Hall of Merit: 2013 Results: Bonds, Clemens, Piazza and Biggio are elected to the Hall of Merit!

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza and Craig Biggio have been elected to the Hall of Merit!

The timing for our first year electing 4 candidates could not have worked out better, since class of 2013 is the strongest in terms of electees that we’ve ever had. The top of the 1934 ballot included Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins, Pop Lloyd, Smokey Joe Williams and Cristobal Torriente, but only 2 were elected.

Bonds and Clemens were each unanimous at 1 and 2. I believe that’s the first ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 2012 Ballot

Here are the specific rules for this election:
Candidate Eligibility: Any North American professional baseball player is eligible for the Most Meritorious Player (MMP) award including players in the top Negro Leagues or independent teams. Voters should consider the player’s on-field contribution to Major League Baseball (MLB) team(s) in that season only. If part of the season was spent outside MLB, that value may be considered as well. However, the player’s on-field contribution should be ...

Hall of Merit: 2013 BBTF Hall of Fame Ballot

IMPORTANT: Please read:

This election should follow BBWAA rules, not Hall of Merit rules. However, we hope to see only players that each voter feels belong on their ballots - if you don’t feel he really is a HOFer, then please refrain from posting that player’s name (examples of whom I am referring to are Mookie Wilson, Scott Brosius, Buddy Biancalana - players who were well liked or were underdogs, but have no creditable HOF resume). Leaving 1st-year candidates off your ballot is also ...

Sox Therapy: Everyone Else in the AL East is Terrible

I figure most of y’all saw that SG did his first run of team projections based on CAIRO and showed a four-team dead heat in the AL East.  The Sox at 84 wins trailed ever so slightly the Yankees at 85 and the Rays and Jays at 86.  While it’s of course too early, it seems pretty unlikely that anyone’s going to project to run away with the AL East.  The Yankees could still remember that they’re the New York Yankees, but they seem pretty locked in to this unnecessary two-year rebuild.  The ...

Primate Studies: What do you do with Deacon White?

Last week, the attention of the baseball world was focused keenly on the Winter Meetings.  They’re reliably one of the high points of the offseason, featuring free agent speculation, wild trade rumors, and Hall of Fame selections from the Veterans’ Committee.

Unfortunately, “keen” is a very generous description for the level of emphasis given to the last item on that list.  The Veterans’ vote didn’t even get top headline status on ESPN’s MLB page when it was announced, even ...

Sox Therapy: Let’s Look at Josh Hamilton and Three Years

So the big rumor is that Seattle and others are trying to get Josh Hamilton to sign for three years. And the big reaction has been, “If anyone signs him for that, it should be my team!” That presents a couple of issues. First, even if Hamilton signs for three years, only one team is going to get him, and everyone else is going to be mad at their team. Second, what would constitute a good three-year deal?

The point of a three-year deal is that you’re getting the best years, and if the player ...

Hall of Merit: Help Wanted!

Hey guys, as I mentioned earlier, John Murphy has retired from the Hall of Merit in terms of day-to-day (or even year-to-year) support.

Anyone interested in picking up the torch?

Tasks include, but are not limited to: Posting threads (new eligibles, discussion, ballot, results, individuals of note - am I missing any others?); typing in the compiled results (which is a nightmare); maintaining the list of links.

Regarding the HoM Plaque Room, a curator is needed for it.

Also, most pressing, ...

Sox Therapy: All-Around Players: Still Undervalued

The most recent Sox free agent news on the twitters is that the Sox are the favorites to sign Shane Victorino.  Robothal reports they’ve offered 3/38, pretty much identical to the Napoli contract.  The 2012 free agent market featured a bunch of players who produce value at the plate, on the bases, and in the field, without being particularly elite in any aspect of the game.  Victorino remains unsigned, while Upton and Pagan signed for 5/75 and 4/40, both less than I was expecting. 

Hall of Merit: 2013 Hall of Merit Ballot

First I’d like to thank John Murphy for his dedicated service over the years. John has decided to retire from the Hall of Merit, except for as a voter. We really could not have done this without you John. I owe you many beers once our paths cross.

Now, onto the fun!

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I’ve posted this the last couple of years, but as a reminder:

“This has been an issue in the past, so I’ll repeat it now for clarification . . . the posting of the ballot to the discussion thread for new voters is not ...

Jim's Lab Notes: BBTF.org Beta, Take 2

After taking a much needed hiatus from my work on the site’s redesign. I am back to work. In June, when I realized I would not be able to finish off the Beta in time for the All Star, I decided to take a break. I needed it. I was burnt out from all the work that I was doing. Additionally, with the summer at hand, I knew it would be a good idea to spend some time with my kids and family whose patience I was beginning to try. So, other than some bug fixing, I put the update on the back burner. ...