January 8, 2010

Being a baseball fan, the first week of January is always an exciting time since the Hall of Fame voting results are released. It’s always a favourite venture of mine to try and predict who will be voted in and who will miss out. This year I predicted that Andre Dawson and Roberto Alomar would both be elected, and that Bert Blyleven would once again fall short, but still be close. Two out of three ain’t bad.

I was happy to see that Andre Dawson was finally elected, as he definitely had a career that deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame. I always found him to be a great player, and a seemingly genuine person. (Check out this article which speaks to his character). There’s something to be said for that character, especially in an era that we’re generally talking about steroids more than home runs (more on that below). Now, the question arises as to what hat he will wear in the Hall of Fame…will it be the Expos or The Cubs?

There are good arguments for both sides, as Dawson spent 10 years with the Expos, including the years that he built his reputation as one of the National League’s top hitters. But the 6 years he spent with the Cubs were obviously with a higher profile city and team, and therefore garnered him much more exposure than playing in a lost market like Montreal. It will be interesting to see what the Hall of Fame committee decides.

And that brings up another point, that the Hall of Fame decides what cap players wear now, instead of the player selecting it. You can blame Wade Boggs and Gary Carter for this, as they both declared that they wanted to be enshrined as a Tampa Bay Devil Ray and a New York Met, respectively. Boggs specifically requested the Tampa Bay hat to be used for his plaque because he reportedly was going to get financial compensation for it, as well as consideration for a front office job with the club. Because of this, “the Hall decided in 2001 to change its practice of deferring to players' wishes regarding cap logo selection, and reinforced the Hall's authority to determine with which cap the player would be depicted.” (Wikipedia)
I have no problem with the Hall deciding the hat, but it’s unfortunate that it is necessary due to the ridiculous actions of a Hall of Fame player who clearly doesn’t exhibit Hall of Fame character. Personally, I think that Andre Dawson should go into the Hall of Fame as an Expo. What do you think?

I was surprised, but not shocked, to see that Roberto Alomar didn’t get in this year. With 73.7% in his first year, he will undoubtedly get the necessary 75% next year, but I am of the opinion that he is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I’m sure the Hirschbeck spitting incident played in to some of the voting, but I don’t think that one incident can define his career, although it did tarnish his legacy in a big way. From a statistical and overall player standpoint, Alomar is definitely a Hall of Famer, and next year at this time, we will talking about how exciting it is for him to be going in as a Blue Jay.
The next few years are certainly going to be interesting with the Hall of Fame votes. The writers are sending a very clear message with Mark McGwire barely receiving consideration, and with Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens all coming up on the ballot in the next couple of years, it is going to be a very interesting time.

What do you think? When it comes to Hall of Fame voting, should character be considered? If you had a vote, would the spitting incident be relevant to your decision? And could you vote for a player who used performance enhancing drugs?

Let’s start a discussion in the Comments section, I want your thoughts on this one.

December 16, 2009

I’ve been reading the details of the Roy Halladay trade for the last couple of days. Well, I say “details”, but at the point I’m writing this, I’m still incredibly confused by the parameters of this deal. There are 2 Cy Young Award-winning pitchers changing teams, and Toronto is ending up with neither of them, so on paper, you would have to assume that there would be some pretty significant acquisitions for the team NOT with Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay, right? As far as I can tell, Toronto is just getting back 3 new ushers for The Rogers Centre, 2 parking spots, a case of baseballs, Ken Burns' Baseball (on VHS), a new seat for the bullpen, and a vat of pine tar. I’m no major-league GM, but I can’t even fathom why Toronto would do this deal.

At the trade deadline last year, Toronto held off trading Halladay because they felt they weren’t getting enough back in return. And now, with this trade, which sees the Jays ALSO sending $6 million dollars to the Phillies, they’re only getting prospects back. Does this make any sense? In essence, what they’ve done is trade away arguably the best pitcher in baseball…and SIX MILLION DOLLARS…for a handful of magic beans. Is Alex Anthopolous trying to grow a giant beanstalk up the CN Tower next door? If I was a GM in the majors, I would be knocking down the Jays' door trying to make a deal after seeing this.

“Hi, Alex…yeah…this is Theo Epstein. I wanted to pitch a deal to you. Here’s what I was thinking…I’d like Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, and Ricky Romero…and I’d be willing to send back your way this single A kid who looks REALLY good, as well as our backup-backup catcher George Kottaras (who is Canadian, by the way!)l, and a box of Turtles. Sound good? No? Wow, you drive a hard bargain. Ok…tell you what…how about if I throw in an autographed picture of Curt Schilling’s bloody sock? Perfect! I’ll send the paperwork your way.”

Seriously, even Rob Babcock thinks this is a bad deal…and if you get that joke, I’m glad you read my blog…and you and I should be friends if we’re not already.
I hate when a team is forced to trade a star player (or players) away because they can’t win a championship, or due to financial reasons. Just take a look at the Montreal Expos of the 1990s.

I was talking to a friend last night who is a die-hard Kansas City Royals fan. No, don't be alarmed...you read that right, I said “a die-hard Kansas City Royals fan.” I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.

And he made a great comment that something needs to be done “so that KC can jump from being a freakin’ minor league grooming players for other teams. I will be so bummed when (Zach) Greinke leaves in 2013...damn."

Or perhaps, as another friend texted me when news of the trade was released, “We can always cheer for the Phillies???”

I want your thoughts on this trade. Sound off in the Comments section.

August 7, 2009

Tonight, the Blue Jays honoured the back-to-back World Series Championship teams of 1992 and 1993. There was a ceremony which was held prior to the game vs. the Baltimore Orioles where they introduced the alumni; former players, coaches, and administration. I could take a humourous approach and talk about how it looks like Juan Guzman had been eating for 16 years, or how Kelly Gruber's mullet was spectacular, but what struck me most, was right after they introduced Jerry Howarth...and then followed it up with introducing Shirley Cheek, the wife of Tom Cheek.

I thought it was a wonderful gesture on the part of the Blue Jays to include her (and him) in the ceremony, seeing as he is such an integral part of the team's history, and their World Series championships. No Blue Jay fan will ever forget Tom's legendary call to end the 1993 World Series, "Touch' em all, Joe! You'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!" I still get goosebumps every time I hear it, and even thinking about it.
Tom Cheek was the voice of my childhood, and one of the primary reasons I wanted to become a sports broadcaster. I remember curling up in bed when I was 13 or 14 years old, when the Blue Jays were on a Western road trip, and turning my clock radio on just loud enough so I could hear it, but my mom couldn't, and listening to the 10:35 games from Oakland, or Anaheim, or Seattle. Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth were my bedtime story...and I would fall asleep listening to them call the game.

It was great seeing a callback to those wonderful memories of the 1992 and 1993 Blue Jays. I was at each of those World Series--Game 4 in 1992, and Game 1 in 1993--and those are memories I'll have forever (and probably a future post on here.) As a matter of fact, had the Blue Jays not won in Atlanta in Game 6 in 1992, I was going to be going to Game 7. But as great as those memories are, they are bittersweet for the reminder that Tom Cheek is no longer with us.

I looked everywhere to find a clip from that Joe Carter home run call, and I couldn't find it. What I did find was a collection of some of Tom's greatest calls, and his speech from the day he was inducted into the Blue Jays' Level of Excellence. It is emotional listening to him speak candidly about his brain tumour, which would take him a year later. I urge you to take 6 minutes and 37 seconds out of your life and watch the clip embedded below. Make sure you watch along for some classic photos as well. And yes...you will hear that classic call from the World Series at the end.

You are missed, Tom.