MLB Showdown Obsession

 The Veterans Committee is always a good fallback option for guys who didn't get voted in to the Hall of Fame during the first go around. There are various reasons for missing the cut the first time. Sometimes a player has HoF credentials, but the ballot is so overloaded with talent that sometimes you get overlooked. So just imagine how easy it is to get overlooked when guys like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb are on the same ballot. No offense to Nap Lajoie and Tris Speaker, there's no shame in waiting an extra year to be elected. Cy Young has the ultimate pitching award named after him, but he needed to wait until 1937 to be enshrined forever. Worth noting that all three players enshrined that year represent Cleveland (two Indians and a Spiders player) 1937 is also the year that entry to the HoF can be gained in more ways than just the BBWAA. The Centennial Committee had their say for entries, but obviously didn't focus on players. Managers, executives and pioneers were the focus ...

 Before Len Barker pitched a perfect game in 1981, everyone else had the luxury of the opposing pitcher needing to bat against them. But by '81, the American League was utilizing the DH, and Barker became the first pitcher to have to go through 27 professional hitters in order to attain immortality. On May 15, 1981, the Toronto Blue Jays were at Cleveland Stadium to face Barker and the Indians. Barker breezed through the Blue Jays hitters, striking out 11 and never once going to ball 3 against anyone. By virtue of the DH rule, Barker became the first perfect game pitcher to not need to come to the plate himself. One of baseballs few highlights in '81 with the shadow of the strike over everything, the perfect game was also the last no-hitter to date in Indians history, currently the longest drought in baseball. Not as bad, obviously, as their 75 year title drought, but it does hold to the theme that the Indians can't catch a break it seems. Despite it's shortened schedul...

 Baseball is a hard game, and not many men have had the distinction of saying they've played in the Majors. It's been said that if you took every individual who has ever played in the entire history of the MLB, you would still be unable to fill up even the smallest stadium in the League. So if you ever have the honor of getting to play, even in one game in your career, you should feel very distinct. Except Ron Wright. Ron Wright was a career minor leaguer, except for the one game he was given a shot. In his one game, he had what many would consider to be the most nightmare of stat lines. The day is Sunday, April 14, 2002. It's a pleasant afternoon in Texas as the Mariners are in town to play the Rangers. Ron Wright is getting the start at DH. This lineup he is apart of is loaded with many of the same players who helped win 116 games the season prior. The circumstances couldn't be more ideal for Ron. And yet... Wright's card is very misleading, because he never got a...

 1952 was supposed to be the year all 3 NY icons had their proper battle for supremacy, buy military service came calling for Willie Mays. Meanwhile, Mantle took over for a now DiMaggio-less Yankees and Snider was helping lead his Dodgers back to the fall classic after a two year absence. Mays did what he could in the weeks he had before the military, and the XBH potential on his chart is unique, but he needed a full season to fill out the rest of his chart and on-base. All three men have solid homer potential, but Snider and Mantle have the advantage of an 11 on-base, with Mantle getting the slight edge overall with his slightly better XBH and hits in general. Perhaps because Mays was missing (they were in first place when he left, then slowly fell off), the Dodgers were able to reach the World Series and meet the Yankees. Mantle would help prove the difference in the series, homering in Games 6 and 7 to help the Yankees stand atop the baseball world for a 4th straight year. Elsew...

  HONK! Will the real Goose Gossage please stand up. Even with the correct picture, I don't know what's the bigger April fools: the future Hall of Fame Closer as a Starter, or the White Sox in shorts? We just gonna ignore the year where Jeter got hooked on crack cocaine and was an absolute liability? Or did you believe the conspiracy theory that his "ankle" was injured and that's why the Yankees kept pulling him from the public eye? The real Jeter from that nightmare 2013 season. The most un-Jeter season ever with terrible on-base, defense, speed and chart. This is like Jose Altuve without a buzzer bad. He came back next year to finish his career strong, but it doesn't change the fact that 2013 was a thing. When you're a pitcher named homer and can give up a homer on your own chart, then you're in for a bad time. This blog may not be meant for the most mature of audiences...this is a real man with a real name. Don't judge a book by it's cover, ...