MLB Showdown Obsession

 The Houston Astros franchise have a quirky claim to fame in the world of sports. And no, I'm not talking of their creative use of trash cans. They were early users of the artificial turf on their playing field at the Astrodome where they called home. The surface was called "ChemGrass", but it became so well known from its association with the team that it was quickly renamed "AstroTurf" and the name kept ever since, even long after the AstroDome. As for the Astros themselves, they began life as a National League franchise and in the 51 years they played there, they only achieved one pennant and no titles. Since 2013 they've been apart of the American League and have secured quite a few more trophies in their case, however tainted they all are. But those days are still too recent for any of the involved players to be considered for number retirement, so for now the top historical players for the Astros are all representing the National League days. #5 - Jeff...

 What makes a man Hall of Fame worthy? There is no official checklist of accomplishments, but certain things help. There are also things that keep you out, either officially or in the eyes of the BBWAA voters. The 1982 ballot featured a couple names together that reflected some of those arguments, and a couple more in the future will fuel the arguments. I give you Roger Maris and Hank Aaron on the '82 ballot, as well as Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds in the future. Roger Maris: Single Season Home Run champion (as of the 1982 vote) Hank Aaron: Career Home Run champion (as of the 1982 vote) Mark McGwire: Single Season Home Run champion (1998-2001) Barry Bonds: Single Season Home Run champion (2001-now) and current career Home Run champion Only Hank Aaron is in the Hall of Fame. He was elected in his 1st vote. Roger Maris went 0-15 in his votes and McGwire and Bonds fared no better. The logic was varied. Maris had one of the greatest single seasons for a hitter, but his overall career n...

One of the easiest ways to stand out as among baseballs greatest teams isn't to win just one World Series, but to win multiple, especially when they're done in back-to-back years. This is why the Big Red Machine stands among the very few when we talk about the absolute best. For the early 70's they were among the most dangerous teams to go up against in the National League, but when they finally hit paydirt in 1975 with the championship, they truly put themselves on the doorstep of "the greatest ever" conversation. As always with defending champions, the 1976 Reds opened the season with targets on their backs. Very little had changed from the year before on roster, so the expectation for Sparky Anderson's group was to defend their title. To that end, they crushed all competition with a 102-60 record, 10 games beyond the 2nd place Dodgers and hands down the best record in baseball. The first victim on the playoffs were the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS. Th...

 We've discussed the current method for getting into the Hall of Fame, but after the change in voting at the end of the 70's, the ballot going forward was more streamlined with the names. But there actually is a process to reaching the BBWAA ballot to even be considered for the hall. You need to have had the prerequisite 10 years of MLB service and be retired for at least 5 years. That alone isn't enough though. As endless as the list seems to be of 1st time entries, there is actually a screening committee that determines who actually gets to go on the ballot when they hit that 5th retirement year. For example, Gene "Stick" Michael and Ed Brinkman both had at least 10 years in the game but the committee did not feel they deserved a chance on the ballot in 1981. So for guys like Ken Berry and Sam McDowell who did reach the ballot but received 0 votes, the old saying comes to mind where "It's an honor just to be nominated." ...Meanwhile Bob Gibson did ...

  Baseball was extending it's reach in 1947. Fans everywhere would read box scores (a lost art it seems nowadays) and follow their teams on radio, but the only way to see them live was to buy a ticket and spend a day at the ballpark. Television was changing that and one of the very first teams to broadcast to it's fans were the Yankees. Helps that they played in the biggest market, but the Yankees were also a national brand behind their team of legends. After an unthinkable 3 seasons without a title, the Yankees had entered the 1947 season with a new Manager in charge with Bucky Harris. The change worked as the Yankees rolled to a 97-57 record, running away with the pennant by 12 games over the 2nd place Tigers. The World Series that year was the first ever televised, but since it was still the early days of TV, only the big cities had access, which was good that the opponent to the Yankees was also a major market team that their fans could watch in the Brooklyn Dodgers. Three ...