MLB Showdown Obsession

  The Athletics are the most successful MLB team in 2 different markets. They have a 5-2 lead over the Phillies for the best results in Philadelphia, while they maintain a slim 4-3 lead over the Giants in the San Francisco Bay area. And while 2 of the 3 cities they used to call home have storied A's history, they will be settling into a new home soon in Las Vegas for reasons we are not getting into today. Despite the numerous homes the A's have enjoyed, Oakland has the full majority of the retired number representation. Technically a couple of their retired number players also played with the team when they were briefly in Kansas City, but their contributions were clearly felt while on the west coast. #9 - Reggie Jackson The Athletics were a long way from their glory days when Jackson came up while the team still called Kansas City home in 1967. The next season they moved to Oakland, and a year after that Jackson's Hall of Fame career began to show off with his first all st...

  There are certain rules in regards to who is allowed to be eligible for the Hall of Fame. Officially there are three rules to satisfy. Rule 1 is that you must wait 5 years after retirement to be on the ballot, unless you were Roberto Clemente or Lou Gehrig where special exceptions are made. Rule 2 is don't be on baseballs ineligible list (Shoeless Joe Jackson, Pete Rose). The lesser known third rule is you must have logged 10 seasons in baseball. The ten years seems like an arbitrary choice, but it helps vet out the guys who may have been a flash in the pan but without longevity and separate them from the men who made a career of being great. Very rarely would a man log in under 10 years but still be HoF worthy, but in 1978 an exception was decided upon. Addie Joss pitched from 1902-1910 and had a career trajectory that had Cooperstown written all over it (eventually, since the HoF wasn't a thing yet) that also included a Perfect Game , but sadly he passed away from tuberculo...

 300? Holy cow! When the Showdown Bot was released I never thought I'd be able to hold attention for this long on such a project, but baseball has such a wealth of history that I have yet to run short on inspiration. Thus far, I've gotten a bit carried away, seeking to make dozens of team sets , reviewing entire careers , seeking to highlight every Hall of Famer and other such topics all while going from the occasional update to at least once a week. I've learned quite a bit of baseball history in the process and gotten to flex some trivia I'm aware of as well. Now this ambitious project of mine has reached 300 posts, as I take a break from other themes to crack open my autograph book again to show off the players I've had the honor of meeting face to face. ( 100 and 200 specials) Most of the players I've received an autograph from usually come with an uneventful story. Not so with Alfonso Soriano. Back during the Yankees dynasty, Darryl Strawberry was reh...

 Ryan Freel is another anonymous player you may have remembered pulling from one of the later Showdown packs but otherwise didn't have much use for. He also happens to be a notable person in baseball history for tragic reasons. While football gets all the attention when it comes to CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) Freel showed the world that it happens in other sports like baseball, becoming the first player diagnosed with it, but only after he had taken his own life. Freel was drafted and ultimately debuted with the Blue Jays in 2001. After a few early season appearances, he'd spend the rest of the season in the minors and would gain free agency after the season.  He didn't get an official Showdown card for his time, but we can always fix that now. After spending all of 2002 in the Devil Rays farm system, Freel would catch on with the Reds in 2003. For that season and 2004, he would earn himself official Showdown cards, so we can skip to 2005... By now, Freel is an e...

  The Angels have been a quirky team where they never really changed locations or nicknames, but they've been known as different identities since their beginning in 1961. From the LA Angels, they soon became known as the California Angels. Then after a while they took the name Anaheim Angels, then Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...then eventually back to their original identity as the LA Angels. Time is a flat circle in that case, but along the way they've had a few legendary players call California their home, with a couple of notable names perhaps on the way. #11 - Jim Fregosi When the Angels and the Washington Senators were selecting players in the 1960 Expansion Draft, Fregosi was grabbed up by the Angels, and late in the inaugural season, he was called up and became the teams 1st star player. All 6 of his all star seasons (1964, 66-70) came as a member of the Angels as did his Gold Glove season of 1967. In an era where middle infielders were terrible hitters, Fregosi was an ...

 Voting for the Hall of Fame would alter again after the 1977 selections. The Negro League Committee submitted two names to go along with the four other players from the BBWAA and Veterans Committee, and afterwards they would disband after just seven years. A couple of their voters would be added to the Veterans Committee and starting in 1978, Negro League player selection would no longer be it's own category and instead be under the purview of the Veterans Committee alongside old time players, umpires and executives. Also inducted: Martin Dihigo (Negro League) John Henry Lloyd (Negro League) Al Lopez (Manager - Cleveland Indians / Chicago White Sox)

 Before baseball came to Toronto, there was another city that laid claim to baseball's first Canadian team. Tragically, the Montreal Expos don't exist anymore. The franchise moved to DC and became the Nationals, and while the Nats took the teams legacy and division titles, they decided to forget about any retired numbers. The NHLs Montreal Canadians have more respect for the four Expos immortals than the former team does. (I'm aware that 3 of the 4 cards here have an inaccurate Expos logo. Will fix ASAP when the bot allows their original logo in the proper card formats...it's all a bit complicated) #8 - Gary Carter Gary Carter began his Hall of Fame career in Montreal and spent 12 years accumulating all 3 Gold Gloves, 3 of 5 Silver Sluggers and 9 of 11 all star nominations. When elected to the Hall of Fame, he took pride in becoming the first member to enter wearing an Expos hat. #10 - Rusty Staub Daniel "Rusty" Staub became the 1st big name in Expos history w...

 When you're on the ballot for the Hall of Fame, and have to take things on a year to year basis, your odds of getting the 75% vote result may depend on a few factors aside from the general opinion the BBWAA member's opinion of your stats. Is there someone in their final year of eligibility? Is there some new name on the ballot that's a can't miss pick? Both those scenarios will hurt your chances. But if it's an off year with no big names coming in or going out, you may find a few extra writers who can justify putting your name on their list and use those logistics to get into the Hall. 1976 was such a year. Phil Rizzuto was destined for the Hall of Fame, but he wasn't going to get the writer's support in his final attempt on the BBWAA ballot, and the new names to choose from were pretty meh, so Robin Roberts and Bob Lemon both enjoyed the exact same boost in votes, allowing them both to clinch enshrinement. The other committee's didn't slack off thi...

 In 1941, Joe DiMaggio put together one of the most untouchable records in baseball history. Starting on May 15, he began a 56 game hitting streak that not only captured the attention of the sports world, but it rallied a slumping Yankees team to go on to win the pennant and ultimately the World Series. It was such an accomplishment, that it overshadowed Ted Williams and his .402 BA to win the MVP award. What begins today is a lookback to not only DiMaggio's hit streak game by game, but the individual pitchers that he and the Yankees victimized. Game 0 May 14, 1941 Indians: 4 Yankees: 1 Dimaggio: 0-3 Before any streak can begin, DiMaggio needs to go hitless. Mel Harder would go on to contribute to Joe's streak, but on this day, he held down the fort, walking DiMaggio at one point but keeping him out of the hit column. ********************* Game 1 May 15, 1941 White Sox: 13 Yankees: 1 DiMaggio: 1-4, RBI The Yankees got spanked on this day, with Eddie Smith going the distance and...