I have to say, I was a little surprised by the results of the Hall of Fame voting results today.  Obviously Rickey Henderson was a cinch to get in, but I didn't expect Rice to make it as well; I'd figured that his case had become so polarizing that there weren't going to be any defectors from the anti-Rice camp.  But, he slid in on his 15th and final ballot.  As I said a couple weeks back, I don't think he's worth induction, but he's hardly the worst player in the Hall, and he won't devalue induction any.

Andre Dawson's support (67.0%) seemed a bit higher than it should have been, especially in comparison to his former teammate, Tim Raines (22.6%).  Bert Blyleven continues to pick up votes (62.7%), and he'll probably get the call in the next few years.  Jack Morris' support continues to baffle me (44.0%), again considering the low vote totals for his former teammate (and in my mind more deserving candidate) Alan Trammell (17.4%).

David Cone should have gotten more than the 3.9% that he garnered, and will fall off the ballot, along with Tommy John (final year of eligibility), Mark Grace, Matt Williams, Mo Vaughn, Jay Bell, Jesse Orosco, and Dan Plesac.  And the whole Mark McGwire issue (21.9%) isn't going away anytime soon.

Looking ahead to Cooperstown...well I'm excited, as he once told Padres GM Kevin Towers, to hear "Rickey speaking on behalf of Rickey".

MLB hall of fame, ricky henderson, jim rice, bert blyleven, andre dawson, david cone, tommy john, mark grace, matt williams, mo vaughn, jay bell, jesse orosco, dan pleasac, mark mcgwire

Two of the four remaining pitchers deserve something between a few sentences and a full post, whereas the other two don't merit much discussion.

Tommy John

Surprisingly, beyond having a revolutionary surgery named after him, there's a case to be made in favor of John's induction.  His career numbers are pretty strong: 288 wins, 3.34 ERA, 2245 strikeouts.  From 1977-1981 he was as good as any pitcher in baseball, winning 89 games and finishing 2nd in the Cy Young voting twice.  He led the league in shutouts three times, and his 6-3 post-season record is pretty impressive as well.

But that's about where it ends for him.  Despite the relatively high number of strikeouts, he never whiffed more than 150 batters in a season.  And it's fair to say that, for his last six seasons, he was pretty much hanging on.  There was just nothing that ever screamed spectacular about him.  Plus, baseball-reference.com lists Jim Kaat as the pitcher in baseball history most similar to John.  I'd say that's a pretty fair characterization; Kaat was a very good pitcher, like John.  He's not a Hall of Famer, and John shouldn't be either.

Lee Smith

The hard part of evaluating Smith's career is that the role of the closer has changed so much in the last 20 years, that we're still in the early stages of figuring out how to identify the elite vs. the very good closer.  So the question immediately becomes, how do you evaluate Smith's save numbers?

He's had ten 30 save seasons, and ranks third all-time with 478.  Smith finished 802 games (most all-time), and appeared in 1,022 games.  He was definitely a power pitcher, striking out almost a batter per inning. 

On the flipside, he never seemed to be the dominant reliever in baseball during his career, and given that there are currently just four relief pitchers in the Hall, that may turn out to be a big issue.  He won three Reliever of the Year awards, but none until 1991 when he was with the Cardinals.  He played for eight different teams, which might turn off a few voters (he did have a reputation of being a bit of a malcontent).  And then there were his two post-season appearances, both of which he lost a game and contributed to crushing series losses for his team.

Honestly, I don't know what to do with him.  Smith, in a lot of ways, strikes me as a Jeff Reardon that was able to extend his prime for a couple more years.  I'm not sure that's good enough.  Maybe in time, his numbers will start to look better, but for now I'd leave him out of the Hall.

Jesse Orosco

The all-time leader in games pitched...and that's about it.  He was a nice lefty specialist...nice lefty specialists don't make the Hall of Fame.

Dan Plesac

Here's a good way to reduce the membership of the BBWAA.  Anyone that votes for Plesac, strip them of their vote.  Should not, under any circumstance, get any consideration. 

MLB hall of fame, tommy john, lee smith, jesse orosco, dan plesac

Here is another quick look at some of the more 'statistical' things going on in baseball this season.

Consecutive Game Streak - On Sunday Grady Sizemore broke his streak of 382 consecutive games played. Sizemore has now missed the last two games with a sprained ankle. Jeff Francoeur now owns the major's longest streak at 352 games. However, he too is battling some ankle problems.

Stolen Bases - In a post a few weeks ago I noted the increase in stolen bases in the early part of 2008. Well things have not changed. Heading into play on Tuesday there have been 483 bases stolen. Last season in all of April there were only 423 stolen bases. It is interesting to note that the three teams that have run the most so far this year are also three of the biggest surprises. The Giants are at the top with 31 steals followed by the Orioles with 27 and the Rays with 26.

Fessler on the Move - In the GSI Fantasy League, Chris Fessler has now made 49 transactions for his team. To put that in perspective, Jeremy Fischer has made the second most transactions in the league with 15. My team has only made seven moves and I am proud to say I'm doing well in second place. Of course the team in first place is, well, Chris Fessler.

Troy Percival - With one more save Percival will tie John Wetteland with 330 career saves, good enough for 10th place on the all-time list. From there he'll need 11 more to catch Rollie Fingers and six more after that to tie Randy Myers.

Home Run List - Ken Griffey Jr. needs just three more HRs to become the sixth player in history to reach 600 in his career. Meanwhile, Alex Rodriguez is doing his best to become the seventh. A-Rod is alone in 15th place with 522 and needs 12 more to catch Jimmie Foxx who is next on the list. A bitter Frank Thomas is doing all he can to hold off Jim Thome on the HR list. The Big Hurt now has 516 to Thome's 513. And in Boston Manny Ramirez needs just four more blasts to reach 500.

Homerless - Chone Figgins has the most at bats this season, 105, without having hit a home run. His last homer came on August 18th of last year. However, that is nothing compare to Juan Pierre who has not hit a home run since September 23rd of 2006. That is a total of 754 at bats.

Randy Johnson - The Big Unit is currently in 28th place on the all-time win list with 285. His next victory will put him in a tie with Robin Roberts. From there he'll be looking to tie Bert Blyleven at 287 and Tommy John at 288. Johnson is scheduled to pitch Wednesday afternoon against the Astros.

Fantasy Baseball, MLB grady sizemore, jeff francoeur, troy percival, ken griffey, alex rodriguez, frank thomas, jim thome, manny ramirez, chone figgins, juan pierre, randy johnson, robin roberts, bert blyleven, tommy john, jimmie foxx