Tag / Don Mattingly

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The Crime Dog Solves The Case

The new Contemporary Era Committee announced the results of their vote Sunday night, inducting former Cub first baseman Fred McGriff into the Hall of Fame with 100% of the vote.  McGriff, whose 18-year career also included tours with the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, and Dodgers, fell off the BBWAA ballot in 2019 after his tenth year, earning just 39.8% of the vote.

With the Cubs becoming surprise contenders in the 2001 season, they acquired McGriff from the Devil Rays.  The Crime Dog held up his part of the bargain down the stretch, putting up a .942 OPS with 12 home runs in 49 games with the Cubs.  Unfortunately, the pitching fell apart as the Cubs went 23-28 in August and September, finishing five games behind the Astros and Cardinals.  At age 38, McGriff returned to the Cubs in 2002, posting a .858 OPS and 125 OPS+ to go along with 30 homers and 103 runs batted in.  The rest of the Cubs, however, were butt, going through three managers and finishing with a 67-95 record.  McGriff became a free agent following the season.

Players needed twelve of the sixteen votes to gain election.  Don Mattingly finished second, with eight votes, followed by Curt Schilling, with seven, and Dale Murphy with six.  Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Rafael Palmeiro each received fewer than four votes.

Fred McGriff’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:

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2020 BBWAA Award Predictions

The Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed shortened baseball season, which will be announced next week.  It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate.  Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.

American League

Most Valuable Player: Jose Abreu, D.J. LeMahieu, Jose Ramirez

Well, my pre-season selection to win the award this year, Yoan Moncada, got taken down by the corona virus, but I’m expecting (and hoping) that it stays in the same clubhouse and that Jose Abreu wins.

Cy Young Award: Shane Bieber, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu

My initial guess was that Blake Snell would take home the prize, but this has Shane Bieber written all over it.

Manager of the Year: Kevin Cash, Charlie Montoyo, Rick Renteria

Once again, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season.  Kevin Cash is the likely winner, though wouldn’t it be funny to see Renteria bring home this award a month after losing the job he was being recognized for?.

Rookie of the Year: Christian Javier, Kyle Lewis, Luis Robert

Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season.  Had you held the election at the end of August, Robert would have been the odds-on favorite.  However, a month long slump in September probably puts Kyle Lewis in the driver’s seat.

National League

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Election Thoughts

mlb_hof

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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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

BBWAA Award Predictions

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersThe Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed baseball season.  It is a good bet that none of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate.  Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.

American League

Most Valuable Player: Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Chris Davis

Mike Trout was my pre-season selection to win this award, but I also picked the Angels to win the American League.  They dropped out of contention early, and I think the same can be said for Trout’s candidacy.  My guess is Miguel Cabrera, who was having an even better year than his triple crown winning season a year ago before nagging injuries dragged him down towards the end of the year, takes home his second straight MVP.

Cy Young Award: Yu Darvish, Hisashi Iwakuma, Max Scherzer

My initial guess of David Price obviously did not make the cut.  While books have been written about how wins are not a reliable way to track pitching effectiveness, my guess is that if you add in a 20 win season with a trip to the post-season, Max Scherzer will take home the prize.

Manager of the Year: John Farrell, Terry Francona, Bob Melvin

I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season.  I imagine that Terry Francona, beloved former manager of the Red Sox, will take home the award for turning around a putrid Indians team and keeping them in contention for the majority of the year.

Rookie of the Year: Chris Archer, Jose Iglesias, Wil Myers

Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season.  It is somewhat ironic, given the current value placed on young talent, that all 3 finalists for the award were traded to their current teams, one during this past season.  My guess is that Wil Myers will win the award.

National League

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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.

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by admin

2010 Hall of Fame Inductees

The BBWAA will announce the results of their Hall of Fame voting for 2010 tomorrow afternoon. Yesterday, we looked at the 26 candidates and dismissed over half of them. Today, we’ll take a look at the remaining 8 who have a better chance and the 4 who should be elected.

Try Again Next Year: A case can be made, but will need to be made again next year.

  • Fred McGriff – Probably has the numbers to make it, but will suffer due to never being thought of as a potential Hall of Famer while he was playing.  He and Alan Trammell were probably hurt the most by the late-90’s offensive (and steroid) explosion.
  • Bert Blyleven – In his first year of eligibility, he got 26 fewer votes than Tommy John, and nobody is looking to put Tommy John in the Hall of Fame.
  • Harold Baines – He barely got enough votes last year to stay on the ballot, which is a shame.  He’s hurt by being a DH for the majority of his career after knee injuries, and played the majority of his career in the shadows of Chicago’s south side and Baltimore.  If Jim Rice makes it in, so should Harold.  But he won’t.
  • Lee Smith – He was the all-time saves leader when he retired, but benefited from the transition of the closer role from fireman to guy who gets the last three outs and racks up saves.  He’s already been passed twice on the career saves list.
  • Jack Morris – One of the best, if not the best, Game 7 World Series performance of all time, but, overall, an very good pitcher who wasn’t quite good enough to make the Hall of Fame.
  • Don Mattingly – No offense to Donnie Baseball, but being the best Yankee in a decade of bad Yankee teams does not a Hall of Famer make.  If it weren’t for injuries, he may have had a legitimate shot.
  • Edgar Martinez – Will probably make it some day, but will need to overcome the DH stigma.  Many are excusing that he didn’t hit the big numbers due to not making the majors full-time until age 27, but I don’t see why he gets a pass for that.
  • Barry Larkin – Again, will probably make it but not on the first shot.  Might be slightly overlooked after spending his entire career in Cincinnati.

The 2010 Hall of Fame Class (according to me)

Andre Dawson

Seeing as Jim Rice made it last year, Andre Dawson should have no problems punching his ticket this year.  While Rice may have been the “most feared” hitter in the AL during the 1970s, an argument could be made that Dawson filled a similar role in the NL.  In addition to the power numbers, Dawson was also able to play defense and wasn’t a hindrance on the base paths.  He was the 1977 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1987 NL Most Valuable Player.

Some of the things that will hold back his election is the low career OBP and his spending his formative years in the spotlight graveyard known as Montreal, but after getting 67% of the vote last year, he’s due for a bump this year.

Tim Raines

Last year, Raines garnered only 22.6% of the vote, which is mind-blowing.  He is quite possibly the best leadoff hitter in the history of the game not named Rickey Henderson, with a similar, if not as potent, blend of speed and power.

The only downsides are, again, his best years were spent in Montreal and his involvement in the Pittsburgh Drug Trials.  There’s really no reason why Raines shouldn’t be in Cooperstown.

Mark McGwire

So, what to say about McGwire.  His numbers speak for themselves, but he’s been locked out of Cooperstown so far due to a backlash against the “steroid era” stemming from his testimony, or lack thereof, in front of Congress.

I think this is the year that things start to turn around for McGwire.  For one, he is returning to the game as the hitting coach for the Cardinals.  Secondly, while McGwire was the first of the suspected users to come up for election, he won’t be the last and they are coming soon.  I seriously don’t see how the BBWAA can justify keeping Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens out of the HOF, given the numbers they put up before they “allegedly” started using PEDs.  And once you let one in, you’ll have to let the rest in.

So, while it may not be this year, but McGwire will end up in Cooperstown someday.

Roberto Alomar

Like McGwire, Alomar, numbers wise, is a sure bet for the Hall of Fame, but there is that one incident that casts doubt upon his candidacy.  Unlike McGwire, Alomar apologized, took responsibility for what he had done, and has continued to make amends through charity work.

On the field, there was no doubt that Alomar belongs in the Hall of Fame.  Certainly one of the best second baseman of all time, he combined offense and defense at a position where few had done so before.

So there you have it.  The Class of 2010 (according to me) for the Baseball Hall of Fame.