That would be very cool if they all went in together, although I worry for Smoltz’ chances if he went up in the vote against them. Writers have this weird thing where they think a “first-ballot” HOFer is different from a third or fourth ballot HOFer. The Hall is the Hall. That whole idea is silly. Vote for a guy if he deserves it, don’t if he doesn’t.

Also, a random Bert Blyleven fact for the day, and probably the most important of all. He finished with 287 wins, and 13 more would’ve gotten him in the Hall pretty easily. Some claim that had he been a big game pitcher, he could’ve willed his team to victory. Blyleven pitched 46 games where he went at least 8 innings, gave up 2 runs or less, and didn’t get the win. FORTY-SIX!!!

Ok, I’m done on that topic for now. I think your points about Smoltz are excellent and they make my fears go away just a little. For a while I really worried that he wouldn’t get in.

I don’t think Smoltz will be looked over for the Hall because his time as a closer is well noted. Even if Smoltz’s years as a closer where actually as a starter, he probably still wouldn’t reach 300 wins. That’s debatable. But the fact that he’s the first pitcher in the history of the game to follow a 40 save season with a 200+ inning season will actually be a factor. A handful of stats like that, along with the handful of awards he’s won will get him in.

I don’t know how much people have thought about it, but I’d like to see Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux all retire in the same season. That way they could all get into the Hall together. That would be a Cooperstown trip worth making.

http://gd2.mlb.com/components/game/mlb/

Once you get to the page for the single pitcher – and it’s kind of tough to figure out which pitcher is which – save the page as an XLS page and then open it with Excel. When it comes to Pitch F/X data, Josh Kalk and Joe Sheehan are really the two guys to read, but I did my best with a single game. Thanks for the comment.

Where did you find the depth of information from the F/x system? I’m fascinated by pitchers and their movements and inning to inning adjustments and would love to be able to read more.

Also, Brandon Isleib, a writer for the Hard Ball Times and SpotnStripe, wrote a really detailed article about Blyleven and why he deserves to be in the hall of fame. Here is a link to his article from the HBT.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/sir-bert-the-obscure/

For some reason, the scoreboard went off in that ‘96 game announcing Smoltz’ 1500th K, but he actually had gotten it the previous start in Chicago. I suddenly feel cheated. I even had photographic evidence (somewhere) of that 1500th K, but now it’s not even accurate. I wonder what was up with the stat keepers back then, and why the error was made.

Blyleven pitched 6 1/2 seasons with the Twins, 1 1/2 years with the Rangers, 3 years with Pittsburgh, 4 1/2 with the Indians, 3 1/2 more with the Twins, and 3 with the Angels.

Compare that to Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry. 8 full seasons in San Francisco, 3 1/2 in Cleveland, 2 1/2 in Texas, 2 in San Diego, 1/2 in Texas, 1/2 in New York, 1 in Atlanta, 1 1/2 in Seattle, and 1/2 in Kansas City.

I don’t want this to turn into a Blyleven discussion, but he should be in the Hall. Here are his ranks:
Wins – 26th all time
Outs recorded – 13th all time
Strikeouts – 5th all time
Games Started – 11th all-time
Shutouts – 9th all-time

When it comes down to it, I think these are the reasons Blyleven isn’t in:
1. He didn’t win 300 games and that’s all writers can comprehend about a career of pitching.
2. He didn’t win any awards, and writers love patting themselves on the back by picking their own former winners to be in the Hall.
3. He didn’t win 300 games.
4. Blyleven couldn’t win 13 more games by himself.
5. He’s Dutch. Just kidding. It’s actually b/c he’s Dutch AND he didn’t win 300 games.

On Mussina: I agree – he won’t reach 3000, but I’m glad you mentioned him. He’s had a great career and would get a vote from me for the Hall of Fame. I think his career kind of gets lost in the midst of the better guys of his era, and that’s for good reason, but just because you’re not as good as Clemens or Maddux or Johnson, it doesn’t mean you aren’t as good as Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry, or Jim Palmer.

Finally, good call on Smoltzie being so close, which I didn’t realize. I was at FulCo in 1996 when he notched #2000. Smoltz won’t win 300, but he should be a HOF-er too. Then again, the voters may not look past the win column to figure out whether to vote for him. Hopefully they won’t be as short-sighted with him.

Of those who are eligible for the Hall of Fame, only Bert Blyleven is not a member. According to my friend Dave McMahon over at the SportsPageAtlanta.com, the reasoning Blyleven is not in the Hall is because he was simply viewed as a journeyman.

Other players not yet eligible for the Hall that are members of the 3,000 K Club include: Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Madduz, Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez.

Mike Mussina is next behind Smoltz in approaching the milestone at 2,663 (pitching tonight btw), and chances are at his age and ability he won’t reach 3,000 in my opinion.