Come sail away

 

The ship of fools is out at sea already.

Reading comprehension remains at an all-time low. I posted about an unbiased trolling comment I heard yesterday and it got retweeted as a "hot take," which was glaringly wrong.

For the record, I generally eschew bias in the broadcast booth because that's what that guy Scully taught me. Certainly, there can always be that 60/40 approach (60% for the team you work for) where you recognize that "60" pays your salary. But to overstep into a world of being a homer and being biased brings credibility and integrity into question. If that works for you, rock on, my guy.

There are exceptions to all of this. 

*****

Of course, last night's post, dripping in sarcasm, went over like a cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal. Oh well, it's not the first time and it won't be the last.

*****

I belong to a Facebook group called Vintage Baseball Photos. Oh, if it were only truly vintage photos and not continued idiocy (aka more hot takes). Instead, it's obnoxious, arrogant, angry arguments of fans who each want to show they're smarter than the other.

What do I always say about don't try to be the smartest person in the room?

The latest drivel involves Luis Tiant. Ah, Luis. El Tiante!

That windup! That mustache! The big Cuban cigar after every start! He oozed cool from Cleveland to Boston to the Yankees with shorter stops in Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Anaheim (or California as they were known at the time).

Four 20-win seasons! A 1.60 ERA and nine shutouts in 1968 ("The Year of the Pitcher")! 

Get him to the Hall of Fame!

Oy.

Have we not seen enough mistakes? Look, I loved Tiant, even with the Red Sox. Every kid in the 70s imitated his 180-degree spin-around windup. It was a thing of beauty.

But he's not a Hall of Famer in my opinion. Look, it won't be some crime if he gets in but 229 wins, a 3.30 ERA, two All-Star nods, two top-five Cy Young Award finishes, and over 2400 strikeouts don't necessarily equal Cooperstown to me.

A lot more goes into it than that, and that's where the ship of fools arrive in port. Where there's conjecture, well, there's idiocy.

Sounds like politics, no?

The immediate comparison is to Catfish Hunter. For one thing, I get we immediately want to compare but you can't just do it off numbers. Catfish was also a big game pitcher who made eight All-Star Games, had four top-five Cy Young finishes, won 20 or more games four straight years and was at the top of the rotation for three straight Oakland A's world championships. Then he went to the Bronx as the first big free agent signing and led the Yankees to three World Series in his five seasons, winning two more titles. He also has a perfect game to his resume.

Everything, however, has to be in context.

Tiant was flashy and fun. Hunter was quiet and reserved. Writers loved both of them.

It's not so much that the topic of Tiant being in the Hall of Fame was brought up. It's the reaction to it. The comments underneath it.

We know there are mistakes in the Hall of Fame. We know there are players who shouldn't be there for one reason or another. The plaques aren't coming down anytime soon but why compound it by adding more?

It's Thursday. There are just 19 days until the first pitch of the Renegades season, and 26 until they open at home.

It is an awful, rainy night.

Be kind to people and let the ship of fools drone on.