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Jay Jaffe FanGraphs Chat – 12/2/22
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Matt (Oceanside)
3:32
Hi Jay, I understand everyone has an opinion regarding steroids and the Hall of Fame. But one argument I find really lacking is the idea that someone would vote for a player who they know used steroids, because they assume that their are players already in who used. Even if that is true, just because one wrong already happened doesn't justify another wrong. I think that is an extremely weak argument. Do you think I am off-base?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:36
Opinions about how to handle PED-linked candidates vary widely, and I don't know that there's a one-size-fits-all strategy because the nuances matter. IMO, it matters whether we're talking about someone in the pre-testing era or the testing era, and it's also worth noting that the Hall is already filled with more PED users than we can count because amphetamines are performance enhancers. Different than steroids in some ways, but they helped guys stay in the lineup and pad their numbers, and earn accolades they might not have gotten to.
James
3:37
Do you think the Rays see something in Eflin that they can fix? So wild that this is their largest free agent signing...
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:39
Michael Baumann wrote about him here https://blogs.fangraphs.com/tampa-bay-signs-this-eflin-guy/. I haven't read the full piece but i get the gist of the argument: he's already put together performances that would justify the salary and that's without getting a chance to fully show off his remade arsenal. In that view it's less a matter of fixing him than maintaining him over a larger workload.
Wes
3:39
I mean I respect your opinion, but I personally would care a lot if Joe Morgan came back from the dead to tell people his opinion of Billy Wagner
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:40
Zombie Joe Morgan would be an interesting novelty act, but I'd give him 30 seconds before I'd hit the mute button on him as if he were still on Sunday Night Baseball
Farhandrew Zaidman
3:41
Seems consensus that Verlander will end up in the hall one day. What team do you think he enters with? Tigers or Astros?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:41
I think Tigers or blank cap
Frank Thomas the Tank Engine
3:41
Will Felix Hernandez get any support as a peak candidate to stick around on the ballot for a few years? Future ballots seem less crowded than the last 5-10 years, and he had a heck of a 10-year run before his body and arm gave out.
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:42
doubt it, though it's tough to compare him in that regard to, say, Johan Santana, who was better but fell off quickly because the ballot traffic was so heavy.
He may persist down-ballot like a Pettitte or Buehrle
Pkpkpkpk
3:43
Hi there Jay, thanks as always for chatting. I know JAWS is your primary HOF measure, but are there any active players do you think may fall short of the JAWS standard but still have a good chance at election/get your vote? For example, Freddie Freeman and Jose Altuve look likely to fall a bit short on peak WAR, but if they get to 3000 hits or the career WAR standard for their positions, they both feel like locks to me (sign stealing aside, in Altuve's case).
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:45
I don't think there's much argument that if Freeman or Altuve get to 3,000 they're going in. JAWS isn't meant to be a binary yes/no and both of those guys have already started to accumulate the added accessories that burnish a Hall case: MVP awards, championships (beyond the tainted one for the latter). Milestones will be part of that, too.
Jacob
3:45
Rays spent money on a FA SP? W T Ef(lin)?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:45
I loved Mike's headline for that one
Love the site
3:45
What changes would you make to create a more 'hall of fun' while still maintaining a hall of fame?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:45
Pony rides in the plaque room
3:49
I think the Hall is a fun place — love the baseball card exhibit, for example — but would love to see some kind of cultural impact award that could run in parallel to the Buck O'Neil one for lifetime achievement. Recognize guys like Lefty O'Doul, Fernando Valenzuela, even Jim Bouton for the way they expanded our access and understanding of the game
even if they didn't have the performance that would earn them a plaque.
Graver
3:50
When do you think a Dome/Retractable Roof will be standard/required in Baseball?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:52
how's never? Is never good for you?

I just don't see where an owner who's bilking taxpayers out of a billion dollars for a stadium is going to be able to REQUIRE those taxpayers to find another half a billion to add a roof or else they bolt town. It's just not that often that the weather matters so much that a roof is needed except when fans and writers get pissy about cold temperatures in April and October.
Dalton Wilcox
3:54
Thoughts on Dansby Swanson the FA?
AvatarJay Jaffe
3:55
I don't think he's a long-term lineup centerpiece the way Turner is, but his glove and a solid bat will still be worth a lot over the next half a dozen-ish years.
3:56
wow, look at the time. I've got to wrap this up. Thanks so much for stopping by this week, and keep an eye out for the Contemporary coverage, the Beltrán profile, and our Winter Meetings coverage next week. Until them, don't burn yourselves on the hot stove!
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