Dale Murphy Tops Don Mattingly For HoF
PLUS: SPRING TRAINING GUIDEBOOKS SIMPLIFY TRIPS FOR VISITING FANS
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Reader Reacts
“…the notion of exclusivity has changed.” The Hall of Fame is becoming as exclusive as Disneyland. Doesn’t make it any less wonderful. Just easier to get in. I’ve begun to accept Bill Mazeroski in the Hall (who as far as I can tell had ONE hit in his career). The utter cheapness of the new stolen base drives me nuts, a short drive. It’s like Little League, almost automatic. I’ve learned to live with the DH and yes, I do miss the heroic starting pitcher, double switches and hit-and-runs and strategy attendant to “real” baseball. It’s a dumber game now. At first, I couldn’t watch Ghost Runner extra innings. But, like the dame who betrayed you, you miss her. She betrayed you, but you love her.
— Howie Siegel, Glendale, AZ
Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Before he signed with Toronto, former Phillies pitcher Jeff Hoffman lost lucrative signing deals with the Braves and Orioles after he failed physicals (shoulder) . . .
Former Seattle manager Scott Servais has resurfaced in the San Diego front office, where he might be the manager-in-waiting if Padres skipper Mike Shildt falters . . .
Servais went 680-642 in Seattle and ended the franchise’s decades-long playoff drought by leading the 2022 M’s to a wild-card playoff spot, eventually falling to the Astros in the ALDS . . .
Now that he’s finally picked his team, Roki Sasaki gives the Dodgers THREE Japanese starters — the first time any U.S. team has done that — to go with two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, also signed as a free agent, and Tyler Glasgow, obtained by trade from Tampa Bay last season. But where does that leave lifelong Dodger Clayton Kershaw, a free agent who has won three Cy Youngs with the team? . . .
Sasaki’s hometown in Japan was washed away by the notorious Tohoku earthquake. Sasaki lost his father and paternal grandparents in the resulting tsunami, which killed more than 18,000 people . . .
Greed backfires: Pete Alonso rejected an extension of seven years and $158MM in the summer of 2023 when he still had one arbitration season to go, turning down $137.5MM for six free-agent years. With everybody knowing what everybody else earns, Alonso foolishly compared himself to superior first basemen Freddie Freeman (six years, $162MM) and Matt Olson (eight years, $168MM extension two years before free agency).
Leading Off
Comparing The Cooperstown Cases Of Maris vs. Murphy
By Paul Semendinger
[Editor’s Note: Dale Murphy remains No. 1 on my list of players who should be in Cooperstown but aren’t. —D.S.]
In the history of Major League Baseball, there are only two non-suspected PED players who have won consecutive Most Valuable Player Awards but who are not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
These two players are Roger Maris and Dale Murphy. Both have their Hall of Fame supporters, but neither has gained entry yet.
To see which of the two has the better case for the Hall of Fame, I decided to take a look at their careers to see which of the two is more deserving of the Hall of Fame:
Seasons Played: Dale Murphy 18, Roger Maris 12
Hits: Murphy 2,111, Maris 1,325
Runs: Murphy 1,197, Maris 826
Home Runs: Murphy 398, Maris 275
Runs Batted In: Murphy 1,266, Maris 850
Batting Average: Murphy .265, Maris .260
On-Base Percentage: Murphy .346, Maris .345
Slugging Percentage: Maris .476, Murphy .469
OPS: Maris .822, Murphy .815
OPS+: Maris 127, Murphy 121
WAR: Murphy 46.5, Maris 38.3
Black Ink: Murphy 31, Maris 18
Hall of Fame Monitor: Murphy 116, Maris 89
Home Run Crowns: Murphy 2, Maris 1
RBI Titles: Murphy 2, Maris 1
Gold Gloves: Murphy 5, Maris 1
30/30 Seasons: Murphy 1, Maris 0
Total Bases: Murphy 3,733, Maris 2,429
All-Star Seasons: Murphy 7, Maris 4 (they were both seven-time All-Stars, but in Maris' day in some seasons there were two All-Star Games)
By JAWS, Dale Murphy ranks as the 27th greatest center-fielder ever. That's not great. There are a host of players ranked above him who are not enshrined, who should be (Kenny Lofton and Andruw Jones, are two examples), and some (Chet Lemon) who no one sees as a Hall of Famer. But even here, Murphy's case is better than Maris, who ranks 60th among right-fielders.
Conclusion - One can break down the numbers in a plethora of different ways, and while a case can be made for both players, it is abundantly clear that of the two, Dale Murphy was the better player for a longer period and more deserves to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Roger Maris had a great peak, he set an extremely-impressive home run record, and he played on a host of championship teams, but his career pales in comparison to Murphy's.
Dale Murphy, of course, was never a world champion. He played, in fact, in only one post-season series. But, overall, Murphy's career totals are much more impressive than Maris'.
Finally, as I have argued many times, if players can be kept out of the Hall of Fame for character issues, players of exceptional character, like Dale Murphy, should have their candidacies elevated. Character cannot just be a budgeon to use against some people, for good people it should also build up their case.
Both Dale Murphy and Roger Maris were great players, but of the two, Dale Murphy more deserves election to the Hall of Fame.
Paul Semendinger is the editor-in-chief of Start Spreading the News. He is the Vice President of the Elysian Fields Chapter of SABR. Last weekend, Paul completed the Dopey Challenge at Disney World completing four races in four days, including the WDW Marathon, in races totaling 48.6 miles.
Cleaning Up
Spring Training Guidebooks Make Perfect Companions
By Dan Schlossberg
Every year, a Minneapolis firm called August Publications comes out with paperbacks called The Complete Guide to Spring Training.
Penned by Kevin Reichard, these paperbacks provide one-stop shopping for vacation planners who want to cut their winters short while enjoying fun in the sun at exhibition games.
The games don’t count for anything — except to rookies or over-the-hill veterans trying to land roster spots that aren’t already taken.
Inside each of the two editions — one for Florida’s Grapefruit League and the other for the Arizona-based Cactus League — are histories of spring training, descriptions of every ballpark, and recommendations of places to eat, stay, play, and park.
Fifteen teams train in each venue, with the Arizona teams geographically close and the Florida clubs divided into clusters that allow them to play each other “cluster clubs” that allow them to play more frequently.
To make life easier for both teams and spectators, more than a half-dozen parks are occupied by two teams, including Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter and Cacti Park of the Palm Beaches, also in Florida.
I especially enjoyed the lengthy description of Bern’s Steakhouse, a venerable Tampa institution of which the book says, “The steaks are among the finest in the world.” It also warns that the dress code is enforced and that reservations are mandatory.
Budget-minded planners will be pleased to find information on workout and batting practice schedules, plus ballpark dimensions, capacity, and concessions.
Because ticket prices often change depending upon opponent, they are not listed in the print version of this book. But they are available at springtrainingonline.com, maintained by the same publisher.
Everything in the book is current as of last July. But books have long lead times and things change; restaurants open and close, often with little or no explanation, and hotel construction can be delayed. Weather is also an issue, especially in the wake of hurricane season.
George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Tampa spring training headquarters of the Yankees, will be utilized for home games of the Tampa Bay Rays after Hurricane Milton imploded the roof of Tropicana Field. But it will also be used for Yankees exhibition games.
It will be odd to see the Yankees play there as the visiting team once the regular season starts.
Even for armchair travelers, these $18.99 books are highly recommended — especially since changes for 2025 spring training (including ballpark upgrades) are highlighted.
Order copies through the website, Google August Publications, or check out ballparkdigest.com.
Here’s The Pitch weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ covers baseball for forbes.com, Memories & Dreams, Sports Collectors Digest, USA TODAY Baseball Weekly, and other outlets. He’s now on a book-signing tour to promote several new projects. Dan’s email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: 50th Anniversary of 1975
Last year, the baseball world celebrated the 50th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s lifetime home run record. So let’s see what this year’s 50th anniversary should highlight:
Two of the 24 teams that played in 1975 were the Montreal Expos, now the Washington Nationals, and Oakland Athletics, soon to call Las Vegas home . . .
Expansion talk was rife, with Washington and Seattle — both homes to former major-league teams — the front-runners . . .
Seattle, where the Pilots left after a year to become the Milwaukee Brewers, and Toronto, once the Triple-A farm club of the Braves, were eventually selected to start play in 1977 . . .
Club owners Charlie Finley of Oakland, George Steinbrenner of New York, and Jerry Hoffberger of Baltimore sought to fire Commissioner Bowie Kuhn . . .
Fred Lynn of the Red Sox became the first man to win Rookie of the Year and MVP trophies in the same season — a feat later duplicated by Ichiro . . .
Hank Aaron spent the season as designated hitter in Milwaukee, where he had started his career in 1954, but not with the same team (now Brewers, not Braves) . . .
The Pittsburgh Pirates finished first in the NL East, while the Los Angeles Dodgers trailed Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine by 20 games in the NL West . . .
The Atlanta Braves, inexplicably stuck in the West, finished 40 1/2 games behind . . .
Tom Seaver won his third and final Cy Young Award, Phil Niekro hit the only triple of his career, Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner sneaked into the Hall of Fame, and the San Francisco Giants drew 522,919 fans — worst in the majors — to their wind tunnel of a ballpark . . .
And finally, somebody named Marvin Miller parlayed the power of the courts and his players union to erase the century-old reserve clause and usher in an era of free agency that would stand the game on its collective head . . .
It all began when pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally played the season without signing contracts.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.