Baseball

[Valmy]

I expected him in the AL East...just not there 

[Barrister]

It was a big fake-out.

Ohtani signs with the Dodgers for an eye-watering $700 million over 10 years.

[Sophie Scholl]

The "deferred salary" thing makes such a mockery of the luxury tax/cap in MLB. There *needs* to be some serious changes made to competitive balance in MLB as it just keeps getting worse. After witnessing the awfulness in Oakland and now Ohtani's contract to the already big spending Dodgers, it is blatantly obvious that a salary cap and floor are so badly needed it isn't funny. 

[Grey Fox]

You really don't. It's a poison pill.

[The Minsky Moment]

Tommy John is up for HoF consideration through the Classic Era Committee.

He is a perfectly decent candidate: long career, very consistent above average 2nd/3rd starter, three top 5 Cy Young finishes, 4 all-star games.  He is not the best candidate not yet admitted, either among pitchers generally (Clemens, Schilling) or pitchers from his era (Reuschel).  There are many pitchers of equivalent success as well, such as the recently departed Luis Tiant.  It would be a defensible selection, but far from an obvious one.

However, it appears that his candidacy may be in part because of his role as the first recipient of the surgery that bears his name. John deserves credit for showing guts and courage coming back from a novel procedure, but that is already reflected in his post-surgery record.  I don't think having your arm operated on, even in a novel fashion is a HOF worthy accomplishment. 

TJ surgery was enormously impactful in baseball and does deserve recognition, but the way to do that is admit Dr. Frank Jobe, not his famous patient.

[Barrister]

Tommy John is up for HoF consideration through the Classic Era Committee.

He is a perfectly decent candidate: long career, very consistent above average 2nd/3rd starter, three top 5 Cy Young finishes, 4 all-star games.  He is not the best candidate not yet admitted, either among pitchers generally (Clemens, Schilling) or pitchers from his era (Reuschel).  There are many pitchers of equivalent success as well, such as the recently departed Luis Tiant.  It would be a defensible selection, but far from an obvious one.

However, it appears that his candidacy may be in part because of his role as the first recipient of the surgery that bears his name. John deserves credit for showing guts and courage coming back from a novel procedure, but that is already reflected in his post-surgery record.  I don't think having your arm operated on, even in a novel fashion is a HOF worthy accomplishment. 

TJ surgery was enormously impactful in baseball and does deserve recognition, but the way to do that is admit Dr. Frank Jobe, not his famous patient.

It the Hall of Fame - not the Hall of Really Good Baseball Players.

Tommy John, through the surgery, is famous.  More people probably know his name than a bunch of his contemporaries who are in the Hall of Fame.

Homer Simpson is in the Hall of Fame - and he's an animated character.

Sometimes you just shouldn't overthink these things.  If I ever visit Cooperstown I'm much more likely to go check out Tommy John's plaque than I am some other player from his era.

[The Minsky Moment]

BB I think you are confusing the list of individuals elected as Hall of Famers with individuals who have exhibits dedicated to them in the museum.  For example, Pete Rose is famously ineligible for the Hall of Fame, but the museum has a display case dedicated to him breaking the hit record.  Similarly, Homer Simpson was never elected into the Hall of Fame, but there is a plaque dedicated to his character in the museum.  I have no problem with the museum having a TJ exhibit but that's a separate question from whether he merits election.

[Syt]

https://apnews.com/article/paul-skenes-baseball-card-d0b71621c93cbe0f921580d23ed091d1

No deal. Young collector who nabbed one-of-a-kind Paul Skenes card turns down Pirates trade offer

The young collector who scored a one-of-a-kind baseball card featuring National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes has turned down a trade offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Topps announced Friday that the 11-year-old from the Los Angeles area had declined the deal and instead was going to put the card — which features Skenes' autograph and a patch from a game-worn jersey — up for auction.

The Pirates had put together a package that included 30 years' worth of season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park and the chance to play a softball game on the field in exchange for the card.

Skenes' girlfriend, LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne, also offered the card's owner the opportunity to take in a game with her in a luxury suite at the ballpark during one of Skenes' starts.

While the collector wrote in a journal entry shared by Topps that nabbing the card was a " dream come true," that dream apparently did not include spending the next three decades attending games at PNC Park.

The team posted on X after the decision that it was "bummed" but offered to have the fan at a game sometime during the 2025 season.

Fanatics Collect, which will handle the auctioning of the card in March, said it will donate its proceeds from the sale to fire relief funds in the Los Angeles area.

The card could hold pretty high value considering the potentially bright future ahead for the 22-year-old Skenes, who finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting following a outstanding rookie season.


The first overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft made his major league debut in May and put together one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent memory. Skenes was selected as the NL's starting pitcher in the All-Star Game after just 11 starts and finished 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 games.

Skenes said over the weekend he hasn't thought about the potential of signing a long-term contract to remain in Pittsburgh, saying instead that his focus is on helping the Pirates take a step toward contending in 2025. He is eligible for free agency after the 2029 season.

I imagine the lad looked at the offer, looked at the record of the Bucs in the past 30 years and said, "Naaah, I'm good"

(Though it's probably more to do with him living in LA, too far away to make proper use of the season tickets)

[Valmy]

Yeah season tickets to the Pirates games sounds like a sentence one might get for committing a crime.