January, 2010 | The Baseball Zealot

KO on the Hall vote

The Hall of Fame musings of MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann make for an interesting read whether or not you agree with his politics.

I can agree for the most part with his conclusions though I think he comes off a little sanctimonious when it comes to McGwire:

Hall of Fame? For what? For pretending to Congress that nothing happened before that steroid hearing? Fine. You got your wish. Nothing happened. Your lifetime numbers are 0-0-.000. And by the way, why is it ok for him to just waltz back in as batting coach of the Cardinals? Would we let Bonds come back in? This is unacceptable, and it gives credence to the very disturbing claim that race is at play when it comes to the punishment of steroid cheats. Mark McGwire is a steroid cheater.

Otherwise, I can’t argue too much with someone who would be willing to put Dawson AND Lee Smith in had he a vote.

The baseball bloggers of the SB Nation affiliates held their own Hall of Fame balloting and the results are in. If they were in charge, only one player would get in and that player was a bit of a surprise… Bert Blyleven.

Don’t get me wrong… I’ve been a Blyleven supporter for years. I just would have expected more support for Alomar or Larkin. My guess is that there was a bit of the “not getting in the first year” element factoring in.

There’s a shared document which has a list of 50 or so (and growing) BBWAA writers and their publicly announced Hall of Fame ballots.

It’s a small sample size of course but I’m heartened to see a good portion of votes going to Andre Dawson (at this moment out of 53 listed, 41 are supporting his induction).

Maybe it’s me but it seems like there’s a bigger push for Edgar Martinez among a few for the Hall.

More support for Dawson from Hal Bodley, senior correspondent for mlb.com who goes on to say that he thinks that this will be (or maybe more accurately “should be”) the year for Dawson and Blyleven. His ballot: Dawson, Blyleven, Alomar and Jack Morris.

and it wouldn’t be Hall of Fame ballot time unless a writer wasn’t defending his ballot, right. Only it seems now they’re doing earlier and earlier before the official announcement.

Fireworks spark Encarnacion injury

Sounds like Blue Jay Edwin Encarnacion suffered a facial injury in a fireworks accident over the New Year’s holiday down in the D.R.

Encarnacion suffered first- and second-degree burns in the forehead and the right side of his face when a rocket firecracker hit him in the jaw and exploded near his mouth while celebrating with family in his home of La Romana.

Every off season, it seems there is one freak accident that affects a major league ballplayer. 1999 Moises Alou, anyone? In Encarnacion’s case it doesn’t seem too serious, though.

Hopefully, it won’t mess with his pretty face. Other than that, it doesn’t sound like it will affect his baseball playing abilities and he won’t require surgery. The 27 year old will be back as new by spring training.

Wildcat Lacrosse team edges ‘05 White Sox for “Team of the Decade” in online poll

Some things are apparently more important than baseball. Like college lacrosse.

In a “Team of the Decade” online poll hosted by the Chicago Tribune, the Northwestern women’s lacrosse team soundly defeated the 2005 World Series winner Chicago White Sox.

For those who don’t follow the sport (no, I don’t either), the Wildcat lacrosse team has won five of the last national Division I titles. I guess they are that good.

They won with 57 percent of the vote in the poll compared to the White Sox’ 36 percent. Rumor has it there was a little “ballot-stuffing” by fans of the lacrosse team.

"Our fans wanted it bad, I guess," (lacrosse Coach) Amonte Hiller said with a laugh.

It’s tempting to take a jab at the Sox for losing out to a bunch of girls but a) those “girls” worked hard and really deserved it b) the 2003 Cubs barely got 1% in the poll and most importantly, c) it just a stupid poll.

Ron Santo re-ups with WGN

I’ll admit it. Ron Santo isn’t my favorite broadcaster to listen to. But like Harry Caray in his later years, I can forgive that. For all I can tell, Ron Santo is probably as genuine as you’re going to get in a business full of cynicism and insincerity.

Which is why I’m happy he signed a three-year extension with WGN Radio to do the color commentary with Pat Hughes (thanks, Pat).

Like Harry, no one seems to love the game or the Cubs more (and dare I say it, the enthusiasm doesn’t appear to be an act like so many in the broadcasting biz):

"I love what I do, and it keeps me alive, as far as I’m concerned," Santo said from his Arizona home. "When I go in [to negotiate], I could say I’m looking for a two-year [deal] and they’ll say, ‘Why don’t you take a three-year contract?’"

I’m normally not so sentimental in such matters but in Santo’s case, I’ll make an exception. He deserves more (*cough* Hall of Fame *cough*) but I’m happy for the news.

Alaskan Baseball gaining favor?

Bus Leagues Baseball has a nice piece on the Alaska Baseball League. They interview Jesse Jack who covers the ABL on his site, 49th State Hardball.

Maybe it’s me but I’m getting the sense that the ABL is gaining in popularity among colleges to send their ballplayers in the summer. Even our University of Illinois firstbaseman Matt Dittman, who was playing for the Lake Erie Monarchs last year, faced the Alaska Goldpanners as part of the 104th Midnight Sun Game in Fairbanks. The Libertyville Review had a feature on his trip.

And no, it doesn’t get THAT cold in the summer there. We’re talking about Fairbanks here:

From the interview:

A “hot” day up here is in the neighborhood of 70-80 degrees, which is comfortable for almost everyone. The colder days can be a little chilly; down into the 50-degree range. In fact, at least one team has installed heaters in their grandstand! But it’s very rarely too cold or too hot to take in a ball game…

We could use that kind of weather here at UI games.

Gerald Laird: Did the Suns play that bad?

An odd story coming out of Phoenix… mlb.com reports that Detroit catcher Gerald Laird was arrested along with his brother Brandon who is a minor leaguer for the Yankees. The pending charge for Gerald is assault after trying to interfere with another arrest after a Suns-Celtics game.

"While [security guards] were trying to arrest the suspect for disorderly conduct, the [Laird brothers] interfered and assaulted the security guards," Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill told the AP.

One, I’d like to hear Laird’s side of the story and two, why couldn’t he hit like this during the 2009 season (ok, that was a cheap shot).

Month: January 2010