Offtopic » Triple Crown contender Christian

Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. Nolan Arenado and the big-hitting Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium.October baseball is about to begin with Game No. 163 on Monday.Two tiebreakers on the same day for the first time in major league history. Both to divvy up divisions David Robertson Jersey , too.“It’s interesting that baseball is such a perfect game in some ways that it takes 162 to not decide anything,” Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and the Cubs begin the doubleheader drama when they host Milwaukee for the NL Central crown. Later in the afternoon, Dodgers rookie Walker Buehler is set to start when Los Angeles faces Colorado for the NL West title.There’s a catch, though.All four teams are already assured playoff spots, either as a division champ or wild card. The Dodgers, Rockies, Brewers and Cubs knew that going into Sunday, the final scheduled day of the regular season, and then romped by a combined score of 48-5.So, it means this: These matchups are not one-and-done.Never before has a team that lost a tiebreaker got to keep playing. Bucky Dent’s pop-fly homer finished off the Red Sox in 1978. Matt Holliday slid home — and maybe touched the plate — to eliminate San Diego in 2007. David Price pitched Tampa Bay past Texas in 2013 to win the most recent matchup.This time, they’re all in. But, there’s still a big difference between winning the division or going into the postseason as a wild card.The Brewers-Cubs winner gets to start the best-of-five Division Series at home on Thursday against the wild card winner. The Colorado-Los Angeles winner also begins the NLDS at home versus Atlanta.“It’s a game where obviously it’s not do-or-die, but I think that it’s a must-win game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after a 15-0 rout in San Francisco.“To win the game and get a couple days off, to host the Division Series is very important,” he said.The tiebreaker losers play Tuesday at the NL Central’s site to determine who advances.The AL playoff scenario is set.Oakland and the Yankees hold the wild-card game Wednesday night in New York and the winner goes to Boston on Friday. Defending World Series champion Houston opens the ALDS against Cleveland.Arenado homered twice and Charlie Blackmon hit for the cycle as the Rockies roughed up Washington 12-0. The Nationals decided to skip ace Max Scherzer and instead start Erick Fedde.Colorado, which has never won a division title since beginning play in 1993, will try to deny the defending NL champion Dodgers their sixth straight West title. German Marquez http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-sonny-gray-jersey , who struck out eight straight batters to begin his last start, takes on Manny Machado, Justin Turner and their Los Angeles teammates.“It’s two of the best young starting pitchers in the big leagues pitching in this type of game,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “It’s great.”The Dodgers topped Colorado 12-7 in the season series. The Cubs are 11-8 against Milwaukee.At Wrigley, lefty Jose Quintana is set to start for the Cubs. He’s 6-2 with a 1.60 ERA in 10 starts against Milwaukee. The Brewers haven’t announced their starter.The Cubs put themselves in this position with a 10-5 win at home over St. Louis. Milwaukee won its seventh in a row, trouncing Detroit 11-0.“Expecting it to be fairly hostile tomorrow,” Yelich said. “Any time we play the Cubs, it’s a hostile environment, especially in Wrigley Field. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’re looking forward to it.”Yelich is hitting .323 in his first season with Milwaukee, sealing the first batting title in Brewers’ history. He has 109 RBIs, tied with Arenado and two behind Javier Baez of the Cubs. Yelich’s 36 home runs are even with Colorado’s Trevor Story and St. Louis’ Matt Carpenter, one behind Arenado.Since the tiebreakers are considered game No. 163 of the regular season, all stats Monday will count, giving Yelich a chance to win the first NL Triple Crown since Joe Medwick in 1937. At some point, an MLB player will score a contract worth a half-billion dollars.It's an absurd notion, but it's coming. And Mike Trout may be the man to cash in.Heading into this winter, all eyes will be on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.Harper is 25 years old and Machado is 26. Both are generational talents with sterling resumes.That said, neither has performed at peak level in his contract year.Harper has cracked 34 home runs but is hitting a ho-hum .246 for the Washington Nationals, who will miss the postseason.Machado is slashing .296/.366/.541 overall Luis Severino Jersey , but his average (.267) and OPS (.824) have declined since a trade-deadline swap from the Baltimore Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers.Both players will get paid. Neither is likely to crack the $500 million threshold.What about Trout? You don't need his resume, but we'll supply it anyway. Between 2012 and today, he has made seven All-Star appearances, won a pair of American League MVP awards and amassed 63.7 WAR by FanGraphs' calculation.The next-highest WAR totals during that span belong to Andrew McCutchen (36.3) and Josh Donaldson (36.2). Trout is almost literally lapping the field.This year, he's launched 38 home runs and leads both leagues with a 1.093 OPS.Oh, and the guy celebrated his 27th birthday on August 7. Technically he's just entering his prime.Mike Stone/Associated PressOK, Trout is great. That's not news to anybody. How does his greatness translate to a $500 million payday?Let's turn to Fancred's Jon Heyman, who reported that, "The Angels are expected to try again to make Mike Trout a lifetime Angel when they discuss a contract this winter, and one rival agent suggested Trout's agent would be wise to wait until free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are signed to provide the floor."Yes, you read that right. Harper and Machado will be the floor.The Halos will pay Trout $33.25 million in 2019 and 2020. Barring a shocking trade, he'll remain in Anaheim for the next two seasons.After that, he could become the most coveted free agent in baseball history. Or, the Angels could lock him up for the long haul.In March 2014, Trout inked a six-year, $144.5 million extension with the Angels. It was a massive pact for a player who, at the time, had only a pair of full big league campaigns under his belt.It also displayed Trout's loyalty to the franchise that drafted him 25th overall in 2009.Will that loyalty lead him to another, larger http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-aaron-hicks-jersey , lifetime deal in the $500M range?Maybe. Here's the fly in the ointment: Trout has the hardware and individual accolades but doesn't have postseason success.Ted S. Warren/Associated PressTrout has played in a scant three playoff games, all losses. In 12 at-bats on the game's brightest stage, he's managed just a single hit plus three walks. In typical Trout fashion, the hit was a home run, but that's still a minuscule sample size."Obviously I want to win," Trout said recently, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. "It's not a good feeling being in early September and you're out of it. It's definitely in the back of my mind, but you've got to trust the front office."The Angels made moves last winter. Most notably, they signed two-way Japanese star Shohei Ohtani, who has been derailed by elbow problems but has displayed tantalizing power and pitching prowess this season.Despite the Angels' futility, there is a world where Trout sticks with them and finally makes a run.MLB might wish he'd go to a more high-profile club; up the I-5 freeway to the Los Angeles Dodgers or across the country to the New York Yankees. Earlier this season, Commissioner Rob Manfred all but said Trout was squandering his opportunity as the game's pre-eminent star.That's never been Trout's style, however. He's not flashy. He doesn't covet the spotlight.The Angels seem prepared to offer him untold riches to keep wearing their uniform. And nothing in Trout's brilliant, understated career indicates he'd say no.It's silly to suggest a player could humbly accept a half-billion dollars. But if anyone can do it, it's Mike Trout.All statistics and contract information current entering play Wednesday and courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.