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Say hey, baseball: Hall of Fame election fallout
Wednesday morning’s baseball features Hall of Fame reactions, a Brett Lawrie care package, and what the Mariners should do with their money.
Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
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The Hall of Fame election has come and gone in 2015, and Cooperstown will have four new members because of it: Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Craig Biggio and John Smoltz. The proper first thing to do is celebrate these four who made it in: two of them have claims to being the best ever at their position, while the other two are certainly worthy inductees in their own right. The Hall of Fame is a stronger place with their presence, and that’s the goal, yeah?
After that, continuing to follow the plan detailed by Grant Brisbee, you can start to wonder why others didn’t make it. The 10-vote limit was a hindrance for many, to the point the BBWAA voted to increase it to 12 in the future, but the average voter used just 8.4 spots on their ballot: there are still a whole lot of voters out there who don’t see an obvious backlog even as it repeatedly hits them over the head. Why did Smoltz make it on his first ballot, but Curt Schilling, who was at least as good, receive 240 fewer votes? Why did Mike Mussina, who is the equal of each of those arms, get even fewer? At least players like Mike Piazza made positive gains, suggesting that people no longer buy-in to the steroid myth surrounding him, and giving him and his fans hope for the future. Maybe the same will happen for Jeff Bagwell soon, before it’s too late.
As for Barry Bonds ... well, it might never happen. Who needs a detailed account of history, though?
- Craig Biggio ended up making the Hall of Fame because of a significant choice in his young career: getting out from behind the plate.
- Pedro Martinez is retired and voted into Cooperstown, but you can still watch video of him pitching in his prime. Really, you should watch video of him pitching in his prime, because there is no one like him.
- Ryan Howard has a limited no-trade clause, because what any attempt at dealing him needed was an additional stumbling block.
- Kolten Wong is going to be under pressure to perform in 2015, since the Cardinals’ lineup isn’t quite what it used to be.
- The Mariners don’t desperately need pitching, but it’s the one place they have room left to spend on, so maybe they should.
- The Yankees have missed the playoffs two years in a row, are setup for a potentially rough 2015, and the Mets are loaded with youth and prospects. That has Mets fans wondering if they can snatch New York back from the Yankees.
- David Price might not have an extension to look forward to, but he will likely set a record in his fourth and final year of arbitration.
- Randy Johnson owns a photography company. The logo is a dead bird.
- Remember when Brett Lawrie brought his 6-year-old superfan out for pizza as an apology for being traded to the A’s? The A’s sent her a care package stuffed with team gear so she could appropriately follow her favorite player’s career.
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