Notes from around the Human Experience…
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME: Arguing about who should and should not be in baseball’s Hall of Fame used to be great fun, and there was a time when the ten people being considered by the Hall of Fame’s Modern Baseball Committee would have generated some lively debate.
Not anymore. Regular readers of this crap know our thoughts on this: Gary Carter’s election took all the fun out of Hall of Fame arguing because Carter is now the line of demarcation: if you were as good or better than Carter, welcome aboard. If you were not, you are not entitled to enshrinement in Cooperstown.
Write This Down: Now, we have never said Gary Carter does not belong in the Hall of Fame. On the other hand, we didn’t chair his campaign committee, either. However, when they let Carter in the door was opened pretty wide. There are many players that were as good or better than Carter who deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.
Dry, Technical Matter: The ten are being considered by the Hall of Fame’s Modern Baseball Committee, one of a handful of committees who meet every few years to consider players, umpires and executives of assorted eras whose eligibility has otherwise passed. They will vote at baseball’s winter meetings in Florida next month.
Get Your Scorecards Ready, It’s Lineup Time: Here are the ten: Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Ted Simmons, Luis Tiant, Alan Trammell and Marvin Miller.
Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: We think everyone but Tiant and Miller deserves election. Tiant’s numbers, we’re afraid, are not those of an all-time great. They don’t miss by much, but they do miss. During his lifetime Miller, the former head of the player’s union, said he didn’t particularly want to be considered and we are going to respect that now that he is dead.
Dry, Technical Matter: We are not going to go into the merits of everyone, but we think it’s a shame Steve Garvey wasn’t elected when he was on the regular Hall of Fame ballot: One, he came to play every day, still holding the National League (NL) record for consecutive games played and he was at his best when it was needed, batting .338 in the postseason, with eleven home runs and 31 RBI’s. He played Hall of Fame caliber defense and for several years was one of the top RBI men in the NL.
The Bottom Line: For the others, you merely apply the Carter Criteria: all of them but Tiant were as good or better than Gary Carter and should be elected to the Hall of Fame.
ON THIS DATE! ON THIS DATE! The United States Supreme Court rules Montgomery, Alabama’s bus segregation laws unconstitutional on this date in 1956 when the court affirmed a lower court ruling in the case Browder vs.Gayle.
The ruling would lead to the end of the blacks boycotting Montgomery’s bus service the following month, a boycott that began in December 1955. The boycott had been inspired by, among other things, the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to yield her seat to a white person and a previous bus boycott in Louisiana.
You Get The Crosses, I ‘ll Get The Gasoline: Whites in Montgomery did not take this well, causing sufficient trouble so that Montgomery bus service was suspended for a few weeks.
Great Moments In Amityville Horror: Ronald DeFeo, Jr shoots his entire family to death on this date in 1974 in Amityville, New York. The shootings happened at about 3am. After killing his family, DeFeo went to work, then to a bar, where he told patrons he needed help because he thought his family had been shot.
DeFeo originally ran a story about how his family was the victim of a mob hitman up the flagpole, but nobody really believed that and he confessed to the killings the following day. DeFeo pled not guilty by reason of insanity but was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to six concurrent sentences of 25-years-to-life. He is still alive, serving his sentence in a prison in southern New York. All parole requests have been denied.
From The Paris Bureau: Nine perpetrators conducted suicide bombings, mass shootings and a hostage incident in Paris on this date in 2015. The attacks claimed 130 civilian lives and the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Oh Yeah: Seven of the attackers died that day. The other two died a few days later during a police raid. It was the worst attack on French soil since World War II.
Quotebook: The quality of any mans life is a full measure of that persons personal commitment to excellence and to victory, regardless of what field he may be in. – Vince Lombardi
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The two US Navy admirals who died at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal were rear admirals Daniel Callaghan and Norman Scott. Both received the Medal of Honor for their exploits.
Today’s Stumper: Who were the first five players enshrined in the baseball Hall of Fame? – Answer next time!
