While I’m not going to do the grand analysis of the first trailer, here’s the latest trailer for the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42, starring Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford. Keep an eye open for Christopher Meloni as Leo Durocher, Alan Tudyk as Phillies manager/racist dirtbag Ben Chapman, and Pee Wee Reese (Lucas Black) making a bit of a reference to how MLB now honors Robinson every season.
Just a heads-up for anybody reading this blog for WBC news, but two more items of World Baseball Classic news came about shortly after today’s post:
I’ve updated the previous blog post to include this, for those interested.
Today’s World Baseball Classic news- depending on whether any more news comes out, there could be another update tonight:
As usual, the whole list is below the jump.
One of the major gripes with Hall of Fame voting is that it is the Baseball Writers’ Association of America that does the voting. Even some of the writers themselves gripe about it, and many organizations actually forbid their writers from taking part in it, as it is in, a way, a case of newsman actively taking part in making the news.
And, of course, there is the the fact that, unlike, say, MVP voting or Cy Young voting, not every writer necessarily has seen the players on the ballot play, or even been a contemporary of them. While this can, in some cases, be a good thing- it allows for more neutral analysis statistically, for example, it is problematic. In addition, once a person gets a HoF vote, they have it for life, even if they then move on to cover a different topic or retire.
So the question some have is why the BBWAA has this power in the first place. Well, the fact is, when the HoF first opened, the BBWAA was basically the only organization that was around that could have done the job. Remember, it was the 1930s: television didn’t exist commercially, mass travel was not what it is now, and even radio, perhaps the top mass-media of the day, would rarely have covered national games outside of the playoffs. So, in essence, the only people who would have been able to see all of those players were, in essence, the writers and the players themselves. And so, the job was given to the BBWAA.
Now, however, we live in a different world, which is why I have suggestions on how to modernize the HoF vote… after the jump.
Spanning the internet to bring you the latest WBC news and notes:
As usual, the full list is after the jump:
Yes, nobody was elected to the Hall of Fame today, meaning that the only people going into the Hall this summer will be long-dead old-timers. It is sad to see Biggio and Piazza not get in when their connection to the steroid era has been innuendo at most, and for returning candidates like Bagwell, Raines and Jack Morris not to get in either (although Morris, at least, is more of a iffy pick to start with).
But want to know what the true tragedy is? Kenny Lofton just being dropped from the ballot entirely, only receiving 3.2% of the vote, just behind Bernie Williams (who also deserved to remain on the ballot).
Now, I’m not saying Kenny Lofton is a Hall of Famer. He isn’t, but he is not a player who should have been dropped after his first appearance. After all, he was, as I was growing up, a near-constant presence in baseball, seemingly always making the All-Star Game, winning a Gold Glove, or leading off for a playoff contender… and this was after his best years. In 1994, for example, he may well have had a chance to get the MVP if not for the season being cut short. He is 15th in career stolen bases.
In other words, he shouldn’t have just been dropped from the ballot. He never should have been a major threat to make the Hall, but he should have gotten his 15 years on the ballot.
I’ll have another post later on the Hall of Fame.
The Bullpen Phone- at least as a landline- died today, to be replaced by a new on-field communication system utilizing cellphones (brought to you by T-Mobile).
Phone, who may well have been as old as 83 (it’s a bit vague), memorial services are due to be held in the coming weeks, with Tony LaRussa, perhaps the man most associated with it’s use and misuse, expected to give the eulogy.
The Bullpen Phone was predeceased by the Bullpen Cart but is survived by the crazy antics the relievers do in the bullpen.
In lieu of flowers, get a lefty ready.
Today’s news as of posting time:
As usual, the rest is after the jump:
You might notice that there are now some more advertisements on the Continuum. The reason for this is because this site is now under WordPress’ WordAds program, which allows people who use WordPress to make a little money from their sites. I intend, barring the Continuum becoming Deadspin-level popular, to put a good portion of any profit from the site back into it, such as paying for hosting and domains. For now, at least, the advertisements will be found at the end of articles (this had happened occasionally before joining the WordAds program, but that was just by WordPress, and I received no monetary benefit from those), but in the future they might be elsewhere. I will try, however, to keep them as unobtrusive as possible.
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Today’s news for the WBC:
As usual, the big list is under the jump:
The Baseball Continuum 