I’m a Canadian. Though I only lived there until age seven before moving to Texas, I was there long enough to pick up the speech mannerisms particular to Canadians. I know this, because my friends made fun of me when I started school in the US. (more…)
One day, I got pissed off when someone didn’t do something that I had expected them to do. Why didn’t they do it? Why is it that people always seem to do things when they’re not supposed to, and not do things when they are supposed to? Then it hit me. (more…)
In this day and age, you have to establish SOME sort of online presence. Arguably, staying off the grid entirely sends negative message to friends, employers, and new people you meet. But defining your online presence is a tricky thing. How much do you share? How personal do you get? What is appropriate? (more…)
Leaving performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) out of the equation for a moment, and looking at the raw numbers alone, here’s a list of players from the 2013 BBWAA ballot sorted by career WAR. (I also looked at the trendy JAWS and didn’t like it.)
| Player | WAR | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Barry Bonds | 158 | 762 HR, .444 OBP, 7x MVP |
| Roger Clemens | 134 | 354-184, 143 ERA+, 7x CYA |
| Jeff Bagwell | 77 | MVP, RoY, 4x A-S, GG |
| Curt Schilling | 76 | 216-146, 127 ERA+, 3x CY #2 |
| Larry Walker | 70 | MVP, 7x GG, 3x BA #1 |
| Alan Trammell | 67 | 6xA-S, 4x GG |
| Rafael Palmeiro | 66 | 569 HR, 4x A-S, 3x GG |
| Tim Raines | 66 | 808 SB, 7x A-S |
| Kenny Lofton | 65 | 6x A-S, 4 GG, ’94 WAR #1 |
| Edgar Martinez | 64 | 7x A-S, 2x BA #1 |
| Craig Biggio | 62 | 3060 H, RS #15, HBP #2 |
| Mark McGwire | 59 | 583 HR,12x A-S, GG |
| Mike Piazza | 56 | 427 HR #1 @ C, 10 xSS, 12x A-S |
| Sammy Sosa | 55 | ’98 MVP, 7x A-S, 609 HR-8th |
| David Wells | 49 | 239-157, pWAR #81 |
| Fred McGriff | 48 | 5x A-S, 2x HR #1 |
| Bernie Williams | 46 | ’98 BA #1,5x A-S, 4x GG |
| Dale Murphy | 43 | 2x MVP, 7x A-S, 5x GG |
| Steve Finley | 40 | 304 HR, 320 SB, 5x GG |
| Julio Franco | 40 | 5xSS, played to age 62 |
| Don Mattingly | 40 | MVP, 6xA-S, 9x GG |
| Jack Morris | 39 | 5x A-S, 2xW #1 |
| Reggie Sanders | 37 | 305 HR, 304 SB |
| Jeff Cirillo | 32 | ’96-’01 WAR @ 3B #2 |
| Shawn Green | 31 | 328 HR, ’99AL-TB #1 |
| Lee Smith | 28 | 478 SV, 7x A-S |
| Woody Williams | 28 | 132-116, 103 ERA+, A-S |
| Rondell White | 26 | 108 OPS+, +52 rFld, 2x A-S |
| Ryan Klesko | 25 | 278 HR, 128 OPS+ |
| Aaron Sele | 18 | 148-112, 2x A-S |
| Roberto Hernandez | 17 | 326SV, >> Mesa |
| Royce Clayton | 16 | 2x dWAR #1, 1904H |
| Jeff Conine | 16 | Mr. Marlin, 1982 H, 2xA-S |
| Mike Stanton | 13 | 68-63, 84 SV, 112 ERA+, A-S |
| Sandy Alomar | 12 | RoY, 6x A-S, GG |
| Jose Mesa | 10 | 321 SV, 100 ERA+, 2x A-S |
| Todd Walker | 8 | .289 BA, ’02 F%/PO @ 2B #1 |
Source: Baseball-Reference / 2013 HOF candidates
Now let’s talk PEDs. I’ve thought long and hard about it, and here’s where I land: Players who may have used PEDs should be allowed into the Hall of Fame. MLB is the one that should be blamed.
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Once you get past the grossness of your parents doing it, the story of your own conception and birth can be pretty interesting. At least it was to me. What follows is the story of my beginning, with most of the details from my mother. (more…)