January 21, 2013

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle:

A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 7 comments

Vin Scully on the radio in 1957: Vin Scully. The man who opens his time on the broadcast (around 6:43) with this gem: "Despite the fact that I've just knocked a cup of coffee in my lap and onto a suit that's just back from the cleaners, it's great to be home."

posted by tommybiden at 04:44 PM on January 21, 2013

Awesome. Curious where that guy got that from. I bought a set of CD's years ago with classic baseball radio broadcasts on it and have that actual game but the quality of that guys version is SO much higher!

posted by Drood at 05:44 PM on January 21, 2013

Man that Scully call is great. I need to hear that whole game.

posted by rcade at 06:03 PM on January 21, 2013

Just had a thought, I'm curious about this; anyone know the answer?

The MLB Hall of Fame has a rule that you aren't eligible until you've been out of the game for 5 years (I guess to make sure you have stopped playing), and then have 15 years of eligibility to make it in on a vote. However, if you don't get at least 5% of the vote on any year's ballot, you fall off the ballot permanently, and would have to be elected by the Veteran's committee no earlier than 20 years after his year of retirement.

Now, imagine this: 2-3 years go by, and the crazy sportswriters with their insanity run amok have left Clemens or Bonds off their ballots in protest, and one of those guys falls below 5%. That player is now no longer eligible... even if the sportswriters have a change of heart. But maybe he's patched things up with his old team/they're on friendly terms, so they sign a small league-minimum 30-day contract, he pulls a Satchel Paige and gets a few at-bats/innings in uniform, and then re-retires.

Did his HoF clock just reset? Will he be re-eligible in 5 years for a proper vote, or did that "permanently ineligible" except by the Veterans' Committee still stay in effect?

posted by hincandenza at 08:56 PM on January 21, 2013

hincandenza: Jose Rijo got 0.2% of the vote in 2000, pitched in 2001 and 2002, and then got no votes in 2008. (I guess that guy that voted for him in 2000 decided he wasn' t worthy any more.)

So the answer is yes, his HOF clock resets.
(But Clemens and Bonds will never get below 5% of the vote. There are enough voters that aren't insane.)

posted by grum@work at 09:54 PM on January 21, 2013

Huh, didn't realize there was a previous case. Thanks!

Oh, and surely the vote he got in 2000 was one of those token "Here, we were friendly during your career, and while you'll never make it to the HoF without a ticket at least now you can say you weren't skunked."

posted by hincandenza at 01:40 PM on January 22, 2013

Oh, and surely the vote he got in 2000 was one of those token "Here, we were friendly during your career, and while you'll never make it to the HoF without a ticket at least now you can say you weren't skunked."

"But you didn't even send me a thank you email in 2000, so you can forget about me voting for you in 2008, you damn ingrate!'

posted by grum@work at 06:49 PM on January 22, 2013

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