The Hall of Fame ballot came in the mail the other day so this can be considered my now annual elect-Jack-Morris-already column. To me, Morris is such an obvious choice for the Hall of Fame that I don’t understand why more of my fellow baseball writers haven’t voted for him.

This is the 11th year Morris is on the ballot, and he is coming off his best showing. The hard-nosed pitcher received 44 percent of the vote a year ago. That figure, though, left him well short of the 75 percent players need for election. In raw votes Morris got 237 votes but needed an additional 168. That’s not close.

But he remains on the ballot unelected so here I go again.

Keep reading...

Looking back at 26 years as head of the baseball players union, Donald Fehr acknowledged one instance in which he second-guessed himself.

“After the strike began in 1994, about four weeks into it, in early September,” he related, “it became clear that the clubs intended to force a strike, had no thought of getting an agreement but wanted to break the union. If I had realized that, I would have recommended a strike date mid-September, not early August.”

Keep reading...

Instead of eating turkey on Thanksgiving, I was researching this column, and the choice of endeavor paid off in fewer calories and discovery of previously unknown history. I’m willing to bet you didn’t know this either, and there you ignorantly sat at the dinner table stuffing yourself with turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie, among other courses.

The name Dennis Gilbert might be familiar. He was a high-profile player agent in the 1980s and ‘90s, representing Barry Bonds, George Brett and Jose Canseco. Gilbert is no longer an agent but remains in the insurance business, in which he served before he became an agent. And he heads one of three groups seeking to buy the Texas Rangers.

Keep reading...