Season 23 HOF Analysis

Here’s my take on this season’s HOF nominees. I’ve put them in 5 categories: No Doubt, Good Chance, Borderline, Short Career, and No Chance. The problem is that there are so many decent candidates, the vote gets split among them. I’ll be voting for the top 5, but if I had 10 votes I’d use them all. I mean, if you agree with my ratings, 725 HR Rudy Lombardi isn’t even in the top 5! And by the way, many players dropped off the list this year, and many more will soon. Please vote!

No Doubt

Rogers Glynn – Arguably Capra’s greatest offensive player, finished his legendary career at .296/.385/.608. Held the HR crown for a short time, and stands in second with 764 HRs. Also stole 526 bases! He drove in almost 2000 and scored over 2100. He split playing time evenly between LF and 1B, and also started over 400 games at RF. Went to 9 All Star games, won 7 Silver Sluggers, but bizarrely never an MVP (even batting .323 with 72 HR and 156 RBI!) You MUST vote for Glynn for the HOF!!! :-)

Hong-Gu Hyun – One of the great players of all-time, won 2 MVPs, went to 9 All Star games and won 9 Silver Sluggers! Hit almost 400 HRs, stole 250 bases, and had a blistering 1.000 OPS. Did I mention he did it all at CF?

Hal Randall – .336/.419/.563 (.982 OPS) Pretty much says it all. Over 600 2Bs, 375 HRs and 375 SBs. 2800 hits. And played a solid 2B. 11 All Star games and 8 Silver Sluggers. This guy is the definition of HOF.

Diego Santana – 8 All Star games and an MVP for our greatest catcher yet. He slugged 475 HRs, including hitting 60 in a season twice, and had a .950 OPS. The definition of a HOFer.

Good chance

Desi Rodriguez – Gold Glove winning SS who went to 7 All Star games and hit over 500 HR. Sounds like a HOF lock! His .850 OPS hurts him a bit, but a good hitting SS is one of the rarest finds in HBD.

Rudy Lombardi – Another of the all-time mashers retires this year and deserves a serious HOF look. .293/.365/.575 makes a .940 OPS. He hit 725 HRs, 2000 RBIs (exactly) and over 1500 R. Played a little OF, but mostly 1B. 3 ASG, 2 SS, 2 GG at 1B and an MVP. His numbers say HOF lock, but only 3 ASG make you look a little deeper. Certainly in the top group.

Jorel McGlinchy – A tough call, not an amazing offensive player, though respectable with over 500 2Bs, 200 SBs and an .812 career OPS. But an absolutely incredible defensive force, winning 10 GGs at CF and going to 8 All Star games. Racked up 424 (+) plays – the second most is 146. If you value defense, this guys is a HOFer.

Al Maurer – Career RF who slugged 485 HR while putting up .324/.407/.574 (.981 OPS). Amazingly consistent, he went to 10 All Star Games, won 3 SS and 2 GG.

Mikey Tatum – Lfer who went to 9 All Star games, won 4 Silver Sluggers and 4 Gold Gloves. With 300 HR, almost 600 SB, nearly a .900 OPS and 1500 R, he’s easy to vote for.

Stan Lee – Yet another player whose numbers would be good enough in another system, but will never see the HOF in HBD. 462 HR with over 1600 R & RBI, plus 380 SB. A .953 career OPS. 4 AS teams, 5 Silver Sluggers and 2 MVPs! But I doubt he’ll get enough support.

Alexander Henry – 500 HR, 1500 RBI, .971 career OPS. 4 All Star games and an MVP. Another 1B with HOF numbers, but how many can you take. Tough choices here.

Clinton Anderson – This RF hit an enormous 667 HR, drove in over 1800, and scored over 1600. His .921 OPS is very good but does not elevate him from this group. He won an MVP, but only went to 2 All Star games.

Evan Moore – Gets the accumulater vote, but was never as good as the rest of the guys in this category. A solid .869 OPS with over 500 2Bs is very nice, but the only reason he’s this high is because of the 3000 H. Only one All Star game. I personally wouldn’t put him in until a lot of these other guys get in. Played 1B for his whole career despite being listed as a 2B on his HOF card.

Denny Cooper – Second all-time in SBs with 721, this speedster also got on base and hit for power, giving him an .897 career OPS. 4 All Star games and 4 Silver Sluggers. He also played an excellent 2B. Another high-level candidate.

David Wanatabe – The all-time Saves leader by a mile, with 623. Went to 10 All Star games and won 5 Fireman awards. But he only pitched 50 IP more than Nerio, with a 3.67 ERA. Hard to say who was better. Some will vote for him. I probably won’t.

Ron Quantrill – I still haven’t figured out how to rate pitcher’s careers. 176 W and a 3.87 ERA aren’t mind blowing, but there are so few pitchers with those numbers that I think it’s much harder than it seems. 6 All Stars and over 2800 IP.

Borderline

Roosevelt Davenport – A victim of too many good players – he’s next in line to a lot of guys. Should get lots of respect for 586 HRs and a .920 OPS, but only went to 3 All Star games. He played a below average 2B for most of his career, then played an above average LF.

Darin McClellan – A Davenport clone, he hit 589 HRs and had a .921 OPS. Despite that he only went to 1 All Star game. Played 1B, LF and DH. Doesn’t really stand out.

Claude Long – More excellent numbers that don’t quite make it. 562 HR with a .922 OPS. Played most of his career at LF. 5 ASGs and 6 Silver Sluggers.

Ringo Weston – Played CF, SS and 3B, got over 2300 H and 1300 R, with an OPS of .845. Excellent all-around player, maybe not quite HOF quality.

Al Cedeno – A very similar player to Weston, played SS, 3B and RF, almost 2300 H and 1200 R, .840 OPS. Just one AS game, and a GG in RF, and he’s clearly not quite a HOFer.

Anthony Gipson – This excellent 3B went to 6 All Star games, won a Gold Glove and 4 Silver Sluggers. His 399 HR and .899 OPS ironically echo his HOF status: Not Quite.

Mel Barfield – This 2B went to 7 All Star games, won a Gold Glove and 4 Silver Sluggers. A very similar player to Gipson! Hard to complain about 300 HR, 500 SB and an .885 OPS, but with the difficulty of getting in, he probably won’t see the HOF.

Geronimo Ordaz – Almost made it to 3000 H as a SS and compiled an .850 OPS. He compares in some ways to Desi Rodriguez, but never won a gold glove and only went to 3 All-Star games. One step below.

Alberto Sosa – Hard to argue against players with 550 HR, but this RF is going to come up a hair short with his .890 OPS, and the fact he only played in 2 All Star games.

Clyde Unroe – 500 HR and 1500 RBI for someone who played 2B/LF is always good. Only 2 All Star games and an .895 OPS make me think twice.

Julio Iglesias – Played 3B and SS, went to 6 All Star games and won 3 SS and a GG. 300 HR and almost 300 SB, with a .903 OPS. I think he’s just below the HOF.

Don Wilson – Has the magic .300/.400/.500 mark, but just barely, registering a .910 OPS. Went to 4 All Star games, and was an excellent hitter. Too much competition here for him though, with Prieto and Henry in front of him.

Matthew Torres – Made 4 All-Star games and 1 Fireman, pitched a lot for a reliever, racking up over 1600 IP, 108 W, and 208 saves. His 3.72 ERA keeps him out of the elite reliever discussion.

Short Career

T.J. Smart – Another early C with huge seasons, but a too short career. Has a massive .998 OPS, but fewer than 1000 H and only 175 HR.

No Shot

Albert Tatis – A brilliant defender, Tatis won 5 GG as a SS and went to 4 ASG. But despite hitting a respectable .294, his OPS was just .723, and that’s just not enough for a HOF vote.

George Brow – He played a nice CF and came to play every day, and contributed with a .293 AVG. Not a real HOF candidate though.

Adam Williams – A C/DH who hit a nice .307/.413/.507 (.920 OPS), but only 261 HR and less than 1000 R/RBI. 3 ASG and a SS. Not enough.

John Kennedy – Won a CYA and has a 3.87 ERA. Again, I think 109 W and 1500 IP don’t cut it.

Matty Ortiz – His 3.98 ERA and 132 W probably won’t do it. He almost made it to 2000 IP though.

Zachrey Cohen Does not belong on this list.

Minnesota North Stars Spring Training Preview

It’s spring and everyone’s thinking about how his or her team has got a shot this year at the division/pennant/championship. This year I’m not so sure. I thought I had a good team put together but it didn’t perform like I thought it would.

Why the North Stars will be better this season

It’s addition by subtraction as some North Stars have moved on to fresh opportunities. Domingo Reyes and his .649 OPS are going to have to find a new address and to this point it’s not looking likely. Jeff Jones doesn’t have to do much to impress his new teammates given what they got at catcher last year. The club let Rudy Lombardi hit his last home run and reach some longevity milestones last year, but his spot on the bench will likely be more productive. He wasn’t able to field a position so he was a DH or pinch hitter last year and was not a starter the last four years of his prodigious career. None of the three free agents that Minnesota signed to be occasional starters and solid bench players did anything at all for the club. They had offensive lines like .188/.241/.271, .211/.274/.316, and .214/.267/.264. Bad.

For S23, it’s a whole season of Don Barnes at the Metrodome. This year’s big free agent signing Daryle Young can’t afford to flop (as they will be depending on him to play right field with Santos Flores breathing down his neck for playing time) and likely won’t. There are five guys on the team who could start at RF, 1B, or LF, which is a good problem to have. Other FA acquisition Pablo Calles is a low-risk pickup who is basically the same guy as the other two center field candidates but steals bases. On the pitching side, Mickey Goodwin probably can’t do worse than he did last year. Somehow Ruben Valdivia landed a Type A contract with Louisville. I think he’s got some incriminating photos of some VIPs over there.

Why the North Stars won’t improve on 74-88

There’s not any good really said above about pitching. The team was “good enough” with bad years by several players but it’s not certain whether last year was an off year or the new status quo for these men. The rotation really only had two starters who did anything. Top brass tried to sign a co-ace for Rudy Ewing but fell a total of $2M short over five years. There’s competition for the last two rotation spots but in-season there won’t be time to correct mistakes if the wrong candidates make the big league club. If one or two key guys stink up the rotation, this team is worse than last year.

Offensively, the team got a lot younger by letting guys go but those who stayed aged a year. With three position players under age 27 currently on the roster, the North Stars suddenly seem old. Are Flores, Barnes, Young, and company going to fuel the offense, or are they running on fumes?

The team does have depth at some positions but there’s a dearth for others. Nobody good will win the center field job. They aren’t any better than castaway George Casian. Catcher will be an Achilles’ heel again. Curt Shea is a very streaky hitter.

Sum it up, already!

The team has about four holes that will keep it back from greatness. If the hole fillers do better than average, this team will be good. If the rest of the team is outstanding, this team will contend. An injury or a bad season for the wrong guy will sink this club like a shooting star. I say 85 wins.

Most Home Runs by Position

This an attempt to determine which players have hit the most home runs at each position. Of course, to some degree this is impossible thanks to players that have played more than 1 position at any time in their career. We do not have at-bat by at-bat stats for each player. What we do have is a record of how many innings each player played at each position during a season. So, what I've done is to proportionally assign each player's home runs to each position on a season-by-season basis. This should (hopefully) be a reasonably reliable method.

So, for example, if Joe MiddleInfielder's entire career looks like:
SEASON 17: 25HRs, 750 innings at SS, 500 innings at 2B
SEASON 18: 20HRs, 100 innings at SS, 900 innings at 2B

then his pro-rated home runs at shortstop will be:
15 in S17
2 in S18

for a career total of 17 HRs at shortstop (and 28 at 2B).

Okay, ready?

Most Home Runs at 1B:
Darren Owens,761
Pablo Vincente,634
Henry Menechino,517
Alexander Henry,502
Rudy Lombardi,490
Trenidad Prieto,482
Ismael Maduro,418
Kip White,410
Darin McClellan,399
Carlos Pulido,377
Evan Moore,359
Hayes Corino,353
Don Wilson,349
Rogers Glynn,339
Wally Ramirez,298
Tex Jordan,285
Esteban Lee,271
Tyler Buhner,257
Bruce Harper,253
Wilfredo Tavarez,248

Most Home Runs at 2B:
Roosevelt Davenport,440
Otis Watkins,392
Hal Randall,318
Enrique Astacio,265
Rudy Hayes,264
Mel Barfield,263
Harry Pascual,251
Kelvim Woodard,240
Brett Simms,239
Denny Cooper,219
Louie Hayes,209
Lou Witt,208
Lonny Dali,205
Zachrey Grace,203
Ernest Lamb,198
Edgar Berroa,186
Coco Hentgen,186
Lonny Randolph,184
Catfish Sheets,178
Frank Sellers,177

Most Home Runs at SS:
Desi Rodriguez,465
Al Ontiveros,457
Julio Martin,391
Geronimo Ordaz,300
Alfonso Cortez,297
Delino Julio,297
Chuck Coleman,276
Josh Mullaney,267
Wesley Smith,254
A.J. Daniels,230
Chip Turner,226
Luis Ramirez,208
Kevin Hernandez,192
Geraldo Johnson,177
Danny Carlson,174
Kenny Johnson,170
Eric Courtney,157
Jin-Chi Hujimoto,156
Shawn Neal,150
Bruce File,145

Most Home Runs at 3B:
Sean Montgomery,438
Michael Dransfeldt,426
Moises Guzman,379
Sean Burnett,343
Jorge Gomez,291
Anthony Gipson,288
Alex Alomar,271
Trenidad Rios,262
Henry Sullivan,246
Sparky White,223
Ringo Hubbard,214
Hiram West,193
Ariel Rosario,180
Hector Escobar,179
J.T. Barber,171
Julio Iglesias,170
Daniel DeHart,161
Louie Hayes,158
Felipe Martinez,157
Babe High,154

Most Home Runs at LF:
Claude Long,519
Bruce Kent,511
Walt Cashman,385
Raul Costilla,352
Stan Lee,335
Rogers Glynn,307
Roger Scalici,286
Stan Coleman,278
Javier Roque,268
Vladimir Cruz,248
Bailey Cooper,247
Mikey Tatum,245
Clyde Unroe,245
Yamid Pinzon,226
Sam Beech,215
Alfredo Flores,212
Charlie Thomas,211
Bingo Gonzales,207
Matty Estrada,195
Gregg Coco,179

Most Home Runs at CF:
Hong-Gu Hyun,356
Jorel McGlinchy,332
Trenidad Meadows,291
Aurelio Astacio,283
Jorge Lima,257
Alex Beck,227
Albert Manzanillo,191
Hector Jacquez,178
Karl Juden,170
Don Barnes,162
Ismael Guillen,161
Henry Siddall,161
Yorvit Gutierrez,160
Al Perez,157
Jose Trevino,143
Ed Bennett,142
Bosco Gleason,137
Fred Redding,136
Dmitri Stafford,135
Russ Mercedes,132

Most Home Runs at RF:
Clinton Anderson,524
Al Maurer,464
Alberto Sosa,394
Cesar Pulido,371
Matt Kirkland,345
Carlos Medrano,309
Santos Flores,307
Dan Donatello,301
Phil Hogan,294
Juan Valentin,289
Garrett Stewart,264
Alan Greenwood,252
Rick Abbott,248
Ryan Parrish,247
Yamid Beltran,245
Pep Rapp,244
Thomas Simon,235
Daryle Young,210
Alex Carrasquel,183
Steve Terrell,180

Most Home Runs at C:
Diego Santana,474
Al Ordaz,392
Donald Lee,359
Justin Terry,324
Shep Cashman,306
Jimmie Franco,292
Sammy King,281
Lonny Murray,275
Jeff Jones,270
Harold Wilkins,263
Juan Johnson,225
Bo Collins,222
Pedro Rojas,218
Tony Otanez,216
B.J. Omlansky,192
Adam Williams,191
Andy Curtis,191
Henry O'Neill,189
Eli Lopez,188
Julio Concepcion,169

Most Home Runs at DH:
Damaso Colome,702
Javier Leon,500
Willie Bacsik,375
Don Bonilla,268
Jeromy Wagner,267
Ralph Stanley,264
Omar Camacho,252
Bruce Harper,223
Jesus Mendoza,210
Brian Russell,202
Al Wall,198
Walter Webb,191
Jerrod Mann,164
Omar Rivera,158
Tex Jordan,157
Peter Mitchell,147
Miguel Acosta,141
Victor Mairena,140
Carlos Pulido,136
Victor Marichal,125

Most Home Runs at P:
Julius Edmonds,7
Vasco Almonte,6
Fausto Zapata,5
Brett Tracy,5
Paul Martin,5
Pedro Gonzales,4
Kenneth Paulson,4
Horace Gorecki,4
Vic Bocachica,3
Diego Ozuna,3
Jacob Foster,3
Ted Davis,3
Charlie Gulan,3
Jumbo Escuela,3
Matty Ortiz,3
Trenidad Espinosa,3
Pasqual Lopez,3
Harry Barkett,3
Brandon Stevens,3
Jose Lira,3

Owner Interview: dcbove

He's won over 100 games seven seasons in a row and counting. His team is the most feared team in the AL. Here is an owner interview with dcbove.


1. What is your RL situation (age, location, family, career)?
I'm 40 years old, I live in Albany, NY with my girlfriend and no kids or pets. I was an environmental consultant that turned to the dark side and became a software developer about 15 years ago.

2. Favorite Capra player on your own team? On someone else's team?
On my team? When I first acquired my franchise, it was bad. Really bad. And the one player that I had that it was fun to root for from day one was: Juan Martinez. However, nowadays, I am mostly wrapped up in Rick Christensen and his quest for 300.On someone else's? I probably made more trade offers to attempt to acquire William Uehara then any other player. However, I love the fact that some players manage to acquire a league-wide recognized personality. Because of that, I'd have to say that I like Christian Grim.

3. Biggest HBD blunder?
Biggest blunder: Chip Turner was one of my first big free agent signings (2yr, $28M) and one of my favorites. After Season 11, however, he was 34(?) and wanted a 3 year deal. In those days a signing team didn't have to give up a 1st round pick for a Type A free agent if they signed him after the initial free agent signing period. So, my plan was to let someone sign him and take the first round pick OR sign him towards the end of the signing period after his demands had dropped. I did neither. I messed up the timing, the signing period ended, and El Paso signed him for 2yr, $5M, and I lost Capra's first Hall of Famer.Other biggest blunder: Before season 11, all-time Capra wins leader and completely unlikeable Brett Tracy was traded to Jacksonville. Before that trade, I turned down an offer for Tracy where I would have given up (if I remember correctly) Odalis Leon, Tomas Pena, and Jose Trevino. Tracy won his final Cy Young in Season 12.

4. Your general HBD team building strategy?
Tough to say, but I do front load the heck out of everyone's contract. $10M signing bonuses and shifting the money toward the first couple of years of the contract. This isn't RL where the time value of money comes into play. Greatest/worst hbd moment?Finally winning the world series was great, but I think my favorite season was Season 12. The AL East used to be a really rough division where Boston and San Juan would each win 95+ games and lock up the division and one wildcard. The previous season I had traded a couple of prospects for 34 year old Trenidad Prieto. He and rookie Michael Dransfeldt led me to a 96-win season, a wild card and my first playoff birth.

5. If you could add/improve any feature to HBD, what would it be?
I wish the managing of your minors meant more. Arizona Fall League (or heck, winter leagues in the Caribbean and Hawaii!) where you could convert players to other positions and stuff? I wouldn't mind if you could manage your stadium and your television contracts and parking. Overkill, but I'd do it!

6. One interesting RL fact about yourself.
And applicable to baseball in some way, if only tangentially? I've won a bunch of Texas Hold 'Em tournaments of dubious legality in Albany. My favorite story is one where I was left at the final table of a particularly seedy tournament by a couple of friends that were Red Sox fans. They had been knocked out hours ago and wanted to go back to someone's house because Game 1 of the 2004 World Series was about to start. I won, made lots of people very unhappy, almost got my ass kicked and ran from the bar, all because of the damn Red Sox. Go Yankees!

Syracuse Sicilians Preview

After two mediocre seasons of 83 wins each and no playoff appearances the Sicilian nine moves into Season 22 with some questions answered and but several with answers still pending. In short, this season could be a success or something considerably less.

Catcher: Clayton Rollins, he of the .301-.380-.467 career averages, is back again. Season 21 saw his numbers a bit below his career figures, but still he hit .292, OPS'ed .829, and whacked a career high 24 homers. He also showed great durability in playing in 157 games, the forth consecutive year he has played in more than 155 games. He's a warhorse.

Lonny Alomar played well in his rookie season, as a backup, and managed to hit .284.

1B: The Sicilians platooned at the right side corner in 21 and it payed great dividends. Rookie Larry Flood hit .293, bonked 24 homers, and slugged .546 against RHP. Third year player Will Lee hit .287, bonked 13 homers, and slugged .569 vs. LHP. Both have been dangled as trade bait in the off-season but currently they are still Sicilians and ready to reprise their Batman and Robin roles.

2B: Future HoF'er Louie Hayes was shipped down the road in the off-season and now Sammy Guerrero moves over from 3B to man 2nd. Guerrero is a good gloveman who hits especially well against lefties. Veteran Carlos Olmedo was a late signee and will provide an experienced utility presence, decent bat and great glove.

SS: Jim Darwin won the Gold Glove in his first full MLB season. He added 19 homers to account for a heck of a double threat. He was a very popular target in trade offers over the off-season, but the Sicilian front office has, so far, resisted the trade temptation. Benny Scharein played several different positions with luster and surprised everybody with an average north of .270

3B: Veteran Tino Wood was brought in over the winter. He's a decent glove and a decent bat. Wood averages over 20 homers per season and has a career OPS of nearly .800. He won't replace Hayes bat in the lineup, but he's a solid major league and a workaholic locker room presence.

LF: Slugging Wilfredo Hernandez and his 28 homers was not resigned in the offseason. Wild and crazy rookie Steve Martin came up on fire after his midseason call-up. His .320-.426-.606 stat line with 18 homers in 86 games was worthy of some ROY consideration. He's back, will start against lefties and pinch hit. No one expects numbers like he showed last season, but he commands the strike (walking nearly 16% of his PA's) and punishes fences. Early in the season AAA .300 hitter Jason Dodson will get the AB's against RHP, but expect Terry Pariss (acquired in the Hayes' trade) to get his first call up very early.

CF: Switchhitting Ralph Hammonds is consistent. He's hit 7 homers three season in a row and averaged .271, .271 and .279 over that time. He's not very good, but he's consistent.

RF: Max Eckstein hit 31 homers, .244, and OPS'ed .760. All were 3-season lows. He also played only 149 games (with a 15-Day DL stint) after playing every game the previous two seasons. He confidently predicts he will bounce back. He better, or he won't be a Sicilian in Season 23. Hopefully, tough love works.

Starting Pitching: Buzz Andrews is 61-36 with a 3.41 ERA in his 4-year career. He's a good one. Mario Hyers had a career worst 8-15 record in season 21, along with a career worst 4.14 ERA. He still threw 226 innings and is expectedd to bounce back. Former Bonus Baby Everth Cantu saw his record fall from 16-5 to 8-10 and his ERA increase by 1-pt to 3.93. He is expected to sparkle again. Rookie Max Javier went 12-5 after his call up. Those 4 form a very solid rotational core. Thomas Borbon walks too many guys but is 21-21 over his career. He'll get 1st shot at the #5 spot. If he gets bombed, Yorvit Sanchez will get his opportunity in the rotation. He has filled every role in his career, from starter to closer.

The Sicilian bullpen was pathetic in Season 21. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C. It has to improve in Season 22. It can't be worse. Einar Ferrer, Paul Dong, and Orlando Bonilla were brought in to shore up this weakness. Bonilla throws 100 innings a year and has a career ERA of 3.45 and a WHIP of 1.10. He's a pretty good one. Buddy Bottalico was a bullpen bright spot as a rookie. He was 9-5 with a 3.02 ERA. Greybeard Julian Furcal had 17 saves but an ERA over 5. He was wildly overpaid. Thank God he'll be gone after this season! Cy McDowell has great skills, great makeup and a crappy career ERA of 4.38. He remains an enigma and will eventually get another chance to blow the closer role. Dong will get that role as the season begins.

That's it. This year's Syracuse Sicilians. If Wood hits, Eckstein bounces back, Pariss has a fine rookie season and the bullpen doesn't stink it up again, we may challenge for a Wild Card spot, riding on the backs of a decent rotation. We might win 73 games, too.

Play ball!