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Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

batmagadanleadoff Jul 24 2014 10:46 PM

Jeter receives a 'Terrific' endorsement Seaver expects Yanks captain to become first unanimous Hall of Fame inductee Marty Noble By Marty Noble | Archive 7/24/2014 10:00 A.M. ET NEW YORK -- The pride that flows through the body of Tom Seaver these days defies measurement. He is a rightfully proud man, but he doesn't beat his chest. Indeed, he seldom mentions his successes. They're a matter of record. It's enough for him to say "I'm as proud as I can be" about his career as a pitcher, his election to the Hall of Fame by an unequaled mandate and the fine cabernet sauvignon that carries his monogram, GTS. George Thomas Seaver has made it to the top in two ultra-competitive industries. His 2009 cabernet received a 97-point rating, something akin to Gibson's 1.12 ERA. And, in the parlance of scouts, his Hall of Fame ballot percentile, 98.84, touches unanimity, as his fastball used to touch the mid-90s. It's something akin to Wilt's 100. Though Seaver no longer sips the good stuff his vineyard produces, his pride is such that he wants to maintain the level of excellence his cabernet achieved. But while his Hall of Fame standing has brought him unique acclaim and been so fulfilling, he is quite willing to be displaced atop the list -- so long as his replacement is the right player. Derek Jeter is the right player. Seaver says so. Moreover, he believes the Yankees captain ought to be the first unanimously elected Hall of Famer. "I can't see how he won't be," Seaver said on Wednesday from his home/vineyard in Calistoga, Calif., "unless somebody beats him to the punch." Not likely. If DiMaggio, Aaron, Gibson, Mantle, Koufax, Mays, Ruth, Gehrig, Maddux, Cal, Gwynn, Killer, The Big Train, Spahnie, Stan the Man, Yogi, Tyrus Raymond, Nolie, Lefty Grove, The Rajah, Clemente, Rapid Robert, Greenberg, Foxx and Mr. Theodore Ballgame were not unanimously elected, who's to say anyone ever will be? Seaver is. "I've thought about it; Jeter should be the one," Seaver said. "What can you say he hasn't done? He has every credential imaginable -- great player, good citizen. He plays the game properly, respects the game and his predecessors. He's done it in the big city, for one team that wears a uniform of greatness. He has no marks against him. He has the numbers. And he wins. "He's a class act all the way. A pro's pro, a gentleman's gentleman. If you're starting a franchise, who do want as your first pick? I'll take Jeter, thank you. And I'm sure I wouldn't get too many arguments." Jeter is five-plus years away from eligibility for the Hall of Fame ballot. Unless he revises his retirement plans, he will be included on the ballot mailed to voting members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America late in 2019. And unless the electorate somehow detects an overriding flaw in the Yankees shortstop's résumé, he will be inducted in 2020 (note the two 2s; fitting). Better make reservations now. Cooperstown will be rather crowded that weekend if only those who revere Jeter make the trip to upstate New York. "I'd like to be there when he goes in," Seaver said. Seaver says he might even toast Jeter with a glass of the good stuff. The Franchise toasting the Captain. One New York baseball icon saluting another. The all-time Met saluting an all-time Yankee. * * * * * Seaver says he already has bottles of the good stuff in the cellar of Hall of Fame board chair Jane Forbes Clark for this weekend. Other wines will be made available, too. The current group of Hall of Fame players includes a number of men who like their wine, mostly pitchers -- Gibson, Carlton and Sutton among them. A few years back, the pitchers denied the position players. But no longer. "Anyone can. You don't have to bring any," Seaver said. "We don't exclude anyone now. Not even Fisk." But Seaver himself is not likely to partake. His ongoing problems with Lyme disease and normal changes of taste have made even the good stuff less satisfying for him. "Haven't had a sip in four years," Seaver says, though not proudly. The disease is in a second go-round with Seaver. It has affected him in so many ways -- physically and mentally. It has robbed him of enjoyment and forced him to make three doctor visits each week for injections that help him deal with the debilitating symptoms. At age 69, Seaver lacks the memory he had at age 64. He can't recite the sequence of pitches he threw Clemente in one 1970 confrontation, as he could in 2008. He doesn't recall all the home runs he hit. The anecdotes he shares have holes in them now. "And if I don't remember all of something," Seaver says. "I just ad lib. I think I pitched 150 shutouts, right?" Seaver's first Lyme disease experiences were in 1991 -- he thinks. The symptoms returned four years ago and dragged him down. He always enjoyed induction weekend in Cooperstown as much as anyone, but the disease has prevented him from attending for three years. His problems were a whispered topic when the Hall of Famers assembled in 2011. Those who had spoken with him feared early-onset Alzheimer's disease. His speech was slow and disjointed. He clearly wasn't himself. As recently as last summer, Seaver wondered whether he'd fly again. Getting to the airport troubled him more than the prospect of coast-to-coast flying. "There were lots of things that bothered me and things I couldn't do," Seaver said. But the vineyard has kept him going. Seaver rates his days on a 1-to-10 scale. He's had "a lot of 8s for while." Wednesday was a 9. He's hoping for 9s this weekend when he renews his Hall of Fame relationships. But he can't count on feeling terrific. Seaver said Thursday he works six to seven hours each day. "It's a passion, and it's good cardio work," he said. Seaver attacks his work as he attacked hitters -- with forethought and wisdom. "The vineyard is a gift," he said. The irony is that Seaver no longer enjoys the fruits of his labor of love. "I don't know; maybe I'll have a taste this weekend," he said. "But it will have to be my stuff in the glass. If I'm going to like it or not like it, I want it to be the good stuff." http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/mar ... y=news_mlb

Edgy MD Jul 25 2014 06:58 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Meanwhile he's got the staff in the back room running a "Truth About Jeter" campaign.

metsmarathon Jul 25 2014 07:17 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

looking at the likely ballots coming up between now and then, the best chances we have at beating jeter to the punch are randy johnson, who has arguably a stronger HOF career than even greg maddux, pedro martinez, and ken griffey jr.

Edgy MD Jul 25 2014 07:29 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

But the rain. The soft rain. Johnson had no rain.

Ceetar Jul 25 2014 07:47 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Following recent trends, Jeter shouldn't even make it first ballot.

Edgy MD Jul 25 2014 07:59 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

There's the redemptorist notion that recent trends are all about Jeter. That everybody is tarred by the era, except Jeter the Pure. Heaven is barred until he reopens the gates. If I may blaspheme by analogy a bit.

Ceetar Jul 25 2014 08:12 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Edgy MD wrote: There's the redemptorist notion that recent trends are all about Jeter. That everybody is tarred by the era, except Jeter the Pure. Heaven is barred until he reopens the gates. If I may blaspheme by analogy a bit. Hmm. Perhaps. Maybe we should just put Hall inductions on hold until Jeter's in. Should we wait the five years, or should next year we just call off the All-Star Game and having a Jeter break. Watch them erect a Jeter statue at the entrance to the HoF instead of the Home Run Derby. The reigning WS champions prostrate themselves at Jeter's feet in the room with the plaques (henceforth renamed Derek's Hall) while the top rookies of the league dust and polish Jeter's plaque and hang it on the wall above Ruth's instead of the future's game. Then instead of the All-Star Game Jeter takes a golden bat and 'knights' 9 players from each league and dubs them "All-Stars"

metsmarathon Jul 25 2014 09:01 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

i think griffey might have a shot, just because he's the anti-bonds. great hitter, great guy, never a whiff of juice.

Edgy MD Jul 25 2014 09:13 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

A lot of people don't even think Griffey belongs at all, because he very humanly faded in his thirties, while his juicy colleagues thundered on. The juice era is a double-edged sword. You're damned either way. Unless you are Jeter.

HahnSolo Jul 25 2014 09:51 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

There are still "I don't vote in anyone on the first ballot" guys out there. I don't agree with them usually, but if they keep Captain Jeets from getting a unanimous vote, more power to them!

Mets Guy in Michigan Jul 25 2014 06:09 PM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

HahnSolo wrote: There are still "I don't vote in anyone on the first ballot" guys out there. I don't agree with them usually, but if they keep Captain Jeets from getting a unanimous vote, more power to them! I think that's true. There will be someone protesting something or another. If there was someone not voting for Greg Maddux, they'll be someone not voting for Jeter. (And he will be obliterated by an outrage the likes of which we've never seen. There will be calls to change the voting and limit voters. You watch.) And Seaver had no choice but to say nice things. As the reigning highest-percentage guy, it would look horrible if he started dissing other players. Imagine the reaction from the Verducci's of the world if he had said, "I don't think Jeter quite had the numbers or the skills to be the first unanimous player. There are better guys out there." I really did think Maddux had the best chance to beat Seaver. Incredible player, huge markets, not a sniff of trouble, classy.

Edgy MD Jul 25 2014 07:45 PM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Classy. Long as you don't mind foreign urine all over your legs.

MFS62 Jul 25 2014 08:33 PM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Sounds like TFT opened and sampled from a few of the bottles of the "good stuff" before that interview. I can't imagine any athlete who was as competitive as he was would say, "Sure, I want somebody else to beat my (entry percentage) record". Later

d'Kong76 Jul 25 2014 09:04 PM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Probably preemptive, doubt it's an issue.

SteveJRogers Jul 26 2014 09:01 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Ceetar wrote: Following recent trends, Jeter shouldn't even make it first ballot. One would have said that about Frank Thomas and Tom Glavine though.

SteveJRogers Jul 26 2014 09:04 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: HahnSolo wrote: There are still "I don't vote in anyone on the first ballot" guys out there. I don't agree with them usually, but if they keep Captain Jeets from getting a unanimous vote, more power to them! I think that's true. There will be someone protesting something or another. If there was someone not voting for Greg Maddux, they'll be someone not voting for Jeter. (And he will be obliterated by an outrage the likes of which we've never seen. There will be calls to change the voting and limit voters. You watch.) And Seaver had no choice but to say nice things. As the reigning highest-percentage guy, it would look horrible if he started dissing other players. Imagine the reaction from the Verducci's of the world if he had said, "I don't think Jeter quite had the numbers or the skills to be the first unanimous player. There are better guys out there." I really did think Maddux had the best chance to beat Seaver. Incredible player, huge markets, not a sniff of trouble, classy. IIRC, the first person that outed himself as a non-voter for Maddux said he wasn't voting for anyone who played during his self-defined steroid era range of years. So that may present a problem aside from the "ixnay on first balloters" voters.

SteveJRogers Jul 26 2014 09:08 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Edgy MD wrote: But the rain. The soft rain. Johnson had no rain. LOL! Since you brought that up, yeah I can buy certain media douches holding Johnson's surliness in New York (as if he wasn't that way in Seattle or Arizona) and awful postseason performance as a Yankee against him. Akin to an excuse Jim Rice fans trot out when defending him, saying voters failed to elect him because of his surly nature to them.

d'Kong76 Jul 26 2014 10:26 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Takes a Jeter thread to bring Stevie Jeets into the pool. Hmmmm! (ducking from sneaker being thrown at me)

Edgy MD Jul 26 2014 10:31 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Adrian Beltre has had a better career than Jeter. Just thought I'd say.

d'Kong76 Jul 26 2014 11:46 AM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

I ain't going there, but if he did, he did so very un-intangibly.

Edgy MD Jul 26 2014 12:05 PM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Lou Whitaker, more career WAR than Jeter. One and done in Hall of Fame voting. Never, to my knowledge, coerced a cameraman to eat nutmeg.

HahnSolo Jul 26 2014 01:12 PM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

They're not the best comps as players, but another guy who played shortstop, was beloved and overrated by both the national media and his franchise's fans was Cal Ripken. Not looking to argue one's merits versus the other, but I would suspect the votes for Jeter will be similar to Cal's. In 2007, Ripken got 98.5% of the votes (he appeared on 537 out of 545 ballots cast).

Edgy MD Jul 26 2014 02:12 PM Re: Preemptive comments? Sincerity? Calculating? What, Tom?

Also a guy who carefully crafted his image.