MLB 2023

[Your Mom]

 

[Draevyn]

21 hours ago, Justin Buschlander said:

I realize that you're paying an agent to work out negotiation and details and doubly so if you're hiring the most expensive agent in the sport.  But I do think it was kinda jarring when Boras himself said that Correa had no clue the Mets were even in play until Boras informed him a deal was reached with New York (when Correa then tackled Boras in excitement).  So basically Correa was just waiting for the issues with the Giants to be settled and then got told he was going elsewhere as a surprise.

Then with Correa posting numerous pictures hinting at New York over the past week, entirely possible that he was only just told last night he's flying to Minnesota for another physical.

I know a player at any point can step in and tell his agent to work a deal with a specific team or whatever and it does sound like the Mets and Boras really tried here.  But it's just wild to imagine how many players out there effectively just let their agent decide where they're going to spend the next X number of years of their life.

I assume baseball, like hockey, have things like No Trade, or limited trade type deals? 

I don't know a lot about baseball contracts and such, but I do know that a lot of times with hockey negotiations/trades, a player will sometimes give a list of places he won't be traded to and such. 

Is it the same for Baseball?

[The Buscher]

48 minutes ago, Ebenezer Fork said:

I assume baseball, like hockey, have things like No Trade, or limited trade type deals? 

I don't know a lot about baseball contracts and such, but I do know that a lot of times with hockey negotiations/trades, a player will sometimes give a list of places he won't be traded to and such. 

Is it the same for Baseball?

Baseball definitely has no-trade clauses and limited no-trade clauses.  A lot of limited no-trade clauses are guys no wanting to go to blatantly terrible teams, or to certain parts of the country.  A little different with free agency though.

[Draevyn]

2 minutes ago, Justin Buschlander said:

Baseball definitely has no-trade clauses and limited no-trade clauses.  A lot of limited no-trade clauses are guys no wanting to go to blatantly terrible teams, or to certain parts of the country.  A little different with free agency though.

Oh definitely, but when it comes to free agency I would assume that his agent would have a list as well. So for the most part as long as the money is good, they're just along for the ride.

[Meacon Keaton]

Were there any issues with Correa's physical when he signed with Minnesota last year? I've got a hunch that the Twins' physical process doesn't go any lower than the knees.

[The Buscher]

Scott Boras at Correa's presser today:

"Some orthopedists believe there's a Darwinian concept where the body adapts so you can complete and perform.  The crystal ball approach others in the medical field take about the players' future impacts their lives."

If his goal was to give off the impression that Correa's ankle is definitely going to be fucked in the not so distant future, he was successful.

[Meacon Keaton]

"Sir, I'm afraid you have COPD."

"Oh, so your little crystal ball says if I don't stop smoking I'm going to die? I'll trust my body to adapt a-thank you!"

[The Buscher]

Around 42% of the ballots have been announced for the HOF.  The only two players ahead of the 75% threshold are Scott Rolen (80%) and Todd Helton (79.5%).  Final percentages will almost certainly go down as unannounced ballots tend to be older, small hall voters.

Should be a photo finish for both.  Not really that surprising for Rolen as he finished at just under 70% last year, right in that window where he could realistically get bumped over the edge.  If he misses the cut this year it'll be by a very narrow margin and he'd almost certainly go in for 2024.  Encouraging turnout for Helton though as he only got 54.5% of the vote before receiving a groundswell of new support this year.  Seems his chance of future enshrinement is really good.

Elsewhere - Billy Wagner is up to 73% after finishing at 53% next year.  Best left-handed reliever in the history of the game, guy needs to go in soon.  Andruw Jones and Gary Sheffield have seen massive rises - Andruw is at 68% and Sheffield at 64.5% after finishing with only 45% and 42.5% last year, respectively.  Next year is Sheffield's last chance which often brings a wave of even more late support.  Either way, these jumps very much paint the picture of a changing electorate.

Among the first timers, the only one who had a shot is Beltran.  He won't make it as he's only at 56.5%.  But his number is considerably higher than the clear cut roid guys (A-Rod at 41.5%, Manny at 39%).  I sense some voters are leaving him off because they feel the sign scandal should, at the least keep him from being a first ballot guy.  But I don't know that enough people will hold that scandal against him for the full 10 years.  I'd think he gets in within a few years.

[GhostMachine]

Wagner definitely deserves in, and its a shame he's not in already.

And I agree about Beltran.

 

[The Buscher]

Arte Moreno has decided to not sell the Angels after all.  Brutal news for that fanbase.

[gunnar hendershow]

That's the 2023 offseason gut punch, next is Ohtani leaving, and I can only assume in 2025 Trout will just ask for a shot at a ring.

[The Buscher]

Scott Rolen has made the Hall of Fame, barely squeaking by at 76.3%

Helton just missed out at at 72.2% with Wagner behind him at 68.1%.

[GhostMachine]

How Wagner doesn't get in is beyond me.

I totally understand Helton not getting in, but it'll be a damn crime if he doesn't eventually. 

[Meacon Keaton]

Scott Rolen getting in is odd to me. He was a very, very good ball player, but just over 2000 hits and just over 300 homers at a power-hitting position isn't Hall of Fame worthy.

[gunnar hendershow]

34 minutes ago, Meacon Keaton said:

Scott Rolen getting in is odd to me. He was a very, very good ball player, but just over 2000 hits and just over 300 homers at a power-hitting position isn't Hall of Fame worthy.

I think he was aided a lot by there not being many great offensive 3B in baseball history. Very similar player overall to Ron Santo. And with a great glove, which is what a lot of us acknowledged during his career.

But I'll agree I never thought of him during his career as a HOF player, and then people started making the case. It makes sense looking at other players at the position who are in.

[The Buscher]

According to this Rolen is in the top 10 3B all-time in terms of both WAR and JAWS, he's also above the average HOF 3B in both categories.  But that average HOFer number will shoot up a lot next year upon Adrian Beltre's induction.  A lot of older voters carry the mindset of "if you have to think for a second if this guy is HOF worthy, the answer is no".  Younger voters are increasingly more analytical and assessing the career by advanced data.  I'd imagine we'll be getting more than a few "wait, this guy is in the HOF?" type of inductions in coming years, but they make more sense diving into the numbers beyond just the traditional counting stats.

Also looking at that 3B WAR/JAWS list, David Wright will be on the ballot next year and that makes me feel sad and old.  Tough to not think of what could've been for him...I'd say through 2012 or 2013 he was still on the HOF trajectory especially given the dearth of 3B inducted.  Then he played through 2014 with a shoulder injury and had a terrible year by his standards, and the next year he got spinal stenosis and that was it.  He's an interesting case study of a guy who truly felt like a HOFer at his peak, but it just wasn't enough.  He'll obviously get bounced off the ballot within a year but I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a few votes from the NY writers who covered him daily and saw him at his best.

[gunnar hendershow]

I tend to agree with the "they're either a HOFer or they're not" when it comes to voting. And with 10 votes to go around it's kind of preposterous it takes so long and so many ballots for certain players to get in.

I do suspect as more younger voters come into the majority they'll have already assessed all the analytics and have their minds mind up on the first ballot.

[Your Mom]

More good news for @Justin Buschlanderand the Mets fans amongst us

 

[gunnar hendershow]

Good good. Now more. Sign more guys and have an even higher payroll.

[Meacon Keaton]

8 minutes ago, damhausen said:

Good good. Now more. Sign more guys and have an even higher payroll.

And still get eliminated in the NLDS.