Philliedelphia

The Baseball Hall of Fame: Why Pete Rose and not PED's?

It never fails. Regardless of time of day or season there is no movie that inspires my love of baseball as much as Field of Dreams. The inner struggle of a thirty something portrayed by Kevin Costner remains relatable and accessible while the scene stealing monologues performed by cinematic greats Burt Lancaster and James Earl Jones capture the essence, beauty and durability of the game that we uniquely as Americans call our own.

However, as I watched it this past weekend in the company of my wife and two kids I found myself with a greater understanding of the character of John Kinsella. Make no mistake, I knew that my baseball days were finished after high school and I do not subscribe to the Marv Marinovich school of parenting however I can completely relate to the plight of my hero being removed from this wonderful game as I have missed the presence of my boyhood idol since 1989. That of course would be Peter Edward Rose.

The banning of PeteRose from baseball has been debated from barrooms to boardrooms for nearlytwenty-five years and the results have remained the same as the all-time leader in hits remains on the outside looking in. This is not a typical defense argument as it is clear by his own admission that Rose bet on baseball, thereby subjecting himself to the repercussions of his actions. Nor is this an argument of persuasion as most reasonable people have long since concluded that Pete belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Whereas for years, I took exception to Rose’s lifelong exclusion from the game I now specifically take umbrage with the hypocrisy of Major League Baseball as the same language used to expel a player, and used as re-enforcement for that decision, is no longer enforced with issues surrounding the game today.

In my limited memory of A. Bartlett Giamatti as the President of the National League then as the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, I recall him to be a well-educated man that truly loved the game of baseball and sought to see it prosper. In fact, I would go so far as to state that had he not met his untimely demise, his leadership would have brokered a deal which would have ensured labor peace and saved us all from the strike of 1994. As I reviewed Giamatti’s statement from August 24, 1989, I was struck with the two-pronged reasoning for his decision in which he stated:

“First, that the integrity of the game cannot be defended except by a process that itself embodies integrity and fairness;

Second, should any other occasion arise where charges are made or acts are said to be committed that are contrary to the interests of the game or that undermine the integrity of baseball, I fully intend to use such a process and procedure to get to the truth and, if need be to root out offending behavior. I intend to use, in short, every lawful and ethical means to defend and protect the game.”

In this line of reasoning, Giamatti has set forth the guidelines of what he believes are the executive powers of the Commissioner’s Office including expulsion for what he deems as behavior “contrary to the interests of the game.” It is this phrase that I replay over and over in my mind when I consider the issue of performance enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball and how its penalty phase is not consistent with the ideals of Commissioner Giamatti.

Nothing has ruined the integrity of the game more than the use of PED’s. In this era, no record is safe and any accolades received will always be viewed with suspicion. PED’s have subjected us to falsified single season and career home run records as well as MVP and Cy Young Awards that were not earned honestly not to mention the salaries paid to those that knowingly cheated their opposition. My point is not to debate the impact of performance enhancing drugs but to bring about discussion on the penalty phase of PED’s in Major League Baseball. It astounds me that a player can fail a test twice before being subjected to lifetime expulsion through a third failed test. It leads me to wonder how many games can possibly be impacted through the performance of a player that knowingly and willingly would cheat his colleagues only to be given a chance to do it again. In not taking a more definitive stance Bud Selig continues to allow the game to subject itself to compromise as the integrity of the game will always remain in question as long as multiple opportunities are given to defraud Major League Baseball and its fans.

At some point, Barry Bonds will begin a personal services contract with the San Francisco Giants, Mark McGwire is employed as a hitting coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jason Giambi was nearly hired as the manager for the Colorado Rockies yet Pete Rose will still need special permission to attend a game. It is in this vein that I cannot completely understand the logic of the Commissioner’s Office as both offenses serve to undermine the integrity of the game yet one is subject to an immediate lifetime banishment with no hope of restoration while  the other is greeted with multiple opportunities for dishonest behavior. While it is true that those from this era will have the arduous task of convincing Hall of Fame voters of the legitimacy
of their candidacy, they are still not precluded from continuing in their career as a player or transition to another phase after their retirement. This lack of action towards those that would cheat the game ultimately call into question the motives of Commissioner Selig and whether or not he is acting justly towards Mr. Rose.

Unfortunately, this debate will likely linger here for a few days then disappear from public consciousness until another time when the subject is brought up. The practical side of me understands that it is unlikely that Pete Rose will ever live to see the day when he is inducted into the Hall of Fame; yet my less rational side remains hopeful. Perhaps Doc Graham put it best when he wondered if there was, “enough magic out there in the moonlight to make this dream come true.” I hope so but just in case, I’m pricing farmland in Iowa with the hopes that my son will build a field someday. Will see you then Pete.

Rooting for the Man, not the Met: R.A. Dickey and the Cy Young Award

More than any other organization in Major League Baseball, and for as long as I canremember, the New York Mets have been the object of my greatest disdain. Mr.Met, the ridiculous apple popping out of the hat during each home run, and the incessant curtain calls during the mid-80’s where it seemed like an infield single in the first inning merited an additional round of applause all helped shape my feelings towards the second-rate organization in Queens. From Mookie, Mex, Doc, Straw and the Kid to Reyes, LoDuca, Wright, Beltran and our old friend Billy Wagner to the absolute joke that the organization has become today there is no team in baseball whose misery I enjoy more. If the Nationals are the obnoxious kid brother that won’t stop following us around then the Mets are the uninvited party guest that just won’t leave and continues to make a fool out of himself long after it stopped being funny. Imagine then the self-conflict that engulfed my soul as I cheered the selection of R.A. Dickey as this year’s Cy Young Award winner. At this point, it would make sense to deduce this
rooting interest as part of an “anyone but Gio” mentality and admittedly that was a slight factor; but the truth is that after examining all the facts about just how extraordinary this man’s journey has been, I truly wanted to see Robert Allen Dickey recognized with this tremendous honor.

There is no pitcher in baseball that exemplifies the label “journeyman” as well as Dickey as he exhibits all of the commonalities of an unremarkable career. Since 2001 the 38 year old right hander has posted two winning seasons prior to his Cy Young campaign, has a lifetime ERA pushing 4 and has bounced from Texas to Seattle then Minnesota until finally finding a home (for better or worse) with
the Mets with trips back to the minors in between. His only other season posting double digit wins was in 2010 when he posted eleven and his previous high in strikeouts was last season when he K’d 134 batters, nearly 100 fewer than this season. This isn’t a guy that you would have expected to remain in a Mets uniform by season’s end not because of inability to get together on an extension but because it stood to reason that they would need to get younger and quite frankly, better in their rotation if they hoped to compete in the division. I guess that’s why I never paid much attention to him until spring training.

By the time he had arrived in Port St. Lucie, Florida, he had recently performed the incredible feat of scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro not for some sort of offseason escapade but to draw attention to human trafficking in India raising $100,000 in the process. Although we are sometimes disappointed by the conduct of professional athletes it is always refreshing to read about acts of unselfishness, principle and sacrifice and Dickey’s endeavor to raise awareness to a cause he felt strongly about while jeopardizing his 4.25 million dollar salary was an impressive accomplishment on many levels. This, however, was just a warm-up act as Dickey’s autobiography was about to draw attention that his baseball career
had not.

In the honest account of his life, Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball, he made the difficult decision to disclose his experience as a victim of childhood sexual abuse as well as his struggles with suicidal thoughts as an adult. Journeymen pitchers don’t write autobiographies unless the subject matter is greater than the game itself; and in a country where we have seen entirely too much hurt as the result of abuse and the aftershocks that are felt well into the victim’s adulthood, Dickey’s book is exactly that. For an individual to possess the motivation of helping others that have suffered the same plight to the point of complete transparency in telling their own personal nightmare is in fact heroic. It was at this point that the purpose of the man transcended the uniform he wore and I became an R.A. Dickey fan.

I simply hoped that he would put together a nice season and by the end of April his record stood at 3-1 but with an ERA of 4.45. Not exactly the stuff of legends and nowhere near what you would consider to be a Cy Young candidate but it looked like he would have a fine year and have a growing platform for the causes he sought to draw attention to, then the calendar turned to May and R.A. Dickey went about becoming the best pitcher in the National League. Dickey did not lose a game in the month of May or June and after polishing off the Dodgers on June 29^th he had not only earned his twelfth win of the season but he had also dropped his ERA to 2.15. By the time it was all over he had set career bests in wins (20) ERA (2.73) complete games (5) shutouts (3) strikeouts (230) and WHIP (1.053) and had defined himself as one of the premier pitchers in the league.

Maybe it would have been different if this were just another ordinary pitcher that happened to have a great season or perhaps I wouldn’t have even cared had the Phils put together a better year; but I doubt it. The truth is I enjoyed rooting for R.A. Dickey and hoped that he would win the Cy Young not because of his past, as no award could ever wipe away the reality of the abuse he endured, but because it would expand his opportunities to draw attention to not only the horridness of the act but also the ability to recover from it as he clearly has. There are times in sports when the actions of an athlete transcend the uniform that they wear and we cheer them not for their team affiliation but because of their commitment to decency and humanity.

I still have no love for the Mets organization but have no choice but to cheer on a man that has overcome the worst parts of his life and chooses to inspire others with the story of his pain and victory over it. A New York Met earned the Cy Young Award; and I couldn’t be happier.

Josh Hamilton to the Phillies? No Thanks.

After reading of the Phillies reported interest in Josh Hamilton, my mind began to wander. Admittedly, like most fans, I would love the idea of another power bat in the lineup that has the potential to have a major impact on a team that struggled all season to score runs; but I began to wonder if Hamilton is right for our team. While I have no doubt that the Phillies are performing their due diligence on the talented outfielder, I still have reservations about committing to him over a long-term. There are three questions in particular that I keep coming back to:

1. Can he stand up to the pressure of playing in a baseball city? Hamilton has been a cornerstone of the most successful era in the history of the Rangers organization. Over a five year stretch, the team has played in two World Series and has seen the fan base grow substantially. They drew the fifth most fans in all of baseball in 2010 and 2011 growing from 2.4 million to 2.9 million; however, this season their attendance topped 3.4 million, good for an overall second place. With all due respect though, the good people of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex area cannot be confused with the passionate baseball fans that reside here in the Delaware Valley.

After a torrid start, Hamilton performed poorly in the months of June and July hitting .223 and .177 respectively and the fans made him aware of their displeasure. Now try to imagine that happening in a Phillies uniform with a hefty long-term contract to live up to, spectators that expect a better effort and a player that has never played in a city that loves baseball. Being booed in Texas is not the same as being booed in Philadelphia and I wonder just how tough Hamilton is and how he would respond.

2. How great is the risk of a long-term contract? Hamilton’s personal demons off the field have been well-documented and any organization that chooses to sign him long-term will have a safety net in place. His social issues notwithstanding, what are the risks of his on-field performance? Hamilton’s numbers are among the best in baseball over the past five years and he is in fact a legitimate superstar.

We’d all love to have his 43 home runs and 128 rbi’s wearing a Phils uniform but it’s important that we examine those numbers to see what kind of player we’re getting. In breaking down Hamilton’s power numbers we find that last season he hit 21 home runs in the first through fourth innings but unfortunately he did not get stronger as the game went on. Hamilton only homered five times in games where the Rangers trailed between one and three runs from the 6th inning or later. Add to that the fact that he did not hit a home run in the 6th inning or later when the game was tied and it becomes obvious that this is not a player who is likely to hit a clutch home run with the game on the line.

Equally telling is the fact that he hit nine home runs with his team either ahead or behind by five runs and you can see how these numbers helped to pad his stats a bit. What may be the most concerning stat is the fact that his strikeout total rose by nearly 80 percent from 93 strikeouts in 2011 to 162 this past season. The postseason has been unkind to him as well as he has only hit .227 with six home runs and 22 rbi’s in 34 games. With this evidence at hand, remove the off-the field aspect and ask yourself if you as a Phillies fan want him in the lineup for the next 5-6 years with the top-flight salary that he will certainly command. Despite the fact that the Rangers are only reportedly offering him three years to remain with them he will certainly get a long-term deal from someone. Do you want it to be with us?

3. Have we learned nothing from the Giants? There seems to be a misconception in sports that you have to pay an absurd amount of money each and every season to guarantee that you will have a certain level of success. For those that believe this to be true I offer you the 2010 and 2012 Giants. Let’s specifically focus in on this year. The Giants have done a tremendous job of developing their own players as the three main components of their starting rotation (Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner) as well as starting position players at catcher, first base, shortstop and third base were all drafted and developed within the organization.

Although the team’s payroll topped $111,000,000 this season, 72 percent was allocated to the pitching staff. What they got was a team that finished dead last in home runs but won its second championship in three years. There’s something about a team that develops its own players, teaches them an organizational philosophy and watches them win together. The Yankee dynasty of 1996-2000 was built on the players they brought through their system not through the ones they purchased in later years. I do not believe it is a coincidence that it took them nine years to win another World Series when they eschewed their farm system in exchange for their checkbook.

Similarly, the ’08 Phils were built in the same manner when the core of the team that was home grown sprinkled with trade and free agent signings that transcended numbers. I would propose that it’s that kind of blue print that the Phils need to return to. I remember the horrible times when the organization seemed reluctant to part with a dime and when Ed Wade didn’t seem to have the guts to pull the trigger on the big deal that we all wanted or got fleeced when he actually did. I appreciate that RAJ aggressively pursues players that he believes will help the organization win for a long time; but I wonder if it’s necessary. The Giants success has taught us otherwise.

Josh Hamilton is in fact a tremendous player and talent but I’m just not sure he’s the right fit for our team. I don’t know how he’ll react to being booed when he goes through a 2 for 25 slump. I’m not sure I like the idea of investing a lengthy contract to a player that turns 32 this May and will likely want a five year minimum. I don’t know if he can be counted on to come through in the clutch when the team most needs him; and I’m just not sure that we absolutely have to have him. Thanks for not being afraid to go after the big fish and having the stones to reel him in but I think we can pass on this one. RAJ, put the checkbook away on this one.