A-Rod, Big Papi complicate December’s Hall of Fame vote
Bob Nightengale’s Notebook: Will Cooperstown stage be empty next year?
NEW YORK – If it wasn’t for the pandemic that wiped out last year’s Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony, we would have had an empty stage this past week with no one being inducted into Cooperstown.
Remember, there wasn’t a soul elected this past January, with Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller elected a year ago.
So the question everyone in Cooperstown wants to know is whether the Baseball Writers’ Association of America will be pitching consecutive shutouts for the first time in Hall of Fame history.
You don’t think it can happen?
Go ahead and take a hard look at the incoming ballot of newcomers: starting pitchers Tim Lincecum and Jake Peavy; closers Joe Nathan and Jonathan Papelbon; first basemen Prince Fielder; Ryan Howard and Mark Teixeira; catcher A.J. Pierzynski; outfielder Carl Crawford; infielders Jimmy Rollins and Alex Rodriguez and designated hitter David Ortiz.
Yep, there’s not a single player on the ballot guaranteed to be elected in December.
Sure, Rodriguez is easily the biggest star on the ballot with his 696 home runs, 3,115 hits, 2,086 RBI, three American League MVPs and 14 All-Star appearances.
Yet the stat that dooms his fate is 162.
That was the number of games he was suspended for in 2014 for violating MLB’s drug policy, the largest suspension in baseball history.
Sure, the man was a phenomenal ballplayer, but if Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens aren’t getting into the Hall of Fame – with only one year left on the ballot – it’s unlikely Rodriguez gets elected on his first try.
Bonds is one of the greatest players who ever put on a uniform, and Clemens is one of the greatest right-handed pitchers in baseball history. Sure, there’s plenty of evidence and testimony in courts they used performance-enhancing drugs, but they were never suspended for a single day, docked a penny in pay, or ever admitted to performance-enhancing drug use.
But for A-Rod? He checks all three boxes.
My line of demarcation on voting for players linked to steroids is whether you were suspended or not for performanceenhancing drugs.
Bonds and Clemens get my votes every single year, just as I voted for Mike Piazza, Pudge Rodriguez and Jeff Bagwell, who also were widely accused of steroid use, even by their own peers.
It’s different for A-Rod and Manny Ramirez. They were caught. They were suspended. They badly hurt their teams’ playoff chances with their lengthy absences.
That’s a No vote.
This leads us to the tricky dilemma of Big Papi.
No disrespect to Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez, who was elected to the Hall of Fame on the 10th and final ballot, but Ortiz may be the greatest DH of all time.
But Ortiz tested positive among the anonymous tests conducted in 2003, according to The New York Times. Ortiz denied using any illegal substances; Commissioner Rob Manfred questioned whether it could have been a false positive. Ortiz never tested positive once when MLB’s testing program was implemented in 2005.
So does Ortiz get a free pass, or is he punished for a while, just like it took years on the ballot for Piazza and Bagwell to be inducted?
Perhaps the only other close call among the newcomers on this year’s ballot will be shortstop Jimmy Rollins.
He presents an interesting case, but it might take years before a judgment is made on his candidacy. Rollins certainly was a premier shortstop during his era with a National League MVP award, four Gold Glove awards and three All-Star appearances. Yet he never achieved those magical milestones. Rollins finished with 2,455 hits, 231 home runs, 936 RBI and 470 stolen bases.
If you’re looking for any of the 17 holdovers to cross the threshold, only starting pitcher Curt Schilling, with 71.7%, received more than 62% of the votes. His candidacy has stalled and his request was denied when he asked the Hall of Fame board to remove him from the ballot.
It’s quite possible that writers will honor Schilling’s request and simply not vote for him.
So we better savor what we witnessed this past week with this Hall of Fame class.
The parties, parades, festivities and a whole lot more fans should return for next year’s induction ceremony.
The unknown is whether we’ll be celebrating anyone.
Trade deadline misfires
The trade deadline moves can look wonderful on paper, and the analytics can show it’s the perfect acquisition, but what it can’t measure is how a player can cope going from a team hopelessly out of a playoff race to the pressure of performing for a contender.
Take a look at a few of those recently traded players who suddenly are struggling on the big stage for contenders:
● Ian Kennedy, Phillies: Kennedy was a stud with the Rangers with 16 saves and a 2.51 ERA. Yet since joining Philadelphia, he has given up six homers in just 13 2⁄3 innings with a 6.59 ERA after giving up only five homers in 32 1⁄3 innings with the Rangers. He has already blown two of his eight save opportunities.
● Andrew Heaney, Yankees: The Yankees believed he’d be the perfect guy to fill in the back of the rotation. Oops. He has given up 31 hits, 26 earned runs and 11 homers for a 7.71 ERA and lost his starting job.
● Joey Gallo, Yankees: The Yankees didn’t think they were getting Tony Gwynn when they made the trade with Texas, but Gallo is hitting a paltry .136 with 66 strikeouts in 132 at-bats. Incredibly, he has already struck out 26 times more than Gwynn did in any season of his 20-year Hall of Fame career.
● Brad Hand, Blue Jays: Toronto thought it was solving its bullpen woes by acquiring a three-time All-Star closer who had 21 saves for the Nationals. Instead, it was a disaster. He gave up a 13 hits, 10 earned runs and three homers in just 8 2⁄3 innings for the Blue Jays. He was released after 11 games and is now with the Mets.
● Adam Frazier, Padres: He was an All-Star second baseman who was hitting .324 with a .836 OPS with the Pirates. Now that he’s in a playoff race with San Diego, he’s hitting .240 with a .589 OPS.