[Andy117]

Will Griffey be the first unanimous Hall of Fame selection?

No doubt Ken Griffey Jr. will get his ticket to Cooperstown punched on Wednesday. But based on the early results, the slugger also has a chance to get elected with the highest percentage of votes ever -- maybe even becoming the first unanimous pick ever.




Griffey an excellent chance to break Tom Seaver's record of 98.8 percent. Seaver was named on 425 of 430 ballots -- 98.84 percent, or just ahead of Nolan Ryan's 98.79 percent (he was named on 491 of 497 ballots). Here are the top 10 highest vote percentages:

1. Tom Seaver: 98.8
2. Nolan Ryan: 98.8
3. Cal Ripken: 98.5
4. Ty Cobb: 98.2
5. George Brett: 98.2
6. Hank Aaron: 97.8
7. Tony Gwynn: 97.6
8. Randy Johnson: 97.3
9. Greg Maddux: 97.2
10. Mike Schmidt: 96.5

He won't be unanimous. I don't think that'll ever happen.

[BigSpoon]

Samardzija - SF
Verlander - Det.
Carasco - Clev.
R. Ingelsias - Reds
Corbin - Az.
Pomeranz - SD
Arodys Vizcaino - Atl.
Tyler Duffy - Minn
Tyler Skaggs - LAA
Adam Warren - Cub

And for my man Shortstop:

Niese and Vogelsong - Pirates have a way of resurrecting pitchers.

Strongly agree with Carrasco though he was pretty good last season. 3.63 ERA but his FIP was 2.84 so he was a bit unlucky in 2015.

[Shortstop]

Samardzija - SF
Verlander - Det.
Carasco - Clev.
R. Ingelsias - Reds
Corbin - Az.
Pomeranz - SD
Arodys Vizcaino - Atl.
Tyler Duffy - Minn
Tyler Skaggs - LAA
Adam Warren - Cub

And for my man Shortstop:

Niese and Vogelsong - Pirates have a way of resurrecting pitchers.

They sure do! I hope you're right, brother!

[EmpireMaker]

Former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, whose resignation at season’s end shocked many in the baseball world, will join the Dodgers’ front office and work alongside GM Farhan Zaidi, according to multiple reports, including one from Vince Cauchon of Radio X in Quebec, who was the first to report the hiring earlier today (via Twitter). While Cauchon seems to imply that the deal is in place, Jon Heyman tweets that the agreement is still being finalized. Regardless, it seems likely that the team will announce the hire in the near future. Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times writes the move is “expected” to be completed soon, though no specific role has been finalized to this point.
The 38-year-old Anthopoulos will become the sixth member of the Dodgers’ front office that is either a current or former GM, joining president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, Zaidi, senior vice president Josh Byrnes, senior advisor Ned Colletti and special advisor Gerry Hunsicker. Byrnes has previously served as the GM of the Padres and D-backs, while Colletti was the Dodgers’ GM before the current regime inherited baseball operations autonomy. Hunsicker spent roughly a decade as the Astros’ GM.
Anthopoulos was named the Sporting News’ executive of the year in 2015 on the heels of a number of high-profile trades that culminated in a division title and ALCS run for the Blue Jays, snapping a 22-year playoff drought in Toronto. The acquisitions of Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and David Price stand out as perhaps the most memorable trades, but Anthopoulos also acquired LaTroy Hawkins, Mark Lowe and Ben Revere in addition to signing Russell Martin to a five-year contract in the offseason. However, with CEO Paul Beeston set to retire in Toronto, ownership sought a replacement and reportedly offered former Indians GM/president Mark Shapiro final say in baseball operations decisions as a means of luring him to Toronto. That promise is said to have led to Anthopoulos’ resignation, despite the fact that he was offered an extension prior to his departure.
Anthopoulos will add to a growing collection of well-respected baseball minds working to shape the Dodgers, though his specific role remains unclear, as does the number of teams that expressed interest in hiring him. Anthopoulos told the Canadian Press last month that he’d received interest from a variety of teams and media outlets and was expecting to take a job with a team in January. One report even mentioned that the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes had interest in bringing Anthopoulos on board in their front office. That would’ve made him the second notable baseball executive to change sports this month — Paul DePodesta reportedly is leaving the Mets to join the Cleveland Browns’ front office (as explained on MLBTR and on Pro Football Rumors earlier today) — but it seems that Anthopoulos will instead remain in the game with which he has been involved since 2000.

[El Nino]

12 Best Remaining MLB Free Agents according to NY Daily News:

1.) Yoenis Cespedes
2.) Wei Yin-Chen
3.) Chris Davis
4.) Justin Upton
5.) Alex Gordon
6.) Ian Desmond
7.) Dexter Fowler
8.) Ian Kennedy
9.) Yovani Kennedy
10.) Howie Kendrick
11.) Denard Span
12.) Gerardo Parra

Teams staying patient. Will be interesting to see how late Davis waits. Especially since he allegedly turned down a 7 year $150 million offer from the Orioles.

[Otters27]

Also read that Clemens and Bonds are getting closer to HOF. I one though Bonds would never get in

[Chi_archie]

I think Alex Gordon is the best free agent available

[EmpireMaker]

I think Alex Gordon is the best free agent available

Sources: Alex Gordon to Kansas City is done, confirming report from @FlannyMLB. Deal is believed to be in the four-year, low-$70M range.

[koz-man]

Also read that Clemens and Bonds are getting closer to HOF. I one though Bonds would never get in

Read today in local paper that they took away the voting rites of over 100 sports writers that did not cover baseball over the last 10 years.

Maybe a lot of these writers were against voting for Bonds, Mac, Clemens, ect.??

[stevenash]

Market came down enough for cheap skate Clayton to sign Gordon.
A-Gor takes a home town discount, he still makes a nice haul at an average of 16 mil per.
He is the best left fielder in the game, gold glover that hits 20 taters and can steal at will if he wants to.

Now the Royals have a 3 year window for Wade Davis, Moose, and the rest, should have opened the wallet for Zobrist however, he was a perfect fit for KC

[El Nino]

Market came down enough for cheap skate Clayton to sign Gordon.
A-Gor takes a home town discount, he still makes a nice haul at an average of 16 mil per.
He is the best left fielder in the game, gold glover that hits 20 taters and can steal at will if he wants to.

Now the Royals have a 3 year window for Wade Davis, Moose, and the rest, should have opened the wallet for Zobrist however, he was a perfect fit for KC

Still over paid. .269 career hitter, has hit 20 or more HR's only twice in 9 seasons. Garbage postseason numbers. .222 hitter in 7 post game series with 3 dingers. Hell of a fielder, needs to stay healthy and do something in the playoffs though.

[Andy117]

Still over paid. .269 career hitter, has hit 20 or more HR's only twice in 9 seasons. Garbage postseason numbers. .222 hitter in 7 post game series with 3 dingers. Hell of a fielder, needs to stay healthy and do something in the playoffs though.

He did something in game 1 of the WS, unfortunately.

[EmpireMaker]

Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic spoke to executives and scouts from each league to ask which NL West division rival has the better pitching staff heading into the 2016 season: the D-backs or the Giants. While the officials to whom Buchanan spoke seemed to agree that, in a vacuum, the D-backs made more impactful acquisitions this offseason (referring to Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller in comparison to Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija), when factoring in the cost of said acquisitions, there’s an argument to be made for the Giants’ side of the equation. Buchanan also polled officials on which club’s top three starters were more impressive, adding lefties Patrick Corbin and Madison Bumgarner to the mix, which generated mixed responses.

[Cross]

Griffey jr one of the best ever, great day for him!

[Chi_archie]

Market came down enough for cheap skate Clayton to sign Gordon.
A-Gor takes a home town discount, he still makes a nice haul at an average of 16 mil per.
He is the best left fielder in the game, gold glover that hits 20 taters and can steal at will if he wants to.

Now the Royals have a 3 year window for Wade Davis, Moose, and the rest, should have opened the wallet for Zobrist however, he was a perfect fit for KC

18 million per year

[El Nino]

He did something in game 1 of the WS, unfortunately.

Yep, I was on the wrong side of that one.

[BigSpoon]

Griffey should have gotten 100% of the votes instead of 99.3%. Him in the HOF makes me feel really old.

As a kid I thought his rookie card would be worth thousands of dollars by now.

[Wrigley]

if peyton manning maybe used PED's

can we really say as confidently that griffey jr never did?

it just is accepted as gospel

most thing he did use in the era of the HR

[stevenash]

18 million per year

Yeah, you're right, 4/72.

[Shortstop]

Market came down enough for cheap skate Clayton to sign Gordon.
A-Gor takes a home town discount, he still makes a nice haul at an average of 16 mil per.
He is the best left fielder in the game, gold glover that hits 20 taters and can steal at will if he wants to.

Now the Royals have a 3 year window for Wade Davis, Moose, and the rest, should have opened the wallet for Zobrist however, he was a perfect fit for KC

Still over paid. .269 career hitter, has hit 20 or more HR's only twice in 9 seasons. Garbage postseason numbers. .222 hitter in 7 post game series with 3 dingers. Hell of a fielder, needs to stay healthy and do something in the playoffs though.

Not looking them up or reading them here, I would've thought Gordon had much better offensive career numbers.

But, as you both mentioned, his speed and defense compensate more than nicely for any offensive challenges he faces...

[Shortstop]

As a kid I thought his rookie card would be worth thousands of dollars by now.

Damn he looks young on that card! Gotta love the "multiple chains outside the turtleneck" look!

[Shortstop]

12 Best Remaining MLB Free Agents according to NY Daily News:

1.) Yoenis Cespedes
2.) Wei Yin-Chen
3.) Chris Davis
4.) Justin Upton
5.) Alex Gordon
6.) Ian Desmond
7.) Dexter Fowler
8.) Ian Kennedy
9.) Yovani Kennedy
10.) Howie Kendrick
11.) Denard Span
12.) Gerardo Parra

Great post!

[Chi_archie]

Damn he looks young on that card! Gotta love the "multiple chains outside the turtleneck" look!

its actually photoshop in front of a green screen. he actually looked older

here is the real picture untouched

[koz-man]

Griffey should have gotten 100% of the votes instead of 99.3%. Him in the HOF makes me feel really old.

As a kid I thought his rookie card would be worth thousands of dollars by now.

Agree. I would like to ask the 3 writers what they were thinking when they left Jr off their ballot...

[MexicanStallion]

How about a signing for the Giants.

Giants signed OF Denard Span to a three-year, $31 million contract.

The deal is pending a physical. Span is coming off a hip issue that limited him to just 61 games in 2015, but the Giants obviously feel good about his recovery and his outlook for 2016 and beyond. The 31-year-old is likely to be the team's leadoff hitter and starting center fielder when Opening Day rolls around.

[Shortstop]

Agree. I would like to ask the 3 writers what they were thinking when they left Jr off their ballot...

Yeah, what were they thinking?

[Cross]

Still my favorite baseball card of all time, I don't care what Beckett values it.

[Shortstop]

12 Best Remaining MLB Free Agents according to NY Daily News:

1.) Yoenis Cespedes
2.) Wei Yin-Chen
3.) Chris Davis
4.) Justin Upton
5.) Alex Gordon
6.) Ian Desmond
7.) Dexter Fowler
8.) Ian Kennedy
9.) Yovani Kennedy
10.) Howie Kendrick
11.) Denard Span
12.) Gerardo Parra

Teams staying patient. Will be interesting to see how late Davis waits. Especially since he allegedly turned down a 7 year $150 million offer from the Orioles.

Span gone! New home in San Francisco...

[Andy117]

Agree. I would like to ask the 3 writers what they were thinking when they left Jr off their ballot...

I'm actually surprised it was only 3. There's a bunch of guys that should've been unanimous.

[EmpireMaker]

• While all involved acknowledged that the MRI results led to Kenta Maeda signing a lighter-than-expected deal with the Dodgers, club president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says that the righty is “totally asymptomatic,” as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links). The concerning results were not discovered during a team physical after a deal, Shaikin adds, but were apparent from the medicals submitted by Maeda to all MLB teams — which may explain why his market was so quiet.
• The Rockies are “making a push” for free agent outfielder Gerardo Parra, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter, though they aren’t alone. He previously noted Colorado’s interest, which would seem to make the most sense if the club is prepared to ship out one of its current starting outfielders.
• Padres righty Colin Rea moved quickly to reach the majors last year, and MLB.com’s Corey Brock writes that he’s looking forward to competing for a rotation spot this spring. Rea, 25, did end up being shutdown with elbow/forearm soreness, though he says that was precautionary.

[El Nino]

Span gone! New home in San Francisco...

Man, seems like the NL West is making all the moves.

[Otters27]

Agree. I would like to ask the 3 writers what they were thinking when they left Jr off their ballot...

Whats the card worth $30? I had a few but they got stolen along with joe montana rookie

[Chi_archie]

What did that card get valued at, in its peak?

[yisman]

Yeah, you're right, 4/72.

these contracts are crazy

gordon 32 before next season and was never much of an offensive player, was batting eighth for KC

[koz-man]

What did that card get valued at, in its peak?

Around $100 I think..the Upper Deck.

I remember having several dozen on his Donruss Rookies cards..about $7 @ its peak.