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.

No Post Season for the Cardinals this Year

For the first time in the last five years, my beloved St. Louis Cardinals will not be playing in Major League Baseball's Post Season Tournament.

The Cards ended up ten games over .500 with a record of 86-76.  Despite winning their final four games, it wasn't good enough to get into the playoffs as the Birds ended up a game back of the Mets and Giants for the Wildcard Playoff game tomorrow night at Citi Field in New York.

The Cardinals had a lot of power this year slamming 225 Home Runs.  That was the best in the National League and second best in MLB behind the Baltimore Orioles.

The Cardinals ultimate downfall was its pitching and poor defense. The Cards ended up with the fourth worst defensive percentage in the National League.  The starting pitching was spotty to say the least and the bullpen was the worst its been in five years.

When I look back at the season I see a number of games where the team blew leads and its bullpen appeared clueless.  Its hard to point to one game or one series, but back in June the Texas Rangers came to St. Louis for an inter-league series and came from behind on both Saturday and Sunday to sweep the series.  I think what might have been had the Cardinals bullpen saved one of those games.

Oh well, there's always next year.

I Have a Lot to Write About but No Time to Write

I would start this post with;  So...  but I have come to hate that word.  Instead I will start this post this way:

Hello there reader. There have been a lot of things that have transpired since I posted three weeks ago.

-The Cardinals are home for the holidays after being whipped by the Giants.

-My beloved Tigers are 5-2 having lost to Indiana and Georgia but winning on the road at Florida.  Florida is terrible.  The offense and special teams could work for months but they're not going to get any better.  If I were Will Muschamp I would have someone update my resume.

-Seriously, did any of you pick Kansas City as the American League representative in the World Series?  And does the fact they are playing the Giants mean they are playing to be the 9th best team in baseball?

-This new TV season is kind of a bust.  There are few new shows I think will make it but the rest are pure crap.  "Jane the Virgin" is funny and well written.  I also like(d) "Manhattan Love Story".  But, apparently no one else was watching it.  It was cancelled earlier today by ABC.

-The Saint Louis Rams are an enigma.  They have the talent but they haven't grown yet to the point they believe in themselves.  They got off to big leads against the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers and then choked.  This past week though they grew.  They jumped on the defending world champion Seattle Seahawks and held on to win 28-26.

That's it in a nutshell.  I will try to write soon but don't hold your breath. Adios.

Post Season Baseball Projections

As you may know I watch a lot of baseball.  (I particularly like DirecTV this weekend because its opened up MLB Extra Innings for free viewing).

Granted it's just the middle of July but based on what I've seen, my picks to win each league are the Oakland A's and the Los Angeles Dodgers. This would be a repeat of the 1974 & 1988 World Series.  The A's won in '74 and the Dodgers in '88.

The Western Divisions of both leagues are the toughest in baseball.  I see the Dodgers beating the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS and the A's beating the Anaheim Angels in the ALCS.  I just heard the announcer on Fox Sports 1 say if these four teams make the playoffs it would be the first time four teams from California ever made the playoffs in the same season.

And my pick to win it all is: the Oakland A's.  Oakland can do it all.  They have pitching, defense and hitting.

But, thank God there are still two plus months of baseball left to enjoy in the regular season.

Belated Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants and their organization on winning the 2012 World Series.  The Giants not only won the Series but totally dominated the Detroit Tigers, sweeping the Series four games to none.  If you are a regular reader you know I picked the Tigers to win in a post prior to the start of the World Series.  Wow, I couldn't have been more wrong.  To the Giant faithful I apologize and to the Tiger loyalists I am sorry to have jinxed your Tigers.

And now that the 2012 Season has come to a conclusion I will say what others have said previously..."Baseball leaves you when you need it the most".

Good Luck to the Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants will square off this evening in the 2012 World Series.  Congratulations to the Giants on their comeback win over my beloved Saint Louis Cardinals.  The Giants battled back from a three game deficit, again, and in the process dominated the Birds in the last three games of the NLCS.  The Cardinals had problems with pitching, defense and hitting.  And the reason for it is the Giants kept constant pressure on Saint Louis.

But, I think their post season run is all but over.  I am picking the Tigers to win the World Series in six games.  With an ace like Justin Verlander almost guaranteed two wins, the Giants will have a hard time winning the series.  In addition to Verlander, the Tigers boast Mike Fister, Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer (a University of Missouri alum).   The best hope San Francisco has is Ryan Vogelsong who has been nails in the post-season.  Barry Zito had a great outing last time against the Cards, but has been inconsistent.  The Tiger's rotation will be too much for the Giants who are beasts at home, but mediocre on the road.  

Add these all together and you get a Tigers World Championship.

The Cardinals Get a Wake Up Call

The Birdies went to Philadelphia this week and played a good team in the Phillies. The result - the Cards lost three out of four, and they didn't do much hitting or more accuratly much timely hitting.

So, while the Birds are the best in the NL Central, they are by no means the best in the National League. That honor must be reserved for the Phillies or Giants. The Cards have three good starters right now and the best everyday player in the game. Outside of that the bullpen is suspect and two of their brightest prospects are not hitting. I know it's a long season but let's hope the hitting comes around as the weather warms up. Otherwise, it will be another year of close but no cigar.

Another Good (if Not Long) Week for the Birds

The Cardinals are now 8-4 after two weeks and have won all four series they've been in this year. The most recent series win was over the Mets with the Cards winning the rubber game last night. Adam Wainwright helped his team out tremendously by going the distance and pitching a complete game 5-3 win over the worn out Mets. You see, the two clubs played a 20 inning seven hour marathon on Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening that depleted both bullpens. (A friend of mine lives in Columbia, Mo and watched the first 11 innings at Busch Stadium before getting cold and deciding it was time to drive back to Columbia. That's about a two hour drive. Nonetheless, she made the trek back home down I-70 and back in time to see the last three innings at home. Yes that is a very long game).

Up next the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix starting this evening and then the San Francisco Giants this weekend at AT&T Park. The Giants are my pick to win the National League West so it should be a good test for the Cards.