Jeff J. Snider
Sports
In the comments to my post on Todd Helton’s Hall of Fame chances, a fellow by the name of Ben Boutillier (or possibly ben boutillier, if you believe everything you read) had this to say:
Bottom line, i think your theory sucks. Helton is just a great ballplayer. It isnt because he just playes better in colorado, its because hes one of the best hitters today and you cant just take away that much skill away from a single player just because his numbers are better in one stadium then in another. Its very obivous he is a Hall of famer and possibly one of the best hitters of all time. And its not just because the ballpark is just [so easy], its because the players that you listed above were in there prime and were playing in Colorado. So if Mark Bellhorn happened to play for the Rockies would that mean that he would suddenly become a 300. hitter and a 30 homerun guy? I dont think so.
This is in response to Ben:
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January 25th, 2006 at 11:34am
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
My friend Brian and I like to try to stump each other with baseball trivia questions, so we email back and forth sometimes. Today’s question from Brian was this:
If Todd Helton hits 29 more homers in his career and keep his career batting average over .330 (currently .337), he will become only the seventh player with 300 home runs and a .330 batting average. Name the other six. I will give the answer at the end of this post, but what I want to talk about is what Brian said about Helton as a sidenote:
NOTE: Helton will almost assuredly hit 59 homers before his career is over, putting him over the 330 mark. If he can maintain his batting average over .330 (not such a certainty), he would be the 5th member of the “330 Club (330 homers and .330 career average). If he can accomplish this feat (or even be close to it), I think he deserves to go straight to the Cooperstown, Coors Field or no Coors Field. I don’t care what ballpark you play your home games in, but 330 home runs combined with a .330 average should get you to the Hall of Fame.
This got me thinking about Helton’s Hall of Fame credentials, and I thought I’d put my thoughts here.
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January 16th, 2006 at 02:43pm
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
Rumor has it that the Washington Nationals are close to signing Sammy Sosa, possibly to a “non-guaranteed minor-league deal and giving him an opportunity to make the team,” according to Nationals general manager Jim Bowden. No offense, kids, but this deal doesn’t make sense for anyone.
First of all, from the Nationals’ point of view, what do they expect to get out of him? Sosa has demonstrated over the past couple years that his power has diminished remarkably — coincidentally, the decline started at the same time that MLB started testing for steroids, but nevermind that now. So the Nationals, who play in THE WORST hitters park in baseball, want to bring in a guy who is losing his power and has absolutely no redeeming qualities other than his power? Not to mention the fact that the Nats already have Ryan Church, Jose Guillen, Michael Tucker, and possibly Alfonso Soriano in the outfield. Yeah, seems like a smart move, Mr. Bowden. Why did the Reds fire you, again?
And from Sosa’s point of view, this is a terrible idea. Sosa says in that article that I linked to that he wants to get to 660 career homers, or maybe even 700. Newsflash, Sammy: you hit 14 homers last year. At that rate, it will take you more than five more years to get to 660, and three more after that to get to 700. Do you really think going to RFK Stadium is going to benefit you in that goal? And do you really think that a team is going to employ a 14-homer guy with no defensive, offensive, or clubhouse skills for five or eight years? Did I mention that you will be 42 years old in five years?
Oh, and one more thing: the people in the D.C. area already aren’t real fond of you. Remember, you got paid $17 million to hit 14 homers for the Orioles last year…
Look, Sammy. If you quit now, people can forget the last year or two, and maybe it will never be proven that you used steroids, and you will go into the Hall of Fame based on seven great seasons. Your best days are behind you, and only sadness looms ahead.
January 13th, 2006 at 12:42am
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
ESPN.com has what they are calling the Transaction Tracker, which simply lists all the players a team has added or subtracted during this offseason. I have glanced past the link for a week or two now, but I am glad I looked at it. It is a great way to see, in a glance, how your favorite team has fared in the past couple months. Here’s what I see on the Dodgers’ list:
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January 9th, 2006 at 01:19pm
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
ESPN.com put out a list of the starting lineups for every team in baseball if the season started right now, and I noticed something about the Braves. Look at this list:
C Brian McCann
1B Adam LaRoche
2B Marcus Giles
SS Edgar Renteria
3B Chipper Jones
LF Ryan Langerhans/Kelly Johnson
CF Andruw Jones
RF Jeff Francoeur
SP1 John Smoltz
SP2 Tim Hudson
SP3 Mike Hampton
SP4 John Thomson
SP5 Horacio Ramirez
CL Chris Reitsma
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January 3rd, 2006 at 03:33pm