Tag / Vladimir Guerrero

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Hall Of Fame Batting Leaders


Today, former White Sox designated hitter Harold Baines joins long time Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, Orioles and Yankees ace Mike Mussina, Mariners star Edgar Martinez, Blue Jays and Phillies ace Roy Halladay, and well-traveled closer Lee Smith in taking their place in Cooperstown.  With a single new hitter joining the list of Hall of Famers I’ve seen play live, let’s check back in with the new leaders on the offensive side of the ball amongst Hall of Famers for all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2019.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jim Thome 35
Frank Thomas 15
Vladimir Guerrero 6
Ivan Rodriguez 4
Chipper Jones 3

Hits

Name Total
Jim Thome 110
Frank Thomas 54
Ken Griffey Jr 32
Continue reading →
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2019 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers


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The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2019 on Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 22nd, with induction taking place next July.  After Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, and Trevor Hoffman were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 15 holdovers along with 20 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.

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

Rick Ankiel

Mad props to the man for putting together a viable major league career as an outfielder after imploding as a pitcher, but he has no shot here.

Jason Bay

I can’t imagine a world where Jason Bay earns a Hall of Fame vote.

Lance Berkman

I never really thought I was watching a Hall of Famer during the 31 games I saw Berkman perform in, but I have a feeling he will get some, but not enough, support.

Freddy Garcia
Jon Garland

These two members of the starting rotation for the 2005 World Series Champions will always hold a special place in my heart, but not in Cooperstown.

Travis Hafner

This has been a weak batch of newly eligible players so far, no?

Roy Halladay

I imagine Halladay would have garnered strong support anyway, but his untimely death last year will likely goose his numbers.

Todd Helton

Helton will get in, but he may need to wait a year or two.

Ted Lilly

I guess we’ll see if Bruce Levine gets to vote in these proceedings based on whether the former Cub gets a vote or not.

Derek Lowe

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

Darren Oliver

Yeah, no.

Roy Oswalt
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2019 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers


baseballhofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2019 yesterday. The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 22nd, with induction taking place next July. After Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, and Trevor Hoffman were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 15 holdovers along with 20 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.

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

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 6
2018 Percentage: 56.4

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage rise for the fourth straight time last year, so the PED bias holding him back may be subsiding.  With only 4 more shots with the writers, it remains to be seen if he has enough time to get up to 75%.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 6
2018 Percentage: 57.3

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself with a fourth consecutive rise after his sixth 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.

Andruw Jones
Years on ballot: 1
2018 Percentage: 7.3

If voters were to stick to his first 11 seasons, Jones looks like a shoe-in for the Hall.  His last 7 seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  Based on his initial vote total, those final seasons seem to be holding sway.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 5
2018 Percentage: 14.5

The 2000 NL MVP saw his vote percentage go in the wrong direction last year.  He still has a long way to go and not a whole lot of time left, so the future does not look good for him.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 9
2018 Percentage: 70.4

The longtime DH for the Mariners saw another big jump last year, but has 1 last shot to make up that remaining 5%.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 9
2018 Percentage: 23.2
Continue reading →

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Hall Of Fame Batting Leaders

baseballhof

 

Today, former White Sox designated hitter Jim Thome joins long time Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, Expos and Angels star Vladimir Guerrero, and Padres ace Trevor Hoffman in taking their place in Cooperstown.  With 3 new hitters joining the list of Hall of Famers I’ve seen play live, let’s check back in with the new leaders on the offensive side of the ball amongst Hall of Famers for all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2018.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jim Thome 35
Frank Thomas 15
Vladimir Guerrero 6
Ivan Rodriguez 4
Chipper Jones 3

Hits

Name Total
Jim Thome 110
Frank Thomas 54
Ken Griffey Jr 32
Continue reading →
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2018 Hall Of Fame Election Thoughts

All eyes turned towards Cooperstown yesterday, as the votes were tallied and four new members were announced as the Hall of Fame class of 2018: Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman.  Jones, in his first year of eligibility, garnered 97.2% of the vote, the 11th highest percentage of all time.  Guerrero rose to 92.9% in just his second year on the ballot.  Thome, also in his first year of eligibility, found himself on 89.8%of the ballots.  Hoffman snared 79.9% of the vote in his third year on the ballot.

Five others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Edgar Martinez, who fell just short at 70.4%.  If history is any indication, he will be inducted next year, his final on the ballot.  Mike Mussina saw a large increase, moving up over 10 percentage points to 63.5%.  Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds remain in the mid 50s, while Curt Schilling just squeaks in at 51.2%.

Jamie Moyer and Johan Santana led the list of 14 players who failed to get 5% and will drop off the ballot, which includes local stars Kerry Wood, Carlos Lee, and Carlos Zambrano.

As for the newest Hall of Famers, I’ve seen Thome play 139 times, the most of any Hall of Famer.  I only saw Guerrero play 22 times over the course of his career, followed by 12 career games for Jones, and a mere 4 appearances from Hoffman.

Chipper Jones’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:

Continue reading →

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2018 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

baseballhofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2018 yesterday. 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.

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

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 5
2017 Percentage: 53.8

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage rise for the third straight time last year, so the PED bias holding him back may be subsiding.  Having hit the halfway point in his election cycle, whether he has enough time to get up to 75% remains to be seen.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 5
2017 Percentage: 54.1

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself with a third consecutive rise after his fifth 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.

Vladimir Guerrero
Years on ballot: 1
2017 Percentage: 71.7

The former Expo and Angel should have no issue getting in this year, considering he was only 15 votes short last year.

Trevor Hoffman
Years on ballot: 2
2017 Percentage: 74.0

One of only 2 pitchers with over 600 saves, Hoffman missed election last year buy a mere 5 votes.  I would expect him to break through this year.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 4
2017 Percentage: 16.7

The 2000 NL MVP managed a slight increase in vote percentage last year, but has a long way to go and not a whole lot of time left, so the future does not look good for him.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 8
2017 Percentage: 58.6

The longtime DH for the Mariners saw another big jump last year, but has only 2 elections left and may not have enough time to build up to the necessary 75%.  His long career as a DH in the Pacific Northwest may be holding him back.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 8
2017 Percentage: 21.7 Continue reading →

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2017 Hall Of Fame Election Thoughts

All eyes turned towards Cooperstown yesterday as the votes were tallied and three new members were announced as the Hall of Fame class of 2017: Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez.  Bagwell, in his seventh year of eligibility, garnered 86.2% of the vote.  Raines, in his last year on the ballot, scored 86% of the vote.  Rodriguez, a surprise based on publicly released ballots, surpassed the necessary 75% by 4 votes in his first year of eligibility.

Six others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Trevor Hoffman, who fell a mere 5 votes shy of election, and Vladimir Guerrero, who was 15 votes short.  Following Edgar Martinez, who raised his total to 58.6%, were Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, who both surpassed 50% for the first time and saw enough increased support to lead one to believe the will eventually be voted in.  Mike Mussina was the final player to finish above 50%, coming in at 51.8%.

Lee Smith garnered 34.2% of the vote in his final time on the ballot.  Jorge Posada and Magglio Ordonez led the 16 first timers who failed to get 5% and will now fall off the ballot.

As for the newest Hall of Famers, I’ve seen Rodriguez play 19 times, mostly during his stint with the Tigers towards the end of his career. I only saw Bagwell play 13 times over the course of his career, followed by 9 career games for Raines.

Jeff Bagwell’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:

Continue reading →

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2017 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

baseballhof

The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2017 last Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 18th, with induction taking place next July.  After Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 15 holdovers along with 19 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, 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.

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

Casey Blake

Literally has no chance to stay on the ballot for another year, let alone earn election at some point.

Pat Burrell

It should be a quick one and out for the longtime Phillie.

072008-Cabrera-03Orlando Cabrera

The former Angels and White Sox shortstop has, again, put together a perfectly acceptable career, but will be lucky to get a sympathy vote from a hometown writer.

Mike Cameron

Wow, this batch of newcomers is starting to look a little weak.  Cameron had a decent career, but will never be confused for a Hall of Famer.

J.D. Drew

Yet another nominee for the hall of the very good, but lacking credentials for the Hall of Fame.

Vladimir Guerrero

Now we’re talking.  The former Expo and Angel great should earn enshrinement eventually, though likely not on his first try.

Carlos Guillen

The 3-time All Star will be lucky to make a second appearance on the ballot.

Derrek Lee

The former Cub first baseman was a fan favorite, but is not a Hall of Famer.

Melvin Mora

I can’t imagine anyone voting for Mr. Mora.

Magglio Ordonez
Continue reading →

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Angels All Time Leaders – Through 2015

laangelsWith 4 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 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Angels began life in 1961, joining the American League along with the second incarnation of the Washington Senators.  They’ve changed their location designation multiple times, starting in Los Angeles, changing to California in 1966, moving to Anaheim in 1997 and, finally, awkwardly incorporating both Los Angeles and Anaheim starting in 2005.  I’ve seen them play 31 times, including games 1 and 2 of the 2005 ALCS against the White Sox and Jim Thome’s 500th career home run in 2008.

Home Runs

Name Total
Vladimir Guerrero 5
Chone Figgins 3
Garret Anderson 3
Juan Rivera 3

Hits

Name Total
Maicer Izturis 21
Howie Kendrick 18
Vladimir Guerrero 16

Runs

Name Total
Vladimir Guerrero 10
Maicer Izturis 8
Chone Figgins 8

RBI

Name Total
Garret Anderson 9
Howie Kendrick 9
Vladimir Guerrero 8
Juan Rivera 8

Doubles

Name Total
Torii Hunter 5
Maicer Izturis 4
Casey Kotchman 4

Triples Continue reading →