Examining the Credentials of the Current and Future Candidates for the Hall of Fame
This week, forty years ago, Gary Carter made his mark with an Opening Day home run in his New York Mets debut at Shea Stadium. It was his first game with the Mets after spending eleven years as a perennial All-Star catcher with the Montreal Expos. In my 57 years on this earth, I’ve been […]
This evening, Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. The 394 voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) elected Ichiro with 99.7% of the vote, Sabathia with 86.8%, and Wanger with 82.5% in an election that requires […]
Rickey Henderson, the greatest leadoff hitter and base stealer in Major League Baseball history, has died at age 65. He died in Oakland, California, on Friday after battling pneumonia. He passed away just five days before what would have been his 66th birthday. Henderson was one of the best and most unique players in baseball […]
Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda, the right-handed-hitting slugger affectionately known as the “Baby Bull,” passed away on June 28th at the age of 86. Cepeda’s death came only ten days after Hall of Famer Willie Mays died on June 18 at age 93. Cepeda and Mays were teammates with the Giants from 1958 to 1966. […]
Willie Mays was the quintessential five-tool player and arguably the greatest in the history of baseball. He could hit for average with light-tower power, run like the wind, chase down balls in the outfield, and throw. Mays played with panache, from his basket catches to wearing a hat just a bit too loose so that […]
Brooks Robinson, the long-time third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, passed away yesterday at the age of 86. Robinson, widely regarded as the greatest defensive third baseman in the history of Major League Baseball, was an 18-time American League All-Star and won 16 Gold Gloves, all in consecutive seasons from 1960-75. The Orioles and Robinson’s […]
On Sunday, Fred McGriff will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Last December, at baseball’s winter meetings in San Diego, the Contemporary Baseball Players Committee, a panel containing 16 voters (including Hall of Fame players, baseball executives, and media members), unanimously elected McGriff to receive a […]
This evening, Scott Rolen, one of the greatest defensive third basemen in the history of baseball, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. The 389 voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) elected Rolen to the Hall with 76.3% of the vote in an […]
Gaylord Perry, the 314-game winner for eight different teams, passed away today at the age of 84. Perry died at his home in Gaffney, SC at about 5 a.m. Thursday of natural causes, Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said. had an extraordinary 22-year career in Major League Baseball, pitching 5,350 innings for eight different teams. […]
Bruce Sutter, the Hall of Fame closer and pioneer of the split-fingered fastball, passed away Thursday night at the age of 69. Sutter was recently diagnosed with cancer and passed away in hospice care in Cartersville, Georgia. Sutter, a six-time All-Star who saved 300 games in his career, pitched for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis […]
Last January, in his 10th and final year of eligibility, Larry Walker was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Walker’s election was seemingly impossible six years ago, when he received the 17th most votes and garnered just 11.8% support in an election requiring at least 75% for induction. On the day […]
Only one catcher in the history of baseball (Hall of Famer Yogi Berra) has more RBI. Only one catcher in MLB history (Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez) has more hits. These are facts. It’s also now a fact that the man in 2nd place on the all-time list of hits and RBI for catchers, Ted […]
In December 2019, on the “Modern Baseball” ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, longtime catcher Ted Simmons was elected, and, finally, so was Marvin Miller, the former Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Miller was on a ballot with 9 players who had a significant impact on the […]
On Wednesday, after a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will induct four new members into its exclusive club. Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons, and Marvin Miller (posthumously) will have plaques unveiled in baseball’s greatest shrine. Twenty years ago, three members were inducted into the […]
The baseball Hall of Fame family lost another member on Friday when the news broke that Hank Aaron, the man who broke Babe Ruth‘s all-time home run record, had passed away at the age of 86. Aaron, who played 23 years in Major League Baseball, was one of the last living Hall of Famers whose […]
Tommy Lasorda, the longtime coach and manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers, died Thursday night at the age of 93. Until this past Tuesday morning, Lasorda had been hospitalized with heart issues since November. He suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest at his home last night and was taken back to the hospital; he was pronounced dead […]
On the night after Christmas, less than a week before the end of this dark year, the Baseball Hall of Fame family lost yet another member when Phil Niekro passed away at the age of 81. Niekro, known as “Knucksie” for his baffling knuckleball, pitched until he was 48 years old. His 5,404 career innings […]
In the second part of a two-part series on the loss of two St. Louis baseball legends in 2020, I offer this tribute to the former all-time stolen base king, Lou Brock. A few days ago I shared my thoughts on the great Bob Gibson, one of the fiercest competitors that ever stood on a […]
In a year that has been wracked by death due to COVID-19, it’s been an especially tough year for the Baseball Hall of Fame family, especially for fans of the St. Louis Cardinals. In the span of fewer than 30 days, the Redbirds lost two of their greatest players of all-time, pitcher Bob Gibson and […]
This morning I awoke to the sad news that one of the greatest second basemen in the history of baseball, Joe Morgan, passed away yesterday at the age of 77. Little Joe was one of the four stars on the Big Red Machine from the 1970s, the others being Johnny Bench, Pete Rose and Tony […]
New York Yankees ace left-hander Whitey Ford, dubbed “the Chairman of the Board” by catcher Elston Howard, has passed away at the age of 91, less than two weeks shy of his 92nd birthday. In what has been a tough year of death for the entire world, the Hall of Fame family has been hit […]
Tom Seaver, arguably the greatest and most beloved player in the history of the New York Mets, recently passed away at the age of 75. Seaver died peacefully at his home in Calistoga, California on August 31, 2020, due to complications from Lyme disease, dementia, and the Coronavirus. Seaver, known affectionately as “Tom Terrific” and […]
On December 10, 2017, in Orlando, Florida, Jeff Idelson, the President of the National Hall of Fame and Museum, was on the MLB Network set and announced that longtime members of the Detroit Tigers, Jack Morris and Alan Trammell, had just been elected to the Hall of Fame. The 16-member “Modern Baseball” Committee gave Morris 14 […]
Today the sad news came that Hall of Famer Al Kaline, a 22-year member of the Detroit Tigers, has died at the age of 85. According to Tony Paul of the Detroit News (who spoke to a family friend), Kaline recently suffered a stroke before he passed away today at his home in Bloomfield Hills, […]
Earlier this evening Tim Mead, the new President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, announced that Derek Jeter and Larry Walker have been voted into baseball’s most exclusive club and will have plaques unveiled this summer in Cooperstown, New York. Jeter was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers […]
As the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros faced off in the 2019 World Series, we witnessed one of the greatest collections of starting pitching in the history of the Fall Classic. As I noted in this piece posted last week, there are anywhere from two to five future Hall of Famers in the rotations of […]
How hard is it to succeed a legend? How do you follow in the footsteps of Mozart, or Michelangelo, or Shakespeare? In sports, one of the hardest things to do is to replace a legend, especially one whose deeds are embedded in the lore of your team. In Boston, Carl Yastrzemski had the task of […]
Today in Cooperstown, New York, longtime New York Yankees relief ace Mariano Rivera was inducted into the National Hall of Fame and Museum as the first player to be unanimously elected by the BBWAA. With 652 regular season saves, 42 in the postseason and 4 more in the All-Star Game, Rivera saved nearly 700 games […]
This afternoon, after a 16-year wait, Lee Smith was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Smith was unanimously elected by the Modern Baseball Committee last December. The 61-year old Smith, who has the 3rd most saves (478) in baseball history, was granted a Cooperstown plaque on the same day as the […]
This afternoon in Cooperstown, New York, longtime Seattle Mariners designated hitter Edgar Martinez was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum along with five other players from the past several decades. This is a part of a series of six articles about “induction Sunday” which highlight the exploits, the Hall of Fame […]
This afternoon, Harold Baines was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Baines, as most readers know, was a controversial decision by the Eras Committee (what we used to call the Veterans Committee). Many experts and fans felt that he wasn’t worthy of a plaque in Cooperstown and Baines himself was taken […]
Today in Cooperstown, New York, Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, with his wife Brandy delivering a moving speech in front of 57 living Hall of Famers. Tragically, Halladay died in a plane crash (the plane piloted by him) a […]
Mike Mussina, a 270-game winner for the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame today along with five others, including longtime teammate Mariano Rivera. In the second part of a six-part series, this piece celebrates ten Mike Mussina Hall of Fame moments, ten of the greatest games he […]
If you were to ask a casual baseball fan to list the greatest players on the New York Yankees’ dynasty from the 1920’s through the 1940’s, virtually every name would be an offensive star: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Berra. If asked to name the best pitcher on those great Yankee teams, you might get a […]
Frank Robinson, one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, passed away today at the age of 83. Robinson died in Los Angeles after a battle with bone cancer. Robinson played all three outfield positions and first base for 5 different teams in his 21-year MLB career. At the time of his retirement […]
100 years ago today, on January 31, 1919, baseball legend Jackie Robinson was born. He was Major League Baseball’s first acknowledged African-American player when he made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame just 15 years later. Besides being forever tied with the historical […]
Edgar Martinez, the longtime designated hitter for the Seattle Mariners, has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in his 10th and final year on the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) ballot. Martinez was named on 363 out of the 425 ballots cast for an 85.4% share, far above the […]
Roy Halladay, a two-time Cy Young Award winner for the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays, was elected to the National Hall of Fame and Museum on Tuesday. Halladay, who received 85.4% of the vote in an election requiring a minimum of 75%, will be the first player to be elected posthumously by the BBWAA […]
On Tuesday, in a bit of a surprise, Mike Mussina was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. In this, his 6th year of eligibility on the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) ballot, the longtime starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees earned 76.7% of the vote, just above […]
Once every couple of years a candidate arrives on the Hall of Fame ballot who is universally respected, who embodies everything that you would want a Hall of Famer to be. He has a great career record, he’s made a significant impact on multiple World Series Championship teams, and he’s the embodiment of high character. […]
Early this evening, Mariano Rivera made history as he was unanimously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Rivera received all 425 of the votes cast by the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). Prior to today’s announcement, the closest that any other player got to 100% was Ken […]
Willie McCovey, longtime first baseman for the San Francisco Giants, would have turned 81 today. Sadly, he passed away last October 31st at the age of 80. McCovey died of what the Giants called a “long battle with ongoing health issues.” He had been in a wheelchair for many years due to two arthritic knees that […]
Sunday night, in a stunning moment, Jeff Idelson, the President of the Baseball Hall of Fame, announced on the MLB Network that Harold Baines had been elected by the Today’s Game Committee to receive a plaque in Cooperstown. Moments later, Idelson announced that Lee Smith, a long-time closer who saved 478 games, had also been […]
Today in Las Vegas, at the MLB Winter Meetings, Lee Smith and Harold Baines were elected to the Hall of Fame. The Today’s Game Committee, a panel of 16 living Hall of Famers, baseball executives and media members, voted on Smith, Baines and 8 other candidates to become members of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019. […]
This past Monday, longtime relief pitcher Lee Smith headlined the list of 10 candidates nominated for the Baseball Hall of Fame through the “second chance” process known as the “Today’s Game” Eras Committee, formerly known as the Veterans Committee. A panel of 16 living Hall of Famers, baseball executives and media members will consider the […]
One hundred years ago today, on November 3, 1918, Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller was born in Van Meter, Iowa. Feller, known as “Rapid Robert” or the “Heater from Van Meter” was a baseball immortal, known most for his blazing fastball. Although Feller wasn’t particularly big (his Baseball-Reference page lists him as 6’0″, 185 […]
There’s not one pitcher with a plaque in Cooperstown that had a career quite like that of Dennis Eckersley. He had a solid but not especially spectacular run as a starting pitcher for his first 12 seasons and then an often brilliant career as a bullpen specialist for the final 12. It’s the combined value of […]
There are certain baseball personalities that just make you smile when you think about them. New York Yankees legend Phil Rizzuto is one of those personalities. The 5’6″ Rizzuto, known as the Scooter, was a slick-fielding shortstop, a member of 7 World Championship teams with the Bronx Bombers and then a mainstay in the Yankees’ […]
Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, the 6 foot 10 inch left-handed starter, had a unique career in many ways. Pitching in a golden age, with some of the greatest starting pitchers in the history of baseball, the Big Unit stood tall both literally and figuratively. Johnson, with his long hair and scowl, was truly fearsome on […]
Hall of Famer Jim O’Rourke was born on September 1st, 1850 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. O’Rourke was one of the star hitters of 19th century baseball, playing 22 seasons from 1872-1893 before a one-game cameo in 1904. O’Rourke’s nickname was “Orator Jim” because of his loquaciousness. Orator Jim would entertain (or annoy) his teammates by reciting […]
If you’re even a mildly serious baseball fan, you know that the “one” referred to in this piece’s title (Rollie Fingers: World Series Closer Second to Only One”) is New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. Fingers, the long-time relief ace for the Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, and Milwaukee Brewers, was inducted into the National Baseball […]
125 years and one day ago (on August 18, 1893), Burleigh Grimes was born in Emerald, WI. Grimes would later spend 19 years as one of Major League Baseball’s last legal spit-ballers and would eventually become a member of the baseball Hall of Fame in 1964, voted in by the Veterans Committee 30 years after […]
84 years ago today, Roberto Clemente was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. 38 years and 135 days later, after a baseball playing career that would put him into the Hall of Fame, Clemente tragically died in a plane crash off the coast of San Juan. While many revelers were partying a little after 9:00p on […]
This past Sunday, Vladimir Guerrero became the fifth product of the Montreal Expos farm system to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Guerrero joined Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines and Randy Johnson as the quintet of Hall of Famers who made their MLB debuts with Les Expos. In addition, […]
On Sunday in Cooperstown, New York, in one of the greatest days in the 82-year history of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, six new living former players had their bronze plaques unveiled, enshrining them into the sport’s most holy place. Cooperstown is a small village in upstate New York, about 75 miles […]
In Cooperstown, New York, late this afternoon, Bob Costas was inducted into the broadcasters wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as the 2018 winner of the Ford C. Frick Award. The 66-year old Costas, the long-time announcer for NBC Sports, has won well over 20 Sports Emmy Awards and has been […]
In the final installment of a six-part series, we take a look at 10 Hall of Fame moments in the career of Jim Thome, the greatest walk-off home run specialist in Major League History. The native of Peoria, Illinois is best known for his 12 years with the Cleveland Indians but is also a popular figure […]
As he takes his place in Cooperstown, Vladimir Guerrero becomes the first position player from the Dominican Republican to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. This January, Guerrero received 92.9% of the vote from the BBWAA, the highest vote percentage ever for player not on the ballot for the first […]
On Sunday, longtime Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Chipper will join pitchers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz in the Hall as the 4th member of the Braves mini-dynasty of the 1990’s. The Braves won 14 straight division titles from 1991 […]
On Sunday, relief ace Trevor Hoffman will join Bruce Sutter as the 2nd pitcher ever to make it into the National Hall of Fame and Museum without ever starting a game. The long-time closer for the San Diego Padres joins Sutter, Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Rich Gossage, and Dennis Eckersley as pitchers who earned a […]
It took a long time for Jack Morris to get to the Hall of Fame and the route was full of speed bumps and virtual cyber lynch mobs. Considered one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, Morris won more games than any other pitcher in the 1980’s. He was a workhorse who completed a […]
On Sunday, just under 22 years after his final game played, longtime Detroit Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Trammell will enter the Hall with five other players, including his former teammate, pitcher Jack Morris. Considering that Trammell played in the same era as Ozzie […]
Well, hello again you Hall of Fame maniacs, welcome to another edition of “Cooperstown Talk.” In case you haven’t noticed and, based on the number of @cooperstowncred Twitter followers, you haven’t, I shared 20 fun facts about the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 on Twitter in the last few weeks. They don’t call this the […]
Earlier this week the baseball world lost a legend when Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst passed away at the age of 95. Schoendienst enjoyed a baseball career of 76 years as a player, manager, coach and executive, mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals. Schoendienst won two World Series titles as a player, with the 1946 […]
Tim Raines, the long-time outfielder for the Montreal Expos and five other teams, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum last July after a 10-year wait on the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) ballot. To this author, there’s one game that defines the greatness of the career of Tim Raines. […]
Four weeks ago, long-time Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He became the fourth playing member of the Braves dynasty from the 1990’s and 2000’s to be elected to the Hall in the last five years, joining Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. […]
Vladimir Guerrero, the dynamic five-tool player who played for 16 years for the Expos, Angels, Rangers and Orioles, turned 43 years of age on Friday. A little over two weeks prior, Guerrero was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in his second year on the writers’ ballot. Guerrero’s voting percentage of […]
In an era in which baseballs flew out of the park at record paces, Jim Thome sneaked up on us as one of the premium sluggers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Quiet and humble, Thome was, in many ways, just a face in the crowd on the 1995 Cleveland Indians, a super-team […]
After coming just five votes shy in 2017, Trevor Hoffman was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Wednesday, earning 79.9% of the vote. Hoffman will be a part of a six-pack of newly minted Hall of Famers, joining Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Vladimir Guerrero as BBWAA inductees, along with […]
Today we learned that the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) has elected four new members to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. On MLB Network, the Hall’s President Jeff Idelson announced that, on July 29th, Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman will all be honored in Cooperstown, New York, […]
A year ago, Vladimir Guerrero hit the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time and finished with 71.7% of the vote, finishing just 15 votes shy of a first-ballot election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Based on the early publicly revealed ballots reported on Ryan Thibodaux’s indispensable Hall of Fame Tracker, […]
Although overshadowed for sure by the election this past Sunday of Alan Trammell and Jack Morris to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, today longtime NBC announcer Bob Costas won the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence. The 65-year old Costas, a 28-time Emmy Award Winner, called today one of the happiest […]
Alan Trammell is finally a Hall of Famer, having been elected by the Modern Game Committee on Sunday, putting him into Cooperstown along with his long-time Detroit Tigers teammate Jack Morris. For 15 years, Trams didn’t get a whole lot of support from the baseball writers. His status as an outsider to the National Baseball Hall […]
For the first time since 2001, the Hall of Fame Eras Committee (previously known as the Veterans Committee) has inducted a new living member into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Not only did this committee (known as the Modern Baseball Committee) finally elect a living ex-player, they elected […]
He’s baaaack. After being tortured for 15 years on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot, longtime ace starting pitcher Jack Morris is one of 10 candidates on the Modern Baseball Eras Committee ballot. The Eras Committee is the current version of the Veterans Committee, which has for decades been tasked as a “2nd chance” avenue […]
It hurts to write the words. Roy Halladay has passed away, killed in the crash of a plane he was piloting, just 1/4 mile off the coast of New Port Richey, Florida. At the age of 40, four years after his final pitch in the major leagues and a few years from a likely ceremony […]
This past January, three of the top 5 members of the career saves list were all on the Hall of Fame ballot together. Lee Smith, one of the top closers from the 1980’s, was on the BBWAA ballot for the 15th and final time while Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner were both on for the second […]
When Chipper Jones was a rookie third baseman in 1995, the Atlanta Braves won their first World Series title (the first in Atlanta) by defeating the Cleveland Indians in 6 games. Chipper’s opposite number at the hot corner was 25-year-old Jim Thome, who was completing his first full season as a regular starter with the […]
After six years of listening to suspicion an innuendo and falling short on the Hall of Fame ballot, the dam broke this January when Houston Astros great Jeff Bagwell was elected by the baseball writers to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Cooperstown Cred: Jeff Bagwell Elected to the Hall of Fame in […]
Ivan Rodriguez (the second catching “Pudge”), you might be surprised to discover, is just the 2nd catcher ever to attain the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, the other being Johnny Bench. You read that correctly: Yogi Berra went in on his second try, as did Carlton Fisk (the original Pudge). Rodriguez, joining Mike Piazza […]
John Schuerholz, now 76 years old, will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum this summer, having been a unanimous selection of the “Today’s Game” Eras Committee which voted last December. Schuerholz got his start in the Baltimore Orioles organization in 1967 and joined the expansion Kansas City Royals two years […]