Hello Fans,
The first couple of months of 2013 have been very disappointing, sad, and bu$y in Major League Baseball. In the spirit of having pre-season games well under way and aces now pitching more than two innings an outing, it is time to officially close the off-season for well, yes, the regular season. Here are some of the high and low-lights.
The Disappointing: The writers did not view any players universally as worthy nominees into the Hall of Fame for 2013. It’s not an unprecedented result, but it is just the seventh such occurrence, and the first since ’96 so it seems likes uncharted territory. I know, it won’t be the same without even a lone favorite ex-player being enshrined. The let down does loom, like rain clouds on Opening Day, of what should’ve been a lineup including part or all of, the likes of Jack Morris, Craig Biggio, and Lee Smith. However, the experience of the old-school first come, first serve basis of seating one’s self at the induction ceremony on the grassy hill to cap off Hall Of Fame Weekend can still be had on July 28th with the baseball contributor candidates. If you’ve never been to the showcase weekend, ’13 is sure to provide much more manageable crowd sizes and unprecedented access to HOFers throughout the weekend who will sign (for a fee) your MLB-licensed items and pose for pictures at the small shops and hotels in downtown Cooperstown.
The Sad: We received the really bad news that HOF manager, Earl Weaver, had passed away while on an annual cruise with the likes of baseball writers and of course, family. The 82 year-old Earl of Baltimore is one intense legend of Orioles World Series fame, and he was one of the few long sustained managers who never played in the Bigs at all. And as if that wasn’t enough, we lost one of the rarest Legends among Legends, Stan ‘The Man’ Musial, at the age of 92. I’m not sure if a higher caliber athlete has ever been simultaneously famous, decorated, respected both at and away from the game, and somehow under the radar for seemingly decades like Musial. He’s only number four in hits all-time at 3,630 (1,815 both at home and away, which made it nice and even for all the fans) and retired as number two behind Ty Cobb’s 4,191 hits. He’s 2nd all-time in total bases with 6,134, hit 475 HRs, is 3rd in 2Bs with 725, 6th in RBI at 1,951, and had a .331 average that led to 7 batting titles and 3 MVPs. WOW!! He was welcomed to C-town in ’69, his first year of eligibility. He also served in WWII in ’45, and played 22 seasons from ’41 to ’63. He played in 24 All-Star games, tied for first with Hammerin’ Hank and the Say-Hey Kid. No misprint here for those All-Star appearances as there were two such games a year from ’59 to ’62 that he was able to double up on. He wore jersey number 6, which to me is as famous as some other well known single digit stars in the likes of Ruth’s 3, Joe D’s 5, Williams’ 9, and Gehrig’s #4. Musial passed away on January 19th and fittingly, the St. Louis Blues crushed the rival Detroit Red Wings 6 to nothing that very night. Ironic!? R.I.P. Stan and Earl.
The Bu$y: The Angels signed Josh Hamilton for mega-bucks to add needed power, yeah right, to compliment Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, and Mark Trumbo. I’d hate to be a rookie pitcher in the A.L. West. Wait a minute, that’s a lie, but it’d still better to be a bullpen catcher.
Trout got a raise of $20,000 above the league minimum at $510K for ’13. Some people are questioning why he isn’t paid among the highest. Well, he shouldn’t be. That’s not how it works. I don’t have a problem with a phenom getting such ‘low’ wages. He signed a contract. The team takes a chance on a player. If he’s good and pans out, then yes, he gets underpaid for a while. Then, he hits it big, gets his due, and later on even becomes overpaid in the twilight of his career. That’s the system. Trout happens to be beyond exceptional. Oh well. However, what I don’t like is the fact that the Angels have all this money for Pujols and Hamilton and then give Trout $20K extra. To me, they should have thrown him a couple mill (when they had no obligation to do anything) due to relieving the pressure off of Pujols when he struggled early, which prevented a wasted season OR have offered him exactly zero bonus dollars. That raise just makes for bad p.r. Either stick to the contract or give him something close to the market value given his short service time. No (less than) middle ground please. Even us real world Joes can get a 2 or 3 percent raise with great performances.
By the way, with Hamilton’s five year deal for $133 mill, Seattle’s ace Felix Hernandez signing the richest pitcher contract ever at 7 years for $175 mill, and A-rod due to perhaps miss all but a month of the season due to a hip problem, does anybody even remember Joey Votto’s 13 year and $263 million deal? He’s already in the third year of it. He’s a great ballplayer with a contract that somehow flies under the radar, which is not so ironic for a Canadian baseball player I guess.
Here are three reasons why I’m not concerned about N.L. Cy Young winner R. A. Dickey not being successful for the Blue Jays in the uber-competitive A.L. East. One, he throws the knuckler harder than perhaps any other big leaguer ever has, reaching upwards of 80 on the gun. Two, last season wasn’t just a breakthrough, it was the best season of his last three as he has been consistently dominant since the start of 2010. And finally, when the New York Mets shipped Dickey to the Northlands, they also sent Josh Thole with him, who was Dickey’s personal catcher. How better to start off in a strange land than with your partner in crime? I’ll say Thole made out well also.
Whew! That was one hot off-season. We made it. Here comes Spring and before you know it the Boys of Summer, dog days, and pennant races!
Later Fans.