MLB Showdown Obsession

 In 1991 the Hall of Fame voted to not include in any balloting the names of anyone on baseballs banned list, and this was done solely because Pete Rose was freshly banned and his name was due to be listed on the HoF ballots starting in '92. That didn't prevent some voters from giving their endorsement to Charlie Hustle in the form of a write in vote. The Hall cared not for those votes and ignored them. In total, Rose received 41 write in votes, which if counted would have given him over 9% and qualified him for the next years voting... Meanwhile, for the names that were allowed on the ballot, Tom Seaver got himself 425 votes of the 430 total, setting a new all time record for percentage at 98.8%. Of the 5 votes that didn't name him, 3 of them were completely blank in protest over Pete Rose's exclusion. Had they not been protesting, Seaver would have had the potential for over 99%. Also inducted: Bill McGowan - American League Umpire from 1925 to 1954. Called 8 World Se...

 Some teams are defined by an era of domination they had. The Reds have the Big Red Machine era, the Athletics have the Swingin' A's of the 70s, or the Giants have their era of 3 titles in 5 years. For the Atlanta Braves, they have their 1990s run where they had a run of 14 straight NL West/East division titles. That era eventually had to end, and all the associated stars retired and moved on, so like the before mentioned teams, the Braves had to seek a way to return to the top. The Braves in 2018 had won the NL East for only the 2nd time since their record streak had ended, but it was as a good a time as any to try to start a new streak as they entered play in 2019. The win the division, they had to contend with a hungry Washington Nationals team on their way to a title and New York Mets team that always felt they have a chance, especially when facing the Braves. Brian Snitker had taken over as Manager in 2016 and year by year had guided the Braves to better and better records...