All this week, the FanHouse staff is looking back at the most significant baseball storylines of 2010. Our top stories are linked below, but there were many more high and low points...
• Troy Tulowitzki hit four home runs in 40 games between June 7 and Sept. 2, missing nearly six weeks during that span with a broken wrist. Suffice to say, there were no indications at that point that he was about to break out in an otherworldly power surge. From Sept. 3 to Sept. 18, Tulowitzki mashed 14 home runs and amassed 31 RBI. Four times during that span, he hit a pair of homers in a game. Throw in four doubles and a triple and his slugging percentage for that 15-game stretch was a tidy 1.164. Interestingly, 10 of those games came against teams in playoff contention (the Padres and Reds), but Tulowitzki didn't draw a single intentional walk during his run.
• Perhaps Tulowitzki was just trying to outdo his teammate Carlos Gonzalez , who had an impressive streak end the day before Tulo's began. Gonzalez collected at least one extra-base hit in 10 consecutive games from Aug. 24-Sept. 2 -- four doubles, two triples and six homers. His slugging percentage during that time was an absurd 1.257.
• Arthur Rhodes went 33 games without allowing a run before his 30-inning scoreless streak ended when the Phillies scored three against him June 29. He hadn't allowed a run since April 10.
• Josh Hamilton posted the longest hitting streak of the season, 23 consecutive games from June 4-June 30. He hit .457 during that run, collecting nine doubles, a triple and nine homers while driving in 29. His OPS was a staggering 1.352. Oh, and after going 0-for-3 on July 1, he hit safely in his next eight games.
MLB 2010 in Review: Giants' Title Run|Year of the Pitcher|Cliff Lee Saga
The Imperfect Game|Summer of Strasburg|Prospect of the Year|Manager Turnover
• Kendry Morales on May 29 suffered perhaps the most avoidable season-ending injury ever,breaking his left legas he jumped into home plate to celebrate a game-winning grand slam against the Mariners.
• Well, maybe Morales wasn't the worst offender. Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan managed to tear the meniscus in his left knee July 25 whileattempting to apply a shaving cream pieto the face of teammate Wes Helms after a walk-off win. He missed the rest of the season, as well.
• It looked as if thetorn ACLthat ended Chipper Jones ' season in August might also spell the end of his career, but the Braves icon quickly decided to come back in 2011 and try to go out on top.
• Four players hit for the cycle in 2010: Jody Gerut of the Brewers on May 8, Bengie Molina of the Rangers on July 16, Kelly Johnson of the Diamondbacks on July 23 and Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies on July 31. Molina's was by far the most interesting of the bunch, given that the lumbering catcher had tripled only four times in the previous 10 seasons.
• Just about everything that could go right did for the Twins on July 26. Minnesotamauled the Royals 19-1as Joe Mauer went 5-for-5 and drove in a career-high seven runs.
• TheYear of the Pitcherfeatured two perfect games and three additional no-hitters during the regular season, but that wasn't the extent of the mound mastery. Teams were held to just one hit in a game 23 times during the season, most notably Armando Galarraga 'swould-be perfect gameon June 2. The total of 28 no- or one-hit games topped the old record of 26, set in 1988.
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