And Your Cooperstown Class of 2013 is...

Not sure about the rest of you, but I've been waiting for this year's Hall of Fame announcement for, well, the past five years.

 

With all the news surrounding PED use and the "did he" or "didn't he" or "when did he start" or whatever...I think it's pretty fair to concede that this year's election is, probably, the biggest one we've seen in our lifetime.

 

With that said, there was still an announcement Wednesday afternoon and, suffice it to say, it was memorable.

 

So, on July 28, for only the eighth time in history, no one will be enshrined as part of the Class of 2013 along with umpire Hank O’Day, former Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and 19^thCentury star Deacon White...all of whom were elected by the Pre-Integration Era Committee in December.

Craig Biggio and his 3000-plus hits fell just 39 votes short...collecting 68%.

Here's the break down among the top vote getters.

Craig Biggio (68.2%, first time on ballot)
Jack Morris (67.7%, 66.7% in 2012)
Jeff Bagwell (59.6%, 56.0%)
Mike Piazza (57.8%, first time on ballot)
Tim Raines (52.2%, 48.7%)
Lee Smith (47.8%, 50.6%)
Curt Schilling (38.8%, first time on ballot)
Roger Clemens (37.6%, first time on ballot)
Barry Bonds (36.2%, first time on ballot)
Edgar Martinez (35.9%, 36.5%)
Alan Trammell (33.6%, 36.8%)

Before this year's crop of first timers hit the ballot, the highest profile Hall-worthy players branded with the scarlett "S" for steroids were  Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro.  Suffice it to say...they didn't gain much ground in 2013.  McGwire (19.5% in 2012) garnered 16.9% this year, while  Palmeiro (12.6% last year) earned 8.8%.

In his 15th and final year on the ballot, Dale Murphy saw some awesome support via social media and online, but fell short with just 18.6% of the vote.

A complete breakdown of the 2013 Hall of Fame selection is on the way...believe it! And for a look at the 2013 ballot (by the numbers)...click HERE!

To see how actual numbers stacked up against the much hyped 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot Collecting Gizmo...click HERE.

Jack Morris Responds to Critics

We're on the eve of the Hall of Fame announcement and, it would seem, we're inching closer and closer to the inclusion of Jack Morris among those enshrined.

And, like almost anything, plenty of people are against it.

I've often wondered what the former pitcher thought about his detractors.  Well...wonder no more.

"If I sense anything from the writers that have always been anti-Jack, they're pointing to the fact that I'd have the highest ERA in the Hall of Fame," Morris told MLB Network Radio. "Let me ask you this: When did we decide that earned-run average was more important than wins?"

What Morris is referring to, of course, is his career 254 victories and, of course, three World Series rings.

"I want to know any general manager, any coach or any player that bought into the fact that earn-run average was more important than wins," the Mustached One continued. "If they would've told me that when I was in the minor leagues, I'm sure I could've been among the league leaders in ERA. That wasn't my objective."

Here's the deal...dude had a pretty long stretch of being victorious.  Let's not dispute that.

From 1979 to 1992, Morris managed to string together 233 of his career 254 victories.  That's more than 40 more than Bob Welch, the next guy in line, and his 192. And for the record, Morris' 254 wins is more than Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal and Whitey Ford among plenty of others.

In the 80s alone…Morris won a decade best 162 games, compiled a .577 winning percentage and exhibited his amazing consistency by finishing in the top ten of the Cy Young Award voting in half of the decade’s contests. He finished in the top five in 1991 and 1992 as well.

Ah, but then there's that pesky 3.90 ERA.

He never led the league (much less came close to it) and make no bones about it, he gave up a ton of runs. However, his teams produced behind him and regardless of his ERA, Morris virtually always managed to stay below the league average.

Morris was, arguably, one of the stronger starters of his era and, really, isn't that how a guy should be judged?

Cooperstown 2013: Jack Morris

JACK MORRIS
Fourteenth Year on Ballot (2012 - 66.7%)

PLAYING CAREER:
Detroit Tigers (1977–1990), Minnesota Twins (1991), Toronto Blue Jays (1992–1993) and Cleveland Indians (1994)

ACHIEVEMENTS:
Career record of 254–186 (.577 winning percentage) with an ERA of 3.90 and 2478 strikeouts. Three 20-win seasons, 11 seasons with 200-plus innings pitched and three seasons with 200 or more strikeouts. His 14 Opening Day starts is tied for second best...behind only Tom Seaver's 16. Held American League record for most consecutive starts (515) before being topped by Roger Clemens in 2001. Four-time World Series champion (1984 and 1991-1993) and five-time All-Star selection (1981, 1984-1985, 1987 and 1991). Threw no-hitter April 7, 1984.

CASE FOR/AGAINST:
Jack Morris is widely considered to be the greatest pitcher of the 1980s, and no one will ever forget his ten inning Game Seven complete game in the 1991 World Series. He was very durable and consistent. Yet, he has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for 13 years and still has not garnered enough votes for election. Why is that?

Well, first of all the “fact” that he was the best pitcher of the 80s, is sort of an arbitrary measuring point. Would anyone know off the top of their head, who was the best pitcher from 1974 to 1984? Or 1987 to 1997? What is special about a ten-year period that starts at the beginning of a decade? Mark Grace led the Majors in hits throughout the 1990s. That didn’t stop voters from dropping him off the ballot after his first year of eligibility. Besides, he probably wasn’t even the best pitcher in his own division. A cursory look at the stats will show that recognition should go to Toronto’s Dave Stieb (who also dropped off the ballot after one year) and his decade ERA of 3.32 to Morris’ 3.66. His contemporaries included Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Dwight Gooden, Jim Palmer, Ron Guidry and others who just didn’t have the good fortune to start their careers prior to 1980 and finish after 1989.

Morris’ raw numbers may seem good looking back because he pitched in a much lower scoring environment than we have now. He had a very respectable 3.90 career ERA, but never once had a season below 3.00. In fact, 37 times during his playing years, pitchers posted seasonal ERAs better than his career best. This is borne out by his barely above average career ERA+ of 105. Even during his peak in the “greatest pitcher of the decade” 1980s, his ERA+ was 109. For comparison sake, that’s what Mark Gubicza, who pitched at that same time had for his whole career. For those of you who don’t remember Gubicza, Jason Schmidt, a guaranteed future Hall of Famer (no, not really) beat that with his career 110 ERA+.

If you want to get more sabermetric, all of the following pitchers whose careers overlapped with Morris had career WARs above 50 and have been excluded from the Hall of Fame: Rick Reuschel, Kevin Brown, Luis Tiant, David Cone, Tommy John, Bret Saberhagen, Chuck Finley, Jerry Koosman, Frank Tanana, Kevin Appier and the aforementioned Dave Stieb. Jack Morris fell short of 40 for his career.

To be fair, Morris was very consistent and threw a lot of innings. He threw over 200 innings 11 times, peaking at 293 in a season where he threw 20 complete games. This is unheard of in today’s game (Justin Verlander topped the Majors with only 238 IP and six CGs last year), but was quite common in the 1980s. During his playing years, a pitcher threw 20 or more CGs in one season 17 times. Pitchers threw more than 230 innings more than 80 times…while having an ERA lower than 3.00. Of course Mr. Morris never once accomplished this feat.

If Morris gets elected, that will bring the number of pitchers inducted into Cooperstown to 69. All but one of them had better career ERAs than Mr. Morris.

The real question isn’t why he’s not in the Hall of Fame yet. It’s why he’s still on the ballot! And it’s largely probably due to his heroics in pitching a Game Seven complete game shutout in the 1991 World Series for the Minnesota Twins. Aside from that game, his playoff record is 6-4 with a 4.26 ERA, so it can’t be because he was some kind of great clutch post-season warrior. And that game...well, suffice it to say, that if Lonnie Smith doesn’t make a baserunning blunder, we’d all be talking about how Terry Pendleton was the hero of that Fall Classic instead.

Morris was a good pitcher. Maybe he does deserve induction into The Hall of Very Good. But he’s certainly not a Hall of Famer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ruben Lipszyc is a rare avid baseball fan from Calgary, Canada. He is a member of the Boston Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, and as a diehard fan writes about the Red Sox at RSNAlberta.blogspot.com and tweets about them at @RSN_Alberta. He also keeps Albertans up to date on local baseball happenings at BaseballinAlberta.blogspot.com while tweeting at @Baseball_In_AB, and is also a contributor for the Canadian Baseball Network.

Breaking Down the 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot

On Wednesday, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced the upcoming 2013 Hall of Fame ballot. Included are 37 candidates (ten more than last year's 27)...24 newcomers and 13 holdovers.

But unlike last year, when Barry Larkin got what was a pretty obvious call (he ended up with 86.4% of the vote)…there are some rather unique candidates on the ballot for the first time.

So far, the writers have taken a pretty harsh stance against those that have used or been suspected of using steroids. And with all due respect to Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro, it will be this coming January when we'll see where the line in the sand is drawn.

You see, in 2013, it is possible that three of the game's greats (Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa) might be left out in that Cooperstown cold. But here’s the rub…as of now, none of them have been found guilty of using any banned substances.

Alright, with that said…let’s break down the ballot. Holdovers first.

Leading the pack of those returning to the ballot is Jack Morris. A year ago, the former pitcher finished second with 66.7% of the vote on what was his 13th try. Morris pundits point to his Game Seven performance in the 1991 World Series heroics as reason for inclusion. Will it be enough to push him to 75% of the vote? We’ll soon see.

Only two other returners received, like Morris, more than half of the BBWAA’s vote. Longtime Houston Astro Jeff Bagwell (56.0%) and journeyman closer Lee Smith (50.6%).

The other holdovers include Tim Raines (48.7%), Alan Trammell (36.8%), Edgar Martinez (36.5%), Fred McGriff (23.9%), Larry Walker (22.9%), Don Mattingly (17.8%), Dale Murphy (14.5%) and Bernie Williams (9.6%).

Two others, McGwire (19.5%) and Palmeiro (12.6%) are obviously adorned with the steroid scarlet letter and have about as much of a shot of making it in as you or me.

Of the newcomers, you’re looking at Bonds, Clemens and Sosa and, while we could debate their credentials pre or post alleged steroid use…let’s just put them aside and look at the other guys hitting the ballot for the first time.

To the casual fan, the words “Craig Biggio” are synonymous with “consistency”. And it’s true, the dude was…to the tune of 3060 hits, 668 doubles (good for fifth all-time) and a career .281 batting average. His seven All-Star appearances, five Silver Slugger Awards and four Gold Gloves pale in comparison to one of his greatest/oddest achievements…the 285 times (two shy of the record) he was hit by a pitch.

A number of years ago, rumors started swirling that the 1993 National League Rookie of the Year was a user of PEDs. Fortunately for the 12 time All-Star, the idiom “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” has (seemingly) not been fully investigated, but it's probably safe to say Piazza is going to suffer the same "but he might've done steroids" fate as Jeff Bagwell. As it is, the catcher finished his career with a bloated .308 career batting average, nine straight seasons with an average of .300 of higher, 427 home runs, including eight straight seasons with 30 or more and 1335 RBI. Not bad for a guy who was taken as a favor in the 62nd round of the draft.

When he finally hung up his bloody sock and called it quits, plenty of people were already willing to hang up Curt Schilling’s plaque and his recent business failure aside...they still are. Sure, his post-season performances are legendary (as were those of Morris), but his overall body of work was just very, very good. Sure, he won close to 60 percent of his decisions and won 216 games. Sure, he topped 3000 strikeouts with 3116, but did you know that he finished his career second all-time with a 4.38 strikeout to walk ratio? Yeah…me neither.

Ask anyone if Kenny Lofton is a Hall of Famer and they would say (without hesitation) “no”. And they’d probably be right. However, if you compare his stats to “should be Hall of Famer” Raines, they stack up. Raines has 2605 hits, carries a .294 career average and scored 1571 runs. Lofton finished his career with 2428 hits, a .299 average and 1528 runs. Throw in six straight All-Star appearances and four straight Gold Gloves and the case for Lofton looks halfway decent.

Some other candidates making their debut on the BBWAA ballot include Sandy Alomar Jr., Jeff Cirillo, Royce Clayton, Jeff Conine, Steve Finley, Julio Franco, Shawn Green, Roberto Hernandez, Ryan Klesko, Jose Mesa, Reggie Sanders, Aaron Sele, Mike Stanton, Todd Walker, David Wells, Rondell White and Woody Williams.

Voting results will be announced Wednesday, January 9.

HOVG Heroes: Jack Morris

TODD COPPERNOLL ON JACK MORRIS

A picture of durability, Jack Morris started 549 games in the major leagues, with just two trips to the disabled list. Along the way, Morris racked up 175 complete games, and 28 shutouts, at one point making 490 consecutive starts without missing a turn in the rotation. He did not make it to 300 wins, he does not have 3000 career strikeouts, and he never won a Cy Young Award, but Morris was one of the most dependable starting pitchers of his generation, and he did win a World Series MVP. Does he measure up to the starting pitchers in the Hall of Fame?

Let's dive in.

Selected out of Brigham Young University by the Detroit Tigers in round five of the 1976 draft, Morris shot to the major leagues, making one start for Detroit in 1977, as a replacement for injured star Mark "The Bird" Fydrich. The following season he was up for good, pitching mostly in relief before stepping into the Tigers' rotation in 1979. That first year as a starter, Morris went 17-7, with an ERA of 3.28, completing nine of his starts, pitching one shutout. The Tigers had found an ace- Morris would anchor their rotation for twelve seasons.

Along the way in Detroit, Morris won 198 games, threw a no-hitter and went 3-1 with three complete games in the post-season, helping the Tigers to the 1984 World Series title. During the 1980s, Morris averaged 244 innings pitched per season, and won 162 games, more than any other pitcher that decade.

Following the 1990 season, a tearful Morris signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Twins. At the press conference to announce the move, the St Paul native wept openly, saying he'd always wanted to pitch for the Twins. During his season in Minnesota, Morris delivered, winning 18 regular season games, and then turning in a spectacular performance in the World Series. In that series, Morris started three games, going 2-0, with an ERA of 1.17 in 23 innings pitched. Most have forgotten that Morris won Game One of that series, but few who saw it could ever forget his performance in Game Seven.

That night, with the Metrodome packed to the roof, and louder than a jet engine, Morris faced the Atlanta Braves, matching up with John Smoltz. Smoltz was outstanding, allowing no runs through 7 1/3, but Morris stole the show, going the distance in a 1-0, 10 inning victory, to bring the World Series trophy home to his native state. If a player can get into the Hall based on one big time performance, this is the one for Morris, no question.

Following that season, Morris seemed to forget how happy he'd been to go home the prior year. In a move that has many Twins fans angry with him to this day, Jack left Minnesota, signing with the Toronto Blue Jays.

His first season in Toronto went well, Jack won 21 games for the Jays, then started four post-season games as the team won its first ever World Series. This would turn out to be the beginning of the end for Morris, he pitched two more seasons, one each in Toronto and Cleveland, but he was fading fast.

Morris retired after a brutal 1994 season which saw him post an ERA of 5.6, which was actually an improvement over 1993's 6.19.

Morris was definitely durable enough to get into the Hall, and he had his share of big moments along the way, but how does he compare to the Hall of Fame pitchers from his era?

There are currently nine starting pitchers in the Hall who were active during Morris' time in the majors (I chose not to count Dennis Eckersley). The nine members are Catfish Hunter, Jim Palmer, Fergie Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Phil Niekro, Don Sutton and Nolan Ryan, I'll use them as the control group for Morris' comparison.

These averages are on a per season basis, one season = 34 games started or 68 relief appearances, S=Seasons Played

S	W	L	CG	SHO	HR	BB	K	ERA
19.9	15	11	11	2	20	75	171	3.05	GROUP
16.4	16	11	11	1	24	87	156	3.90	MORRIS

When you take away the rhetoric and get right down to the numbers, Morris doesn't seem to compare well to the Hall of Famers from his era. He does well in wins and losses, and he's right there in complete games, but from there on it's not a match. Morris' ERA is nearly a run higher, he allowed 20% more home runs per season than the control group, and his walks are higher, while his strikeouts are lower.

I'm certain some of these numbers could be attributed to his pitching in Tiger Stadium, which was a place where home runs were frequent, but to my eyes, the discrepancies between Morris and the Hall members are too great to be written off as ballpark effect.

I have a great deal of respect for Morris, he was a tough competitor on the mound, who kept his team in most games and could always be counted on to take the ball. I also think his post-season record should be taken into account, he was the ace of the '84 Tigers team that won it all, and there's no question that the '91 Twins couldn't have done it without him.

Despite those facts, when I look at Jack's career totals versus those of the Hall members from his era, he just doesn't warrant a yes vote in my opinion.  I have to say no, very nice career, some real high points, but no.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Todd Coppernoll recently launched his website Baseball in the Blood, an entertaining mix of news, history and overall silly baseball stuff.  You can follow him on Twitter at @bballintheblood or over on Facebook.

And Your Cooperstown Class of 2012 is...

I think it is pretty fair to call 2012 the "calm before the storm" given the headache that the potential Hall of Fame Class of 2013 looks to cause.

You know, 2013...the ballot with Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa.  Yikes!

That said, there was still an announcement Monday afternoon and, suffice it to say, some good, worthy players on the ballot.

And with close to 86 percent of the vote, Barry Larkin has been voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

I guess the third time really is the charm!

So, on July 22, the longtime Cincinnati Reds shortstop will join "Golden Era" selection Ron Santo, Ford C. Frick Award winner Tim McCarver and J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner Bob Elliott in Cooperstown.

Here's the break down among the top vote getters.

Barry Larkin (86.4%, 62.1% in 2011)
Jack Morris (66.7%, 53.5%)
Jeff Bagwell (56.0%, 41.7%)
Lee Smith (50.6%, 45.3%)
Tim Raines (48.7%, 37.5%)
Alan Trammell (36.8%, 24.3%)
Edgar Martinez (36.5%, 32.9%)

Two potentially Hall-worthy players branded with the scarlett "S" for steroids failed to gain much ground.  Mark McGwire (19.8% in 2011) garnered 19.5% this year.  Rafael Palmeiro (11.0% last year) earned 12.6%.

The year's most notable first ballot player, Bernie Williams, earned 9.6% of the vote.

A complete breakdown of the 2012 Hall of Fame selection is on the way...believe it!  And for a look at the 2012 ballot (by the numbers)...click HERE!


Your 2012 Hall of Fame Class:

BARRY LARKIN
Third Year on Ballot

PLAYING CAREER:  Cincinnati Reds (1986-2004)

ACHIEVEMENTS:  Career batting average of .295, with 2340 hits, 198 home runs, 960 RBI and 379 stolen bases. 1995 National League MVP.  12 All-Star Game appearances (1988-1991, 1993-1997, 1999, 2000 and 2004), 9 Silver Slugger Awards, 3 Gold Gloves and 1990 World Series Champion.

Breaking Down the 2012 Hall of Fame Ballot

On Wednesday, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced the upcoming 2012 Hall of Fame ballot.  Included are 27 candidates (down from last year's 33)...13 newcomers and, like last year, 14 holdovers.

Unlike last year, when Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven got the obvious call, there are no shoe-ins whatsoever.

Leading the pack of returners is 1995 National League MVP, Barry Larkin...who is on his third ballot.  A year ago, the longtime Cincinnati Reds shortstop finished third overall with 62.1% of the vote.

Other holdovers include Jack Morris (53.5%), Lee Smith (45.3%), Jeff Bagwell (41.7%), Tim  Raines (37.5%), Edgar Martinez (32.9%), Alan Trammell (24.3%), Larry Walker (20.3%), Fred McGriff (17.9%), Don Mattingly (13.6%) and Dale Murphy (12.6%).

Three others, Mark McGwire (19.8%), Rafael Palmeiro (11.0%) and Juan Gonzalez (5.2%) are obviously adorned with the steroid scarlett letter and have about as much of a shot of making it in as you or me.

There are no notable newcomers on the ballot, which makes this a boring, boring ballot.

Leading the pack, however is possibly the most accomplished of the first ballot guys...New York Yankees fan favorite Bernie Williams.

Good friend of The Hall "Bald Vinny" might have Williams on his Yankees Mt. Rushmore, but it isn't likely that the Hall of Fame will welcome him. Sure, his .297 career batting average (including eight straight seasons of .300 or more), 2336 hits and 22 post season home runs are things of recent Yankee lore…but they are nothing but a blip on the radar of what gets mentioned alongside the names of those in Cooperstown

Other notable first ballot guys...Javy Lopez, Ruben Sierra and Vinny Castilla.

It's been a long time, but back in the day, I think we all might have been tempted to make the argument that Lopez was on his way to something. Then, well, the train left the tracks and I'm not really sure what happened to the guy. He ended his career with a respectable .287 batting average and 260 home runs.

20 years ago, Sierra was, along with Hall of Very Good frenemy Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Pete Incaviglia, THE future of baseball and you would have been hard pressed to find anyone to agree with you. Now, after 306 home runs and 1322 RBI…he’s an interesting footnote to an era that has long since passed.

Was Castilla a very good hitting third baseman or another one of those who was helped by the much ballyhooed Coors Effect? Both?!? Any way you slice it, his 320 home runs and near perfect hair doesn’t get him through the doors of Cooperstown without paying first.

Rounding out the ballot...Jeromy Burnitz, former two-sport star Brian Jordan, Bill Mueller, Terry Mulholland, Phil Nevin, Brad Radke, 1993 American League Rookie of the Year Tim Salmon, Tony Womack and Eric Young.

Voting results will be announced Monday, January 9.

Twitter Tuesday: Bert Blyleven vs. Jack Morris

In the Fall of 1994, a little movie called "Pulp Fiction" hit the scene and in it...one of its main characters questioned another on the type of person he is.

My theory is that when it comes to important subjects, there are only two ways a person can answer. Which way they chose, tells you who that person is. For instance, there are only two kinds of people in the world, Beatles people and Elvis people. Now Beatles people can like Elvis and Elvis people can like the Beatles, but nobody likes them both equally. Somewhere you have to make a choice. And that choice, tells you who you are.

Prepare to feel old, gang, but here we are more than 16 years later and the same question could be asked about the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2011 announcement that is going to announced tomorrow.

Are you a Bert Blyleven guy or a Jack Morris guy? Because, apparently, you can't be both.

Now, without re-hashing the annual Jon Heyman Bashtravaganza that took place Monday on Twitter...here are some noteworthy Blyleven and Morris tweets from the last couple of days.

@goldenmonkey: the problem is, there are some BAD players in already, and blyleven/morris look good comparitively.

@HunterFelt: Something you non--baseball geeks don't know: Bert Blyleven's HOF case is the Israel-Palestine conflict among baseball writers

@commnman: Will be happy to support Jack Morris for the Hall of Fame, but only after Bert Blyleven is ushered in.

@DustinInTulsa: Blyleven never dominated as a pitcher, his numbers are from longevity, which is good, but IMO he falls short of HOF.

@williamnyy23: Jack Morris' "moment" belongs in the Hall of Fame, but he doesn't. Conveniently, that's why the museum has a Great Moments Room.

@Bencjacobs: I get the feeling that Kevin Brown is going to be the next Bert Blyleven, with HOF voting, only less Dutch and more overpaid

@DashTreyhorn: Thought: If the internets were around during Blyleven's career, then he's in The Hall within five years. He's a latter-day King Felix.

@bigmike05: Take the 5 best Blyleven and Morris seasons and compare. Do the same with their 5 worst seasons and see what the results are.

@molly_knight: My Twitter feed is upset about Bert Blyleven and I have no idea what's going on but I think it's Internet zealot- related??

@bravesjournal: Just because I advocate mass suicide if Blyleven doesn't make it this time doesn't make me a zealot.

@scratchbomb: at this point, I think Heyman, Pearlman et al are not voting for Bert Blyleven just to piss off nerds

@MattZakrowski: I hope Jack Morris get into the Hall of Fame, but only to pave the way for Geoff Blum down the road.

@itsmetsforme: new year's resolution: total honesty-- I don't care at all about HOF or Blyleven. Any hall w/o Keith Hernandez or Batman holds no interest.

For me, I kinda want Blyleven to get 75% of the vote tomorrow so I can have a clean feed and not miss whatever the @veryfakebr gang is tweeting.

But then again, I really would like Blyleven to, once again, fall short...and it has nothing to do with his qualifications. I just don't think that the cachet of the 2012 Hall of Fame ballot consisting of Javy Lopez and Vinny Castilla is all that worthy of discussion.

Oh, and for the record, I'm a Jerry Lee Lewis guy.

Sorry Elvis.

Sorry The Beatles.

Cooperstown 2011: Jack Morris

JACK MORRIS
Twelfth Year on Ballot (2010 - 52.3%)

PLAYING CAREER:  Detroit Tigers (1977–1990), Minnesota Twins (1991), Toronto Blue Jays (1992–1993) and Cleveland Indians (1994)
ACHIEVEMENTS:  Career record of 254–186 (.577 winning percentage) with an ERA of 3.90 and 2478 strikeouts.  Three 20-win seasons, 11 seasons with 200-plus innings pitched and three seasons with 200 or more strikeouts.  His 14 Opening Day starts is tied for second best...behind only Tom Seaver's 16.  Held American League record for most consecutive starts (515) before being topped by Roger Clemens in 2001.  Four-time World Series champion (1984 and 1991-1993) and five-time All-Star selection (1981, 1984-1985, 1987 and 1991).  Threw no-hitter April 7, 1984.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ON TWITTER:

@mtmeyers:  Not to beat a dead horse, but Jack Morris never had an ERA below 3.00 for a season. Not once.

@bkabak:  If Jack Morris makes the Hall of Fame, they really should just call it the Hall of Baseball Players Writers Like. Need better standards.

@OverTheBaggy:  Like a Gallagher show, on days that Jack Morris pitched, women were warned that the first three rows would get wet.

HOVG THOUGHTS:  When someone brings up Jack Morris…people point to what some call (with all do respect to Don Larsen and Curt Schilling), one of the most memorable performances ever in the World Series.  It was his 1991 post season performance with the Twins (four victories scattered across five games), coupled with his 1984 and 1992 appearances, that make most people stand up and take notice of the mustachioed hurler.  But all those successes aside, it was in the 80s where Morris made a name for himself…not just in October. And it’s safe to say that if the Hall of Fame decides to start looking at pitchers who made their bread and butter throughout the 80s…Morris would be at the top of the list.

Morris had a pretty long stretch of brilliance.  From 1979 to 1992...dude managed to string together 233 of his career 254 victories...more than 40 more than Bob Welch and his 192.  And for the record, his 254 wins is more than Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal and Whitey Ford among plenty of others. In the 80s alone…Morris won a decade best 162 games, compiled a .577 winning percentage and exhibited his amazing consistency by finishing in the top ten of the Cy Young Award voting in half of the decade’s contests.  He finished in the top five in 1991 and 1992 as well.

Hall of Fame 2010: Jack Morris

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.

When someone brings up Jack Morris…people point to what some call (with all do respect to Don Larsen and Curt Schilling), one of the most memorable performances ever in the World Series.

It was his 1991 post season performance with the Twins (four victories scattered across five games), coupled with his 1984 and 1992 appearances, that make most people stand up and take notice of the mustachioed hurler.

But all those successes aside, it was in the 80s where Morris made a name for himself…not just in October. And it’s safe to say that if the Hall of Fame decides to start looking at pitchers who made their bread and butter throughout the 80s…Morris would be at the top of the list.

Let’s break down the facts.

While not the sole reason to induct someone, Morris had the consistency and durability needed to become the epitome of a pitching Iron Horse. Matter of fact, this innings hog (he had eleven seasons of more than 235 innings pitched) also 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. He only appeared on the disabled list twice.

Again, not a reason to bronze his head…but not too shabby either.

On to more conventional stats, Morris notched a career 254-186 record…good for a .577 winning percentage.

For the record, 254 wins is more than Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal and Whitey Ford among plenty of others. In the 80s alone…Morris won a decade best 162 games, compiled a .577 winning percentage and exhibited his amazing consistency by finishing in the top ten of the Cy Young Award voting in half of the decade’s contests.

He finished in the top five in 1991 and 1992 as well.

As alluded to earlier, Morris was the ace of three World Series teams (he was injured and couldn’t play in 1993 or else there’d be a fourth)…the Tigers, Twins and Blue Jays. And he threw a no hitter.

Instead of repeating myself…let’s look at these numbers from 1979-1992.

WINS
Jack Morris...233
Bob Welch...192
Dave Stieb...174
Nolan Ryan...168

COMPLETE GAMES
Jack Morris...169
Fernando Valenzuela...107
Charlie Hough...106
Dave Stieb...103

ERA (2,200 IP min.)
Nolan Ryan...3.21
Bob Welch...3.32
Fernando Valenzuela...3.34
Dave Stieb...3.39
Dennis Martinez..3.61
Jack Morris...3.71 (8th)

I think the main reason he gets overlooked is his career ERA of 3.90. He never led the league (much less came close to it) and make no bones about it...he gave up a ton of runs. However, his teams produced behind him and regardless of his ERA, he virtually always managed to stay below the league average.

Will Jack get into the Hall? Perhaps.

Does he DESERVE to? Absolutely…but it will take a while.

The Veterans Committee does like to look at players that got close (Morris appeared on a best 44% of the ballots last year) but not close enough. And some day, hopefully, the 80s won’t be as overlooked as they have been in the past.

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!

Better late than never I suppose

At some point last Tuesday night, I lost part of a filling. I’ve gotta admit, chewing on food and then (all of a sudden) biting down on a piece of amalgam is startling. It didn’t hurt…I’m getting it fixed.

Earlier in the day, Goose Gossage became the lone inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame and somehow, losing a filling was the most exciting thing that happened on the that day. Hell, it was the most exciting thing to happen all last week to be honest!

Frankly…I’m not surprised.

I’ve posted it here that Goose being voted in was pretty much a foregone conclusion. As I’ve said before, I don’t think he is a Hall of Famer, but since SOMEONE seemingly had to get in…why not Goose, right? Dig your Gossage jerseys out from the mothballs, kids! Wait...what number was his? Did/do people even OWN Goose jerseys?

It was the vote totals that surprised me though.

After nine years on the ballot, 85.8% of the writers ALL OF A SUDDEN believe that Gossage is a Hall of Famer. In that same nine years, Dave Winfield (84.5%), Eddie Murray (85.3%), Dennis Eckersley (83.2%) and Paul Molitor (85.2%) all made the Hall of Fame with LESS support than Goose got this year.

That’s right, all of a sudden, more Hall voters feel that Gossage is more worthy than each of those players who (at the time they were elected) BURIED Gossage in the voting.

I try understand how it works...I really do. What can’t be stressed enough is the importance of who you are stacked up against.

Which brings me to…

Jim Rice (72.2%)
Many expected that this would be the year that Rice FINALLY made it to Cooperstown given the lack of competition. But even though he fell only 16 votes short, I don’t see it happening next year either. Basically, it’ll be hard to induct the guy that, this year, many proclaimed the “best leftfielder not in the Hall” when Rickey Henderson is up for election.

Andre Dawson (65.9%) and Tim Raines (24.3%)
No love for the Expos I guess. Hawk not making it in is not as surprising as Rock getting less than a quarter of the vote. Dawson will be one of those guys like Tony Perez who, after a number of years on the ballot…voters will say “why not”. HOWEVER...Perez didn’t have the competition that Dawson likely will. We’re about to see a slew of Hall worthy players coming up before the voters, folks.

Raines, on the other hand, shocks me…I figured he would have gotten at least double the votes he did. Maybe voters are planning a Henderson-Raines induction next year. I mean, why not induct the best two lead-off hitters of their time in the same year? It won’t happen, but the speeches would be awesome.

Bert Blyleven (61.9%), Jack Morris (42.9%) and Tommy John (29.1%)
Plenty of wins and Ks from this trio, but all in all…there’s not likely to be any Hall calls here. Blyleven has (for some reason) become the sexy pick as of late. Like Gossage, he’s been vocal about the Hall of Fame and that has drummed up some support for his inclusion. Morris, while I’ve made the case for him, is about to be overshadowed by some big name pitchers on some upcoming ballots. Sorry Jack…it probably won’t be happening for you.

And speaking of “not happening”…Tommy John is still on the ballot?!? I’m pretty sure, John has been on EVERY ballot since about 1984. I will say that, like his career, John has been VERY consistent with Hall voters. The lowest percentage of votes he’s gotten…18.7. The most…29.6.

Mark McGwire (23.6%)
Next…ain’t happenin'..

Alan Trammell (18.2%), Dave Concepcion (16.2%) and Don Mattingly (15.8%)
Apparently Detroit, Cincinnati and New York have between 15.8 and 18.2% of the vote. I know that math isn’t right…but you get what I mean.

Harold Baines (5.2%)
28 voters think Harold Baines is a Hall of Famer. That’s it? In his first year on the ballot (last year), 29 voters were on the side of Baines. So…who changed their vote?!? C’mon guys…three years ago, 26 of you thought that Willie McGee should be enshrined. If the argument for Blyleven is that he has the most wins or most Ks out of ANYONE that isn’t enshrined…Baines’ hit total has to mean more than 5.2% of the voters think he is worthy of the Hall of Fame.

Rob Nen (2 votes)
I kinda thought Nen would get more than 2 votes considering he was lights out before his arm fell off in 2002. Nen had 315 saves in nine seasons as a closer…yikes!

Brady Anderson and Jose Rijo (0 votes)
The man with the 90210 sideburns and the Playmate wife had the support of Hall darling Cal Ripken Jr., is one of two players (Barry Bonds being the other) to have stolen 50 bases and hit 50 home runs and STILL couldn’t buy a vote. Incidentally, in 2004, Hall of Famer Jim Palmer suggested Anderson’s 50 jack season was steroid influenced. Not a chance I say!

I only mention Jose Rijo because in 2001 (the FIRST time Rijo was Hall eligible), he received one vote. How that ONE writer decided seven years later (after Rijo retired AGAIN) to NOT vote for Rijo again is beyond me.

The big question…how did Todd Stottlemyre get a vote?

***Note: Following the Hall of Fame voting, I posed the question..."who else should have been elected?" Overwhelmingly, NO ONE garnered much support. Andre Dawson was just under 50% with 48% of the vote. After that, Tim Raines (43%), Jim Rice (39%), Bert Blyleven (35%), Harold Baines (30%), Mark McGwire, Jack Morris and Alan Trammell (26%), Dale Murphy (17%), Tommy John, Dave Parker and Lee Smith (9%), Dave Concepcion and Don Mattingly (4%). "Other" received a whopping 13%...thanks gang!***