Bob Sheppard, the public address announcer for the New York Yankees, won’t be returning to job, according to a report on MLB.com.
Sheppard, 99, had been the PA announcer in the Bronx for more than 50 years, and has thus outlasted scores of managers, players and George Steinbrenner tantrums.
Besides his job with the Yankees, Sheppard worked as a professor of speech at St. John’s University.
This is a discussion on how I would vote if in fact I was a member of the esteemed community of The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). Just a reminder about voting eligibility:
Voters are instructed to cast votes for up to 10 candidates; any candidate who receives votes on at least 75% of the ballots will be honored with induction to the Hall. Those candidates who receive less than 5% of the vote will not appear on future BBWAA ballots, but may eventually be considered by the Veterans Committee
I kept the 11 remaining from last year and my totals from last year (just because the BBWAA seems to change its mind doesn’t mean that I should) and then added the new players who made the all-star team at least once. I figure if the player had never been one of the top 30 or so players in their league at least once in their career then they shouldn’t be on this list.
Here’s my list with my evaluation numbers filled in.
Eligible Player from Last Year
Score
Comment
Allen Trammell
5
Good, but not great.
Andre Dawson
10
Great player, should already be in.
Bert Blyleven
6
Are we voting for Don Sutton again?
Dale Murphy
6
2 MVPs, fan favorite. Quick demise.
Dave Parker
7
Coked and ate his way out of the HOF.
Don Mattingly
5
Close, but no ceegar.
Harold Baines
5
Good, but not great, DHing hurts his case.
Jack Morris
6
Best clutch pitcher of his generation.
Lee Smith
6
For a while, the all-time saves leader.
Mark McGwire
7
Baseball ignored the steroid issue for too long.
Tim Raines
5
Good, but not great.
First Year Eligible Player
Score
Comment
Andrés Galarraga
6
Good, but the numbers don’t cut it.
Andy Ashby
1
Losing record? Less than 100 wins?
Barry Larkin
9
Oft-injured is only knock.
Edgar Martinez
7
First DH in?
Fernando Viña
1
Um..no.
Fred McGriff
5
Great numbers, but…
Kevin Appier
1
No.
Pat Hentgen
5
Good player. Not great though.
Ray Lankford
1
Nope. One all-star game is about it.
Roberto Alomar
9
Had to gig him on that sportsmanship thing.
Robin Ventura
1
Charging the mound against Nolan Ryan is his only claim to fame.
Shane Reynolds
1
No.
As a member of the BBWAA I would get up to 10 votes and here is how I’d vote in order:
Andre Dawson
Very feared hitter. Was one of the best OFs of his generation.
Roberto Alomar
Best player at his position. Could be the best 2B of all-time.
Barry Larkin
MVP, ROY, multiple gold gloves, 12 All Star games, multiple silver slugger awards. Roberto Clemente and Lou Gehrig award winner.
Edgar Martinez
Best DH of all time. Hitting machine, especially in the clutch. Had MVP consideration even though he was a DH. Silver Slugger at 3B one year.
Mark McGwire
Yes. I believe this now more than last year. It was at a time when apparently everyone was using. Baseball turned a blind eye to this illegal drug use, just like it did with amphetamine usage in the days of Mickey and Whitey.
Dave Parker
I was surprised at his numbers. He was the best at his position for a while, has an MVP and was the most feared batter in the NL for a time.
Baseball at its core is a simple game. A pitcher throws the ball, the batter attempts to hit it and a fielder tries to catch said ball. (Of course, trying to explain the game to someone who has never seen it can be quite complicated.)
But now it is late November, and few of us in northern locations will venture out with a bat, ball or glove for at least another four months.
Still, a samurai in Japan and a martial arts expert in Moldova have found some inventive uses for the game’s equipment.
Following yesterday’s baseball movie all stars from Rotten Tomatoes, we present Time Magazine’s list of the top players ever to hit the big screen. Some of the picks are the same, but the whole Time seems to have selected some bigger names.
1B: Lou Gehrig, The Pride of the Yankees
2B: Jackie Robinson, The Jackie Robinson Story
SS: Tanner Boyle, The Bad News Bears
3B: Buck Weaver, Eight Men Out
DH: Roy Hobbs, The Natural
LF: Joe Jackson, Field of Dreams
CF: Mae Mordabito, A League of Their Own
RF: Joe Hardy, Damn Yankees
C: Crash Davis, Bull Durham
P: Bingo Long, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
RP: Rick Vaughn, Major League
Rotten Tomatoes, a wonderful resource for all things cinematic, has compiled a list of the greatest players ever to grace the silver screen. (Wesley Snipes has a lot of ground to cover as he takes up two-thirds of the outfield.)
LF: R. Hobbs, The Natural
CF: W.M. Hayes, Major League
RF: B. Rayburn, The Fan
1B: C. Haywood, Major League
2B: A. Hooch, A League of Their Own
SS: J. Hardy, Damn Yankees
3B: B.F. Rodriguez, The Sandlot
C: C. Davis, Bull Durham
P: B. Long, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
M: M. Buttermaker, The Bad News Bears
This is a discussion on how I would vote if in fact I was a member of the esteemed community of The 