Though the 2011 MLB season has given us plenty of stories to talk about midway through the year, none have been greater than those who have surprised us. And while San Francisco's Ryan Vogelsong who I recently blogged about has made an argument for himself, St. Louis' Lance Berkman takes the cake. Berkman who was recently announced to his sixth career All-Star Game last week, has been on an absolute tear since signing in the offseason with the Red Birds. Following the All-Star break, Berkman is among the National League leaders in runs (58), RBI's (66) and home runs (26) which he trails only Toronto's Jose Bautista's 31 long balls for tops in the Majors.
Though Berkman has finished multiple seasons on the cusp of an MVP Award while a member of the Houston Astros whom he played with for over a decade (1999-2010), the one nicknamed the "Big Puma" has somewhat revitalized his career which many declared was reaching a climax following a sub-par stint with the Yankees last year as a designated-hitter. During his season donning the pinstripes in 2010, Berkman finished the season hitting a cool .255 with 1 home run and 9 RBI's to his credit. His lack of production resulted in the club declining to exercise his option for 2011, making him a free-agent. After compiling career-low numbers on offense, few teams were willing to take a gamble on the 35 year old Berkman and the one that did couldn't be any happier as his acquisition has certainly paid off.
Most significant of all, Berkman has stepped up during the most trying of times to keep the team afloat and in contention in the division when St. Louis' most valuable player in Albert Pujols began the season struggling before landing on the disabled list with an injured wrist. Like the saying goes, "one man's trash is another man's treasure" or in this case, one team's trash is another team's treasure as Berkman has blossomed back into the MVP caliber player we've all grown accustomed to seeing.
Let's stay in the division, shall we? And while we're on the subject of surprises, it would be a complete mockery if I failed to mention the Pittsburgh Pirates who entered last week's All-Star break above the .500 mark for the first time since 1992. Though the Cleveland Indians deserve a ton of respect as well having led the AL Central for almost the entire season now while being labeled as underdogs, even they don't match up to the Pittsburgh Pirates who have been the laughing stock of the baseball world since the Barry Bonds era in the early 90's. Having endured losing season after losing season for the past two decades now, the Bucco's have finally produced what appears to be a winning team that looks to put an end to their current 18 consecutive losing season streak which is also the longest such streak in North American professional sports.
Led on offense by young stud Andrew McCutchen who alongside Kevin Correia and Joel Hanrahan were sent to Arizona for the 2011 All-Star Game, the Pirates currently stand six games above .500 at 51-45 and are a 0.5 game out of first place behind the division leading Milwaukee Brewers. While the division is still up for grabs with plenty of ball to be played, besting either the Brewers, Cardinals or Reds for first place is not only unlikely, but it's also unneeded for the Pirates to call this season a success given both the organization and its fans are starving of a winning season.
Pittsburgh's stellar season thus far has caught the attention of all baseball fans to the point that even non-Pirate fans such as myself are rooting for the black and yellow to finally overcome their struggles of 18 years now. For years, the only thing baseball fans in the Steel City had to look forward to was the pirogi race, now they have an actual team they can head to the ballpark to watch. Not to say they're the up and coming NL version of the Tampa Bay Rays as they're a few blue-chip prospects away from that territory, but it's certainly a breath of fresh air to see fans filing into the seats of what I think is one of baseball's gems as far as today's stadiums go in P&C Park.
Not to mention it's also a bit of relief blogging about something new considering in all of my 2+ years of blogging, I have not once mentioned the Pirates ball club. With that being said, Welcome to the blogosphere, Pittsburgh!
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