Comments on Vegas Watch: Heyman's Ballot

I've had a chance to correspond with Heyman many t...

2007-12-31T17:22:00.000-05:00

I've had a chance to correspond with Heyman many times over the years, and he's always been cordial, attentive, and open to discussion, unlike many baseball writers who will throw temper tantrums if you question them.

That's why it bothers me when Heyman makes these stupid arguments. He's better than this. I know if he sat down and really thought about this, he'd see that numbers aren't bad. I kind of understand his point. For example, I do think MVP voting should play a small part in consideration because it shows how well that player was thought of during his era, and that's not a "number" thing. The meat of any argument, however, has to be numbers, and the more realistic and informative the stat, the better.

With all that said, I think if you email Heyman these two paragraphs:

"Blyleven pitched more innings than Morris (4970-3824). He had a lower ERA (3.31-3.90). He had a better ERA+ (118-105). [...] He struck out more guys (6.70 K/9 for Blyleven, 5.83 for Morris). He walked fewer guys (2.39 BB/9 for Blyleven, 3.27 BB/9 for Morris). He gave up fewer HRs (0.78 HR/9 for Blyleven, 0.92 HR/9 for Morris).

And here's my favorite part. Morris backers like to talk about the one WS game, but Blyleven was a better postseason pitcher. In 47.1 playoff innings, Blyleven had a 2.47 ERA. For Morris, it's 92.1 innings, but a 3.80 ERA."

You'll get an interesting reply from him. You may even get him to concede a little on Blyleven.

I am working on a post about the "Ten Worst Hall o...

2007-12-30T02:27:00.000-05:00

I am working on a post about the "Ten Worst Hall of Fame Arguments", or something to that effect.

I am extremely excited about this.

I think Chris Jericho, The Rock and Stone Cold Ste...

2007-12-29T04:56:00.000-05:00

I think Chris Jericho, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin are more worthy for the MLB Hall of Fame than Douchebag Morris.

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...What are we talking about, again?

Clearly, Blyleven is being unfairly harmed by his ...

2007-12-28T23:51:00.000-05:00

Clearly, Blyleven is being unfairly harmed by his association with the Chris Berman nickname (Bert "Be Home" Blyleven). Voters appear to be sick of Berman's habit and are carrying that frustration over into the voting process.

Also, I thought it interesting that you said, "But we cannot be electing people into the Hall of Fame because of one game. This is not acceptable." This is so absolutely true that there is a rule to prevent it - Rule 6, to be exact: "No automatic elections based on performances such as a batting average of .400 or more for one (1) year, pitching a perfect game or similar outstanding achievement shall be permitted."

I always looked at that rule and said, "Yeah right, like we have to worry about stuff like that. If Roger Maris can't get in, we don't have to worry about anybody." God, I'm so naive sometimes.