays have vaulted past both and finished on top. However, the small-market Rays began to lose talent to free agency this off-season, including Crawford to Boston, and do not appear to have the firepower beyond all-star 3rd sacker Evan Longoria to stay with those top two dogs this time around. The Rays pitching should keep them ahead of both Buck Showalter's improving Baltimore Orioles and a slugging Toronto Blue Jays squad to round out the A.L. East standings.

In the A.L. Central, I can see a case being made for any one of three clubs winning this race, but I am going to put my money down on the Chicago White Sox at this point. Manager Ozzie Guillen has a multi-talented club with a strong bullpen. If they get any kind of reasonable production out of Jake Peavy, they may win the division comfortably. Even if not, they still get my nod to win in a squeaker over the Minnesota Twins. The Twinkies are always dangerous, but may be facing some health issues with franchise cornerstones Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. If both of those guys find some way to get and stay healthy the majority of the season, look for the Twins to again be serious division title contenders.

The team that might surprise here in the A.L. Central is the Detroit Tigers. Skipper Jim Leyland feels he has talent and depth. He just might have enough to make a run at the club's first title since moving to the Central Division in 2008. Since reaching the 2006 World Series as the division's first-ever Wildcard team, Leyland has generally had the club in some form of contention. It will be largely up to the pitching staff if this current club wants to return to the post-season. Both Cleveland and Kansas City appear to be after-thoughts, although before the year is out we may begin to see the first signs of the Royals' top-rated farm system bring some long overdue excitement back to KC.

Out in the American League West Division we find baseball's only 4-team alignment. Legendary pitcher Nolan Ryan fronted a bid to buy the Texas Rangers last season, and his group emerged victorious in that battle. His team then emerged victorious in the division and playoff battles, reaching the World Series for the first time in franchise history. It says here that despite losing ace Cliff Lee, the Rangers and A.L. MVP Josh Hamilton will still have enough to hold off the always dangerous Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Halos still look to be clearly the only team that has the firepower to keep up with Texas. The Oakland A's have some strong young pitching, enough to perhaps keep things interesting on their side of the Bay for awhile this summer, but neither they nor the Seattle Mariners should provide much competition in the end.

So with Boston, Chicago, and Texas all picked as divisional winners, the only race left would be for the A.L. Wildcard spot. I see three clubs as serious contenders for that, and would rank them in this order: the Yankees, the Angels, and finally the Twins. The dark horse contender team is the Detroit Tigers, with the Tampa Bay Rays also being a potential longshot playoff contender if all of their questions are answered right. I am going to call it a "Battle of the Sox" in the ALCS, with Boston's red downing Chicago's white, and with the Bosox then taking home their 3rd World Series title in 8 years.

For the award winners, lets go with Adrian Gonzalez of Boston as the A.L. MVP, with Tampa Bay's David Price as the Cy Young Award winner, and with the White Sox' outstanding young lefty arm Chris Sale as the A.L. Rookie of the Year. Guillen will win the Manager of the Year for guiding those Pale Hose to the Central crown. Aside from the real battles between the contenders, real baseball fans should pay attention late in the season to both Baltimore and Kansas City, as each young club should be showcasing some excellent kids who may bring those two former contenders back to the glory days some season soon.

MLB 2010: American League

If there is one consistent in almost every single prognostication for the American League in the coming 2010 season it will be that the Yankees and Red Sox will finish 1-2 in some order in the AL East. Almost every one, because you won't find that pick here. For the 2nd straight year my pick is for the Rays to win the East, and to advance back into the World Series for the 2nd time in 3 seasons.

In that AL East division race, Tampa will be able to matchup with the 'big boys' in New York and Boston with talented young pitching that I believe is primed to take a big step forward, a deep bullpen, and some exciting young hitters throughout the lineup. Leading that rotation is underrated ace James Shields, just entering his prime at 28 years old and the senior member. Following him in order will be Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, David Price and Wade Davis.

The Rays now have a legitimate closer in Rafael Soriano, and a quality setup man in Dan Wheeler. But they will be challenged at least early as lefty J.P. Howell battles injury. The offense will feature 3rd baseman Evan Longoria and outfielder Carl Crawford, two of the best, most exciting all-around players in baseball. They will be supplemented by outfielder B.J. Upton, 1st baseman Carlos Pena, 2nd baseman Ben Zobrist, and shortstop Jason Bartlett.

I am picking that Yankees-Red Sox race as a dead-even battle right behind Tampa, with the 2nd place team here in the AL East becoming the Wild Card playoff club. At this point, I'm going to call it for the Red Sox. Boston made significant upgrades to it's defense in the off-season. That and the further development of some of it's young stars will make the difference, and leave the defending World Series champion Yankees on the outside looking in come the post-season.

Boston comes at you in it's rotation with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, 'Dice-K' Matsuzaka and either youngster Clay Buccholz or veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield as the 5th starter. Closer Jonathan Papelbon and his young setup man Daniel Bard take a back seat to no one in those roles. Boston has a deep, versatile bullpen behind those two as well that will allow it to matchup in most any way it wants against any opponent in the late innings.

In the lineup, the Bosox have brought in brilliant defenders in shortstop Marco Scutaro, 3rd baseman Adrian Beltre, and outfielder Mike Cameron. They join a quality returning cast that includes outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia, 1st baseman Kevin Youkilis, and outfielder J.D. Drew. Last season's big pickup, catcher Victor Martinez, will be around for his first full year in Beantown. A huge key will be DH David Ortiz. A full productive season from 'Big Papi' might push Boston past Tampa at the wire.

The Yankees return a team that is good enough to once again contend all season. Rotation regulars C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Javier Vazquez are as good a 1-4 as there is in the game. Phil Hughes has won the 5th starter role, and his pitching in that role will be pivotal in the Yanks attempt to repeat. Joba Chamberlain has been bumped to the pen, where his skill set actually profiles better than on the mound. He is part of a talented bullpen crew setting up the game's all-time greatest clutch closer, Mariano Rivera.

At the plate the Yanks will come at other teams with a deep, veteran group of professional, dynamic hitters that includes Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, and newcomer Curtis Granderson. I just don't think that the Yankees overall lineup or depth profiles as strong and versatile as the Rays or the Red Sox. But there is certainly enough top level talent that if they all perform up to their potential, the Yankees could successfully repeat as champions.

The AL East is filled out by Baltimore and Toronto, each of whom has reason to hope, but each of whom is light-years behind the top three clubs at this point. The Orioles are my pick for 4th place. With a lineup that features strong, young stud hitters like Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, and Nolan Reimold supported by solid veteran 2nd baseman Brian Roberts and still-talented old-head 3rd baseman Miguel Tejada, the O's will be no pushover. How fast their young pitching, especially Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman, become real big league winners will determine how fast they begin to challenge.

The Blue Jays loss of longtime veteran ace Roy Halladay in trade have them looking like cellar-dwellers, a position which they might occupy for a few years to come as they rebuild. In fact, we might as well name the other bottom feeders throughout the American League right now. Kansas City in the AL Central and Oakland in the AL West have the looks of last place clubs right now, despite the presence of '09 A.L. Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke in KC and fast-rising righthander Brett Anderson with the A's.

At the top of the AL Central, I am going to pick the Minnesota Twins. That pick would have been an easy one with veteran closer Joe Nathan on board, but he will have Tommy John surgery and miss the entire season. I believe that the Twins lineup featuring my pick for AL MVP, catcher Joe Mauer supported by 1st baseman Justin Morneau, outfielder Michael Cuddyer, DH Jason Kubel, and 2nd baseman Orlando Hudson is the best in the division. The Twins pitching is a bit 'no-name', but it has depth and talent as well.

For the rest of the AL Central, I'm going to pick it as Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland in that order. The Tigers rotation with Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, and Max Scherzer at the top has tremendous upside potential, and they have a solid bullpen with newcomer Jose Valverde at the back. Manager Ozzier Guillen will drive his Chisox to contend much of the year before falling short with no fault to the 1-2 punch of Mark Buehrle and Jake Peavy at the top of the rotation or dynamic youngster Gordon Beckham at 2nd base. The Tribe has 'dark horse' written all over it, but just too many questions right now to actually pick higher than 4th place.

In the AL West, it has been the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim running the show for most of the last decade. I see the Halos again taking the division, but it's getting tighter. Hitters like Torii Hunter, Kendry Morales, and Howie Kendrick, and pitching that remains deep and talented despite the loss of ace John Lackey should be enough. Seattle seriously cut into the LA edge by obtaining veteran lefty Cliff Lee to go along with young ace Felix Hernandez. Chone Figgins and Ichiro Suzuki give the M's a pair of offensive dynamos, but the signing of perennial bad boy Milton Bradley should blow up in their faces. Texas has plenty of offensive pop, but doesn't seem to have enough pitching to challenge for the top just yet.

When the playoffs begin in the American League, I think that the experience the young Rays gained by unexpectedly advancing to the 2008 World Series will serve them well this time around. I can see the Rays and the Red Sox downing the Twins and the Angels in the post-season, advancing to meet one another in what would shape up to be an ALCS as potentially dramatic as their '08 series won by Tampa in 7 games. No reason this rematch won't go the same distance, and I'm picking the Rays to frustrate Red Sox Nation one more time.

For the big award winners, I look into my crystal ball and see catcher Joe Mauer of the Twins taking the AL MVP Award in a very tight race with Rays' 3rd baseman Evan Longoria. I'll take the Tigers righthanded flame-thrower Justin Verlander to win the American League Cy Young Award. Much of the AL Rookie of the Year talk is already centering around Texas' flame thrower Neftali Feliz and a pair of Tigers in 2nd baseman Scott Sizemore and outfielder Austin Jackson. But I'm going to call it for Baltimore Orioles lefty Brian Matusz. There seems to be a ton of good, young talent at Camden Yards, and Matusz will be one of the keys as the franchise tries to return to it's former greatness in the AL East, baseball's toughest division.

COMING TOMORROW: MLB 2010: National League

1915 World Series: Phillies vs. Red Sox

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...well sort of, the Phillies appeared in the World Series during the early part of the 20th century. The Phils lost the 1915 Series to the Boston Red Sox and legendary outfielder Tris Speaker by 4 games to 1, marking the 2nd straight season that a team from Boston beat a team from Philly for the championship. The NL's Boston Braves had swept Connie Mack and the AL's Philadelphia Athletics in the previous fall classic. It is not likely that there are too many left alive who saw or in some way experienced that 1915 Series. If you were just born that year, you are now 93 years old, so most everyone who was there is now gone. Much as with their current 2008 brethren, things started well in that 1915 Series for the Phillies. They won the first game here in Philly at the old Baker Bowl over the Red Sox by a 3-1 score behind the pitching of ace Grover Cleveland Alexander to take a 1-0 lead in the Series. The Phils got on the board first when in the 4th inning leftfielder George 'Possum' Whitted singled home centerfielder 'Dode' Paskert. The Sox tied it up in the top of the 8th, but in the Phils bottom half they manufactured a pair of runs to take the 3-1 lead. The 28-year old Alexander, who had won 31 games that season, finished up a complete game win, but not before some baseball history was made. In that top of the 9th, the leadoff batter reached on an error, and the Red Sox sent to the plate a kid pinch-hitter who they felt had some pop in his bat. It would be the first-ever World Series plate appearance in the big leagues for the 20-year old George Herman 'Babe' Ruth, and in fact it would mark his only appearance in the entire Series. Ruth was in his 2nd season with Boston, having begun with 10 at-bats in 1914 and another 92 in that 1915 season, so he had just 102 total big-league at-bats to that point. Alexander induced Ruth into an easy groundout to the first baseman, then got the final hitter on a popup to first, and the Phils had their first-ever World Series win. Little did the franchise' owners, players, and fans know that it would be 65 years before they would enjoy another. Game #2 was also at Baker Bowl, which was located in a small one-square block area bordered by Broad Street and 15th Street, and Lehigh Avenue and Huntingdon Street. Approximately 20,000 fans would pack the Baker Bowl for each of the three games that would be played there that fall, and for this 2nd game there was more history as one of those in attendance was President Woodrow Wilson, marking the first time that a U.S. President had attended a Series game. That game #2 began with the Sox scoring a run in the top of the first inning, and it would be their only run until they scored another in the top of the 9th. Unfortunately for the Phillies, they could only muster one of their own, and the Red Sox evened the Series at a game apiece thanks to that 2-1 victory. When the Series reverted back to Boston for games 3 and 4, the now famous Fenway Park was the Red Sox home, having just opened a couple of years earlier. However, the Red Sox ownership often used Braves Field, which had just opened that very year and was the home of the National League Boston Braves (now the Atlanta Braves) for their 'big games' because Braves Field was larger and held more fans than Fenway. So the Phils never got into Fenway that year, instead playing before over 40,000 rabid sox fans at Braves Field. The Red Sox 2-1 victory in the 2nd game was exactly duplicated in those next two games, with Boston winning by identical 2-1 scores to take a 3-1 lead in the Series, which headed back to Philadelphia. Things looked good early in Game #5 back at the Baker Bowl thanks to veteran 1st baseman Fred Luderus, who doubled home a run as the Phils scored twice in the first. Boston answered with single runs in the 2nd and 3rd, but then Luderus blasted a solo homer and the Phils rallied for another in the bottom of the 4th for a 4-2 lead. That lead held all the way into the top of the 8th before Boston leftfielder Duffy Lewis cracked a 2-run homer off Phils' reliever Eppa Rixey to tie the score at 4-4 heading into the 9th. In the top of that 9th, rightfielder Harry Hooper, who would be selected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1971, broke the tie with a 1-out homer, his 2nd of the game, and the Red Sox took a 5-4 lead into the bottom where the Phils went down in order meekly. Both of Hooper's homers actually bounced over the fence in what would be considered 'ground rule doubles' today. The centerfield fence that his game-winning homer in the 9th bounced over was erected especially for the World Series to allow more seating capacity at Baker Bowl. Boston celebrated it's third World Series victory, having won the first-ever modern Series in 1903, and then again winning it in 1912. For the Phillies, that first-ever World Series win would have to wait all the way until 1980. But it was here all the way back in 1915 that the Phils got their first taste of the Series, only to fall short thanks to four consecutive 1-run losses.

The House That Ruth Built

Baseball's most storied playing grounds, Yankee Stadium in New York, played host to one of baseball's premier events last night as the stars shined for MLB's annual All-Star game extravaganza. The game was awarded to the Big Apple to honor the grand old ball yard in its final season. It is slated for demolition this winter, to be replaced by the New Yankee Stadium. The stadium was nicknamed "The House That Ruth Built" because it literally was just that. Early in their history, the New York Yankees played their games at The Polo Grounds, a park that was the real home of the New York Giants ball club. The Giants threatened to evict the Yanks, so the club ownership purchased a plot of land in the Bronx and built the most magnificent facility of it's kind at the time. Ruth had been baseball's biggest star as a pitcher and hitter for the Boston Red Sox, who sold him to the Yankees while he was still a young player. Yankee Stadium opened its doors for the 1923 season, and Ruth christened it by hitting the first home run there. The stadium's signature feature was a white frieze or facade that runs all along the top of the outfield, and following various renovations over the years at least part of the frieze was always maintained. The New Yankee Stadium will incorporate one as well as a homage. The stadium has played host to 37 World Series over the years, with the Yanks clinching wins in 16 of those series at the stadium, the most recent back in 1999. Beginning in the 1951 season, Bob Sheppard became the public address announcer, and still serves in that role, though he has appeared less frequently as he battles illness associated with old age the past couple seasons. Sheppard's booming voice over the loud speakers became affectionately known as "The Voice of God". Yankee Stadium has played host to numerous events besides baseball. In December 1958, what has become known as 'The Greatest Game Ever Played' in the NFL took place there as the Johnny Unitas-led Baltimore Colts rallied to dramatically defeat the New York Giants 23-17 for the world championship. Legendary college football coach Knute Rockne gave his famous "win one for The Gipper" speech at halftime of a 1928 game to his Notre Dame charges, who went on to down Army 12-6. One of the most important boxing matches ever took place there in 1938 when black American Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling, a German from Hitler's Nazi-era machine. Schmeling had beaten Louis 2 years earlier, and there was a highly charged political climate to the fight as Louis knocked the German out in the first round. Louis fought there 8 times, and Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson also won there. In last night's All-Star finale at the stadium, the stars didn't seem to want to say goodbye. The game dragged in to the 15th inning with numerous tremendous defensive plays before the AL won on a sacrifice fly. J.D. Drew of the hated Red Sox proved to be the MVP in one final twist of irony. The House That Ruth Built is closing down in a few months, but it will be forever remembered, and last night's MLB All-Star classic was just one of many unforgettable events there.