Congratulations, Pedro! (A little belated...)

Pedro Martinez is going to Cooperstown! Yeah, yeah... I know I'm a little late to the party but these days, I'm lucky if I remember my own name, so better late than never. Like most Red Sox fans, I loved Pedro. His way of getting the job done was always fun to watch, not to mention his ridiculous personality. He actually told TMZ Sports a couple days ago that he hoped his Jheri curl makes an appearance on his Hall of Fame plaque. I'm just hoping it's a Red Sox cap covering those curls.

I could go on and on about his accomplishments — three-time Cy Young winner, eight-time All-Star, five-time ERA champion and three-time strikeout champion, but who doesn't already know all this? He pitched in two World Series but only won one... one very, very memorable World Series for Red Sox fans. But really more impressive is the baseball era in which he dominated as a pitcher... the dreaded steroid era. And he always pitched clean.

During Pedro's career with the Red Sox, I never once got to see him pitch. Believe me, I'm still bitter about this. One summer, I honestly can't remember when, I went to a game with my parents. It was a drizzly, miserable night but Pedro was scheduled to pitch and I was so excited, it could've been snowing and I wouldn't have cared. About 15 minutes before the game was to start, the public address announcer says there's been a change in the line up and Pedro Martinez would not be pitching. I looked at my parents and said, "I want to go home." But we didn't because that would've been silly. I was so pissed!

It wasn't until 2006 when Martinez returned to pitch at Fenway Park as a New York Met that I finally got to see him live. The cheer he got as a visiting pitcher was thunderous. But the Sox kicked his ass so that was fun too!

I don't think I saw Pedro again at Fenway Park until April 20, 2012 — the 100th anniversary game. But that day, I saw just about everyone through my tears of joy. Pedro and Kevin Millar led all of Fenway Park in a toast to 100 years, complete with what appeared to be a bottle of champagne each. It was funny, touching and perfect.

Congratulations, Pedro... I can't think of any Red Sox pitcher in my lifetime that deserved a first ballot induction into the Hall of Fame more. I wish I could be in Cooperstown with you to celebrate! And congrats also to his classmates, Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson and John Smoltz.

Day 313: Red Sox Hall of Fame Class of 2014

The Boston Red Sox named its most recent Hall of Fame selections and I can honestly say one of those choices, I don't agree with at all. I understand this isn't Cooperstown, but the panel of 16 judges that include club executives, print and broadcast media members, booster club representatives, and historians, may need to get their heads out of their asses. The group elected Pedro Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra and Roger Clemens to the team's Hall of Fame.

Now do you see my problem? Roger Clemens? Really? Roid boy Roger? The cheater.

I'm sure they're all sticking to the argument that there was no proof that the Rocket was on the juice during his 13 seasons in Boston. If you're just looking at his accomplishments with the Red Sox, he was mostly likely already Cooperstown-bound. He is tied with Cy Young with the most career wins (192) and most career shutouts (38) as a member of the Red Sox. He is the all-time franchise leader in strikeouts with 2,590 and he won three Cy Young Awards. Clemens also had two 20-strikeout, no-walk games in 1986 and 1996.

Well, that's all well and good but the dude cheated. He most likely will never be voted into the national Hall of Fame because of this so why did this bunch of wind bags vote him in? And how much Pedro and Nomar be feeling about their classmate? Oh well... it's done and there's nothing I can do about it but be bitter and annoyed and I have no interest in discussing that jackass more than I have to.

Red Sox shortstop from 1996-2004, Nomar Garciaparra has the fourth-best career batting average (.323) and fifth-best slugging percentage (.553) in the team's history. In 1997, he led the AL with 209 hits and 684 at-bats, and a 30-game hit streak—the same year he won the Rookie of the Year award. He batted .372 in 2000 which was the fourth-highest for a single season in club history. It was such a big surprised when Nomar was traded mid-way through the 2004 season, but who knows if his presence would've changed the outcome of that season. Regardless of his absence from that Championship run, he deserves a spot in Red Sox history.

Pedro Martinez won two Cy Young Awards and was named an All-Star four times in his seven seasons with the Red Sox. He played a huge role in the World Series run in 2004—his last season in Boston. Pedro finished his time with the Sox with a 117-37 record making him the club's all-time leader with a .760 career winning percentage. He had 72 10-strikeout games and his ERA with the Sox was a stingy 2.52—the seventh lowest in team history, but the lowest since the early 1900s. There were few pitchers more dynamic and fun to watch than Pedro. I remember the one time I was supposed to see him pitch in person, he was scratched just minutes before the game started. I was crushed.

Red Sox radio broadcaster, Joe Castiglione, was also inducted. He has spent the last 31 season as their play-by-play announcer. Castiglione became a household name for his call of the 2004 World Series win where he said, "Can you believe it?" He's been my beach buddy for years because there's not much that makes me happier in the summertime than sitting on the beach with the Sox game on the radio.

So other than that one mistake, looks like a pretty solid and deserved Hall of Fame class for the Red Sox in 2014. I just feel bad that Nomar, Pedro and Joe have to share the stage with that douchebag.

Day 284: Cooperstown Class of 2014

First, I would like to say how much I think the voting process for the Baseball Hall of Fame is a crock of shit. The BBWAA (or Baseball Writer's Association of America) is responsible for submitting a ballot that can list as many as 10 players or even none—if they think no one is worthy of a trip to Cooperstown. Some of these voters might write down their hometown favorites, or leave deserving others off for ridiculous reasons. It's just stupid.

In an age where many players now eligible for the Hall are held in suspicion of using performance enhancing drugs, fewer players are being voted through. Look at Roger Clemens. Arguably one of the best pitches of my lifetime with seven Cy Young awards to his name. But just the suggestion of PEDs keeps his vote total low—just over 35% in his second year. Same with Barry Bonds. Personally, I don't think cheaters should be rewarded with an accolade of this caliber. It's setting a bad example.

In order to be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, a player must have played at least 10 years and have been out of the game for at least five years. They must also receive at least 75% of the votes to be inducted—and if a player gets less than 5% of the votes, he's disqualified from future ballots. There were 36 players who qualified for this year's ballot—only three made it in. Fifteen players received the dreaded sub-5% and will no longer be eligible. And then there's Jack Morris who was on his 15th and final ballot and received just 61.5% of the votes—sadly not enough to get him to Cooperstown.

This is the first time that three first-ballot nominees were elected since Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount in 1999. Without further ado, I introduce you to the very small Cooperstown Class of 2014:

GREG MADDOX, PitcherMaddox was the leading vote getter with 555 of the 571 ballots for 97.2%. He pitched 23 years in the majors averaging a .610 career winning percentage. He won four Cy Youngs and 18 Gold Glove awards. He played in three World Series earning one ring when the Atlanta Braves beat the Cleveland Indians in 1995. 

TOM GLAVINE, PitcherGlavine received 525 votes (91.9%). A Massachusetts native, Glavine also pitched in the majors for over 20 years and finished with an average winning percentage of .600. He won two Cy Youngs and played in five World Series, winning only once as a teammate of Greg Maddox in 1995.  

FRANK THOMAS, Designated HitterThomas received 478 votes (83.7%) in his first year of eligibility. The first baseman/designated hitter spent a good portion of his 19-year career with the Chicago White Sox where he was nicknamed The Big Hurt and won back-to-back MVPs in 1993 and 1994.

Houston Astros' Craig Biggio really got the shaft when he missed being inducted in his second year by .2%. And former Red Sox playoff hero Curt Schilling got just over 29% of the votes to keep him out for the second straight year. So the bloody sock makes it to Cooperstown but Schill will need to wait...