Voting For 1: Trevor Hoffman OR Andy Pettitte

Voting For 1:  Trevor Hoffman OR Andy Pettitte

OK, so I realize that nobody is holding a gun to your head.  And I also realize that if you had a vote as a member of the Baseball Writer’s of America that you can make your own decisions and either vote for both, one, or neither of these two recently retired pitchers.

But this is blog-land, and here we force issues, make up stories, and love our sport.

So, my question for you tonight is simple – If you had to pick one, and only one of these guys, would you vote for Trevor Hoffman or Andy Pettitte to be enshrined at Cooperstown??

Within the last few weeks, I have debated the issue for each player and their potential candidacy for Hall of Fame election in five years.  If you want to recap those great posts, you can read the one I did on Trevor Hoffman by clicking here, and then follow that up with my Andy Pettitte story here.

But now, putting their careers on paper and side-by-side I would love to see which way the pendulum swings when you are forced to cast just one vote.

Here are their respective numbers:

	Hoffman	Pettitte
Wins	61	240
Losses	75	138
Saves	601	0
K’s	1133	2251
K’s/9 IP	9.4	6.6
ERA	2.87	3.88
All-Star	7	3
Cy Young	(2)2nd Place	(1)2nd Place
Seasons	18	16
Playoffs	4	13
WS Titles	0	5

And while I fully understand that it is not easy to compare a starting pitcher to a closer for multiple reasons, I think that you can easily match these guys up to the current crop of recently retired pitchers to compare numbers and make a decision.

So that is what I will ask you to do now – Make a decision.  And once you have, please leave a comment on this post so I can get your thoughts and tally up the votes.

And since I was the one who started this debate, I will cast my vote now…

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Keeping you scrolling…

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Andy Pettitte.  Of the two, I find him to be the more accomplished pitcher when it comes to winning.  And while I absolutely value the role of the ‘closer’ more now than what I did five years ago, I still don’t have a single ‘Trevor Hoffman Moment’ that I hold in my memory.  His numbers may be better, but to me Hoffman is second-fiddle to Eckersley, Rivera, Gossage, Fingers, and Lee Smith.  And while Pettitte cannot touch Palmer, Seaver, Ryan, or Gibson, he has won more than all of them – and that says a lot.

Pettitte 1, Hoffman 0.

Cast your vote now!!!

‘On The Road With psuGator02′ – Mark McGwire – February 19, 2011

‘On The Road With psuGator02′ – Mark McGwire – February 19, 2011

Saturday, February 19
9:45 a.m.-1:45 p.m.
Roger Dean Stadium
Jupiter, Fla.

Looked like it was going to be your typical day of graphing the Cardinals-Marlins, but something happened before I drove back South that I’ll be able to tell the nieces and nephews (the gf and I don’t plan on having children) about. You’ll have to read the whole thing to find out what happens at the end

I knew Cardinals’ workouts didn’t begin until 10 a.m. and I knew that the Cardinals wouldn’t sign going in and that the Marlins wouldn’t even be at the stadium until later (their workout would be until 3 p.m. because of FanFest) so I got to sleep relatively late for once (if you call 7:30 a.m. late). Abacoa was hosting an arts festival, meaning the street parallel to first base was closed. To get to the backfields every fan had to be shuttled, six at a time, through the player parking lot via golf carts. You were dropped off at the gate, then shuttled again to the backfields. I guess fans are no longer allowed to walk from the entrance to the backfields on their own for fear of players being accosted.

Was shut out almost the entire day until workouts ended and Mark McGwire shouted that he would sign “over there,” as he pointed to the gate on Field 2 between home and first base that he could open. I had been standing in that spot but had left a few minutes earlier to get Skip Shumacher. I ran to the spot where McGwire was going to sign and was now behind about 40 people. Had I stayed there to begin with I would’ve been right in front and been able to dip. I was able to get McGwire anyway even though I had to push a little bit and take advantage of my large wingspan. It also helped that I had an oddball item that he noticed. I was a little afraid that the graph might smear or smudge in the melee. But McGwire really took his time with it.

Mark McGwire: 1/1 (baseball book I’ve been lugging around for more than 15 years) in blue Sharpie. He even signed in his car in the player lot, but I had decided to grab lunch (there’s the food theme again LOL)
Dennis Martinez: Only upon driving home did I realize that I did, in fact, have another item (a book) for him to sign. Guess I’ll just get him tomorrow. Great guy as usual. Some graphers actually followed him to the bathroom, then got him when he finished his business. I just hope it wasn’t a No. 2
Red Schoendienst: 0/1, 0/1, 0/1..I followed the movements of his golf cart three or four times, but he never would come over
Skip Schumakermacher: Said he was going to sign and he did. Only bad part is that he signed at the exact same time as McGwire. And we all know that McGwire won that argument. Dude is a strict 1-per, too, if you can believe that LOL
Robert Stock: He said he was going to sign, but I was more interested in some of the other, more established players. I’ll get him tomorrow
David Freese: signed a lot, but I didn’t need him
Allen Craig: signed a lot, but I didn’t need him
Nick Punto: signed a lot, but I didn’t need him
Adam Wainwright: I was at another field and missed him. Was doing 3- and 4-per. Oh well
Tony LaRussa: he signed for a bunch of people. But to get him I would’ve had to run over to his field. I’ve gotten him so many times over the years, though, that I didn’t feel like doing that. The next time I get him it will be with the “HOF” inscription
J.W. Porter: One of the nicest former players I’ve ever met. Shook his hand and had a long talk. The guy caught Bob Gibson’s first MLB victory and played with Satchel Paige. He told me he turned 78 on Jan. 17. Oddly enough, I turned 39 on Jan. 22 LOL

Wade Boggs 1992 Topps Award Winners – GOLD

Wade Boggs 1992 Topps Award Winners – GOLD

Sprinting home from 3rd base was something that Wade Boggs did pretty well during the 1992 baseball season.

In fact, he did that 62 times during his last season with the Boston Red Sox.

This baseball card from the 1992 Topps set captures that event perfectly!!

Did You Know…

Only one player has led the league in homers or RBI while splitting the season with two teams.  After driving in four runs in only four games with the 1951 Chicago White Sox, Gus Zernial was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics and went on to compile league-leading totals of 33 homers and 129 RBI.

**factoid courtesy of ‘Big Legaue Trivia’

Happy Birthday George “Sparky” Anderson!!!

Today we celebrate the birthday of Hall of Famer and legendary manager of the ‘Big Red Machine’, Mr. George ‘Sparky’ Anderson.  Always a fan favorite, Anderson provided some great quotes during the course of his coaching career.

Here is a small sampling:

“If I ever find a pitcher who has heat, a good curve, and a slider, I might seriously consider marrying him, or at least proposing.”

“I understand people who boo us. It’s like going to Broadway show, you pay for your tickets and expect to be entertained. When you’re not, you have a right to complain.”

“The day I got a hit off (Sandy) Koufax was when he knew it was all over.”

A true character and a legendary personality in the sport, Sparky Anderson is 1-of-a-kind!!!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Anderson!!!