Binge Media Sports: MLB Hall of Fame, Rory McIlroy, Cubs v. Cards
Welcome back to Binge Media Sports. I know that football will very soon be the big topic of conversation, and believe me, I’ve got big plans for NFL coverage. With that being said, I just wanted to take an opportunity to cover a couple of things in the world of sports this week. First and foremost, I wanted to talk about this weekend’s festivities in Cooperstown as baseball gets ready to induct the 2015 Hall of Fame class and is this year’s impressive. Three players. Three managers. The cool, and yet sad thing, is that these are guys that I really know (that means I’m getting old). As the years keep going by, there’s going to be more and more players that I grew up watching, and these three were a few of the best.
GREG MADDUX
355 Wins
3.16 ERA
3371 Strikeouts
4 consecutive Cy Young Awards (1992-95)
18 Gold Gloves
1 Championship (1995 Braves)
17 straight seasons with at least 15 wins (1988-2004)
How cool was Greg Maddux? I saw this guy in the minor leagues with the Peoria Chiefs as he was coming up in the Cubs organization and as a member of the North Siders when I was a kid. I remember how awful it felt when he left for Atlanta. It was just another great player that they let get away. Sure, it was cool to see him back in the early 2000’s, but his prime was obviously with the Braves. This guy could paint the corner like nobody else in big league history. That little cut fastball that seemed like it barely got above 90 was just amazing. Pretty nice for a guy who looks like he wanted to sell you insurance.
TOM GLAVINE
305 Wins
3.54 ERA
2607 Strikeouts
5 20-win seasons
2 Cy Young Awards (1991, 1998)
1 Championship (1995 Braves)-also World Series MVP
The lefty of the Braves Big 3. Along with Maddux and John Smoltz (who will be inducted soon), Glavine was part of the best rotation in baseball for so many years. He ran into some arm trouble later in his career, but in his prime, he was pretty awesome to watch and very intense on the mound. Some people didn’t agree with him being inducted in his first year on the ballot, but he certainly deserves to be here.
FRANK THOMAS
521 HR
.301 BA
1704 RBI
Back-to-back MVP (1993, 1994)
30 or more HR 9 times
Batting Champion 1997
100+ RBI 11 times
1 Championship (2005 White Sox)-not on playoff roster
I make it no secret that I’m a Cubs fan, so I usually despise anything that has to do with the White Sox, but never this guy. You couldn’t help but be in awe of this freaking beast. I mean, just look at the picture above. You don’t get a nickname like “The Big Hurt” for no reason. This guy could absolutely crush the baseball. But beyond that, he could just simply hit. I remember a time where I believe he got on base in 15 straight at-bats. It’s a shame that he never got a chance to play in the World Series, but I’m at least glad that he was with the team throughout their run in 2005. Truly a must-watch kind of player back in the day.
BOBBY COX
Managed Braves for a total of 25 seasons
Won 5 NL pennants and 1 World Series (1995)
Made playoffs in 15 straight seasons (1991-2005)
2504 Wins-4th most in history
Sure, the stats up there are nice, but one I didn’t put up there is probably my favorite one. Bobby Cox holds the record for most ejections at 158. That’s HOF worthy enough for me.
TONY LARUSSA
3 AL pennants
3 NL pennants
3 World Series wins (1989 A’s, 2006 & 2011 Cardinals)
Total of 14 playoff appearances
2728 Wins-3rd most in history
I’ll be honest with you. Tony LaRussa isn’t my favorite person in the world, but he sure knows baseball. It seemed like he was able to get the most out of every single player on his roster at any given point. As much as I didn’t like him, I certainly had to respect him.
JOE TORRE
6 AL pennants
4 World Series wins (1996, 1998, 1999,& 2000 Yankees)
Made playoffs 15 times
2326 Wins-5th most in history
Also played 18 seasons-.297 BA, 2342 hits, 1185 RBI
Again, this was a guy that I just couldn’t like. He managed the Cardinals and the Yankees. What’s a guy like me supposed to do with that? But again, this guy knows baseball. Sure, he gets some backlash for winning all those titles with that stacked Yankees roster with an unlimited payroll, but there’s been loaded teams that can’t win. Torre was able to win in the toughest market. I don’t like it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not impressive.
So there you have it. The Hall of Fame Class of 2015. Not too bad.
RORY MCILROY WINS THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Yes, I know that I don’t have a big golf audience here, but I couldn’t go without at least mentioning how impressive Rory McIlroy was last weekend in winning the claret jug at the Open Championship. Going wire-to-wire for the victory, he was in complete control the entire tournament. If somebody got too close (as Rickie Fowler did on Saturday), Rory would just make a few eagles on the way in to distance himself from the rest of the field. This kid’s only 25 and he already has three majors and is only a Masters away from the career Grand Slam. Maybe it’s time everyone stops talking about if Tiger Woods can break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors, and start a countdown about when Rory may pass Tiger.
CUBS V. CARDS
I could write an entire series about why Cubs v. Cardinals is so great, but the only reason I even brought it up was to let everyone know that I’ll be at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon for…..oh, you guessed it, Cubs v. Cardinals. That’s all.
Come back Sunday for another edition of “Working the Weekend with Luke”, where I’ll be covering my weekend in Chicago, the 50 Shades of Grey trailer, and whatever else I can think of. If you missed last weekend’s, you can read it HERE. And I’ll be back soon with more from Binge Media Sports. As always, you can leave comments on the HOF class or Rory below, or just follow me and tweet @THElukenorris. No seriously, just click on it.