Mike Mussina Pitching: 475 points League leaders: 15 points (led league in wins, innings and FIP) Defensive bonus: 20 points A career of near-misses: 10 points (almost won 20 a bunch, almost threw a perfect game, etc.) Moose nickname: 5 points Hall of Fame Race to 400 points: 525 I’ve already written a lot about…
Author: Joe Posnanski
The Ballot: Fred McGriff
Hitting: 425 points Fielding: minus-50 points Base running: -10 points League leaders: 10 points (led in HRs twice) The awesomeness of his mustache: 5 points Starring in Tom Emanski commercials: 15 points Crime Dog nickname: 5 points Hall of Fame Race to 400 points: 400 * * * I’ve said this before: My Hall of Fame…
The Ballot: Edgar Martinez
Hitting: 540 points Fielding: minus-100 points League leaders: 45 points (on-base percentage three times, doubles twice, batting twice, runs once, RBIs once) Dozens of pitchers, including Pedro Martinez and Mariano Rivera, say he’s the best hitter they ever faced: 50 points Beloved guy, credit to the game, etc.: 10 points Hall of Fame Race to…
The Ballot: Lilly and Lowe
Ted Lilly Pitching: 107 points Official Crafty Lefty status: 25 points Weirdly unhittable in 2003 ALDS against Boston: 5 points Somehow avoided being called “Tiger” or any other nickname: minus-5 points Made $80 million in his career: no points awarded; just wanted to mention that Hall of Fame Race to 400 points: 137 * *…
The Ballot: Jeff Kent
Hitting: 300 points Fielding: 20 points Won an MVP award: 25 points Probably should have lost the MVP to three other guys on this ballot — Bonds, Helton and A. Jones: minus-5 points Perfectly acceptable baseball mustache: 5 points Most homers ever for a second baseman: 10 points Hall of Fame Race to 400 points:…
The Ballot: Andruw Jones
Hitting: 130 points Fielding: 225 points League leaders: 10 points (led league in homers and RBIs in 2005) Joy of watching him play centerfield: 10 points Makes otherwise boring name cool by spelling Andruw with a U: 5 points Hall of Fame Race to 400 points: 380 * * * At the heard of the…
The Ballot: Todd Helton
Batting: 425 points Fielding: 5 points Baserunning: -10 points League leaders: 35 points (led league in on-base percentage twice; hits, doubles, RBIs, average and slugging once) Played QB at Tennessee, was replaced by Peyton Manning: 5 points Was a dominant pitcher in college, still has NCAA record for most consecutive scoreless innings: 5 points Wore…
The Ballot: Roy Halladay
Pitching: 350 points League leaders: 65 points (led league in SO/W 5 times, innings four times, WHIP once, FIP once, ERA+ once, wins twice) Multiple Cy Young winner, had stretch where he was viewed as best pitcher in the game: 50 points Threw postseason no-hitter: 10 points Threw perfect game: 10 points Race to 400…
The Ballot: Travis Hafner
Hitting: 195 points Defense: minus-75 points Was called Pronk: 10 points “Pronk” was short for “Project Donkey,” which is what they called him after watching him run the bases: 10 more points Best-ever hitter from North Dakota: 10 points Might have been the best hitter in the AL from 2004 to 2006 (a league that…
A New Year’s Voice
I woke up in this new year thinking about Nick Charles. That was a little bit strange. I didn’t know Nick well. I could even say that I didn’t know him at all. We met in person just once, eight years ago. We spent only a few hours together. I woke up in this new…