How will Masahiro Tanaka, the Japanese phenomenon, perform in his first MLB season?
The twenty-five year old from Japan had under a two earned run average in his last two seasons with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Tanaka is a five time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star and led his team to the World Series title last season. The pitcher performed extremely well abroad, and it will be interesting to see exactly how well he fares with the Yankees in the MLB.
Ridge student Kenny Fields ‘16 believes that “he has a nasty splitter, and will be a great fit for the New York Yankees.”
What will be the impact of the expanded instant replay?
The MLB will expand instant replay this season, which means that managers can challenge the calls they disagree with and about ninety percent of all plays on the field will be reviewed. Umpires residing in the MLB.com headquarters will review the plays. The success will depend on if the process of reviewing the plays delays the baseball game. During spring training, it seemed that the games went smoothly with reviews because they did not take as much time.
Peter Alexis ‘14 says that “MLB (Expanded) Instant Replay is something that is long overdue” and that it will not impact the time of games negatively. “It will be very successful, as it plays a vital role in many other sports.”
Will the Marines’ new stacked squad, featuring All-Star Robinson Cano, be a boom or bust?
The Mariners have clearly invested in a winning season with the signings of multiple MLB stars in the off-season, such as Robinson Cano, Corey Hart and Logan Morrison. The Los Angeles Angels and Miami Marlins have had similar plans in recent years; they have tried to sign the best players on the market. Both teams did not play well after their ventures, and soon spectators will see if the Marines have a recipe for success or a disaster waiting to happen.