Nothing But East Coast Bias

Living in the Midwest and being a sports fan, there are three sacred words that are in the vocabularies of every fan who resides in the Midwest. Those words being…East Coast Bias. No matter what national outlet you affiliate with, there is always a form of a East Coast Bias. As you know, Fansided has been running a series of polls in recent weeks in order to determine the best division in all of baseball. We have reached the “World Series” of our tournament, and no surprise, the contest is between the American League East and the National League East. Let’s take a look at both teams and determine what league has the best division.

• American League East

SP: CC Sabathia, David Price, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and Ricky Romero

RP: Rafael Soriano

CP: Mariano Rivera

C: Matt Wieters

1B: Adrian Gonzalez

2B: Robinson Cano

3B: Evan Longoria

SS: Derek Jeter

OF: Carl Crawford

OF: Brett Gardner

OF: Jose Bautista

DH: Manny Ramirez

It may just be the fact that I am a National League fan, and do not spend much time watching the American League, but I am not that impressed with the American League East team. Three players that immediately stick out to me are Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez, and Jose Bautista. Jeter is on the wrong side of 30, and with last season as an indicator, his numbers appear to be going on the wrong side as well. Remember those bands that have one hit and then after that nothing? Well that is what Jose Bautista is–a one hit wonder. I honestly do not expect Bautista to come anywhere near the 54 home runs that he hit last season. Manny Ramirez? Really? The same Manny Ramirez that was irrevelant for entire season last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago White Sox. While the American League east does have an impressive pitching staff, I’m not willing to rank it above that of the National League East.

• National League East

SP: Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Josh Johnson, and Tommy Hanson

RP: Ryan Madson

CP: Francisco Rodriguez

C: Brian McCann

1B: Ryan Howard

2B: Chase Utley

3B: Ryan Zimmerman

SS: Hanley Ramirez

OF: Mike Stanton

OF: Jason Heyward

OF: Jayson Werth

If my rant against the American League East was not enough, I think the National League East is the best division in baseball. Thanks in large part to the Phillies with Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Madson, Howard, and Utley all being represented on the team. It is hard enough to go against a rotation that includes three Cy Young award winners, and let alone a lineup that virtually has no flaws. Folks, the choice is simple, the National League East is by far the best division in baseball.

Now go and prove the sentiment by voting.