January 2008
Hall of Fame Game, R.I.P
The news regarding the death of the Hall of Fame Game came as no surprise, considering that strong rumors of its demise had been floating for weeks. Still, the news is no less disconcerting; the game, while only an exhibition, has meant so much to fans in upstate New York (many of whom cannot afford to attend major leagues games in person), not to mention the benefits to the Cooperstown economy. (The game sells out every year, often within a matter of weeks.) It has also provided a natural link between the Hall of Fame—the repository of baseball history—and the current-day game as it exists at the major league level.
The Hall of Fame and MLB are taking the bullet for the termination of the game, and that’s really not fair. Some internet posters have tried to blame Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Petroskey, along with just about every high-ranking Hall of Fame official, wanted this game to continue. The game promotes the Hall of Fame while providing an economic boost of about $30,000 to the local economy. What’s not to like? The end of the Hall of Fame Game—that’s the last thing that Petroskey and other Hall officials wanted to see happen.
MLB has tried to absorb some of the heat, citing the scheduling difficulties created by inter-league play and the lack of available off days during the regular season. Scheduling problems have certainly created large roadblocks, but that’s largely because of contemporary major league players, who have made a habit of complaining about the trip to Cooperstown. Even if a team has a day off and happens to be somewhere east of the Mississippi, the team’s players still have to approve participating in the game. And that was becoming increasingly difficult, because of the growing number of players who wanted nothing to do with traveling to upstate New York during one of their scheduled days off. Now, let’s keep in mind that a player might have to play in one, maybe two Hall of Fame games during the course of his entire career. That was apparently too much of an inconvenience, weighing more heavily than the wonderful public relations that the HOF Game created for baseball on the whole.
But enough with that. It’s time to move forward. After this year, the Hall of Fame Game will have ended, nearly 70 years after its inception, and there’s nothing that can be done to change that. Very smartly, the Hall of Fame realizes that the game needs to be replaced with some other tangible event. The Hall is already exploring alternatives, including some kind of a “Futures Game,” or perhaps even an “Old-Timers” or “Legends Game.” And I’m all for that. While each of these concepts carries logistical problems, their potential benefits will bring some much-needed juice to the Hall of Fame calendar.
Earlier this week on MLB Radio, Seth Everett asked Hall vice president Jeff Idelson about the possibility of a Futures Game featuring prospects from two different organizations. Idelson seemed receptive to the idea. A mid-season Futures Game, coinciding with the All-Star break and featuring top prospects across the board, has already proved successful since its inception in 1999. By narrowing the concept, the Hall of Fame could take advantage of existing rivalries, such as the “future stars of the Red Sox against the future stars of the Yankees.” Still, such a game would require some compromise. Since it’s highly unlikely that all of a parent team’s affiliates would have off on the same day, the parent team would have to be willing to give their top prospects a one-day leave of absence. For organizations that value winning at the minor league level, that stipulation could pose a problem.
An Old-Timers Game would be an even better idea, given the name value of retired stars. Such a game could be attached to Induction Weekend, when 50 or so Hall of Famers are already in town. Hall officials have resisted the idea in the past, in part because of worries that some Hall of Famers wouldn’t want to embarrass themselves in a game setting. Fine, that’s a legitimate concern. So let’s supplement the Old-Timers Game with a few non-Hall of Famers who are a little bit younger and in better physical condition. Twenty or 30 retired players, in addition to the Hall of Famers, usually attend Induction Weekend anyway. Another possibility would be to invite retired players who are scheduled to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. The Hall could easily offer each player a reasonable honorarium to have their names introduced to the crowd, followed by two or three innings of participation in a game.
There is precedent for Old-Timers games at Doubleday Field. In 1989, the Hall of Fame celebrated its 50th anniversary by featuring a game of retired legends, including Hall of Famers and recently retired stars like George Foster and Manny Sanguillen. I’ve talked to a number of longtime Cooperstown residents about that game; every one of them has raved about the commercial and artistic success of that game. Not only did the game draw a strong crowd, but the participants also did well in playing to the crowd, taking full advantage of the intimacy of Doubleday Field.
Perhaps the time is right to bring the old-timers back to Doubleday Field. That would be a great way for the Hall of Fame to counteract the unhappiness that came with this week’s demolition of a Cooperstown institution.
The End of the Santana Sweepstakes
Is that all they got? That was my first reaction to hearing that the Twins had tentatively acquired four prospects—outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra—from the Mets for Johan Santana. Here’s my second and third reactions: Twins general manager Bill Smith should have taken one of the offers he received from the Red Sox and Yankees at the winter meetings in December, and the Mets just made themselves the clear favorites in the National League East.
The Twins should have insisted that the Mets part with Fernando Martinez, their No. 1 outfield prospect, who projects to have far more power than a slash-and-burn type player like Gomez. If the Mets had rejected that request, the Twins could have turned back to the Red Sox for their four-player package (headlined by Jon Lester or Jacoby Ellsbury) or to the Yankees for their four-player offer (headlined by Phil Hughes). When you decide that you’re going to trade the No. 1 left-handed starter in the game, you have to insist on receiving one of the game’s top 20 to 30 prospects. Lester, Ellsbury, and Hughes all fall into that category. None of the players in the Mets’ package rate that highly; Gomez is the best of the bunch, but he’s an undisciplined, unrefined hitter who isn’t ready to hit major league pitching. And of the three pitchers the Mets will be surrendering, none seems like a cinch to break through as a top-of-the-line starter. Guerra has not pitched higher than A-ball, Mulvey is a control pitcher who lacks dominant stuff, and Humber has not regained the velocity that he had prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Assuming that the Mets can sign Santana to a five or six-year extension, their rotation suddenly has the look of a World Series participant. With Santana as the ace, Pedro Martinez can slide into the No. 2 slot, followed by the effective right-left combination of John Maine and Oliver Perez. The Mets now have some choices for No. 5; they can use Orlando Hernandez in that slot, or move him to set-up relief and create space for Mike Pelfrey, who was not sacrificed in the Santana deal. Hey, if “El Duque” is your fifth starter, you’re in good shape in these pitching-thin times.
While the Mets move from being a third-place contender to a first-place favorite, the Twins will have to settle for also-ran mode in the power-packed AL Central. They still have plenty of young pitching, but now need Francisco Liriano to make a quicker return from Tommy John surgery as a way of filling the role of stopper. They failed to improve their offense in trading Santana, and that should have been their top priority. They can rush Gomez, live with his offensive inconsistency and hope that he will at least ease the defensive burden on corner outfielders Delmon Young and Michael Cuddyer. Or they can do the smart thing, which would involve sending Gomez to Triple-A and attempting to sign someone like Corey Patterson as a center field stopgap.
If there’s a lesson to be learned from the Twins’ two-month shopping of Santana, it’s this: the trade value of players, even superstars, does not necessarily continue to rise as more time passes. Teams can wait too long, past the moment that a player’s value reaches its peak, in dealing a franchise player. Unfortunately for their fans, the Twins have done just that.
Tuesday’s Bunts and Boots
Over the weekend, Yankee GM Brian Cashman shocked a few observers during a speech at William Paterson University, ripping into retired star Bernie Williams. Cashman took Williams to task for spending too much time working on his music career during his later Yankee days. He also criticized Williams’ “terrible” performance in 2005, saying that he didn’t earn the playing time that Joe Torre gave him the following season. Cashman felt that Torre used Williams too much in 2006, when he had better options available in the outfield and at DH. So not only did Cashman criticize Williams, but he took a slight swipe at Torre, as well.
My reaction? I’m stunned at Cashman’s diatribe. He is usually very political, very guarded in any comments he makes to the media. In fact, Cashman has mastered the art of “talking a lot, while saying very little.” Although he’s generally regarded as a good guy by the New York media, Yankee beat writers have become accustomed to Cashman’s long, circular answers, which contain plenty of words but rarely anything of substance. Cashman avoids controversy and conflict like the plague, so his criticism of William comes off as particularly shocking.
Cashman’s remarks are especially eye opening given what he said about Williams after the 2004 season, when he heaped praise on Bernie for his defensive play in center field. Those sentiments ran contrary to the consensus of scouts and media—that Williams had become a subpar defender and a real liability in the outfield.
So why the turnaround in Cashman’s attitude toward Williams? I can only guess that it has something to do with last year’s rift between Williams and the front office. Williams refused to accept anything but a guaranteed major league offer, while Cashman refused to give him anything more than a non-roster invite. The bad blood has apparently continued to fester since then, culminating in Cashman’s weekend attack against Williams…
In the short term, the rumored acquisition of Erik Bedard would make the Mariners a legitimate challenger to the Angels in the American League West, but the rumored haul being sent to Baltimore is so hefty that it might be a long-term disaster. Adam Jones is the centerpiece to the four or five-player package; he’s Seattle’s best prospect, wrapped and ready to play center field for the Orioles now. The Orioles would also acquire reliever George Sherrill, a situational power left-hander who could play an expanded role in Baltimore’s bullpen. (Or Sherrill could be trade bait; he’d draw interest from a number of contenders desperate for a competent left-hander, including the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, and Phillies.) Then there’s young right-hander Chris Tillman, who’s one of Seattle’s top ten prospects. In addition, the O’s would receive one or two minor league pitchers as a way of rounding out the deal. Given Bedard’s desire to leave Baltimore and his so-so injury history, this is a trade the Orioles need to finalize as soon as possible…
The Phillies made a sound signing in picking up Pedro Feliz to stabilize their third base situation. Though I’m not crazy about the idea of giving him a two-year contract, Feliz represents a good fit for Philadelphia. The Phillies—with an offensive nucleus headlined by Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard and supported by Pat “The Bat” Burrell—can carry Feliz’ low on-base percentage better than most teams. Most importantly, Feliz will be a huge defensive upgrade over Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs, while allowing that pairing to serve the Phillies in bench roles, where each man belongs…
Finally, I’m sure that some of the readers here are familiar with the fine work of Yankee blogger Steven Goldman, a mainstay of the Yes Network web site. Steve, a talented historian of the game, is currently recovering from thyroid surgery, the latest in a line of cancer-related battles. Please send Steve a get-well wish at oldprofessor@wholesomereading.com.
Inge, Cuddyer, and Easler
I’m generally a fan of Baseball Think Factory (BTF), but sometimes the participants lack logic and reason in their efforts to defend ballplayers. Earlier this week, some of the regular posters acted like rabid dogs after reading Lynn Henning’s article of complaint against Brandon Inge. It seems that Inge has stiff-armed the Detroit media, refusing to meet with them at a recent autograph session and opting not to return anybody’s phone calls to talk about his reduced role with the team in the aftermath of Miguel Cabrera’s arrival. The general response to Henning’s article at BTF was this: Inge has no obligation to talk to anyone, he’s a victim of harassment, and, in what amounts to one of the most laughable conclusions I’ve ever read, Henning is acting like a stalker. Oh, please. Henning is simply trying to do his job, following up on one of the Tigers’ largest storylines of the winter. Furthermore, Inge willingly gave out his phone number at season’s end, implying that he would be willing to talk to reporters during the winter months. If nothing else, he could call one of the writers and simply have him inform the others that he’s not comfortable talking about the situation at this time. His refusal to return phone calls is a repeated and blatant lack of courtesy and civility, something that is simply not good practice in the professional business world. Let’s turn the tables for a moment. If Inge retires in five or six years and starts making inquiries with teams about a acquiring a job as a coach, instructor or broadcaster, how would he feel if no one returned his phone calls? Folks, it simply comes down to common courtesy and good form. Some folks do it the right way, while others take the arrogant approach and act like they’re above the fray. Those in the latter category usually receive their comeuppance, later if not sooner. Wise up, Brandon, before your playing days have ended and you need to deal with people in the real world…
Have the Twins gone made—or are they simply trying to improve their leverage in trade talks for a center fielder? That has become the question of the day after Twins manager Ron Gardenhire announced that he would be willing to use Michael Cuddyer as his everyday center fielder in 2008. Let’s keep in mind that Cuddyer is a below-average right fielder to begin with; he has a strong arm, but very poor range and limited athleticism, making him a terrible fit for center field. If the Twins are serious about making this shift, they will have one of the game’s most brutal defensive outfields, with Cuddyer looking like Larry Hisle in center and Delmon Young bringing his erratic outfield play to left. Then again, perhaps the Twins are simply trying to persuade other teams into thinking that they’re not desperate for a center fielder via trade. That way, the price tag on a Marlon Byrd or an Endy Chavez might be reduced, in the event that they don’t trade Johan Santana for a package that includes Melky Cabrera or Jacoby Ellsbury…
Finally, I’m glad to hear that Mike Easler, one of baseball’s good guys, is back in the major leagues. With Don Mattingly’s marital problems having sidetracked his job as the Dodgers’ batting coach, Easler has earned a promotion from his post as LA’s minor league hitting instructor. An excellent communicator who is always approachable, Easler understands the importance of driving the ball to all fields while completing each swing with a strong follow-through. (Remember the way he used to helicopter his bat with the Pirates and Red Sox?) With young hitting talent like Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Andy LaRoche dotting the Dodgers’ roster, the outgoing Easler is a good choice to foster their development, especially in a fractured clubhouse that has pitted veterans against rookies. On a less important note, the hiring of Easler brings a small bit of coincidence. During his playing days, Easler was known as “The Hit Man.” That’s the exact same nickname that Don Mattingly had with the Yankees. Strange.
The Loss of Martin Luther King
The 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King directly impacted major league baseball, in particular the Pittsburgh Pirates, the most integrated team at the time. With 11 black players on the Opening Day roster, no team seemed more emblematic of the work of King than the Pirates. The Pirates’ black players held two team meetings to discuss their response to the tragedy. Maury Wills, the team’s player representative, announced that the Pirates preferred not to play Sunday’s final exhibition game or the Opening Day game against the Houston Astros on Monday out of respect for the slain activist. When the players learned that King would be buried on Tuesday, and not Monday as originally scheduled, they requested Pirate management to postpone the season’s second game, as well.
Pirates general manager Joe Brown agreed to cancel the final spring training game against the New York Yankees, scheduled to be played in Richmond, Virginia, but said he could not postpone the first two regular games against Houston without the permission of Astros’ management. Two other teams, the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Senators, quickly announced the postponement of their Opening Day games, but the Astros hesitated.
The Pirates’ players did not like the noncommittal response, and once again voted to hold firm on their decision not to play the first two games on Monday and Tuesday. After discussions with Astros’ officials, Brown offered a compromise: the team would not have to play on either Monday or Tuesday, but would play on Wednesday, which had originally been scheduled as a travel date. At a clubhouse meeting, the players voted to accept Brown’s plan. Roberto Clemente, representing the team’s black and Latin players, and Dave Wickersham, one of the team’s white players, released a joint statement to the media. “We are doing this because we white and black players respect what Dr. King has done for mankind.”
Weekend Rumors and Don Cardwell
There have been a sufficient number of words written about Johan Santana this winter to fill the pages of a Stephen King-sized novel, but the trade talks have essentially boiled down to the following reality. If the Mets relent to the Twins’ demand for outfield prospect Fernando Martinez, they (and not the Red Sox or Yankees) will be successful in acquiring Santana to head up their fragmented rotation. Martinez would headline a five-player package that also includes Aaron Heilman (who might then become Joe Nathan’s successor), young right-handers Kevin Mulvey and Philip Humber, and youthful flychaser Carlos Gomez. That would represent a pretty substantial score for new Twins GM Bill Smith: two starters, a potential closer, and two future outfielders for a pitcher they have no chance of retaining beyond 2008. As for the Mets, such a trade would basically prune the team of its few remaining prospects and leave them with the game’s worst farm system, but the price would be worthwhile given the return of Santana. Without Santana, the Mets look like a third-place team in the NL East; with him, they become the favorites within the division, and possibly in the entire league. A rotation of Santana, Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Oliver Perez, and potentially Orlando Hernandez would rank almost lockstep in quality with the rotations featured in Arizona and San Diego…
When it comes to length of rumor, the talks surrounding Erik Bedard have lasted almost as long as those involving Johan Santana. The Mariners remain the frontrunners, but the current obstacle block could be a deal-killer. The M’s are not at all certain they want to part with super prospect Adam Jones, who would highlight the package heading to Baltimore for Bedard. According to the consensus of most scouts, Jones’ abilities would place somewhere in between two Mariners center fielders of the past, Ken Griffey Jr. (on the high side) and Ruppert Jones (on the low side). If Adam Jones is truly that good, the Mariners should think long and hard before including him as the headline piece in a package for Bedard…
Whenever you hear someone say that talent is not thinned out in the 30-team major league teams, just let them know that one team is actually entertaining the possibility of inviting Juan Gonzalez to spring training. That would be the Cardinals, who are desperate for outfielders after giving up on Jim Edmonds and learning that Juan Encarnacion’s career may be over after being hit in the eye by a batted ball. For those who have lost track, Gonzalez hasn’t played in the majors since accumulating one at-bat for the Indians in 2005. In other words, “Igor” has essentially sat out the last three years, hasn’t put in a full season since 2001, and is now 38 years old with a long history of injuries, but still has at least one team seriously considering his services for 2008. Yeesh…
Finally, a note having nothing to do with rumors. I had always regarded Don Cardwell as merely a fringe member of the 1969 Mets, but that was before I realized he won five straight starts during the team’s terrific comeback run in August and September. Cardwell, who died earlier this week at age 72 from Pick’s disease (a form of dementia), was also regarded as somewhat of a mentor by the younger members of the Mets’ staff. Upon hearing of his death, Tom Seaver praised Cardwell as being the “ultimate professional,” a veteran hurler willing to impart knowledge to the less experienced. And the Mets had plenty of the latter quality in 1969, with Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Gary Gentry, and Tug McGraw all 24 years of age or younger that summer. In addition to a solid career as a pitcher (102 wins, 17 shutouts, and a no-hitter), Cardwell also swung the bat with occasional might. He hit 15 home runs in 698 career at-bats, which would have made some light-hitting shortstops of that era envious. All in all, it was a tough week for fans of baseball in the fifties and sixties, as we lost Cardwell, Johnny Podres, and John McHale, Sr. all within the span of a few days.
Remembering Johnny Podres
We lost another one of the few remaining links to the old Brooklyn Dodgers on Sunday night, when franchise icon Johnny Podres died at the age of 75 in Glens Falls, NY. Podres had been in ill health for several years, culminating in the amputation of one of his legs, a circumstance brought about by a life of chain smoking.
One of the acclaimed “Boys of Summer,” Podres is best remembered for shutting down the hated Yankees in Game Seven of the 1955 World Series, clinching Brooklyn’s only World Championship. That will always be Podres’ lasting legacy, but his career encompassed a large sampling of achievements, both as a pitcher and as a coach.
*Podres was a durable left-hander who lasted 15 seasons in the major leagues before retiring in 1969. A winner of 148 games with a win percentage of .561, he posted double figures in victories seven straight seasons. He completed 77 games over his career, three times reaching double figures in a season. With three quality pitches—a fastball, slider, and curveball—Podres reached his peak in the late 1950s; he led the National League with a 2.57 ERA in 1957 and earned the first of his four All-Star Game selections the following summer.
*Though he will always be referenced for pitching the final game of the 1955 World Series, that represented only the top of his postseason accomplishments. Clutch to the extreme, he also won the third game of the ’55 Series, a complete game effort over the Yankees. Over the course of four World Series, Podres started six games, won four of five decisions, and logged an ERA of 2.11. He was also a terrific World Series hitter, collecting five hits in 16 at-bats for a .313 batting average.
*After his playing days, Podres forged a well-regarded reputation as a pitching coach. He repeatedly taught his young pitchers the change-up, with burgeoning Twins ace Frank Viola becoming his most prized disciple. Podres did arguably his best work with the 1993 Phillies, who went to the World Series after bringing up the bottom of the National League in team ERA the previous season. Like many players of his era, Podres had little use for pitch counts, which he considered overdone and overrated.
*Podres is well represented in Cooperstown. Though not a member of the Hall of Fame, he is depicted in a statue just outside of the museum complex, in a small grassy area that is known as Cooper Park. (As visitors walk the rampway from the Plaque Gallery to the Library, they can see the statue through the glass windows that line the edge of the park.) The life-size statue shows Podres in the midst of his windup, as he prepares to deliver a pitch during his 2-0 shutout in the seventh game of the ’55 Series. Standing exactly 60 feet, six inches away is another statue—one of Roy Campanella, the Dodgers’ Hall of Famer and Podres’ catcher that day at Yankee Stadium.
Every time I walk through Cooper Park and glance at those statues, I’ll be served with a small reminder of Podres’ legacy.
Letting The Goose Loose On Cooperstown
Having grown up with baseball in the 1970s, I have a strong appreciation for what a great relief ace can do when his talents are pushed to the limit. We call them “closers” today, but back in the day, “relief aces” often came into games in the seventh or eighth inning, and often with runners on base. They weren’t protected—or babied—the way that most closers are in the contemporary game. From 1978 to 1983, I was privileged to watch Goose Gossage up close and personal, as he simply dominated games for the Yankees from the seventh inning until their conclusion. Given how difficult it can be to register those final nine outs, the importance of Gossage to two different World Series teams became readily apparent. Furthermore, the inclusion of such relief aces in a place like the Hall of Fame became a necessity, as the burgeoning responsibility of relievers evolved throughout the 1970s and eighties. How can great relief aces, who play such a determining role over the final two to three innings of so many one and two-run games, possibly be excluded from representation in Cooperstown?
So it is with more than some small degree of satisfaction that I heard Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey announce that The Goose had finally earned election to the Hall—after eight failed attempts. I expected Gossage would finally receive the Cooperstown call in his ninth year of eligibility; the announcement that he had earned nearly 86 per cent of the vote nearly floored me. That represented a 14 per cent jump from last year’s tally, an almost unheard-of increase for a player in the year that he finally wins approval from the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Simply put, the Hall of Fame is a stronger place with a pitcher like Gossage. Then there are the peripherals. Harold Reynolds, a contemporary of The Goose, has already praised Gossage as being the kind of player eager to make minority teammates feel welcome in the clubhouse. Some white athletes remain aloof to black and Latino teammates, showing neither acceptance nor rejection of their presence in the game. That was not the case with Gossage, who was a well-liked teammate throughout his career. And then there is Goose’s colorful personality. Quick to the temper but always with a sense of humor about things, The Goose will state clearly how he feels. He’ll champion the causes of other Hall of Fame candidates he feels are worthy. Anything but corporate, Gossage will bring some homespun honesty and old-fashioned flair to the Hall’s membership. And that’s a very good thing.
While I’m pleased about Gossage’s election, I’m disappointed by the showings of others. Jim Rice picked up seven percentage points, but at 72 per cent, still fell short of election. History dictates that Rice will make it; anyone who has picked up at least 71 per cent of the vote has eventually been put in by the writers. But not so fast with Rice. He has only one year of eligibility remaining, and that happens to coincide with Rickey Henderson’s first appearance on the ballot. Though it’s not a logical thing to do, some writers will give Henderson their vote while at the same time taking away their vote from Rice. So it’s no slam dunk that Rice will make it in 2009; the margin figures to be very close, within two percentage points of 75 per cent on either side of the fence…
Bert Blyleven and Andre Dawson, while still falling well short of election, saw their percentages increase astronomically. Now that “The Dutchman” and “The Hawk” are both in the 6o to 65 per cent range, they each have a chance at election through the Baseball Writers. At one time, they both seemed like lost causes on the ballot, but their situations have now changed dramatically. Blyleven’s case is particularly heartening. He’s finally starting to get some credit for all of those 1-0 and 2-1 losses, along with terrific postseason performances in 1979 and 1987…
I thought Tim Raines would fare poorly in his first year on the ballot—but not this poorly. “The Rock” checked in at 24 per cent, a total that should embarrass the Baseball Writers. Raines is not only an obvious Hall of Famer based on his four-tool talents, his on-base percentage, and his game-changing speed, but he was also a better player than Tony Gwynn, who was regarded as an automatic first-time selection. Raines had more speed and power than Gwynn, all while getting on base at nearly an identical rate for his career. Internet analysts will have to educate the mainstream writers about Raines just like they have in recent years with Blyleven. Otherwise, Raines will find the climb to 75 per cent nearly impossible…
Finally, we saw the writers play their usual games with the back end of the ballot, giving ridiculous Hall of Fame votes to such non-worthy candidates as Shawon Dunston and Todd Stottlemyre. Ultimately, such “joke” votes have no effect on the outcome of the election, but they serve only to show that some writers don’t take the balloting seriously enough. It would be nice if the Baseball Writers, at the very least, questioned those writers who placed such votes, or at the very most, disciplined them for treating the process with the same gravity as an online survey. There are hundreds of media members who would kill for an opportunity to vote for the Hall of Fame; those who have the privilege of voting should understand the substance and significance of an election for Cooperstown.
Hall of Fame Election Eve
Will the Hall of Fame’s class of 2008 grow larger, or will it remain at five—the number of electees chosen by the Veterans Committee? We’ll find out for certain Tuesday afternoon, when the Hall of Fame and MLB.com simultaneously announce the results of the Baseball Writers’ election. Based on conversations, e-mails, and various other forms of communication I’ve had, I believe that Goose Gossage will be the sole candidate to achieve the 75 per cent needed for election. And it won’t be as close as I once thought. I expect that Goose will garner somewhere around 78 to 80 per cent of the tally, a significant increase over the 71 per cent he posted in last year’s election. As for the rest of the ballot, they’ll all fall short of the required 75 per cent. Jim Rice will finish second in the voting, somewhere in the vicinity of 70 to 72 per cent. (That will, however, put him in line to be elected in 2009, his final year on the ballot.)
Gossage and Rice are the only two men on the ballot with any realistic chance of being elected this year. After them comes an array of interesting names, some of whom would receive my vote in addition to Goose and Rice (Bert Blyleven, Dale Murphy, Tim Raines, and Alan Trammell are all deserving). The third-place finisher in this year’s balloting will be Andre “The Hawk” Dawson, who will continue to pick up steam, but will settle for about 65 per cent. Bert Blyleven will also gather momentum, thanks in part to internet analysts who have argued well for him, Blyleven will finally receive votes from half of the voting body, but The Dutchman will still fall considerably shy of election. And as for newcomer Tim “Rock” Raines—one of the great leadoff men of all time and a no-holds-barred deserving electee—he will come up with nothing more than a disappointing 38 to 40 per cent of the vote. And even that might be a stretch…
I’m already on the record as being pro-Gossage for the Hall of Fame. As arguably the game’s most dominant reliever for nearly a decade (1977 to 1985), that alone should be enough to vault him into Cooperstown. Then there’s his postseason success, his incredible longevity, and his workload. Of all the numbers that have been put forth in the Gossage debate, this one, to me is the most revealing: over the course of his career, he saved 53 regular season games in which he had to record at least seven outs. In other words, excluding extra-inning games, Gossage entered all of those games in the seventh inning and managed to hold on to his team’s lead through the ninth inning. By contrast, Mariano Rivera—a surefire Hall of Famer—has a total of one seven-out save for his entire regular season career. Enough said there…
I understand the arguments against Rice, who grounded into too many double plays and didn’t walk enough to satisfy the tastes of the Sabermetric crowd. But for me, Rice’s candidacy boils down to this: from 1978 to 1983, with the exception of some pockets of injury, Rice was the American League’s best hitter. Beyond that, he was an integral part of two American League championship teams, the ’75 Red Sox at the beginning of his career and the ’86 Sox near the end. Rice’s resume puts him right on the border of the Hall of Fame, but I believe it’s the right side of the tracks for the Red Sox left fielder…
For Blyleven, his election to Cooperstown remains long overdue. All those 1-0 and 2-1 losses make his won-loss record look deceptively worse than it should be. He was also one of the last true workhorse starters who could give you loads of complete games and shutouts…
Murphy had a relatively short career, but for about three seasons, he was flat-out the best player in the game. A terrific all-around performer, Murphy hit with power, ran the bases well, and worked hard to become a Gold Glove caliber center fielder…
In my mind, Raines was a better player than Tony Gwynn. He had more speed and power than Gwynn, who’s a legitimate Hall of Famer in his own right. For about eight years, Raines played at a peak level; he then became a useful role player during the second half of his career, playing a complementary role on two Yankee World Championship teams…
Finally, there’s Trammell, a capable defender who was also a power-hitting shortstop at a time when few such players existed. Call him a poor man’s Cal Ripken; that should be good enough to put him somewhere in Cooperstown.
The Friday Night Rumor Mill
Oakland’s shocking trade of Nick Swisher to the White Sox has sent a clear message to the rest of baseball: just about any salaried veteran on the A’s is available for the right package of young talent. Swisher and Dan Haren, two of the biggest names on Billy Beane’s roster, represent merely the beginning of Oakland’s exodus. We can now expect Joe “Bulldog” Blanton, Rich Harden, Huston Street, and possibly Eric Chavez (who says he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause) to join them in leaving the Bay Area before the start of the season. Beane continues to talk to the Mets about Blanton, who has been dangled since the end of the season. He will now start shopping Street, who could be attractive to any number of clubs, either as a closer or set-up man. Look for the Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays to lead the way in discussions for Street. The Tigers might also get involved, given the off-season shoulder injury suffered by Joel Zumaya. Among National League teams, the Cubs and Mets will likely make a play for Street, who was limited to 48 games in 2007 because of nerve irritation in his pitching arm…
In regards to the Swisher deal, I think that Beane may have gone overboard with his massive rebuilding plan. After all, Swisher is only 27 and still in his prime; he’s not a thirtysomething veteran who will face an inevitable decline over the next three seasons. Oakland’s best everyday player, Swisher is a borderline All-Star who could get even better over the next two to three years. Even if he levels off, how many switch hitters have Swisher’s kind of power, combined with a keen batting eye that helped him draw 100 walks last season? Simply put, he’ll be a great addition to a White Sox team that sorely needed a hitter with his on-base skills and also a personality that is strong on leadership and effort. Both on and off the field, Swisher fits the White Sox perfectly. Good work, Kenny Williams… One bit of trivia on Swisher. In joining the White Sox, he’ll be playing for the team that originally drafted his father, Steve. In 1973, the White Sox selected Steve Swisher, a catcher, with their first pick of the amateur draft. The elder Swisher never actually played for the White Sox, who traded him to the cross-town Cubs as part of the Ron Santo deal…
The Tigers are finding the market for Brandon Inge to be surprisingly soft. Inge’s poor showing at the plate in 2007, which was riddled with too many strikeouts and too few walks, has seriously damaged his trade value. Some of the potential suitors for Inge may be missing the boat on Inge, who is a superior defender. The Brewers are apparently deluding themselves in believing that Ryan Braun can make the necessary improvements to play an acceptable third base. The Phillies are apparently doing the same in insisting that they are willing to use a platoon of Wes Helms (another brutal defender) and Greg Dobbs (who’s better suited to a bench role). Inge would also make a lot of sense for the Dodgers, who have their doubts about Andy LaRoche but are apparently willing to overlook his defensive shortcomings. If the Tigers do hold on to Inge, they would be smart to give him the tools of ignorance. Originally a catcher, Inge would make an excellent backup to Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, giving the Tigers depth behind the plate and at the hot corner…
The National League champion Rockies are on the verge of signing free agent right-hander Josh Towers. I’m really not sure why. Towers pitches to contact as much as any hurler in either league; that’s not a style that figures to blend well with Coors Field, humidor or not. The Rockies will apparently use Towers in a swingman role, switching between the rotation and relief. Hopefully, that won’t become a hangman role for Towers…
The Marlins are continuing to stockpile third base candidates in the aftermath of the Miguel Cabrera blockbuster. They’ve already signed Jose Castillo and Jorge Cantu, and are still talking to ex-Angel Dallas McPherson. If the Fish sign “Big Mac,” they might platoon him with the winner of the Castillo/Cantu battle. The loser of that would then become a utility player; Cantu and Castillo were originally second basemen, though they have severe defensive limitations up the middle…
Finally, a sad note to pass along. Noted baseball writer **** Thompson, a longtime member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), died earlier this week at the age of 52. An author of several baseball books, he was also an expert on major league brothers Rick and Wes Ferrell. Thompson was a two-time winner of the annual McFarland-SABR Research Award. In 2004, Thompson received SABR’s highest honor when he was named the winner of the Bob Davids Award for his contributions to baseball research. Thompson’s abilities will clearly be missed, both by SABR and the research community as a whole.
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