MLB Showdown Obsession

 Anyone else remember the movie Mr. 3000 ? It's Bernie Mac film about a cocky hitter retiring with exactly 3000 Hits, only to be snubbed from the Hall of Fame because the writers didn't like his attitude. Then when a stat correction put him down to 2997 Hits, he completely falls off the ballot. He then suits up again long after his prime to try to get those Hits back, only to fall 1 Hit shy, but then he appears on the next possible ballot and gets the votes he needs because he learned his lesson about teamwork or something. If you're wondering "How did they let him back on the ballot if he was already disqualified?" then I have an answer for you: because he officially played again, it reset his ballot qualifications. That brings us to Minnie Minoso. Minnie Minoso had a distinguished career that had ended in 1964. On his first attempt on the 1969 Hall of Fame ballot, he only garnered 1.8% of the vote. And that was that. ...But then he came back for 3 games in 1976...

 As I mentioned in the '84 HoF post, when a ballot features no enticing names making a debut, all the returning names benefit with extra votes, and 2026 is a textbook example. Only one of the newcomers (Cole Hamels) received enough support to earn a trip to next years ballot, while all the returning men gained extra votes over their 2025 showing, with Beltran and Jones getting the big boosts needed to clear the 75% hurdle for enshrinement. Fun fact, Beltran is the first of the 2017 Houston Astros hitters to make the Hall of Fame. At first I made a card featuring his entire career, but I realized I forgot to exclude his tainted 2017 trash can scandal year, so I redid it and came out with a slightly better card...so, you're welcome?

 There's always a funny quirk or two you learn when you slog your way through every Hall of Fame vote ever...and this time it's an exception to the notion that failing to get 5% on a ballot is the automatic ejection we thought it was. In 1984, 10 names failed to achieve the 5% required for a return in 1985...yet three of them were back on the ballot anyway. Heck, Ron Fairly didn't get a single vote (he did get 3 in 1985 and was finally kicked off for good. At the rate of 3 additional votes a year, it would theoretically take him a century to finally get enough votes) so what gives? Well, the Hall put together a committee to review previously dropped candidates for reentry and ultimately came up with 11 names in all from the past several ballots to return to the ballot. Unsurprisingly, none of the renewed names would get the BBWAA approval for the Hall, though some did later gain entry via the Veterans Committee. As a result, certain first time eligible names were kept off t...

 Now we reach the awkward point of the Perfect Game series, where I cover a game that took place during the official Showdown era. Most players involved have cards, so what do I do? Well, not *every* player in that game got a Showdown card, so I can fix that, but some notable players involved can't be avoided (like Cone himself, who was chosen as one of the holo cards for the starter set). So here I'll make a few exceptions for those few notable men and give them "special" pennant race variants. Most pitchers know better than to strive to pitch a No-Hitter. Sure, they can start each game fresh, thinking they can retire every hitter, but once that first baserunner reaches, it's a forgotten worry. No so with David Cone, who obsessed over the notion that he could etch his name into history. There were several notable close calls for Cone in which circumstances or poor luck got in the way, and each instance was maddening to him. And while the vast majority of pitchers...

 As I schedule this well ahead of time, the 2026 Hall of Fame vote results have yet to be released, but the general sentiment of the ballot is that there are no 1st timers on the ballot that are very attractive, which is good news for the returning names seeking support to finally go over the 75% mark, especially with other notable names having come off the ballot from either the time limit or getting their own call in 2025. If you think such pruning of old names in combination of no good names entering isn't going to matter much, I refer you to the 1984 ballot. With 2 big names getting the vote in 1983 and 0 new names on the '84 ballot that would ever see enshrinement in the future, it meant that every single returning name saw their vote total increase from the previous ballot, eight of which saw a double digit increase in their percentage. The three men who went over the 75% mark saw at least an 11% increase to help put them over the top.

 The are many examples of players in MLB Showdown who had careers that lasted just long enough to be included in the initial set in 2000, but while many of them were improperly represented by their showing, Tony Phillips was given a more or less accurate showing of what Tony Phillips was all about: a Utility player who was vastly underrated. Phillips was originally drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1977, but did not sign. The following year the Montreal Expos drafted him instead, who would trade him to the San Diego Padres in 1980, who then traded him to the Oakland Athletics in '81, who finally gave him the big callup in 1982. 1983 would see the beginning of the position flexibility that Phillips would become known for, though not so well for this year with that +0 at 2nd Base. Defense evened out a bit for Tony in '84 as he continued on as Oakland's starting middle infielder. Injury limited Phillips to the back end of the '85 season, so... No, that is not a mistake, ...

 There was a time early on in Hall of Fame voting where things became neatly organized by era. For the guys that existed right before and during the introduction of the Hall, their way in was BBWAA voting. For the guys who existed much too soon for the writers vote, there was the Veterans Committee. That was back in the 30s and 40s. Now that the passage of time was in the 70s and 80s, the Veterans Committee was taking on a bit more than just the Dead Ball Era in their considerations. They were also proving to be a viable 2nd look entry for men who had missed out on getting in via the BBWAA vote. George Kell, for example, had failed to gain entry with the writers, getting at best 36.8% in 1977. Despite having no chance at all with the writers, the VC saw his resume as enough for enshrinement. And this was far from an isolated situation. Red Schoendienst was in his final year of eligibility on the writers ballot, and he fell well short at just 39%, yet stay turned to see his Hall of ...

 Happy 4th of July! So to celebrate America's 250th birthday, let's cover the team that calls the capital their home. The history of Washington baseball is a bit complicated. Currently the third different franchise is active, who are a relocated team that used to be based in Canada. When the Montreal Expos moved to DC, they left behind their retired numbers. The original Washington franchise (the current Twins) took their history with them, which included titles and potential retired numbers (Killebrew did play for DC before their move west, though the vast body of work he put in was as a Twin), though they did leave the name "Nationals" behind. It's all a bit complicated. All you need to know is the Washington Nationals as we know them were born during the twilight of MLB Showdown and never got a proper set. Heck, when the 2005 Showdown base set was released (based on 2004 season) neither the Expos or Nationals receive any representation. 20 years later, the team...

 Today, July 1, is a fun little holiday in baseball. "Bobby Bonilla Day" is a reminder of how to be a smart negotiator as a player, and a warning to owners about reckless money schemes for more than just baseball. But before we begin our tale, let us highlight the career of the man for who we have named this holiday for... Bobby was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but his minor league progression was interrupted by a broken leg, delaying his journey to the majors long enough for the Chicago White Sox to nab him in the Rule 5 draft. He finally tasted the majors in 1986, but Pittsburgh wasn't ready to let him go that easily... ...and made a trade to bring the rookie back to the organization. Bonilla began '87 as the starter at 3rd Base, while still slotting in the corner outfield spots from time to time. 1988 saw Bonilla solely as a 3rd baseman. You may not like Bobby to lose that extra utility, but his first season at just one position was also his best, a...