Tag Archives: BBWAA

Nov26

Happy Thanksgiving from Miss Baseball

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My son Ian made this turkey. No, it’s not a Texas Rangers turkey, and he loves the Rangers. During games on TV, he would put on the foam finger and yell out “Go Rangers.”  This year, Jayson was a Royal, and my child came on board with me. So when his teacher asked the class to disguise a turkey so he could make it past Thanksgiving, Ian came up with a baseball player. And I MAY have influenced which team to pick. OK, I told him, “Let’s make it a Royal.” He likes his Royals turkey. I am very lucky. I have two boys, and they have autism, and they don’t like a lot of things, but they do like baseball. We will watch the games, and for that, I am very grateful that I can share this with them. My oldest, Ben, who has more severe autism, is starting to figure out how the game is played, and he knows the bases, and it’s starting to click for him. And for that, I am very thankful. Ian is my youngest, and he loves all the clapping and loves to scream “CHARGE!” and “LET’S GO RANGERS! LET’S GO!” Yeah, the apple didn’t fall far from that tree 😉 I am so thankful for a life with baseball and two kids to share it with. Happy Thanksgiving.

Nov24

Vote for Biggio

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The list for the Hall of Fame is out. This list is a veritable who’s who of baseball from the ’90s. Two of the “Killer B’s” are on the list, and the scuttlebutt is that Craig Biggio will not have enough votes to make it this year, after falling short last year. I am so mad right now, I am wearing my Astros hat. Why are we having this conversation? Why is it not just a given? So let me refresh the BBWAA minds of who Craig Biggio is. I could say something simple: 3,000 hits. That should be enough to get someone who hasn’t cheated into the Hall of Fame, But apparently, the BBWAA needs more, so let’s look at something I hold near and dear to my heart. He stayed with one team his whole career. 291 home runs, an All-Star and in the ’90s, a force to be reckoned with. In the Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, page 315, he says Craig Biggio is the BEST UNRECOGNIZED PLAYER. He also lists Biggio as number 35 of the 100 GREATEST PLAYERS OF ALL TIME, which you can read about on page 162. I will summarize for you. Biggio is better than Ken Griffey Jr., other than home runs. I am not someone who is an expert in baseball, but Bill James is, and to quote:

“Look, I’m not knocking Ken Griffey. Ken Griffey Jr. is a great ballplayer. Craig Biggio is better. The fact that nobody seems to realize this, well that’s not my problem. I’m not going to rate players by how many Nike commercials they do.” (Page 362 if you want to read the whole summary yourself).

I am done with my rant, but there is a real injustice in baseball. Craig Biggio needs to be in the Hall of Fame, and he needs to be in NOW!