MLB Showdown Obsession

 Over the course of a long season for a team, there will be a fair share of blowout games both on the winning and losing side. When such an event occurs, a Manager can take that chance to sit some of his regulars in the late innings, or bring in a lower leverage pitcher from the bullpen who could use the tune up. On the losing side, perhaps the ineffective Starter or Long Reliever can take one for the team and stay out there too long, absorbing punishment if it means saving the other guys in the bullpen from having to pitch and leaving them ready for a game of consequence. Either way, if a team starts blowing out the other guys early enough, the result seems destined and everyone will likely start going through the motions and not play the game like it's life or death... ...usually. Then there are times when the losing side of a blowout refuses to give in so easily and fight to make it a game again. In such events, the winning side may start to feel a bit of pressure, but they have...

 There are Hall of Fame ballots that add no good names to the group that helps the established candidates get more votes...then there are years like 1989 when the ballot debut of massive names meant that all the established names returning were in trouble. Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Kaat, Gaylord Perry and Ferguson Jenkins were all making their debut, and all were destined for future enshrinement. Bench and Yaz would get the votes right away, while just about all the remaining names on the ballot took hits to their voting progress. Bobby Bonds did see an increase, but going from 6.3% to 6.5% wasn't impressing anyone. Perry and Jenkins were due for getting voted in very soon, but they'd find out themselves next year how daunting it is when big names debut against you...

 The Tigers have existed since before the World Series and the modern era, and are one of only two original AL teams to never change their identity. I feel they should go the "Golden State Warriors" or "New England Patriots" route of team naming and embrace their one nickname of "Motor City Kitties". You could say that the Tigers name is timeless, but I'd counter that Tiger Stadium was too timeless to replace but that's just what they did in 2000, so... Also, the Tigers are so old that many of their all time greats played before numbers on jerseys were a thing, but that didn't stop the franchise from honoring them. #1 - Lou Whitaker If you asked who played more than anyone for the Tigers, obviously you'd start with Ty Cobb, but modern fans might be surprised to see Lou Whitaker as #3 overall. Debuting in 1977, he'd win Rookie of the Year the next season. He'd establish himself right away with his double play partner Alan Trammell an...

 The Hall of Fame began with a fixation on a good size of their class. Voting began in 1936, but the opening of the actual Hall of Fame wasn't until 1939, giving the voters time to elect a nice amount of men to be honored, including at least 10 from the 20th century. Fast forward to 1964 and the Hall eclipsed the 100 member milestone. Just a little bit faster did they hit 200 as we entered the 1988 vote, where Willie Stargell got the call. A similar amount of time would pass to get to 300 in 2013, but we'll get there in time, and as opposed to an all time great, the #300 honor came on with a whimper from the BBWAA...