Tag / Mark McGwire

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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by admin

#386 – Sammy Sosa

Name: Sammy Sosa

Rank: 386

Position: RF

Years With White Sox: 1989-1991

Before he and Mark McGwire helped heal the remaining wounds from the ’94 strike by smashing Roger Maris’ home run record, before becoming, again with McGwire, the poster boy for performance enhancing drugs and watching his Hall of Fame chances go up in smoke, Sammy Sosa spent 2 1/2 seasons frustrating the Chicago White Sox.

Acquired with Wilson Alvarez and Scott Fletcher at the trade deadline in 1989 in the deal that sent Harold Baines to Texas, Sosa started off strong, hitting .273 with 3 HR to close out the ’89 season.  In 1990, his first full season in the major leagues, his average slipped to .233 and he finished 4th in the AL with 150 strikeouts.

Following the 1990 season, GM Larry Himes, who engineered the trade with Texas, was fired, leaving Sosa without a guardian in the organization.  Unfortunately for Sosa, his 1991 season was even worse, with his average dropping again to .203 and being sent back to Triple A Vancouver for additional seasoning.  In his “autobiography”, aptly titled Sosa: An Autobiography, Sosa blames hitting coach Walt Hriniak for most of his problems with the White Sox and takes no responsibility for his lack of production.

Following the ’91 season, Himes was hired as the Cubs new GM, and near the end of the following spring training in 1992, Sosa was sent to the Northside along with Ken Patterson for a fading George Bell, where his career skyrocketed and then plummeted back down to Earth. But that is a story for a different time.

Sosa’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →

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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.