What’s Happening in Baseball Today

The First Pitch: March 6, 2025

The Hall of Fame is going to make it harder for Veterans Committee candidates to hang around on a seemingly endless series of ballots. A new rule states that anyone failing to get less than five votes from any of the 16-member committees will not be able to reappear on another ballot for another three years; if they reappear on a ballot after that time and fail again to get five or more votes, they will be permanently barred from any future ballot. 

Perhaps we should call this the Dick Allen rule. For Allen, the 21st time was the charm, recently and finally being admitted into Cooperstown on his sixth Veterans Committee ballot after failing with in all 15 of his eligible general votes. 

Many responding on social media believe this tightening of the rules is aimed specifically at the cheats—alleged or otherwise—from the Steroid Era, soiled stars such as Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa who could wind up on ballot after ballot within the Veterans Committee. But let’s face it; at some point, if the voters keep saying no, there’s likely a very good reason.

Jose Iglesias finished the 2024 season with an intact, 22-game hitting streak. But three weeks into spring camp, the free agent infielder has gone unsigned—until Wednesday, when he inked a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres. The 35-year-old Cuban native hit an impressive .337 with the Mets over 270 at-bats last season, but that wasn’t good enough to fetch a decent offseason contract. But…Iglesias is only 34 games away from matching Joe DiMaggio’s legendary 56-game hit streak from 1941.

It Was Whatever-Something Years Ago Today

1971: Oakland owner Charles Finley is allowed to act on one of his innovative baseball ideas when a spring training game between the A’s and Milwaukee Brewers calls for walks to be awarded on three balls, not four. It increases offense, as Finley had theorized—Oakland wins, 13-9—but there are also 19 walks issued, not exactly what the fans are paying their good money to see. The idea will quickly be abandoned.

You Say It’s Your Birthday

2015 NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta is 39; five-time All-Star second baseman Cookie Rojas is 86. Born on this date is Hall-of-Fame slugger and 1979 Pirates patriarch Willie Stargell (1940), two-time league leader in saves Ted Abernathy (1933), one-armed wartime outfielder Pete Gray (1915), Negro League infielder Walter Cannady (1902), top Live-ball Era ace Lefty Grove (1900), and infielder of 1,004 hits Bill Sweeney (1886).

Shameless Link of the Day

Houston’s Minute Maid Park recently changed its name to Daikin Park. Check out the history of the Astros’ current home.

And Now For Something Completely Different From TGG Co-Founder Eric Gouldsberry

From 1975-78, my father, Ray Gouldsberry, took photographs of the original San Jose Earthquakes soccer team, an ingeniously marketed collection of colorful players embraced by a growing, sports-starved community which constantly sold out ancient, cozy Spartan Stadium. Shortly after my father’s passing in 2019, I took the negatives of all the precious, invaluable photos he snapped, scanned them, and put together Our Life & Times with the Earthquakes: Images and Memories from the Glory Days of San Jose’s Original Pro Soccer Team. It’s not only a tribute to the Earthquakes and the North American Soccer League, but to my father for capturing all the wonderful memories we shared during our time as season ticket holders of the team through its entire existence (1974-84).

Much like baseball’s Deadball Era, Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes looks at a similar era in soccer history when the game in America was boldly attempting to blaze its own trail clad in flamboyance and imperfection, giving the NASL vivid character. As with those early times of baseball, historical images from the NASL remain scarce and elusive, making Ray Gouldsberry’s photographic collection of the Earthquakes and other star NASL players all the more cherished.

Although the Earthquakes are the primary focus of Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes, the book also spotlights the vibrant and turbulent history of the NASL and its legendary list of stars such as Pelé, Giorgio Chinaglia and George Best (who briefly played for the Earthquakes), all through my father’s photos and the treasure trove of memorabilia I collected during those years.

Formatted at 8.25” x 8.25”, running 200 pages plus cover and containing over 200 photos, 100 images of memorabilia, and a foreword by former Quake and U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Johnny Moore, Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes is available for purchase on Amazon. Read and enjoy!

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To Whom It May Concern

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