NewsInbox: Hall of Fame, injured stars and more
Mets beat reporter Marty Noble answers fan questions
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
07/27/09 1:05 PM ET
Did you vote for Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson for Hall of Fame election? If not, why? And what did you think of their acceptance speeches?--Allen G., Stamford, Conn.
I voted for Henderson only. I almost voted for Rice -- about 10 times. Henderson was incontrovertibly a Hall of Fame player for most of his career whether he was leading off a game, leading off an inning or leading off first base. He could hit into four force plays in a game and have dramatic impact nonetheless. He could stand 12 feet beyond first base or second, do nothing else, and interfere with the pitcher, the catcher, the infielders and the opposing manager.
And he could irritate his own manager and general manager as well with occasional indifference. What he did, though, almost always obscured what he didn't do.
Henderson accumulated numbers as few other players have, but none need be noted here or anywhere else. If you watched, listened to or read baseball in the eighties and nineties, you recognized him as well beyond his peers as a multi-faceted offensive force.
And he was Rickey. In the first spot in the batting order or in the third person. He had little use for the vertical pronoun or modesty. That was part of what made him distasteful to some, distinctive to all. I came to appreciate him more after his skills had waned, when he played with the Mets. Though his sentence structure often befuddled me, I came to understand more of what he said over the years and appreciated it.
The morning after he and Rice were elected in January, they were in the Waldorf, sharing their thoughts or, in Rice's case, hiding them. I found it curious, though understandable, that Rickey made his point more readily. Rickey appeared to enjoy the hours. Rice appeared to endure them. He didn't seem to trust people that morning or when he played. I can't say Rickey did or didn't. He probably didn't care.
Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson and I had several conversations about his mother's affection for Ricky Nelson. I urged him to buy her the CD anthology. He said he did. He once threw a baseball for Bobby Bonilla to catch as they were loosening up behind the plate in Tropicana Field. Bonilla failed as a receiver. I caught the throw with the side of my neck and ear and suddenly had increased respect for Craig Biggio and Don Baylor. Bonilla apologized sincerely. Henderson ran to get an ice pack, apologized and, for days, thereafter, asked about my injury. He asked again in January.
He enjoyed whatever stories I had about Willie Mays and Elston Howard. My appreciation for Billy Martin increased with anecdotes Rickey shared with me. I'm pleased for him that he is in the Hall and that he delivered his speech as well as he did. The man who speaks almost as fast as Jose Reyes slowed down and got his point across. It wasn't artificial, it was Rickey being Rickey ... and sincere.
Not voting for Rice is another matter. Rice was the most feared and most productive hitter in the American League from 1977 through 1979. His 1978 was extraordinary, as fine a season as anyone has produced in decades. That he approached those '78 levels in only four other seasons -- 1977, 1979, 1983 and 1984 -- wasn't the lone factor in my not voting for him. Five great seasons doesn't make it.
He didn't distinguish himself in his 71 postseason at-bats -- seven RBIs and a .225 average. And I recall him being mostly invisible during the Sox eight showdown games with the Yankees in the last weeks of the '78 seasons -- seven hits and three RBIs in 33 at-bats. That was his MVP season. He placed in the top five in MVP balloting five other times, and that put him on my ballot. But he had six other seasons in which he didn't make the top 10. In four of those six, he didn't get a vote. And that, in part, dissuaded me.
Defense in left field isn't critical, but it's not unimportant either. Rice was an adequate outfielder at best. He may have played the Monster well, but he played half his games outside Fenway Park. Moreover, I have never considered covering a limited area and playing caroms quite so challenging as playing left in other parks, no matter how Lastings Milledge looked out there.
Rice was as close to being on my ballot as any player ever has been without getting my vote.
To those who consider Rice's 14-year wait a reason to condemn the BBWAA for its voting, remember, three quarters of the writers did vote for him in the end. And to ridicule the group for how his candidacy evolved is to hold its other elections suspect. If you believe that 95 percent of us should have voted for him, as some people have suggested, then why vote at all? If we're supposed to be unanimous or close to it, why have an election. Just have a mass induction.
What have the Mets done with Gary Sheffield? They play with a short roster for days and then DL him when he says he's ready to play again. Do they ever handle injuries and the DL in a sensible way?
--Howard D., Ramsey, N.J.
Not lately. Injuries have undermined the team for months. But the club's routinely slow reaction to the injuries has repeatedly hamstrung Jerry Manuel in term of players available for a given game. Some sort of disconnect involving those who make the diagnoses, those who treat the players and those who determine the roster seems to be at work.
I can't believe the Mets will make trades now unless they are to improve the team. They've said for weeks they were trying to hang on until Reyes and the others return, and then maybe they'll be able to make a run. Well, they can't turn around now that Reyes is two weeks away, and start trading talent like Pedro Feliciano. Can they?
--Roland K., Brooklyn, N.Y.
No, they can't if they intend to be prudent and consistent. I don't believe they intend to deal Feliciano. But people with less defined roles could be moved. And eventually, the Mets will have to consider moving Sheffield and, if there is interest, Fernando Tatis.
In what order do you expect the Mets' disabled players to return?
--Sarah F., Union, N.J.
Sheffield, Reyes, Billy Wagner before Aug. 10. Carlos Delgado in late August, Fernando Nieve and J.J. Putz after that. I'm leaning toward John Maine and Carlos Beltran missing the remainder of the season.
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
