10 Players with the Most Weight of Their Franchise on Their Shoulders

As baseball welcomes in one of the most gifted rookie classes in recent memory and the NBA enters an offseason in which free agency can alter the landscape of the entire league, the young superstar players driving these leagues inevitebly wind up with incredibly large amounts of pressure on them to help their team win. With that in mind, I've compiled what I believe to be the ten players with the greatest amount of pressure on them from their team and their city. The list doesn't include too many hockey players due to the nature of that sport, in that the players who play the most other than goalies are on the ice less than half the game. It is impossible to put all of the pressure on one player. Also, any player on a team that has the money to add star players, or any player with a strong supporting cast will certainly be brought down a few spots on the list. So, with all that in mind, here are the players with the heaviest burdens to bear:

Near misses (the players who just miss the top 10):
Adrian Gonzalez (Padres): As fantastic a player as Gonzalez has been over the past few seasons, the Padres have been way too willing to shop him any time the team goes south. The front office has really put the pressure from the city and the fans on themselves rather than Gonzalez, despite the fact that more often than not, Adrian has to carry the offense.
Andrew McCutchen (Pirates): McCutchen is a tremendous young five-tool stud for Pittsburgh, but if the past has taught us anything, it's that the Pirates never have the money to hold on to it's young talent. They have jettisoned such solid players as Barry Bonds, Jason Bay, Jason Kendall, Freddy Sanchez, Mike Gonzalez and countless others. Whenever they notice a player has talent, they deal him for a handful of prospects.
Derrick Rose (Bulls): Rose would make the list easily if not for the ridiculous amount of cap room the Bulls have going into this free agent period, and would certainly be right back on it if the Bulls do not land LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Joe Johnson, or Amare' Stoudamire with all of that money.
Aaron Rodgers (Packers): Rodgers has a very solid supporting cast in Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Jermichael Finley, and Ryan Grant, not to mention a very solid young defense, but if this team doesn't start winning playoff games and approaching championships, all of the blame will fall on Rodgers. It is never easy to win with the spectre of Brett Favre hanging over you, even if Favre only won one super bowl.
Jay Cutler (Bears): Cutler was touted as the missing piece to Chicago being a super bowl contender, and as a result, his horrible first season in Chicago has him feeling a lot of pressure. The supporting cast is not exactly world class, but this city expects results when it gives up a successful starting QB and a boatload of draft picks to get their QB.
Hanley Ramirez (Marlins): Ramirez may have caught the ire of his teammates and manager earlier this year for not running down a grounder after it riccocheted off of his shin, but his talent keeps him the anchor of the organization. He narrowly misses the top 10 due to the other young stars currently coming into thier own for the fish. First baseman Gaby Sanchez, outfielder Mike Stanton, and the power arm of Josh Johnson ease a little of the stress off of Hanley, and when this team opens its new stadium in Miami, they expect Hanley to lead a very strong baseball team.
And now for the top 10:
10. Adrian Peterson (Vikings): Brett Favre can only play so long, and Peterson is widely considered to be the best overall running back in the league, so the pressure for the offense to produce falls squarely on AP after this season. The Vikings still have one of the most stout defenses in the league and have veterans Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson to succeed Favre at QB, and this team went 8-8 with Jackson at the helm two years ago. With a strong running game and great defense, and an improved Jackson, the Vikings do not expect a drastic dropoff without number 4, and the brunt of those expectations will be Peterson's to bear.
9. Kevin Durant (Thunder): Durant came out of nowhere this past season to be one of the most electric scorers in the league. Oklahoma City pushed the eventual champion Lakers as hard as anyone prior to the finals and Durant is the key piece to that success. Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green provide some support for the Durantula, but he is the face of this franchise that is on the rise, and given his young age, the team will expect him to continue his acension to elite player status.
8. Albert Pujols (Cardinals): Albert is simply considered to be the best player in baseball, and he's certainly the best hitter I've seen in my lifetime. Playing in St. Louis, he will always have a franchise that will make an effort to surround him with solid players and continue the franchise's proud history, but Pujols will always be the main attraction. Matt Holliday, Ryan Ludwick, and budding star Colby Rasmus cause Albert to be a few rungs down on this list than he would have been a few years ago, but there is no player that Cardinal fans believe in and root for more than Albert Pujols, and anything less than superhuman outputs seem unacceptable from this all-time great.
7. Jason Heyward (Braves): Jason Heyward came up to the big leagues this season as the most touted rookie slugger possibly since Alex Rodriguez in his debut with the Mariners, and a monster 3-run homer on opening day did nothing to temper expectations. The sound of his hits has been compared to a shotgun, and he has given a jolt to a long struggling offense. Chipper Jones' hints at retirement are as much a statement of belief that he finally has a new franchise player to turn the Braves over to as they are about his declining play and willingness to play for a new manager. Atlanta has always had fantastic pitching from Maddux to Glavine to Smoltz to Hudson to Lowe to Vasquez and now to Jurrjens, Medlen, and Tommy Hanson. The arms will always keep them competetive, but Heyward is the bat that has to do the rest.
6. Alex Ovechkin (Capitals): This is the only hockey player on this list and for good reason. Ovechkin is a one man wrecking crew when it comes to lighting the lamp. No matter who the Capitals surround Alex with, he will remain the face of the franchise while Malkin and Staal give Sid the Kid a cushion to fall back on in Pittsburgh. No player in the NHL is expected to do the things that Ovechkin is, and he has the cockiness necessary to believe he can do it.
5. Kevin Kolb (Eagles): When the Philadelphia Eagles sent Donovan McNabb packing, they put the entire franchise in Kolb's hands. Trading him to division rival Washington gave Kolb a difficult measuring stick to live up to. Despite being on two very different teams, Kolb will have to have the Eagles higher in the standings than those Redskins for fans to not be calling for his head. On top of that, the newfound legal troubles of Michael Vick have given the Eagles no other legitimate option at quarterback. Kolb just got thrown into the deep end without a life jacket. Brian Westbrook is also gone, and even with a successful season, LeSean McCoy is no Brian Westbrook. Kevin Kolb, through no fault of his own, is in a can't win situation. That is, unless he can win the whole thing and make Philly fans forget the name Donovan McNabb.
4. Evan Longoria (Rays): Longoria doesn't seem like the type to be this high on the list, but the truth is that while the Rays have been fantastically successful over the past couple of seasons, the attendance still doesn't quite show that. Money doesn't grow on trees for this team, and Longoria is locked into a long term deal in Tampa. Carl Crawford is likely gone at season's end, B.J. Upton has failed to live up to his hype settling in as a sub-.250 hitter, and Carlos Pena will never be a strong contact hitter. Other young players like Ben Zobrist, Jason Bartlett, and Sean Rodriguez are actually late bloomers who are not as young as you might think. The pitching staff is strong, but how many of those talented youngsters can the Rays afford long-term? Unless this team finds some unexpected fans or unexpected money, Longoria will be leaned on heavily to carry this team to success.
3. Joe Mauer (Twins): Joe Mauer is Minnesota. The hometown hero has been probably the best catcher in baseball since he arrived with the Twins, and no matter who the Twinkies surround him with, that city lives and dies with number 7. Morneau won an MVP award and is still second fiddle to Mauer. The Twins expect to have slightly better income with the new Target Field, but it certainly won't catapult them to the level of spending of big market teams in New York, Boston, Chicago, and L.A. Big money free agents will not be a common sight in the twin cities. The Twins pitching staff will always consist of undervalued, crafty control pitchers, and the offense will always be the type that has to play scrappy and manufacture runs. Big names are usually hard to find on the Twins roster, and for that reason Joe Mauer will always be the name most associated with the Twins, and therefore most responsible for their success or failure.
2. Stephen Strasburg (Nationals): Anytime your team turns your debut in to a team holiday with a snappy nickname, you know there is pressure on you to be great. And on "Strasmus," Stephen lived up to that with 14 strikeouts in seven innings to earn a victory. He has looked every bit the unstoppable force he was billed to be with three dominant pitches. With another top pick in 17-year-old slugger Bryce Harper and a solid young core of players at the major league level in Ryan Zimmerman, Jordan Zimmermann, Nyjer Morgan, Roger Bernadina, and Ian Desmond, the Nationals are expecting this team to head north in the standings over the next couple of seasons, and the heaviest weight of those expectations is on Strasburg. Anything short of being a Cy Young candidate each and every year will seem like a letdown after the way Strasburg has started, and he seems humble and hardworking enough to live up to those expectations.
1. LeBron James (Cavaliers?/Bulls?/Knicks?/Nets?/Heat?/Clippers?): Even without a team, the man who tops the list has to be LeBron James. No matter what team he decides to play for next season, he will have more pressure to produce wins than any other person in sports. Name one other player who no matter where he plays, anything short of a league championship and an MVP award would be a massive dissappointment. There aren't any. With LBJ having the freedom to choose where he plays and what free agents he wants to take with him, he will have no excuse that fans will accept if he doesn't bring home the hardware this year. Going back to Cleveland might make people more sympathetic to his plight, but since he's from Ohio his hometown fans wouldn't expect him to have come back if he didn't expect to win a title with the Cavs. To be put on the same pedastal with the greatests in NBA history like Jordan and Russell, LeBron needs to start winning championships, and soon. Anything short of multiple titles, and he won't be remembered much more fondly in history than guys like Clyde Drexler. Karl Malone, and Patrick Ewing who were great players but never had the consistent level of championship results of the greatests of all-time. LeBron belongs at that level. Now he just has to prove it.