2014 MLB Hall of Fame picks: Why the Writers are Lacking Basic Knowledge

     Today, Major League Baseball announced who the writers elected to the Hall of Fame as the class of 2014. Congratulations to the three players chosen: Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and Frank Thomas! All three players deserve the recognition based on their numbers, but the selection still comes with puzzlement. My problem comes with Frank Thomas being selected during his first year of eligibility.
     Frank Thomas was a First Basemen turned DH (Designated Hitter). He did win an MVP award playing First one year, but the majority of his great statistics came as a DH. The role of the DH is to sit on the bench and wait until it is their turn to hit without ever taking the field. The writers of baseball are saying that this is all a player needs in order to be selected as a first ballot Hall of Famer. Oh, and don't let me forget, they still have not elected Barry Bonds, the league's home run leader into the Hall. Bonds did Thomas' job better plus played the outfield every game, and he doesn't deserve the nod?
     Many of the writers say this is because Bonds used steroids, forever classifying him and all the other greats as tainted. Forever the era of baseball he played in will be known as the steroid era. I guess the writers didn't realize that Thomas played during this era as well. Myself and many other people are wondering how come Thomas gets in automatically while Bonds does not? What makes Thomas excused from the "steroids era?"
     I grew up watching this kind of baseball. I grew up watching players crush balls out of the park, watching Bonds, Sosa, and McGwire smash records. I thought this was okay and I bet at the time, many others did too. Looking back not so much, but during the time I believe people did. So why are the writers voting for what they see now and not from what these players did for my generation. I never cared for Frank Thomas, hardly even knew who he was growing up.
     I don't want to take anything away from Frank Thomas. He put up great numbers and definitely deserves the recognition. However, what I long for is to see the greatest players I grew up with get the same recognition. The writers write off (look at the pun I made!) Bonds, Sosa, and McGwire as not deserving the recognition but give it to Thomas, who put up less great numbers than all three and played during the "steroid era." I believe that if Bonds, our home run king who everybody my age grew up watching and admiring, doesn't deserve to get in, then Thomas doesn't solely on the fact that he put up less significant numbers.
     Does Bonds deserve a first ballot nod? I'm not sure. Even with all the great numbers, he did cheat. But hopefully the writers will eventually give him recognition down the road when steroids figures itself out. For my picks? I chose Maddux, Glavine, Mike Mussina, and Curt Schilling.

The Short Game: An Account from a Struggling Golfer

Recently I viewed the documentary The Short Game, a film about 8 year old golfers competing in a major tournament at Pinehurst. I must say, this was a good movie for all audiences, whether you’re 8 or 80. This movie does a great job expressing sports in a family movie. If others are interested the movie can be viewed with a Netflix subscription.

            I am talking about this movie for a couple reasons. The kids in this movie show extreme dedication to such a hard sport in golf. Many people play, but not many are good, and these kids worked really hard to obtain their skills. These kids show more dedication to the game then I have ever seen. They’re out there all hours of the day, doing nothing but playing golf. As a golfer myself, I respect and adore their faith to the game, something I never had as a child at that age towards anything.

            So why does my opinion matter on any of this? Well, it’s not my opinion but rather my experience. As a dedicated golfer myself, having played for a long time now, have gone through the same things that they have to less of an extent. I still find myself struggling to come off of the 18^th green just barely shooting 90 or less, and still struggling to continue my game at a competitive level. I have seen the best and the worse of this game. During my high school years of golf, I have seen the team have only two kids try out for the team, barely putting a team of six together when 8 are needed and winning not a single match. I have seen the same team come out the next year and win the entire league championship. I have felt the effect of the most popular sports take players away from one of the greatest games ever played.

            To me, seeing these kids play is a breath of fresh air. At 18 years old, I find myself one of the youngest kids on the course in my home town. When everybody around you is 70+ years in age, it makes the game feel like its dying. These kids give me a sense of excitement, seeing them enjoy this game and want to play. They dedicate their entire time to the game, something I wish I could do. It is a great feeling to see kids enjoying the same game that I love. 

            Golf is no easy game, but these kids make it seem so easy. I found myself rooting for all the kids to come in first, even though it is not physically possible. Many of the kids are likeable as well. I still feel like my history allows me to appreciate the film without creating a bias. Many of the members in my family who never play golf enjoyed it as well. I recommend the film for all audiences, anybody who loves sports, but especially for the struggling golfer such as myself.

The Curse of the Football Jersey

            Finals are completely over! Which means I am now dedicated to posting a couple times a week. For my first post back, I would like to tell a personal story in why I should never buy another Football jersey again. Every time I buy a shirt with a player’s name on it something bad happens. Maybe I should actually take this and purchase a really good player’s shirt and hope for the worst, right? Nah, I wouldn’t do that… maybe…

            My first experience with this in 2010, I had a weird fixation with the New York Jets. But wasn’t it hard not to? They had Mark Sanchez, a QB we all liked at USC because of his story, they had recently signed LaDainian Tomlinson, Traded for Santonio Holmes, and featured one of the best defenses in the game. On top of that, they had a head coach that nobody liked in Rex Ryan, which made it kind of fun to root for. For this, I purchased a Mark Sanchez jersey, wearing it in pride.

            The following year Sanchez began his downward climb into nothingness. He threw more and more interceptions with less touchdowns, fumbled the ball more than any other QB, and began to get ridiculed by the fan base.  Heck, even I started mocking him. Now in 2013, he has been out for the entire season, and will most likely lose his job next year as well. While this was occurring, my home team, and a team I still cared for deeply in the New England Patriots, were in Super Bowl XLVI. This team featured one of the best Tight Ends in the league: Rob Gronkowski. He was having a season unprecedented for a wide receiver, let alone TE. Because of Gronk’s height, body-build, and athleticism, I began to believe he would become one of the best Tight Ends to ever play the game. In this, I bought his jersey in order to wear it during the Super Bowl.

            Shortly after the Super Bowl, Gronk had his already injured ankle tested. As the results came in, they found he had a strained ligament that needed surgery. He would make his way back to start the following season on opening day, but in Week 11, Gronk broke his arm, requiring another surgery. Coming back for the playoffs, in the first quarter of the Patriot’s playoff game against Houston, Gronk would reinjure his arm.

            During the next season, Gronk still had issues in his arm and had then developed problems in his back, requiring yet another surgery. He would come back in the 2013 season, only to have a player take out his legs, inflicting a torn ACL and MCL. With that, Gronk was done for the season and my time. Another waste of a jersey.

Then I had already pushed my attentions towards Running Back Steven Ridley for the 2013 season in wake of Gronk’s arm issues. Ridley put up great numbers for the Pats the year prior with 12 Touchdowns and over 1,000 yards. Finally a RB I could enjoy watching because BenJarvus wasn’t doing it for me during his time with New England. I purchased Ridley’s jersey right before the start of the season.

Again, I would be disappointed. Ridley started the season off in horrible fashion. His first four games were atrocious, almost to the point where the Patriots were going to give up on him. With this, I retired the Ridley jersey and with the retirement, Ridley came back to form. He would have 6 touchdowns in four games, garnering over 90 yards a game twice in that span. I quickly grabbed the Ridley jersey and wore it every Sunday since Week 8. Since Week 8, Ridley has put up one touchdown and 130 yards. Yet another bust of a jersey.

This was a long version of the story, but I think I have learned my lesson. If I like a player, I probably shouldn’t purchase his jersey. But then again, I probably will never learn. I should probably purchase a jersey of a player everybody hates and see if he goes down… I think it would be worth the experiment.

Why Ellsbury's Deal impacts Jon Lester: And why the Red Sox should be worried

If you haven’t found out yet, you’re hearing it now, Jacoby Ellsbury has inked a seven year deal worth $148 million and an option for an eight year with the New York Yankees (check out the details here).  Not only is this an outrageous deal for something who is 30 years old, this deal will impact other players across the league. And the most important player is the Red Sox’s very own ace: Jon Lester. The deal breaks down into three main reasons why Jon Lester will become a very rich man one day.

Ability

Last season Ellsbury hit 9 HRs and 53 RBIs, which comes along with a league leading 52 stolen bases. His season averages stand at 15 HRs, 71 RBIs, and 55 stolen bases, thanks to an outlier of a season in 2011 (Thanks to Baseball Reference). Without that season, Ellsbury stands at 6 HRs, 37 RBIs, and 37 stolen bases per year without that outlier of a season. I cherish the stolen base as much as any guy, but I like to base my value of production on home runs and runs batted in. With a bias towards those statistics, I do believe that Ellsbury’s $21 million annual salary is way overpriced. Regardless, players with this kind of ability have been given these contracts left and right. For pitchers of comparable value to Ellsbury (Cliff Lee, Tim Lincecum, Johan Santana, etc.), they average at an annual salary of $20 million. Many consider Lester a pitcher of similar quality or even better.

Age

Ellsbury comes into the deal at 30 years old. Right now Lester is younger by a hair, coming in at age 29. The two player’s ages and value are pretty comparable.  Many of these players who get these player friendly contracts come in at the same age as well. These big contracts come around the ages of 29-31. This leads to the inevitable of Lester’s future contract situation.

Verdict

Whether it is in Boston or somewhere else, Jon Lester will get a contract similar to Ellsbury. Lester probably will get something around $22 million over 7 years. What does this mean? The Red Sox better be ready to pay their ace. If they were not willing to give Ellsbury the deal, and for good reason, they better be willing to give it to Lester. However, I do not believe the deal is absolutely necessary. With one of the deepest farm systems in the league, the Red Sox do have many young arms waiting in the wings of Lester. The question becomes: Do the Red Sox trust these young guys in order to save some money? Or do they buck up and give Lester the big bucks, ensuring they keep a proven ace, especially in the playoffs.

In my own opinion, the Red Sox need to be willing to give Lester the money, and the sooner the better.