The Official 2014 MLB Off-Season Thread

And this is why I shouldn't let you talk anymore....

 

I think Mike Mussina, and to a lesser extent Curt Schilling, is very underrated. Like you said, besides the win totals, his stats are comparable or better than Tom Glavine but doesn't get the props because he never won the magic 300. At first I didn't think Mussina is a HOFer but after looking at his numbers the past few months I think I've slowly started to come around on him. Kevin Brown is another pitcher who was extremely underrated too.

I still think it's nutty people think Morris is a HOFer.

And to answer your question I don't really know WARm or how it works.

 

Oh yeah I agree with you. Pitching in the ALE in the PED Era, Mussina absolutely has to get extra credit for that, especially because he pitched so well. And I know people that are pro Jack Morris like to talk about his 1991 WS Game 7 performance but Morris wasn't as great as people think he was in the playoffs, in fact Mussina actually has better post season numbers.

I do think Tom Glavine is a HOF but I think he's slightly overrated because he won 300 games. I think Schilling and Mussina were probably better pitchers and their numbers seem to agree. But again because they didn't win 300 games they're thought of as lesser pitchers.

 

Schilling will get in eventually. He has very good numbers, was one of the best pitchers in the game during his peak, great post season numbers, 2nd All time in SO/K. He's a HOFer it's just going to take him awhile again because he doesn't have those 300 wins, which for some reason is the automatic marker.

 

Good article on Schilling vs. Glavine:

http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/b.../making-one-more-hall-fame-case-curt-schillin

Definitely agree with it. Again it's not to knock Glavine, who I think is a HOFer, but I think Schilling is/was the better pitcher.

 

Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas elected to the HOF. All 3 well deserved, not sure how you can argue against any of them.

Craig Biggio just misses the 75%, he got 74.8%. So he's probably going to get in next year. He missed it by 2 votes.

Jack Morris doesn't get in and is now off the ballot. But still could get voted in by the HOF Veteran's but has to wait until Decemeber 2016.

For those interested Maddux got 97.2% of the votes. Was on 555 of the 571 ballots. Glavine got 91.9% of the votes.

Clemens got 35.4%. Piazza at 62.2%. Raines 46.1% (which is down from 2013 when he got 52.2%)

Full results here:

http://bbwaa.com/

EDIT: Palmeiro officially off the ballot.

 

I definitely think any hitter would rather face Glavine than Schilling. However I have to say Glavine is one ofthe most cerebral pitchers iI've been lucky enough to see in my short life. He was always a step ahead of the opposing batter.

 

Kind of makes you laugh that there were probably more than 10 players that should be in the HOF on the ballot yet guys like Nomo, JT Snow, Armando Benitez, Jacques Jones and Kenny Rogers got at least 1 vote.

 

I'm still amazed guys like Bagwell, Piazza and Biggio still aren't HOFers yet.

Next year Pedro, Randy Johnson and Biggio are probably locks to make it. Smoltz probably will too, although I can see him not making it his first go around because of the years he spent closing.

 

He'll get in next year for sure. Still sucks for him though.

 

Because he had pimples on his back so that means he took steroids. Just like Bagwell had muscles so that means he took steroids.

But hey enjoy a HOF (for now) without one of the best hitting catchers ever, if not the best. Also top all around 1B in Bagwell.

I'd love to hear the reasons for the other 15 voters that looked like Maddux's numbers and said "nah he's not a HOFer this year". It's a voters power trip, that's all it is. The voter wants the story to be about them instead of the player.

 

Yup. And that's the reason why people get so worked up over it because it's real to the fans and they abuse their power at times.

 

Mostly due to the 305 wins I'm sure.

 

Yeah the 2 Cy Youngs helped too.

 

The 95 World Series MVP didn't hurt.

 

His longevity got him in over Schilling plain and simple. You can't ignore that Glavine had comparable numbers while pitching the equivalent of five more seasons.

 

Not really sure that factored much into it. Post season stats are nice and all but I only think they help push someone over the edge like a Schilling.

Oh yes absolutely you can't ignore how much more Glavine pitched over Schilling.

 

It's going to be pretty hard for him to get in over those guys too. I do think he'll get in though, it looks like the ballots lighten up a little after next year. It must suck bad to lose out by two votes.

http://baseballhall.org/hall-famers/rules-election/future-eligibles

Big notables are Ken Griffey Jr. in 2015, Chipper in 2018, and Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay in 2019. Griffey and Rivera will be for sure first ballot guys, maybe the other two as well.

 

Historically speaking guys that are that close always get in so I bet he'll get in next year, probably getting enough via the sympathy vote of what happened to him this year. And yeah I do think he's a HOFer.

 

Geez how many teams did you root for growing up? The Mets, Braves and now the Mariners?

And yes Griffey, in his prime when he was healthy on the M's, was a complete joy to watch play in both the field and at the plate. It's a shame he couldn't stay healthy once he left Seattle. He should have been the one to break all of those HR records. I loved that 1995 Mariner team with Griffey, Johnson, Burher, Edgar Martinez etc. especially coming from behind in the 1st round of the playoffs to beat the Yankees. I'll always remember Martinez's double down the line and Griffey sliding into home with the winning run to win the series.

 

Before the Rays came I was a Mariners fan. And continued to be a mariners and reds fan even after the Devil Rays came into the league. He was purely amazing in every aspect of the game. Which is sometimes over looked because of his injuries and home runs. But his defense was second to none while in Seattle. He was simply amazing.

To go to the current HOF. I grew up loving 3 players. Griffey, Bonds and Thomas. One of the most feared hitters of all time.

And Greg Maddux was a magician. I've never had to face him, or anything close to him, but his 2 seamer still haunts my dreams. How do you continue to be dominate while being a righty throwing 86? It breaks 2 feet down and away. Amazing.

 

I think people forget just how awesome a hitter Frank Thomas was too. From 1991 to 1997 he was simply a monster at the plate. He was probably the best hitter during the time other than Bonds during that time.

 

Really good (and long) article about the media and reporting PEDs in the 80s to 2000s:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/10261642/mlb-hall-fame-voting-steroid-era

 

That's bad for business. That's not good for anyone.