Examining the Credentials of the Current and Future Candidates for the Hall of Fame
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
It’s always one of my very favorite days of the year: Opening Day for Major League Baseball. For many in the colder parts of the USA, it’s a line of demarcation between winter and spring. For fans of the grand old game, the anticipation towards Opening Day is not unlike a young child waking up […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]