MLB Thread

[mojoween]

The person who did not vote for Jeter does not owe ANYbody ANYthing.

Joel Sherman was the voice of reason yesterday but no one on Twitter heard him.

[DoctorAtomic]

I kind of disagree overall. I think voters should justify their vote to be transparent. I don't think he should have been unanimous but you can still say why. 

[doodlebug]

14 hours ago, Perfect Xero said:

He deserves it, he was almost as productive as Jeter over his career, crazy that one is almost unanimous first ballot and the other barely scrapped in on year 10.

It's all about the Yankees, doncha know?  I was sad for all Rockies fans when, after all the major news shows devoted entire segments to drooling over Jeter, they couldn't even bother to mention Larry Walker as an afterthought.

10 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I would only support stripping the Astros and Red Sox of their World Series wins if the named winner was determined by a seven game series of Strat-o-Matic baseball games between the Yankees and Dodgers' rosters.

I think we should just award both titles to the Indians.  Just because we've waited the longest.  And, at the rate we're going, I'm not going to live long enough to see them win one outright.

[DoctorAtomic]

Or to follow up, maybe being unanimous is just a made up thing to make writers think they're more influential than they are and who cares. You get in you get in. 

[Crs97]

4 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Or to follow up, maybe being unanimous is just a made up thing to make writers think they're more influential than they are and who cares. You get in you get in. 

Exactly!  Not to beat a dead horse, but Babe Ruth wasn’t unanimous.  Do you think [fill in name here] is better than Babe was?  Spoiler alert-the correct answer is always no.  Always.

[mojoween]

I could be misremembering what I read yesterday, but I believe that Joe DiMaggio did not get in until his fourth ballot.  Explain THAT, voters.

[DoctorAtomic]

They have an overly high sense of self-importance. That's about it.

[xaxat]

In the Robert Redford movie The Natural, Robert Duval plays baseball columnist Max Mercy. 

I think there were a number of reporters/voters who thought like that. But they are literally dying off.

You can see it in the advanced stat driven Cy Young awards to a 13-12 Felix Hernandez and 10-9, 11-8 Jacob DeGrom. And Mariano Rivera's unanimous vote ended the "Well Babe Ruth wasn't unanimous. . . " holdouts. I think voters are closer to "Is he a Hall of Famer? Yes or no." than they have ever been and I think the one voter omitting Jeter is an insignificant outlier.

Right now, I think the bigger problem is the end of eligibility sympathy vote and the Veterans' Committee. I think Harold Baines was a good player, but HOF? Definitely no.

[catrox14]

13 hours ago, doodlebug said:

It's all about the Yankees, doncha know?  I was sad for all Rockies fans when, after all the major news shows devoted entire segments to drooling over Jeter, they couldn't even bother to mention Larry Walker as an afterthought.

It was even worse in a way. Tom what his name from MLB Network literally asked Walker how it felt to be inducted with Jeter. Like WTF!? But Walker had a great response. He said it was like being on the B side of a record LOL

[catlover79]

13 hours ago, doodlebug said:

It's all about the Yankees, doncha know?  I was sad for all Rockies fans when, after all the major news shows devoted entire segments to drooling over Jeter, they couldn't even bother to mention Larry Walker as an afterthought.

I think we should just award both titles to the Indians.  Just because we've waited the longest.  And, at the rate we're going, I'm not going to live long enough to see them win one outright.

From one Clevelander to another...AMEN!!!

[JTMacc99]

On 1/22/2020 at 11:02 PM, catrox14 said:

It was even worse in a way. Tom what his name from MLB Network literally asked Walker how it felt to be inducted with Jeter. Like WTF!? But Walker had a great response. He said it was like being on the B side of a record LOL

By the time the actual ceremony happens, proper attention to the excellent career of Larry Walker will be given.  They'll have an equal amount of time to be talked about and to speak that day. 

I do think (and yes, Yankees fan perspective here) that regardless of the uniform he wore in his career, Jeter was going to be the story of the day. 

He had one of those hall of fame careers with unusual longevity, which is how he ended up 6th all time in hits. But really it's the post season stats that made him unusual. He essentially played an entire extra season. 158 games, batted .308, 111 runs, 20 HR, 61 RBI and 135(!) strike outs. Heh.  

[Mittengirl]

Detroit Tigers PA announcer Jay Allen passed away today from cancer.  He was hired in April of 2019 and diagnosed with bile duct cancer in August.  At the time of diagnosis, doctors gave him 12-15 months.

[geauxaway]

God love Salvy!!!!  What an amazing human.  Can you ever see a happier person??????? 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[Moose135]

On 1/24/2020 at 3:28 PM, JTMacc99 said:

I do think (and yes, Yankees fan perspective here) that regardless of the uniform he wore in his career, Jeter was going to be the story of the day. 

He had one of those hall of fame careers with unusual longevity, which is how he ended up 6th all time in hits. But really it's the post season stats that made him unusual. He essentially played an entire extra season. 158 games, batted .308, 111 runs, 20 HR, 61 RBI and 135(!) strike outs. Heh

But if he wore an Indians' or Rays' uniform, he wouldn't have played all those post-season games, and he would be more of a "stats collector" type HOF candidate.

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, Moose135 said:

But if he wore an Indians' or Rays' uniform, he wouldn't have played all those post-season games, and he would be more of a "stats collector" type HOF candidate.

Exactly. The Yankees have always had far more money to spend on free agents, etc, than almost any other team and they've used it to buy their way into the playoffs more often than not.  Most players don't even get to play in the setting that Jeter did, so we'll really never know if someone else could've eclipsed his playoff stats.  There are plenty of Hall of Famers who never made it to the post season; are they less deserving than Jeter because they didn't?

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't think anyone is less deserving. When Jeter did get into the postseason, he made the most of the opportunities. Sure, there's probably others who might have done just as well, but that's not his fault either.

This whole 'post season or nothing' mentality is still kind of new, and erroneous imo, in any sport, especially in baseball. Players shouldn't be compared to one another.

I tend to think it should be way harder to get in but that's a different argument.

[DXD526]

I remember reading that when he was a rookie, Mariano Rivera was almost traded to the Mariners. Steinbrenner wanted to do it, but he was talked out of it by some of his advisers who apparently thought Rivera had 'potential' or something. Imagine if he had spent the bulk of his career pitching in Seattle? There's a very good chance he never would have made the Hall, he wouldn't have gotten all those chances to own the postseason like he did with the Yankees. He's the same pitcher, but without that opportunity to shine, his legacy would have been totally different. 

There are lots of vagaries associated with a HoF career. 

[Was-MArsenault]

From Yahoo News:

https://news.yahoo.com/ex-major-league-baseball-pitcher-051327512.html

[xaxat]

Curtis Granderson announced his retirement.

I wonder how many TV networks have already offered him a job.

[smittykins]

If he decides to go that route, I think he’ll be great at it.

[Lantern7]

I got an e-mail from the Mets about their Hall of Fame induction ceremony on May 17: Jon Matlack, Ron Darling and Edgardo Alfonzo. Also, Al Jackson will be posthumously honored with the Mets Hall of Fame Achievement Award.

[xaxat]

 

[AimingforYoko]

World Series title or bust for the Dodgers:

Red Sox trade Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers.

[Was-MArsenault]

7 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

World Series title or bust for the Dodgers:

Red Sox trade Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers.

Oh wow. My mom and I liked Mookie Betts as well.

[Lantern7]

Dang. So much for Betts going to the home of the Original Mookie. That wasn't a total pipe dream, right?

[Sew Sumi]

I never heard anything about Mookie going to the Mets. All the talk has been Dodgers.

[Lantern7]

12 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

I never heard anything about Mookie going to the Mets. All the talk has been Dodgers.

I know. When I heard the Red Sox might peddle Betts, I thought it would be funny if he wound up with the Mets, since they had what I believe to have been the first "Mookie" in fan favorite Mookie Wilson. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[ebk57]

I bought my Opening Day tickets today!  Yay!!!  

[Sew Sumi]

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I know. When I heard the Red Sox might peddle Betts, I thought it would be funny if he wound up with the Mets, since they had what I believe to have been the first "Mookie" in fan favorite Mookie Wilson. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

I only mentioned the Mets due to your original Mookie reference. 😁

[smittykins]

And it’s starting already. 🙁

James Paxton out 3-4 months following spinal surgery

[Lantern7]

Got an e-mail from the Mets . . . Opening Day is fifty days away.

[xaxat]

My favorite spring training countdown notice was an ad the YES (Yankees) network ran one winter. It was about five/ten years ago and the city had just been hammered by a huge snowstorm. It was filmed from the point of view of a lonely worker shoveling the foot plus deep snow in front of the stadium followed by the caption "Pitchers and catchers February X"

Edited February 6, 2020 by xaxat

[morriss]

Have no fear baseball fans - even with Betts and Price,  the Dodgers will find a way not to win the World Series. 

Edited February 7, 2020 by morriss

[Lantern7]

Writer at SI.com goes off on the Red Sox. And I mean with both barrels.

[cleo]

All this talk of the Houston players apologizing in spring training is to little too late AFAIC. It is pretty clear anything they say now is bc Crane is pushing it.

Also they used that banging crap to cheat against the 2017 Jays, a sub 500 team. Yeah hearts of champions.

On a more positive note I'm going to Opening Day for the first time this year so I'm looking forward to it- especially bc by then I can pretend/pray for winter to be over lol.

[Lantern7]

Short article from The Onion related to Astros’ fallout.

[cleo]

I was thinking they should just set up a 7 game series between the Dodgers and NY for it. Just have a do over.

[doodlebug]

Roger Kahn, author of one of the best baseball books ever, The Boys of Summer, has died at age 92.  His classic book covered the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950's and included updates on the players 20 years later.  Great book.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/obituaries/roger-kahn-who-lifted-sportswriting-with-boys-of-summer-dies-at-92.htm

[Sew Sumi]

I can't tell you how many times I read that book. 

[Was-MArsenault]

From connecticut.news12.com:

http://connecticut.news12.com/story/41676316/exmlb-player-and-bridgeport-native-angel-echevarria-dies-at-48?clienttype=generic&smartdevicecgbypass

[AimingforYoko]

Twins pull out of Betts deal.

Sounds like the Red Sox were trying to hold up the Twins for another player to soothe that bad P.R.

[cleo]

I would like to see the Dodgers walk. How could Boston have not known fans would be upset?

[Lantern7]

Any thoughts on the proposed expanded playoffs?

[Fukui San]

I don’t know the details, but my position is “meh”.  

[Silver Raven]

So will the final game of the World Series be on Thanksgiving now?

 

[Lantern7]

56 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

I don’t know the details, but my position is “meh”.  

1. Each league will have seven teams in the postseason, for a total of 14
2. Team with best record in league gets a bye in the first round
3. The other division champions get to choose which of seeds 5-7 they get to play in best-of-3 series. Fourth-best team is stuck with what’s left.
4. Winners face off in second round with the “bye” teams. Seeds would not be readjusted

I heard one play rip the commissioner via tweet. One argument for the new format would be to give hope to more teams with modest budgets. For instance, the Padres are up-and-coming, but they could never outspend the Dodgers.

Edited February 11, 2020 by Lantern7

[Moose135]

12 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Each league will have seven teams in the postseason, for a total of 14

It's going to be like the NHL used to be, play all season to eliminate 4 teams...I always complained about Clueless Bud Selig, but Manfred is just a mess.

[Sew Sumi]

You make the playoffs, and YOU make the playoffs, and YOU make the playoffs! 

Ugh.

[cleo]

Can't stand it. I like the wild card game, and the tie breakers when needed, as is.

And then choosing who to play? Blech.

Trevor Bauer has spoken up, Alex Wood. 

I just feel like Manfred hates baseball lol.

[Fukui San]

Under that scheme, the additional teams that would make the playoffs in 2019 would have been 93 win Cleveland, 84 win Boston, 86 win Mets, and 85 win Arizona. 

As a Boston fan, there was no need to see more of the Red Sox in 2019.