In case you were wondering, and you weren't, the worst hitting season by a second baseman since 1901 was by Del Young in 1923 with an OPS+ of 23 (.194/.235/.231 in 386 plate appearances). The top of this list once again shows that a shitty player may one day become a great manager. Also, anybody know who in the Mets' organization was Doug Flynn blowing in the late 70's and the early 80's to maintain an everyday job? (edit: It was Jesus!)
Top 25 (or so) Worst Offensive Second Baseman Seasons since 1957 (per OPS+)
1. Sparky Anderson, 1959 - Philadelphia Phillies 43 OPS+ (.218/.282/.249)
2. Tommy Helms, 1970 - Cincinnati Reds 44
3. Billy Ripken, 1988 - Baltimore Orioles 48
4. Hal Lanier, 1965 - San Francisco Giants 51
5t. Mike Lansing, 2000 - Colorado Rockies/Boston Red Sox 54
5t. Doug Flynn, 1981 - New York Mets 54
7. Jose Lind, 1992 - Pittsburgh Pirates 56
8t. Mike Chapman, 1977 - San Diego Padres 57
8t. Julian Javier, 1970 - St. Louis Cardinals 57
10. Horace Clarke, 1968 - New York Yankees 59
11t. Delino DeShields, 1996 - Los Angeles Dodgers 60
11t. Rodney Scott, 1981 - Montreal Expos 60
13t. Doug Flynn, 1979 - New York Mets 61
13t. Sandy Alomar, 1973 - California Angels 61
13t. Glenn Beckert, 1965 - Chicago Cubs 61
13t. Billy Gardner, 1958 - Baltimore Orioles 61
13t. Bobby Morgan, 1957 - Philadelphia Phillies/Chicago Cubs 61
18t. Brent Abernathy, 2002 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays 62
18t. Doug Flynn, 1978 - New York Mets 62
18t. Julian Javier, 1960 - St. Louis Cardinals 62
21. Len Randle, 1976 - Texas Rangers 63
22t. Bret Boone, 1996 - Cincinnati Reds 64
22t. Ted Sizemore, 1975 - St. Louis Cardinals 64
22t. Dave Campbell, 1970 - San Diego Padres 64
25t. Ray Durham, 2007 - San Francisco Giants 64
25t. Duane Kuiper, 1979 - Cleveland Indians 64
25t. Sandy Alomar, 1975 - New York Yankees 64
25t. Sandy Alomar, 1969 - Chicago White Sox/California Angels 64
25t. Tony Taylor, 1958 - Chicago Cubs 64
This Tuesday the United States plays its World Baseball Classic opener against Mexico. As widly documented by now several top players have pulled out from the U.S. squad and other countries thus we aren't getting a true showing of the world's best. The best example of this is now the inclusion of the ancient and no longer effective starting pitcher Al Leiter to the U.S. roster. As much as George Steinbrenner has voiced his displeasure with the tournament he didn't say anything about being upset over Leiter being added to the team as he is not even expected to make the Yankees. Now even with Leiter on the team the U.S. still should win the um, whatever they give away to the winner, but the U.S. men's basketball team should always win the gold in the Olympics too.
So I've decided to pick my own United States roster. Every U.S. born player is available to me in this fictional scenerio. I'll use the same roster set up as the current U.S. team has: 4 starting pitchers, 10 relievers, 3 catchers, 7 infielders, and 6 outfielders.
Starting Pitchers
Roger Clemens
Roy Oswalt
Jake Peavy
Dontrelle Willis
Relievers
Neal Cotts
Justin Duchscherer
Brad Lidge
Scott Linebrink
Joe Nathan
B.J. Ryan
Scot Shields
Huston Street
Billy Wagner
Dan Wheeler
Catchers
Michael Barrett
Joe Mauer
Jason Varitek
Infielders
Travis Hafner
Jeff Kent
Derrek Lee
Alex Rodriguez
Mark Teixeira
David Wright
Michael Young
Note: Let's be real, A-Rod is the best shortstop in baseball even if he plays 3rd now so I'm putting him at short. Hafner doesn't play the field really but there is the DH in the tournament and the way he rakes righties you'd need to have him in there.
Outfielders
Adam Dunn
Jim Edmonds
Brian Giles
Aaron Rowand
Gary Sheffield
Vernon Wells
Ya, Aaron Rowand. I was having hard time picking the 6th outfielder so I went with a defensive specialist. It does give me three center fielders but really you can stick Rowand in a corner late in the game for someone like Dunn or Sheffield. Ya, ya no true lead off hitter on the roster but with this many big bats you don't need one. Giles would make a good lead off hitter with his excellent plate patience.
****BONUS MATERIAL****
Just as I finished this I figured, why not pick the Un-American team? No, no not Venezuela. I'm gonna pick a team of U.S. players you wouldn't want representing Team U.S.A. I'm only taking into account players who regulars last season as obviously I could pick an entire team filled with bench scrubs or guys who had cups of coffee in the Majors.
Starting Pitchers
Mark Hendrickson
Al Leiter (oh the irony)
Joe Mays
Eric Milton
Relief Pitchers
Doug Brocail
Jim Brower
Brian Bruney
Jason Christiansen
Mike DeJean
Alan Embree
Travis Harper
Dan Kolb
Braden Looper
Matt Thorton
Catchers
Brad Ausmus
Chad Moeller
Chris Snyder
Infielders
David Bell
Aaron Boone
Bret Boone
Royce Clayton
Doug Mientiewicz
Aaron Miles
Kevin Millar
Outfielders
Eric Brynes
Steve Finley
Terrence Long
Corey Patterson
Scott Podsednik (ya I said it!)
B.J. Surhoff
The importance of the Ratings Percentage Index has been greatly devalued in the last two years by the tournament committee. Before 2006 not a single Top 30 school in the RPI had been left out the tournament but in the last two years three schools in the Top 30 have been sent to the NIT (Missouri State and Hofstra in 2006, Air Force in 2007). Nevertheless the RPI is still used to consider who gets into the tournament and I was curious to see which schools for each year since the creation of the RPI in 1994 were the lowest rated RPI team to get an at large bid and how they faired in the tournament. Or maybe I just needed an excuse for an entry and am not really interested in this at all. You make the call!
1994
George Washington (#61 in RPI, 10 seed)
-def. 7 seed UAB 51-46
-lost to 2 seed Connecticut 75-63
1995
Minnesota (#66 in RPI, 8 seed)
-lost to 9 seed Saint Louis 64-61
1996
California (#52 in RPI, 12 seed)
-lost to 5 seed Iowa 74-64
1997
Georgetwon (#57 in RPI, 10 seed)
-lost to 7 seed UNC Charlotte 79-67
1998
Western Michigan (#58 in RPI, 11 seed)
-def. 6 seed Clemson 75-72
-lost to 3 seed Stanford 83-65
1999
New Mexico (#74 in RPI, 9 seed)
-def. 8 seed Missouri 61-59
-lost to 1 seed Connecticut 78-56
2000
Pepperdine (#52 in RPI, 11 seed)
-def. 6 seed Indiana 77-57
-lost to 3 seed Oklahoma State 75-67
2001
Oklahoma State (#49 in RPI, 11 seed)
-lost to 6 seed USC 69-54
2002
Wyoming (#63 in RPI, 11 seed)
-def. 6 seed Gonzaga 73-66
-lost to 3 seed Arizona 68-60
2003
N.C. State (#53 in RPI, 9 seed)
-lost to 9 seed California 76-74
2004
Air Force (#70 in RPI, 11 seed)
-lost to 6 seed North Carolina 63-52
2005
N.C. State (#63 in RPI, 10 seed)
-def. 7 seed Charlotte 75-63
-def. 2 seed Connecticut 65-62
-lost to 6 seed Wisconsin 65-56
2006
Seton Hall (#58 in RPI, 10 seed)
-lost to 7 seed Wichita State 86-66
2007
Stanford (#63 in RPI, 11 seed)
-lost to 6 seed Louisville 78-58
2007 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is out so as planned I'm going to do individual profiles on each player on the ballot. I'll go in the order of career Win Shares starting at the bottom. No player on this year's ballot is nearly bad as Gary DiSarcina being on last year's ballot and there are quite a few Hall of Very Good players making their first appearance on the ballot. But we start off with a very dubious addition to this year's ballot.
Bobby Witt - Starting Pitcher
Texas Rangers 1986-1992, 1995-1998
Oakland Athletics 1992-1994
Florida Marlins 1995
St. Louis Cardinals 1998
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1999
Cleveland Indians 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 2001
Awards
None
League Leader
None
Career Ranks
K: 69th
K/9: 64th
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Pitching - 33 (696) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 11.0 (696) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 7.0 (1050) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Pitchers: Kevin Gross, Mike Moore, Jim Clancy, Steve Renko, Scott Erickson, Steve Trachsel, Bump Hadley, Tim Belcher, Floyd Bannister, Tom Candiotti
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacment Level (WARP3)
1986: 3/2.0
1987: 6/3.9
1988: 10/3.8
1989: 5/2.0
1990: 17/6.4
1991: 0/0.2
1992: 8/4.5
1993: 11/5.8
1994: 4/2.8
1995: 9/4.4
1996: 10/4.7
1997: 11/5.4
1998: 1/0.3
1999: 8/2.8
2000: 0/0.0
2001: 2/1.1
Career Win Shares: 102
Career WARP3: 49.9
Would He Get My Vote?
No, shockingly as that might seem. Only had one good year in 1990 when he went 17-10 with a 3.36 ERA which was one of only four seasons that he had an ERA+ of 100 or better. Now any player who played at least 10 years can appear on the ballot but there is still a nomination process where a handful of players don't get on the ballot but there is always a few that make no sense as to why anyone would nominate them and Witt is definately one this year. If you're going to include Bobby Witt on the ballot why even bother with a nomination process? Not that it really matters in the end.
Now on to relief pitchers and it's not surprising the majority of these season come before the Dennis Eckersley era of closers. In fact you won't find Eck or Mariano Rivera in the Top 20 but the list should give you a better appreciation for Dan Quisenberry. Maybe the most impressive season on the list though is by Eric Gagne's 2003 year as he did it in only 82 1/3 innings. Also reminds you how far he has fallen.
Top 20 Relief Pitcher Seasons since 1979 (per Win Shares)
1. Dan Quisenberry, 1983 - Kansas City Royals 27.8 Win Shares
Year Ag Tm Lg W L G GS CG SHO GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP WP BFP IBB ERA *ERA+ WHIP
+--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+---+-----+---+---+-----+-----+----+-----+
1983 30 KCR AL 5 3 69 0 0 0 62 45 139.0 118 35 30 6 11 48 0 0 536 2 1.94 210 0.928
2. Eric Gagne, 2003 - Los Angeles Dodgers 25.0
3. Jim Kern, 1979 - Texas Rangers 24.9
4. Doug Corbett, 1980 - Minnesota Twins 24.0
5. Willie Hernandez, 1984 - Detroit Tigers 24.0
6. Dan Quisenberry, 1984 - Kansas City Royals 23.7
7. Dan Quisenberry, 1985 - Kansas City Royals 23.1
8. Bruce Sutter, 1984 - St. Louis Cardinals 23.0
9. Mike Marshall, 1979 - Minnesota Twins 22.7
10. Bruce Sutter, 1979 - Chicago Cubs 22.4
11. Jeff Montgomery, 1993 - Kansas City Royals 22.3
12. Bob James, 1985 - Chicago White Sox 21.8
13. Dan Quisenberry, 1982 - Kansas City Royals 21.5
14. John Wetteland, 1993 - Montreal Expos 21.4
15. Keith Foulke, 2003 - Oakland A's 21.4
16. Mark Eichhorn, 1986 - Toronto Blue Jays 21.0
17. Jeff Shaw, 1997 - Cincinnati Reds 20.9
18. Sid Monge, 1979 - Cleveland Indians 20.8
19. Greg Minton, 1982 - San Francisco Giants 20.7
20. Bob Stanley, 1983 - Boston Red Sox 20.7
You've seen the rest, now you'll see...more of the rest. It's my own personal college football Top 25 that shouldn't be read by anyone. I did this for about a month last year before getting Bored with it and I expect the same this year.
We're not even halfway through the season but were already down to 13 BCS conference unbeatens and 18 total in Division I-A. My feeling is at this point if you are still undefeated I'm going to rank you, regardless of schedule and conference affiliation. Also I try to keep the rankings based what you've done so far this year and who you've played which will explain why I have Texas Tech so low as they should be embarrassed for scheduling such a weak non-conference schedule and there is no justification to rank them in the Top 10 at the moment. I'm sure I will end up contradicting myself as early as this poll though, plus I'm taking about ten minutes to put this together.
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Penn State
4. LSU
5. Missouri
6. Texas
7. BYU
8. Utah
9. South Florida
10. Boise State
11. Vanderbilt
12. Auburn
13. Georgia
14. Kansas
15. Wisconsin
16. Florida
17. USC
18. Northwestern
19. Connecticut
20. Ball State
21. Oklahoma State
22. Tulsa
23. Kentucky
24. Texas Tech
25. Virginia Tech
Nothing like saying you're out of ideas by reposting an old blog entry but that's what I'm resorting to. Actually I probably would have come up with something over the weekend but I was near death (or at least felt like it) with the flu so putting together semi-coherent thoughts wasn't an option.
The weekend after next will be what I believe to be the best time of the sports year and that is the first two rounds of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. This week however is one of the worst time's of the sports year with Conference Championship Week. Conference tournaments primarily accomplish two things, 1) Render the conference regular seasons meaningless and 2) Weaken the overall field of the national tournament. They are a pox on humanity and should be eliminated.
So I now present to you a Bored "classic" entry from 2/27/06, Conference Tournaments are the Tool of the Devil!
Finally I have an excuse to update this dying blog as HardballTimes.com has release the first Win Shares of the year and I know you are all excited. Okay maybe not, but it least allows me to take my first look of the year at the MVP races in both leagues. Being that we're less than two months into the season you have to take most things so far with a grain of salt. Taking a look back at my first MVP Watch from last year only two players from each league were in my final fictional MVP ballot (Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman in the N.L. and Jim Thome, Travis Hafner in the A.L.).
Last season Pujols led the N.L. race wire to wire in my view but he of course lost out to Ryan Howard in the real vote. This year Pujols is off to a very slow start by his standards and is no where in the early MVP picture. Right now it is three players vying for the top spot in Barry Bonds, J.J. Hardy, and Jose Reyes. Hardy's fast start seems a bit fluky but Bonds and Reyes could both certainly be in the race the whole year.
10. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins
.316/.399/.536, 36 RC, 154 OPS+, .328 EQA, 19.4 VORP, 8.4 Win Shares
9. Carlos Beltran, Mets
.301/.385/.523, 34 RC, 147 OPS+, .316 EQA, 19.0 VORP, 8.9 Win Shares
8. Russell Martin, Dodgers
.314/.390/.468, 35 RC, 128 OPS+, .308 EQA, 16.7 VORP, 11.4 Win Shares
7. Todd Helton, Rockies
.361/.480/.538, 35 RC, 166 OPS+, .348 EQA, 23.5 VORP, 9.3 Win Shares
6. Prince Fielder, Brewers
.287/.370/.586, 38 RC, 153 OPS+, .313 EQA, 18.0 VORP, 10.2 Win Shares
5. Jake Peavy, Padres
235 ERA+, 4.05 K/BB, 0.98 WHIP, 25.3 VORP, 8.3 Win Shares
4. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
.344/.420/.557, 36 RC, 166 OPS+, .341 EQA, 28.7 VORP, 9.2 Win Shares
3. J.J. Hardy, Brewers
.311/.353/.595, 39 RC, 150 OPS+, .310 EQA, 21.5 VORP, 12.4 Win Shares
2. Barry Bonds, Giants
.282/.503/.618, 36 RC, 200 OPS+, .381 EQA, 22.5 VORP, 10.4 Win Shares
1. Jose Reyes, Mets
.313/.392/.484, 38 RC, 140 OPS+, .315 EQA, 23.7 VORP, 11.5 Win Shares
In the A.L. last year there was the MVP race was a complete debacle...as I picked Derek Jeter as my clear choice for MVP and the world stood still. Oh and Justin Morneau won the real MVP despite being the 3rd best player on his own team. Jeter is off to great start and is in the Top 5 but the #1 spot at the moment was an easy choice although certainly not someone you would have thought of coming into the season. Might raise some eyebrows with two Yankees above two Red Sox on the ballot at the moment but it really gives you an idea of how bad the Yankees have been beyond A-Rod and Jeter.
10. Grady Sizemore, Indians
.270/.393/.454, 36 RC, 129 OPS+, .308 EQA, 18.0 VORP, 10.0 Win Shares
9. B.J. Upton, Devil Rays
.309/.391/.550, 32 RC, 146 OPS+, .314 EQA, 18.3 VORP, 10.4 Win Shares
8. Orlando Cabrera, Angels
.312/.360/.435, 32 RC, 116 OPS+, .281 EQA, 15.5 VORP, 11.3 Win Shares
7. Curtis Granderson, Tigers
.286/.347/.583, 36 RC, 144 OPS+, .305 EQA, 19.6 VORP, 9.9 Win Shares
6. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
.347/.429/.535, 39 RC, 154 OPS+, .322 EQA, 22.0 VORP, 9.3 Win Shares
5. David Ortiz, Red Sox
.319/.436/.596, 40 RC, 171 OPS+, .335 EQA, 23.6 VORP, 9.0 Win Shares
4. Derek Jeter, Yankees
.367/.444/.494, 45 RC, 157 OPS+, .319 EQA, 23.8 VORP, 10.8 Win Shares
3. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
.306/.396/.676, 46 RC, 187 OPS+, .340 EQA, 29.1 VORP, 10.1 Win Shares
2. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels
.335/.444/.613, 40 RC, 186 OPS+, .348 EQA, 28.1 VORP, 11.0 Win Shares
1. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers
.361/.441/.710, 48 RC, 203 OPS+, .365 EQA, 34.5 VORP, 12.3 Win Shares
This division/region was completely blown to pieces in the 1st round but this round things almost went to form. The '86 Angels did what the '89 A's were supposed to do and that was sweep the '87 Mariners. The other three series all went at least six games with the one upset by the '83 White Sox as they eliminated the '87 Twins in seven games. Interesting thing about that series is every game was won by the road team, the complete opposite of the '87 World Series. That now leaves no World Series teams left in this division/region.
Again stat lines are for both rounds.
(9) 1986 California Angels def. (16) 1987 Seattle Mariners 4-0
Game 1: Angels 4, Mariners 3
Game 2: Angels 5, Mariners 0
Game 3: Angels 4, Mariners 1
Game 4: Angels 4, Mariners 0
Brian Downing: 11-37, 4 HR, 7 RBI
Don Sutton: 2-0, 1.40 ERA
(12) 1988 Minnesota Twins def. (13) 1982 Kansas City Royals 4-3
Game 1: Twins 3, Royals 0
Game 2: Royals 5, Twins 3
Game 3: Twins 11, Royals 1
Game 4: Twins 11, Royals 9 13 innings
Game 5: Royals 3, Twins 2 10 innings
Game 6: Royals 8, Twins 6
Game 7: Twins 8, Royals 2
Tim Laudner: 20-53, 3 HR, 12 RBI
Jeff Reardon: 1.93 ERA, 5 SV
(6) 1983 Chicago White Sox def. (3) 1987 Minnesota Twins 4-3
Game 1: White Sox 9, Twins 2
Game 2: White Sox 8, Twins 1
Game 3: Twins 9, White Sox 1
Game 4: Twins 12, White Sox 1
Game 5: Twins 5, White Sox 4
Game 6: White Sox 14, Twins 7
Game 7: White Sox 6, Twins 2
Rudy Law: 19-54, 14 R, 11 SB
Floyd Bannister: 3-1, 4 GS, 32 IP, 42 K
(10) 1984 Kansas City Royals def. (15) 1981 Texas Rangers 4-2
Game 1: Rangers 3, Royals 0
Game 2: Rangers 5, Royals 1 11 innings
Game 3: Royals 3, Rangers 0
Game 4: Royals 6, Rangers 1
Game 5: Royals 10, Rangers 4
Game 6: Royals 4, Rangers 3
Willie Wilson: 17-47, 7 R
Bud Black: 2-1, 1.30 ERA, 4 GS, 3 CG
A.L. West Semi-Finals
(12) '88 Twins vs. (9) '86 Angels
(10) '84 Royals vs. (6) '83 White Sox
Up Next: N.L. West Quarterfinals
Jose Rijo - Starting Pitcher
New York Yankees 1984
Oakland Athletics 1985-1987
Cincinnati Reds 1988-1995, 2001-2002
Awards
1990 World Series MVP
All-Star Selections: 1 (1994)
League Leader
1991: W/L Pct., WHIP
1993: Strikeouts, K/9
Career Ranks
K/9: 34th
K/BB: 90th
Best Performance
September 25, 1993 - Cincinnati at Colorado
Pitched a complete game, one hitter in Mile High Stadium with a Charlie Hayes single in the 2nd being the only hit.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 9 (250) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 93 (228) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 20.0 (289) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 28.0 (446) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Pitchers: Sid Fernandez, Bruce Kison, Gary Peters, Ray Culp, Bob Veale, Bob Ojeda, Mike Scott, Don Wilson, Sonny Siebert, Joe Horlen
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1984: 1/0.8
1985: 4/2.3
1986: 5/2.2
1987: 0/0.0
1988: 15/6.3
1989: 9/3.8
1990: 17/6.4
1991: 17/6.9
1992: 19/7.6
1993: 26/11.5
1994: 11/6.1
1995: 4/1.8
2001: 2/0.3
2002: 2/1.1
Career Win Shares: 132
Career WARP3: 57.1
My Stupid Opinion
This is Rijo's second different appearance on the HOF ballot as he was also on the 2001 ballot (received just one vote) but he made a comeback with the Reds later that year. Very good pitcher in the early 90's including a Cy Young caliber year in 1993 but the 257 innings he pitched that season probably did in him as his elbow was never the same. Ended up having four different Tommy John surgeries so he belongs in the infirmary wing of the HOF.
This week I spent five minutes working on the poll instead of the usual ten.
1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. Oklahoma State
5. Oklahoma
6. Georgia
7. Florida
8. Utah
9. USC
10. Ohio State
11. LSU
12. TCU
13. Pittsburgh
14. Boise State
15. Texas Tech
16. Missouri
17. Georgia Tech
18. Boston College
19. Minnesota
20. South Florida
21. Northwestern
22. BYU
23. Florida State
24. Ball State
25. Tulsa
It's time for Part six of the "Where'd They Go?" series where I take a look at random teams from the last 20+ years and see where they went. I'll end up donig one for every franchise, except for the more recent expansion franchises. I asked Vern/Culloden what Twins team I should do and he suggested the 1996 Twins. I have no idea why the '96 Twins but here I go.
On March 28, 1996 Kirby Puckett woke up seeing a black spot on his right eye. It would turn out to be glaucoma and it would mark the end of his career. After three straight losing seasons things looked pretty bleak for the Twins with the identity of their franchise's career being over. But that season they didn't completely suck, although they were never in serious contention for a playoff birth. After a 4-3 win over the A's on September 12th they were at 74-72 but that would be be the high point of the season for them as they would drop 12 of their last 16 games, finshing six games under .500.
C: Greg Myers (.286/.320/.426, 9.4 VORP, 6 Win Shares) - I suppose if they had a Back-up Catcher Hall of Fame, Myers would have to be part of it. 1996 was one of only four years during his 18 year career that Myers was a team's primary starter although he only made 81 starts splitting time with Matt Walbeck and Mike Durant. Twins traded Myers in late '97 to the Braves and from there he go to San Diego, back to Atlanta, Baltimore, Oakland, and then to his original franchise Toronto. Played only a handful of games the last couple of years and his career appears to finally be over.
1B: Scott Stahoviak (.284/.376/.469, 18.0 VORP, 12 Win Shares) - This was Stahoviak's only year of relevance as the former first round pick only lasted another two seasons in the Majors. Played two years with the Iowa Cubs and out of baseball after 2000.
2B: Chuck Knoblauch (.341/.448/.517, 99.3 VORP, 32 Win Shares) - Placed 4th in my 1996 A.L. MVP redo, this would end up being Knoblauch's career year. He would sign a new five-year deal late in the season but just a year later he demanded to be traded. Before Spring Training in 1998 the Twins granted him his wish and dealt him to the Yankees for four prospects including Cristian Guzman and Eric Milton. Had a very good season offensively in 1999 in New York but the former Gold Glover winner suddenly had a case of Steve Sax disease, having extreme difficulties to making easy throws to first base. Was moved to left field his final year with the Yankees and finished his career in 2002 with Kansas City.
3B: Dave Hollins (.242/.364/.396, 8.1 VORP, 11 Win Shares) - Did not finish the season with the Twins as they traded him in a waiver deal to Seattle in late August for a PTBNL. Played a couple of years in Anahim after that and bounced around for cameo appearances with Toronto, Cleveland, and Philadelphia before retiring after 2002. Oh and who was the PTBNL the Twins received for Hollins? David Ortiz.
SS: Pat Mears (.267/.298/.391, 8.2 VORP, 8 Win Shares) - Played nine years and the only real skill he had was getting hit by pitches. Signed with the Pirates after 1998 and played there thru 2001.
LF: Marty Cordova (.309/.371/.478, 30.0 VORP, 18 Win Shares) - The '95 ROY, Cordova continued to show promise in '96 but his production fell of badly after that due to numerous back problems. Left the Twins after 1999 and had a forgettable year in Toronto but had a surprisingly good year in Cleveland in 2001. This small bit of success convinced the Orioles to sign him to a three-year contract which he gave them a mediocre 2002 and injuries ended his 2003 season early and took away his entire 2004 season. Invited to Spring Training by the Devil Rays in 2005, he retired one day after being signed.
CF: Rich Becker (.291/.372/.434, 28.0 VORP, 20 Win Shares) - By far his best year, Becker was a low AVG/high OBP guy with little power. Twins traded him after 1997 to the Mets. From there went to Baltimore, Milwaukee, Oakland, and closed out his career in the Majors with Detroit in 2000.
RF: Matt Lawton (.258/.339/.365, -3.6 VORP, 7 Win Shares) - With the unexpected retirement of Puckett the Twins had to have a revolving door in right field with Lawton leading the way with just 51 starts. Traded in 2001 to the Mets for Rick Reed and then traded to the Indians following the season in a seven player deal for Roberto Alomar. Signed with the Pirates before 2005, he was traded twice in less than a month midseason first to the Cubs and then to the Yankees where he'd then end up getting suspended for testing positive for steroids. Signed with the Mariners before this season and has recently been designated for assignment after complaining about lack of playing time. Shockingly no one is beating down the door to pick up the washed up outfielder.
DH: Paul Molitor (.341/.390/.468, 42.6 VORP, 18 Win Shares) - His first season with his hometown team this was the future HOF's last good season. He would get his 3000th career hit in September and became the first player ever to have a 200 hit season during the year he got his 3000th hit. Retired after 1998, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.
Starting Rotation
Brad Radke (115 ERA+, 51.2 VORP, 14 Win Shares) - Received a lot of attention for allowing 40 homeruns but actually had a pretty good year. Has of course played his entire career in Minnesota.
Frank Rodriguez (102 ERA+, 28.4 VORP, 11 Win Shares) - To show how out of control offense was in 1996, Rodriguez has a 5.05 ERA but when you took park factors into account he still ends up with an ERA+ above 100, meaning his ERA was above league average. The former much hyped Red Sox prospect never developed. Twins waived him in 1999, played a couple of years in Seattle and finished his in career in Cincinnati.
Rich Robertson (101 ERA+, 30.1 VORP, 8 Win Shares) - Hey another "above average" 5.12 ERA here. He walked 116 and struck only 114 which is always a bad sign for future success. Out of baseball after 1999.
Rick Augilera (95 ERA+, 16.5 VORP, 6 Win Shars) - This was Aguilera's ill fated return to starting pitching after six years as a closer. He went back to the closer role the following season. Traded to the Cubs in 1999 for Kyle Loshe and would retire after 2000.
Scott Aldred (101 ERA+, 20.1 VORP, 6 Win Shares) - "Above average" 5.15 ERA, I'm not sure how he convinced M.L. teams to give him so many shots over nine years but more power to him. Last appeared in the Majors with the Phillies in 2000, hung around the minors thru 2004.
Closer: Dave Stevens (111 ERA+, 13.1 VORP, 6 Win Shares) - "Closer" being used usely here as Stevens had only 11 saves and the Twins as a team had only 31. Last appeared in the Majors with the Braves in 2000.
Andre Dawson - Outfielder
Montreal Expos 1976-1986
Chicago Cubs 1987-1992
Boston Red Sox 1993-1994
Florida Marlins 1995-1996
6th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
2002: 45.34%
2003: 50.00%
2004: 50.00%
2005: 52.32%
2006: 60.96%
Awards
1977 NL Rookie of the Year
1980 NL Gold Glove - OF
1980 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1981 NL Gold Glove - OF
1981 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1982 NL Gold Glove - OF
1983 NL Gold Glove - OF
1983 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1984 NL Gold Glove - OF
1985 NL Gold Glove - OF
1987 NL MVP
1987 NL Gold Glove - OF
1987 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1988 NL Gold Glove - OF
All-Star Selections: 8 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991)
League Leader
1983: Hits, Total Bases
1987: Homeruns, RBI, Total Bases
Career Ranks
Games: 32nd
Hits: 45th
Runs: 85th
HR: 35th
RBI: 29th
2B: 42nd
TB: 24th
RC: 64th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 11 (204) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 164 (68) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 43.7 (115) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 118.0 (118) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 5 (Billy Williams, Tony Perez, Al Kaline, Ernie Banks, Dave Winfield)
Other Similar Batters: Dave Parker, Harold Baines, Dwight Evans, Vada Pinson, Fred McGriff
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1976: 1/0.4
1977: 18/5.8
1978: 21/6.0
1979: 24/5.6
1980: 29/9.1
1981: 25/10.7
1982: 26/9.1
1983: 28/8.0
1984: 12/4.9
1985: 16/4.0
1986: 16/4.8
1987: 20/7.2
1988: 19/7.9
1989: 13/4.8
1990: 22/6.4
1991: 20/5.4
1992: 16/6.4
1993: 7/2.1
1994: 1/0.7
1995: 4/0.2
1996: 2/0.0
Career Win Shares: 340
Career WARP3: 109.5
Would he get my vote?
No. Maybe I'm just too tough on outfielders as I've gone through about five of them on this ballot that I was just underwhelmed enough by them that I can't give them a vote. Dawson is the one I did the most waffling on due to defensive brilliance early in his career although his last three or four Gold Gloves were purely reputation awards. Part of the argument for him seems to be that if he hadn't his knees destroyed by the awful Olympic Stadium turf he would have reached several major career milestones which I wouldn't necessarily disagree with. But injuries and the enviroment you play in are part of the game so I can't really justify giving Dawson a bonus for what he might have done had he played on grass his whole career. I'm just not completely blown away by his peak and unimpressed by his career after age 28. Has received solid support though and if he ever does get in hopefully the HOF does the right thing and has him wear an Expos cap.
Enough of the worst, it's time for the best. Now instead of OPS+ for these lists I'll be using Win Shares since it rates a player's all around game rather than just their offense, although the defensive measures are very flawed. Just like the worst lists I'm picking a year to start with and this time around I'm going with 1979. The reason is that I was born on October 1, 1978 which was the last day of the 1978 regular season (among the winning pitchers that day were Luis Tiant, Ferguson Jenkins, and Rollie Fingers...ya I'm really getting old), so essentially these are the best single seasons of my lifetime.
Obviously there's going to be one glaring problem with these lists and that's the 1981, 1994, and 1995 strike shortened seasons will all be very underrepresented. And well...fuck it. I'm not going to worry about it.
Note Win Shares Above Average is used to break ties.
Top 20 Catcher Seasons since 1979 (per Win Shares)
1. Mike Piazza, 1997 - Los Angeles Dodgers 38.6 Win Shares
Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
1997 28 LAD NL 152 556 104 201 32 1 40 124 5 1 69 77 .362 .431 .638 185 355 0 5 11 3 19
2. Gary Carter, 1985 - New York Mets 33.3
3. Mike Piazza, 1998 - Los Angeles Dodgers/Florida Marlins/New York Mets 33
4. Mike Piazza, 1996 - Los Angeles Dodgers 32.9
5. Gary Carter, 1982 - Montreal Expos 31.3
6. Darrell Porter, 1979 - Kansas City Royals 30.8
7. Victor Martinez, 2007 - Cleveland Indians 30.8
8. Joe Mauer, 2006 - Minnesota Twins 30.8
9. Darren Daulton, 1992 - Philadelphia Phillies 30.8
10. Mike Piazza, 1993 - Los Angeles Dodgers 30.5
11. Gary Carter, 1984 - Montreal Expos 30.2
12. Gary Carter, 1980 - Montreal Expos 30
13. Javy Lopez, 2003 - Atlanta Braves 29.7
14. Darren Daulton, 1993 - Philadelphia Phillies 28.6
15. Jorge Posada, 2000 - New York Yankees 28.6
16. Paul Lo Duca, 2001 - Los Angeles Dodgers 27.9
17. Jorge Posada, 2003 - New York Yankees 27.8
18. Terry Kennedy, 1982 - San Diego Padres 27.8
19. Ivan Rodriguez, 1999 - Texas Rangers 27.6
20. Rick Wilkins, 1993 - Chicago Cubs 27.5
Is Hanley Ramirez the most underrated player in baseball right now? Of course playing for the Marlins doesn't help him.
Shortstop Rankings
1. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
32.5 Win Shares
80.7 VORP
10.9 WARP3
Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
2008 24 FLA NL 153 589 125 177 34 4 33 67 35 12 92 122 .301 .400 .540 148 318 0 4 9 8 5
2. Jose Reyes, Mets
3. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
4. Stephen Drew, Diamondbacks
5. Jhonny Peralta, Indians
6. J.J. Hardy, Brewers
7. Cristian Guzman, Nationals
8. Michael Young, Rangers
9. Derek Jeter, Yankees
10. Mike Aviles, Royals
11. Orlando Cabrera, White Sox
12. Ryan Theriot, Cubs
13. Yunel Escobar, Braves
14. Miguel Tejada, Astros
15. Marco Scutaro, Blue Jays
16. Jason Bartlett, Rays
17. Nick Punto, Twins
18. Brendan Harris, Twins
19. Erick Aybar, Angels
20. Edgar Renteria, Tigers
21. Yuniesky Betancourt, Mariners
22. Maicer Izturis, Angels
23. Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
24. David Eckstein, Blue Jays/Diamondbacks
25. Bobby Crosby, A's
26. Cesar Izturis, Cardinals
27. Jeff Keppinger, Reds
5.7 Win Shares
0.6 VORP
1.5 WARP3
Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
2008 28 CIN NL 121 459 45 122 24 2 3 43 3 1 30 24 .266 .310 .346 70 159 6 5 3 2 14
28. Jack Wilson, Pirates
29. Julio Lugo, Red Sox
30. Khalil Greene, Padres
Devon White - Centerfielder
California Angels 1985-1990
Toronto Blue Jays 1991-1995
Florida Marlins 1996-1997
Arizona Diamondbacks 1998
Los Angeles Dodgers 1999-2000
Milwaukee Brewers 2001
Awards
1988 AL Gold Glove - OF
1989 AL Gold Glove - OF
1991 AL Gold Glove - OF
1992 AL Gold Glove - OF
1993 AL Gold Glove - OF
1994 AL Gold Glove - OF
1995 AL Gold Glove - OF
All-Star Selections: 3 (1989, 1993, 1998)
League Leader
None of note
Career Ranks
None of note
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 41 (581) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 21.3 (651) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 34.5 (502) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Amos Otis, Claudell Washington, Brady Anderson, Chet Lemon, Marquis Grissom, Johnny Callison, Felipe Alou, Cesar Cedeno, Johnny Damon, Gary Matthews
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1985: 0/0.1
1986: 2/0.6
1987: 17/7.1
1988: 11/5.0
1989: 14/6.2
1990: 7/3.5
1991: 24/10.3
1992: 19/7.5
1993: 20/8.8
1994: 11/5.4
1995: 12/4.3
1996: 18/5.7
1997: 9/2.6
1998: 18/5.1
1999: 12/3.4
2000: 2/0.4
2001: 11/3.1
Career Win Shares: 207
Career WARP3: 79.2
Would he get my vote?
No. During his prime he was an outstanding defensive centerfielder, very deserving for most of the Gold Gloves he won, and a good base stealer but outside of 1991 was never that much of hitter. Only had a career OBP of .319, never hit higher than .283, and struck out a lot which is not a good combination. His similar batters make him look better than he was as only Marquis Grissom had a lower career OPS+.
Next week (I think) the 2008 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot will be released. Last year I did individual entries on each player on the ballot and I plan on doing the same thing this year for the first ballot players. Of course there is no point in redoing the holdovers from last year's ballot, and I'm much too lazy to update them, so here's links to each entry listed in order of the percentage of the vote they received last year. None of my opinions have changed as I would still vote Mark McGwire, Bert Blyleven, and Alan Trammell.
1. Goose Gossage 71.2% (9th year on ballot)
2. Jim Rice 63.5% (14th)
3. Andre Dawson 56.7% (7th)
4. Bert Blyleven 47.7% (11th)
5. Lee Smith 39.8% (6th)
6. Jack Morris 37.1% (9th)
7. Mark McGiwre 23.5% (2nd)
8. Tommy John 22.9% (14th)
9. Dave Concepcion 13.6% (15th and final year)
10. Alan Trammell 13.4% (7th)
11. Dave Parker 11.4% (12th)
12. Don Mattingly 9.9% (8th)
13. Dale Murphy 9.2% (10th)
14. Harold Baines 5.3% (2nd)
A while back I mentioned that during some post-Christmas giftcard shopping I made an impulse buy purchasing a DVD box set titled College Football's Greatest Games: University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish Collector's Edition. Even though I'm not a Notre Dame fan I purchased the set due to it being the only one if it's kind out there for college football and it was released by A&E Home Video who did the World Series box sets that I've done write ups for. Now since the set is geared torwards Notre Dame fans it does contain some games that are far from "great" but are important in Notre Dame history. Here's the game list:
1966 vs. Michigan State - "Game of the Century" (2nd Half only)
1977 vs. USC - "Thee Green Jersey Game"
1978 vs. Texas - Cotton Bowl
1979 vs. Houston - Cotton Bowl
1988 vs. Miami - "Catholics vs. Convicts"
1989 vs. West Virginia - Fiesta Bowl
1992 vs. Penn State - "The Snow Bowl"
1993 vs. Florida State
The USC, Texas, and West Virginia games are not good games. The USC game is just there for it being the first game the Irish wore green jerseys and the Texas and West Virginia wins wrapped up their last two national championships. The other five games are all true classics. I don't know if I'll do a write up for them all but the one game I definately wanted to watch was the infamous "Catholics vs. Convicts" game.
On a side note I did purchase both the 1977 and 1987 World Series box sets but don't know when I'll get around to doing write ups for them.
October 15, 1988 - #1 Miami (4-0) at #4 Notre Dame (5-0)
-Miami carried a 36 game regular season winning streak into this game and a 16 game winning streak overall with their last loss coming in the infamous 1987 Fiesta Bowl to Penn State. Quarterback Steve "Better Than Troy Aikman" Walsh had yet to lose as a starter.
-This game took place the same day as Game 1 of the World Series that year between the A's and Dodgers or as I call it the "Worst Day in Sports History."
-The opening package by CBS is fantastic as they play it up as a battle of old school, Notre Dame, vs. new school, Miami. To this day I think the opening montage to CBS' college football coverage in the late 80's and early 90's was the best in sports. Brent Musberger and Pat Haden have the call.
Miami Offense
QB: Steve Walsh
RB: Cleveland Gary, Leonard Conley
WR: Randall Hill, Dale Dawkins
TE: Rob Chudzinski
C: Bobby Garcia
G: Mike Sullivan, Barry Panfil
T: Darrin Bruce, John O’Neill
Notre Dame Defense
NG: Chris Zorich
DT: George Williams, Jeff Alm
DE: Arnold Ale, Frank Stams
LB: Wes Pritchett, Mike Stonebreaker
CB: Todd Lyght, Stan Smagala
S: George Streeter, Pat Terrell
Notre Dame Offense
QB: Tony Rice
RB: Anthony Johnson, Mark Green
WR: Steve Alaniz, Ricky Watters
TE: Derek Brown
C: Mike Heldt
G: Mike Brennan, Joe Allen
T: Andy Heck, Dean Brown
Miami Defense
DT: Russell Maryland, Shane Curry
DE: Greg Mark, Bill Hawkins
MLB: Bernard Clark
OLB: Randy Shannon, Rod Carter
CB: Donald Ellis, Kenny Berry
S: Bobby Harden, Bubba McDowell
-Loooove looking at the old score updates as the game is going on. Wyoming ranked #14!?
FIRST QUARTER
-Frank Stams forces Walsh to fumble on the opening possession and Notre Dame recovers near midfield, although I’m not so sure it was a fumble. Stams hits Walsh’s shoulder as he cocks to throw but the ball doesn’t come loose until Walsh starts moving his arm forward and looks like it should have been ruled an in complete pass. Irish don’t take advantage though and go three and out.
-Ironically enough on Miami’s second possession, Stams hits Walsh again with the ball coming loose before Walsh’s arm goes forward and this time it’s called an incomplete pass. Pat Haden agrees with both calls for what that’s worth.
-Miami’s new head coach for 2007, Randy Shannon is a starting linebacker for the Hurricanes here.
-Rocket Ismail is just a freshman at this time and isn’t a starter but makes his presence known early with a 22 yard reception on Notre Dame’s second possession to convert the first of four 3rd down conversions on the drive. Tony Rice scores the first touchdown of the game on an option keeper from seven yards out.
-Musberger calls Walsh one of the best 3rd down college quarterbacks ever seen. Of course that very next play he throws an easy pick to D’Juan Francisco for Miami’s second turnover in their first three possessions. Very next play after Walsh’s interception, Russell Maryland forces Rice to fumble to turn the ball back over to Miami.
SECOND QUARTER
-Miami ties the game on a Walsh eight yard touchdown pass to Andre Brown.
-Rice hits Ismail on a 62 yard bomb down to the Miami 25. Ismail juggles the catch and stumbles to the ground or otherwise he would have taken it the distance as he beat Bubba McDowell who misjudged the ball and jumped too early trying to pick it off. Drive concludes with nine yard touchdown pass dump off to fullback Braxston Banks on a 3rd down to put Notre Dame back up 14-7.
-Miami quickly advances past midfield on their next possession but Frank Stams continues to be a beast in this game as he tips a Walsh pass that is picked off by Pat Terell who takes it 60 yards for the touchdown. The Irish were looking like they could potentially blow out Miami at this point in the game.
-With the departure of Michael Irvin and Brian Blades, Hurricanes were really lacking at wide receiver here as Walsh’s most effective target is Cleveland Gary out of the backfield. That being said Miami moves the ball almost exclusively through the air in this one as they couldn’t get anything on the ground against the Notre Dame defense.
-On the score updates during the game, Vanderbilt beat #20 Florida 24-6 and it notes that Florida hasn’t won at Vandy since 1966. That trend has just kind of changed the last couple of decades.
-On 4th and 4 on the Notre Dame 23, Miami goes for it and Walsh hits Leonard Conley in the flat with no Irish defenders around him and takes it the distance to get Miami back in the game.
-Notre Dame plays it conservative near the end of the half and goes three and out. Miami gets good field possession but Walsh nearly throws another pick six on the first play of the drive as his intended receiver doesn’t look for the ball coming and Todd Lyght almost picks it off with no one in front of him to prevent him from taking it the distance. Miami moves quickly from there ending with Walsh hitting a wide open Gary from 15 yards out with 21 seconds left in the half to tie it up, 21-21. Gary already had seven catches for 88 yards.
THIRD QUARTER
-On the opening possession, Rice throws a wounded duck that is picked off by McDowell. Miami proceeds to give the ball right back on a Conley fumble on their first play of the half.
-Notre Dame moves into field goal range on the next possession but McDowell blocks the field goal attempt by Billy Hackett. It was a 43 yard attempt into the wind so probably would have been a miss as it is.
-Miami can’t move the ball on their next possession and Jimmy Johnson gambles with a fake punt, with the direct snap to the upback but Notre Dame stuffs it and gets the ball on the Miami 46. On the very next play Rice hits Ricky Watters for a 44 yards gain and Pat Eilers runs it in for the score from there to put the Irish back up 28-21.
-Notre Dame’s short ranger kicker Reggie Ho jumps up and down like an idiot after every successful extra point. Musberger mentioned earlier in the game that he’s missed a few so guess wasn’t always a guarantee it’d go through for him, thus the reason to celebrate.
-Miami drives to the Notre Dame 25 but Walsh throws his third interception of the game as lineman Jeff Alm makes a leaping interception on a dump off attempt to one of the backs.
-Notre Dame marches to Miami 11 before their next drive stalls and they settle for a Ho field goal to extend the lead to 31-21.
FOURTH QUARTER
-Miami had come back from 30-14 deficit with five and a half minutes to go against Michigan earlier in the year in Ann Arbor to win 31-30.
-Miami moves quickly to down inside the Notre Dame 10 but the Irish hold and force Miami into a Carlos Huerta field goal to trim the lead to 31-24.
-Near disaster on the ensuing kick off as Ismail has a brain fart and badly misplays the kick but falls on it back at their own 11. Notre Dame then later in the drive almost has another huge misplay on a 3rd and short as Rice makes a bad pitch to Watters that he can’t handle, the ball gets kick around all the way back to the 24 before the Irish recover to avoid giving the Hurricanes great field position.
-Now we reach the big controversy about this game. With about seven minutes to go Miami goes for it on a 4th and 7 from the Notre Dame 11 and converts on Gary’s 11th reception of the game but as he tries to dive for the goal line he supposedly fumbles and the Irish recover at the 1. Looking at the replay it looks fairly clear that A) his knees hit the ground, B) the ball had broken the plane of the endzone before it came loose, and C) the ground caused the fumble. The only thing I’m unsure of is if his knee hit before he crossed the plane but at the very least should have been First and Goal at the 1. Pat Haden completely agrees with the officials yet again and Musberger doesn’t protest. Jimmy Johnson to say the least is not pleased.
-You can’t stop Frank Stam, you can only hope to contain him. On Miami’s next possession he forces another Walsh fumble, this one legit, and the Irish recover on their 28 with 3:30 to go. It was Walsh’s fifth turnover of the game, seventh turnover overall by the Hurricanes. Walsh would throw for 424 yards in this game but obviously gets completely overshadowed by the turnovers.
-They go back to the controversial Gary “fumble” and Haden says he was bobbling the ball before he it the ground which again the replay doesn’t show any of what he supposedly sees. Even though Haden played at USC, Miami was the most hated team in college football at the time so I got the impression watching this game Haden really wanted to see Miami lose.
-Shannon sacks Rice on 3rd and long, forcing a fumble, and Miami recovers on the Notre Dame 15 with 2:14 to go. Great, entertaining game but god damn has it been sloppy.
-Hurricanes immediately face another 4th and 7 from the Notre Dame 11. This time there is no controversy as Walsh hits Brown for the touchdown to make it 31-30 with 45 seconds left in the game. Since we’re still several years away from overtime in college football Miami decides to go for two. Walsh tries to hit Conley in the corner of the endzone but it is deflected away by Terrell. Miami probably would have kept their #1 ranking if they settle for the tie, especially since they were on the road, but it would have been quite the pussy move at the same time to do so.
-Notre Dame recovers the onside kick and runs out the clock to hand Miami their first regular season loss in over three years. The Irish ran the able from there on their way to their last national championship to date.
I "reviewed" the draft from 20 years ago so might as well do the one from 10 years ago. Like the 1993 draft, this draft featured quarterbacks being selected #1 and #2 overall. Also like that draft the #1 pick (Drew Bledsoe) turned out to be much better than the #2 pick (Rick Mirer) but in 1998 it was by a much larger scale as we would have a future Hall of Famer at #1 and all-time bust at #2.
1. Indianapolis - Peyton Manning, QB, Tennessee
My WEST COAST BIAS~ convinced myself that the next guy would be the better quarterback.
2. San Diego - Ryan Leaf, QB, Washington State
25 Career Games, 48.4% Comp Pct, 50.0 QB Rating, 14 TD, 36 Int, and a handful of public temper tantrums.
3. Arizona - Andre Wadsworth, DE, Florida State
Knee injuries killed his career barely after it got started.
4. Oakland - Charles Woodson, CB, Michigan
Outstanding early in his career but nagging injuries slowed him down quite a bit.
5. Chicago - Curtis Enis, RB, Penn State
Held out, showed up out of shape, and then blew out his knee. Pretty much useless.
6. St. Louis - Grant Wistrom, DE, Nebraska
Eight year starter but a tad overrated.
7. New Orleans - Kyle Turley, T, San Diego State
My guess is he'll end up killing someone during the usual, post-NFL lineman depression stage of his life.
8. Dallas - Greg Ellis, DE, North Carolina
Has had a career resurrection the last couple of years.
9. Jacksonville - Fred Tayor, RB, Florida
Passed the 10,000 yard rushing mark this past season.
10. Baltimore - Duane Starks, CB, Miami
Really good his first few years in the league, although probably helped by a great Ravens defense around him, and then flamed out pretty quickly once he left Baltimore.
11. Philadelphia - Tra Thomas, T, Florida State
Ten year starter and selected to three Pro Bowls.
12. Atlanta - Keith Brooking, LB, Georgia Tech
Overrated but still has had a pretty good career.
13. Cincinnati - Takeo Spikes, LB, Auburn
Was one of the best linebackers in the league for a few years.
14. Carolina - Jason Peter, DE, Nebraska
Check out his Real Sports segment to find out what happened to him.
15. Seattle - Anthony Simmons, LB, Clemson
Decent for a few years.
16. Tennessee - Kevin Dyson, WR, Utah
Place in NFL history is cemented due to the Music City Miracle and the final play of Super Bowl XXXV but really nothing special as a player.
17. Cincinnati - Brian Simmons, LB, North Carolina
Eight year starter.
18. New England - Robert Edwards, RB, Georgia
Infamously blew out his knee in an NFL flag football game on the beach during Pro Bowl week after his rookie year.
19. Green Bay - Vonnie Holliday, DE, North Carolina
Another decent UNC defensive player.
20. Detroit - Terry Fair, CB, Tennessee
Seven interceptions in four years.
21. Minnesota - Randy Moss, WR, Marshall
His off the field problems dropped him this far. Still pissed he broke Jerry Rice's single season, receiving touchdown record this past year which I thought was near unbreakable.
22. New England - Tebucky Jones, S, Syracuse
Nothing special.
23. Oakland - Mo Collins, G, Florida
Five year starter but was pretty terrible.
24. N.Y. Giants - Shaun Williams, S, UCLA
Just a warm body.
25. Jacksonville - Donovin Darius, S, Syracuse
Throws a nice lariat.
26. Pittsburgh - Alan Faneca, G, LSU
Seven time Pro Bowl selection.
27. Kansas City - Victor Riley, T, Auburn
Was a decent run blocker, terrible pass blocker.
28. San Francisco - R.W. McQuarters, CB, Oklahoma State
Great name, pretty good punt returner, awful cornerback.
29. Miami - John Avery, RB, Mississippi
XFL's all-time leading rusher.
30. Denver - Marcus Nash, WR, Tennessee
Four receptions in 11 career games.
Other Notable Picks
33. Arizona - Corey Chavous, CB, Vanderbilt
35. Chicago - Tony Parrish, S, Washington
38. Dallas - Flozell Adams, T, Michigan State
39. Buffalo - Sam Cowart, LB, Florida State
44. Miami - Patrick Surtain, CB, Southern Miss
46. Tennessee - Samari Rolle, CB, Florida State
48. Washington - Stephen Alexander, TE, Oklahoma
58. San Francisco - Jeremy Newberry, C, California
64. Chicago - Olin Kreutz, C, Washington
65. St. Louis - Leonard Little, DE, Tennessee
72. Philadelphia - Jeremiah Trotter, LB, Stephen F Austin
76. Seattle - Ahman Green, RB, Nebraska
78. Cincinnati - Mike Goff, G, Iowa
91. Denver - Brian Griese, QB, Michigan
92. Pittsburgh - Hines Ward, WR, Georgia
93. Indianapolis - Steve McKinney, C, Texas A&M
111. N.Y. Jets - Jason Fabini, T, Cincinnati
119. San Francisco - Lance Schulters, S, Hofstra
139. Tennessee - Benji Olson, G, Washington
173. Minnesota - Matt Birk, C, Harvard
180. San Francisco - Fred Beasley, FB, Auburn
187. Green Bay - Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Boston College
199. Atlanta - Ephraim Salaam, T, San Diego State
226. Arizona - Pat Tillman, S, Arizona State
In my need to always find content after the 2007 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is released I plan on doing individual entries on each player on the ballot, even the ones that have no business being on it. The profiles will mainly just be useless information on each player and then a short opinion by me on whether or not I'd vote for them into the Hall of Fame. So as a test run I decided to do one on an active player and Gary Sheffield seemed like a good choice since he has recently been in the news.
Gary Sheffield - Outfielder/Third Baseman
Milwaukee Brewers 1989-1991
San Diego Padres 1992-1993
Florida Marlins 1993-1998
Los Angeles Dodgers 1998-2001
Atlanta Braves 2002-2003
New York Yankees 2004-2006
Detroit Tigers 2007-
Awards
1992 Sporting News ML Player of the Year
1992 NL Silver Slugger - 3B
1996 NL Silver Slugger - OF
2003 NL Silver Slugger - OF
2004 AL Silver Slugger - OF
2005 AL Silver Slugger - OF
All-Star Selections: 9 (1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005)
League Leader
1992: Batting Average, Total Bases
1996: On Base Pct., OPS, OPS+
Career Ranks
OBP: 64th
SLG: 52nd
OPS: 47th
Runs: 70th
TB: 54th
HR: 31st
RBI: 46th
BB: 37th
OPS+: 48th
RC: 39th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 4 (401) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 118 (164) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 57.7 (37) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 132.0 (98) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 5 (Willie Stargell, Billy Williams, Duke Snider, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews)
Other Similar Batters: Jeff Bagwell, Ken Griffey Jr., Fred McGriff, Frank Thomas, Jim Rice
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacment Level (WARP3)
1988: 2/0.3
1989: 6/1.8
1990: 20/5.2
1991: 1/0.2
1992: 32/11.9
1993: 16/4.9
1994: 15/5.0
1995: 13/4.3
1996: 34/10.6
1997: 22/7.1
1998: 30/7.7
1999: 24/7.7
2000: 31/8.8
2001: 30/8.8
2002: 26/6.8
2003: 35/11.0
2004: 30/8.5
2005: 31/8.4
2006: 3/1.2
Total Wins Shares: 401
Total WARP3: 120.3
Would he get my vote?
Yes. Whether your a career voter or a peak voter Sheffield measures up. Although he never won an MVP and his black ink number is very low, the overall consistentcy of performing at a high level is deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame. On the other hand because of his personality and some steroid questions due to his brief association with BALCO he might not be a slam dunk in the view of the baseball writers. But with now over 400 career Win Shares he should be.
Since my 1991 Mariners entry was flushed and I doubt I’ll try to type it again anytime soon so I might as well do 1991 A.L. MVP redo which does feature a Mariner player being underrated by the voters. But the main reason this particular MVP was interesting is that it’s one of those cases with where player on a losing team won the award. Now in the 1987 N.L. MVP redo Andre Dawson was shown to be one of the worst choices ever, nevermind that he played on a last place team. For the 2003 A.L. MVP redo A-Rod was shown to be perfectly acceptable choice for the award but just not my choice.
In 1991 Cal Ripken had the best year offensively of his career and won the MVP by somewhat of a close margin over Cecil Fielder despite playing on a Orioles team that lost 95 games, the next to worst record in the league. What likely helped Ripken win the award was that the two division winners, Minnesota and Toronto, lacked a standout candidate. Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar both received first place votes but neither cracked the top 4 and really neither should have received a first place vote. Kirby Puckett was the only Twins player in the Top 10 and did not receive a first place vote. The rest of the A.L. after that was highly competitive as nine teams won between 81 and 87 games that season.
Looking at the basic, writer friendly numbers my guess as to why Ripken won the award over the likes of Fielder and Jose Canseco was due to both Fielder and Canseco having batting averages in the .260’s so they gave the nod to Ripken even though those two both topped Ripken in homeruns and RBI. It’s a good thing that the writers did vote Ripken over Fielder as he would have been a terrible choice and the classic case of writers giving the award to a player simply because he lead the league in RBI, which nine voters used that line of thinking and chose Fielder as their MVP. Despite his prodigious counting stats Fielder only finished 9th in the league in slugging and that was while playing in a hitter’s park. Per Win Shares and VORP, Mickey Tettleton was the best player on the Tigers that year but he didn’t receive a single vote. Sandwiched between Fielder and Canseco was the White Sox young slugger Frank Thomas who was in his first full season. Thomas led the league in OBP and OPS but managed just one first place vote. The most surprising snub in the voting was Ken Griffey Jr. who already had emerged as one of the best and most popular players in baseball while helping the Mariners to their first ever winning record yet he only placed 9th. My only guess is he got penalized for not being a power hitter at that point as he hit only 22 homeruns but did hit 42 doubles.
Actual Results
1) Cal Ripken 2) Cecil Fielder 3) Frank Thomas 4) Jose Canseco 5) Joe Carter 6) Roberto Alomar 7) Kirby Puckett 8) Ruben Sierra 9) Ken Griffey Jr. 10) Roger Clemens 11) Pal Molitor 12) Danny Tartabull 13) Jack Morris 14) Chili Davis 15) Julio Franco 16) Devon White 17) Scott Erickson 18) Rick Aguilera 19) Rafael Palmeiro 20) Robin Ventura 21) Dave Henderson
#10
.307/.357/.502, 120 RC, 138 OPS+, .316 EQA, 52.4 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#9
.322/.389/.532, 130 RC, 155 OPS+, .333 EQA, 69.5 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#8
164 ERA+, 3.71 K/BB, 1.05 WHIP, 74.8 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#7
.341/.408/.474, 113 RC, 146 OPS+, .332 EQA, 70.1 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#6
.316/.397/.593, 114 RC, 171 OPS+, .346 EQA, 62.8 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#5
.325/.399/.489, 128 RC, 147 OPS+, .328 EQA, 64.7 VORP, 30 Win Shares
#4
.266/.359/.556, 113 RC, 157 OPS+, .333 EQA, 59.0 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#3
.327/.399/.527, 117 RC, 155 OPS+, .334 EQA, 68.2 VORP, 30 Win Shares
#2
.323/.374/.566, 138 RC, 162 OPS+, .337 EQA, 94.8 VORP, 34 Win Shares
#1
.318/.453/.553, 140 RC, 180 OPS+, .365 EQA, 81.9 VORP, 34 Win Shares
This was like the 2003 A.L. MVP as neither of the Top 2 is a wrong pick and when you have two evenly matched candidates like this I do give the nod to the player who played on a winning team. I also gave Thomas the 1992 A.L. MVP and he won the ’93 & ’94 awards in real life. I haven’t put the numbers in for those two years but I think I’ll have to look into that and see if the Big Hurt should have had four straight MVP awards. This was a tough ballot to put together as I changed 3 thru 9 a few times and even looking at it now I’m not entirely settled on it.
Dave Parker - Rightfielder
Pittsburgh Pirates 1973-1983
Cincinnati Reds 1984-1987
Oakland Athletics 1988-1989
Milwaukee Brewers 1990
California Angels 1991
Toronto Blue Jays 1991
11th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1997: 17.55%
1998: 24.52%
1999: 16.10%
2000: 20.84%
2001: 16.31%
2002: 13.98%
2003: 10.28%
2004: 10.47%
2005: 12.60%
2006: 14.42%
Awards
1977 NL Gold Glove - OF
1978 NL MVP
1978 NL Gold Glove - OF
1979 NL Gold Glove - OF
1985 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1986 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1990 AL Silver Slugger - DH
All-Star Selections: 7 (1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990)
League Leader
1975: Slugging %
1977: Batting Average, Hits, Doubles
1978: Batting Average, Total Bases, Runs Created, Slugging %, OPS, OPS+
1985: Doubles, RBI, Total Bases
1986: Total Bases
Career Ranks
Games: 55th
Hits: 55th
2B: 31st
HR: 80th
RBI: 47th
TB: 42nd
RC: 68th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 26 (68) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 145 (97) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 41.1 (138) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 125.5 (107) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 2 (Tony Perez, Billy Williams)
Other Similar Batters: Luis Gonzalez, Harold Baines, Andre Dawson, Al Oliver, Jim Rice, Rusty Staub, Chili Davis, Dwight Evans
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1973: 4/1.4
1974: 6/1.5
1975: 26/8.6
1976: 23/5.8
1977: 33/10.3
1978: 37/8.8
1979: 31/8.5
1980: 17/3.7
1981: 6/1.1
1982: 7/1.8
1983: 12/4.1
1984: 17/3.4
1985: 29/7.9
1986: 20/4.4
1987: 13/3.2
1988: 10/2.2
1989: 15/3.6
1990: 15/4.9
1991: 6/0.9
Career Win Shares: 327
Career WARP3: 86.3
Would he get my vote?
No. I'll always have a soft spot for the Cobra for the 1989 postseason where he pissed off all around douche bag Kelly Gruber for his flaps down homerun trot in the ALCS and also hit the first of many homeruns for the A's in the World Series. Also I'll say that for anyone who argues Jim Rice for the HOF they better also argue for Parker as well as I don't see how Rice is so close to being elected yet Parker has no chance at all. That being said I couldn't give him the imaginary vote mainly because when you get past his great peak of the late 70's he had a really ordinary career once the 80's started. Outside of 1985 in that decade he was an average and sometimes below average corner outfielder. Had a rifle for an arm and it appears he did deserve his 1977 Gold Glove (26 assists) but overall he was not a good defensive outfielder.
Steve Garvey - First Baseman
Los Angeles Dodgers 1969-1982
San Diego Padres 1983-1987
Final year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1993: 41.61%
1994: 36.48%
1995: 42.61%
1996: 37.23%
1997: 35.31%
1998: 41.23%
1999: 30.18%
2000: 32.06%
2001: 34.17%
2002: 28.39%
2003: 27.82%
2004: 24.31%
2005: 20.54%
2006: 25.96%
Awards
1974 NL MVP
1974 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1975 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1976 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1977 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1978 NLCS MVP
1984 NLCS MVP
All-Star Selections: 10 (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985)
League Leader
1978: Hits
1980: Hits
Career Ranks
Games: 86th
Hits: 70th
Doubles: 91st
RBI: 89th
Total Bases: 78th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 12 (189) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 142 (107) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 31.5 (254) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 130.5 (101) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in the HOF: 1 (Orlando Cepeda)
Other Similar Batters: Al Oliver, Ruben Sierra, John Olerud, Bill Buckner, Mickey Vernon, Cecil Cooper, Chili Davis, Will Clark, Mark Grace
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1969: 0/0.0
1970: 2/1.0
1971: 6/1.9
1972: 8/2.4
1973: 11/2.4
1974: 27/7.1
1975: 25/9.1
1976: 26/9.2
1977: 21/6.1
1978: 25/7.6
1979: 22/8.0
1980: 22/6.9
1981: 13/3.9
1982: 15/3.4
1983: 14/3.9
1984: 15/4.4
1985: 17/5.7
1986: 10/1.3
1987: 0/-0.3
Career Win Shares: 279
Career WARP3: 84.1
Would he get my vote?
No. Was a good player for a long time but he's purely a career case as his peak was unimpressive especially for a first baseman. Had he been a slick fielding, middle infielder then he'd probably be a HOF. One could argue in his favor that his numbers were hurt playing the majority of his career in Dodger Stadium but he had only a 116 OPS+ for his career and never finished in the league's Top 10 in that category which simply isn't going to cut it for a first baseman.
I decided to throw the DH rankings into the first base entry. Only difference from the other positions is I rank 14 players instead of 30.
First Basemen
2004
1. Albert Pujols
15. Ben Broussard
30. Doug Mientkiewicz
2005
1. Derrek Lee
15. Ryan Howard
30. Phil Nevin
2006
1. Albert Pujols
15. Kevin Youkilis
30. Travis Lee
2007
1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2. Carlos Pena, Devil Rays
3. Prince Fielder, Brewers
4. Mark Teixeira, Rangers/Braves
5. Ryan Howard, Phillies
6. Todd Helton, Rockies
7. Adrian Gonzalez, Padres
8. Lance Berkman, Astros
9. Derrek Lee, Cubs
10. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
11. Dmitri Young, Nationals
12. James Loney, Dodgers
13. Justin Morneau, Twins
14. Matt Stairs, Blue Jays
15. Paul Konerko, White Sox
16. Casey Kotchman, Angels
17. Adam LaRoche, Pirates
18. Ryan Garko, Indians
19. Conor Jackson, Diamondbacks
20. Scott Hatteberg, Reds
21. Carlos Delgado, Mets
22. Kevin Millar, Orioles
23. Dan Johnson, A's
24. Brad Wilkerson, Rangers
25. Mike Jacobs, Marlins
26. Sean Casey, Tigers
27. Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers
28. Ryan Klesko, Giants
29. Richie Sexson, Mariners
30. Lyle Overbay, Blue Jays
Designated Hitters
Top DH 2004-2006
2004: Travis Hafner
2005: David Ortiz
2006: David Ortiz
2007
1. David Ortiz, Red Sox
2. Jim Thome, White Sox
3. Jack Cust, A's
4. Frank Thomas, Blue Jays
5. Travis Hafner, Indians
6. Gary Sheffield, Tigers
7. Jose Vidro, Mariners
8. Aubrey Huff, Orioles
9. Jonny Gomes, Devil Rays
10. Billy Butler, Royals
11. Jason Giambi, Yankees
12. Sammy Sosa, Rangers
13. Mike Piazza, A's
14. Mike Sweeney, Royals
Chuck Finley - Starting Pitcher
California/Anaheim Angels 1986-1999
Cleveland Indians 2000-2002
St. Louis Cardinals 2002
Awards
None
All-Star Selections: 5 (1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2000)
League Leader
1993: Complete Games
1994: Innings
Career Ranks
K: 23rd
K/9: 55th
Best Performance
May 23, 1995 - New York at California
Matches his career high 15 strikeotus while two hitting the Yankees in Mariano Rivera's MLB debut.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 6 (363) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 156 (86) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 27.0 (170) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 53.5 (230) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Pitchers: Mark Langston, Mike Torrez, Vida Blue, Doyle Alexander, Mickey Lolich, Fernando Valenzuela, Curt Simmons, Billy Pierce, Orel Hershiser, Joe Bush
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1986: 4/1.8
1987: 3/1.7
1988: 8/4.1
1989: 19/7.0
1990: 23/9.6
1991: 14/5.9
1992: 11/4.1
1993: 19/8.4
1994: 14/7.1
1995: 12/6.5
1996: 16/8.7
1997: 11/4.8
1998: 17/7.2
1999: 14/5.7
2000: 16/7.7
2001: 3/1.9
2002: 9/4.9
Career Win Shares: 213
Career WARP3: 97.0
My Stupid Opinion
Although it might not be saying much, Finley is probably the second best first ballot player this year. Was an extremely durable pitcher as in his 15 years as a starter he pitched more than 180 innings in 13 of them. Probably was a tad underrated as the Angels were rarely contenders during his career. Ranks in the Top 30 all-time in strikeouts but also ranks in the Top 30 all-time in walks. In the end though he'll end probably be remembered best for getting his ass kicked by his then wife Tawny Kitaen.
