EVIL~! alkeiper

What is impressive however is that Ripken is the all time leader for home runs, extra base hits, and total bases by a shortstop. He was also an above-average defensive shortstop. The comment about having ONLY four 100 RBI seasons is comical, given that only five shortstops have had more such seasons, and the three eligible are in the Hall. How many shortstops have more than two 200 hit seasons? Five again. (Oddly, only Johnny Pesky is retired). 30 home runs? Again, only five shortstops have done that more than once. Two are retired, one is in. If you're going to use power numbers against a shortstop, you need to have some kind of a notion regarding context. As for Gwynn, Nap Lajoie had a .380 OBP along with his .338 batting average. Criticizing Gwynn for only finishing 84th in runs scored is nit-picking. Have you seen some of those Padre teams he played on? The unanimous selection is not some kind of gold star that even the greatest stars couldn't attain. It's the result of voting problems in the Hall's early days, and it is being propped up beyond its worth. There is no valid reason to find either Cal Ripken or Tony Gwynn undeserving of the Hall of Fame.

A couple of points about Jack Morris. First, Vampiro stated his postseason record was 6-1. This is incorrect. His teams had a 6-1 record in postseason series. Morris himself was 7-4. That 1978-1994 comparison is borderline insulting. It takes almost the entirety of Morris's career and compares it to part of Ryan's. 1994 is included when Ryan didn't even play, but 1977 is excluded, when Morris went 1-1 and Ryan won 19 games. They're cherry-picking Nolan Ryan because his win/loss records are not much more impressive than Bert Blyleven's. I drew up a list of pitchers from 1978-94. Six pitchers compiled 3,000 or more innings pitched in that span. Of those pitchers Morris ranks 1st in wins, but 5th in ERA (behind Ryan, Bob Welch, Dennis Martinez and Charlie Hough). Morris ranks 4th in WHIP behind Ryan, Welch and Martinez. Morris lost more games than any pitcher in that period except Frank Tanana. And in Runs Saved Above Average (RSAA), Morris ranks 46th. Dennis Martinez had a 245-194 record, a lower ERA, lower WHIP, and a lower postseason ERA. He lasted one year on the ballot. Postseason? One great start does not make a Hall of Famer. Dave Stewart was a far greater postseason pitcher and he's not sniffing the Hall.

I think the Sklars did a better job of that than I ever could.

Nice rundown, but those were Bored's writeups.

It's his ninth year. http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/history/...ing/alpha/G.htm

Frequently when there are two or more locks on the ballots, the vote totals of the rest drop. This is either because voters don't want to crowd the podium or (more likely) it is simply the mathematical result of the rest of the players essentially competing for an eight spot ballot instead of ten. Here's the complete list of players who retired after 2002... http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/...002_final.shtml

Listening to sports talk radio, the only baseball discussion occurring right now regards the Hall of Fame. Invariably, someone will mention that Joe Dimaggio was not elected on the first ballot This is true, Dimaggio received only 44% of the vote. However, two key facts are missed. 1. That ballot was the 1953 ballot. Dimaggio retired following the 1951 season. The 1953 ballot, submitted in December '52, was the FIRST election since Dimaggio retired. I've searched some sources and I can not find whether the five year rule was in place. Bobby Doerr garnered a handful of votes and he retired the same year. It is worth noting however that Dimaggio under today's system would not gain eligibility to the Hall until 1957, two years after he was elected. 2. The Hall of Fame at that time contained a huge backlog of eligible players. It is easy for a worthy player to gain induction today. This year in a good crop, there are 27 players total, three whose numbers merit clear induction, and another 8-10 who could claim HoF worthiness on a good day. It is relatively easy for voters, allowed up to ten choices, to choose the best players and induct them. In 1953, 83 players received at least one vote. Do you know how difficult it is to reach a consensus with the vote spread so widely? What's more, over 40 of those not elected would eventually become Hall of Famers. Dimaggio didn't get snubbed because he was somehow undeserving. Two players who retired in 1951 made the Hall. Dimaggio got 44%, Bobby Doerr got 1%. The process was to blame.

On the subject of cumshots, I know cum sharing is sexy, but it loses its appeal after it's traded back and forth 3-4 times. And how sad is it that the thread complaining about the dream porno thread has more legit discussion than the thread itself?

I doubt Gwynn used steroids, and Puckett probably did not either. But you have to be careful about stereotyping body types when it comes to suspicion of steroid use. Just because a guy isn't big and muscular doesn't mean he's clean, and vice versa.

I would think Hunter will take more time off this time. Last time he had an incentive to hurry, namely main eventing a stadium show. He doesn't have that looming this time.

Oddly enough, I did. I did work for a company called Baseball Info Solutions that paid me a nominal fee in return for sending in a computerized box score with hit locations. I've got two years worth of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre games on my desktop, about 60 or so. Posting them all would be tedious and generally uninteresting, however.

Surprisingly enough, my live MLB games tally stands at just seven. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B08110PHI1988.htm Phillies 1, Cardinals 0. The Cardinals' Jeff Laga hit a screaming foul ball inches above my brother's head. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09171PHI1989.htm Ozzie Smith hit a home run in this game, a rare sight. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B04250PHI1991.htm This Phillies/Mets game I attended with a group from church, and I honestly remember nothing about the game. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B04280PHI2000.htm This one came with McGwire-mania in full swing, but his days were numbered at this point. Robert Person flashed some brilliance, but Mike Matheny's pickoff of Doug Glanville on second base stands out. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B05120PHI2005.htm Best seats I ever had to a game (not saying much). When Ryan Howard came to bat, few besides myself really knew who he was. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09090PHI2005.htm Right after the Phillies were swept at home by the Astros, they demolished the Marlins here to start their ill-fated but fun rush at the wild card. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09240PHI2006.htm Fan appreciation day, and another Phillies thrashing of the Marlins. Most of the fun was subdued by a 90 minute rain delay.

Because there's often a HUGE difference in the quality.

Amazing. Parque had a fluke season SIX years ago! He's toast.

How many ballots were cast?

Until my dying day I will curse Kingpk for starting it again. 35 f'n pages about a television network?! For god sakes, if you don't like it, don't watch it.

I've been doing some housekeeping around here and I've realized that I have a few games sitting around just taking up space. My Sega Genesis collection for example includes a couple Maddens, a college football game, etc. I still have a Genesis but I don't even have the cables anymore. To top it off, these games aren't even fetching a single dollar on ebay. And the console itself isn't worth maybe $10 anymore. The topic is about old games but to a larger extent my question is, is it worth doing anything with this stuff or is it most efficient just to throw it in the garbage?

Yes they could. But if the IPs matched, they'd be toast.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B05150PHI1989.htm Scoreless game going into the 12th, when the Giants score two in the top of the inning. Two on, two out for Bob Dernier, what better way to end it than a walk-off, three run inside the park home run?

How much would you pay for a copy, out of curiosity?

It's usually a bullshit statement. Let's take this start for example. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B07290NYA2006.htm A fine job of pitching to the score, if I say so myself.

No, it was just that he was a person who made wrong decisions earlier in his life, and was well on the way to putting that behind him and improving his life. I doubt that people would say the same things about other players, it's not like they make this stuff up or anything, so you can kindly go fuck yourself. One more personal attack like this from anyone and I'm closing this thread.

And their next big prospect? Hunter Pence.

That would be a disaster. People would be forced to use DirectTV as their satellite provider if they wanted Extra Innings (obviously). They would then find out that their local games are blacked out, and those channels unavailable on DirectTV's programming. So in essence, you could only subscribe to Extra Innings if you DIDN'T want to watch your local team.

Moved from the WWE Forum. Personally, since my girlfriend broke up with me last month, I endorse her views.