The Annual Hall of Fame post

Richard Hershberger

Richard Hershberger is a paralegal working in Maryland. When he isn't doing whatever it is that paralegals do, or taking his daughters to Girl Scouts, he is dedicated to the collection and analysis of useless and unremunerative information.

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7 Responses

  1. Burt Likko says:

    I can recall turning my opinion on Selig in 1994 as it was clear to me that he had no problem whatsoever with inducing the strike. Deliberately not paying into a pension plan today, so as to induce lower future salaries, is pretty low punch.

    You might also remind players that not only were the Expos in a six game lead for their division, but they were playing something close to .667 ball most of the year. They were simply on fire. Both the Red Sox and the Cubs were doing well then, too and the idea of a Sox-Cubs World Series was not implausible (this was before both teams had broken their long championship droughts) but for the en fuego Expos. 1994 was simply one of the best years of play I could remember and even in retrospect, it stands out. Selig torpedoed it.

    On the other hand, how were Selig’s Brewers doing that year? Basement of the AL Central (yes, I’m old enough to remember when the Brewers played in the AL). So pulling the plug on an awful season for his own team probably hurt a lot less than it would have had the Brew Crew been looking at a reasonable shot at the pennant.

    Bud Selig used to buy his lunch every day at the Gilles’ custard stand on Bluemound and 76th, within walking distance of my grandmother’s house but after the strike I avoided the place (when in town) during the time he would be likely to be there, because I would have nothing good to say to the man.

    To the extent baseball has thrived from the mid-90’s onward, it’s largely been despite Selig’s cupidity and certainly not because of it.

    Ommegang looks like a class place.Report

    • Richard Hershberger in reply to Burt Likko says:

      Ommegang looks like a class place.

      Someone clicked the link! I have never taken the tour, because my visits to Cooperstown tend to be flying affairs with no spare time for fripperies. But I can attest that the beer, which is widely available in local restaurants, is excellent.Report

    • Matt Williams had 43 HRs in 115 games, which was on pace for 60+. (The record was still Roger Maris’s 61.) Would he have gotten there? We’ll never know.Report

  2. Slade the Leveller says:

    Don’t give short shrift to Schuerholz. He should be in the Hall simply for the fact that he assembled what is probably one of the greatest pitching staffs in the history of organized baseball, the heart of which was Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine. The won 6 Cy Youngs combined during their tenures with the Braves.

    I never knew of Selig’s role in the strike, but he’d never get my vote simply because he was the first non-independent commissioner. The firing of Fay Vincent is a stain that can never be cleaned.

    Also, @richard-hershberger, it’s Carl Pohlad.Report

    • Building a team that finished first every year from 1991 to 2005 (the strike year of1994 excepted) is pretty damned impressive too.Report

      • Richard Hershberger in reply to Mike Schilling says:

        OK, I’ll buy that. I wondered about GMs of other dynasties. Upon checking, I find that Ed Barrow, Yankees GM during the pre-WWII dynasty, and George Weiss, Yankees GM during the post-WWII dynasty, are in the Hall. With that as a baseline, Schuerholz meets the standard. Only a hardened cynic would even think to wonder about the effect of all that TBS superstation money on building that Braves dynasty.Report

        • It was largely built via trades and the draft:

          * Smoltz: acquired as a minor-leaguer for Doyle Alexander
          * Glavine: drafted in the 2nd round
          * Justice: drafted in the 4th round
          * Chipper Jones: drafted with the 1st pick
          * Andruw Jones: Signed as an amateur free agent
          * Javy Lopez: Signed as an amateur free agent
          * Jeff Blauser: drafted in the 1st round
          * Kevin Millwood: drafted in the 11th round
          * John Rocker: drafted in the 18h round

          The only high-priced free agent signing that comes to mind is Greg Maddux.Report