Aroldis and Alomar

So lately there is a buzz about a former Jay perhaps entering Cooperstown, and also the tryout of 21 year old Aroldis Chapman in Houston.

First off, it would stun all the faithful if this young Cuban pitcher were to reject reasonable dollars from the Angels, Red Sox and Yankees, wouldn't it ? For say a lesser offer from a team that does not appear ready to toss big money contracts at known commodities.

Pitching is scarcer than water in the desert, but this acts and walks more like the Jays putting in the prerequisite effort to appease the masses. No one really believes that the team that signed John Buck and Alex Gonzalez is headed towards a big payout, plus a hefty bonus. Not when the GM and Prez have assured the sleepy folks at Rogers that the payroll will come in under $ 65 mill, all in.

So let's give te Jays a big vote of Thanks for coming out, but the best you get is a few lines on the back pages of the newspaper, or in Bob Elliot's case, a neutral treatment and dimissed. Serious folks bring serious money. Adios Araldis, see you later.

Now back to the possibility of the 1st Blue Jay actually getting into the HOF in Cooperstown, namely Roberto Alomar.

His numbers are impressive, his Gold Gloves well deserved.

They stack up

So here is his competition,

Alomar : Alomar, a second baseman, could dominate a game defensively, and he was a wondrous offensive player, a switch-hitter with speed and power. He played with rare flair and intellect, throwing behind runners, seemingly guiding the ball at will down the third-base line from the left side. The spitting incident? Ugly as it was, it should have no bearing on Alomar’s candidacy. Character, integrity and sportsmanship are listed among the Hall’s criteria, but the incident was a one-time mistake; Alomar long ago made his peace with umpire John Hirschbeck.

Larkin: His .371 career on-base percentage was 31 points higher than Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken’s. His .444 slugging percentage was only three points lower. That should be enough.

Larkin also won more Gold Gloves than Ripken, three to two, stole 379 bases — at an 83 percent success rate — and had more career walks than strikeouts. OK, so Larkin didn’t revolutionize the position the way Ripken and Ozzie Smith did, and none of his achievements was as historic as Ripken’s consecutive-games streak. His 10 career trips to the disabled list also deprived him of greater counting stats. Shouldn’t matter. Larkin was a more complete player than Smith and perhaps even Ripken.

Martinez: I have no problem with a player who primarily was a DH making the Hall. Martinez and his brethren did not invent the rules; they abided by them. The best players at every position should be honored. The reason I waver on Martinez is that his peak was too short, lasting essentially seven seasons, from 1995 to 2001. The Mariners did not play him regularly until he was 27, and he did not reach stardom until he was 32. I cannot argue with voters who might say, “Not good enough.” Still, Martinez’s percentage stats are staggering — and think about it: How many right-handed hitters of his generation were better? Martinez is one of only 20 players in major-league history to produce a career batting/on base/slugging line of .300/.400/.500 or better. Since 1945, only three non-active players with at least 7,500 plate appearances exceeded his .418 career OBP — Barry Bonds, Mickey Mantle and Frank Thomas.

McGriff: I know, I know; McGriff doesn’t strike you immediately as a Hall of Famer. But a comparison of his offensive statistics to those of Eddie Murray by the Rays’ public-relations department is rather telling. McGriff had a higher OBP than Murray, .377 to .359, and a higher SLG, .509 to .476. Take it a step further, and he also had higher OPS- plus, 134 to 129, according to baseball-reference.com. Murray was a switch-hitter who won three straight Gold Gloves at first base in his late 20s; McGriff was a left-handed hitter and less-than-stellar defender. But McGriff’s offensive numbers, while compiled in a more hitter-friendly era, are too compelling to ignore. From 1988 to 2002, he averaged 31 homers and 97 RBIs. If McGriff had hit seven more home runs to reach 500, would we even be having this discussion? His run of dominance lasted 15 seasons. His BA/ OBP/SLG line in 50 postseason games was .303/.385/.500

There are also rans like Lou Whittaker, Alan Trammell, Bert Blyleven and Tim Raines, as well there is Andre Dawson and Lee Smith.

I would add Blyleven on and Lee Smith, the offensive numbers are nice for the others, but they do not stand out head an shoulders. Because we will have fewer 300 game winners, the Hall has to re set it's standards, and for that reason Blyleven deserves recogntion.

So for me, I send Barry Larkin, Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar to the Hall.

Now, here's hoping that 2 ex Jays make it, as Tom Cheek is one of the 10 finalists for the Ford C Frick award for execllance in broadcasting.

C'mon and say it with me " Touch em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life" Tom Cheek made that memorable remark up on the spot. Gives me goosebumps just saying it out loud.