Cincinnati Reds Media Clips January 19 th, 2017
Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings January 19, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1993-The Reds sign 37-year-old Jeff Reardon as a free-agent. Reardon shaves off his beard to comply with Reds facial hair policy MLB.COM 5 former Reds miss HOF election, fall from ballot By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com @m_sheldon January 18th, 2017 + 2 COMMENTS CINCINNATI -- Several former Major League players with Reds connections did not come close to being elected as members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in results that were revealed on Wednesday. Orlando Cabrera, Mike Cameron, Edgar Renteria and Arthur Rhodes were on the ballot for the first time, but all failed to garner the minimum 5 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America required to return to the ballot next year. Lee Smith, who spent 1996 with the Reds and collected 478 saves over his special 18-year career, also came up short in his 15th and final year on the ballot. Smith was named on 151 of the 442 ballots cast (34.2 percent), falling well below the 75 percent required for election. The Hall of Fame Class of 2017 will include Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez. Bagwell received 381 votes (86.2 percent), while Raines followed with 380 votes (86 percent) and Rodriguez with 336 votes (76 percent). 2017 Hall of Fame election results Votes Player Percentage 381 Jeff Bagwell 86.2% 380 Tim Raines 86.0% 336 Ivan Rodriguez 76.0% 327 Trevor Hoffman 74.0% 317 Vladimir Guerrero 71.7% 259 Edgar Martinez 58.6% 239 Roger Clemens 54.1% 238 Barry Bonds 53.8% 229 Mike Mussina 51.8% 199 Curt Schilling 45.0% Renteria, who completed his 16-year big league career with the Reds in 2011, received two votes (0.5 percent). Cabrera, Cameron and Rhodes received zero votes. Cabrera batted.263 in 2011 during his lone season with Cincinnati and was the starting shortstop on its National League Central division winning club. He was teammaets with Rhodes, a lefty reliever who had a 2.41 ERA in 135 appearances with the Reds from 2009-10 as part of his 20-year career. Cameron batted.256 with 21 home runs during his one season for the Reds in 1999. Following that season, he was among four players Cincinnati traded to the Mariners for Ken Griffey Jr., who was elected to the Hall of Fame last year. Fay: Votto could be a future Hall-of-Famer John Fay 10:09 PM, Jan 18, 2017 WCPO - Channel 9 CINCINNATI -- Does Jeff Bagwell s election to the Hall of Fame mean that Joey Votto could join him one day? Certainly.
Votto s Sabermetric numbers are better than Bagwell s. Bagwell s slash line in.297/.408/.540. Votto s is.313/.425/.536. Bagwell s OPS+ is 149. Votto s OPS+ is 157. OPS+ is on-base percentage plus slugging percentage adjusted to a player s ballpark. Those numbers mean a lot to younger voters. Bagwell won an MVP and made four All-Star Games. Votto has won an MVP and has made four All-Star Games. Those things mean a lot to all voters. Bagwell is also much better than Votto is in the counting numbers, which mean a lot to the older voters. Bagwell finished with 449 homer runs and 1,529 RBI. Votto enters the 2017 season with 221 homers and 730 RBI. He s unlikely to get near Bagwell on those counts. Another factor in the comparison: Bagwell (220 steals) was better base-runner and fielder. But Bagwell s top years were in the steroid era. In 2000, Bagwell drove in 130 runs. He finished eighth in the majors in the category. In 2001, he drove in 132 and finished eighth again. One player has driven in the 130 or more each the last two years. Bagwell was never under the suspicion of using steroids like some of his contemporaries, but there were whispers. Bagwell s election -- he got in with 86.2 percent of the vote in his seventh year on the ballot -- shows a softening of the stance by voters on PEDs. That includes me. I voted for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in addition to Bagwell. Bagwell s follow electee, Pudge Rodriguez, was rumored to be a PED guy as well. Votto s played the bulk of his career with stringent drug testing. Still, Votto is going to have to put up good numbers for six or seven more years to be a strong candidate. His WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is 47.3. Bagwell s is 79.6. The Red under consideration next will be Scott Rolen, who is eligible in 18. Rolen s offensive numbers --.281/.364/.490 with 316 home runs and 1,287 RBI -- stack up in the middle of the Hall of Fame third baseman pack. He also has eight Gold Gloves and made six All-Star teams. His WAR (70.0) is higher than Tim Raines'. Rolen also endeared himself to all who covered him in Philadelphia, St. Louis, Toronto and Cincinnati. My guess is he gets in down the line. As for Votto, I think if he stays healthy, he'll get in too -- way, way down the line. DAYTON DAILY NEWS Ozzie says Concepcion belongs in The Hall Hal McCoy January 18, 2017 Dave Concepcion is not in baseball s Hall of Fame, which is a ball of shame. If the man who performed shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds for 19 summers like Baryshnikov on spikes isn t worthy, then neither are Ozzie Smith, Phil Rizzuto, Pee Wee Reese or Luis Aparicio. The Wizard of OZ, Scooter, Pee Wee and Luis all are in the Hall and Magoo (a nickname Pete Rose hung on Concepcion) is not. And it pains Concepcion, as it should. Nearly every time he sees me he says, When are you going to get me into the Hall of Fame? If only I could, Davey, if only I could. I voted for him every year he was on the ballot but he never came close. When he asks, I smile and say, You should have learned to do the back flip, which is something made famous by Ozzie Smith, who often did the back flip when he ran to his position. The comparisons are eerie. Concepcion s numbers when listed with the other four Hall of Fame shortstops as far as batting average, on base percentage, slugging average, home runs and RBI are comparable or better. They all are close.
And if you throw in defense, Concepcion was as good as any of them. The numbers: *CONCEPCION: 19 year.267/.332/357, 101, 950. *SMITH: 19 years.262/.337/.327, 28, 793. *RIZZUTO: 13 years.273/.351/355, 38, 563. *REESE: 16 years.269/.366/.377, 126, 885. *APARACIO: 18 years.271/.324/.309, 83, 791. OZZIE SMITH WAS IN CINCINNATI Tuesday night as guest speaker at the La Salle Stag Dinner and I put the question to him: Does Dave Concepcion belong in the Hall of Fame and if so why does he belong and why isn t he in? Smith was as quick with his answer as he was with his hands on a baseball field. Without hesitation, Yes, of course he does, I certainly do. And Smith said when he was a member of the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee he voted for Concepcion every time. So why is he on the outside needing a ticket to get in? His short answer was that Concepcion was overshadowed by other members of The Big Red Machine, preventing him from grabbing the attention he deserves. Sometimes in certain situations you end up being the odd guy out, said Smith. The numbers catch up with you. There were so many great players on that team, Hall of Famers (Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, manager Sparky Anderson and, of course, Pete Rose would have been a first ballot selectee) that everybody couldn t make it and he was the guy who didn t make it. But in my estimation he was one of the most important pieces on that team, Smith added. When a team is successful you look no farther than the middle of the diamond shortstop, center field and catching. And when I think of The Big Red Machine Davey Concepcion was the guy who stabilized them in the middle. He was the guy who gave the pitcher the confidence that if he got a ground ball he was going to get an out, said Smith. That s what it is all about giving pitchers the confidence to know that if I got a ground ball in a crucial situation or needed a double play I was going to get it, rather than being afraid to give up a ground ball hit to your shortstop or second baseman. Any time a pitcher can get away from having to strike people out, well, pitching to contact is much better for a pitcher, he said. When you can afford your pitcher the type of confidence Concepcion gave them a 99.9 per cent chance he is going to get the guy out that s a big, big thing. SMITH SERVED A COUPLE OF TIMES on the Veterans Committee and said, He has always gotten my vote. Probably what Concepcion needed was a committee made up entirely of former shortstops and he would have been a unanimous choice. Sparky Anderson always said when the Reds really needed a run, Davey Concepcion was as good at producing that run as anybody on my team. And Smith agreed. Yeah, he was a guy, a guy we feared in those situations, said Smith, who played for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals. He was rewarded by the opposing pitcher because not as much attention was paid to him. You had Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Dan Driessen they had all these other people. From that standpoint, it helped him. But as far as making the Hall of Fame it was against him. Smith said he learned something from Concepcion, Actually stole something from him. I learned to bounce the ball to first base on AstroTurf. He was the best at that. Concepcion accidentally learned that if he bounced his throws to first base on one hop, the ball picked up speed and arrived at the base faster. He discovered it during infield practice when he made a couple of low throws and the ball shot off the turf into the first baseman s glove. Concepcion learned how to get the ball to first base quicker, but he never has been able to hop up on the stage in Cooperstown for induction. And that s a miscarriage of baseball justice.
TRANSACTIONS 01/18/17 Oakland Athletics signed free agent LHP Ross Detwiler to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. Detroit Tigers designated CF Anthony Gose for assignment. Boston Red Sox invited non-roster RHP Ben Taylor to spring training. Boston Red Sox invited non-roster RHP Chandler Shepherd to spring training. Boston Red Sox signed free agent RHP Kyle Kendrick to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. Boston Red Sox invited non-roster OF Rusney Castillo to spring training. Boston Red Sox invited non-roster C Jordan Procyshen to spring training. Boston Red Sox invited non-roster 1B Sam Travis to spring training. Boston Red Sox invited non-roster 3B Rafael Devers to spring training. Boston Red Sox invited non-roster 1B Allen Craig to spring training. Tampa Bay Rays traded LF Mikie Mahtook to Detroit Tigers for Player To Be Named Later. Toronto Blue Jays signed free agent RF Jose Bautista. Oakland Athletics signed free agent 3B Trevor Plouffe. Oakland Athletics designated RHP Zach Neal for assignment. Pittsburgh Pirates signed free agent 1B Joey Terdoslavich to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.