Tag / Tim Salmon

by admin

#62 – Jason Bere

jasonbere

Name: Jason Bere

Rank: 62

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1993-1998

Jason Bere was selected by the White Sox in the 36th round of the 1990 draft.  By 1993, he was ranked as the 8th best prospect in all of baseball.  On May 27, 1993, he made his major league debut, giving up 3 first inning runs and picking up the loss against the Royals at Comiskey Park.  The rest of the season went much better for Bere, as he won his final 7 starts to finish 12-5 and helped the White Sox to capture the AL West title.  Bere started Game 4 of the ALCS against the Blue Jays, lasting only 2 1/3 innings in a game the White Sox eventually came back to win.  After the season, he finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting behind Tim Salmon of the Angels.

Bere continued his regular season success in 1994, earning his first All Star nod and possessing a 12-2 record when the season ended prematurely due to the strike.  After a little more than a season and a half in the big leagues, Bere had a career mark of 24-7 and looked to be heading towards a promising career.  Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way.

When baseball resumed in 1995, Bere started to feel tendonitis in his throwing elbow.  His fortunes reversed completely, as he finished the year with a 7.19 ERA and led the American League with 15 losses.  Bere made only 5 starts in 1996, giving up 19 earned runs in only 16 2/3 innings pitched, before being shut down.  In September, he underwent Tommy John surgery.

Bere returned to the White Sox rotation in August of 1997, following the White Flag trade.  He made 6 starts down the stretch, going 4-2 with a 4.71 ERA, his best results since 1994.

1998 saw more struggles for Bere.  He appeared in 18 games, making 15 starts, and went 3-7 with a 6.45 ERA.  On July 16, he was released, ending his White Sox career.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

Franchise Four – AL West

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the American League West.

F4Astros

The Astros, around since 1962, have 2 obvious options, and both are from their World Series team in 2005: Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.  After that, there is a bit of a drop off.  Nolan Ryan would seem to be a good pick for the third slot, having spent more years with the Astros than with any other team.  For the last slot, I’ll go with J. R. Richard, whose career was cut short due to a stroke, but still came to represent the franchise in the late 70s.

F4Angels

Despite existing since the 1961 season, the Angels have a complete lack of star power in their 8 nominees.  Garret Anderson?  Tim Salmon?  Brian Downing?  While fine players, none of them would be confused with an all time great.  Of the remaining 5, I will dump Jim Fregosi and take Chuck Finley, Nolan Ryan (again!), Vladamir Guerrero, and, despite being in only his 4th season, Mike Trout.

F4As

Continue reading →

by admin

HOF Thoughts

As expected Barry Larkin got the only call to Cooperstown yesterday, joining Ron Santo in the Hall of Fame class of 2012.  As I explained earlier, I think he is well deserving and was somewhat surprised his election took this long.  Another surprising thing, as I look at the stats of the games I have attended, is that he, by far, has the worst numbers of any Hall of Famer I’ve seen play in more than 1 game.

HOF Career Batting

BA At Bats Runs Hits RBI Walks Strike Outs Doubles Triples HR SB GIDP Errors Games
0.111 27 4 3 4 5 6 1 0 1 1 1 0 7

After his .111 average, the next lowest is (again, those I’ve seen more than once) is Carlton Fisk at .302.  Anyway, let’s take a look at the overall election results and see if there are any interesting tidbits. Continue reading →

by jim

2012 Hall Of Fame Ballot

The ballot for next year’s Hall of Fame induction was released earlier this week.  Results will be announced on January 9th.  Here’s my thoughts on each candidate.

Jeff Bagwell – I think that the longtime Astros firstbaseman will eventually get in, but he may have to wait for a few years. 

Jeromy Burnitz – Ah, good old Fabe.  He has no chance, but will go down in history as the man who replaced Sammy Sosa in the Cubs lineup.

Vinny Castilla – A decent player who benefited greatly from the thin Colorado air.

Juan Gonzalez – Seemed destined for Cooperstown before injuries and his own self-importance got in the way.

Brian Jordan – A two sport star that had a solid career, but nothing more.

Barry Larkin – The leading vote getter among non-inductees last year, he should make it this year.

Continue reading →