The Beeg Mon

Sometimes you just have to follow the signs. For years now, I’ve had it on my list to do a deep dive about Rico Carty, one of my favorite childhood players and a player who would make a GREAT movie. It never seemed the right time, though. Then, a couple of days ago, Brilliant Reader Tom wrote in to say…

Ballot 12: Gary Sheffield

Gary Sheffield

The Ballot 7: Larry Walker

Larry Walker

Play 17 years with three teams

Five-time All-Star and MVP winner hit .313 with 141 OPS+ over injury-plagued career. 72.6 WAR, 48.2 WAA

Ballot 6: Edgar Martinez

Edgar Martinez

Played 18 years with one team

Seven-time All-Star hit .312 with power for his career, won two batting titles. 68.3 WAR, 38.4 WAA

Ballot 4: Jeff Bagwell

Jeff Bagwell

Played 15 years for one team

The Ballpark Penalty

Fun idea from Brian Kenny — though I’m pretty sure he was joking. Of course, Brian knows me well enough now to know that I take even jokey ideas and do way too much with them.

He suggested if you want to penalize the players you suspect of using steroids but don’t…

The Belichick Puzzle

Bill Belichick became a defensive coordinator in 1985 with the New York Giants.

Ballot 10: Vlad and Manny

Manny Ramirez

Played 19 years with five teams

Twelve-time All-Star hit 555 home runs, won a World Series MVP, led league in slugging and on-base percentage three times. 69.2 WAR, 35.6 WAA