Baseball Finest

    3 reasons why Bobby Abreu should be inducted: Elite overall value (WAR and rate stats) • Abreu produced roughly 60 WAR in his career, right in the historical Hall-of-Fame range for corner outfielders and ahead of many enshrined hitters with similar or lower totals. • His career slash line of .291/.395/.475 with a 128 OPS+ shows a true middle‑of‑the‑order bat who was 25–30 percent better than league average over a long period, not a compiler hanging around on empty averages. On‑base machine with a rare skill mix • Abreu drew 1,476 walks and posted a .395 OBP, functioning as one of the best table‑setters/run producers of his era even without gaudy home run totals. • He combined that OBP with power and speed: 288 homers, 574 doubles, 59 triples, and 400 steals, a blend that very few outfielders in history can match at that volume. Sustained prime and “everyday” reliability • He logged seven seasons of at least 5.0 bWAR, more such seasons than some already‑enshrined stars like...

Happy Birthday, Doug Jones! Douglas Reid Jones was born on June 24, 1957 in Covina, California. 5x All-Star. 69-79 W-L, 3.30 ERA, 909 SO, 303 SV. Doug Jones and his teams:         Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics.

Happy Birthday, Ryno! Ryne Dee Sandberg was born on September 18, 1959 in Spokane, Washington. HOF, 10x All-Star, MVP, 9x GG, 7x SS, HR Leader, Triples Leader 3x Runs Leader, several defensive leaderships. .285 AVG, 285 HR, 1061 RBI, 344 SB, 2386 Hits. Ryne Sandberg and his teams: Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs

Happy Birthday, Charlie! Charles Dewayne Hayes was born on May 29, 1965 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Doubles Leader, Putouts as 3B Leader, Assists as 3B Leader, Double Plays Turned as 3B Leader. .262 AVG, 144 HR, 740 RBI, 47 SB, 1379 Hits. Charlie Hayes and his teams:          San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies,  New  York Yankees,  Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros (no card found)

Happy Birthday, Hunter! Hunter Andrew Pence was born on April 13, 1983 in Fort Worth, Texas. 4x All-Star, 2x Games Leader, AB Leader, several defensive leaderships. .279 AVG, 244 HR, 942 RBI, 120 SB, 1791 Hits. Hunter Pence and his teams:         Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers.

Happy Birthday, Teke! Kenton Charles Tekulve was born on March 5, 1947 in Cincinnati, Ohio. All-Star, 4x Games Leader, 4x Defensive Games as P. 94-90 W-L, 2.85 ERA, 779 SO, 184 SV. Kent Tekulve  and his teams:   Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds.

Happy Birthday, Dutch! Darren Arthur Daulton was born on January 3, 1962 in Arkansas City, Kansas. 3x All-Star, SS, RBI Leader, some defensive leaderships. .245 AVG, 137 HR, 588 RBI, 50 SB, 891 Hits.  Darren Daulton  and his teams: Philadelphia Phillies and Florida Marlins .

Happy Birthday, Slick! Andrew James Van Slyke was born on December  21, 1960 in Utica, New York. 3x All-Star, 5x GG, 2x SS, Hits Leader, Doubles Leader, Triples Leader, several defensive leaderships. .274 AVG, 164 HR, 792 RBI, 245 SB, 1562 Hits.   Andy Van Slykes and his teams:     St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies.

Happy Birthday Lew! Selva Lewis Burdette was born on November 22, 1926 in Nitro, West Virginia. 3x All-Star, WS MVP, Wins Leader, ERA Leader, W-L% Leader, GS Leader, CG Leader, 2x SHO Leader, Innings Leader. 203-144 W-L, 3.66 ERA, 1074 SO, 32 SV. Lew Burdette and his teams:     New York Yankees, Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels.