He fell 16 ballots short of unanimous induction, how could sixteen writers not vote for someone like Maddux? Will no one ever be a unanimous selection? What about Ken Griffey Jr.? Mariano Rivera? Derek Jeter?
But regardless of that controversy, regardless of the PED ballot controversy, regardless of the controversy that has surrounded the BBWAA for being very stingy in voting for non-PED players we can still appreciate the fact that three great players and upstanding gentlemen of the game were elected and will spend the summer ceremony with three of the greatest managers of all-time.
Congratulations to Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Tony La Russa, Joe Torre, Bobby Cox, and 'The Professor', a very worthy Hall of Fame inductee!
My Collection
Speaking of players who were bound to head to the Hall of Fame, and on their first ballot, that's what would have been thought of Alex Rodriguez until about 2007-2008 when it was found out that he used with the Texas Rangers during his MVP season. However, after already admitting to using in a pre-2009 season press conference it's time to say that the Biogenesis scandal has hit A-Rod hard this time around. The league wanted to suspend him for 211 games, but it will just be an entire season (162 games) plus the postseason.
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| He doesn't look too overly excited, does he? |
Speaking of the Yankees, cutting $29 million from their payroll for the upcoming season means that they can go after Japanese phenom starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka hard over the next few weeks until he comes to a decision about where to sign. (Although the Yankees have plenty of other marketable options: such as Ervin Santana, Bronson Arroyo, Matt Garza and Ubaldo Jimenez come to mind.)
