These Yankees Deserve Cooperstown Berths Too
ALSO: AWFUL ANGELS BEDEVILED BY DEVASTATING INJURIES AGAIN
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Of the nine 60-homer seasons in baseball history, none has ever involved a player with 30+ homers and 70+ stolen bases, though Ronald Acuña, Jr. should reach those levels — or more — with room to spare if he stays healthy . . .
Since Acuña already has more than 50 steals, he needs 12 more homers to become the only 40/50 man in baseball history . . .
He could also become the first 30/60 man and the first 40/50 man . . .
Each of Matt Olson’s first 43 home runs this year came off a different pitcher . . .
Hank Aaron was the first player to produce 40 home runs and 30 steals in the same season (1963) but it has happened eight times since, including twice each by Barry Bonds and Jeff Bagwell . . .
During Larry Walker’s MVP season of 1997, he had more homers on the road (29) than he did at hitter-friendly Coors Field (20).
Leading Off
A Quick Look At Some Yankees Who Should Be Hall of Famers
By Paul Semendinger
There are a host of great players who are not yet in the Hall of Fame. While some fans believe that there are already too many Yankees already in the Hall, there is a good list of former Yankees who deserve consideration, if not induction.
What follows is a quick position-by-position primer of Yankees who should be considered for the Hall of Fame though the various committees and such. I do not think there is any debate that Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens have Hall of Fame numbers. They are not in for other reasons, so I did not include them on my lists.
Hopefully this is a conversation starter for each of these players. Debating on a player's Hall of Fame worthiness is always a fun topic.
CATCHER - Thurman Munson: If one looks at WAR, Munson ranks as the 15th greatest catcher of all-time. He was the 1976 MVP. He won three Gold Gloves and was a seven-time All-Star. Munson was also the heart and soul of the great Yankees teams from the late 1970s. (Interestingly, Wally Schang, a great Yankees catcher from the early 1920s, ranks 13th all-time in WAR among catchers. He, too, deserves consideration. He has the highest WAR of any eligible non-Hall of Fame catcher.)
FIRST BASE - Don Mattingly: WAR doesn't treat Don Mattingly as kindly. He ranks only 45th all-time in WAR at first base, but Donnie Baseball was the best player in baseball during his peak. He was a gifted defensive first baseman and a fantastic hitter. Even with the decline in the second half of his career, Donnie Baseball sported a .307 lifetime batting average.
SECOND BASE - Willie Randolph: It would be difficult to argue that the 13th greatest second baseman of all time (by WAR) isn't a Hall of Famer but that's what Willie Randolph is. During Randolph's career, there were a host of very good second basemen; Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich, and Frank White immediately come to mind. None of them have received their due. Randolph was a steady player, a World Champion, and a true leader.
SHORTSTOP - Frank Crosetti: Today we expect great shortstops to have great offensive numbers, but it wasn't always that way. A great shortstop when Crosetti played needed to be a top fielder and a team leader. In his 17 years in the Major Leagues as a player, Crosetti anchored the Yankees infield. His teams went to nine World Series (with the Yankees winning eight of those contests). Crosetti then went on to coach the Yankees, seemingly forever. No Yankee was part of more World Championships as a player and coach than Frank Crosetti.
THIRD BASE - Graig Nettles: Now that Scott Rolen is in the Hall of Fame, the greatest third baseman by WAR who is not enshrined is Nettles. Like Randolph, Nettles' greatness wasn't recognized for what it was at the time. Nettles led the entire American League in WAR among position players in two different seasons. He won two Gold Gloves, but he should have won more. It's difficult to argue that the 12th greatest third baseman of all-time isn't a Hall of Famer.
OUTFIELD - I could make a long list of worthy players who were long-timers here including Bernie Williams, Bob Meusel, Charlie Keller, and a few others, but I'll go with Roy White. White was an excellent player for 15 seasons. His lifetime WAR ranks ahead of Lou Brock. White's skills — getting on base, drawing walks, fielding flawlessly, and playing every day — were overlooked in his day. Roy White was a complete player in every way.
STARTING PITCHER - Tommy John: 288 wins. Enough said. But, there is more to the Tommy John story, of course. You cannot discuss baseball today, especially regarding pitchers, and not discuss the surgery named for Tommy John. He had the surgery, and came back from it to win 164 games, proving its effectiveness. Before Tommy John, his injury was a career-ender.
RELIEF PITCHER - Sparky Lyle: Like Frank Crosetti, the game has changed since Lyle's day. Closers now rack up saves by the hundreds. Lyle was a true "fireman." He would come into a game when he was most needed and often finish it out. Lyle was the 1977 Cy Young Award winner for helping propel the Yankees to the pennant.
I am sure that many will not agree with the players I listed above, but, again, it's a great debate to have. Whether or not all of these players will reach the Hall of Fame, there are good arguments for each.
Let the debates begin!
Dr. Paul Semendinger has written numerous books on the Yankees and other topics. If you haven't read his novel Scattering the Ashes, you should. You can find Paul on Twitter @DrPaulRSem. You can also find him on the Yankees site Start Spreading the News.
Cleaning Up
Nightmare Season Gets Even Worse For Un-Heavenly Angels
By Dan Schlossberg
Hard as it is to believe, things are getting even worse for the Los Angeles Angels.
Injuries have decimated Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, who have four MVPs between them, and been even worse for Anthony Rendon, who has been a shell of the free agent who was RBI king of the National League when he signed after the 2019 campaign.
The pitching, aside from Ohtani, has been mostly awful and so has the team — en route to its eighth straight losing season.
Now that Ohtani has a torn UCL that may require a second Tommy John surgery, his future as a pitcher is shrouded in doubt. His projected windfall as a free agent may have dropped by $100 million. And Angels GM Perry Minasian is beating himself up for failing to pull the trigger on a trade when the two-way star was still healthy.
Goaded by greedy owner Arte Moreno, whose team has won only one World Series, the Angels rebuffed multiple enormous offers for Ohtani before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. Their theory was they could rebuild around him, adding enough to the roster to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Bluntly stated, it didn’t work.
Ohtani, outspoken in his desire to play for a winning team, almost certainly won’t be back. And the team should probably consider also dealing Trout, the game’s first $400 million man.
Moreno will get only an amateur draft pick for Ohtani but could get a boatload of talent for Trout, the league’s best and most consistent player when healthy.
Trout’s 12-year, $326.5 million contract, signed during 2019 spring training, included a $20 million signing bonus that brought its total guarantee to $425.5 million.
The 32-year-old center-fielder has been dogged this season by a hand injury that won’t quit. He came back for one day earlier this week, reported pain, and went right back on the IL. Chances are he’ll need a lot more than 10 days off.
In fact, as the team plays the equally disappointing Mets in Flushing this weekend, the double whammy of losing Ohtani and Trout gives manager Phil Nevin the perfect opportunity to see whom else could help him win.
The team started play Thursday at 61-67, 12 games behind in the American League West. If not for the Oakland Pathetics, Ohtani & Co. could easily be hitting bottom in the five-team division.
The Angels pay their players $241.7 million, according to Cot’s Contracts, while seven other clubs pay their players more. But Minasian’s moves at the trade deadline merely made things worse.
Among others, he landed two-month rental players Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox and CJ Cron and Randal Grichuk from the Rockies in exchange for four of the top 30 Angels prospects. In a word, ouch !!
Even with Ohtani off the table, Minasian could have pursued Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Michael Lorenzen, Lance Lynn, Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, or Jordan Hicks — all traded to other teams at the Aug. 1 deadline and thriving with their new clubs — or several others who stayed put, including Shane Bieber, Marcus Stroman, and Luis Severino.
That begs the question, What was he thinking?
Moreno will be demanding answers from his front office this fall. Or, better yet, why wait? The Chicago White Sox have already fired Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn, the two-headed brain trust of owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
For a team that has won nine AL West titles but won only one pennant and one world championship (both in 2002), Moreno deserves more return on his investment.
Now 76, he bought the ballclub from the Walt Disney Company in 2003, spending only $183.5 million — a fraction of what he would need to keep Ohtani beyond this season.
He’s running out of time in his efforts to rebuild his failing, injury-prone roster and might even entertain offers to sell the team this winter.
Stay tuned.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is national baseball writer for forbes.com and author of 40 baseball books. Email ballauthor@gmail.com to reach him.
Timeless Trivia
“It’s been a disaster of a season. We’re embarrassed by it.”
— Yankees GM Brian Cashman, asked why his team is on pace to finish under .500 for the first time since 1992 and on pace to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016
Thanks to the deferred money in his contract, Bobby Bonilla remains the only player who will be paid until he’s 72 . . .
Ken Griffey, Jr. had half of his nine-year, $112.5 million Cincinnati contract money deferred at 4% interest and is still receiving an annual payout of $4.988 million . . .
Mookie Betts had $115 million deferred from his 12-year, $365 million Dodgers deal but nothing was included about interest on the money still owed . . .
Former National League MVP Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers, like Bonilla, gets paid on July 1 — at $2.5 million a year from 2031-2042 because $30 million of his original nine-year, $215 million pact was deferred . . .
Even the just-retired Stephen Strasburg, given a seven-year, $245 million pact by the Washington Nationals after winning MVP honors in the 2019 World Series, is still collecting, thanks to the 1% interest rate on some $80 million in deferred payments.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.