Foul Ball

From ESPN.com:

Pat Gillick, whose teams won three World Series titles in 27 years as a major league general manager, was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame on Monday by the Veterans Committee.

In his fifth time on the ballot, former players' association head Marvin Miller fell one vote short of the 75 percent needed for election and Dave Concepcion, a nine-time All-Star shortstop for Cincinnati's 1970s "Big Red Machine" teams, was third with eight votes from the 16-man committee that considered candidates from the expansion era, 1973 on.

George Steinbrenner, the New York Yankees owner from 1973 until his death in July, was among the candidates who received fewer than eight votes.

Gillick was a fine baseball man. Still...

Retired players sitting on the Veteran's Committee may have taken too many fastballs to the head, but why are the heads of the other jokers on that august body so far up their asses? The continued exclusion of Marvin Miller is a travesty. It was Miller who leveled the playing field so that players--the employees--could finally exert control over their own careers. As Hall of Fame broadcaster Red Barber put it, "Marvin Miller, along with Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, is one of the two or three most important men in baseball history."

(And Dave Concepion got more votes than George Steinbrenner???)

The Lords of Baseball seemingly don't understand their own game.

The totals, via ESPN.com:

Voting from the Veterans Committee for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame (12 of 16 votes needed for election):

• Pat Gillick (13 votes, 81.25 percent)

• Marvin Miller (11 votes, 68.75 percent)

• Dave Concepcion (8 votes, 50 percent)

• Fewer than 8 votes: Ted Simmons, Vida Blue, Steve Garvey, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Billy Martin, Al Oliver, Rusty Staub (Editor's note: my boyhood hero!) and George Steinbrenner.

And if Gillick belongs, what about his former boss? You know, the Boss?

Andre Dawson To Enter Cooperstown As An Expo.

From the Montreal Gazette:

Andre Dawson will enter the Baseball Hall of Fame
this summer as a member of the Montreal Expos.

Dawson spent the first 11 years of his career with
the franchise that currently resides in Washington and is known as the
Nationals. He also played six years with the Chicago Cubs and spent time with
the Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins.

The Hawk had expressed a desire to have a Cubs
logo on his plaque, and while a player's wishes are considered, the Hall makes
the final decision and says the logo should be "emblematic of where the player
made his greatest impact." Every team an inductee played for is listed on the
plaque.

"I respect the Hall of Fame's decision to put an
Expos logo on my cap, and I understand their responsibility to make sure the
logo represents the greatest impact in my career," Dawson said. "Cubs fans will
always be incredibly important in my heart, and I owe them so much for making my
time in Chicago memorable, as did the fans in Montreal, Boston and South
Florida, my home. But knowing that I'm on the Hall of Fame team is what's most
important, as it is the highest honor I could imagine."

Dawson was named the 1977 National League Rookie
of the Year in Montreal and led the Expos to their only postseason series win
with a five-game victory over the Phillies in the 1981 NL Division Series. He
won his lone MVP award in 1987 with the Cubs.

Dawson will join Gary Carter as the Hall of Fame's only two inductees sporting the Expos logo.

Their Own Private Idaho.

I've always said this blog is a stream-of-consciousness mish-mash of helter-skelter random thoughts drawn from whatever is bombarding my mind. It's often been about what's happening in Washington, or it's been about what's said about what's happening in Washington by amplified idiots. I'm a political and news junkie. But lately I've been thinking about much better games, and this week I've been thinking a lot about baseball.

I'm a baseball junkie, too.

Maybe it was the football overdose. The pigskin has always ranked lower than the horsehide in my mind, and while I follow and watch that senseless, clock-driven violence, I don't love it. Such is not the case with the Perfect Game.

We've just turned the calendar on a brand-new year, but I'm dreaming of spring training. The annual Baseball Hall of Fame election announcement always does that to me.

Av Sinensky is an attorney, but that's about all I know about him. I came across his blog post today on the Huffington Post. His take on a possible solution to the on-going dilemma of cheaters and their fitness for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame isn't new to me; I've often thought similarly. But he took the time to write it down and flesh it out and I didn't.

I don't believe in heaven or hell--or purgatory. But I do believe in reality, and I think the idea of redemption is as secular as it is religious. So--Biblical metaphor notwithstanding--here's an excerpt. Maybe he's on to something:

Here's what I propose: a Hall of Fame purgatory. Create a room off to the side of the main plaque room, with a big sign that says: "In this room we honor the accomplishments of some of baseball's greatest players who because of off-the field wrongdoings were denied entry to the main Hall of Fame." Each player would have a plaque in the same way current Hall of Famers do. It would describe his career and achievements, but the plaque will also very noticeably detail the transgression that's keeping them out. On their ballots, writers will now be given three options: "yes", "no", and "yes if not for suspected steroid use or other off the field activity that renders the candidate ineligible."

Through this we can solve many of the arguments about whether these players should be in the Hall. "But they were only great because of steroids." Well, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were clear Hall of Famers before steroids, so we know that they're good enough. The only reason to keep them out is to punish them for their crime and to send a message to deter others from making their mistakes. Well, we're still doing that. Players want to be in the room Babe Ruth is in, not the one Pete Rose is in. "But what about the children? What lesson does it teach them?" It teaches them that if you break the rules, you get punished. As of now, if you were to take your child to Cooperstown, there would be no mention of these players, essentially. As far as the Baseball Hall of Fame is concerned, they never existed. This is the type of sweeping under the rug that I expect from organized religion, not sports. Baseball can embrace its history, good and bad, and still come out looking good in the aggregate.

But there's an even greater lesson that we can teach: redemption. Remember, it's the Hall of Fame purgatory, not Hall of Fame hell. You can get out. And these players have a lot of pride, so they will desperately want to. You know what else they have? Money. And, after they retire, lots of time. So let's put that to use. Let's create a community service program that allows these players to give back to the game of baseball in order to redeem themselves for their mistakes. Make them sponsor, organize, and coach little leagues, particularly in inner cities and poor neighborhoods where baseball is dying. Let's force these guys to become the game of baseball's greatest ambassadors. Their reward: they get to be in the Hall of Fame. As for lessons, how about this: it teaches our children that even though baseball players are tremendously gifted athletes, they're not gods; they're human beings just like the rest of us. They can accomplish great things, but they can also make mistakes. Most importantly, by working hard to make up for the mistakes that they've made, they can be forgiven. Anyone have a problem telling that to their kids?

In the words of The Office's Michael Scott, this measure would be a win-win-win for everyone involved. For the players: they get to be in the Hall of Fame. For the league: they get to turn a bad situation into an opportunity for positive growth. And finally, for the fans: we all get to put all this drama and controversy behind us and we get to see our generation's great players where they belong. Because honestly, does anyone want to take their kids to a future Hall of Fame that doesn't have Barry Bonds in it? I know I don't.

Thanks, Av. Between the Steroid Era and your plan, the Hall could forever recognize infamy as well as greatness and put Cooperstown's construction guys back to work building that cheater's wing at the same time.

Andre Dawson Is A Hall Of Famer.

If you ever spent time in Montreal cheering Les Expos, you were happy to hear that The Hawk--Andre Dawson--was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame today. Dawson began his career in Montreal, and played there for ten full seasons after coming up for 24 games in 1976.

Trés bien!

From the New York Times:

Dawson, an outfielder for the Montreal Expos, the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins, received 420 votes among the 539 ballots cast in his ninth season of eligibility. Blyleven had 400 votes, and Roberto Alomar had 397 in his first appearance on the ballot. Candidates needed 405 to be elected.

A combination of power, speed and defense made Dawson an eight-time All-Star and the 1987 National League Most Valuable Player. He is one of only three players to exceed 400 homers and 300 stolen bases, with Barry Bonds andWillie Mays, and he won eight Gold Gloves.

Dawson’s on-base percentage was just .323, the lowest among Hall of Fame outfielders, and he never played in the World Series. But his performance in the bedrock statistics — home runs and runs batted in — elevated his candidacy.

There are 22 players eligible for the Hall of Fame who had at least 400 homers and 1,500 runs batted in, as Dawson did. All are now enshrined except Fred McGriff, a first-time candidate who got just 21.5 percent of the vote on Wednesday.

After Dawson, Blyleven and Alomar, Jack Morris was next with 52.3 percent, followed by Barry Larkin (51.6 percent), Lee Smith (47.3 percent), Edgar Martinez (36.2 percent) and Tim Raines (30.4 percent).

Mark McGwire, whose 583 career homers are obscured by his role in the steroids scandal, received just 23.7 percent. McGwire’s totals have been virtually unchanged over his four years on the ballot. He reached 23.5 percent in 2007, 23.6 percent in 2008 and 21.9 percent last year

Dawson said today he wasn't sure which team's cap will accompany him into the Hall. I'm hoping it will be the red, white and blue Expos lid, but he also won the 1987 National League MVP award in a Cubs uniform, and spent six seasons with the club.

Bienvenue, Andre...

More here from the Montreal Gazette.

Randy Johnson Takes Himself Out Of The Ballgame.

Fearsome, crotchety, dominating, a helluva lot of fun to watch and a Big Unit, indeed. See ya on a plaque in Cooperstown, Randy Johnson...

From the AP via SportsIllustrated.com:

Randy Johnson is retiring after 22 major league seasons.

The Big Unit, an overpowering left-hander who last June became the 24th pitcher to win 300 games, made the expected announcement Tuesday on a conference call.

"I really wanted to go out on my terms," Johnson said. "I just feel like there's not a lot more for me to do in this game. I just think it's a natural progression when you play this long. Eventually you have to say it's time."

A five-time Cy Young Award winner, the 46-year-old Johnson accomplished just about everything in his remarkable career that a player hopes for in baseball.

He owns a World Series ring and co-MVP honors, and was a 10-time All-Star. He threw two no-hitters, including a perfect game, and ranks second on the career strikeout list.

The 6-foot-10 Johnson finishes with a career record of 303-166 and 4,875 strikeouts in 4,135 1-3 innings for Montreal, Seattle, Houston, Arizona, theNew York Yankeesand San Francisco. His strikeouts are the most by a left-hander and second to Nolan Ryan's 5,714.

"It's all been a bit of a whirlwind. I never really got caught up in what I did," Johnson said. "I never really dwelled on my achievements. They're nice. Maybe now I'll be able to reflect on them."

And to think, early in his career Johnson was a shaggy-haired pitcher who lacked control of his blazing fastball.

"This isn't a tall man's sport -- basketball is," he said.

But by the time he was done, he had a Hall of Fame resume.

Johnson pitched his first no-hitter in 1990, won 19 games with 308 strikeouts in 1993 and led the Mariners to their first playoff berth with an 18-2 record in 1995. He finished his 10-year stint in Seattle with a 130-74 record before being traded to Houston in 1998.

He signed as a free agent with the Diamondbacks before the following season, beginning one of the most dominating runs a pitcher has ever had. Johnson won the Cy Young in each of his first four seasons with Arizona, capturing the coveted pitcher's triple crown in 2002 with a 24-5 record, 2.32 ERA and 334 strikeouts.

His most memorable moments were in 2001, when he came out of the bullpen to beat the Yankees in Game 7 of the World Series to give the Diamondbacks the title. He went 3-0 in the Series, sharing the MVP award with Curt Schilling.

Johnson pitched a perfect game at age 40 against Atlanta.

Rickey Henderson certainly felt the heat before that. The Hall of Famer struck out in 30 of 59 at-bats against Johnson, making him the Unit's top victim.

The Big Unit added that he plans to coach someday. He has a one-year service agreement to work in some capacity for the Diamondbacks.