1995 Senadores de San Juan

I recently came across the article Remembering the '95 'Dream Team' by Gabrielle Paese from ESPN's MLB webpage and decided to look a little deeper into the Dream Team that made up Puerto Rico's selection for the 1995 Caribbean League World Series. 

Now consider that the 1994-1995 Caribbean League came right on the heels of the 1994 work stoppage that cancelled the 1994 season and World Series. So you can imagine how in Baseball mad places like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico the sight of real top level Baseball being played was like an oasis to a person lost in the desert. With the final series being held in Puerto Rico, the selection for the Puerto Rican team would have to be one of the best in history. Senadores manager Luis "Torito" Melendez didn't disappoint. Here was the starting lineup for the Senadores:

1B: Carmelo Martínez
2B: Roberto Alomar
3B: Carlos Baerga
SS: Rey Sanchez
OF: Juan "Igor" González
OF Bernabé "Bernie" Williams
OF: Rubén "El Indio" Sierra
C: Carlos Delgado
BD/DH : Edgar Martinez

You have one Hall of Famer in Alomar. A second one (in my opinion) in Edgar Martinez. A borderline third one in Carlos Delgado. A very underrated Bernie Williams, one of the feared sluggers of the era in Juan Gonzalez and defensive whizzes in Carlos Baerga and Rey Sanchez. A young Carlos Delgado was behind the plate, a postition that most fans don't remember he came up to the majors as before being moved to first base by the Toronto Blue Jays. Keep in mind that Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez was not on the roster due to a knee injury. Or else he would have also been playing in this series.

The Puerto Rican dream team went undefeated in the tournament going 6-0 outscoring the opposition by a margin of 49-15. They were led by Series MVP Roberto Alomar who batted .560 with two home runs, 10 RBIs, 9 Runs scored, an .840 Slugging percentage and 2 Stolen bases. Bernie Williams hit .417 with three homers and a .875 slugging percentage, Juan Gonzalez hit .375 with a .667 slugging percentage and Edgar Martinez hit .375 with 9 RBI.

In terms of pitching, the team was led by Puerto Ricans Roberto Hernandez, Ricky Bones, Jose Alberro and imported pitchers Doug Brocail, Eric Gunderson and Chris Haney.

One point stands out to me in the article by Paese. In the article, veteran statistician, historian and journalist Jossie Alvarado is quoted as saying the following:

"I had never before seen a team that so wanted to represent Puerto Rico," said veteran statistician, historian and journalist Jossie Alvarado about the Senadores, who traded the club's name and played with Puerto Rico on their uniforms for the first time in Caribbean Series history. "The front office staff told me that no checks were ever cut for the major leaguers. They all waived any fees they could have charged just because they so wanted the chance to play for the island. It was that big a deal."

Its a shame that Baseball has been on the decline in Puerto Rico since then. There are many reasons such as Puerto Rican players being included in the player draft since 1990, the economics of the island that led to the disruption of play of the Puerto Rican league during the 2007-2008 season and interests in other sports such as Basketball and Boxing. With the possible opening of the Cuban baseball market in the near future, opportunities for Puerto Rican born players will continue to dwindle.

At least we can all look back on the 1995 Caribbean League Champion Senadores de San Juan to see what arguably the peak of Puerto Rican baseball is.

Hasta la próxima, nunca dejaremos de jugar el Beisbol,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Remembering the '95 'Dream Team' by Gabrielle Paese from ESPN's MLB webpage dated February 2, 2015
- El Dream Team de Puerto Rico aún despierta emociones by David Venn from El Puro Beisbol website dated February 5, 2014 
- Puerto Rican Dream Teams from the My World of Baseball blogpage
- Un equipo soñado y arrollador presentó Puerto Rico en 1995 by Diobert Tocuyo from El Tiempo Newspaper from Venezuela dated February 12, 2012
- Celebran 20 aniversario del Dream Team by David Venn from the Licey Baseball website dated February 4, 2015
- 1995 Caribbean Series from Baseball Reference

The 200 Homerun 400 Steals Club

Pete the other day at work was telling me that Jimmie Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies is on the cusp of joining an exclusive club. With one more homer, Rollins would join the 200HR/400 Steals club. In total (not counting Rollins) there are nine players who have reached that plateau. I guessed three right off the bat and faltered on a few guesses. Here is the list:

Roberto Alomar (210 HR/474 SB)
Craig Biggio (291 HR/414 SB)
Barry Bonds (762 HR/514 SB)
Bobby Bonds (332 HR/461 SB)
Johnny Damon (235 HR/408 SB)
Rickey Henderson (297 HR/1406 SB)
Marquis Grissom (227 HR/489 SB)
Paul Molitor (234 HR/504 SB)
Joe Morgan (268 HR/689 SB)

I had guessed Barry Bonds, Henderson and Morgan while Pete added Paul Molitor. I thought that maybe Lou Brock and Tim Raines were on that list. I never would have imagined that Marquis Grissom was on this list. It's a pretty impressive list.

Good luck to Jimmie Rollins as he looks to hit is 200th homerun to join the club.

Sisco Kid

Roberto Alomar HOF 2011

On Sunday July 24, 2011 Puerto Rican second baseman Roberto Alomar joined pitcher Bert Blyleven and longtime Baseball executive Pat Gillick as the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Alomar was elected in his second year of eligibility with 90 percent of vote. According to the Baseball Writers of America's website:

Alomar, who was in his second year on the ballot, received 523 votes, the third highest total in history, for a 90-percent plurality. He was the 26th player to reach the 90-percent level in BBWAA elections.

In a 17-year career (with with the San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks), Alomar was a career .300 hitter with 2724 hits (504 2B/80 3B/210 HR) 1508 runs and 1134 RBI. Alomar stole 474 bases (in 588 attempts) struck out 1140 times and walked 1032 times. Alomar's OPS was .814 (.371 OBP/.443 SLG). Alomar was a 12-time All-Star (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) won a record 10 Gold Gloves at second base 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) and won 4 Silver Slugger awards (1992, 1996, 1999, 2000). Alomar was in the top ten of the MVP vote five times (1991, 1992, 1993, 1999, 2001), was an important part of the 1992 and 1993 World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jays winning the Most Valuable Player of the 1992 American League Championship Series and MVP of the 1998 All-Star Game at Coors Field in Denver.

With his induction, Alomar becomes the 3rd Puerto Rican in the Hall of Fame joining Roberto Clemente and Orlando Cepeda.  

Felicitaciones Roberto en su consagración en el Salón de la Fama.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Roberto Alomar's career statistics from Basbeall-Reference.com

2011 Baseball Hall of Fame Vote

Before I get started on this year's baseball blogging, I wanted to wish all you readers a Happy New Year. Thank you all for reading my page and for all of your comments here and on Facebook. I greatly appreciate it.

So to no surprise to me the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown added two new members with the announcement of this year's vote by the Baseball Writers of America (BBWAA). Elected in his 2nd year of eligibility was second baseman Roberto Alomar with 90% of the vote. Joining him is Bert Blyleven who finally eclipsed the minimum 75% of the vote in his 14th year on the ballot with 79.7% of the vote. They will be enshrined in Cooperstown with executive Pat Gillick, who was elected last month by the Expansion Era Committee, Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News with the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for baseball writing and longtime Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins voice Dave Van Horne with the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting. According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website, here are the results of this year's vote:



Like I said earlier, I was not surprised at Alomar and Blyleven being elected in. I felt it was a year late since I wrote on my post 2010 Hall of Fame Ballot dated January 3, 2010 that Alomar would have gotten in as a first ballot Hall of Famer. In terms of Blyleven, I've been saying for years that he belongs in the Hall of Fame and now after fourteen long years he is there. I want to shift gears a bit and focus on a few other players that were on this year's ballot.

- Barry Larkin
Last year I believed that Barry Larkin was good enough to garner first ballot Hall of Fame status. The voters on the other hand thought differently and Larkin received 278 votes for 51.6% of the vote. This year the prospects for Larkin's enshrinement have improved. Larkin received 361 votes for 62.1% of the vote in his second year putting him in a good position to keep garnering enough votes to reach the necessary 75%. I believe that he was the second-best shortstop in the National League (some may argue the best one when you consider his batting) behind Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith.

- Jack Morris
Where Larkin's position on the list of players eligible for Hall of Fame enshrinement looks promising, Morris' chances look dim. Where Morris received 52.3% of the vote in 2010, his rise in 2011 was minimal. This year Morris received 311 votes for 53.5% of the vote in his 12th year of eligibility. Can Morris get over 20% more in votes within the next three years? It remains to be seen.

- Jeff Bagwell
Bagwell seems to be the first player who played during the Steroid Era that will be stigmatized by it in his chances to get in the Hall of Fame. In his first year of eligibility, Bagwell received 242 votes for 41.7% of the vote. While that is not a shabby performance for his first year on the ballot, could he have gotten more votes had he put up the same numbers in another era?

In 15 seasons with the Houston Astros, Bagwell had a career .297 batting average with 449 HRs and 1529 RBI. He had a total of 2314 hits (488 2B/32 3B/449 HR), struck out 1558 times while drawing 1401 walks. Bagwell's career OPS was .948 (.540 SLG%/.408 OBP). He won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1991. He was in the top ten of the National League MVP vote six times winning the award in 1994. Bagwell won three Silver Slugger and one Gold Glove awards. Considering that he amassed these numbers in only 15 seasons I believe that Bagwell will eventually get in the Hall of Fame. How long it takes will remain to be seen.

- Fred McGriff
I've always said that Fred McGriff was a player that hit 30 homers a season and drove in 100 runs when those numbers were important. He is the case of a player who put up productive number before and during the Steroid Era but he may have come up just short. In 2010 McGriff received 116 votes for 21.5% of the vote. This year McGriff actually lost votes by receiving only 104 votes for 17.9% of the vote. Granted, the addition of players such as Jeff Bagwell and Larry Walker may have taken some votes from McGriff but for him to have gone down is disappointing.

In 19 seasons, McGriff had a career .284 batting average with 493 HRs and 1550 RBI. He had a total of 2490 hits (441 2B/24 3B/493 HR), struck out 1882 times while drawing 1305 walks. McGriff's career OPS was .886 (.509 SLG%/.377 OBP). He was in the top ten of the National League MVP vote six times and a five-time All Star. McGriff won three Silver Slugger awards. Compared to Bagwell, it seems that McGriff falls short. We'll see how the voters favor him in the upcoming years.

- Edgar Martinez
Where Martinez's showing in Hall of Fame votes was impressive, this year he seemed to lose ground. In 2010 Martinez received 195 votes for 36.2% of the vote, this year he lost votes. Martinez received 191 votes for 32.9% of the vote. With Martinez being the first true DH to come up for Hall of Fame enshrinement, I though that the Baseball writers would be as progressive in considering Martinez's place in the game as they were progressive with voting (outside the proverbial box) for Felix Hernandez as the American League Cy Young Award Winner. I guess I thought wrong.

Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy and Lee Smith
This trio of players just can't get any love from the majority of the voters. In 2010 Mattingly got 16.1%, Murphy 11.7% and Smith 47.3%. This year Mattingly 13.6%, Murphy 12.6% and Lee 45.3%. These players just seem to be stuck in the same place year after year not gaining the sufficient votes needed for enshrinement. Maybe they can benefit from the type of grassroots campaign that helped Bert Blyleven.

And now for the two players who currently exemplify the Steroid Era among those eligible for the Hall of Fame:

Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmiero
I'm not going to beat a dead horse here in terms of McGwire. I've said it before and I'll say it here again: casting the steroid issue aside, I don't believe that McGwire is a Hall of Famer. Apparently the voters don't think so either. Where most people believed that if McGwire came clean about his steroid use he'd gain more votes for the Hall of Fame, the reverse happened. In 2010 McGwire received 128 votes for 23.7% of the vote, his 2011 standing took a fall. This year McGwire received 115 votes for 19.8% of the vote. So much for the truth setting you free. If you want to read more into my point of view why McGwire isn't a Hall of Famer, read my blogpost The Return of Mark McGwire dated January 9, 2010.

Turning my attention to Palmiero. I believe this is the saddest case of them all. Five years have come and gone and Palmiero still says that the positive test result came from a "B12" shot that was given to him by then teammate Miguel Tejada. Even after the now infamous finger wagging session in front of the Congressional Committee where he adamantly stated that he never used steroids, Palmiero remains steadfast in his stance. Where it is sad is that I don't think Palmiero ever needed the juice and may not have taken it (if he did) until late in his career. Palmiero is one of 4 players to reach the magical 500 homeruns and 3000 hit plateaus (Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray are the other three). He also holds the distinction of being the only person to fail a drug test for a Performance Enhancing Drug (PED) to be up for Hall of Fame consideration. Its a shame that Palmiero basically threw away his Hall of Fame career. In his case, time did nothing to aid his cause. With the 64 votes he received Palmiero will be on next year's ballot. We'll see how he does then.

Of those players who failed to receive the minimum 30 votes to keep their eligibility I'm surprised that Harold Baines, Kevin Browne, Tino Martinez and John Olerud did not receive more votes. Baines is even more glaring since he finished with 2866 hits in a productive 22 year career.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to read the Press Release from the Baseball Hall of Fame on Alomar and Blyleven making the Hall of Fame
- Click here for the BBWAA webpage with the breakdown and analysis of the 2011 Hall of Fame Vote
- Click Here for the potential 2012 Hall of Fame Ballot from Baseball Reference.com

Casi casi Roberto, good showing for Edgar and a tear for El Gato

This past week was the election for the class of 2010 Baseball Hall of Fame. First off congratulations to Andre Dawson who was only player elected by the Baseball writers. Puerto Rican Roberto Alomar came very close to achieving election to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Falling 8 votes short of enshrinement, Alomar received 73.7% of the vote (75% is needed for enshrinement). Had Alomar received the necessary 75% of the ballot, he would have been the first Latino ballplayer since Rod Carew was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1991. Alomar would have been the first Puerto Rican elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility since Roberto Clemente was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.

Roberto Alomar was the model of consistency at both second base forming one of the best double play combinations (with future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel) and at the plate. In 17 seasons, Alomar had a career batting average of .300 where he amassed 2724 hits (504 2B, 80 3B, 210 HR) and 1134 RBI. In terms of modern metrics, Alomar had a career OBP% of .371 and a SLG% of .443 for an OPS of .814 and had 474 SB. His best season was 1999 with the Cleveland Indians where he came in 3rd in the MVP race batting .323 with 182 hits (40 2B, 3 3B, 24 HR) and 120 RBI and led the league in runs scored with 138. That season Alomar also had an OPS of .955 (.442 OBP and .553 SLG). Alomar was a 12-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glove award winner and also won 4 Silver Slugger awards.

Current second-basemen like Robinson Cano and Dan Uggla can thank Roberto Alomar (and future Hall of Famer Jeff Kent) for laying the foundation for the second-baseman that can superb on both the field and at the plate.

The Latino presence on the Hall of Fame ballot was also augmented by the great show of support for Puerto Rican Edgar Martinez. The funny thing about the situation with Edgar is that there were many writers that predicted that he wouldn't even get the necessary 5% of the vote to remain eligible for next year's ballot. Why? These writers felt that since Martinez was a Designated Hitter and not a "complete" ballplayer (not playing the field) it would diminish his chances to make it into the Hall of Fame. We're not talking about Dave Kingman here, Edgar Martinez is not only a DH, he's the best DH (hey, the award for the best DH is named after him). Well, 195 votes good for 36.2% of the vote is an excellent starting point for Martinez.

In 18 seasons, Martinez had a career a career batting average of .312 where he amassed 2247 hits (514 2B, 15 3B, 309 HR) and 1261 RBI. In terms of modern metrics, Martinez had a career OBP% of .418 and a SLG% of .515 for an OPS of .933. Martinez also walked more (1283) than he struck out (1202) further cementing his status of a dependable hitter, His best season was the memorable 1995 season with the Seattle Mariners where he came in 3rd in the MVP race batting a league leading .356 with 182 hits (52 2B, 0 3B, 29 HR) and 113 RBI and led the league in runs scored with 121. That season Martinez also had an OPS of 1.107 (league leading .479 OBP and .628 SLG). Martinez was a 7-time All-Star and won 5 Silver Slugger awards.

In my opinion, if you are asked to do a job as Edgar Martinez was in being written in the lineup as a DH, and you are superb in that position, then why should you not be both considered the best in the game at your position and best in the game to be inducted in the Hall of Fame. The DH is used in mostly all levels of baseball from College, Minor League, Japanese League and the American League (The National League is the only one that does not use the DH for regular league play). At some point the anti-DH bias that is often seen with baseball traditionalist has to be broken and it would be amazing if the player to do it is the same player that raised the position to the level that it occupies today.

Sadly, Andres Galarraga is no longer eligible for the Hall of Fame. Galarraga who hails from Venezuela was unable to get the necessary 5% of the vote (22 votes for 4.1%). In 19 seasons, Galarraga had a career a career batting average of .288 where he amassed 2333 hits (444 2B, 32 3B, 399 HR) and 1425 RBI. In terms of modern metrics, Martinez had a career OBP% of .347 and a SLG% of .499 for an OPS of .846. His best season was 1996 with the Colorado Rockies where he led the league with 47Hr 150 RBI and had a .304BA. Galarraga a 5-time All-Star, 2-time Gold Glove award winner and also won 2 Silver Slugger awards.

Galarraga was a personal favorite of fine who played the game with class and grace even when faced with personal turmoil. I didn't think he would be elected in, but I wish that he would have at least been given the chance to get his 15 years to get the necessary votes. He can eventually get in by getting elected by the Veteran's committee. I don't think it will happen, but it doesn't diminish how good of a player he was.

What do you think. Any opinions or comments? Feel free to add to the conversation.
Hasta Luego,
FH.

2010 Hall of Fame Ballot

January 6th is the day that the voting results for the 2010 Hall of Fame candidates are announced. Before I list who my predictions for election are, let me describe what the conditions are for eligibility. Candidates must have completed 10 full major league seasons and be retired for 5 full seasons. Once eligible, candidates must receive a minimum of 5% of the vote in order to stay on the ballot for the next year. The player need to amass 75% of the vote for induction into the Hall of Fame and upon receiving the minimum 5%, the player is allowed to stay on the ballot for 15 years before moving onto the ballot for the Veterans Committee. Now that we have that out of the way, here are the main candidates for election.

2009 Candidates (With previous years percentage of the vote. Bold is 1st year on Ballot)
Andre Dawson 67%
Bert Blyleven 62.7%
Lee Smith 44.5%
Jack Morris 44%
Tim Raines 22.6%
Mark McGwire 21.9%
Alan Trammel 17.4%
Dave Parker 15%
Don Mattingly 11.9%
Dale Murphy 11.5%
Harold Baines 5.9%
Roberto Alomar
Andres Galarraga
Barry Larkin
Edgar Martinez
Fred McGriff
Robin Ventura
Other Candidates

Here are my predictions for who will get in this year:

1. Andre Dawson:
The Hawk has steadily climbed up the ladder since he first received 43.5% of the vote in his first year of eligibility. At 67%, Dawson is in prime position to get the remaining 8% needed for induction. In 21 season, Dawson had a career batting average of .279 where he amassed 2774 hits (513 2B, 98 3B, 438 HR) and 1591 RBI with 314 SB. In terms of modern metrics, Dawson had a career OBP% of .323 and a SLG% of .482 for an OPS of .806. His best season was his MVP season of 1987 with the Chicago Cubs where he led the league with 49Hr 137 RBI and 353 total bases. Dawson also registered his career best OPS of .896 (.328 OBP and .568 SLG). Dawson was the Rookie of the Year in 1977 with the Montreal Expos, a 7-time All-Star, 8-time Gold Glove award winner and also won 4 Silver Slugger awards.

Tim Kurkjian of ESPN.com has an article on why Andre Dawson should be elected to the Hall of Fame. Click here.


2. Roberto Alomar
In his 1st year of eligibility, Roberto Alomar was the model of consistency at both second base forming one of the best double play combinations (with future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel) and at the plate. In 17 seasons, Alomar had a career batting average of .300 where he amassed 2724 hits (504 2B, 80 3B, 210 HR) and 1134 RBI. In terms of modern metrics, Alomar had a career OBP% of .371 and a SLG% of .443 for an OPS of .814 and had 474 SB. His best season was 1999 with the Cleveland Indians where he came in 3rd in the MVP race batting .323 with 182 hits (40 2B, 3 3B, 24 HR) and 120 RBI and led the league in runs scored with 138. That season Alomar also had an OPS of .955 (.442 OBP and .553 SLG). Alomar was a 12-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glove award winner and also won 4 Silver Slugger awards.

Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com has this article on Roberto Alomar and his hopes for a 1st ballot election. Click here.

Alomar helped to lay down the foundation (along side future Hall of Famer Jeff Kent) for the slugging 2nd basemen such as Dan Uggla and Robinson Cano. The only way I see him not getting in on his first try would be his time with the New York Mets. On track to break 3,000 hits, Alomar's career tanked (compared to his past seasons with Toronto, Baltimore and Cleveland) and just faded away playing his last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox. Many a current Hall of Famer had diminished numbers at the end of their careers. They were elected in, as should Roberto Alomar.

3. Barry Larkin
Also in his 1st year of eligibility, Barry Larkin was one of the two premier Shortstops in the National League (along with Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith). In 18 season, Larkin had a career batting average of .295 where he amassed 2340 hits (441 2B, 76 3B, 198 HR) and 960 RBI. In terms of modern metrics, Larkin had a career OBP% of .371 and a SLG% of .4444 for an OPS of .815. His best season was his MVP award season of 1995 with the Cincinnati Reds (who he played his whole career for) batting .319 with 158 hits (29 2B, 6 3B, 15 HR) and 66 RBI with 51 SB. That season Larkin also had an OPS of .886 (.394 OBP and .492 SLG). Larkin was a 12-time All-Star, a 3-time Gold Glove award winner and also won 8 Silver Slugger awards.

Mark Sheldon of MLB.com has an article stating how Barry Larkin helped to redefine the Shortstop position. Click Here.

I believe that if Larkin had played in an era where he wasn't behind Ozzie Smith year in and year out, there would be no doubt as to whether or not he's a Hall of Famer. Ozzie had the glove, but Larkin had the bat to go along side his leather.

Honorable Mention
4. Edgar Martinez
In his first year of eligibility, Martinez is the player that may finally put an end to the Designated Hitter bias that exists throughout baseball. Considered by many as the Best DH in the history of the game (the award for the best DH is named in his honor), I believe Martinez to be a Hall of Famer since he was asked to do a particular job as a ballplayer and did it as well, if not better than everyone else. The fact that he did not play defense on an everyday basis seems to be his Achilles heel but no one can dispute that as a DH, he was stellar. In 18 seasons, Martinez had a career a career batting average of .312 where he amassed 2247 hits (514 2B, 15 3B, 309 HR) and 1261 RBI. In terms of modern metrics, Martinez had a career OBP% of .418 and a SLG% of .515 for an OPS of .933. Martinez also walked more (1283) than he struck out (1202) further cementing his status of a dependable hitter, His best season was the memorable 1995 season with the Seattle Mariners where he came in 3rd in the MVP race batting a league leading .356 with 182 hits (52 2B, 0 3B, 29 HR) and 113 RBI and led the league in runs scored with 121. That season Martinez also had an OPS of 1.107 (league leading .479 OBP and .628 SLG). Martinez was a 7-time All-Star and won 5 Silver Slugger awards.

David Schoenfield of ESPN.com has written this article making his points for why Edgar Martinez should be in the Hall of Fame. Click here.

I think baseball's traditionalists and snobs within the Baseball Writers Association lack the foresight to see past the fact that Martinez was a DH. He was more than that. Martinez was a player that was asked to do a job, and he did it not only to the best of his capacity but also better than anyone else. In my book if you can do all that is asked of you and put up impressive numbers to back it up, then you have proved your worth as Edgar Martinez has. We'll see what the election results show.

I think the rest of the candidates for election will get the necessary 5% of the ballot to remain eligible for next years election with Bert Blyleven moving to the top of the list. PS, after today's announcement of the retirement of 303 game winner Randy Johnson, there will be no doubt who gets in 1st ballot in 2015.

Later FH.