Top News:
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Is The Hall of Fame Too Small? — Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame this afternoon, becoming the 234th and 235th players so honored. — Others were left on the sidelines, however. Jeff Bagwell, the Astros slugger who according …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, OMGreds, Mariners blog, Tedquarters, New York Times, Hardball Times and ESPN
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Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com:
Cooperstown calls for Alomar, Blyleven — NEW YORK — Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday as part of the Class of 2011, ending a year of anxiety and trepidation for the pair of stellar players. — Alomar was named on 90 percent …
Kuiperfan / Joe Posnanski:
The Hall of Fame Recap — Bert Blyleven ranks fifth all time in strikeouts (3,701) and ninth in shutouts (60). (AP) — Well, for the most part, Hall of Fame day went as expected. Roberto Alomar didn't just go into the Hall of Fame, he received 90% of the vote, a higher percentage than Jackie Robinson …
AaronGleeman.com:
Bert Blyleven, Hall of Famer — In his 14th year and second-to-last chance on the ballot Bert Blyleven is finally a Hall of Famer and on July 24 will officially take his rightful place in Cooperstown (alongside Roberto Alomar and Pat Gillick) after receiving 79.7 percent of the votes …
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus, Lone Star Ball, Minor League Ball and True Blue LA
Associated Press:
Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven in Hall — NEW YORK — Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven have been elected to baseball's Hall of Fame. — Alomar and Blyleven were chosen Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America after narrow misses last year. — Blyleven — Alomar
Discussion:
Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB Daily Dish, Halos Heaven and River Avenue Blues
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Blyleven, Alomar elected to Hall of Fame
Discussion:
Boston Globe and Lookout Landing
Baseball Hall of Fame:
Alomar, Blyleven Elected to the Hall of Fame
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus and Baseball-Reference Blog
Chris Jaffe / Hardball Times:
Me vs. reality: 2011 Cooperstown
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Red Reporter
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Rangers land Beltre with six-year deal — ARLINGTON — The Rangers have called a news conference for Wednesday afternoon to officially announce the signing of free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre. — Beltre, a two-time American League Gold Glove Award winner who was an All-Star …
Discussion:
Boston Globe and Over the Monster
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Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Boston adds to catching depth with waiver claim — BOSTON — Thirteen months ago, the Red Sox thought they were about to trade for catching prospect Max Ramirez, only to have it fall through when Mike Lowell — the player who was supposed to go to the Rangers — failed his physical.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
Sports Illustrated:
Palmeiro on Hall of Fame snub: ‘I feel like the forgotten man’ … Rafael Palmeiro is one of four players to have 3,000 hits and 500 home runs in his career, but Wednesday, those elite accomplishments couldn't get him even close to the Hall of Fame. — In his first year on the ballot …
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Fanhouse MLB Blog
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John Romano / St. Petersburg Times:
Fred McGriff at a disadvantage with Hall of Fame voters because …
Discussion:
New York Times and Bats
Jim Caple / ESPN:
HOF voters need to open their eyes
Discussion:
TYU, Baseball Crank and HardballTalk
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Complications make Baseball Hall of Fame voting less fun than it used to be
Discussion:
Beyond the Box Score and baseballmusings.com
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Michael Young to work out at first base and other important stuff from Adrian Beltre press conference — ARLINGTON - During Wednesday's afternoon's press conference to announce that Adrian Beltre had agreed to a six-year, $96 million deal with the Rangers, manager Ron Washington referred to the new third baseman as a “defensive whiz.”
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and baseballmusings.com
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Jon Paul Morosi / Fox Sports:
Sources: Rangers to sign Beltre for $96M
Discussion:
sox1fan.com, Lookout Landing, baseballmusings.com and Lone Star Ball
Susan Slusser / San Francisco Chronicle:
eric chavez — Ex-A's infielder to hold workouts — Eric Chavez will work out for the Dodgers on Jan. 20, the longtime A's third baseman told The Chronicle, and his agent said that Chavez will hold private workouts this month for two American League teams (not the A's) as well.
Discussion:
HardballTalk, MLB Rumors and ESPN
Chad Jennings / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Yankees claim RHP Brian Schlitter — The Yankees have claimed right-hander Brian Schlitter off waivers from the Cubs. — Schlitter is a 25 year old who pitched out of the Cubs bullpen seven times last year. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Iowa, going 2-1 with 13 saves and a 3.15 ERA …
Discussion:
BronxBanterBlog.com, It's About The Money and The Sommer Frieze
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Franco disappointed by lack of Hall support — NEW YORK — After he had taken the first couple of hundred flights in his 21-year big league career, John Franco understood what little control he had over at least one critical factor in his life. He put it into words Wednesday evening.
Discussion:
Can't Stop The Bleeding
Michael O'Keeffe / NY Daily News:
Fraud charges for Victor Baez after he allegedly lies about ages of players from Dominican Republic — An influential baseball scout who was arrested in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday allegedly gave new identities to his players to make them appear younger - and therefore more appealing …
Discussion:
Baseball America and HardballTalk
MLB.com:
Coonelly discusses contracts with fans — Pirates president Frank Coonelly participated in his monthly live online chat with Pirates fans on Wednesday. During the chat, Coonelly answered questions about possible contract extensions, the club's top prospects, any more potential moves …
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals Wednesday chat transcript — Joe Strauss: Happy New Year from atop the big wave. As promised, 2011 has ushered in greater urgency regarding Albert Pujols' uncertain status beyond the upcoming season. The team has entered talks with Pujols' agent and we'll see where things go from here.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Thomas Boswell / Washington Post:
Adam LaRoche signing shows Washington Nationals now know nothing is free — Nothing is free. Billionaires aren't exempt. As the Washington Nationals' owners are now learning, in baseball there is even a steep price to be paid for the money you didn't spend in the past.
