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My 2019 Hall of Fame Ballot and the Trends

Posted on February 2, 2019 by Johnny Lumsden — 1 Comment ↓

The Hall of Fame voting for major league baseball seems to be shifting towards different trends every year. The most recent and talked about trend has been the public unveiling of ballots. This has certainly affected the results more and more over the years. 2019 showed the affect of this trend the most it ever has, as Mariano Rivera, rightfully so, became the first Hall of Famer to receive 100% of the votes on the first ballot. Although there have been Hall of Famers before whom are also deserving of this prestigious honor, the more publicity of the ballots finally Continue reading My 2019 Hall of Fame Ballot and the Trends→

2018 Hall of Fame Ballot

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Johnny Lumsden — No Comments ↓

The following is my ballot listed from most obvious to least obvious worthy of the Hall: Roger Clemens, Chipper Jones, Jeff Kent, Billy Wagner, Vladimir Guerro, Omar Vizquel, Trevor Hoffman, Manny Ramirez, Fred McGriff, Edgar Martinez. Like many years prior the ballot is stock full of talent that entertained the baseball world to the fullest at the height of their careers. However, due to the long list of possible deserving candidates some cuts had to be made. The Hall is for players, coaches, executives who have made a difference in baseball throughout history in their own ways that will be remembered Continue reading 2018 Hall of Fame Ballot→

The Tragic Death of Yordano Ventura Goes Deeper

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Johnny Lumsden — No Comments ↓

To start, my condolences go out to Ventura’s family and friends. The game just lost a truly talented flamethrower. Aside from the reality of losing a truly talented pitcher who sells tickets, Ventura’s passing could hurt the Royals indefinitely. After the descent from defending champs to playing at .500, KC then traded away their bonafide closer Wade Davis. Thought an injury riddled, .500 season, then losing their closer was enough? Now they lose their ace. The topic of the KC offseason has been whether or not to go for it once more, or sell/trade their big guys. Unfortunately, now losing Continue reading The Tragic Death of Yordano Ventura Goes Deeper→

How Valuable was Ichiro’s Bat During his Prime?

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Johnny Lumsden — No Comments ↓

Ichiro Suzuki made a huge impact in the bigs right away in 2001 winning the batting title, MVP, ROTY, and season’s hits leader, and was arguably the best hitter in the game the next 9 seasons, but really, how valuable was his bat? At the surface, obviously Ichiro was a terrific hitter, collecting over 200 hits in 10+ seasons (an all-time record), and gathering a batting average over .300 eleven of his sixteen seasons, but looking at the value hitting stats/sabermetrics, his bat may not have been as valuable as people may think in different scenarios. Certainly having Ichiro at Continue reading How Valuable was Ichiro’s Bat During his Prime?→