2009 Hall of Fame

I wonder if Rickey will be mad that his picture is so much smaller than Jim's?

I just heard the great news about Jim Rice on the radio, then found it on here. About time, imo. Yeah, he'll have to speak first or nobody will be left sitting there by the time Rickey is done.

Glad to see Rice got in after all these years.

I still remember watching Rice hit BP at Fenway with line drive homers to Left, Center, Right, Center, Left, Center, Right in that order. He was good.

Big thumbs up for Jim Rice. Love that hand position when he batted. By the way, did Ricky have a discussion with Ricky, about Ricky on his HOF selection?

The over/under of how many times you'll hear "I am the greatest of all time" Ricky speech is probably about 2009!

Here, here for Jim Ed! Now that the steriod mist ha cleared around some other power hitters we can appreciate him even more. It was Ricky being Ricky even before it was Manny being Manny.

Ricky to John Olerud apoun reaching first base; " You know I used o play with a guy in Tronto that wore a batting helmet out to the feld at first". Olerud, "Ricky, it"s me!"

Both Ricky and his mirror should be making that trip to Cooperstown. "Ricky's the best!"

Every once in awhile, an athlete comes along and openly says he or she is the greatest or currently the best at their sport. Why does that seem so annoying to so many of us? What if they are in fact the greatest or the best?

Muhammad Ali said he was the greatest but many people seemed to give him a pass. Was it because he had some sort of charm about him? I frankly never cared for him and always rooted for Joe Frazier.

If you ask Terrell Owens I am sure he would tell you he is the greatest.

Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe never seemed bashful about who they thought were the greatest.

There are other examples.

I will be interested if Ricky talks about himself in the third person during his induction speech. In his mind, he is the greatest. Why does that bother so many of us if he "actually" says it?

In the immortal words of Chico Esuala, "Rickey, has been very very good to me!"

You talkin' about this CD?

Greatest of All Time

I watched Rickey Henderson play a lot of baseball. I will have to say that there were few ballplayers who appeared to enjoy the game as much as Rickey. Sitting behind him in the LF bleachers...he was a riot at times. Always havin' fun. Played until the age of 44...gotta be havin' fun. I admire that...a lot!

He was also a very special talent. He is the career stolen base leader of all time...by over 450 bases! Leadoff home run hitter of all time by around 40 home runs.

Lots of quirky Rickey stories on the local radio this morning. To me, most of them endearing. He was/is a personality...a character of the game and I think we could use a few more of those. Those kind of guys with that kind of talent is what keeps the fans coming, creates new ones and keeps the game healthy.

And I am very happy for Jim Rice too.

I wonder if Jim Rice would have made it if he played in a small market team. If Rice is in...Where does Dale Murphy belong?

spizzle, looking at your signature line....I guess Clint never met Ricky Henderson

E, Jim Rice always seemed to be one of the Good Guys, and I think that had a lot to do with his election. But I think he will feature in a lot of sentences like " If Jim Rice is in the Hall, why isn't ______________?" He had some great years, and some OK years. He could certainly drive in runs, and he could certainly GIDP. And if he had been playing for a small market team, he might have been their star (which he wasn't always with Boston), but by now, it would be Jim Who outside of that town.....

CD, braggarts just don't endear themselves to too many people. Henderson was the quintescent leadoff hitter (which is pretty much a lost art at any level) and the greatest base stealer. But his little speech after he broke Brock's (who was definately One Of The Good Guys) record, spoiled my enjoyment of his accomplishments. There's no reason to expect graciousness from a person just because they have talent; you'd just like to think their Mama taught them better.

quote:

Originally posted by Bighit15:
I wonder if Jim Rice would have made it if he played in a small market team. If Rice is in...Where does Dale Murphy belong?

On TBS playing the 7:05 start time game.

I think Murphy will be hurt by playing on some horrible Braves teams and finishing up with some horrible Rockies teams.

quote:

I wonder if Jim Rice would have made it if he played in a small market team.

Good question. But it seems to me his career was similar to Tony Perez and he played for a small market team and is in too.

Rice: 382 HR, 1451 RBI, .298 BA, .352 OB%, .502 SLG%
Perez: 379 HR, 1652 RBI, .279 BA, .341 OB%, .463 SLG%

Murphy: 398 HR, 1266 RBI, .265 BA, .346 OB%, .469 SLG%

Perez certainly has his naysayers, but the fact is he's already in and those living in Cincinnati at the time will tell you he was the glue that kept peace in the clubhouse and made the Reds go. He was traded in 1977 and it was downhill for the Machine for 10 years after that.

Murphy's numbers are comparable too...but as was pointed out, he had the misfortune of playing on some bad teams. Probably is the difference?

And where is Andre Dawson ???

quote:

Rice: 382 HR, 1451 RBI, .298 BA, .352 OB%, .502 SLG%
Perez: 379 HR, 1652 RBI, .279 BA, .341 OB%, .463 SLG%

Murphy: 398 HR, 1266 RBI, .265 BA, .346 OB%, .469 SLG%

Then there is Andre Dawson.

Andre Dawson
438 HRs, 1591 RBI, .279, .323 OB%, .482 SLG%, and 314 SB

8 time gold glove winner (mostly as a CF), 8 time all star, 1977 Rookie of the Year, 1987 League MVP.

Also… 23rd all time extra base hits, 25th all time total bases, and how about this… 7th all time power/speed combination.

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
Every once in awhile, an athlete comes along and openly says he or she is the greatest or currently the best at their sport. Why does that seem so annoying to so many of us? What if they are in fact the greatest or the best?

Ricky didn't tell us he was the greatest. Ricky told Ricky while speaking of Ricky that he was the greatest?

Ricky sort of got the game of "Survivor" going in MLB. He got voted off of several islands... not because of talent, it did appear he was hard to get along with.

Dawson should be in...I agree!

I can't wait to hear Ricky speak. Whenever I heard him in the past it was always third person... Now Ricky would like to thank Ricky's parents and Ricky's coaches etc, etc...

Seinfeld stole Rickey's mannerism:

Don't Touch Jimmy!

I don't understand how the dominant pitcher of a 80's decade who pitched his team to two World Series titles doesn't get in. Why is Jack Morris not getting in?

Dawson is definitely a "should be in". Perez was on such a good time and was also a liked guy. I am not saying Rice shouldn't be in. I just believe that Murph should be also. Jmo. Congrats to those two who made it. Rickey made it based on production. Forgiving his huge ego and me first attitude. He was just that good.

I wonder who had the bigger ego, Ty Cobb or Rickey?

Good Call Here