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>
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.
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
