Tag Archives: Tom Glavine

May 8, 2017

Avoiding Managerial Pain

2 Replies

Travis Sawchik talks to three MLB managers about how they make decisions:

So in reading the studies of Kahneman and Tversky, what interested me is how major league managers avoid the trappings of their human hard-wiring. How do they avoid acting against their own club’s own interest? For example, how do they avoid shying away from making bold call —- a decision that might be unorthodox though it would increase the probability of a win — but could yield much more second-guessing if it fails? How do they stick to what they believe is the best decision when thinking about a situation in the quiet of their office before a game, but a decision that could be swayed by the in-game emotion in the dugout during a game?

This reminds me of two conversations I had with different former players about Tom Glavine. Once I asked Ray Knight about why left-handed batters hit Tom Glavine so well. Knight explained to me that Glavine threw a “dead fish”, a soft pitch that moved away from RHB but into the hitting zone of a LHB. I then asked if baseball people knew this why didn’t managers start more lefties against Glavine? Knight said the managers didn’t want to face the press if they lost the game after ignoring the platoon advantage.

Sometime late, I asked former Glavine catcher Greg Olson the same question, and he pretty much gave the same answer, nearly word for word. So it was clear that in the early 1990s managers were executing strategy to avoid harsh press questioning.

July 27, 2014

Hall of Fame Day

4 Replies

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place today, Sunday afternoon at 1:30 PM. Three players considered non-cheaters, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and Frank Thomas receive a plaque in the hall, as well as managers Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa, and Joe Torre (although you could argue Torre is going in for his complete baseball career, as he was a very good player). I don’t know why Maddux was not elected unanimously. Given the high run era in which he pitched, Greg might very well be the greatest pitcher of all time. Glavine was more of a number accumulator, blessed to be a good pitcher on a very good team. Tom also was a reverse lefty during his great years, doing a great job of limiting the offense of right-handed batters. Thomas was a right-handed Ted Williams, hitting for average, drawing a ton of walks, and hitting for power. Over his career, he was a .300/.400/.500 player.

Torre had limited success as a manager before joining the Yankees. He hit New York at the right time, as the building of Bob Watson and Gene Michael bore fruit. He was the buffer, taking all the heat from the owner and the press, allowing his professional players to function without distraction. He was one of the great personnel managers of all time.

Cox, too took over the Braves at exactly the right time. Blessed with a GM who knew how to constantly let go of a weak player and replace him with a stronger one, Cox guided the Braves to one of the most dominant streaks in NL history. In the case of Cox and Torre, synergy between the manager and GM led to great results on the field.

La Russa, may be the most controversial pick. His record certainly deserves induction, but he managed players at the heart of the steroid scandal, and his titles in Oakland were certainly tainted by players juicing. Why he gets a pass and his players don’t is beyond me. Either he knew about what was going on and ignored it, or he simply was willing to take the wins. Of course, La Russa’s election comes from a committee made of former players, who might be more forgiving of PED transgressions than the writers. It might be a while, therefore before players with the taint get in.

January 8, 2014 January 6, 2014

IBWAA Voting

7 Replies

The Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) released the results of their members Hall of Fame Voting, and four players gained the needed 75% to gain entry to the IBWAA Hall of Fame.

Without further ado, the winners are: Greg Maddux with 98.23% of the vote, Tom Glavine with 88.50%, Frank Thomas with 84.07%, and Craig Biggio with 78.76%.

The IBWAA counted 113 votes in its 2014 Hall of Fame election. Maddux was named on 111 ballots. The abstaining votes, with explanations, were cast by Mike Petriello and Jesse Disbrow.

Note that the IBWAA elected Mike Piazza, but not Barry Larkin, differing in that regard from past BBWAA votes.

The IBWAA seems to be a bit more PED friendly, with Barry Bonds getting 57.5% of the vote, and Roger Clemens 56.6%. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire do not do as well, however. It may be that people feel Roger and Barry were Hall of Famers before their alleged use. It will be interesting to see how the BBWAA comes down on this issue.

Update: Chris Jaffe makes his yearly Hall of Fame predictions.