Just think of Raul would have been given a chance to be full time player when he was 24! He might have gotten 3,000 hits and then the HOF discussion would be totally different.
I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the fact that five ballots are in at this time on the HoF tracker page, but two of them voted *only* for Derek Jeter. You wrote: "It will be absolutely fascinating to see how many people this year (1) Vote for 10 players and (2) Spread around those extra votes."
Did you expect voters to pick only one guy? Not just because they thought it was the only HoF worthy candidate, but because the player (Jeter) was so good he deserves to go in alone.
If I'm reading the Tracker correctly, one of these two voters (Steven Marcus) picked only 2 players last year: Rivera and Edgar. The other guy (Anthony Rieber) did pick 10 players last year. So I wouldn't make too big a deal out of a one-person trend. :)
I approve of all four The Athletic articles, in contrast to some of the The Athletic commenters, which probably means something is wrong with them... Anyway, I'm glad to see Joe get to the Hall of Fame candidates, which is often some of his best work year to year. I would vote for Walker, Schilling, Jeter, Rolen, and Abreu, and maybe Helton and Wagner. I am most rooting for Walker this year because it's his last year and probably last chance at the Hall. I'll try this survey out and look forward to the Baseball 100. I don't know if I'm glad for the 19th-century and Negro League players to be on it. They were on the last list so there's nothing new there. I guess we can say goodbye to Greinke, Gehringer, Fisk, and about a dozen more players through Ozzie Smith.
Looking forward to that Audiobook. And hopefully to a time where I can finagle a chance to go to one of the Houdini book things. Philly would be a great place for one, since the Eagles consistently "Houdini" their way out of winning football games. ;-)
Love the newsletter format! And 100% AGREE with the Baseball 100 including everyone that ever played professionally, regardless of the league or the time. You have railed against the unfairness of segregation for a long, long time and that should certainly roll into the Baseball 100. I look forward to your insight on where the Negro League players are positioned.
Just think of Raul would have been given a chance to be full time player when he was 24! He might have gotten 3,000 hits and then the HOF discussion would be totally different.
The baseball rating poll is hard? It would take me a week to fill it out. I got thru 7 of 31 in two hours. But I loved every minute of it!
I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the fact that five ballots are in at this time on the HoF tracker page, but two of them voted *only* for Derek Jeter. You wrote: "It will be absolutely fascinating to see how many people this year (1) Vote for 10 players and (2) Spread around those extra votes."
Did you expect voters to pick only one guy? Not just because they thought it was the only HoF worthy candidate, but because the player (Jeter) was so good he deserves to go in alone.
I wasn't expecting that.
If I'm reading the Tracker correctly, one of these two voters (Steven Marcus) picked only 2 players last year: Rivera and Edgar. The other guy (Anthony Rieber) did pick 10 players last year. So I wouldn't make too big a deal out of a one-person trend. :)
Thanks for putting Raul first in your post. He deserves it.
Raul Ibanez was one of the most durable "old" players in baseball history. Where Ibanez ranks among all players in MLB history from age 30 on:
8th in RBI
9th in Games Played
9th in Plate Appearances
15th in Hits
24th in Home Runs
26th in Runs Scored
I approve of all four The Athletic articles, in contrast to some of the The Athletic commenters, which probably means something is wrong with them... Anyway, I'm glad to see Joe get to the Hall of Fame candidates, which is often some of his best work year to year. I would vote for Walker, Schilling, Jeter, Rolen, and Abreu, and maybe Helton and Wagner. I am most rooting for Walker this year because it's his last year and probably last chance at the Hall. I'll try this survey out and look forward to the Baseball 100. I don't know if I'm glad for the 19th-century and Negro League players to be on it. They were on the last list so there's nothing new there. I guess we can say goodbye to Greinke, Gehringer, Fisk, and about a dozen more players through Ozzie Smith.
That poll was devious, mean, painful and enlightening.
Looking forward to that Audiobook. And hopefully to a time where I can finagle a chance to go to one of the Houdini book things. Philly would be a great place for one, since the Eagles consistently "Houdini" their way out of winning football games. ;-)
Love the newsletter format! And 100% AGREE with the Baseball 100 including everyone that ever played professionally, regardless of the league or the time. You have railed against the unfairness of segregation for a long, long time and that should certainly roll into the Baseball 100. I look forward to your insight on where the Negro League players are positioned.
I loved the Baseball Rating Poll, Joe!!! Quite frankly, I thought i did a fantastic job on it. :-)
Four years ago we had “Randy Winn is Awesome” as a tagline. Maybe this year it can be “Raúl Ibañez is Awesome.”