What do the Boston Red Sox and the Baseball Hall of Fame have in common these days?
Both are stewarded by decision makers who have long since lost touch with their sport and what the fans want. For the Red Sox, that’s of course been John Henry, Tom Werner, Sam Kennedy, et al.
And for the Baseball Hall, it’s the Baseball Writers’ Association of America at large.
Another year will pass us by where Manny Ramirez has not been elected to his rightful place in Cooperstown. In instead for the Class of 2024 are Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer, who are no doubt all deserving.
(I’ve seen plenty of stories about Beltre’s induction refer to him as “former Red Sox Adrian Beltre.” That’s technically true, but that would be like the Red Sox staking a claim for the careers of John Smoltz or Rickey Henderson…)
Ramirez got just 32.5 percent of votes to fall well short of the necessary 75% threshold. Candidates needed at least 289 votes to be elected to the Hall this year. Manny received only 125.
I know I don’t need to run down Manny’s resume for you, but I’m going to do it anyway….
A 12-time All-Star with nine Silver Slugger awards and a batting title. A lifetime .312 hitter in 19 seasons who is one of the top 15 home run hitters of all time (555) — and that’s out of 20,532 people to ever play in the majors — and ranks 20th all time with 1,831 RBIs. And of course, a two-time World Series champion and a World Series MVP.
They don’t call him the greatest right-handed hitters of his generation for nothing…
Check his similarity scores (the BBWAA loves their newfangled numbers, after all) and you’ll see the following names: Frank Thomas, Jimmie Foxx, David Ortiz, Ted Williams, Ken Griffey Jr., Gary Sheffield, Mickey Mantle, Jim Thome, Miguel Cabrera, Chipper Jones.
Get the point?
And to dispel any notion of homerism, my gripe extends to noted Red Sox villain Alex Rodriguez, too. A-Rod received 34.8 percent of the vote (134 total) this year. You’re seriously going to tell me Billy Wagner (who barely missed out at 73.8 percent this year) is more of a Hall of Famer than A-Rod or Manny? Please…
(As an aside, I have many colleagues that I admire and respect who are Hall of Fame voters and I realize this could ruffle some feathers. And heck, they have Hall of Fame votes and I don't. But the baseball fan in me is just so sick of the collective 'holier than thou' attitude from the greater voting body in recent years...)
Now, to address the elephant in the room… did Manny cheat? Did A-Road cheat? You’d better believe it. But the thing is… we all know they cheated. That will forever be a part of their story. You’ll never be able to tell the stories of Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida and Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez without mentioning the words “performance-enhancing drugs.”
Gatekeeping Hall voters will throw the “character clause” back in our faces. Tell me something then… why did you look the other way on your precious character clause when electing Big Papi with 77.9 percent of the vote? Was Ortiz not tied to baseball's steroid era? Did he not actually return a positive test sample in 2003? I mean, I know that test was supposed to be anonymous, but come on… let’s use our common sense here.
(Editor's Note: I erroneously wrote that Ortiz was mentioned in the Mitchell Report, which he was not. While Ortiz was not listed in the Mitchell Report, he has acknowledged his positive test sample in 2003 as reported in a 2009 New York Times article, claiming it was an over-the-counter substance. I apologize for the error).
(And don’t get me wrong: David Ortiz is a clear-cut Baseball Hall of Famer. Clear as day. First ballot, all that. I still think he should have been the first designated hitter inducted to the Hall. Frankly, I don’t think Edgar Martinez should even be in the Hall of Fame…)
And who knows what the stars of yesteryear were using, too? Are we completely sure Babe Ruth was “clean”? No, of course we're not.
What remains irrefutable is this: Manny and A-Rod, like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and Pete Rose, were the biggest stars of the game. And the biggest stars belong in the Hall of Fame. It’s as simple as that.
And so, a Hall that continually refuses to put in the sport’s all-time home run leader and two of the top five home run hitters ever, a pitcher who ranks in the top three in strikeouts and top 10 in wins, and the “greatest right-handed hitter of his generation” remains nothing more than a joke.
Much like today’s Red Sox, the Baseball Hall isn’t worthy of your time either…
‘Interest Kings’ remain in full swing
Speaking of today’s Red Sox, a.k.a. the “interest kings,” they’re reportedly among the teams interested in veteran relief pitcher Ryne Stanek.
The 32-year-old right-hander and former Tampa Bay Rays first-round pick would be a fine addition to a bullpen still in need of veteran arms — that is, if the plan is still to try to contend (or even just pretend) in 2024. (And if that’s not the plan, then honestly what’s the point?)
Stanek’s recent numbers leave a little to be desired — he pitched to a 4.09 ERA in 55 appearances last season with Houston. And in the playoffs, Stanek was roughed up a bit by the Minnesota Twins and eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers (he had a 6.75 ERA in four playoff appearances).
But on the whole, Stanek’s a lifetime 3.45 ERA pitcher and was part of the Astros’ 2022 World Series team (that postseason, Stanley was literally perfect — he didn’t give up a hit or a run in his four appearances). Bringing in Stanek wouldn’t break the bank either, so why not?
And checking in on old friend and new Boston resident Jordan Montgomery, there’s been renewed buzz — but it’s not good news for Red Sox fans. According to Alex Speier at the Boston Globe, despite “industry officials” telling him Montgomery to the Red Sox would make all the sense in the world, “every indication remains that the Red Sox won’t be pursuing long-term deals for Montgomery or (Blake) Snell.”
Great. That’s just great…
Oh, and Speier also reports that the Red Sox are still interested in dealing Masataka Yoshida… but nobody else around the league is buying.
And finally, on old friend Adam Duvall, there’s reportedly interest in a reunion with the former All-Star and Gold Glove-winner after all. We’ve touched on this before, so I won’t go into depth, but I was all for bringing Duvall back as a power-hitting corner outfielder. He was good, not great, here last season — the .247 average is what it is, but the 21 homers and 58 RBIs in only 92 games was somewhat encouraging.
Of course, I would've preferred a few other guys before him… perhaps Juan Soto, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez, etc. But in a “break glass in case of emergency” scenario (news flash: it’s an emergency), bringing back Duvall would seem like a wise thing to do.
Invitations to the ball(park)
The Red Sox have formally invited 13 non-roster players to spring training: pitchers Luis Guerrero, Justin Hagenman, Alex Hoppe, A.J. Politi, and Chase Shugart; catchers Nathan Hickey, Mark Kolozsvary, Roberto Pérez, and Stephen Scott; infielders Chase Meidroth, Nick Sogard, and Nick Yorke; and outfielder Corey Rosier.
Of that list, a couple of names popped: Roberto Perez and Nick Yorke, in particular.
Perez, a now 35-year-old catcher, is a former two-time Gold Glover who once showed a little pop at the plate back in the 2019 season (he hit .239, but smashed 24 homers and had 63 RBIs). I wouldn’t get your hopes up, though, as he’s played in a combined 26 games in the last two seasons. But when the alternatives are Reese McGuire and Connor Wong, why not kick the tires on Perez?
As for Yorke, the No. 6 and No. 8 prospect in the Red Sox’s farm system by MLB.com and Baseball America respectively, he remains an intriguing prospect.
The former first-round pick was the MVP of Double-A Portland’s 2023 season after leading the team in hits, runs, doubles and RBIs and was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game last July.
It isn’t clear at first glance where Yorke might slot into the infield with the likes of Rafael Devers, Trevor Story and Vaughn Grissom. But Yorke spent 96 games at second base last season (the other 14 were at DH), so maybe it’s possibility that he could compete with Grissom in spring training.
It’s unlikely Grissom doesn’t win that spot, as Craig Breslow has effectively named him the second baseman of the future, but competition is never a bad thing and it will be good to get more of a look at Yorke for the future.