The MLB free agent market is glutted with shortstops. At this point two of the higher rated players at the position have been signed - Omar Vizquel and Christian Guzman. I commented the other day that I thought the 3-year 12 million dollar contract the Giants gave to Vizquel would probably be the worst deal of the offseason. Vizquel will be 38 before the end of April. Granted, Vizquel was a quality player last year, but he also has a significant injury history and there's no reason to believe he'll still be a great player when he's 40. Ah, but 4 million a year - that's not that much right? Well how does it sound when you could have had the 26-year-old Christian Guzman for only 4.2 million a season. Guzman is an all-star, he's an excellent defender, he's quick (he's led the league in triples in 3 of the last five years, including 20 in 2000), and he's a respectable hitter that makes things happen. The new DC team signed him for 4 years at 16.8 million. This deal is the exact opposite of the Vizquel deal as far as quality goes. I doubt there will be a bigger free agent steal this year, and it makes the Vizquel deal look that much worse.
A Brief Review of Eligibility
In order to get on the Hall of Fame Ballot, a player must have ten years of major league experience and be retired from playing for five years. There are 506 votes available. A player must receive 75% of the vote (380 votes) for enshrinement. If a player receives 5% or less, that player is removed from the ballot. Players receiving between 6% and 74% remain on the ballot and can do so for 15 years, provided they never fall below 5%. Last year, 15 players were removed from the ballot, most of them first year candidates. A voter may vote for as many as 10 players, though he may also choose to vote for none. It is a simply a “Yes, enshrine him” or No, leave him out” vote.
The New Candidates
This year there are 16 new candidates, only one of which is sure to make it in 2005, Wade Boggs. Of the remaining 15 players, only four have a real chance to remain on the ballot for 2006: Jim Abbott, Willie McGee, Terry Steinbach, and Darryl Strawberry. In the cases of Abbott and Strawberry, neither deserve votes, but both are likely to draw some sympathy votes, and maybe enough to keep them around another year. The rest of the group is: Jeff Blauser, Tom Candiotti, Chili Davis, Jeff King, Mark Langston, Jack McDowell, Brian McRae, Jeff Montgomery, Otis Nixon, Tony Phillips, and Mark Portugal.
The Old Candidates
These are the players remaining on the ballot from previous years, in order of the votes they received in 2004: Ryne Sandberg (309), Bruce Sutter (301), Jim Rice (276), Andre Dawson (253), Rich Gossage (206), Lee Smith (185), Bert Blyleven (179), Jack Morris (133), Steve Garvey (123), Tommy John (111), Alan Trammell (70), Don Mattingly (65), Dave Concepcion (57), Dave Parker (53), and Dale Murphy (43).
My Ballot
If I could vote for players on the 2005 ballot, I would vote for these players, in this order:
1. Wade Boggs
2. Bert Blyleven
3. Ryne Sandberg
4. Rich Gossage
5. Bruce Sutter
6. Lee Smith
7. Jack Morris
8. Dale Murphy
9. Alan Trammell
10. Tommy John
A Note on the Veterans Committee
The Veterans Committee itself, and its rules for election changed after 2001. The Committee was formerly a selected panel of old players, old executives, and old writers. The Veterans Committee is now a group comprised of the living members of the Baseball Hall of Fame (60), the living recipients of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award (10; writers), the living recipients of the Ford C. Frick Award (14; broadcasters) and the members of the previous 15-man Veterans Committee whose terms have not yet expired (1). The group votes every other year, 2005 being the next voting year. The will consider a currently unannounced list of 25-30 former players and 10-15 others, such as writers owners, managers, and executives. The names on the ballots are selected by a panel of from the Baseball Writers Association.
At this point, the list of eligible candidates has not been announced. The rules for election are the same, however, which requires a 75% vote. No players or executives were elected in the first vote of this new system in 2003.
Perhaps the cutoff point for the VC should be reduced to 50%. Had that been the case in 2003, Gil Hodges, Tony Oliva, and Ron Santo would have been elected, and all are well-deserving candidates.
After sixteen years in the majors spent with eleven different teams, Todd Zeile has retired. Zeile never made an all-star team. He never led the league in anything. He was about average on defense. He did hit over 30 home runs once (31; 1997) and he cracked over 100 RBI’s once (103; 1993), but otherwise, Zeile was just an average player that was good enough to hang around for a long time. There’s no real way for me to be sure, but he must be among the players with the longest careers without an all-star appearance.
He played in 29 postseason games in his career, and again, he’s average in this category too: .292 batting average, 4 home runs, 14 RBI’s in 113 at bats. He was versatile in the field. In 2004 he made appearances at third, first, catcher, and pitcher. It was his third career pitching appearance, and unfortunately his performance in 2004 stopped his scoreless inning streak at 2.
His transaction log is a lot of fun though. In 1986 he was drafted by the Cardinals in the 2nd round. In 1995 they traded him to the Cubs for, ironically, Mike Morgan. He would be a free agent at the end of 1995 and he signed with the Phillies. In 1996 the Phillies sent him along with Pete Incaviglia to the Orioles for two PTBNL (Calvin Maduro, Garrett Stephenson). He was a free agent again in 1997 and signed with the Dodgers. In 1998, the Dodgers then traded him with Mike Piazza to the Marlins for Manual Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson, and Gary Sheffield. Six weeks later the Marlins sent him to the Rangers for two minor leaguers that never made it. He was granted free agency at the end of the 1999 season and signed with the Mets, where he became a relative fixture. That is until 2002 when he was part of a three team trade that sent him to Colorado in a deal that, among many others, included Jeromy Burnitz. After the 2002 season, he signed with the Yankees, and was released in mid-August of 2003. He immediately signed with the Expos for the remainder of the year, and signed again with the Mets for the 2004 season.
I’m not even sure why I feel like Zeile deserves a tribute. I guess I feel I just have to say something about anybody that can hang around as long as he did. As a baseball card collector in 1990, Zeile was one of four highly desired rookies. The rest of the group (Eric Anthony, Greg Vaughn, Ben McDonald) didn’t make much off an impact. McDonald had a good season or two; Vaughn even managed to hit 50 home runs once, but Zeile just kept plugging away with 18-22 home runs, 75-85 RBI’s, and a .270 batting average. In fact, until 2003 when he became more of a pinch hitter, he always played about 150 games. He was reliable, and that’s harder and harder to find. Zeile finished with a .266 batting average, 2004 hits, 253 home runs, 1,110 RBI’s, and 986 runs scored.
With the end of the Dodgers NLDS loss to St. Louis, Robin Ventura announced that he had played his last game. Aside from Edgar Martinez, and potentially John Olerud, Ventura is the most accomplished player leaving the game in 2004. Ventura was a college superstar at Oklahoma State where he set an NCAA record with a 58-game hitting streak.
He was drafted in the first round (10th overall) by the White Sox in 1988, the same year he played third base for Team USA in the Seoul Olympics. Of his 16 seasons, he spent ten with Chicago, three with the Mets, and a season and a half each with the Yankees and Dodgers. He was an every day player from 1990 through 2003.
Ventura made two All-Star teams ten years apart (1992, 2002), though his best years came in 1996 and 1999. In 1996, he hit .287 with 34 home runs and 105 RBI’s. In 1999, he hit .301, with 32 homers and 120 RBI’s. In that year he finished 6th in NL MVP voting, and came up big with the walk-off non-Grand Slam against the Braves in the marathon game 5 of the NLCS. Speaking of Grand Slams, Ventura hit 18 of them in his career – tied for third all-time with Willie McCovey, and trailing only Eddie Murray (19) and Lou Gerhig (23).
Ventura won 6 gold gloves in his career. He hit 20+ homers in 9 seasons (career high, 34), and 90+ RBI’s in 8 seasons (career high, 120). He leaves the game with a .267 batting average, with 1,885 hits, 294 home runs, 1,182 RBI’s, and 1,006 runs scored.
Mark McLemore has called it a career after a 19-year career as a largely unrecognized utility player for seven different teams. Of his 19 years, only seven of them were spent as an almost-everyday player.
Much like other 2004 retirees Todd Zeile and Robin Ventura, McLemore deserves some recognition for the simple fact that he stayed in the major leagues for so long. Though he never anchored any offenses, he was always considered to be an asset in the clubhouse, where his personality and leadership were always a plus. He never made the All-star team. He never led the league in anything. His highest appearances on the leader board were his 4th place finish in stolen bases in 2001 (39), and he was second in sacrifice hits in 1987 (15).
McLemore generally walked more than he struck out, and if he had been able to put it all together in one season, he would have made an excellent lead off hitter. If he had put together his career highs in one season, this is how it would look: .290 average in 148 games, 27 doubles, 9 triples, 7 home runs, 57 RBI’s, 105 runs scored, 39 stolen bases, 87 walks, 69 strikeouts, and a .389 on base percentage.
There are other guys in the league that are McLemore-like as far as longevity and versatility go. Take note of guys like Jose Vizcaino and Rey Sanchez before they retire. If either of them have ever played for your team, you know what an asset these types of players can be. McLemore, Vizcaino, and Sanchez have an average of 16 years of experience and 1,647 games played. Thousands of players never played half as many games. Players like these are rarely remembered, and I’m not quite sure that these guys will be either, but anybody that can stay good enough to hang around for 1,500+ games ought to be noticed somehow.
On a personal note, McLemore was a key part of the 116-game winning 2001 Seattle Mariners. He switch hit, he played every position but pitcher and catcher, and though he was never considered to be the starter at any position, he managed to get in 125 games and find 409 at bats. The Mariners would never have done it without him. McLemore leaves the game with a .259 average, 1,602 hits, 255 doubles, 943 runs scored, and 272 stolen bases.
In an effort to make voting easier and the polling areas less crowded, Republicans will be voting tomorrow (Tuesday) at the usual times, while Democrats will be voting on Wednesday. So if you are a Democrat be sure to wait for your local poll to open on Wednesday morning.