January Vintage Show Top 20 - #18 At Least He's a Hall of Famer Now

FYI for everypony: If you're in the Houston area this weekend, Sports Memories of Oklahoma (the dude I bought these cards from) is going to be at the TriStar card show at Reliant Stadium this weekend. If you end up going, say hi to Roger for me.

Yes, I used the word everypony. It's Applejack episode day! Errrrrr... make that Derpy episode day!

I've set myself up for failure with this series of posts by writing the first two too well. I'm not sure exactly what is the reason behind this. Perhaps I got really geeked up over the vintage show. Maybe it's all the caffeine I've ingested this week. The recent internet unpleasantness (I don't even want to say the name) got me riled up, maybe that got the juices flowing. It might be that I've got a bunch of sketching projects to complete and I'm procrastinating by writing a lot. Who knows, maybe all the ponies have recharged my batteries. This post - I can tell you right now - is not going to be good.

The problem is this card is one I had to get, but I'm not really jumping up yelling and screaming about it either. Come February when I start hitting the top ten I'm going to be bouncing off the walls like Pinkie Pie visiting the Hershey's chocolate factory, but today (and honestly for the next few posts in this series) I'm just not going to be all that excited. I'm happy, but a quiet, reserved sort of happy. The happiness of doing a job that needed to be done, and doing it well enough. A solid workman-like happiness. Those things are all kinda boring though and so also this post shall be. Here's #18.

OMIGOSH

HOW CAN I CALL THIS CARD BORING

FRIGGIN HALL OF FAMER

1972 TOPPS!

THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME

PONIES HAVE RUINED MY MIND IF I THINK THIS IS BORING

Hear me out, people. I admit, this is not a boring card by any means. '72 Topps with the blue psychedelic tombstone border. Posed shot with the ubiquitous facade in the background. Not really a semi-high number, but it's got a card number in the 500s which is kinda impressive for a '72 card. And it's of HALL OF FAMER Bert Blyleven! I was griping and beeyotching about his Hall snub for years! Not quite as loud as I screamed about Santo, O'Neil, Minoso and Miller, but he was definitely in the Top 5 of players I whined about not being in the Hall of Fame. And now I have his '72 Topps card for the set? What gives?

There are several factors keeping me from acting like a squeeing fangirl all over this post. First of all is the price. If I had found this sucker in a quarter box I would have been dancing in the streets. (brief aside: I did a search for that link and Google told me that I had already shared it in a blogger post last year. I'm starting to think SOPA isn't the thing I should be worrying about. Oh well [insert last line of Orwell's 1984 here]) The fact of the matter is I got this for 4 bucks which is probably a pretty fair price for it. It's in good shape, coupla dings, slightly off center. I needed the card for my set and I acquired it fairly from a reputable dealer in a grand example of how Capitalism is supposed to work. Booooooring!

While I needed this card for my set, I haven't actually placed my '72 Topps series 4 cards into a binder yet. I probably should go ahead and do that, but I've been trying to finish each series one at a time and I haven't done it. Honestly, after I knock out series 3 and 4, I ain't completing no '72 series for a loooooooooooong time. Series 5 is tough and the high numbers are just stupid. I have about 3 times the number of high series cards from 1953 Topps than I have for the '72 set. That's just not right. So while I have knocked out a hole in my collection, I never got the tactile sensation of actually placing the card in the binder. Things like that are important. Sure, I'll do it soon. Whenever I get arsed to stick the rest of series 4 into pages, but it just won't quite be the same. The card for Tuesday's post (like how I've got all this stuff scheduled out in my mind?) suffers from the same issue as Bert, but I at least have a clue on where I'm going to go with writing that one.

The big thing that leaves me sort of flat about this card ( heh - card, flat) is the simple fact that Bert now is a bona-fide Hall of Famer. Two years ago, this card probably jumps at least a half dozen spots on the countdown and I would have written a flaming rant full of piss and vinegar about how the BBWAA is a bunch of Morans and the Hall of Fame voting is a joke and they should really just nuke Cooperstown from orbit and blah blah blah blah. TIPS FOR ASPIRING WRITERS: Wanna find something easy to write about? Find a topic that pisses you off. You can write rant all the live long day about injustice and stupidity. You'll have a great time writing and your readers will rally around the flag. A great time is had by all! Writing about something that is exactly the way it should be? That's harder.

Bert Blyleven is a Hall of Famer. WELL DUH. Dude's got 3700 strikeouts! He was an All Star! And he pitched amazingly well for a bunch of shitty horrible teams! And he won two World Series Championships when he finally got on good teams! OF COURSE he's a Hall of Famer! And now he is. And I bought his card. For a fair price. And I can can now check off one more Hall of Famer on my '72 Topps checklist. Oh goody.

No, really, I'm happy about this. I'm smiling on the inside. This is a really great card. Out of thousands of cards at that show and hundreds upon hundreds of cards in my price range, this was one of only 26 I deemed worthy enough to come home with me. I enjoy having this card, really I do. I just can't bring myself to jump up and down about it. Sorry about the boring post. I promise the next one will be more action packed.

Here's the complete list of Top 20 posts. See if you can guess what cards are coming up!

#20 - Wantlist Fail Part 1
#19 - Dollar Box Gem
#18 - At Least He's a Hall of Famer Now
#17 - Thurman Inaction
#16 - Cocktail Hour
#15 - Kid Stuff
#14 - Clubbed Cub
#13 - Cheapest High Number I Could Find
#12 - '59, Dude!
#11 - Look at the Whistler
#10 - Heartbreaking Taunt
#9 - '54 Ford With a Beat Up Chassis
#8 - King of the Bums
#7 - Joy of a Completed Page
#6 - HOW THE HELL IS THIS NOT IN THE TOP FIVE?!?!
#5 - Oh, because this one is...
#4 - Awwww, come ON.
#3 - Admit It, You Knew This Was Coming
#2 - Wantlist Fail Part 2
#1 - Feat of Clay

Hall of Ffffffffffffffff

Over the past few years I've type up a lot of gripes about the Hall of Fame and the idiots who vote for the inductees, but honestly, my heart hasn't been in it lately. This factoid pretty much sums up my current feeling towards the Hall and its selection process:

Bowie Kuhn is in,

Marvin Miller is not.

If ever there was an example of Americans' tendency to reward incompetence, there it is.

Still, the Hall of Fame induction vote is still very much a Big Deal to baseball fans, including myself no matter how much I grouse about it. Since this year's class will be announced tomorrow I feel compelled to say a bit about it. I'm not going to harp on the candidates that just flat out ain't getting in tomorrow whether they deserve it or not. So no discussion of Raines, Morris, Larkin or Trammell. I'm also going to skip over most of the first timers (except one) mainly because it unnerves me that guys like Todd Zeile and Pat Hentgen are on the ballot. Not because they shouldn't be on the ballot, but because it freaks me out that they are eligible to be on the ballot. Karros? Galarraga? Ventura? Retired for five years?? *shudder* Nope, there are three guys who have a reason to be near a phone tomorrow.

Roberto Alomar

There's a lot of people who think he's a lock and I just don't get it. Of course, I hate him. He's a great player and all, arguably the best all around second baseman ever (suck it, Morgan!) but I just loathe the guy. And not for the spitting thing either, it was for that smart-ass mock chop in the 1992 World Series. Screw you Robbie, you're gonna be a Hall of Famer but you're still a douche. I don't know if he gets in tomorrow but it's pretty much inevitable anyway so get him in quick so he doesn't steal a vote from someone deserving next year.

I've come to terms with hating Hall of Famers. While Hall members seem like mythical legends of the game, the fact is if I was born 100 years ago I'd probably hold a withering grudge against some seemingly innocuous player like Harry Heilmann or Burleigh Grimes for some stupid reason. Hey, it's sports. You have your favorite players and teams, and those you hate. That's how it works. Eventually a contemporary player you despise is going to get into the Hall. Alomar is a douche and I hate him. Joe Morgan is a pompous ass and I hate him. They're still Hall caliber players and that's ok 'cause I don't have to like 'em. Gary Carter bugs the crap out of me too, but I haven't quite figured out why. Sure, he was a Met, but I disliked him way before then. Mere Metsyness couldn't account for the sheer irritation he causes me, but I seriously don't know why. I guess that's a me problem and not a Gary problem. I've sort of gone off the rails here so let's move on.

Andre Dawson

Andre better goddamn get in. If Jim Rice is a Hall of Famer, Andre is a Hall of Famer. Why it's taken so long, I'll never know. Oh wait, I do know. Because the idiot writers who vote got dazzled by all the juicebuckets mashing dingers right and left and undervalued Dawson's 438 homers back when it was really really hard to hit home runs. And he wasn't just a home run hitter! He hit for a good average, stole a ton of bases and was an excellent outfielder. The only thing he didn't do was make a big splash in the postseason, but the man played for the Expos and Cubs. You can't expect miracles. I've always liked Dawson, I've thought of him as a Hall of Fame guy, and I'm thinking - hoping - PRAYING that the voters finally come around this time. I'm not going to count on it though. I'm too damn pessimistic for that.

Bert Blyleven

He's got a legitimate shot this time. People are starting to wake up to the fact that the numbers can't be ignored. 3701 Ks, 60 shutouts, two World Series rings! And thirteen stupid games that got away from him. His broadcasting work and involvement with the Netherlands WBC team are also pluses. The guy's a Hall of Famer and people are finally recognizing it. I still think he doesn't get in this year. Sorry. I can hold out the tiniest bit of cautious optimism for Hawk, but I truly feel that the writers are still too stupid to actually vote for people who deserve it. Someone will vote for Kevin Appier because his cousin's brother in law went to high school with him. Some old-timer will spend days agonizing about voting for Bert for the first time, then accidentally check off Ellis Burks' name instead. Some moron from a tiny paper in Podunk, IA will send in a blank ballot, write a column about it and end up interviewed on a bunch of sports talk shows and get his paper's web site a ton of hits in the process. I have no faith in the system anymore so I simply can't expect that anyone gets in this year, least of all the most deserving.

After that depressing bit of whinery, here's a few Hall of Fame links you might find interesting.

Here's the Ballot if you're interested. For what it's worth I tried doing the cliche "If I had a Hall Ballot" thing and I just couldn't do it. There were twelve guys I couldn't not vote for and you're only allowed ten votes.

Chris Jaffe predicts the voting results. I'd be happy if his results were close to the final tally.

As usual Sully comes through with another excellent Hall of Fame post that helps me down off the ledge just in time. "First Ballot" means squat.

Another thing that has given me great cheer in this time of despair is the fact that Skip Caray is a finalist for the Ford Frick award. Skip's going to get in eventually - his trademark voice was mocked for years by comedians which is as good a measure of fame as you're going to get - I just hope it's in time to Pete to give the acceptance speech.

Finally, Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius posted Warren Spahn's plaque and I think you should all go look at it.

Oh one more thing. I can't stand Robbie, but that is a bona-fide Hall of Fame card of him up there. '94 Fleer is da bomb.

Ok, one more one more thing. I need to comment on this but I don't want to bump the HOF post I spent an hour and a half on off the top of the RSS feed. Braves sign Eric Hinske. What?! I mean, good signing... he's a solid bench bat who is both Chipper and Glaus insurance, but... What?!? Where the hell did that come from. Good job, Wren.

Jaw Dropping Blyleven Stat

I got a comment on my Hall of Fame Ballot post that absolutely has to be shared. From A. Nonymous:

An amazing Bert Blyleven statistic that I wouldn’t wish upon any major league pitcher:
From his 1970 rookie season through 1977 I’ve accumulated his quality starts that I’ve defined as: 6innings, 2earned runs or less; 7,8,9innings, 3earned runs or less; and 9innings+ 4 earned runs or less in which he garnered a no decision or a loss only……

The totals are:
82 games
658 innings
583 hits
185 runs
160 earned runs
184 base on balls
540 strikeouts
2.19 ERA
His record: 0 wins and 53 LOSSES. I repeat 0 wins and 53 losses with a 2.19 ERA

1970 0-3 2.09 9 games
1971 0-6 1.90 9 games
1972 0-9 2.35 13 games
1973 0-8 2.55 9 games
1974 0-8 1.80 10 games
1975 0-6 2.00 10 games
1976 0-8 2.29 15 games
1977 0-5 2.45 7 games

I understand that pitchers put up great games and get snakebit on occasion, but this accounted for almost 1 of every 3 starts, 82 of 279 to be exact or 29%. Show me a Hall of Famer that had to go through this year by year. Fortunately once Blyleven ended up in Pittsburgh and later some good Minnesota teams, this trend eased to what I would consider normal levels (I had researched this in the past but don’t have the numbers on hand)

Imagine 1974, your 17-9 in 27 games, and in the other 10, all of which are essentially quality starts, you post a 1.80ERA and go 0-8. You end up 17-17. If you don’t know the facts, and your voting for the Cy Young award, and you see 17-17. Do you cast a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place vote? Probably not. This is what Blyleven faced in yesteryear, and the same writers, who I contend do not know the facts, are what Blyleven faces every year in the HOF vote.

Go ahead, plug in a different year, or harken back to Baseball-reference and neutralize the stats, do it for every one of Blyleven’s contemporaries. The numbers don’t change much, but for Bert Blyleven, they do. The example given above is my attempt to show why. Teams that didn’t score runs and booted the ball around like it was a soccer match.

That's 53 losses and 29 no decisions for Bert, all in games where he pitched well enough to win with any kind of run support, all in only the 8 years before he was traded to Pittsburgh. If his team scored enough runs to win just one quarter of those games he has 307 wins and he would have been elected to the Hall of Fame years ago. Yet genetic defectives like Sean McAdam still can't get past the fact that he didn't get much Cy Young support and his win total didn't pass a round number. Thanks Anonymous, whoever you are (Bob Klapisch, perhaps?) for doing the research and finding out this gem of a stat. It's time to strip the writers of their Hall votes and give them to the Stat Geeks.