The best baseball players in the game take the field tonight at Target Field for the MLB All-Star game in Minneapolis, which got us thinking; which Raiders players would be the most likely to find success if they played baseball for a living?
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given to the best pitcher in baseball, so who would the Raiders trot out to the pitcher's mound if they had one game to win? We're going with QB Matt Schaub, the man with the cannon for an arm who was also a second-team All-Area pitcher in high school.
Rolaids Relief Award
The final three outs of a baseball game are commonly referred to as the hardest three to get, and the Rolaids Relief Award honors the players who come in from the bullpen to help secure a win for their team. With that being said, K Sebastian Janikowski, who has successfully kicked 13 game-winning FGs, is the obvious selection for this accolade.
Sebastian is no stranger to performing in clutch situations, as he has made nearly 80 percent of the field goals he has attempted in his career and accounted for all the Raiders points in a 15-13 victory over the San Diego Chargers during the 2000 season, as well as a 15-0 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012.
Most Steals
While there isn't an official award honoring the player in MLB with the most stolen bases, we couldn't help but think about which Raider would thrive as a base stealer. Our best guess? Former high school track star and current cornerback Taiwan Jones who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds during his college pro day. Now that's a guy who would be hard to catch stealing a bag.
Gold Glove Award
The Gold Glove Award is given to the best defensive player at each respective position, so naturally our Gold Glover would be FS Charles Woodson, a future Hall of Famer with 56 career interceptions.
Additionally, his 13 defensive touchdowns are tied with Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper for the most all-time, and has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest defensive players to ever play the game.
Silver Slugger Award
Standing at 6'5" and tipping the scales at 265 pounds, DE Justin Tuck is a formidable, physical presence who packs quite the punch on the football field. We can imagine he'd be quite a force in the batter's box as well, so he's our choice to win the Silver Slugger, the award for the best offensive player in the league.
Comeback Player of the Year
After missing nearly all of 2013 with a leg injury, SS Tyvon Branch is now healthy and poised to once again make a big impact on the defensive side of the ball in 2014.
In 2012, the season prior to his injury, Branch was playing the best football of his career, tallying 146 tackles, which was the most he has recorded as a Raider. If you need any more proof of how valuable he is to the Raiders defense, the Raiders are 6-1 when he has a takeaway, and 5-2 when he records a sack.
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Roberto Clemente Award
The Roberto Clemente Award is the character-based award in MLB, and after volunteering his time with numerous organizations including Toys For Tots, the Alameda County Food Bank and the NFL's Play 60 campaign, FB Marcel Reece is our choice for the honor.
Marcel is also a leader on the field, as he has been a captain for the Silver and Black since 2012 and was named to consecutive Pro Bowls in 2012 and 2013.
Rookie of the Year
Selected number five overall, hard-hitting LB Khalil Mack is likely to be an immediate-impact player, which is why he's our early selection for Rookie of the Year in 2014.
Mack was a defensive force in college and is the NCAA's all-time leader with 16 forced fumbles and Buffalo's all-time sack leader with 28.5 total sacks.
