Greg Maddux pitched 23 games, regular and postseason, in separate stints with the Dodgers in 2006 and 2008. (Getty Images)
The Hall of Fame has a list of future candidates, listed by year of eligibility. (They haven’t gotten around to scratching Bobby Abreu‘s name off the 2018 list, assuming Abreu makes the Phillies’ roster.) Another future eligible is still on the Dodgers’ payroll (Andruw Jones). Jeff Weaver and Chan Ho Park become eligible in 2016.
Among the serious candidates, Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield did some of their best work in Dodgers uniforms.
Manny is 14th on the career home run list, and ninth in career slugging percentage and OPS. But he spent eight seasons in Cleveland and eight in Boston before his brief tenure as a Dodger. He also failed a drug test. Given the current climate toward known PED users among Hall voters, that won’t bode well for Ramirez. It didn’t bode well for the candidacy of Rafael Palmeiro (12th on the career home run list, off the ballot next year).
Sheffield played for eight teams in 22 seasons. If that doesn’t scream “please don’t put a logo on my hat,” I don’t know what does. And despite his gaudy career numbers, they aren’t much gaudier than those of Jeff Bagwell (listed on 54.3 percent of ballots this year) or Larry Walker (10.2 percent). He also took a designer steroid by his own admission, albeit by accident, and that might be enough to earn a thumbs-down from three-quarters of Hall voters.
Looking at the current ballot, Mike Piazza will wear a Mets hat if he gets in. Jeff Kent (listed on 15.2 percent of recent ballots) isn’t getting in.
In reality, you might be looking at someone on the current roster — one of these four — but only if their skills, health and the voters cooperate. Don’t hold your breath.
Some bullet points for a Pie Day:
• Masahiro Tanaka chose the Yankees after consulting former Dodgers (and Diamondbacks) pitcher Takashi Saito.
• Sentiments ranging from regret to “we didn’t want him anyways” flowed freely among the executives who lost out on Tanaka yesterday: in San Diego, Philadelphia, Boston, Arizona.
• The Dodgers went less “all out” than the Yankees, and Ned Colletti sounded less than all-out disappointed.
The @BrooklynNets to wear alternate jerseys in Brooklyn Dodgers colors for 5 games pic.twitter.com/qVyzddKT3i
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) January 23, 2014
• Baseball America reported that Dodgers Colletti scouted a dimunitive Cuban center fielder named Rusney Castillo while in the Dominican Republic. Here’s their scouting report.
• You figure that Colletti wouldn’t still be talking to other agents about starting pitchers if Matt Magill or Stephen Fife dazzled as Dodgers last year. But maybe some other kids deserve a chance behind Josh Beckett and Chad Billingsley.
• BaseballProspectus.com profiled some Dodgers prospects “before they were pros.”
• Speaking of Dodgers prospects, Ogden outfielder Jacob Scavuzzo hit 10 of his 14 home runs last season at home. BaseballAmerica.com explains why that should concern the Dodgers.
• As of today, Kenley Jansen and A.J. Ellis are headed to arbitration. That will change if the Dodgers sign either player, of course. Here’s some interesting background on the arbitration process.
• While America was reading about Justin Bieber getting arrested, Russia decided to expand its border further into Georgia just for the Olympics (perhaps thinking we wouldn’t notice).
• This new track “Clouds” offers the classic Daedalus touch, with a hint of Ratatat:
