What do these guys have in common?

Here's my advice to all of you. If anyone ever walks up to you and asks, "what do Albert Pujols, Carlos Lee and Adam Dunn have in common"...you have my permission to punch them in the face.

I'm serious.

There is absolutely no reason why the three of them should be mentioned in the same sentence.

Until now.

Saturday night, St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols made history (again) by hitting the 100 RBI mark...for the ninth straight year.

"Obviously it's very special," Pujols told reporters following the Cardinals 5-3 victory over the hapless Pirates. "God has allowed me to keep myself healthy and to do that. It's not easy to do it for one year and nine years in a row, it's pretty special."

Only Hall of Famer Al Simmons has more 100 RBI seasons at the start of a career with 11, but something tells me that if a guy like Pujols can get 100 RBI in 110 games so far this season...he can get 200 in his team's next 324 to tie the former Philadelphia (among other teams) slugger.

Now...Carlos Lee.

As The Hall mentioned Thursday, "El Caballo" entered this weekend's series against the Brewers with 299 career home runs. Against Milwaukee's three projected starters (Carlos Villanueva, Manny Parra and Yovani Gallardo), Lee was batting .405 for his career with three home runs.

Enter Claudio Vargas and the three home runs he's given up to Lee.

Exit home run number four...the 300th of Lee's career.

A sidenote to Lee's milestone achievement...his Astros became the first team in Major League history to have three players (Ivan Rodriguez and Lance Berkman were the first two) get their 300th home runs in the same season.

Another sidenote...Lee is the only Panamanian born player to hit 300 home runs. And in case you were wondering (and I know you were), Ben Oglivie is next on the "most home runs hit by a Panamanian born player" with 235.

And lastly...Adam Dunn.

Back in March, The Hall pointed out that if Dunn reaches 40 home runs this season for the Nationals, he’ll have done so for six straight seasons. But first, he needed to get to 30 for the sixth straight season...which he did on Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

Assuming Dunn has ten more in him (which is highly likely), he be one 40 home run season away from tying Babe Ruth as the only two guys to hit 40 out in a seven straight seasons.

So, I pose the question..."what do Albert Pujols, Carlos Lee and Adam Dunn have in common?"

I'll just sit here patiently awaiting my punch to the face.

Is this the end for the Giambino?

Alright, I'm chalking this one up to laziness, but given Tony over at TonyBlogs.net already "broke" the story...no need to re-make the wheel.

The Oakland A's today released Jason Giambi, who was on the disabled list but only hitting .193 while he was healthy. It ends the second stint in Oakland for Giambi.

I think it's surprising any time a baseball team outright releases a player, especially one of Giambi's name and reputation, but it's not a shock in terms of production. Giambi played in 83 games for the A's this season and was last in the league in batting average.

The question now is if anyone will sign him for the stretch run.

My guess is that he doesn't end up with anyone. An American League team is the only logical fit but many of the contending teams don't have room for him. Giambi could perhaps catch on as a pinch hitter, but with a .193 average, teams aren't exactly going to be knocking down his door.

As you might remember, The Hall followed Jason Giambi's quest for 400 home runs HERE and HERE.

Another feather in Trevor Hoffman's cap

With his 25th save of the season and 29th game finished, Milwaukee Brewer closer (and all-time save leader) Trevor Hoffman entered the record books.

Again.

Prior to Wednesday night, Lee Smith (can we get him to Cooperstown, please?) and Hoffman were tied atop the all-time leaderboard with 802 games finished. After closing out the Dodgers, Hoffman sits at 803 and, depending on who you ask, shows no real sign of letting up.

Next among active closers is Mariano Rivera with 754 games finished. Further down the list are Billy Wagner (637) and Troy Percival (546).

As a sidenote, Hoffman's Brewers will be traveling to Houston to take on the Astros this weekend. And if you've been following The Hall at all, you know that the 'stros are on the verge of having a THIRD slugger reach the 300 home run mark.

Ivan Rodriguez and Lance Berkman got theirs already so this homestand pretty much means it is time for Carlos Lee to shine.

Going into Friday night's matchup, Lee sits at 299 and before you ask...yes, it is likely he'll go yard before the Brew Crew leaves town Sunday night.

Let's take a gander how "El Caballo" stacks up against his former team by looking at their probable pitchers.

Friday...Carlos Villanueva (.308, 4 for 13, 1 home run).

Saturday...Manny Parra (.583, 7 for 12, 1 home run).

Sunday...Yovani Gallardo (.333, 4 for 12, 1 home run).

Combined, Lee is hitting .405 (15 for 37) with 3 home runs against the Milwaukee hurlers. This season, he's hit just over half (10) of his 18 home runs at Minute Maid Park.

So, Astros fans (and you know who you are, James)...number 300 looks likely.

Twitter Tuesday...August 4, 2009

Every Tuesday, The Hall of Very Good is going to give you some tweets to help get you through the day. At times there will be a theme. Sometimes, I’ll admit it, I’ll probably be too lazy to string one together.

To kick off the chatter this week…I’m thinking food, Las Vegas and the trade deadline.

CJNitkowski: I'm going to pass on the Abalone Porridge Rice for breakfast this morning. Just a cultural thing.

chadhermansen: i have been in airport so long today i've eaten all 3 meals here. Quizinoes, panda express, and pizza hut. what will the outcome be?

Dougiebaseball: Note to self. Do not go grocery shopping when u r starving

chopper63: Vegas is miserable in august, they take all your money and it's 110 outside

ESPY_TEAHEN: What will ESPN cover after trade deadline, and"Roy Halladay isn't getting traded" story passes?Move on to Brett Farve's non-comeback, I hope

I’ve had the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on the mind for about a week now. Apparently many of you out there are still talking about Rickey Henderson.

abigvictory: "Rickey Henderson is not hung like a horse. Horses are hung like Rickey Henderson." Me. 1986. After seeing him naked.

KurtSanger: Going to the HOF has made Rickey Henderson's head even bigger ... now he's talking about himself in the fourth person....

Stoneflip: "Rickey stretches before he goes to sleep, that way when Rickey wakes up, Rickey is already loose" - Rickey Henderson

Need someone to follow? Check out Dan Levy at OntheDLpodcast.

Dan’s mix of up-to-the-minute tweets regarding what is going on in the sports world and his own commentary on sports media makes him a great follow. Also...he's got a rockin' podcast.

Have someone you think everyone should follow? Perhaps you yourself have read some interesting tweets in the past week…drop me a line or leave a comment below.

See you next Tuesday!

Twitter Tuesday starts today

If the Twitter world can have such "imaginative" days as Music Monday and Follow Friday (I’m still not sure when I am suppose to use the “#” and when I’m not)…why can’t The Hall of Very Good have its own Twitter trend?

Welcome to Twitter Tuesday!

What is Twitter Tuesday? Well…I’ll tell ya.

Every Tuesday morning, The Hall is going to deliver to you some tweets to help get you through the daily grind.

They’ll be broken up thusly.

Infield Chatter is your weekly collection of interesting tweets by some current and former Major League Baseball players.

The Buzz is your voice. Here you’ll find the thoughts of what the folks on the interwebs are talking about…HOVG style. In short, if I find something interesting…I’m curious what the Twitter world thinks as well.

Follow Friday (Tuesday Style). Simply put, I’m bringing “Follow Friday” to Tuesdays. Need someone new to follow…you’ll find that person here.

And yeah, I was using “imaginative” facetiously…by no way am I thinking alliteration is clever. Unfortunately, the best name I had in the arsenal was “Twitter Tuesday”.

Enter Sandman...again

Just a month ago, Mariano Rivera was making headlines by becoming only the second player to notch 500 career saves. After saving his league best 30th game on Sunday, Rivera again inched closer to immortality by hitting the mark for the seventh consecutive season

It makes sense that all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman saved 30 or more in eight straight seasons (1995-2002), but how does Rivera's streak compare to the closers in the Hall of Fame?

Of the five relievers in the Hall (Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Bruce Sutter and Hoyt Wilhelm), they COMBINED for 16 seasons (Eckersley had 8...Wilhelm zero) with 30 or more saves. Rivera has 12, whereas Hoffman has 13.

To suggest that Hoffman and Rivera would be the next two closers to be end up in Cooperstown would be an understatement.

As a sidenote, the only other reliever to have as many as seven straight seasons with 30 or more saves...Troy Percival.

Yeah, THAT Troy Percival.

"Rickey is so very, very, very humble."

Maybe it's just me...but there sure seemed to be an awful lot of fanfare surrounding the Oakland Athletics retiring Rickey Henderson's number on Saturday.

I get the former teammates and family being present. They helped make Rickey, um...Rickey.

I totally understand the podium so Henderson can speak to the sold out crowd of 35,067 in attendance.

Current Oakland superstar Jason Giambi presenting him with a uniquely crafted crystal trophy, I can accept that, too.

But the fireworks, Henderson walking down the red carpet extending from centerfield to the infield and the subsequent gold base that welcomed him...that might have been a little much. Add to that the fact that Oakland kicked off Rickey Henderson Month (yes, August is officially Rickey Henderson Month in Oakland) and...wow.

And I like the guy...a lot!

To hear Henderson's entire speech from Saturday and to witness the fanfare firsthand, head on over to MLB.com.

In case you were wondering, Henderson became the fifth Oakland player to have his number retired by the team, joining Dennis Eckersley (43), Rollie Fingers (34), Catfish Hunter (27) and Reggie Jackson (9).

Thoughts about Rickey being Rickey

With all the Hall of Fame talk there has been the last week or so...I've found my favorite Rickey Henderson tribute and it came from none other than Kevin Kaduk over at Yahoo.

Two years ago, when the Hall of Very Good was just some random Myspace posts tossed out willy nilly to whoever would read them, I shared some of my own memories about Rickey Henderson.

Today...I've kicked the cobwebs off that post and thrown it back up here on the interwebs for you to read. Again.

Enjoy!

I'm on a baseball kick…it's true. Even more true…I like stats and I love comparing them.

I had a conversation over the weekend about who I thought was the "best ballplayer" I had ever seen. Now granted…I started watching baseball in 1981, but still, the choice was an easy one.

Rickey Henderson.

Here's the thing about Rickey that is the most fun to point out…people HATED him.

He was arrogant, self-centered and flashy. He was the first player that I remember to play wearing an earring, Oakleys AND a Jheri-curl…all at the SAME TIME!

Rickey's Hall of Fame credentials are unmatched when it comes to current players that are eligible for the Hall, but have yet to get in. Even better…he hasn't OFFICIALLY retired! Yet…Henderson stands to be the first player elected to the Hall WITHOUT having retired. Sure, some players didn't retire and made it in due to death (I'm looking your way Roberto Clemente)…but never (that I know of) has someone who hasn't retired been selected.

Statistician Bill James was asked if he thought Henderson was a Hall of Famer…his famous reply was "if you could split him in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers." As a baseball fan and memorabilia collector…that makes my lone run-in with Rickey all the appropriate. I was waiting for the Yankees bus to show up outside the Pfister in Milwaukee when, long before the bus showed up, Rickey showed up in a taxi. On his left arm was a white girl…on the right, a black girl.

Apparently Rickey found a way to make himself two Hall of Famers…at least for one night.

Another great Henderson story comes from one of his FOUR stints with the Oakland A's. Team bookkeepers could not account for a ONE MILLION DOLLAR discrepancy in their finances. Eventually, this was traced to Rickey…he had a check for one million buckos framed and hanging on his wall.

Classy.

Let's look into the stats. Sure, Rickey was an All-Star in ten of his first twelve seasons, the MVP of the 1990 season (he SHOULD have been the MVP in 1981 as well) and the career leader in runs and steals…but the guy was more of a stud than even those stats imply.

Here's a gem. On July 29, 1989, Henderson stole FIVE bases off of Randy Johnson. This ended up being Rickey's career high (Henderson had eighteen FOUR steal games during his career), and one shy of the single-game steal record. Add to that…he was 0-0 in the game with four walks.

By the way, Rickey used to hold the record for most walks in a career too…that was until the world decided to stop pitching to Barry Bonds.

In 2002, Henderson suited up for his eighth team (he played for nine), the Boston Red Sox. Incredibly, from 1979-2001, Rickey Henderson had stolen more bases than the Red Sox had managed over the same time span: 1,395 steals for Rickey, 1,382 for the Boston franchise.

Not surprisingly, Henderson is one of two players to have stolen bases in four separate decades, along with Ted Williams. Strangely, Williams only had 24 stolen bases in his entire career.

In 1982, Rickey swiped 130 bases…good for the most in a season. That season he had more steals that EIGHT American League teams did as a team! Currently, Kenny Lofton is the active leader for stolen bases…a mere 800 behind Henderson. Lou Brock, the former record holder for steals in a career…is 500 behind Rickey.

Steals aside…Henderson also had 81 lead-off home runs. Think about that for a second…27% of Rickey's home runs led off a game.

Also, his career total of 297 is more than some notable Hall of Fame outfielders (Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Hack Wilson, Robin Yount and Kirby Puckett).

His 3055 hits rank 20th all-time. The only three players with more hits that aren't in Cooperstown…Pete Rose, Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn.

I'll stop now, but suffice it to say…Rickey SHOULD garner the highest percentage of votes since George Brett and Nolan Ryan in 1999.