Congratulations Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026

Courtesy National Baseball Hall of Fame

Congratulation to the three newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent were inducted into the Hall yesterday afternoon. When the three were officially elected in January, I had doubts about the credentials of Jones and Kent. But, after reading more about them and their lifetime statistics, I'm convinced they do belong in the Hall and the Baseball Writers Association knows a lot more than I do. Congratulations are also in order for Joe Buck and Paul Hoynes. Buck is the 2026 winner of the Ford Frick broadcaster award. Hoynes is the winner of the J. G. Taylor Spink writer award.

I saw Beltrán, Jones and Kent all play in person. I also listened to Joe Buck call St. Louis Cardinal games on the radio. He started his career with his father, Jack Buck who won the Frick Award in 1987. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to read Hoynes' work. But seeing his introduction and speech on Saturday makes me wish I had, during some of the Indians/Guardian seasons. Rather than recap their careers I will leave you with memories of the three players and their acceptance speeches.

I remember Carlos Beltrán from his days with the Mets in the mid 2000s. My strongest memory of him was not a shining moment for him. Instead, I remember him at the plate for the Mets in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series. He came to the plate with the bases loaded and two out. Then Cardinal closer Adam Wainwright struck out Beltrán on three pitches to secure the game for the St. Louisans. On the final pitch of the game, Wainwright threw a filthy curveball that froze Beltrán and sent the Cardinals on to the World Series. You can watch Beltrán's acceptance speech here on YouTube.

Initially, l did have doubts about his credentials in getting him into the Hall. But, after looking at Jones' career aggregate stats, he belongs in Cooperstown. If nothing else his WAR rating is better than a lot of others in the Hall, including his teammate in Atlanta Fred McGriff. And to top it off Jones is in the top 50 all time home run hitters. I count myself luck to have seen him play against the St. Louis Cardinals frequently at Busch Stadium II from the mid 90s to mid 00s. View Jone's induction speech here.

Jeff Kent was a clutch hitter. It seemed like every time I had a chance to watch him play in person in St. Louis he would destroy Cardinals pitching and was on base every time you looked up. He hit more homeruns than anyone else to play second base in the history of the game. They've been playing professional baseball for 157 years. His 377 dingers is the gold standard at second base. Add a 17-year career OPS of .855 and a WAR rating of 55.4 and he is certainly a Hall of Famer. Kent's speech is also available on YouTube.

Joe Buck and Paul Hoynes had their own awards ceremony the day before the player induction ceremonies in the city of Cooperstown. Hoyne's acceptance speech for the Spink Award can be seen here. Buck's acceptance speech for the Frick Award can be viewed here.

Congratulations to the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2023

The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York expanded its list of players by two this past Sunday afternoon.  Inducted into the Hall were Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen.

I Consider myself fortunate to have seen Rolen play for the Cardinals at Busch II and the new St. Louis stadium that opened in 2006.  He was a key to the Cards National League title in 2004 and the Birds run to the World Series championship in 2006.

Rolen played for four major league teams during his 19 year career but note he's wearing a Cardinal cap on his HOF plaque.

The Baseball Writers Association of American selected McGriff, who was a unanimous choice of the Hall's Contemporary Baseball Players Era Committee, in December.  I saw McGriff play  in person on many occasions during his career when he would come to St. Louis as a member of the Padres, Braves, Cubs and later the Dodgers.

I particularly remember the 1996 NLCS series in which McGriff played a key role in the Braves win and return to the World Series.  It seemed as if McGriff was at the plate whenever runners were in scoring position.  He homered twice in the seven game series and drove in seven runs with an .858 OPS.  McGriff also destroyed the Cardinals in the last three games of the NLCS that year in which Atlanta outscored St. Louis 32-1.

Images courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Chicago Cubs announcer Pat Hughes was also inducted into the Hall of Fame Broadcasters wing as the 2023 Ford C. Frick Award winner.  He was joined in the Hall's Writer's Wing at the Cooperstown festivities by John Lowe who received the Baseball Writers Association of America's Career Excellence Award.

GameTwo = 3:18

The Houston Astros bounced back to win game two of the 2022 World Series 5-2 over the Philadelphia Phillies in a game played at Minute Maid Park in Houston.  The game was completed in three hours and 18 minutes.  But, keep in mind Houston didn't bat in the ninth inning.

The game was seven minutes longer than Game Two of the 2021 series between the Astros and Atlanta Braves.  Last night's game was 52 minutes longer than game two of the 1972 World Series between the Oakland A's and Cincinnati Reds.  That game 50 years ago featured A's Hall of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter outdueling the Reds Ross Grimsley 2-1 at old Riverfront Stadium.

Last night's contest featured 24 plate appearances in which the batter failed to put the ball in play.  There were 17 batters who whiffed and seven more that took a walk.  And to drag it out even more there were five pitching changes in a game that was never close.

Game Six = 3:22

 

The 2021 World Series came to a close last night with the Atlanta Braves being crowned "World Champions".  The Braves won the series four games to two.  The score last night was 7-0 Braves over the Houston Astros.

There were a total of 19 strikeouts, three walks and nine pitching changes.  Houston alone changed pitchers seven times even though it was losing the entire time by a lopsided margin.

The six games lasted a total of 13 hours and 7 minutes or an average per game of three hours and 38 minutes.  This was eight minutes longer than I projected in my pre World Series post.

Game Five = 4:00

For the second time in just five games it took four hours to play a nine inning baseball game.  I don't have the time to waste on these matchups but do from time to time flip channels to see the score.  I live in the Central Time Zone and at 10:00 p.m. this one was only in the bottom of the sixth inning.  I went to bed and found out this morning that Houston won it 9-5 to take the series back to Texas.  Atlanta is up three games to two.

The game was slowed down by nine pitching changes, 16 strikeouts and another eight walks.  The "Fall Classic" is now guaranteed to not end until at least November 2nd.  MLB has to be happy the Red Sox and Cubs aren't playing.

Game Four = 3:45

 

The Braves won again at home 3-2, to take a three to one lead in games over the Astros.

The length of the game was 3 hours and 45 minutes.  The Braves came from behind to win the matchup but it certainly was not exciting unless you though your whole Saturday night should be wasted watching baseball while the NCAA offered a full slate of games.

This game was slowed down by ten pitching changes.  There were 18 strikeouts in which the hitters could not put the ball into play and eight more plate appearances where the hitters watched the ball sail out of the strike zone.

Can  you say "boring"?

Game Three = 3:24

The Braves won the game over the Astros 2-0 to take a two games to one lead.  There were only eight hits in the entire game yet it would have taken nearly three and a half hours of your life to watch it.

There were 17 strikeouts, eight walks and nine pitching changes and it still took 3:24 minutes to play.  In the 60's and 70's this would have been played in about 2:15 and there would not have been near the strikeouts or pitching changes.

The game continues to evolve into a tedious snooze fest.  Perhaps MLB needs to be told it needs less pitching changes and more players who can put the ball into play instead of standing in the box with the bat on their shoulders.

Game Two = 3:11

For a post season MLB game this was played "relatively" quick.  Just three hours and 11 minutes for eight and a half innings of baseball.  But, it wasn't much of a game as the Astros came back to tie the Braves at a game apiece.

There were another 23 at bats in which the batters struck out and there was no action and another four bats where the players watched the pitch go wide or low.  No action for those paying literally hundreds of dollars for their tickets.  And to top it off there were eight pitching changes even though the game was nowhere near close.  Again, long delays where the fans sat around watching nothing because there was no action on the field.

Game One = 4:05

 

Game One of the 2021 World Series is in the books.  For the record the Atlanta Braves won 6-2, to go up one game on the Houston Astros.

The time of the game was 4 hours and 5 minutes.  That's right 245 minutes for a baseball game.  And it didn't go extra innings.  Four hours and five minutes for a nine inning game.

As an indicator of how little action there was here are several key statistics. There were 23 strikeouts, six walks and nine pitching changes.

Wow, Did I Miss Calling that Series!

In my previous post of nine days ago I predicted the Atlanta Braves would sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in a National League Divisional Series.  I blew the call.  The Cards won the series three games to two this afternoon and advance to the National League Championship Series against either the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Washington Nationals.  (The outcome has not been determined as I write this).

In the decisive game this afternoon the Cards scored ten runs in the first inning and the rest, as they say, is history.  Redbird starter Jack Flaherty was sharp and pitched six strong innings giving up only one run as the Cards went on to win 13-1.  Flaherty is only 23 years old and if you are not familiar with him, watch him pitch.  He is something special and might be one of the great ones if he stays healthy.  Many times this season he pitched when his teammates did not give him run support or the bullpen blew a save.  But, he still  posted an 11-8 record with an ERA of just 2.75.

This Cardinal team has surpassed my expectations, especially when you think how feckless it was at the All-Star break. On July 12 the Birds were 44-45, three games back of the then division leading Chicago Cubs.  I don't know what will happen from this point on but the rest of the season is gravy.  Game one of the NLCS will be Friday night in either Los Angeles or St. Louis.

So Long September

My St. Louis Cardinals wrapped up the 2019 season by playing mediocre baseball in a mediocre division.  The Birds won the National League Central Division with a record of 91-71, two games ahead of a beat up Milwaukee Brewers team and seven games in front of an overrated Chicago Cubs team.  Next up the Cards will play the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series starting on Thursday October 3rd in Atlanta.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the Braves sweep the Cards.

In football my beloved Missouri Tigers are off to a 3-1 start after having laid a big turd in Laramie, Wyoming in the season opener.  Mizzou wasn't ready for the Cowboys and lost the contest despite getting up 14-0 on its first two possessions.  Since then they have played two bad teams in West Virginia and Southeast Missouri.  They pounded South Carolina 34-14 two weeks ago, but South Carolina will be lucky to finish with a .500 record in the SEC.

And I won't miss the heat of September.  This has been one of the warmest September's I can remember in my life and I am old.  The temperature today was 94 degrees on the last day of the month.  I look forward to cooler fall temperatures.  But, at the same time I don't look forward to the cold and snow of the season that comes after fall.

That's my take on the completed month.  Talk to you in October.

Congratulations Cardinals and Rays

Six weeks ago I gave up on the St. Louis Cardinals and declared them to "officially suck". Apparently, I was wrong. The team completed an improbable run to the playoffs with an 8-0 win last night over the hapless Houston Astros and finished the season as the National League Wild Card champion.

This Cardinal team trailed the Atlanta Braves by 10 1/2 games in late August and to be honest I had stopped watching. I just couldn't stand the poor defense, mediocre relief pitching and crappy management by Tony LaRussa. But, with the aid of one of the biggest chokes of all times by the Braves, the Cardinals are now in Major League Baseball's 2011 World Series tournament.

As amazing as the Cards were in overcoming that huge deficit, the Tampa Bay Rays overcome even bigger odds. The Rays clinched the Wild Card spot in the American League with a come from behind win over the evil New York Yankees. The Yanks led at one point 7-0, but the Rays kept battling and came back to tie it with a two out solo homer in the bottom of the ninth. Then in the bottom of the 12th Evan Longoria hit a walkoff homerun to win the game 8-7. At the same time an even bigger choke artist, the Boston Red Sox, blew a lead to a bad Baltimore Orioles team, and the Rays are in the playoffs. Hey Boston, don't let the door hit you in the ass.

Watch out now, because while the Yanks (the best team money could buy) had the best record in the American League this year, I believe the Rays are to them what Kryptonite is to Superman. It should be a fun post season.