The Diamond Fan

Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back by Josh Hamilton

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love baseball, but I have to admit that baseball autobiographies are often not the greatest, most well-written books. This one is different. The first part of the book was not so good, as Josh talks a lot about how great a player he was as a kid. So much so that I’m thinking, “Oh, no, another boring ‘I’m thankful that the Lord made me such a great player’ story.” But once he gets into the truly harrowing tale of his slide into drug addiction, this become a can’t-put-it down story of tragedy and redemption.

Josh pulls no punches in telling just how bad it got before he found strength in his faith in God and, with help from his family, pulled himself out of the pit of drug addiction. This is a frightening but ultimately uplifting book that many people would benefit from reading. Thanks for telling your story, Josh, and for sharing your faith in a way that is both realistic and compelling.

The news today is that Joe Gordon was selected by the Veteran’s Committee for the Baseball Hall of Fame.  I suspect this will be a controversial choice in some circles.  Many people have been lobbying for Ron Santo, who was passed over once again, and Gordon is not necessarily a by-the-numbers Hall of Famer.  His “black ink” score (based on leading the league in various categories) is onely two (average Hall of Famer is 27) and his other metrics (HoF Standards and HoF Monitor scores) likewise don’t measure up.

But to me, this is a good choice.  Gordon was only in the majors for 11 seasons (missing two years for military service during World War II).  He was an All Star for nine of them, missing only in his first and last years active.  he was a key player on five World championship teams, four with the Yankees and one with the Indians.  He was a fine fielder at a key defensive position, as well as a strong offensive prescence.  By all accounts he was a good guy to have in the clubhouse as well.

In this season that will see the return of varisty baseball to the University of Oregon, it’s great to see a UO alum make it to the Hall.  Joe is not around to enjoy the honor, but to his many fans it is cause for celebration.

Now that Mike Mussina has announced his retirement, it is not too early to start considering his chances for the Hall of Fame.  Mussina is an interesting case, as his career accomplishments and statistics put him squarely in the middle of the average range for a Hall of Famer, but he lacks the standard marquee accomplishments (championships, 300 wins, Cy Young awards) that make for greater certainty in getting enshrined.

His problem is illustrated by the difference in his “black ink” (leading the league in certain categories) and “gray ink” (being on the leader board in said categories).  According to baseballreference.com, his black ink score is only 15; the average HOFer is 40. His gray ink score is 244; average HoFer is 185.

He pitched for two AL Champions (2001 & 2003 Yankees); neither team won the World Series.  He finished in the top six in Cy Young voting six times, but never won the award.  His only time leading the league in one of the glamor pitching categories was in 1995 when he led the AL in wins with 19.  By all accounts Mussina is a good teammate and a good guy to have in the clubhouse.  He has been a model of consistency, never failing to make at least 25 starts in any full season during his 18 year career, and finishing in the top ten in ERA 11 times.

It will be interesting to see what the voters do with all of this.  My guess is that he will eventually get in, but not in the first year or two he is on the ballot.

The Sporting News issue of fifty years ago this week (August 8, 1958) featured Yankees pitcher Bob Turley. The headline:

Bullet Bob Firing for Top Hill Targets: Sets Fast Pace in Victories, Route Jobs, and Strikeouts

Specific articles in the feature were “Could Sweep All Pitching Honors in’58″ and “Yanks’ Hurler Throwback to Iron Man Era.”  The article credits Turley as a key reason the Yankees were running away with the AL pennant race, and speculates on his potential for achieving certain milestones such as 20 complete games and possibly sweeping the AL pitching honors that season.  The article states:

Bob amounts to a throw-back to the rubber arms of 30 and 40 years ago, when pitchers just naturally went nine innings. Today the route-goer is rare. Notching 20 complete games, for example, which is definitely within Turley’s reach, is an extraordinary feat for a starter who has firemen breathing on his neck.

At the time the article was written Turley was 15-4 with an ERA of 2.78, 118 strikeouts and 14 complete games.

How did Turley end up that season? He finished 21-7 with 168 srikeouts and an ERA of 2.97.  He just missed the 20 complete games mark, finish with 19, which still tied for the best in the AL along with Frank Lary and Billy Pierce.  His 21 wins also led the league.  He did, in fact, win the Major League Cy Young Award, as well as The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year Award, TSN’s American League Pitcher of the Year Award, and the World Series MVP.

This, his age 27 season, turned out to be the high point of his career.  He would win only 29 more games from 1959-1963, all but the last three (in 1963) with the Yankees, finishing with 101 career victories.  He would never again be among the league leaders in wins or complete games, although he was 7th in the AL in ERA during 1960.

The rarity of complete games that the Sporting News bemoaned fifty years ago has, of course, become even more rare in recent years.  It was not at all uncommon for league leaders in complete games to exceed Turley’s 19 (sometimes by quite a bit) during the 60s and 70s.  But the last pitcher to reach as many as 20 complete games in a season was Fernando Valenzuela in 1986.  No pticher since the turn of the 21st Century has pitched as many as 10 in a season.

Josh Hamilton, who has been one of the feel-good stories in baseball over the past two seasons, continues to impress.  After going through a lengthy suspension for violating terms of his drug treatment program he has been lights-out the past two seasons, first at Cincinnati and now with the Texas Rangers.

Already off to a strong start, he has now homered in four consecutive games, driving in nine runs in the process.  His 67 RBI leads the Majors by 13, and he has been named AL player of the month in both April and May.  He just turned 27, so he is already in his prime, but boy is he ever making the best of his opportunity.  It is great to see a guy overcome adversity and conquer his own failings to become successful.  I’m not a Rangers fan, but I hope he keeps it up.