IN; Chipper Jones Jim Thome Vladimir Guerrero Edgar Martinez I think Fred McGriff and especially Mike Mussina should also be inducted but probably won't make it this year.
...Hoffman, a reliever with a career ERA of nearly 3.00 gets in but Edgar Martinez doesn't?.... there are a lot of writers who shouldn't be allowed to vote. ...whatever.
^^^I don't get the reasoning behind some voters who don't vote for DHs because they are not full time players but will vote for Relievers even though they are not full time pitchers.
If one refers to DH players as "part timers" then they have to come to the same conclusion for relievers. I heard Kirkjian state that Hoffman was in the upper groupof his reliever class and no prejudice should be shown. Well damn it Edgar should be in there as well. Just waiting for "Big Sloppi" to appear on that ballot. No we have a part timer who allegedly got away with a roid ID. Other than that, I thought Thome, Jones, and Vlad deserving.
seems to me we're seeing a HOF change, where those who lacked votes in the first two tries, usually continued to drop until they fell off the ballot.... I have no probs with this HOF vote, good to see big Jim Thome in, Chipper a slam dunk no brainer. Vlad I felt border line over; no probs w/Hoffman either. Agreed Edgar belongs in the HOF; imo, so does Moose...maybe next year...
I cant stand HOF voters. 1. The thinking of he isnt first ballot worthy blows my mind. Either he is a hofer or not. 2. Players % increased from year to year..see above..and some players will get votes because it was a lean year of new to the list 3. Writers who had history with a player either good or bad reflecting in their vote 4. That no one has been voted with 100%. Who doesnt think Ken Griffey Jr isnt a hall of famer. I dont give a shit if the initial class didnt get 100% (which was fucking stupid too)
^^^Well, you just know there will be someone...Boston writers/haters probably, lol. ...when I saw Hoffman got in I did some checking. Aside from the obvious and aside from most all other stats, Mo's career WAR (57.1) was more than twice as good as Hoffman's. (28.4)
Speaking of Mo, I remember my first trip to NYC/Yankee Stadium in 2003 vividly. My seat was on the RF side next to the tarp, about 20 rows up. My flight was late and I didn't get to the stadium till the 3rd inning and as I finally came through the tunnel leading to the field I saw the greenest grass I had ever seen since going to The Masters in Augusta in 1990. We were playing Seattle and first player I saw was Ichiro in RF. ...but what really blew me away was in the top of the 9th when all of a sudden they cued up "Enter Sandman", and the place absolutely went nuts...I swear the old stadium shook. I had obviously heard Mo's song on TV before but it was always muted somewhat...I was really impressed with both the quality of the speaker system and how loud it was...and yeah, we won the game. ...saw Clemens pitch the following Saturday...I was directly behind HP about 4 rows from the field. Thought it was pretty cool to sit in the section where you have waitresses took your order and brought your nachos and beer to you. ...went to a Yanx bar next to the stadium after the game and when they found out I was "a Georgia boy" I had people buying me drinks because they love to hear my accent. ....ahhhh, good times.
The current Yankee Stadium mow has a legit team instead of a bunch of mercenaries and prima donnas. Watched a lot of games on the tube this year and the crowd was more amped up than it has been in a while. The Yankee Roll Call now aided by the Judges Chambers are prime examples of Esprit D' Corp and glad to see it happen. I saw quite a few games in the '76 remodel and yes that stadium would shake like jello when the crowd got into it. Enjoyed the post game Sinatra New York New York kick dance sessions with the fans when the Yankees won. Good times for sure.
Though Liza Minelli was first to record "New York, New York, her version pales next to Sinatra who flat out owns that tune. I heard an urban legend that Liza Minelli complained because her version was played after Yankee losses. Research on the songs history verified it to be so. Steinbrenner was a huge music fan in general, Sinatra in particular. By making the song a staple at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees became the #1 association with it. I did hear that at the last home game in 2008, the song was repetitively played because the fans were hanging on in the old park. I sure wish they had rebuilt on the same field but with todays team & future the current unit my see some history of its own. Start spreading the news, the Yankees are back.
...^^^ Yeah, Sinatra's version has sort of an attitude...Minelli's version sounds more like something from a broadway play. ...not sure why I typed Streisand instead of Minelli...DUH senior moment !
There is a You Tube video of Streisand & Minelli doin NYNY as a duet. And I agree, the Minelli single does sound like something out of Cabaret. Sinatra just flat out put the meat on that songs bones.
