Starting Nine.

Things Seem To Be Changing.

2026-01-23T16:44:00.009-05:00

I am not a small hall guy, you know they type that thinks Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle should be the line at which the standard is drawn. Nor am I an open the doors and let 'em in type - I mean, I understand why they let Harold Baines in the Hall but that they did it before they considered the likes of Dale Murphy (still out) and Dick Allen (they came around last year) is insane. This is not a knock on Baines who seems like a nice guy and was a great hitter for a long time but I think there is an invisible line of the top 2% or so of players who should make the hall of fame and ol' Harry just doesn't quite make it - nor does someone like Vada Pinson or Rusty Staub who have always in my mind been just below that line (though neither of them would embarrass the hall either).

All that hall rhetoric aside, I do like who got into Cooperstown this time around and they seem like players that a while ago would have taken longer to get in. Of course, I also have personal individual grudges against all these players as well, which I will lay out in excruciating detail.

Carlos Beltran got 358 of 425 votes, 84.2% on his 4th time on the ballot.

Will he go in as a Met or a Royal?

When Beltran first appeared on the ballot, I looked at his career numbers, having not followed him much after the Mets traded him for Zack Wheeler (which is an angry rant for another time), and I realized he was very much in line statistically with players like Andre Dawson and Billy Williams. Low and behold, when I looked at the baseball reference comparisons, they were all each others top two. So Beltran finished with very impressive stats indeed and certainly deserves enshrinement and got in faster than either Dawson or Williams did.

This was a LOT of uni changes at the end of his career.

Ah, but there was a big shadow cast over his election and that was in his involvement with the 2017 Astros and their trash can scandal. I have already gone into this nonsense in great detail before and obviously I do not hold that against him (even if the Mets did). No, I will never forgive him for not swinging at strike three in the bottom of the ninth in game seven of the 2006 NLCS. People say that Adam Wainwright offering was a perfect pitch and would have frozen Ted Williams. I say the bases were loaded and he should have been looking curve and could have protected the plate and fouled it off. I am not a hitting coach but I also stand by my statement. Twenty years later it still gets to me.

Andruw Jones got 333 of 425 votes, 78.4% of the vote in his 9th time on the ballot.

I should make this page all fielding photos.

Jones was a transcendent defender from the moment he came up as a 19 year old in 1996 (winning nine Gold Gloves overall) and eventually became one of the most dangerous hitters around and even had what a could have been an MVP in 2005 with great numbers like 51 homers and 126 RBI for a division winner, except Albert Pujols was in the middle of being Albert Pujols so that didn't happen. I watched him kill the Mets 19 times a year with spectacular catches in center and timely hits at the plate so while I respected the other Jones in Atlanta's lineup, I so so hated him as well (though not as much as the other one and now they live together side by side forever in my hall of fame binders). My real issue with his election is not the player but the logic; if Anduw Jones is a hall of famer, why isn't Keith Hernandez? Keith was also a transcendent defender for a couple of Series winners, who won an MVP (and also finished his career less than heroically just as Jones did). I cannot figure out why the old-time committee or whatever they call it now hasn't gotten around to him yet. Is it the cocaine? It might be the cocaine. But with Dave Parker finally making it in, I hope they elect Keith before he drops dead.

Jeff Kent was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era committee (that's what they are calling it now) back in December over such names as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens (PED shame holdovers) the aforementioned Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly (Keith Hernandez wasn't even on the ballot and that makes ZERO sense if Don Mattingly is).

Only the Indians are not represented here.

Jeff Kent was a great "have bat will travel" kind of player; one that is much more common in the modern era with free agency and later deadline trades. It also helped that he played at the usually light hitting second base. His plaque will have tiny letters to fit in all the teams he played for (Toronto Blue Jays (1992) New York Mets (1992–1996) Cleveland Indians (1996) San Francisco Giants (1997–2002) Houston Astros (2003–2004) Los Angeles Dodgers (2005-2008). The reason he didn't stay in any one place for too long his because he was a renowned red-ass who rubbed teammates and opponents alike the wrong way. I always liked that he used this evil against Barry Bonds, to the point that he won an MVP in 2000 over him when Barry had superior numbers. My real issue with Kent is that when he wore out his welcome with the Mets, they traded him for the corpse of Carlos Baerga who forgot how to hit the moment he put on the blue and orange (he is not the only one). They probably could or should have gotten more for him, I mean the Indians flipped him a year later for Matt Williams.

So you might ask why if I don't post on the blog much anymore do I seem to almost always write about the hall of fame inductions. It is not because of tradition or even because I hold such deep opinions about the hall, it is because I always move the players from my "retired" binders to the "hall of fame" binders right after the votes are announced so they are out and about and it is easy to scan them together. Convenience? Laziness? Now those are the American Pastime if ever there was one.

Tidings of Comfort and Joy.

2025-12-24T18:00:00.002-05:00

God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan's pow'r
When we were gone astray
Oh tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy.

In Bethlehem, in Israel
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger
Upon this blessed morn
The which His Mother Mary
Did nothing take in scorn
Oh tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy.

Fear not then, said the Angel
Let nothing you affright
This day is born a Savior
Of a pure Virgin bright
To free all those who trust in Him
From Satan's pow'r and might
Oh tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy.

It Was Thirty Years Ago Today.

2025-09-06T18:30:00.113-04:00

Fans talk about "unbreakable" records all the time. They talk about Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hit streak as though no one could ever break it. It is highly unlikely but statistically possible for someone to break Joltin' Joe's hallowed streak. If you think back to the 80s - yes, a very long time ago now - folks used to say all the time how Lou Gehrig's 2130 game consecutive streak was "unbreakable." How in the 50+ years since he'd finally sat down that no one had even come close to playing that many games in a row. It was taken as absolute certainty that it was a mark that would last forever. It's even written on his monument in Yankees stadium that it was a mark that "should stand for all time." Enter Cal Ripken Jr.

Oddly enough, Cal Ripken and Lou Gehrig are similar ballplayers in the fact that there is one thing about them that overshadows everything else about them. For Lou, it was the sad fact that he got a rare disease and died so young. But go look at his numbers, they are other worldly. He is statistically one of the best if not the best hitting first baseman of all time. But people remember his tragedy, not his talent. And Cal and Lou run the same problem because of what Cal did; his streak became the defining feature of Cal Ripken Jr. and not the fact that he changed the position of shortstop forever. Alex Rodriguez, Nomar, Jeter, all those guys, none of them would exist as shortstops if Cal Ripken didn't exist first.

Cal was a humble guy who just went to work every day. He also won ROY, 2 MVPs, and got 3000 hits and hit over 400 home runs while winning gold gloves and a bunch of silver sluggers. This would be great for a corner outfielder but he did it all (mostly) as a shortstop. We all remember his victory lap that night after the fifth inning and the non-stop standing ovation he got. We all try to forget that Chris Berman was the TV announcer. A few years ago Cal reflected on that night and he was his normal humble self:

September 6, 2012:

Thank you, thank you. Just for the record, just because you stood up and clapped, I’m not taking a lap around the ball park again….Those days are over, thank you. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what to expect from these bronze statue ceremonies. Sure these statues are for pretty good Orioles baseball players, but at the same time a familiar kind of Orioles magic started to appear, the magic of the Oriole Way. A deep-rooted connection developed over generations, made up of people who dedicated their lives to baseball in Baltimore. Sure, it’s a game, right? Well, not to this group. Baseball was, and is, about excellence on and off the field; baseball was, and is, about teamwork; baseball was, and is, about community. Baseball, in the end, was and is about family, one big family, the Oriole family.

Speaking of families, I want to thank the Angelos family for their renewed connection with the rich history of the Orioles. Thank you so much, Mr. Angelos, thank you so much, Mrs. Angelos, John and Lou for creating and capturing that spirit of the Oriole way through these wonderful works of art. Thank you very much. I am honored to look out and see myself among the players whose sculptures stand here. Through these statues, we all are reminded what it means to be an Oriole: local ownership, local pride, representing Baltimore and the State of Maryland in the best possible way for the rest of the country and the world. And, I might add, being an Oriole is also about playing meaningful games in September. Congratulations to Buck Showalter and his Oriole team for a great and exciting season, we are all behind you.

Thank you, Brady, for your kind words. Good stuff, especially given you only had 24 hours notice. Thank you to Toby Mendez, the sculptor; you really captured the essence of each person.

And thank you to my wonderful family- Kelly, Rachel and Ryan- for allowing me to pursue a dream. To share my career with them and now be a part of their young journey in life, there is no better gift.

Thank you to my mom, and my brothers and my sister- Ellen, Fred and Billy- who helped shape me into the person I am.

You know, a special thanks goes out to Wild Bill. No, not Wild Bill Hagy, but my brother, Bill. He is always there for me. He was a great double play partner in the field and an equally a great partner in our business. You know him as a high-energy, funny person, but there is no one more committed and sensitive to the needs of others than Bill.

You know, my love for the Orioles was born from my Dad. As a kid, I remember Dad putting on his work clothes, his uniform, and the sheer joy that would come over him as a result. Why did that make him so happy? Well, in his address to the minor leaguers on the first day of spring training, he would say, “Welcome to the greatest organization in baseball. If you make it through our system, you will play in the big leagues. It might not be with the Orioles, but you will be a big leaguer.”

Every day he would walk around saying, “It’s great to be young and an Oriole.”

Cal, Sr. was mine and Billy’s Dad, but he also was a father figure to many others. Eddie, Jim, Brady, not you, Earl, sorry about that. You were Dad’s father figure and a father figure to many others as well. But as we now know Earl, Eddie was your favorite.

And the other father figures from this organization that I want us to remember: George Bamberger, Billy Hunter, Jimmy Williams, Bob Giordano, Billy Miller and Doc Edwards, because I will remember them.

These ceremonies at times have been extremely emotional, drawing from the real experiences of success and failure. We celebrate success, and we also at least find out who we are in failure. These are the life lessons that play out on the baseball field. These are the life lessons learned from men like Earl, Cal, Sr., Frank, Eddie, Brooks, Jim and so many more who wore the Oriole uniform. This is the Oriole Way.

Thank you.

No Cal, thank you.

Happy St. Paddy's Day.

2025-03-17T15:17:00.005-04:00

While the Reds were the first team to wear the green on St. Patrick's Day in the 1970s, it was that 1990 Classic card with Mike Schmidt in the middle there that showed collectors the uniform possibilities of the 17th of March.

Over the years, it has become a tradition for teams to wear green today (except for the A's who almost always wear it no matter what city they are in). And hey, even I am wearing my green shamrock-clad David Wright shirtsy today, lest I chance getting pinched.

Marlins Legend Mike Piazza.

2025-03-03T18:00:00.001-05:00

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. While I have spent a long time the last decade or so making my collection smaller and more indicative of the things I love, some of the player collections continue to spiral out of control. Mike Piazza has always been the largest of my hoards and it seems it might never ever cease (not as long as they keep printing old time players that is).

Spring training and a very nice mailing from Night Owl inspired me to tend to a long ignored pile of around 30 Piazza cards that had accumulated but not integrated into the vastness. N.O. had included a few nice Mets inserts and it put me over the edge of having to organize. In that unsorted pile was the die-cut shiny Diamond Immortals card you see in the middle there, which made it nine original Piazza Marlins cards in my collection - that is 4 more than games he played in Florida teal - right in the wheelhouse of this blog. This also gives me an opportunity to fact dump one of my favorite things about Piazza's career: he hit only 8 triples over 16 years but that does include at least one for each team he played for, yup he hit one in the 18 at bats he took in Miami. So dumb, so delicious.

So now I have almost two full super top loader boxes of worthy Piazza cards. Not the regular two row shoe boxes mind you, the giant long three row ones. You can see the size of the two row boxes on the right of this photo, and compare it to the two behemoths next to it.

The first box is chock full of the Mets (and Marlins!) insert cards plus all the ones post-2008 and his playing career. There is about 600 cards in here:

The second box has all the relic and encapsulated cards in the left row and all his Dodgers inserts in the middle and right rows. There is a bit of room left in here, illustrated by the double plastic box spacer in the back, but all it will take is one eBay or Comc binge and that bit will be gone. There is at least 300 cards in this box and maybe closer to four (I did not count as I organized). That means there's about 1000 inserts SPs and parallels in top loaders here. And you wonder why I've never shown ALL the individual Piazza cards I have.

Oh yeah, and these are just the fancy insert cards. I have a 3" binder full of his base cards and lesser inserts and parallels. There's probably 90-100 pages in there as well.

So while Gary Carter will probably always maintain most favorite player status, he only has a single regular shoebox of fancy cards and one 2" binder. Mike Piazza arrived on the scene as cards started to get silly and my abundance reflects that. I will never have all of them but someday my heirs will have to figure out what to do with ~2000 Mike Piazza cards. And by then it could be closer to 3000. I really do have a problem.

Deck The Halls.

2024-12-24T17:27:00.017-05:00

Deck the halls with boughs of holly