Rest In Peace, Smokin' Joe Frazier

Former Heavy Weight Champion, Joe Frazier has passed away at age 67 due to complications from cancer.

Known as Smokin’ Joe, Frazier stalked his opponents around the ring with a crouching, relentless attack — his head low and bobbing, his broad, powerful shoulders hunched — as he bore down on them with an onslaught of withering jabs and crushing body blows, setting them up for his devastating left hook.

2011 National League Best Hitting Performances (ranked by wOBA)

This is the second in a series of rankings. This is the NL, sorted by wOBA with a 130 at-bat minimum to allow us a glimpse at a few potential breakouts.

Name	Team	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	BABIP	wOBA
Ryan Braun	Brewers	629	0.332	0.397	0.597	0.265	0.350	0.433
Matt Kemp	Dodgers	689	0.324	0.399	0.586	0.262	0.380	0.419
Prince Fielder	Brewers	692	0.299	0.415	0.566	0.267	0.306	0.408
Jason Giambi	Rockies	152	0.260	0.355	0.603	0.344	0.284	0.407
Joey Votto	Reds	719	0.309	0.416	0.531	0.222	0.349	0.403
Lance Berkman	Cardinals	587	0.301	0.412	0.547	0.246	0.315	0.402
Allen Craig	Cardinals	219	0.315	0.362	0.555	0.240	0.344	0.399
Matt Holliday	Cardinals	516	0.296	0.388	0.525	0.229	0.330	0.393
Ike Davis	Mets	149	0.302	0.383	0.543	0.240	0.344	0.391
Carlos Beltran	- - -	598	0.300	0.385	0.525	0.225	0.324	0.389
Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies	606	0.302	0.372	0.544	0.242	0.305	0.389
Michael Morse	Nationals	575	0.303	0.360	0.550	0.247	0.344	0.387
Jose Reyes	Mets	586	0.337	0.384	0.493	0.156	0.353	0.386
Albert Pujols	Cardinals	651	0.299	0.366	0.541	0.242	0.277	0.385
Justin Upton	Diamondbacks	674	0.289	0.369	0.529	0.240	0.319	0.385
Carlos Gonzalez	Rockies	542	0.295	0.363	0.526	0.231	0.326	0.383
Pablo Sandoval	Giants	466	0.315	0.357	0.552	0.237	0.320	0.379
Mike Stanton	Marlins	601	0.262	0.356	0.537	0.275	0.314	0.378
Hunter Pence	- - -	668	0.314	0.370	0.502	0.188	0.361	0.378
Aaron Hill	Diamondbacks	142	0.315	0.386	0.492	0.177	0.356	0.376
Matt Downs	Astros	222	0.276	0.347	0.518	0.241	0.315	0.373
Aramis Ramirez	Cubs	626	0.306	0.361	0.510	0.204	0.308	0.373
Corey Hart	Brewers	551	0.285	0.356	0.510	0.226	0.323	0.373
Shane Victorino	Phillies	586	0.279	0.355	0.491	0.212	0.292	0.372
Jesus Guzman	Padres	271	0.312	0.369	0.478	0.166	0.360	0.371
John Mayberry	Phillies	296	0.273	0.341	0.513	0.240	0.293	0.369
Lucas Duda	Mets	347	0.292	0.370	0.482	0.189	0.326	0.368
Todd Helton	Rockies	491	0.302	0.385	0.466	0.164	0.328	0.368
Ryan Doumit	Pirates	236	0.303	0.353	0.477	0.174	0.331	0.360
Andrew McCutchen	Pirates	678	0.259	0.364	0.456	0.198	0.291	0.360
Rickie Weeks	Brewers	515	0.269	0.350	0.468	0.199	0.310	0.358
Seth Smith	Rockies	533	0.284	0.347	0.483	0.200	0.320	0.357
Paul Goldschmidt	Diamondbacks	177	0.250	0.333	0.474	0.224	0.323	0.356
Ryan Howard	Phillies	644	0.253	0.346	0.488	0.235	0.303	0.354
Reed Johnson	Cubs	266	0.309	0.348	0.467	0.159	0.394	0.354
Nick Hundley	Padres	308	0.288	0.347	0.477	0.189	0.362	0.354
Carlos Pena	Cubs	606	0.225	0.357	0.462	0.237	0.267	0.354
Miguel Montero	Diamondbacks	553	0.282	0.351	0.469	0.187	0.317	0.351
Brandon Phillips	Reds	675	0.300	0.353	0.457	0.157	0.322	0.351
Alex Presley	Pirates	231	0.298	0.339	0.465	0.167	0.349	0.350
Daniel Murphy	Mets	423	0.320	0.362	0.448	0.128	0.345	0.350
Nick Punto	Cardinals	166	0.278	0.388	0.421	0.143	0.319	0.350
Brian Bogusevic	Astros	182	0.287	0.348	0.457	0.171	0.355	0.349
Yadier Molina	Cardinals	518	0.305	0.349	0.465	0.160	0.311	0.349
Brian McCann	Braves	527	0.270	0.351	0.466	0.195	0.287	0.348
David Freese	Cardinals	363	0.297	0.350	0.441	0.144	0.356	0.348
Ryan Zimmerman	Nationals	440	0.289	0.355	0.443	0.154	0.326	0.347
Chris Iannetta	Rockies	426	0.238	0.370	0.414	0.177	0.276	0.347
Dexter Fowler	Rockies	563	0.266	0.363	0.432	0.166	0.354	0.346
Nyjer Morgan	Brewers	429	0.304	0.357	0.421	0.116	0.362	0.346
Jay Bruce	Reds	664	0.256	0.341	0.474	0.217	0.297	0.346
Chipper Jones	Braves	512	0.275	0.344	0.470	0.196	0.295	0.345
Freddie Freeman	Braves	635	0.282	0.346	0.448	0.166	0.339	0.345

Some interesting names for further study:

• Allen Craig - Cardinals
• Ike Davis - Mets
• Michael Morse - Nationals
• Matt Downs - Astros
• Jesus Guzman - Padres
• John Mayberry - Phillies
• Lucas Duda - Mets
• Paul Goldschmidt - D'Backs
• Reed Johnson - Cubs
• Alex Presley - Pirates
  

2011 American league Best Hitting Performances (ranked by wOBA)

This is the first in a series of 2011 performance rankings. The information is taken from fangraphs.com and transferred to excel by me. This list is sorted by wOBA and has a 130 at-bat minimum, so we can see some of the potential breakouts we'll be going after in 2012.

Name	Team	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	BABIP	wOBA
Mike Napoli	Rangers	432	0.320	0.414	0.631	0.312	0.344	0.444
Jose Bautista	Blue Jays	655	0.302	0.447	0.608	0.306	0.309	0.441
Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	688	0.344	0.448	0.586	0.241	0.365	0.436
Brett Lawrie	Blue Jays	171	0.293	0.373	0.580	0.287	0.318	0.413
Adrian Gonzalez	Red Sox	715	0.338	0.410	0.548	0.21	0.380	0.406
David Ortiz	Red Sox	605	0.309	0.398	0.554	0.246	0.321	0.405
Jacoby Ellsbury	Red Sox	732	0.321	0.376	0.552	0.23	0.336	0.402
Alejandro De Aza	White Sox	171	0.329	0.400	0.520	0.191	0.404	0.401
Curtis Granderson	Yankees	691	0.262	0.364	0.552	0.29	0.295	0.394
Paul Konerko	White Sox	639	0.300	0.388	0.517	0.217	0.304	0.383
Alex Avila	Tigers	551	0.295	0.389	0.506	0.211	0.366	0.383
Alex Gordon	Royals	690	0.303	0.376	0.502	0.2	0.358	0.382
Adrian Beltre	Rangers	525	0.296	0.331	0.561	0.265	0.273	0.379
Dustin Pedroia	Red Sox	731	0.307	0.387	0.474	0.167	0.325	0.377
Robinson Cano	Yankees	681	0.302	0.349	0.533	0.231	0.316	0.375
Andruw Jones	Yankees	222	0.247	0.356	0.495	0.247	0.296	0.371
Josh Hamilton	Rangers	538	0.298	0.346	0.536	0.238	0.317	0.371
Jason Kipnis	Indians	150	0.272	0.333	0.507	0.235	0.313	0.371
Ian Kinsler	Rangers	723	0.255	0.355	0.477	0.223	0.243	0.37
Michael Young	Rangers	689	0.338	0.380	0.474	0.136	0.367	0.369
Victor Martinez	Tigers	595	0.330	0.380	0.470	0.141	0.343	0.368
Kevin Youkilis	Red Sox	517	0.258	0.373	0.459	0.202	0.296	0.366
Evan Longoria	Rays	574	0.244	0.355	0.495	0.251	0.239	0.365
Carlos Quentin	White Sox	483	0.254	0.340	0.499	0.245	0.261	0.363
Jim Thome	Phillies	324	0.256	0.361	0.477	0.22	0.327	0.362
Brent Lillibridge	White Sox	216	0.258	0.340	0.505	0.247	0.310	0.362
Alex Rodriguez	Yankees	428	0.276	0.362	0.461	0.185	0.311	0.361
Salvador Perez	Royals	158	0.331	0.361	0.473	0.142	0.362	0.361
Desmond Jennings	Rays	287	0.259	0.356	0.449	0.19	0.303	0.361
Mark Teixeira	Yankees	684	0.248	0.341	0.494	0.246	0.239	0.361
Ben Zobrist	Rays	674	0.269	0.353	0.469	0.201	0.310	0.36
Nick Swisher	Yankees	635	0.260	0.374	0.449	0.188	0.295	0.358
Matt Joyce	Rays	522	0.277	0.347	0.478	0.201	0.317	0.357
Michael Cuddyer	Twins	584	0.284	0.346	0.459	0.176	0.312	0.354
Jhonny Peralta	Tigers	576	0.299	0.345	0.478	0.179	0.325	0.353
Travis Hafner	Indians	368	0.280	0.361	0.449	0.169	0.332	0.353
Nelson Cruz	Rangers	513	0.263	0.312	0.509	0.246	0.288	0.352
Casey Kotchman	Rays	563	0.306	0.378	0.422	0.116	0.335	0.351
Billy Butler	Royals	673	0.291	0.361	0.461	0.169	0.316	0.351
Josh Willingham	Athletics	563	0.246	0.332	0.477	0.232	0.287	0.35
Carlos Santana	Indians	658	0.239	0.351	0.457	0.217	0.263	0.349
Melky Cabrera	Royals	706	0.305	0.339	0.470	0.164	0.332	0.349
Howie Kendrick	Angels	583	0.285	0.338	0.464	0.179	0.338	0.349
Mark Reynolds	Orioles	620	0.221	0.323	0.483	0.262	0.266	0.348
Brennan Boesch	Tigers	472	0.283	0.341	0.458	0.175	0.315	0.346
Jeff Francoeur	Royals	656	0.285	0.329	0.476	0.191	0.323	0.346
Shelley Duncan	Indians	247	0.260	0.324	0.484	0.224	0.297	0.346
Yunel Escobar	Blue Jays	590	0.290	0.369	0.413	0.123	0.316	0.345
Asdrubal Cabrera	Indians	667	0.273	0.332	0.460	0.187	0.302	0.345
Edwin Encarnacion	Blue Jays	530	0.272	0.334	0.453	0.181	0.292	0.344
Marco Scutaro	Red Sox	445	0.299	0.358	0.423	0.124	0.312	0.343
J.J. Hardy	Orioles	567	0.269	0.310	0.491	0.222	0.273	0.343

Some names from the list that may warrant some further study include:

• Brett Lawrie - Blue Jays
• Alejandro De Aza - White Sox
• Andruw Jones - Yankees
• Jason Kipnis - Indians
• Salvador Perez - Royals
• Desmond Jennings - Rays
• Brennan Boesch - Tigers
• Shelly Duncan - Indians

BBA: Stan Musial Award

This is the official ballot of the Fantasy Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Associations' vote for the Stan Musial Award which recognizes the Top Player in both the American League and the National League.

American League

1. Jose Bautista
2. Jacoby Ellsbury
3. Miguel Cabrera
4. Dustin Pedroia
5. Curtis Granderson
6. Justin Verlander
7. Adrian Gonzalez
8. Ian Kinsler
9. Alex Gordon
10. Melky Cabrera

National League

1. Matt Kemp
2. Ryan Braun
3. Prince Fielder
4. Joey Votto
5. Justin Upton
6. Troy Tulowitski
7. Albert Pujols
8. Jose Reyes
9. Hunter Pence
10. Lance Berkman

You can check out member blog opinions on these great sites:

Dear Mr. Fantasy
Roto Think Tank

BBA: Walter Johnson Award

This is the official ballot of the Fantasy Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Association's Walter Johnson Award, given to each season's best pitcher.

National League:
1. Roy Halladay
2. Clayton Kershaw
3. Cliff Lee
4. Cole Hamels
5. Madison Bumgarner

American League:
1. Justin Verlander
2. C.C. Sabathia
3. Jered Weaver
4. James Shields
5. C.J. Wilson

See our member opinions:

Dear Mr. Fantasy
Roto Think Tank

BBA: Willie Mays Award

This is the official ballot of the Fantasy Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Association for the Willie Mays award, given to the best rookie in each league.

National League
1. Craig Kimbrel
2. Freddie Freeman
3. Cory Luebke

American League
1. Eric Hosmer
2. Jeremy Hellickson
3. Ivan Nova

You can see other member votes on these sites:

Dear Mr. Fantasy

BBA: Connie Mack Award Ballot

The official Connie Mack Ballot of the Fantasy Chapter of the BBA reads as follows:

American League:
1. Joe Maddon
2. Ron Washington
3. Jim Leyland

National League:
1. Kirk Gibson
2. Ron Roenicke
3. Bruce Bochy

You can find our member opinions here:

Dear Mr. Fantasy
The Sporting Hippeaux