It is crazy how things happen, in life and in baseball. The Boston Red Sox, after waiting a long, grueling 86 years between World Series championships, only needed two years to claim their next. The 2007 Red Sox swept the Rockies (who swept their own way to the Fall Classic before getting swept themselves), and truly made people forget about their struggles in the previous century.
1.) Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers: 50 Home Runs (and 157 games)
While A-Rod hit more bombs, and had a better season overall, Fielder’s season gets highlight for a few reasons. Prince took the National League by storm in 2007, and at age 23, became a nightmare for pitchers. While he would never reach that 50-homer mark again, Fielder did have a different streak that was truly more remarkable. From 2006, all the way until 2013, Fielder never played less than 157 games. In an era of rest, which is not necessarily a bad thing, it is cool to see that type of Ripken style play that is seen very seldom today.
2.) Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres: 2.54 ERA
A 2.54 ERA is not that impressive in comparison to what other pitchers in other seasons have been able to accomplish, but in 2007, it was far and away the best. The craziest part is, Peavy was the ONLY pitcher who qualified to have an ERA below 3.00. That is absolutely unheard of and is really a testament to how the league as a whole was producing. Peavy, who did benefit from pitching in the pitcher friendly Petco Park, managed to stand out from the rest of the pack. The Padres ace wound up winning the Cy Young award in 2007.
3.) Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers: 23 Triples
No one who played after the start of the Great Depression had more triples in a single season than Granderson did in 2007. That may be a weird event to choose, but it is unheard of to think of a player in the 21st century only trailing players from 1925 and earlier. Granderson had a real talent for the triple, especially when playing in the spacious Comerica Park in Detroit. When Granderson moved to a smaller park, Yankee Stadium for example, his triple prowess upgraded to home runs, and in a big way.
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