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| The "Big Hurt" Frank Thomas |
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| Oh, he also looks just like Tom Brady! |
Cobb, Rose, Musial, and Tris Speaker). A classy figure that hit well, fielded well, and set records belongs in the Hall. Easily.
Showing posts with label Greg Maddux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greg Maddux. Show all posts
Friday, January 3, 2014
Hall of Fame Discussion Pt. 2
Now, yesterday I told you that I had four guys possibly getting into the Hall of Fame this 2014 year. My two guys that I think are automatically in are Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. Their statistics stand alone for pitchers in the era they threw the ball in, but the other two players I feel that have a chance to get in did none of their work on the pitchers mound.
When we think of 1990's-2000's hitters, we think of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Alex Rodriguez. Some of the more die hard, old school guy think of a tainted era, but out of the guys eligible for the Hall this year, the number one hitter I see is Frank Thomas. Now a lot of voters have said "No way, no how" to voting for hitters from this era, but I see no reason to leave out guys that were never "convicted" or suspected of using PEDs. Thomas is a guy that has rarely, if ever, brought up with PEDs. His numbers, let them talk please. Start with this fact: even though he hit 521 home runs, he also hit .301 in his 19 year career. Add along with that 1,704 RBI, you have a guy that hit for average, power, and knocked in runs every time he stood at the plate. With all of these statistics, he also won the AL MVP award in 1993 and 1994 and won a battling title in 1997. He was one of the most dominant forces during his major league stay.
Now, Frank Thomas was a huge guy, 6'4" and weighed 240 pounds to be exact. Think more like 5'11" and weighing 185 pounds. Yeah, you know now: Craig Biggio. This guy was the best second baseman in the MLB during his time in the league, and clearly a class guy that belong in the hallowed Hall. He knocked out 3,060 hits, 291 home runs, and 414 stolen bases. He also holds a record that many baseball fans remember: he was hit by more pitches than any one player that has ever played the game (285 times). This doesn't tell the whole story about Biggs though. He was a 5 time Silver Slugger award winner and a 4 time Gold Glove award winner. He also stands 5th all time in the MLB in doubles with 668 (behind
Cobb, Rose, Musial, and Tris Speaker). A classy figure that hit well, fielded well, and set records belongs in the Hall. Easily.
Cobb, Rose, Musial, and Tris Speaker). A classy figure that hit well, fielded well, and set records belongs in the Hall. Easily.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
It's a New Year! Hall of Fame Discussion
So, I haven't written in a while. I'm aware, and I've missed it. Truth is, I got plain lazy and didn't write for a couple of months. Let's change that though?
A ton has gone on in Major League Baseball since I last wrote, especially the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series. We also have stories like: Who is going to sign Japanese star Tanaka? Are the Texas Rangers becoming American League favorites? And then my favorite, When did the Yankees become...responsible spenders?
However, one topic has stood out to me the past few days. What is the best thing that happens every year, between Winter Meetings and Spring Training? Come on, you know it! The Hall of Fame voting is tallied and we find out who (if anyone) will be in Cooperstown this year. Personally, I have 2 clear favorites to make it, and 4 total players who have a good possibility. I'll discuss the latter two in a future post, but here are my two favorites to make it in.
My first clear favorite is a first ballot guy, which pushes some voters away, but I think he gets in easy: Tom Glavine. How in the world does he not get in? He is the last lefty to tally up 300 wins and a .600 winning percentage. During his prime, from 1991-1998, he had an ERA over 3.20 only once. He also won 140 games during that stretch of time. He also tallied 2,607 strikeouts during his fine career, which is higher than 49 pitchers in the Hall. When you think of pitching in the 1990's, Tom Glavine always comes up, but it's one of his teammates that is talked about the most.
Greg Maddux, my favorite player in the 1990's, has to get into the Hall of Fame. 355 wins, 3,371 strikeouts, 3.13 career ERA, 5,000 innings pitched, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.37. Holy cow. Put it this way, there are only 2 men that have 300 wins and 3,000 strikeouts that aren't in the Hall, and one of them isn't eligible: Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens. Now, I have heard rumors that some voters aren't voting for Maddux simply because Clemens was "better" than him, yet Clemens won't be voted in due to his link to steroids during his playing career. I feel like that should be looked over, because Mad-dog was an absolute beast in his career, and deserves the first ballot honors.
These two guys are automatically in if I was a Hall voter. Two of the best pitchers in an era where hitting was dominant, and they put up numbers that other guys would have given anything for. Other players, like Clemens, turned to steroids to be what these two gentlemen were. It will be a travesty if they do not get to give a speech on induction day in 2014.
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| Boston Red Sox celebrate their 2013 World Series victory over St. Louis. |
A ton has gone on in Major League Baseball since I last wrote, especially the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series. We also have stories like: Who is going to sign Japanese star Tanaka? Are the Texas Rangers becoming American League favorites? And then my favorite, When did the Yankees become...responsible spenders?
However, one topic has stood out to me the past few days. What is the best thing that happens every year, between Winter Meetings and Spring Training? Come on, you know it! The Hall of Fame voting is tallied and we find out who (if anyone) will be in Cooperstown this year. Personally, I have 2 clear favorites to make it, and 4 total players who have a good possibility. I'll discuss the latter two in a future post, but here are my two favorites to make it in.
My first clear favorite is a first ballot guy, which pushes some voters away, but I think he gets in easy: Tom Glavine. How in the world does he not get in? He is the last lefty to tally up 300 wins and a .600 winning percentage. During his prime, from 1991-1998, he had an ERA over 3.20 only once. He also won 140 games during that stretch of time. He also tallied 2,607 strikeouts during his fine career, which is higher than 49 pitchers in the Hall. When you think of pitching in the 1990's, Tom Glavine always comes up, but it's one of his teammates that is talked about the most.
Greg Maddux, my favorite player in the 1990's, has to get into the Hall of Fame. 355 wins, 3,371 strikeouts, 3.13 career ERA, 5,000 innings pitched, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.37. Holy cow. Put it this way, there are only 2 men that have 300 wins and 3,000 strikeouts that aren't in the Hall, and one of them isn't eligible: Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens. Now, I have heard rumors that some voters aren't voting for Maddux simply because Clemens was "better" than him, yet Clemens won't be voted in due to his link to steroids during his playing career. I feel like that should be looked over, because Mad-dog was an absolute beast in his career, and deserves the first ballot honors.
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| Glavine (left), John Smoltz, and Maddux (right) hope to all be in the Hall together soon |
These two guys are automatically in if I was a Hall voter. Two of the best pitchers in an era where hitting was dominant, and they put up numbers that other guys would have given anything for. Other players, like Clemens, turned to steroids to be what these two gentlemen were. It will be a travesty if they do not get to give a speech on induction day in 2014.
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