MLB Special: Major League Baseball - American League fills up on talent
It looks like the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season will be dominated by the teams from the American League. During the offseason, teams like the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers made some power moves by acquiring big name star players like
Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and C. J. Wilson.
Teams like the New York Yankees which are already full of talent with the likes of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are keeping a keen eye on the recent offseason developments in the American League. Jeter recently commented on it by stating that the AL will
be a lot more competitive this year. To a certain degree he is right. The offseason was filled with some real power deals that had the media in frenzy.
Of course the two main moves were made by some of the biggest hitters in the game, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. Pujols went to the Los Angeles Angels with a massive ten-year deal worth $254 million. C. J. Wilson will be joining him in Los Angeles with
a five-year $77.5 million deal. The talented slugger Prince Fielder was signed on by the Detroit Tigers for a huge nine-year deal worth $214 million. The teams in the American League had money to spend this year and they definitely used it.
Another team making the headlines in the American League is the Oakland Athletics. Even though they have one of the lowest payrolls in the League, they managed to acquire the Cuban star Yoenis Cespedes with a four-year $36 million contract. Also, the team
is all set to sign on Manny Ramirez as he has recently been re-instated by MLB. This combination of Cespedes and Ramirez is definitely turning some heads this year.
However, many critics feel that MLB will become one-sided this year as the American League is just filled to the brim with talent. Teams like the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays are also very competitive and will definitely
give the other teams a decent run for their money during the 2012 regular season. Most baseball pundits are under the impression that with so much talent in the American League, the question of dominance is always present.
What is truly exciting this year will be the fact that the defending World Series Champions St. Louis Cardinals are from the National League and they have seen their top player Albert Pujols migrate to the American League. It will be tough task for the Cardinals
to defend their title during the 2012 regular season. The same situation sits with the Milwaukee Brewers, as their top slugger Prince Fielder also managed to make a move to the American League.
Although many top players have gone to the American League during the offseason, the National League still has some tremendous teams capable of doing damage during the regular season. Teams like the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals,
Philadelphia Phillies and the newly re-built Chicago Cubs will be very competitive and looking to take the fight to the American League teams.
As Spring Training approaches, the exhibition games will give a good idea of how competitive each team actually is. Most of the teams will be looking to put in a good performance to show the other clubs their dominance on the field. It will be exciting to
see how the offseason moves made by the American League pay-off during the 2012 MLB regular season.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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