Few hitters gave Roger Clemens as much trouble as Mike Piazza. The two faced off 25 times. Against a man who would strike out more than 4,000 batters over his lengthy big-league career, Piazza struck out twice. He batted .364, had an on-base percentage of .440, and a slugging percentage of .955. He hit four home runs, each of them carrying some kind of importance. This dual evolved into a...
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America elected four new members to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening, Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, and Mike Mussina. Those four will join Harold Baines and Lee Smith, both voted in by the Hall of Fame’s Era Committee in December, in Cooperstown, New York this July for their inductions. Mariano Rivera became...
I had intended to publicize my Official Hall of Fame ballot before Christmas, but some health issues prevented me from proceeding as planned. So here it is, without further adieu, the nine players I submitted for the Class of 2016. 1. Ken Griffey Jr. – One of the greatest players of all time and a great ambassador for the game. Staggering offensive numbers despite missing four seasons...
As I do every time this year, I mailed in my official Hall of Fame ballot. To grow up loving baseball and to vote for the Hall of Fame is a tremendous thrill for me even after all these years. It is also a responsibility I take very seriously, which is why I don’t understand the rationale of some of my colleagues who use their vote as a political statement. If you don’t want to vote, then...
The 2015 Hall of Fame ballot was released today featuring 34 players, including 17 holdovers and 17 newcomers. Voting results will be announced on January 6. The new candidates on the ballot include Cy Young Award winners Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz, along with sluggers Carlos Delgado and Gary Sheffield, two-time batting champion Nomar Garciaparra and closer Troy Percival....
A week from today, on Wednesday, January 8, the 2014 inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced. As of this morning, Mike Piazza is losing ground and now has 71.9% which is outside the the 75% threshold for induction. Here is the full tally of the 96 ballots counted by Baseball Think Factory. Updated: Jan.1 – 10:00 AM ~ 96 Full Ballots (16.9% of vote ~ based on last...
D’Backs (42-41) at Mets (35-45) RHP Randall Delgado (0-2, 4.05) vs. RHP Matt Harvey (7-1, 2.00) Starting Lineup Eric Young Jr., lf Daniel Murphy, 2b David Wright, 3b Marlon Byrd, rf Josh Satin, 1b Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf John Buck, c Omar Quintanilla, ss Matt Harvey, rhp Game Notes The Mets scored a single-inning season-high seven runs in the rain-delayed seventh inning in Tuesday’s 9-1...
Matt Harvey has the lowest ERA (2.25) among pitchers since 1921, whose first 27 major league appearances were all starts. Mike Mussina is second on that list (2.56 ERA). Harvey also has the best WHIP (0.95) of any pitcher since 1921 through his first 27 career starts. Only four other pitchers had a WHIP under 1.00 in their first 27 starts: Dick Hughes (0.96), Vida Blue (0.97), Orel Hershiser...
It’s not exactly the variety of a film festival when watching the Mets in spring training. It’s the Nationals, Braves, Marlins and Cardinals on a rotating basis. For the Mets in Port St. Lucie, it’s like watching the same episodes of Seinfeld over and over. After awhile, you know how “The Contest’’ will end. For a young guy like Matt Harvey working on a pitch, those teams don’t have to...
