These Shortstops Should Be In Baseball Hall of Fame
PLUS: GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE BALLPARKS SURVIVED FURY OF HURRICANE MILTON
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
A June conversation with Martin Maldonado inspired Dodger jack-of-all-trades Kiké Hernández to undergo an eye exam — which revealed an astigmatism in his right eye — and start wearing glasses. He then hit .274/.307/.458 over his final 180 plate appearances before beginning his usual post-season tear . . .
Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida, 31, had surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder and may need 4-6 months to recover . . .
Look for the Braves to trade an excess DH — Marcell Ozuna or Jorge Soler — in an effort to beef up their two weakest positions, shortstop and left field . . .
The revival of the Mets probably saved the job of prospective free agent Pete Alonso, a slugging first baseman coming off a down year . . .
Ambidextrous president Harry Truman once threw out two first pitches on Opening Day — one left-handed and one right-handed . . .
Barack Obama (2010) was the last president to throw the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day, though Joe Biden and Donald Trump both did it before they became president . . .
George W. Bush, who once owned the Texas Rangers, threw out the first pitch at the 2023 World Series, which the Rangers won, though he was no longer president then.
Leading Off
The Most Deserving Shortstops For the Hall of Fame
By Paul Semendinger
This article is now the third in what has become a short series.
The process began when I noted that most of the players who were able to finish in the top 10 each year in the voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame from 1960 through 1985 eventually gained entry into Cooperstown's hallowed halls.
The most notable exception was Marty Marion, the former St. Louis Cardinals shortstop of the 1940s.
My next article asked whether Marion deserved to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. I was rooting for him but sadly determined that he fell short for a number of reasons.
All of that brings us to today where I will list the next four shortstops who should be seriously considered for induction into the Hall of Fame:
1) Alex Rodriguez - A-Rod's numbers speak for themselves. He was a terrific defensive shortstop and a multiple MVP award winner with the Mariners and Rangers before moving to third base with the Yankees. His lifetime numbers are among the greatest in the sport: 696 homers. 3,115 hits. 2,086 runs batted in. Rodriguez's numbers are more than Hall of Fame worthy. He is not in because of PEDs. There's nothing more to say here.
2) Bill Dahlen - Dahlen has the highest lifetime WAR (75.3) of any shortstop not already in the Hall of Fame. His lifetime WAR sits very comfortably between Ozzie Smith (8th all-time among shortstops) at 76.9 and Derek Jeter (10th) at 71.3. Many experts claim that 60 WAR or above is Hall of Fame worthy. Dahlen clearly surpasses that mark. When ranked by WAR, all of the top 17 shortstops of all-time are in the Hall of Fame except Dahlen.
Dahlen played from 1891 to 1911 and, in a way, bridged the gap from the original game to a more modern one. He was a standout defensive shortstop. He recorded 7,505 assists in his career, a total surpassed by only three players in baseball history (Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Omar Vizquel) - all from the more modern game. Dahlen was also a solid hitter. He amassed 2,461 hits. In two separate seasons he batted over .350 and enjoyed modest power for his day.
3) Jack Glasscock - The Hall of Fame has not included a number of pre-1900 players who deserve serious consideration. Glasscock was a stellar fielder who became an excellent hitter in baseball's earliest days.
During his career, Glasscock was considered the best at his position and he is still considered by many as the best shortstop of the 1800s. If he was the best at his position at the dawn of the professional game, and for that entire period, he deserves inclusion. Glasscock set numerous fielding records during his career and made himself into one of the game's best hitters. He led the National League in hits twice. He stole 50 bases in a season three times. And, in his time, he was one of the most difficult players to strike out.
4) Bert Campaneris - After Marty Marion, one of the players who appeared the most in the top ten vote getters and has not been enshrined in the Hall of Fame is Maury Wills.
Wills' case rests, a great deal, on his stolen bases, including the 104 steals he had in 1962. Wills led the league in stolen bases six times and was among the top 10 in stolen bases in a season 11 times.
Wills has a case, but Bert Campaneris, who appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot only once, has a stronger case.
Campaneris also led the league in steals six times. He was among the top ten 12 times. Campaneris also had more lifetime stolen bases (649) than Wills (586).
By WAR, Campaneris ranks 22nd all-time among shortstops (53.0). Wills is 46th (39.6).
Campaneris was the shortstop on five division champions and on three World Series winners. A six-time All-Star, Campaneris was also an excellent fielder. In the first half of the 1970s, he was the best shortstop in the American League
Honorable Mentions - There are other shortstops that deserve at least some consideration for the Hall of Fame. These are Vern Stephens, Roger Peckinpaugh, Maury Wills, and Dave Concepcion.
With just a few more excellent years, Francisco Lindor will thrust himself into the discussion. Lindor's case is strong and getting stronger; he has increased his WAR every season since coming to the New York Mets: 2021 (3.0), 2022 (5.6), 2023 (6.0), 2024 (7.0).
Dr. Paul Semendinger is an adjunct professor at Ramapo College and the author of numerous award-winning books. His novel, Scattering the Ashes, is coming out on audio book. Paul is running the NYC Marathon to support the Sesame Workshop. Help that cause by donating here: https://fundraiser.sesameworkshop.org/2024-nyc-marathon-fundraiser/drsem?tab=MyPage
Cleaning Up
Pschew! Florida Training Sites Survived Worst Of Hurricane Milton
By Dan Schlossberg
Teams that train in Florida breathed a collective sigh of relief after determining that their spring training facilities survived Hurricane Milton.
Although the storm destroyed the fixed-top roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, the much-smaller spring training ballparks emerged relatively intact.
Milton simply didn’t deliver as advertised. By the time it smashed into the Gulf Coast and started its long, slow journey across the middle of the state, it was down to a Category 1, delivering only wind, rain, flooding, and power outages — but much less damage than expected.
While the Tampa Bay area didn’t take the predicted once-in-a-lifetime hit, the Tampa Bay Rays weren’t so lucky.
The team’s home ballpark needs to be repaired before a March 25 exhibition game and certainly before the regular-season opener two days later.
And the spring training facility at Port Charlotte, shuttered for a year after Hurricane Ian, apparently fared much better.
The Rays trained at The Trop and at Disney World’s Champion Stadium for 2023 spring training after water-damage repairs to Charlotte Sports Park could not be completed in time. The Port Charlotte facility reopened for spring training in 2024.
In Bradenton, spring home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, LECOM Park lost its outfield fence, destroyed by high winds, and the awning that shades the left-field bleachers. Nearby Pirate City also lost an outfield fence, plus its batter’s eye.
All repairs should be completed before pitchers and catchers report in four months.
In Sarasota, where the Baltimore Orioles train in Ed Smith Stadium, there was no significant damage — at least not at first inspection.
The Atlanta Braves, at the southern end of Sarasota County in North Port, also gave an initial A-OK sign after inspecting CoolToday Park, which had sustained significant damage from Hurricane Ian in 2023.
This time around, there was minor wind damage at jetBlue Park, home of the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers, and Steinbrenner Field, occupied by the Yankees in Tampa every spring.
BayCare Ballpark and the Carpenter Complex, both in Clearwater, had water damage but are expected to bounce back off the IL long before 2025 spring rites begin, according to Spring Training Online.
There were no initial reports from West Palm Beach, where the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals share facilities, or nearby Jupiter, winter home of the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.
But no news is good news.
Since spring training is the best part of the baseball calendar, any updates will be covered in Here’s The Pitch.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ has covered the Grapefruit League every year since 1971. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: Playoff Finalists Paid Top Dollar
Except for the Cleveland Guardians, all of this year’s Final Four in the baseball playoffs ranked near the top of the payroll scale . . .
Steve Cohen’s New York Mets, closely followed by the New York Yankees, stood at the top of the list . . .
Although they spent more than $1 billion (with a “b”) on Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamato, and trade acquisition Tyler Glasgow, the Dodgers rank only sixth because most of Ohtani’s dollars are deferred . . .
The Dodgers had 11 starting pitchers — count ‘em, 11 — on the injured list in 2024 . . .
San Diego gave the Dodgers a run for the NL West crown despite shaving $90 million off their payroll by trading Juan Soto and allowing Blake Snell, Josh Hader, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, and Nick Martinez to become free agents.
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.