2011: The Year That Was

9.  Evan Longoria’s Ride Gets “Purloined”  (March 9).
You’ve seen the New Era commercials where the Tampa Bay Rays star gets his hat stolen, right?  Well, in March, his 1967 Camaro got boosted from an Arizona car lot.  Spoiler alert…it was recovered two days later.

8.  Deion Sanders’ Daughter Goes Off!  (December 28).

A late addition, but, thankfully, people like reading about crazy.  And if I learned anything in 2011…people LOVE crazy.  As the story goes, Deion Sanders’ wife Pilar alledgedly found out that the NFL Hall of Famer was divorcing her via TMZ.  This didn’t sit well with Prime Time’s daughter.

7.  Shaq Wants to Fight Jose Canseco  (November 11).

Jose Canseco was scheduled to fight “White House Party Crasher” Tareq Salahi in early November…only to have him replaced by Lenny Dykstra who, in turn, opted out.  So, no fight.  Enter Shaquille O’Neal, who issued a Twitter challenge to the one-time AL MVP.  Canseco accepted the challenge, by the way.

6.  Ichiro Donates 100 Million (Yen) to Japan  (March 18).

In a year where youTube videos of kids giving fould balls to other kids, this is probably one of the coolest acts of kindness you’ll ever find.  After the earthquakes that ravaged Japan, the All-Star opened up his wallet and donated $1.25 million to the Red Cross efforts.

5.  Derek Jeter…Rockstar  (December 13).

Much bigger news than Derek Jeter’s 3000th hit…Derek Jeter giving away signed memorabilia to hook ups.  ’nuff said.

4.  Nickelback Goes After Braves Reliever  (December 3).

Need another reason to dislike Nickelback?  Read the comments on this one and decide for yourself if the writer was joking or not when they compared the Canadian rockers to The Beatles.

3.  The “Buckner Ball” is For Sale  (October 25).

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Game Six the 1986 World Series…singer/songwriter/collector Seth Swirsky put one of his prized possessions (the “Buckner Ball”) up for auction.

2.  Hey, Tito…This Doesn’t Look Good  (September 30).

Sometimes, you re-post rumors about clubhouse antics found in gossip columns by a Boston writer and they turn out to be nothing.  Other times, they define the downfall of the 2011 Red Sox.

1.  Yup…”Baseball Wives”  (October 26), Anna Benson’s Sex Toy, er, Weapon  (November 30),  Anna Benson Takes Aim at PETA  (December 1) and Talkin’ Baseball (and “Wives”) with Kris Benson (December 9).

Ugh…”Baseball Wives”.  These stories alone created more traffic than anything else on this list combined.  That said, Anna Benson’s alledged 12-inch dildo attack (she tells me it isn’t true) on Chuck Knoblauch’s ex made December 1, the busiest month in The Hall’s history.  That’s right, one day’s traffic was more than any other month.

Ever.

(Dis)honorable Mention:  Were More Canseco Brothers Shenanagins Afoot? Perhaps  (July 9).  Back in July, some friends of mine and I roadtripped to Zion, Illinois to watch Jose Canseco and his band of misfits take on the woeful Lake County Fielders.  Jose wasn’t there, but his twin brother was…and, perhaps, trying to take his place.  But that was just the opening act of what would follow.  Some of you know what transpired next.  And while I won’t get into it here, let’s just say…shit got interesting.

A story for another time perhaps?

So, again, a huge thanks to Yardbarker, Big League Stew, Hot Clicks, Hardball Talk, Deadspin, Grantland, FOX Sports.com, The Score, The American Mustache Institute, The Baseball Bloggers Alliance and everyone else who continues to link to The Hall on a regular basis.  And, of course, a bigger thanks the readers that made 2011 what it was.

What story (stories) did you enjoy most? Click on “comments” below and go bananas.