Dipping Into The Archives Vol. 32
Happy New Year, early risers! Or late risers too, we welcome readers with sleep patterns of all types.
2003
Whoever designed the cover for the 2003 Mets yearbook sure knew what they were doing. A deep blue tint that largely obscures the faces perfectly encapsulates a fairly nondescript season. That starts right at the manager’s office. It’s unfortunate that between his time as Mets manager & his unfair depiction in the Moneyball movie that Art Howe’s reputation is as poor as it is. But he was a solid baseball man & a reliable answer in Immaculate Grid. He was terribly miscast as a New York manager, however. He seemed too passive for the town. It was a recurring punchline to see him face the press after each loss saying that the team battled. Well, they battled their way to 95 losses and a last place finish in the NL East.
The most consequential change the organization made that year came when the Wilpons completed their buyout of Nelson Doubleday’s share of the team. One result was that Jeff Wilpon was now COO. I can’t tell you how keen his business mind was when it came to running his family’s real estate holdings, so it’s unfair to call him a true failson. What I do know is that his skills at running a baseball franchise left a lot to be desired. So many of the poor decisions and poor choices the team would make in the years to come had his fingerprints all over them. But hey, he was a former minor league catcher, so who am I to judge?
It may have been a very “meh” season, but it also included a lot of groundwork laying for the next strong Mets club. Some of the jetsam needed to be cleared out. The team gave up on the Roberto Alomar experience & shipped him away at the trade deadline. Although he remained with the team, Mo Vaughn missed much of the season with what would prove to be a career ending injury. Also traded away at the deadline were Jeromy Burnitz & Armando Benitez. The Mets did not receive many significant returns from these deals, but if nothing else the moves cleared roster space.
The club also removed valuable players from the turn of the century teams; the famed infield of that era was now completely dismantled. Rey Ordonez was traded in the offseason, and Edgardo Alfonzo left via free agency. The latter bummed me out at the time - Fonzie was arguably by favorite player on those teams - but it worked out well. Alfonzo rapidly declined, and he was no longer a useful player. Over the years the Mets have made too many incorrect decisions for players on the wrong side of the aging curve. They made the right call here. There was also major injury news for 2 of the early aughts stars. John Franco returned late in the season from Tommy John surgery and continued to be a reliable bullpen arm. Mike Piazza, on the other hand, suffered a horrifying injury. While leaning back to get out of the way to avoid an inside pitch, his groin muscle tore off the bone and it hurts me to even type that sentence. He would miss a huge chunk of the season, & it marked the beginning of his downward slump. He continued to be a productive hitter the following season, but his numbers were not quite as spectacular and the awkward attempt to shift him to first base was yet to come.
At the same time, building blocks for the future were starting to be put in place, beginning with free agent signings of two respected veterans. Cliff Floyd came aboard and fit right in as the regular left fielder. More importantly, the Mets convinced Tom Glavine to move over from Atlanta. Taking a key piece away from a rival is a big deal. He was already well into his thirties, so the Mets weren’t expecting Cy Young caliber production at this point. If he could provide solid #2 level quality, that would be enough. He had a decent run in Shea, winning his 300th career game as a Met. His reputation was marred by the fact that his Mets career was bookended by two atrocious starts in his first & last appearances for the orange & blue. He was absolutely rocked in his debut, made worse by the fact that the weather was miserable on that Opening Day. I attended that game, and it was as cold as I had ever felt at Shea. It was a raw day, with temperatures just above freezing with a heavy cold mist. Little did we know that the day would almost serve as a harbinger for the season. Glavine would also go on to deliver an even worse performance on the final day of the 2007 season, but that can wait for now. Let us not forget that the Mets also signed his younger brother Mike to a contract. He came up for a cup of coffee in September. The best thing you can say about him is that at least he made it to the majors, more than can be said for Tim Tebow.
There would be better times ahead. The two crown jewels of the minor league system were both swiftly climbing the ladder. Jose Reyes made his major league debut in 2003, and was the regular shortstop in the second half of season. David Wright would arrive a year later.
As I have mentioned in the past, modern roster churn is so rapid that it’s a lot easier to forget that certain players are Mets alumni. I barely remember that Jay Bell was once a Met. Or Graeme Lloyd, for that matter.
I’ll end my look back at 2003 on an upbeat note. This was the year that Gary Carter was FINALLY elected to the Hall of Fame. Amazingly, it wasn’t until his 6th ballot that he received the long overdue call. That’s inexcusable, he was perhaps the 3rd or 4th greatest catcher in the post-integration era. (I’d rank him behind Bench, Berra, & probably Piazza. Yes, that means I place him above both Pudges.) There’s no way it should have taken him that long, but at least it finally happened. His plaque contains an Expos cap, which is appropriate. Carter was a Met for 5 seasons, but he was only great for 2 of them. He is still one of us, however.
My Eagerly Awaited Fake Hall Of Fame Ballot
Among the more puzzling decisions ever made by an organization is the Hall of Fame’s refusal to give me a ballot. Until that error is corrected, my hypothetical ballot will have to do. Those of you that have been following along can probably guess my choices. But here is the official unveiling, or at least as official as a fake ballot could be.
I would vote for fewer than the 10 maximum choices. Because I have space available I considered Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger. I know not everyone agrees with me on this, but at some point the Hall will have to realize that the institution feels incomplete with so many of the game’s greats excluded. To fully tell the game’s history known PED users will eventually need to be inducted. It may not be until after many of us have departed from this mortal coil, but if/when it does happen it should start with Bonds/Clemens, not with players who played in the Era Of Consequence. My toughest call was Joe Mauer; but I finally decided to err on the side of inclusion and give him one of my precious votes.
In conclusion, my ballot would consist of 6 names:
Carlos Beltran
Adrian Beltre
Todd Helton
Joe Mauer
Chase Utley
Billy Wagner
Ballots needed to have been postmarked by December 31, or technically the 30th since the 31st fell on a Sunday this year. It’s part of Copperstown’s timeless charm that they still use snail mail. The ballots aren’t even opened up & counted until the morning of announcement day. We’ll learn the results on January 23. May the majority of voters share my wisdom.
Reading The Thibs Tracker
Ryan Thibodeaux’s Hall Of Fame ballot tracker is a vital resource during HOF ballot season. He wasn’t the first to compile the votes of writers who made their ballots public ahead of time; Baseball Think Factory did that for years. Thibodeaux improved on the concept by not simply tallying up raw vote totals, his spreadsheet is chock full of information. That helps us channel our inner Kornackis and analyze the data as it comes in. Instead of awaiting the vote totals from Maricopa County, we await the mass ballot dumps from organizations such as MLB.com or The Athletic, who have large numbers of voters on staff.
One important piece of consideration to keep in mind is the fact that as a general rule of thumb, voters who keep their votes private tend to have thinner ballots. As a result, the percentages from the public ballots come down considerably once the official totals are released. In other words, just because someone is currently trending above 75%, that does not mean he is a shoo-in for election.
We generally need at least 20% of the expected vote to become public before there is a large enough sample size to draw conclusions, and we moved past that mark over the weekend. The next key number is 80. A player realistically needs to be above 80% in the public ballots to have enough cushion; I would say around 82% is a safe mark. Another good row to look at is the one which lists the percentage of remaining votes one would need to hit 75%. Once that number falls below 50 he’s likely good to go. Finally, the most telling row is the one that lists +/- from last year’s ballot. You can gauge the pace at which guys who fell short last time are flipping votes.
At the moment, Adrian Beltre is in great shape as expected, but Joe Mauer’s numbers are very encouraging as well. I’m surprised that Todd Helton’s support has not increased. He fell only 11 votes short last year, but right now his flip rate is zero. For now the biggest increase belongs to Carlos Beltran. He’s not gaining enough support for election this year, but his momentum bodes well for the future. Long story short, Helton & Billy Wagner are looking at some restless nights in anticipation of the announcement. Wagner looks like he’ll need to wait another year, Helton’s fate could go either way.
A Pleasant Surprise
There’s no reason to expect much when a legacy artist releases a new album. Even the best of them have only so many great songs to write. If a new album from the likes of the Stones or U2 is little more than an excuse to go out on tour, that’s fine. It’s been decades since the Stones have put out a truly great album; when they do come out with a new release I’ll listen to it a couple of times & then place it at the bottom of the pile.
Which is why I am pleased to report that i/o, the new album that Peter Gabriel released in December is very good. It’s no melting face album, but it’s a set of tracks that he can proudly stand next to the rest of his work. His voice still holds up well, and he is as musically adventurous as ever. It’s even more surprising when you consider that it had been more than a decade since his most recent release, who knew he still had something in him? I’m no going to claim that it’s an all-time banger or anything, but for a guy who has been around as long as he has to put out such a solid piece of work, that’s worth pointing out.
50 Years Of Hip-Hop
A couple of weeks late in talking about this, but CBS & the Recording Academy combined to bracket the year with 2 different all-star salutes to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. After last January’s hip-hop segment in the Grammy Awards telecast, the latest installment in the Grammy Salutes series presented an almost dizzying number of performers.
The special was divided into segments, each focused on a different sound or different geographical region. Each consisted of multi artist medleys, with rapper after rapper coming on stage to take their turn at the mic. The most noteworthy part of the evening was the crowd reactions. Fans were up in the rafters, but the floor seats were filled with fellow artists, some of whom were there to perform themselves, others to just be part of the atmosphere. The cameras constantly cut to the crowd for reaction shots, and the constant joy was wonderful to behold. Think of how many times we have seen Taylor Swift gleefully dancing and singing at her seat during an awards show. Now picture dozens of people doing the same; that’s the sort of vibe that the show had. As true as it is that rivalries have sometimes led to tragic consequences, it’s just as true that the hip-hop movement has also contained a great deal of solidarity.
There were many moments to choose from, but this was my highlight. The period in which I fell in love with hip-hop was that late 80’s/early 90’s era. It was the sweet spot when it was clearly established as an art form yet still young enough that it was seemingly reinvented with each new release. The rules were still being formed, and people were taking advantage of that freedom. My favorite segment of the show spotlighted that era - Arrested Development & De La Soul headlined, but so many other of their contemporaries popped in. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see Digable Planets.
If there’s any criticism I have it’s in how they handled the In Memoriam section. That’s obviously an impossible task; with 50 years of history there are too many people who have passed to do them justice. Host LL Cool J introduced the segment by saying that it would not be somber, but instead a celebration. With D-Nice on the turntable Doug E. Fresh rapped verses honoring some of the more significant fallen heroes with their names on the large screen. The problem is that with the cuts to the audience the names weren’t always visible on the TV screen. I’m not sure what could have been a better way to pay tribute, but that wasn’t it.
The show climaxed with a reunion of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. It’s a seemingly odd choice; one would think that it would make better sense to finish with an act with a better critical rep (would this have been a better place to slot Public Enemy?) instead of what was essentially a pop act. But keep in mind that it’s a Grammy salute; Jeff & the Prince did win the very first rap Grammy after all. The special is currently streaming on Paramount+; well worth a watch.
The Streak Is Over
Break up the Pistons! Their midnight champagne likely tasted a lot better last night as they did not suffer the indignity of going into a new year on a losing streak. They defeated the Raptors on Wednesday night - who were admittedly playing short handed that evening following a major trade with the Knicks earlier that day - ending the longest single season losing streak in NBA history at 28 games. In doing so, they avoided even further infamy. They had matched a similar streak from the Trust the Process Era Philadelphia 76ers which was spread across 2 seasons. One more loss would have tied the record for any of the American Big 4 team sports. The NFL Chicago Cardinals lost an astonishing 29 consecutive games spanning the 1942-1945 seasons.
The Pistons aren’t out of the woods yet. It’s unlikely they’ll continue to win at this same pace all season, but their current record projects to a record of 8-74 for the full season. The worst single season in league history depends on how you choose to calculate. The lowest winning percentage comes from the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats, who went 7-59 in a lockout shortened season. The worst full 82 game record goes to the 1972-73 Sixers, who finished 9-73. The dream is alive!
Closing Laughs
How is 2024 working out so far? Let’s all go into the new year with a clean slate and don’t forget that this is a leap year. Use that extra day well. See you all again on Wednesday.