If I Had A Hall of Fame Ballot... 11/30/12

Hey baseball fans!

The Hall of Fame ballots are out and, this year, there are many definite steroid users on the list. I don't think that they should be in Cooperstown, but I will tell you who I do think should be in the Hall. Here is my list of people who are on the ballot for the first time and should be in the Hall of Fame and why.

Craig Biggio

Why? He is the leader in all-time hits as an Astro with 3,060 hits in his 20-year career from 1988-2007. Just the part about him getting 3,000+ hits says that he should be in the Hall.

Mike Piazza

Why? He holds the record with the most homers in a career as a catcher with 427. He is the best all-around hitting catcher in history, and I'm a Yogi Berra fan!

Curt Schilling

Why? He won two monumental World Series with Arizona and Boston, is 15th on the all-time list for strikeouts, and was just amazing (especially in the playoffs). He "only" won 216 games, but I think he definitely belongs in Cooperstown.

Well, those are the people who are on the HoF ballot for the first time and who I think should be in the Hall of Fame.

I know there are a lot of other people on the ballot this year, but the other people who I want in Cooperstown were on the ballot in past years. Nonetheless, if you want to know who else I want in the Hall of Fame who's on the ballot this year and why, click here for Alan Trammell, here for Fred McGriff, Larry Walker and Don Mattingly, and click here for Jeff Bagwell, Edgar Martinez and Bernie Williams.

Thanks for reading!

It's Official! Baseball with Matt is MLB's Youngest Pro Blogger 11/29/12

Hey baseball fans!

I just wanted to let you all know that MLB.com has just set up a Pro Blog for me.  According to MLB, I am the youngest Pro Blogger on the MLB.com site.  Here's the MLB.com screenshot showing the announcement:

For those of you who read my existing blog, keep on reading it. I will cover the same stuff on both blogs. Hopefully, the MLB blog might get me some cool stories and interviews.

Thanks for reading!

Baseball with Matt Interviews the First Female President of the BBWAA, Susan Slusser 11/25/12

Hey baseball fans!

I interviewed someone very important today: the first female President of the BBWAA (Baseball Writers' Association of America), Susan Slusser! The BBWAA does a lot of different things, including being in charge of voting people into the Hall of Fame (until 25 years after retirement), and voting for the MVP Award, the Cy Young Award, the Rookie of the Year Award, and Manager of the Year Award in the NL and AL.

Ms. Slusser covered the Texas Rangers from 1995-1996 and has been covering the Oakland Athletics since 1999 for the San Francisco Chronicle. She also covered the NBA's Sacramento Kings and Orlando Magic. She was elected Vice President of the BBWAA in October of 2011 and this year, like I said before, she became the first female President of the BBWAA. The best part of all of this is that she agreed to let me interview her! Anyway, here's the interview:

Matt: How did you first get into baseball reporting?
Susan: I always wanted to be a baseball broadcaster or baseball writer from the age of six and did both in high school and in college, then internships at San Francisco radio and TV stations and at the Sacramento Bee. The Bee hired me full time while I was an intern.

Matt: Do you think there will be a female GM or manager in the near future?
Susan: I don't think there ever will be a woman manager. I believe Kim Ng will be a general manager within the next two or three years and probably should be already.

Matt: As the first female President of the BBWAA, are there any specific items you'd like to accomplish to help advance women?
Susan: My job is not in any way gender specific. The organization's goal is to ensure good working conditions for all baseball reporters.

Matt: In all the years you've been a BBWAA voting member, which vote gave you the most joy and why?
Susan: I try to leave personal feelings out of voting because it is supposed to be objective. I believe all voters feel the same.

Matt: Since you cover Oakland, what is your all time favorite Oakland A's moment?
Susan: Dallas Braden's perfect game in 2010, without a doubt, because his grandmother, who raised him, was there and it was Mothers Day.

Thanks again to Susan Slusser for being such a great sport and for answering all of my questions. I wish her the best of luck in her new job as BBWAA President.

A Necessity for Every Bostonian: Rice 11/23/12

Hey baseball fans!

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you all had a great day! In honor of this historic holiday, let me tell you about one of the best players who played during his career near Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.

Jim Rice played his entire career with the Boston Red Sox from 1974-1989. He was known as a power hitter, hitting 382 homers and 1,451 RBIs. His batting average was never bad though, hitting .298 lifetime. He was an eight-time All-Star and won the MVP Award in 1978.

Even though he had great stats, he never won a World Series, because he was playing in the middle of the Red Sox's Curse of the Bambino. He did get to a couple of Fall Classics though, helping his team win the American League pennant in '75 and '86. However, like I said before, the Red Sox lost both those Series to the Reds and Mets, respectively.

Despite his lack of World Series rings, he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2009 by the BBWAA (the Baseball Writers Association of America). He is clearly one of the greatest Red Sox of all time.

Hope you all liked this post. Shout out to one of my teachers, Mr. Monson, and my friend, Jamie. They are both huge Red Sox fans. Thanks for reading!

The Soarin' Jays 11/21/12

Hey baseball fans!

Right now, I'm hanging out with my Canadian friends, Zach and Sam. They're jammin' it up with Zach on guitar and Sam on drums, so I decided to write a post on the only current team that is located in the country above the United States. That team is the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays were created in 1976 and are based in Toronto, Canada. They have won two World Series in their history, but like a lot of the teams I've blogged about (except for the Dodgers of the '50s) they don't have the best history. Nonetheless, they have had some good players, like Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor and Rickey Henderson. They didn't have those players in the beginning of the franchise, so they didn't do too well until 1983, when they started an 11-year streak in which they won more games than they lost. They won numerous Eastern Division titles, but were never able to get to the World Series. That all changed in 1992. The team got to the team's first World Series appearance and faced the pitching juggernaut Atlanta Braves. It was a very exciting World Series, even down to the last inning. Let me explain what happened in the last inning of the 1992 World Series.

The Blue Jays entered Game Six in Atlanta, leading the series three games to two. After nine innings of baseball, the score was tied 4-4. In the top of the eleventh, old-timer Dave Winfield slapped a double down the left field line, scoring the eventual World Series-winning run, as the Braves went quietly in the bottom of the eleventh. The Blue Jays and the future Hall of Famer Winfield both won their first World Series.

Winfield went to Minnesota after the 1992 Series, but he was replaced by another future Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson. He and fellow teammate, Paul Molitor, another future Hall of Famer, helped the Jays get to their second straight Fall Classic, where they faced the Philadelphia Phillies. (Click here for a cool blog about the Phils.) Like the year before, the Jays entered Game Six, leading three games to two. Entering the bottom of the ninth at the Skydome, home of the Jays, the Phillies were leading 6-5 and were on the verge of tying the series and forcing a seventh game. Sadly (for Phils fans), Toronto put two on base with one out. Joe Carter was the batter. He faced Mitch Williams, the Phillies closer nicknamed "Wild Thing". On a 2-2 count, Carter hit a shot that sailed into the left field seats for a walk-off, game-winning, World Series-winning homer!!! It was the second time ever that a World Series ended in a homer, but unlike Bill Mazeroski in 1960 for the Pirates (against the Yankees), Carter's homer came with his team trailing (and thankfully it wasn't against my Yankees this time).

Not much has happened the last 20 years in Blue Jays history, but Toronto will always be remembered as the best Canadian baseball team ever. (Sorry Montreal, but the Expos just weren't good.) Shutout to Zach and Sam for inspiring me to write this post. Thanks for reading!

MLwwB: What if Dave Winfield had never gone to the Yankees? 11/21/12

Hey baseball fans!

I put up another ML"what would"B post on More Than A Fan. In every ML"what would"B post, I discuss what would have happened if a famous event in baseball history had gone differently than it did in reality. For my latest post, I wondered what would have happened if Dave Winfield had stayed on the Padres and had never gone to the Yankees. If you want to know the answer, just click here.

Hope you enjoy reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Fergie as a Cub, Was not a Slug 11/16/12

Hey baseball fans!

I'm back with another post! I didn't really know who to blog about, so I looked at the list of Hall of Famers and came across a ballplayer named Fergie Jenkins. Here's a little bit about this Hall of Fame pitcher.

Fly's 19-year career from 1965-1983 with the Cubs, Phillies, Rangers, and Red Sox was very similar to Nolan Ryan's. He had a lot of wins, but he also had a lot of losses. Nonetheless, his career record was 284-226. In his career, he went to three All-Star Games, won the 1971 NL Cy Young Award with Chicago, and had a career ERA of 3.34. Also like the Ryan Express, Fergie had a lot of strikeouts. A LOT! 3,192 K's to be exact, which happens to twelfth on the all-time list. Sadly, despite these stats, he never won a World Series, because he was on such bad teams at the time. The Cubs haven't won one since 1908, Texas has never won the big one, Philly didn't win a Fall Classic until after he left, and the Red Sox were in the midst of the Curse of the Bambino. Of course, like I said before, he is in the Hall as a Cub. He became the eleventh Cubs Hall of Famer in 1991. So, remember, you don't have to win a championship to get into the Hall. In fact, some HoFers never even got a taste of postseason play!

Working Out Like a Hall of Famer 11/13/12

Hey baseball fans!

Certain baseball Hall of Famers happen to be very well known for certain physical skills.  Nolan Ryan had a cannon arm, Rickey Henderson had super-strong legs, and Hank Aaron had powerful wrists. I decided to try to find out if there were certain exercises that baseball players could do to work on improving these parts of their bodies, so I approached noted personal trainer and sports conditioning expert, Galen Pass (twitter @G_Code388) of JD Fitness in Livingston, NJ for his Hall of Fame workout tips and here's what he had to say:

Nolan Ryan pitched in the league for 27 years.  For young pitchers looking forward to long careers, rotator cuff health is essential.  We hear the term “rotator cuff” used frequently when describing shoulder injuries incurred by athletes, but most do not know what it actually is.  The rotator cuff is a group of 4 muscles that attach from areas on the shoulder blade into different parts of the shoulder joint.  These muscles control the joint’s ability to rotate through the motion of a pitch and help to stabilize the shoulder.    Some basic rotator cuff exercises with a resistance band can help a young athlete strengthen, stabilize, and improve mobility of the shoulder joint.  Make sure you choose the appropriate resistance band for you.

Perform the following exercises 2-3 times a week for 15 repetitions each in order of succession

Internal Rotation

External Rotation

Internal Rotation (shoulder abducted 90 degrees)

External Rotation (shoulder abducted 90 degrees)  

*note: you may need a lighter band for external rotation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_zilegpVwY

Rickey Henderson, known as “The Man of Steal”, created a reputation for himself with his speed, quickness, and reaction time when it came to stealing bases.  When a new sports car is being advertised, a standard measure of performance is how fast it can go from 0 to 60.  With only 90 feet to between bases, there is not much space for a runner to gain speed.  Similar to how we judge a car’s performance, speed of acceleration is the determinate factor between being one base closer to scoring or one out closer to the end of the inning.  First, an athlete needs a foundation in general speed/sprint training.  Once this is established, acceleration can be further improved upon by performing uphill sprints and other forms of resisted sprinting. i.e. – parachute sprints (wind resistance), band resisted sprints that produce explosive hip drive.

Find a hill (approximately 150-200 feet long) with a 10-20 degree incline in a nearby park or on a quiet street. Warm up with a 5 minute jog and some dynamic stretching.  Then perform 10 hill sprints, using the walk/jog back from each sprint as a recovery period.  Make sure you stretch your legs after the sprints (quads, hamstrings, hip flexors).  Increase sprint repetitions by 2 each week.

Perform 2-3 times a week for 5 weeks – After all 5 weeks are completed, look for a steeper hill!

Week 1 – 10 sprints

Week 2 – 12 sprints

Week 3 – 14 sprints

Week 4 – 16 sprints

Week 5 – 18 sprints                                 

*To track results, time yourself through each workout and compare the first 10 sprints each week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI58jyYgaok

Hank Aaron was an incredible power hitter during his 21 year career.  This invaluable ability to crank out home runs is a product of many different physiological factors; strong legs, explosive hips & abs, grip strength, great reaction time, and the list goes on.  For the purpose of this blog, we will focus on developing an explosive core and improving grip strength. 

First, the core (abs, hips, low back, glutes) needs to be strong and stable.  Planks, back bridges, and supermans will create a basic foundation, while resistance band swings will improve rotational force.

Perform the following exercise routine 2-3 times per week

2 sets

Back Bridge:  15 x 3 seconds each

Plank:           1 minute (increase by 15 seconds each week)

Supermans:  15 x 3 seconds each

3 sets

Band Swings: 15 each side  (increase band resistance as needed)

                                1 minute rest between sets

                              

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOPkM2pzznc - bridge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSHjTRCQxIw – plank

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIJ2rcEsaUc – superman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sil1iwIo6I – band swings

Next, all of the force generated by the body is manifested through the hands and into the bat.  Having strong hands, wrists, and forearms will ensure that it will be a solid hit every time you connect with the ball.  You will need a wrist roller (which can be purchased online), weight plates for the roller (2 ½ lbs each, 10 - 15 lbs total), a bucket, and a good amount of rice.

Perform the follow exercises 2-3 times per week  

Wrist Rolls (start with 2 ½ lbs and move up in weight if necessary)

    Flexion (rolling forward) – up and down twice

45 seconds rest

   Extension (rolling backward) – up and down twice

Perform 2 sets of each

Rice Bucket Exercise

     Finger Flicks – 30 seconds

     Digs - 30 seconds

Perform 3 sets of each with 1 minute of rest after each round 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bef0ETbvLLw – wrist roller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0At9BvISa8&feature=related – rice bucket exercises

This blog post gives a few exercises that can help young athletes improve upon specific attributes that these iconic former players are known for.  All exercises listed above should be incorporated into a well designed strength & conditioning program.  Nutrition, proper rest, and recovery are also paramount to maximizing any training regimen.   Here's a picture of Galen - he's a big dude, so you better listen to what he has to say.

Hope you all liked what Galen Pass had to say. He definitely knows his stuff!!!!!

An Interview with Jackie Robinson's Chief Historian 11/12/12

Hey baseball fans!

I know I promised this a long time ago, but finally, I have the answers to an email interview with Jackie Robinson! Well, kind of. Like the Babe Ruth Interview, I wasn't able to speak to Jackie directly, since he passed away many years ago, but I was able to interview the chief historian of his Foundation and Museum, Yohuru Williams. So, without further ado, here's the interview:

Matt: Jackie was truly a pioneer in baseball and beyond. What further progress do you think still needs to happen?

Yohuru: Jackie would be thrilled with the tremendous progress not only in major league baseball, but also in the other professional sports. As the first four-letter athlete at the University of Los Angeles, Jackie came to appreciate the power athletics has to bring people together. The University as well as the community at large often turned out to watch him compete and his stature as a star athlete allowed him to take a stand on important issues. Today, Jackie would very much celebrate not only the diversity of the game, but its global impact. He would also likely highlight the role of other pioneers such as Roberto Clemente in helping to break barriers and increase baseball’s appeal while remaining committed to a humanitarian mission of interracial cooperation and peace.

Matt: How was Jackie able to stay so focused and ignore all the mean comments that many fans directed at him during and after games?

Yohuru: Although Jackie has been lauded for his resolve in not fighting back against those who said and did mean things to him, it was a struggle. As someone who had experienced the bitter sting of racism, Jackie understood that he bore a tremendous burden. In his autobiography, I Never Had it Made (1972), he recalled the internal turmoil he felt on being asked not to retaliate against those who might treat him badly. “Could I turn the other cheek? I didn’t know how I could do it. Yet I knew I must.” His motivation was clear, “I had to do it for many reasons. For black youths, for my mother, for Rae (his wife Rachel), for myself. I had already begun to feel that I had to do it for Branch Rickey.” Of course, not only was Jackie able to steel his emotions, he remains a powerful example of the importance of civility, and the power of self-restraint.

Matt: Were there any people (living or dead) outside of baseball who Jackie looked to for inspiration?

Yohuru:  Jackie’s first hero was his mother, Mallie Robinson whom he credited with instilling in him a sense of confidence and self-esteem. Jackie Robinson was also a staunch supporter of the Civil Rights Movement and greatly admired many of its leaders, most notably the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and NAACP head Roy Wilkins. Jackie was also an admirer of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller.  A lifelong Republican, Jackie appreciated many of Governor Rockefeller’s moderate policies at a time when the Republican Party was beginning to shed its mantle as the party of Lincoln. Jackie felt that Rockefeller remained steadfast to the Party’s founding ideals and worked with him on various projects. As Jackie recalled of their relationship, “A man like Rockefeller is surrounded by people trying to please and soothe him and I think he appreciated my outspokenness. On several occasions, not always happily, the governor conceded that I was one of the few people close to him who usually spoke up when I thought I had to.” Jackie was also a great admirer of his wife Rachel, whom he remained deeply committed too. In addition to working with Jackie on a variety of humanitarian initiatives, Rachel was an Assistant Professor on the faculty at the Yale University School of Nursing. She also later served as the Director of Nursing at the Connecticut Mental Health Center. Jackie admired her selfless dedication to others and her commitment to education.

Matt: In 1951, when Bobby Thomson hit the "shot heard round the world" against Ralph Branca, what was the reaction in the clubhouse?

Yohuru: “The Giants win the Pennant, the Giants win the Pennant,” the words still carry the bitter pill of disappointment for Dodgers fans.  As you may know, it was the first sports event ever broadcast nationwide. The sense of tension was great as Ralph Branca took the mound to pitch to Bobby Thompson who had homered off him just two days before. The reaction in the clubhouse is very much what one would expect -- sheer and utter disbelief combined with disappointment. Nevertheless, Jackie and his teammates were professional. Jackie and Ralph Branca had a great relationship. On opening day of his Dodger rookie season after Jackie had received death threats, Ralph made it a point to sit by Jackie. He also was the first player to take the field and stand with Jackie after other members of the team refused to play. Jackie respected Ralph as a competitor and as a friend. He and the other Dodgers used their disappointment as motivation. In the years following, the fateful pitch rumors circulated that the Giants had actually stolen the sign, by using a telescope. A recent book by Josh Prager, Echoing Green (2006), documents the scandal. Jackie, Ralph and the other Dodgers played the game with a deep sense of integrity, an integrity that they did not lose in defeat.

Matt: Can you please tell us something about Jackie that few people know?

Yohuru: In addition to his career in baseball, Jackie was a prolific letter writer. In addition to writing regular opinion pieces for various newspapers, including the New York Post and the New York Amsterdam News, Jackie corresponded with a number of politicians and civil rights leaders on a variety of issues. Jackie explained in a memorandum to Robert Douglas, the manager of Nelson Rockefeller’s presidential campaign in May of 1968, “As an ex-athlete I am always aware that a good offense is the best defense and when you are behind you pull out all the stops and go with your strength.” I imagine few would suspect that Jackie was as artful and prolific with a pen as he was with a bat.  Michael Long has edited a fantastic book of Jackie’s correspondence entitled First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson, which is a must-read for anyone interested in this aspect of Jackie’s post-baseball life.

I hoped you liked the interview. Special thanks to Yohuru Williams for doing such a great job!! If you want, you can check out another post by me about Jackie breaking one of the most important barriers in all of sports. Thanks for reading!

Super Sub 11/11/12

Hey baseball fans!

I'm back with another post! Today's post is about one of the most underrated World Series stars of all time. He was named World Series MVP of 1972, just because a star on his team was injured. If you don't know who it is by now, his name is Gene Tenace.

Gene Tenace was not a star, but he seemed to hit in the clutch every time his team needed him, especially during the 1972 playoffs, of which he played for the Oakland A's. Going back to his entire career, he batted .241, with 201 homers and 674 RBIs as a catcher with the A's, Padres, Cardinals, and Pirates. He only made it to one All-Star Game, 1975, in his career from 1969-1983. He was a four-time World Series Champion, from 1972-1974 with Oakland, and in 1982 with St. Louis. That's basically all you need to know about Tenace's overall career, but let me tell you what he did during the 1972 playoffs.

In Game Five of the 1972 ALCS against Detroit, Reggie Jackson stole home (believe it or not) in the top of the second to tie the game at one, but tore his hamstring in the process, preventing him from playing in the World Series. In the top of the fourth, Jackson's lineup (but not fielding) replacement, Tenace, hit the go-ahead single that eventually clinched the pennant for Oakland.

In the Game One of the World Series that year against the Reds, Gene hit two homers in his first two World Series at-bats, becoming the first person to do so. He collected all three Oakland RBIs in a 3-2 win. In Game Four, Gene hit another homer in another 3-2 Oakland win, giving the A's a commanding three games to one lead over the Reds. However, Cincinnati won the next two games, with Tenace hitting his fourth homer of the series in Game Five, setting up a seventh game. The A's won that game with the help of Tenace, who scored the go-ahead run on a double by Sal Bando. Like I said before, Tenace won the MVP of the Series, going 8 for 23, with four homers and nine RBIs. Funny, it took him 82 games to hit five homers during the regular season!

Who Should be in the Hall of Fame, but isn't (1990's) 11/10/12

Hey baseball fans!

Recently, I've been doing some guest blogging for More Than a Fan, where I've written posts about players who I think should be in the Hall of Fame but aren't (here's a link to all my prior posts).  Well, today I bring you the last post in the series -- those players from the 1990's who should be in the Hall of Fame. Can you guess who I picked? f you want to read more, please click on this link.

I hope you like all of my picks. If I missed anyone, please let me know.

Charity Is The Way To Be! 11/4/12

Hey baseball fans!

Today's post is about a very special ballplayer. This person is one of the most inspirational, famous, and well-liked baseball players of all time. He is in the Hall of Fame and has an award in the MLB named after him that is given every year to the most charitable player on and off the field (it was recently awarded to Dodgers pitching ace Clayton Kershaw). I think you all know who this person is: Roberto Clemente.

Besides probably being one of the most charitable athletes in history, there's a reason Clemente is in the Hall of Fame. In his career from 1955-1972 with the Pirates, he went to 15 All-Star Games, won the Gold Glove Award for right field 12 times, and won the 1966 NL MVP Award. He was overshadowed by guys like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson and Mickey Mantle, but nonetheless managed to get 3,000 hits in his career (exactly 3,000) and bat .317 lifetime. With his help, the Pirates won the World Series in 1960 against the Yankees and in 1971 against Baltimore, with him winning World Series MVP in '71. He remains the only player ever to hit a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam, which he did in a 9-8 win over the Cubs on July 25, 1956.

Going back to him being very charitable, during the off-season, Clemente was very involved in donating baseball equipment and food to those in need in Latin American countries. If he wasn't doing that, then he was holding baseball clinics for kids. Sadly, he died in 1972 at the young age of 37 because of a plane crash he was involved in while flying to Nicaragua to try to help survivors of a recent earthquake that struck the country. His body was never found. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame the following year in a special election, instead of the usual five year minimum wait.

So, what is the point of this post you ask? The point is that you should always try to keep things in perspective, not take things for granted and be charitable. A lot of people have had great suffering because of Hurricane Sandy and, if you aren't as bad off, then you should be thankful for what you have and try to help. Anyway, I hope you appreciated this post. Thanks for reading!

MLwwB: What if Joe DiMaggio had been traded for Ted Williams? 11/4/12

Hey baseball fans!

I recently started a cool new blog series for More Than A Fan called ML"what would"B. It discusses famous events and people in baseball history, and looks at "what would be" if history had gone a different way.  For my latest post, I wondered what would be if Joe DiMaggio had actually been traded for Ted Williams.  If you want to know the answer, just click here.

Hope you enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Death Stare Dave 11/3/12

Hey baseball fans!

Sorry I haven't posted anything during the past week. My Internet wasn't working because of Hurricane Sandy. However, today's post is about one of the most dominant pitchers of the late eighties and early nineties. He pitched on numerous pennant-winning teams, but is not in the Hall of Fame. Can you guess who it is? Ladies and gentleman, Dave Stewart.

Dave played 15 seasons in the bigs, from 1981-1995. In those seasons, his record was 168-129 with the A's, Dodgers, Rangers, Phillies, and Blue Jays. He wasn't the best pitcher throughout his career (he only made it to one All-Star Game), but he was lights out from 1987-1990. In those years, with  the help of his famous death stare he would give to batters, his record was 84-45. That's half of his career wins! Along with that amazing stat, in those years, he had an ERA of 3.20 and struck out 718 batters. Going back to his career, he was a World Series Champion three times ('81 with LA, '89 with Oakland, and '93 with Toronto) and went to the World Series two more times with the A's in 1988 and 1990. Sadly, like I mentioned before, he is currently not in Cooperstown, but if he played his entire career like he did from 1987-1990, we might be talking about a new greatest pitcher of his time.

Hope everyone is safe. Talk to you all soon.