Remembering Ernie Banks

Ernie Banks passed away this past weekend, and when I heard the breaking news of his death I understood the magnitude it had on the sports world, the game of baseball, and the city of Chicago. But as a baseball fan I realized I did not know enough about the legend that is Ernie Banks.

He came into Major League Baseball in 1953 after serving two years in the military, before that he played in the Negro Leagues for the Kansas City Monarchs. However Ernie Banks was much more than just a baseball player. He was the first African- American ball player to suit up for the ever popular Chicago Cubs, something that meant a lot for the baseball crazed city of Chicago and also played a strong role in knocking down the color barriers that were still rather prominent in the United States and Major League Baseball.

He was a fourteen time all star, two time MVP, and Gold Glove winner, but above all he was a pioneer for the game of baseball and for the country in regards to breaking the color barrier that had a firm grip on a nation that prided themselves on being free and the best country in the world. After his playing career he was awarded for his accomplishments by being selected into the Baseball Hall of Fame and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. While this great man is gone his statue and legacy live on in the comfortable confines of Wrigley Field, Throughout the baseball world, and throughout America.

Mad Max Scherzer Is A National

Anytime you throw around biggest contract in MLB history, or highest paid pitcher ever, it is natural to have some skepticism. But the genius of Mike Rizzo, the solid business partnership between one of the most ruthless sports agent and the owners of the Washington Nationals, The Lerner’s, and a bit of flexibility and understanding from the players side, it all comes out to a seven year deal for over 200 million dollars, and seeing that half of it is deferred, Scherzer will essentially be collecting a 15 million dollar paycheck from the Washington Nationals for the next 14 years, not a bad haul.

While the Nationals current team can change very quickly, via trades or the impending free agents at the end of this season, all reports are showing that the band is sticking together for at least one more year. Reports indicate that none of the starting rotation is going anywhere, except for the fact that Tanner Roark might be heading back to the bullpen for long relief and to be an emergency starter, a very formidable one at that.

This makes the Nationals, without a doubt the favorite to win it all, while it is almost guaranteed to disappoint when you are given the title of World Series Champion 3 months before the season starts, I wouldn’t have it any other way. 162 games is a grind, and it will be fun to watch the revolving door rotation of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Scherzer, Fister, and Gonzalez go out on a daily basis and pitch. Now only if I can get a guarantee the lineup will still remember how to hit in October