Maddux + Thomas = 98

Today's election of Frank Thomas (above) and Greg Maddux (below) pushed my total of Hall of Fame baseballs up to 98.  I figured Maddux and Thomas would get in, and among the other guys eligible between Jack Morris and Jeff Bagwell, I thought that Morris had an outside chance.  Now, since Jack Morris didn't get in on his 15th try, he will have to wait until at least 2016 to have a shot.  This is when he will be first eligible for the Veterans Committee.

Maddux was named on all but 16 ballots.  I can't believe that 16 people who claim to be writers with a knowledge of baseball would leave someone like Maddux off of their ballot.  I won't go into a rant about idiots who have the honor of a vote, yet, leave their ballot blank because "no one should be unanimous" but if I had the honor of a vote, I definitely would use it.

That being said, it doesn't matter.  Maddux, Thomas and Glavine are in and join Joe Torre, Bobby Cox and Tony LaRussa on a very crowded 2014 induction class.  I would love to be there to hear the speeches, but I doubt I will be able to attend a second year in a row.

I'm really happy to now be able to say that these three guys that I watched growing up are Hall of Famers.  I believe that next year's class has the potential to be almost as big, with Biggio seemingly on his way to enshrinement and the additions of Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez to next year's ballot.  We'll see, though.

(Almost) Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Greg Maddux

It's just a matter of waiting patiently until the announcement is made on January 8, 2014 at 2:00PM, but as of right now, this ball will have to wait to be placed among my Hall of Fame signed baseballs.  This one and possibly a couple more that I have, really.  We'll have to see.

That being said, for the low price of $52.00, I was able to pick up this Greg Maddux signed baseball from Conrad at the Columbia Antique Mall.  Conrad had gotten several cases of the Maddux balls from a private signing (he also had some Glavines, one of which I should have grabbed.  I was really happy with this Maddux, though.

Maddux (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1986 to 2008 for the Cubs, Braves, Dodgers and Padres.  He:

• was a 2-time 20 game winner (1992 and 1993)
• led the NL in wins 3 times (1992, 1994 and 1995)
• set a record (once held by Cy Young) by winning 15 or more games in 17 straight seasons
• won 13 or more games in 20 total seasons
• won the Cy Young Award an unprecedented 4 straight times (1992 through 1995)
• finished second in the Cy Young voting in 1997; 3rd in 1989 and 2000; 4th in 1998; 5th in 1996
• led the NL in ERA 4 times (1993, 1994 1995 and 1998)
• had a season ERA of 2.20 or better 4 times
• had a season ERA of less than 1.64 in two seasons (1.56 in 1994 and 1.63 in 1995)
• won the World Series in 1995 with the Braves
• went 2-3 with a 2.09 ERA in 5 World Series starts
• won the Gold Glove Award 18 times
• was a 8-time All Star
• finished as high as 3rd in the NL MVP voting (1995)
• had a career record of 355-227, ERA of 3.16 with 3,371 strikeouts
• had 109 complete games, 35 of which were shutouts
• is ranked 8th all-time in Wins with 355
• is ranked 10th all-time in Strikeouts with 3,371
• is ranked 1st all-time in putouts by a pitcher with 546

So, based on all of this, I am REALLY happy to have added this ball to my collection.  My only question is, with the voting being announced on January 8th for the 2014 Hall of Fame election, what idiot(s) will leave Maddux off of their ballots?  You and I know that someone will and they will try to make an argument for their decision.  Kind of like the woman last year who tried to say that Shawn Green was a deserving candidate but then said that she didn't vote for Jeff Bagwell because he did steroids.  That is another story all in itself, but you get my point.

Anyway, regardless of the few stupid voters out there, Maddux will be getting a call on January 8 saying that he is a member of the 2014 Hall of Fame class (one that has the potential to be one of the largest in history).  It will be then that this ball will be placed among my collection of Hall of Fame signed baseballs.

1998 Topps Series II Box Break

Here are a few things out of my Series II box. I'm in the process of sorting the cards in order to put the set together, but so far, I have 1-199. I got a finest Clemente insert, which is a pretty nice version of the 1957 Topps. Not bad; I remember the 'protective film' haha.

Can't go wrong with Cal. As you can see, the cards scanned much better today. Must have been operator error.

I like this Maddux insert. A good shot of Maddux looking like a professor, which is what he was, the Professor of Pitching. He could probably get people out today and still win 10-12 games with the right team...

I thought this card was fitting, since this was 1998 Topps. McGwire was on the cusp of his most glorious achievement... then his fall from grace. Kinda weird to see it right before it happened. If we knew then, what we know now...