MLB FanHouse

Herzog, Martin, Mauch, Miller on Hall of Fame Veterans' Ballots

Ed Price — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:28:00 EST

Whitey Herzog, Davey Johnson, Tom Kelly, Billy Martin, Gene Mauch, Marvin Miller and Gene Autry are among 20 men on the Veterans' Committee Hall of Fame ballot announced Tuesday.

The votes will be taken Dec. 6 with results announced Dec. 7.

Eight managers and two umpires will be considered by the 16-member Veterans Committee for Managers and Umpires. An separate ballot with 10 executives and pioneers will be considered by the 12-member Veterans Committee for Executives and Pioneers.

Candidates need 75 percent of the votes of their respective committee to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Committee members can vote for up to four candidates.The first ballot includes managers Charlie Grimm (Cubs and Braves); Herzog (Rangers, Angels, Royals and Cardinals); Johnson (Mets, Reds, Orioles and Dodgers); Kelly (Twins); Martin (Twins, Tigers, Rangers, Yankees and A's); Mauch (Phillies, Expos, Twins and Angels); Danny Murtaugh (Pirates) and Steve O'Neill (Indians, Tigers, Red Sox and Phillies); and umpires Doug Harvey and Hank O'Day.

The second group includes Autry, the former Angels owner; former Cardinals owner Sam Breadon; former Tigers owner John Fetzer; former Cardinals and Reds general manager Bob Howsam; former Royals owner Ewing Kauffman; former Tigers, Braves and Expos GM John McHale; players' union founder Miller, long-time GM Gabe Paul (Cincinnati, Houston, Cleveland and Yankees); Jacob Ruppert, the Yankees owner from 1915 to 1934; and former player, broadcaster and NL president Bill White.

Herzog, Martin, Mauch, Miller on Hall of Fame Veterans' Ballots originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two Decades Enough to Forgive Rose

Terence Moore — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:28:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Hall of Fame

Has it been 20 years? Wow, that's me. I'm glancing at the last photo in the middle of Roger Kahn's mostly toothless book in collaboration with Pete Rose called "My Story." The date of the photo is August 24, 1989, and as I study it, I remember feeling as if somebody had shoved a resin bag down my throat.

Moments before somebody snapped this photo in Cincinnati, baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti did the unthinkable in New York: He ignored Rose's distinction as the game's all-time hits leader, and he knocked an automatic trip to Cooperstown away from Rose with a lifetime ban from baseball for gambling on the sport.

That's me, all right. I'm sitting in the front row of a news conference that Rose called at Riverfront Stadium after Giamatti's shocker. I'm looking down at my notebook for what appears to be an eternity instead of glancing up at Rose, standing the length of two Louisville Sluggers away. Twenty years later, I still remember why: I was angry over Rose, Giamatti and the whole situation. So I'm sitting there, scribbling and thinking between clenched teeth as Rose delivered his version of saying "I am not a crook" by uttering "I did not bet on baseball."

I'm scribbling and thinking about Rose as my favorite player ever as a youth.

I'm scribbling and thinking about how he became my favorite player as a journalist.

I'm scribbling and thinking about how I covered most of his famous moments during the latter part of his career.

I'm scribbling and thinking about how he got himself into this mess.

I'm scribbling and thinking about how he just lied when he said with a straight face that he did not bet on baseball, especially since baseball investigators discovered his fingerprints on numerous betting slips.

I'm scribbling and thinking about becoming a Hall of Fame voter within the next couple of years and about how I couldn't vote for him courtesy of the rules on the ballot that say you must consider "character" and "integrity."

I'm scribbling and thinking about wanting to cry.

Well, it's been 20 years, and with dry eyes, I'm scribbling and thinking about redemption, and mostly about how it's time for Rose to become bronzed with the rest of his peers in Cooperstown. In other words, it's time for everybody to forgive and to forget, including Bud Selig, the current commissioner, who was a close friend of Giamatti who died just days after banning Rose.

The thing is, Selig will never reinstate Rose, and the commissioner suggested as much in this space a few weeks ago.

Even if Selig did show mercy in this case that deserves as much, Rose would have another problem: Time. Unlike before, I can't help his Hall of Fame chances in the future with a stroke of my pen, and neither can any of my colleagues in the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). That's because we only can vote for those who are no farther than 15 years removed from their last game, and Rose is beyond that mark. As a result, members of the Veterans Committee would have to decide Rose's Hall of Fame fate, and that includes all living members of Cooperstown .

Not good for Rose. Not now, and likely such will be the case forever. That's because most living members of Cooperstown are vehemently against Rose's entry since betting on baseball has been the game's unpardonable sin. It has roots to the Black Sox Scandal that nearly killed baseball after the 1919 World Series.

Their position is justified, but not when you match all of that against a couple of more compelling points.

First, this is a sporting culture of second chances -- maybe of six and seven chances if you're talking about Michael Vick, who is back in the NFL after issues spanning from flipping off his hometown fans to ugly incidents at security check points at airports to that dogfighting stuff. Elsewhere, despite government proof that they've been artificially enhanced for years, Alex Rodriguez is still playing, and the same goes for Manny Ramirez and others. And do you remember the ugly brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills? Probably not, because most have forgotten it.

The poster child for that brawl was Ron Artest, but he continues to play, prosper and star and rightfully so.

Artest has paid his price.

Rose has, too, which brings me to the last of those compelling points. In addition to a forced exile for two decades from the game that was his life (and that's punishment enough), Rose did confess his sins a few years ago. It was clumsy, but he nevertheless mentioned through another book that he bet, not only baseball, but on the Cincinnati Reds, his hometown team and eventually his team as a player and as a manager. It also was my team as a youth, especially when it was the Big Red Machine during the 1970s, with Rose as its ever-hustling sparkplug.

After we moved from South Bend, Ind., to Cincinnati during the late 1960s, my two brothers and I lived at old Crosley Field and later Riverfront Stadium. I was fascinated by the high-energy guy who sprinted to first base after walks, snatched fly balls out of the air with a quick snap of his wrists and dove, nose first, into bases.

His former wife, Karolyn, did a commercial on local television for Gulden's mustard, saying with a smile from her kitchen, "Hi, I'm Pete Rose's wife, and we use Gulden's golden brown mustard, just like they do at Crosley Field."

I still use the stuff.

Then there was May 14, 1975, Tony Perez's birthday and the first time I was in a major league clubhouse. I went to school up the road in Oxford, Ohio at Miami University , and I was a scared college newspaper writer coming to interview one of the Cincinnati Reds radio announcers with Miami (Ohio) ties. Rose walked up to me in the clubhouse with a smile, stuck out his hand and asked for my name. I fumbled with a response (I mean, this was my guy), and he nodded with another smile and said, "Well, when you work for the Cincinnati Enquirer someday, we'll talk more."

Two years later, I'm at the Cincinnati Enquirer. I'm walking through the Reds clubhouse, and I get a tap on my shoulder. It's Rose. He remembered my name.

Over the next decade or so, while working for the Cincinnati Enquirer and later for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, I was there for nearly everything Peter Edward Rose.

I was there during much of Rose's 44-game hitting streak, second only to Joe DiMaggio's impossible number of 56. I was there when Rose became baseball's most wined-and-dined free agent ever at the time before he left an absolutely shattered Cincinnati to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. I was there during the 1980 World Series when Phillies catcher Bob Boone dropped a pop fly in Game 6 but a hustling Rose charged from first base to snatch the ball before it hit the ground. I was there when Rose cried in the arms of his son, Petey, at first base at Riverfront after his single landed in left field to break Ty Cobb's all-time hits record. I was there a few days after Rose returned to an absolutely giddy Cincinnati as player-manager of the Reds.

I also was there when he lied about not betting on baseball.

I've forgiven him for that.

So should everybody.

Terence Moore is a national columnist and commentator for FanHouse. He is a frequent panelist on "Rome Is Burning", an ESPN show hosted by Jim Rome, that is seen Monday through Friday at 4:30 PM ET. Moore spent more than three decades working for major newspapers, including 26 years as an award-winning sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He resides in Atlanta .

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Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge has his eyes on a grounder from Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria for a ground out in the third inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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Tampa Bay Rays starter James Shields pitches against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Daniel McCutchen throws against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning of game one of a doubleheader baseball game, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

Tampa Bay Rays' Carlos Pena rounds the bases past Detroit Tigers' Brandon Inge after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Cincinnati Reds' Drew Stubbs, right, is congratulated by third base coach Mark Berry, left, after Stubbs hit a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Daniel McCutchen in the first inning of game one of a doubleheader baseball game, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Kip Wells throws against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning of game one of a doubleheader baseball game, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

Detroit Tigers' Carlos Guillen, right, is congratulated by Placido Polanco after hitting a two-run home run that scored the pair against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Drew Sutton (15) goes up for the throw as Pittsburgh Pirates' Garrett Jones (46) slides safely stealing second base in the third inning of game one of a doubleheader baseball game, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

Detroit Tigers starter Jarrod Washburn pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Chicago Cubs' Ryan Dempster wears Rawlings' new S100 batting helmet as he stands on first base during the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Minor League Baseball and the St. Louis-based company announced Monday, Aug. 31, 2009, it will be required in the minors beginning next season. Six S100 helmets are being sent to each major league team for its players to try out for the rest of this year. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Two Decades Enough to Forgive Rose originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did Dave Parker's Drug Use Cost Him a Hall of Fame Spot?

Pat Lackey — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, MLB Hall of Fame

With only two years of eligibility left on the BBWAA ballot, Dave Parker's chances of getting into the Hall of Fame are looking awfully slim. In this year's balloting, his name only appeared on 15 percent of the writer's ballots, leaving him far shy of the 75 percent needed for induction. Barring a miracle, Parker's best shot to get in is going to be through the Veteran's Committee.

After attending a celebration at PNC Park this weekend to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1979 World Series champions, Parker told AP writer Alan Robinson that he often wonders if his involvement in baseball's drug trials in the '80s is what's keeping him from being inducted. It's a fair question and it's one that I've pondered myself in the past.

The question comes up because of Jim Rice's induction this year. One of the biggest criticisms of Rice's induction is that it opens the door for many other players (Parker and Andre Dawson come immediately to mind) that are probably in a tier just below true Hall of Fame quality.

Robinson does a good rundown of the surface statistical comparison between the two in the story and it's true; they have a lot in common. To really compare the two, I wanted to look at their career Wins Above Replacement (WAR). WAR is a composite stat which takes batting runs, fielding runs, and baserunning runs and combines them all to quantify how many wins in a season a particular player is worth. Sean Smith compiles historic WAR on his BaseballProjection.com site, so finding Parker and Rice is an easy exercise.

According to WAR, Parker was worth 37.9 wins over the course of his career while Rice was worth 41.5. Both players had their best seasons in 1978, when they both were named MVP, with Parker's 7.1 wins edging out Rice's 7.0. Interestingly, Rice's defense rates as much better than Parker's. His total zone number is +9 and his arm rates as +13 while Parker's numbers are -25 and +4. That's in stark contrast to conventional wisdom, as Parker won three Gold Gloves and Pirate fans that watched him play routinely say that his arm from right field was only surpassed by the great Roberto Clemente.

Of course, these numbers are calculated from Retrosheet, so they're not nearly as accurate as the highly advanced ball-in-play metrics we have available to evaluate modern players. The WAR you find on FanGraphs uses UZR as its defensive component, which makes it a little stronger than the historic WAR. Thus, it's possible that Rice gets a defensive bonus from spending his entire career in front of the Green Monster at Fenway, which left him with less ground to cover and easier throws in from the outfield (remember how many assists Manny Ramirez used to rack up playing there?). That would close the gap between Parker and Rice even a little more, maybe down to just a win or two instead of the four that we currently see.

So Parker and Rice really were comparable players playing in a similar era. But is it the drug use that costs Parker? That's some of it, but I think more of it has to do with the way their careers unfolded. Parker had a short, but very strong peak between 1975 and 1979 where he was worth 30.1 wins, then he only approached that level one more time in his career, in 1985. Besides that year, he battled injuries, weight problems, and the drug trials and he had several years where his value was below replacement. In contrast, Rice is famous for the 12-year run between 1975 and 1986 when he led or was close to leading the American League in most important batting categories. He never had a peak quite like Parker's, but he never bottomed out like him either.

In the long run, I think that's what makes the difference between Parker and Rice when it comes to Hall of Fame voting. Parker's role in the drug trials don't help him at all, but if he'd just stayed healthy for a few more years in the early '80s I think there's a good chance he'd probably be in the Hall of Fame anyway.

Whether Parker deserves to be in right now is a different question. There is something to be said for Rice's longer period of production, but Parker was probably the best player in baseball between 1975 and 1979 and in the end, his career is pretty even with Rice's. It's certainly very easy to make a case for Parker now that Rice has been inducted.

Did Dave Parker's Drug Use Cost Him a Hall of Fame Spot? originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bud Selig on Pete Rose: 'Nobody Has Lobbied Me'

Terence Moore — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:25:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Hall of Fame, FanHouse Exclusive

According to Bud Selig during an exclusive interview with FanHouse, the last time he met with Pete Rose was "years ago." Then Selig added over the phone from his office in Milwaukee after a sigh, "I am the judge in this case, and judges just don't sit around talking about (these matters). It's sort of a complicated little thing."

So what does that tell you about the commissioner's intention of lifting the lifetime ban on baseball's all-time hits leader any time soon?

It won't happen.

Says here, it should happen, but only if Rose does what he hasn't done during the 20 years since he was sent to the game's slammer for gambling on the game: He must confess and apologize in public. He must do so without waffling. He must do so without suggesting that he is trying to sell something.

He must do so without irritating Selig, and that's the problem.

Even so, one moment, somebody is reporting that Selig is on the verge of allowing Rose to become eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame by lifting that lifetime ban. The next, somebody is reporting that Selig would rather swallow resin bags or something than to do such a thing.

Which is it?

"Well, what I said at the All-Star Game two weeks ago is my stance," Selig said quickly and emphatically. "I agree to review (the possibility of reinstating Rose). We are reviewing it, and nothing has changed. And that's what I said in St. Louis, and I will tell you that today."

What about those reports that he was recently approached by some of the game's great players of yore to give Rose another chance? "Nobody has lobbied me," said Selig, whose statement also included Hank Aaron, a Rose sympathizer and among the commissioner's closest friends.

Not only did the families of Selig and Aaron dine together Saturday night in Cooperstown, where support for Rose grew surrounding the latest Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but they fellowshipped for long stretches on Sunday. The point is, neither the Seligs nor the Aarons discussed Rose during those times -- not that Selig would have objected to doing so. He respects the opinions of others. He also isn't changing his mind on Rose within the next few days, weeks, maybe decades.

"I love Hank. I have enormous respect and affection, and whatever opinions Henry has, he has," Selig said. "In the end, I have to do what I think is right, but I will say this to you. I talk to Hank about a lot of things, and Hank has a lot of common sense. He's very level headed, but I'm not going to comment on any of these things."

Instead, Selig prefers to let his non-action regarding Rose speak for itself.

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Jim Rice, a former Boston Red Sox player recently inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, becomes emotional as he speaks during ceremonies to retire his No. 14 at Fenway Park in Boston on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Former Boston Red Sox player Jim Rice, right, who was inducted Sunday into the Baseball Hall of Fame, laughs and hugs former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley during ceremonies to retire Rice's No. 14 at Fenway Park in Boston on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Former Boston Red Sox player Jim Rice, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, laughs with Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino during ceremonies to retire Rice's No. 14 at Fenway Park in Boston on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Jim Rice, right, a former Boston Red Sox player recently inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, is greeted by former Red Sox and current Oakland Athletics player Nomar Garciaparra during ceremonies to retire Rice's No. 14 at Fenway Park in Boston on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

FILE - In a March 17, 2005 file photo, U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning gestures while giving testimony about steroid use in Major League Baseball in Washington, DC. Bunning is a former pitcher elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. Bunning said Monday, July 27, 2009 that he will not run for a third term in 2010, citing a lack of campaign money. (AP Photo/Win McNamee, File)

Boston Red Sox Jim Rice, second from left, receives his plaque from Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson, left, during the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, New York, Sunday, July 26, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Oakland Tribune/MCT)

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Family and friends of the Oakland Athletics' Rickey Henderson take pictures as he receives his plaque during the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, New York, Sunday, July 26, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Oakland Tribune/MCT)

MCT

I don't agree with Selig on Rose -- especially since he could do what Roger Goodell did in the Michael Vick case by offering the guy something like a strongly worded conditional reinstatement -- but I understand the deal here.

Despite the ongoing horrors of The Steroid Era, featuring artificially inflated sluggers and pitchers destroying baseball's record book, Selig knows that the 1919 Black Sox Scandal ranks as the game's great evil. It nearly killed baseball, and that's why gambling on the sport has been viewed as its unpardonable sin. Everybody knows it, and Rose definitely did as a player and later as a manager, but he continued to flaunt the sin anyway, and then he continued to lie about it.

Then there is the Bart Giamatti thing. He was the commissioner who took considerable bashing from some along the way for banning Rose from the game in August 1989, and then eight days later, Giamatti died of a massive heart attack.

He was 51. He was mourned by his peers, especially by the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers at the time.

Somebody named Allan "Bud" Selig.

"Bart Giamatti is one of the closest friends in the world I ever had," said Selig, which brings us to the obvious: In addition to everything else, ranging from that Black Sox precedent to Rose falling shy of a full confession, Selig is struggling emotionally with just the thought of changing the last major decision of Giamatti who was much more than baseball's boss in Selig's life.

Added Selig, "Bart gave (Rose) the right to reapply (for reinstatement). So I've respected that right, and I really don't have anything else to say about it."

That's because Selig just said a lot.

Terence Moore is a national columnist and commentator for FanHouse. He is a frequent panelist on "Rome Is Burning," an ESPN show hosted by Jim Rome, that is seen Monday through Friday at 4:30 PM ET. Moore spent more than three decades working for major newspapers, including 26 years as an award-winning sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He resides in Atlanta.

Bud Selig on Pete Rose: 'Nobody Has Lobbied Me' originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Selig Reportedly Considering Reinstating Pete Rose, Which Would Be a Mistake

Ed Price — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:59:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Gambling, MLB Hall of Fame

So Bud Selig is reportedly "seriously considering lifting Pete Rose's lifetime suspension from baseball," according to the New York Daily News.

According to the report, some Hall of Famers have been lobbying Selig to reinstate Rose, which would make him eligible for the Hall. And the report claims that Hank Aaron's statement that Rose belongs signals Selig's chage of heart.

He would thus have to be elected by his peers, the 65 living members in the Hall of Fame, not all of whom agree with Aaron, [Joe] Morgan and [Frank] Robinson that Rose has done his time. It's hard to say if he would get the necessary 75 percent for election. "I know there are still guys who feel strongly against him," said one Hall of Famer, "and I don't know if that would change even if Selig clears him."

Now, Selig certainly isn't above checking the winds of public opinion before setting his sail. Earlier this month, in a Q&A session with the Baseball Writers' Association of America, Selig said Rose's case was "under review. I do spend some time discussing it, but it's not appropriate for me to say more."

I have two issues with the latest development, if true.

1. Why should the opinion of former players and teammates, even Hall of Famers, carry so much weight? Players are famously biased and at times ignorant of the game's rules. How many players have defended Barry Bonds and spoken of their admiration of him?

These guys aren't considering what's best for baseball. They are trying to help out a guy they like. The Hall of Fame shouldn't be just about being a great player; integrity, sportsmanship and character are specifically given as qualifications.

2. Pete Rose bet on baseball. He bet on games in which he managed.

Period.

As Jeff Fletcher pointed out last month, Rule 21 states that "Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible."

This is not some obscure rule. It is posted in every clubhouse in baseball. Pete Rose saw it every day.

So Rose first insisted he didn't bet on baseball but nonetheless agreed to be "declared permanently ineligible" in his agreement with then-commissoner Bart Giamatti, with the right to apply for reinstatement.

That was in 1989. Then, 15 years later, to try to further his case, Rose admitted in his book My Prison Without Bars that he bet on Reds games while managing the team.

Case closed. He violated Rule 21. Permanently ineligible.

If the Hall of Famers really want Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame, then they should be lobbying the Hall itself to rescind its 1991 rule change that made those ineligible in baseball also ineligible for induction to the Hall of Fame.

Selig Reportedly Considering Reinstating Pete Rose, Which Would Be a Mistake originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For One Day, 'Humble' Henderson Shelves Rickeyspeak

David Whitley — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:31:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Hall of Fame

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The greatest leadoff hitter/hot dog in baseball history came dressed for the part Sunday. Onto a stage full of blue and gray suits strode Rickey Henderson.

Instead of a large bottle of mustard, he wore a cream-colored coat. That helped explain why so many Hall of Famers sitting behind him wore sunglasses on a cloudy day.

More Coverage: Rice, Henderson Inducted Into Hall of Fame

They were there to welcome Rickey to their club, and it was easy to imagine him preparing the way always did. For 25 seasons, Rickey stood naked in front of a full-length mirror before games and repeated one thing.

"Rickey's the best."

He was the best combination of speed, power, cockiness and comedy we'll ever see. The only thing Rickey didn't seem to possess was humility.

Did he have any, and if so could he express it? Even if he did, would it get lost in translation from Rickeyspeak to English? All that made for one of the most anticipated speeches since Abe Lincoln rode the train to Gettysburg.

"Speech and me don't even get along sometimes," Henderson said when he was elected to the Hall of Fame last December. "I wasn't a doctor or a professor."

He was Rickey, just ask him.

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PHOENIX - JULY 26: Justin Upton #10 of the Arizona Diamondbacks waits to bat during the major league baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Chase Field on July 26, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Pirates 9-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Justin Upton

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PHOENIX - JULY 26: Luis Cruz #36 of the Pittsburgh Pirates watches from the dugout during the major league baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 26, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Pirates 9-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Luis Cruz

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Chicago White Sox's Paul Konerko, left, and Gordon Beckham (15) celebrate after Chicago's 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers in a baseball game Sunday, July 26, 2009, in Detroit. Konerko had a two-run homer and Beckham added a solo shot. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland, left, relieves pitcher Zach Miner in the seventh inning of the Tigers' 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox in a baseball game Sunday, July 26, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Chicago White Sox's Tony Pena pitches against the Detroit Tigers in the ninth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 26, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Chicago White Sox's Gordon Beckham (15) is congratulated by Scott Podsednik (22) after hitting a solo home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, July 26, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Chicago White Sox's Alexei Ramirez bends over backwards to get out of the way of an inside pitch from Detroit Tigers' Rick Porcello in the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 26, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Tigers starter Rick Porcello pitches against the Chicago White Sox in the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 26, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Chicago White Sox starter Clayton Richard pitches against the Detroit Tigers in the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 26, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Rickey always referred to himself in the third person. So by baseball math there were as many Rickey Hendersons as there are outs in a game:

Three Rickeys x 9 teams = 27. All of them from outer space.

If Rickey stayed in character, Rickey might renounce his Favre-like retirement and tell the crowd he planned to become the first 51-year-old left fielder in baseball history next spring. Instead, Rickey's suit was the only thing that screamed for attention.

Oh, Rickey told a few Rickey stories. Thankfully he didn't tell all of them or the ceremony would have lasted until Albert Pujols III is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"At this moment, I am very, very humble"
-- Hall of Fame outfielder Rickey Henderson Rickey grew up in Oakland wanting to play for the Raiders, but a youth-league baseball coach bribed him with doughnuts and hot chocolate. When he got to high school his guidance counselor gave him a quarter for every hit, steal and run he produced.

The poor lady was quickly going broke. If only Rickey had treated her money like he did one of his Oakland bonuses.

The company's books were off by $1 million one year. It turned out Rickey had framed his bonus check and put it on the wall. What else would we expect from a guy who once asked a teammate how long it takes to drive to the Dominican Republic?

After Boston swept the 2004 World Series, Rickey supposedly called the Red Sox organization looking for tickets to Game 6. When Rickey hit a home run to break Ty Cobb's record for most career runs, he celebrated by sliding into home plate.

Rickey said his idol growing up was Muhammad Ali. When he broke Lou Brock's all-time steal record, he pulled the base out of the ground, waved it over his head and proclaimed, "I am the greatest!"

With 3,055 hits, 1,406 steals and 297 home runs, it's hard to argue. All the public saw was Rickey's coiled batting stance, and the way he flipped his bat after home runs or snatched fly balls. All the public heard was stories about Rickey being Rickey and trying to drive to a Caribbean island.

Underneath all that kooky mustard, the hot dog loved and respected the game. That became clear as Rickey referred to Rickey as "I." As in, "I'd like to thank...."

He praised his family, teammates, coaches and team owners from Charlie Finley to George Steinbrenner. It was as if he'd stood naked in front the mirror Sunday morning and repeated, "They were the best!"

His 14 minutes on stage were a bit of letdown if you expected Rickey to slide headfirst into the podium to accept his plaque. But the crowd of 21,000 that gathered in the grassy pasture didn't seem disappointed.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Rickey said.

He looked for kids in the audience.

"Follow your dreams," Rickey told them. "Believe in your dreams because they can come true."

Then came the news of the day.

"My journey as a player is complete."

It's finally official. We won't have Rickey to kick around, admire, resent or laugh at any more. Rickey is happy to join all those men in blue and grey suits. Who knows, Rickey might even wear one next year.

"At this moment," he concluded, "I am very, very humble."

It turns out Rickey really could do it all. Even give a nice speech.

For One Day, 'Humble' Henderson Shelves Rickeyspeak originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:31:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rickey Henderson's Hall of Fame Speech

Tom Herrera — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Hall of Fame, MLB Video

Rickey Henderson's Hall of Fame speech was one of the most anticipated parts of the 2009 induction ceremony. One fan, Pete Wahlstrom, and his nephew even traveled 300 miles from Massachusetts to Cooperstown, excited to hear speeches from Henderson and Jim Rice, both of whom spent time in Boston.

"I want to hear Henderson's speech," Wahlstrom said while waiting out an afternoon shower in the Hall of Fame. "I hope he doesn't let us down."

Rickey did not disappoint.

You can check out video of Henderson's speech below.

Rickey Henderson's Hall of Fame Speech originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cooperstown Welcomes Rice, Henderson

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:09:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Hall of Fame

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) - Jim Rice's icy glare melted into a wide smile. Brash, flamboyant Rickey Henderson was humbled by it all.

The former left fielders were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday along with the late Joe Gordon, and Henderson, baseball's all-time leading base stealer, was briefly overcome before evoking some hearty laughs.

"My journey as a player is complete," Henderson said. "I am now in the class of the greatest players of all time, and at this moment I am very humbled."

Born in Chicago on Christmas Day 1958, Henderson moved with his family to California when he was 7 years old and became a three-sport star at Oakland Technical High School. Football was his forte and he received numerous scholarships. He was persuaded to turn them down for a shot at baseball.

"My dream was to play football for the Oakland Raiders," Henderson said. "But my mother thought I would get hurt playing football, so she chose baseball for me. I guess moms do know best."

Henderson led the AL in steals 12 times and holds the record for steals with 1,406, runs scored with 2,295, unintentional walks with 2,129, and homers leading off a game with 81.

He said he owed much of that to a trick played by his former Babe Ruth coach, Hank Thompson.

"He tricked me into playing by coming to pick me up with a glazed donut and a cup of hot chocolate," said Henderson, who played for nine teams during his 25-year career. "That was the way he would get me up and out of bed."

Henderson said a high school counselor who needed players for the baseball team provided even more spark.

"She would pay me a quarter every time I would get a hit, when I would score or stole a base," he said. "After my first 10 games, I had 30 hits, 25 runs scored and 33 steals. Not bad money for a kid."

"It doesn't matter that the call came 15 years later. What matters is that I got it."
-- Red Sox Hall of Fame outfielder Jim Rice Henderson was drafted by the Oakland Athletics on the fourth round in 1976 and made his major league debut with Oakland in late June 1979. It was a day Henderson said he would never forget.

"That was the most thrilling time of my life," Henderson said, remembering former As owner Charlie Finley. "Charlie, wherever you're at, and that donkey, I want to say thank you for that opportunity."

When Finley hired Billy Martin as manager in 1980, Henderson had the perfect partner in crime. "Billyball" - the aggressive attack Martin relished - helped catapult Henderson to stardom.

Just the thought of that time forced Henderson to halt briefly in his speech when remembering Martin, who was killed in a car crash on Christmas 1989.

"Billy always got the most out of me," he said. "Billy, I miss you so much and I wish you were here today."

In 1980, Henderson became the first AL player to steal 100 or more bases in a single season with 100 to break Ty Cobb's record of 96 steals in 1915. Two years later he set the modern major league record for stolen bases with 130, breaking former Cardinals star Lou Brock's mark of 118.

While Henderson, now 50, was just the 44th player elected to the Hall in his first year of eligibility, Rice had to wait until his final year of eligibility to be selected.

"It doesn't matter that the call came 15 years later," Rice said. "What matters is that I got it.

"It's hard to comprehend. I am in awe to be in this elite company and humbled to be accepting this honor. I cannot think of anywhere I'd rather be than to be right here, right now, with you and you," Rice said, pointing at the 50 Hall of Famers on stage behind him and then at the fans. "Thank you."

Playing at a time when offensive numbers paled in comparison to the past two decades, the so-called steroid era, Rice batted .298 with 382 home runs and 1,451 RBI from 1974-89. He drove in 100 or more runs eight times, batted over .300 seven times, and topped 200 hits four times. And he's the only player in major league history with at least 35 homers and 200 hits in three consecutive seasons (1977-79).

And he's known for a long time the reason he had to wait so long.

"The media often asked me about my players (teammates)," Rice, now 56, said. "I refused to be the media's mouthpiece. I came to Boston to play professional baseball, and that's what I did. And I did it well."

The day's most poignant moment came at the end of the acceptance speech given by Gordon's daughter, Judy. Gordon died in 1978 at age 63 and requested that he not have a funeral.

"We consider Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame as his final resting place, a place he'll be honored forever," Judy Gordon said, tears welling in her eyes.

Gordon won the 1942 AL MVP, beating out Triple Crown winner Ted Williams, and was an All-Star nine times in 11 seasons, leading the league in assists four times and in double plays three times. Nicknamed "Flash" because of his quick feet, Gordon was the first AL second baseman to hit 20 home runs in a season - he did it seven times - and still holds the league mark for career homers by a second baseman (246).

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Cooperstown Welcomes Rice, Henderson originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:09:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Dugout: Stop, Thief

Jon Bois — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Athletics, MLB Hall of Fame, The Dugout

On Sunday, Rickey Henderson will be inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame. We're happily anticipating the induction speech of one of the most colorful players in the history of baseball, sure. It never seemed, though, that he would ever stay retired long enough for us to drag him into the Hall.

We've caught the thief, but we all know he's good for another thousand stolen bases. Saturday's Dugout is after the jump.

The Dugout

	RicePilaf: Mr. Selig? I'm here in Cooperstown, and
	bud_is_wiser: Okay, sorry, who are you?
	RicePilaf: Jim Rice.
	bud_is_wiser: Hmm. Okay, I remember you were a big happy black guy who played in the 80s.
	RicePilaf: Yeah. There are like 50 guys who fit that description, though.
	bud_is_wiser: aaahh this is like playing a game of Guess Who where everyone looks exactly like Dave Henderson
	RicePilaf: I'm the one that's in the Hall of Fame.
	bud_is_wiser: Okay, Rickey Henderson was a skinny happy black guy, so you're not him. Are you Randall Simon?
	RicePilaf: I
	RicePilaf: Anyway, I'm here at the Hall of Fame, and there's no sign of Rickey anywhere.
	RicePilaf: Anyway, I'm here at the Hall of Fame, and there's no sign of Rickey anywhere.
	bud_is_wiser: Well, he's not easy to spot. He's faster than Superjesus Carl Lewis Roger Bannister. And he crouches low to the ground as though he's perpetually in the office from Being John Malkovich. Keep that in mind.
	RicePilaf: That's not all. I'm looking in his dressing room now. On his desk there's a Trapper Keeper that has "HALL OF FAME SPEECH" puff-painted on it in cursive.
	bud_is_wiser: That's against regulations! We issue regulation Hall of Fame speeches.
	RicePilaf: I was meaning to talk to you about that. The speech I was issued is just a shoebox full of little scraps of paper. One says "I want to thank," another says "My old hitting coach used to say," another says "HUMILITY RESPECT INTEGRITY," another is "It really puts things in perspective"
	bud_is_wiser: That's right. Pick one out, read it, cry, pick another out, read it, cry, repeat for 15 minutes, smile, leave the public consciousness forever. If you need help with this, watch Bruce Sutter's speech.
	RicePilaf: Who's Bruce Sutter?
	bud_is_wiser: /shrug
	RicePilaf: The thing is, Bud, Rickey's speech is an 884-page manifesto written on crackled parchment.
	RicePilaf: The first 100 pages say "RICKEY HENDERSON."
	RicePilaf: Then there are a bunch of schematics or something. One of them is...I mean, I could be wrong. I can't make sense of this drawing. But I get the impression that it's a windmill-looking apparatus that produces wind energy and uses it to power a headless mechanical horse that runs in circles.
	RicePilaf: There's a speech bubble coming out of the horse that says "RICKEY THE BEST."
	bud_is_wiser: Wow. You know, I always had the impression that if Rickey had stayed on his home planet, he would have been a successful patent attorney. This bolsters my theory.
	RicePilaf: But how is this a speech? Is this even a speech? I mean, the last 600 or so pages are random scribbles and unfinished letters addressed to Kublai Khan.
	RicePilaf: Beyond that, I'm worried. It looks like he has a bunch of props sitting around. Are we allowed to have props for our speeches?
	bud_is_wiser: sure, Bruce Sutter was a prop
	RicePilaf: He's got a watermelon and a mallet. Is he going to do the Gallagher bit?
	bud_is_wiser: I don't know. We've got to track him down and ask him what all this
	OnlineHost Rickey Henderson has signed a contract with the Oakland Athletics.
	bud_is_wiser: ohhhhh damn it we've been trying to induct that son of a bitch since 1996 and EVERY TIME this happens
	OnlineHost Welcome to Oakland Athletics Chat!
	BeaneBall: Glad to have you on the team, Rickey. That Holliday punk had nothing on you.
	RickeyAndTheHendersons: Matt Holliday! Let Rickey tell you something about Matt Holliday. Matt Holliday respect the game, respect the game. But Rickey Henderson say, if Matt Holliday were a holiday he'd be Halloween. He's spooky. Rickey Henderson ain't spooky. Rickey Henderson steal your bases in the nighttime, you wake up the next morning, brush your teeth, make some eggs, stab them eggs with a fork, put them eggs in your mouth, get up, swallow your eggs, walk outside, your bases ain't there 'cause Rickey Henderson took your bases, you go home make more eggs nothin you can do, you eat more eggs.
	RickeyAndTheHendersons: You know how Rickey learned to steal bases?! Rickey lived in the woods. For 3000 years Rickey lived in the woods. Talked to the Great Tree of the Forest. Great Tree said, "Rickey Henderson, if you ain't steal 1000 bases, I'm turn you into a goat." Rickey ain't wanna be a goat! Rickey look like he wanna have big old horns and gallop around like some kinda doofus! No! Rickey don't!
	RickeyAndTheHendersons: Rickey got real good at stealing bases. The other day I went to throw my almonds in the laundry. You know, laundered almonds. Real good. Got back from the laundry room and saw 20 bases were stacked there, real neat like. Rickey didn't even remember stealing the bases. 20 years late Roger Clemens says to me, he says, "Rickey, you steal another base from me I'll put a baseball in your ear." Rickey Henderson said, "Shut up. Plus, you are a fat man."
	RickeyAndTheHendersons: One time Rickey Henderson ran so fast that Rickey Henderson went into the future. Nah, Rickey just kidding about that. Can't do it. Can't travel through time, it's impossible. That's what the aliens said when Rickey ran to Alpha Centauri. They said "Naw, Rickey, Hell you thinking, you watch too many rated R movies." And maybe that's true, maybe Rickey do. But Rickey have few regrets. Rickey have few.
	BeaneBall: Aren't you ever going to retire?
	RickeyAndTheHendersons: Naw, Rickey like them, what you call them, vampires. Rickey never age. Rickey a base vampire.
	BeaneBall: Sure, but you're going to have to produce. There are people out there with a lot of questions, and you're going to have to answer them on the field. Do you really think you can
	OnlineHost Rickey Henderson has stolen 26 bases.
	BeaneBall: produce at the level that you
	OnlineHost Rickey Henderson has conducted insider trading and leveraged his bases to steal 82 more bases.
	BeaneBall: did when you were younger?
	OnlineHost Rickey Henderson has accidentally stolen an old lady's purse.
	RickeyAndTheHendersons: oops
	OnlineHost Rickey Henderson has returned the old lady's purse.
	RickeyAndTheHendersons: Rickey Henderson ain't always perfect.
	BeaneBall: So many people were looking forward to your Hall of Fame speech tomorrow. You're disappointing a lot of people, you know?
	RickeyAndTheHendersons: Rickey gotta play. Rickey Henderson always gotta play.
	RickeyAndTheHendersons: Hugs and balloons and plaques and genuflection and all that s***?
	RickeyAndTheHendersons: Rickey have time for that s*** when Rickey dead.

Photos link to player info. WordUpThome.com Photo Credit: Getty, Creative Commons

The Dugout: Stop, Thief originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BaseCast: Hall of Fame '09 Bonanza

Andrew Johnson — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Hall of Fame, BaseCast

It's a baseball podcast. The math is easy, right? BaseCast. Let's rock.

Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. on Sunday afternoon. In celebration of the festivities two of FanHouse's Hall of Fame voters, Jeff Fletcher and Ed Price, joined me to discuss what made Henderson and Rice great, what goes into the Hall voting process and to share their favorite Rickey stories.

For everything you need to know about this year's Hall of Fame ceremonies, listen in after the jump.

Listen to the podcast above, or click here to download the file.

BaseCast: Hall of Fame '09 Bonanza originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sat, 25 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keep It Simple, Keep Steroid Guys Out

Terence Moore — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:50:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Hall of Fame, MLB PEDs

Reggie Jackson is right. So is Jim Rice, along with Rick Telander, a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, who joins me as a baseball Hall of Fame voter and as a hardliner who agrees with Jackson and Rice:

No steroids guys in Cooperstown.

No Roger Clemens. No Barry Bonds. No Mark McGwire. No Sammy Sosa. No Rafael Palmeiro. No Alex Rodriguez. Nobody within a syringe of evidence showing they were artificially enhanced during any portion of their playing career.

I don't care that Ty Cobb was a racist (and possibly worse), that Mickey Mantle joined others as prolific drunks, and that Gaylord Perry spit his way into Cooperstown. They're already in the Hall of Fame. I can't do anything about their entries, but I can do something about Clemens, Bonds and the rest.

I also don't care that shunning those from the Steroids Era will shrink the number of future Hall of Fame inductees by a bunch. If you can breathe and dribble a little, you're a candidate for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The point is, in contrast to most of the other Halls of Fame in amateur and professional sports, Cooperstown is more about quality than quantity.

Mostly, I don't care that you're innocent until proven guilty under the law of the land. The law of common sense historically and rightfully overrides the judicial system when it comes to sports entities passing judgment.

And if somebody slips across Cooperstown's city limits before folks discover he was guilty of steroids use, no problem. Baseball should do what college football once did to Billy Cannon when he was in its Hall of Fame and later was arrested by the feds on counterfeiting charges: Just kick the guy out.

That's the easy part. The difficult part is convincing others that Jackson, Rice, Telander and I have it exactly right, because we do.

DYST V3 test

LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers watches as Mo Williams #2 takes a shoe to the face by Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers after a steal in the closing seconds of the first half at The Quicken Loans Arena on February 8, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio. (David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images)

David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images

Brazil's Diogo (L) vies for the ball with Paraguay's Hernan Perez during their U-20 South American Championship football match in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela on February 8, 2009.(Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images )

Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images

A Dalmatian looks at its handler as a judge goes to touch the dog during the first day of the 2009 Westminster Dog Show in New York February 9, 2009.(Lucas Jackson, Reuters)

Lucas Jackson, Reuters

Denver Nuggets forward Chris Anderson touches his head during a time out in the first half of their NBA basketball game with the New Jersey Nets in East Rutherford, New Jersey February 7, 2009. (Ray Stubblebine, Reuters)

Ray Stubblebine, Reuters

Margarita Marbler, of Austria, skis to a bronze medal finish the ladies moguls freestyle FIS World Cupskiing qualification at Cypress mountain in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. (Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP)

Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP

West Virginia guard Darryl Bryant (25) is fouled by Providence guard Jeff Xavier (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Morgantown, W.Va. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. West Virginia won 86-59. (Don Wright, AP)

Don Wright, AP

Missouri's DeMarre Carroll, top, celebrates the Tigers' 62-60 win over Kansas in Columbia, Missouri, Monday, February 9, 2009. (Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT)

Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT

David Clarkson #23 of the New Jersey Devils fights Erik Reitz #4 of the New York Rangers during their game on February 9, 2009 at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (Al Bello, Getty Images)

Al Bello, Getty Images

Driver Patrick Sheltra (60) begins to spin coming out of the fourth turn during the ARCA 200 auto race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009.

Darryl Graham, AP

Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives serves the ball, in this multiple exposure, to Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic during their Fed Cup tennis match in Brno February 7, 2009.

Petr Josek, Reuters

With the latest Hall of Fame ceremonies slated for this weekend, Telander even presented a proposal at a recent meeting of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). He approached the group, because BBWAA members for 10 consecutive years are eligible to vote for Hall of Famers. Telander wanted the group to form a committee to develop guidelines for evaluating players from the Steroids Era when it comes to Hall of Fame voting.

Nice try, Rick. After much debate, Telander's proposal was slammed out of the ballpark toward the game's Never Never Land with Charlie Finley's orange baseballs. We're left with the likelihood that a slew of cheats will be immortalized in bronze forever. That's because opponents to Telander's proposal ask several questions.

How do you define the beginning and the end of the Steroids Era, when players still are getting nabbed despite baseball's significant drug-testing program and world-wide attention on the subject?

What criteria would you use to establish that somebody was from the Steroids Era and was a user?

If somebody took the stuff at the end of their otherwise Hall of Fame career, do you send them to Cooperstown anyway?

The answer to those questions is the same: When in doubt, keep them out.

Such a stance was implied by the founding fathers of baseball's Hall of Fame guidelines, and this was sort of the stuff of those other founding fathers who developed the U.S. Constitution. George Washington and his 18th century gang wanted a document that would adapt to whatever happened in the future, but they also wanted it to keep the original intent of its authors.

You have strict constructionists, who take the Constitution literally, and you have loose constructionists, who read between its lines.

That brings us back to the BBWAA, which allows Hall of Fame voters to use their own interpretation of rules that are vague but specific. The rules say each voter should consider a player's "record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played."

As a Hall of Fame voter, I'm a strict constructionist. To me, the key words in those rules are "integrity" and "character." You don't have integrity or character by using steroids. So no Hall of Fame entry for any of these knuckleheads.

Simple.

Loose constructionists see the key words in those rules as "record," "ability" and "contributions." To them, it sort of matters that a guy used steroids, but they mention he still had to swing, throw, run and catch at a high level.

Not so simple.

This is simpler: Just listen to Jackson, Rice, Telander and me.

Terence Moore is a national columnist and commentator for FanHouse. He is a frequent panelist on "Rome Is Burning", an ESPN show hosted by Jim Rome, that is seen Monday through Friday at 4:30 PM ET. Moore spent more than three decades working for major newspapers, including 26 years as an award-winning sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He resides in Atlanta .

Keep It Simple, Keep Steroid Guys Out originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Ted Williams' HBO Documentary Sheds Light on All-Time Great

Andrew Johnson — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:47:00 EST

Filed under: Red Sox, MLB Hall of Fame, MLB Video

It's a little more than 10 years to the day since Ted Williams bid his informal adieu to Boston and baseball fans. The all-time great Red Sox left fielder died three years later in 2002 after numerous health complications, but his appearance at the '99 All-Star Game at Fenway Park was one of his final in public, and the one that left the most indelible mark.

Even with the backdrop of Mark McGwire crushing chemically-enhanced blasts over the Green Monster during the Home Run Derby, and Pedro Martinez's maestro act at the height of his prime a night later in the All-Star Game, Williams' farewell was the defining moment of a seminal Midsummer Classic.

Life hasn't gotten any simpler since Williams rode that cart to the center of Fenway Park, adulation from fans in the Hub and All-Stars alike washing over him. Neither has the Splendid Splinter's legacy, as the HBO documentary "Ted Williams," which premieres Wednesday, July 15 at 9:30PM ET/PT, details.

Williams, of course, remains one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game, ranking second all-time in adjusted OPS behind Babe Ruth and first in on-base percentage, but, as the documentary suggests, the bizarre circumstances of his death (he chose to be cryogenically frozen in a controversial informal family pact that was disputed by one of his children in a lawsuit) could cloud how he is remembered, typically by younger fans.

"His nephew said it toward the end of the show -- he's 'the frozen guy' now," Margaret Grossi, the producer of the documentary for HBO said. "We ran into that with a lot of people when we mentioned Ted Williams.

"Hopefully people will remember him as this really well-rounded individual and this really amazing hitter and just see that he was a complex figure in history, but I'm not sure."

Even before he became a sci-fi punchline, Williams' place in baseball lore didn't seem entirely cut and dry.

Teddy Ballgame is certainly in the inner circle -- the pantheon -- of greatest players to ever play the game. But he's also pretty clearly not considered the greatest. In fact, among the elite, he almost seems overlooked at times.

Babe Ruth is the most famous athlete ever. Willie Mays is the greatest living ballplayer. Hank Aaron is the once and, to many, future home run king, a near-constant talking point in any discussion around the game's harmful association with performance-enhancing drugs.

Williams might be the greatest natural hitter ever, and given his feats in the batting average department and his other-worldly on-base percentage, his batting eye remains unmatched to this day. But, other than the .406 season in 1941, those aren't exactly the type of accomplishments celebrated at large with lists of superlatives from baseball fans. (In fact, his propensity to take the free pass got him labeled selfish often in the Boston media.)

In the era of Moneyball and the endless summer of on-base percentage, perhaps there's a bit more appreciation to be found for Williams. Albert Pujols has never matched his .482 career OBP in a single season, and Barry Bonds exceeded that mark just four times in his career -- from 2001 to 2004, when he was allegedly using every performance-enhancing substance Victor Conte and Greg Anderson could shuttle his way. Still, the baseball world doesn't seem to be bursting at the seams with reverence.

Part of it is the fact that he never won a title with the Red Sox. (Of course neither did anyone else for the better part of a century.)

"I think that had he won a World Series [he would have been more appreciated]," Grossi said. "I think that's a lot of the thinking in this country. ... The fact that he was maybe considered a selfish player didn't help him any, but I think even that would have been overlooked had he won a championship.

"I think that really was the missing piece for him. In one way, people thought of him as a war hero, but I wonder in terms of being appreciated in baseball, if that would have been more so if he had had those prime years [he lost serving in World War II and the Korean War]. And would he have won a championship."

The rest of it, at least according to the documentary, is a function of his adversarial relationship with the press, which curried little favor with a public much more swayed by the printed word then than it is now, and that big what if question that drives so many baseball statisticians mad.

What if Ted Williams never had to go World War II or Korea, after all? 600 homers? 700 homers?

"The only thing is, I don't know where you go with what ifs," Grossi said. "I think Ted took the what if and just put it aside. I'm sure he regretted missing those five years (1943-45 and 1952-53), but he just kept moving."

And it is that irrepressibly driven Williams -- the one seemingly impervious to any distraction on a baseball diamond -- that ultimately shines through in the Grossi-produced film.

Closely following his death in 2002, USA Today called Williams a real-life John Wayne. It seems silly to compare any real person, even one as prolific as Williams, to a character actor from the movies, especially one as cartoonish as Wayne.

But then you start putting his life story together.

The home run in his last at-bat at Fenway Park and the two in the 1946 All-Star Game there. The years of military service and the countless hours and untold sums given to the Jimmy Fund. The negotiating of a lower contract for himself with the Red Sox after an off year.

Who does, not just one, but all of these things in real life?

It hardly seems real or human. That's not to say his frailties are glossed over in the documentary. His strained relationship with his children is covered in detail.

In the end their remains this indomitable individual.

"It's cumulative with him," Grossi said. "He's one of those guys where if you read articles from the time, you would think he's just this skinny spoiled brat, but over time all the things he did, they just all added up to make this larger-than-life guy. On top of it all, he was just gorgeous.

"The guy had something inside of him that just kept him going. He just kept it intact no matter what was going on around him. I don't know if we'll see that again."

'Ted Williams' HBO Documentary Sheds Light on All-Time Great originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Selig Discusses Manny, Economy, Hall of Fame and More in Luncheon

Ed Price — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Cubs, Dodgers, Mets, Nationals, Pirates, Rangers, MLB All-Star Game, MLB Biz, MLB Hall of Fame, MLB PEDs

ST. LOUIS -- Bud Selig said Tuesday he'd like players suspended for performance-enhancing drugs, such as Manny Ramirez, not to be able to go on minor-league assignments while their suspensions are in force.

During his annual All-Star break question-and-answer session with members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, the commissioner also touched on Pete Rose, the Nationals, collusion charges and the effect of the economy on baseball.

Ramirez played in seven minor-league games to tune up before his July 3 return to the majors. Some questioned why that was allowed, but such assignments are permitted by the agreement between baseball and the players' association on PEDs, so any change would have to be negotiated with the union.

"To be very candid," Selig said, "I believe that should be changed."

Philadelphia reliever J.C. Romero also played in the minors this year while waiting for his PED suspension to run out.

Selig said of more than 2,400 tests this year, Ramirez has been the only positive.

But Selig also seemed to caution Hall of Fame voters against weighing PED use too strongly in casting their votes. He used the cocaine scandal of the 1980s as a point of comparison.

"Here we have all that trauma in the '80s, of the worst kind," Selig said. "Illegal, immoral, unethical. Where was the outrage?

"So you've got to go back in baseball history and make your own judgments. It's impossible for someone else to do that. ... But understand the history of life is not, 'Well, this guy didn't do that.' How do you know?"

Selig said he is proud that, despite the economy, attendance is down only about 5 percent. He called it "maybe in a sense our greatest season," saying total attendance so far is 400,000 shy of his goal of 40 million.

While baseball uses the economy to explain why free-agent contracts were mostly lower last winter, the union is investigating whether to file collusion charges. But Selig was dismissive of such claims.

"They're entitled to their opinion," Selig said. "Given the world we live in and what's happened in the last 18 months, I think this is one sport where I cant even fathom that anyone would think that. Player compensation hasn't gone down.

"Some of us -- let me be as blunt as I can be -- have to live in the real world. Not in some make-believe little scenario that doesn't exist."

Selig also said:

o. Rose's request to be reinstated (and thus eligible for the Hall of Fame) is "under review. I do spend some time discussing it, but it's not appropriate for me to say more."

o. He doesn't mind quirky new ballparks such as the Mets' Citi Field: "I think it's great. I don't want to go back to where we were in the '60s in the '70s. I used to joke if you had too much to drink the night before and you woke up it would take you a half an hour to figure out if you were in Philadelphia, Cincinnati or Pittsburgh. They all looked the same, felt the same and were all lousy."

o. That the Cubs' possible bankruptcy filing "is only to clear the club, and then they can move forward" with a sale, and the loan of cash to the Rangers "is not the first time in our history we've done that and probably not the last."

o. That age and name falsification among players from Latin America needs to be addressed, saying, "We've got a lot of work to do in the Dominican Republic. And we are doing it. That's one of the areas we need to get a much better handle on."

o. And that the Pirates and Nationals are, to him, going in the right direction. Selig said "Frank [Coonelly, the Pirates team president] and Neal [Huntington, the GM] and Bob [Nutting, the chairman] are on the tight track, I really do [believe that]." And even though Washington now has an interim GM and an interim manager, Selig said, "They understand what they need to do. They're in the process of doing it."

MLB All-Star Game Photos

National League starting pitcher Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants throws a pitch in the first inning against the American League during Major League Baseball's All-Star game in St. Louis, July 14, 2009. REUTERS/Morry Gash/Pool (UNITED STATES SPORT BASEBALL)

Reuters

ST LOUIS, MO - JULY 14: National League All-Star Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals dives to make a play on a ball during the 2009 MLB All-Star Game at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2009 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Albert Pujols

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ST LOUIS, MO - JULY 14: American League All-Star Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees rounds third on his way to scoring during the 2009 MLB All-Star Game at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2009 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Derek Jeter

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ST LOUIS, MO - JULY 14: American League All-Stars Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners and Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees look on before the 2009 MLB All-Star Game at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2009 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Morry Gash-Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ichiro Suzuki;Derek Jeter

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ST LOUIS, MO - JULY 14: American League All-Star Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees looks on before the 2009 MLB All-Star Game at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2009 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mariano Rivera

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ST LOUIS, MO - JULY 14: American League All-Star manager Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays looks on before the 2009 MLB All-Star Game at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2009 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Morry Gash-Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Joe Maddon

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ST LOUIS, MO - JULY 14: American League All-Star manager Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays greets National League All-Star manager Charlie Manuel of the Philadelphia Phillies before the 2009 MLB All-Star Game at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2009 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Morry Gash-Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Charlie Manuel;Joe Maddon

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American League starting pitcher Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays throws a pitch in the first inning against the National League during Major League Baseball's All-Star game in St. Louis, July 14, 2009. REUTERS/Morry Gash/Pool (UNITED STATES SPORT BASEBALL)

Reuters

American League's Michael Young of the Texas Rangers singles during the fourth inning of the MLB All-Star baseball game in St. Louis, Tuesday, July 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

American League's Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners swings on a pitch during the fifth inning of the MLB All-Star baseball game in St. Louis, Tuesday, July 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

Selig Discusses Manny, Economy, Hall of Fame and More in Luncheon originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dave Stewart Rips Jose Canseco at Reunion for 1989 A's

Jeff Fletcher — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:16:00 EST

Filed under: Athletics, MLB Hall of Fame, MLB PEDs

OAKLAND -- The Oakland Athletics invited the members of their 1989 World Series championship team back for a reunion on Tuesday, and a couple players were conspicuous in their absence: Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco.

Canseco, who was otherwise occupied (see right), was hardly missed.

A day after Carney Lansford said he was still upset at Canseco for writing a tell-all book, Dave Stewart said the A's distaste for Canseco started long before that.

"This book had nothing to do with it, he was a bad teammate," Stewart said.

Stewart said Canseco "concentrated more on himself than the team. I don't think Canseco ever said 'we.' "

Stewart, who was one of the leaders of the A's playoff teams of the late 1980s and early '90s, said the team was nearly unanimous in disliking Canseco.

"Truth be told, I'm glad Canseco is not here," Stewart said. "I think anybody, if they were being honest, would say that."

McGwire, on the other hand, was missed. The A's invited him and even promised that he could be shielded from the media, but McGwire declined.

Now, McGwire sits in baseball exile, ever since his forgettable declaration that he was "not here to talk about the past" before a Congressional hearing on steroids in 2005. Since then, he's been virtually invisible from Major League Baseball, and he has gained little support in his three appearances on the Hall of Fame ballot.

When Stewart was asked if he thought McGwire should be in the Hall of Fame, he said: "I don't know. I don't really know the circumstances behind McGwire. I can tell you what I think. Do I think McGwire used [steroids]? No. Do I know that for a fact? No. He's not denied it and he's not affirmed it. Probably what the voters are waiting to see or hear is for him to say I didn't do it. I don't know whether he belongs or not. Shoot, I think I belong in the Hall of Fame, and I'm not."

Terrible Teammates

Add former MLB pitcher Dave Stewart, left, to the list of people who dislike Jose Canseco. The 1989 World Series MVP said Canseco "was a bad teammate" and "concentrated more on himself than the team." Click through to see teammate feuds in sports history.

Jonathan Papelbon, right, was the latest Red Sox star to take a shot at former teammate Manny Ramirez. Not too long after Curt Schilling ripped the slugger, Papelbon told Esquire magazine that Ramirez was like a "cancer" and "he had to go."

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The frustration over a lost season boiled over in Cleveland. Browns quarterback Brady Quinn was allegedly punched in the face by teammate Shaun Smith, following a heated exchange of words in the team's locker room in late December.

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Thomas Jones wasn't amused by Brett Favre's three-interception game in the regular-season finale. During a December radio interview, the Jets rusher said Favre should have pulled himself out of the game.

Al Pereira, Getty Images

In the wake of a report that Terrell Owens was purposely sabotaging his situation in Dallas because of Tony Romo's relationship with tight end Jason Witten, left, a second report leaked out claiming that Owens and Witten had a heated exchange in the Cowboys locker room and had to be separated. Both Owens and Witten denied any such incident occurred.

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After former Knicks star Stephon Marbury, left, reportedly refused to play in a game in November, Quentin Richardson said he no longer considered him a teammate. Marbury responded by saying his teammates "left him out for dead." He was released in February and signed a deal with the Celtics shortly thereafter.

Darren Hauck, AP

Browns running back Jamal Lewis was fuming after Cleveland lost to the Broncos 34-30 on November 6. Lewis even took some not-so-thinly-veiled shots at his teammates, saying "This is the NFL, you can't call it quits until the game is over ... but it looks to me like some people called it quits before that."

Tom Hauck, Getty Images

As the Mariners' miserable 2008 season came to a close, a clubhouse insider reported that one particular player wanted to "knock out" Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle's highest profile player. "It got to a point early on when I thought they were going to get together and go after him," said the source.

Lisa Blumenfeld, Getty Images

Prince Fielder, center, had to be held down by teammates after a duguout altercation in August with pitcher Manny Parra. While the Brewers wouldn't say what caused the scuffle, the incident raised tensions in the Milwaukee clubhouse.

Al Behrman, AP

Tampa Bay Rays teammates Dioner Navarro, left, and Matt Garza had a heated exchange on the mound during a loss to the Rangers in June 2008. TV cameras later caught Navarro and Garza shoving each other in the dugout.

ESPN

Dave Stewart Rips Jose Canseco at Reunion for 1989 A's originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just a Reminder: Baseball Players Have Always Cheated

Jeff Fletcher — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:15:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Hall of Fame, MLB PEDs

In my continuing crusade to knock Americans -- particularly my Hall-of-Fame-voting colleagues -- off their moral high horses when it comes to steroids, I wanted to point out an op-ed piece that ran over the weekend in the New York Times.

Zev Chafets, author of an upcoming book about the Hall of Fame, reminds us that baseball players have been using performance-enhancing drugs for a long time.

In 1961, during his home run race with Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle developed a sudden abscess that kept him on the bench. It came from an infected needle used by Max Jacobson, a quack who injected Mantle with a home-brew containing steroids and speed. In his autobiography, Hank Aaron admitted once taking an amphetamine tablet during a game. The Pirates' John Milner testified at a drug dealer's trial that his teammate, Willie Mays, kept "red juice," a liquid form of speed, in his locker. (Mays denied it.) After he retired, Sandy Koufax admitted the he was often "half high" on the mound from the drugs he took for his ailing left arm.

For decades, baseball beat writers - the Hall of Fame's designated electoral college - shielded the players from scrutiny. When the Internet (and exposés by two former ballplayers, Jim Bouton and Jose Canseco) allowed fans to see what was really happening, the baseball writers were revealed as dupes or stooges. In a rage, they formed a posse to drive the drug users out of the game.

So right there you've got Mantle, Aaron, Mays and Koufax all connected to some sort of performance-enhancing chemical. Maybe their stuff didn't work as well as the stuff the players of the 21st century have at their disposal, but does that make them innocent and today's players guilty?

You can also argue that we have only snippets of alleged "one-time" use when it comes to these old-timers. Of course, what would we say if a current player said he used steroids "only once"? Also, the evidence against the old-timers is flimsy because back then no one was looking for it.

What that tells me that baseball players have been trained since the dawn of time to do whatever they could get away with if they thought it would help them perform

Let's not forget what Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt told Bob Costas in 2005:

"Let me go out on a limb and say that if I had played during that era I would have taken steroids. ... We all have these things we deal with in life, and I'm surely not going to sit here and say to you guys, 'I wouldn't have done that.'

(Schmidt wrote later in his autobiography that he thinks he wouldn't have taken steroids, but he understood why players did.)

The point to all of this is not to excuse the steroid users. What they did was wrong. The point is just to keep a little perspective on the atmosphere in which they did it. Let's put away the torches and pitchforks.

Just a Reminder: Baseball Players Have Always Cheated originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Glavine Says He Won't Pitch Again, at Least Not This Season

Knox Bardeen — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:26:00 EST

Filed under: Braves, MLB Hall of Fame

When the Atlanta Braves suddenly released two-time Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine earlier this month shock waves were felt throughout the baseball community. It doesn't matter which side of the "were the Braves right or wrong with how they handled this move" fence you sit, what matters now is the fact that Glavine says that he isn't going to pitch again.

At least not in 2009.

In a text message conversation with FOX 5 Atlanta's Buck Lanford, Glavine said, "I'm not going to pitch or do anything in baseball until at least next year."

Glavine, who's currently 21st on the all-time list with 305 wins, plans to spend the rest of the current season being a "full-time dad".

Not only had Glavine not seen major league action in 2009, but he only mustered 13 starts in 2008, a season where his ERA crept above 5.00 for the first time since his rookie year with the Braves in 1987.

Glavine is 43 right now. He'll turn 44 prior to the 2010 season. It's hard to imagine a situation where the decorated veteran will get a chance to catch on in another rotation. This seems like the perfect time to ride off into the sunset, enjoy being a "full-time dad" and begin work on a speech for Cooperstown.

Glavine will definitely need that Hall of Fame speech in about five years.

Glavine Says He Won't Pitch Again, at Least Not This Season originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:26:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey Pete Rose Apologists, Save It

Jeff Fletcher — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:14:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Gambling, MLB Hall of Fame

People, people, people. How many times do we need to go over this? It seems that every time we have another steroids revelation and talk turns to how that affects the player's Hall of Fame qualifications, all of the Pete Rose people come out of the woodwork to say that Pete should get in if the Steroids Guys are in.

A whole batch of them came out in the comments for this post about Sammy Sosa's Hall of Fame chances.

What many people fail to realize is that the rule Rose broke is more important to baseball than any rule about steroid use.

Let's think about why we love sports more than, say, the circus. You go to the circus and you see highly-skilled people doing amazing things that none of us could dream of doing. You think walking a tightrope with a lion waiting underneath is any easier than hitting a slider? It's not the same, though, because there is no competition.

What separates sports from every other form of entertainment is that you don't know what's going to happen. You have two sides each giving 100 percent to beat the other, and we want to see what's going to happen. We live for the unscripted, jaw-dropping moments like Kirk Gibson's homer in the 1988 World Series, or LeBron James' game-winning shot in this year's Eastern Conference finals.

If anything affects the integrity of the unknown outcome, the whole thing falls apart. You've got professional wrestling. Or the ballet.

Which brings us to Rule 21, which is posted within the clubhouse of every major and minor league baseball team, and has been for nearly 90 years. Part of that rule reads...

(d) BETTING ON BALL GAMES. Any player, umpire, or club official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform shall be declared ineligible for one year.

Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible.

Pretty simple. Pretty straightforward.

Doesn't matter if Pete Rose was betting on the Reds or against the Reds. If he's not betting on them every single day, and if he's not betting the same amount every single day, his decisions are going to be affected by his bets. (Does he bring out that reliever for a fourth consecutive day because he's got a little extra on this game?) Also, he sends signals to the gambling community with his betting patterns. (Pete bet on the Reds the last three days, but he's not betting on them today!) And betting on baseball put him in a position to throw a game. Let's say Pete got in deep with some bookies and couldn't pay up. They say, "Well Pete, I can think of a way we can make this debt go away..."

Steroid users, by contrast, were no threat to the integrity of the game. If anything, they were trying too hard to win. I'm not saying using steroids is right. I'm just saying it's a different kind of wrong than gambling, a wrong that should be punished, but not one that jeopardizes the entire fabric of what makes sports work.

Finally, don't blame sportswriters for Rose not being in the Hall of Fame. Blame Major League Baseball. It's their rule. They enforce it. Commissioner Bart Giamatti imposed the penalty, and it's been upheld by Fay Vincent and Bud Selig. Rose's name has never appeared on a ballot that's been in the hands of a baseball writer (and there's no spot for a write-in to answer your next question).

Frankly, I'm so tired of listening to the Rose argument that I have a solution. Although I wouldn't mind if he never went to the Hall of Fame, I also wouldn't mind if he got in with the following conditions: His plaque would say that Rose "bet on baseball and accepted a lifetime ban," and he'd never be allowed to wear a big-league uniform or draw a paycheck from organized baseball again.

Hey Pete Rose Apologists, Save It originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:14:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sammy Sosa for the Hall of Fame? He's a Definite Maybe

Jeff Fletcher — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:48:00 EST

Filed under: MLB Hall of Fame, MLB PEDs

After you got over the "utter shock" of learning that Sammy Sosa had reportedly tested positive for peformance-enhancing drugs, you might have been tempted to think: "Well, there goes his Hall of Fame chances."

This Hall of Fame voter is here to say: Not so fast.

Without getting into all of the details of my well-chronicled position that I'm going to vote based on performance, regardless of alleged or proven steroid use, I'd simply like to remind people that a lot of things can change with time.

The first time the name Sammy Sosa will appear on a Hall of Fame ballot will be December 2012. Provided he gets at least 5 percent of the vote each year, his name will stay on there until 2027. That's a long time.

Right now, at the height of the media's collective indignation (read: overreaction) about steroid use, it's easy to say: "He cheated. He's out."

A decade or so from now, though, it may be different. We may have a laundry list of names of cheaters even longer than we can fathom today. There may be scientific studies that show that steroids don't really help your performance as much as we thought. Or that they aren't as bad for our health as we thought, and probably shouldn't have been banned in the first place.

Or the voters may simply be worn down by all the users. At some point, we're going to greet new steroids news with a yawn. That point may be here sooner than we think.

Some day, as current voters move on and are replaced by new ones, the group's collective opinion of steroid use may be like mine: Big deal. They played in an era of cheaters, and they were the best of the cheaters. Let 'em in.

DYST V3 test

David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images

Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images

A Dalmatian looks at its handler as a judge goes to touch the dog during the first day of the 2009 Westminster Dog Show in New York February 9, 2009.(Lucas Jackson, Reuters)

Lucas Jackson, Reuters

Ray Stubblebine, Reuters

Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP

Don Wright, AP

Missouri's DeMarre Carroll, top, celebrates the Tigers' 62-60 win over Kansas in Columbia, Missouri, Monday, February 9, 2009. (Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT)

Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT

David Clarkson #23 of the New Jersey Devils fights Erik Reitz #4 of the New York Rangers during their game on February 9, 2009 at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (Al Bello, Getty Images)

Al Bello, Getty Images

Driver Patrick Sheltra (60) begins to spin coming out of the fourth turn during the ARCA 200 auto race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009.

Darryl Graham, AP

Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives serves the ball, in this multiple exposure, to Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic during their Fed Cup tennis match in Brno February 7, 2009.

Petr Josek, Reuters

Sammy Sosa for the Hall of Fame? He's a Definite Maybe originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:48:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aaron on Glavine: 'You Have to Be Gracious Enough to Step Aside'

Terence Moore — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:32:00 EST

Filed under: Braves, MLB Hall of Fame, MLB Milestones

It happens. Guys such as Tom Glavine spend much of their baseball careers shining brighter than the sun. Then, when nearly everything surrounding their stardom begins to dim near the end, they just won't leave.

They don't want anybody to push them, either.

Hank Aaron wasn't one of those guys.

"Believe me, I was ready to retire, and the game went on, just like it did after Babe Ruth retired and when Willie Mays retired, and it's going to continue that way whether folks realize it or not," said Aaron, 75, baseball's legitimate home-run king, chuckling during an exclusive interview with FanHouse. He has spent the last three decades or so as an Atlanta Braves executive, a noted philanthropist through his Chasing the Dream Foundation and an eternal straight-shooter on all sorts of things.

On this day, the subject was two-fold: Glavine's noisy disapproval of the Braves' whacking him and his Hall of Fame arm out of nowhere this week, and why it is so difficult for great players without overwhelming health issues to drift quietly into retirement -- you know, like Aaron, who nevertheless understands the mindset of Glavine and others during these situations.

Let's start with Aaron's departure. "The year that I said I wanted to leave (1976), everything was drained out of me at that time," Aaron said. "Everything. I had been through literally hell during the last two and half years of my career, with all of the newspaper articles and with folks saying this and saying that and doing all sorts of different things toward me. I was just absolutely worn out."

Remember? Courtesy of Aaron's storied pursuit and passing of Ruth's 714, he was a target of hate mail and death threats. He finished the last two of his 23 years in the majors with the Milwaukee Brewers after he built his legacy with the Braves of Milwaukee and Atlanta. "I've never said this before, but the greatest thing that ever happened to me was when I was traded to the Brewers, and I was able to go to Sun City, Ariz., for spring training," Aaron said. "That's a retirement area for people 75 and older, and I got me an apartment there, and I swear: I never came out. The only thing I did was train and go home, so that tells you I was ready to go.

"A lot of players believe their careers can go on and on and on and on. They believe that it won't end at some point, and that is not the case. Your legs get worn out. Your arm that used to throw balls 90 mph. Hey, those balls don't get to the plate as fast. The bases you used to steal, they're just not there."

According to Braves officials, a future for Glavine on the field with their suddenly gasping franchise just isn't there, either. This is a team that had a record 14 consecutive trips to the playoffs, but it hasn't gone that far in four years. The Braves are barely a .500 bunch these days in a National League East, where the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets are sliding farther north of Atlanta in the standings.

That means those who run the Braves can't afford too many mistakes, and they definitely can't afford to live on sentimentality.

So this made sense: Although Glavine threw 11 consecutive scoreless innings during his two rehabilitation starts, Braves officials said they didn't like what they saw of their 43-year-old finesse pitcher recovering from shoulder and elbow issues. As a result, they took away Glavine's tentatively scheduled start on Sunday at Turner Field against the Milwaukee Brewers, and they gave it to 22-year-old Tommy Hanson, supposedly the Braves' next Cy Maddux, Cy Smoltz and Cy Glavine. Hanson was a work-in-progress during his debut (six earned runs and six hits in six innings), but he was impressive during early spurts of the Braves' eventual 8-7 victory.

Yeah, this made sense for the Braves, but Glavine says otherwise, of course. He loathed the timing of it all. The day after he baffled Triple-A competition on Tuesday, he was called into a Braves meeting with team president John Schuerholz, general manager Frank Wren and manager Bobby Cox. That's when Glavine got his fateful news. He called a press conference blasting Braves hierarchy. He said they wanted him to fail in rehabilitation to make their transition to Hanson easier. He said he was cut for financial reasons since he would make $4.5 million this season through incentives.

Schuerholz later issued a public apology for not letting Glavine know how much he meant to "our franchise" and "to the game of baseball."

To which Aaron cringed.

"I wouldn't have said anything if I were John Schuerholz. I think that was a mistake, because it was a no-win situation in his case, as much as [Schuerholz] tried to patch up the differences," Aaron said. Then he laughed, adding, "This is the first time I've ever been on management's side. I mean, Glavine got paid very well through the years to play here, and there's never a good way to handle these situations. But if you're the Braves, you've got to throw those kids out there and let them pitch. If you're Glavine, you have to be gracious enough to step aside."

Why don't the Glavines of any sport do so? "The hardest thing for anybody -- especially athletes -- is to wake up in the morning and realize everything has stopped for them," Aaron said. "The cheering. The booing. The traveling. All the things that you used to be doing are no longer there, and it's hard for you to realize that, along with the idea of losing all of the money that I made. It's just not there any more.

"Since the most I made was [$240,000 over two years], I can't possibly imagine what it's like for guys today, because they've got these huge bills. They've got these mansions all over the world. Then they look around and say, 'Oh, my God. I have to pay for this, and I have to pay for that.' That's really tough, which is why a lot of these guys want to wake up in the morning and blame somebody else for their situation."

Which brings us to Glavine, whose thoughts of playing into a 22nd season involve adrenaline more than money. He's one of two active 300-game winners with 305 victories, with 21 years in the majors ...

And with a bruised ego.

Terence Moore is a national columnist and commentator for FanHouse. He is a frequent panelist on "Rome Is Burning," an ESPN show hosted by Jim Rome, that is seen Monday through Friday at 4:30 PM ET. Moore spent more than three decades working for major newspapers, including 26 years as an award-winning sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He resides in Atlanta.

Aaron on Glavine: 'You Have to Be Gracious Enough to Step Aside' originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:32:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From Wild Thing to Big Unit to 300

Jeff Fletcher — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Giants, Mariners, MLB Hall of Fame, FanHouse Exclusive

SAN FRANCISCO -- Even though Randy Johnson was the one who was pitching, catcher Dave Valle still woke up the next day with a sore left shoulder.

Valle, the Mariners' primary catcher in the early '90s, was the man who had to handle Johnson when he was more Wild Thing than Big Unit.

"The fastball would soar up and away (to righties) and if you'd catch it at the wrong angle, it would feel like your arm is going to be pulled out of the socket," Valle told FanHouse. "Then he'd throw that slider down at the back foot. So that was a lot of territory to cover for a catcher ...

"He was a rough day at the office for a catcher. He was throwing 100 mph and didn't have a real good idea where it was going."

In that sense, Johnson was no different from countless other hard-throwing, inconsistent pitchers who make short passes through the big leagues all the time.

Except Johnson got straightened out. In unprecedented fashion.

The five Cy Young Awards, 4,000-plus strikeouts and two no-hitters (including a perfect game) punched his ticket to the Hall of Fame long before he won his 300th game Thursday night in Washington. When Johnson is inducted into the Hall, he will have completed a remarkable journey.

Common sense tells you a lot of Hall of Famers must have had rough starts to their careers, but none were quite like Johnson's.

After his fourth full season in the majors, Johnson had a respectable 3.95 ERA, but he was 49-48 and he'd issued 519 walks in 818 innings.

Only two pitchers walked 500 batters in their first 800 innings and went on to make the Hall of Fame: Bob Feller and Nolan Ryan (appropriately, as you'll see).

Both of them reached the majors as teenagers, and had already become dominant by their mid-20s. Johnson was still lost on the mound at age 28. According to Baseball-Reference.com, the pitchers most similar to Johnson at that age were guys like A.J. Burnett, Jose Guzman, Walt Terrell and Odalis Perez.

Safe to say none of them will be joining Johnson in Cooperstown.

"He's what I would call a late maturer," Ryan said. "He was 6-foot-10 and trying to be consistent with extremities that long, trying to control his body. That's probably the biggest challenge he had as a developing pitcher. The remarkable thing is what he accomplished in his 30s."

Ryan, who was instrumental in Johnson's development through one significant moment, said now he marvels at Johnson's career: "For 10 or 15 years, he was one of the most dominating pitchers in baseball. I think (winning 300 games) pretty much completes his career."

It was a career that began with high hopes, but plenty of issues. After the Expos grabbed Johnson out of USC with a second-round pick in 1985, they quickly realized they had a project on their hands.

Mark Gardner, who was in the same Expos draft class, moved up the minor-league chain with Johnson and saw first-hand his struggles.

"He had a lot of things to do," said Gardner, now the Giants' bullpen coach. "He velocity wasn't like it was in his prime. His location was off. He could walk three and strike out three. That's how unpredictable he was."

In four minor-league stops in the Expos system, Johnson had a 3.52 ERA, but he walked 333 in 462 1/3 innings. He frequently chucked balls to the backstop. His entire lanky body was out of control, evident by his 20 balks in one season.

Johnson got to the big leagues for 11 games with the Expos in 1988 and '89, but Montreal then shipped him off to Seattle in a deal for Mark Langston.

"I guess the people in Montreal didn't think he was going to pan out," Gardner said. "They were wrong."

Even in his early years with Seattle, Johnson still didn't have it together, on the mound or off of it.

"You knew there was a gifted arm, but a fragile individual," said Dan Warthen, the Mariners' bullpen coach in 1991 and pitching coach in 1992. "He questioned his ability. He questioned his ability to throw strikes. He wasn't fully confident in probably much of anything. I think he still felt he was a little awkward."

Warthen, now the Mets' pitching coach, said the Mariners tried over and over to get Johnson to make the mechanical changes he needed to be consistent, but the changes didn't stick and Johnson grew more frustrated.

"I think it would be frustrating to anybody," Warthen said. "He is in so many ways a perfectionist. He's a photographer, a natty dresser. Everything he tried to do, he tried to be the best at. When he'd get on the mound, he didn't have any idea where the baseball was going. The competitive juices were flowing. He'd miss with one pitch and then try to throw harder the next pitch."

Where Johnson Ranks, All-Time
Stat	Rank
Wins	24th (300)
Strikeouts	Second (4,845)
K/9	First (10.7)
ERA+	21st (136)
CG	57th (37)
Innings	38th (4,097 1/3)
K:BB	23rd (3.26)
H/9	22nd (7.27)

Johnson, to this day one who can stew over a poor outing, admitted he had trouble handling failure early in his career.

"Absolutely it was discouraging," Johnson said. "When you go out and perform in front of thousands of people and your teammates and you have high expectations and you don't meet those expectations, it's easy to get down on yourself. At a young age, those are the kind of things that weigh on you. As you get older, you realize that there will be inconsistencies. It's how fast you can get back to where you need to be."

In the spring of 1992, Johnson seemed to be there. Warthen, then his pitching coach, said Johnson had worked hard in Arizona to open the season with his mechanics just right.

Johnson pitched shutouts in two of his first three games. In May, the Mariners asked him to pitch on three days of rest, and he lasted only three innings. He struggled after that and ended up on the disabled list in June.

"He was miserable," Warthen said. "He was mad at us for asking him to do it. That was the low moment. I lost him for a month there."

In early August of that year, Johnson experienced the seminal moment of his career. The Rangers were in Seattle. Johnson was walking back from a bullpen session and he wasn't very happy with what he'd done. He ran into Ryan and Rangers pitching coach Tom House -- who had known Johnson because both played at USC -- and the three started chatting about mechanics. They agreed to come back out the next day and do some drills.

"They showed me what I had been doing and what I needed to do," Johnson said. "It was just some mechanics, staying back over the rubber, following through, having the same release point. It was stuff a lot of other people had emphasized, but it wasn't clicking."

"I guess the people in Montreal didn't think he was going to pan out. They were wrong."
-- Mark Gardner, Johnson's Expos teammateOne of the key changes was getting Johnson to land softly on the ball of his right foot, preventing him from pivoting and losing his release point.

"I just think Randy was on the verge of putting it all together at that point in his career," Ryan said. "I appreciate him giving me credit, but I really feel like if we hadn't visited that day, it wouldn't be long before he got it all together."

House, now the pitching coach at USC, still talks to Johnson regularly. He said that moment in Seattle "was like an epiphany, when you throw something at someone and it clicks. They look at you like it's magic. It's just a point in time. He was ready mentally and physically to change some things."

The uniqueness of the meeting was perhaps why it left such an impression on Johnson.

"It's kind of unheard of," Johnson said. "It meant a lot being Nolan, but it's unheard of to get advice like that from someone with another team. It doesn't happen too much."

Ryan said he didn't think anything of helping out Johnson -- who wasn't pitching against the Rangers in that series, by the way -- because so many people had helped him when he was young.

The results were unmistakable. He pitched a three-hit complete game in his next outing. He was 5-2 with a 2.65 ERA in his 11 starts after the Ryan-House meeting, including an 18-strikeout game against the Rangers in September.

"That's when he turned the corner and became the most dominating pitcher in the game of baseball," said Valle, who now works as an analyst for the MLB Network.

Valle remembered a game when Johnson was scuffling in the eighth inning, but clinging to a 2-1 lead.

"I went to the mound and said 'Look down at that bullpen. Is there anyone you want to hand this ball to, for your win?' He paused and said 'Let's go.' He struck out a guy, popped out a guy, and struck out a guy. I looked at him as he walked back to the dugout and said 'He's going to try to take you out of this ballgame. Don't let him.' We get back to the dugout and Bill Plummer, the manager, reached out to shake his hand, and Randy wouldn't shake his hand. He said, 'I'm not done.'

"Moments like that were the phenomenal moments to realize just how good he was."

You know the rest of the story. From 1993 through 2008, Johnson was 246-112, with a 3.08 earned run average. He struck out 11 batters per nine innings, while walking only 2.6. (Prior to 1993, he had walked 5.7 per nine.)

Aside from the five Cy Youngs he won, he finished second or third four other times.

The final line on his Hall of Fame resume was added on a dreary, rainy Thursday in June in Washington D.C., when he became the 24th member of the 300-victory club.

"From where he started to where he's at, he's made great great strides," Gardner said. "When you saw him young, I'm sure everybody saw potential, but they didn't realize this guy would win five Cy Youngs."

Latest Baseball Images

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Randy Johnson hugs his son Tanner, front, after the Giants beat the Washington Nationals 5-1 for Johnson's 300th career win, in the first game of a baseball doubleheader, Thursday, June 4, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

San Francisco Giants starter Randy Johnson tips his cap to the crowd after earning his 300th career win in a victory over the Washington Nationals in their National League MLB baseball game in Washington, June 4, 2009. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES SPORT BASEBALL)

Reuters

St. Louis Cardinals' Chris Carpenter, right, celebrates with catcher Yadier Molina after finishing off the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 4, 2009 in St. Louis. Carpenter threw a three-hitter as the Cardinals won 3-1. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

St. Louis Cardinals' Chris Carpenter celebrates the final out in his three-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in a baseball game Thursday, June 4, 2009, in St. Louis. The Cardinals won 3-1. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

Cincinnati Reds' Laynce Nix watches his home run in the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in a baseball game, Thursday, June 4, 2009, in St. Louis. The Cardinals beat the Reds 3-1. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins leaps over Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman James Loney (7) while throwing to first base to complete the double play to end the second inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, June 4, 2009. Dodgers' Russell Martin was out at first. Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, right, watches the play. (AP Photo/Lori Shepler)

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels works against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, June 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Lori Shepler)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw works against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, June 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Lori Shepler)

CHICAGO - JUNE 4: Mark Buehrle #56 of the Chicago White Sox pitches against the Oakland Athletics at U.S. Cellular Field June 4, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. The Athletics defeated the White Sox 7-0. (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mark Buehrle

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From Wild Thing to Big Unit to 300 originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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