Connor Law, the hurler; below, Connor Law, the writer (Photo credit: Allasyn Lieneck)
My name is Connor Law, and I am in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. I was a free agent who signed out of Lindenwood University in 2017. Everything in this article is my opinion and my thoughts on the entire MiLB situation and baseball as a whole. I highly encourage discussions and different viewpoints.
Well let me be the millionth person to say it, “this sucks.”
It sucks for all of the minor league players who don’t get to showcase the improvements they have made in the offseason. It sucks for guys who are already old for the minor leagues – I turned 26 in April – who will come back facing an even smaller chance of making the show.
It sucks for all the guys who got cut because a team wanted to make budget cuts only a year after setting records in revenue. The tens of thousands of dollars saved by a mutli-million/billion dollar business must have made the biggest difference – but what do I know? I am just here to throw a ball, or rather, as it is, stay home and throw a ball into a net trying to keep my arm in shape with the hopes of being invited to a camp or fall or winter league. I know some guys have been shutting it down only to start it back up earlier than normal or just because they picked up a full-time job and can’t consistently get their work in as need.
It is tough out there, but you probably already knew that. Not many jobs are hiring and for the few that are, “minor league baseball player” does not exactly put you at the front of the list for many jobs in terms of resume qualifications. It is hard to find a job when we have to disclose that “I don’t know how long I can work – it might be a week, it might be until next spring training.” The uncertainty takes a toll, but such is life. I have been fortunate enough to have few bills and been able to find a job that is very understanding of my situation, but I know this is not the case for everyone, for many of my counterparts, and I know for sure, we would all much rather be playing ball.
I am generally not a glass half empty guy, and I do my best to try and see both sides of any situation – there are some positives that came out of this. There are a couple guys on the taxi squad who are going to possibly debut earlier than normal. Yeah, you have your typical first rounders, but I’m talking about some of my teammates who weren’t first rounders but they are still in Toronto (or wherever the team city is), and I love that. I could not be happier for those guys. It actually pumps me up seeing some of my former teammates from Low-A and High-A in Toronto practicing with the big leaguers – it is fantastic!
Another thing that is not so bad is the minor league ballplayers who were not invited have an opportunity to develop a little bit more. In my opinion, my slider has improved in movement and control throughout all of this. Having said that, it just makes me miss playing in games and throwing going after hitters in games or even game-like situations in practice even more.
This may be cliché, but spending time with family and friends during a summer has been great. I have a close family, and we are all in the same area – I enjoy watching my nieces start up sports and being able to spend a summer with them. I don’t think that I have been able to do that since 2016, seeing them more is definitely a silver lining.
One last thing, of course, is the pay. The fact that the MiLB and MLB decided to pay us while we are not even playing is outstanding. I know Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) is a huge advocate for minor leaguers, and she has done so much in helping us, alongside with More Than Baseball (@mtb_org). Being paid $400 a week helps so many people out. People complain that it is not enough but the fact we are basically getting paid to stay in shape is great. I have absolutely zero problems with it, and I cannot express how grateful I am for it.
Hopefully there will be some camps or maybe fall league so some of us can get a shot to show off our talents – maybe I can even spin that slider that I have been working on. Only thing now is to keep working hard, develop the craft, and hope to get an invite to a camp.
I appreciate Ryan letting me talk about this. I encourage any and all discussion about this subject. You can find me at @CLawman41 on Twitter and Instagram.
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer walks in the dugout in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
There is a battle raging on between millionaire athletes and billionaire investors that seems almost tone deaf with over 40 million Americans having filed for unemployment during the pandemic. As the quarantine carries on with economic uncertainty, it is even more difficult for the average American to comprehend the large numbers with too many zeros being discussed in these negotiations.
What goes largely unnoticed, though, is the ripple effect caused by this very circumstance, as it will undoubtedly impact industries, perhaps even your own, if not handled carefully. To put it bluntly, this is one of the most important wager negotiations currently taking place in the country and, believe it or not, the fight is still between the big guy and the little guy.
Negotiations between players and owners were made with haste in response to the pandemic that effectively put Spring Training and the season on hold. The MLB players’ union had agreed to a prorated salary in March that would honor player contracts based on the amount of games played in the case of a shortened season; however, a small clause in the initial agreement indicated that if fans were unable to attend games, then MLB would have the right to renegotiate the terms “in good faith.” Language that leaves much room for interpretation. With a very realistic expectation that fans will not be returning to seats in any sport this season, MLB is now presenting the players with additional pay cuts that have left players “livid’ and “very disappointed” as reported by several outlets. The union has decided to disengage MLB regarding any discussions or proposals concerning further pay cuts. This is where we are today.
To bridge the gap of disconnect that many are feeling towards players right now, a few statistics must be considered. A player on average has a career length of 5.6 years to make all of his money for himself and his family for the rest of their lives. Most players do not have a college degree and have nothing to fall back on after their baseball career. The median income is about $1.5 million dollars for MLB players as reported in 2018, and 65 percent of players are currently making $1 million or less. Most of the gaudy contract money you read about goes to a very, very small percentage of players. In the 151 year history of the game, there have only been 19,960 players ever to play even a single MLB game. To say a player, who has dedicated their life and sacrificed relationships, health, and more to play a sport for the enjoyment of others, should be paid a premium for an incredibly hard skill and sought after talent would be an understatement.
Now let’s look at some numbers that may make you scratch your head just as the players are doing right now. It should be noted that these numbers are all estimated because MLB, as a private entity, does not have to report their earnings to the public. As players – most notably star pitcher Max Scherzer – have suggest, these numbers may be lower than their actual values. MLB reportedly made an estimated $9.9 billion in revenue last season, with each team of the 30 teams generating an estimated total of almost $330 million. On top of that, Manfred publicly stated on CNN’s airwaves that across all teams there would be a total net loss of $4 billion if zero, not one game, were to be played this season. So that means roughly $6 billion should be left over to support the players, front offices, etc. on a prorated salary. Moreover, projections showed that television ratings could be at an all-time high if the sport were to resume even in the waning days of the pandemic.
So it may seem that owners are trying to emphatically stiff the players. But why? Why now during a pandemic when no other sports league is doing the same with their players? Even the NFL, the league in the most similar position to that of MLB, has come to terms with the fact that their games will likely be played in empty stadiums for the majority, if not the entire, season.
This is a microcosm of something much, much bigger approaching. The player Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) ends in 2021, and the largest issue in negotiations with the next CBA will be a salary cap. Owners want to establish a salary cap moving forward as some players are seen to be making far too lucrative of long-term contracts. Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper set the highest standard for a free agent most recently with a 13-year $330 million contract (only to be outdone by non-free agent Mike Trout). These superstar contracts continue to grow and grow exponentially, a trend that is showing no signs of slowing. By playing hardball with the players now and establishing more salary cuts, the ownership group will effectively have a decisive victory that may be used as grounds for a salary cap in baseball when the CBA ends in 2021.
The owners’ intentions seem to be a system similar to the NBA that will promote more team friendly contracts that will not only encourage players to engage in more self-branding, but to promote movement around the league to other teams. This seen as good business practices, and that is why the owners are billionaires and I am not.
Collectively the players could, in theory, profit more as a whole too if money previously spent on large contracts is distributed equally to other deserving players. The overall median in earnings in MLB would then rise. But also consider this: is a salary cap ethical and does it conflict with the ideals of capitalism? Especially when owners will be profiting off of top talent more while paying them less…
A salary cap works in the NBA and maybe could work in MLB, but the NBA is different in many ways. A main dissimilarity is there are far less players on a roster to be paid than MLB. MLB also has 162 games played in a regular season while the NBA plays an 82 game season. Yet, the most notable contrast is how the NBA itself does a great job of promoting it’s players to set them up for self-banding, while MLB is notoriously bad at doing so, even having their best overall player Mike Trout being known by non-baseball fans as some guy that they think maybe plays baseball or something. Still, though, it is not difficult to see why owners would want a salary cap. Again, it’s just good business.
Now hopefully you’re starting to see the big picture. Imagine if this happened everywhere, including your industry, to you or your loved ones. Does it seem justifiable? It becomes clearer to see why players are taking a stand and why owners are trying to force their hand, and remember, they have a relatively small earnings window.
I recommend everyone continues paying close attention. The result could set a standard that can causes a butterfly effect throughout industries. Adding to the dilemma, businesses, including my own, will be forced to add to the unemployment numbers by letting thousands of more people go if baseball does not happen this year as well. The money is there, the right decisions just need to be made by both sides.
I have seen on twitter and heard on radio, many times, individuals who seem to think that they are taking some moral high ground by rooting for the little guy, saying something along the lines of “why would anyone pull for the billionaire owners over the players?” or “why should the onus be on the players instead of the billionaire owners?” Even worse yet, the “millionaires fighting with billionaires over money get no sympathy from me” take.
Here is the thing, and this might be tough for some of you to hear, but it is not always about billionaires being “bad” or a matter of sticking it to the person with the most money. Equally difficult to stomach for those of you in the millionaires vs billionaires camp – and I am sorry that I have to be the one to tell you this – but some people make more money than you because they have a more valuable skill set or a greater desire to succeed than that which you possess… or maybe they are just more focused on their careers rather than bitching about what others have on phony twitter accounts.
This should not be about sticking it to billionaires, pulling for the little guy, or even millionaires vs billionaires, because it is not… instead, this is, in my opinion, a matter of two things:
Refusing to honor a previous agreement.
The repeated failure of MLB owners to be bullish ON THEIR OWN DAMN INVESTMENT.
Major League Baseball Players Association had previously agreed with MLB to take prorated salaries, a percentage in line with the number of games played in the season over the standard 162 games played… which is great, because it means that MLBPA has incentive to push for more baseball.
Perhaps the owners failed to consider the financial impact of having no fans in the stands? Regardless, this is not the responsibility of the employee. I have a general disdain for hypotheticals, but think about it like this: due to Covid-19 a number of grocery stores are subjected to shortened store hours, for this reason, many employees have seen their hours cut, but also, their maximum shopper capacity has been cut… so now imagine those grocery stores asking their employees to take an hourly pay cut in addition to the hours they are already losing. “Millionaires vs billionaires” guy, shut the hell up…
Nonetheless, here we are, with the owners wanting players to share in the financial burden in something that players have never before been directly responsible: revenue.
Yes, I realize that these are times like we’ve never seen before, and playing baseball in empty stadiums will be costly for owners, but tough shit – you had an agreement, so honor it – if the contracts do not have a clause that subjects players to pay cuts in the event of playing in front of 0, 1, 2, 3… fans, then I guess they should better prepare the contracts in the future.
This, however, should not be viewed as a costly season by owners, who have been, historically, in my perspective, very shortsighted. They continue to be take a bearish stance on their own position (looking back to 1981, 1987, 1994, etc). This season should be viewed as nothing more than a long-term investment into their own team and into the game’s future.
This is not to make light of Covid-19 or any of the hardships that many are facing, but the fact is that this is a golden opportunity to grow baseball, a sport that has seen attendance dwindling since 2007, in the wake of a tragedy, a pandemic.
There are no sports, Netflix and the likes have run dry, and people are still locked in their homes… give these entertainment starved people some baseball and they will always remember it fondly, to include many new fans.
Take it away? Well then it is 1994-95 all over again, and I predict many will abandon the game, but as twitter has recently learned, history does often repeat itself…
Dave Stieb had a 2.91 ERA (148 ERA+) over 145 starts from 1982-85, averaging nearly 275 innings pitched-per season. (Photo credit pending, please contact me if you have any information).
Dave Stieb got his first and only shot at immortality on the 2004 BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot, the writers gave him about the same amount of time as he gave them during his playing career, as he tallied a paltry seven votes, and he was cast away the following year.
I contend that Stieb deserved a better look. Sure, his 176 wins and 1,669 punch outs pale in comparison to the hallowed standards of 300 victories and 3,000 strikeouts, but over the last decade or so we have learned to measure a ballplayer’s career utilizing more than just arbitrary benchmarks.
Dave Stieb initially retired due to injuries after the 1993 season, and then he returned for the 1998 season – a season during which he reported to Spring Training as a special instructor – before hanging it up for good… he left the game with a great career behind him, but having never finished better than fourth in Cy Young Award voting, he was far from a Hall of Famer… or was he?
Well, for starters, I do not only think that he should have won a Cy Young Award, I would argue that he should have taken home at least three, perhaps four.
In 1982, Stieb had his best Cy Young finish, fourth, behind Dan Quisenberry, Jim Palmer, and, the winner, Pete Vuckovich. The only problem is that he was markedly better than all of them. It is easy now to look at wins above replacement and note that Stieb led all American League pitchers with 7.6 WAR, equaling the combined totals of Palmer and Vuckovich. But WAR aside, let’s take a look at how Stieb stacked up against the 1982 AL Cy Young Award winner that season…
And just for the record Stieb’s 7.6 win above replacement were 4.8 more than what Vuckovich’s WAR total that season. He was also stellar down the stretch, completing eight of his final 12 games – being pulled after nine innings in two games that went into extra innings and after 11 innings in another – with a 1.95 ERA.
Edge? Stieb. Sorry, Clu Heywood.
LaMarr Hoyt took home the 1983 American League Cy Young Award, and Dave Stieb was on the outside looking in, as he did not even get a courtesy vote. Stieb, though, pitched just as well, even better by some standards, than he did the previous year (and better than everyone else receiving votes).
Hoyt had a fine season, and he was especially adept at keeping men off base by way of the free pass, but yet again modern statistics tell us that Stieb had the better season. Hoyt’s adjusted ERA was just 15 percent better than league average, where Stieb was 42 percent better, and that his 3.7 wins above replacement were trifling compared to Stieb’s 7.0 WAR.
Sabermetrics or baseball card stats… I am leaning Stieb either way.
The 1984 season saw Willie Hernandez to the American League Cy Young Award. Hernandez, a relief pitcher, had a fantastic season out of the ‘pen, and his victory is not nearly as offensive as the fact that Stieb finished just seventh without a single first place vote – or nearly as great an injustice as the fact that Hernandez also won the damn MVP Award while a guy like Cal Ripken Jr. got virtually no consideration – so let’s take a by the numbers look.
My contention here is that BBWAA was, or at least thought they were, ahead of the curve in that they knew the value of relief pitching and finishing games long before anyone had a clue – consistently and incorrectly rewarding relievers in the 1970s and 1980s with Cy Young Awards and occasional MVPs – when the fact is, they did not.
Thought aside: this is no different than how the modern BBWAA heavily favors defensive prowess, as we see Omar Vizquel, undoubtedly one of the greatest fielding shortstops in history, garner support for the Hall of Fame, despite having a bat that was nearly 20 percent below average for his career. The unknown here? Value added by having an all-time great defender over just a generational great – I say it is negligible; give me Jimmy Rollins and his great mitt and good bat over Omar Vizquel and his all-time great glove and incompetent offense. But what do I know?
I do not believe Willie Hernandez and his 4.8 wins above replacement would be taking home the Cy Young Award had this season played out this way in modern baseball. Instead, Dave Stieb and his 7.9 WAR and his adjusted ERA+ of 146 would likely be considered a more suitable victor.
But instead, it happened in 1984, regardless, with or without the sabermetrics, give me the guy who tossed nearly twice as many innings. That is three for Stieb…
Bret Saberhagen, the 1985 American League Cy Young Award winner, was, in my opinion, the most deserving of any of the AL winners from 1982 to 1985. So maybe BBWAA actually got this one right, but where they definitely went wrong was another seventh place finish for Dave Stieb.
This one is close no matter how you spin it, even looking at the wins above replacement, Saberhagen edging Stieb, 7.1 to 6.8, and adjusted ERA+, favoring Stieb’s league best 171 over Saberhagen’s 143.
Stats aside: perhaps neither of these hurlers should have been awarded the Cy Young Award that season. Bert Blyleven compiled a 17-16 record, 3.16 ERA, 37 GS, 24 CG, 5 SHO, 293.2 IP, 206 K, 264 H, 75 BB, 1.154 WHIP, and years later, when the statistics were founded, added a 134 ERA+ with 6.8 WAR of his own…
Again, maybe they got this one right, or maybe they got it wrong… again. No matter how you spin it, there is no way the Dave Stieb should be without multiple Cy Young Awards and at least four straight top-three finishes.
Dave Stieb could have, under different circumstances, found himself on a list with Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, Greg Maddux, Clayton Kershaw, Sandy Koufax, Pedro Martinez, Jim Palmer, Max Scherzer, and Tom Seaver… among pitchers to win three or more Cy Young Awards, and then it might have been difficult to keep him out.
Dave Stieb was the best pitcher in baseball for a decade (1981-90) when he topped baseball tallying 49.1 wins above replacement over 2,284.2 innings pitched – 21.1 WAR than Hall of Famer Jack Morris accumulated over that period, despite Morris tossing 148.2 more innings.
Stats aside: Dave Stieb was also the best pitcher from 1980 to 1989, if my selection was too arbitrary for you, when he tallied 48.1 wins above replacement to Jack Morris’s 38.2 WAR. In fact, for a dozen years, from 1980 to 1991, Stieb led all pitchers with 55.6 WAR.
I am not (yet) prepared to say Dave Stieb belongs in the Hall of Fame, but I certainly believe that he deserved a better look than what he got from BBWAA.
Home run No. 71 (Photo credit: Jack Gruber at USA TODAY Sports)
It is a March day at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s my birthday. I am turning four-years old and I only know this by showing how many fingers I’m told to hold up when asked. I am running around the clubhouse wearing multiple wristbands, a jersey with No. 14 on my back, and a hat that was far too big for my head with no cares to give in the world. As always, I have been designated by my father to not touch anyone’s stuff, to not get in anyone’s way, and, most importantly, to have fun.
As I’m flying around the clubhouse occasionally tripping on the over-sized jersey I am wearing, I am all of a sudden floating in air. My hat covers my eyes as I’m being lifted up and all I hear is, “boy, what are you doin’ around my locker?” I’m now being carried around on someone’s shoulder. My hat falls and I see a smiling man carrying me with one arm to my father’s locker then drops me off while laughing the entire way. The man and my Dad talk about something, but I’m not paying attention. It is my birthday, and I’m having a party with cake and presents behind the home plate bleachers underneath the stadium and all I know is that other kids will be there. Other kids that can be my friends.
It’s time for my party. The players’ wives and their kids show up. I am playing with other players’ sons and daughters who would inevitably be my friends for the rest of the season and the gang I would run amuck within the confines of Candlestick Park, always up to no good.
I remember having a good time until all of a sudden there was a ton of chaotic commotion. People start cheering and the energy changes in the air. Walking comes the man that picked me up earlier, this time in uniform. I didn’t realize how big he was until now. The man walks up to me and gives me that same big smile from earlier. He wishes me a happy birthday.
That man was Barry Bonds.
Home run No. 71 (Photo credit: Jack Gruber at USA TODAY Sports)
Years later, now an awkward preteen, I would saunter into the clubhouse at AT&T Park (now known as Oracle Park), this time not as a player’s son, but as a former player’s son who is now with the media. This is different. I had to be extra respectful now. I’m instructed to be quiet at all times, only to speak when spoken to, and definitely never ever touch anyone’s bat or glove, as I could potentially ruin someone’s mitt pocket, bat tape job, or worse, ruin a superstitious routine.
As I entered, I am in awe of being in a clubhouse again as it had been years since my father retired. Everything looked a lot smaller and the clubhouse with its contents inside were much nicer. F.P. Sr. snatches my arm and drags me to the right of the clubhouse, where two huge television screens on rollers sit blocking the view of a locker. “Hey come over here. Barry wants to say, hi,” he instructed.
“Boy you’ve grown! You playing ball now? You better not be taking any lessons from your Daddy,” Bonds said. I was old enough to realize who Barry Bonds was now. This was the guy I saw on T.V. every night, the home-run king, the greatest baseball player on Earth, maybe to ever play the game. He knew I was nervous.
“Boy, what are you so nervous for? Why is your face so red?” Instantly, Barry then picked me up, put me on his shoulders, and carried me through the clubhouse. “You’re going to act all nervous when I use to carry you around the clubhouse like this all the time when you were this tall? [motioning with his hands].”
Barry would go around the clubhouse and talk to several players with me on his shoulder, carrying me like a log. I was laughing and smiling again. He put me down and then said, “see I’m still the same guy and I know you are too. How’ve you been? You have a girlfriend yet? The girls better watch out for you! Whatever you do don’t listen to your Dad.” We would go on to talk about my awkward preteen life that consisted mostly of baseball and girls.
I would see Barry many times again for the next few years. The entire time my father was covering the Giants, I was floating around the stadium with him and Barry would always go out of his way to say hi and start a conversation with me. I would tell him I would get in fights at school with kids who would speak ill of him and he would laugh and tell me, “why are you getting in fights over me? Let them think what they want. You know who I really am.”
Years went by. Barry retired. The Mitchell Report happened. The steroid scandal happened. Barry was the most polarizing figure in sports, and arguably still is. I was finishing up college at UC Santa Barbara and was interning at the Giants’ flagship station, KNBR 680. One day, Marty Lurie had a show at The Public House, a restaurant connected to Oracle Park. I heard Barry was coming out to the patio where I was working as it was his Wall of Fame induction day at the park. I was excited. I always told people that Barry and I knew each other and of all the conversations we had about baseball, the girl advice he would give me, and so on… but they thought I was just trying to blow smoke and making it up, so as the years went by I started telling fewer and fewer people.
Barry came out to the patio. As you could imagine, there were a horde of people following him complete with a police escort to help him around the facility. I saw Barry. I wasn’t nervous. Barry taught me not to be nervous around anyone.
I walked up to him to the shock of Marty and others I was working with and said, “you might not recognize me–” he looked at me for a split second and stopping me mid-sentence, “boy, I know who the hell you are!” Then he gave me a big hug. He gave me a good second look – this was the first time he saw me with a beard – then said, “damn, you grew up to be as ugly as your Daddy!” His wit was sometimes faster than his swing. Like no time had passed, we spoke then he took off, celebrating around the ballpark.
(Photo credit: KNBR)(Photo credit: KNBR)
Fast forward to present day, I now work as a member of the media in San Francisco and I see Barry around the yard at Oracle Park when he visits and he always makes it a point to catch up with me. Still offering me the time of day; we still talk baseball… and he still asks me about my dating life.
Now, you may ask yourself why I’m telling you some personal stories of Barry Bonds, and these are just a few. But It is because many don’t know the man behind the swing. All most people see is what is portrayed by the media and what the public has framed him to be: a monster.
People don’t know the man who secretly visited children’s hospitals around the Bay Area whenever he could. People never saw the man that was one of the hardest working players in baseball, many times staying hours after the last fan left working on his craft. People don’t understand the countless times he would go out of his way to make someone feel special. People only see a man that was scapegoated into the figurehead for cheating in baseball, despite the fact that his actions were not even regarded as cheating by his peers, rather it was the norm.
To this day I still get in disagreements about Barry with colleagues, friends, and even strangers. Mid-argument, I always stop and end the conversation before I get too worked up and think about what Barry told me all those years ago, “why are you getting in fights over me? Let them think what they want. You know who I really am.”
And this is what people who love Barry need to understand too. If you love Barry and he was your favorite player, you don’t need a Hall of Fame to remember how great he was as a player. Similarly, the people who know him don’t need the affirmation from others to understand how great the man was either.
There is a reason you do not see Bonds in a broadcast booth or going on radio shows or sitting down on one on one interviews or creating buzz to campaign for his own Hall of Fame induction – he knows who he is.
Still, part of me wants the world to know who the real man is and how he was a victim of circumstance during an era of baseball. I hope one day people will take time to get to know the man, not just the swing.
Major League Baseball tried to make a statement with the recent disciplinary actions: cheating of any sort will absolutely not be tolerated… especially when pressured by many people to do an actual investigation.
In case you live under a pile of rocks (I don’t judge), the Houston Astros were disciplined for electronically stealing signs from the opposing battery via a video room and monitors during the 2017 season. The punishment includes a one-year suspension without pay for both Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow (both of whom ended up fired by the organization hours after the suspension was announced), the loss of their 2020 and 2021 first and second-round draft picks, and a fine of $5 million dollars.
A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow (Credit: AP Photo).
From the fallout, other organizations have been impacted due to direct links with the 2017 Houston Astros. The Boston Red Sox have parted ways with their manager Alex Cora, who was a former bench coach on the 2017 Houston team, and the New York Mets reportedly wanted to distance themselves from their new managerial hire Carlos Beltran, asking the former Astro to step down. But this seems to be only the tip of the iceberg with mysterious sources on social media coming forth and fingering others as guilty.
A Twitter account (@SO_blessed1) claiming to be the niece of Carlos Beltran, later proven false, now believed to be a player’s burner account, brought forth allegations against Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, alleging that the two wore “buzzers” during the 2019 postseason, tipping them off as to what pitch might be incoming.
Later, the now deactivated account, would include young Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres as a player who also used a buzzer-like device. While the stirring accusations seem to be growing in legitimacy, the account is seen as credible by many, as the unknown user previously predicted the outcome of other in-house events of other teams: namely the event of Carlos Beltran being asked to step down by the Mets days before the news broke (though this was something that was widely accepted as immanent in baseball circles).
After an uproar from fans, MLB released another statement: “MLB explored wearable devices during the investigation but found no evidence to substantiate it.” With surmounting evidence against players and other teams seemingly rising to the surface everyday from both fan and player sources, it will be interesting to see if MLB will be pressured into another investigation against the Astros and/or other teams or will try to let additional findings go by the wayside.
So what do you think of the penalty against the Astros now? At first glance, earlier in the week you might have thought MLB dropped the hammer, but as more time passes it seems in reality commissioner Rob Manfred only dropped a plastic spoon. If nothing more comes of the additional claims against the Astros and others, the penalties overall seem weak considering the club went to the World Series twice, won a ring, and profited greatly from their postseason success across the organization, top to bottom. So if frail, what was MLB trying to achieve through these retributions?
By targeting the top, MLB hopes future coaches and GMs will notify their players to stop cheating when caught and as a result will remove the source(s) before the culture grows, like what A.J. Hinch reportedly tried to do in the Astros clubhouse by calling meetings and smashing monitors used to steal signs when the manager first discovered the use of video technology.
So basically coaches and GMs will definitely never cheat ever again and the game will be played correctly happily ever after. Especially since the Astros are the only team in the universe to use technology to steal signs in baseball, right..?
In 1900, the Philadelphia Phillies had a backup catcher by the name of Morgan Murphy who played 11 games that season. Murphy spent the majority of the 138 game season in the clubhouse – which at the time was in the outfield – and would use opera glasses to look at the opposing the catcher’s signals. The backup catcher would then use a telegraph system wired to the third-base coach’s box to notify the third-base coach what was coming. From there, the coach would relay the pitch to his batter, most likely by a verbal or sound cue. Sounds like I’m making this up right? Well, later that season Cincinnati Reds shortstop Tommy Corcoran would find a wire, which upon investigation, would lead directly back to the telegraph system and Murphy in the Phillies’ clubhouse. Soon after, Murphy was let go by the organization.
A little more than fifty years later, in 1951, New Yorks Giants manager Leo “The Spymaster” Durocher employed an elaborate sign-stealing scheme in a successful attempt to overcome a 13.5 game deficit to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Durocher would use his coach Herman Franks in the manager’s office of the Giants’ clubhouse beyond center-field at the Polo Grounds to steal opposing catchers’ signals using a telescope. Frank would relay signs through an electrical-buzzer system where then pitchers in the Giants’ bullpen in right-center would flash the signs to Giants’ hitters in the box. Sound familiar..?
Sign stealing schemes have been going on since before the World Series, as a championship, even existed. Please be aware of this: there are countless instances, analogous to those above, including a recent case with the Boston Red Sox utilizing Apple Watches to steal and relay signs in 2017. It really makes you think about all of the times teams throughout history didn’t get caught when you begin to dig up how many teams that did. Just ask “Black Jack” McDowell…
Major League Baseball has a problem. It is not just one or even a few, but many teams are stealing signs, by means that many would consider illicit, more often than a drunk college student on a Saturday evening bender. Teams do not need to earn that runner on second to decode and decipher signs in the (old school?) way anymore – there is technology virtually everywhere for that.
So how do we fix teams from stealing signs, because surely teams, coaches, and players will continue to do whatever means necessary if livelihoods are at stake and future generations can be set up for life? The punishments handed to the Astros are simply too small compared to the rewards garnered, particularly if the group reaping the benefits are to get away with the crime.
Should MLB employ ear pieces to catchers and pitchers so they can speak about that girl six rows up behind the opposing team’s dugout?
Is MLB going to install a light system at home plate and the pitcher’s mound so the battery can play Lite-Brite™ with each other and send signals to one another?
Probably not, that is pretty stupid.
How about MLB getting rid of all the electronics in the dugouts, in the clubhouses, in the bullpens, in the tunnels, and practically everywhere the players can go during the game while having more officials monitor what goes on behind the scenes?
Logically this seems like the best solution, but it would not work. Not only is regulating all devices impractical, but to do so would mean to sacrifice player privacy, which as many know is sacred. Not to mention having hired officials for 162 games would sound pretty expensive to Major League Baseball (that’s multiple officials monitoring numerous areas for more than 2,430 games a year, not including the postseason, and assuming they never become compromised).
Playing devil’s advocate, perhaps MLB should let everyone steal signs anyway they can? I mean, this isn’t allowing steroid use where a man can ruin his health, his relationships, and his life by injecting artificial chemicals into his body in order to become a momentary superhuman. This is different. This is allowing an element, a part of the actual game going on today, to come out of the shadows for the public to see.
Consider this: if organizations are allowed to steal signs anyway they want, using technology during the game, would the focus not shift from actually stealing signs to ways to prevent them from being stolen? Would organizations not develop a greater sense of urgency to protect themselves so as to put their destiny back into their own hands and prevent their pitcher from being susceptible?
As reported by the Washington Post, the Nationals did just that with suspicions the Astros were stealing signs by unconventional means during the 2019 World Series. Let it be clear, although assertions are being made by players and many online as previously noted, those suspicions are entirely unsubstantiated as fact by any official source.
The Nats, though, planned ahead and would use a complex system, not unlike what is sometimes used in high school and college baseball, to relay signs as a caution to rumors heard around the league. Each pitcher would have their own special set of signs that were placed onto laminated cards, one for the catcher to put on their wrist band and the other for the pitcher to place inside their cap. Signs put down by Nats catchers Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes were only understood by the pitcher as there was no concrete way to decode without the information on the cards. The Nationals would go on to win all four games in Houston and the 2019 World Series – marking the first time in history that a team was crowned World Champion winning all of their games on the road.
Baseball can only hope more organizations will follow the paradigm of the Nationals; do not fight fire with fire, instead extinguish the blaze. The system the Nationals used works, for now, but can cause more problems than it might solve. These cards tend to take more time than traditional means of signaling for a single pitch, which can disturb the flow of a pitcher that relies on tempo. Both players have to look at their cards, make sure they’re seeing the small numbers correctly, then put down the correct sign. For pitchers who are not familiar with this system, mix-ups can happen often. The most problematic issue? The time spent can kill the flow of the game by grinding it to a complete halt, especially with a pitcher on the mound who already is operating at a leisurely, deliberate pace. But, for now, there seems to be no better solution; though, I am confident that the negative effects from this method would be diminished greatly with widespread usage and with the development of more efficient ways to navigate the cards.
Knowing how teams tend to zig and zag with one another, I believe more organizations will begin to explore more precise avenues to guard against technology – so let’s not give up on baseball just yet. The difficulty lies in the long, grueling 162-game schedule, followed by even more games in the postseason. Some teams may not see it apt to be protective for all 162 games or even for the 81 road games, particularly in a scenario where a team may be cellar dweller in the division and out of reach of playoff contention.
Nevertheless, the game played by half-innings finds itself in a novel position: on the clock. Time will tell whether more drastic punishments and changes will be needed or if time itself will continue to be a flat circle.
CLEVELAND, : Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies wears his batting helmet backwards after starting pitcher Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners lost control of the previous pitch, and Walker switched to the left side of the plate 08 July during the second inning of the Major League All-Star Baseball game at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, OH. AFP PHOTO/TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
“Coors” (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
In general, when I make a case for a ballplayer, I try to do so first with the evidence that they left on the field and on the stat sheet and then talk to the man behind that career. Larry Walker, like Tim Raines and Edgar Martinez, was very humble regarding his own career – it was difficult to get him to discuss his own numbers, and I am not a particularly gifted interviewer, so I did what I always do: just approach it like two dudes talking baseball.
I told him about a story that former big league catcher John Baker wrote for me last year when we were discussing the first annual Ballplayer Ballot:
“In the vein of science, let’s get anecdotal with a personal, biased anecdote. Here is a Larry Walker story: In 2004, I was playing for the Midland Rockhounds (The A’s AA Texas League Affiliate). We were in Oklahoma playing against the Tulsa Drillers. Two Rockies, Larry Walker and Preston Wilson, were there on a rehab assignment. Larry Walker came up to the plate for his at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, looked at me (I was catching) and said, ‘Well, let’s see how this goes, I haven’t even swung a bat yet today.’ Interesting, I thought, as I signaled for a fastball. I picked the low, first pitch out of the dirt. Mr. Walker stood totally still, like a statue, and let the pitch pass low. He had no intent of swinging, as he didn’t even take a stride. He was clearly tracking the first pitch. To everyone’s surprise, AJ, the umpire, called the pitch a strike! I almost did a double-take! What a terrible call. Without missing a beat, Mr. Walker looked back at the umpire and asked a question worthy of a Hall of Fame selection, ‘On the swing?’ He hit an opposite field homer on the next pitch, like only a Hall of Fame caliber player could, on his first full swing of the day. But that isn’t the reason he is on my list, he is on my list because the numbers say he should be on my list. To quote the one of a kind Jason Marquis, in the most New York accent possible, ‘Check tha numbaz.’”
Walker really enjoyed Baker’s anecdote – he laughed recalling the incident, “I was late to the park that day, and I didn’t get an opportunity to hit, I just went right on to the field.” He continued, “‘on the swing’ was a line I would use on a horrible call; that, or ‘calling by sight or sound today.’ I didn’t really get angry, I just made a joke of it – I just wanted to play the game and have fun doing it.”
But still, Walker is, by any measure, a Hall of Famer by the numbaz. He was a career .313 batter with 383 home runs and 230 stolen bases – none of the other 19,689 ballplayers in baseball history have bested him in each of those three categories.
He batted .366 with 49 home runs and 33 stolen bases in 1997, making him the only player ever to bat at least .350 in a 30-30 season. That same year, he slugged .720, making him the only ballplayer in history slug at least .700 in a season with even 20 stolen bases in a season.
But Coors right?
Well, he slugged .709 at home and .733 on the road that season. But we will get back to the Coors Effect in a bit.
I once heard Matt Stairs quoted saying that he would “give up his baseball career for five minutes on the ice with the Habs.” I asked Walker if he would do anything similar.
He laughed, “I wouldn’t go that far, but hockey was definitely my first love. I didn’t play more than 15 baseball games in a season until I was 16 years old. If anything, we were playing windmill softball. My first year in Utica [New York-Penn League] at 18 years old, I hit like .220. I stunk.”
You hit .223 that season, Larry. Don’t be so hard on yourself.
“So no, I wouldn’t give up my baseball career for hockey, but I would give up all of my home runs for a ring.” He continued, “I do have one, I just never won one. I went to Spring Training with the Cardinals in 2006 as a special instructor – me and Cal Eldred – and the Cardinals made sure we both got rings. Goes to show how classy of an organization the Cardinals are.”
Them’s fightin’ words, Larry…
I told Larry that I know Tony La Russa has advocated for him heavily and said, “most people know the kind of player that he has been his whole career. I mean, just a gifted, all-around everything. In fact, I think he probably would be in the top-three of just about every category: baserunning, defense, handling the bat.”
“…probably would be in the top-three of just about every category: baserunning, defense, handling the bat.” (Photo Credit Pending)
Larry responded, “Tony La Russa, man, we get along well. He likes a little humor – I cracked a joke to him the on my first day with the Cardinals. He said laughing, ‘we got a funny guy here’.”
Before we got into his time with the Rockies, we talked a bit about one of his Cardinals teammates, Scott Rolen, another guy who has been severely underrated by BBWAA.
“The list could go on and on regarding players who belong and who are not in – there are some guys who are friends and have the numbers, and then there are some guys who are friends who don’t have the numbers, but it is still tough to leave them out. The first one that jumps out to me is Scott Rolen. I mean, look at the numbers.”
I told Walker that I thought Rolen was great, a hero to me when I was a kid, that I advocate heavily for him as a Hall of Famer, and that he may not get in this year, but he has got seven more years on the ballot after this one – this is your last! And I asked him if he would be really disappointed if he doesn’t get in on this one.
“Yup, this is the last year – my last year watching the voting. It is cool, it is a thrill, but man it gives me anxiety – not the voting, there are nights I cannot sleep because I am worried about the prospective of having to do that damn speech!”
“I am not going to get too fired up because I don’t want to be let down. I will definitely miss tuning in to see what happens.” He continued with a chuckle, “If it doesn’t happen, my Dad won’t be happy.”
Now, I had to ask Larry about the Coors Effect and the lesser known Hangover Effect.
Both Baseball-Reference (BR) and FanGraphs (FG) have a ballpark factor in their WAR formulas, accounting for the infamous “Coors Effect.” But neither formula account for – and may never really be able to account for – the lesser known “Hangover Effect.”
Kevin and I explain this phenomenon in much further depth in Incredible Baseball Stats, Version II, but to give a mile high overview as to what the theory is, it is the idea that, while players do indeed see a boost in their offensive production when playing their home games at Coors Field, that boost in production is at home and home alone – and when the same player is on the road, his numbers experience a far more dramatic decline than a traveling player who plays his home games in, say, Philadelphia.
Bear in mind, aside from a batted ball’s carry at high altitude, a pitcher essentially loses his ability to effectively throw breaking pitches when visiting Coors Field, where Rockies’ players play half of their games – home advantage. Then, when Rockies’ players hit the road, they may see that very same pitcher, throwing an entirely different repertoire or even just other pitchers throwing pitches that they are not otherwise seeing in half of their games; more over, many are experiencing exhaustion and sickness from playing at high altitude and then returning to sea level – road disadvantage.
Let’s take a by-the-numbers look at this…
Since the Rockies first season in 1993, they rank first in batting average, first in on-base percentage, and first in slugging percentage at home, batting .306/.370/.504. But, for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction, and the Rockies have batted .242/.307/.382 on the road during that same span – last, last, last!
At home, their .874 OPS is 53-points better than the second place Red Sox (.821). On the road, their .689 OPS is 18-points lower than the 29th best team, the Pirates (.707).
Overall, their OPS is 14.7 percent better than average at home and and 6.0 percent worse than average on the road.
So perhaps it is not quite an equal but it is definitely an opposite reaction. I contend that the overall advantage by playing one’s home games at Coors Field is probably does not offer any given player’s numbers much more of a bump – overall, when combined with road numbers – than playing at any other hitter friendly ballpark, because those players do not have to deal with The Hangover Effect on the road.
In the end, one of just two things is really possible: either that without the “Coors Effect” the Rockies have been otherwise more offensively inept than the Pirates, a team that has had 23 losing seasons since 1993, or that the “Hangover Effect” is real and its negative impact is great.
Note aside: I am well aware of the humidor’s implementation in 2002; however, the first, first, first, last, last, last phenomenon largely holds true for any decent sized period in Rockies franchise history. I am working on a far deeper analysis, and I theorize that playing on the Rockies does not, in general, afford a given player’s numbers, overall, the best over bump and that other teams may offer a better overall offensive environment. But that is for another day…
I asked Larry if he believed in the Hangover Effect was a real thing, as many do not despite the evidence, “the Hangover Effect is a real thing, I know that – but to be fair, it varies from individual-to-individual. There are so many variables. But one thing holds true for sure: say you are on a ten-game road trip and you are hitless in the first three games, then [the Hangover Effect] really [messes] with your head.”
Walker added, “I got a buddy who gambles and bets basketball – any team playing the Nuggets, if they are playing on the road in the next day or two, he is betting against that team.”
Larry didn’t really want anyone to take pity on him, whether he is inducted or not, “I feel bad for Todd, man. He has it worse than me with half of his games at Coors Field. He is so deserving of the Hall of Fame, but may have to wait it out – perhaps if one of us is inducted it will help out potential future Rockies Hall of Famers.”
Larry struggled mightily on the road in his first two seasons with the Rockies, I believe, because of the Hangover Effect – batting just .225/.314/.424, but as any Hall of Famer would, he adjusted, and batted .303/.403/.550 when traveling away from Colorado over his next six seasons. I had to ask him, how did he adjust for the Hangover Effect?
“I adjusted all the time, even at home. At-bat to at-bat, no matter where I was playing – the game is always about adjusting. I once did an hour long show at ESPN with Tony Gwynn, I spoke for maybe six minutes – Tony broke EVERYTHING down, I just tried to see the ball, hit the ball. I never tried to fix it via tape. I just try to simplify everything.”
Larry said to Gwynn, “Tony, the pitcher throws the ball, then I am going to see it and try to hit it, and if I do, I am going to run. I don’t breakdown my swing – the game is played between the ears.”
Gwynn’s complex approach to hitting certainly worked, but so did Larry’s simple methods.
Larry still did not want to talk much about his numbers, though, instead he shared a moment that meant a lot to him on a personal level from his career, “I was fortunate enough to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, they called me the ‘Humble Hero,’ I really appreciated that because I try to exercise humility. As far as the numbers go, I don’t really know them until guys like you post them.”
Will do, Mr. Walker… Will do…
Hall of Famers: Frank Thomas – .301 batting average
Joe DiMaggio – .398 on-base percentage
Henry Aaron – .555 slugging percentage
Willie Stargell – 3,247 times on base
Ken Griffey Jr. – 136 OPS+
Andre Dawson – 70.2 defensive runs saved Ernie Banks – 67.5 rWAR Tony Gwynn – 65.0 fWAR
Vlad Guerrero – 136 wRC+
Willie Mays – .409 wOBA
Larry Walker:
.313 batting percentage
.400 on-base percentage
.565 slugging percentage
3,211 times on base
141 OPS+
93.9 defensive runs saved 72.7 rWAR
68.7 fWAR
140 wRC+
.412 wOBA
Larry Walker would have to return to baseball and go 0-for-294 for his lifetime batting average to dip below .300.
Larry Walker, the baseball pioneer: among Canadian-born players he ranks first in runs (1,355), hits (2,160), doubles (471), home runs (383), extra-base hits (916), total bases (3,904), RBI (1,311), hit-by-pitch (138), times on base (3,211), stolen bases (230), slugging percentage (.565), OPS (.965), wOBA (.412), rWAR (72.7), and fWAR (68.7). His .313 batting average is bested only by Tip O’Neill (.326), who last played on Aug. 30, 1892.
Wade Boggs had a 131 OPS+, he batted .369/.464/.527 at Fenway Park and .306/.388/.398 every where else.
Larry Walker had a 141 OPS+, he batted .381/.462/.710 at Coors Field and .282/.372/.500 everywhere else.
Larry Walker batted .393/.485/.571 in 33 career plate appearances against Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.
Larry Walker preparing to square off against Randy Johnson during the 1997 All-Star Game; Larry, a lefty facing the fierce lefty, decides to flip his helmet and bat right-handed mid at-bat – despite the fact that he owned Johnson. He would see one pitch as a righty, a ball, before going back to the left side. (Photo credit pending)
Larry Walker batted .381/.462/.710 (1.172 OPS) at Coors Field. The members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame batted a combined .325/.410/.564 (.974 OPS) at Coors Field. Stat via Hall of Stats founder, Adam Darowski.
Larry Walker batted .282/.372/.501 away from Coors Field.
Dave Winfield* batted .283/.353/.475 for his career.
Kirby Puckett* batted .318/.360/.477 for his career.
Andre Dawson* batted .279/.323/.482 for his career.
Billy Williams* batted .290/.361/.492 for his career.
Jim Rice* batted .298/.352/.502 for his career.
Asterisk denotes a Hall of Famer; Walker leads the group in: rWAR, OPS+, fWAR, wOBA, and wRC+.
Larry Walker batted .322/.394/.587 with 65 extra-base in just 103 games played in 1994. But COORS! Right? Well, the Rockies played at Mile High Stadium that year and Larry batted just .231/.231/.385 there… in three games as a visiting member of the Expos.
One full season (162 games) played by Larry Walker is worth about 226 games played by Reggie Jackson in terms of career rWAR.
One full season (162 games) played by Larry Walker is worth about 218 games played by Reggie Jackson in terms of career fWAR.
Only three players in history have had more more home runs (383), stolen bases (230), and defensive runs saved (93.9) than Larry Walker: Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron, and Willie Mays.
Chuck Klein* batted .395/.448/.705 at the Baker Bowl and .277/.339/.451 every where else.
Babe Ruth batted .342/.474/.690 for his career, and Reggie Jackson batted .262/.356/.490 for his career.
Ted Williams batted .344/.482/.634 for his career, and Jim Rice batted .298/.352/.502 for his career.
Larry Walker batted .381/.462/.710 at Coors Field and .282/.372/.500 everywhere else. Among them, Walker is the only ballplayer not in the Hall of Fame.
Let’s stop pretending, people: Larry Walker did not play half of his career games at Coors Field, not even one-third, in fact – it was 30.0 percent.
Two players who find themselves on the 2019 Hall of Fame Ballot:
Gary would also vote for the following ballplayers outside of his top-10:
Jeff Kent
Andruw Jones
Gary would not vote for Pete Rose, abstains from voting yes or no on Shoeless Joe Jackson, and would not vote for Dick Allen.
“Pete Rose was one of my favorite players growing up and he still is. He and every player that has spent a day in a Major League Baseball clubhouse knows ‘permanently ineligible’ is the consequence for gambling on your team. If the Hall of Fame follows that rule he should not be in.”
“Shoeless Joe’s postseason stats don’t appear as if he was in on the fix, but I don’t know enough to say yes or know.”
“I’ve heard Dick Allen was one hell of a player, but just looking at stats I’d say he’s a little short.”
Ballot No. 32 – Kevin Youkils
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Derek JEter
Curt Schilling
Andruw Jones
Gary Sheffield
Jeff Kent
Larry Walker
Billy Wagner
Manny Ramirez
You would also vote for the following ballplayers outside of his top-10:
Sammy Sosa
Andy Pettitte
Todd Helton
Scott Rolen
Paul Konerko
Youk would vote for both Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, but abstains from voting yes or no on Dick Allen.
“This class was so damn loaded. I could easily pick these all and be happy – they dominated a decade of baseball amongst their peers.”
“The Hall of Fame could recognize all the greats and even make a wing for the PED-era that could not only show the dark side of the era but use it in a way to help show young kids the dangers within using steroids. It’s a museum that could not only show greatness of the people’s career but also show how you need to stay ethical and moral to the rules within the game or you will end up in a certain wing of the hall that will be cast a shadow on your career.”
Ballot No. 31 – Glendon Rusch
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Todd Helton
Derek Jeter
Jeff Kent
Scott Rolen
Curt Schilling
Omar Vizquel
Billy Wagner
Larry Walker
Rusch would also vote for the following ballplayers outside of his top-10:
Bobby Abreu
Andy Pettitte
Andruw Jones
Rusch would vote for both Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, but not for Dick Allen.
“Put Adam Dunn in my Hall of Fame – gave up seven homers to him!”
Ballot No. 30 – Andruw Jones
Barry Bonds
Derek Jeter
Scott Rolen
Larry Walker
Jeff Kent
Curt Schilling
Roger Clemens
Gary Sheffield
Todd Helton
Omar Vizquel
Andruw abstains from voting yes or no on Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
Ballot No. 29 – Kevin Frandsen
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Jeff Kent
Manny Ramirez
Curt Schilling
Larry Walker
Omar Vizquel
Sammy Sosa
Gary Sheffield
Derek Jeter
Franny votes no on Pete Rose and abstains from voting yes or no on Shoeless Joe Jackson and Dick Allen.
“Larry Walker had insane numbers playing at Coors, but Coors NEVER inflated a ballplayer’s instincts. Everyone that played with or against him will say he was one of the best instinctual ballplayers around.”
Worth noting: Franny was particularly emphatic regarding his vote for Barry Bonds, and slotted Bonds in every other spot on his list, meaning it actually looked like this:
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Barry Bonds
Jeff Kent
Barry Bonds
Manny Ramirez
Barry Bonds
Curt Schilling
Barry Bonds
Larry Walker
Barry Bonds
Omar Vizquel
Barry Bonds
Sammy Sosa
Barry Bonds
Gary Sheffield
Barry Bonds
Derek Jeter
Barry Bonds
Ballot No. 28 – Geoff Blum
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Derek Jeter
Manny Ramirez
Scott Rolen
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Sammy Sosa
Billy Wagner
Larry Walker
Blummer would vote for the following players outside his top-10:
Andruw Jones
Blummer would vote for Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, but not for Dick Allen.
“Unfortunately no [on Dick Allen], but put him in the Bad Ass Hall of Fame! He was a bad man.”
“Gary Sheffield scared the shit out of me when I was at third.”
“I loved watching [Andruw Jones] play… even though he took hits away from me.”
Ballot No. 27 – Ryan Spilborghs
Larry Walker
Todd Helton
Andruw Jones
Derek Jeter
Scott Rolen
Billy Wagner
Curt Schilling
Omar Vizquel
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Spilly would vote for the following players outside his top-10:
Jeff Kent
Gary Sheffield
Spilly would not vote for Pete Rose and abstains from voting yes or no on Shoeless Joe Jackson and Dick Allen.
“Based on how I voted last year, I have changed my position a bit, I am frustrated by the PED/steroid issue, it is as if I am softening my stance on guys cheating our game, our records, our baseball sensibilities. I don’t like that I can’t trust my eyes or my senses, that at the end of the day, the ones who took the shortcut to fame, finances, and the fear of the game passing them by still get rewarded. I can’t hide the fact that Bonds and Clemens were the best of the era, the fact that their careers lasted as long as they did to accumulate their stats, they were Hall of Famers in my eyes their entire career, but because I can’t definitely point out if and when they used PEDs, and because I don’t believe it should be the voters role to be judge and jury, I am going to vote for Bonds and Clemens, and let MLB and the Hall of Fame sort it out.”
“As far as Coors Field and Rockies players Larry Walker and Todd Helton, there are enough park adjusted stats that prove these guys are Hall of Famers. Larry is a top 10 right fielder in the history of the game, he also had higher OPS+ than Vlad, Gwynn, and almost 30 points higher than Ryne Sandberg (I know he’s a second basemen, but it is amazing when you take home/road splits as a argument). If Coors Field is the crutch, then get rid of the field, playing at Altitude is a greater stress on the body than any other field in MLB, I would know, its a great place to hit and play, but lets not act as if the player didn’t compete and perform at the highest level.”
“I would vote for Kent and Sheffield, and because Manny Ramirez and Sosa were caught, I can’t vote them in.”
“Joe Jackson is interesting to me because, by all accounts I’ve researched and read, he was innocent. Even grand jury testimonials don’t have him ever admitting to any sort of fix. I don’t think Joe Jackson violates Rule 21 (The Official Professional Baseball Rules Book, Rule 21(d)(1)(2)(3), P. 100), I think Pete rose violates Rule 21. But I’m also biased due to Rose’s off-field transgressions. But from all the information I can find, Joe Jackson was used strong armed to uphold a rule.”
Ballot No. 26 – Micah Johnson
Barry Bonds
Derek Jeter
Andruw Jones
Scott Rolen
Gary Sheffield
Manny Ramirez
Sammy Sosa
Roger Clemens
Omar Vizquel
Curt Schilling
Micah would vote for the following players outside his top-10:
Larry Walker
Micah would vote for Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
“Baseball is a game that has been constantly evolving and I find it ridiculous to judge a players merit to enter the Hall of Fame by comparing them to players from other eras.You have the current ‘juiced ball era’ – which nobody told me was coming or else I wouldn’t have retired as early – where homers are flying out at a higher rate than the steroid era, while facing pitchers throwing 100 mph gyro balls. You have the ‘steroid era’ in which players looked like NFL Blitz Characters. You literally have a massive era where guys, who to this day are considered some of the best players of all-time, only played against their own race… Point is, the main question for me to elect a player into the Hall of Fame is how dominate were they during their era?”
Ballot No. 25 – Joe Oliver
Derek Jeter
Gary Sheffield
Manny Ramirez
Larry Walker
Andruw Jones
Andy Pettitte
Scott Rolen
Billy Wagner
Paul Konerko
Todd Helton
Joe would also vote for the following ballplayers outside of his top-10:
Jeff Kent
Joe abstains from voting yes or no on Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
Ballot No. 24 – Will Ohman
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Manny Ramirez
Curt Schilling
Todd Helton
Derek Jeter
Scott Rolen
Omar Vizquel
Larry Walker
Paul Konerko
Will abstains from voting for yes or no on Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
On Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, and Schilling: “Phenomenal careers marred by scandals or public image issues. Does nothing to change the on-field contributions. Put them in the hall, let God sort out the sinners in the afterlife.”
On Helton and Jeter: “Should be no arguments.”
On Rolen, Vizquel, Walker, and Konerko: “Let the debate rage. Each with merits, each with some snub-worthy comments. Bottom line: all four were great and defined their positions.”
Ballot No. 23 – Anonymous Former Atlanta Braves Ballplayer
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Derek Jeter
Andruw Jones
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Omar Vizquel
Larry Walker
Ballplayer would vote for Pete Rose but abstains from voting yes or no on both Shoeless Joe Jackson and Dick Allen.
“I voted for Andruw Jones because I felt like he was the best center field in the game, also I got to see it first hand for [number redacted to protect anonymity] years. I voted for Omar Vizquel for same reason as Andruw, I thought he was the best defensive shortstop in the game.”
Ballot No. 22 – Bucky Jacobsen
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Todd Helton
Derek Jeter
Andruw Jones
Scott Rolen
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Billy Wagner
Larry Walker
Buck would vote for Pete Rose but abstains from voting yes or no on both Shoeless Joe Jackson and Dick Allen.
Ballot No. 21 – Brad Thompson
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Todd Helton
Derek Jeter
Andruw Jones
Scott Rolen
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Omar Vizquel
Larry Walker
Brad would vote for Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
“I believe that when you walk through the Hall of Fame it should be a history lesson. How can you tell the story of the game of baseball without [Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens] being a part of it? I’d be all for mentioning their links to PEDs on the bio but these two should be in there.”
“Scott [Rolen] is the best third baseman that I’ve had a chance to see. I know his overall offensive numbers are borderline but his defense pushes him over.”
“[Curt Schilling’s] postseason dominance elevates him a ton for me.”
“The shortstop position has changed drastically over the years but the glove used to matter… a lot. [Omar Vizquel] was the best defensive shortstop for two decades and overall offensive numbers better than Ozzie.”
“There wasn’t an aspect of the game that was overlooked by Larry [Walker]. Coors Field bias be damned. The numbers are there. He should be in.”
“I believe Pete Rose should be in. Again, how do you tell the story of the game without the hit king? Also fine with his indiscretions being mentioned on his plaque.”
Ballot No. 20 – Mark Little
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Todd Helton
Derek Jeter
Andy Pettitte
Manny Ramirez
Scott Rolen
Garry Sheffield
Sammy Sosa
Larry Walker
Mark would vote for Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
Ballot No. 19 – Mike Trombley
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Derek Jeter
Larry Walker
Todd Helton
Andruw Jones
Gary Sheffield
Omar Vizquel
Curt Schilling
Sammy Sosa
Mike would also vote for the following ballplayers outside of his top-10 (which are listed in order):
Billy Wagner
Andy Pettitte
Mike would vote for Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
Uniquely, Mike included all of those who he believe are worthy of induction from the Modern Era Ballot, in addition to Dick Allen:
Dwight Evans
Thurman Munson
Don Mattingly
Dave Parker
Dale Murphy
Marvin Miller
Tommy John
“Rose, Bonds, and Clemens not in – most hits, most home runs, and most Cy Young Awards; I understand people’s opinions but I feel like they are being treated like examples. Three of the best to ever played the game.”
“I know I have a lot of names on here, and I know they all won’t get in soon but I feel all are deserving.”
Ballot No. 18 – Anonymous Former Seattle Mariners Ballplayer
Larry Walker
Omar Vizquel
Barry Bonds
Todd Helton
Derek Jeter
Ballplayer would vote for Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, he would not vote for Dick Allen.
“Where is Fred McGriff?”
Ballot No. 17 – David Aardsma
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Todd Helton
Derek Jeter
Andruw Jones
Jeff Kent
Curt Schilling
Sammy Sosa
Billy Wagner
Omar Vizquel
DA would also vote for the following ballplayers outside of his top-10:
Gary Sheffield
He also said that Andy Pettitte and Larry Walker are close for him, both amazing players, but in the end, a no on his ballot.
DA votes no on Pete Rose and Shoeless Jackson, but yes on Dick Allen.
“Barry Bonds was the best player of all-time.”
“I am a firm believer in putting PED players into two distinct groups, pre-rule changes and post-rule changes. If you have been suspended for violating the rules and using PEDs you have no place in my Hall of Fame. Before it was illegal, there was nothing stopping anyone, and honestly, we have no idea who did it or who didn’t unless they confessed to it. But either way it wasn’t illegal in the game of baseball to use it at the time. I am certain there are users in the Hall of Fame already, but we can’t make our opinions on if we liked the guy or not the basis of if they used or not. A great player who used PEDs but treated the media well in smaller markets would most certainly be viewed in a positive light and haven’t been treated the same as players who didn’t treat the media well in bigger markets. I believe any player prior to the rule changes should be in based on what they did on the field, once we had rules in place then I’m sorry but you don’t belong in [the Hall of Fame].”
“Shoeless Joe and Pete Rose are an absolute no for me. When you begin playing baseball there is literally ONE rule that stops you from being a Hall of Famer: YOU CAN’T GAMBLE ON THE GAME. That’s it, one fricking rule. Just because these guys were great doesn’t mean we should adjust the rules for them. I wrote an article about Pete and my feelings on it for Baseball Essential a few years back. Pete has lied so many times that we don’t even know the truth, the Commish had given him several chances to come clean and he continued to lie about what he had done.”
Ballot No. 16 – Brad Ziegler
Derek Jeter
Omar Vizquel
Curt Schilling
Todd Helton
Billy Wagner
Ziegler would not vote for Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, or Dick Allen.
Ballot No. 15 – Jeff Frye
Derek Jeter
Larry Walker
Scott Rolen
Todd Helton
Omar Vizquel
Curt Schilling
Andrew Jones
Gary Sheffield
Billy Wagner
Raul Ibanez
Jeff would vote for Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
“I don’t believe that players who were caught using PEDs or are suspected of using should be allowed in the Hall of Fame. Although, I’m certain some are in already.”
Ballot No . 14 – John Ennis
Derek Jeter
Omar Vizquel
Curt Schilling
Larry Walker
Billy Wagner
Todd Helton
Paul Konerko
Cliff Lee
Scott Rolen
Andruw Jones
John abstains from voting yes or no on Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
Ballot No. 13 – Gregg Olson
Derek Jeter
Larry Walker
Omar Vizquel
Billy Wagner
Todd Helton
Jeff Kent
Alfonso Soriano
Curt Schilling
Andruw Jones
Bobby Abreu
Gregg abstains from voting yes or no on Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
Ballot No . 12 – Anonymous Former Colorado Rockies Ballplayer
Todd Helton
Scot Rolen
Derek Jeter
Curt Schilling
Bobby Abreu
Omar Vizquel
Jeff Kent
Andruw Jones
Paul Konerko
Billy Wagner
Ballplayer abstains from voting yes or no on Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jacksons, and Dick Allen.
Ballot No. 11 – Anonymous Former Philadelphia Phillies Ballplayer
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Manny Ramirez
Sammy Sosa
Lary Walker
Derek Jeter
Andruw Jones
Omar Vizquel
Jeff Kent
Ballplayer would vote for Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
Ballot No. 10 – Manny Sanguillén
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Derek Jeter
Andruw Jones
Andy Pettitte
Manny Ramirez
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Sammy Sosa
Omar Vizquel
Manny would vote for Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
“Pete has the numbers to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Charlie Hustle!”
“Yes! [Shoeless Joe] didn’t throw any games. Fake news!”
“Yes. [Dick Allen’s] numbers prove [he belongs]. He was the most powerful right-[handed batter].”
Ballot No. 9 – Jason Hirsh
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemes
Todd Helton
Derek Jeter
Jeff Kent
Scott Rolen
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Billy Wager
Larry Walker
Hirsh would also vote for the following ballplayers outside of his top-10:
Manny Ramirez
Andruw Jones
Andy Pettitte
Hirsh would vote for Pete Rose and Dick Allen, but is undecided on Shoeless Joe Jackson.
“All of these players are players of my generation. Whether I was a kid collecting their baseball cards or actually got the opportunity to play against them. I believe the players I voted for are the best of their generation and deserve to be enshrined regardless of the controversy surrounding some of them. With Bud Selig being inducted to the Hall, the door was opened to ‘steroid era’ players who, in large part were Hall of Famers before their alleged use. Like I said last year, the ‘character clause’ gets thrown out the window when I look at this list because I can guarantee there are already unscrupulous characters in the Hall and I want to see the best players in the Hall, not the most righteous.”
“My additional players, Ramirez and Jones were dominate and feared. I feel like their time will come. Andy was a former teammate and one of the most dominate left-handers of his generation and constantly brought up when talking about the greatest left-handers of all time. As more comparisons come out and stats put forward, I believe his time will come as well.”
“Pete Rose belongs in the Hall. His on-field play was unrivaled and he defined a generation. His off-field antics were unscrupulous and shady but as I mentioned before, I’d like to see the best players in the Hall, not the most righteous.”
“Unsure – I don’t have enough information of Shoeless Joe to make an educated decision on his inclusion. His public perception is often told through the lens of Hollywood movies and books much like that of Ty Cobb. Many of those stories are fabricated or exaggerated to sell tickets/books and do not really showcase who he was and what he accomplished. A deeper dive into his career is warranted, not just from me, but all of the baseball community.”
“Dick Allen’s story is a sad one, but his on-field story is a much prouder one. As I previously mentioned, the best on-field players should be enshrined in the Hall and by all accounts, Dick belongs among his peers and teammates. Although not a household name you often hear thrown around in conversations about great hitters or even players who endured terrible racism (a la Jackie Robinson), his name could be, or even should be, spoken of more for what he was able to accomplish. Everyone loves a good redemption story and Dick’s story of enduring racism and being able to come back and potentially forgive a city that once despised him would be one that most people could get behind.”
“I absolutely love this project that you have undertaken, by giving a voice to the players on who should be enshrined in THEIR hall. I cannot believe that it has take this long for someone to step up and say that we, as current/former players, no matter our impact on the game, should be allowed to vocalize our opinions and you have done just that. Thank you for doing this and allowing players like me to have a voice. Semper Fi!”
Ballot No. 8 – Anonymous Former Chicago White Sox Ballplayer
Derek Jeter
Gary Sheffield
Omar Vizquel
Jeff Kent
Ballplayer would vote for Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, but not for Dick Allen.
“Steroids are a big issue with me and I feel badly for Clemens, Bonds, McGwire because I think they probably would’ve gotten in without them, but the numbers are so inflated because of them in my opinion.”
“[Pete Rose] has paid a huge price by his gambling and betting on baseball. I believe in second chances and by what he did on the field, I believe he now deserves to be in now.”
Ballot No. 7 – Josh Fogg
Larry Walker
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Derek Jeter
Scott Rolen
Sammy Sosa
Gary Sheffield
Andruw Jones
Curt Schilling
Andy Pettitte
Josh would also vote for the following ballplayers outside of his top-10:
Todd Helton
Josh would vote for Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen.
“[I did not vote for Larry Walker] because I was I was a Rockies player, it is because he was one of the best players I ever played against.”
Ballot No. 6 – Curt Schilling
Bobby Abreu
Todd Helton
Derek Jeter
Jeff Kent
Scott Rolen
Omar Vizquel
Billy Wagner
Larry Walker
Schill would not vote for Pete Rose or Shoeless Joe Jackson, but would vote for Dick Allen.
“Bobby Abreu was a 30/30 and 30/40 season before he was 28 years old. A legit game changer on defense and, I think, a terribly underrated player from my era. He won’t get many votes but he has better numbers than some guys already in.”
“I thought 2007 was the real beginning to [Josh Beckett’s] Hall of Fame run. It didn’t seem to pan out. Check out the postseason numbers, you didn’t want to face him in October.”
“Barry Bonds is a no, I would not cast a ballot for anyone I believe cheated.”
“Injuries spoiled the end of a good career [for Eric Chavez]. If defense did matter AT ALL to Hall of Fame voters, Eric would be a guy I would expect to see support for.”
“Roger Clemens is also a no, see [Bonds]. And let me add this one hurts more than a little. I think I was the last guy in the game, at the time, who was defending him until it all came out. He will always be one of the men who helped my career more than a little.”
“I would not vote for Adam Dunn, but from 2004 to 2008 he was a legit middle of the order game changer. Five straight 40 homer, 100 walk seasons!”
“Jason Giambi was one of the nicest human beings in the game.”
“Todd Helton batted .321/387/1.084 against me, so I say yes! In all seriousness he’s a Hall of Famer, a no doubt Hall of Famer in my book. He was an elite defender and writers have no clue how hard it is to play in that city. Yes, the air is thinner, yes the ball travels further, but it also wears you out far more than playing at sea level like altitudes. Colorado, the park, affected everyone’s opinion of him from Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and other votes. His home and road splits are what they are, but you can only play in the park you live in, that’s not on him. Check out his late season numbers too, when August rolled around he got after it.”
“I won’t add anything to the argument other than [Derek Jeter] needs to be the second guy getting in with 100 percent of the vote. Quite honestly, as someone who played in some tough markets, I find the most amazing thing about his career was his ability to stay out of the news off the field. First class guy and someone I relished competing against.”
“I don’t think [Andruw Jones] amassed the totals looked for by voters. I will say it again though, he was the best defensive center fielder I ever saw. That being said, if defense were a significant factor in voting then he’s a definite yes.”
“I guess I would ask the obvious, why isn’t [Jeff Kent] already in? His numbers sit right there with some of the best second basemen of all-time.”
“Andy Pettitte is kind of a tough one for me because I love the guy, but I don’t see the numbers. Yes he won 19 games in the postseason, but that was in 44 starts. His ERA near 4.00 and he had more hits than innings pitched in both circumstances.”
“Scott Rolen was the best defensive third basemen to ever play the game. Pretty sure the newfound defensive metrics will back that up. That, and I heard Mike Schmidt say the same thing. I saw it first hand, from day one and it was Hall of Fame worthy.”
“Omar Vizquel was the best defensive shortstop of my era.”
“Billy Wagner was a shutdown closer who I think has Hall of Fame numbers.”
“Larry Walker was a five-tool all-star who dominated at the plate and in the outfield.”
Ballot No. 5 – Anonymous Former Los Angeles Dodgers Ballplayer
Derek Jeter
Andruw Jones
Jeff Kent
Gary Sheffield
Omar Vizquel
Ballyplayer does not believe Pete Rose should be inducted while living, he would also not vote for Shoeless Joe Jackson or Dick Allen.
Ballot No. 4 – Anonymous Former Atlanta Braves Ballplayer
Roger Clemens
Barry Bonds
Manny Ramirez
Derek Jeter
Larry Walker
Gary Sheffield
Jeff Kent
Todd Helton
Scott Rolen
Curt Schilling
Ballplayer is on the fence for Pete Rose, he would not vote for Shoeless Joe Jackson or Dick Allen.
“[Pete Rose] broke the one law that is posted when we walk into the clubhouse.”
Ballot No. 3 – Kyle McClellan
Derek Jeter
Larry Walker
Kyle would not vote for Pete Rose or Shoeless Joe Jackson and said that he would need to do more research on Dick Allen to make a decisions… something he might do if his opinion actually factored into who gets into the Hall of Fame.
Ballot No. 2 – Jacque Jones
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Derek Jeter
Paul Konerko
Manny Ramirez
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Larry Walker
Todd Helton
Bobby Abreu
Jacque votes yes on Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe, and Dick Allen.
“[Pete Rose] was an exceptional hitter and what he did ON THE FIELD deserves to be recognized.”
Ballot No. 1 – Todd Greene
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Derek Jeter
Manny Ramirez
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Sammy Sosa
Omar Vizquel
Billy Wagner
Larry Walker
Greeny would vote for both Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, but not Dick Allen.
