MLB History

Matt Kemp and Rihanna are still in Mexico, and they don't care who knows it. The two were romantically linked earlier this week, and those reports seem to be right on the money judging by these latest pics. The two are pulling no punches, and have no problem playing to the camera. The life of a professional baseball player, and that of a pop princess. Does it get any better than this?

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Paula Volpoff loves the Cleveland Indians.

She suffered through the early 1950s, when great Cleveland teams were edged out by the slightly better, or as she says, "luckier," Yankees.

Volpoff vividly recalls what happened to the Yankees in 1954.

Excuse me, loyal reader, as I go on a bit of a rant this morning.

On Tuesday's addition of Around the Horn on ESPN, writer Jay Mariotti won the day's pseudo competition and was awarded his 30 seconds of face time.

He chose to use this time to exclaim how he didn't vote this year for Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame.

He said that none of the players up for the first time deserved to get in on the first ballot, and that was reserved for players like Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwen.

This is a response to a very interesting article by Jordan Scwartz; The 50 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time .

In his article Jordan ranked all MLB players (not all players; neither players from the Japanese leagues nor the Negro League were included) based soley on statistics, mixing pitchers and hitters. The idea was good, but I, like others, thinks the method needs to be refined a little. I have made an attempt.

"When he's hot there's no stopping him—he'll even hit a ball over his head." - Nolan Ryan in Nolan Ryan's Pitchers Bible.  (1991)

The man known as "The Hawk" has finally made it to Cooperstown.  Andre Dawson will soon have a plaque and a place in baseballs hall of fame.  My only question is, what took so long?  He should have been in years ago, and I think it's only fitting he will enter the hall alone.  No one will be able to steal his thunder or overshadow him in anyway.  It will be the Hawk's day.  A day that is well deserved and long overdue.

Congratulations to Andre Dawson on his razor thin selection to the baseball Hall of Fame.

After 20 years of being on the ballot, Dawson finally found himself as the biggest name available outside of Mark McGwire, and the writers graciously punched his ticket for a trip to Cooperstown this summer.

But is this the best way to select baseball immortality?

In 1989 Dawson received just 14 percent of the vote in his second year of eligibility and the prospects of Hall of Fame admission were slim.

The writers did a poor job this year in the elections for the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Andre Dawson drew enough votes to gain election, while other, far more deserving candidates, were left to linger.  Dawson pulled in 77.9 percent of the votes, testimony to the idea that a veteran baseball writer will not let a complicated thing like the facts stand in the way of a good story.

All I can say is ... wow.

Edgar Martinez didn’t invent the designated hitter rule. He did better than that—he owned it.

It’s not his fault he was so good at it.

Martinez, eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time this year but nowhere near election (he was named on just 32.6 percent of the ballots; 75 percent is needed for induction), pretty much did one thing and one thing only. He swung the bat, and that was it. Maybe he didn’t even own a glove. Or if he did, perhaps it was covered with cobwebs.

January 6, 2010. If you're a baseball fan, chances are you know what that date means.

It is a great day for anyone who loves baseball. On January 6, 2010, the Baseball Writers Association of America will announce who, if anyone, they will bestow the greatest honor any baseball player can receive, induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.