Sports

How a pair of ex-Blue Jays got into the Hall of Fame with questionable cases

Published

2 years ago

January 25, 2023

This year’s Baseball Hall of Fame class has a Blue Jays flavour.

Scott Rolen, a slick-fielding third baseman who played for Toronto in 2008 and ’09, was the only candidate to receive the required 75 per cent support from baseball writers when the results of their Hall of Fame voting were announced last night. Only 10 per cent of voters considered Rolen worthy of the Hall in 2018, his first year on the ballot. But his support rose steadily each year since then, and the sixth time was the charm.

Rolen will be enshrined in Cooperstown on July 23 alongside Fred McGriff, a slugging first baseman who spent his first five big-league seasons with the Blue Jays from 1986-90 and is much more readily associated with the team than Rolen. The Crime Dog was a Jays fan favourite, particularly in 1989 when he bashed an American League-high 36 home runs and led the AL in on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He placed sixth in AL MVP voting that year and helped Toronto win the AL East title alongside the likes of George Bell, Tony Fernandez, Kelly Gruber, Ernie Whitt, Dave Stieb, Jimmy Key and Tom Henke. A year later, McGriff and Fernandez were traded to San Diego in the franchise-altering blockbuster that netted Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter, stars of the Jays’ back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and ’93.

McGriff remained a remarkably consistent, if unspectacular, hitter after he left Toronto, becoming the first player to hit at least 30 homers for five different teams and one of only four to win home-run titles in both the American and National Leagues. After stops with Atlanta (where he won the World Series in 1995), Tampa Bay, the Cubs and the Dodgers, McGriff retired after the 2004 season with 493 home runs — tied with Lou Gehrig for 29th all-time. Every single player ahead of McGriff on the all-time home run list is either already in the Hall of Fame, not yet eligible because they’re still active or too recently retired, or linked to steroids.

But McGriff’s steadiness failed to wow the writers. He never reached even 40 per cent in their Hall of Fame voting before falling off the ballot after the maximum 10 years. McGriff got in last month via the Contemporary Baseball Era committee — one of the rotating groups that reconsider candidates from a certain time period after they’ve exhausted their eligibility with the writers (a job previously handled by the old Veterans Committee).

These 16-person panels are far more lenient, admitting such questionable candidates as Harold Baines, Jack Morris and Jim Kaat in recent years. One reason for that might be familiarity. The committee that elected McGriff, for instance, included former teammates Greg Maddux and Kenny Williams and former Blue Jays executive Paul Beeston. Baseball writers are certainly not immune to biases, but those tend to come out in the wash when nearly 400 ballots are cast.

Great Scott!<br><br>He’s one of the greatest third basemen of all-time! <a href=”https://t.co/PS4lC3YkMK”>pic.twitter.com/PS4lC3YkMK</a>

—@BlueJays

Rolen got into the Hall of Fame the old-fashioned way, but not without a few raised eyebrows. After being rejected on his first five tries, the former Phillie, Cardinal, Blue Jay and Red was named on 76.3 per cent of the writers’ ballots this year, clearing the bar for induction by just six votes. His 10.2 per cent debut in 2018 is by far the lowest first-ballot percentage by any player to later be elected. The previous record was 17 per cent, by Dodgers great Duke Snider.

Rolen likely benefited from weak competition this year. The only even semi-strong candidate joining the ballot was Carlos Beltran, a 435-homer man somewhat tainted by his role in the Astros cheating scandal. Holdovers Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez certainly have the numbers to get in, and Gary Sheffield and Andy Pettitte are probably deserving as well, but all four are disqualified in the eyes of some voters because of their links to steroids. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa fell off the ballot last year for the same reason. The top vote-getters behind Rolen this year were Todd Helton, a first baseman with Coors Field-inflated batting stats; and Billy Wagner, a great closer but, still, a closer.

Having said all that, Rolen was an excellent player. Much of the skepticism about his Hall of Fame worthiness might stem from the fact that his skills were more subtle than others’. Rolen was a lifetime .281 hitter who reached 30 homers in a season only three times and topped out at 34 in 2004, when he placed fourth in NL MVP voting for St. Louis. Apart from that year, Rolen never cracked the top 13 in MVP voting, though he did win the 1997 NL rookie of the year award with Philly.

Baseball aficionados, however, recognize Rolen as a very good hitter and, above all, a superb defensive third baseman — perhaps the best of his era. He won eight Gold Gloves, and his rare combination of defensive and offensive ability is reflected in his 70.1 Wins Above Replacement, which tops seven of the 15 Hall of Famers who were primarily third baseman. That Rolen’s WAR likely played a significant role in his election speaks to the changing demographics of baseball writers, who as a group are getting younger and more statistically savvy with each passing year.

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

Published

7 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.

The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.

Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.

In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

Published

7 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.

Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.

Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.

He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.

The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.

Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.

He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.

George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.

Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.

In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.

St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ON DECK

Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.

The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Stampeders return to Maier at QB eyeing chance to get on track against Alouettes

Published

7 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.

It won’t be an easy assignment.

Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.

“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”

Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”

Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.

After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.

“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”

Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.

“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.

A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.

“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”

But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.

“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”

Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”

“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.

Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.

“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”

While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.

“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”

The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.

“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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