Hank Aaron, Hall of Fame, Hot Stove, Theo Epstein and Spin Rate

Transcript

Jan 28, 2021 BaseballBiz

Hot Stove

· Philidelphia Re-signs JT Realmuto to 5 YR 115.5M deal, top catcher on market, 23.1M AAV would be highest ever for a catcher

· CLEveland resigns Cesar Hernandez to Year deal, won gold glove in 2020

· Yankees trade Pitchers Adam Ottavino & Frank German to BOSton for PTBNL or cash considerations

· Washington. 1 Year 10.5 Million dollar deal with LHP Brad Hand

· New York Yankees trade for Jameson Taillon, send prospects Miguel Yajure (P), Roansy Contreras (P, never above class A), Maikel Escotto (SS, 18) and Canaan Smith (OF) to PIT

· Atlanta signs Pablo Sandoval to Minor League deal with camp invite

· Boston, 1 year 10 million dollars for P Garrett Richards

· Washington, Ryan Zimmerman 1 YeaR 1 Million dollar deal for 16th season, expected to be part time facing mostly Left handed pitcher

· Boston S, U-man Kike Hernandez, 2 YeaR 14 Millon dollar deal

· Chicago 1 year deal for 1.5 Million , Catcher Austin Romine, expected to be backup replacing Victor Caratini

· P Wade Davis Minor league deal with Royals

· J.A. Happ, 1 year - 8 million dollars with MINNesota

· Michael Brantley re-signs in Houston , 2-year 32 Million fully guaranteed. Didn’t extend a qualifying offer originally

· Arizona Cactus League delay sprint training start for safety or MLB strategy

Theo Epstein a force to be reckoned with in baseball

- In November 2020, Theo Epstein, president of the Chicago Cubs baseball operations left and planned to take a year off.
However, Baseball would have none of that.
2 months later in January 2021 Theo Epstein took the role of consultant with the MLB reportedly to take a good look at rule changes in the game. So who is Epstein, what has he achieved and where may his career go next.

- Epstein had a passion to play baseball from ages 3 to 17. Playing for the Brookline High School Warriors. After that Theo realized he had greater strengths to bring to the game off the field. He attended Yale where he was the Sports Editor at Yale Daily News.

- Baltimore Orioles
While attending Yale Epstein wrote letters to several baseball teams seeking employment his letter reached Yale alum, Calvin Hill, head of personnel for the Orioles.
Theo worked there for 3 years as an intern and then became Public Relations Assistant.

- Philosophy for knowledge and advancement the 20% rule. Find the 20% of tasks that executives above you hate doing and take on the role of executing those tasks for them. You will learn a lot and those executives may mentor you.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X4WTkz3p9k

- Let’s talk Mentor
Larry Lucchino president of the Baltimore Orioles took the position of President/CEO of the San Diego Padres and brought Epstein with him as Director of Player Development. Lucchino, who was a lawyer, encouraged Theo to attend the University of San Diego and get a law degree.
That law degree opened more doors with the Padres.

- San Diego Padres – 1998 – 2002
Larry Lucchino moved to the Padres and took Theo w/ him to serve as director of player development
While working there Epstein studied law and became a lawyer. This gave him access to high-level negotiations.
“By studying law Epstein was invited to take part in high-level negotiations and discussions by then-GM Kevin Towers since few in the Padres' small operations division had a legal background to understand contract language.[7] Epstein worked his way up to become the team's Director of Baseball Operations.[9]"“

- Boston Red Sox - Nov 2002 to 2011 ( a little light on stuff here)
Larry Lucchino ’s career continued to advance as he left the Padres to assume the Padres’ President.
Epstein had proven himself valuable with the Padres so it was no surprise that Theo Epstein joined Lucchino to the Padres. Initially he took the position of interim GM but would soon cement that title as his own.
Some of Epstein’s decisions included contracts with Curt Schilling and Bill Mueller.
During Epstein’s tenure the Red Sox won their first World Series in 2004. The Sox had not won a World Series since 1918. He would add a second Boston World Series to the Red Sox in 2007.
While he left Boston in 2012 many would argue that their 2013 win was built on the foundation that Epstein had built.

- Chicago Cubs - The Cubs were hungry for success and Epstein fit the bill
In 2012 Epstein hit the ground running and became President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs. His goal, break the curse and bring the World Series trophy back to Chicago.
Epstein would lead the Cubs for 9 years

- He made several moves including

- Per Sportrac -Between 2011 and 2019 the Cubs payroll advanced from 128 million to 254 million

- One of his first items of business was to bring Jed Hoyer, who Epstein had worked with in San Diego, into the Cubs organization to serve as the new General Manager.

- “Jared Porter spent two years with the Chicago Cubs also as Director of Professional Scouting, under former Red Sox executive Theo Epstein, where the pair helped assemble the 2016 World Series team” (Wikipedia)

- Theo also brought Joe Maddon, Ben Zobrist, Aroldis Chapman, to the Cubs. He drafted Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Ian Happ. All of that led to the Cubs winning the 2016 World Series. The Cubs defeated the Billy Goat curse of William Sianis the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern.

- Theo left the Cubs with a mission accomplished in November 2020. Some said he had eyes on being part of the ownership of the Padres

- Since Theo’s departure in November 2020 there have been a lot of questionable changes with Jed Hoyer at the helm.

- For one thing they gave up some quality players like Yu Darvish and it has been reported that as the Cubs enter this year’s Spring training the pitcher rotation will have lost 4 of their 5 from last year at this time.

I messaged with the Co-host of @CuppaCubbieBlue ,
Sara Sanchez, and she shared these thoughts about Theo Epstein.

“I think the biggest difference between the Theo years and the Hoyer regime so far has been transparency. Theo was always masterful at explaining exactly where the franchise was going and why.
So, for example, he was very upfront about the need to rebuild when he came in and he was always willing to say this is going to take multiple years.
Hoyer has not been as available and when he was (after the Yu Darvish trade) he tried to explain that it wasn't about finances and they aren't going for a long-term rebuild...which frankly doesn't make a lot of sense given their return in that deal.”

Mark says: I look for great things to come from Epstein at MLB. He has a history and love of the game as well as a background as a lawyer and negotiator.

Hall of Fame (HOF) 2021 Inductions?

o No one made it this year out of the 25 eligible candidates.

o The top candidates Curt Schilling 71.1%, Barry Bonds

o How does it work?

From Baseball Hall of Fame Website
https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/rules/bbwaa-rules-for-election

BBWAA Screening Committee -- from the baseballhall.org website
A Screening Committee consisting of baseball writers will be appointed by the BBWAA. This Screening Committee shall consist of six members, with two members to be elected at each Annual Meeting for a three-year term. The duty of the Screening Committee shall be to prepare a ballot listing in alphabetical order eligible candidates who (1) received a vote on a minimum of five percent (5%) of the ballots cast in the preceding election or (2) are eligible for the first time and are nominated by any two of the six members of the BBWAA Screening Committee.

o Who can vote – 400 BBWAA writers - each can offer 10 candidates
BBWAA also determine who is awarded the regular season MVP and Cy Young for both leagues

o It takes 75% of voters to select a player to be inducted. Each voter can make 10 selections.

o Players who are not likely to be entered into HOF Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds, Pete Rose

o Years that no one was inducted
1940, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965 and now 2021
https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/rules/voting-rules-history

o Who can vote – 400 BBWAA writers - each can offer 10 candidates
BBWAA also determine who is awarded the regular season MVP and Cy Young for both league.

Eligible Candidates — Candidates to be eligible must meet the following requirements:

A baseball player must have been active as a player in the Major Leagues at some time during a period beginning twenty (20) years before and ending five (5) years prior to election.
Player must have played in each of ten (10) Major League championship seasons, some part of which must have been within the period described in 3 (A).
Player shall have ceased to be an active player in the Major Leagues at least five (5) calendar years preceding the election but may be otherwise connected with baseball.
In case of the death of an active player or a player who has been retired for less than five (5) full years, a candidate who is otherwise eligible shall be eligible in the next regular election held at least six (6) months after the date of death or after the end of the five (5) year period, whichever occurs first.
Any player on Baseball’s ineligible list shall not be an eligible candidate.
A baseball player must have been active as a player in the Major Leagues at some time during a period beginning twenty (20) years before and ending five (5) years prior to election.
Player must have played in each of ten (10) Major League championship seasons, some part of which must have been within the period described in 3 (A).
Player shall have ceased to be an active player in the Major Leagues at least five (5) calendar years preceding the election but may be otherwise connected with baseball.
In case of the death of an active player or a player who has been retired for less than five (5) full years, a candidate who is otherwise eligible shall be eligible in the next regular election held at least six (6) months after the date of death or after the end of the five (5) year period, whichever occurs first.
Any player on Baseball’s ineligible list shall not be an eligible candidate.

Segue to Hank Aaron induction and then story on his recent demise

A classic induction into the Hall of Fame came in 1982 with the addition of Hammerin’ Hank Aaron to the Baseball Hall of fame. A great man passed away last week leaving a legacy with a spirit of perseverance and honor.

Hank Aaron

Henry Aaron inducted into the Hall of Fame with a near unanimous vote of 97.8% .

Frank Robinson joined him that year with 89.2% of the vote

Aaron became the Home Run King in April 1974 when he tied Babe Ruth’s record by achieving a career of 714 home run on opening day in Cincinnati.

Then a few days later he returned home to his home field with the Braves in Atlanta and he broke Ruth’s record hitting his 715th home run.
After that every home run he hit was a new record.
Aaron ended his 23 year career in 1976 as a player in Milwaukee where he retired and had a career with 755 home runs.

Aaron’s record would be later eclipsed by Barry Bonds. Many feel Bond’s achievements should be marked with an asterisk because of performance enhancing drugs, like steroids.

Aaron was more forgiving than most.
In February 2020, Aaron had an interview with the NBC Today show, Craig Melvin, and shared his thoughts

on Barry Bonds and the Hall of Fame

“Craig Melvin 2020 NBC Today Interview Hank Aaron on Barry Bonds”
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iNycrHUGiY

PLAY EXCERPT

“After Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th home run on August 7, 2007, Aaron made a surprise appearance on the JumboTron video screen at AT&T Park in San Francisco to congratulate Bonds on his accomplishment:

“I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader. It is a great accomplishment which required skill, longevity, and determination.
Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement. My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams.”

Due to the recent controversy on team names the Atlanta Braves are reconsidering their name much like the Cleveland Indians. One of the recent name suggestions for the Atlanta team is the Atlanta Hammers to honor “Hammerin” Hank Aaron.

I salute the man, the player and the record breaking legend for giving us so much to cheer for in his lifetime

I would strongly recommend that anyone who wants to know more about Hank Aaron that they should check out the book “I Had a Hammer” autobiography of Hank Aaron. It may be difficult to find a hard copy, however it is available in electronic form.

You may also expect a special edition in the next few weeks of BaseballBiz on Hank Aaron and the MLB.

Tags: MLB, Hot Stove, Hank Aaron, Theo Epstein, Yale, Larry Luccno, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Hall of Fame, HOF, Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds, Jared Porter, Spin Rate, Sara Sanchez, @TheBaseballBiz, @SportsBlitzPod