The 2011 Hall of Fame Live Chat Re-Cap

Cooperstown 2011: Larry Walker

LARRY WALKER
First Year on Ballot

PLAYING CAREER: Montreal Expos (1989–1994), Colorado Rockies (1995–2004) and St. Louis Cardinals (2004–2005)

ACHIEVEMENTS:  Career batting average of .313 with 2160 hits, 383 home runs, 1355 runs scored and 1311 RBI.  1997 National League MVP.  Led the National League in batting three times (1998, 1999 and 2001).  Hit better than .300 nine times and drove in 110 runs or more five times.  Twice stole more than 30 bases and hit more than 30 home runsin a season.  Walker's 409 total bases in 1997 were the most by a National Leaguer since Stan Musial's 1948 season...the mark was bettered by Barry Bonds in 2001 (411).  The same year, Walker became and remains the only player to have at least 25 stolen bases and a slugging percentage of more than .700 in a season.  Seven-time Gold Glove Award winner (1992-1993, 1997-1999 and 2001-2002).  Five-time All-Star selection (1992, 1997-1999 and 2001).


WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ON TWITTER:

@FigureFilbert:  Glad to see another Walker supporter out there. Anyone who voted for Jim Rice has no excuse not to vote for Larry Walker.


@boxcar_fritz:  Larry Walker should make the HOF solely for being part of the most awesome and unpredicted trade of all time in 2004


@jonahkeri:  Larry Walker is my 2nd-favorite player ever. Many smart colleagues think he's HoF guy. I lean just slightly against. Am I crazy?

HOVG THOUGHTS:  Any other year, a guy like Walker (and Jeff Bagwell for that matter) gets some serious, serious Hall of Fame consideration.  Unfortunately, Bert Blyleven is the current darling and the cloud of steroids (in the form of Rafael Palmeiro) looms large over Walker's candidacy.  To me, I like uniqueness...and with only one other Canuck in the Hall of Fame, I've gotta put in a guy who nine times took home the Tip O'Neill Award courtesy of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

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.

Dropping Links: January 3

To kick off 2011...Tony Arnoldine has a quick re-cap of what went on this weekend and what you should've been reading instead of trying to figure out how/why they're keeping Dick Clark alive.

Seriously...did you see the guy Friday night?  Yikes.


Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon is the prime suspect in the murder of one man and the shooting of another in the Dominican Republic. Simon was one of many men who held the role of closer for Baltimore during 2010.

On a more positive note, the Orioles continued to add to their roster, agreeing to terms with Derrek Lee this week. It's a one-year deal, rumored to be full of incentives, and somewhere in the neighborhood of $8-10 million when it's all said and done. Lee struggled last year but is a strong defender and the O's hope he can bounce back. He was a better and more logical option than Adam LaRoche, whom Baltimore was also pursuing, since LaRoche wanted a three-year deal.

Julian Levine of Splashing Pumpkins shares some thoughts on the Hall of Fame.

Athletics Nation prepares us for what will be a bumpy ride through January.

Anheuser-Busch and Major League Baseball settled their potential lawsuit dispute and announced a multi-year agreement this week. AB will continue to be the official overpriced beer of baseball stadiums everywhere!

While many agree that the Angels are the most logical landing spot for free agent Adrian Beltre, the Rangers apparently remain very much in the mix for the third baseman.

Believe it or not, Mets tickets are still in demand.

Do you have a story you'd like to point out to Tony?  Drop him a line over at tdine05@yahoo.com. Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook to get your daily fix!

Cooperstown 2011: Alan Trammell

ALAN TRAMMELL
Tenth Year on Ballot  (22.4%)

PLAYING CAREER: Detroit Tigers (1977–1996)

ACHIEVEMENTS:  Career batting average of .285 with 2365 hits, 185 home runs, 1003 RBI and 1231 runs scored.  Hit .300 or better seven times.  Twice put together hit streaks of 20-games or longer.  1984 World Series champion and Series MVP.  Four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1980-1981 and 1983-1984).  Six-time All-Star selection (1980, 1984-1985, 1987-1988 and 1990).   

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ON TWITTER:

@burneystweets:  Jack Morris IS a Hall of Famer.....and so are Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell for that matter too

@SandlapperSpike:  For the writers who voted Jack Morris for the Hall of Fame...you're voting for the wrong Tiger. Alan Trammell should get your vote instead.

@spacemnkymafia:  Alan Trammell gets a loud ovation as he stands in because he's a future Hall of Famer, RIGHT BBWAA?

HOVG THOUGHTS:  For some reason, Trammell has become the Bert Blyleven of some Hall of Fame discussions and I'm 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.

Cooperstown 2011: B.J. Surhoff

B.J. SURHOFF
First Year on Ballot

PLAYING CAREER: Milwaukee Brewers (1987–1995), Baltimore Orioles (1996–2000), Atlanta Braves (2000–2002) and Baltimore Orioles (2003–2005)

ACHIEVEMENTS:  Career batting average of .282 with 2326 hits, 188 home runs and 1153 RBI.  First pick overall in the 1985 Major League draft.  From 1996 to 2001...averaged 160 hits or more.  Member of the 1999 All-Star team.  Elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2007 after batting .291 with 120 home runs and 551 in just under eight seasons with the club. 

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ON TWITTER:

@NotPhilRogers:  I'll be releasing my #HOFballot via twitter as we near the announcement on 1/5. I'll give you this one now: I voted "no" on BJ Surhoff.

@ErikUustal:  Wow! Even BJ Surhoff looks like a roided out freak. Career high 28 HR and 107 RBI in '99. You don't say?

HOVG THOUGHTS:  Somehow I missed the fact that Surhoff surpassed 2000 hits somewhere during the 2001.  Then again...he'd have needed to tack on a thousand more to become relevant in any sort of Hall of Fame discussion.

Yankees Considering Bartolo Colon?

First came the chatter of Gary Sheffield coming back.

Then...Jose Canseco took to Twitter asking for someone, anyone (but, he'd prefer Sandy Alderson) to give him a shot.

Now...it's Bartolo Colon.

This...according to some newspaper out of the the Dominican Republic. 

And the following comes from a piece over at FanNation.

Former Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon has heard from the Yankees. [Colon] has not pitched in the Major Leagues since July 24, 2009, but he is still planning a comeback and said there are three teams interested in him. Colon told El Dia, a newspaper in the Dominican Republic, that the Rangers, Yankees and Indians have all expressed some degree of interest in him. "I'll go with the one that signs me," said Colon, who would most likely have to settle for a non-roster contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Colon was 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in seven starts for the Cibaenas Aguilas in the Dominican Winter League this year.

Now, I'm not against it.  I mean, if the dude can still throw...he can throw.  But, Jesus, man, Colon is 37-years-old and hasn't performed at any discernable "big league level" in close to half a decade.
 
But, these are the Yankees that recently brought Mark Prior into the fold.  So, um, take THAT naysayers!
 
And if you want a good chuckle...go check out the 2005 American League Cy Young Award winner's Baseball Reference page.  Something tells me homeboy isn't 185 pounds with only one foot on the scale.
 
For his career, Colon is 153-103 (a .598 winning percentage) and a robust (see what I did there?) 4.10.
 
 

Cooperstown 2011: Lee Smith

LEE SMITH
Ninth Year on Ballot  (47.3%)

PLAYING CAREER: Chicago Cubs (1980–1987), Boston Red Sox (1988–1990), St. Louis Cardinals (1990–1993), New York Yankees (1993), Baltimore Orioles (1994), California Angels (1995–1996), Cincinnati Reds (1996) and Montreal Expos (1997)

ACHIEVEMENTS:  Ranks third all-time with 478 saves.  Career ERA of 3.03 in 1022 games with 1251 strikeouts.  All-time leader in saves and games finished at the time of his retirement.  13 consecutive seasons (1983-1995) with more than 20 saves, 10 seasons with 30 or more...and three seasons with 40 or more.  Led the league in saves four times (1983, 1991, 1992 and 1994).  Three-time Rolaids Relief Man of the Year (1991, 1992 and 1994).  All-time Chicago Cubs saves leader.  Holds National League record for most consecutive errorless games by a pitcher with 546.  Seven-time All-Star (1983, 1987 and 1991-1995).
 
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ON TWITTER:

@Toirtap:  If you can't vote for a DH because he "solely contributes offensively", how can you justify voting for Lee Smith and John Franco?

@dhockeyfeed:  Lee Smith: the most dominent closer of his era?

@hbryant42:  Five days to send in HOF ballot: Alomar and Blyleven...with two undecided (Larkin, Lee Smith)  

HOVG THOUGHTS:  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?!?