{"id":226,"date":"2014-12-31T11:30:34","date_gmt":"2014-12-31T19:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?p=226"},"modified":"2015-01-05T14:19:14","modified_gmt":"2015-01-05T22:19:14","slug":"the-special-starting-pitcher-class-of-the-2015-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?p=226","title":{"rendered":"The Special Starting Pitcher Class of the 2015 Ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the 2014 and 2015 baseball Hall of Fame ballots, as voted by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), there is more depth of excellent players than at any time since 1946, which was less than ten years since the Hall was created.<\/p>\n

Of particular note is the stunning and historic quality of starting pitchers who have hit the ballot in the last few years.\u00a0 This began with Roger Clemens<\/span>, who retired (for the final time) after the 2007 season and first hit the Hall of Fame ballot two years ago.\u00a0 The Rocket, of course, has not been inducted because of his alleged use of Performance Enhancing Drugs.\u00a0 Also on the 2013 ballot was Curt Schilling<\/span>, who debuted with 39% of the vote, slightly more than the support for Clemens (38%).\u00a0 Neither was close to the 75% vote needed to gain induction to Cooperstown.<\/p>\n

Last year, three more fantastic hurlers joined Clemens and Schilling on the ballot: Greg Maddux<\/span>, Tom Glavine<\/span>, and Mike Mussina<\/span>. 300-game winners both, Maddux and Glavine sailed into Cooperstown.\u00a0 Their presence clearly hurt Schilling by comparison and his support dropped to 29%.\u00a0 Mussina debuted with 20% of the vote.<\/p>\n

Now, this year, as if there wasn\u2019t enough quality in the starting pitcher category, we\u2019ve added three more stars who hold 9 Cy Young Award titles between them: Randy Johnson<\/span>, Pedro Martinez<\/span>, and John Smoltz<\/span>.\u00a0 The Big Unit and Pedro will easily be elected next week.\u00a0 There has been much chatter over the last few months that Smoltz will join them (and his former Braves teammates Maddux and Glavine) but I think that\u2019s highly questionable.\u00a0 If John Smoltz is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, then how can Schilling and Mussina not be also?<\/p>\n

\"WEBSITE<\/a>

JOHN SMOLTZ<\/p><\/div>\n

John Smoltz was the Third Amigo (next to Maddux and Glavine) on the historically great Atlanta Braves rotations of the 1990\u2019s.\u00a0 Between 1991 and 1998, these three men won 7 of the 8 NL Cy Young Awards.\u00a0 Glavine won it in 1991, Maddux then won four in a row\u00a0(the first as a member of the Cubs in \u201992), Smoltzie won it in 1996, Pedro Martinez (then of the Expos) in \u201997 and Glavine in \u201998.\u00a0 While Smoltz ranks behind 300-winners Maddux and Glavine for career accomplishments, he was always considered the \u201cmoney\u201d pitcher of October.\u00a0 Smoltz had Tommy John surgery after the 1999 campaign and returned in 2001 as the Braves\u2019 closer, amassing 154 saves in 3 \u00bd seasons to pair with his 213 career wins.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike Mussina was durable, consistent and a man of impeccable character, winning 270 career games in the rugged American League East.\u00a0 His win total is more than 50 better than either Smoltz or Schilling, who spent parts of their careers pitching out of the bullpen.\u00a0 270 wins and .638 winning<\/p>\n

\"MIKE<\/a>

MIKE MUSSINA<\/p><\/div>\n

percentage is very impressive, but it is also true that he had the luxury of pitching for excellent teams for most of his career.\u00a0 The Baltimore Orioles won an average of 85 games per season (adjusted for the strike of 1994-1995) in Mussina\u2019s nine full years there.\u00a0 In his eight seasons in New York, the Yankees averaged 97 wins per year.\u00a0 So, for Mussina\u2019s career, his teams won an average of over 90 games, which certainly boosted his win totals.\u00a0 In his 537 career games (all but one which was a starting assignment), his teams scored an average of 5.4 runs per nine innings, which is 12.5% better than the league average during that time.\u00a0 Smoltz also pitched for great teams, of course, but received slightly less<\/span> than league average run support during his career.<\/p>\n

\"WEBSITE<\/a>

CURT SCHILLING<\/p><\/div>\n

Curt Schilling was not durable, spending large chunks of 7 or 8 seasons on the disabled list.\u00a0 He had a terrific season in 1992 with the Philadelphia Phillies, struggled in 1993 but made two terrific starts and was the MVP of the NLCS, leading his team to the World Series, where they fell short to Toronto.\u00a0 After three injury plagued seasons, Schilling hit his peak and became the future Hall of Famer that he now is in the 1997 season, at the age of 30, when he finished 4th in the NL Cy Young Award voting.\u00a0 His chief statistical claim to fame is that, with the exception of 19th century pitcher Tommy Bond, Schilling has the best strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.38) in the history of baseball.\u00a0 I think he\u2019s the best of this group but has been overlooked because, during his peak years, he wasn\u2019t the best starter on his club.\u00a0 In his Arizona years (2000-2003), he was overshadowed by Randy Johnson.\u00a0 In both 2001 and 2002, he finished 2nd in the Cy Young Award voting to his taller teammate.\u00a0 When he joined the Boston Red Sox in 2004, he played second fiddle to Pedro Martinez (although he had a better year than Pedro).\u00a0 Schilling went 21-6 with a 3.26 ERA but finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting for a third time, this time falling short of the Twins\u2019 Johan Santana.<\/p>\n

So besides the obvious choices of Johnson and Martinez, why would I choose Schilling and Smoltz over Mussina?\u00a0 First, let\u2019s look at the regular season numbers for the five mound men, including the Big Unit and Pedro, ranked by career wins.\u00a0 (Notes: ERA+ is the park-adjusted metric, with 100 being average. Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is a modern metric that attempts to put a number on the totality of a player\u2019s contributions to winning).<\/p>\n

Name<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0W-L <\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0ERA<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0ERA+<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0SO<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0WAR<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0GS<\/span><\/p>\n

Randy Johnson \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0303-166 (.646) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03.29 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0135 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 4,875 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0102.1 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 603<\/p>\n

Mike Mussina \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 270-153 (.638) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03.68 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0123 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2,813 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 83.0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0536<\/p>\n

Pedro Martinez \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0219-100 (.687) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02.93 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0154 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 3,154 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 84.0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0409<\/p>\n

Curt Schilling \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 216-146 (.597) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03.46 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0127 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 3.116 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 79.9 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0436<\/p>\n

John Smoltz \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0213-155 (.579) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03.33 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0125 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 3,084 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 69.5 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0481<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Again, Johnson and Martinez are obvious choices.\u00a0 Despite his shorter career, Pedro\u2019s 2.93 ERA translates to a 154 ERA+ because of the difficulty of this era for pitchers.\u00a0 Now, if you look at Mussina\u2019s regular season numbers compared to Schilling\u2019s and Smoltz\u2019s, his total wins and winning percentage are clearly superior.\u00a0 His ERA is higher but he spent his whole career in the American League East, while Schill and Smoltzie spent a good many years in the National League, where the pitchers have to hit.\u00a0 He has the highest WAR of the three (and it\u2019s even better than Pedro\u2019s) but one thing that you need to understand about WAR is that it is a \u201ccounting\u201d stat like wins or strikeouts and not a \u201crate\u201d stat like ERA.\u00a0 So, the more you pitch, the more WAR \u201cpoints\u201d you can earn.\u00a0 Mussina\u2019s superiority here over Martinez, Schilling and Smoltz is due to having started many more games.\u00a0 Longevity counts, of course.\u00a0 Mussina had a superlative career and it\u2019s tough to choose between him, Smoltz and Schilling based on their regular season performances.<\/p>\n

The difference between these three great hurlers lies in October.\u00a0 Simply put, Curt Schilling and John Smoltz are two of the best post-season pitchers in the history of baseball.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at the post-season numbers of the three, along with Johnson and Martinez.\u00a0 Incidentally, WAR and ERA+ do not exist for October baseball, since not all teams participate.<\/p>\n

Name<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0GS<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0IP<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0W-L <\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0ERA<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0WHIP<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0SO<\/span><\/p>\n

Curt Schilling \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 19 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0133.1 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 11-2 (.846) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02.23 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a00.968 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 120<\/p>\n

John Smoltz \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 27 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 209.0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 15-4 (.789) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02.67 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a01.144 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 199<\/p>\n

Mike Mussina \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a021 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0139.2 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 7-8 (.467) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03.42 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a01.103 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 145<\/p>\n

Randy Johnson \u00a0 \u00a0 16 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0121.0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 7-9 (.438) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03.50 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a01.140 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 132<\/p>\n

Pedro Martinez \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a014\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 96.1 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 6-4 (.600) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 3.46 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 1.080 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 96<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Schilling and Smoltz were clearly superior to the others.\u00a0 Let\u2019s remember here, we\u2019re dissecting five high-quality pitchers, all of whom should (and likely will) be in Cooperstown.\u00a0 What I\u2019m showing here is why I believe Schilling and Smoltz should be in front of Mussina in line.<\/p>\n

Schilling and the Big Unit were singularly responsible for the Arizona Diamondbacks\u2019 World Series title over Mussina\u2019s Yankees in 2001.\u00a0 In that entire post-season, Schilling went 4-0 with a 1.12 ERA.\u00a0 Johnson was also 5-1, with a 1.52 ERA.\u00a0 They were deservedly the co-MVP\u2019s of the Series.\u00a0 Mussina also had a good post-season in 2001 (2-1, 2.62 ERA) but was bested decisively by Schilling and Johnson in the Series.\u00a0\u00a0 Schilling also had the famous \u201cbloody sock\u201d game in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS comeback against Bronx Bombers and Mussina.<\/p>\n

Smoltz, like Schilling, was a terrific October performer.\u00a0 He was the other half of one of the greatest Game 7\u2019s ever in the 1991 series against Jack Morris, a performance 2nd only to his 9-inning shutout over the Pirates in Game 7 of the NLCS.\u00a0 Ironically, his worst post-season performance was in 1995, the year his Braves won their only title.\u00a0 He posted a 6.60 ERA in 3 starts that year.<\/p>\n

Here is what is curious about the Mussina-Schilling-Smoltz Hall of Fame question: for the last six months there seems to have been a universal assumption in the chattering class that Smoltz will be a first-ballot selection next week.\u00a0 When you look at the three of them, it\u2019s hard to see why Smoltz is an \u201cobvious\u201d choice when Schill and the Moose received 29% and 20% just of the vote respectively last year.\u00a0 I see three reasons why the narrative about Smoltzie is different than the others:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. He was part of a legendary triumvirate of Cy Young starters with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. Having just two of those three in Cooperstown seems incomplete.<\/li>\n
  2. He spent 3 \u00bd years as the Braves closer after coming back from Tommy John surgery, compiling 154 saves. So he likely gets the Eck effect (in honor of starter-turned-closer Dennis Eckersley), getting a pass for having \u201cmerely\u201d 213 wins because he also <\/span>has all of the saves.<\/li>\n
  3. He has looked like a Hall of Famer from the early years of his career. His post-season heroics in 1991 occurred when he was just 24 years old and won the 1996 Cy Young Award with a 24-win campaign.\u00a0 While Schilling had a great October with the Phillies in 1993, he didn\u2019t really start his Cooperstown years until he was 30 (in 1997), when he made his first All-Star team and was fourth in the Cy Young Award voting.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Anyway, Johnson and Martinez will gain enshrinement this year, Smoltz might, Schilling and Mussina will have to wait a couple of years.\u00a0 There are no new Hall of Fame-caliber starting pitchers to crowd the ballot until Andy Pettitte and Roy Halladay join the party in 2019, so Smoltzie, Schill and Moose will all likely make it to Cooperstown in the next couple of cycles.<\/p>\n

    Some final notes on the historic nature of all of these superlative starters all joining the Hall of Fame ballot within a few years of each other: the quality of these eight starting pitchers who retired between 2007 and 2009 seasons has never been seen before.\u00a0 By next week, at least four will be Hall of Famers, possibly five if Smoltz makes it (and Clemens certainly would be as well if not for the steroid links).\u00a0 So we will soon have a full seven<\/span> starting pitchers receiving Cooperstown plaques who hit the ballot within a three-year period.\u00a0 This has not happened since the inaugural 1936-1937 ballots, when the likes of Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson and Cy Young were being considered for the first time.<\/p>\n

    In fact, assuming that Mussina eventually joins Maddux and Glavine and Smoltz joins Pedro and the Big Unit, you would have two consecutive cycles with three immediate or future Hall of Fame starting pitchers.\u00a0 The only time since the 1930\u2019s that there were three Hall of Fame starters debuting on the ballot for the first time was the ballot of 1973, when Warren Spahn, Whitey Ford and Robin Roberts were first considered (Spahn was elected on the first try, Ford on the second, Roberts on the fourth).<\/p>\n

    And finally consider this: from 2000 to 2013 (14 years), only one starting pitcher was elected by the BBWAA into the Hall of Fame.\u00a0 It was Bert Blyleven, and it took him a whopping 14 tries before he took the stage in Cooperstown in 2011.\u00a0 The eight men named Clemens, Maddux, Glavine, Johnson, Martinez, Mussina, Schilling, and Smoltz have eight of the 22 best WAR totals for pitchers since World War II.\u00a0 Even more remarkable is that these eight men pitched at such a high level during the PED era when offensive numbers were exploding.\u00a0 What a pleasure it was to observe them ply their trade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    On the 2014 and 2015 baseball Hall of Fame ballots, as voted by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), there is more depth of excellent players than at any time since 1946, which was less than ten years since the Hall was created. Of particular note is the stunning and historic quality of starting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,10,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baseball","category-boston-red-sox","category-baseball-hall-of-fame"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5rqzv-3E","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":197,"url":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?p=197","url_meta":{"origin":226,"position":0},"title":"The Bonds-Clemens Hall of Fame Conundrum","author":"chrisbodig@gmail.com","date":"December 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Should the BBWAA vote for Bonds and Clemens for the Hall of Fame? This time of year, for the third time, nearly 600 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) must ponder the question: should they vote for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens for the Hall of Fame?\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hall of Fame"","block_context":{"text":"Hall of Fame","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/WEBSITE-BONDS-AND-CLEMENS-e1451441246370.png?fit=394%2C234&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":295,"url":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?p=295","url_meta":{"origin":226,"position":1},"title":"The Hall of Fame Class of 2015","author":"chrisbodig@gmail.com","date":"January 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier today, for the first time since exactly 60 years ago when Joe DiMaggio and 3 others were chosen, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) elected four new members to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.\u00a0 Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio will be enshrined into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baseball"","block_context":{"text":"Baseball","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WEBSITE-HALL-OF-FAME-MUSEUM.jpg?fit=550%2C413&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WEBSITE-HALL-OF-FAME-MUSEUM.jpg?fit=550%2C413&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WEBSITE-HALL-OF-FAME-MUSEUM.jpg?fit=550%2C413&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2283,"url":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?p=2283","url_meta":{"origin":226,"position":2},"title":"Cooperstown’s Crumbling PED Wall","author":"chrisbodig@gmail.com","date":"December 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"(updated on January 2, 2017) A year ago I penned an article entitled, \"Why Writers should NOT vote for Bonds and Clemens for the Hall.\"\u00a0 My reasoning was this: both Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens had polled at 35% (of the minimum 75% needed for induction) on the 2015 Hall\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baseball"","block_context":{"text":"Baseball","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/BONDS-CLEMENS.png?fit=757%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/BONDS-CLEMENS.png?fit=757%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/BONDS-CLEMENS.png?fit=757%2C512&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/BONDS-CLEMENS.png?fit=757%2C512&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1039,"url":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?p=1039","url_meta":{"origin":226,"position":3},"title":"Why Writers should NOT vote for Bonds & Clemens for the Hall","author":"chrisbodig@gmail.com","date":"December 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Should the BBWAA vote for Bonds and Clemens for the Hall of Fame? I wrote about this a year ago: this is an updated version of the same post, call it a 2nd Edition. I'll answer the question here up front: NO. If I were a member of the\u00a0Baseball Writers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baseball"","block_context":{"text":"Baseball","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/WEBSITE-BONDS-AND-CLEMENS-e1451441246370.png?fit=394%2C234&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":178,"url":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?p=178","url_meta":{"origin":226,"position":4},"title":"The Over-Crowded 2015 Hall of Fame Ballot","author":"chrisbodig@gmail.com","date":"December 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"For a baseball fan, one of the great treats at the start of the New Year is the announcement of the newest class of Hall of Fame players as voted by the Baseball Writers Association of America.\u00a0 The anticipation felt by fans throughout the country is surpassed only by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baseball"","block_context":{"text":"Baseball","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2513,"url":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?p=2513","url_meta":{"origin":226,"position":5},"title":"A Trio Gets into the Hall while Bonds and Clemens Climb","author":"chrisbodig@gmail.com","date":"February 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A little over two weeks ago, the Baseball Writers Association of America elected three new members to the Hall of Fame. Tim Raines, Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez will join Cooperstown's inclusive club of baseball legends when they are inducted this summer. So, after the Hall of Fame shutout of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baseball"","block_context":{"text":"Baseball","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/BAGWELL-RAINES-RODRIGUEZ-HOF-JERSEYS.png?fit=992%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/BAGWELL-RAINES-RODRIGUEZ-HOF-JERSEYS.png?fit=992%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/BAGWELL-RAINES-RODRIGUEZ-HOF-JERSEYS.png?fit=992%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisbodig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/BAGWELL-RAINES-RODRIGUEZ-HOF-JERSEYS.png?fit=992%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=226"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226\/revisions\/293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisbodig.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}