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BBWAA Historical Overview Committee To Devise 2014 Expansion Era Ballot
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Follow @mlbreportsTuesday, February 19, 2013
By Patrick Languzzi (Cooperstown Correspondent): Follow @patricklanguzzi
From January 29th – 31st, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) Historical Overview Committee met in Cooperstown to screen potential candidates for the 2014 Expansion Era ballot (Veterans Committee). The 12-member ballot will be released in the fall and is scheduled to be voted on at the baseball winter meetings in December by a 16-member electorate.
The Expansion Era is comprised of players, executives and managers who made their greatest career contributions between 1973 – present. Eligible players must be retired for at least 21 years and have played at least 10 major league seasons. Managers and Umpires are eligible five years after retirement, with 10 years of service, or six months from the date of election after retirement, if they are 65 years or older.
All candidates receiving at least 12 of 16 votes (75 percent of the 16 ballots) will gain election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame for a July 2014 ceremonial induction.
Under the new rules, the Veterans Committee ballots run on a three-year rotation beginning in 2010 with the Expansion Era (1973 – present), Golden Era (1947 – 1972) and Pre-Integration Era (1871 – 1946).
Here’s a look at the selected nominees from 2010. Long retired players; Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Vida Blue, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Al Oliver, Rusty Staub and Ted Simmons. Manager Billy Martin and executives George Steinbrenner, Pat Gillick and Marvin Miller.
Pat Gillick HOF Induction Speech:
The Angels May Take The Torch As The Best All Around 1-4 Lineup In The MLB
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Trout had 49 SB, 129 Runs 30 HRs and 83 RBI in just 138 Games. Might he improve on these numbers with a full year and the addition of Josh Hamilton to the cleanup spot in 2013?
Josh Jones (Angels Correspondent): Follow @joshjones4
The 2013 Los Angeles of Anaheim have the opportunity to post one of the most fearsome foursome’s in Major League Baseball history. The lineup posts three MVP-caliber talents. American League Rookie of the Year Mike Trout leading off with Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton hitting third or fourth respectively makes Angel fans ecstatic to watch this year’s club. Either Howie Kendrick or Erick Aybar will flank Trout and Pujols, hoping to take pitches and take walks in order to allow Trout to run and Pujols to have a bounty of runners on. The 1-4 hitters have the potential to be one of the greatest lineup toppers that the game has seen. Let’s compare them to some of the best 1-4 lineups in the last few decades:
Josh Hamilton signs autographs right after his Angels Press Conference:
Passing of the Torch as The Greatest Player in The MLB: From Pujols to Hamilton
Wednesday June.6, 2012
Josh Hamilton is on pace for 64 HRs and 177 RBI in 2012 with a .345 AVG. He has taken over as the best player in MLB from Albert Pujols -Photo Courtesy of http://www.real-fans.com
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- While watching Josh Hamilton this year, I started thinking about the best players in the MLB over the last 33 years. I am talking the best player of the game at any point of time. I tracked back to 1979 for this article. I may expand further back in follow up articles. I did rank defense highly when I came up with the players. I did agonize over Mike Schmidt, Jim Rice, Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken for some of the years given in specific time frames. These gentlemen were given every consideration. In the end, we are talking about the best player in the game though and it is always subject to debate and personal opinion. The criteria had to involve leading the league in several different offensive and/or defensive categories, followed by routinely being in the top 7 in MVP balloting(if not taking home the honor), All-Star Appearances for every year I listed them for and most of them won silver sluggers and/or Gold Gloves as well.
George Brett won batting titles in 3 different decades and flirted with .400 in 1980 while hitting .390 for the year. -Photo courtesy of lanius.wordpress.com
George Brett 1979-1983-George Brett was the best hitter in the game from 1979-1983. He hit for a .320 average and slugged his way to having the Royals as perennial contenders. He led the league in triples (20) and hits in 1979. In 1980, he hit .390 with a .454 OBP, 664 SLG and a 1.118 OBP which led the league. In 1983, Brett led the league in slugging an OPS once again. Brett won the MVP in 1980 and was the runner-up in 1979. In 1985, George Brett would lead the Royals to a World Series. He later won a batting title at age 37 with a .329 average. This was the toughest time frame to judge from 1979-1983. Mike Schmidt was an incredible force at third base with huge power and Jim Rice also put up mammoth numbers, but in the end I chose George Brett because he was more consistent out of 3. Read the rest of this entry
