George Steinbrenner is Finalist for Hall of Fame

An ultimate wrong may finally be written this December as George M. Steinbrenner has become a finalist for Hall of Fame consideration on this year’s Eras Committee ballot. The purpose of this committee, which used to be called the Veterans Committee, is to give a second chance to players and sometimes a first chance to owners, managers, umpires etc. at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The 10-name ballot will be reviewed and voted upon on December 5^th.

The 10-name ballot includes Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Mark McGwire, Lou Piniella, John Schuerholz, Bud Selig and Mr. Steinbrenner himself. Obviously Baines, Belle, Clark and McGwire are included due to their playing careers, Piniella and Johnson because of their managing careers and Schuerholz, Selig and Steinbrenner for their time as owners and the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Any candidate who receives 75% or more of the vote (16 members vote in the Today’s Game Era Committee) will immediately join the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Everyone but Mr. Steinbrenner is currently living at the time of this writing. Good luck to all but especially good luck to The Boss!

The Greatest DH’s in MLB History

The Hall of Fame vote for the 2016 inductions are over but that doesn’t mean the debate for 2016 and the speculation for the 2017 vote has to end. It won’t end here anyway because I have a ton to say about it and the free agency and trade markets aren’t doing us any favors to fill the time right now. We have gone over the best catchers of all-time as we looked to shine some light on the tremendous career of Mike Piazza and today we will look ahead to not only the 2017 class but the 2021 class as well. That’s when presumably David Ortiz will be eligible for the Hall of Fame with the five-year waiting period and the DH debate can begin once again.

I am piggybacking Scott Chiusano of the New York Daily News a bit as he released his own Top 5 DH’s of all-time by the numbers but I am putting my own spin on things like I tend to do. First I changed around his rankings a bit to fit my opinion and secondly I want to see how this list will or could affect Oritz when he comes up for Hall of Fame voting in 2021. First things first though, my list:

1.       Edgar Martinez

2.       David Ortiz

3.       Frank Thomas

4.       Harold Baines

5.       Paul Molitor

Paul Molitor was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004 as a player while Frank Thomas was elected in 2004 by the Baseball Writers Association of America while the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, or the IBWAA, elected Edgar Martinez in 2016 to their Hall of Fame. Many believe that Harold Baines belonged in the Hall of Fame and Baines was elected to the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 2009. This leaves three of the Top 5 DH’s in MLB history in the Hall of Fame, one that many believe should be in the Hall of Fame and one just awaiting his candidacy. A lot can change between now and the 2021 Hall of Fame vote but by then, either because of the DH position or the steroid era, David Ortiz will likely be in…. as much as that pains me to say as a fan of the Yankees.