Tag / Hideki Matsui

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2018 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

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The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2018 on Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place next July.  After Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.  Once again, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.  And that doesn’t even take in to account Joe Morgan’s letter.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who may be thankful come January.

Chris Carpenter

He put together some monster seasons, but lost nearly 4 1/2 seasons due to injury, leaving his numbers well short of enshrinement.

Johnny Damon

Probably would not get anywhere near enough support, but he spent many years in a Red Sox or Yankees uniform, so who knows.

Livan Hernandez

The Cuban ex-pat may get a vote or two, but it should be one and done for him.

Orlando Hudson

I can’t imagine a world where Orlando Hudson, who finished out his career with the White Sox in 2012, earns a Hall of Fame vote.

Aubrey Huff

Not that he was going to garner any support anyway, but his recent social media posts, falling for the worst of the right wing conspiracies, certainly aren’t helping.

Jason Isringhausen

This has been a weak batch of newly eligible players. no?

Andruw Jones

Now here is an interesting conundrum.  If we stick to his first 11 seasons, it seemed like he was destined for the Hall.  His last 7 seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  This would be a tough choice.

Chipper Jones

Ah, there we go.  A sure-fire, first ballot selection for the long time Brave.

Carlos Lee

The former White Sox outfielder may get a little support, but not enough to keep him on the ballot for a second go-around.

Brad Lidge

Lidge was on the mound when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, but that won’t erase the memories of the huge home runs he gave up in the 2005 post-season, to Albert Pujols and Scott Podsednik.

Hideki Matsui
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#148 – Shingo Takatsu

Name: Shingo Takatsu

Rank: 148

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2004-2005

After a 13 year career in the Japanese baseball league, Shingo Takatsu signed with the White Sox on January 22, 2004, becoming the first Japanese born player to sign with a Chicago team.  As a 35 year old rookie, he made his major league debut on April 9, 2004 against the Yankees, facing countryman Hideki Matsui as his first batter.

Takatsu eventually became the closer for the 2004 White Sox, earning 19 saves in 56 appearances with a sparkling 2.31 ERA.  Unfortunately, his success was short lived.

Takatsu began the 2005 season as the team’s closer, earning the save in the Opening Day 1-0 victory over the Indians.  Sadly, the league seemed to catch on to his trickery, as his ERA grew to 5.97 in 31 games.  He was replaced as closer by Dustin Hermanson and, while the White Sox went on to win the division and the World Series, Takatsu was released on August 1st.

Takatsu’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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End Of An Era

Disappointing seasons up to this point means that both the White Sox (somewhat) and Cubs (completely) are sellers at the trade deadline.  The White Sox struck first, shipping Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen to the Blue Jays for Jason Frasor and a minor league pitcher on Wednesday.  The Cubs followed up yesterday, shipping the underachieving and overpaid Kosuke Fukudome to the Indians for two unheralded minor leaguers, while still paying most of his remaining salary.

Jackson came to the White Sox at the trade deadline last season in a controversial trade that sent top pitching prospect Dan Hudson to the Diamondbacks.  Expectations at the time was that it was a move made in anticipation of a trade for Adam Dunn, as the Nationals were reportedly interested in Jackson.  When he wasn’t flipped to Washington, Jackson settled in to the White Sox rotation and did what he always did: fought through bouts of wildness to go along with his flashes of brilliance.  In the 7 starts I saw him make as a member of the White Sox, Jackson was 3-2 with a 3.59 ERA.

Teahen’s stay on the south side was slightly longer, and filled with a little less controversy.  Acquired from the Royals for Chris Getz and Josh Fields before the 2010 season, he was immediately signed to a long term extension.  A bad back made his defense at third base a travesty and, when he hit the DL last summer with a broken hand, the team immediately went on their hottest streak of the season.  I saw him appear in 37 games in his White Sox career, hitting a pedestrial .244 with 0 home runs, 8 doubles, and 5 RBI. 

When Fukudome signed out of the Japanese leagues, he was supposed to follow in the footsteps of Ichiro and Hideki Matsui.  He specifically chose the Cubs over other suitors, including the White Sox, because he would be their first Japanese player.  The fans ate him up, especially after he hit a walkoff home run in his first opening day as a member of the Cubs.  Unfortunately, it was all down hill from there.  After parlaying a good April into an All Star appearance, Fukudome struggled the rest of the rest of the season, eventually playing his way out of the starting lineup.  The same formula continued for the rest of his time on the North Side.  A strong start, then the long fade through the summer months.  It’s not that he was bad, but he was worth nowhere near what he was making.  In 80 career appearances as a Cub, he hit .257 in games I attended, with 1 HR, 17 doubles, 3 triples, and 20 RBI.