Results tagged ‘ Hall of Fame ’
The Hall of Famer Mel Ott gets his GIFs
These days you can’t talk about Mel Ott without talking about a certain Washington Nationals outfielder, but in a “This Date in Giants History” segment on Saturday night’s telecast, Mel Ott was given his own little time for black-and-white highlights. Growing up, my favorite number was “4,” and so when I found out I couldn’t get that numbered jersey at a Giants Dugout Store, I was a little disappointed, and got one custom made… in a jersey size that was way too big for me. Nevertheless, this guy is a good reason for why the number “4″ isn’t still worn by players in the Giants organization, in my opinion. Ott’s career line is pretty remarkable, especially since he started playing in the big leagues at age 17 in 1926. A power hitter in his day, he never won an MVP award, though interesting to note that his WAR was highest in the 1932 and 1938 seasons, and in most of the MVP races he was involved in, especially the earlier ones, Mel Ott’s numbers didn’t seem to be appreciated as much as they might be in 2013. However, that is not to say that other players did not have excellent and outstanding seasons, as you can see by clicking the MVP-# under the “Awards” column.
| Year | Age | PA | AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | Pos | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 17 | 61 | 60 | 23 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | .383 | .393 | .417 | 120 | 7O | |
| 1927 | 18 | 180 | 163 | 46 | 1 | 19 | 13 | 9 | .282 | .335 | .380 | 91 | O87 | |
| 1928 | 19 | 500 | 435 | 140 | 18 | 77 | 52 | 36 | .322 | .397 | .524 | 139 | *O9/4758 | |
| 1929 | 20 | 675 | 545 | 179 | 42 | 151 | 113 | 38 | .328 | .449 | .635 | 165 | *O9/48 | MVP-11 |
| 1930 | 21 | 648 | 521 | 182 | 25 | 119 | 103 | 35 | .349 | .458 | .578 | 150 | *O9 | |
| 1931 | 22 | 580 | 497 | 145 | 29 | 115 | 80 | 44 | .292 | .392 | .545 | 151 | *O89 | |
| 1932 | 23 | 673 | 566 | 180 | 38 | 123 | 100 | 39 | .318 | .424 | .601 | 174 | *O9 | MVP-10 |
| 1933 | 24 | 661 | 580 | 164 | 23 | 103 | 75 | 48 | .283 | .367 | .467 | 138 | *O98 | |
| 1934 | 25 | 671 | 582 | 190 | 35 | 135 | 85 | 43 | .326 | .415 | .591 | 168 | *O98 | AS,MVP-5 |
| 1935 | 26 | 683 | 593 | 191 | 31 | 114 | 82 | 58 | .322 | .407 | .555 | 157 | *O95 | AS,MVP-20 |
| 1936 | 27 | 660 | 534 | 175 | 33 | 135 | 111 | 41 | .328 | .448 | .588 | 177 | *O9 | AS,MVP-6 |
| 1937 | 28 | 654 | 545 | 160 | 31 | 95 | 102 | 69 | .294 | .408 | .523 | 150 | O95 | AS,MVP-7 |
| 1938 | 29 | 654 | 527 | 164 | 36 | 116 | 118 | 47 | .311 | .442 | .583 | 178 | *5O9 | AS,MVP-4 |
| 1939 | 30 | 508 | 396 | 122 | 27 | 80 | 100 | 50 | .308 | .449 | .581 | 174 | O95 | AS,MVP-11 |
| 1940 | 31 | 647 | 536 | 155 | 19 | 79 | 100 | 50 | .289 | .407 | .457 | 137 | *O95 | AS |
| 1941 | 32 | 634 | 525 | 150 | 27 | 90 | 100 | 68 | .286 | .403 | .495 | 150 | *O9/7 | AS,MVP-19 |
| 1942 | 33 | 664 | 549 | 162 | 30 | 93 | 109 | 61 | .295 | .415 | .497 | 165 | *O9 | AS,MVP-3 |
| 1943 | 34 | 485 | 380 | 89 | 18 | 47 | 95 | 48 | .234 | .391 | .418 | 134 | *O9/5 | AS,MVP-20 |
| 1944 | 35 | 494 | 399 | 115 | 26 | 82 | 90 | 47 | .288 | .423 | .544 | 172 | *O9/5 | AS,MVP-16 |
| 1945 | 36 | 534 | 451 | 139 | 21 | 79 | 71 | 41 | .308 | .411 | .499 | 151 | *9O | MVP-13 |
| 1946 | 37 | 78 | 68 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | .074 | .171 | .132 | -13 | O9 | |
| 1947 | 38 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | -100 | ||
| 22 Yrs | 11348 | 9456 | 2876 | 511 | 1860 | 1708 | 896 | .304 | .414 | .533 | 155 | |||
| 162 Game Avg. | 673 | 561 | 171 | 30 | 110 | 101 | 53 | .304 | .414 | .533 | 155 | |||
He was voted into the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in 1951, getting 87.2% in favor.
Most Giants fans never got the chance to see Mel Ott play, but I’m guessing the generation before us got to see highlights of him since it wasn’t as far away from his time. Below are pieces from highlights from that “This Day in Giants History” segment:
Mostly an outfielder in his day, I’ll bet he’d have won plenty of Gold Gloves since he was a good hitter.
I look at his swing and think, “How’d he get 511 home runs doing that?”
Still, I love the front leg kick — and those socks! — and for me, it’s so cool seeing these kinds of highlights of Hall of Fame players we never had the good fortune of seeing live.
Hall of Fame: Who’s Next
With the addition of nobody to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown this year for Baseball’s Hall of Fame, we prepare for 2014, and if the voting rules stay the same, we are in for some very interesting ballots. Hopefully we will see less Morris-only ballots, and less blank ballots, because I believe even 2014′s choices will have at least one guy the people can believe in. My take on some of the storylines we will talk about in 2013, and then debate feverishly in 2014 right before the results get released:
Jack Morris‘ 15th and final year: He garnered 67.7% of the votes this year, and 66.7% in 2012′s announcement, so by all that logic, he’ll only get 68.7%! Shouldn’t be that simple though as traditionalists and those with emotional attachments to the mustached Opening Day Eight Inning Man will surely take their advertising to the next level for Mr. Morris.
Jeff Kent: Survivor of Hall of Fame ballots?: His character will certainly not be held to the same standard as PED users, but what will be interesting is his position most-377 HR. His advanced stats with WAR and JAWS, however, do not measure up as much, and he could be one of the guys that suffers from being left off the ballot in favor of other players that have been on the ballot longer than him.
Greg Maddux the ohmygoshplease One Year Only Necessary: He will be a hard one to keep out because both the traditionalists and the saber-folk will be cheering him on. If you’re a traditionalist, you tout the 355 pitcher wins. If you love your advanced stats, you’re going to love how he’s above average with the WAR and the JAWS (nom nom nom). The little accountant from San Angelo, TX will hopefully be the guy everyone can agree on.
If Mike Piazza comes out with a book, does it clear him?: Some unconfirmed rumors have speculated a book may be in the works, and although it shouldn’t be necessary for him to come out with a book, it may be something that’s necessary for him to add more votes (if it is an “I am Clean” story). He should be able to get in, regardless, but these are troubling times indeed.
Tom Glavine and the 300-win threshold: 305 pitcher wins, and the advanced metrics put him as “deserving” and right near the “average HOF” mark for those pitchers already in Cooperstown, so it would be easy to see how Glavine and Maddux become a Hall of Fame tag-team Atlanta Braves ticket for 2014.
Does Frank Thomas‘ size scare away voters: Hey, if you got scared by Jeff Bagwell or Mike Piazza, is The Big Hurt safe from their wrath? 521 HR, performed offensively well above replacement, but if there’s any suspicion that gets brought up, I worry. I could see him being a guy some of the writers say, “He’s not a first ballot guy, so I’ll just vote for him later,” and that might keep him out in 2014.
Mike Mussina, the ignored one?: Here’s your most under-appreciated 1st ballot guy for the 2014 class, and it’ll be interesting to see how he’s handled. Short of the traditionalist-important 300 wins, his peak years may not have been strong WAR-wise, but overall, he measures up.
J.T. Snow, the beautiful one: I’m just including him in here because swoon.
Initial 2014 Ballot looks like this (playing by the rules this time):
1. Barry Bonds
3. Greg Maddux
4. Frank Thomas
5. Jeff Bagwell
6. Mike Piazza
8. Craig Biggio
9. Tom Glavine
10. Alan Trammell
Prediction as to who will be getting the call in 2014:
1. Greg Maddux
2. Craig Biggio
Don’t think Morris gets the support he needs as long as the rules stay the same. Just too many voters out there, and people are getting smarter when it comes to pitcher wins and “pitching to the score.”
If I Had A Vote and If I Could Vote for > 10
Hall of Fame announcements are set for January 9th on MLB Network and social media is always very abuzz with arguments over this guy and that guy, a lot of it PED-based this year. Every year we also get a glimpse into the BBWAA that maybe there are some people that don’t deserve their vote anymore, although I will say I very much appreciate the writers that are willing to talk about their votes, whether I agree with them or if I think they’re just a big knucklehead. What I’m going to write isn’t anything groundbreaking, in fact, I’d say the community I side with has set the path for me to see what they see. So, here’s my ballot, and though I hope the writers will be able to do this as well, I will vote for more than the allowed ten players.
My Ballot
- Barry Bonds, LF — because a Hall of Fame would not be a HoF without Bonds (for those that are anti-PED, you will not like my ballot)
- Roger Clemens, SP — possibly the greatest pitcher of our generation
- Jeff Bagwell, 1B — I don’t care what you suspect
- Craig Biggio, 2B/C/OF — numbers won’t blow you away like the first two guys, but he fits the mold
- Curt Schilling, SP — even if he’s annoying in real life
- Larry Walker, RF — could be least discussed candidate, and it’s all Coors Field’s fault or something
- Alan Trammell, SS — never saw him play, and can’t understand why he’s been left out
- Tim Raines, LF — definitely had the zoom
- Kenny Lofton, CF — hope this guy gets the recognition he deserves
- Edgar Martinez, DH — Sure, he might have done a lot of DH-ing, but he did it at a Hall of Fame level
- Mike Piazza, C — For some reason I always crave pizza when I say his name
- Rafael Palmeiro, 3B — not gonna lie, I hated writing his name down. Period.
- Sammy Sosa, RF and Mark McGwire, 1B — I feel like these two belong together, but they were really tough choices. For me it was either both of them or neither of them, which is pretty dumb looking at the numbers, but I feel a very high emotional attachment to them. This must be how people feel about… (wait for it)
Not On My Ballot
- …Jack Morris, SP — Pitcher wins! Big game!
- Dale Murphy, OF — look, I love nice guys and everything, but, even the character clause can do so much for your numbers
- David Wells, SP — while lesser (physically and numerically) pitchers have gotten in than Wells, I’m not willing to put Boomer in
- Don Mattingly, 1B — more for reasons of not measuring up than to reasons of loves to have his team bunt
There it is. Hate it, love it, whatever it. Chances are I will probably never have a HoF vote, and I’m sure there are plenty people that would be OK with that. Should be interesting to see how the real vote turns out, as no one being elected this year is a real possibility.
Keeping Up with the HOF: Basics Part 1 of 1
Around this time of year, hall of fame ballots are coming out, players are being debated about, and people are spitting out numbers left and right mostly over the players they have become more passionate about. Sure, you’ll run into the fan that can give you the goods on first-ballot names that won’t even meet the required count to stay on the ballot, but don’t worry about that if you don’t wanna. This is a gateway to two resources that will make you a more educated fan, whether you want to debate that obnoxious baseball fan at the next holiday gathering, or you’re just curious as to how the numbers measure up and who may be on their way in.
- Jay Jaffe’s JAWS calculations and all the other metrics you grew up loving that are sortable! (I have it linked to catchers, but you can change it to other positions!) Hate WAR but love doubles? You can sort by the doobuls. Curious about how ERA+ measures up your favorite old-time pitcher? Knock yourself out. Don’t know what stats are what? Putting your cursor over the sortable stat column will get a balloon with text inside giving you an introduction to the stat.
- LeoKitty’s spreadsheet with every ballot sent in thus far recorded for you on GoogleDocs. This will give you some insight as to whom the people have been voting for and players they have not. There are plenty of intriguing names that can be voted for at the moment, so this will certainly be interesting going forward.
If you can get a hold of these two resources — and I admittedly have not, because there are so many players to look through — you will get to be the new baseball junkie in the crowd! You’ll love it! Promise!
The “Hall of Fame” is not the “Hall of Feel:” A Plea from a Fan
This is not a post about Jack Morris. This is not about Edgar Martinez. It’s not even about saying the BBWAA is a group of scammers, because that’s not what I believe. What I do believe is that there are writers who use what they’ve seen and will ignore the facts to either check or not check a box on the ballot. Do I have the “ballot envy” guys like Joe Strauss suggest I might have? Maybe a little, but I know relatively so little about these players (and have done just as little research on said players) I actually do not feel worthy to vote on them, much less suggest who should on. But we all have that feeling that something isn’t right about what some writers are doing, and for me it’s that they make their decision emotional.
I know you don’t come on here to read whom I think the Hall of Fame should house, but I’ll tell you anyway: The Hall of Fame should have the best of the best, and they should be in there based on fact, not based on legend. When I go to Cooperstown one day with my kids in the future and show them the plaques, I want to see numbers and not something like “he was the clutchiest of clutch” or “it seemed like he was perfect every time” when the numbers could debunk both statements in a heartbeat.
Voters are using different sets of numbers nowadays — some are using advanced statistics, and some are not. Reputation travels fast amongst the internet community who is a respectable voice and who is not as we saw yesterday — and while we’ll respect their right to an opinion it does not necessarily mean we will respect their opinion. It would be odd though if every voter voted the same so we will always have this discussion in my opinion.
So voters voting with your memory and old video I ask you to please, for the future of baseball, think about the numbers you are using: what do those numbers mean? Were those numbers a result of a mostly individual effort or were they a result of the team they played on? Nobody and especially me cannot take away the way you feel for a certain athlete, but I ask that you let go of the feelings you have the for the player a little bit and use numbers that speak more to the individual fame that a player has contributed over his time in our wonderful game.
Baseball’s Newest Superhero: Thank You, Randy Miller
So we’re all just sittin’ around, talking about Jack Morris and Alan Trammel when BOOM someone is putting it out there they sent in a blank ballot. On purpose. Yea, I know, right? Not even Barry Larkin. Who cares he got 86%, not even Barry Larkin? Really? But anyway, this guy, Randy Miller of Philadelphia set up the pins for people to knock ‘em down. Consider this a history of the wonderful-ness that transpired.
Ugh.
Wah.
Randy Miller sent in 9 ballots?
I don’t judge by batting average alone, but here’s a batting average!
We want to attack the loser that put it out there that he left his ballot blank.
Oh ok, that makes your decision valid! #no
The outrage of voting someone in that belonged there!
Here’s where the fun begins.
“Saberboy???” AHAHAHAHA
OBP is advanced for the simple man.
I have things to say, too! Someone listen to me! Anybody! Somebody?…
See! Look! Mat Latos! Evil! Ha!
Yay, name calling!
Some people got really into this. Not me though. Nope.
Look how excited everyone is!
And thus, a happy ending to an otherwise uneventful day after 3pm PST.
