baseball Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Billy Wagner for Baseball Hall of Fame

Ichiro

If I could vote, I’d pick Billy Wagner for Baseball Hall of Fame induction. This is his 10th and final year on the ballot and last time, he was on a tantalizing 73.8% of the ballots, with 75% required to make it into the Hall. He was a steady relief pitcher. Here’s the case.

I’d also want Andruw Jones (8th year, 61.6% last year), a fabulous defensive centerfielder. Though his offense dropped off precipitously, I’d still pick him. Here’s the case.

In the case of Carlos Beltrán (3rd year, 57.1%), he “established himself as one of the best power-hitting center fielders ever. He ranks fifth all-time in home runs (435) among center fielders (at least 1,000 games played in center). He trails only Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Mickey Mantle, and Andre Dawson, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame.

“Using the same criteria, Beltrán also ranks fifth in runs batted in, fourth in doubles, 13th in slugging percentage, 17th in OPS, and 13th in isolated power… “

In the narrative, Jimmy Rollins (4th year, 14.8%) “was a four-time Gold Glove Award winner, an MVP, and a member of two pennant-winning teams. In addition, he had 2,455 hits, the 10th most for players who logged 60% of their starts at short; he’s behind Omar Vizquel, 19th-century star Bill Dahlen, and seven Hall of Fame inductees.

As a player who combined extra-base power with speed, he’s the only shortstop in the history of baseball to hit 200 home runs, leg out 100 triples, hit over 500 doubles, and steal at least 400 bases.”

I’ve been pushing Andy Pettitte (7th year, 13.5%) for years. His case is “fairly simple. He won 256 games. There are only five pitchers since 1901 with more than 250 wins who are not in the Hall of Fame.”

I’m on the fence regarding Bobby Abreu and Chase Utley

New on the ballot

I’d also select outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, pitcher CC Sabathia, and infielder Dustin Pedroia, all of whom are described here.

I would not vote for Álex Rodríguez (A-Rod) or Manny Ramírez over performance-enhancing drugs. Next year is Manny’s 10th and last year; maybe then. I’ve declined Francisco Rodríguez (K-Rod) and Omar Vizquel for non-baseball reasons having to do with abuse.

Here are all of the stats for Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltrán, Mark Buehrle, Carlos González, Curtis Granderson, Félix Hernández, Torii Hunter, Adam Jones, Andruw Jones, Ian Kinsler, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Dustin Pedroia, Andy Pettitte, Hanley Ramírez, Manny Ramírez, Fernando Rodney, Álex Rodríguez, Francisco Rodríguez, Jimmy Rollins, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, Troy Tulowitzki, Chase Utley, Omar Vizquel, Billy Wagner, David Wright, and Ben Zobrist.

Bonds, Leyland, Sanguillen: Pirates Hall of Fame

Fred Clarke, PIT, 1901-1911, 1913-1915

Bonds, Leyland, Sanguillen. These are the three new inductees into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame. I didn’t even know there WAS a Pirates HoF, but this is the third class.

Barry Bonds (Pirates 1986-1992) won the National League MVP award in 1990 and 1992. He’s the only Pirate with at least 175 homers and 200 stolen bases. He also had three Gold Gloves while with the team. Whatever you might think of Bonds in the years after 1998, he’s certainly worthy of this honor.

(BTW, I am STILL pained by this play. In the 1992 NLCS, Gm 7 PIT@ATL: former Pirate Sid Bream slides home in the ninth, beating Barry Bonds’ throw home and handing the Braves the pennant. The rest of his career (1993-2007), Bonds played for San Francisco Giants.)

Jim Leyland (Pirates manager, 1986-1996) ranks third in team history with 851 wins. He led the Pirates to three straight division championships from 1990-1992. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.

Manny Sanguillen (Pirates 1967, 1969-1976, 1978-1980)was a two-time World Series champion with the Pirates (1971 and 1979) when I was rooting for the team. He was a three-time All-Star (1971, 1972 and 1975). He finished third in the N.L. batting race in 1970, with batted .325 in 1970. Manny caught more games than all but two Pirates. According to StatMuse, his lifetime batting average of .298 is the tenth-highest for catchers in MLB history.

Previous years

2023’s Pirates HoF inductees were relief pitchers Elroy Face and Kent Tekulve, starting pitcher Bob Friend, and shortstop Dick Groat. Tekulve was on the 1979 World Series-winning team, while the other three were world champions in 1960. I remember all of them.

I was largely familiar with the inaugural class, which includes Jack Beckley, Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Max Carey, Paul Waner, Lloyd Waner, Oscar Charleston, Pie Traynor, Ray Brown, Arky Vaughan, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Ralph Kiner, Bill Mazeroski, Danny Murtaugh, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Steve Blass, and Dave Parker. Okay, I didn’t know Beckley, but he played in the 19th century.

I should note that the Pirates Hall of Fame doesn’t just include Pittsburgh Pirates but members of the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords of the Negro Leagues, where Charleston, Gibson, Leonard, and Brown played.

All those in that inaugural class except Murtaugh, Blass, and Parker are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. None in the subsequent classes except Leyland are, though Bonds is not in because of PEDs that he was not taking when he was in the Steel City.

Thus concludes Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Willie Mays

Rickwood Field

**I have a postcard with this on the back which I bought in Cooperstown at least 30 years ago.**

On May 6, 2006, I wrote: “Back in 1994, I bought some beverage from McDonald’s and I ended up with a Willie Mays glass. It features a replica of his 1957 baseball card when he played with the New York Giants. That was the team’s last year at the Polo Grounds, before moving to San Francisco. (I still have the glass.)”

Not only did I have the glass, it was in the cabinet with other drinking glasses. I never used it. The rest of my family did. My wife used it on the morning of June 18 to drink water. When I learned that Willie Mays had died, I wrapped the glass in plastic and put it in a box to keep it. It could have broken any time during the previous quarter century, but only then did I know I needed to retire it.

I noted: “When I went to Cooperstown one year, I got to buy this plastic figurine of Willie. I loved it. The arms even moved! Then the dog bit off one of his feet, and one of the arms (the one with the glove) fell off, but I kept it for a good long time anyway.”

1962

I also wrote about him on May 6, 2011. Suffice it to say, Willie Mays was my favorite player. Not only that, I decided I loved San Francisco long before I had visited there, in large part because the Say Hey Kid played there.

The 1962 World Series was difficult for me because the New York Yankees, the parent team of the minor league Triplets of Binghamton, with Ford, Howard, Tresh, Richardson, Mantle, and ROGER Maris against the San Francisco Giants of Cepeda, McCovey, Davenport, Alou, Alou, Marichal, and of course, Mays. It was a great Series, with the NYY winning Game 7, 1-0.

The loss pained him. So the World Series victories by the Giants in 2010, 2012, and 2014 reportedly thrilled him, especially the first one.

The Globe

I could give you the stats. From the Boston Globe (paywall likely):

“Over 22 MLB seasons, virtually all with the New York/San Francisco Giants, Mays batted .301, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,293 hits, scored more than 2,000 runs, and won 12 Gold Gloves. He was Rookie of the Year in 1951, twice was named the Most Valuable Player, and finished in the top 10 for the MVP 10 other times. His lightning sprint and over-the-shoulder grab of an apparent extra-base hit in the 1954 World Series remains the most celebrated defensive play in baseball history.

“He was voted into the Hall in 1979, his first year of eligibility, and in 1999 followed only Babe Ruth on The Sporting News’ list of the game’s top stars. (Statistician Bill James ranked him third, behind Ruth and Honus Wagner). The Giants retired his uniform number, 24, and set their AT&T Park in San Francisco on Willie Mays Plaza.” The center fielder had been baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer.

But it wasn’t just his enormous five-tools talent, but his effervescent personality. “For millions in the 1950s and ‘60s and after, the smiling ball player with the friendly, high-pitched voice was a signature athlete and showman during an era when baseball was still the signature pastime. Awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015, Mays left his fans with countless memories.”

The Times

From the New York Times: “Mays captured the ardor of baseball fans at a time when Black players were still emerging in the major leagues and segregation remained untrammeled in his native South. He was revered in Black neighborhoods, especially in Harlem, where he played stickball with youngsters outside his apartment on St. Nicholas Place — not far from the Polo Grounds, where the Giants played — and he was treated like visiting royalty at the original Red Rooster, one of Harlem’s most popular restaurants in his day.”

MLB

I was afraid he was unwell when he declined to attend a Major League League game played in his native Alabama. “Rickwood Field is the oldest still-existing professional ballpark in the nation, and it’s best known for being the home of the Negro Leagues’ Birmingham Black Barons in the early-mid 20th century, a franchise that produced eventual Hall of Famers Satchel Paige, Mule Suttles, and Willie Mays.”

Mays, just days before he died, revealed in “a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle that he would not be attending Thursday’s [i.e., today’s] contest.

“’I wish I could come out to Rickwood Field this week to be with you all and enjoy that field with my friends. Rickwood’s been part of my life for all of my life. Since I was a kid. It was just ‘around the corner there’ from Fairfield [the town where Mays went to high school], and it felt like it had been there forever. Like a church. The first big thing I ever put my mind to was to play at Rickwood Field. It wasn’t a dream. It was something I was going to do. I was going to work hard to be one of the Birmingham Black Barons and play ball at Rickwood Field. That’s what I did. It was my start. My first job. You never forget that. Rickwood Field is where I played my first home game, and playing there was IT — everything I wanted. “

I should end with this benediction, which I’ve used before. Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song) – The Treniers

Baseball season starts… today?

In South Korea

**By Philkon Phil Konstantin – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7584768 OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA**

Baseball season starts when? “The 2024 MLB (Major League Baseball) season will begin in Korea when the Dodgers and Padres face off in the Seoul Series from March 20-21.” What? I missed this because I don’t pay that much attention to baseball until the last week in March.

“A week later, all 30 clubs are slated to play on Opening Day (Thursday, March 28), and the regular season will wrap up on Sunday, Sept. 29, with the 94th All-Star Game presented by Mastercard set for July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington.” I hate sponsored plugs, but what can you do?

“The Seoul Series is just one of a number of exciting international contests slated for this year… The Mexico City Series (Astros vs. Rockies, April 27-28) and the London Series (Mets vs. Phillies, June 8-9) also will return from 2023.” The NFL has also been playing games internationally.

So, I decided to do something silly that I saw on Facebook. One is supposed to pick the best MLB player with their initials. This is tricky for me because the player I’d pick would be Robert Gibson. Unfortunately, he played as Bob Gibson (1959-1975), a fiery Hall of Famer pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals I remember quite well. He had a WAR of 89.1.

What’s THAT? WAR Wins Above Replacement “measures a player’s value in all facets of the game by deciphering how many more wins he’s worth than a replacement-level player at his same position (e.g., a Minor League replacement or a readily available fill-in free agent).

Bobby, not Robert

There are about 30 players named Bob or Bobby. The next best player on that list is Bobby Grich (1970-1986, 71.1), also a Robert. The first year he was eligible, he got 2.6% of the Hall of Votes, below the 5% minimum to remain on the ballot.

An interesting name I found was Leslie Green (1939-1946, 2.2). That is the name of my father and one of my sisters.

Here are the RG folks who made it to MLB. If there is no WAR, it’s because it wasn’t calculated.

Ralph Gagliano (1965-1965)

Rich Gale (1978-1984, 1.7) – I vaguely remember

Rocky Gale (2015-2019)

Ron Gant (1987-2003, 34.1)—I remember him. Early in his career, he played for the Atlanta Braves, but he was injured so badly that he missed the entire 1994 season. Then he bounced around. He got zero votes when he was eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Rich Garcés (1990-2002)

Ralph Garcia (1972-1974)

Ramon Garcia (1948-1948)

Ramón García (1991-1997)

Reynaldo Garcia (2002-2003)

Rico Garcia (2019-2023)

Robel García (2019-2021)

Robert Garcia (2023-2023, 0.4)

Rony García (2020-2022)

Rosman García (2003-2004)

Ron Gardenhire (1981-1985). He played for the Mets, so I recall him.

Nick Gardewine (2017-2018)

Ray Gardner (1929-1930)

Rob Gardner (1965-1973)

Ryan Garko (2005-2010)

Ralph Garr (1968-1980)

Ralph Garza (2021-2022)

Robert Gaston (1932-1948) Negro Leagues player

GE

Rich Gedman (1980-1992). A Red Sox catcher in the 1980s, so I recall him.

Rich Gee (1923-1929)

Rube Geyer (1910-1913)

Ray Giannelli (1991-1995)

Russ Gibson (1967-1972)

Rod Gilbreath (1972-1978)

Roland Gladu (1944-1944)

Ralph Glaze (1906-1908)

Roy Gleason (1963-1963)

Ross Gload (2000-2011)

Ryan Goins (2013-2020)

Roy Golden (1910-1911)

Randy Gomez (1984-1984)

Roberto Gómez (2017-2018)

Rubén Gómez (1953-1967)

Rene Gonzales (1984-1997)

Raúl González (2000-2004)

Romy Gonzalez (2021-2023, -0.8)

Ralph Good (1910-1910)

Ray Goolsby (1946-1946)

Ray Gordinier (1921-1922)

Reid Gorecki (2009-2009)

Rick Gorecki (1997-1998)

Rich Gossage+ (1972-1994, pictured) – Though he played for nine teams, I remember Goose Gossage as a Yankee from 1978 to 1983.

Rúben Gotay (2004-2008)

GR

Reggie Grabowski (1932-1934)

Roy Graham (1922-1923)

Rick Grapenthin (1983-1985)

Rick Greene (1999-1999)

Riley Greene (2022-2023, 3.3)

Rusty Greer (1994-2002)

Reddy Grey (1903-1903)

Randal Grichuk (2014-2023) – one of four players, along with Gant, Gossage, and Guidry, listed as “best known.”

Robert Griffin (1931-1931)

Ray Grimes (1920-1926)

Roy Grimes (1920-1920)

Ross Grimsley (1951-1951)

Ross Grimsley (1971-1982)

Robert Gsellman (2016-2022, -0.3). A former Met.

Ron Guidry (1975-1988). Louisiana Lightning was a Yankee for his whole MLB career. I liked him a lot. He never received more than 7.9% of the Hall of Fame balloting votes.

Ricky Gutiérrez (1993-2004)

José Guzmán (1985-1994)

The best MLB dude with my initials played for the New York Yankees. That would be Rich “Goose” Gossage with Ron Guidry next in line.

Academy Awards nominations et al.

baseball, The Daily Show, JEOPARDY!

As I’m sure I mentioned once upon a time, I pay attention to the Academy Awards nominations. In the early 1990s, I’d listen to the radio at work and jot down the major selections. Now I can wait ten minutes and find it online.

The issue of an awards snub currently seems particularly energized. Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg denies it happened this year but one of her The View costars says otherwise. A guy on my Facebook feed says no, and is accused of mansplaining.

THR writes: “One irony of the backlash to the Barbie snubs is that it has attempted to pit women against women. (Barbie Land would never!) One column has been excoriated for appearing to diminish the performances of the nominated actresses in defense of [Margot] Robbie.”

For me, it’s clear I need to see more performances. There are five women Best Actress in a Leading Role:

Annette Bening (Nyad)
Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)
Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall)
Carey Mulligan (Maestro)
Emma Stone (Poor Things)

I’ve seen only Mulligan.

Likewise, these folks were nominated for Best Directing:

Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall)
Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon)
Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things)
Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)

I’ve seen only Oppy, so I can’t say of Greta Gerwig was snubbed or not.

Best pics

Ten films were selected as Best Picture nominees. The ones I’ve seen I’ve starred:

*American Fiction (Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers)
Anatomy of a Fall (Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion, Producers)
*Barbie (David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, Producers)
*The Holdovers (Mark Johnson, Producer)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, Producers)
*Maestro (Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers)
*Oppenheimer (Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers)
*Past Lives (David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, Producers)
Poor Things (Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, Producers)
The Zone of Interest (James Wilson, Producer)

Time to get to the theater, where these films have either shown up for the first time or have made an Oscar nom return.

I won’t be seeing these films, though. Razzie Awards: ‘Expend4bles’ Leads Nominations. ‘Exorcist: Believer’ and ‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ also nabbed multiple mentions.

MLB HOF

I’m happy Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton, and Joe Mauer were selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame. But I’m sad that, in his 9th try out of ten chances, reliever Billy Wagner came up five votes short.

Gary Sheffield: HE was snubbed, falling off the ballot after receiving 63.9% of the vote, with 75% needed.

Next year’s ballot will include Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia. Both should get in on the first ballot, with Ichiro, the only MLB player I know to have his first name on the back of his jersey, a mortal lock.

I’m sad to read that Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame infielder Ryne Sandberg has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and has begun treatment. Part of it is that my father died of the disease.

NFL playoffs

Go, Detroit Lions! General Motors is delaying a shift on Sunday so that their workers can see the Lions’ NFC title game completion against the San Francisco 49ers.

Like the return of Michael Jordan to the Bulls

I’m glad Jon Stewart is back on The Daily Show, even if it’s once a week on air, plus serving as executive producer, at least through the election. TDS veterans are thrilled. I liked the top-secret intrigue in luring him back.

J!

To my surprise, I found this season’s Celebrity JEOPARDY more interesting than the previous iteration. It’s also a lot more fun than the regular game’s interminable Champions Wildcard, where they bring back players from the past three seasons. That said, I’m rooting for Martha Bath, who won back in 1972 when Art Fleming was the host and then won again a couple of years ago.

Celebrity J! fans criticized ABC for revealing the winner ahead of the final tournament: ‘Thanks for the spoiler.’ An ad for Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program featured the winner. (If you’ve recorded it without watching it, I’M not going to provide a spoiler.) Luckily for me, I watched it fast-forwarding through the commercials.