Tag: Pete Rose

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: How Farhan Zaidi will work out as special advisor for Dodgers; What A-Rod’s role will be as co-owner for Timberwolves

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Farhan Zaidi returns to the Los Angeles Dodgers as a special assistant for the 2025 season after serving as the San Francisco Giants team president (USA Today file photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Los Angeles Dodgers noted for know what they are doing and they have the resume to back it up have brought back former general manager Farhan Zaidi. Zaidi was team president for the San Francisco Giants and was fired after last season. Zaidi now returns to the Dodgers as special advisor.

#2 Alex Rodriquez and Marc Lore are on deck to take ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Arbitrators have ruled in favor of the transfer of ownership from Timberwolves current owner Glen Taylor. Lore and A-Rod will also be on the NBA board of governors once the ownership transfer is approved. Amaury what’s it got to be like for someone like A-Rod to be a former MLB player to now owning an NBA team?

#3 Former Cincinnati Reds great Pete Rose’s No.14 will be on the sleeves on Reds uniforms for the 2025 season. While Rose has a lifetime ban the Reds said “14 on our side all season” Rose is the MLB all time hits leader with 4,256 hits.

#4 Ippei Mizuhara the former Los Angeles Dodgers interpreter for Shohei Ohtani was sentenced for 57 months for stealing close to $17 million from Ohtani. The sentence starts on March 24th and Mizuhara will serve three years of supervision once released. Mizuhara has been ordered by the court to pay Ohtani the $17 million in restitution.

#5 Some of the big questions that are being asked about the A’s who will open their 2025 interim season at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. How will the A’s adjust to playing in a minor league park and will that work to their advantage when visiting clubs come? Also how will A’s history work into the A’s short stint in Sacramento?

For great Italian taste you don’t want to miss UNI Pizzeria at 1234 Polk Street in San Francisco’s Polk Gulch neighborhood. UNI serves some of the best pastas and pizzas make it your next stop before you take in your favorite sport. UNI Pizzeria 1234 Polk Street San Francisco. Call 415-740-2794 for pick up.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977, a role he continues to this day (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Gambling is Baseball’s Mortal Sin

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Former Cincinnati Red Pete Rose seen here playing against the Atlanta Braves Aug 2, 1978 at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. Rose who died this year 2024 has a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball for gambling on baseball. (AP file photo)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

It was in September 1919 that several Chicago White Sox players agreed to receive a $100,000 payment from Arnold Rothstein to underachieve during that year’s World Series. This allowed professional gamblers of that time to make tremendous profits by favoring the underdog Cincinnati Reds.

Movies have depicted this moment in baseball; one of the most famous American movies was Godfather II, where actor Lee Strasberg played Hyman Roth, the fictional character for Arnold Rothstein, but that was just a scene in that movie, unlike the 1988 film Eight Men Out, where the whole film deals with baseball’s biggest scandal.

When Major League Baseball banned Pete Rose in 1989, that story became the most famous in baseball history, as far as gambling, especially for those of us who have seen Mister Charlie Hustle play the game. Ironically, the Cincinnati Reds, the team Rose managed, was involved in the scandal, the same franchise as in the 1919 World Series and one of the oldest franchises in the game.

Going back to 1919, during the “Black Sox Scandal,” the owner of the Chicago team was considered a cheapskate and was involved in bribes with players and all kinds of corruption regarding salaries and money issues.

In today’s game, players and managers gambling on games is very unlikely, and one main reason was 1953. That year, the Major League Baseball Players Association was established, and the MLBPA became a labor union with Marvin Miller as the executive director. Unlike the days of Mr.Comiskey, when the owners controlled the game and players; today it’s a ‘players’ game.

In 2024 the minimum salary for a Major League Baseball player (rookie) is $740,000, increasing to $760,000 next season and $780,000 in 2026.

In 1976, Free agency in Major League Baseball became a reality, and today, baseball players are among the wealthiest athletes in the world.

Before the 2024 season, Japanese mega-star Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and today, Juan Soto of the New York Yankees could soon sign a contract just as rich as Ohtani’s or maybe “just” $100 million short of that.

Note: On June 4, 2024, Shohei’s Ohtani interpreter pleaded guilty to two counts related to the transfer of nearly $17 million from the Dodgers star to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debts. Shohei Ohtani is considered a victim in this case,

Note: 2012 Draft Kings, the company was initially launched, competing principally with the New York-based FanDuel. In May 2018, amid the widening legalization of sports betting in the United States, DraftKings expanded into online and retail sportsbooks to leverage its brand awareness and customer base. Many fans love participating as gamblers, and Major League Baseball even promotes it. Hypocrisy? of course, but in the end, everybody loves money.

Gambling is an addiction, just like drugs and alcohol, and they all could leadto serious consequences. The American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines gambling disorder as a behavioral addiction: A persistent pattern of gambling that causes significant distress or impairment A behavior that leads to problems for the individual, families, and society A behavior that involves an increasing tolerance, requiring more gambling to feel satisfied A behavior that can cause withdrawal and irritability when someone tries to quit.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: A’s trade Allen to Braves; Marlins hire Dodgers first base coach McCullough; plus more news

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Former Athletics shortstop Nick Allen was traded to the Atlanta Braves for minor league pitcher Jared Johnson on Mon Nov 11, 2024 (AP file photo)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Athletics infielder Nick Allen was traded from the A’s to the Atlanta Braves minor league pitcher Jared Johnson. Allen in the 2024 season hit .175, with one home run, four RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 81 games with the A’s triple A affiliate Las Vegas Aviators.

#2 The Miami Marlins have hired Los Angles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough as their new manager on Monday. McCullough was first base coach for the Marlins for the last four years and McCullough’s last year was this past World Series where the Dodgers won it in five games.

#3 Former Cincinnati Red Pete Rose who passed away at 83 years old on Sep 30th was honored last Sunday at Great American Ballpark by the Reds with a 14 hour visitation at the ballpark. It was a rainy day honoring Rose the all time hits leader. With the cooperation of Rose’s daughter’s Fawn and Kara who exchanged stories, hugs, and tears. “We wanted to do something like this” said Reds executive director Rick Wells, “You could see from the turnout, it means a lot to the people here. It’s a moving experience.”

#4 New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone will be meeting with Juan Soto with owner Hal Steinbrenner as they will fly to California to try and convince Soto to join the Yankees for the 2025 season. Soto is scheduled to meet with New York Mets group that includes owner Steve Cohen.

#5 Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco allegedly was in a fight over a woman that involved guns drawn in San Juan de la Maguana in the Dominican Republic that police said was an altercation in a parking lot. The woman was being held for questioning by police it was not reported if there were any injuries. Franco has had previous legal problems which include him being accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14 year old girl.

Amuary Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Charlie Hustle should be in Cooperstown 

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Former Cincinnati Reds hitter Pete Rose at the bat against the Atlanta Braves on Aug 2, 1978 at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta (AP file photo)

By Amaury Pi-González

When I first arrived in the United States as a young teen in 1961, I remember people saying, “In America, everybody deserves a second chance.” Well, Pete Rose, as a player, never got that chance by the MLB Hall of Fame.

Charlie Hustle was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling on the Cincinnati Reds team he managed; that makes a lot of sense. As a manager, he made the moves; some of them could win a game, and some could not, but he had absolute control throughout any match. Common sense tells us that for baseball, it was correct to ban him for life as a manager. But as a player?

In the United States of America, even criminals, big-time felons, go to prison, serve their time, rehabilitate later, and join society again. Example: O.J Simpson, and we know that story.

As a player, Pete Rose is the all-time Hits King, with 4,256 hits. #2 in Ty Cobb, 4189 hits; if we used today’s standards, Ty Cobb should lead a new Hall of Fame, “The Racist Hall of Fame, and ‘trust me’ he will have competition, even managers.

Today, the Hall of Fame’s various committees elect participants other than recently retired players. The most active is the Veterans Committee. I hope that for the sake of the great game of baseball and future generations, Pete Rose could be elected to the Hall of Fame as a player. Why?

Because he was one of the best baseball players ever to wear a uniform. Whether or not you like his personality, you do not elect people for their personality flaws but for the merit of their performance. With 4,256 hits, who could argue with a career of such magnitude, especially during this time in baseball history when the average batting average in baseball is a paltry .240. I covered Pete Rose as a player, and he should be in the Hall of Fame. Period.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Pete Rose podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: He was controversial, banned, all time hits leader, now belongs to the ages at 83

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Pete Rose in memorium 1941-2024 tribute dedication photo courtesy of the Cincinnati Reds

Pete Rose podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

Former Cincinnati Red Pete Rose a long time player and manager passed away on Monday at age 83. Rose had a fabulous career as a baseball player. Rose broke in in 1963 that’s 61 years ago. He holds the records for most hits ever.

He surpassed Ty Cobb for the most hits. He holds the record for a hitting streak at 44 games. He was know as Charlie Hustle. He’d give you 100%. He’s remembered for his collision with the late Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse during the 1970 All Star Game.

I covered the Oakland A’s for many years and got to see Fosse who was an A’s broadcaster and never asked him about the collision with Rose and when I did get to ask him about it he would just simply say “that’s baseball” and “I was there to block the plate he had every right to crash into me.”

TMZ recently asked when they caught him on the street and asked him who was the best player not in the Hall of Fame right now. Rose said, “Joe Jackson” who was part of nine players who were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. Although found not guilty of betting on the World Series by a jury MLB Commissioner at the time Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned Jackson and his teammates for life a ban that stands to this day. Rose is banned as well for life.

Jerry Feitelberg does baseball analysis at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: Mavericks-Celtics battle in game 1 Finals tonight; Giants Snell out again with groin injury; plus more news

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Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic is all smile at the post game conference following the Mavericks win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in game 5 of the Western Conference Finals in Minneapolis on Thu May 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica:

#1 The Boston Celtics host the Dallas Mavericks in game 1 of the NBA Finals. One of the advantages that the Celtics have opening up these Finals is that they home court advantage and have two top star shooters in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

#2 The Mavericks in their own right have Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both who scored 36 points each against the Minnesota Timberwolves in game 5 on Thursday to advance to the Finals.

#3 How often would you expect that a two time Cy Young winner in San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell who started with his new team to go out twice with a groin injury. Snell when he does make a start had been lit up and has a 0-3 record and a large ERA at 9.51.

#4 The last player to be suspended for life in baseball was former Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose now baseball is cracking down again suspending four players and giving a lifetime ban to San Diego Padres minor league infielder Tucupita Marcana for making 387 bets totaling $150,000.

#5 Jessica, the NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. The Oilers took out the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals 4-2 and the Panthers took out the New York Rangers 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals. What’s your take as the Oilers and Panthers face off on Saturday night?

Join Jessica for Headline Sports every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Angels most likely won’t deal Ohtani to Dodgers; Padres and Giants could be in the running; more MLB news

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Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani might not be dealt to a California team but the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants might be in the running during free agency (photo from yahoo.com sports)

MLB The Show podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Stephen, the Los Angeles Angels two way player Shohei Ohtani according to Angels owner Arturo Moreno will not be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers before this month’s trade deadline. The Angels do not want to deal Ohtani to a California team.

#2 Ohtani could wind up as a rental in Baltimore. The Orioles are second in the AL East and could either get Ohtani as a rental or get him as a free agent. Either way an acquisition of Ohtani could spell big things for the Orioles who knocking at the East’s door.

#3 Stephen, the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants are strong candidates in the Ohtani free agency sweepstakes but the Padres have a pretty big payroll with Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr, and Juan Soto will they add another $700 million to their payroll and the Giants may not spend that type of money for Ohtani.

#4 Former Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench made an antisemetic joke on Sunday at a Reds press conference about former Cincinnati Reds general manager Gabe Paul who Pete Rose said paid him $400 per month when someone said “that’s cheap” and Bench interjected saying “He was Jewish” later Bench asked Paul’s daughter Jennie Paul if she was offended where Jennie replied she didn’t hear what Bench said. Bench apologized to Jennie and said that his remark took away from Paul’s achievement.

#5 The San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado joined the 300 home run club in the first game of a doubleheader in Philadelphia on Saturday with the score tied 3-3 and a 2-2 count and facing the Phils pitcher Matt Strahm, Machado hit a 94 MPH fastball 425 feet into the second deck at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia. The Padres didn’t win 6-4 but Machado got the milestone.

Join Stephen for the MLB podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Were horses traded in the Nevada Legislature in order to approve the A’s Vegas ballpark?

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Oakland A’s have billboards up and around Las Vegas extending their congratulations to the recent NHL Stanley Cup champions Vegas Golden Knights. The A’s are already trying to make inroads in the Las Vegas community. (photo by the Las Vegas Review Journal)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Las Vegas Review Journal got a letter from a reader that says they rarely disagrees with the Journal saying that there will be new taxes and the Nevada tax payer will be on the hook for the new Las Vegas A’s ballpark at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino.

#2 Amaury, the paper points out, the average wage for the Nevada citizen $44,000, the average salary for a player is $724,000, while A’s owner is a multi billionaire. The paper goes onto to say that the citizens should not have to pay for a wealthy owner who owns a ball club.

#3 Amaury, a vote on the A’s relocation could come as soon as next week. This would be well ahead of the MLB drop date of Dec 2023. Will the MLB owners vote no because there is no share of relocation money to be divided or will they vote yes because the next owner who wants to move can do so without paying the relocation fee?

#4 Amaury, how interesting do you find it that despite 87 percent who were polled in a written opinion poll at the Nevada Legislature were against the funding of public dollars for the new A’s ballpark the Nevada Legislature had voted 25-15 in favor of funding the park worth $380 million in tax credits.

#5 Amaury, I know you wrote about this in your column yesterday that gambling is in the veins of those who live in Vegas and baseball is coming to casinos right outside of the ballpark and across the street from the park and that asks the question should lifetime banned players Shoeless Joe Jackson of that famous 1919 Chicago Black Sox team and former Cincinnati Reds player-manager Pete Rose be reconsidered for induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Amaury Pi Gonzalez if the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: At 81 years old Pete Rose asks for another chance to get into the Hall

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Former Cincinnati Red and Philadelphia Phillie Pete Rose doffs his cap to the Citizen’s Bank in Philadelphia crowd on Sun Aug 7, 2022 at an alumni event. Rose has asked MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred this week to forgive him and allow him the chance to get back into baseball in a letter to Manfred’s office. (AP News photo)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Former Cincinnati Red great and lifetime banned player Pete Rose has asked for forgiveness and one more chance for enshrinement in to baseball’s hollowed Hall of Fame. Rose who was banned for life for betting on baseball and betting on his team as a manager of the Reds in a letter sent to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred this week pleading to allow Rose one more chance to end the lifetime ban and allow him a shot at getting elected into the Hall of Fame.

Rose since being banned by the late baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti back in 1989. Giamatti at the time made clear that there was no way he would consider the MLB all time hits leader a chance at forgiveness and a way back into baseball and into the Hall of Fame.

It’s been nearly 33 years since the ban and Rose is 81 years old and wrote asking Manfred to consider reinstating him back into the National Pastime saying: “I am writing today for three reasons,” Rose wrote this week “First, because at my age I want to be 100% sure that you understand how much I mean it when I say that I’m sorry. Second, to ask for your forgiveness. And third, because I still think every day about what it would mean to be considered for the Hall of Fame.”

Rose since his confession of betting on baseball and the lifetime ban had said in the letter that he let his father down and his former manager Sparky Anderson down that he thinks about it everyday and that was one of the biggest disappointments in his life. Rose stated that besides spending time with his partner and his kids as his life’s greatest joy he would like to have the chance to get back to the ball park with the fans and spend time with his former teammates.

Rose said that he has spent the last 33 plus years soul searching and expressed his deepest regret for gambling on baseball and his team the Reds when he was the manager of the club. Rose basically is saying that he’s in his early 80s and would like to be forgiven, given another chance from Manfred and he could be a positive influence in baseball if the ban were lifted. In the sports hobby despite the lifetime baseball ban Pete Rose’s artifacts are hot commodities, baseball cards, signed pennants, gloves, bats, his rookie card from 1963 commands an asking price in mint condition at $40,000.

Rose has appeared at baseball card shows and has commanded some of the longest wait times for signatures of some of the top Major League players. Rose is serving a lifetime ban from baseball with eight other MLB players who were on the 1919 Chicago White Sox better know as the Black Sox who were accused of betting and throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The eight men out from that 1919 White Sox team, Had Felsch, Chuck Gandil, Ed Cicotte, Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver, Swede Risberg, Fred McMullin, and Claude Williams.

During the steroid era the players from that time who are not banned from baseball but seldom have been invited back to join their old teams for special festivities and honors. None of the steroid era players have been elected to the Hall of Fame but could be by a special committee namely Barry Bonds, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa are names as possible candidates through a special committee called the Today’s Game Committee.

As Rose might be watching Bonds, Schilling, Clemens and Sosa get elected into the Hall of Fame he might still be waiting on the sidelines for that one chance he was asking for to get inducted into the game’s hollowed halls.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: MLB–2022 Hall of Fame Ballot PED Guys will fall Short

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Barry Bonds (left) and Roger Clemens (right) are holding out hope that the MLB Baseball Writers of America Association will vote them into the Hall of Fame but reports say it’s very unlikely (ESPN file photo)

MLB–2022 Hall of Fame Ballot PED Guys will fall Short

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

These “steroids era” players will probably fall short. Barry Bonds with an MLB record 762 home runs and seven MVP Awards, Roger Clemens, with a record seven-Cy Young Awards, are the two first and then possibly Alex Rodríguez, who some time ago admitted to using PED’s and said it might cost him the Hall of Fame.

David Ortíz is an interesting case, he also admitted to using PED’s years ago. Other interesting characters are Samuel “Sammy” Sosa, who said he “never tested positive for steroids” during his career and in 2005 he appeared in front of the US Congress House Committee on Government Reform together with Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro as well as some baseball executives.

But if you want to talk about it interesting, how about Curt Schilling, who a year ago asked to be removed from the 2022 HOF list, but was rejected and will remain on the BBWAA ballot for the tenth and final time.

About a year ago Schilling called the Baseball Writers Association of America a bunch of “spineless cowards”. Schilling was never connected to steroids use or any PED’s during his career, but his controversial twitters became a litmus test for most of those that opposed his point of view.

If you are eligible you are eligible, it should only be about your baseball career. It is the Hall of Fame not the Hall of Saints and baseball should not bring statues down, but build it for their heroes.

I do give a lot of credit to the BBWAA for rejecting Curt Schilling’s wishes to be removed from the ballot. If we go down that rabbit hole, we must also, never elect or maybe remove some that are already in Cooperstown.

I am sure if research is done there will be found to be some very unsavory characters in the Hall. Such Hall of Fame luminaries like Roger Hornsby, a .358 lifetime hitter who batted over .400 three times, there were persistent rumors he was a member of the KKK.

The great Ty Cobb, who by all accounts was a terrible human being who won a history-leading 12-batting titles, was an admitted racist. He is in Cooperstown. Cap Anson was widely reported by the media he was totally opposed to black players in baseball.

Back to the present. Some of the greatest sluggers in recent history who are tied to the use of PED’s, steroids and their home run totals: Barry Bonds 762, Alex Rodríguez 696, Sammy Sosa 609, Mark McGwire 583, Rafael Palmeiro 569, Manny Ramírez 555.

Among the luminaries of the mound; Roger Clemens, a tremendous 24-year career ended with 354 wins, 3.12 earned run average, and 4,672 strikeouts, a 6-time 20+ game-winner. Clemens won a MLB record of seven Cy Young Awards.

I have a feeling a lot of ballots will be blank this year. However, if a BBWAA writer does not send a ballot that means he/she is abdicating his/her responsibility. Each of the writers who vote can choose from 0 to 10 candidates. Last year no player reached the 75% minimum

Inductees from the era committee, elected last year: Six, Buck O’Neil, Bud Fowler, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, Orestes (Minnie) Miñoso, and Gil Hodges are in already. Remote possibility they will add any others on this list

There is a guy that played more games than anybody else, 3,562 and also lead everybody in history in hits with 4,256, was selected to 17 All Star Games, yet he is the first to be banned from baseball (1989), for life since 1943 as an investigation determined he bet on games with the Cincinnati Reds while he was the manager.

Peter Edward Rose “Mr.Hustle”, is still waiting for a Commissioner who will Pardon him. Note: His violation was while he was managing, not as a player. But gambling has always been the “capital sin” in the game.

Each voting cycle, qualified members of the BBWAA name no more than ten eligible players whom they consider worthy of Hall of Fame honors. To be enshrined, a player must be named on at least 75% of the voters’ ballots. Currently, players are removed from the ballot if they are named on fewer than 5% of ballots or have been on the ballot ten times without election.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com