Tag / Craig Biggio

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2016 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

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The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2016 last Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 6th, with induction taking place next July. After Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 15 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.

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

Garret Anderson

The long-time Angel had a proud career, but has no chance to stay on the ballot for another year, let alone earn election at some point.

Brad Ausmus

It should be a quick one and out for the current Tigers manager.

Luis Castillo

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

David Eckstein

Wow, this batch of newcomers is starting to look a little weak.

Jim Edmonds

The defensive whiz will likely get some support, but not enough to get elected in this, or any other, year.

Troy Glaus

Another long time Angel who has no chance of being elected.

griffeyKen Griffey Jr.

The former Mariner, Red, and White Sox outfielder is likely to be the only newcomer elected in his first year of eligibility.  630 career home runs, without a hint of PED suspicion, will let him easily surpass the 75% threshold.

Mark Grudzielanek

Yeah, that’s not going to happen.

Mike Hampton

The one-time poster child for bad long term contracts is unlikely to get much support in what should be his one HOF election.

Trevor Hoffman Continue reading →

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2016 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

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The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2016 on Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 6th, with induction taking place next July.  After Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 15 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.

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

Jeff Bagwell
Years on ballot: 5
2015 Percentage: 55.7

Bagwell bounced back last year with a small increase, but things continue to look bleak for him thanks to seemingly unsubstantiated PED rumors.  I fear he’ll continue to wait for that elusive call.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 3
2015 Percentage: 36.8

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage rise for the first time last year, but not significantly.  I doubt he’ll see much more support this year, leaving him on the outside looking in.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 3
2015 Percentage: 37.5

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

Nomar Garciaparra
Years on ballot: 1
2015 Percentage: 5.5

Considered at one time on an even keel with Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, Garciaparra is likely to drop off the ballot after this election.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 2
2015 Percentage: 14.0

The 2000 NL MVP saw his support wane in his second 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: 6
2015 Percentage: 27.0

The longtime DH for the Mariners has had plenty of support from the Internet but not as much from the BBWAA, though his percentage did increase slightly last year.  His long career as a DH in the Pacific Northwest may be holding him back.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 6
2015 Percentage: 12.9 Continue reading →

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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

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by admin

Election Thoughts

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The votes were tallied in Cooperstown and, for the first time since 1955, four former players were elected to become members of the Hall of Fame.  Ballot newcomers John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez, and Randy Johnson, along with third-timer Craig Biggio, became the newest members of baseball’s greatest fraternity, garnering more than 75% of the votes.  Only three other candidates, Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell, and Tim Raines, managed to top 50% of the vote.

The news for players with PED connections was mixed, with Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds gaining a little ground, while Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire lost votes.  Don Mattingly falls off the ballot after 15 tries.  17 candidates who were eligible for the first time will drop off the ballot due to not receiving 5% of the vote.

As for the newest Hall of Famers, I’ve somehow seen 755 baseball games over the past 30 years, none of which included Pedro Martinez or Randy Johnson.  John Smoltz I saw twice, during his closing phase.  Craig Biggio, as an everyday player, was the enshrinee I saw most often, including Game 2 of the 2005 World Series.

Craig Biggio’s numbers in games I attended were:

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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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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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by jim

2014 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

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.

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

Jeff Bagwell
Years on ballot: 3
2013 Percentage: 59.6

Bagwell is going to be one of those candidates that, I think, gets hurt due to 10 vote limit.  He would have been elected already were it not for seemingly unfounded PED rumors.

Craig Biggio
Years on ballot: 1
2013 Percentage: 68.2

Biggio was the highest vote getter in last year’s election, only 39 votes shy of getting elected.  You would think he could make up that total this year as voters who have some inane theories on when someone deserves to be elected add him to their ballot.  It would be a boost to the Astros if both he and Bagwell were to go in together.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 1
2013 Percentage: 36.2

Barry Bonds, he of the 7 MVP awards and 762 career home runs, found himself on the outside looking in after his initial run through the voting process.  Due to his connection to BALCO and PEDs, he’s unlikely to do much better this year.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 1
2013 Percentage: 37.6

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself on the outside looking in after his initial run through the voting process.  The interesting thing is that, despite his inclusion in the Mitchell Report and his connection to Andy Pettitte’s PED confession, Clemens picked up 8 more votes than Bonds.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 4
2013 Percentage: 35.9

The longtime DH for the Mariners has had plenty of support from the Internet but not as much from the BBWAA.  His long career as a DH may be holding him back.

Don Mattingly
Years on ballot: 13
2013 Percentage: 13.2

Back in 2010, I said that “being the best Yankee in a decade of bad Yankee teams does not a Hall of Famer make.”  Nothing that has happened since then would change my, or, seemingly, the voters, mind.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 4
2013 Percentage: 20.7

A very good argument could be made that Fred McGriff has been hurt by the PED users more than anyone else.  Had he stuck around to hit an additional 7 home runs, he would likely have been elected thanks to his 500 home runs.  Without them, he gets penalized for not putting up better numbers than the PED users, who are also being penalized.  Doesn’t seem right.

Mark McGwire
Years on ballot: 7
2013 Percentage: 16.9

McGwire finds himself over 100 votes behind fellow PED users Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.  Even if the voters do start to reverse track and start to vote for the convicted users, I think McGwire might still have trouble getting elected.

Jack Morris
Years on ballot: 14
2013 Percentage: 67.7

Morris enters his final year on the ballot needing only 42 additional votes to get enshrined, but with the influx of new, and exceptionally deserving, candidates,  I don’t see how he gets them.  Not that I would be too disappointed in that, as Morris, while a very good pitcher, falls short in my estimation.

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by jim

Zero Point Zero

The results of this year’s Hall of Fame election were announced Wednesday and the esteemed members of the BBWAA managed to elect no one.  Newcomer Craig Biggio, he of the 3000 plus career hits, led the pack with 68.2%, his crime being that he played at the same time as those who used steroids.  Jack Morris, the leading holdover, saw a small increase to 67.7% and has one more shot on next year’s ballot.

As expected, the big three of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa did not get much support.  The surprising thing was the 8 voters who were willing to vote for Clemens but not Bonds.

Next year, the ballot gets even more crowded when Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Frank Thomas, among others, become eligible for the first time.  Hopefully, the drama queens in the BBWAA figure out how to handle the steroid era in a way that makes sense without punishing everyone who played in the 90s and early 2000s.

by jim

Hall Of Fame Ballot Newcomers

24 newcomers, who played their last major league game in 2007, are on this year’s ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Balloting started yesterday and runs through December 31st, with the results announced on January 9th, 2013.  Here’s my quick read on the chances of these first timers.

Sandy Alomar Jr.

The former White Sox backstop had a very good career and will likely get enough support to stick around on the ballot, but he will not be joining his brother in the Hall.

Craig Biggio

The career Astro might have to wait a few years, but he will eventually be enshrined.

Barry Bonds

And this is where things get interesting.  Bonds was a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer when, by all accounts, he got jealous of the amount of attention being heaped on Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.  Barry responded by ingesting enough steroids to make his head grow three sizes, and because of that he is likely to spend the next few years, if not forever, on the outside looking in.

Jeff Cirillo

Royce Clayton

Likely to become the newest members of the zero vote club.

Roger Clemens

Clemens initially retired following the 2003 season, and had he stayed retired, he would have been easily elected on the first ballot.  Unfortunately for him, he unretired, came back with the Astros, and got himself entangled in the whole steroids scandal and a lawsuit with his former trainer.  Like Bonds, he is likely to be held up as an example.

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