MLB Chatter Thread

[Rev]

The hitting coach should be booted as well.

 

[Rev]

 

[bbgun]

 

[Rev]

Those 9 are probably still mad about Jackie Robinson.

 

[Genghis Khan]

This is some of the context on this. Aaron had one of the highest percentage of votes ever at the time.

So believe it or not this was actually a high vote total not low.

I think some of the voters just simply wouldn't vote for a player in his first ballot no matter what.

 

[Rev]

On most people there could be an argument but to me he is no doubt a 1st ballot HoF. They can try to excuse it away but its ridiculous and imposing dumb self rules such as Im only voting 1 player first ballot each year is dumb.

 

[Genghis Khan]

On most people there could be an argument but to me he is no doubt a 1st ballot HoF. They can try to excuse it away but its ridiculous and imposing dumb self rules such as Im only voting 1 player first ballot each year is dumb.

I don't disagree but I just mean that it doesn't seem like anything personal against Aaron (or for that matter racism), because he got more votes than most.

 

[Rev]

I don't disagree but I just mean that it doesn't seem like anything personal against Aaron (or for that matter racism), because he got more votes than most.

For those 9 voters it very well could have been motivated by racism. I cant say for sure but to completely leave him off the ballot seems fishy to me.

 

[Genghis Khan]

For those 9 voters it very well could have been motivated by racism. I cant say for sure but to completely leave him off the ballot seems fishy to me.

Hank Aaron (1982) 97.83%
Mickey Mantle (1974) 88.22%
Joe DiMaggio (1955 - 4th! Ballot) 88.84%
Sandy Koufax (1972) 86.87
Babe Ruth (1936) 95.13
Walter Johnson (1936) 83.62
Cy Young (1937 - 2nd ballot) 76.12

43 people didn't vote for Mickey Mantle.
28 people didn't vote for Joe DiMaggio (even on his 4th ballot).
52 people didn't vote for Sandy Koufax.
11 people didn't vote for Babe Ruth.
37 people didn't vote for Walter Johnson.
48 people didn't vote for Cy Young.

The very next year after Aaron (presumably most or all of the same voters), 1983, Brooks Robinson got in with 91.98%. 30 people didn't vote for him. Compare this to Aaron's 97.83% / 9 people.

From what I can tell, only 1 person ever got a unanimous vote - Mariano Rivera in 2019.

9 people total in history got in with a higher percentage of votes than Aaron - Seaver, Rivera, Ripken, Ichiro, Griffey Jr, Ryan, Cobb, Brett, Jeter. When Aaron was voted in it was only 1 - Cobb.

I could go on but it seems very unlikely racism played a part in Aaron not getting unanimously in considering all of the all time white players didn't get in unanimously either, and almost to a man got significantly less votes than Aaron.

 

[Cotton]

I never knew this.

______

Why are they called bleacher seats?

Because the (originally wooden) boards were bleached by the sun.⁠

In late-19th-century baseball, the cheap, uncovered outdoor seating was first called “bleaching boards” (attested by 1877). The wooden planks sat out in the sun and turned pale/white from the exposure—just like fabric left out to bleach. The shortened form “bleachers” appears by the late 1880s (around 1887–1889) and stuck.⁠

A secondary reading is that the spectators themselves get “bleached” (sun-faded or sunburned) while sitting there. The term originated in American baseball and later spread to other sports and events. Modern bleachers are often metal or concrete and may even have roofs, but the old name remains.

 

[Cujo]

I never knew this.

______

Why are they called bleacher seats?

Because the (originally wooden) boards were bleached by the sun.⁠

In late-19th-century baseball, the cheap, uncovered outdoor seating was first called “bleaching boards” (attested by 1877). The wooden planks sat out in the sun and turned pale/white from the exposure—just like fabric left out to bleach. The shortened form “bleachers” appears by the late 1880s (around 1887–1889) and stuck.⁠

A secondary reading is that the spectators themselves get “bleached” (sun-faded or sunburned) while sitting there. The term originated in American baseball and later spread to other sports and events. Modern bleachers are often metal or concrete and may even have roofs, but the old name remains.

That’s awesome. I never knew that either.

 

[Rev]