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Post by Admin on Feb 4, 2014 17:49:20 GMT
I feel that Jack Morris deserves Hall of Fame induction. For the 1980s, he was the number one pitcher on the staff of a contending team in the Major's toughest division each of those seasons. His career numbers may have come up a little short compared to other players in different eras, however, he played most of his career during the hitters' era.
Remembering when Robin Yount won his first MVP award in 1982, when he had 29 home runs, 114 runs batted in, and a .332 batting average, by far his best statistical season ever, and to date, pundits back then were quick to devalue his career as 1982 being his only good year, and that he hadn't been having such good seasons for 10 years. Yount went on to have several more good seasons en route to making the Hall of Fame. Having played for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1974 - 1993, he had the longevity to get over 3,000 hits, which likely sealed his HOF induction.
Getting back to Morris, he was one of the top pitchers in baseball for a decade. His post-season record in post season was one of the best, too. He went on to have a couple of great seasons into the 90s, and had a signature game in the 1991 World Series of game seven, shutting out the Atlanta Braves. Comparing Morris to Yount, they were both among the top players in the Majors during most of their time in baseball.
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Post by Admin on Feb 11, 2014 20:21:26 GMT
When I first heard of Robin Yount, it was in the old Milwaukee Journal sports pages. It was during the 1974 Spring Training, when I saw his picture with his name. I thought that he did something special in the previous game, although I didn't look it up in the box score. A few days later, my dad told me that the Brewers' new shortstop, Yount, is an eighteen year-old. I thought, "Wow, we now have a shortstop for the next 20 years."
Well, the Brewers did have a shortstop for the next 20 years and beyond, but it wasn't always Yount. He had a shoulder injury in the 80s, and moved to centerfield. Nonetheless, the Brewers had him for 20 seasons. I remember his first season wasn't very productive offensively, as he had three home runs and 26 runs batted in, although he may have been batting eighth or ninth in the lineup. He did hit .250.
He was cited as a good defensive player that year, as he had 27 errors, which, I guess, was good. The following season, in 1975, he committed 44 errors, while he did hit 8 homers with 67 RBI, which was very good for a shortstop. I think that the difference in his seasons had to do with the Brewers keeping its infield grass higher in 1974 than in 1975. That also affected the team pitching earned run average. Milwaukee's ERA was much lower in 1974 than in 1975, as was Yount's errors. I don't think that it had anything to do with his range, which was among the best in the American League. In 1975, the ground balls came through the infield faster, thus the more errors.
After that, I'm not sure how Yount's fielding was rated. I do know that he usually ranked among the leaders as far as total chances at his position, thus his good range. To sum here quickly, the rise in Yount's errors in his second year was due to circumstances that beyond Yount's skills.
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