Thank you, Baseball Hall Of Fame

The National Baseball Hall Of Fame has saved me from tearing my hair out. That was exactly what I was going to do if I had to write another post about Roger Clemens. Instead, it's all about Rich Gossage.

It looks like the HOF is finally acknowledging that relievers deserve to be enshrined. Poor Goose had to wait nine years for this and it was totally unfair.

As a Yankee fan I'll always remember Gossage in pinstripes, but Goose played for eight other teams in his twenty-two year career, including the San Diego Padres. During this time he accumulated 310 saves, for many of which he pitched more than two innings. Mariano Rivera would be long-retired if he'd pitched that often.

He'll be inducted with his Padres manager, Dick Williams. There should be lots of laughs on July 27 when images of those old Padre uniforms pop up.

Congratulations Goose.

The Lady

Off Their Rockers?

While a defensive youth movement seems to be starting on the baseball diamond, the old guard appears to be hanging tight. Greg Maddux won his 17th Gold Glove award yesterday, making him the player with the most gold gloves in Major League history. Now there's also news that Maddux and the Padres have agreed on a
$10 million deal for the 2008 season.

Then there's the matter of Curt "I Care So Much" Schilling. After his "goodbye letter" to Red Sox Nation and after he listed all the teams he'd like to pitch for on his blog, he and the Red Sox agreed to a deal for next year worth $8 million, with $3 million in potential bonuses. One of the bonuses is $1 million if he receives a Cy Young vote. Baseball writer Peter Abraham thinks this might be unethical. He explains why on his blog.

While you may disagree about whether or not Maddux and Schilling are off their rockers, you have to agree that retired players Matt Williams and Ismael Valdez are cringing in theirs. There seems to be proof that they bought steroids at that clinic in Florida currently under investigation. But cringe is all that they'll do. Other than embarrassment, there's nothing else that can happen to them.

Rock on, guys!

The Lady

Veterans Day

This afternoon the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee announced the results of their latest election. Once again, nobody got in.

In an Associated Press article, Hall chairman Jane Forbes Clark was quoted as saying "The process was not designed with the goal to necessarily elect someone." Oh, no? Then what was it designed for, Jane? What else are 84 eligible voters (including 61 Hall members and 14 broadcasters) supposed to do? Trade autographs?

Ron Santo, perhaps the player most people were pulling for, came the closest, with 70 percent of the 75 percent (of votes) needed for election. Other well-known names on the ballot were former Dodger player and Met Manager Gil Hodges, pitcher Jim Kaat and umpire Doug Harvey. However, the one omission that truly jumps out at me is that of Marvin Miller, the union leader who, almost single-handily, made MLB players the highest paid in professional sports. Though Miller is a very, very important part of MLB history, I just don't see him getting in, at least not until a whole lot more of those players who've benefited from his work are on the Veterans Committee themselves. That is, if the Committee isn't dis-banded well before then.

The Lady

Vote For The Gold

Gold Glove
Originally uploaded by Patrick Haney.

This morning Rawlings announced plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Gold Glove Award by letting you, the fan, choose the All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Defensive Team.

The ballot only includes only those players who've had their careers since the award's inception. So, you will not find Joe Dimaggio's name on it. You will, however, find the likes of Torii Hunter, Brooks Robinson, Bill Mazeroski, and Greg Maddux.

It'll be interesting to see which players get the most votes. I can't help thinking about all the arguments that take place at the end of every season when the annual Gold Gloves are chosen by coaches and managers. I still don't understand how Rafael Palmiero won one several years ago. I don't recall if he expressed his feelings about it. Did he feel uncomfortable? Would he have felt better about it if fans had chosen him? Maybe, maybe not. Whatever the case, you can rest assured someone out there will feel uncomfortable whenever an award is given out. You can change who decides the winner all you want, but as long as human beings are the voters, there will always be controversy.

The Lady