The MLB has had a surge in home runs in recent years, but players are also striking out more. I argue that fans should appreciate smaller plays like singles and sacrifice bunts. It's a specific niche in baseball stats that I care deeply about, and the distinct drop in small ball playing since the turn of the century should be paid attention to, much more than it is.

In this story in my "Peanuts and Cracker Jack" baseball series, I discussed the ethics of baseball and how it has become very much wealth and money-based in recent years. I called out teams like the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and their ability to pick any player they want and sign them off the free agent market. I cited players who had success in the League, then were instantly picked up by such teams with large bank accounts.

"Peanuts and Cracker Jack" is a the column I created early in the year. I realized I wanted to write about so many baseball subjects that they should be bundled together. Throughout the series, I use statistics and history to critique and report on baseball. In this particular installment, I talk about the Colorado Rockies and the "mystery" of why they fail to ever play baseball with quality.

I could say that this is my favorite of the whole series because of my baseball jokes, the positive feeling of the article, or all the traditions I got to talk about. To tell the truth, the adorable feature image of me and my sister at our first Rockies game is my favorite part.

I got the amazing opportunity to go to Todd Helton Appreciation Weekend, where the Rockies honored the induction of franchise legend the "Todd Father" into the Hall of Fame – of course I brought my camera. This is the one PCJ installment where I actually created a photo gallery, where I shot moments throughout the ceremony.

This is one of my proudest episodes of the series yet because I got the chance to be so passionate in my writing. I've long argued that baseball should be a permanent sport in the Olympics, and in this article I got the chance to piecemeal respond to all the IOC's claims of why it shouldn't. My argument climbs in intensity until I finally make my most major and most fierce point in the final paragraphs. I just wish the IOC could've read it.