Sunday night, the results of the Classic Baseball Era Veteran’s Committee vote was revealed, adding two players to the Hall of Fame class of 2025: Dick Allen and Dave Parker. Parker was named on fourteen ballots from the 16-person committee, while Allen nabbed thirteen votes, the one more than the minimum needed for election.
Allen spent three of his fifteen big league seasons with the White Sox, earning the MVP award in 1972. He was the Rookie of the Year in 1964 with the Phillies and also spent time with the Cardinals, Dodgers, and A’s. He hit 20 or more home runs in nine consecutive seasons and finished his career with 351 homers, 1,119 RBI and a .292 career batting average. Unfortunately, Allen passed away in December of 2020.
Parker, 73, was a seven-time All-Star in his 19-year career, hitting 339 home runs and posting a lifetime .290 batting average. He won back-to-back batting titles with the Pirates in 1977 and 1978, winning the NL MVP award in ’78. He earned All-Star MVP honors in 1979 while leading the Pirates to their last World Series championship. After leaving the Pirates, he bounced around to the Reds, A’s, Brewers, Angels and Blue Jays, winning a second title with the A’s in 1989.
For just the second time, the Midsummer Classic lands in Arlington, Texas. As the stars of the baseball world gather at Globe Life Field for tonight’s showdown, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 18 games, featuring 60% of the teams in the league, that I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a disappointing one on both sides of town.
A week into spring training, the Cubs made perhaps their biggest move of the offseason, bringing back Cody Bellinger on a three-year, $80 million contract. Bellinger, who was looking for a long-term deal in the $200 million neighborhood, has the ability to opt-out of the deal after the first two seasons.