MLB Showdown Obsession

 We've discussed the current method for getting into the Hall of Fame, but after the change in voting at the end of the 70's, the ballot going forward was more streamlined with the names. But there actually is a process to reaching the BBWAA ballot to even be considered for the hall. You need to have had the prerequisite 10 years of MLB service and be retired for at least 5 years. That alone isn't enough though. As endless as the list seems to be of 1st time entries, there is actually a screening committee that determines who actually gets to go on the ballot when they hit that 5th retirement year. For example, Gene "Stick" Michael and Ed Brinkman both had at least 10 years in the game but the committee did not feel they deserved a chance on the ballot in 1981. So for guys like Ken Berry and Sam McDowell who did reach the ballot but received 0 votes, the old saying comes to mind where "It's an honor just to be nominated." ...Meanwhile Bob Gibson did ...

  Baseball was extending it's reach in 1947. Fans everywhere would read box scores (a lost art it seems nowadays) and follow their teams on radio, but the only way to see them live was to buy a ticket and spend a day at the ballpark. Television was changing that and one of the very first teams to broadcast to it's fans were the Yankees. Helps that they played in the biggest market, but the Yankees were also a national brand behind their team of legends. After an unthinkable 3 seasons without a title, the Yankees had entered the 1947 season with a new Manager in charge with Bucky Harris. The change worked as the Yankees rolled to a 97-57 record, running away with the pennant by 12 games over the 2nd place Tigers. The World Series that year was the first ever televised, but since it was still the early days of TV, only the big cities had access, which was good that the opponent to the Yankees was also a major market team that their fans could watch in the Brooklyn Dodgers. Three ...