You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Jay Jaffe FanGraphs Chat - 1/29/21
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat
fake baseball fan
3:26
Who, in your opinion, is the worst pitcher in the Hall?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:27
Jesse Haines is 306th in JAWS, compared to Morris and Catfish at 169/170 and Rube Marquard at 248
Lark
3:27
I’ve never been to the physical hall of fame, and I’m considering a trip with my dad once that’s less of a terrible idea. Do you have any recommendations for the museum/town/trip/how long we should expect to be there?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:29
I suggest giving yourself two days centered around exploring the museum and at least one day for other area attractions, and more if you can afford it. I spent a delightful four nights in the dead of early February there when most of the town was closed and I'd kill to have that much time in the summer apart from an induction weekend.
BarryBondsJuicedForOurSins
3:29
Johan is a HOFer.  Fact or fiction?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:31
I mean, it's fiction right now, in that he's not a Hall of Famer. But I think that he deserved a longer look on the ballot, and would be more inclined to elect him based on his high peak than, say, Cole Hamels, who is 0.1 ahead of him in JAWS but never won a CY and has a much lower peak.
Inaccessible Rail
3:31
Who is the one player you would vote for for the Hall even though the numbers REALLY don't back it up?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:31
Fernando Valenzuela.
Guest
3:33
I feel the entire industry is overreacting to 2020 sample sizes. Do you think a fantasy owner that used ONLY 2019 stats to pick their team would be better than a team that used ONLY 2020 stats?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:33
That's a very good question, but perhaps better asked to Dan Szymborski than myself
Guest
3:33
Can you imagine if Henry Aaron had accepted the NY Giants' offer and he and Willie Mays had ended up in the same outfield?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:34
It's mindblowing, really.
Bighen
3:34
Better fit for Mets -Jackie Bradley and Oddorozzi or Bauer?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:34
Bradley/Odorizzi.
Bob
3:34
What's Jon Lester's place in history when it's all said and done - seeing as it seems his career is on the clear path downward? I know he's a bit a ways away, but he was just such an outstanding postseason performer. (this is probably a dumb question, but I'm sentimental today)
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:35
I don't think he's quite in the HOF conversation because of his mid-30s fall-off, but his postseason work will help to keep him on the ballot past his first year.
larryv
3:35
I advise against cookbooks that set one's heart on fire, as hearts are known to respond poorly to flames
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:36
so very true.
Dee Arby
3:36
while you are the foremost expert on the HOF, how does it make you feel that the HOF no longer really matters to many baseball fans?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:40
Having spent most of my life caring about things that only a minority of the population cares about, I can't lose sleep over this. I'm happy that enough people care about it that it's helped me find a niche in this industry. Hall arguments are a renewable resource, and I'm lucky enough to have stumbled into that annual cycle of renewal.  

I think the Hall has always not-mattered to a sizable portion of fans, and unless you have actual data to tell me that segment has grown significantly, I'm not terribly worried; the segment boldly making such declarations is invariably reacting to a headline or recent event to presume that their own feelings are proxy for a broad section of the population.
3:41
OK folks, this has been a blast but it's time for me to go. Hopefully, we'll be able to maintain this timeslot for awhile and make A Thing of it. Thanks for stopping by!
Connecting…