Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Edgar Martinez

Do You Agree With George Brett on the DH?

Friday, January 13th, 2012

The Designated Hitter has been a debated topic over here for a while. The weak support for Edgar Martinez‘s Hall of Fame candidacy tells me the writers are not in favor of the position, but what about the fans? Back in 2009 I proposed that baseball expand the DH to the National League; while my colleague, Howard […]

The Hall of Fame SS That was Nearly a Met

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

The terms “Cincinnati legend” and “lifetime Cincinnati Red” were used to describe Barry Larkin yesterday after his election into the Hall of Fame. He also became the 48th member of the Hall to spend his entire career with one team. Born in Cincinnati, Larkin won the 1990 World Series, MVP in 1995, and become the first shortstop […]

Voting for the Hall of Fame Based on “Feel”

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

Forget any stats - advanced or otherwise- let’s do a fun exercise and vote for the Hall of Fame based on “feel.” This isn’t easy since you would have to see someone play for a majority of their career. As mentioned before, if I had a Hall of Fame Ballot it would include  Jeff Bagwell, Edgar Martinez, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Jack […]

Vote: NYBD 2012 Hall of Fame Ballot

Sunday, January 1st, 2012

We are a little over a week away from the Baseball Hall of Fame announcing its 2012 selection. Each year, I give the readers of NYBD an opportunity to cast their own BBWAA-style ballot. Last year Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar garnered the most fan support, but not the requisite 75% needed for induction. In December, Gil Hodges received the most […]

Pete Abe Speaks Out Against Baseball “McCarthyism”

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

Back in the 40s and 50s the United States was facing a huge threat - communism. During this era, thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government. Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy led the brigade with the “Hollywood Blacklist” and investigations by the House […]

BBWAA Will Not Induct Anyone Until 2014

Monday, December 19th, 2011

It’s been nearly 15 years since the BBWAA elected to not enshrine someone in Cooperstown. During the 1996 election, Phil Niekro received 68.3% of the vote, followed by Tony Perez (65.7%), and Don Sutton (63.8%). Ironically, all three would be enshrined by 2000.  I believe there is a good chance no one will be inducted by the […]

Jack McDowell’s New York Odyssey

Monday, September 5th, 2011

If I asked you what pitcher lead the American League from 1990-1995 in wins, complete games, and innings you probably would say Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens. You would be wrong on both counts as it was none other than the 1993 AL Cy Young Award winner, Jack McDowell. Sometimes overlooked during a career that was […]

Protest, Yanks Playoff Opponent, Dillon Gee & Ron Darling, Sesame Street, Big Hurt Beer, Worst Dressed Met

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

The Yankees were robbed by the umpires last night as they blew the Billy Butler home run call in the third inning. The Yanks should have lodged a protest on this one. It was so obvious on slow motion replay (click here and fast forward to the 1:50 mark). The last protest to be upheld […]

Best All-Time Hitting Pitchers, Does Jim Thome Validate the DH, Putting Izzy’s 300th Save In Perspective, Solid Base Running, Beato as a Starter, Move Tampa to Montreal

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Mark Simon of ESPN NY tells us how last night’s Mets starter R.A. Dickey is “21-for-91 since joining the Mets in 2010, good for a .231 batting average. He also has 14 sacrifices.” This article got me wondering who the best all-time hitting pitchers are. We all know the best hitting pitcher of all-time was Babe Ruth. To […]

Hughes/Nova Swap, Last Look at ’06, Wright’s Future at 3b, DH as a Skill

Saturday, July 23rd, 2011

Phil Hughes was handed a 14-2 lead last night and couldn’t make it out of the fifth. Nothing would frustrate me more as a manager than watching a starter unable to navigate a ballgame that could be done by a pitching machine. His velocity topped out at 90 mph (a couple of miles below last year) […]