Rickey Henderson: If you don't know about Rickey Henderson, then do yourself a favor and do some research on the man who has a record 1,406 stolen bases and 2,295 runs scored, 2,190 walks, 3,055 hits, 297 HR, and 1,115 RBI. Henderson is going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer for sure this year and he is also a Hall of Fame personality, if you don't believe me then check out the 25 greatest stories of Rickey Henderson's career. Here are some of my favorite's below:- In the early 1980s, the Oakland A’s accounting department was freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.
- In 1996, Henderson’s first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Steve Finley said, “You have tenure, sit wherever you want.” Henderson looked at Finley and said, “Ten years? Ricky’s been playing at least 16, 17 years.”
- When he was on the Yankees in the mid-1980s, Henderson told teammates that his condo had such a great view that he could see, “The Entire State Building.”
- During a contract holdout with Oakland in the early 1990s, Henderson said, “If they want to pay me like Mike Gallego, I’ll play like Gallego.”
- To this day and dating back 25 years, before every game he plays, Henderson stands completely naked in front of a full length locker room mirror and says, “Ricky’s the best,” for several minutes.
- In the last week of his lone season with the Red Sox, Chairman Tom Werner asked Henderson what he would like for his ‘going-away’ gift. Henderson said he wasn’t going anywhere, but he would like owner John Henry’s Mercedes. Werner said it would be tough to get the same make and model in less than a week and Henderson said, “No, I want his car.” Turns out the Sox got Henderson a Red Thunderbird and when he saw it on the field before the last game of the season, Rickey said, “Whose ugly car is on the field?”
You can check out some more Rickey stories here. Gotta love Rickey Henderson, a true Hall of Famer.
Andre Dawson: Moving on to another potential Hall of Famer, "The Hawk" Andre Dawson, looks like he will come up short once again on his quest to get inducted. Ken Rosenthal believes Dawson should be in the Hall of Fame and makes some interesting points about Dawson's low OBP, which seems to be keeping him from getting inducted. Dawson's offensive numbers aren't overly impressive, but he did play in an era where OBP was not emphasized like it is today, and he was also a strong defensive player which I don't think he gets enough credit for. He has a higher OPS+(119) than Cal Ripken(112), more Gold Gloves (8 to 2), more HR's(438 to 431), and way more steals(314 to 36), yet Ripken is a first ballot Hall of Famer and Dawson can't even sniff the Hall. Yes, Cal Ripken gets a lot of extra credit for being a SS and I am by no means trying to directly compare Dawson to Ripken, but Dawson won 4 of his 8 Gold Gloves while playing CF, which is also considered a premium defensive position, yet this is somehow being overlooked. It seems like a player like Cal Ripken gets credit for his "intangibles", but Andre Dawson does not. He is also one of only three players to have 400 plus home runs and 300 plus steals, which shows the diversity of his game. Dawson played the bulk of his career during the 80's, which was a decade that lacked offensive stars to say the least, and while his offensive stats alone are probably not Hall of Fame worthy, I truly believe his combination of power, speed, and defense should get him inducted at some point.
Hall of Fame: Since I'm on a Hall of Fame kick right now, along with Rickey Henderson and Andre Dawson, I'd also think you have to at least consider Alan Trammel, Tim Raines, Dale Murphy, Jim Rice, Bert Blyleven, and Lee Smith as possible Hall of Famers. I have to admit that I struggle with a lot of these guys as to whether or not they should be inducted. It's especially tough for me because I grew up watching most of these guys in the 80's and it's hard for me to tell if I was just in awe of them because I was so young or because they really were that good. I also feel like the 1980's was a down period statistically for players and it seems like many of the stars of that decade are not getting inducted into the Hall of Fame because their stats don't compare with the stars of other era's. The Hall of Fame inductions get announced today and Rickey Henderson is a shoe in to get inducted, but I have a feeling Jim Rice might be inducted today too. I don't think anyone else gets in other than those two though.
Pat Burrell: The Tampa Bay Rays signed Pat Burrell for 2 years and just $18 million, which is a steal for the defending AL Champions. Burrell, who is a liability in the field, will be the full time DH for the Rays, which only increases his value because he won't be able to cost the team with his sub-par defensive play. He is a patient slugger who has not only slugged over .500 for the past 4 seasons, but has also walked 98 times or more in the last 4 season as well. Burrell will certainly add some punch to the Rays offense that should be improved from last season now that B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford should be fully healthy and Evan Longoria will have a full season under his belt and could breakout in a major way in his second season. Good signing by the Rays.
John Smoltz: The Red Sox pulled off a surprise move by signing pitcher John Smoltz. As we know, Smoltz is one of the best pitchers of his generation with a 210-147 career record, 154 saves, 3,011 K's, and a 3.26 ERA. However, Smoltz is also 41 years old and coming off of a shoulder injury. He is just the latest signing by the Red Sox that has been on the low risk, high reward variety and I have to wonder if the Red Sox are taking the right approach to trying to improve their team. With the Yankees and Rays both looking like they will be improved from last season, the Red Sox haven't done as much to improve their club.
Other MLB News:
- Jason Giambi is returning to his old stomping grounds signing with the Oakland A's for 1 year, $5.25 million. I like this move for the A's, who have now upgraded their offense by adding Matt Holliday and Giambi this offseason. I think the A's could be a sleeper to contend in the AL West this season, depending on how their young starting pitching performs.
- Texas Rangers SS Michael Young has asked to be traded after the team asked him to move to third base to make room for top prospect Elvis Andrus. Andrus is a SS who has been compared to Edgar Renteria and Derek Jeter. He might remind some of Hanley Ramirez, but it does not seem like he will have the same amount of power that Hanley does. As for Young, don't believe the hype about his Gold Glove at SS last year. He simply does not have a lot of range and probably should be moved off the position.
- Pedro Martinez is talking to the Florida Marlins and could sign with the team soon. Florida would be a good place for Pedro to pitch because their park is so big, but at the same time they are likely to miss the playoffs, which is not an ideal situation for a veteran. Of course, Pedro also needs to make sure he can stay healthy for a full season, which is probably his main concern.
- The Mets signed pitcher Tim Redding, who went 10-11 with a 4.95 ERA last season. Not really a big signing here for the Mets, but it at least adds some depth to their pitching staff. I still think the Mets need to sign Derek Lowe if they want to have a legitimate chance to win a World Series next season. After Johan Santana, their rotation of John Maine, Tim Redding, and Mike Pelfrey really doesn't impress me too much.
- Long time San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman signed a 1 year, $6 million deal with the Brewers. I don't really like this move because I think the 41 year old Hoffman is on his way out and will get tuned up this season. I'm not sure what other moves the Brewers could have made to fill their closer position, but I don't think this one is going to pay off for them.
- The Red Sox signed OF Rocco Baldelli to be their 4th OF. I like this signing for the Red Sox, because Baldelli definitely has the talent of a starting OF, so to be able to play him when need be is definitely a positive. I think he might play some CF against lefties in place of Jacoby Ellsbury and will probably fill in for J.D. Drew whenever he gets hurt like he usually does.
- The Cleveland Indians signed much maligned pitcher Carl Pavano to a 1 year, $1.5 million deal. This is a low risk, high reward signing for the Indians, that could pay off for them if Pavano is able to stay healthy, but that is definitely a big if at this point.
John Smoltz: The Red Sox pulled off a surprise move by signing pitcher John Smoltz. As we know, Smoltz is one of the best pitchers of his generation with a 210-147 career record, 154 saves, 3,011 K's, and a 3.26 ERA. However, Smoltz is also 41 years old and coming off of a shoulder injury. He is just the latest signing by the Red Sox that has been on the low risk, high reward variety and I have to wonder if the Red Sox are taking the right approach to trying to improve their team. With the Yankees and Rays both looking like they will be improved from last season, the Red Sox haven't done as much to improve their club.
Other MLB News:
- Jason Giambi is returning to his old stomping grounds signing with the Oakland A's for 1 year, $5.25 million. I like this move for the A's, who have now upgraded their offense by adding Matt Holliday and Giambi this offseason. I think the A's could be a sleeper to contend in the AL West this season, depending on how their young starting pitching performs.
- Texas Rangers SS Michael Young has asked to be traded after the team asked him to move to third base to make room for top prospect Elvis Andrus. Andrus is a SS who has been compared to Edgar Renteria and Derek Jeter. He might remind some of Hanley Ramirez, but it does not seem like he will have the same amount of power that Hanley does. As for Young, don't believe the hype about his Gold Glove at SS last year. He simply does not have a lot of range and probably should be moved off the position.
- Pedro Martinez is talking to the Florida Marlins and could sign with the team soon. Florida would be a good place for Pedro to pitch because their park is so big, but at the same time they are likely to miss the playoffs, which is not an ideal situation for a veteran. Of course, Pedro also needs to make sure he can stay healthy for a full season, which is probably his main concern.
- The Mets signed pitcher Tim Redding, who went 10-11 with a 4.95 ERA last season. Not really a big signing here for the Mets, but it at least adds some depth to their pitching staff. I still think the Mets need to sign Derek Lowe if they want to have a legitimate chance to win a World Series next season. After Johan Santana, their rotation of John Maine, Tim Redding, and Mike Pelfrey really doesn't impress me too much.
- Long time San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman signed a 1 year, $6 million deal with the Brewers. I don't really like this move because I think the 41 year old Hoffman is on his way out and will get tuned up this season. I'm not sure what other moves the Brewers could have made to fill their closer position, but I don't think this one is going to pay off for them.
- The Red Sox signed OF Rocco Baldelli to be their 4th OF. I like this signing for the Red Sox, because Baldelli definitely has the talent of a starting OF, so to be able to play him when need be is definitely a positive. I think he might play some CF against lefties in place of Jacoby Ellsbury and will probably fill in for J.D. Drew whenever he gets hurt like he usually does.
- The Cleveland Indians signed much maligned pitcher Carl Pavano to a 1 year, $1.5 million deal. This is a low risk, high reward signing for the Indians, that could pay off for them if Pavano is able to stay healthy, but that is definitely a big if at this point.
More: MLB & MLB Weekly
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