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George Steinbrenner not voted into Hall of Fame by Today’s Game committee

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(AP)

There are two new members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Earlier tonight the Hall of Fame announced Harold Baines and Lee Smith have been voted into Cooperstown by the 16-person Today’s Game committee. Harold Baines? Harold Baines. Congrats to Baines and Smith, the latter of whom very briefly played for the Yankees in 1993.

George Steinbrenner was on the ten-man Today’s Game ballot this year and he did not receive enough votes for induction. Not even close. He received fewer than five votes. Twelve are needed for induction. This was George’s fourth appearance on a Hall of Fame ballot and the fourth time he failed to get in. He’ll be up for another vote again in a few years.

Warts and all, I believe Steinbrenner is a Hall of Famer. He is a key figure in baseball history — I don’t mean to dump on Baines, who was a very good player for a very long time, but you can skip right over him in the story of baseball history and you can’t skip George — and I don’t think we should ignore the parts of history we don’t like. Steinbrenner is a baseball icon.

Anyway, Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Charlie Manuel, and Lou Piniella were the others on the Today’s Game ballot this year. Piniella, a former Yankees player and manager, received eleven votes. One vote short of induction. Everyone else on the ballot received fewer than five votes.

The Today’s Game committee is one of four eras committee that replaced the old Veterans Committee a few years ago: Today’s Game (1988 to present), Modern Era (1970-87), Golden Days (1950-69), and Early Baseball (pre-1950). The committees are made up of Hall of Famers, executives, and historians.

Friday Notes: Steinbrenner, Rule Changes, Prospect Rankings

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(NY Post)

The GM Meetings are over and now we have about a month to wait before all hell breaks loose at the Winter Meetings. If you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s the Official RAB 2018-19 Offseason Plan. I’m linking back to it here only because it took forever to write and I don’t want it to be forgotten about. Anyway, here’s some news to close out the week.

Steinbrenner on Today’s Game ballot

George Steinbrenner is on this year’s Today’s Game era committee ballot, the Hall of Fame announced. Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Charlie Manuel, Lou Piniella, and Lee Smith are also on the ballot. The 16-person committee will meet during the Winter Meetings next month and announce their Hall of Fame inductees (if any) on December 9th. Twelve votes are needed for induction.

“I think he is a Hall of Famer … (He) was very impactful. Both for this franchise and this industry and clearly a Hall of Famer from my viewpoint,” said Brian Cashman to Ken Davidoff earlier this week. This is the fourth time Steinbrenner is up for a Hall of Fame vote, with his most recent rejection coming in 2016. I think George belongs in the Hall of Fame and I can understand why some might be on the fence, but, ultimately, when you tell the story of baseball history, you can’t skip over Steinbrenner. Warts and all, he was a towering figure in the game.

Rule changes on hold until end of offseason

According to Ronald Blum, discussions regarding potential rule changes for the 2019 season have been put on hold, likely until right before the start of Spring Training. MLB and the MLBPA must agree on rule change proposals, however, if the union rejects an on-field rule change, the league can unilaterally implement the proposal in one year. Here are the rule changes that were discussed during the GM Meetings, via Blum and Jon Morosi:

  • A limit on defensive shifts.
  • A 20-second pitch clock.
  • Restrictions regarding the use of technology during games.
  • Moving the trade deadline to mid-August and eliminating trade waivers.
  • Alterations to the 10-day DL because teams abuse the hell out of it.

The Astros were busted recording the other team’s dugout during the postseason, and there have been issues with teams using technology to steal signs for years now. Remember the Apple Watch thing with the Red Sox last year? Like that. MLB and the MLBPA want to stop that. Joel Sherman writes that, after the Astros incident, MLB put an official in each team’s replay room during the postseason, and did not allow teams to pipe their center field camera angle into their replay room. Those measures could become permanent. We’ll see.

As for everything else, I am a hard no on limiting shifts and a hard yes on a pitch clock. Pitchers take too damn long. Speed it up. Limiting shifts though? Nah. I am against anything that limits creativity. Did MLB ban breaking balls when they found out half the league couldn’t hit sliders? Nope. The strong will survive. Moving the trade deadline seems like a solution in search of a problem. What’s wrong with trade waivers? The dog days of summer can be a real grind. Trade waivers help keep things interesting. How much longer do we need to give teams to decide to buy or sell at the deadline? July 31st is fine.

Three Yankees on top Appy Prospects list

Baseball America (subs. req’d) continued their look at the top 20 prospects in each minor league with the rookie Appalachian League not too long ago. Rays SS Wander Franco claimed the top spot. Three Yankees made the list: OF Everson Pereira (No. 9), RHP Luis Medina (No. 13), and RHP Luis Gil (No. 19). RHP Luis Rijo, who went to the Twins in the Lance Lynn trade, is No. 14. I wrote about Pereira earlier this week. Here’s a snippet of Medina’s scouting report:

What keeps scouts interested with Medina is a fastball that sits in the 95-96 mph range and touches 100, with impressive plane and sink. He’s also got a 60-grade curveball and a changeup that could become a third plus pitch as well … Medina has a good arm action but simply struggles to repeat his delivery with any kind of consistency.

Medina is still only 19 and his numbers with rookie Pulaski this year weren’t good. He threw 36 innings with a 6.25 ERA (6.46 FIP) and high strikeout (25.5%) and walk (25.0%) rates. That’s 47 strikeouts and 46 walks in 36 innings. He also uncorked 12 wild pitches, so yeah. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Medina has some Dellin Betances in him. The stuff is elite. The control and delivery are far from it. The potential reward is very high but he is long-term project.

As for Gil, the Yankees acquired the 20-year-old from Minnesota in the Jake Cave trade, and he had a 1.37 ERA (3.28 FIP) with 35.8% strikeouts and 15.4% walks in 39.1 innings with Pulaski. “Gil’s best pitch is a fastball that sits in the mid 90s and touches triple digits, exploding in the zone late on hitters out of a loose arm action. He throws a fringe-average curveball in the low 80s and is still in the early stages of developing a changeup,” says the write-up. I’ve seen reports describe Gil’s curveball as above-average, so who knows. Gil is just another lower level hard-thrower in a system full of them.

George Steinbrenner not elected into Hall of Fame by Today’s Game Era Committee

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(AP)
(AP)

Earlier tonight, the Today’s Game Era Committee announced former commissioner Bud Selig and longtime executive John Schuerholz have been voted into the Hall of Fame. George Steinbrenner was one of eight others on the ballot who did not receive enough votes for induction.

The Today’s Game Era Committee is one of four new Hall of Fame committees. They’re the descendant of the old Veterans Committee. Each of the four committees — Early Baseball (1871-1949), Golden Days (1950-69), Modern Baseball (1970-87), Today’s Game (1988-16) — meets every few years.

Each committee consists of 16 members (Hall of Famers, executives, media) and 12 votes are needed for induction into the Hall of Fame. Steinbrenner received five. For shame. Schuerholz, the long time Royals and Braves general manager, was voted in unanimously. Selig received 15 votes.

Steinbrenner was been up for Hall of Fame induction several times over the years. He purchased the Yankees in 1973 and brought the franchise back to prominence. There’s no doubt Steinbrenner was polarizing. He was also a key figure in baseball for over 30 years. Is that enough to get into the Hall of Fame? Apparently not.

Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Mark McGwire, and Lou Piniella were also on the Today’s Game ballot this year. The BBWAA’s Hall of Fame selections will be announced next month.

Wednesday Links: Rothschild, CBA, Steinbrenner, YES

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(Presswire)
Rothschild. (Presswire)

At noon today, Brian Cashman will hold his annual end-of-season State of the Yankees press conference. These things rarely bring major news — usually the only announcements are coaching changes — but Cashman is very candid by GM standards, so it’ll be interesting to hear what he has to say about the 2016 season and the team going forward. Until then, here are some links and bits of news to check out.

Rothschild hopes to return in 2017

The contract of pitching coach Larry Rothschild expired after the season, and he told Dan Martin he hopes to return in 2017. “We’ll see what happens,” said Rothschild. This is probably one of the things Cashman will discuss at today’s press conference. Rothschild has been New York’s pitching coach since the 2011 season, and since then the Yankees lead all AL teams in pitching WAR. They’re third among all 30 clubs.

Of course, evaluating a pitching coach (or any coach) is not nearly as simple as looking at WAR. I said what I had to say about Rothschild last month. I think the vast majority of the team’s pitching issues stem from their obsession with raw stuff over command and refinement. The Yankees have now missed the playoffs three times in the last four years, and they’ve replacing their hitting coach each of the last two offseasons. It wouldn’t surprise me if Rothschild is let go in a scapegoat move. We’ll see.

Manfred hopeful new CBA will be done soon

While speaking to reporters over the weekend, commissioner Rob Manfred said he is hopeful MLB and the MLBPA will finalize the new Collective Bargaining Agreement soon after the end of the postseason, according to Bob Nightengale and Ben Nicholson-Smith. “Both parties still have significant issues on the table,” said Manfred, who added this is not a “rip the agreement up, start over type of negotiation.”

I’m not in any way worried about a work stoppage — revenue is at an all-time high and both sides have too much to lose — though I am curious to see how the new CBA changes free agent compensation, the draft, and international free agency. My guess is the IFA system is changed pretty drastically. I don’t think MLB likes teams making a mockery of the system, like the Yankees did with their 2014-15 signing spree. Either way, change is on the horizon.

Steinbrenner among ten on Today’s Game Era ballot

Earlier this week, the Hall of Fame announced the ten-person Today’s Game Era ballot, according to the Associated Press. Among the ten are former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. The Boss was previously up for Hall of Fame election through the Expansion Era committee, though he didn’t receive enough votes. The Today’s Game committee will announce their voting results during the Winter Meetings in December. Twelve of 16 votes are needed for induction.

The Hall of Fame restructured their voting committees recently — the Veterans and Expansion Era committees are no more, and have been replaced by the Today’s Game (1988-present), Modern Baseball (1970-87), Golden Days (1950-69), and Early Baseball (1871-1949) committees — and the new ones meet every few years. Steinbrenner, who I think should be in the Hall of Fame, is on the Today’s Game ballot with Mark McGwire, Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Lou Piniella, John Schuerholz, and Bud Selig.

YES ratings down in 2016

Surprise surprise: YES Network ratings were down this past season, according to Eben Novy-Williams. YES averaged approximately 218,000 viewers per game in 2016, down from roughly 233,000 per game last year, as best I can tell. Part of that is the squabble with Comcast; Comcast stopped carrying YES this year because they didn’t want to pay the rights fee. There are 900,000 or so Comcast subscribers in the Tri-State Area and I’m sure more than a few are Yankees fans.

From 2002-11, the first decade of the YES era, the network averaged about 400,000 viewers per game. Interest has waned in recent years thanks to some retirements (Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, etc.) and non-playoff seasons. Novy-Williams says SNY had higher ratings than YES for the first time ever this season — SNY averaged a little less than 264,000 viewers per game in 2016 — which isn’t surprising given the Comcast issue and the fact the Mets went to the World Series a year ago.

Syd Thrift and the suddenly thrifty George Steinbrenner were an odd fit in 1989

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(Getty)
(Getty)

The 1980s were not the best years in Yankees history. Even though New York won more games (854) than any other team during the decade — the Tigers were next with 839 wins, so it wasn’t a small gap between first and second — the club did not go to the postseason from 1982-89 and only three times did they finish higher than third place in the AL East. That came after four pennants and two World Series titles from 1976-1981.

The Yankees went 85-76 in 1988, only the the second time they finished with a sub-.530 winning percentage since 1975. They won 97 games in 1985, 90 games in 1986, 89 games in 1987, and then those 85 games in 1988. It was not a good trend and George Steinbrenner wasn’t happy. The team underwent a bit of a facelift that offseason as Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph were cut loose, Jack Clark and Rick Rhoden were traded away, and Steve Sax and Andy Hawkins were signed as free agents. The club also tried and failed to trade for Dale Murphy and Lenny Dykstra.

Steinbrenner’s most notable move came in the middle of Spring Training in 1989, when he named Syd Thrift the new vice president of baseball operations. Thrift had been the GM of the Pirates from 1985-88, inheriting a team that won 57 games in 1985 and building them into an 85-win contender by 1988. Although he wasn’t around to see it, Thrift laid the foundation for the Pittsburgh clubs that went to three straight NLCSes from 1990-92. Steinbrenner wanted him to work the same sort of magic for the Yankees.

The Yankees started the 1989 season 1-7 and were 11-12 when Thrift made his first major move, trading young left-hander Al Leiter to the Blue Jays on April 30th for Jesse Barfield. Barfield was an impending free agent who was three years removed from his career 40-homer year. The team had refused to trade Leiter all offseason. ”Leiter has a great future, but when you can trade a young unproven pitcher for an everyday player, you do it every time,” said Thrift to Murray Chass.

New York went 11-15 in their next 26 games and were all but out of the race by June 1st. In early-July, in advance of the trade deadline, Steinbrenner decided to cut costs. He didn’t allow Thrift to travel to scout players. “We’re cutting back on expenses,” said the Boss to the New York Daily News. “We’re trying to run this thing like a business. Nobody ever pointed a finger at George Steinbrenner and said he’s cheap. But we have a budget, like any business, and we have to stick to it.”

The Yankees had a $20M payroll at the time, highest in the AL, plus they were spending a healthy amount on scouting and player development. “That’s almost $7.3M for player development and scouting alone,” added Steinbrenner. “I don’t think any other team has that high a budget. And that doesn’t include an $800,000 payroll for scouts, $435,000 in travel and expenses for scouts, the cost of computer hardware. It’s just too much, and we’re going to have to cut back.”

Thrift. (AP)
Thrift. (AP)

It was an odd move, to say the least. One source told the Daily News that Steinbrenner “has the biggest private television contract in the history of professional sports and he’s saving money by keeping Thrift in his office … To keep him in New York is definitely self-defeating.” Another said “Syd’s main strength is that he is an evaluator of talent. He has to see what’s going on. George has even stopped him from going to Columbus overnight to see the farm system. Why did the man even hire him?”

So, while stuck in his office, Thrift helped engineer trades that sent Rickey Henderson back to the Athletics — Henderson reported to Spring Training late and was an impending free agent who had been a malcontent for much of the summer — and Mike Pagliarulo to the Padres prior to the trade deadline. Henderson brought back Luis Polonia and two relievers (Eric Plunk and Greg Cadaret), Pags the forgettable right-hander Walt Terrell.

The Yankees went 10-19 from the date of the Henderson trade through August 19th, when Steinbrenner fired manager Dallas Green. Green, like Thrift, wanted to rebuild the team through player development. Thrift refused to publicly support the managerial change, and, less than two weeks later on August 30th, he resigned as senior vice president. He was only five months into his five-year contract.

“He talked to me for a long time earlier today and said that his reasons for leaving the Yankees were personal and as far as I am concerned, they will remain personal,” said Steinbrenner to reporters. The Yankees went on to finish the season at 74-87, their worst record since going 72-90 in 1967.

From the start, Thrift and Steinbrenner were an odd fit. Thrift had the resume and was an old school baseball man who, despite trading Leiter (Leiter almost immediately blew out his shoulder in Toronto), wanted to build the team from within, as he had done with the Pirates. He and Green were on the same page.

Steinbrenner, however, was an instant gratification guy who wanted immediate results. Both he and Thrift also had outsized personalities that clashed and clashed often. Cutting back on the scouting budget was as much about making Thrift’s life miserable as it was cutting costs. It was a relationship that was doomed to fail from the start.

Steinbrenner, Torre, and Martin on Hall of Fame’s Expansion Era ballot

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George Steinbrenner, Joe Torre, and Billy Martin are part of the 12-man Hall of Fame ballot to be voted on by the 16-member Expansion Era Veterans Committee next month. Marvin Miller and former Yankee Tommy John are also on the ballot, which you can see right here. Twelve votes are required for induction. Electees will be announced on December 9th, the first day of the Winter Meetings in Orlando. The Boss should be a lock, but who really knows with this stuff.

A non-inclusive list of things George Steinbrenner hasn’t done since 2010

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Ghost Boss.
Ghost Boss.

When the Yanks completed their series to forget against the Mets last night, I knew someone would write it, and of course, Ian O’Connor drew the short straw. Keep in mind that George Steinbrenner had not been well for some time and passed away at the age of 80 in 2010. Allow me then to present a non-inclusive list of things the Boss would have done if he were still alive.

If the Boss were alive…

Perhaps it’s time to put this tired trope to bed.