MLB bans third-to-first pickoff

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier

The owners have spoken, and the third-to-first pickoff move is history. While the move very rarely worked, it was a favorite of some pitchers who wanted to keep runners honest. With runners on first and third, the pitcher would fake a pickoff throw to third prior to throwing to first, in an attempt to catch the runner leaning toward second.

The rules commission has decided that this move will now be considered a balk. It was deemed a balk because of its incredibly low success rate. It was seen as being nothing more than a waste of time and the definition of a balk.

Many pitchers would use the move to buy time for a reliever in the bullpen or simply to annoy runners on base. The move so rarely worked, you could likely count the successful times on one hand, that it was used more to see if a runner could be caught off guard or a batter tip his hand.

But looking at the move in detail shows that it fits the definition of a balk almost to a T. The pitcher motions forward prior to spinning to third and then pivoting back to first. If that isn't a balk then someone needs to redefine the term.

The banning of this move will likely have very little effect on the game, as so few pitchers actually attempted it. But it could serve to speed the game up a bit and could give a slight edge to baserunners who no longer have to worry about a trick-move catching them off the bag.

With one common sense rule change made, maybe the MLB can step into the 21st century and get some instant replay like the rest of the world.

Why the BBWAA Got It Right With the MLB Hall of Fame Elections

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier

It's old news, everyone knows that the Baseball Writers Association of America did not elect any player to the MLB Hall of Fame this year, and many fans are upset. Why? Because a bunch of cheaters and undeserving players were denied enshrinement?

Deal with it.

The only player that actually deserved to get in was Craig Biggio, and he should bump his numbers enough next season to make it to Cooperstown. As for the others? They don't belong there.

Jack Morris? Read our opinion on why he should never see Cooperstown. In short, his numbers are pedestrian at best and nothing makes him stand out over the throngs of other average pitchers that fade away.

Then we get to the steroid users. It has been said that perhaps baseball should just put these players in the Hall because they were the best of their era despite taking performance enhancing drugs. Bull. They cheated and they should be barred from history.

If you want to acknowledge their achievements, fine. But leave them in the museum outside of the Hall. But Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmiero should never be inducted. They defiled the game without regard and should be punished.

Wanna say that those who took amphetamines were cheaters and many of them were elected to Cooperstown? A decent argument, but amphetamines do not physically alter a person like PED's did. Just look at Bonds, his hat and shoe size grew several sizes. (while I'm sure other things went in reverse)

These men are and forever will be, liars and cheaters. But, I am not married to the idea of keeping them out forever, I am a reasonable man.

The steroid era cheaters can be voted into the Hall when Bud Selig climbs down off his high throne of Alzheimers and senility and allows the all-time hit leader Pete Rose into Cooperstown.

Want to say that the Hall can't be taken seriously if the all-time home run leader* isn't included? The same can be said for Rose. The man was incredible on the field and deserves to be immortalized for it.

Did he bet on the game? Yes. Did he throw games or effect the outcomes of any game with his gambling? No. But he is labeled a cheat and barred for life.

So in the eyes of baseball, a man who bets on the game and on his team to win, is worse than a player that goes out of their way to deliberately cheat the game.

Sorry, but the writers got this one right.

Why Ex-Tiger Jack Morris Should Not Be a Hall of Famer

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier

With the Baseball Writers Association of America preparing to vote the next class of players into Cooperstown on Jan. 9th, there are several players who are making a push for the Hall that statistically do not deserve it. There are others, that are being overlooked that are indeed worthy of enshrinement.

Ex-Tiger and Twin Jack Morris has found a new life in his pursuit of the Hall of Fame of late, but with the rise of sabermetrics, his numbers, when looked at in comparison to a similar player that was denied the Hall, could also deny Morris.

And they should.

Morris is close to reaching that magic 75 percent of the vote, but should he even be this close? No.

Yes, Morris had a fantastic Game 7 in 1991, but that does not make someone a Hall of Famer. Consistent solid numbers do, and Morris does not have that.

Morris played 18 seasons with four teams, amassing 254 wins in that time. But a deeper look into those numbers shows that he was an average pitcher, at best.

During his career, Morris posted a 3.90 ERA, that is far less than good. A pitcher with a borderline 4.00 ERA shouldn't be on the mound, let alone in Cooperstown. ERA can sometimes be misleading, so perhaps a look at Morris' WHIP would help his case? Not at all.

In fact, Morris' career 1.29 WHIP is near the high end of acceptable and bordering on demotion level for a starting pitcher. That 1.29 WHIP means that Morris allowed quite a few base-runners each time he was on the mound. A Hall of Famer should be one that keeps runners off the bases, or at least strands them, Morris' numbers show that he did neither.

Delving deeper into sabermetrics gives voters the ERA+ stat, which is a pitchers ERA adjusted to the pitchers ballpark. An average pitcher would score a 100 in the ERA+, meaning anything over 100 is below average and anything under is above average.

Morris' records show that he has a career 105 ERA+, showing that even in the cavernous confines of Tiger Stadium, where he spent 14 seasons, he was unable to post even numbers comparable to the generic average pitcher.

Maybe some voters would argue that the regular season doesn't matter as much as the post season and that Morris' playoff numbers should get him to Cooperstown. Well, they don't. They damn him almost as much as his regular season numbers.

In seven playoff series, Morris played in 13 games and turned in a 3.80 ERA, not exactly the ace performance expected of him. His WHIP, again, was inflated at 1.24 and he averaged eight hits allowed per game.

Now those are not the numbers of a Hall of Famer, and yet he is inching closer to the Hall on each ballot return. His numbers are not great, in fact they compare, unfavorably, to those of fellow-Tiger Mickey Lolich who was denied entry to Cooperstown on 15 occasions.

Lolich played 16 seasons, 13 with Detroit, and won a World Series with the Tigers in 1968. But he was denied the Hall of Fame, despite having similar, if not better, numbers to the ones that could get Morris to Cooperstown.

In his 16 seasons, Lolich turned in a sub-par ERA of 3.44, not good. But while that 3.44 ERA is bad, it is better than the one that Morris compiled. Lolich also had a 1.22 WHIP, again, not the greatest, but still better than the numbers presented to the BBWAA.

Lolich also played in the pitcher-friendly Tiger Stadium, and he too, struggled to maintain the production of the average pitcher there, posting a 104 ERA+. 

Where the postseason hurts Morris' numbers, it greatly helps those for Lolich. While Morris did have more games played in the postseason, the difference between the two is vast. In two postseason series, Lolich played in five games and came out with a 1.57 ERA.

Where Morris was allowing runners to reach base and score in the postseason, Lolich was allowing less than a runner per inning in the playoffs with his 0.97 WHIP. These playoff numbers greatly favor Lolich, but his regular season numbers do drag him down a bit.

The evidence is clear, when looking at the raw statistics, Morris compares very well with Lolich, a player who did not reach Cooperstown, and he himself, should not either.


Words Above Replacement's 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot
Alan Trammel
Craig Biggio
Curt Schilling
Lee Smith