More Cubs vs. American League pitchers By JohnW53 on Jan 29, 2021, 6:38am CST +
The previous posts in this series looked at the success or lack thereof against American League pitchers in All-Star Games of Cubs greats who never batted in the World Series, and only 1 of whom batted in a handful of interleague games.
Five players were featured: Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson.
Each post detailed the player s performance through the lens of the pitchers ranking among all AL hurlers in total Wins Above Replacement from the first through the last season in which the player appeared in the All-Star Game.
The hell with the Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame voters have decided, collectively, not to elect anyone to the Hall this year. Curt Schilling came the closest to obtaining the required 75 percent of the votes. He collected 71.1 percent, falling 16 votes short.
Schilling’s exclusion is a travesty. He clearly had a Hall of Fame caliber career. As I wrote last year around this time:
Schilling’s career WAR (wins above replacement player) is 80.5. That’s just behind Bob Gibson and just ahead of Tom Glavine and Carl Hubbell. All three are generally considered upper tier Hall of Famers.
Baseball Hall of Fame arguments used to be, dare I say . fun? Bert Blyleven is underrated! Jim Rice is overrated! Jack Morris? Show me the back of his baseball card and let s debate.
Well, welcome to the 2021 Hall of Fame ballot. It includes one player who was suspended for PED use, more alleged PED users, players with domestic violence allegations, one strong candidate with two DUI arrests and one pitcher who has become notorious for his polarizing social media posts.
It is all a chaotic mess. At the heart of the confusion voters face one key question: Are you honoring the person or honoring his career on the field? The ballot instructions do include the direction that, Voting shall be based upon the player s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.
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Over their 138-season history, the Giants have seen scores of talented players become synonymous with the numbers on the backs of their jerseys. Here’s a look at the best Giants player to wear each uniform number:
Oliver batted .298 with a .705 OPS over 91 games with the Giants in 1984 before being dealt to the Phillies in exchange for Kelly Downs and George Riley in a midseason trade.
Known as “HacMan,” Leonard endeared himself to Giants fans by trotting around the bases with his left arm tucked into his body one flap down. His signature moment came in 1987, when he crushed four homers against the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series and took home Series MVP honors despite the Giants losing in seven games.