C-Span says the crowd was 1-2 million. That’s not bad but its smaller than the crowd in the rain that celebrated the Red Sox 2004 world series win.
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Not bad but not 2004 Red Sox
Posted: January 20, 2009 by datechguy in baseball, opinion/newsTags: obama
Rickey Henderson in his first eligible year and Jim Rice in his last have both been elected to the Hall of Fame.
Henderson snagged 94.8% showing that Corky Simpson was not alone and should have taken my advice.
Rice made it in with 76.4 eeking in by 7 votes. This mean that other the war years Boston Red Sox had a Hall of Famer starting in left field in Fenway from 1939-1987. (Williams and Yaz being the others) a period of 43 years.
If you include Manny (who will certainly make the hall) that for the last 70 years 1939-2008 the Red Sox primary starting left fielder was a Hall of Famer 73% of the time(51 years). It would be interesting to see if any other team had a Hall of Famer for such a sustained period at one position.
Tommy John will have to wait for the Vets committee.
Update: Baseball musings mentions something about Rice that drove me nuts too:
but he would also drive me nuts in the following situation. The pitcher would be wild, walking Boggs and Barrett on eight straight pitches. Rice would come up, and he had to be thinking, “This pitcher has to throw me a strike.” He’d swing at the first pitch and ground into a double play. I really wanted him to let the pitcher fall behind in the count first, but Jim liked swinging early in that situation.
Yup that’s why I think it took the 15th ballot.
Baseball crank has thoughts and hopes it doesn’t help Dawson. I think the gold gloves speak volumes for him.
The Baseball Hall of Fame voting is being announced today. via Baseball musings there is still time to vote in Newsday’s poll before it happens.
I voted for Henderson, Blyleven, Dawson, Murphy and Rice.
Toughest exclusions John, Raines.
Who I would have liked to vote for because they are personal favorites but don’t deserve it, Baines and Trammell.
If the poll is correct then only Henderson gets in.
I’m a big fan of signing a veteran pitcher when you have a young staff that could use some seasoning.
So the Red Sox signing of John Smoltz to me is a very good move. With the quantity of young pitchers on the staff the presence of a vet with the experience and presence of a John Smoltz can only make them better.
With the signing of Brad Penny as well that gives them 4 new players coming off injury shortened seasons. SI has some thoughts:
It could be that they’re just being smart. Those four players are each signed to incentive-laden one-year contracts that will cost the Red Sox a base total of $12.2 million, or $4.25 million less than the Yankees will pay the injury-prone A.J. Burnett in the first year of his five-year contract (or, to turn the tables on Boston, just $200,000 more than they’ll pay the rapidly-aging Mike Lowell in the second year of his three-year contract).
If even one of them pan out for the season it will turn out to be more smart moves for one from one of the smartest GM’s in the league.
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