Five things to remember from 2007

As the last post of the year (I'm going to take the day off on Monday), we'll take a look at some of the memories from the 2007 season.

1. Liriano vs. Santana
All year long these two were contending for top pitcher honors. Both had amazing seasons and indeed faced off in the All-Star game. Neither was all that impressive in that game, but Liriano fared slightly better. Oddly enough the two would never face each other in a regular season game, but in round 2 of the playoffs, we finally saw the matchup we were waiting for -- twice! In game one, Liriano clearly outduelled Santana in an 8-2 victory, but game two was more even as both earned non-decisions. Liriano got to pitch in the World Series while Santana watched at home on TV. Liriano and Santana would once again contend, this time for the coveted Ben McDonald Award. Santana won by the skin of his teeth and Liriano was forced to settle for the Pat Listach Award.

2. New Blood
The Sardine City Straphangers and the New Jersey Team Buddah kicked off their inaugural seasons in 2007. Both teams started off with a loss - ok make that seven straight losses! After their eighth try, the Straphangers finally earned their first win and it took Team Buddah one extra game to win in their ninth try. Both teams will look to improve in 2008.

3. Newark's Steamrolling
The Sugar Bears were a powerhouse all season long, setting several offensive records along the way en route to a dominating final record. The Sugar Bears won their unprecedented fourth straight DMBL World Series. Chipper Jones took the Mitchell Award. Five Sugar Bears batters were in the top seven in OPS. Jim Edmonds and Marlon Anderson will forever be remembered for their gaudy and unexpected numbers.

4. Hall of Fame Opens its Doors
The DMBL finally took off in 2007 after much planning. The voters inducted four members: Tony Gwynn, Mark McGwire, Albert Belle, and John Wetteland. Although there weren't many votes, the Hall experienced a great opening year crowd in its Parsippany, New Jersey, location.

5. Brett Myers' Losing streak
Not since the days of Kevin Appier have we seen such a bad start to the season. Well at least as far as I can remember anyway. Either way, Myers faced a brutal start to his '07 campaign, going 0-12 early on. Myers finally broke the hex in May against the Honolulu Sharks. Myers looked like a sure bet to lose 20 games. His ERA stood at 10.62 at one point, but he worked hard with pitching coach Sam "Mayday" Malone and actually finished the season at 10-18 (meaning he was 10-6 following his disastrous 0-12 start). Considering where he stood earlier, his 6.27 ERA was somewhat respectable.