Tag: Baseball Hall of Fame

MLB Hall of Fame Class of 2011: Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven

Robert Alomar and Bert Byleven have been elected to Cooperstown this year. Both men narrowly missed out on being elected last season.

Alomar spent time with seven different teams during his Hall of Fame career. It is amazing to that a player of his caliber bounced around so often and never spent more than five seasons with one team. Alomar was a 12-time All-Star and won 10 Gold Gloves as a second baseman. In addition, he also won four Silver Sluggers and was the 1992 ALCS MVP, as well as the 1998 All-Star Game MVP.

Alomar received 90 percent of the writer’s votes this year. It should also be interesting to see what cap he will be wearing on his Hall of Fame plaque.

Byleven will also be enshrined in the Hall of Fame this year. Byleven had a lengthy 22 year career in which he played for five teams. He did spent half of his career with the Minnesota Twins. Byleven won 287 games in his career and also ranks fifth on the all-time strikeouts list with 3,701. He was selected for two All-Star Games during his career.

Byleven received 79.7 percent of the votes this year after narrowly missing out and receiving 74.2 percent last year.  It has been argued that the advent of sabermetrics greatly helped Byleven’s Hall of Fame chances. This certainly makes sense as he lacks some of the awards and milestones (such as 300 wins), that many Hall of Fame pitchers have. Byleven actually has the 13th highest WAR for pitchers in MLB history, which certainly helped his case.

There were only two other players who received more than 50 percent of the writers’ votes. Barry Larkin received 62.1 percent of the votes and is someone to keep an eye on in next year’s voting. Jack Morris received 53.5 percent of the votes, which is only slightly more than the 52.3 percent he received last year.

The other story of the voting is tied to players who have been involved with steroids.

Mark McGwire, despite his outstanding career and the fact that he at one point held the single season home run record, was only able to garner 19.1 percent of the votes. Additionally, McGwire’s 583 home runs rank as 10th all-time and he was a 12-time All-Star. McGwire publicly admitted this year that he took steroids.

Rafael Palmeiro was only able to get 11.0 percent of the writers’ votes. Palmeiro is 12th on the all-time home run list with 569 homers. He is also a four-time All-Star. Palmeiro went in front of a congressional committee and testified that he had never used steroids. Just months later, Palmeiro was suspended for violating the MLB’s steroid policy.

Jeff Bagwell was able to get 41.7 percent of the writers’ votes. There is a lot of speculation going around that Bagwell took steroids, but it has never been proven. Bagwell is a four-time All-Star and is also one of the few players with at least 400 home runs and 200 stolen bases.

It is clear that the baseball writers have taken a strong stance on steroid users. McGwire and Palmeiro, both who have been proven to have used steroids, struggled to get votes. Bagwell, who was never physically linked to steroids, was able to get a good percentage of votes for his first year on the ballot. It should be interested to see if this trend continues in the future and how it affects the voting on players such as Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. 

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Bert Blyleven Elected To Baseball Hall of Fame: 10 Reasons He Belongs

The baseball writers made him wait far too long, but Bert Blyleven has finally gotten what he long deserved: He and Roberto Alomar became the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

This was Blyleven’s 14th time on the ballot, and though he came exceptionally close to being elected last season, he had surely begun to wonder if he would ever reach the promised land. Some rather cynical writers held his longevity against him; others insisted he lacked some intangible quality that a true Hall of Fame hurler ought to possess. It was all patently foolish, but it kept him out of Cooperstown for a decade and a half. No more. Read on for 10 reasons Blyleven deserves this honor.

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Bert Blyleven Makes It Into MLB Hall of Fame, but Should He Have?

The baseball Hall of Fame added two new members to its fraternity today with Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven making it in after narrowly missing last year.

It’s been a long road for Blyleven to the Hall of Fame, as this was his last year of eligibility. 

Bert has often spoken out about how he feels he belongs in Cooperstown, but his repeated campaigning didn’t pay off until this year. Now, Blyleven can be at ease knowing he will be among baseball’s greats, but does he belong?

Yes, yes he does.

When making Blyleven’s case for the Hall of Fame, you have to look no further than his 287 wins, which he compiled through 22 seasons on a number of bad teams. Blyleven wasn’t an electric pitcher and wasn’t the most exciting player to watch on the mound, from what I’m told.

I never did have the pleasure of watching Blyleven pitch, but from what I’ve read and looking at his stats, he had a hell of a case to make the HOF. Blyleven is most known for his “12-to-6” curveball, which was his out pitch.

In his 22 seasons, he pitched for five teams, was on two World Series winners and pitched a no-hitter in 1977. While many critics cite his lack of cultural impact on the game, his overall numbers are too hard to ignore.

Blyleven threw 60 shutouts over his career and finished with an ERA of 3.31. So why wasn’t he a first-ballot Hall of Famer?

Well, he did lose 250 games, which can be attributed to pitching on some poor squads. Blyleven also gave up an inordinate amount of home runs over his career—in 1986 and 1987 he gave up a combined 96 homers.

There are reasons why Blyleven shouldn’t make the HOF, but when you add everything up, there are plenty more why deserves to mentioned with the greats.

After 14 years chasing HOF glory, Blyleven can now sit back and relax knowing that what he did over 22 seasons was finally enough.

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MLB Hall of Fame Voting 2011: Who Got In, Who Got Snubbed?

It’s that time of year in Major League Baseball. After free agency dies down, the focus shifts from those searching for a new contract to an entirely different group: those who are retired and now hope to achieve baseball’s greatest honor of being placed in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Last year, Andre Dawson made his way into the hall in his ninth time on the ballot, as Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar fell just short. Whitey Herzog was put in as a manager, and Doug Harvey was put in as an umpire as well. Jeff Bagwell, Larry Walker, Juan Gonzalez and Kevin Brown are among the first-timers on the ballot this year, to go with holdovers that include Edgar Martinez, Alan Trammell and Barry Larkin.

Who will join executive Pat Gillick in the Hall of Fame in 2011? Who got snubbed, and who got far more votes than they should have? Will B.J. Surhoff get a vote to put him in Cooperstown, for that matter? Stay tuned, as the announcement is imminent.

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MLB Hall of Fame voting has lost focus

The results of the 2011 Hall of Fame vote are on the horizon.  It’s unfortunate in my opinion, but we as fans, writers, experts or whatever we would like to call ourselves, have completely lost focus on who can enter the hallowed halls of Cooperstown. 

Below you will find a list of this year’s candidates; (my votes in italics and bold is elected) 

Roberto Alomar
Jeff Bagwell
Harold Baines
Bert Blyleven
Juan Gonzalez
Barry Larkin
Edgar Martinez
Tino Martinez
Don Mattingly
Fred McGriff
Mark McGwire
Jack Morris
Dale Murphy
Rafael Palmeiro
Dave Parker
Tim Raines
Lee Smith
Alan Trammell
Larry Walker
John Olerud
Kevin Brown
B.J. Surhoff
Marquis Grissom
John Franco
Bret Boone
Al Leiter
Benito Santiago
Carlos Baerga
Raul Mondesi
Bobby Higginson
Charles Johnson
Kirk Rueter
Lenny Harris

 
First off, common sense has to play a huge role in the minds of the voters.  The fact of the matter is that they are voting for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, quite possibly the most highly regarded hall that we have in sports. 

How long has it been ingrained in our brains that 500, 3,000 and 300 are key qualifiers? 

We all know what is needed to be elite and we shouldn’t kid ourselves by clouding our judgment with information or stats that sound nice but aren’t what is needed. 

Unfortunately the game changes and we are in a different time.  Players take on new roles and new statistics are made, in spite of that, the best of the best don’t need the hums and hah’s to be elected; it’s automatic. 

Without even looking at numbers like HR, RBI, ERA, WAR, OPS WHIP and batting average, only two out of 33 are on the ballot are in without question. 

I admit I am torn with Larkin, but is he one of the best 23 shortstops of all-time? 

We do have to remember this is a vote for the best ever.  I am not singling anyone out when I say this, I would like to instill to the audience that the achievements of anyone that could make this list transcends anything I could do and I give them all the respect in the world.  All in all, it’s my opinion right?! 

Sure, Bagwell was a legitimate power threat for a good number of years, so were many others.  Was Edgar Martinez the best Designated Hitter of our or any generation?  Yes, but that does not make him a Hall of Famer. Does Palmeiro, a player accused and found guilty of using steroids or enhancers disqualify him from the Hall?  According to this it does:

5. Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played. 

Heck, if Pete Rose is not getting in, then they shouldn’t either. 

I am not saying that steroid users should not get in—Barry Bonds’ name was on the plaque before any of that started—even so, once one gets in, Pandora’s Box is blown off its hinges. 

My point is, we are all over-thinking this process when in fact the answer is right in front of our faces. 

Devon is the founder of The GM’s Perspective

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MLB Hall of Fame Voting 2011: My Ballot for This Year’s Class

This year’s hall of fame ballot may be underwhelming. The ballot doesn’t have any new surefire candidates. There is no one player people have been waiting to see elected. We’re caught between the Cal Ripkens and Tony Gwynn ceremony and the impending honoring of Frank Thomas and Greg Maddux. Who is going to get a plaque in the meantime.

I started following baseball in the mid nineties with only a faint understanding of what baseball statistics meant and no conception of intangibles or player value. A player was good if someone (most often my father) told me he was good. Even until recent years, I was no good at understanding players. I knew a .300 batting average was good. I knew a sub-3.00 ERA was good. I didn’t know that there was more to hitting and pitching. I didn’t know defense really mattered. I didn’t know anything and I didn’t have to. If you were any good you were wearing pinstripes and winning.

Now many of the players I grew up watching, but not really knowing, are appearing on the ballot and many are disappearing almost immediately. I don’t doubt that trend continues. The hall means more than being “good.” I’ve heard so many times before that you had to be “great” to be in the hall. But how great? Where is the line? Last year we saw Andre Dawson receive one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a human being. Did he deserve it? Did he deserve it more than anyone else that year? I am on the fence.

Those are the sort of questions I’m going to struggle with here. And, pretending that my opinion matters, I’ll give my votes for each of these players. I’m going to try to be fair, but I’m not going to try to predict anything.

Starting with guys who have spent the longest time on the ballot…

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MLB Hall Of Fame 2011: Do Alomar, Blyleven Deserve Spots in Cooperstown?

On Wednesday, the Baseball Writers Association of America will announce the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2011. There’s no telling how the results will shake out, but after seeing how the voters have gone the last few years, one thing’s for sure: they’ll get it wrong.

Roberto Alomar missed induction by eight votes last year, and Bert Blyleven fell just five ballots short. In 2009, Jim Rice earned enshrinement while Tim Raines is still waiting for his turn. And some of the best players of our generation will never reach immortality because of PEDs. Whether or not you agree with the BBWAA, it’s easy to understand why others don’t.

With voters like Dan Graziano and Terence Moore already saying preposterous things like that they didn’t vote for Jeff Bagwell because they have unfounded hunches that he took steroids, it looks like this year’s election has the potential to again exude massive amounts of stupidity.

So Bleacher Report’s Featured Columnists decided to take it upon ourselves to decide who gets into the Hall of Fame. Forty-two writers checked off their ballots for a mock Hall of Fame vote, the results of which are in this slideshow.

We played by the same rules as the real BBWAA. Each voter could name up to 10 of the 33 eligible players. Candidates needed at least 75 percent (32 votes) to make it into Cooperstown, while five percent (three votes) was necessary to remain on the ballot for 2012.

In addition to the full results (listed at the end), we’ve featured the 17 players who received at least three votes with arguments from both people who supported them and those who didn’t explain their votes. The result, we hope, is a thorough analysis of each candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, and chances for induction.

So read on and be sure to tell us what we got wrong!

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2011 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot: Why Barry Larkin and 3 Others Will Be…

The Baseball Writers Association of America will soon decide who will be elected into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

Among those who are trying to make it to Cooperstown, I believe only five will receive the necessary 75 percent needed to make it to the Hall.

First-timers include three MVPs in Jeff Bagwell (1994), Larry Walker (1997), and Juan Gonzalez (1996 and 1998). Another first-timer is Rafael Palmeiro, who probably would’ve been a shoe-in his first try, but it was revealed in 2005 that he used steroids.

Beyond first-timers there are many other intriguing players, such as Barry Larkin and Roberto Alomar, both in their second year of eligibility.

 When it comes long-term candidates, Bert Blyleven is the cream of the crop. He is on his 14th ballot (out of 15 chances) and will have a controversial decision whether he gets in or not.

I hope you enjoy the following and I would love some feedback.

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A Deep Look at Andy Pettitte’s Chances for the Hall of Fame

After the 2008 season—a season where he pitched better than he had in years—Mike Mussina abruptly retired. Never mind that his ERA was the lowest it had been since 2001; likewise his WAR—the lowest since 2001. And never mind that Moose had won 20 games for the first time in career, putting him at 270 wins for his career. 300 wins—and a guaranteed Hall of Fame invite—was within reach. Figure 2 to 3 more seasons (which the Yankees would happily offer him as they needed the pitching) of 10 to 15-win seasons— a reasonable expectation considering he just came off a 20-win season—and he’d be assured of the Hall.

Instead he left. Gone. Done.

The Mussina exit is interesting because a very similar situation is occurring right now with Andy Pettitte wavering on retiring. Coming off a bounce-back type season—where he had his lowest ERA for the Yankees since 2002—where Andy is showing that there are still rounds left in the lefty’s rifle, why would Pettitte retire? And more to the point of this article, why would he retire when he potentially close to Hall of Fame consideration.

Comparing Andy Pettitte to Mike Mussina—who should expect Hall of Fame consideration when the time comes—one finds very similar pitchers with very similar careers. (So close are these 2 that on Baseball-Reference’s “Similar Pitchers by Age” feature, for Andy Pettitte; the last 4 years that pitcher is Mike Mussina.) Pettitte’s win percentage is .635 compared to Mussina’s .638. Pettitte’s ERA+ is 117; Mussina’s is 123+. Both spent, if not the entirety, the lion’s share of their career in the AL East during the steroid era. And while Mussina’s lifetime WAR of 85.6 trumps Pettitte’s 66.9, Mussina did pitch over 500 more innings than Pettitte. And Pettitte, a well-known big-game pitcher does have 5 World Series rings, compared to Mussina’s zero.

However, where Mussina truly leads Pettitte in Hall of Fame consideration is the benchmark “300 Wins” consideration. Mussina is only 30 away and ended on a 20 game season. Pettitte is 60 away at 240 wins—though again, he does have practically the same win percentage as Mussina. The question is: If Pettitte comes back, what will it take to seriously aid his HOF chances?

At the bottom of Baseball-Reference.com’s page on Andy Pettitte, of the 4 Hall of Fame Statistics, Pettitte only rates as a Hall of Famer on one of them—the Hall of Fame Monitor. Pettitte is close on the Hall of Fame Standard statistic, just 8 points away from “average” Hall of Famer.

But is Pettitte really that far off? Compare Pettitte’s career to that of Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. Marichal ended his career with 243 wins, just 3 more than Pettitte. Marichal’s win percentage was .631, just below Pettitte’s .635. Marichal’s ERA+ was 123, just above Pettitte’s 117 ERA+. But consider that 2 important facts; one; Marichal pitched 500 more innings than Pettitte to get his 243 wins at a time when relief pitchers were far less common and two; Marichal pitched in National League during the glory days of pitching of the 1960s, instead of the steroid-era American League East.

Catfish Hunter is another good example. Hunter, a Hall of Famer has a lifetime ERA+ 105, far below Pettitte’s 117. His win percentage of .574 is also far below Pettitte’s Hunter despite that fact that Hunter pitched on the 1970s Yankees and A’s. Hunter though did have 5 20-win seasons compared to Pettitte’s 2, and was a Cy Young winner while Pettitte only came in second once. Hunter though, pitched 400 more innings than Pettitte, won 16 fewer games (and lost 26 more) than Pettitte, and has roughly 140 less strikeouts. Like Pettitte, however, he has 5 World Series rings.

But the example I like to use when thinking of Pettitte’s Hall of Fame chances is Don Sutton. Sutton, a Hall of Famer has 324 wins, thereby guaranteeing his admittance. Yet Sutton’s win percentage is far below Andy Pettitte’s, at .559; this despite being on the Dodgers in the 60s and late 70s. Sutton also never won a Cy Young, won 20 games only once and has a much lower K/9 than Pettitte. And like Marichal, pitched in the National League in the non-steroid, glory era of pitchers, while Pettitte’s career enveloped the heart of the Juice Era in the AL East. 

Yes, despite the favorable comparisons to Sutton, Mussina, Marichal (as well as Ferguson Jenkins, Phil Niekro, Early Wynn, and Gaylord Perry, among others) the sense is that Pettitte probably isn’t a Hall of Fame pitcher. Why? Because he doesn’t have the benchmark 300 wins and never won a Cy Young. Excepting Marichal, all the guys I mentioned have one or the other. What Marichal had was that he led the league in a number of categories; Wins, ERA, Complete Games, Shutouts, WHIP, ERA+, HR/9 etc, while Pettitte only led the league in wins once and HR/9 once, both early in his career.

In a sense, what the zeitgeist is regarding about Pettitte’s Hall of Fame’s chances is that Pettitte didn’t dominate his time. He was a very good pitcher, a tough postseason pitcher, but not the guy the league looked to as the pitcher of his age. 

I’m not sure there is anything Pettitte could do to seriously aid his Hall of Fame chances. It’s highly dubious that Pettitte could win a Cy Young if he hasn’t already. The same goes for dominating the WHIP, ERA, or Shutouts categories of the AL. And short of pitching another 4 to 5 seasons of 12-16 wins—something Pettitte doesn’t want to do and might not be able to anyway—Pettitte’s chances for the Hall are about as good as they are going to be. If he wins 20 games this season, maybe the Hall would take kinder to Pettitte—as they might do with Mussina and his final season—but that is a wild shot on an extremely dark day. 

A while back I wrote about Pettitte’s chances for the Hall of Fame, and looking back at that article, I have to say I was wrong. I concluded that Pettitte’s 5 World Series rings would get him in. However, after reviewing my argument, I’d have to say that no, Pettitte won’t get him. While, yes, he did win 5 World Series rings, he was never considered the unquestioned “Ace” of the staff on any of those teams, as say a Whitey Ford was. And yes, his stats may measure up favorably with several Hall of Famers—indeed, in some areas, beats them quite handily—Pettitte has none of the yardstick-type requirements: the Cy Young, the 300 wins, or the sense that he was a the dominating pitcher of his time. 

There is the old adage: “It ain’t the Hall of the Very Good. “And after further review, Andy Pettitte was a very, very good pitcher. But not a Hall of Fame one.

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MLB Hall Of Fame: Tony Capobianco’s Ballot (If He Had One)

In wake of the upcoming Hall of Fame elections, I have decided to cast an unofficial ballot.

John Franco: The all-time leader in saves for a left-handed closer.

Lee Smith: Was Trevor Hoffman before Trevor Hoffman.

Fred McGriff: 493 homers… close enough

Roberto Alomar: One of, if not the best second baseman of all time.

Bert Blyleven: Bert is the pitching version of Fred McGriff. Didn’t get 300 wins, but was very close.

Rafael Palmeiro: I don’t care about controversy—500 home runs and 3,000 hits is Hall worthy.

Mark McGwire: His impact of the game during his career in St. Louis was vital… 500 homers help too.

Tim Rains: Next best thing to Ricky Henderson.

Juan Gonzalez: Growing up, Gonzo was my favorite player.

Barry Larkin: Mr. Red is one of the most complete shortstops in the game of baseball.

Larry Walker: Three batting titles, Canada’s prototype star and a cornerstone for two franchises. 

Jeff Bagwell: Both he and Craig Biggio belong in the Hall of Fame.

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