Tell me you didn’t just say that
Tim Brown, in an otherwise completely acceptable article about why he barely ever votes for anybody for the Hall of Fame:
I’d probably vote for Morris before Blyleven, based partly on appearances in All-Star games and on Cy Young balloting, partly on the 20-win seasons, partly on the postseason.
What. The fuck. Are you talking about.
All-Star Game appearances? Are you fucking serious? Cristian Guzman has been an All-Star as many times as Bert Blyleven. Do you really think that means they’re just as good as each other? Bert Blyleven’s career WARP3: 92.4. Cristian Guzman’s: 8.7. But according to Tim Brown, these are equivalent players, because both of them went to the All-Star Game the same number of times. If anyone encounters a stupider thing being thought about baseball, I’d like to hear it, because that’s the new gold standard.
Cy Youngs aren’t much better. You are aware that those are voted on by the kind of people who think All-Star Game appearances are important, aren’t you, Tim? I mean, you’re sure you don’t want to look at, maybe, some stats?
Oh. You do. And the stat you want to look at is… wins. And not just regular wins, but "number of 20-win seasons." How about we get crazy here, Tim, and look at some adult stats instead of this kindergarten bullshit?
Bert Blyleven, career: 4970 IP, 3701 K, 1322 BB, 118 ERA+, 1.198 WHIP, 3.77 DERA, 92.4 WARP3
Jack Morris, career: 3824 IP, 2478 K, 1390 BB, 105 ERA+, 1.296 WHIP, 4.59 DERA (!), 36.2 WARP3 (!!)
Bert Blyleven is so much better than Jack Morris it’s ridiculous. You see how Morris has 68 more walks in one thousand fewer innings pitched? You see how Morris’ defense-adjusted ERA is actually below-average? You see how Blyleven was worth three times as many wins? But, of course, Jack Morris had more 20-win seasons. Maybe because Jack Morris’ career average in runs scored per game was 4.9, compared to Blyleven’s 4.2. But, hey, Bert just should have scored more runs himself, amirite? Since he played in the National League for three years and all, and he played three years before the DH was instituted. Fucking bat better next time if you want to get into the Hall, Bert!
And, I’m sorry, the postseason? Fuck the heck are you even talking about, Tim? Bert Blyleven was brilliant in the postseason, while Jack Morris was… Jack Morris. Look:
Bert Blyleven, career postseason: 47.1 IP, 36 K, 8 BB, 2.47 ERA, 1.077 WHIP, 6.8 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9
Jack Morris, career postseason: 92.1 IP, 64 K, 32 BB, 3.80 ERA, 1.245 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9
Bert Blyleven allows one more home run every ninety innings he pitches, and other than that is way, way better. And, since you care about wins for some reason, Bert Blyleven is 5-1 in postseason play. Jack Morris? 7-4.
Tim. I’m your friend. I’ve said nice things about you before. Please, promise me you’ll pay attention to what you’re doing in the future. If you honestly think Bert Blyleven isn’t good enough for the Hall, that’s your decision, and I don’t agree with you, but the cutoff is definitely a subjective thing. If you want a super-small Hall that’s only the very very best, well, that’s your prerogative. But, come on. Blyleven was so much better than Jack Morris there’s no comparison.
He was better than Roberto Alomar, too, by the way. Just so you know.
