Writers Making Statements with HOF Vote

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

Every December, baseball writers with Hall of Fame votes submit their ballots to determine who will be enshrined the following Summer in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

And it seems like every year or every other year, there is a baseball player who had such an outstanding career that one would think said player would have a chance to be unanimously voted in — 100% of the votes. In this particular case, the player in question is former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.

Sadly, many writers take their privilege of voting and turn it into a circus. This seems to be the case every few years, and this time around it’s Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. In Ballou’s piece, he uses Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel, an NFL kicker (Adam Viniateri) and an AHL hockey goaltender to drive home his point about being a clutch player. I won’t get into that here, but I linked his story for all to see.

My outrage isn’t about Ballou not giving Rivera a Hall of Fame vote, because it’s safe to assume Mariano will easily be voted in despite Ballou not voting for him. The problem at hand is he’s not voting for ANYONE. That is a travesty.

Players can stay on the ballot up to ten years as long as they receive at least five percent of combined votes from eligible BBWAA writers. If a player drops below that threshold, they are forever removed from the ballot going forward. If a player isn’t voted into the Hall (which requires earning 75% of votes) after ten years, he also is removed forever from the ballot.

Based on that information, every vote has meaning. To pull the nonsense Ballou is doing is a disservice to the players, other BBWAA writers and the game itself. It’s unfair to punish players, it’s literally toying with peoples’ lives. In my opinion, any writer who pulls this stunt deserves to have their voting rights stripped.

However, this isn’t the first time a voter has turned the process into a clown-show. In 2013, ESPN personality and Miami Herald columnist Dan LeBetard turned his ballot over to Deadspin because he felt the voting process needed reform. He was immediately stripped of the privilege to vote. MLB.com writer Ken Gurnick created a stir in early 2014 when he voted for only one player, Jack Morris (who has since been voted in by the HOF veteran’s committee), bypassing Greg Maddux (who was voted in anyway).

I think the BBWAA should review and take action against writers who abuse the voting process. There are plenty of writers who don’t have the ability to vote and would cherish the opportunity.

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Wild Horse Galloping to Cincy

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

Things had been mostly quiet on the western front since the end of MLB’s Winter Meetings more than a week ago. A late afternoon trade between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds was equivalent to pouring gasoline into the proverbial hot stove.

At 4:25 PM EST, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan fired off a tweet that warned the baseball world that a trade was imminent.

As you might predict, that got baseball Twitter all kinds of fired up. Several tweets from the winter meetings resurfaced regarding the possibility of Dodgers OF Yasiel Puig being involved in a potential deal. Nine minutes later, Passan sent out another tweet, this time with the specifics.

This is clearly a salary-dump move that benefits each team. Homer Bailey had been absolutely dreadful since signing his deal with the Reds a number of years ago, and moving Kemp and Puig allows the Dodgers room to make their much anticipated run for Bryce Harper in their now-vacant right field. It also has been noted on Twitter that Kemp and Puig weren’t very happy with manager Dave Roberts‘ platoon system and were looking to move on from LA because of it.

In other news, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweeted that free agent shortstop Manny Machado won’t be making any decision on a new team until after the New Year.

This also likely means Bryce Harper won’t be making a decision until after New Year’s Day either. So grab a Snickers bar and your blanket and toss another log into the stove. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Stay warm, be safe and enjoy your loved ones! 😎🎅🏽

Sizing up the Yankees Starting Rotation

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

Early this afternoon, the New York Yankees announced free agent J.A. Happ was returning to the team on a two-year contract with a vesting option for a third year. With Happ coming back, the Yankees now have six starting pitchers under contract for the 2019 season (although Sonny Gray most certainly won’t be returning to the team).

As of right now, the five man rotation seems to be shaping up as follows:

  1. Luis Severino
  2. James Paxton
  3. Masahiro Tanaka
  4. J.A. Happ
  5. CC Sabathia

It’s safe to assume GM Brian Cashman will still be looking to pick up another arm to add depth to the staff, especially since Sabathia’s balky right knee requires a DL stint to keep the pain at bay. Parker Bridwell, recently claimed on waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, was thought to be depth for the rotation. However, the team designated Bridwell for assignment, needing that spot on the 40 man roster for Happ.

Bridwell could always re-sign with the team on a minor league contract and accept a non-roster invitee, but he will be free to sign with any team.

There are still a good number of free agent starters available. Dallas Keuchel is still unsigned as of this writing, but with the Yankees already having three lefty starters, I would think they would look to add another righty for balance. I also think Cashman would prefer a less expensive option since the team will be paying north of 60 million just for the current five the team already has. A couple cheap options could be Clay Buchholz and Edwin Jackson. They both pitched very well for their teams this year and would assuredly be inexpensive in 2019. 45 year-old Bartolo Colon still wants to pitch. However, there are also a few guys in the Yankees system who could fill the role in Domingo German, Jonathan Loaisiga and Michael King. German and Loaisiga each showed promise as well as inconsistency in 2018, while King rose rapidly through the minors, starting in High-A Tampa and finishing with AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

All eyes are on the big free agents, waiting with baited-breath to see where Manny Machado and Bryce Harper will end up, but it will also be interesting to see how Brian Cashman shapes up the rest of the Yankees’ pitching staff.

Winter Meetings – First Full Day

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

I really needed to write something as it’s been a about a month.

Today marks the first full day of the MLB Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. This is where a lot of teams make trades and sign free agents for the upcoming season. Team executives, staff, player agents and players themselves all assemble here to “make things happen”

These particular winter meetings are exciting with Bryce Harper and Manny Machado headlining the free agent class. The Cleveland Indians are apparently looking to shed payroll and are shopping starting pitchers Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

So grab your favorite beverages, a snack and your tablet, laptop and TV remote and buckle in. This week should be interesting!

Posted in MLB