What If They Held an Induction and No One Came?

Back in January, when Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson announced that the BBWAA had resisted the temptation to elect the all-time home run champ, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, two guys with more than 3,000 hits, and other significant ballplayers to the Hall of Fame, I sent him an e-mail. It read: “For […]

The Most Egregious Cy Young Award Snubs of All Time (at Least on Paper)

I recently listed the most egregious MVP snubs of all time and thought it was time to give the pitchers a little love (although not the ones who were awarded a Cy Young they didn’t deserve based on my WA2RB formula).  Rather than plagiarize myself and explain my thoughts and formula, you should head over […]

The BBWAA Report Card for the 21st Century: Part 4

In Part 1 of this series, I indicated that the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) has been quite successful since 2001 in their selection of major league players for induction into the Hall of Fame.  Of the eighteen inductees from 2001 through 2011, sixteen do indeed have Hall of Fame numbers according to the […]

With great power comes great responsibility

September 24, 1988: While pointing his finger to the sky and staring tauntingly at rival Carl Lewis of the United States, Ben Johnson of Canada crosses the finish line as he breaks the 100-meter world record at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Three days later, Johnson is stripped of his gold medal and […]

The Day the World Met the Ryan Express

Nolan Ryan was far from the perfect pitcher. He walked the most batters in baseball history (2,795), 52% more than the next highest total belonging to Steve Carlton (1,833). He lost the most games of any pitcher (292) except for Cy Young (316) and Pud Galvin (310), two players who peaked in the 1800s. He […]