Major League Baseball

From Acuña to deGrom to Ohtani: A baseball wish list

Updated Dec. 23, 2021 11:53 a.m. ET

By Ben Verlander
FOX Sports MLB Writer

The holiday season is upon us!

The season of giving — and the season of asking for things that you might or might not get.

Naturally, I put together a list of the 10 things I’m asking Major League Baseball for this holiday season.

Without further ado, let’s get to it!

All I want for Christmas is:

10. Jacob deGrom to have a full, healthy season

In 2021, deGrom was on pace to have the greatest season of all time by a pitcher, a season even better than Bob Gibson’s 1968, which was so dominant it forced MLB to lower the pitching mound. But deGrom's dominant season was derailed by a forearm injury.

Now, deGrom is the best pitcher in baseball, and there really isn’t much of an argument. The only thing holding him back the past few years has been injury. In addition to the forearm problem, deGrom has missed time due to neck, lat, back, shoulder and elbow issues.

I would love to see a full, healthy season from him in 2022.

9. Ronald Acuña Jr. to go 40/40

Only four players in the history of the game have had 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season: Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco and Alfonso Soriano.

That’s it. That’s the list.

Acuña is the current MLB player most capable of accomplishing the feat. In 2019, he finished just three stolen bases short, and he might have done it last season if he hadn't suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

It would be awesome to see Acuña become the fifth member of the elusive 40/40 club.

8. Shohei Ohtani to hit 50 home runs

Ohtani is coming off a season in which he was named AL MVP and won the hearts of baseball fans around the world while hitting 46 home runs and posting a 3.18 ERA in 23 starts.

Can he top that? Specifically, can he hit even more home runs?

Well, I certainly want him to. And I think it could happen.

Ohtani proved to be an absolute force at the place this year. Heading into the All-Star break, he had 33 home runs. But in the second half of the season, opposing pitchers hardly threw him any strikes, and many put him on first base before he even stepped in the box.

With a (hopefully) healthy Mike Trout in the lineup, Ohtani will get better pitches to hit all season and — fingers crossed — will have a chance at the 50-home-run mark.

"He was must-see TV!" — Ben Verlander on AL MVP Shohei Ohtani

Ben Verlander breaks down AL MVP Shohei Ohtani's first half of the 2021 season and discusses his top highlights.

7. Yankees fans to stop talking about their 27 rings

It has been more than a decade since the Yankees have reached the World Series. Their most recent appearance and title came back in 2009.

The president at that time was Ronald Reagan. The No. 1 movie in theaters was "The Godfather." Gas was 95 cents a gallon.

Not really, but it feels like it has been that long.

The time is now for the Yankees to win. But even if it's not, Yankees fans need to stop talking about the number of rings their team has won in the past.

Enough already. There are Yankees fans about to become teenagers who've never even seen their team in the World Series.

6. Adley Rutschman to make his MLB debut

Rutschman was taken first overall by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2019 MLB Draft and was immediately tasked with turning around the franchise.

As we head toward the 2022 season, the power-hitting catcher/first baseman is the No. 1 prospect in baseball.

In 2021, the 23-year-old Rutschman put up fantastic numbers in Double-A and Triple-A (.285/.397/.502). Is 2022 the year we see him in the big leagues? I hope so.

5. Mike Trout to be healthy

We are lucky enough to watch one of the greatest baseball players of all time in his prime. Trout is only 30 years old but is already a sure Hall of Famer.

Since 2016, though, he hasn't played more than 140 games in a season due to injuries, and he missed most of 2021 because of a calf strain.

I would love nothing more than for Trout to have a healthy 2022. He deserves it, and baseball fans deserve it.

He’s a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Baseball is better when he’s playing.

4. Umpires to be held accountable

In sports, as in most things in life, if you don’t do your job well, there are repercussions. As a baseball player, if I don’t play well, I’m gone.

But with umpiring, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

We have exact data on how good umpires are, what calls they miss and what percentage of the time they miss those calls. Yet somehow, when we get to the playoffs, it seems that some of the worst umpires are calling the games.

That doesn’t sit well with me, and I hope it changes. I want umpires to start being held accountable in 2022.

"MLB umpires must be held accountable" — Ben Verlander on the biggest missed calls of the 2021 postseason

Ben Verlander looks at umpiring in the 2021 playoffs, including the check swing that ended the NLDS between the Giants and Dodgers. Verlander also discusses the importance of the strike zone and whether "robo umpires" should be used in baseball.

3. The Angels to get Trout and Ohtani to the playoffs

As a fan of the game of baseball, I want Trout and Ohtani in the postseason.

As mentioned above, Trout is one of the best to ever do it, and now the Angels have Ohtani, who is coming off perhaps the greatest season of all time. Yet the Angels never seems to make the playoffs.

They need pitching, and so far this offseason, it looks like they’re making an effort to have a better staff in 2022.

The Angels cannot let the primes of these two stars go to waste.

2. My brother to have a great and healthy season

Since the day I was born, one of my favorite things has been watching my brother pitch.

But in 2020, my brother, Justin Verlander, got hurt after one inning and didn't pitch again the rest of the season. He eventually had Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2021 as well.

Well, in 2022, he will be back! I can’t wait to watch him get on the mound for the Houston Astros for essentially the first time since his 2019 Cy Young season.

Here’s to a healthy and dominant 2022 from my brother.

1. The MLB lockout to end

None of these other wishes is possible unless the MLB lockout ends.

My No. 1 wish for 2022 is that the players and owners can come together on a new collective bargaining agreement, and we can get back to the sport we all know and love!

Happy Holidays!

Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the "Flippin' Bats" podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him on Twitter @Verly32.