Tag / Tom Glavine

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Hall Of Fame Pitching Leaders

baseballhofThis Sunday, the Hall of Fame class of 2018 will be inducted in Cooperstown and Trevor Hoffman will become the 6th Hall of Fame pitcher I’ve seen live.  To celebrate this momentous occasion, we will take another look at the pitching leaders amongst Hall of Famers in games I have attended between 1984 and 2018.

Wins

Name Total
Greg Maddux 9
Tom Glavine 1
Rich Gossage 1

Losses

Name Total
Greg Maddux 12
Tom Glavine 2
Tom Seaver 2
Rich Gossage 1

ERA

Name Total
Trevor Hoffman 2.25
Rich Gossage 3.86
Greg Maddux 4.17
Tom Seaver 4.21
John Smoltz 4.50

Strikeouts

Name Total
Greg Maddux 92
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Hall Of Fame Pitching Leaders

baseballhofSunday, the Hall of Fame class of 2016 was inducted in Cooperstown and we looked at the offensive leaders amongst Hall of Famers in games I have attended between 1984 and 2016.  Today, we finish up with the pitchers, which seemed like a much better idea before I saw there are only 5 Hall of Fame pitchers I’ve seen live.  Oh well.

Wins

Name Total
Greg Maddux 9
Tom Glavine 1
Rich Gossage 1

Losses

Name Total
Greg Maddux 12
Tom Glavine 2
Tom Seaver 2
Rich Gossage 1

ERA

Name Total
Rich Gossage 3.86
Greg Maddux 4.17
Tom Seaver 4.21
John Smoltz 4.50
Tom Glavine 7.62

Strikeouts

Name Total
Greg Maddux 92
Continue reading →
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Mets All Time Leaders – Through 2015

21st-CENTURY-METS_01With 5 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the New York Mets.

The Mets began life in 1962, joining the National League following the abandonment of the New York market by both the Dodgers and Giants in 1957.  I’ve seen them play 14 times, including Tom Glavine’s 300th career victory and, most recently, the final 2 games of last month’s sweep against the Cubs in the NLCS.

Home Runs

Name Total
Daniel Murphy 2
Cliff Floyd 2
13 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
David Wright 7
Daniel Murphy 6
3 tied with 5

Runs

Name Total
David Wright 7
Daniel Murphy 4
Carlos Beltran 4

RBI

Name Total
Lucas Duda 6
Cliff Floyd 5
4 tied with 4

Doubles

Name Total
Carlos Delgado 3
Lucas Duda 2
David Wright 2
Jeromy Burnitz 2

Triples Continue reading →

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Franchise Four – NL East

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 National League East.

F4BravesWell, this is a nice collection of players selected to represent the Braves.  6 of the 8 have been elected to the Hall of Fame with a 7th sure to make it once he is eligible.  Hank Aaron and Warren Spahn rise above their Hall brethren, so they take the first two slots.  The last two slots come down to Eddie Mathews, with his 512 career home runs, and the 3 aces of the 90s, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz.  I’m going to go with Mathews and Maddux.

F4Marlins

A much different scenario for the Marlins, who have only been in existence since 1993 and have a history of ownership who ships out any player that may be any good and, thus, command a decent salary.  The 8 players in the running have averaged less than 7 years in a Marlin uniform.  That said, I will pick Josh Beckett, Gary Sheffield, Mike Lowell, and current star Giancarlo Stanton.

F4Mets

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2015 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

mlb_hofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2014 on Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 8th, with induction taking place next July.  After Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 17 newcomers, which may start to cause a bit of a problem.  The current BBWAA rules limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10, and there may be more than 10 deserving candidates.  As they start to pile up, and even more deserving candidates become eligible, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.

Tuesday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Now, on this day of giving thanks, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who will be thankful come January.

Rich Aurilia

He managed to put up a 15 year career, which got him on this list, but it will be a quick one and done for him.

Aaron Boone

While many Yankee fans would like to see him inducted for a certain post-season home run against the Red Sox in 2003, that won’t be enough to get him a second look.

Tony Clark

Again, a perfectly acceptable career, but will be lucky to get a sympathy vote from a hometown writer.

Carlos Delgado

Delgado finished his career a mere 27 home runs away from 500, which will likely get him some support, but, based on Fred McGriff’s experiences, not enough.

capt.hta15110270331.world_series__hta151Jermaine Dye

The MVP of the 2005 World Series is unlikely to get much in the way of support despite a solid career.

Darin Erstad

The longtime Angel is unlikely to get much support.

Cliff Floyd

Another player with a fine career, but no real question as to his worthiness for the hall.

Nomar Garciaparra

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2015 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

mlb_hofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2015 yesterday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 7th, with induction taking place next July.  After Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 17 newcomers, which may start to cause a bit of a problem.  The current BBWAA rules continue to limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10, and there may be more than 10 deserving candidates.  To complicate things, the number of years of eligibility has been dropped from 15 to 10, with those who were between 10 and 15 grandfathered in.  So, there will be too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots in a shorter amount of time.  Once again, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers.

Jeff Bagwell
Years on ballot: 4
2014 Percentage: 54.3

Things have started to trend in the wrong direction for Bagwell, which may be due to the 10 vote limit.  Given the qualified list of newcomers and the continued PED rumors, I expect he will continue to be waiting for that elusive call.

Craig Biggio
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 74.8

Narrowly missing election in last year’s vote, Biggio seems destined to make it on his third try, giving Astros fans something to look forward to next summer.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 34.7

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage drop in his second year on the ballot.  While the Giants may be softening on having Bonds involved with them, having him throw out a first pitch during this year’s NLCS, the writers voting for the Hall are unlikely to have done the same.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 35.4

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself falling after his second run through the voting process.  For some odd reason, perhaps by having played for more teams, Clemens continues to get marginally more support than his fellow PED poster child Barry Bonds.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 1
2014 Percentage: 15.2

The 2000 NL MVP did not find much support in his first year of eligibility.  With the number of candidates coming down the pike, the future does not look good for him.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 5
2014 Percentage: 25.2

The longtime DH for the Mariners has had plenty of support from the Internet but not as much from the BBWAA, as his percentage dropped by over 10 percentage points.  His long career as a DH in the Pacific Northwest may be holding him back.

Don Mattingly
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Hall Of Fame Pitching Leaders

greg-madduxSunday, former Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux took his place in Cooperstown alongside Braves teammate Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, and former managers Joe Torre, Bobby Cox, and Tony LaRussa. I thought it would be interesting to look at the overall leaders amongst Hall of Famers on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2013, finishing up with the defense.  Which seemed like a much better idea before I saw there are only 4 Hall of Fame pitchers I’ve seen live.  Oh well.

Wins

Name Total
Greg Maddux 9
Tom Glavine 1
Rich Gossage 1

Losses

Name Total
Greg Maddux 12
Tom Glavine 2
Tom Seaver 2
Rich Gossage 1

ERA

Name Total
Rich Gossage 3.86
Greg Maddux 4.17
Tom Seaver 4.21
Tom Glavine 7.62

Strikeouts

Name Total
Greg Maddux 92
Continue reading →
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Hall Of Fame Batting Leaders

52174766Today, former White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas takes his place in Cooperstown alongside pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine and former managers Joe Torre, Bobby Cox, and Tony LaRussa.  I thought it would be interesting to look at the overall leaders amongst Hall of Famers on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2013, starting with the offense.

Home Runs

Name Total
Frank Thomas 15
Carlton Fisk 2
Eddie Murray 2
Barry Larkin 1
Ryne Sandberg 1
Roberto Alomar 1

Hits

Name Total
Frank Thomas 54
Carlton Fisk 13
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And The Enshrinees Are

greg-maddux 52174766

The BBWAA ballots have been counted and Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, and Tom Glavine have been elected as to the Hall of Fame. Maddux lead the pack with 97.2% of the vote, followed by his former Braves teammate Glavine with 91.9%. Thomas finished third with 83.7% of the vote. Narrowly missing induction, with 74.8% of the vote (the Hall of Fame does not round up) was Craig Biggio.

Maddux, of course, got his start with the Cubs, whom he helped lead to the 1989 NL East title.  He won the first of his 4 consecutive NL Cy Young awards with the North Siders in 1992 before being allowed to leave as a free agent by GM Larry Himes.  Maddux signed with the Braves, where he continued to dominate and helped lead Atlanta to the 1995 World Series championship.  After 11 seasons, he returned to the Cubs in 2004.  He defeated the Giants in August of that year to win his 300th game and, in July of 2005, he struck out his 3000th batter.  In 2006, with the Cubs far out of contention, he was traded to the Dodgers for their stretch run.  For 2007, Maddux signed with the Padres, where he spent the next year and a half before being traded back to the Dodgers for another stretch run.  After the Dodgers were bounced from the playoffs, Maddux announced his retirement.

Frank Thomas was the first round draft pick of the White Sox in the 1989 draft, and made his debut for the White Sox the following year.  Thomas won the AL MVP award in 1993 while leading the White Sox to their final AL West title.  Thomas repeated as MVP in 1994, putting up a .353 average with 38 homers and 101 RBIs in the strike-shortened season.  In 1997, Thomas won the AL batting title and finished third in the MVP race.  After two substandard seasons, at least for him, Thomas rebounded in 2000, leading the White Sox to the AL Central title and narrowly losing the MVP award to a juiced-up Jason Giambi.  Thomas struggled with injuries after that, appearing in only 20 games in 2001, 74 games in 2004, and 34 games in 2005.  He spent the entire post-season on the disabled list as the White Sox won their first World Series in 88 years.  Following that year, the White Sox cut ties with Thomas and he headed out west to play for the A’s.  In his first game back in Chicago as a visiting player, Thomas homered twice.  Thomas spent 2007 and the start of 2008 with the Blue Jays, before finishing the season, and his career, back with the A’s.

I have been witness to milestones for all 3 enshrined players.  I was at Wrigley Field when Greg Maddux made his first attempt at winning his 300th game against the Phillies, the start before he won it on the road against the GIants.  I was there the next season for the rain delayed night game where he would strike out his 3000th batter, again against the Giants.  I was in Shea Stadium for Tom Glavine’s first appearance as a New York Met, which did not turn out well for him.  4 years later, I was at Wrigley Field for a Sunday night matchup where things worked out better for him as he defeated the Cubs for his 300th victory.

Thomas is now the Hall of Famer I have seen in action more than any other.  I was at his first return appearance as a member of the A’s, where, before the first of his 2 home runs, he was treated to a standing ovation.  An ovation which panned the crowd and found me amongst the masses, which I happened to notice that night on Baseball Tonight and now lives on as part of the White Sox Memories DVD.  I first saw Thomas play in his rookie year of 1990 and caught 66 of his games over the years.  I was there when he threw out the first pitch before the 2005 ALDS Game 1 against the Red Sox and in 2010 when his number 35 was retired.

Maddux, Thomas, and Glavine’s numbers in games I attended were:

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2014 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

mlb_hofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2014.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 8th, with induction taking place next July.  After nobody was elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may start to cause a bit of a problem.  The current BBWAA rules limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10, and there may be more than 10 deserving candidates.  As they start to pile up, and even more deserving candidates become eligible, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Now it’s time to move on to the newcomers.

Moises Alou

The 6-time All Star had a very good career, but not one worthy of the Hall of Fame.  He might get enough support to stick on the ballot for a few years, but not much beyond that.

Armando Benitez

I can’t imagine Benitez getting any votes, let alone enough to make a second go around on the ballot.

Sean Casey

The long-time Red had a fine career a will likely pick up one or two votes, but I expect this to be his only appearance on the ballot.

Ray Durham

Another one and done situation for the 2-time All Star.

Eric Gagne

Gagne seemed destined for the Hall after he won the 2003 Cy Young award in the midst of his record setting 84 consecutive saves.  Arm troubles and inclusion in the Mitchell Report derailed his career, and will likely doom any HOF chances he had.

Tom Glavine

There is no question that Glavine, on the strength of his 305 career wins, will make the Hall.  It is just a matter of when, as some voters may want for him to have to wait a year before gaining entry.  If he were to make it this year, it would likely be a pretty special summer for Braves fans.  On a personal level, Glavine is the only pitcher I’ve seen get his 300th win in person, after Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux faltered when I saw them at 299.

Luis Gonzalez

Over 2500 hits and 350 home runs would seem to make Gonzalez a pretty decent candidate for enshrinement.  The hint of PED use, though never proven, will likely hold him back.

Jacque Jones

No.

Todd Jones

NO.

Jeff Kent Continue reading →