Cooperstown

Seattle’s regular DH in 1995.)  In my opinion, if a poor defensive player can make it to Cooperstown based on his offensive contributions, then someone who does not play a defensive position should be able to do the same.

Continue reading "Edgar Martínez’s case for Cooperstown"

as one of the greatest position players of the nineties and will be rewarded with a one-way trip to Cooperstown in 2011.

How do ballplayers spend the offseason?

Instead of staring out the window and waiting for spring like Rogers Hornsby claimed to do during the offseason, I thought it would be interesting to find out how ballplayers these days spend the winter months.        

Continue reading "Bagwell has one more stop in baseball career"

gue record for most consecutive games with an extra-base hit (14).  Chipper will join Waner in Cooperstown as soon as he is eligible.

How ‘bout that?

How about Jered Weaver?  The 27-year-old righty leads the majors with 182 strikeouts and is having his best season (11-7, 2.87 Earned Run Average) since his rookie year (2006), when he went 11-2 with a 2.56 ERA.  Since the All-Star break, Weaver has been even better, posting a 1.93 ERA, limiting opponents to a .204 batting average, and averaging seven innings per outing over six starts.  With the Rangers playing so well in the AL West, the Angels are unlikely to win the division for the fourth straight year and may even finish under .500 for the first time since 2003, but they have to be pleased with how their ace has pitched this season.

Continue reading "Will Chipper hang 'em up?"

eet swing, tremendous defense in center field, and contagious smile, Griffey will take his place in Cooperstown before we know it.

How ‘bout that?

How about Justin Morneau?  The Twins’ first baseman is hitting .369 – over 100 points higher than he hit in 2009.  In addition to his improved batting average, Morneau’s slugging percentage of .674 is second in the majors to Miguel Cabrera’s .684.  Though his power numbers are better away from home (10 out of 12 home runs on the road), Morneau has fared well at Target Field, compiling a line of .378/.517/.567 in Minnesota’s brand-new open-air stadium.  Along with teammate Joe Mauer, Morneau is a major reason the Twins lead the AL Central by two and a half games over the Tigers.

Continue reading "Junior hangs 'em up"

to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility, but will teammate Jorge Posada join them in Cooperstown?  Yankee fans may feel differently, but the truth is that if Posada retired from baseball today, he would not belong in The Hall.  His credentials include five trips to the All-Star Game, five Silver Slugger awards, 243 home runs, and five seasons with 90+ RBI’s, as well as having caught the perfect game thrown by David Wells in 1998.  Arguments against Posada’s candidacy are that he is not a strong defensive catcher, has only once batted over .300 (.277 career average) and his 1,488 career hits do not make him stand out among his catching peers.  Despite 11 career playoff home runs, his postseason line (.239/.351/.384) is sub-par for a catcher known primarily for his hitting.

Continue reading "Third member of Yankee trio not a lock for Hall"

year, but in my view, if the writers wanted to send just one player from this year’s class to Cooperstown, they chose the wrong one.

Big Mac admits steroid use I was sorry to h

Continue reading "The Big Unit hangs ‘em up"