Larry Walker and the Hall of Fame

I have written blog posts about a lot of the players who will appear on the 2016 HOF ballot, including Jim Edmonds, Billy Wagner, Nomar Garciaparra, Fred McGriff, Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling. I have very strong feelings about a lot of these players, and am hoping to get a post out about a vast majority of the players who are hoping for induction next year.

Up next is a player who is entering his sixth year on the ballot, but who has seen his percentage drop from 22.9% in 2012 down to 11.8% last year. It is hard to understand why the voters are ignoring the five tool talent possessed by former Expos, Rockies and Cardinals right fielder Larry Walker, but let's examine the entirety of his career a little closer and see what comes up:

For Larry Walker and the Hall of Fame:

As I have mentioned before, there are a few different "types" of Hall of Famers: The longevity guy (like Craig Biggio) who put together a steady career that amounted in milestone numbers (like 3000 hits or 300 wins) but who may not have been the most dominant player of his era. Then there are the peak players, players who simply dominated a period of time, but did not last long enough to reach those peak numbers. (Obviously there are also players who fit into both categories, guys like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron etc).

Walker definitely fits into the second category. His career may have spanned 17 seasons, but he only played more than 150 games once, as he was constantly nagged by injuries. He was consistently good, but definitely peaked for a six year period between 1997-2002. This peak, however, needs to be talked about as one of the best six year peaks of all time (5 1/2 really, he missed most of the 2000 season with an injury). Between 1997-2002, Walker slashed a blistering .353/.441/.648/1.089 with a 157 OPS+. He averaged 30 home runs and 98 RBI's, and accrued 392 walks compared to 419 strikeouts. His WAR during this period was 36.1, or about a 6 WAR per season.

During this time period, Walker was a three time batting champion (98, 99, 01) with second place finishes in 97 and 02 (he hit .366(!) in 97 but finished second to Tony Gwynn, and he only hit .338 in 02, losing to Bonds' steroid fueled .370 average). He was a five time gold glove winner, a two time silver slugger winner, a four time all-star, and the 1997 MVP. Perhaps most tragically, he finished a distant tenth in MVP voting in 1999 despite slashing .379/.458/.710/1.168, good for first place in every single category, along with 37 home runs and 115 RBI's.

In addition to having a peak rivaling the best hitters of all-time (right fielders in the HOF average a seven year peak WAR of 43, Walker's was 44.6) Walker was also an incredible five tool talent. He could hit for average (.313 career and three batting titles), and power (383 home runs and 471 doubles, led league with 49 bombs in 1997), he had speed (230 steals and 62 triples for a power hitter) and an incredible arm in the outfield (he won seven gold gloves and is 17th all time in assists as a RF and 9th in double plays).

All of these talents helped him accrue a career WAR of 72.6, good for 56th all time for position players, ahead of Hall of Fame outfielders Dave Winfield, Andre Dawson, Tony Gwynn, and Duke Snider.

Larry Walker is 12th all time in slugging %, and 15th all time in OPS, ahead of sluggers like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez, Stan Musial and Frank Robinson.

According to baseball-reference, Larry Walker has a HOF monitor score of 148 and a HOF standards score of 58, where the average HOFer scores 100 and 50, respectively.

Against Larry Walker and the Hall of Fame:

There is one argument that gets thrown around constantly when discussing Larry Walker's HOF candidacy: The fact that his dominant seasons (specifically 1995-2004) were spent in the pre-humidor Coors Field era. In 2007, Coors field installed humidors to store the baseballs in before the games, in an effort to combat the drastically higher elevation at Coors Field (Coors is at 5200 feet above sea level, the next highest stadium is Chase Field in Arizona, at 1100 feet). Prior to this installation Coors had far more home runs, doubles, and triples than any other stadium, thanks largely in part to the drier, more elastic baseballs.

It would be pretty pointless to argue that Walker wasn't at his most productive in Colorado. He spent 10 seasons there, accruing 48.2 of his 72.6 WAR, including 258 of his 383 home runs. While a member of the Rockies, Walker hit .334/.426/.618 compared to his .281/.357/.483 in his first six seasons in Montreal. He never hit more than 23 home runs in Montreal, before blasting 36 his first year in Colorado in 1995. He led the league in doubles in 1994 with Montreal, but other then that he was only ever a league leader in Colorado, where he won all three of his batting titles.

Walker, much like current ballot partner Nomar Garciaparra, suffered from a rash of injuries that kept his career numbers from reaching certain milestones. Walker only played over 150 games once, and only played over 140 games four times over 17 seasons. He missed about half of the 1996 and 2000 seasons, which were right in the heart of his peak. Had he been healthy those seasons alone, he probably would have mashed another 35 home runs and 110 RBI's. As it stands, Walker finished with 383 bombs and 1311 RBI's, fine career totals but short of the expectations for power hitting outfielders (63rd all time in home runs and 105th all time in RBI's).

Lastly, I believe the voters are abstaining from voting for certain players in the 90's that they believe may have been using PED's. Personally, I don't believe in withholding a vote from someone based on nothing substantial, but Walker, along with Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell, appear to be suffering for this. Unless something damning comes out about any of these players, I believe you should vote based on merit, and not perceived cheating.

Verdict:

I think Larry Walker is a Hall of Famer. I understand the Coors Field argument, but I think it is completely unfair to penalize Walker based on where he played his home games. He did not demand to play there, he simply took advantage of the opportunity given to him. It is impossible to know exactly what his career would have looked like had Coors field used humidors sooner, or had he played elsewhere. However, Coors field didn't make him stronger or faster or a better outfielder, all traits he had long before he played in Colorado. His five tool talent alone should give him the necessary merit, without having to evaluate the field he played on.

Prediction:

Sadly, Walker's numbers have been floating downward recently and have yet to come close to the 75% necessary for induction into the Hall of Fame. I think with four players going in last year there may be a slight uptick in Walker's vote totals, but it does not look like it will reach the 75% necessary. He will be evaluated by the Veteran's committee years from now, and perhaps they will give him a shot.

The 2020 All-Star Game

It is no secret that baseball today has a wealth of young talent. A huge majority of today's superstars are under the age of 25, and, provided they stay healthy, could help make the next decade of baseball the most exciting it's ever been, bringing it back to the days of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Sandy Koufax. After watching the home run derby yesterday and preparing for today's All-Star game, I started thinking about what the 2020 all-star game could look like five years from now. I added five years to everyone's current age and made some tentative rosters. I made the assumption that everyone stays with their current team (which is obviously not true, half these guys will be on the Yankees or Red Sox by then). So without further ado, here is a look at some names to look out for in the 2020 All-Star game (Age in July 2020 listed in parenthesees)

2020 All-Star Game:

AL Starting line-ups:
1. CF Mike Trout (28) - Angels

2. 2B Jose Altuve (30) - Astros
3. LF George Springer (30) - Astros
4. DH Joey Gallo (26) - Rangers
5. SS Manny Machado (28) - Orioles
6. RF Byron Buxton (26) - Twins
7. 3B Miguel Sano (27) - Twins
8. C Salvador Perez (30) - Royals
9. 1B DJ Peterson (28) - Mariners

AL Bench: 
Mookie Betts (27) OF - Red Sox
Carlos Correa (25) SS - Astros
Xander Bogaerts (27) SS - Red Sox
Jose Iglesias (30) SS - Tigers
Yoenis Cespedes (34) OF - Tigers
Yoan Moncada (25) 2B - Red Sox
Kole Calhoun (32) OF - Angels
Jason Kipnis (32) 2B - Indians
Mike Zunino (29) C - Mariners
Mike Moustakas (31) 3B - Royals

AL Pitchers:
Felix Hernandez (34) - Mariners
Chris Sale (31) - White Sox
Chris Archer (31) - Rays
David Price (34) - Tigers
Taijuan Walker (27) - Mariners
Sonny Gray (30) - A's
Dallas Keuchel (32) - Astros
Wade Davis (34) - Royals
Garrett Richards (32) - Angels
Dellin Betances (32) - Yankees


AL Final Vote Candidates:
Josh Donaldson (34) 3B - Blue Jays
Francisco Lindor (26) SS - Indians
Hector Santiago (32) SP - Angels
Brian Dozier (32) 2B - Twins
Josmil Pinto (31) C - Twins


Others to think about: 
Miguel Cabrera (37), Kyle Seager (32), Robinson Cano (37), Rusney Castillo (33), Devon Travis (29), Delino DeShields (27), Mark Appel (28), and Yordano Ventura (29).

I made the assumption that Manny Machado is going to move over to SS in the next few years, something that has often been discussed. If he does not, Carlos Correa would make a fine substitution at the position. First base does not have a ton of young talent in the AL (that I'm aware of) but I know that DJ Peterson of the Mariners is a stud and thought he has a chance to make a difference in the next few years. It also seems likely that one of either Miguel Sano or Joey Gallo moves over to first, what with their tremendous power and defensive deficiencies. I chose mostly to look at young players, but it seems unfair to discount Cano, Cabrera and Donaldson who all seem like they have the potential to still be all-star caliber in five years.

NL Starters:

1. CF Andrew McCutchen (33) - Pirates

2. RF Bryce Harper (27) - Nationals
3. DH Giancarlo Stanton (30) - Marlins
4. 1B Paul Goldschmidt (32) - Diamondbacks
5. C Buster Posey (33) - Giants
6. 3B Nolan Arenado (29) - Rockies
7. LF Joc Pederson (28) - Dodgers
8. SS Andrelton Simmons (30) - Braves
9. 2B Dee Gordon (32) - Marlins

NL Bench:
Corey Seager (26) SS - Dodgers
Kris Bryant (28) LF - Cubs
Anthony Rizzo (30) 1B - Cubs
Justin Upton (32) LF - Padres
Jonathan Lucroy (34) C - Brewers
Todd Frazier (34) 3B - Reds
Addison Russell (26) SS - Cubs
Kolten Wong (29) 2B - Cardinals
Joe Panik (29) 2B - Giants
Billy Hamilton (29) CF - Reds

NL Pitchers: 
Clayton Kershaw (32) - Dodgers
Madison Bumgarner (29) - Giants
Matt Harvey (31) - Mets
Jose Fernandez (27) - Marlins
Jacob deGrom (32) - Mets
Noah Syndergaard (27) - Mets
Carlos Martinez (28) - Cardinals
Craig Kimbrel (32) - Padres
Aroldis Chapman (32) - Reds
Gerrit Cole (29) - Pirates

NL Final Vote:
Carlos Gomez (34) - Brewers
Michael Wacha (29) - Cardinals
Christian Yelich (28) - Marlins
Brandon Belt (32) - Giants
Stephan Matz (29) - Mets

Others to think about:
Jason Heyward (30), DJ LeMahieu (32), Charlie Blackmon (34), Troy Tulowitzki (35), Hunter Pence (37), Jorge Soler (28), Johnny Cueto (34), Jean Segura (30) and Wil Myers (29).

I cannot stop looking at how filthy that NL starting line-up is. Practically all the Cubs hitters and most of the Mets pitchers make this roster; meaning if they are able to keep that core together we could be looking at some spectacular teams. It blows my mind that Jason Hayward will only be 30 in five years, and that Wil Myers will only be 29. Those two could be forces in the next few years, if they can stay healthy. Also, who isn't excited to watch Arenado and Frazier battle it out at third base for the next five plus years?

Potential home run derby match-ups:

Stanton vs. Gallo
Rizzo vs. Pederson
Harper vs. Trout
Sano vs. Bryant

This could be a really fun All-Star game.

Buy your tickets now.

Billy Wagner and the Hall of Fame

Shortly after the Hall of Fame class of 2015 was announced, I wrote a post (which can be found here) about my reactions to the voting, as well as some looking ahead to the class of 2016. I opined that Ken Griffey jr and Trevor Hoffman would be getting my votes in 2016, but that none of the other new candidates looked to be Hall of Famers. I have since examined more closely the career of Jim Edmonds, and although he has an extremely legitimate case, I think he falls just short of HOF consideration. However, there is another player reaching the ballot for the first time in 2016 who I think merits a closer look, and that is former flame throwing left-hander Billy Wagner.

Wagner retired in 2010 following a 16 year career that saw him amass 422 saves, 1196 K's (in 903 innings) a 2.31 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. Is it Hall worthy? Let's examine.

Instead of doing my traditional For/Against/Verdict argument, I want to take a different approach with Wagner, since relievers cannot be addressed in the same manner as position players or starting pitchers. When evaluating an outfielder or a catcher, one can more or less evaluate them against their peers at that position, and come up with a pretty well informed opinion. However, relievers have been used in such a variety of ways and have only been used in the traditional, 9th inning, save focused manner for a few decades, and the Hall of Fame has not yet gotten to vote on very many of these types of players. So comparing Billy Wagner to guys like Bruce Sutter, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley and even Lee Smith doesn't seem very fair, since they were used drastically differently than Wagner was. Just as an example, Rollie Fingers threw 1700 career innings, nearly double what Wagner threw, even though they threw about the same number of years (17 for Fingers and 16 for Wagner) and Fingers only made 37 starts in his career. This means that Fingers' strikeout numbers are likely to be higher (they are) and his ERA and WHIP will also be higher. So my point is that Wagner having a lower ERA/WHIP than Fingers does not mean as much when you consider the drastic difference in innings pitched.

Wagner can only truly be evaluated as compared to his true peers, which are other ninth inning specialists. Since none of them are in the Hall of Fame yet, it becomes tricky to determine where the line is for what constitutes a HOF career or not. Mariano Rivera will very clearly go into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot, with over 90% of the vote. But no one is disputing that Rivera is the best reliever of his era, and quite likely of all time. Wagner should not be unfairly judged against the greatest of all time. Trevor Hoffman, Wagner's ballot partner, threw slightly more innings than Wagner, while recording 601 saves (over 150 more than Wagner) and 1133 strikeouts. While Hoffman dominates the save category, the rest of their stats tell a different tale:

Wagner:   903 G        2.31 ERA   0.99 WHIP   1196 K's   11.9 K/9   187 ERA+   27.7 WAR
Hoffman:  1089 G      2.87 ERA   1.06 WHIP   1133 K's    9.4 K/9    141 ERA+   28.0 WAR

So outside of a drastic difference in total number of Saves (Hoffman certainly played on more successful teams, which may have played a part) it looks like Wagner was a more dominant 9th inning presence. But there are more 9th inning relievers than just Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. When looking at the top ten all time in Saves, Rivera and Hoffman are one and two, Lee Smith comes in third, John Franco is fourth, Wagner is fifth, and 6-10 are Eckersley, Joe Nathan, Jeff Reardon, Francisco Rodriguez and Troy Percival.

Eckersley, Reardon and Lee Smith did not play the true 9th inning stopper role, so they will not be used for this comparison (Smith did toward the end of his career, but early on he was much more of a fireman type pitcher).

Wagner compares favorably to all of these guys:

Wagner:   903 G        2.31 ERA   0.99 WHIP   1196 K's   11.9 K/9   187 ERA+   27.7 WAR
Franco:   1119 G       2.89 ERA   1.33 WHIP    975 K's     7.0 K/9    138 ERA+   23.7 WAR
Nathan*:  777 G        2.89 ERA   1.12 WHIP    967 K's     9.5 K/9    150 ERA+   26.1 WAR
K-Rod*:  821 G        2.69 ERA   1.15 WHIP   1029 K's   10.8 K/9   157 ERA+   23.3 WAR
Percival:  703 G         3.17 ERA   1.11 WHIP    781 K's     9.9 K/9    146 ERA+   17.2 WAR

* Active

It's pretty apparent when looking at these statistics that Wagner is superior to these guys - he finishes in first in every single category. There are other statistics that could be used of course, but a closer's primary goals are to keep runners from scoring, keep them off the bases in general, and to strike people out. So these seemed to be the most important stats to measure a closer's effectiveness (outside of saves of course, where Wagner finishes second, two behind John Franco).

What does this mean for the Hall of Fame? Hard to say really. John Franco appeared on the ballot in 2011 and received 4.6% of the vote, not quite enough to remain on the ballot for future years. Percival appeared on last years ballot and earned 0.7% of the vote. Joe Nathan and Francisco Rodriguez are still active, although both appear to be at the end of their line (Nathan says he wants to pitch next year after recovering from elbow surgery, but we will see if he gets picked up). Neither of them have been discussed as Hall of Famers with any regularity.

So if Rivera and Hoffman are Hall of Famers, and this group of pitchers are not, where does that leave Wagner? His stats are closest to Hoffman's, but his save totals are closer to Franco's.

Ultimately, in my opinion, the 9th inning stopper has become such a big, important piece of the baseball echelon that the best of the best should be rewarded with a plaque in Cooperstown. Only saying two players at this position are Hall worthy is doing a disservice to the position in general (similar to the Hall's steadfast refusal to allow Edgar Martinez, the most prominent DH of all time, into the Hall). At this point in the history of the 9th inning closer, Billy Wagner is the third best of all time, and has an argument for being second. That, along with his simply dominant statistics, should be enough to merit Hall of Fame consideration.

I don't think the voters will see it that way, however. I think his support will be similar to that gained by John Franco a few years ago, and he may not be long for the Hall of Fame ballot, which is a shame. I hope I am wrong.

Special Assistant to the GM - Best job in sports

It is extremely common for former players to stay in baseball past their playing carers. The majority of minor and major league coaches are former ballplayers, and almost every talking head you see announcing games or acting as an analyst on Baseball Tonight is a former player.

Outside of coaching and announcing, there is one position that seems to be filled quite frequently by former players: The title of Special Assistant. It seems as if you have a productive career as a member of a certain team, you mysteriously end up gaining this title and continuing to work for the organization. As you can see below, many of the best players of the last twenty years or so continue to work as "Special Assistants". What these players do besides wear their teams color and smile and wave is beyond me, but hey, if a team wants to continue to pay one of their legends to stay with the organization, who am I to complain?

11 Hall of Famers, too many all-star games to count, a lot of ejections (see Braves) and one average baseball player made famous by a Brad Pitt movie (A's), let's take a look at each teams special assistants / Former greats:

Boston Red Sox - Special Assistant to the GM - Jason Varitek and Pedro Martinez*

One of the better battery combinations of the last twenty years, these two will continue to serve the Red Sox in this role. Wouldn't be surprised to see David Ortiz or Kevin Youkilis in this role in the future.

Toronto Blue Jays - Special Assistant to the Organization - Roberto Alomar*, Carlos Delgado, Pat Hentgen, George Bell and Paul Quantrill.

The Blue Jays apparently just pick five of their most famous former players and give them this title. Roy Halladay I assume will be submitting his resume shortly. (I wonder if they have to submit resumes?)

White Sox - Special Assistant to the GM - Jim Thome

Thome played for roughly 25 teams, but the White Sox won the bidding to have him as their Special Assistant. A future landing spot for Mark Buehrle I would imagine.

Tigers - Special Assistant to the President - Al Kaline* and Willie Horton

With Alan Trammell representing the team as an assistant coach, it makes sense to reach to their 1968 WS team to fill the special assistant roles.

Royals - Special Assistant to the GM - Mike Sweeney

Sweeney is about the Royals only good player of the last 20 years, so of course he gets the nod until Alex Gordon retires.

Twins - Special Assistants - Rod Carew*, Kent Hrbek, Jack Morris, Tony Oliva, Bert Blyleven*

Go big or go home, said the Twins. With Molitor as their manager, why not? Joe Mauer has already been groomed as the replacement.

Astros - Special Assistant to the GM - Roger Clemens and Craig Biggio*

Could you imagine these two guys working together? Polar opposite personalities I feel like. It also feels wrong for Biggio and Bagwell to not be together on this one. I am sure Lance Berkman will be in shortly.

Angels - Special Assistant to the GM - Tim Bogar

Bogar's 1.9 WAR and the fact that he never played for the Angels means he may be hired on merit alone, which seems rather surprising.

A's - Special Assistant to Baseball Ops - Scott Hatteberg

A true legend of Moneyball, Hatteberg put up a 5.4 WAR for Oakland in his time there, but is immortalized for a game winning dinger and a high on base percentage. Eric Chavez and Jason Giambi seem prime candidates for future roles in the organization.

Braves - Special Assistant to the GM - Bobby Cox

I hope Bobby sits close enough to the field where he can get tossed by an umpire.

Marlins - Special Assistant to the President - Andre Dawson*, Tony Perez* and Jeff Conine

The Marlins do not have an extensive history of great players, so they had to borrow from the Cubs and Reds with Dawson and Perez. Conine, however, fits the bill of a team legend, which says more about the Marlins than it does about him.

Cubs - Special Assistant to the GM - Kerry Wood and Ted Lilly

After losing out on Dawson to the Marlins and Sandberg to the Phillies, the Cubs went with two pitchers who will be really great at helping the pitching staff rehab from injuries.

Reds - Special Assistant to the GM - Miguel Cairo, Mario Soto and Eric Davis

Eric Davis could have been one of the greatest had he not gotten injured, so his presence makes sense. Soto was a stud, but Miguel Cairo kind of brings the whole talent level down a tad. Expecting Joey Votto to waltz into this role in a few years.

Pirates - Special Assistant to the GM - Doug Strange

The Pirates haven't been good in a while, but Doug Strange certainly does not represent their best, as he hit .173 in 201 at-bats in 1998. Jason Kendall seems a solid fit.

Cardinals - Special Assistant to the GM - Cal Eldred, Ryan Franklin, Mike Jorgensen, Willie McGee, Red Schoendienst*

The Cardinals are represented by one of their most recognized figures, and then four very average players from their history. I bet Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright will replace Franklin in the future.

Diamondbacks - Special Assistant to the President - J.J. Putz, Randy Johnson*, Luis Gonzalez

With a former player as a GM, it's not surprising to see the D-Backs have three of their franchise cornerstones in a Special Assistant role. Putz got the job roughly 9 seconds after he retired I think. Also, with Randy on this list only John Smoltz from this years HOF class is not a special assistant somewhere.

Dodgers - Director of Player Development - Gabe Kapler

Special Assistant/Player Personnel - Aaron Sele and Jose Vizcaino

Haha. Aaron Sele. I guess with Mattingly and McGwire in your dugout, and Magic Johnson as an owner, you can afford to go light on the Special Assistants.

Padres - Special Assistant to Baseball Operations - Mark Loretta

Loretta hit .314 with the Padres in three seasons, good enough to earn a spot on the payroll I suppose.

Giants - Special Assistants - J.T. Snow, Willie Mays*, Will Clark

Senior Advisor - Willie McCovey*

Special Assistant to the GM - Felipe Alou

Community Ambassador - Orlando Cepeda* and Dave Dravecky.


If this were a competition, the Giants would win. Mays, McCovey and Cepeda are true legends, and Will Clark and Felipe Alou were great as well. JT Snow forever earned a paycheck from the Giants simply by rescuing Dusty Baker's son 13 years ago, so he was a lock.


I think I will send in an application for the role with the Seattle Mariners, since they are one of the few teams that doesn't have a former player in that role. However, as evidenced by their track record, maybe these teams know something they don't about hiring former players. Griffey/Buhner/Edgar should submit an app, maybe that's what the M's team to get some Wins under their belt.

Happy Opening Day!

Houston Astros legend Randy Johnson

When Randy Johnson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame at the start of this year, the debate immediately began: which hat will the Big Unit wear into the Hall? Would he go in as a D-Back, the team he won a WS with, as well as four consecutive Cy Young awards? Or would he go in as a Mariner, the team that really gave him his start, where he led the league in Strikeouts four times and where he threw a No-Hitter? While the debate was clearly only between those two teams (and ultimately won by the D-Backs) Johnson actually played for six total teams: The Expos, Mariners, Astros, Diamondbacks, Yankees and Giants. His time with the Expos was unremarkable, and he was into his 40's and past his prime when he began his stints with the Yankees and Giants.

But one of the most successful parts of the Big Unit's magnificent career was an 11 game stint with the Houston Astros, from August 2, 1998 till September 23, 1998. Johnson was traded by the Mariners at midseason to the Astros for Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen and John Halama - all big pieces of the Mariners eventual 116 win season in 2001. At the end of the season, Johnson signed a massive contract with the Diamondbacks, and went on to win a WS in 2001 and 4 Cy Young awards.

The Astros gave up three young players and only got 11 starts from Johnson (and a first round exit in the play-offs by the NL Champion San Diego Padres) but what a half a season. Johnson made 11 starts, and finished his brief Astros career with a 10-1 record, a 1.28 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and 116 strikeouts in 84 innings pitched, good for a 12.4 K/9 ratio. Johnson had a 4.3 WAR in only eleven starts.

Let's take a look start-by-start at Johnson's extraordinary, albeit brief, career with the Houston Astros:

There is almost too much to digest with these numbers. The few things that immediately jump out: Randy had four complete game shutouts in 11 starts, and he NEVER gave up more than three earned runs (which he only did once). 10/11 starts were quality starts, with only a 5 inning, 3 ER performance not making the cut. He had 7 double digit strikeout games, and had 8 or more strikeouts in all but one game. His season record went from 9-10 to 19-11 and his ERA dropped from 4.33 to 3.28.

Randy Johnson is one of the best pitchers of all-time, and this eleven game sample is just a snippet of how excellent he truly was. I am happy to see one of my all-time favorites in the Hall of Fame, and look forward to his speech this July.

Happy opening day weekend! Baseball is (finally) back!

Predictions for 2015 MLB season

I didn't do so hot last year, but I'm here once again to try my 15 predictions for the 2015 season. Go easy on me. Many of these predictions, if they came true, would do wonders for my fantasy baseball team (who finished 6th out of 8 last year) so here's to hoping they work out, for my blog and my fantasy team (named BoSemien Rhapsody, by the way).

Here we go.

1. Oswaldo Arcia is the AL Home Run leader

Dude hit 20 last year in about a half season, and if he can cut down the K numbers and get some pitches to hit he should be able to come close to 40 this season. He will compete with Chris Carter and George Springer for the title.

2. Nelson Cruz hits less than 30 home runs

However, hitting 25-28 bombs while also hitting around .260 will be a huge, huge upgrade for Seattle at the DH position anyway.

3. Kris Bryant hits over 25 home runs after getting called up

I saw him play a lot against Gonzaga when he was in college, and that power is the real deal.

4. Jose Iglesias wins the AL SS Gold Glove award

If he stays healthy it won't even be a competition. Learning from Omar Vizquel is about as good as it gets.

5. James Paxton wins 15 games, records over 180 strikeouts

Highest average fastball velocity for Left-Handed starters last year, Paxton (if he stays healthy) will be able to rack up K's and wins with the revamped Mariners offense.

6. Albert Pujols passes Mike Schmidt (548) on the all-time home run list this season

He needs 28 to do so, which is exactly how many he hit last year. More time at DH and a good line-up around him should give him some pitches to hit hard this year.

7. The San Diego Padres finish below .500.

Their infield is a disaster and Matt Kemp and Wil Myers are pretty big question marks. Quentin/Gyorko/Barmes/Solarte/Middlebrooks is nothing to write home about, and an aging bullpen won't do them any favors either.

8. Mike Trout joins the 40-40 club.

This one is pretty ballsy, but if Trout can cut down on the strikeouts and get more pitches to hit, he can easily have 40 HR power. The steals should come as well.

9. Drew Smyly finishes in the top 10 for the AL Cy Young award.

He was absolutely lights out with Tampa last year. An early season injury doesn't look to keep him out long, and his stuff is nasty. A better defense behind him can't hurt either.

10. Brian Dozier hits more HR than every other second baseman in the league.

Robinson Cano's power is down, Dustin Pedroia looked to be aging last year, and many other 2B don't have the power Dozier does.

11. George Springer hits 35+ home runs.

His power looks legit, and a full season in the Majors with a lot more firepower around him should get him there.

12. AL play-off teams: Mariners, Royals, Red Sox, Angels, Tigers.

The Mariners are much improved, the Royals proved the bullpen is vital, and the firepower of the Red Sox, Angels and Tigers line-ups prove too much for the rest of the AL.

13. NL play-off teams: Dodgers, Pirates, Nationals, Cardinals, Brewers

The NL Central is a power division, and the Cubs are just on the outside looking in while their prospects continue to develop together.

14. Red Sox and Cardinals play for the World Series.

I hate, hate, hate myself for this prediction. God I hate myself for this prediction.

15. Red Sox in 7.

Better than if it were the Cardinals.

Wish me luck! (Except for on the last two, I would be happy to get those wrong).