There's a common refrain in baseball that age 27 is a big-time breakout year for players......that the natural progression for a baseball player is to come up from college at about age 22, go through the minor leagues until age 24, be called up to the majors and struggle as a rookie or 2nd year player, and then have a big-time breakout, welcome-to-the-big-leagues season at age 27. Two prime examples of this theory last year were demonstrated by Brian Dozier, the 2nd base-extraordinaire who went 20-20 (20 HRs, 20 steals), and Michael Brantley, who had a Top-10 statistical season and batted well over .300 (very difficult to do nowadays). They were both ranked at or below the Top 200 players going into last season, so calling it a "breakout" was very apt. Someone like Buster Posey, however (turned 27 last year) was already a known commodity and was expected to contribute in a big way, so his really good season (.300 BA, 20 HRs from a catcher) was not considered a true breakout.
If you DO buy into the age 27 theory, here are some candidates for breakouts in 2015:
Johnny Giovatella, long-time Royals prospect now the 2B for the Angels
Wilson Ramos and Jason Castro, pair of catchers to vaunt up the ladder.
Finally, Justin Upton: people already have high expectations of him, but is this the year he fulfills his prophecy and becomes a Top 10 player?
That said, experts have done studies on this theory and pretty much have debunked it, and guys like Brantley and Dozier are probably just examples of guys who breakout at every age (Steve Pearce broke out last year at age 31), and Mike Trout broke out at age 20, in his rookie season. For example, in 2008 prime 27-year-old breakouts on everyone's radar included Ryan Garko, Austin Kearns, and Chad Tracy. It's safe to say those guys didn't pan out.
Anyway, 2014-2015 was the year I turned 27, and didn't really "break out" in dodgeball or legal education or relationship-wise (STILL SINGLE!), but Japanese definitely took a big step forward, and I think I learned that every year, as long as I am learning a new skill, or constantly improving myself, no matter what age that is, I can have little "breakouts" (and not the annoying acne kind) along the way. Less than one month to go until 28, and on to my late twenties!
Speaking of which, I've always wondered what the percentage of relationships are comprised of the man being younger than the woman, and conversely which ones have older men. My colleagues seem to agree that it's about a 70/30 or 80/20 split in favor of men older than women, or even more, and the precise number is definitely undecided, but everyone says it's definitely more older men-younger women relationships. I can see why society is like that due to the fact that women seem to mature faster than men (most men) and the whole "biological clock" issue which I just learned about recently (call me naive), but I don't think it has to be necessarily like that. Women I guess also like men who are more "settled down" and have "had their fun" before committing to one woman, which I guess can be the case. In my case "settling down" would not be having to pick through all the women who are after me (every man's dream I guess) but instead to maybe actually want to go into a long-term relationship and committing to someone for the rest of my life and not go off and do a solo vacation in a foreign country, which I am wont to do. I guess "committing to one woman" is the test of a relationship, and it comes with age and maturity in a man's case to understand that they need someone and to sacrifice the single way of life.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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