Hall of Fame 2010: Andre Dawson

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.

Some, like this one, will call in guest scribe Jose Peralta

With the Baseball Hall of Fame balloting upon us, the player whose name will once again get a lot of buzz is Andre Dawson.

Last year Dawson received 67% of the vote, falling a tad-short of the required 75%. Over the past few years we’ve heard many good reasons why “The Hawk” deserves to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Personally, I believe his career numbers and his philanthropy off the field are reasons enough for his induction, but if the BBWAA aren’t yet convinced then maybe putting one statistic in perspective may be the last hurdle they need to clear.

We’ve all heard of these “milestone clubs” that automatically put players in the Hall of Fame. Two of the most famous are the 3000-hit club and the 300-win club. However, there are some clubs that don’t get much attention but if we study them closely—they too can mean automatic enshrinement.

And what I like about these clubs is that they manifest themselves directly from the voting patterns of the voters. In other words, every player who has accomplished the feat has been elected to the Hall of Fame.

One of these exclusive clubs is the 2700-400 Club (2700 hits, 400 home runs). Every single eligible player in major league history that has accomplished these two milestones is in the Hall of Fame, except, you guessed it, Andre Dawson.

Ken Griffey, Jr. is the only active player who has achieved the milestone and it is safe to say he’s a future Hall of Famer. Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame, but it’s safe to say that if the dark cloud of the steroids scandal wasn’t hanging over their heads, they too would be sure-fire Hall of Famers.

So as we can see from the iconic names on this exclusive list, 2700-400 is not any easy milestone to achieve.

When it comes to current players that might join the 2700-400 club, there are only eight players (Ivan Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Todd Helton and Albert Pujols) that I believe have a realistic or outside chance of achieving the milestone.

And what do they all have in common? They are all potential future Hall of Famers.

So the point is, 2700-400 are sure-proof numbers for Hall of Fame induction and 12 of the 15 retired players that have achieved the milestone are in the Hall of Fame. But remember, Palmeiro and Bonds are not yet eligible. So Dawson is the only eligible player not yet in. As for active players, it’s safe to say, the ones who will reach the milestone are all going to be Hall of Fame worthy.

So my message to the BBWAA...study the 2700-400 Club.

Once you see the names on the list, you’ll realize how special it is. Once you look at the active players, you’ll realize only the future Hall of Famers will enter the club because it’s a club only reachable by Hall of Famers.

Andre Dawson is a member of this club.

Jose Peralta writes about sports over at his own site...this particular piece was hijacked from Hawk 4 the Hall.

Hall of Fame 2010: Ellis Burks

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.

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 was not as UNqualified as I thought.

Sure, there were plenty better out there than the two-time All-Star...but there were a lot worse. Just look at these career stats...2116 hits, 407 home runs, 1333 RBI and a .295 batting average.

Wait, hold on...those were Hall of Famer Duke Snider's stats!

Burks, however, wasn't that far behind with 2107 hits (more than Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Harmon Killebrew and Gary Carter), 1206 RBI and a career batting average of .291. His 352 home runs would rank him 34th among those enshrined in Cooperstown.

In 1996, Burks was robbed of the National League MVP Award when he compiled a career best .344 batting average, 40 home runs and 128 RBI. His 30 stolen bases was just the icing on the cake for a season that included leading the league in runs scored, slugging percentage and total bases.

Unfortunately, that's the best I can say about the outfielder. Wait, there is this...I hope he enjoys his one year on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Hall of Fame 2010: Bert Blyleven

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.

Up until recently, if you sat down with the fellas and had a discussion about “who is” and “who isn’t” a Hall of Famer…Bert Blyleven probably didn’t get brought up in the discussion.

Here’s a guy that plenty of writers are pimping for enshrinement, but, for some reason, people out in the “real world” aren’t really bringing his name up in polite conversation.

The guy played professional ball in four decades (Bert was drafted in 1969, but didn’t make the bigs until June 1970) for five different teams (twice with the Twins). He even has two World Series rings…and both times, one could argue that he was his team’s "go to" guy!

And yes, I know, I just went on and on about Harold Baines and now…I’m about to slam Blyleven. But let’s face it…the guy was a compiler.

A damn good compiler…but a compiler nonetheless.

All-time, Blyleven’s stats stack up wonderfully to some of those already in the Hall. Over at Baseball Reference, his top ten comparisons feature eight Hall of Famers.

The two that aren’t…Tommy John and Jim Kaat. And let’s be honest, someone COULD make a case for both of them.Fifth all-time in strikeouts has to account for something right? I mean, 3701 is nothing to sniff at. Only Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton have more. Of the players with 3000 Ks or more, you could almost say that all of them should be enshrined, even if the jury is still out on Curt Schilling.

Not bad company to be in if you ask me.When making the case for the Dutchman, everyone mentions Blyleven’s low ERA (3.31) and points to his career 60 shutouts as a contributing factor. To put that into perspective…Ryan and Tom Seaver each have 61. Clemens, for sake of comparison, is 26th all-time with 46…Blyleven is ninth.

Allow me to go one step further…there are only TWO pitchers eligible for Hall induction that have thrown more scoreless games than Clemens. Luis Tiant is one…he has 49. Blyleven, obviously, is the other.

The magic number for career victories is 300. Every pitcher eligible for the Hall of Fame that has more than 300 victories is enshrined. But that’s where it falls off…275 to 299 victories must not mean as much. Blyleven’s career total resides at 287. And say what you want, had there not been a strike in 1981 or had he not been hurt in 1982, Blyleven might have gotten to 300.

But he didn’t.

Heck, had he retired following his last good year (1989), he would have topped off at 271. Again, he didn’t and therefore falls into the “almost…but not quite” company of John and Kaat.

All that being said, his career numbers are, if at the least…”Hall worthy”. So, I’m confused…how do people NOT know who this character is?

The layman’s argument for Blyleven’s inclusion sounds impressive when you lay them out over the span of a “normal” career…but Rik Aalbert Blyleven pitched longer than Christ walked the Earth.

He was also durable…which means even if he was slightly above average (at best), his numbers would still pile up. And they did.Let’s start with wins.No one seems to mention that fact that of those 287 victories…only once Bert topped 20 victories. And that was in a season where he went 20-17. 20 wins is great, but 20-17 is a record only Wilbur Wood would be proud of.

Once at 20, another time with 19…then what? Five seasons of 17 victories? Is that how we’re judging “greatness now?!?It should be noted that in that 1973 season when Blyleven was 20-17, his Twins were 81-81. It wasn’t like he played for the 1962 Mets. He was a slightly average pitcher on an average ballclub.

I won’t even mention the fact that there were TWELVE American League pitchers with 20 or more victories in 1973.Wait, I just did.Let’s face it…a .534 winning percentage isn’t all that spectacular, even if you played for some lousy teams. Look at Carlton’s 1972 Cy Young year. His team had 59 wins total…”Lefty” had 27 of them.

A Hall of Famer (to me) is someone who elevates his team to be better than they should be. And, admittedly, perhaps Blyleven’s record isn’t indicative of his worth. He did, of course, pitch his team to FIFTEEN 1-0 victories. Granted, he lost ten others…but you can’t blame a guy for lack of run support.

3701 is a tremendous number when it comes to strikeouts and Blyleven reaching that plateau is an equally tremendous feat. The fact that eight times scattered throughout an almost 21 complete seasons, Bert topped 200 Ks is good…but not an eye popper.

I’m not comparing the two, just using him as an example, but Pedro Martinez topped 200 Ks in ten out of eleven years during his climb to prominence…and twice he surpassed 300! That, to me, is the example of someone out there killing the opponent.

And of those years where Blyleven racked up some quality strikeout figures, did he ever blow away the competition and lead the league?

Once.

In 1985, he bested Floyd Bannister by 8 strikeouts. 206 compared to 198 and Bert pitched in almost 90 more innings…not really dominant.

“Dominance” shouldn’t be judged the number of times a guy leads the league in strikeouts, right? Basically, when I think of a “strikeout pitcher”…I think of a guy like Randy Johnson. Not a guy who benefited from a four-man rotation instead of the modern five.But that’s okay.

I mean, 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?

Plenty of writers will give a sympathy nod to Blyleven by labeling him “unlucky” and “colorful”. His vote totals have climbed steadily from 17.5% in 1998 to 62.7% last year.

It remains to be seen what 2010 brings.

Hall of Fame 2010: Harold Baines

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.

Not that many years ago, Hoyt Wilhelm (inducted in 1985) and Rollie Fingers (1992) were the only relief pitchers in the Hall of Fame. Three times in the last six years, Dennis Eckersley (2004), Bruce Sutter (2006) and Goose Gossage (2009) have been enshrined.

So…why not the designated hitter?

Who would have thought in 1973, when Ron Blomberg of the Yankees became baseball’s first DH, that there would still be no full-time DH in the Hall of Fame?!?

Sure, many of modern era’s best hitters (Paul Molitor, George Brett, even Dave Winfield and Eddie Murray) ENDED their careers as their team’s DH…but there has not been a full-time DH voted in to join them.

A few year back, I would have said that Rafael Palmeiro would be the next notable DH to join the list…but he all but blew his chances by being found guilty of taking steroids. And while some will bring up Edgar Martinez (you can read more about his Hall of Fame case later this month), I think the next big name “full-time” DH is going to be Frank Thomas.

But why wait until then?

Why not embrace the designated hitter and vote in someone whose stats stack up with some of baseball’s elite.

Yes…I’m talking about Harold Baines.

His 1652 games played at DH is more than any other and for his overall career…and only Rusty Staub played in more games overall among Hall eligible players.

Baines’ 2866 career base hits (40th all-time) means that he has the most hits of any player that is not enshrined in Cooperstown. Sure, there are a handful of players (Pete Rose, Craig Biggio, Palmeiro and Barry Bonds) with more hits than Baines, but they are not Hall eligible…yet. Odds are that had Baines not had two work stoppages during his career, he would have eclipsed 3000 hits. Baines also has the most RBI of all Hall eligible players and ranks 29th all-time.

For his career…Baines batted .289. He hit at or above that mark an amazing thirteen times. Eight times, he batted higher than .300.

Combine this with his 384 home runs (Baines is actually third on the all-time list of walk off home runs), a .324 post season batting and you’ve got a player that was arguably one of the most valuable of his time.

Also, as a full-time DH, Baines was selected to appear in six All-Star games.

Statistically, Baines is pretty comparable to (if not better than) both Al Kaline and Tony Perez…both Hall of Famers. Interestingly enough...after Kaline, Baines is the player with the most number of home runs that never hit more than 30 in a season.

It’s time, writers. It’s time to start considering a full-time DH for induction to the Hall of Fame.

Sure you’ll wait for the "Big Hurt"…I understand. But don’t Baines’ numbers warrant at least a look?

Doesn’t he deserve his place in Cooperstown for a reason besides being the owner of the bat that ended baseball’s longest game ever?

I think so.

Hall of Fame 2010: Kevin Appier

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.

Unfortunately, Kevin Appier isn't one of those players that warrented much attention prior to now.

But that's not to say he wasn't good.

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.

All kidding aside, Appier's career started with a bang.

In his first four full season with the hapless Royals (1990-1993), the righty compiled a .630 winning percentage (he was 58-34) and a 2.80 ERA. And in 1993, he even led the American League in ERA!

Add to that his one All-Star Game appearance and a 2002 World Championship with the Angels and you have a good, serviceable pitcher.

But that's about all.

Twitter Tuesday...December 15, 2009

I know it has nothing to do with baseball, but have you seen the movie "The Goods"? Oh. My. God. It is terrible! It's taken me three nights to get through it and I am still not done.

That being said, I've managed to knock out an ESPN 30 for 30, a couple of episodes of Sons of Anarchy and the Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia season finale.




Now that the Winter Meetings are in the rearview mirror...the holiday season must be upon us.

gehrig38 (Curt Schilling): Love the snow!!

TommyLasorda (Tommy Lasorda): Happy Chanukah! Get ready to light the first candle of the menorah tonight.

GrillCheese49 (Jason Grilli): Ok. There is much debate and confusion w/ Christmas song Walking in a Winter Wonderland. Does anyone know who or what Parson Brown is?

ESPY_TEAHEN (Mark Teahen): Strongly underestimated the size of the Christmas tree before it was actually in the house.

NickSwisher (Nick Swisher): what are ya doing 2 help others in need this Christmas season? It's all about giving not about getting. This is the season to GIVE

Last week, Roy Halladay was all the buzz. Today it's John Lackey...with a little bit of Halladay thrown in for good measure.

Marc_Bertrand: According to my sources, Lackey is enjoying a pizza at Pizzeria Regina in the Nth End right now. I like this guy

Mr_Panek: not a fan of the Lackey deal at all

DWolf06: Red rover red rover send John Lackey right over

patriots44: My Red Sox get John Lackey!!!and Halladay is out of the AL East!!! Good Day for me.

EricStangel: Phillies get Roy Halladay, Mariners get Cliff Lee, Red Sox get John Lackey. Today Marlins bought rosin bags at Costco

Starting this week, The Hall is going to clue you in on what is going on in the mind of the 82 year-old Hall of Famer. Random thoughts, cell phone pictures from hotel windows, meet ups with celebrities and former players...that's all part of "The Wisdom of Tommy Lasorda".

This week's gem: When Mike Marshall hit balls it sounded like a canon firing. Many times I had to break out a tape measure.

Check out a picture Tommy and Mike HERE!




Earlier this week, it came out that Seth McClung was not going to be back in Milwaukee for the 2010 season. In a classy move, McClung hit Twitter and thanked nearly everyone involved with his tenure with the Brewers.

Something tells me that following him over the next couple of months might provide some insight as to how this crazy game works.

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!

Hall of Fame 2010: Roberto Alomar

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.

For the most part...this is the latter.

Dear Readers…truth or dare?

Dare you say?

Fair enough. I want you to go outside RIGHT NOW and ask the first person you see who the best second baseman was over the last quarter century. And when they answer “Ryne Sandberg”…punch them in the face.

Why? They’re lying to you.

Unquestionably, Ryno was good. But he isn’t the BEST to play the position this side of 1980.

I know, I know…Sandberg was the MVP in 1984. At one time, he had the most home runs by a second baseman and in the field, he nabbed nine straight Gold Gloves.

He was pretty good.

But Roberto Alomar was better. Hands down.

Matter of fact, he might be the best modern day second baseman...even though Joe Morgan would tell you otherwise.

Some people might even go on to tell you that Alomar wasn’t ever the best player on the field for any of the seven teams he played for. Much like Morgan, I’d tell you that neither were Craig Biggio and Jeff Kent and they’re both Hall of Fame caliber middle infielders.

And yes...I mean THAT Jeff Kent.

Let’s break this down…plain and simple.

The case for Alomar is an easy one…even easier when compared to the most recent Hall inductee at second base, Ryne Sandberg.

Here ya go:

Alomar went to twelve straight All-Star games (nine as a starter), compared to Ryno’s ten. Incidentally, his ten Gold Gloves over a span of eleven years is the most ever by a second baseman.

His .984 fielding percentage is a hair behind Sandberg’s .989.

His 2724 hits (and career .300 batting average) is the most by any every day second baseman since Charlie Gehringer’s 2839. Gehringer was inducted in 1949. FYI…Sandberg finished with 2386 and a .285 batting average.

Even, Alomar’s OPS+ (a stat that I am not that high on, but some people are) of 116 is smack dab in the middle of the pack when you look at those already enshrined. For the record, Sandberg’s was 114. Joe Morgan...a surprising 132.

Alomar even slugged .347 in back to back World Series victories for the Blue Jays
And yes, for every “case for”…there is a case against:

Alomar lacks an identity. His longest stint with any team was five years with the Blue Jays.

As mentioned, Alomar was overshadowed on nearly every team he played for (Tony Gwynn in San Diego, Joe Carter in Toronto, Cal Ripken in Baltimore, Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez in Cleveland).

In this, his first year on the ballot, he's up against Bert Blyleven, Tim Raines, Barry Larkin, Fred McGriff and Edgar Martinez. Granted, they’re not all Hall of Famers…but they’ll garner some attention and steal (pun intended in Raines' case) some votes.

And, unfortunately, the spitting incident with umpire John Hirshbeck.

Alomar was the type of player that, because he was so damn solid for nearly 17 seasons…people forget that he was a hitting machine. From his second year in the majors (1989) until 2001, Alomar hit under .295 only twice. He even had an impressive run of nine out of ten years where he hit .300 or better.

Open your doors for Robbie, Cooperstown, I’ll be watching...all the while knowing that the best second baseman I ever saw play is getting his just desserts.

Andy Pettitte re-signs with Yankees

Last year, Andy Pettitte signed a one-year $5.5 million dollar contract and added to it another $5 million in incentives.

Today...the veteran lefty got a pay raise when he signed a GUARANTEED one-year $11.75 million dollar deal to stay with the New York Yankees.

And with that, we're subjected to another season of "is Andy Pettitte a Hall of Famer" talk.

You see, anytime that a Yankee has the success that Pettitte has had, particularly on the biggest stage possible (Hell, I even read “Jorge Posada for the Hall of Fame” stories following the World Series)…there is going to be talk.

Unlike Posada (who is NOT a potential Hall of Famer), with Pettitte, it is hard to discern at first glance, whether or not it is warranted.

Sure, you can do what Colin Linneweber at Bleacher Report did a couple months back and simply state “Andy Pettitte is a Hall of Fame Pitcher” and cite solely his winning percentage (.629) World Series rings (now five) as the reason.

But you’d be dead wrong and come across as not very knowledgeable.

The problem with Colin’s statements are many. Most noticeably, is the fact that five rings with the Yankees isn’t THAT impressive (David Cone has five rings and can’t sniff Cooperstown, Paul O’Neill has the same amount and won’t see the mandatory five percent to stay on the ballot) and the winning percentage (while impressive) is only good for ninth among active players.

Sure, a 229-135 record is good, don’t get me wrong, but in an era where Pettitte competed alongside such Hall of Fame shoe-ins as Greg Maddux (355 wins), Roger Clemens (354), Tom Glavine (305) and Randy Johnson (303)…being 63rd all-time isn’t turning any heads.

Now, while it is true that there are those in Cooperstown (Catfish Hunter has 224 wins) or on the verge of getting there (Pedro Martinez is at 219), but they both have something Pettitte never brought home.

Hardware.

If you’ve read anything here at The Hall, you know I’m big on the accolades and unlike Hunter and Martinez who have four Cy Young Awards and 11 top four finishes between them…Pettitte only once came close to sniffing the award.

In 1996, his second year in the bigs, Pettitte finished 21-8 and could easily have been considered the ace on a staff that guided the Yankees to 92 wins and a World Series ring. That is the same year, he grabbed 11 first place votes and finished second to the Blue Jays Pat Hentgen.

Ironically, if Mariano Rivera doesn’t get a first place vote and it goes to Pettitte…the big Texan brings home the award.

All that aside, I can’t belittle a guy for his lack of Cy Young Awards and paltry two All-Star appearances when he has a fist full of rings and the most victories in postseason history.

And how about those 18 postseason wins that everyone (myself included) seems to eventually bring up?

Pretty impressive, right?!?

Wrong.

No one ever brings up that he also has the most starts (40) and third most losses (nine) all-time in the postseason. Bless me with having the best closer ever behind me and an offense that produces runs at an All-World clip and I, too, will win close to two-thirds of my starts.

I guarantee it.

Now, I want to go back to the regular season and call out the two biggest gorillas in the room…ERA and strikeouts.

Pettitte’s career ERA is 3.91.

Let me repeat that. Pettitte’s career ERA is 3.91 and if he would happen to make it to the podium for that hot July speech, he would go in with the highest ERA (by far) of anyone else enshrined.

It can be defended that this is a hitters’ era, but when you look at the guys I mentioned before (Maddux, Clemens, Glavine and Johnson), the highest ERA in the bunch is Glavine’s 3.54 and while not spectacular…300-plus wins and 2700 Ks will help garner a few votes.

The baseball writers are silly like that.

And what about Pettitte’s strikeout totals?

While he was never considered a power pitcher (his 2.8 walks per nine innings shows he was more of a control guy), his 2150 strikeouts isn’t likely to turn many heads when it comes to a Hall vote.

Strikeouts, like home runs, are a stat that voters can look at and qualify based on certain, pre-determined benchmarks.

For example…all but one eligible player (Mark McGwire) with more than 500 home runs is in the Hall. Similarly, there is only one eligible pitcher (Bert Blyleven) with more than 3000 strikeouts that is on the outside looking in.

Failing to meet some of the minimum requirements, if you will, won’t help Pettitte earn any favors.

Lastly, there is that press conference from February 2008 where he admitted to using HGH while playing in New York in 2002 and with the Astros in 2004.

Would Pettitte have come out and admitted use had he not been fingered by both former teammate Jason Grimsley and former trainer Brian McNamee? Probably not.

Would he have come clean had he not been one of the biggest names to have been named in the Mitchell Report? Probably not.

Can we be sure that those were the only times that Pettitte used the drugs and his reasons were legitimate? Probably not.

Will the writers forget all this when it is Pettitte’s time to face the jury and be selected for enshrinement? Say it with me…probably not.

As it is, the BBWAA has only had one player to vilify so far and while he, Mark McGwire, was only suspected of using performance enhancers, odds are he is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to NOT allowing substance abusers (or those suspected of being one) into the Hall of Fame.

My gut tells me that, if, for some reason, Pettitte’s numbers upon retirement garner him any sort of Hall of Fame consideration (and honestly, I am not sure they will), his coming clean about steroids won’t help his cause.

And since you made it this far in my re-hash of an old Pettitte post, I am obligated to finish this thing with the trite…“the Winter Meetings are going on in Indianapolis”.

Now, I know you knew that already…but isn’t that much better than spending the last sentence of an “is Andy Pettitte a Hall of Famer” talking about how steroids will likely be the biggest contributing factor as to why Pettitte does not get into the Hall?

Wait…I think I just did.