MLB Showdown Obsession

  Aguilera had a...decent 2000 card from the Cubs. But he wasn't best known as a Cub. Just like with Beck previously, many people wouldn't otherwise know that there was a much better version of a reliever in the not too distant past. As part of the World Champion Twins, Rick offers a much better control and chart to close out your wins with. I couldn't decide between these two versions of Lance Johnson, so I decided to post both. On one hand you can select the Johnson with a very attractive chart that makes his official 2000 card blush, or you can opt for the previous version with a higher on-base and way higher speed for the exchange of natural homers and corner outfield eligibility. Either way, you get a rock solid defender with speed. Gary Gaetti had a homer heavy chart with a sad 5 on-base that no one feared. Put him back on the Royals during his last great season and see what happens when he has a slightly better on-base. He keeps his perfect +3 defense at 3rd and adds...

There have been 7 perfect games in the last 20 years. For contrast, from 1880 when the first couple perfect games were pitched until 1956 when Don Larsen pitched the most famous game of all time, only 6 perfect games happened. Mind you, that the "Dead-ball era" the predated the Ruth power surge only accounts for 4 of the perfect games. So despite the huge offensive advantage the game contains today, there have been way more 27-up, 27-down games than in the era when offense was "dead". Food for thought. The last of those dead-ball perfect games was thrown by one Addie Joss on October 2, 1908. His Cleveland Naps beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0. He needed only 74 pitches and struck out only 3 White Sox, both record lows for perfect games. Added to the thrill of the game was it was the home stretch of the season in which both teams were fighting with the Detroit Tigers for the pennant. Detroit would win in the end, and famously go on to lose to the Cubs in the World Seri...

 I had something I was working on...but then I noticed that before I knew it, the HoF vote for 2023 would happen...then I realized that the "Contemporary Committee" was happening RIGHT NOW, so everything went on hold so I could highlight the men up for the honor before the vote is revealed this weekend. Some of them are familiar with my previous HoF vote posts. Albert Belle Barry Bonds Roger Clemens Don Mattingly Fred McGriff Dale Murphy Rafael Palmeiro Curt Schilling If I had the vote to myself, Mattingly and McGriff would get the nod. I'll admit that Murphy was a bit before my time.