Top 5 Moments of the First Quarter of the 2016 MLB Season

We’re about a quarter of the way into the 2016 Major League Baseball season so I came up with an idea to review the top 5 moments from each quarter.  And although the season is only 40 or so games young, a lot has already transpired.  This list is just based on my own opinion, so a lot of you may have other ideas. (Feel free to let me know!) Also, I know you’re probably thinking the Blue Jays/Rangers brawl would at least get a mention but I tried to keep this within the actual scope of the game. Enjoy!

5. Clayton Kershaw strikes out ten in six straight starts.

(USATSI)

Coming in at #5 is the most recent of these moments as Clayton Kershaw strikes out at least 10 hitters in his sixth consecutive game.  Only 4 other pitchers have done this since 1900—3 of which are already in the Hall of Fame.  Over the last 5-6 years, Kershaw has cemented himself as one of the best, if not the best, pitchers in all of Major League Baseball and rightfully so. Meanwhile he continues to back himself up and prove to everyone that he is as elite as they come.

4. Jake Arrieta throws his second career no-hitter.

While Kershaw has been the poster child of the 2010s, perhaps no pitcher has been on a more incredible run since the start of 2015 than Jake Arrieta.  After tossing his first career no hitter last August in the midst of a second half performance no one had ever really seen before, Arrieta followed it up with another in late April.  The 2015 Cy Young Award winner has backed up his breakout season with another strong start, highlighted by this performance against the Reds.

3. Trevor Story hits his seventh home run in first six games.

On April 10^th Story hammered his 7^th home run in just his sixth game, a new MLB rookie record.  His incredible run to open the season put his name on the map of the entire baseball world, not to be soon forgotten.  Too bad the Rockies will never get any decent pitching because their offense is very solid.  Absolute suicide for pitchers in that launching pad of a park.

2. Max Scherzer strikes out twenty.

Roger Clemens. Randy Johnson. Kerry Wood. That’s it. Those are the only pitchers in MLB history to strike out 20 hitters in a single game.  Well, that is until Max Scherzer joined the club last week against his former team in what was easily the best MLB pitching performance of the season.  Scherzer gave 21 a run in the ninth inning after striking out the first two hitters but a ground ball final out kept him from doing so.  Still, to join such an exclusive club has to be a highlight both for him and for fans like us who witnessed it.

1. Bartolo Colon hits his first MLB home run.

“The impossible has happened!!” – Mets play by play announcer Gary Cohen. What a time to be alive. On May 7^th Bartolo “Big Sexy” Colon drilled his first career home run to deep left field off of James Shields, and he pimped the SHIT out of it.  Carrying the bat halfway down the first base line was absolute gold, not to mention a 30+ second trot around the bases.  The 42 year old Dominican is always a spectacle to watch, but this had to have been one of the best moments (both for fans and himself) of his career.  Nonetheless, it comes in as the top moment of the 2016 Major League Baseball season so far.

Honorable Mentions:

Giancarlo Stanton hits a home run out of Marlins Park.

Jackie Bradley Jr.’s hit streak

Justin Verlander reaches 2,000 strikeouts.