Don Mattingly in Drag?

In a couple of weeks, we'll know whether or not New York Yankees legend Don Mattingly will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

And while he probably won't (he was at just 13.6% last year)...it's probably a good thing.

No, not because he isn't a viable candidate, one could argue that his six-year stretch from 1984 to 1989 was one of the best of the 80s...but this.  The six-time All-Star and current Los Angeles Dodgers manager recently took the stage during a Evansville (Indiana) Ballet performance of "The Nutcracker".

His role?  Mother Ginger..."a wigged, made up female character whose gigantic skirt and petticoats hide more than a half-dozen children who spill out to dance in the ballet's second act."

You can check out video from the performance over at TriStateHomepage.com.

Cooperstown 2011: Don Mattingly

DON MATTINGLY
11th Year on Ballot (2010 - 16.1%)

PLAYING CAREER:  New York Yankees (1982–1995)

ACHIEVEMENTS:  Career batting average of .307 with 2153 hits, 222 home runs and 1099 RBI.  1985 American League Most Valuable Player.  Nine-time Gold Glove Award winner (1985-1989 and 1991-1994).  Six straight All-Star selections (1984-1989).  Hit .300 or more in seven seasons.  Hit 20-plus home runs five times...30-plus home runs three times.  Had number retired by the Yankees on August 31, 1997.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ON TWITTER:

@NickyBluEyesS:  its a shame Mattingly isn't in. Puckett is w/ virtually the same stats. A ring is a team accomplishment - can't blame Don.

@DashTreyhorn:  Don Mattingly did a lot of things well, just not the whole “being a Hall of Famer” part.

@5States:  I'm a Don Mattingly apologist, so I'll never be annoyed by mention of him in the HOF. I don't care what argument against it you have.

HOVG THOUGHTS:  Like most of the world, I was enamored with Mattingly when he hit the scene. I had his 1984 Donruss rookie card encased in Lucite and thought I was witnessing the second coming. During a six-year run beginning in 1984, Mattingly averaged 26 home runs, 114 RBIs and a .327 batting average. No player during that stretch had more RBI than Mattingly's 684 amd only Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (1269) had more hits than Mattingly's 1219. That six-year peak (from 1984 to 1989) is clearly one of the best of his generation and overall, his brief career stacks up with some others in the Hall. I’m not saying he goes in now, but I do think “Donnie Baseball” will hover on the ballot under he's no longer allowed and get his due from the Veterans Committee.

Joe Torre's Next Stop...Cooperstown (Finally)

Friday afternoon, Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Joe Torre announced that after this season, a disappointing one that saw his run of 14 consecutive postseason appearances come to an end, he was calling it quits.

His replacement..."Donnie Baseball".

Now, I'm not going to bang the story over the head. If you care at all about baseball, you've heard enough about it already. It was breaking news on ESPN and is at the top of (shameless plug coming in 3...2...1) Yardbarker's "The Hot 40".

Sure, losing Torre from the baseball landscape is huge...the guy is an icon and, arguably, one of the most celebrated managers in recent history.

This guy won four World Series titles in New York and spent 12 years (the longest tenure for a Yankees skipper since Casey Stengel was at the helm) as the field general for baseball’s most successful franchise.

To understand how tough it is to remain employed by former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, consider this…Billy Martin (941) managed HALF the games Torre (1942) did for the Yankees.

And that was spread out over FIVE different stints in the Big Apple!

To say Torre’s place as a Yankee great wasn’t already reserved in Monument Park would be like saying Derek Jeter actually got hit by that pitch Wednesday night.

Even in Los Angeles, all Torre needed to do was collect a few paychecks and when it was all said and done…go back to New York and secure his spot as the greatest manager they’ve ever seen.

Without a doubt, Torre is bound to find himself in Cooperstown before long, but the question is this...why isn't he already there? For me, Torre’s managerial career was the icing on the cake of an already terrific career.

Yeah…I said it.

I think the Veteran’s Committee has gotten it wrong by not inducting Torre into their exclusive club.

His career .297 batting average, 2342 hits, MVP award and nine All-Star games (at three different positions, I might add) is impressive given his peers at the time. Take away their home runs and Torre stacks right up there with Orlando Cepeda (whom he was traded for prior to the 1969 season) and the Willies McCovey and Stargell.

And all three are in Cooperstown.

His numbers are better than Ron Santo and every year, for some reason, people bang THAT Hall of Fame drum. And if it wasn’t for one Johnny Bench and the Big Red Machine…it’s possible that people would be calling Torre the best catcher of the 1960s.

He certainly was the best hitting catcher…that’s for sure!

I’d even argue that the best hitting third baseman of the 1970s ain't “This Old Cub”…it’s Joe Torre! From 1961 to 1968 (before the move to third base), Torre hit .294…twice over .315. Post 1968…Torre hit .301 and during his MVP season of 1971, he torched National League pitching to the tune of a .363 batting average and 137 RBI.

The one bit of the puzzle that is lacking for Torre as a player, ironically, is the fact that he never suited up for a post season game. I mean, here’s a guy who has taken three different teams to the playoffs and he had nothing to show for it as a player.

The playoffs without Joe Torre is kinda like the playoffs without, well, Joe Torre. The guy was a postseason staple.

But getting back to the case at hand. As the only manager with both 2000 wins (2318 and counting) and 2000 hits (2342)…the guy deserves his place in Cooperstown.

Don Mattingly on the other hand?

With 2153 career base knocks and zero career managerial wins...he's got a harder case to make.

Hall of Fame 2010: Don Mattingly

From now until the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2010 is announced, The Hall is going to be breaking down each candidate. Some write ups will be lengthy...some will be the opposite. Some will be brand new pieces...some will be re-hashes of previous pieces.

The “Bronx Bombers” owned baseball in the late 70s. They averaged 98 wins from 1976 to 1980 and took home two world championships.

Owner George Steinbrenner was at his most colorful. He hired and fired Billy Martin twice (he’d make three more stints as manager throughout the 80s) and brought players in left and right to capture the pennant.

Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Goose Gossage all brought in to win.

And they did.

In the decade following, Steinbrenner again opened up his wallet to buy some hardware. He brought in Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson and Don Baylor to round out a lineup already chock full of established stars like Guidry, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles and a certain up and coming first baseman.

Steve Balboni.

Problem is…this didn’t work.

The Yankees went from dominating the American League to going twelve straight years of NOT making the playoffs…their longest such streak since BEFORE Babe Ruth came over from BeanTown.
Apparently, you can’t buy chemistry.

Now, to think I’m going to spend the next dozen (or more…probably many more) paragraphs trumpeting Balboni’s career would be insane. Granted, his lifetime numbers of .229, 181 homeruns and 495 RBIs are as rotund as he was, but it’s the Lou Gehrig to Balboni’s Wally Pipp that I’m excited about.

Don Mattingly.

I know what you’re thinking…did this guy lose his mind? He must’ve just got done watching the Cheers finale (that’s a 1993 reference, gang), because “Donnie Baseball” hasn’t been relevant since before the strike of 1994.

Like most of the world, I was enamored with Mattingly when he hit the scene. I had his 1984 Donruss rookie card encased in Lucite and thought I was witnessing the second coming.

That being said, I’m not so sure we weren’t.

During a six-year run beginning in 1984, Mattingly averaged 26 home runs, 114 RBIs and a .327 batting average. No player during that stretch had more RBI than Mattingly's 684, while only Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (1,269) had more hits than Mattingly's 1,219.

That six-year peak (from 1984 to 1989) is clearly one of the best of his generation and overall, his brief career stacks up with some others in the Hall.

Let’s compare him with a recently inducted Hall of Famer and YOU explain to ME why Mattingly can’t get more than 28 percent of the vote. Matter of fact, if someone can tell me how less than ten percent of the voters in 2007 thought Mattingly was Hall worthy…I’m waiting.

So, let’s compare!

HALL CANDIDATE A played in only 1785 games at the major league level. However, in that short career…he notched 2153 hits, 222 homeruns and 1099 RBI.

Known primarily as a contact guy, this player had a career batting average of .307 and an on base percentage of .358. Seven times, this player finished in the top ten in hits and five times, he was in the top ten in batting average…leading the league only once. He had a stretch of five out of six years, where he finished in the top five in RBI.

Let’s look at the trophy case.

HALL CANDIDATE A was once a league MVP and four straight years, he finished in the top ten in voting. He was an All-Star six times and had a surprisingly spectacular glove, bringing home the Gold Glove at his position in nine out of ten seasons.

As I’ve said before, post season accolades can make you or break you. In this player’s career…he had a career post season batting average of .417.

Now…let’s check out the resume of HALL CANDIDATE B by using the same exact criteria. Matter of fact, I’m going to cut and paste the preceding and make the appropriate changes.

Here we go.

HALL CANDIDATE B played in only 1783 games at the major league level. However, in that short career…he notched 2304 hits, 207 homeruns and 1085 RBI.

Like HALL CANDIDATE A, HALL CANDIDATE B was also known as a contact guy. He had a career batting average of .318 and an on base percentage of .360. Ten times, this player finished in the top ten in hits and seven times, he was in the top ten in batting average…leading the league once. Only twice did he finish in the top five in RBI.

Let’s look at the trophy case.

HALL CANDIDATE B was never a league MVP, but there was a stretch where nine times in eleven years, he finished in the top ten in voting. He was an All-Star ten straight years and while he was heralded as having a spectacular glove, he was only golden six times.

Again, as I’ve said before, you have to look at post season accolades. In this player’s career…he had a career post season batting average of .309.

Now, here’s the part where you can separate who is who.

HALL CANDIDATE B has two World Series rings in two chances and if you paid any attention in the first half of this post, you know that Mattingly has none.

So, who is HALL CANDIDATE B? It’s the very guy who gave Mattingly the moniker “Donnie Baseball” of course…Kirby Puckett.

Yeah, the same Kirby Puckett who went into the Hall in 2001...coincidently, both his and Mattingly’s first year on the ballot. 2001 also yielded the highest amount of support for Mattingly…28.2%.

"I don't think I'm a Hall of Famer," Mattingly told Newsday a couple years ago. "I don't think I have the numbers. Part of it is longevity, and I wasn't able to do that and do the things that I did early in my career."

Mattingly is a modest, modest man.

If his numbers show anything it’s that he HAS the numbers. As I’ve shown, his numbers are on par with Kirby Puckett. Sure, neither had the longevity (both were forced out due to injury)...but there are a number of players in the Hall who played in LESS games.

If you’ve heard me sound off about Albert Belle…you know I think the longevity argument is flawed. On the flipside, I think some players play their way into the Hall by playing in too MANY games.

Simply put, the “longevity” argument is garbage and Mattingly is, again, being modest by bringing it up. But I get it, he’s not out there playing the “I’m a Hall of Famer” game like some players do...he’s allowing others to bang his drum.

And I guess that’s what I am doing.

Hall of Fame ballot...2010 style!

Last Friday, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America released the names of the 26 players that make up the 2010 Hall of Fame ballot.

Between now and when the results of the balloting are announced January 6, you’ll likely be subjected to dozens of writers who think they have an opinion as to who belongs and who doesn’t.

Unfortunately, I’m no different…so here we go!

Roberto Alomar. I’m huge on Alomar…can’t help it. The guy retired at 36 and still managed career numbers of 2724 hits and 1508 runs. Add to that his .300 career batting average and you’ve got one of the best second basemen ever to lace up the spikes. 12 straight All-Star Games, 10 Gold Gloves in an 11 year stretch and back-to-back World Series rings. Yeah…put him up the wall now and spare the writers this vote.

Kevin Appier. If I told you that Appier had a career ERA of 3.74 and ten years with ten or more wins would you care? No?!? Thought so.

Harold Baines. Alright, as huge as I am on Alomar…I’m just as huge on Baines. And yes, I know the “he was JUST a DH” speech so spare me the lecture. That being said, it needs to be pointed out that Baines holds the record for most games played at DH. His 2866 career base hits (40th all-time) means that he has the most hits of any player that is Hall eligible. Only Pete Rose, Craig Biggio, Rickey Henderson, Rafael Palmeiro and Barry Bonds are ahead of him. Odds are that had Baines not had two work stoppages during his career, he would have eclipsed 3000 hits. Futhermore, he also has the most RBI of all Hall eligible players and ranks 29th all-time. So riddle me this…how does a guy like Baines barely get enough votes to stay Hall-eligible year after year? His lack of support is a joke.

Bert Blyleven. For some reason, Blyleven has become the sexy pick of everyone who has an opinion on who does and who doesn’t belong. That being said…I don’t know that he should be up there on the Cooperstown stage come July. Yes, I know, I know, I just went on and on about Harold Baines and now…I’m slamming Blyleven. The guy was a compiler. A damn good compiler…but a compiler nonetheless. Of his 287 victories, only once did he top 20 victories…and that was in a season where he went 20-17. And while he has more strikeouts than all but four pitchers, let’s look at the bigger picture…how many times did Bert lead the league in ERA? Wins? What about winning percentage? How many Cy Young Awards did this cat bring home? Zero. He was an All-Star twice, but c’mon…so was Esteban Loaiza. And frankly, when do you suppose the last (or first) time someone not named “Blyleven” uttered the words…”I sure do hope Bert’s on the hill today” on their way to the ballpark?

Ellis Burks. While I would never, ever, use the words “Ellis Burks” and “future Hall of Famer” in the same sentence, I was surprised to see that he had a career batting average of .291, belted 352 home runs and was robbed in 1996 of the National League MVP Award.

Andre Dawson. Like Jim Rice, I think Dawson will eventually get in. After a while, the writers will shrug their shoulders and say “why not?” An eight time All-Star, eight Gold Glove recipient, an MVP Award and Rookie of the Year honors…he was every bit as feared as people say Rice was. Add to that close to 2800 hits and those pesky 438 home runs and you’ve gotta admit…”The Hawk” was a special, special player.

Andres Galarraga. You can go both ways with the “Big Cat”. Take away the “Coors Factor” and Galarraga is the poor man’s Will Clark. Take into account that he did play in Colorado during the prime of his career and he’s borderline Willie Stargell-like. But let’s face it…you can’t ignore 399 home runs, 1425 RBI and a career .288 batting average. Wait, the writers do routinely…and, again, they call him “Harold Baines”.

Pat Hentgen. In 1996, Hentgen took home the American League Cy Young Award. This January, he’ll have celebrated his lone year on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Mike Jackson. Jackson is 12th all-time (among pitchers) in games played with 1005…three more than Goose Gossage. Pretty impressive until you realize that numbers 1 through 11 consist of such notables as Dan Plesac and two other “Mikes”…Mike Stanton and Mike Timlin. Something tells me that Cooperstown isn’t ready for the journeyman closer/set up man yet.

Eric Karros. See “Pat Hentgen”, but swap out “1996 American League Cy Young Award” with “1992 National League Rookie of the Year”. In short…same result.

Ray Lankford. You know, there used to be a time when I routinely confused Lankford with Brian Jordan and Bernard Gilkey. Next!

Barry Larkin. With all the hubbub that surrounded Cal Ripken and how he re-defined the position of shortstop over in the American League…Larkin was his equivalent in the National League. To an extent. With a career .295 batting average, 2340 hits and nine Silver Slugger Awards, the 1995 NL MVP brought some swagger back to what was a dead Big Red Machine…if only for a few years. I put him in.

Edgar Martinez. The argument FOR Martinez is that he is the “best DH ever”. The argument AGAINST Martinez is that he is the “best DH ever”. I’m not sure which side of the fence I fall on, but as long as Harold Baines is paying for his ticket…Martinez can stand in line behind him. Sure, Martinez has a .312 career batting average and ranks 22nd all-time in on base percentage (at .418)…but the guy only has 2247 hits and has a pretty empty trophy case to show for his 18 year career. And yes, even though the annual DH award is named after him…that isn’t good enough to garner a plaque on the wall.

Don Mattingly. Like most of the world, I was enamored with Mattingly when he hit the scene. I had his 1984 Donruss rookie card encased in Lucite and thought I was witnessing the second coming. During a six-year run beginning in 1984, Mattingly averaged 26 home runs, 114 RBIs and a .327 batting average. No player during that stretch had more RBI than Mattingly's 684 amd only Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (1,269) had more hits than Mattingly's 1,219. That six-year peak (from 1984 to 1989) is clearly one of the best of his generation and overall, his brief career stacks up with some others in the Hall. I’m not saying he goes in now, but I do think “Donnie Baseball” will hover on the ballot for a while longer and get his due from the Veterans Committee.

Fred McGriff. Now, this is where I might lose some of ya…I think the “Crime Dog” is a Hall of Famer. It’s true, he wasn’t a sexy player (no MVP Awards, only five All-Star Games), but his numbers stack up well with some of the other first basemen in the Hall. Of the 12 enshrined, only five of them drove in more runs (McGriff has 1550 RBI), only four hit more home runs (McGriff hit 493), and only three scored more runs (McGriff scored 1349 runs). McGriff needs to be enshrined soon, because (like Rice for 14 of the last 15 years), his numbers will pale in comparison to the contemporaries on the ballot.

Mark McGwire. Even without the steroids discussion, McGwire’s stats don’t warrant the lip service that everyone pays him. And while I’ve heard all the OPS arguments, you can take away his tremendous home run total and all you’ve got is a guy who played in a ton of All-Star games and had precious little to show for it. Sorry Mark…and it has nothing to do with whether or not you were juiced.

Jack Morris. Consistency and durability, while not THE reason to induct someone…has to be taken into consideration when judging someone’s worth. Morris was the epitome of a pitching “Iron Horse”. Matter of fact, this innings hog (he had eleven seasons of more than 235 innings pitched) holds the record for most consecutive opening day starts…14. And if you thought Cal Ripken’s streak was impressive (it was), Morris went nearly 500 starts without missing his turn in the rotation. Again, not a reason to bronze his head…but not too shabby either. Morris notched a career 254-186 record…good for a .577 winning percentage. His win total is more than Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, Whitey Ford and plenty of others. Hell, in the 80s alone…Morris went 162-119 and led the decade in both wins and complete games. He was the ace of three World Series teams (he was injured and couldn’t play in 1993 or else there’d be a fourth) and he threw a no hitter. I think the main reason Jack gets overlooked is his career ERA of 3.90. He never led the league (much less came close to it) and made no bones about the fact that he gave up a ton of runs. Will he get into the Hall? Probably not. Does he deserve to? Absolutely. Thankfully for Morris, the Veterans Committee does like to look at players that got close (he appeared on a best 41.2% of the ballots in 2006) but not close enough. Let’s hope that someday soon, the 80s won’t be as overlooked as they have been in the past.

Dale Murphy. It’s hard to remember how dominant Murphy was when he hit his peak in the mid-80s. Consider this…when he retired, his 398 home runs ranked 19th all-time. Now…he sits at 48. After winning his back-to-back MVP awards in 1982 and 1983, Murphy appeared to be on his way to Cooperstown. Now…not so much.

Dave Parker. If there was a “Badass Hall of Fame”, I’d put “The Cobra” in hands down. Matter of fact, I think he and Jack Morris would be on hand to deliver two of the inaugural speeches. Unfortunately, the only Hall of Fame worth mentioning here is saved for baseball players and as much as I’d like to see Parker’s toothy grin on that stage praising Willie Stargell and condemning Marge Schott…I’m afraid we’ll never see it happen.

Tim Raines. I always kinda thought that Raines was one of the best out there. Along with Rickey Henderson, there were really only two guys you would want to lead off for you. With a nice peak throughout the 80s, 2605 career hits, a .294 batting average and 808 steals, Raines is the kind of guy that might get some votes.

Shane Reynolds. Ugh.

David Segui. Double ugh.

Lee Smith. I met the guy a while back and the man is intimidating. Smith seemed bigger than life standing next to me (I'm 6'4") and shaking his hand was like grabbing a tractor tire. I can only imagine what it was like having him throw something in your direction from sixty feet, six inches. Now, while that is not a reason to induct someone (if it was, Tim Stoddard would be enshrined), Smith’s 478 saves were pretty darn good. For 13 years, Smith was the all-time saves leader and up until recently, he held the record for most games finished. I mean, when a guy is getting his records broken by the likes or Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera he had to have been decent, right? Right?!?

Alan Trammell. For some reason, Trammell has become the Bert Blyleven of some Hall of Fame discussions and I am not sure why. When he played, like Blyleven, he was so overshadowed by some of the other guys out there that no one would have considered him a lock for Cooperstown. Now, long after retiring and having spent a number of years on the ballot…people start banging his drum. Why? I liked Trammell, it’s true…but I don’t see it, gang.

Robin Ventura. Six times a Gold Glove recipient at third and a gang load of grand slams…but that’s about it.

Todd Zeile. See “Robin Ventura” but remove the flowery comments about Gold Gloves and grand slams.

So, I guess if you’re keeping track, my “YES” would go to Alomar, Baines, Dawson, Larkin, McGriff and Smith. I’m admittedly on the fence about Blyleven, Martinez and Raines and I think Mattingly and Morris will eventually get their due.

I guess we’ll see how it all unfolds in six weeks. Until then…keep reading and let me know what you think.

In 2009 it's Henderson, Rice and "The Ram"

I suppose that it’s purely coincidence that on the same night Mickey Rourke wins the Best Actor Golden Globe…plenty of players that shared the same heyday as the fictional Randy “The Ram” Robinson went to bed wondering when and if their phone is going to ring.

Today is the day for some. It is the culmination of a career, validation of a job well done and for most…a heartbreaking “thanks for playing” consolation prize.

We know one guy that is in for sure…Rickey Henderson.

Fans of the greatest leadoff hitter EVER can make their reservations for the weekend of July 24, because Henderson is poised to garner the most votes when the Hall of Fame ballots are counted and made public. For the record, Cal Ripken Jr. got the most votes (537 in 2007) while Tom Seaver had the highest vote percentage (98.8% in 1992).

My guess is Henderson eclipses them both. But who else deserves to share the podium with Henderson?


It’s been 20 years since Cooperstown has opened its doors for a leftfielder (Carl Yastrzemski was elected in 1989), will the Hall welcome TWO this summer?

With Dennis Eckersley (2004), Bruce Sutter (2006) and Goose Gossage (2008) making it in in three of the last four years...does another reliever get enshrined?

Will the Hall welcome a pair of pitchers with a staggering 575 wins between them?

Yes…no?!? I don’t know to be honest. I mean, I have an idea as to who MIGHT make their way in…but I also have my opinion as to who I would vote in if given a vote.

YES.

Rickey Henderson.
No questions asked…the guy could have written his speech 10-15 years ago.

Jim Rice.
Is it conceivable Rice has finally changed the minds of those 16 writers that keep him from getting in last year? Possibly. Bert Blyleven was the sexy pick of all the bloggers and writers out there and fell short…something tells me that this year’s darling (Rice) will no longer be the bridesmaid.

Harold Baines and Andre Dawson.
Again, like Rourke’s character in “The Wrestler”, both had tremendous success in the late 80s and early 90s and have terrible, terrible knees. I would vote for both for different reasons. Baines was the pre-eminent DH of his time and as I’ve said before…if you’re going to include the DH as a position, you’ve gotta include a DH in the Hall. I put “The Hawk” in simply on his own merit. He was every bit the player Jim Rice was and as equally feared.

Lee Smith.
I met the guy last April and the man is intimidating as all Hell. Lee seemed bigger than life standing next to me (I'm 6'4") and shaking his hand was like grabbing a tractor tire. I can only imagine what it was like having him throw something in your direction from sixty feet, six inches. His 478 saves was pretty good too.

NO.

Jay Bell, Mark Grace and Matt Williams.
The trio that helped bring a championship to Arizona in 2001 is going to have to buy their admittance to the Hall just like you and me.

The Cousins Vaughn…Mo and Greg.
I loved them both. Along with Dante Bichette…I think a majority of the fantasy league teams I put together between 1998-2003 contained one if not all three of them.


Ron Gant, Jesse Orosco and Dan Plesac.
One of these guys is a two-time 30/30 club member. Another one is the all-time leader in games pitched. The last one once signed a card for me outside County Stadium. Combined, they won’t be lucky to get enough votes to stay on the ballot a year from now to see Ray Lankford, Kevin Appier and Mike Jackson also not get elected.

Mark McGwire.
I’ve heard all the OPS arguments, but take away his tremendous home run total and all you’ve got is a guy who played in a ton of All-Star games and had precious little to show for it.

Dave Parker and Alan Trammell.
It’s possible that both “The Cobra” and “Alan” (did the vanilla white Trammell HAVE a nickname?) will take the writers to the limit. The problem is…after 15 years, neither will have gotten any closer to entering Cooperstown.

Bert Blyleven and Tommy John.
These two have 575 victories between them…not too shabby. On the flip side, they have only six All-Star appearances, four 20 win seasons, two rings and NO Cy Young Awards. 48 years in the bigs and that’s the best you can muster?

Which leads me to…

I’M ON THE FENCE…seriously.

David Cone and Jack Morris.
Honestly, I’d put both of these guys in before Blyleven and John. They were winners through and through. The argument is always “Blyleven/John did what they did on teams that didn’t win”. My response…“Cone and Morris MADE their teams winners”. EIGHT times.

Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy and Tim Raines.
If you paid ANY attention to baseball in the 80s…THESE were three of about a dozen or so guys that you would pay good money to watch. Of the three, I think Mattingly is the only one who will have his dance card punched…even if it is by the Veterans Committee.

Based on the breakdown, I guess I’d put in five guys (Henderson, Rice, Dawson, Smith and Baines)…we’ll see soon how the REAL writers do.

Who are YOUR Hall of Fame picks? Let’s hear ya!

Feathers were ruffled

I’ve taken plenty of heat this week for merely suggesting that Don Mattingly was Hall worthy. It was almost as if I was accountable for 74.9% of this Monday’s vote and all I had to do was convince ONE person to join my side.

I don’t have a vote, people, but if I did…“Donnie Baseball” would be a guy that I would have to think long and hard about voting for.

I'm serious.

Plenty of you took the opportunity to tell me WHO you thought was more worthy than Mattingly. That being said…let me cut through the clutter that typically fills the first couple of paragraphs of every new post and jump right in.

Mark Grace is not, I repeat NOT a Hall of Famer.

There, I said it Cubs fans…your beloved “Gracie” is not going to be on the short list of new inductees when they are announced Monday.

“But what about all those hits he had in the 90s?”

It’s true…Grace’s 1,754 base hits in the decade of the 90s led all major leaguers. Seven more than Rafael Palmeiro (1747), 26 more than Craig Biggio (1728) and 41 more than Tony Gwynn (1713)…each one of them (steroids aside) SHOULD BE Hall of Famers.

As a sidenote…it should be noted that when you break down hits leaders by decade, only ONE decade (the 1980s) does not have its leader (Pete Rose) in the Hall of Fame. But did Grace ever lead the league in hitting? Nope. He was just the model of consistency.

Matter of fact, Grace never led the league in hits, much less batting average. The closest he ever came in leading the league in hits was 1993 where he trailed league leader Lenny Dykstra by one.

Grace is a guy who, while carrying a career .303 batting average, never finished higher than THIRTEENTH in the MVP voting and appeared in only three All-Star Games.

Sure, he got his World Series ring with the Diamondbacks in 2001 and brought home the Gold Glove four times, but you know what…so did Steve Garvey.

Amd that’s where their similarities end.

“But Grace is a good guy…we LOVE him here in Chicago!”

Do ya? If so…why?!? He kinda left your city with a sour taste in his mouth and let EVERYONE know about it. He’ll talk about how much he loves the Windy City in one breath…but bash it in the next.

Consider what he said as he suited up to take field against the Yankees in the 2001 World Series…“I've never been to Yankee Stadium. I've never played the Yankees all these years. I've always been in the National League, and believe it or not, the Cubs have never played the Yankees in the postseason.”

Maybe what he said was true, but then he dropped this one after winning the World Series in Arizona…“I’m not good enough to play for the Chicago Cubs, but I’m good enough to play for the World Champions.”

Ouch.

He was colorful…a great quote. A Hall of Famer? Not quite.

Sorry, friends.

I'm tired of the Yankees

I’ve had some time to think about this next statement, but even at the risk of coming across like a thirteen year-old with a Myspace page…I’ll say it.

I hate the New York Yankees.

Oh sure, I’ve talked before about how much I would like to visit Monument Park. I’ve even sung the praises of Yankee great Ron Guidry by comparing him (quite favorably I might add) to Sandy Koufax. But all their history and the legacy of the pinstripes aside, I can’t get behind their off-season signings.

Hell, I know Yankees FANS who can’t argue that the signings of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and, most recently, Mark Teixeira AREN’T good for the game.

All that said, I do sleep better knowing that (A) they were not invited to the annual Frank Caliendo promo fest Major League Baseball calls the “playoffs” and (B) they haven’t won a World Series since BEFORE the Twin Towers were rubble.

I guess at the end of it all, I can take solace in the fact that we’ve seen this movie before…25 years ago.

The “Bronx Bombers” OWNED baseball in the late 70s. They averaged 98 wins from 1976 to 1980 and took home two world championships. Owner George Steinbrenner was at his most colorful. He hired and fired Billy Martin twice (he’d make three more stints as manager throughout the 80s) and brought players in left and right to capture the pennant.

Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Goose Gossage were all brought in to win.

And they did.

In the decade following, Steinbrenner again opened up his wallet to buy some hardware. He brought in Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson and Don Baylor to round out a lineup already chock full of established stars like Guidry, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles and a certain up and coming first baseman.

Steve Balboni.

Problem is…this didn’t work. The Yankees went from dominating the American League to going twelve straight years of NOT making the playoffs…their longest such streak since BEFORE Babe Ruth came over from BeanTown.

Apparently, you can’t buy chemistry and I’m hopeful that my friend Nick Underhill was right when he wrote THIS last month. Sure, he recanted his statement eleven days later…but I’m sticking to my guns.

Now, to think I’m going to spend the next dozen (or more…probably many more) paragraphs trumpeting Balboni’s career would be insane. Granted, his lifetime numbers of .229, 181 homeruns and 495 RBIs are as rotund as he was, but it’s the Lou Gehrig to Balboni’s Wally Pipp that I’m excited about.

Don Mattingly.

I know what you’re thinking…did this guy lose his mind? He must’ve just got done watching the Cheers finale (that’s a 1993 reference, gang), because “Donnie Baseball” hasn’t been relevant since BEFORE the strike of 1994.

How did I go from HATING the Yankees to writing about, arguably, one of their most popular players?

I’ll tell ya.

Like most of the world, I was enamored with Mattingly when he hit the scene. I had his 1984 Donruss rookie card encased in Lucite and thought I was witnessing the second coming.

That being said, I’m not so sure we weren’t.

During a six-year run beginning in 1984, Mattingly averaged 26 home runs, 114 RBIs and a .327 batting average. No player during that stretch had more RBI than Mattingly's 684, while only Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (1,269) had more hits than Mattingly's 1,219.

That six-year peak (from 1984 to 1989) is clearly one of the best of his generation and overall, his brief career stacks up with some others in the Hall.

Let’s compare him with a recently inducted Hall of Famer and YOU explain to ME why Mattingly can’t get more than 28 percent of the vote. Matter of fact, if someone can tell me how less than TEN percent of the voters in 2007 thought Mattingly was Hall worthy…I’m waiting.

So, let’s compare!

HALL CANDIDATE A played in only 1785 games at the major league level. However, in that short career…he notched 2153 hits, 222 homeruns and 1099 RBI.

Known primarily as a contact guy, this player had a career batting average of .307 and an on base percentage of .358. Seven times, this player finished in the top ten in hits and five times, he was in the top ten in batting average…leading the league only once. He had a stretch of five out of six years, where he finished in the top five in RBI.

Let’s look at the trophy case.

HALL CANDIDATE A was once a league MVP and four straight years, he finished in the top ten in voting. He was an All-Star six times and had a surprisingly spectacular glove, bringing home the Gold Glove at his position in nine out of ten seasons.

As I’ve said before, post season accolades can make you or break you. In this player’s career…he had a career post season batting average of .417.

Now…let’s check out the resume of HALL CANDIDATE B by using the same EXACT criteria. Matter of fact, I’m going to cut and paste the preceding and make the appropriate changes.

Here we go.

HALL CANDIDATE B played in only 1783 games at the major league level. However, in that short career…he notched 2304 hits, 207 homeruns and 1085 RBI.

Like HALL CANDIDATE A, HALL CANDIDATE B was also known as a contact guy. He had a career batting average of .318 and an on base percentage of .360. Ten times, this player finished in the top ten in hits and seven times, he was in the top ten in batting average…leading the league once. Only twice did he finish in the top five in RBI.

Let’s look at the trophy case.

HALL CANDIDATE B was never a league MVP, but there was a stretch where nine times in eleven years, he finished in the top ten in voting. He was an All-Star ten straight years and while he was heralded as having a spectacular glove, he was only golden six times.

Again, as I’ve said before, you have to look at post season accolades. In this player’s career…he had a career post season batting average of .309.

Now, here’s the part where you can separate who is who.

HALL CANDIDATE B has two World Series rings in two chances and if you paid any attention in the first half of this post, you know that Mattingly has none.

So, who is HALL CANDIDATE B? It’s the very guy who gave Mattingly the moniker “Donnie Baseball” of course…Kirby Puckett.

Yeah, the same Kirby Puckett who went into the Hall in 2001...coincidently, both his and Mattingly’s first year on the ballot. 2001 also yielded the highest amount of support for Mattingly…28.2%.

"I don't think I'm a Hall of Famer," Mattingly told Newsday last year. "I don't think I have the numbers. Part of it is longevity, and I wasn't able to do that and do the things that I did early in my career."

Mattingly is a modest, modest man.

If his numbers show anything it’s that he HAS the numbers. As I’ve shown, his numbers are on par with Kirby Puckett. Sure, neither had the longevity (both were forced out due to injury)...but there are a number of players in the Hall who played in LESS games.

If you’ve heard me sound off about Albert Belle…you know I think the longevity argument is flawed. On the flipside, I think some players play their way into the Hall by playing in TOO MANY games.

Simply put, the “longevity” argument is garbage and Mattingly is, again, being modest by bringing it up. But I get it, he’s not out there playing the “I’m a Hall of Famer” game like some players do...he’s allowing others to bang his drum.

And I guess that’s what I am doing…my personal feelings about the New York Yankees aside.

The Hall of Fame voting is revealed Monday, but if you’ve got something to say about Jim Rice, Andre Dawson or even Dale Murphy…I’d like to hear from you!

Drop me an email at hallofverygood@yahoo.com and who knows…your words might just end up on this website!

***Note: Based on the "Is Don Mattingly a Hall of Famer" poll that was on the page...50% of you think he is.***