Don Mattingly’s back problems hurt his potential Hall of Fame career. Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Don Mattingly is a candidate on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the 13th year. Will number 13 turn out to be lucky for Donnie Baseball? You will be able to watch the announcement of the inductees for 2013 live at 11 a.m. PST on the MLB Network on MLB.com. Mike Piazza also makes his debut on the ballot this year, and of course I feel that he deserves to eventually be honored in Cooperstown as well.

Don Mattingly wore his pinstripes for 14 years with the New York Yankees, and he continues to be one of the all-time favorite players from the Bronx. The Yankees have retired his number 23, but his best showing on the prestigious ballot was in 2001, his first year, when he garnered recognition on (145 votes) 28.2% of the ballots. Last year he appeared on 17. 8% which was up from 13.6% in 2010.

In order to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, a candidate must receive 75% of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Last year Barry Larkin was elected to the Hall of Fame after a 86.4% showing. Jack Morris and Jeff Bagwell are the two top returning candidates from last year’s ballot, and they received 66.7% and 56% respectively last year.

Mattingly isn’t too optimistic about his chances.

 

“I don’t think I’m a Hall of Famer,” Mattingly has said. “I don’t think I have the numbers. Part of it is longevity, and I wasn’t able to do that and do the things that I did early in my career.”

I disagree, Donnie. Mattingly is a nine-time Gold Glove winner at first base over a 10 year period,  and he won the M.V.P.  for the American League in 1985 after batting .324 with 35 homeruns and 145 RBIs. Over his entire career, Mattingly collected 2,153 hits, 222 homeruns, and 1,099 RBIs with a career batting average of .307. He hit over 100 RBIs 5 times, and he had over 200 hits three times.

His back injuries are what harbored him from continuing his career at the level in which he played during an epic six-year run beginning in 1984. During that successful span, Mattingly averaged 26 homeruns, 114 RBIs, and a .327 average. He was also an All-Star in each of those six consecutive seasons for the Yankees.

In 1987, Don Mattingly set or tied 5 MLB records.

1. He hit 6 grand slams in a single-season (later tied by Travis Hafner in 2006).

 2. From July 8-18, 1987, he homered in 8 straight games which tied Dale Long from 1956 and later matched by Ken Griffey Jr. in 1993.

3. During that eight-game streak, he hit a record 10 homeruns total.

4. He broke Babe Ruth‘s 1921 record by hitting extra-base hits in 10 consecutive games.

5. On the night Donnie’s magical extra-base hit streak ended, July 20, 1987, he tied a Major League record by making 22 putouts at first base.

Many say Don Mattingly’s numbers don’t place him amongst Hall of Famers. Photo: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Unfortunately his rusty back plagued him over the subsequent six years. From 1990-1995, he averaged less than 10 homeruns and never hit more than 17 which was in 1993. His batting average dipped to below .300 for the remainder of his career except for the shortened 1994 season when he played in only 97 games and hit .304. In 1989 he had collected 113 RBIs, but that number plummeted to just 42 by the next year.

Mattingly only appeared in one postseason series, the 1995 ALDS versus Seattle. The Yankees lost in 5 games. Mattingly hit .417 in the series and hit one homerun in game 2 and had 10 hits in 24 at bats.  

Don Mattingly’s plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium reads, “A humble man of grace and dignity, a captain who led by example, proud of the pinstripe tradition and dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, a Yankee forever.”

Growing up, Don Mattingly was one of the top players during my childhood. Like Kirby Puckett, who was my favorite non-Dodger, Mattingly’s success albeit with the Yankees was impressive to watch. I doubt he will ever enter the Hall as a manager, but as a player Donnie is up to par in my opinion. I think many Yankee fans and baseball fans would tend to agree with me. Although there are other players not on the ballot who have better numbers than Donnie and who should be inducted in the future, I’d like to think that Donnie stands tall amongst those on this year’s ballot who were part of the steroid era. Good luck, Donnie!

The Yankees general manager Brian Cashman called the agreement “a relief.”

Hiroki Kuroda will play in The Bronx next season. Photo: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Kuroda had a solid season for New York last year. He went 16-11 which was tied for team lead in wins, a 3.32 ERA, and he led the team with 33 starts and 219 2/3 innings pitched. Not bad for a pitcher who turns 38 years old next February. Dodger fans are very familiar with Kuroda’s work ethic and servitude.

I was a bit disheartened to hear the news about Kuroda signing with the Yankees and not the Dodgers, since I thought it would be nice to see him return to Los Angeles where he began his Major League Baseball career.

Kuroda had this to say after the deal was announced:

 

”I am very happy and excited to re-sign with the Yankees. I am very grateful for all of the interest and all of the offers that I received from the various teams that courted me. It was a tough decision for me to make, but at the end of the day, I wanted to try to win a championship with the teammates that I went to battle with last season.”

We don’t know if the Dodgers had made him an offer or not, but they had been rumored to be interested in Hiro this offseason. Kuroda is very loyal, and I suspect his loyalty to his current team played a role in his decision.

The Dodgers most likely passed on vying for Kuroda because they would have lost a first-round draft pick if they had signed him.

The Dodgers should sign Zack Greinke. Photo: Jim Cowsert-US PRESSWIRE

Kuroda becomes the first top billed starting pitcher to be signed this winter. The Yankees have almost shored up their 2013 starting rotation which will include CC Sabathia, Kuroda, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, and David Phelps. They are still awaiting Andy Pettitte‘s decision on whether he wants to pitch next season.

What does this mean for the Dodgers? It’s rumored that their focus has shifted to Zack Greinke, who is the top free agent market starting pitcher available this season. Which means there might be a battle between Arte Moreno and the GBM when it comes to signing Greinke. Re-signing Greinke this offseason is the Angels number one priority. Other teams like the Rangers may get in the mix as well. Anibal Sanchez remains a target for the Dodgers, but the Tigers would like to keep him if they can.

Now’s the time for the GBM to flex their financial muscle to land Greinke. If they want to shape that dream team in which they were talking about when they took over ownership, then signing Greinke needs to be accomplished in order to give the team a true top notch no. 2 starter behind Clayton Kershaw. A rotation filled with Aaron Harangs and Chris Capuanos won’t cut it.