Boston Red Sox - This is Rice's year - The Boston Globe

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Boston Globe: Shaughnessy: Planets seem to be aligning for Rice’s election to the Hall
Published 12/27/2007 at BBTF's Baseball Primer Newsblog
Boston Globe: Shaughnessy: Planets seem to be aligning for Rice’s election to the Hall In the fritzwicky dark matter of the CHB Universe...perhaps. Two years ago, Rice received more votes than any player who didn’t earn enshrinement, but last year his chances diminished because of the introduction of new candidates Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn. The best new names on this year’s ballot are Tim Raines and David Justice. Rice beats both. ...It can only help Rice. He was a dominant power hitter before steroids polluted the game and skewed the numbers. Rice hit 46 homers in a ...

Free and easy (down the road)
Published 12/27/2007 by Chad Finn at Chad Finn's Touching All The Bases
... 6. I hope Dan Shaughnessy is correct in his column today and this is the year Jim Rice, the Sox' slugging superhero in my first seasons as a fan, gets the call from Cooperstown. But I just can't convince myself enough voters will change their minds on him the season to put him over the 75 percent threshold. ...

Jim Rice
Published 12/27/2007 by Shyster at ShysterBall
Dan Shaughnessy's reasoning as to why Jim Rice is likely to make it into the Hall of Fame this year: Rice has three things going for him: 1. His vote total has been north of 60 percent in recent years and Sox historian Dick Bresciani has boosted Rice's candidacy with a convincing public relations campaign; 2. The more we talk about steroids, the better Rice's numbers look; 3. There are no new candidates to overwhelm the voters. A PR campaign, the perfidies of others, and default. How inspiring a case. And you know what? Shaughnessy is ...

Miscellaneous BBWAA Hall of Fame Ballots in Quotes
Published 12/29/2007 by The Baseball Analysts Staff at Baseball Analysts
... Jim Rice, the most feared hitter of his time in the American League... - Bill Kennedy, The Times of Trenton, evidencing the most tired of claims. Rice was so feared, that Managers intentionally walked him less than 48 other players between 1974 and 1989, the span of Rice's career. ========== The best new names on this year's ballot are Tim Raines and David Justice. Rice beats both. - Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe, commenting on Rice "beating" Tim Raines. Raines's career ...

The Worst Hall of Fame Arguments of 2008
Published 1/1/2008 by Vegas Watch at Vegas Watch
... more Cy Young votes, an ERA title and more than one 20-win season in 22 years." I can let the mediocre win-loss record go, but I'm not voting him in because of the mediocre win-loss record and the mediocre win-loss record. I like how we're looking at Wins and Cy Young votes separately, as they're clearly not related at all. Buscema is a first-time voter. Welcome, you'll fit right in. 7. Dan Shaughnessy, for Jim Rice "People ...

Prospectus Matchups: Dead Horses and Fifth Starters by Jim Baker
Published 1/4/2008 at Baseball Prospectus
... Only the most keenly disturbed in our society enjoy it. And yet, it is something we must resort to when determining who belongs in the Hall of Fame and who doesn't. Except, it really isn't degrading someone to point out their place in a qualitative hierarchy, is it? Saying a player is not quite Hall of Fame caliber should not fall under the definition of degradation. It's sorting, really. So, having said that, addressing the notion that Hall of Fame candidate Jim Rice was "feared" and tying it into the great disparities in his home and away production , we ...