Month: January 2009

Upon Further Review Joe Deserves HOF Nod

Hall of Fame Gordon Baseball A while back I wrote a controversial piece, saying the Veteran’s Committee got it wrong, and Joe Gordon didn’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Well I’m not too big to admit it when I made a mistake, and boy, did I ever make one here! Here is why I changed my mind.

Nine of Gordon’s eleven years in the majors, he was an All Star. In 1942 he won the AL MVP Award over Triple Crown winner, Ted Williams. He was arguably the best secondbaseman of the forties. Known for his acrobatic defense, he led the AL in assists four times and in double plays three times. He was the first AL second baseman to hit 20 home runs in a season, doing so seven times, and holds the league mark for career HRs at second base (246), Joe held the single season mark until 2001. Gordon’s 25 home runs as a rookie set an AL record for second basemen which stood until 2006. All of these accomplishments were achieved with the heart of career yanked out, as he went off to fight a war for two years, when he was 29 & 30, in the prime of his career.

After the war Joe had his worst season with the Yankees before being shipped off to Cleveland, batting .210, with 11 HRs, & 47 RBIs, in only 112 games played. With the Indians Gordon rebounded to find his game, hitting 29 HRs & 93 RBIs in 1947. Then in 1948, teaming with DP partner Lou Boudreau, to make the Cleveland Indians World Series Champions, leading the team in HR’s (32) & RBIs (124).

One of the big reasons for my change of heart comes from the MLB Network. I got a chance to see some film of him playing the game, AMAZING! Congratulations to HOFer Joe Gordon, a deserving recognition that was long over due.

Thoughts on the Hall of Fame ballot results

The way it went today was no real surprise.  From all the possible permutations the ballot could have gone, there was probably only one other result that realistically could have happen and that was Henderson getting in by himself.  Fortunately for Rice, the BBWAA saw things his way. 

The Hall of Fame ballot results do provide an angle for the media.  Henderson, who gets in on his first try and Jim Rice who finally was deemed good enough on his last try. 

One prediction I made came true… Bloggers were out in force questioning the members of the BBWAA with some of their crazy voting.  That was a safe bet, though. 

In a way, I’m glad Henderson got in but didn’t get in unanimously.  It would be a shame if Rickey Henderson, who, let’s face it, prolonged his career to up his career numbers, got in with a unanimous ballot in his first year of eligibility while true superstars like Aaron and Ripken did not. 

And congrats to Jim Rice who certainly deserved to be voted in all along.  Rice suffered a love-hate (but mostly hate) relationship with the media while he was playing with Boston.  I would think most of that animosity had dissipated by the time he was up for Hall of Fame nomination but who knows. 

Read The Baseball Zealot’s HOF ’09 profiles of all the 2009 candidates for the Hall. 

Henderson, Rice make it into the Hall

It was announced today that Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Player 2009 Votes 2009 Percent
Rickey Henderson 511 94.8
Jim Rice 412 76.4
Andre Dawson 361 67.0
Bert Blyleven 338 62.7
Lee Smith 240 44.5
Jack Morris 237 44.0
Tommy John 171 31.7
Tim Raines 122 22.6
Mark McGwire 118 21.9
Alan Trammell 94 17.4
Dave Parker 81 15.0
Don Mattingly 64 11.9
Dale Murphy 62 11.5
Harold Baines 32 5.9
Mark Grace 22 4.1
David Cone 21 3.9
Matt Williams 7 1.3
Mo Vaughn 6 1.1
Jay Bell 2 0.4
Jesse Orosco 1 0.2
Ron Gant 0 0
Dan Plesac 0 0
Greg Vaughn 0 0

Baseball Digest online

CLuke passed on this link to a treasure trove of digitized Baseball Digest magazines going back to 1945 thanks to Google Book Search.  For baseball history buffs, it’s well worth browsing through it! 

To whet your appetite, here’s an article from Jerry Holtzman from 1960 entitled White Sox Make Glove Men Respectable Again. 

HOF ’09: We’re Done!

Well, with Teddy Ballgame’s write-up on Greg Vaughn earlier today, we’ve concluded HOF ’09, our series of profiles of this year’s candidates for the Hall of Fame.  It’s been fun and I think we’ve even learned a bit along the way.

As for me, it was an interesting group of players to profile for a couple reasons.  A big one was that most of these players were big stars while I was a teenager and young adult when I was forming my serious interest in baseball.  Dave Parker, Jim Rice, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson… I have fond memories.  Not to mention that some of these players played in the era when the Chicago Cubs finally became a post season threat (I can still remember the ’84 series against the Padres… ugh). 

Also, these players came from a time when baseball had more of a balance of power, speed, and pitching.  Appropriately enough, that is reflected in the 2009 Hall of Fame ballot.  With the speed of Henderson and Raines, the power of McGwire and Rice and the pitching of David Cone, Bert Blyleven and Tommy John, this class is well represented. 

Who will get elected?  Well, we put our opinions down who we think SHOULD get the call but as to who WILL get elected is another matter.  The BBWAA has been rather stingy lately and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It’s very possible that just one (Rickey Henderson??) will get elected and others will have to wait.

Time is running out for some, though.  The midnight hour is chiming for Jim Rice as it’s his last ballot.  There are some (myself included) who feel that his career and contribution is worthy of the Hall. 

We’ll find out tomorrow and the chips will fall where they may.  No doubt, many bloggers and pundits will be unhappy no matter how it goes.  I’ll predict at least one writer will have his credentials questioned and will be asked to step down from the BBWAA.  Unfortunately, THAT is the safest prediction I make right now. 

All that said, here are the opinions we’ve made in the last month.  Links go to our profiles on the players. 

Thanks for reading!

Hall of Fame Hall of Very Good Why is he even on the Ballot?
Harold Baines    
Jay Bell    
Bert Blyleven    
David Cone    
Andre Dawson    
Ron Gant    
Mark Grace    
Rickey Henderson    
Tommy John    
Don Mattingly    
Mark McGwire    
Jack Morris    
Dale Murphy    
Jesse Orosco    

Dave Parker

    
Dan Plesac    
Tim Raines    
Jim Rice    

Lee Smith

    
Alan Trammell    
Greg Vaughn    

Mo Vaughn

    

Matt Williams

    

 

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Teddy Ballgame and DonS for their help with his project.

Also, a lot of research went in to this.  I’d like to give props to the websites that were helpful. 

Baseball Reference:  I can’t say enough about this web site.  If there are baseball fans out there who haven’t seen this site and what it can do, you need to check it out.

Baseball Page:  Very helpful for bios and such.

Baseball Musings’ Day by Day Database:  Good for finding stats between established periods of time (and lots of other stuff).

Baseball Almanac:  another good bio site.  Good for the quotes too :)

Bosox Hurlers: Made in Japan

saito There used to be a time when “Made in Japan” meant inferior quality, not anymore, just ask the Red Sox. The Red Sox just added Takashi Saito, former Dodgers closer, who first became a closer in Japan when his predecessor, Kazuhiro Sasaki came to the Mariners. In Japan Saito had a tendency to give up alot of home runs, 15 off the bat of Hedeki Matsui, which should be interesting. The Red Sox are hoping the 38 year old Saito can bounce back from an elbow injury, which landed him on the disabled list for much of 2008. Junichi Tazawa, a 22 year old, righthander, who idolizes Daisuke Matsuzaka, signed with Boston, in early December. The 5’11” Tazawa was 6-1 with a 1.00 ERA, striking out 56 in 54 innings in 2008, with Nippon. In signing two more Japanese hurlers, the Bosox are hoping for the same type of success they’ve had with Daisuke Matsuzaka & Hideki Okajima. Daisuke and his gyroball were only 15-12 in his first year with Boston, but he had a breakout 18-3 record last year. While lefthanded reliever Hideki Okajima has been solid in his two seasons with the Red Sox, more than 60 games & 60 innings pitched, & a sub 3.00 ERA, each year.

So, if you want to watch the Boston Red Sox staff this spring, you might be better off following the Japanese team in the World Baseball Classic.

HOF ’09: Greg Vaughn

vaughn2-crop When I first saw the name Greg Vaughn listed among the other Hall of Fame eligible players, I thought, what the f***?!?! But then, believe it or not, he had some pretty impressive numbers. It’s kind of like getting set up on a blind date with somebody’s cousin, who has a wonderful personality, and you find out, she ain’t half bad.

Jerry Royster’s & Mo Vaughn’s cousin was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 4th pick in the 1986 draft out of the University of Miami. Greg was an All Star four times, 1993, 96, 98, & 2001, four times he hit 30+ home runs, and three times drove in 100 or more. In 1998 he won a Silver Slugger, was named NL Comeback Player of the Year, hitting 50 home runs, trailing only Ken Griffey, Jr., Sammy Sosa, & Mark McGwire (who set the home run record that season). The next year Vaughn was traded to the Cincinnati Reds where he blasted 45 long balls, to become only the 2nd player in history to hit 40 or more homers for two different ballclubs (Andres Galarraga was the first).

On the downside, he was a poor outfielder, who struck out 100+ times nine different seasons, 1,513 times over 15 seasons, his lifetime average was just .242. Greg Vaughn was ripped at 6’0″ 193 pounds of solid muscle. Still, overall, you have to ask, Why is he even on the ballot?

  Hall of Fame
 

Hall of Very Good

Why is he even on the Ballot?

 

While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Read the rest the of the profiles.  

2009 Cubs Convention schedule out

Bleed Cubbie Blue has the schedule for the 2009 Cubs Convention which is January 16-18.  The list of attendees isn’t out yet but my guess is that the usual suspects will be there.

I won’t be going this year for a variety of reasons, mostly financial.  But if you want to get a sense of what it’s like you can check out my articles and photos from the 2007 and 2008 conventions.  They were a lot of fun. 

I’d love to hear from anyone who is going and especially hear reports back about how it went this year.  Leave a comment and let us know what you did and who you saw. 

Japanese team to play in spring training in 2010?

Interesting, it’s being proposed that a Japanese team play 15 games during spring training in 2010. 

The team would play in Tucson and would replace the White Sox who have relocated to the Phoenix area. 

Tucson tourism officials are behind the proposal but say the MLB is “open” to the idea and the Diamondbacks and Rockies have been receptive to the concept. 

HOF ’09: Alan Trammell

Some interesting facts and trivia about Alan Trammell:

  • Other than Jim Rice, he’s the only one on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot who played his whole career with one team (20 years with the Detroit Tigers). 
  • He and keystone partner Lou Whitaker played more games together than any other pair of teammates in baseball history.  Not only that, the two had incredibly similar stats through 1986.  Same batting average (.281), within one point on slugging percentage (Trammell’s .403 to Sweet Lou’s .404).  They were also close on games played (within 6), homeruns (within 3), and hits (20). 
  • Trammell’s grand slam off Royals’ relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry was the first hit off the submarine pitcher.
  • Named his son after Lance Parrish.

 

Trammell Facts
  • Drafted 2nd round in 1976 by the Detroit Tigers
  • Played for Det (1977-1996)
  • 6 time All-Star, 4 Gold Gloves
  • 2nd in MVP voting in 1987

 

Does Alan Trammel make the Hall of Fame?  Find some Detroit Tiger fans and I’ll bet you’ll meet some takers.  He’s an interesting case, that’s for sure.  Comparing him stat-wise to the slugger-types is hardly fair.  He brings much more to the table.  Defense, speed, team leadership.

Trammell was brought up to the major leagues in 1977 but played his first full season the next year.  He played a solid enough season to place fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting.  Two years later in 1980, he had a breakout year with Detroit batting .300 and scoring 107 runs not to mention winning his first of four Gold Gloves. 

trammell wsmvp Trammell hit .300 plus six more times in his career.  His one chance at the MVP was in 1987 when he hit .343 with 28 homeruns, 105 rbis and 109 runs.  He placed second in the voting that year to George Bell and his 47 homeruns.  To this day, some say he was robbed. 

To make the Hall of Fame, Alan Trammell won’t do it because of his hitting.  Unless you want to count sacrifice hits, he never led the league in a single category during his whole career.  The close he came was his .343 average in 1987 which brought him 3rd place. 

In the field, Trammell was a very good shortstop… good enough to get him four Gold Gloves early on in his career.  He does deserve props for his part in bringing the Tigers to World Series in 1987 and winning the whole thing.  Trammell was the World Series MVP.

That said, I’ll give him a no vote with respect to Detroit fans.  It seems that the BBWAA is seeing that way, too.  His vote numbers have been steadily going down in recent years. 

 

  Hall of Fame

Hall of Very Good
  Why is he even on the Ballot?

 

While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Read the rest the of the profiles.