“Feeling” Like a Hall of Famer

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Jason

I remember a few years ago when Craig Biggio got his 3,000th hit. Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio had a segment where he debated Biggio’s Hall of Fame status. Of course, the talking heads told him, since Biggio had crossed the 3,000 hit threshold, he was pretty much a slam dunk. Cowherd’s retort was that Biggio “doesn’t feel like a Hall of Famer”. When pressed, Cowherd said he knew Biggio’s numbers were there and that he warranted a plaque in Cooperstown…but he kept coming back to how Biggio didn’t feel like a Hall of Famer.

This week, Jim Thome hit his 600th home run. And now I understand what Cowherd was talking about. I know Jim Thome’s numbers warrant serious HoF candidacy. He’s one of only 8 players to reach 600 long balls. He’s universally praised as one of baseball’s “nice guys”, and that’s sure to garner him a few more votes, although baseball writers will never admit it. And the general feeling is that his 600 HRs are legit, that Thome was “clean” despite playing the bulk of his career in baseball’s Steroid Era.

I know all of that, but Thome just doesn’t feel like a Hall of Famer.

This kind of language is uncommon to baseball purists. Baseball, more than our other sports, lends itself to statistical analysis. A player’s raw skill is somehow distilled from the primeval ether into discernible and era-and-ballpark-adjustable data. You can compare Ty Cobb’s win shares with Mickey Mantle; you can weigh Rod Carew’s batting titles against Wade Boggs’. When we discuss greatness in baseball, we use numerical terminology:

  • 56
  • 755
  • .406
  • 61

If you have to ask, you’re not a baseball fan.

So, yeah, when assessing a player’s contributions to the game, the numbers speak for themselves. This stuff about whether or not the guy feels like an all-time great just sounds like a bunch of hooey to a traditionalist like myself. But I find myself saying it nonetheless. Jim Thome just doesn’t feel like a Hall of Famer to me.

It could be that Thome’s one truly great skill (hitting home runs) is as cheap and common now as it’s ever been. Prior to a few years ago, the rarefied air of 600 was occupied by only the immortals: Aaron, Ruth, Mays. In the past several seasons, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, and Ken Griffey, Jr. have all entered the club. And now, Thome. What was once an exclusive fraternity has now become just a bit less hallowed.

It could be Thome’s propensity for strikeouts (second only to another Hall resident, Reggie Jackson). It could be that Thome has spent the better part of the past seven seasons as a designated hitter, a man-made position foreign to the game’s founding principles. It could be Thome’s lackluster .277 lifetime batting average, his subpar defense, or the fact that he’s played most of his career outside of the major markets. There are plenty of reasons, but I still feel this way: Thome just seems like a more successful version of Dave Kingman.

Make no mistake: Thome will be elected, and probably on the first ballot. But the whole thing got me to thinking about other players that I’d put in that same category, guys who might or might not warrant serious Hall consideration, but they just don’t feel like Cooperstown material. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

1B – Don Mattingly. I know Mattingly had a brilliant run in the mid-to-late 80s before his back flamed out. But let’s be honest: it’s not like he was Koufax great. He was just great. And without sustaining that greatness into the next decade, we have the poster child for the Hall of Really Good. But not a Hall of Famer. Honorable mention: Will Clark.

2B – Lou Whitaker. According to Bill James, Whitaker is one of the 25 greatest 2B ever. But he’s not quite at that Hall-worthy level.

SS – Alan Trammell. Now, I’m not trying to pick on the Tigers here. I’d love it if Trammell was elected to the Hall, mainly because I own a copy of his rookie card. But aside from a stellar 1987 campaign, Trammell’s career falls into the pretty good camp. But not great.

3B – Ron Santo. OK, I’ll admit. I’m totally picking on the Cubs here. But who cares?

C – Gary Carter. I know Carter is already in the Hall. But to me, he always seemed to belong to that grouping of “really good” rather than “all-time great”.

OF – Dale Murphy. Murph is another guy who elicits quite a discussion when you bring his name up. Of course, Braves fans think he should be in. And you couldn’t ask for a better guy to root for or to have as a teammate. But other than the stolen bases, he’s Thome lite: lots of pop, mediocre average, great guy, but not HoF worthy.

OF – Tim Raines. Personally, I think Raines deserves to be in the Hall if you look at his numbers. But he doesn’t feel like a HoFer because he basically spent the last 7 seasons of his career as a platoon player. But his first 7 full seasons were nothing short of magnificent. The National League’s best leadoff hitter from the 1980s.

OF – Larry Walker. Walker is an interesting case. Always a good player, he had a few brilliant, ballpark-aided seasons in Colorado. Suspicion that he might’ve been aided by more than his home park will always hurt his candidacy.

DH – Harold Baines. Baines was a feared hitter for part of his career, and a “professional hitter” from start to finish. Honorable mention: Edgar Martinez.

SP – Bert Blyleven. Another guy who’s already in. But the numbers seem to put him in that class of good, but not stellar. I think his entry makes the argument that much more plausible for guys like Jack Morris and Curt Schilling.

RP – Lee Smith. Doesn’t look like he’s getting in any time soon, if ever. You could throw a lot of guys in this spot: John Franco, Rob Nen, Jeff Reardon. But Smith takes the cake for the most nondescript career leader of a major statistical category…that is, until Hoffman and Rivera passed him.

Posted in Baseball, Sports | 5 Comments

Dr. John Rosemond at Mayfair Church of Christ

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Jason

Nationally syndicated columnist and parenting authority, Dr. John K. Rosemond. Aug. 19-20, Mayfair Church of Christ

The Mayfair Church of Christ is proud to host nationally acclaimed parenting authority Dr. John Rosemond August 19-20 for a FREE parenting seminar. For all the details, visit www.mayfair.org

John has a Masters Degree in Community Psychology and spent 10 years in private practice as a family psychologist in Illinois, Iowa, and North Carolina. He began writing his newspaper column in 1976 and is now syndicated in approximately 225 newspapers nationwide, reaching more than 10 million readers weekly. John has authored several bestsellers, including A Family of Value; Making the Terrible Twos Terrific!; Teen-Proofing; and Parenting by the Book. In addition to speaking and writing, Rosemond is the Director of the Center for Affirmative Parenting, a national parenting resource center in Gastonia, North Carolina.

Rosemond is known for his traditional, Bible based parenting philosophy. He advocates a return to what he calls “Grandma’s wisdom” — insights drawn from our elders, who raised children with a sensible and effective mixture of biblical wisdom and common sense. John is a dynamic communicator, giving more than 200 presentations a year to parent, teacher, and helping-professional groups nationwide. His talks and workshops receive consistently superlative ratings across the board. John’s sound advice, quick wit, and engaging style make him one of America’s busiest and most popular speakers in the parenting field.

John and his wife, Willie, have been happily married for 40 years. They are parents to two children, Eric and Amy, and grandparents of seven.

Posted in General | Tagged , | 3 Comments

A Way of Life

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Jason

I don’t know how you feel about the providence of God. As for me, I’m convinced.

When I was 18 years old, I was the epitome of the angry young man. My Mother had just died and I began to spiral downward into a dark period of self-loathing and anger. The God I’d heard about my whole life — the God of love and comfort — seemed distant or, even worse, a sham. If God was real, I told myself, He sure doesn’t love you. I think there’s probably no more dangerous place to be…when you begin to doubt that you’re worthy of God’s love.

That’s when God sent an angel my way in the form of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl named Sunny. Ours was a pretty improbable pairing: like I said, I was in a pretty dark, skeptical place at the time…and along comes this joyful ray of light, all smiles and warmth and optimism. We were — are continue to be — so different. She was loved by her teachers, the perfect student — always respectful, always obedient. I was neither. Sunny has always been an ardent rule follower, while I’ve been known to bend a rule or two if the end justifies it. I’m convinced that if we’d known each other in elementary school, we’d have hated each other. But providentially, we met at just the right time.

It’s not a stretch to say that Sunny saved my life. I’m reminded of how she helped me believe again: in God, in myself, in everything. She helped me see that I was lovable, that God hadn’t forsaken me no matter what the circumstances might seem to indicate. She loved me through my pain and through this simple act, something profound occurred: she became a conduit through which I experienced the love of God once more. And when that happened, my life changed forever.

Today we celebrate an anniversary: 12 years of marriage. It’s a significant marker, one that we acknowledge every year. But annual recognition isn’t nearly enough when it comes to how I feel about Sunny. Her love has become a way of life for me, and it’s the best life I could ever know or behold. Sunny, I shudder to think where I’d be…who I’d be…if not for your love. You have restored me and redeemed me from my darkest hour. Your faithful love points me more directly to the enduring faithfulness of our God. You are God’s gift to me. And I love you.

August 14, 2011 — 10:29pm

Posted in Blessings, God, Sunny | 4 Comments

MyPod: The Head and the Heart

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Jason

I’d started wondering if I was going to find a favorite album for 2011. There’ve been a few really good releases so far this year: Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Iron & Wine…but I’d put each of them in the “good but not great” category. Imminently listenable, but…not the kind of songs that burrow their way into your brain and set up residence. THAT’S what makes a great album, in my opinion.

So, like I said, I was beginning to wonder if 2011 might go down as a year devoid of that one GREAT album for me…

…until I listened to The Head and the Heart, a magnificent opus of yearning and loneliness from my new favorite Seattle-based indie band.

Now, I’ll admit: the band name was enough to make me almost write them off instantly. (I know all that stuff about not judging a book by its cover, but the same rule doesn’t apply to band names. You see “The Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies” on the album cover, you pretty much know what you’re getting yourself into. Think about it. I speak truth.) “The Head and the Heart” is a terrible name for a band in my opinion. It comes across like they’re trying too hard for significance, an over-earnest attempt at self-definition. Plus it’s just dorky. I suppose some would find it an improvement over “The Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies”, but whatever.

That being said, I came across one of their songs “Lost In My Mind” on a free Amazon sampler a couple weeks ago. I liked the song enough to listen to a few snippets on eMusic and I liked what I heard even more. I used a few eMusic credits to download the whole album. After the first listen, I knew I’d found the best album of the year. Let me tell you why.

First of all, this is my kind of music: acoustic guitar, bass, violin, piano, indie sensibility, soaring harmonies. Sort of Avett Brothers meets the Pacific Northwest. Plus, these dudes are cool by association, having opened for Already & Not Yet faves Vampire Weekend, The Decemberists, and Iron & Wine. But what sets this album apart is its resonance with me on a personal level: the lyrical depiction of the human condition is pretty much spot on here.

If the album has a theme, it’s this: our universal longing for home and the intermediate loneliness that accompanies our waiting. The album opener, “Cats and Dogs”, sets the tone for the record: “Oh the songs people sing for hope / And for the ones that have been gone for too long.” There’s an intersection of pain and beauty as we recount our losses — the terrible toll of tragedy met with the best of human resilience and malleability — with the hope that this isn’t all there is. Some call such hope futile and foolish; I call it the fabric of life. What fuels such hopefulness is this confession at the end of “Cats and Dogs”: “We’re only here to find the love that lingers after the moment.”

But all is not pollyanna positivity: take “Ghosts”, a jangly little pop-record that is fixated on the notion that, for all of our talk about leaving and moving on to bigger and better things in life, “someday we’ll all be ghosts”. Or “Rivers and Roads”, a lilting ballad that opens with “A year from now we’ll all be gone / All our friends will move away.” This line instantly grabbed me: in the 10 years we’ve lived in Huntsville, my three closest friends have all moved away and a fourth is preparing to move next month. But given the album’s theme, there is more in play here, a nod to the brevity of life. “Honey Come Home” articulates a response: when faced with life’s absurdities, we reach a point where we throw our hands up and say, “I just want to die with the one I love beside me / I am ready to be home.” Indeed.

As someone who has been shaped by the grief of my early years, I know I’m prone to filter certain experiences through my own loss and longing for reunion. I’ll give you that. But I suppose these experiences have given me a deep appreciation for honest reflection on loneliness and the ache for home. That’s why “River and Roads” speaks to me so much:

Been talking about the way things change
And my family lives in a different state
And if you don’t know what to make of this
Then we will not relate
Rivers and roads / Rivers and roads
Rivers ’till I reach you

I guess I’m a bigger fan of that over-earnest stuff than I realized. But this album has been a reminder for me of the deeply spiritual connection we share and the eventual culmination of all things. It has renewed my belief that when it all fades to black, there is something more, something beautiful and glorious and right. The album closes with “Heaven Go Easy On Me” and the lyric: “All things must end, darling.” For the lonely, there is perhaps nothing more comforting.

I could write more, but I’m already pushing 900 words. Suffice to say, I’m a fan. I expected to find cool background music; I didn’t expect to find a record of such evocative power. A true masterpiece and 2011’s Album of the Year.

Posted in Eschatology, Music | Tagged , | 2 Comments

On Honor

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Jason

Show me the man you honor, and I will know what kind of man you are. — Thomas Carlyle

Posted in Quotes | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Photo Contest

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Jason

A few months back, my in-laws took a trip out west to Yellowstone. While they were there, my father-in-law snapped some pretty amazing pictures. He’s entered one in a photo contest sponsored by The Tennessean. If you have a minute to spare, follow the link and vote for his photo. I know he’d appreciate it.

Click here to check out the photo and vote.

Posted in Family, General | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Dangerous

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Jason

News reports broke last week of a young Indiana woman who was lying on the couch watching television when her boyfriend arrived home and surprised her by asking her to marry him. When she declined his proposal, he became so enraged that he pulled out his gun, pointed it over her head and fired a shot through the wall. The young lady promptly called the police and her boyfriend was arrested and charged with three counts of criminal recklessness.

Interestingly, a few days later her Facebook page featured a photo of the couple and her relationship status had been changed to “engaged”.

I asked some of my friends last week, “What’s the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?” I received a lot of responses to that question and most of them fell into one of two categories: stories pertaining to driving a vehicle way too fast or stories about jumping off of things that were way too high. But I learned a lot about my friends; who knew they were such daredevils?

It’s interesting that none of my friends said the most dangerous thing they’d ever done was to choose to follow Jesus. I know, that seems like a “gotcha”; I mean, who thinks about the question that way? But truthfully, I’ve recently become even more aware of the radical, risky nature of the call of Jesus. It seems as if we often frame “following Jesus” as the ultimate mitigation against risk. We ask, “If you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity?” And this frames the decision to follow Jesus as a way to mitigate against the risk of spending eternity in hell. And while I suppose that conversation can be useful to prompt a certain level of personal reflection, it also undersells the clear message in Scripture that following Jesus incurs tremendous risk, even danger, for the would-be disciple.

Consider a few places in the Gospels:

  • Matthew 8 – A teacher comes to Jesus and professes “Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus throws a wet blanket on his devotion by saying, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” In the next verse, a potential follower wants to follow but offers up the perfectly legitimate request to attend his father’s funeral first. But Jesus swats this request aside, too, saying, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” It’s not that Jesus has a problem with funerals or home ownership. But he does have a problem with anything else competing for the place of primacy in our hearts.
  • Matthew 13 – Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of God is the ultimate pursuit in life, similar to a treasure buried in a field. When you discover the treasure, you go and sell everything you have in order to possess it. Or, Jesus says, the Kingdom is like finding a pearl of great price at a yard sale. You go back and sell off everything you have in order to purchase it. In Jesus’ economy, the Kingdom of God is the one and only commodity.
  • Luke 14 – Jesus says only a fool sets out to build a house, a tower, a structure without first consulting the budget. Likewise, he says, you should count the cost before choosing to follow Him.

In “The Cost of Discipleship”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Perhaps no one understood this better than the apostle Paul. Listen to his description of the dangers he’s incurred from following Jesus:

23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 2 Cor. 11.23-28

Paul’s litany of dangers may strike fear in our hearts. How often have we been “in danger” because of the Gospel? Who among us has experienced nakedness, hunger, thirst, or cold for the sake of the Gospel? Who among us has faced beatings and stonings because of our devotion to Jesus? Certainly these sorts of dangers are foreign to the experience of most American Christians. And yet, two points need to be made here:

  1. For many of our brothers and sisters around the world, these dangers are ever present. In fact, Paul’s experience has been the norm for believers for thousands of years. Those of us who live in an age of religious freedom should not make the mistake of presuming that this is the case everywhere. We bear the burden of praying for our fellow Christians who risk much for the name of Jesus.
  2. We need to take a long look in the mirror at our culture of “comfortable Christendom” in light of the teaching of Jesus and the example of Paul. Kerry Walters writes, “Many Christians play it safe by practicing a tepid, no-risk spirituality in which we domesticate the roaring Lion of Judah into a nice, safe pussycat.” We need to recognize that following Jesus necessarily involves leaving our comfort zones and taking risks — great risks — for the sake of the Kingdom. Although we likely will never suffer the kind of oppression and danger that our brothers and sisters in India or China or Pakistan or Indonesia face, we are called to risk it all — our status, our wealth, our image, our comfort — for Jesus.

What are we willing to risk for the sake of the Gospel?

We should remember that following Jesus is perhaps the riskiest, most dangerous thing a person can do.

Well, except for NOT following Him.

Posted in Devotional, Discipleship, Gospel, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Scripture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Most Dangerous

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Jason

Trying to start a dialogue here (although FB is probably the better format for this). But I’m curious: what’s the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done? Just curious.

Posted in General | 5 Comments

Search Results

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Jason

Today, someone found my blog by searching for “ground hog droppings pictures.”

Buddy, wherever you are, I’m sorry to disappoint you.

 

Posted in Blogging, Humor, Random | 3 Comments

MLB Thoughts: July 2011

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Jason

We’re spending a few days in St. Louis this week, catching a few Cards games before school starts back. These early August school start dates really wreak havoc on summer schedules. But I digress. We’re catching the first few games of the Cards / Astros series. Nothing like a good series with Houston when you’re in a three-way tie for first.

I’ve had this thought for a while, and tonight’s game only confirmed it: Hunter Pence is the worst-looking good player in the major leagues, bar none. He’s the anti-DiMaggio. Everything he does on a baseball field looks labored and awkward. I watched him long toss in the outfield during BP and he just looked out of sorts, lank and gangly. In batting practice, he kept popping the ball up, hitting the roof cage. Meanwhile, Carlos Lee goes out and hits about a half dozen moon shots to the delight of the crowd. In the second inning, he completely misplayed a fly ball that allowed two runs to score. And you’re thinking, “This is the Astros’ best player?” I’m not saying he’s not good; in fact, just the opposite. He’s so good, I can’t believe how bad he looks. But just when you’re about to give up on him, he opens up in BP and puts a couple in the bullpen and you see that he’s got it. Come game time, he’s raking opposite field screamers with the best of them. But 90% of the time, you wouldn’t know what a good hitter he is just by looking at him. Then again, there are a whole host of good hitters who would flunk that test (John Kruk, Tony Gwynn, Dustin Pedroia, David Eckstein…all anti-DiMaggios in their own right).

Other than Pence, the Astros are just pathetic. Quick: name the Houston starting infield. And no, Biggio and Bagwell don’t play for them anymore. The bad news is their outfield and pitching staff isn’t much better. Tonight, my Cards took J.A. Happ to the woodshed. How the Phillies convinced the Astros to give up Roy Oswalt for Happ, I’ll never know.

And while I’m hoping the Cards eventually run away with this division, I have to say it’s been mildly entertaining to watch the Pirates defy the odds and remain competitive for four months. Now I hear they’re in position to be “buyers” at the trade deadline. How cute. Maybe the curse of Sid Bream will be lifted and the long suffering Pirate fan base will once again enjoy the sights and sounds of October baseball in the City of Bridges.

But I doubt it.

Like father, like son. St. Louis, MO -- July 2011

Tonight’s game was especially fun because our youngest little Card fan was more “into” this game than any of the previous ones he’d attended. When we arrived at the stadium, he immediately wanted me to show him the statue of “Alvert Pujols”. (Funny how he mispronounced his first name.) Earlier in the day, he decided he really wanted his very own Cards hat, so we obliged him and for the first time ever, the little man kept his hat on for more than 5 minutes. In fact, he wore it all day long…in part to keep the blazing sun at bay, but also, I believe, because his old man was wearing his hat. A proud moment indeed.

 

Posted in Baseball, St. Louis Cardinals | Tagged , , | 4 Comments