Part One

Lee Smith feels disrespected: Smith held the major league record for career saves with 478 from 1993 until 2006, when Trevor Hoffman surpassed it. Yet the former imposing Cubs closer has seen fellow relievers Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter and Goose Gossage elected to the Hall while he figuratively fidgets in the bullpen. “They’re holding out […]

Which numbers do you like?

MLB.com has a profile on Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera’s eventual Hall of Fame chances. Straight forward enough, but this stuck out: “Trevor Hoffman is a Hall of Famer, in my opinion,” Commissioner Bud Selig once said. “So is Mariano Rivera. Look, Yogi Berra once said, ‘If you ain’t got relief pitching, you ain’t got […]

Last year, Chris had the most successful prediction for the BBWAA’s Cooperstown vote around. What does his crystal ball foresee in next Monday’s announcement?

The New York Times‘ Dan Rosenheck calls for the abolition of the rule that bounces dudes off the Hall of Fame ballot if they don’t receive 5% of the vote in their first year. The reason: the writers are starting to (slowly) get smarter about what makes a Hall of Famer, and many of the […]

A look at two noteworthy Hall of Fame news items from last week.

‘Tis the season for ill-conceived Hall of Fame columns, and today

Maddux, closing the book on his unmatched career: “I don’t really feel like I know a whole lot about anything, but I know a few things about baseball.” Just a few.

Someone is in the market for some new sources: Allen, Santo and Torre To Get The Call Monday Published by Scott Jensen on December 7, 2008 11:52 am under Hall of Fame According to a source close to the situation, the Veteran’s Committee will on Monday announce that Dick Allen, Ron Santo and Joe Torre […]