As the decade winds down to its final days, Big League Stew is reflecting on the biggest baseball moments of the 2000s. Next up are the best World Series, a tough list to create considering most of the matchups came to be defined based on moments rather than all-around quality of play. A couple of great exceptions, however, top the list.

1. 2001 World Series — Diamondbacks beat Yankees, 4-3

The country was only beginning to heal from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and it was fitting for New York to be participating on the national pastime's biggest stage come October and, for the first time ever, November.

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As the decade winds down to its final moments, Big League Stew is reflecting on the biggest baseball moments of the 2000s. Next up are the top playoff and record-breaking home runs from 2000-09, an up-for-debate list we created by taking each blast's history, impact and moment into account. Please note that we'll be doing a separate list of big regular season home runs — think Mike Piazza and Glenallen Hill — in December.  

1. Barry Bonds hits No. 756, passing Hank Aaron for all-time lead — Aug. 7, 2007

When Bonds launched a pitch from Washington's Mike Bascik deep into the San Francisco night, he did more than just start a lottery ticket free-for-all in the bleachers of AT&T Park. The home run ended Hank Aaron's 12,173-day run atop the career homers list and provided the climactic moment in a saga that spanned several years and introduced the world to BALCO, Greg Anderson, Victor Conte, the cream and the clear.

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The world of advanced baseball statistics can be an intimidating place for those of us who slept our way through advanced algebra or haven't been a follower of the Bill James revolution from the beginning. 

Still, that doesn't mean that we should feel left out when it comes to another way of understanding and appreciating the game we all love. With that in mind, BLS stat doctor Alex Remington will explore a new advanced statistic each week during the offseason, providing a simple primer for the uninitiated.

Today's statistic: OPS+

What it stands for: Adjusted On-base percentage Plus Slugging, as calculated by Sean Forman of baseball-reference.com

How they calculate OPS+: The basic principle is to take a player's OPS (which is the sum of on-base percentage and slugging percentage), adjust it for different ballpark factors and then put it on a percentage scale. When it comes to OPS+, 100 is the league average, 110 is 10 percent above league average, and 90 is 10 percent below league-average. The actual number of ballpark variables involved makes the calculation complicated to write out here, but the actual arithmetic is simple.

OPS+ = 100 x (OBP/lgOBP*+SLG/lgSLG*- 1)

I know what your'e asking: What are lgOBP* and lgSLG*? They're park-adjusted measures for the league-average OBP. Park factors can be very complex and are generally beyond the scope of this article, but ESPN's park factor formula for runs is relatively simple and gets at the basic concept:

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It's a great day here on The Stew as we celebrate what would have been Joe DiMaggio's 95th birthday while also piecing together our Myles Standish costumes for Thanksgiving.

We'll be posting Alex Remington's latest stats lesson and our top 10 "big moment" home runs of the decade list a little later on. But until then, let's all take stock of all the things we're thankful for in baseball. It's a tumultuous time for the sport, but whether it's Tim Lincecum's windup, the late innings brilliance of Mariano Rivera or the sweet swing of Joe Mauer, there's at least one thing that keeps up coming back for more.

And whether it's a warm summer night at Camden Yards in the Harbor, a dog and beer in Wrigley's bleachers or a day with Dad at Dodger Stadium, there's something about baseball that keeps baseball our favorite sport, even in the late chill of November.

So let's have at it, dear Stewies. I've set up a chat box below to record all the various things in baseball that we couldn't do without. You can either submit your thanks in the form below or send a Twitter update marked with the hashtag #StewThanks. We'll keep this box live through Friday so check back early and often to find out how other fans are showing thanks.

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Welcome to 'Duk's Dozen, a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your email submissions and tips here or via Twitter.    

1. Cue the "better buy stock in Doritos" jokes: Our own Tim Brown reports that Tim Lincecum(notes) and his agent could file a mind-blowing $23 million arbitration request. They wouldn't get it, but it'd set the tone for either a record arb award or a big multi-year deal. Yahoo! Sports
2. How much should the Cardinals pay to keep Albert Pujols(notes) in St. Louis for life?  Post Dispatch
3. Joe Posnanski is selling Hall of Fame futures for players under 30. Who's buying? JoePo
4. Wha? Jim Rice thinks Jacoby Ellsbury(notes) could be Boston's next Hall of Famer. Over The Monster
5. The Mariners are touting Edgar Martinez's(notes) HOF credentials to BBWAA voters. Seattle Times
6. Meanwhile, they have a tough decision in keeping or trading Russell Branyan(notes). Lookout Landing
7. The Twins apparently haven't gotten over their jonesin' for Rich Harden(notes). MLBTR
8. MVP voters still love to recognize Ryan Howard(notes) over Chase Utley(notes). Crashburn Alley
9. The Marlins and Mets could be playing a series in Puerto Rico this June. MLB
10. What's  Miguel Cabrera's(notes) trade value if the Tigers want to make a deal? FanGraphs
11. The Cardinals still aren't saying when Mark McGwire will meet the media. AP
12. Evan Longoria(notes) is officially your new MLB2K10 cover boy. Rays Report

Albert Pujols won his second straight NL MVP award and the third of his career on Tuesday afternoon. He was an unanimous first-place choice on all 32 ballots and the distance he put on a talented group of followers — Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder and Troy Tulowitzki rounded out the top five — was impressive. In the ninth season of his career, Pujols led the league in home runs (47), runs (124), OBP (.443) and slugging (.658). He was third in batting (.327) and third in RBIs (135). He has not yet celebrated his 30th birthday. 

At this point, we've almost written everything there is to be written about Phat Albert. It's quite clear that he's on a historical tear and even the most casual baseball follower knows that the Pujols name will eventually end up at the top of statistical leader lists that include names like Aaron and Ruth, Williams and DiMaggio, Mays and Bonds.

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As the decade winds down to its final days, Big League Stew is reflecting on the biggest baseball moments of the 2000s. First up are our top steroid-free controversies from 2000-09 (because a list of controversies that allows for steroids would be terribly redundant and not very interesting). In compiling these choices, we not only weighed the story's tabloid and "talker" qualities, but also its ongoing impact on the sport of baseball. Read on.

1. The 2002 All-Star Game Tie — July 9, 2002

What to do, what to do? On a warm July night in the Midwest, all commissioner Bud Selig could do was throw up his hands. All-Star skippers Bob Brenly and Joe Torre had managed their respective teams into a corner and one of the more entertaining All-Star Games of recent memory — remember Torii Hunter's over-the-wall robbery of Barry Bonds? — was tied 7-7 after 11 innings.

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Welcome to 'Duk's Dozen, a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your email submissions and tips here or via Twitter.   

1. It's admittedly a very loose comparison, but Joe Mauer(notes) and Mark Prior(notes) have become the Michael Jordan and Sam Bowie of the 2001 MLB draft. Star Tribune
2. Why baseball needs Mauer and Albert Pujols(notes) to stay put in their "small markets." Newsday
3. A Twins fan writes condolence letters to those who didn't win the AL MVP. Twinkie Town
4. Mauer beats out Brett Favre when it comes to Turkey Day guests in the Twin Cities. Star Tribune
5. In advance of today's NL MVP coronation, the Dodgers website provides a nice chuckle. MSTI
6. Hey, how would Dan Uggla(notes) look in a Giants uniform next season? Bay City Ball
7. The terms of Ken Griffey's new deal can again be described as "incentive-laden." Seattle Times
8. Jermaine Dye(notes) is open to playing first if it means getting another contract. Circling The Bases
9. I love that John Halama(notes) is still plugging away and trying to get back to the bigs. MLBTR
10. Weighing the possibility of replacing Mike Lowell(notes) with Adrian Beltre(notes) in Boston. Fire Brand
11. That was fast. MLB has already released the Yanks World Series film. Scott Proctor's Arm
12. In case you missed the Derek-Minka pics from St. Bart's last week. Bronx Baseball Daily

Great success! After a few months of the intangibles crowd being threatened with severe online mockery by the rest of us, Minnesota's Joe Mauer was rightly awarded with the first American League MVP of his career on Monday afternoon.

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You can't call CC Sabathia a fair weather NFL fan. The Yankees ace has always shown his love for the silver-and-black and he was rewarded on Sunday when he showed up in Oakland to watch the Raiders steal a game from the Bengals. Today he'll hand out 500 Thanksgiving turkeys in Vallejo, Calif., as his busy offseason as a World Series champion continues.

Sabathia, of course, isn't the only baseballer enjoying his time off after a longer-than-long season. Check out what a few others did over the weekend we just closed.

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