Baseball Hall of Fame

After hearing that Tampa Bay Rays slugger Manny Ramirez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs for the second time in three years, I started to wonder...

"Should we let steroid users into the Hall of Fame?"

Today the Baseball Hall of Fame celebrates its 73rd birthday.

Personally, nicknames are just as much a part of baseball as beer and hot dogs. For as long as the game has existed, teammates and announcers have provided the fans with colorful names that turn celebrities into part of the family.

Nicknames are part of baseball history, so where better to look than Cooperstown?

For the first time since Richard Nixon was president, no big league team will break spring training camp with a Ken Griffey on its roster—Senior or Junior.

Every April from 1974 through 2010, there was a Ken Griffey in the majors. First it was the original Griffey—Senior—who broke into the bigs with the Cincinnati Reds and who kept playing until his baby boy grew up and was old enough to be his teammate with the Seattle Mariners in 1990.

I live for this, for MLB,

for every inning of sanctity.

For every pitch, for each at-bat,

revering the talent beyond the stats.

I live for the scent of old leather mitts,

I live for the cadence of the walk-off base hit.

I live for the moment when winter gives way,

to the unmatched thrill of Opening Day.

I live for this, the stadium stands,

fusing the hope of breathless fans.

Tommy John’s hopes of a bust in Cooperstown have long since died. In 2009, the BBWAA unceremoniously snuffed out his candle and sent him into MLB Purgatory with only 31 percent of the ballots. If the Veterans’ Committee does not act upon him within 15 years, he will be resigned to MLB Hell.

It is a shame too, because John is one of baseball’s nice guys. Hell, he even has a medical procedure named after him, shouldn’t that count for something?

Johnny Damon is on the cusp of reaching a statistic that almost guarantees entry into the Hall of Fame: 3,000 hits. 

Since Damon burst onto the scene in 1995 as a Kansas City Royal, he has developed into one of the most consistent hitters this game has seen since 2004 inductee Paul Molitor. 

When I thought about writing this, Molitor was the first person I thought of as a comparison because of his consistency.

Has the Big Hurt done enough to make it to Cooperstown? If my calculations are correct, he will be eligible for his first ballot appearance in 2014.

He passes the eyeball test for sure. If you watched him play, it is easy to just say, “Yes, Thomas is a Hall of Fame player.”

He surely has very good numbers across the board, whether you grade him traditionally or using advanced metrics.

For the first time in 17 years Andy Pettitte won't be putting on pinstripes (he even wore pinstripes during his Houston stint).

Pettitte suited up for the Bronx Bombers in 13 of his 16 seasons in the big leagues. In his career he amassed 240 wins and 138 losses (Yankee record: 203-112). Pettitte is third all time in career wins in the Yankees organization.

Last week, centerfielder Jim Edmonds announced his retirement after a 17-year career centered mainly around the Angels and the Cardinals.

Center fielder and Cardinal great Jim Edmonds is retiring. After deciding his injury is too severe to risk a comeback, the eight-time Gold Glove winner is retiring as a member of the team he is most associated with. It’s a shame, too, as he was very productive last year with the Brewers and Reds.