Hello Baseball Fans,
Wow, where has baseball been all of fall and winter? Check that, where have I been all fall and winter?! Well, it’s a brand new year that hopefully will have lots and lots of brand new views from the best seat in the house, the Dish baby! Here’s to a happy new year and as both the young and old like to say, Cheers!!
Here are some things to keep in mind as the Hall of Fame elections will be announced within mere hours and Spring Training is less than a month away. Derek Jeter has played his last game. Ever. Thanks Number 2 for all the great baseball moments and playing and representing the game the right way. Clayton Kershaw still seems to be jinxed against the St. Louis Cardinals, especially in the playoffs when it matters the most. And speaking of Missouri, Kansas City apparently was inspired by alternative singer, Lourde, this time around. The songstress’ hit, Royals, was a concept based on seeing the Royals uniform (and nothing to do with baseball). Had it not been for the pitching czar, known as Madison Bumgarner, surely K.C. would have been most regal in a Series celebration. That’s ok though, their fans threw a party fit for a king anyway. MadBum got it done. How fitting and ironic a nickname for a still young and dominant 3-time champion and work horse. He’s maddening to opponents and so calm and stoic that he makes his work look easy like he’s not working at all. Make no mistake, he’s no bum. Nobody has ever worked over post-season lineups like him. Over 30 Fall Classic innings and a 0.29 ERA.
O.K. so now on to the Hall of Fame voting results predictions. Here is who is getting in: Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Mike Piazza. We’re predicting an all pitcher and catcher lineup for 2015 even though Biggio is better known as a second baseman. There are some great names on the ballot and having 10 voting slots just isn’t enough. The voters know this as picking players is getting harder and harder every season with new waves of perennial all-stars becoming eligible every year. You’ve got Mike Mussina, Curt Schilling, Gary Sheffield, Jeff Bagwell, Fred McGriff, Jeff Kent, Larry Walker, Carlos Delgado, and Lee Smith to consider too. And that’s not to mention Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa. The latter two will probably dip below five percent this year and fall off the ballot all together. Five hundred homer and 3,000 hit man Rafael Palmeiro is awaiting them. Someday, even the ‘Tri-Committee’ will have their hands full.
In terms of pure statistics and impact on the game, the list of great players is long and versatile. Some players are controversial at best and others are tainted at worst. However, there are more than enough other players to complicate the pecking order. Here’s to hoping (and voting) that 2015 brings in another 3+ player (and hopefully five) Hall of Fame Class to start to sort out this growing problem.
Later Baseball Fans.
That’s a great point Joe! The combo is dangerous and versatile as Pedro and Unit have famous relief appearances in the post-season too. Pedro shut down Cleveland from the 4th to the 9th innings in a softball style 12-8 Game 5 in the in ’99 ALDS and Johnson, of course, in Game 7 of Series in ’01 closed the door on the Yanks.
Has to be the best pitching HOF class in history by a longshot, doesn’t it? Unit and Pedro’s 5 best years stack up against anybody in history’s 5 best and Smoltz has the wins-saves thing all to his own.