The Best Pitcher Ever is?

Who is the best pitcher of all-time?  This is a difficult question to answer due to the vast changes in the game over the past century.  For the purpose of this exercise, relief pitchers, such as Mariano Rivera, have been eliminated from contention to increase the value of innings.  Meanwhile, qualifiers must have played for […]

No Tears for George

I am a native New Yorker who still lives in the NY/NJ area and I watch the 6 PM News on NBC each evening.  On Monday, December 6, the sports newscaster announced that George Steinbrenner was not elected to the Hall of Fame – and that was it.  No mention that Pat Gillick was elected […]

The 2011 HOF Ballot – How Many REAL Hall of Famers?

The BBWAA 2011 Hall of Fame Ballot contains the names of thirty-three players that the baseball writers may vote for if they feel they belong in the Hall of Fame.  Of the thirty-three players, I view sixteen position players and four pitchers as “serious candidates.”  They are mentioned below. As we all know, the writers […]

Tim Raines – Some Stars Get No Respect

Tim Raines appeared on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot for the third time in 2010. In 2008, he got 24.3% of the votes, and in 2009, he got only 22.6% of the vote. In 2010, he increased to 30.4%. This would apparently indicate that he does not have a good chance of being elected […]

The Myth of the 300-game Winner

It has been often written that the 300-game winner will never exist again. This is a total fallacy.  There have been only twenty-four such occurrences in Major League Baseball history.  Did you know that there are more members in the 3000-hit club and the 500-home run club? The role of the starting pitcher has changed […]

Just How Good is Roy Halladay?

Roy Halladay was just awarded the Cy Young award for the National League for 2010.  He becomes only the fifth pitcher to win the award in both leagues.  The others are Gaylord Perry, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez. But, even more significantly, would you believe that as a result of his great 2010 […]

Expansion Era Hall of Fame Ballot

There will be a Veterans Committee Hall of Fame election in December, 2010 for what is being called “The Expansion Era (1973-Present).”  There are twelve names on the ballot: eight players, one manager (Billy Martin) and three executives (Pat Gillick, Marvin Miller and George Steinbrenner).  A player must be retired for at least twenty-one (21) […]

Vada Pinson and the Question of Character and the Hall of Fame

About a year ago, while looking for something else, I came across a couple newspaper articles on the death of Vada Pinson on October 21, 1995. I’d heard of Pinson, vaguely, as one of the best center fielders of the 1960s, for a long time the man with the most hits (2757) who wasn’t in […]

Addie Joss: The Best Unknown Hall of Fame Pitcher Ever

The story of Hall of Fame pitcher, Adrian “Addie” Joss, is one of a remarkable baseball prodigy cut short by a fatal illness. He was born on April 12, 1880, in Woodland, Wisconsin, the only child of Swiss immigrants. Joss grew up in the small community of Juneau, before starting his minor-league career with the […]

The Class of 2010 – the New Hall of Famers

At the beginning of the 2010 baseball season, there were eight active major league players who had already earned obvious Hall of Fame numbers during their careers.  Here are those players: Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey, Jr., Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter, Jim Thome, Jason Giambi and Mariano Rivera. By the end of the 2010 […]

Pete Rose: Justice Delivered, But Only Temporarily And Only In Theory

Twenty five years ago today one of the most hallowed records in baseball history was broken when Pete Rose singled to left field against San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show (who’s tumultuous life and death were chronicled by ESPN’s Outside the Lines) for career hit number 4,192, passing the legendary Ty Cobb. Fireworks instantly went off […]

Just How Good is Jim Thome?

Jim Thome recently passed Mark McGwire for the #9 spot on the all-time home run list with 584 round trippers.  So, an obvious question arises: Just how good is Jim Thome?  Or, better yet, does his career really reflect Hall of Fame numbers? The answer is Yes.  At the end of the 2009 season, Jim […]

A Wing And A Player

Did you know that 153 of the 387 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame never played a game in the major leagues? That seems like a large percentage, doesn’t it, nearly 40%? What are the folks in Cooperstown thinking, putting such a major emphasis on non-players? Does that seem right to you? Well, it […]

Hall of Fame’s Best Outsiders

the best team composed of non-Hall of Fame players who have been eligible for at least one HOF vote

Deacon White Named Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend

For Immediate Release Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Nineteenth Century Committee Deacon White named Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend ATLANTA, GA, August 5, 2010 — 19th Century pioneer player, James “Deacon” White has been selected the Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend for 2010 by the Nineteenth Century Committee of the Society for American Baseball […]

Just How Good were Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens?

Here is the short answer.  According to the numbers alone, Barry Bonds had the #2 best career of any position player of the modern era (behind only Babe Ruth) and Roger Clemens is the greatest right-handed pitcher of the period (since 1920).  And yet neither of these great players may make it into the Hall […]

Hanging Out in Cooperstown

I’m in Cooperstown for the annual National Baseball Hall of Fame inductions. This is 24 straight years for me. Hard to believe! It has been a long time since I saw Ray Dandridge, Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams make their induction speeches. I remember the tears of joy Dandridge shed that day. It was a […]

Just How Good is Pedro Martinez?

It does appear at this point that Pedro Martinez is probably retired so this may be a good time to ask: Just how good was Pedro and does he have the numbers to justify induction into the Hall of Fame? Of course, this question is related to the broader question of whether there is an […]

19th Century Overlooked Base Ball Legends Project — And the 2010 Candidates are…

It was an early April morning and I was sitting on the back porch of the Otesaga in Cooperstown, New York. The twenty minutes or so sitting alone rocking back and forth in a white rocking chair was a surreal moment for me. I have often heard stories of Johnny Bench and others sharing moments […]

Just How Good is Mariano Rivera?

“Mariano Rivera is the best reliever in baseball history.”  If I were to make such a claim, there would surely be some fans who would agree with me and many who would not.  And, of course, all would want to know on what basis I made such a claim. Bill James’ Win Shares system is […]

Just How Good is Chipper Jones?

As Chipper Jones seems to be heading towards retirement at the end of the 2010 season, it would appear to be a good point at which to ask – Just how good a career has he had?  After all, he has played seventeen seasons for the same team (the Atlanta Braves) and was an All-Star […]

The 21st Century Hall of Famers

Here is an interesting question.  How many of the “great baseball players” of modern times have fans of the game been able to see during the 21st century (since 2001)?  Let’s first take a look at this question for position players and then for pitchers. The Position Players At the end of the 2009 season, […]

Just How Good is Albert Pujols?

Would you believe that Albert Pujols is already one of the top twenty position players of the modern era (since 1920)?  In addition to that, he is the third best first baseman of the period – behind only Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx.  These are conclusions drawn from the CAWS Career Gauge. Bill James’ Win […]

Just How Good is Derek Jeter?

Here is the short answer.  At the end of the 2009 season, Derek Jeter moved into 6th place among the best shortstops of the modern era (since 1920).  For more details, keep reading. Bill James’ Win Shares system is the most comprehensive tool available to understand how good a season a player had.  It includes […]

Psst… Wanna know a secret?

“Wanna know a secret? A lot of your heroes weren’t the men you thought they were. The reality of the game they played differs from your ideal picture too. OK, I guess that’s not really a surprise. But more often than not, histories paint romantic pictures of yesterday’s stars. Perhaps some childhood mischief or an […]

The 2010 HOF Ballot – The Case for Barry Larkin

Barry Larkin appears on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year. Given his career achievements, he certainly has the credentials to be inducted into the Hall.

The 2010 HOF Ballot – The Case for Roberto Alomar

Roberto Alomar appears on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year. Given his career achievements, he has the credentials to be a first round pick for the Hall.

The 2010 HOF Ballot – How Many REAL Hall of Famers?

The BBWAA 2010 Hall of Fame Ballot contains the names of twenty-six players that the baseball writers may vote for if they feel they belong in the Hall of Fame. Of the twenty-six players, nineteen are position players and seven are pitchers.

John Smoltz and the Hall of Fame

As John Smoltz nears the end of his career, a number of people are raising the question as to whether he has the credentials for election to the Hall of Fame.

19th Century Overlooked Legends Award

In a week, the Nineteenth Century Committee of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) will announce the recipient of the 2009 Overlooked 19th Century Base Ball Legend Award. What is this? It is an effort by the Committee to bring attention to forgotten baseball greats that have not found a home in the National […]

Gene Carney, 1946-2009

The sad news arrived today that baseball writer Gene Carney has died. Gene had published his newsletter, Notes from the Shadows of Cooperstown, here at the Baseball Archive since 1998. It started in the early 90s as a printed newsletter that he mailed out to fellow baseball fans, and over the years he developed quite […]

Notes From the Shadows of Cooperstown: Fifth

I didn’t go far to find the title for this, the fifth and final in my series of Notes on my research last month in Chicago. What started with #489 — not counting #425–426 — ends here, but not really.

Notes From the Shadows of Cooperstown: Chicagoed

NOTE: This is the fourth in a series of reports on my research at the Chicago History Museum, May 27-29. The first appeared in NOTES #489, and the last, I think, will be in #493.

Notes From the Shadows of Cooperstown: Puzzle Pieces Galore

NOTE: This is the third in a series of reports on my research at the Chicago History Museum, May 27-29.

Notes From the Shadows of Cooperstown: The Chicago Press

This is the second in a series of reports on my research at the Chicago History Museum, May 27-29. The first appeared in NOTES #489, and contained a kind of overview of my findings in the CHM “Black Sox Scandal Records.” In this issue, I report on what I found in the CHM’s newspaper microfilm […]

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