@Pirates 7, Cardinals 1 — Raise the Jolly Roger, all alone in first place. A.J. Burnett went 7 innings on 4 hits, and drove in the game’s first run with a rare knock, as the Bucs clinched this season series (10-4, with 5 left).
@Pirates 5, Cardinals 0 — A showdown for 1st place, but the Cards were a no-show, and the hosts grabbed a share. For the third time this year, Francisco Liriano made St. Louis invisible, zipping through 8 innings on two harmless 2-out singles.
This post is for voting and discussion in the twenty-eighth round of balloting for the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats (COG). This round completes the addition to the ballot of those players born in 1946. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading
This round provided a close battle between two born-in-1947 guys who were out-voted in the previous round by Johnny Bench. In the end, it was another catcher, Carlton (Pudge) Fisk, who prevailed by just four votes over Nolan Ryan to become the 27th inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats. This election also saw more voting participation (66 ballots cast) than in any round we’ve had since the opening week of the MLB season. More on Pudge and the voting after the hop skip jump. Continue reading
@Tigers 7, Athletics 6 — If you must lose 3 out of 4 at home, this was the one to win — and this was the way to win it. In other news … as my dad used to say while theatrically throwing his hands up, “Oh, those bases on balls!”
Here is an oddball assortment of pitchers, including a HOFer and an All-Star caliber pitcher, but mainly journeymen and the truly obscure. Yet, all of them share a common career accomplishment. What is the peculiar career feat that only these live-ball era (since 1920) pitchers can boast of?
| Player |
|---|
| Eddie Rommel |
| Dave Koslo |
| Bill Swift |
| Elam Vangilder |
| Paul Hartzell |
| Vito Tamulis |
| Dizzy Dean |
| Ralph Birkofer |
| Rosy Ryan |
Earlier today Dan posed a question on here asking people’s opinions on PED’s and the Hall of Fame. In his post he proposed the example of Rafael Palmeiro as a player with a Hall of Fame caliber career, but with a failed steroid test. In my response I said that it is irrelevant to me if a player used performance, but I would not vote for Palmeiro simply because I do not believe he was a good enough player. This led many people to question me and my thought process. I explained to them that in my opinion longevity is a very small portion of a players case for Cooperstown. I thought that although Palmeiro had an undoubtedly great career, he was not an elite player for any duration of his time as a Major Leaguer. This led me to start analyzing internally what is a HOFer in my opinion. To me it is a player that proved he was truly great for many seasons.
I have conducted a new type of Hall. This in no way is a complete list of who I would have as Hall of Fame inductees. My basis for this Hall of Fame is to find players that were well enough above league average for a long enough time to be considered great. The methodology is simple. The general consensus is that a player with a WAR of 6 in a year is at the very worst a legitimate All-Star worthy player that season. I have found every player since 1901 whom has had a season of at least 6 WAR. From there I have taken all of their seasons at this benchmark. After that I have counted the total number in said seasons above 6. For example, Mike Trout last year had a 10.9 WAR according to Baseball Reference, and in this scenario he would receive 4.9 points last year, for having a WAR 4.9 above 6. This year he has a WAR of 7.7 giving him 1.7 points. Adding those together he has a total “WAR above 6” number of 6.6. I determined that a total “WAR above 6” number of 12 is worthy of spot in the All Peak Hall of Fame. Amazingly, Trout is over half way there, and he is not even through his 2nd full season. Also of note, Palmeiro’s number is 1.2, nowhere near the cutoff for this list.
The list after the break.
@Red Sox 4, Orioles 3 — A game to lament if Baltimore’s playoff quest falls short.
To tell you something you already know, the youngster in Baltimore, that kid named Machado, is a pretty fine ballplayer. Had a very creditable run at the all-time doubles mark before slowing down in the dog days. And, a very steady job at 3rd base – silky smooth hands and footwork, an effortless gun for an arm, and a particular highlight reel play that I, for one, will not soon forget. Mind-boggling to think that he just turned 21.
But, there’s another young 3rd baseman who has received very little ink indeed. Name of Nolan Arenado, a 22 year-old rookie in Colorado. Hasn’t yet shown much of a bat, but take a look at his defensive totals, currently showing 3.4 dWAR in just 109 games (Nolan didn’t get called up until the end of April).
Here’s the kicker: barring injury, Machado and Arenado will post the two best defensive third base seasons ever, as measured by WAR Fielding Runs.
More after the jump.