My IBWAA Hall of Fame Ballot

Ladies and gentleman I know you have been waiting on the edge of your seats for me to release my Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) Hall of Fame ballot but wait no longer. What I lack in some areas I more than make up for with tongue-in-cheek and sarcastic answers and steroid users on my ballot. Please check it out and enjoy.

Keep in mind that the IBWAA has already inducted Tim Raines, Jeff Bagwell and Edgar Martinez on our ballots in previous years so this is why they are not present on this ballot and why they are present on the BBWAA ballot.

Thoughts and arguments below in the comment section por favor. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 12/10: Carston Charles Sabathia

On this day in 2008 the Yankees went on a crazy spending spree and gave out the fourth richest contract in Major League history when they handed a seven year contract worth $181 million to left handed free agent starting pitcher CC Sabathia. This was the largest contract ever handed down to a starting pitcher and included an opt out clause after three seasons for the then 28 year old. This AAV of $25 million was just ahead of the Mets deal with Johan Santana that he had signed in February of 2008.

My Thoughts on the Aroldis Chapman Signing

The New York Yankees have signed closer Aroldis Chapman to a five-year deal worth a whopping $86 million this offseason. What are my thoughts? Well I am certainly glad that you asked. Keep reading…

I am 100% excited and so ecstatic about it if I’m being honest. The New York Yankees needed a closer if they are going to compete in 2017, and that is no longer a question in my eyes as I see the Matt Holliday and Chapman signings as “win now” type signings without mortgaging the future, the team needed a closer and they got just that in Chapman. Chapman pitching in the 9^th allows Dellin Betances to slip back to the 8^th, and sometimes the 7^th too, innings while Adam Warren, Tyler Clippard and the rest of the cast of characters handle the 6^th and 7^th innings for Joe Girardi. The bullpen may or may not be complete but if it is I have to say I’m quite happy with it.

The number of years I am not overly concerned with and the money never bothered me because this is a $3.4 billion company that needs to start acting like it. The Holliday signing and the Chapman signing are both smart for the “now” and for the future of the organization as neither deals will likely hamper the team for years to come, weren’t given as long term deals to players well outside their prime and weren’t astronomical in terms of dollars. I am quite happy with both signings to be fair.

The Yankees held onto their draft pick in the first round of the 2017 MLB First Year Players Draft as well signing Chapman after the lefty was ineligible to receive a qualifying offer after the Yankees traded him last winter which is also a huge plus for New York. The Chicago Cubs may have gotten a World Series out of it but the Yankees got Gleyber Torres for basically free, and I’m calling that a victory.

Great job Cash!

Ten Years of #1 Yankees Prospects

The New York Yankees have added to their farm system like no other team in the last calendar year and that has seemingly positioned the Yankees not only for the 2017 season but for beyond as well. In a word, the Yankees farm system is stacked. Let’s take a look at the last ten years of Yankees #1 prospects... you know… just because. Enjoy.

2017: Gleyber Torres

To be continued.

2016: Jorge Mateo… then Gleyber Torres… then Clint Frazier

The year of the prospect returned for the New York Yankees and it began with Jorge Mateo, who had a down season by all accounts, continued with Gleyber Torres who was acquired in the Aroldis Chapman deal and ended with Clint Frazier who the Yankees brought over in the Andrew Miller trade from the Cleveland Indians.


2015: Luis Severino

Great first season but took a huge step back in 2016.

2014: Gary Sanchez

Likely the team's back up catcher after having a strong 2015 season and an even stronger Arizona Fall League this season.

2013: Mason Williams

On the 40 man roster and made his Major League debut this season. Likely to miss out on the Major Leagues on Opening Day due to the roster crunch but will be one of the first to be called up if/when an outfield injury occurs.

2010 - 2012: Jesus Montero

Traded to the Seattle Mariners for Micahel Pineda and Vicente Campos. Benched, optioned to the minor leagues multiple times, came to camp overweight multiple times, attitude problems reported and apparently he takes offense to being offered a ice cream sandwich on a hot summer day. Brian Cashman win?

2009: Austin Jackson

Part of the trade that brought Curtis Granderson to the Bronx and sent the man they call A Jax to the Tigers. Jackson has since been sent to the Seattle Mariners before hitting free agency this offseason. Jackson is still one of the better defensive center fielders in the game although his bat never fully came around in the majors.

2008: Joba Chamberlain

From one of the best young set-up men in the game to midges to mediocre. Chamberlain has seen time with the Detroit Tigers, the Kansas City Royals and recently signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians. It was Cleveland where he was attacked by the midges. Can you say full circle?

2007: Phil Hughes

From hyped prospect to 18 game winner to gopher ball giveaway days at Yankee Stadium. Hughes had a roller coaster ride of a tenure in the Bronx before leaving for Minnesota via free agency. Hughes had a great first season in Minnesota before coming back down to Earth a bit in 2015. Hughes still has that rising fastball and some of the best command in the game. Hughes is an ace, he just wasn't an ace for the Yankees.

Meet a Prospect: Aroldis Chapman (Again)

For the second time in just about a calendar year the New York Yankees have acquired “The Cuban Missile” Aroldis Chapman to be their everyday closer in the Bronx. Woo hoo! The first time, for whatever reason, we did not officially introduce him to the Yankees faithful but this time I have a feeling he might be sticking around a little longer… so without further ado let’s meet Mr. Chapman again. This is Meet a Prospect: The Aroldis Chapman Edition.

Albertin Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz was born on February 28, 1988 in Holguin, Cuba. Chapman had a boxing trainer for a father and two sisters in his three-room house in Cuba (rooms, not bedrooms) and as a young child Chapman was taught to box, not play baseball. When Chapman finally did begin playing baseball it was as a first baseman, not as a pitcher. It was in 2003 when a coach noticed Chapman’s arm that he was converted to the pitching mound full time.

Chapman joined the Holguin Sabuesos of the Cuban National Series League in 2006 as a starting pitcher and was a part of the 2007 Pan American Games representing the Cuban national team as well as the 2009 MLB World Baseball Classic before defecting from Cuba in 2009. Chapman had tried to defect from Cuba in 2008, an act that kept him from participating in the Summer Olympics that year, but then President Raul Castro gave him a conditional reprieve.

Chapman was signed by the Cincinnati Reds after declaring his citizenship in Andora to a six-year deal worth $30.25 million with bonuses worth $16.25 million paid over the next 11 years. Chapman set many records for the fastest pitches thrown for the Reds while mowing down MLB ready hitters. Chapman worked as a starter for the Reds in 2010 and even made a playoff appearance for the team before switching full time to the relief role we know him in today before the 2011 season.

Chapman earned his first All-Star Game trip in 2012 as a closer for the Reds and followed that up for Cincinnati with a return trip in 2013 as well. Chapman and his blazing 100+ MPH fastballs were here to stay and nothing could stop them it seemed. Well maybe except for a line drive off the bat of Kansas City Royals star Salvador Perez. Perez hit Chapman with a line drive off the bat in a spring training game on March 19, 2014 causing a skull fracture above Chapman’s left eye and a metal plate to be inserted into his head to stabilize the fracture.

Chapman began the 2014 season on the disabled list due to the fracture in his skull and did not return to the baseball diamond until May 10^th of that season. Chapman’s 2014 season and 2015 seasons went off without a hitch until the left-hander was almost traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the winter before the 2016 season. Apparently Chapman had a domestic violence case pending against him from earlier that winter which kept the Dodgers from acquiring him. The New York Yankees came in with a lesser package of prospects and acquired the left-hander giving up Rookie Davis, Tony Renda, Caleb Cotham and Eric Jagielo. Chapman missed the first 30 games of the season due to his domestic violence incident from the offseason and by July 25^th he was no longer a Yankee.

The Yankees traded Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, Adam Warren and Rashad Crawford with hopes that New York could rebuild their farm system while the Cubs could win a World Series. Success and success as the Yankees have one of, if not the, highest touted farm systems in all of Major League Baseball in 2017 due to this trade and trades like it while Aroldis Chapman helped lead the Cubs to their first World Series victory since the Curse of the Billy Goat was cast in 1908.

Chapman, World Series ring on his finger, hit free agency after the 2016 season ended and has now found a home back in the Bronx. For the next five seasons Aroldis Chapman will be closing games inside of Yankee Stadium and that makes me very, very happy. Welcome back Aroldis, the family missed you!

This Day in New York Yankees History 12/9: Andy Pettitte Returns, Again

On this day in 2015 the New York Yankees shipped left-handed relief pitcher Justin Wilson to the Detroit Tigers for a pair of starting pitching prospects, Luis Cessa and Chad Green.



Also on this day in 2009 Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte receives a one year deal worth $11.75 million to return for one more season. This is fresh off of winning all three clinching games in the playoffs including the World Series at age 37. Pettitte finished with a 4-0 record in five postseason starts against the Phillies, Twins, and Angels.



Also on this day in 2008 Tony Kubek would become the first person to ever receive the Ford C. Frick Award which honors broadcast members in the Hall of Fame. The former Yankee and Blue Jays broadcast personality has not watched a single game on television since he signed off in 1994.


Finally on this day in 1988 the New York Yankees signed a twelve year television deal with the Madison Square Garden television network. The Yankees would stay with the MSG network until 2002 when they would start their own network, the YES Network. This move is generally accredited with starting the trend of getting more games on regional sports networks.

My Thoughts on the Chris Sale to the Red Sox Trade

The Chicago White Sox are open for business and instead of just putting an “Open for Business” sign on the front window like everyone else they had to come out in a big way by trading their ace and best player Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox. This is Yankees related for obvious reasons, the Boston Red Sox are in the same division as the Yankees and now have three of the best pitchers in the American League when you include Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello and southpaw David Price. Here are my thoughts on the trade.

Well, to be completely honest here, my initial thought included a four-letter word that I tend to not use here on the blog for obvious reasons. I was gutted. The Boston Red Sox already won the division in 2016 and they just added a great left-handed arm to their arsenal for years to come. This is not going to be fun matching up with these guys 20+ times a season, not at all, even though the Yankees have done surprisingly well, all things considered, against Sale in his career. I was visibly upset when I read the news until I looked at the prospect haul that the Red Sox had to give up to get Sale. That’s when I knew the Yankees weren’t touching Sale and that Sale went to the team with the better farm system and the organization with the gonads to get the deal done, Boston.

Boston gave up Yoan Moncada, arguably the top prospect in Major League Baseball, Michael Kopech, Victor Diaz and Luis Basabe in the deal for Sale. Now I don’t pretend to know much about Kopech (A-ball pitcher who was drafted 33^rd overall in 2014), Diaz (A-Ball relief pitcher), Basabe (A-Ball outfielder) or the Boston Red Sox farm system in general but I know the name Yoan Moncada and that had to sting a bit for Red Sox fans. I know that Sale is a “sure thing” and that Moncada is not and I know you make that deal 10 times out of 10 (and I make a similar deal with Gleyber Torres or Clint Frazier just as an FYI) but the Red Sox losing Moncada at the expense of Sale somehow lessened the blow for me as a Yankees fan, I can’t explain why. 

Minor League Ball’s Top 20 Yankees Prospects

It’s that time of the year again ladies and gentleman, the time of the year where prospects get evaluated and ranked all over the internet by various bloggers, insiders and experts. Minor League Ball is the latest to put their list out there so here are the Top 20 Yankees prospects according to that publication. There are some awesome write ups on these players on their site at MinorLeagueBall.com so be sure to head over there to give them some views and check out the article. For your quick viewing pleasure though here is the list without the grades, write ups or ETA’s. Enjoy.

1.       Gleyber Torres

2.       Clint Frazier

3.       Blake Rutherford

4.       Jorge Mateo

5.       Justus Sheffield

6.       James Kaprielian

7.       Chance Adams

8.       Domingo Acevedo

9.       Albert Abreu

10.   Aaron Judge

11.   Miguel Andujar

12.   Dillon Tate

13.   Dustin Fowler

14.   Ian Clarkin

15.   Jordan Montgomery

16.   Tyler Wade

17.   Mason Williams

18.   Tyler Austin

19.   Giovanny Gallegos

20.   Dietrich Enns

Let’s Finish Raiding the White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are open for business and as we’ve already seen the team has unloaded their best pitcher Chris Sale, my thoughts on this trade later today, to the Boston Red Sox but there is still plenty to be pillaged from that village. Let’s finish them off, let’s raid the remainder of the Chicago White Sox.

The Yankees need pitching and surprisingly the White Sox still have it in the way of a former Yankees farmhand Jose Quintana. Quintana has been one of the better pitchers in the American League for a couple seasons now and the durable and consistent lefty would fit in perfectly with what the Yankees are trying to accomplish now both in terms of youth and in terms of competing in 2017. Quintana is still just 27-years old and comes with four very reasonable years of team control which includes team options for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He won’t come cheap but he just might be worth it if you can keep from gutting the farm too awful much for him.

New York also presumably needs a closer and as they are interested in both Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen they are likely not alone in their pursuit of those two. If either get to be too expensive or decide that their services would fit better elsewhere the Yankees could look to another reunion type deal by acquiring David Robertson as well. Robertson isn’t Chapman or Jansen but he is likely a better closer than Dellin Betances is at this point in their careers in my opinion. Plus he wouldn’t be awfully expensive in the prospects department as long as the big two closers are still on the board. Again, my opinion.

Todd Frazier would be nice but that creates a whole set of other problems regarding Chase Headley. Would anyone want Headley and his contract in return? If so, make the deal if the deal is right. If not, pass. I think Frazier would be uber-expensive though and likely out of the realm of possibilities for the Yankees at this time unfortunately.

The final piece the Yankees could look at acquiring is relief pitcher Nate Jones. Jones is a 30-year old right-handed relief pitcher that posted impressive numbers out of the Chicago bullpen in 2016. Jones appeared in 71 games in 2016 posting a 0.892 WHIP, 2.93 FIP and 2.29 ERA. Jones isn’t a huge strikeout guy like Betances, Chapman and Andrew Miller was but he keeps the ball down and in the ballpark enough to succeed in any stadium including the Cathedral in the Bronx. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 12/8: Enter Starlin Castro

On this day in 2015 the New York Yankees acquired Starlin Castro from the Chicago Cubs for Brendan Ryan and Adam Warren.


Also on this day in 2009 the Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and Arizona Diamondbacks completed a three team trade that was considered to be one of the fairest three team trades in history. Long story short the Yankees got Curtis Granderson from the Tigers, The Diamondbacks got Edwin Jackson from the Tigers and Ian Kennedy from the Yankees, and the Tigers got Phil Coke and Austin Jackson from the Yankees and Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from the Diamondbacks.

Also on this day in 2008 Yankees second basemen Joe Gordon received 10 of the possible 12 votes to be elected into the Hall of Fame. The Veteran's Committee inducted the 1942 Most Valuable Player, nine time All Star, and five time World Series champion.

Finally on this day in 1966 the New York Yankees traded two time MVP and single season home run king Roger Maris to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees got third basemen Charley Smith in return for Maris. Maris would win a World Series with the Cardinals the next season and a pennant the season after that enjoying immediate success with his new team. Smith will only hit .224 in his two year tenure as a Yankee.