Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Player Profile: John Axford


I have one card of John Axford, from 2011 Topps.

Playing career: John Axford came up with the Brewers in 2009, became the closer in 2010, and had a fantastic 2011, saving a league-leading 46 games with a 1.95 ERA.

Interesting stories: Axford is one of the more entertaining players in the game today. He is one baseball’s most prolific tweeters, and his mustache is one of baseball’s most prominent. More recently, he blew a save on the day his wife went into labor, and Axford left a very funny handwritten message for the media.

Where he is now: Though he has 15 saves at the All-Star break, his 4.72 ERA is almost three full runs higher than his ERA last year. He got his wisdom teeth pulled over the break and tweeted a picture of the removed teeth.

My memories: I became aware of him last year as he started gaining publicity for his off-field exploits. I was surprised I hadn’t heard of him earlier – it seems that every year I get surprised by minor stars on small-market teams I haven’t heard of, especially in the NL.

Google Autocomplete results: The first four results when you google John Ax refer to him. The next is for John Axson Ellis, a blues musician. Another prominent John Axford is an appraiser for Antiques Roadshow.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Benny Ayala.

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