Top News:
ESPN.com:
Johnson, Pedro, Biggio, Smoltz voted into Hall … Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio were elected to baseball's Hall of Fame on Tuesday, the first time since 1955 writers selected four players in one year. — Johnson, Martinez and Smoltz earned induction on their first tries …
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MLB, Let's Go Tribe, Royals Review, FiveThirtyEight, Grantland, Over the Monster, Faith and Fear in Flushing, ESPN, baseballmusings.com, Deadspin, NOLA River and ESPN
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Plain Dealer:
Why I didn't vote for Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez: Paul Hoynes — Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group By Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group — CLEVELAND, Ohio - It's confession time. — I didn't vote for this year's Hall of Fame class that will be enshrined in Cooperstown in July 26.
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NESN.com, Phillies Nation, Let's Go Tribe, Where Have You Gone … and ESPN
Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com:
All-time home run leader sees small uptick in third year of eligibility — Barry Bonds is the only player to win seven MVP Awards while compiling impressive offensive statistics in his 22-year career — NEW YORK — For Barry Bonds, this was his third year on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Kevin Thomas / Portland Press Herald Contributors:
And now for the 2016 Class; Yanks signing Drew; Red Sox DFA Dan Butler — Old news: Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio make the Baseball Hall of Fame. — Never too early to pick the 2016 class. — How about this foursome: — Ken Griffey Jr. — Mike Piazza
Discussion:
New York Post, MLB Trade Rumors and Over the Monster
NY Daily News:
Doubts linger, but support for Mike Piazza's Hall of Fame cause catching on — On a day when he gained 29 votes from last year and recorded 69% of the vote — 75% is needed for election — the numbers say Piazza has a good chance of getting in as soon as next year.
Discussion:
Metsblog, Newsday and Wall Street Journal
Mark Polishuk / MLB Trade Rumors:
Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio Elected To Hall Of Fame
Discussion:
Baseball Essential, The Good Phight, Baseball Prospectus, The Crawfish Boxes, Phillies Nation and Amazin' Avenue
Christian Red / NY Daily News:
On eve of likely Hall of Fame selection, Pedro Martinez reveals he wanted to be a Yankee
Discussion:
River Avenue Blues and Over the Monster
Joe Frisaro / MLB.com:
Ichiro, Schierholtz among options to fill bench role for Marlins — Ichiro Suzuki discusses his pursuit of 3,000 hits and how he is using it as motivation to continue playing — MIAMI — Batting from the left side is not necessarily a requirement, but it is the preference for the Marlins in their search for a fourth outfielder.
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish and Baseball Essential
Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
Diamondbacks to have six new managers at minor league affiliates — The Diamondbacks will have six new managers at minor league affiliates for 2015, the team announced Wednesday. — Phil Nevin, who was said to be a finalist for the Diamondbacks' major league manager position, will return to manage at Triple-A Reno.
Jason Beck / MLB.com:
Right-hander Putkonen designated for assignment — 8/26/14: Tom Gorzelanny strikes out Will Venable to escape a bases-loaded jam in the 8th unharmed — DETROIT — The Tigers' offseason project of bolstering their bullpen via smaller moves continued on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Bless You Boys
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Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Tigers Sign Tom Gorzelanny, Designate Luke Putkonen
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, Bless You Boys and Bucs Dugout
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Diamondbacks To Sign Nick Punto — 12:10pm: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that it's a minor league contract with an invite to big league camp (Twitter link). — 11:49am: The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with veteran utilityman Nick Punto, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
Discussion:
HardballTalk, MLB Daily Dish and AZ Snake Pit
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Yankees To Sign Stephen Drew — JAN. 7: Drew will receive $500K for reaching each of 450, 500 and 550 plate appearances, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link). — JAN. 6, 10:02pm: David Lennon of Newsday tweets that Drew's base salary is exactly $5MM.
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley, HardballTalk, Yankees Unscripted, MLB Daily Dish, River Avenue Blues, Lone Star Ball and Amazin' Avenue
Chelsea Janes / Washington Post:
West Palm Beach Mayor clears path for new Nationals' training facility — West Palm Beach will negotiate a land swap with Palm Beach County for 160 acres of land targeted for a joint training facility for the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, Mayor Jeri Muoio announced Monday …
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Metsblog
Craig Calcaterra / HardballTalk:
Why should we care if a ballplayer is mean or if he's “a punk?” — This is only tangentially related to the actual Hall of Fame vote because neither of these guys voted. One because he's not a Hall of Fame voter and the other because, well, you'll see that in a minute.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
J.J. Cooper / Baseball America:
2015 Cincinnati Reds Top 10 Prospects — Want More? Complete 2015 Top 10 Prospects Rankings — Get it all: Subscribe to Baseball America — Go 30 deep: Order the 2015 Prospect Handbook! — The Reds head into 2015 with a lot of opportunity, and a whole lot of uncertainty on the horizon.
Discussion:
Cincinnati.com
