Meet the 2019 Yankees: Josh Bard

The only constant every offseason, both for the New York Yankees and their coach staff, is change. Out after ten seasons in the Bronx was Joe Girardi, in was a former Yankees postseason hero in Aaron Boone. Out with the Yankees bench coach after not landing the Yankees managerial position was Rob Thomson, in his spot as bench coach is now Boone’s right-hand man Josh Bard. That was 2018, but both Boone and Bard are back for the 2019 season, as well as the entire coaching staff, so let's meet them once again. This is Meet a Manager: The Josh Bard Edition.


The only constant this offseason for the New York Yankees and their coach staff has been change. Out after ten seasons in the Bronx was Joe Girardi, in was a former Yankees postseason hero in Aaron Boone. Out with the Yankees bench coach after not landing the Yankees managerial position was Rob Thomson, in his spot as bench coach is now Boone’s right-hand man Josh Bard. Let’s meet the former MLB player and current bench coach of the New York Yankees. This is Meet a Manager: The Josh Bard Edition.


Joshua David Bard was born on March 30, 1978 (Happy Early BDAY!!) in Ithaca, New York. When bard was just an infant his family moved to Elizabeth, Colorado where he attended Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Bard was drafted out of High School by the Minnesota Twins in the 35th round of the 1996 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft but did not sign. Instead Bard attended Texas Tech University where he was a three-time All-American while playing baseball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. While there Bard caught the eye of the Colorado Rockies who drafted him in the 3rd round of the 1999 MLB Draft, eventually signing him on August 12, 1999. Bard’s professional career was ready to begin.

Before Bard could make his Major League debut he was traded by the Colorado Rockies alongside Jody Gerut to the Cleveland Indians for Jacob Cruz on June 2, 2001. By August 23, 2002 Bard was in Cleveland and making his MLB debut with the Indians. Bard hit a walk-off home run against the Seattle Mariners in the game becoming just the second player in MLB history to ever do so in their debut, joining Billy Parker. Bard became a semi-regular with the Indians in 2004 appearing in 91 games but missed a bulk of the first half of the season due to an abdominal injury. Bard was back in 2005 though and served as the backup catcher to Victor Martinez before the Indians shipped him to the Boston Red Sox before the 2006 season. The Indians sent Bard, outfielder Coco Crisp and relief pitcher David Riske to the Boston Red Sox for relief pitcher Guillermo Mota, third base prospect Andy Marte, and catcher Kelly Shoppach. Bard immediately became the Red Sox backup catcher for the 2006 season after the team lost John Flaherty the following season to retirement. Bard also quickly became the personal catcher for knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield while with the Red Sox.


After serving as the backup catcher in Boston the Red Sox traded Bard to the San Diego Padres along with Cla Meredith for Doug Mirabelli. The Red Sox had traded Mirabelli to the Padres just a few weeks before, had more experience and better results catching Tim Wakefield leading Boston to make the move, apparently Bard and his passed balls were not cutting it in Bean Town. Bard backed up Mike Piazza while in San Diego and hit .338 in 231 at-bats after the trade despite being a career .240 hitter before his time in San Diego. While with the Padres Bard was catching pitcher Clay Hensley on August 4, 2007 as he gave up a pretty big home run to some guy named Barry Lamar Bonds. Apparently, that was like his 755th home run of his career or something, but I don’t know because I have never heard of the guy. Anyway, Bard was finally named as a starting catcher in 2008 with the Padres, but his hot hitting from the previous season did not carry over to the new year. Bard played out the 2008 season with San Diego before leaving the Padres for free agency following the year.


Bard returned to the Boston Red Sox on a one-year deal worth $1.6 million for the 2009 season, but by March 18 he was released by the club. Three days after being released bard signed on with the Washington Nationals on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Bard made the team and eventually got into 90 games with the Nationals, hitting just .230. After the 2009 season Bard was once again a free agent, this time signing a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners. Bard continued to bounce around with various teams including the Mariners and the Los Angeles Dodgers before retiring officially after the 2012 season.

Bard retired after the 2012 season and chose to remain with the Dodgers as a Special Assistant. Bard toiled around as the Special Assistant to the GM until the 2016 season when Los Angeles promoted the former MLB catcher to the Major League bullpen coach for the 2016 season. Bard was in the same role during the 2017 season with Los Angeles before the New York Yankees, and specifically new manager Aaron Boone, came calling before the 2018 season. Boone wanted Bard to be his right-hand man and bench coach last season, and so it is so after signing with the Yankees. Bard must have left a lasting impression because he is back in the same position for New York here in 2019.


Welcome back, Josh. No experience is no longer an excuse, do us proud and Go Yankees!

Remembering Game Five of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 5 of the 2000 World Series.

In a rematch of the Game 1 pitchers duel Andy Pettitte took the mound for the Yankees and faced off against the Mets ace Al Leiter. Bernie Williams would get the scoring going with a solo home run in the top of the 2nd inning giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Mets would respond by getting two unearned runs across the board in the bottom of the 2nd and would keep that lead until the 6th inning when Derek Jeter hit a game tying home run. Heading into the 9th inning the game was tied a 2-2 each when Luis Sojo hit an RBI single off of Al Leiter to give the Yankees the lead and an errant throw that ended up in the Yankees dugout allowed a 4th run to score giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead going to the bottom of the 9th. Mike Piazza would come up in the 9th as the tying run in the 9th and hit a deep fly ball to center field that would find Bernie Williams glove and that would get the Yankees their third consecutive World Series victory. Mike Stanton would get the victory and Al Leiter would take the loss while Mariano Rivera notched his second save of the World Series in the clinching game.


This would be the Yankees 26th World Series victory overall and fourth in five years cementing the dynasty.

Remembering Game Two of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.

The New York Yankees would send Roger Clemens to the mound in Game 2 to face off with Mets pitcher Mike Hampton. Roger Clemens was already not a favorite in the Mets clubhouse after this seasons match up in Interleague play where Clemens hit Mets catcher Mike Piazza in the head with a fastball that gave him a concussion and landed him on the disabled list. The bad blood came back when in Mike Piazza's first at bat Roger Clemens sawed off Piazza's bat with a fastball that went foul. A large piece of the bat came flying towards Clemens and he would pick up the bat and throw it down the first base line in the general direction of Mike Piazza. Clemens said after the game that he did not see Piazza running down the base line when he threw the bat but that did not placate Mike Piazza. The Yankees would take a 6-0 lead into the 9th inning when Mike Piazza would get some sort of pay back when he hit a home run against Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson later in the game but the Yankees would ultimately win the game 6-5 to take a 2-0 lead in the Subway World Series. Roger Clemens would take the victory and Mike Hampton would take the loss.

This would be the Yankees 10th consecutive World Series game victory tying the longest American League winning streak in World Series history.

Meet a Manager: Josh Bard

The only constant this offseason for the New York Yankees and their coach staff has been change. Out after ten seasons in the Bronx was Joe Girardi, in was a former Yankees postseason hero in Aaron Boone. Out with the Yankees bench coach after not landing the Yankees managerial position was Rob Thomson, in his spot as bench coach is now Boone’s right-hand man Josh Bard. Let’s meet the former MLB player and current bench coach of the New York Yankees. This is Meet a Manager: The Josh Bard Edition.

The only constant this offseason for the New York Yankees and their coach staff has been change. Out after ten seasons in the Bronx was Joe Girardi, in was a former Yankees postseason hero in Aaron Boone. Out with the Yankees bench coach after not landing the Yankees managerial position was Rob Thomson, in his spot as bench coach is now Boone’s right-hand man Josh Bard. Let’s meet the former MLB player and current bench coach of the New York Yankees. This is Meet a Manager: The Josh Bard Edition.

Joshua David Bard was born on March 30, 1978 (Happy Early BDAY!!) in Ithaca, New York. When bard was just an infant his family moved to Elizabeth, Colorado where he attended Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Bard was drafted out of High School by the Minnesota Twins in the 35^th round of the 1996 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft but did not sign. Instead Bard attended Texas Tech University where he was a three-time All-American while playing baseball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. While there Bard caught the eye of the Colorado Rockies who drafted him in the 3^rd round of the 1999 MLB Draft, eventually signing him on August 12, 1999. Bard’s professional career was ready to begin.

Before Bard could make his Major League debut he was traded by the Colorado Rockies alongside Jody Gerut to the Cleveland Indians for Jacob Cruz on June 2, 2001. By August 23, 2002 Bard was in Cleveland and making his MLB debut with the Indians. Bard hit a walk-off home run against the Seattle Mariners in the game becoming just the second player in MLB history to ever do so in their debut, joining Billy Parker. Bard became a semi-regular with the Indians in 2004 appearing in 91 games but missed a bulk of the first half of the season due to an abdominal injury. Bard was back in 2005 though and served as the backup catcher to Victor Martinez before the Indians shipped him to the Boston Red Sox before the 2006 season.  The Indians sent Bard, outfielder Coco Crisp and relief pitcher David Riske to the Boston Red Sox for relief pitcher Guillermo Mota, third base prospect Andy Marte, and catcher Kelly Shoppach. Bard immediately became the Red Sox backup catcher for the 2006 season after the team lost John Flaherty the following season to retirement. Bard also quickly became the personal catcher for knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield while with the Red Sox.

After serving as the backup catcher in Boston the Red Sox traded Bard to the San Diego Padres along with Cla Meredith for Doug Mirabelli. The Red Sox had traded Mirabelli to the Padres just a few weeks before, had more experience and better results catching Tim Wakefield leading Boston to make the move, apparently Bard and his passed balls were not cutting it in Bean Town. Bard backed up Mike Piazza while in San Diego and hit .338 in 231 at-bats after the trade despite being a career .240 hitter before his time in San Diego. While with the Padres Bard was catching pitcher Clay Hensley on August 4, 2007 as he gave up a pretty big home run to some guy named Barry Lamar Bonds. Apparently, that was like his 755^th home run of his career or something, but I don’t know because I have never heard of the guy. Anyway, Bard was finally named as a starting catcher in 2008 with the Padres, but his hot hitting from the previous season did not carry over to the new year. Bard played out the 2008 season with San Diego before leaving the Padres for free agency following the year.

Bard returned to the Boston Red Sox on a one-year deal worth $1.6 million for the 2009 season, but by March 18 he was released by the club. Three days after being released bard signed on with the Washington Nationals on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Bard made the team and eventually got into 90 games with the Nationals, hitting just .230. After the 2009 season Bard was once again a free agent, this time signing a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners. Bard continued to bounce around with various teams including the Mariners and the Los Angeles Dodgers before retiring officially after the 2012 season.

Bard retired after the 2012 season and chose to remain with the Dodgers as a Special Assistant. Bard toiled around as the Special Assistant to the GM until the 2016 season when Los Angeles promoted the former MLB catcher to the Major League bullpen coach for the 2016 season. Bard was in the same role during the 2017 season with Los Angeles before the New York Yankees, and specifically new manager Aaron Boone, came calling before the 2018 season. Boone wanted Bard to be his right-hand man and bench coach this season, and so it is so after signing with the Yankees.

Welcome to the club Josh, and welcome to the bench in the Bronx. No experience needed, allegedly. Most importantly though, welcome to the family. Do us proud!

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/25: 2009 Yankees Reach World Series

On this day in 2009 the Yankees would win their 40th American League pennant in their storied history with a victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This will end a six year drought in the World Series for the Yankees as they would take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 Fall Classic. This would be the Yankees first World Series win since their victory over the Mets in the 2000 Subway World Series.

On this day in 2000 Mike Piazza, yes I know a member of the Mets, became the first player in World Series history to hit a home run in both Shea Stadium and Yankees Stadium. Piazza hit the home run off of Yankees starter Denny Neagle in a 3-2 Mets loss in Game 4.


On this day in 1939 Joe DiMaggio would win his first MVP award of his career. DiMaggio beat out Jimmy Foxx and Bob Feller easily for the American League award with 15 of the 24 first place votes. DiMaggio would also win the award in 1941 and 1947 as well.

Remembering Game Five of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 5 of the 2000 World Series.

In a rematch of the Game 1 pitchers duel Andy Pettitte took the mound for the Yankees and faced off against the Mets ace Al Leiter. Bernie Williams would get the scoring going with a solo home run in the top of the 2nd inning giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Mets would respond by getting two unearned runs across the board in the bottom of the 2nd and would keep that lead until the 6th inning when Derek Jeter hit a game tying home run. Heading into the 9th inning the game was tied a 2-2 each when Luis Sojo hit an RBI single off of Al Leiter to give the Yankees the lead and an errant throw that ended up in the Yankees dugout allowed a 4th run to score giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead going to the bottom of the 9th. Mike Piazza would come up in the 9th as the tying run in the 9th and hit a deep fly ball to center field that would find Bernie Williams glove and that would get the Yankees their third consecutive World Series victory. Mike Stanton would get the victory and Al Leiter would take the loss while Mariano Rivera notched his second save of the World Series in the clinching game.


This would be the Yankees 26th World Series victory overall and fourth in five years cementing the dynasty.

Remembering Game Two of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.

The New York Yankees would send Roger Clemens to the mound in Game 2 to face off with Mets pitcher Mike Hampton. Roger Clemens was already not a favorite in the Mets clubhouse after this seasons match up in Interleague play where Clemens hit Mets catcher Mike Piazza in the head with a fastball that gave him a concussion and landed him on the disabled list. The bad blood came back when in Mike Piazza's first at bat Roger Clemens sawed off Piazza's bat with a fastball that went foul. A large piece of the bat came flying towards Clemens and he would pick up the bat and throw it down the first base line in the general direction of Mike Piazza. Clemens said after the game that he did not see Piazza running down the base line when he threw the bat but that did not placate Mike Piazza. The Yankees would take a 6-0 lead into the 9th inning when Mike Piazza would get some sort of pay back when he hit a home run against Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson later in the game but the Yankees would ultimately win the game 6-5 to take a 2-0 lead in the Subway World Series. Roger Clemens would take the victory and Mike Hampton would take the loss.

This would be the Yankees 10th consecutive World Series game victory tying the longest American League winning streak in World Series history.

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/25: 2009 Yankees Reach World Series

On this day in 2009 the Yankees would win their 40th American League pennant in their storied history with a victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This will end a six year drought in the World Series for the Yankees as they would take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 Fall Classic. This would be the Yankees first World Series win since their victory over the Mets in the 2000 Subway World Series.

On this day in 2000 Mike Piazza, yes I know a member of the Mets, became the first player in World Series history to hit a home run in both Shea Stadium and Yankees Stadium. Piazza hit the home run off of Yankees starter Denny Neagle in a 3-2 Mets loss in Game 4.


On this day in 1939 Joe DiMaggio would win his first MVP award of his career. DiMaggio beat out Jimmy Foxx and Bob Feller easily for the American League award with 15 of the 24 first place votes. DiMaggio would also win the award in 1941 and 1947 as well.

Recapping Yankees Postseason History: 2000

Continuing with our look at some of the major pieces of the Yankees postseason history we skip ahead a year to the year 2000 where New York took center stage. The New York Yankees ran through the American League playoffs that season while the New York Mets took down a set of tough teams including the Atlanta Braves on the way to the World Series as well. The Subway Series, set the stage.

What a series this was. You had Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza almost throw down. You had Piazza also almost take Mariano Rivera yard to force a Game Six. This series had it all. Clutch hitting, great pitching and everything in between. Oh, and another Yankees victory.

Have a good evening everyone and watch that clinching victory right here on the blog since no other baseball is on tonight. Enjoy. 

Remembering Game Five of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 5 of the 2000 World Series.

In a rematch of the Game 1 pitchers duel Andy Pettitte took the mound for the Yankees and faced off against the Mets ace Al Leiter. Bernie Williams would get the scoring going with a solo home run in the top of the 2nd inning giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Mets would respond by getting two unearned runs across the board in the bottom of the 2nd and would keep that lead until the 6th inning when Derek Jeter hit a game tying home run. Heading into the 9th inning the game was tied a 2-2 each when Luis Sojo hit an RBI single off of Al Leiter to give the Yankees the lead and an errant throw that ended up in the Yankees dugout allowed a 4th run to score giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead going to the bottom of the 9th. Mike Piazza would come up in the 9th as the tying run in the 9th and hit a deep fly ball to center field that would find Bernie Williams glove and that would get the Yankees their third consecutive World Series victory. Mike Stanton would get the victory and Al Leiter would take the loss while Mariano Rivera notched his second save of the World Series in the clinching game.


This would be the Yankees 26th World Series victory overall and fourth in five years cementing the dynasty.

Remembering Game Two of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.

The New York Yankees would send Roger Clemens to the mound in Game 2 to face off with Mets pitcher Mike Hampton. Roger Clemens was already not a favorite in the Mets clubhouse after this seasons match up in Interleague play where Clemens hit Mets catcher Mike Piazza in the head with a fastball that gave him a concussion and landed him on the disabled list. The bad blood came back when in Mike Piazza's first at bat Roger Clemens sawed off Piazza's bat with a fastball that went foul. A large piece of the bat came flying towards Clemens and he would pick up the bat and throw it down the first base line in the general direction of Mike Piazza. Clemens said after the game that he did not see Piazza running down the base line when he threw the bat but that did not placate Mike Piazza. The Yankees would take a 6-0 lead into the 9th inning when Mike Piazza would get some sort of pay back when he hit a home run against Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson later in the game but the Yankees would ultimately win the game 6-5 to take a 2-0 lead in the Subway World Series. Roger Clemens would take the victory and Mike Hampton would take the loss.

This would be the Yankees 10th consecutive World Series game victory tying the longest American League winning streak in World Series history.

Mike Piazza & the Ethical Hall of Fame Debate

Mike Piazza is in the Hall of Fame, this much we know and this none of us can really change. For better or worse the first player to be linked or suspected of steroid use that played in the steroid era is in the Hall of Fame which has caused a stir around Major League Baseball. Did Piazza use and should he be in the Hall of Fame? These are just a couple of the questions that I am going to attempt, key word being attempt, to answer today in this blog post.


Before the comments and emails come flooding in I am well aware of Piazza’s autobiography where he admitted to using androstenedione and I am well aware that it was added to Major League Baseball’s list of banned substances in 2004. Andro is a muscle-building compound that was long banned by the International Olympic Committee before it was added to MLB’s banned list. Should he be punished for doing something that wasn’t illegal at the time? I think not, personally. That’s like locking up all the people in California, Colorado, Seattle etc. for smoking marijuana before it was made illegal in those states. It’s irresponsible and, in my opinion, not plausible.


It is worth mentioning that drug testing and Piazza’s home run power, or lack thereof, definitely had a direct correlation between each other. Piazza hit 33 home runs in 2002, the year before drug testing was talked about and before it was implemented in 2004 (and punishable in 2005), and that number dropped to 11 in 2003. Granted Piazza stayed injured for much of 2003 but that is also a side effect of prolonged steroid use per Jose Canseco, especially when you stop taking them. Piazza never went on to hit more than 22 in a season after drug testing was implemented but it is also worth mentioning that Piazza turned 35-years old in 2003. Playing behind the dish for 140 games a season takes a toll on your body, especially your lower half, so it could be chalked up as a coincidence and Mother Nature intervening rather than steroid use.


In the end we will never know EVERYONE who did steroids, either once or for a prolonged period of time. We will never know if someone in Cooperstown already had used steroids in the past and we’re likely to never know in the future if the BBWAA is electing steroid users into the Hall of Fame. This is why we must elect them all, suspicions or not, or none at all. With Piazza in I think that question just got answered, you have to elect them all now. Especially when you almost elected Tim Raines, an admitted cocaine addict that admitted to using cocaine DURING GAMES. There’s a fine line here people and many of you are jumping back and forth between it.

The Boring Winter Ahead: Watch the 2000 World Series Game Five HERE

Game Five of the 2000 World Series between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.

Why Game Five? Well I couldn't find games three or four on Youtube. Spoiler alert, the Yankees and Mets split the two games and the Yankees went into Game Five with a 3-1 lead. You'll have to watch to see if they close it out. Hint. They do. 

The Boring Winter Ahead: Watch the 2000 World Series Game Two HERE

Game Two of the 2000 World Series between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.

Why no Game One? Can't find it on Youtube. Spoiler alert, Yankees won behind a Luis Vizcaino single and some strong defense from Derek Jeter and company. 

What is “Andro” and Why Is it Banned?

Every year about this time the debate whether steroid era players should be in the Hall of Fame or not gets heated but do people really know what they are talking about? That’s not meant to be an insult or a questioning of your intelligence by any means but I’m serious, do people actually know what these steroids are and do people actually know what they do or do they follow along with the other sheep and baaaaaa all the way to the pasture? I like to think of myself as a leader and a trendsetter but also an educator when I can and I will attempt to do the latter today as I try and explain what exactly “Andro” is and explain why it is banned by Major League Baseball.

The word Andro, or Androstenedione, is a hormone that you used to be able to buy over the counter at any local GNC or pharmaceutical company that was made famous when Major League Baseball added it to its banned substance list in 2004. This was long after a reporter saw a bottle of it in Mark McGwire’s clubhouse locker in 1998 when he went on to save baseball from the strike and when he went on to break the single season home run record held by former Yankees All-Star Roger Maris and long after Mike Piazza admitted to using it in a 2013 autobiography he wrote. Why did sluggers like McGwire and Piazza want to take this? Well it was a muscle builder that promised it could increase your testosterone levels by as much as 400%. Andro also reportedly keeps your red blood cells healthy, enhances your recovery and shortens your recovery time from injuries and exercise and heightens your sexual arousal and performance but Andro does not come without its risks.

Those risks led then President George W. Bush to sign into law the Anabolic Steroid Control Act in 2004 which added Andro to the list of banned non-prescription steroid-based drugs. It was then that MLB, the NFL, college sports and the Olympics followed suit also banning Andro from their games. Andro is dangerous as a sudden spike in testosterone levels could absolutely destroy your liver for example while the drug also significantly reduces your “good” cholesterol number which could increase the risk of heart disease in longtime users. But if it works it is worth it right? Well according to a study done by Iowa State the stuff didn’t even really work anyway on its own.

Iowa State students and scientists did a study on Andro in 1999 with 20 healthy men as their control unit. Ten of them took Andro and 10 of them took a dummy pill made of rice flour while both sets of men underwent eight weeks of weight training and the gains in muscle bulk and strength were recorded. At the end of the eight weeks the numbers were almost identical. Either rice flour should be banned as well from MLB or Andro, again as a stand-alone drug, was a bust.

Which leads me to my conclusion, Andro is good for one and not to other? When I say “good” for one I mean Mike Piazza who was just elected into the MLB Hall of Fame with the other being Mark McGwire who has not yet been elected and was damned from baseball for a few years after his retirement. Scientists don’t even think Andro is worth a damn, again by itself, and yet we’re still keeping players out of the Hall of Fame because of it? Instead of, and this is directed towards the BBWAA, thinking you’re God, judge and jury how about you take a second to read a book and become educated on the matters before altering the course of MLB history because you think Andro altered it first.

This concludes another steroid-laced Hall of Fame rant by Daniel Burch. 

Top Ten Catchers in MLB History

The time of year when the Hall of Fame vote is announced is fun for me. Christmas is just ending, the New Year is upon us, most of the major free agents are generally signed and we as a fan base are starving for anything baseball related to talk about. As a blogger this is generally the dead time and you guys know me, I don’t do dead time all that well. The Hall of Fame vote gives us something to talk about and debate for a while and when this year’s debate feels like beating a dead horse into the ground we can move onto next year’s class and start all over again. This year will be no different as we begin to talk about the Hall of Fame resumes for Vladimir Guerrero and a couple notable catchers that will undoubtedly go down as two of the best catchers in Major League Baseball history in Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and former Yankees great Jorge Posada.

With Mike Piazza, arguably the best hitting catcher of all-time, getting into the Hall while Pudge and Jorge hope to follow next season I thought this would be a great opportunity to look at the Top Ten catchers in MLB history. This list is my own although I did sample the general idea from AboutSports.com while adding a few tweaks and changes of mine own. Like the list? Share it. Don’t like the list or feel like I snubbed some or left some too high or too low? Leave your thoughts below in the comments section of the site.

1. Yogi Berra

2. Johnny Bench

3. Roy Campanella

4. Mike Piazza

5. Mickey Cochrane

6. Carlton Fisk

7. Pudge Rodriguez

8. Gary Carter

9. Bill Dickey

10. Thurman Munson

I couldn't stop at ten... I'm sorry. I couldn't leave Mr. Torre and Hip Hip off the list. 

11. Jorge Posada

12. Joe Torre

IBWAA Hall of Fame Vote, Edgar Martinez and the Yankees

Quick! Someone tell former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera that if he’s reading to look away, this isn’t going to be pretty. The Baseball Writers Association of America elected Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza into the Hall of Fame while the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, or the IBWAA which I am a lifetime member of, elected Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. In year’s past the IBWAA elected Piazza leaving the gate open for Griffey’s teammate and former DH. We’ve checked in and seen just what Griffey Jr. and Piazza has done against the Yankees so now it would only be right to see the damage that Edgar did to the Yankees during his playing career, especially against the Yankees closer Rivera who he had an extraordinary amount of success against.

I	Split	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
	New York Yankees	138	594	95	158	44	22	103	6	88	86	.317	.423	.542	.965

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

By the way Edgar finished his career with a .579/.652/.1.053 triple slash against Mariano. As you can see Edgar was one of the few players to actually have the number of Mariano Rivera in his career. Some players went their entire careers without even making contact against the greatest closer of all-time and much of the contact that was made resulted in a new baseball bat but not Martinez. He owned the Yankees and he owned Rivera specifically. He’s now a Hall of Fame player for the IBWAA, will he ever make it in the BBWAA? Who knows?

Quick Hit: Mike Piazza vs. the Yankees

The newest members of the Hall of Fame according to the Baseball Writers Association of America are Seattle Mariners center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. and New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza. We have taken a disheartening look at how Griffey Jr. terrorized the Yankees during his career so it feels only right to do the same with Piazza. Piazza played his entire career in the National League with the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers so the amount of times he saw the Yankees were limited but there was the Subway Series in Interleague play and the 2000 World Series matchup between the Yankees and Mets. Did Piazza make Yankees fans tremble before every interleague season?

I	Split	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+
	New York Yankees	41	176	27	46	10	8	26	0	20	26	.301	.381	.523	.904	.314	97

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Roger Clemens sure didn’t fear Piazza, he threw a splintered bat “in his general direction” in the 2000 World Series but it did look like many of the Yankees pitchers were scared of him. Piazza finished his career against the Yankees with a .300 average with eight home runs and 26 RBI in just 41 games. Multiply that by four for roughly a full season total and you have 32 home runs and 108 RBI with 80 walks, 40 doubles and 184 hits. Ouch.

Looking Ahead to a Potential 2017 Hall of Fame Ballot

The 2016 Hall of Fame ballot and vote is officially in the books with Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza making their walk into Cooperstown on the BBWAA side of things. As far as the IBWAA goes we elected Piazza in 2015 allowing the Internet Baseball Writers Association of American to elect Ken Griffey Jr. and his former teammate Edgar Martinez into the hall. The 2016 vote is over but it's never too early to look towards 2017.

Here are some notable first time and holdover players that will grace the 2017 ballot:

Mike Cameron
J.D. Drew
Vladimir Guerrero
Derek Lee
Magglio Ordonez
Jorge Posada
Manny Ramirez
Edgar Renteria
Ivan Rodriguez
Jason Varitek
Tim Wakefield

I don't see any slam dunks on this list personally. I believe Vlad will get in and Posada will garner more votes than expected but that's about it. This could potentially open the flood gates of votes for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and others.

Mike Piazza & the Ethical Hall of Fame Debate

Mike Piazza is in the Hall of Fame, this much we know and this none of us can really change. For better or worse the first player to be linked or suspected of steroid use that played in the steroid era is in the Hall of Fame which has caused a stir around Major League Baseball. Did Piazza use and should he be in the Hall of Fame? These are just a couple of the questions that I am going to attempt, key word being attempt, to answer today in this blog post.

Before the comments and emails come flooding in I am well aware of Piazza’s autobiography where he admitted to using androstenedione and I am well aware that it was added to Major League Baseball’s list of banned substances in 2004. Andro is a muscle-building compound that was long banned by the International Olympic Committee before it was added to MLB’s banned list. Should he be punished for doing something that wasn’t illegal at the time? I think not, personally. That’s like locking up all the people in California, Colorado, Seattle etc. for smoking marijuana before it was made illegal in those states. It’s irresponsible and, in my opinion, not plausible.

It is worth mentioning that drug testing and Piazza’s home run power, or lack thereof, definitely had a direct correlation between each other. Piazza hit 33 home runs in 2002, the year before drug testing was talked about and before it was implemented in 2004 (and punishable in 2005), and that number dropped to 11 in 2003. Granted Piazza stayed injured for much of 2003 but that is also a side effect of prolonged steroid use per Jose Canseco, especially when you stop taking them. Piazza never went on to hit more than 22 in a season after drug testing was implemented but it is also worth mentioning that Piazza turned 35-years old in 2003. Playing behind the dish for 140 games a season takes a toll on your body, especially your lower half, so it could be chalked up as a coincidence and Mother Nature intervening rather than steroid use.

In the end we will never know EVERYONE who did steroids, either once or for a prolonged period of time. We will never know if someone in Cooperstown already had used steroids in the past and we’re likely to never know in the future if the BBWAA is electing steroid users into the Hall of Fame. This is why we must elect them all, suspicions or not, or none at all. With Piazza in I think that question just got answered, you have to elect them all now. Especially when you almost elected Tim Raines, an admitted cocaine addict that admitted to using cocaine DURING GAMES. There’s a fine line here people and many of you are jumping back and forth between it.