Friends and Braintrust
Subscribers,
MLB
Here are some ideas for how you can get the most out of
this season:
The old 15 member veterans
committee was replaced by a new body of 84 people. They were the 58 living
Hall of Famers, 24 writers and broadcasters who won awards associated with
the Hall of Fame and two former committee members whose terms had not yet
expired. It was their task to determine who should get voted into the Hall
of Fame this year from among the vast list of players and contributors overlooked
in previous years by the baseball writers. The ballot they came up with included
26 former players and 15 non players. It did not include any players who
did not play in America, such as Sadaharu Oh the worlds all time home
run king. 75% of the votes were required for election and incredibly none
got enough votes to qualify. The most often voted for players were Gil Hodges
(61.7%), Tony Oliva (59.3%) and Ron Santo (56.8%). No other player was close.
Among non players, Doug Harvey (60.8%) was the only one with a majority of
votes, but still not enough for election. Joe Torre will have a better chance
of getting elected once he retires from managing, so that he might get elected
based on his managerial achievements.
This means that Gary Carter
and Eddie Murray are the only new inductees in 2003. See the Gurus
updated Hall of Fame page for more details. Heres the link:
http://baseballguru.com/bbhof1.html
Other players, who played
exclusively in foreign countries, should have been considered, but were not
among the eligible list that the new veterans committee had to choose from.
According to the HOF chairwoman, Jane Forbes Clark, The National Hall
of Fame and museum has the unique responsibility of preserving baseballs
rich history and honoring its greatest heroes. She also says that the
HOF is the institutional and spiritual homes of The
Game
If this is true, then why is the Hall of Fame limited to the greatest players who played in America and not the world? It is time that foreign players receive their due consideration for election. Otherwise, the baseball Hall of Fame loses its relevance. Today, roughly half of minor leaguers are foreigner born and only recently have they become eligible for the MLB. This number would be higher if not for limitations set by U.S. immigration laws. The no-brainer example of this is the exclusion of Sadaharu Oh, who played baseball in the 1960s and 70s before Japanese players could play in the MLB. He already has an exhibit in the 500 Home run room at the Hall of Fame (he hit 858 in Japan), but is not yet a Hall of Famer.
If you need to know more about why Oh should be in, read the well-researched case for Oh and the history of Japanese-MLB relations. The case includes a list and description of thirty of the worlds greatest players not in the Hall of Fame. Some were the best players of all time in Cuba, Korea and elsewhere. Had they been permitted to play in the MLB, they would have been household names here, although they are household names for millions in the countries they played. A hard copy of the case can be found in the Hall of Fame library in Cooperstown and all of the members of the HOF committee, including Bud Selig and Jane Forbes Clark have read it. Heres the link: http://baseballguru.com/ctomarkin/analysisctomarkin07.html
The campaign to elect Sadaharu Oh to the Hall of Fame is already underway, but without public support, change will not come. You can make a difference by placing your vote online. Heres the link: http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/veterans/contact.htm
Also, in case you havent read it yet, John Holway reveals Who's In? Who's Out? And why?. Its controversial and raises important questions, because most of these exceedingly talented and accomplished players are not on the ballot for mainly political reasons. The article does not discuss Pete Rose. Heres the link: http://baseballguru.com/jholway/analysisjholway41.html
Fantasy
Baseball Expert League Challenge
Fantasy Sports R Us initiated its first annual
"expert" rotisserie league last year and invited The Baseball Guru to compete
against representatives from The Sporting News, The Roto Times, The Sandlot
Shrink and other high profile baseball web sites. We lead the league with
one week to go and were caught from behind to finish third in a close horse
race. This year, we appreciate being invited back for another try. Bart Ewing,
our fantasy baseball expert, will take over and see if he can do better.
He is prepared and is looking forward to the competition. It is an NL only
league based on the 5x5 format. Bart says he is more comfortable with the
AL, so this will make the challenge all the more interesting. Good luck
Bart!
Anyone
looking for advice on players or on the draft can
email Bart. You can also visit
the Fantasty Insider section of the Baseball Guru for cheat sheet downloads
and other draft help. Heres the link:
http://baseballguru.com/bbinside.html
Heres
the link for more information about the FSRU expert league:
http://fsru.com/fsic_rules.php
Minor
Leagues
Ever
wonder what the difference is between affiliated and independent leagues?
Mike McCann explains the implications for the players who play in one league
versus the other. Heres the link:
http://baseballguru.com/bunko/analysisbunko15.html
New Team Reports are Gary Garlands latest addition to the daily Japanese baseball news. Catch up on the pre-season activity in Japan. Here is the link: http://www.baseballguru.com/archives
Negro
Leagues
Ted Williams told about facing Satchel Paige in 1948. Its a sneak preview from the soon to be released, expanded version of John Holways The Last 400 Hitter. The book includes an analysis of how Josh Gibson would stack up against Cobb, Ruth, Ted, Mays, and Aaron. Heres the link: http://baseballguru.com/jholway/analysisjholway42.html
Also read a story speculating on how the list of 400 hitters would have been changed if blacks had been allowed in an integrated league. Heres the link: http://baseballguru.com/jholway/analysisjholway43.html
John Holway also wrote up an interview with Harry Salmon and included a rare picture. Heres the link: http://baseballguru.com/jholway/analysisjholway44.html
Baseball Analysis - Some Highlights
Bruce Markusen, an author who works at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, contributed a series of articles this month recalling some past inductees.
· Catfish Hunter. Heres the link: http://baseballguru.com/markusen/analysismarkusen03.html
· Roberto Clemente. Heres the link: http://baseballguru.com/markusen/analysismarkusen04.html
· Willie Stargell. Heres the link: http://baseballguru.com/markusen/analysismarkusen05.html and
· Orlando Cepeda. Heres the link: http://baseballguru.com/markusen/analysismarkusen06.html
With so much player movement during the off season, have you ever wondered if two teams ever traded former MVPs with each other and what happens to the teams that trade? Bruce Markusen tells the story of when it happened. Heres the link: http://baseballguru.com/markusen/analysismarkusen02.html
The
1972 Season Set is now ready!
Heres the link:
http://baseballguru.com/c1972des.html
The
A's and Red machine battled it out in a dramatic seven game World Series.
Luckily for the The A's, the Orioles were one year past their prime when
they had four twenty game winners, and four great sluggers: Boog Powell,
Davy Johnson, Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson. The Reds were not as lucky.
They had fierce competition from the Pirates, who had a better regular season
record and featured seven batters with over a .290 avg including Willie Stargell,
Al Oliver and Roberto Clemente.
See a list of great batters
from the 1972 season
Back
in 1972, teams used four man pitching staffs (some relied on three) so there
were some great pitching performances including Steve Carltons pitching
triple crown with a 27-10 record, 1.97 era, 310 strike outs. He had 30 complete
games, unheard of in todays game. Nolan Ryan had a rare A+
strike out rating. The rookies of the Year were a pitcher and catcher, Jon
Matlack and Carlton Fisk.
If
you want to learn more about the game, heres the link to the main page:
http://baseballguru.com/bbboardgame.html
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Sincerely Yours,
Craig Tomarkin (the Guru, webmaster and editor)
BaseballGuru.com
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