January 17, 2025 • 26 mins
On this week’s edition of Inside the (Rob) Parker, Rob unveils his official ballot for the 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame. Who made the cut? Who came up short? The answers to both questions may surprise you! Finally, Rob closes the show with a tribute to the late, great Bob Uecker in a very special Why Baseball is Better.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
From the berkshears to the sound from wherever you live
in MLB America. This is Inside the Parker. You give
us twenty two minutes and we'll give you the scoop
on Major League Baseball. Now here's Baseball Hall of Fame
voter number seventy, Rob Parker.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome into the podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
I'm your host, Rob Parker, and we have a very
special Baseball Hall of Fame BALLID edition of Inside the Parker.
I'll reveal my ballad for the twenty twenty five induction,
which will take place this summer at Cooperstown, New York.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And we'll also have why Baseball's Better. We'll do that
Let's go.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Better to lead off, it's getting robbed to keep them out,
Rob's hot take, and the three biggest stories in Major
League Baseball.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
As you guys know, I'm a Baseball Hall of Fame
vot and I take my Hall of Fame vote very
very seriously. It's one of my most prized possessions in
my life. I don't have any kids, I'm divorced, so
it's all about the Baseball Hall of Fame and I'm
very serious. Give a lot of thought to it. I
know it means the world to a lot of former
(01:18):
baseball players and fans who care. We talk about it
all the time. The Baseball Hall of Fame easily the
best hall of fame. People really care about who gets in,
who doesn't get in. The conversations that are about the
Hall of Fame are bigger and better than the Pro
Football Hall of Fame, the Basketball Hall of Fame, which isn't,
(01:40):
the NBA Hall of Fame, and the hockey Hall of Fame.
Those are finding their own right, but they're not on
the same level as baseball. So the Baseball Hall of
Fame is something that is cared about and revered, and
that's why I take my time and I'm very serious
about it.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
But here we go.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I'm gonna reveal my ballot, which will be announced on
Tuesday on MLB Network. It'll be announced who will be
going into the Baseball Hall of Fame. You have ten
votes to use on your ballot. You don't have to
use any You could use up to ten. This year,
(02:21):
I only picked two players number one each year, Row Suzuki,
the former Seattle Mariner, and CC Sabathia, who of course
pitched for the Yankees, the Brewers, and started with the
Cleveland Indians back then in that day.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So those are the only two people I voted for
each your Row.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
And CC, and I'll explain why I thought these guys
were Hall of Fame worthy. Number one, let's start with
each ye. Row, Suzuki, this is just easy, okay for me.
There are magic numbers that you gotta have in order
to make it to the Hall of Fame, and each
(03:10):
year Row has those.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
He has three thousand hits, three thousand and eighty nine. Bingo.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
I don't even need to look at the rest of
his career for him to get in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
But let's just go over his stats.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Lifetime batting average of three to eleven, three thousand, eighty
nine hits, one hundred and seventeen home runs, seven hundred
and eighty runs batted in, and five hundred and nine
stolen bases. Ten time All Star right. He came into
the league in two thousand and one, won Rookie of
the Year in two thousand and one and the American
(03:45):
League MVP, and he made the All Star ten straight
years two thousand and one to twenty ten. Two time
batting champ, led the league in steals, in two thousand
and one his first season, and let's not forget he
had an MLB record two hundred and sixty two hits
in a single season. I mean, now we know that
(04:09):
only Mariano Rivera was a unanimous inductee into the Baseball
Hall of Fame, the only one Derek Jeter, missed out
by one vote. I don't see how anyone could vote
against Ichiro.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I think he has a great.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Chance of being a unanimous MVP for all the stuff
that he did in his career. Again, three thousand hits.
Don't forget that he played in Japan before he came
to the United States. So he gave me the United
States in two thousand and one, but he played in
Japan from nineteen ninety two to two thousand. He's already
(04:56):
in the Japanese Hall of Fame Baseball Hall of Fame.
He got in ninety two point six percent of the vote,
and he was inducted.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
This year.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Okay, so in twenty twenty five, so he has a
chance here to do it. And in Japan he batted
three point fifty three in his career, one two hundred
and seventy eight hits.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Now that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
So He had one thousand, two hundred and seventy eight
hits in Japan three thousand and eighty nine in the
United States.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
This guy had.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Over forty three hundred hits in his baseball career, spanning
both Japan and the United States. First ballot Hall of Fame,
No if ads or Butts. An absolutely great player from
day one when he won Rookie of the Year and
the MVP in two thousand.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Number two.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
My second vote went to CC Sabathia, who broke in
with the Cleveland Indians back then. Now the Guardians also
pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Yankees.
Won a World Series with the New York Yankees two
thousand and nine. Was tremendous. But I always talk about
magic numbers. You got to have certain magic numbers in
order to get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
(06:17):
and get my vote. Everybody's different people way different things,
look at different things.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Here's what did it for me.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
For CC Sabbathia, he's in the three thousand strikeout club
and for some like me, it almost guarantees you entry
into the Hall of Fame. Fourteen members in the three
thousand Strikeout Club, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz. They
(06:49):
all got inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame during
the twenty fifteen balloting. Okay, and everybody who's in that
club just out are in the Hall of Fame. So CC,
Schurzer and Verlander are in that club as well. Now,
(07:10):
Schurzer and Verlander are still pitching, so they're not eligible yet,
but for sure both of those guys will make it
into the Hall of Fame. And CC Sabbathias in that club.
Only two guys who have three thousand strikeouts aren't in
the Hall of Fame, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Roger Clemens we know.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Uncertain status because of the use of performance enhancing drugs
and the whole story that follow him.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Kurt Shilling.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Had three thousand hits strikeouts, but there were questions about
some of the other stats. He never won a cy Young,
never did some of the other stuff. He was tremendous
in the postseason, but his full body of work, some
people didn't vote for him. This whole idea that Kurt
Shilling didn't get voted for because because he's Republican or
right wing or whatever is totally ridiculous. Mariano Rivera is
(08:07):
the biggest Donald Trump fan supporter in the public, and
he got into the Baseball Hall of fam Fame unanimously.
So this whole notion that all reporters are Democratic or
liberal and they vote against Republicans or any it's just
(08:28):
not true. How did Mariano Rivera get in the Hall
of Fame unanimously publicly showing his support for Donald Trump?
Speaker 2 (08:37):
You know why?
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Because he was one of the greatest pitchers who ever
pitched in Major League Baseball. Along with the three thousand strikeouts,
his exact total is three thousand, ninety three. He won
two hundred and fifty one games, lost one hundred and
sixty one three point seven to four elra Here are
other career highlights. Time All Star won the World Series
(09:02):
in two thousand and nine, one an American League Cy
Young Award, meaning he was the best pitcher in the
game in the American League that year. That's big. Major
awards separate you from other.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
People who don't have them.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
He was also the American League Championship Series MVP in
two thousand and nine, the year the Yankees won the
World Series.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
He was brilliant, two.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Time MLB win leader two thousand and nine twenty ten,
and CC just had a tremendous career. I don't know
if you know one of my magic numbers is three
hundred wins. I don't know if people are gonna get
to that anymore because guys don't pitch as many games
or stay in as long to get wins, because people
(09:47):
don't look at wins the same way, So it'd be
hard to get three hundred wins. Two hundred and fifty
one is very solid, big time. He has a tremendous
winning percentage for a starting pitcher, and.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
He was a workhorse.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
He was a tremendous pitcher who in big games you
wanted to give the ball to. If you remember when
he went to the Brewers as a a trade just
as a rental player. He pitched him into the postseason,
down the stretch when he came from Cleveland, and then
he signed a big contract with the Yankees and pitched
(10:22):
there for over ten years and was tremendous. So CC
Sabatia gets my second vote without question. He's a Hall
of Famer number three. All right, now, let's welcome in
Rob G. Rob Gera, the producer of Inside the Parker
and of course The Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio
seven to ten Monday through Friday with Kelvin Washington and
(10:43):
I Rob G. I know there's going to be some pushback.
Rob didn't use all of his votes, So let's go
over some other players who maybe people thought deserved to
get into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
Rob, to say you didn't use all your votes would
be an under statement. I mean, I'm looking at some
of the votes that the ballots that have already been
made public, and each one has at least seven eight
names and you got two. So there is definitely gonna
be some discrepancy here on the Inside the Parker podcast.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Now, you know, Rob G, how seriously I take balloting.
And I don't think everybody is a Hall of Fame.
I've talked to you about that ye before. And my
big thing is, if there's a big debate about you,
you're probably not a hall You're not a Hall of Fame.
Or if we have to make a big cacial argument
for you.
Speaker 6 (11:29):
Yeah, and I for the most part, would agree with you.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
And I think that's you know, we're talking baseball here,
but that's mostly obvious and prevalent in the Basketball Hall
of Fame, where they have quite possibly the lowest threshold
this side of Southern Connecticut State University when.
Speaker 6 (11:42):
It comes to the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5 (11:43):
Man, but you know, for the purposes of this pod,
we're gonna we're gonna take a look back at the
twenty twenty four Hall of Fame, really, because that's how
you usually find out who's gonna get in, you know,
how this thing works, kind of builds and builds and builds,
and eventually guys break through. So there are three names
for twenty twenty four that people are projecting you're gonna
get into here in twenty twenty five. Again, because the
(12:05):
new inductees are there's not as many of them that
you would think are shoeing for the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 6 (12:11):
So we're gonna start with number one.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Billy Wagner last year received seventy three point eight percent
of the votes. By all accounts, is gonna break through
and just quickly. On his stats, rob amongst left handed
pitchers with nine hundred innings pitched Okay, lowest opponent average
in baseball history one eighty seven, Lowest opponent ops in
baseball history, lowest whip point nine nine eight, lowest era
(12:37):
two point three to one, and his k's per nine
almost twelve. You left him off your ballot. Rob By
all accounts, he's gonna get in based on the way
the trajectory's going. Why did you leave him off your ballot?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Here's the point with Billy Wagner.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
I don't believe despite those numbers that you just recited,
he was ever the best closer game.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
I don't believe that.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
I don't think any at any point I thought, Wow,
Billy Wagner is the best closer in baseball. You can't
beat this guy, and whatnot. And here's the other thing
is he's been on the ballot since twenty sixteen, when
he received ten point five percent of the vote, well
(13:25):
short of the seventy What has changed if Billy Wagner
pitched since twenty sixteen?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Do you see my point?
Speaker 3 (13:35):
I don't understand how he's gained all of this traction
and increased support as the years go on, and people
feel like, oh my god, we gotta get him in
because this is gonna be his last year on the ballot.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
I don't think that's the way it should go.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I have a strict thing if I don't vote for
you the first time, and I feel confident with all
the other voters. Only ten percent voted for him their
first year, and rob g people say, well, there wasn't
spaced on my ballot to vote from the first That's
not true. There's never been ten guys or eleven right,
because you'd have to leave somebody.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Off to vote for.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
If Billy Wagner was this picture that they talk about
now when they dig deep into numbers and they have
to use qualifiers left handed and this and that, all
these other things to be able to justify it. It
doesn't work for me because there weren't that many left
handed pictures. When you talk about those numbers, right, how
(14:36):
many guys are really left handed?
Speaker 6 (14:38):
That's a good point, you get me.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Oh for left handed pictures, he has this, he has
that there aren't that many, and that doesn't mean that
he wasn't good. But this is this to me, is
not what the Hall of Fame should be. You should
not vote people in on their final year. Could you
have a sympathy vote for Billy Wagner? Could you think
(15:04):
he's close ten percent in twenty sixteen to getting in
makes no sense.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
All right, that's fair, all right. Name number two Rob.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
Now, this one may or may not get over the
seventy five percent threshold just based on the you know,
viewing online, a lot of voters voting him, But that
doesn't mean he's gonna get the necessary jump that he needs.
Andrew Jones last year sixty one point six percent of
the votes. You gotta make a little bit of a
jump here to get to seventy five. He has two
stats that are really working in his favor amongst voters,
(15:36):
and that is is, you know, Rob, He's one of
the rare guys of his era that could combine the
power and the glove at the same time like that.
Speaker 6 (15:44):
He was one of those guys.
Speaker 5 (15:46):
So the most years in baseball history amongst outfielders to
have a Gold Glove and hit at least thirty home
runs Willie Mays's first with eight, tied for second with seven,
Barry Bonds, Andrew Jones. And here's the other one, most
outfield goal gloves for a playoff team, which means he
was doing it when the games mattered. No, this is
(16:06):
a conversation we had out in the odd couple. Up
until this season, Otani was putting up massive numbers on
the team that was going nowhere, and you had an
issue with that. And that's why Andrew Jones most outfield
goal gloves for playoff teams. Gary Maddox has six, Tory
Hunter has six, Andrew Jones has eight. So why did
Andrew Jones not get at your ballot this year?
Speaker 3 (16:29):
First, if he had the five hundred home runs and
he finished with four hundred and thirty four, I would
have voted for him because that's the number that I
believe is a magical number to get you into the
Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
So he didn't get there.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
His lifetime batting average is two fifty four.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
That is not an all time great. Two fifty four.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Five All Star appearances. Okay, he won ten goal gloves
but only five All Star appearances. How does that match up?
So five years there were other people who were better
than him to play center field. When you go go
back and look at like Ozzie Smith. Ozzie Smith won
thirteen gold gloves in a row and made the All
(17:12):
Star team like fifteen times. You see what I'm saying.
Why would Andrew Jones have only five All Star appearances
but ten gold gloves? He never won an MVP. He
had a great year in and twenty oh five where
he led the league in RBI, he led the league
(17:32):
in home runs and still didn't win the MVP. In
two thousand and five, think about that, he led the
National League in home runs and was the RBI leader,
but did not nt win the MVP in two thousand
and five. So he, to me is the Hall of
very good. He had a tremendous career. I just don't
(17:55):
think of Andrew Jones as one of the all time greats.
When I say Hank, Aaron, Willie Mays, you know players
of that ilk, Andrew Jones's name doesn't roll off my tongue.
He deserves to be in the Brays Hall of Fame,
just not the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
All right, So rob last, but not least, the number
three name on this list. Even though he got only
fifty seven percent of the votes last year, earlier returns
suggests he might actually threaten the seventy five, even more
so than Andrew Jones, who had sixty one last year,
and that is Carlos Beltran. Now you mentioned the difference
between Andrew Jones and of the other guys his name
(18:37):
doesn't belong, as you said, alongside some of the greats.
The case that's being made right now for Carlos Beltran
is very simple. Here's the entire list of center fielders
with the war above seventy Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker,
Mickey Mannle, Mike Trout, Ken Griffey Junior, Joe DiMaggio, Carlos Beltran,
(19:04):
Rob Parker. You know how these things work. You know
that it's an analytics driven sport now, especially now more
than ever, even more so than the NBA. How could
you in your right mind leave Carlos Beltran off your
ballot again?
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Carlos Beltran, Hall are very good, close, played a long
time two seventy nine lifetime batting average, four hundred and
thirty five home runs, right, nine time All Star, won
a World Series, was Rookie of the Year, three goal gloves,
but again.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
No major hardware. Where are the MVPs?
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Where are those points of view where he was at
one point the best player in the game. He was
very good, Don't get me wrong, I mean very very good.
I'm not trying to diss him. He was big in
a postseason and all that. But we also have to acknowledge.
And this is the part that kills me. If you're
(20:07):
gonna leave Barry Bonds and a Rod and Roger Clemens
out for cheating. Carlos Beltram was busted in one of
the game's biggest cheating scandals with the Astros. He's the
one who was kind of set this thing up where
they're banging on trash cans, videotaping the catcher signals relaying
(20:31):
him to the batters at the plate, and he was
fired for that. It wound up costing him the Mets job.
Do you remember he was the Mets manager and they
decided that they couldn't go.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Forward with him.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
And I know when people say, well, one was as
a player and that was the other thing that was
something else.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Well, he was a coach with the Astros during the time.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
And that's another big scandal that I think you cannot ignore.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
The lack of an MVP, the lack of UH.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
And he did win Wrokidy year in nineteen ninety nine,
so that's a that's a check, But the lack of
that doesn't push me over the edge. His numbers are
really close. Four thirty five, two seventy nine is not
like Wow, when you think of some of the greats
we just talked about each year, Row who batted three
(21:25):
to eleven in his major league career with three thousand hits,
Corlos Beltran two seventy nine, two thousand, seven hundred and
twenty five. There are no magic numbers here. Three gold gloves,
two Silver Sluggers.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
And those were earlier in his career, uh, two thousand
and six, two thousand and seven, the Silver Slugger Awards,
and then he played, you know, all the way till
twenty seventeen, so that's a long time where he wasn't
getting any awards, wasn't one of the greatest players or
best players for more than a ten to eleven year stretch.
(22:05):
So we had a great start. I don't think he
carried it through. That's why he didn't get my vote.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
It's the Gambler here.
Speaker 7 (22:14):
Vice president of operations for mlbbro dot Com and executive
producer of the MLB bro Show podcast the Mixtape. Every Friday,
you heard that right, Every Friday, we bring you the
best from the world of black and brown baseball. We
cover the seven point two percent of melanated Major leaguers
(22:35):
from soup to nuts, but with our own cultural flair
and unique voice, will take you on a ride reflecting
on the accomplishment, clutch moments, and contribution to culture that
the Bros continue to breathe into baseball.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
From Mookie Wilson's to Mookie.
Speaker 7 (22:53):
Betts, Doctor k to Doctor Styx, from Bro Bombs to
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and also bringing you segments like Classic Hits with David Grubb,
the Black Ace Report, the Rundown, the walk Off, and
Going Deep just the name a few of the segments
(23:13):
that truly capture the voice of Black baseball. If things
get out of hand is the Boss, Rob Parker, He's
kicking up dust. We will gladly pay you on Tuesday
from an MLB bro doubleheader today. Remember the heart of
the game lies in the diversity of the game and
the spirit of Black baseball that dates back to the
Negro leagues. I the Gambler, your friendly neighborhood diamond checker,
(23:38):
making sure that you stay on top of the game
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(24:00):
Listen to the MLB bro Show podcast the Mixtape on
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App, Apple Podcasts or.
Speaker 7 (24:08):
Wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Now, bring in the closer. You know, here's why MLB
is better than the NFL or NBA, and it isn't
even close.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Reason number four hundred and ninety nine why Major League
Baseball is better than the NBA and better than the NFL.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Is with personalities like Bob Yucher.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
And we lost the famous fun Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster as
he died at the age of ninety this past week.
And he was called mister Baseball. Bob Yucher was so
much fun, love baseball. It was a great announcer for
(24:55):
the Brewers a long time, didn't have a great planning career,
made fun of it all all the time he was
on movies, TV shows. You know Major League that famous scene,
we could listen to it right here. Everybody remembers it
when it comes to Bob Buker and this line in
Major League.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
Time of the sixth man, rookie sensation Ricky Vaughan on
the pitch. Now, remember you can close the book on Kilder.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
Oh thank god, it's Fawn, a juvenile delinquent in the
offseason and is major league debut v into the lineup
in his first offering.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Josh the bit outside.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
This guy was such a star off the baseball field.
He even was in a TV show, Mister Belvidere. He
also was on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Get
ready for this.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Over one hundred times.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
You're how funny you have to be to be on
Carson over one hundred times. As a former baseball player
who batted around two hundred, he was funny. Baseball will
not be the same without Bob Buker. Mister baseball, rest
in peace.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
We enjoyed you. We really did.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
In the words of New York TV legend the late
Bill Jorgensen, thanking you for your time this time until
next time, Rob Parker out d can't Gavin.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
This could be an inside of Parker.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
See you next week, same bat time, same Matt station.
From the berkshears to the sound from wherever you live
in MLB America. This is Inside the Parker. You give
us twenty two minutes and we'll give you the scoop
on Major League Baseball. Now here's Baseball Hall of Fame
voter number seventy, Rob Parker.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome into the podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
I'm your host, Rob Parker, and we have a very
special Baseball Hall of Fame BALLID edition of Inside the Parker.
I'll reveal my ballad for the twenty twenty five induction,
which will take place this summer at Cooperstown, New York.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And we'll also have why Baseball's Better. We'll do that
Let's go.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Better to lead off, it's getting robbed to keep them out,
Rob's hot take, and the three biggest stories in Major
League Baseball.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
As you guys know, I'm a Baseball Hall of Fame
vot and I take my Hall of Fame vote very
very seriously. It's one of my most prized possessions in
my life. I don't have any kids, I'm divorced, so
it's all about the Baseball Hall of Fame and I'm
very serious. Give a lot of thought to it. I
know it means the world to a lot of former
(01:18):
baseball players and fans who care. We talk about it
all the time. The Baseball Hall of Fame easily the
best hall of fame. People really care about who gets in,
who doesn't get in. The conversations that are about the
Hall of Fame are bigger and better than the Pro
Football Hall of Fame, the Basketball Hall of Fame, which isn't,
(01:40):
the NBA Hall of Fame, and the hockey Hall of Fame.
Those are finding their own right, but they're not on
the same level as baseball. So the Baseball Hall of
Fame is something that is cared about and revered, and
that's why I take my time and I'm very serious
about it.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
But here we go.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I'm gonna reveal my ballot, which will be announced on
Tuesday on MLB Network. It'll be announced who will be
going into the Baseball Hall of Fame. You have ten
votes to use on your ballot. You don't have to
use any You could use up to ten. This year,
(02:21):
I only picked two players number one each year, Row Suzuki,
the former Seattle Mariner, and CC Sabathia, who of course
pitched for the Yankees, the Brewers, and started with the
Cleveland Indians back then in that day.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So those are the only two people I voted for
each your Row.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
And CC, and I'll explain why I thought these guys
were Hall of Fame worthy. Number one, let's start with
each ye. Row, Suzuki, this is just easy, okay for me.
There are magic numbers that you gotta have in order
to make it to the Hall of Fame, and each
(03:10):
year Row has those.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
He has three thousand hits, three thousand and eighty nine. Bingo.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
I don't even need to look at the rest of
his career for him to get in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
But let's just go over his stats.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Lifetime batting average of three to eleven, three thousand, eighty
nine hits, one hundred and seventeen home runs, seven hundred
and eighty runs batted in, and five hundred and nine
stolen bases. Ten time All Star right. He came into
the league in two thousand and one, won Rookie of
the Year in two thousand and one and the American
(03:45):
League MVP, and he made the All Star ten straight
years two thousand and one to twenty ten. Two time
batting champ, led the league in steals, in two thousand
and one his first season, and let's not forget he
had an MLB record two hundred and sixty two hits
in a single season. I mean, now we know that
(04:09):
only Mariano Rivera was a unanimous inductee into the Baseball
Hall of Fame, the only one Derek Jeter, missed out
by one vote. I don't see how anyone could vote
against Ichiro.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I think he has a great.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Chance of being a unanimous MVP for all the stuff
that he did in his career. Again, three thousand hits.
Don't forget that he played in Japan before he came
to the United States. So he gave me the United
States in two thousand and one, but he played in
Japan from nineteen ninety two to two thousand. He's already
(04:56):
in the Japanese Hall of Fame Baseball Hall of Fame.
He got in ninety two point six percent of the vote,
and he was inducted.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
This year.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Okay, so in twenty twenty five, so he has a
chance here to do it. And in Japan he batted
three point fifty three in his career, one two hundred
and seventy eight hits.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Now that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
So He had one thousand, two hundred and seventy eight
hits in Japan three thousand and eighty nine in the
United States.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
This guy had.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Over forty three hundred hits in his baseball career, spanning
both Japan and the United States. First ballot Hall of Fame,
No if ads or Butts. An absolutely great player from
day one when he won Rookie of the Year and
the MVP in two thousand.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Number two.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
My second vote went to CC Sabathia, who broke in
with the Cleveland Indians back then. Now the Guardians also
pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Yankees.
Won a World Series with the New York Yankees two
thousand and nine. Was tremendous. But I always talk about
magic numbers. You got to have certain magic numbers in
order to get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
(06:17):
and get my vote. Everybody's different people way different things,
look at different things.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Here's what did it for me.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
For CC Sabbathia, he's in the three thousand strikeout club
and for some like me, it almost guarantees you entry
into the Hall of Fame. Fourteen members in the three
thousand Strikeout Club, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz. They
(06:49):
all got inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame during
the twenty fifteen balloting. Okay, and everybody who's in that
club just out are in the Hall of Fame. So CC,
Schurzer and Verlander are in that club as well. Now,
(07:10):
Schurzer and Verlander are still pitching, so they're not eligible yet,
but for sure both of those guys will make it
into the Hall of Fame. And CC Sabbathias in that club.
Only two guys who have three thousand strikeouts aren't in
the Hall of Fame, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Roger Clemens we know.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Uncertain status because of the use of performance enhancing drugs
and the whole story that follow him.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Kurt Shilling.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Had three thousand hits strikeouts, but there were questions about
some of the other stats. He never won a cy Young,
never did some of the other stuff. He was tremendous
in the postseason, but his full body of work, some
people didn't vote for him. This whole idea that Kurt
Shilling didn't get voted for because because he's Republican or
right wing or whatever is totally ridiculous. Mariano Rivera is
(08:07):
the biggest Donald Trump fan supporter in the public, and
he got into the Baseball Hall of fam Fame unanimously.
So this whole notion that all reporters are Democratic or
liberal and they vote against Republicans or any it's just
(08:28):
not true. How did Mariano Rivera get in the Hall
of Fame unanimously publicly showing his support for Donald Trump?
Speaker 2 (08:37):
You know why?
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Because he was one of the greatest pitchers who ever
pitched in Major League Baseball. Along with the three thousand strikeouts,
his exact total is three thousand, ninety three. He won
two hundred and fifty one games, lost one hundred and
sixty one three point seven to four elra Here are
other career highlights. Time All Star won the World Series
(09:02):
in two thousand and nine, one an American League Cy
Young Award, meaning he was the best pitcher in the
game in the American League that year. That's big. Major
awards separate you from other.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
People who don't have them.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
He was also the American League Championship Series MVP in
two thousand and nine, the year the Yankees won the
World Series.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
He was brilliant, two.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Time MLB win leader two thousand and nine twenty ten,
and CC just had a tremendous career. I don't know
if you know one of my magic numbers is three
hundred wins. I don't know if people are gonna get
to that anymore because guys don't pitch as many games
or stay in as long to get wins, because people
(09:47):
don't look at wins the same way, So it'd be
hard to get three hundred wins. Two hundred and fifty
one is very solid, big time. He has a tremendous
winning percentage for a starting pitcher, and.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
He was a workhorse.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
He was a tremendous pitcher who in big games you
wanted to give the ball to. If you remember when
he went to the Brewers as a a trade just
as a rental player. He pitched him into the postseason,
down the stretch when he came from Cleveland, and then
he signed a big contract with the Yankees and pitched
(10:22):
there for over ten years and was tremendous. So CC
Sabatia gets my second vote without question. He's a Hall
of Famer number three. All right, now, let's welcome in
Rob G. Rob Gera, the producer of Inside the Parker
and of course The Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio
seven to ten Monday through Friday with Kelvin Washington and
(10:43):
I Rob G. I know there's going to be some pushback.
Rob didn't use all of his votes, So let's go
over some other players who maybe people thought deserved to
get into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
Rob, to say you didn't use all your votes would
be an under statement. I mean, I'm looking at some
of the votes that the ballots that have already been
made public, and each one has at least seven eight
names and you got two. So there is definitely gonna
be some discrepancy here on the Inside the Parker podcast.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Now, you know, Rob G, how seriously I take balloting.
And I don't think everybody is a Hall of Fame.
I've talked to you about that ye before. And my
big thing is, if there's a big debate about you,
you're probably not a hall You're not a Hall of Fame.
Or if we have to make a big cacial argument
for you.
Speaker 6 (11:29):
Yeah, and I for the most part, would agree with you.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
And I think that's you know, we're talking baseball here,
but that's mostly obvious and prevalent in the Basketball Hall
of Fame, where they have quite possibly the lowest threshold
this side of Southern Connecticut State University when.
Speaker 6 (11:42):
It comes to the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5 (11:43):
Man, but you know, for the purposes of this pod,
we're gonna we're gonna take a look back at the
twenty twenty four Hall of Fame, really, because that's how
you usually find out who's gonna get in, you know,
how this thing works, kind of builds and builds and builds,
and eventually guys break through. So there are three names
for twenty twenty four that people are projecting you're gonna
get into here in twenty twenty five. Again, because the
(12:05):
new inductees are there's not as many of them that
you would think are shoeing for the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 6 (12:11):
So we're gonna start with number one.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Billy Wagner last year received seventy three point eight percent
of the votes. By all accounts, is gonna break through
and just quickly. On his stats, rob amongst left handed
pitchers with nine hundred innings pitched Okay, lowest opponent average
in baseball history one eighty seven, Lowest opponent ops in
baseball history, lowest whip point nine nine eight, lowest era
(12:37):
two point three to one, and his k's per nine
almost twelve. You left him off your ballot. Rob By
all accounts, he's gonna get in based on the way
the trajectory's going. Why did you leave him off your ballot?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Here's the point with Billy Wagner.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
I don't believe despite those numbers that you just recited,
he was ever the best closer game.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
I don't believe that.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
I don't think any at any point I thought, Wow,
Billy Wagner is the best closer in baseball. You can't
beat this guy, and whatnot. And here's the other thing
is he's been on the ballot since twenty sixteen, when
he received ten point five percent of the vote, well
(13:25):
short of the seventy What has changed if Billy Wagner
pitched since twenty sixteen?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Do you see my point?
Speaker 3 (13:35):
I don't understand how he's gained all of this traction
and increased support as the years go on, and people
feel like, oh my god, we gotta get him in
because this is gonna be his last year on the ballot.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
I don't think that's the way it should go.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I have a strict thing if I don't vote for
you the first time, and I feel confident with all
the other voters. Only ten percent voted for him their
first year, and rob g people say, well, there wasn't
spaced on my ballot to vote from the first That's
not true. There's never been ten guys or eleven right,
because you'd have to leave somebody.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Off to vote for.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
If Billy Wagner was this picture that they talk about
now when they dig deep into numbers and they have
to use qualifiers left handed and this and that, all
these other things to be able to justify it. It
doesn't work for me because there weren't that many left
handed pictures. When you talk about those numbers, right, how
(14:36):
many guys are really left handed?
Speaker 6 (14:38):
That's a good point, you get me.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Oh for left handed pictures, he has this, he has
that there aren't that many, and that doesn't mean that
he wasn't good. But this is this to me, is
not what the Hall of Fame should be. You should
not vote people in on their final year. Could you
have a sympathy vote for Billy Wagner? Could you think
(15:04):
he's close ten percent in twenty sixteen to getting in
makes no sense.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
All right, that's fair, all right. Name number two Rob.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
Now, this one may or may not get over the
seventy five percent threshold just based on the you know,
viewing online, a lot of voters voting him, But that
doesn't mean he's gonna get the necessary jump that he needs.
Andrew Jones last year sixty one point six percent of
the votes. You gotta make a little bit of a
jump here to get to seventy five. He has two
stats that are really working in his favor amongst voters,
(15:36):
and that is is, you know, Rob, He's one of
the rare guys of his era that could combine the
power and the glove at the same time like that.
Speaker 6 (15:44):
He was one of those guys.
Speaker 5 (15:46):
So the most years in baseball history amongst outfielders to
have a Gold Glove and hit at least thirty home
runs Willie Mays's first with eight, tied for second with seven,
Barry Bonds, Andrew Jones. And here's the other one, most
outfield goal gloves for a playoff team, which means he
was doing it when the games mattered. No, this is
(16:06):
a conversation we had out in the odd couple. Up
until this season, Otani was putting up massive numbers on
the team that was going nowhere, and you had an
issue with that. And that's why Andrew Jones most outfield
goal gloves for playoff teams. Gary Maddox has six, Tory
Hunter has six, Andrew Jones has eight. So why did
Andrew Jones not get at your ballot this year?
Speaker 3 (16:29):
First, if he had the five hundred home runs and
he finished with four hundred and thirty four, I would
have voted for him because that's the number that I
believe is a magical number to get you into the
Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
So he didn't get there.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
His lifetime batting average is two fifty four.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
That is not an all time great. Two fifty four.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Five All Star appearances. Okay, he won ten goal gloves
but only five All Star appearances. How does that match up?
So five years there were other people who were better
than him to play center field. When you go go
back and look at like Ozzie Smith. Ozzie Smith won
thirteen gold gloves in a row and made the All
(17:12):
Star team like fifteen times. You see what I'm saying.
Why would Andrew Jones have only five All Star appearances
but ten gold gloves? He never won an MVP. He
had a great year in and twenty oh five where
he led the league in RBI, he led the league
(17:32):
in home runs and still didn't win the MVP. In
two thousand and five, think about that, he led the
National League in home runs and was the RBI leader,
but did not nt win the MVP in two thousand
and five. So he, to me is the Hall of
very good. He had a tremendous career. I just don't
(17:55):
think of Andrew Jones as one of the all time greats.
When I say Hank, Aaron, Willie Mays, you know players
of that ilk, Andrew Jones's name doesn't roll off my tongue.
He deserves to be in the Brays Hall of Fame,
just not the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
All right, So rob last, but not least, the number
three name on this list. Even though he got only
fifty seven percent of the votes last year, earlier returns
suggests he might actually threaten the seventy five, even more
so than Andrew Jones, who had sixty one last year,
and that is Carlos Beltran. Now you mentioned the difference
between Andrew Jones and of the other guys his name
(18:37):
doesn't belong, as you said, alongside some of the greats.
The case that's being made right now for Carlos Beltran
is very simple. Here's the entire list of center fielders
with the war above seventy Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker,
Mickey Mannle, Mike Trout, Ken Griffey Junior, Joe DiMaggio, Carlos Beltran,
(19:04):
Rob Parker. You know how these things work. You know
that it's an analytics driven sport now, especially now more
than ever, even more so than the NBA. How could
you in your right mind leave Carlos Beltran off your
ballot again?
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Carlos Beltran, Hall are very good, close, played a long
time two seventy nine lifetime batting average, four hundred and
thirty five home runs, right, nine time All Star, won
a World Series, was Rookie of the Year, three goal gloves,
but again.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
No major hardware. Where are the MVPs?
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Where are those points of view where he was at
one point the best player in the game. He was
very good, Don't get me wrong, I mean very very good.
I'm not trying to diss him. He was big in
a postseason and all that. But we also have to acknowledge.
And this is the part that kills me. If you're
(20:07):
gonna leave Barry Bonds and a Rod and Roger Clemens
out for cheating. Carlos Beltram was busted in one of
the game's biggest cheating scandals with the Astros. He's the
one who was kind of set this thing up where
they're banging on trash cans, videotaping the catcher signals relaying
(20:31):
him to the batters at the plate, and he was
fired for that. It wound up costing him the Mets job.
Do you remember he was the Mets manager and they
decided that they couldn't go.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Forward with him.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
And I know when people say, well, one was as
a player and that was the other thing that was
something else.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Well, he was a coach with the Astros during the time.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
And that's another big scandal that I think you cannot ignore.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
The lack of an MVP, the lack of UH.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
And he did win Wrokidy year in nineteen ninety nine,
so that's a that's a check, But the lack of
that doesn't push me over the edge. His numbers are
really close. Four thirty five, two seventy nine is not
like Wow, when you think of some of the greats
we just talked about each year, Row who batted three
(21:25):
to eleven in his major league career with three thousand hits,
Corlos Beltran two seventy nine, two thousand, seven hundred and
twenty five. There are no magic numbers here. Three gold gloves,
two Silver Sluggers.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
And those were earlier in his career, uh, two thousand
and six, two thousand and seven, the Silver Slugger Awards,
and then he played, you know, all the way till
twenty seventeen, so that's a long time where he wasn't
getting any awards, wasn't one of the greatest players or
best players for more than a ten to eleven year stretch.
(22:05):
So we had a great start. I don't think he
carried it through. That's why he didn't get my vote.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
It's the Gambler here.
Speaker 7 (22:14):
Vice president of operations for mlbbro dot Com and executive
producer of the MLB bro Show podcast the Mixtape. Every Friday,
you heard that right, Every Friday, we bring you the
best from the world of black and brown baseball. We
cover the seven point two percent of melanated Major leaguers
(22:35):
from soup to nuts, but with our own cultural flair
and unique voice, will take you on a ride reflecting
on the accomplishment, clutch moments, and contribution to culture that
the Bros continue to breathe into baseball.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
From Mookie Wilson's to Mookie.
Speaker 7 (22:53):
Betts, Doctor k to Doctor Styx, from Bro Bombs to
stolen bases to Black Aces. We're live at the ballparks
and also bringing you segments like Classic Hits with David Grubb,
the Black Ace Report, the Rundown, the walk Off, and
Going Deep just the name a few of the segments
(23:13):
that truly capture the voice of Black baseball. If things
get out of hand is the Boss, Rob Parker, He's
kicking up dust. We will gladly pay you on Tuesday
from an MLB bro doubleheader today. Remember the heart of
the game lies in the diversity of the game and
the spirit of Black baseball that dates back to the
Negro leagues. I the Gambler, your friendly neighborhood diamond checker,
(23:38):
making sure that you stay on top of the game
and in touch with the soul of MLB. Fuckle up
for a wild baseball journey, showing respect to the Ogs
and highlighting the new breed of melanated Malma Robins. First
thing through MLB's pipeline all pitching with the sound of
black baseball, we got the best starting five in the business.
(24:00):
Listen to the MLB bro Show podcast the Mixtape on
the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
App, Apple Podcasts or.
Speaker 7 (24:08):
Wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Now, bring in the closer. You know, here's why MLB
is better than the NFL or NBA, and it isn't
even close.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Reason number four hundred and ninety nine why Major League
Baseball is better than the NBA and better than the NFL.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Is with personalities like Bob Yucher.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
And we lost the famous fun Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster as
he died at the age of ninety this past week.
And he was called mister Baseball. Bob Yucher was so
much fun, love baseball. It was a great announcer for
(24:55):
the Brewers a long time, didn't have a great planning career,
made fun of it all all the time he was
on movies, TV shows. You know Major League that famous scene,
we could listen to it right here. Everybody remembers it
when it comes to Bob Buker and this line in
Major League.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
Time of the sixth man, rookie sensation Ricky Vaughan on
the pitch. Now, remember you can close the book on Kilder.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
Oh thank god, it's Fawn, a juvenile delinquent in the
offseason and is major league debut v into the lineup
in his first offering.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Josh the bit outside.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
This guy was such a star off the baseball field.
He even was in a TV show, Mister Belvidere. He
also was on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Get
ready for this.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Over one hundred times.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
You're how funny you have to be to be on
Carson over one hundred times. As a former baseball player
who batted around two hundred, he was funny. Baseball will
not be the same without Bob Buker. Mister baseball, rest
in peace.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
We enjoyed you. We really did.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
In the words of New York TV legend the late
Bill Jorgensen, thanking you for your time this time until
next time, Rob Parker out d can't Gavin.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
This could be an inside of Parker.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
See you next week, same bat time, same Matt station.
Host
Rob Parker
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