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George Steinbrenner not voted into Hall of Fame by Today’s Game committee

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(AP)

There are two new members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Earlier tonight the Hall of Fame announced Harold Baines and Lee Smith have been voted into Cooperstown by the 16-person Today’s Game committee. Harold Baines? Harold Baines. Congrats to Baines and Smith, the latter of whom very briefly played for the Yankees in 1993.

George Steinbrenner was on the ten-man Today’s Game ballot this year and he did not receive enough votes for induction. Not even close. He received fewer than five votes. Twelve are needed for induction. This was George’s fourth appearance on a Hall of Fame ballot and the fourth time he failed to get in. He’ll be up for another vote again in a few years.

Warts and all, I believe Steinbrenner is a Hall of Famer. He is a key figure in baseball history — I don’t mean to dump on Baines, who was a very good player for a very long time, but you can skip right over him in the story of baseball history and you can’t skip George — and I don’t think we should ignore the parts of history we don’t like. Steinbrenner is a baseball icon.

Anyway, Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Charlie Manuel, and Lou Piniella were the others on the Today’s Game ballot this year. Piniella, a former Yankees player and manager, received eleven votes. One vote short of induction. Everyone else on the ballot received fewer than five votes.

The Today’s Game committee is one of four eras committee that replaced the old Veterans Committee a few years ago: Today’s Game (1988 to present), Modern Era (1970-87), Golden Days (1950-69), and Early Baseball (pre-1950). The committees are made up of Hall of Famers, executives, and historians.

MLB Notes: Manfred, Clark, London Series, Footwear Rules

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Manfred & Clark. (Getty)

In addition to all the player movement, MLB and the game of baseball undergo some changes each offseason as well. There have been no significant rule changes yet this winter — those are reportedly weeks away, if any are made at all — but there have been some league-wide developments in recent weeks. Here’s the latest from around MLB.

Manfred, Clark receive contract extensions

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA executive director Tony Clark both received contract extensions this month. Manfred received a five-year deal and is signed through 2024, the league announced. Clark received a four-year deal and is under contract through 2022, the union says. Also, new Yankee James Paxton was elected to the MLBPA’s eight-player executive subcommittee. The board works with Clark on policy and various issues.

Manfred getting a new contract is no surprise. Revenues are higher than ever and the owners are getting a larger piece of the pie each year. They’re happy. As for Clark, there’s been chatter he could be in jeopardy because the MLBPA has conceded so much the last few Collective Bargaining Agreements, but I guess not. He will lead the next round of CBA talks in 2021. For the players’ sake, I hope they get Clark some help, meaning someone actually trained and qualified to lead to a high-profile union.

MLB agrees to new deal with FOX

Get ready for more Joe Buck and John Smoltz. MLB and FOX have agreed to a new contract that runs through 2028, the league announced. Scott Soshnick says the seven-year extension is worth at least $5 billion. That’s a 36% annual increase, on average. FOX will receive expanded streaming and highlight rights as part of the deal, otherwise it’s the same old. Saturday games, the All-Star Game, postseason and World Series games … they’ll all still be on FOX networks.

As a reminder, these national broadcast deals are split evenly among the 30 teams. So, even though the Yankees appear on national broadcasts more than any other team, they get the same cut as, say, the Padres. Hardly seems fair, but it is what it. Anyway, the new FOX deal is yet another new and massive revenue stream for the Yankees. Will that lead to a payroll increase? The new Yankee Stadium opened ten years ago now and payroll has gone down since then, so I’m not holding my breath.

London Series tickets now on sale

The Yankees and Red Sox will play a two-game series in London next season, specifically on Saturday, June 29th, and Sunday, June 30th. The series is part of MLB’s efforts to grow the game globally. Ticket presale for season ticket holders opened this morning and they are crazy expensive. I’m not sure why anyone would’ve expected any different. From Ticketmaster’s site:

Those prices are in pounds. Tickets range from about $38M to $500 dollars American. Expensive, yes, which flies in the face of the league’s “we want to grow the game” edict. MLB’s top priority is making money, always and forever, hence the ticket prices. Investing in the future is a secondary concern.

Anyway, the London Series games will be played at London Stadium with the orientation you see above. I’m not sure what the dimensions will be. I kinda hope it’s cartoonishly small, like 245 feet down the line or something. Ticket presale is open for season ticket holders now. Presale for registered buyers opens Monday, December 3rd (register here), and general sales open Thursday, December 6th.

MLB, MLBPA relax footwear rules

Remember when Brett Gardner took the field with white cleats three years ago and was given a formal warning? He doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. MLB and the MLBPA announced new relaxed footwear rules. Previously, all on-field footwear had to be the team’s designated shoe color. For real. That was a rule. Now players are free to wear cleats that are black, white, gray, or any color displayed on the team’s uniform. Teams can also approve other colors.

“Players welcome the expanded opportunity to express themselves and engage with fans through innovative design. We look forward to seeing their creativity and individuality on the field in 2019,” said Clark in a statement. I’m sure someone somewhere well be aghast at the sight of a Yankee wearing white cleats, but eh, who cares? This gives players a chance to stand out and maybe grab the eyes of a young viewer, and create a new baseball fan. I’m all for anything that promotes creativity and breaks up the monotony of baseball.

Yankees take home $2.87M in postseason pool money

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(Getty)

As a reward for losing the ALDS in four games, the Yankees will split $2,866,130.59 in postseason pool money this year. MLB announced the postseason shares yesterday. The World Series champion Red Sox received a record $31,747,908.06 in pool money.

The Yankees awarded 45 full shares worth $43,081.55 apiece. They also gave out 21.47 partial shares and two cash awards. Last year the Yankees split $10.14M in postseason pool money for losing Game Seven of the ALCS, and they handed out 57 full shares at $138,897.63 a pop. Here’s the postseason pool information:

The players’ pool is formed from 50 percent of the gate receipts from the Wild Card Games; 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first three games of the Division Series; 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first four games of the League Championship Series; and 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first four games of the World Series.  The players’ pool was divided among the 10 Postseason Clubs: the two World Series participants, the two League Championship Series runners-up, the four Division Series runners-up and the two runners-up in the Wild Card Games.

There is some controversy surrounding this year’s postseason shares. George King reports the Yankees voted assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere a half-share and traveling analyst Zac Fieroh, as well as several other members of the traveling support staff, nothing. Although no one is guaranteed a share, coaches traditionally receive a full share and others in the traveling party usually get something.

Players vote on postseason shares during the final week of the regular season and David Robertson ran the meeting this year because he’s been involved in union matters in the past, and the Yankees traded their two union representatives (Chasen Shreve and Adam Warren) at midseason. King says there’s some thought Robertson should’ve pushed harder for Pilittere, Fieroh, and others to get a larger piece of the postseason pie.

The Yankees issued 45 full shares this year, fewest among the ten postseason teams (the Astros had the next fewest with 56 full shares), and it should be noted this is a team vote. The Yankees collectively voted Pilittere a half-share and Fieroh et al nothing. Robertson didn’t make the decision unilaterally. Pretty weird. Not sure what happened here, if anything, and I reckon we’ll never truly find out.

Judge, Stanton, Gregorius, Hicks all receive 2018 MVP votes

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(Presswire)

As expected, Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts was named the 2018 AL MVP earlier tonight. He received 28 of 30 first place votes. Mike Trout finished second in the voting and Jose Ramirez finished third. Trout has two MVPs, four second place finishes, and one fourth place finish in his seven big league seasons. That is pretty nuts.

Betts of course had a marvelous season, hitting .346/.438/.640 (185 wRC+) with 32 homers and 30 steals. He led all players with +10.4 fWAR and +10.9 bWAR. That’s position players and pitchers, AL and NL. Betts led them all. Trout was right behind him though. Trout hit .312/.460/.628 (191 wRC+) with 39 homers in addition his defensive and baserunning excellence.

Aaron Judge received two seventh place and two tenth place votes to finish 12th in the overall AL MVP voting. He was the runner-up to Jose Altuve for last year’s AL MVP, as I’m sure you remember. Judge would’ve been a more serious MVP candidate this year had he not missed seven weeks with a fractured wrist. The injury put an end to his MVP chances.

Also receiving votes were Giancarlo Stanton (one eighth place, one tenth place), Didi Gregorius (one ninth place, one tenth place), and Aaron Hicks (one tenth place). This is the first time four different Yankees received MVP votes in the same season since 2012, when Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Rafael Soriano, and Raul Ibanez drew votes. The full voting results are at the BBWAA’s site.

No Yankees won an award this year. Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres finished second and third in the Rookie of the Year voting, respectively, and Aaron Boone finished fifth in the Manager of the Year voting. Luis Severino received a token fifth place in the Cy Young voting. Now, back to the offseason.

Luis Severino finishes ninth in the 2018 AL Cy Young voting

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(Getty)

Earlier tonight, MLB and the BBWAA announced Rays southpaw Blake Snell is the 2018 AL Cy Young award winner. The Yankees hit him pretty well this year. Nine runs and four homers in 13.1 innings across three starts. Justin Verlander finished a close second in the voting and trade target Corey Kluber finished third.

Luis Severino received one fifth place vote and finished ninth in the voting in his second full big league season. He finished third behind Kluber and Chris Sale last year. Severino is the first Yankee to get Cy Young votes in back-to-back years since (who else?) CC Sabathia, who had three straight top four finishes in the voting from 2009-11. The full voting results are at the BBWAA’s site.

Severino of course had an uneven season this year, pitching incredibly well in the first half and pretty terribly in the second half. The end result was 3.39 ERA (2.95 FIP) with 220 strikeouts in 191.1 innings, which is obviously quite good. Only 26 AL pitchers threw enough innings to qualify for the ERA title this year. Severino’s ranks:

  • ERA: 3.39 (ninth)
  • ERA+: 129 (seventh)
  • FIP: 2.95 (fifth, tied with Snell)
  • Strikeout Rate: 28.2% (seventh)
  • K/BB Ratio: 4.78 (fourth)
  • WAR: +4.8 (eighth)

Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres finished second and third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, respectively, and Aaron Boone finished fifth in the AL Manager of the Year race. The MVPs will be announced tomorrow. The Yankees do not have a finalist but I would expect some of their players to get down ballot votes, most notably Aaron Judge.

Aaron Boone finishes fifth in AL Manager of the Year voting

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(Mike Stobe/Getty)

In his first season as a manager or coach at any level, Aaron Boone finished fifth in the AL Manager of the Year voting. MLB and the BBWAA announced earlier tonight that A’s skipper Bob Melvin has been named the 2018 AL Manager of the Year. Not a surprise given their improvement from 75-87 last year to 97-65 this year. Red Sox manager Alex Cora finished second in the voting and Rays skipper Kevin Cash was third.

For all intents and purposes, the Manager of the Year award is the “manager of the team that most exceeded expectations” award, and that doesn’t fit Boone or the Yankees at all. The Yankees came into the season as World Series contenders and they were very good, going 100-62 and finishing with the third best record in baseball. Generally speaking, they met expectations, and meeting expectations doesn’t win this award.

Boone received received two third place votes and finished behind Melvin, Cora, Cash, and Astros manager A.J. Hinch. This is the tenth straight season the Yankees’ manager received Manager of the Year votes. Joe Girardi did not receive any votes in 2008, his first season with the team, but he received votes every year from 2009-17. Girardi won the NL award with the 2006 Marlins and topped out with a third place finish in 2009 with the Yankees.

The full voting results are available at the BBWAA’s site. As a reminder, these are regular season awards only. Ballots are cast before the postseason. No one asked me, but I would’ve voted for Cash. Cash got his team to buy into the “opener” strategy and it was a big reason they won 90 games. The opener machinations are one of the few tangible pieces of evidence we have of a manager making a difference on the field. Shrug.

Miguel Andujar finishes runner-up to Shohei Ohtani for Rookie of the Year

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(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

The Yankees will not have back-to-back AL Rookies of the Year. Earlier tonight, MLB and the BBWAA announced Angels slugger-slash-pitcher Shohei Ohtani has been named the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year. Ohtani received 25 of 30 first place votes. Miguel Andujar came in second and received the other five first place votes. Gleyber Torres finished third. Here are the full voting results.

Although Torres was the better all-around player this past season, Andujar was widely regarded as the biggest challenger Ohtani, who was simply incredible. The guy hit .285/.361/.564 (152 wRC+) with 22 homers and threw 51.2 innings with a 3.31 ERA (3.57 FIP) and 29.9% strikeouts. A deserving Rookie of the Year through and through. I would’ve voted for him.

Andujar and Gleyber both started the season in Triple-A and ended the season as important players for the Yankees. Andujar hit .297/.328/.527 (128 wRC+) with 27 homers and tied Fred Lynn’s AL rookie record with 47 doubles. He was probably the team’s most consistent hitter. Torres hit .271/.340/.480 (120 wRC+) with 24 homers. If you’re interested, here are the AL rookie WAR leaderboards:

Baseball Reference WAR
1. Joey Wendle: +4.3
2. Shohei Ohtani: +3.9
3. Brad Keller: +3.5
4. Gleyber Torres: +2.9
5. Jaime Barria: +2.6
6. Miguel Andujar: +2.2

FanGraphs WAR
1. Shohei Ohtani: +3.8
2. Joey Wendle: +3.7
3. Miguel Andujar: +2.7
4. Brad Keller: +2.5
5. Ramon Laureano: +2.1
6. Jose Alvarado: +2.0
t-7. Gleyber Torres: +1.9

Even though Andujar (or Torres) didn’t win, the Yankees did have two of the top three finishers in the Rookie of the Year voting, and that’s pretty darn cool. This is also the third straight year they’ve had a top two finisher in the voting. They’d never done that before. Gary Sanchez was the runner-up in 2016 and Aaron Judge of course won the award unanimously in 2017.

The last team with two top three finishers in the Rookie of the Year voting was the Dodgers with Corey Seager and Kenta Maeda in 2016. The last AL team to do it was the 2013 Rays with Wil Myers and Chris Archer. This is the first time since 1949 (Jerry Coleman third), 1950 (Whitey Ford second), and 1951 (Gil McDougald won) that the Yankees had a top three Rookie of the Year finisher in three straight years.

Furthermore, the Yankees have now had multiple players receive Rookie of the Year votes in one season for the third time in the last five years. Andujar and Torres did it this year, Judge and Jordan Montgomery did it last year, and Dellin Betances and Masahiro Tanaka did it in 2014. Hopefully Justus Sheffield and someone else (Jonathan Loaisiga? Mike King?) can do it again in 2019.

The Yankees do not have any finalists for the other major awards. Some of their guys will get votes, for sure, but they won’t finish in the top three. Managers of the Year will be announced tomorrow with the Cy Youngs and MVPs coming Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.