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Thanks to the Hall of Fame for a brief respite from offseason Dodgers talk — Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner are in. Plus: Toronto finally signed a big bat, and Ken has more on … *sigh* … look, the Dodgers are just doing more than anyone else, OK? I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!
Questions Answered: Ichiro, Sabathia and Wagner elected to HOF
Before the announcement, I had two questions: Would Ichiro Suzuki become the first position player to be unanimously elected into the Hall of Fame, and would Billy Wagner make it in his final year of eligibility?
No, and yes.
Ichiro came up one vote short at 99.7 percent (we still don’t know who left him off their ballot), while Wagner received 82.5 percent of the vote (more on him later). They are joined by CC Sabathia (86.8 percent) and will be inducted alongside Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen, who were voted in by the Classic Baseball Era Committee.
Carlos Beltrán (70.3 percent) and Andruw Jones (66.2 percent) came up just short.
Here’s more:
- If you’re looking for a thorough rundown, a good rule of thumb is to start with Jayson Stark, who walks us through this year’s class — and who could be next.
- Step 1A: Always read Tyler Kepner on the Hall of Fame. He was on the call with the three electees and recaps each player’s career.
- Chad Jennings goes back to Ichiro’s rookie season, reminding us nobody really knew what to make of the “slap hitter” who defied conventions of the sport in 2001. We also have a compilation of six stories about Ichiro from our archives.
- Brendan Kuty tells us what made Sabathia not only a Hall of Fame performer, but also an all-time teammate. Meanwhile, Chris Kirschner makes the case for a Sabathia plaque in Monument Park.
- Looking forward, C. Trent Rosecrans writes about the first-timers on next year’s ballot — including Cole Hamels and Ryan Braun — and the three years after that.
Ken’s Notebook: Rivals should emulate Dodgers’ zeal
From my latest column:
Deep in the heart of every baseball fan fuming about the spending of the Los Angeles Dodgers, there lies an uncomfortable truth: You’re just mad your owner isn’t doing the same thing.
Sure, under Major League Baseball’s current economic system, the game’s financial playing field is tilted. But if you’re a fan losing your mind over the Dodgers’ latest big-money flex, know this: The playing field is not entirely to blame, if indeed it should be blamed at all.
Yes, the Dodgers are exploiting the system through a formula of signing bonuses and deferred payments, using money generated from a 25-year, $8.35 billion local-television deal and their league-leading attendance every year since 2013. No other team operates from such a financial foundation. Perhaps no other team would be as comfortable effectively shelling out more than $35 million per season for left-handed reliever Tanner Scott, including salary and a 110 percent luxury-tax penalty. The tax will be in effect for at least the first two years of Scott’s four-year deal.
The Dodgers, though, also are schooling opponents with a relentless mindset not enough rival ownerships share. Are they ruining baseball? From a financial perspective, at least, it’s the opposite. As rich as the Dodgers are, they’re improving the bottom lines of other teams, too.
The Dodgers’ road attendance last season, following the addition of Shohei Ohtani during their $1 billion offseason, was the highest in the majors since 2008, according to STATS Perform. They were the largest contributor to revenue sharing, and half of their record $103 million luxury-tax penalty also was redirected to other clubs.
Villains are valued in many forms of entertainment, from films to the WWE. The Dodgers are the latest Evil Empire in baseball, drawing fresh attention to the sport. They’re acting this winter as if the San Diego Padres knocked them out of the playoffs instead of the other way around. They’re willing to don black hats in place of classic Dodger blue. But all teams should compete with the same zeal.
Complacency in baseball spans all market sizes. Small-market teams such as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins are not the only ones refusing to compete to the best of their capabilities. So are mid-market teams such as the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins. And large-market teams such as the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. Just to name a few.
More Dodgers:
Hear Me Out: In defense of the HOF closers
I’ve read a lot about Billy Wagner’s case in recent years, and I need to get something off my chest: I’m really glad he made it in, and I hope that his election means we’re trending toward electing more closers.
There are two arguments I’ve heard against him.
The first is a generic argument against relievers: They don’t pitch enough innings; they’re failed starters. (It’s the same reason that only two primary designated hitters — David Ortiz and Edgar Martinez — are in the hall.)
I do believe a closer (and a DH for that matter) has to be more dominant at their position to earn Hall of Fame votes, given the things they don’t do. But I bristle a bit at the idea that excelling at one position doesn’t count just because a player didn’t cut it at another position. Pitchers and managers will tell you: Routinely handling the ninth inning requires a specific skill set and mentality that not every pitcher has.
Plus, most position players are failed center fielders and shortstops anyway. If left field is a position, then so is closer. For me, it boils down to: “Did they do the job they were assigned better than a vast majority of their peers?” If so, I think they warrant a vote.
The second argument against Wagner was his 10.03 ERA in 14 postseason games. But here’s what the game logs show:
- Four games in which his team trailed when he entered the game.
- One tie game (he allowed no runs).
- Two blown saves (one of which his team came back to win).
- Three saves, a hold and three games in which he closed out a game with a lead too big to qualify for a save.
It all adds up to just 11 2/3 innings in the postseason, and he cost his team one game. The ERA is ugly, but it’s a small sample size, and I’m not willing to disqualify an otherwise dominant closer based on that.
So when should the postseason matter? When it’s a career-defining part of a player’s story, as I believe is the case with Andy Pettitte. I hope we’ll see him make it in, especially given how remarkably similar his numbers are to Sabathia’s.
Tommy Gilligan / Imagn Images
Big Deals: Blue Jays land Santander
After coming in second on some high-profile free agents in the last two offseasons, the Blue Jays have signed switch-hitting outfielder Anthony Santander for five years and $92.5 million. His 44 home runs last year with the Orioles were third-most in the sport.
At 30 years old, Santander has had a slow burn of a career. Baltimore drafted him from Cleveland in the Rule 5 draft in 2016, and over the next four years, he played just 176 total games. But over the last three years, he’s been worth a combined 8.2 bWAR, hitting 105 home runs. Last year, he made his first All-Star team, winning a Silver Slugger.
As Keith Law points out, it’s certainly not a risk-free deal for the Blue Jays. Santander is already slightly below average in right field, and that’s not a skill that tends to improve past 30 years of age. But it does solve one problem the Jays had: They needed a corner outfielder with some pop. As Law cleverly put it:
“The Blue Jays did need a bat like Santander’s, as their existing options for the outfield corner were Thoughts and Prayers, neither of whom had a particularly good 2024.”
This leaves just 11 players (10 once Yates-to-the-Dodgers becomes official) on our top 40 Big Board of free agents. The highest-ranking remaining player is Alex Bregman, at No. 7.
Handshakes and High Fives
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(Top photo: Mike Fiala / AFP via Getty Images)
