The Hall of Fame announced its 2023 ballot on Monday, and it's indeed favorable for Mark Buehrle maintaining his spot on the 2024 ballot, at least presuming that voters will continue to maintain the same level of interest in his candidacy.
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling all saw their eligibility lapse while Carlos Beltran is the only new face with a comparable case ... and he has his own baggage as the only player who suffered consequences in the Houston Astros scandal.
With those three off the ballot -- and Schilling the only one who could call himself a superior pitcher -- Buehrle rises to the top of that particular position with only Andy Pettitte as a peer (again, there's baggage there).
Buehrle's support fell from 11 percent to 5.8 percent over his first two years on the ballot, so this is a big year for bolstering his standing. The 2024 ballot features a no-doubter (Adrian Beltre) and two other guys who should garner some support (Chase Utley, Joe Mauer), and then CC Sabathia arrives in 2025 to unseat Buehrle as the ballot's best pitcher.
In the meantime, here are a few posts I've written about Buehrle's candidacy in the past:
- Why do closers get so much more support for throwing 30 percent of the innings?
- Buehrle's career would fill out a Hall of Fame plaque worth reading
- Using a Lucas Giolito start to show how fast Buehrle really worked
And that last post had a corresponding video.
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Spare Parts
The White Sox set up a conference call between Salvador Perez and the White Sox beat writers as they continue to market Pedro Grifol as the right man for the job.
Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin are reviewing the unprotected players at the Rule 5 deadline for every team, and one name they liked jumped out as a surprise:
On the pitching side, we were surprised that Lane Ramsey, who was sitting 95 with a plus upper-80s slider by the end of the Fall League, was not added. Neither was Kade McClure, who amid a shift into a multi-inning relief role maintained good command over his four-pitch arsenal, including his above-average slider.
The Twins seem like they're so close to an all-time great set of uniforms, but there's always something off about them. Prior to the update, it was that weird gold streak that never fit in. This latest update doesn't get them any closer. The "M" caps make them look like the Minnesota Marlins, and the block letter font for on the home jerseys is reminiscent of the Cubs' City Connect uniforms.
Besides updates on Offseason Plan Project favorites Cody Bellinger and Brandon Nimmo, Ken Rosenthal also says the Tigers could challenge the White Sox as a team with multiple high-leverage relievers to offer in trades.
One reason I wouldn't jump to conclusions about Grifol's staff is because the Tigers are up to three hitting coaches. Perhaps the White Sox should just beat everybody to the punch and run it up to five.
