The 2020 Hall of Fame Millhouse Ballot

Photo of Paul Konerko by Daniel Millhouse

It's two days away from the announcement for the new class of Major League Baseball players who will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Multiple classes have passed since some of the eligible players connected to the steroids accusations started popping up on the ballots, and still, to this day, are debates about whether some of these players should be inducted. 

Some make the case that Barry Bonds shouldn't get in, but then they voted for Mike Piazza, Jim Thome, and Ivan Rodriguez. Because they're more likeable perhaps, but that should not be a determination on whether a player gets in. Ty Cobb killed at least one person and was a known ass to so many. Several of the legends who played between the 1950's and 1970's have admitted to taking "greenies," which helped slow down the game for them. 

And the other debate of the baseball hall vote came to a close last year when Mariano Rivera became the first player to earn 100 percent of the vote. It's hard to justify why he is the first when so many players before him should have also earned 100 percent of the vote. How players like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Ted Williams didn't receive 100 percent is beyond ridiculous. Hell, Cy Young, who the award for best pitcher of the season is named after, only received 76 percent of the vote. The Babseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) needs to take a look within and reassess how they determine who should get in and who doesn't. The writers hold grudges and aren't afraid to hide it. 

With that said, the following would be the players on my ballot if I was a member of the BBWAA. This is 2020:

1. Derek Jeter: The Captain led the Yankees through their most recent dynasty. Racking up almost 3,500 hits in his career, Jeter was on pace at one point to break the all-time hits record until his ankle injury slowed him down. He had a .310 career batting average and over 358 stolen bases to match. There are some that try to make the claim that he doesn't deserve to go, but they are wrong. Jeter not only should make it to Cooperstown, he should be the next 100 percent player.

2. Barry Bonds: It's his eighth year on the ballot. He's the all-time homerun leader, with a .298 career batting average, 514 stolen bases, eight Gold Gloves, seven MVP's, 12 Silver Sluggers, and had a career on base percentage of .444. One writer has argued that Bonds' stats are good enough to get in, but because he doesn't have a World Series ring, he shouldn't get in. That writer needs to be kicked out from voting.

3. Roger Clemens: Another player that the BBWAA has denied for eight years, Clemens has 354 wins, is third all-time on the strikeouts list, in the top 10 all-time in WAR (for the sabermetric nerds), had a career ERA of 3.12, and he won seven Cy Young Awards and one MVP. It has been cited that a reason not to vote him in is because he cheated on his wife with country music star Mindy McCready, but that is between him and his wife. If that's a reason not to vote a player in, I'm sure there's multiple current Hall of Famers who have done that and even worse.

4. Billy Wagner: Wagner is the most dominant left-handed closer of all-time, but he only managed to get 16 percent of the vote last season and is now on his fifth ballot. He has 422 saves, a 2.31 career ERA, a career WHIP of less than one, and a career strikeout ratio of 11.9 per nine innings, which is the best in MLB history. 

5. Andy Petite: He was the silent-type on a pitching rosters that included Clemens, Mike Mussina, C.C. Sabathia, David Wells, and Dwight Gooden. Still, he was not only consistent, he was a top level pitcher for so many years. He racked up 256 career wins, was in the top six in the Cy Young Award voting five times, and for those who factor post season play into their voting, he had a 19-11 record. Sometimes, a hall of famer doesn't need to be the loudest player on his team. It would also be nice to see Petite go in during the same years as his former teammate, Jeter.

6. Gary Sheffield: Speaking of Dwight Gooden, his nephew, Gary Sheffield, is another player looking to make it to the Hall. He had 509 career homers and drove in 1,676 RBI's. A .292 batting average and five Silver Slugger Awards also help make his case. Also solidifying his case is the fact that he finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting six times in his career.

7. Jeff Kent: The case against him is that he managed to find a way to be even less friendly to the press than his former teammate, Bonds. Jeff Kent hit the most homers in history for a second baseman. His modesty is unmatched (note the sarcasm) as he bragged that he was better than other Hall of Famer second basemen at fielding, except for Roberto Alomar. He wasn't as bad as his reputation, but he wasn't good either. Still, his offensive stats alone show that he still should be in based on his play on the field.

8. Paul Konerko: Another silent-type of player, Konerko blasted 439 homers, appeared in six all-star games, and earned MVP votes in five seasons. He also had 1,412 RBI's. No, he was not as loud of a home run leader like Sammy Sosa, Bonds, or McGwire, but he did have seven seasons in which he hit 30 or more homers, two of which he hit over 40. For the voters throwing other players on the steroids bus, Konerko was one of the few power hitters of his generation not to be accused of using anything.

9. Larry Walker: This one was a hard one for me, but for different reasons than what the BBWAA cites. They opening ding Walker for playing for the Colorado Rockies and in the Mile High Stadium air. My reason for years was different. Out of his 17 seasons, playing at a position such as outfield, he only played over 145 games in a season once. In fact, in five of those seasons, he played in about half a season or less. This is why I had so much internal struggle in whether or not to vote for him. But despite the injuries, he still hit 383 homers, had a career batting average of .313, and had a career on base percentage of .400. His arm was legendary, he earned three batting titles, and he won the MVP in 1997. He played over half of his career games on the road, and while yes, he hit better while playing at home, so did many other players. He also boasted seven Gold Glove Awards, showing that he was more than just offense.

2019 Millhouse Major League Baseball Awards

Photo of Alex Bregman - Taken by Daniel Millhouse

So, now that the season is done, it's that time of year for me to announce the winners of the Millhouse 2019 Major League Baseball Awards. Yes, I usually announce them before the official awards are announced, but I was pretty set on my picks and promise that I was not swayed by the official vote. I've also included a list of my preseason picks for comparison purposes.

To those that have won a Millhouse Award, feel free to email and the next time you're in the Menifee, California area, I will buy you a coffee or beer, your choice.

Also, worth noting, my preseason prediction for the World Series was the Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals/Philadelphia Phillies during the preseason.

American League:
MVP - My pick is Alex Bregman. This one was a neck-to-neck one for me because Mike Trout deserved it just as much about. If you're a sabermetrics guy (which I am not), Trout let the American league in Offensive Wins Above Replacement (Offensive WAR), but Bregman led the American League in Overall WAR. Bregman played both third base and shortstop this season and was the most important position player on a star-studded team that nearly won the World Series. Trout had more homers (45 to Bregman's 41), but Bregman scored more runs, drove in more RBI's, and had a slightly higher batting average. 

Overall Picks - Alex Bregman, 2. Mike Trout, 3. DJ LaMahieu, 4. Marcus Semien, 5. George Springer

Preseason Picks - Alex Bregman, 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. George Springer, 5. Mookie Betts.

Cy Young - Justin Verlander is my pick, but his teammate, Gerrit Cole, was pretty close to winning this one as well. Definitely one of the best one-two punches in the American League in the last several years, both pitchers were key to the Astros going to the World Series; between the two of them they started 77 of the 162 regular season games. Verlander nudges out the award over Cole, although Cole established himself as possibly the most desirable free agent this off-season.

Overall Picks - Justin Verlander, 2. Gerrit Cole, 3. Charlie Morton, 4. Shane Bieber, 5. Lucas Giolito

Preseason Picks - Justin Verlander, 2. Chris Sale, 3. Corey Kluber, 4. Charlie Morton, 5. Mike Clevinger

Rookie of the Year - Yordan Alvarez is my pick and was a pretty clear-cut winner for this one. I usually ding rookies who don't get a large portion of their first season on the Major League roster, but Alvarez squeezed a whole season worth of stats into his partial season. Called up in June, he still hit .313 with 27 homers and 78 RBI's.

Overall Picks - Yordan Alvarez, 2. John Means, 3. Eloy Jimenez, 4. Luis Arraez, 5. Brandon Lowe

Preseason Picks - Jesus Luzardo, 2. Yusei Kikuchi, 3. Vlad Guerrero Jr., 4. Eloy Jimenez, 5. Brandon Lowe

Fireman of the Year - Aroldis Chapman

Manager of the Year - Rocco Baldelli

Breakout Player of the Year - Tim Anderson (preseason pick - Tim Anderson)

Silver Sluggers - C Mitch Garver, 1B Jose Abreu, 2B DJ LaMhieu, 3B Alex Bregman, SS Marcus Semien, OF Mike Trout, George Springer, Mookie Betts, DH Nelson Cruz

National League:
MVP - Christian Yelich is my pick for the National League. He was a 40/30 player (homers/stolen bases) who led the National League with a .329 batting average, had 100 runs scored, 97 RBI's, and had an incredible .429 on base percentage. Bellinger won this award, but Yelich meant more for his team and carried them on his shoulders for a while.

Overall Picks - Christian Yelich, 2. Anthony Rendon, 3. Cody Bellinger, 4. Nolan Arenado, 5. Ronald Acuna Jr.

Preseason Picks - Nolan Arenado, 2. Christian Yelich, 3. Manny Machado, 4. Freddie Freeman, 5. David Peralta

Cy Young - Jacob deGrom is my pick. Not too many times you'll see a Cy Young Award winner with 11 wins unless he's a reliever, but deGrom pitched on the Mets and still put up great numbers. If he played on a playoff team, he would have put up more wins, easily.

Overall Picks - Jacob deGrom, 2. Kirby Yates, 3. Max Scherzer, 4. Hyun-Jin Ryu, 5. Jack Flaherty

Preseason Picks - Max Scherzer, 2. Aaron Nola, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Patrick Corbin, 5. Walker Buehler

Rookie of the Year - This was a pretty big no-brainer with Pete Alonso smacking 53 homers in his rookie season. The Polar Bear edges out Matt Soroka who would be one of my top-10 picks for the Cy Young this year. Breaking the rookie record for homers while having 120 RBI's pretty much solidified this for me.

Overall Picks - Pete Alonso, 2. Matt Soroka, 3. Fernando Tatis Jr., 4. Dakota Hudson, 5. Bryan Reynolds

Preseason Picks - Chris Paddack,  2, Pete Alonso, 3. Brendan Rogers, 4. Victor Robles, 5. Luis Urias

Fireman of the Year - Kirby Yates

Manager of the Year - Craig Counsell

Breakout Player of the Year - Ketel Marte

Silver Sluggers - C JT Realmuto, 1B Freddie Freeman, 2B Ozzie Albies, 3B Anthony Rendon, SS Trevor Story, OF Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Ronald Acuna Jr.

Bullpen Days are Pointless

Photo of Kevin Quackenbush by Daniel Millhouse

Baseball is a game of traditions, but everything changes with time. Of course, there should be adaptations as the game progresses on. New changes to the baseball glove, new types of wood used for the bats, no smoking in the dugout - Keith Hernandez is still probably angry about this one.

But as the game progresses, there have been some changes that make no complete sense. I've wanted previously about the shift and still hate the damn thing.

Today, I rant about bullpen days. This is the turn in the rotation in when a team starts a relief pitcher instead of a starter. Depending on the tram, they follow up by pitching a starter in the second and subsequent innings or use more relief pitchers to get through the game.

Sabermetrics advocates argue that since relievers tend to have better stats on average than starters (e.g. ERA), that facing an opposing team's top three hitters with a reliever will lower a the odds of a team scoring throughout the game. These stats posted by the relievers incorporate all their experiences in facing hitters of all spots in the batting order. Put a reliever with a 2.50 overall ERA against a team's top three hitters every time and their ERA would not continue to be 2.50 ERA.

Secondly, it hurts a team's bullpen. Using relievers too much tires them out, especially when they're being asked to pitch multiple games in a row. Teams that use multiple relievers in a game, intentionally, can find themselves hurting in the games that follow, especially if the starters in the following games falter and the team needs to turn to their bullpen to get through those games.

To make up for the increased usage in relievers, over the years, teams have placed more relievers on their rosters and reduced the number of position players. Being a former pitcher myself, you would think I would be for this, but I'm not. It reduces the strategy it tight situations when it comes to bringing in a pinch-runner or hitter. It also can weaken some teams as they have to develop a player to be a super-utility player, hurting a team on defense when their player is forced to play a position they have no business playing.

If bullpen days actually worked, as well as the shift supposedly does, there would be a decrease in the MLB'S offensive numbers. Instead more homers are being hit, teams are scoring more runs, and baseball in general just starts getting too micromanaged. The fun of the game is taken away and it slows down each time a new reliever gets brought in. The MLB wants to try to speed up games...this is one of the reasons it's slowing down.

2019 Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions

Photo by Daniel Millhouse of Luis Urias (using filter)

A new baseball season is upon us and as usual, it's prediction time for the upcoming season. Last season, my predictions included Christian Yellich being a top five candidate for MVP (he won). This year, we'll see if I'm right again at the end of this year.

American League:

AL East: 1. New York Yankees, 2. Boston Red Sox, 3. Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays, 4. Toronto Blue Jays, 5. Baltimore Orioles...

The Yankees were already a power house last season, butt they found themselves in the same division, let alone league, that featured the other most powerful team in baseball. This past offseason, the Yankees loaded up. They improved their starting pitching with the additions of J.A. Happ and James Paxton, retained Zach Britton to form the best bullpen in baseball with Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, and Chad Green added to the mix, they obtained DJ Lemahieu to fill in until the summer when Didi comes back, and they retained Luke Voit, to strengthen their corner. The Red Sox lost their closer and their bullpen is a little shakier this season, which is still good enough to get into the playoffs possibly, but not good enough to stave off the Yankees. The Rays will give the Red Soz a run for second place. On a side note, the Orioles are my pick for the worst team in the MLB this season.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians, 2. Minnesota Twins, 3. Chicago White Sox, 4. Detroit Tigers, 5. Kansas City Royals...

The Indians will take the division again behind a stacked starting pitching staff and the great hitting from Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. What should be taken note is that the Twins will rise up and win over 90 games. Their hitting approved with the additions of Nelson Cruz, C.J. Cron, Marwin Gonzalez, and Jonathan Schoop. Jake Odorizzi also should have a step-up year that will improve the team as a whole. This year is make or break for Bryan Buxton and Miguel Sano. Both have shown flashes of talent and of horror. The White Sox will hit middle ground, but may have a breakout player in Eloy Jimenez.

AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Oakland Athletics, 3. ANAHEIM Angels, 4. Seattle Mariners, 5. Texas Rangers...

The Astros again are the favorite to win the AL West. Despite losing Marwin Gonzalez, they still managed to improve their offense by adding Michael Brantley and upgrading at catcher by adding Robinson Chirinos. Their pitching staff is a top three in the MLB and their bullpen is even stronger by retaining Roberto Osuna and Ryan Pressly. The Oakland A's are in a high ceiling/high reward scenario. They have rookies and younger players who are now in place to break out. Ramon Laureno, Jesus Luzardo, and Jurickson Profar will either step up or fall flat on their faces. If they do, the Angels will be right there to take second and would have been a more sure bet to take second if they had improved on their pitching. The Angels wisely signed Trout to a long term contract, but failed to pick up free agents pitchers such as Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez, Wade Miley, Marco Estrada, or Tyson Ross.

Award Winners:
MVP - Alex Bregman...the easy answer is to say Mike Trout, but Bregman will be in his age 25 season, fresh off a 30+ homer season and appearing to have improved even more during this past offseason. 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. George Springer, 5. Mookie Betts; next 5 in no particular order, J.D. Martinez, Matt Chapman, Tommy Pham, Eddie Rosario, and Jose Altuve.

Cy Young - Justin Verlander...fresh off signing a contract extension, the ace pitcher for the Astros was second place in the voting last season. If he can lead the Astros to the World Series, the writers will surely consider Verlander one of the top candidates. 2. Chris Sale, 3. Corey Kluber, 4. Charlie Morton, 5. Mike Clevinger; next 5 in no particular order, Gerrit Cole, Blake Snell, Matt Boyd, Yusei Kukuchi, Marcus Strohman

Rookie of The Year - Jesus Luzardo...his rise to the Majors has caught the attention of everyone. Match that with a great Spring Training and the A's feel like they have a potential future star for years to come. 2. Yusei Kikuchi 3. Vlad Guerrero Jr., 4. Eloy Jimenez, 5. Brandon Lowe

Breakout Player - Tim Anderson

Comeback Player - Gary Sanchez

All-AL Team - C Gary Sanchez, 1B Matt Olson, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Alex Bregman, SS Francisco Lindor, OF Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, George Springer, DH Khris Davis, P Justin Verlander

National League:

NL East: 1. Philadelphia Phillies, 2. Washington Nationals, 3. Atlanta Braves, 4. New York Mets, 5. FLORIDA Marlins...

The Phillies have risen and have their best roster since they were led by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Additions of Bryce Harper, Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto, and Andrew McCutcheon to their everyday staff and an established closer in David Robertson, boost the Phillies to a neck to neck finish with the Nationals. The Nats lost Harper, but are still strong in the outfield with Victor Robles, Adam Eaton, and Juan Soto. They also added Patrick Corbin to their pitching staff, who makes for possibly the best number three pitcher in baseball this season.

NL Central: 1. Milwaukee Brewers, 2. St. Louis Cardinals, 3. Chicago Cubs, 4. Pittsburgh Pirates, 5. Cincinnati Reds...

The Milwaukee Brewers hold on to the NL Central, but not by as much as last season. They managed to upgrade at catcher by adding Yasmani Grandal, but their pitching staff is still full of good pitchers, but not great pitchers. Moose Moustakas will be moving over to second base now, which should provide for an interesting experiment, especially when someone slides hard into him while breaking up a double play.  The Cubs may drop down but still can play spoiler and take second place if everyone plays up to their potential. The Cards upgraded by adding Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Miller to their roster which should be enough to boost them to second place.The Reds made some noise during the offseason but may now feature a dysfunctional clubhouse if they let Yasiel Puig influence the younger players making up their team.

NL West: 1. Los Angeles Dodgers, 2. San Diego Padres, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. Arizona Diamondbacks, 5. San Francisco Giants...

The Dodgers will take the NL West again, but their southern neighbors have done enough to close the gap between the two. The Dodgers blew some better trade offers they had in the past for Puig, but they still managed to clear him out of the way, leaving room for them to add AJ Pollock. Once untouchable, Clayton Kershaw's back is giving out on him, possibly due to his unique pitching style, which leaves a giant hole in the Dodgers' starting pitching. The Padres feature the top minor league system in the MLB and some of those minor league stars will be on the roster this season, led by their unsuspected pickup of Manny Machado. The pitching staff is their biggest question mark, but the several of their youngsters have potential to break out this season. If not, the Rockies hitting will lead them into second place.

Award Winners:
MVP - Nolan Arenado...Leader in the National League for home runs last season, Nolan is about as complete of a player one can be. Not only does he hit for power and average, but he has the best glove at third base in Major League Baseball. After being top five in the MVP voting the last three seasons, it's about time for him to take home the award this season; 2. Christian Yellich, 3. Manny Machado, 4. Freddie Freeman, 5. David Peralta; next five in no particular order, Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Trevor Storey, Anthony Rizzo, Max Scherzer

Cy Young - Max Scherzer...For the past six years in a row, Scherzer has finished in the top 10 in the Cy Young voting, including winning it three times. He hit the 300 strike out mark last season and could approach that number again this year; 2. Aaron Nola, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Patrick Corbin, 5. Walker Buehler; next five in no particular order, German Marquez, , Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Zack Greinke, Jameson Taillon.

Rookie of the Year - Chris Paddack...One of several Padres rookies that could be potentially top five rookie of the year picks, Paddack is the most suited to keep his position for the entire season due to his readiness; 2. Pete Alonso, 3. Brendan Rodgers, 4. Victor Robles, 5. Luis Urias

Breakout Player - Franmil Reyes

Comeback Player - Sonny Gray

All NL Team - C J.T. Realmuto, 1B Freddie Freeman, 2B Ozzie Albies, 3B Nolan Arenado, SS Trea Turner, OF Bryce Harper, Christian Yellich, David Peralta, P Max Scherzer

Playoffs:

Wildcards: The wildcards for the American League will be the Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins. If the Twins feature several breakouts as they hope they do, they could even find themselves as the Cinderella team in baseball at the end of the season.

In the National League, the wildcards will be the Nationals (or the Phillies if the Nationals can survive the season without any major injuries) and the Chicago Cubs. The Padres have an outside chance if the stars align just right and their youngsters all break out at the same time, but that is a big if.

World Series: The Houston Astros are the team to beat in the American League, though the Yankees will give them a run at some point in the playoffs. The winner will go against the Washington Nationals. What about the Phillies or Dodgers? Well, the Phils will be a great regular season team, the Nationals have a pitching staff made for the playoffs and youngsters who are too dumb/brash to think they're not ready to make it all the way. The Dodgers health will be their problem and the lack of a stable Kershaw in the playoffs will hamper their chances to go all the way.

It should be noted that Mike Trout will enjoy his new found fortune by watching the playoffs on his theater style screen he's surely to put in his new mansion he'll buy.

In the end, the Astros will take the Series in six games against the survivor from the NL East who makes it that far.

2019 Millhouse Baseball Hall of Fame Vote

2010 Topps National Chicle card of Roy Halladay

As with every year, a new crop of retired baseball players become eligible for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Of course, every year for about the last decade or so, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) seems to mess up the vote. And how? Each writer has the ability to vote up to 10 players a year, and yet, they seem to leave out the most deserving. 

If I were given a vote for the class of 2019, I would vote the following:

1. Mariano Rivera - The all-time closer in Major League Baseball history. That should be enough said. He had so many saves in his career that he even had 42 more in post season play. He was a failed starter during his rookie season with a 5.51 ERA. The next season, he was third in the Cy Young Award vote with an 8-3 record, 130 strikeouts in a 107.2 innings, and he had a 2.09 ERA. He only had 5 saves that season, but after John Wetteland left the Yankees, Rivera never looked back.

2. Roy Halladay - He retired with 203 wins and 105 loses and had six seasons with under a 3 ERA. Halladay won the Cy Young Award twice and was in the top 5 of the Cy Young voting in 7 times. He also was voted an all-star 8 times. What should be noted is that he did the majority of this while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that not once made it to the post season while he was on their roster.

3. Andy Petite - Never one to be considered the headlining pitcher on his team, Petite quietly racked up 256 career wins and was in the top 6 in Cy Young Award voting 5 times in his career. In his 18 seasons, he only had less than 10 wins twice. Not that I buy into post season play being a factor in a player being voted to the Hall, but Petite did have a 19-11 record in postseason play.

4. Roger Clemens - Speaking of pitchers that have played for the Yankees and the Astros, there's Clemens. Perhaps the best pitcher of all-time, Clemens is still looking to get into the Hall of Fame. He's taken tons of drug tests, never failing one. His reputation was smeared by a former athletic trainer whose evidence would have never stood in court (he claimed to have keep cotton balls/swabs of injections he gave Clemens in a beer car underneath his kitchen sink). Did Clemens cheat on his wife with country music star, Mindy McCready? Yes, but that shouldn't preclude him from the Hall. He had 354 wins, was third all-time in strikeouts, won 7 Cy Young Awards, an MVP award, and had a career ERA of 3.12. 

5. Barry Bonds - Another one of the accused, and arguably one of the greatest hitters of all-time. He's the all-time homerun king, the all-time walks king, won 7 MVPs, 12 Silver Sluggers, and had 8 Gold Gloves. For the sabermetrics fans, he was also the number position player in wins above replacement. Is he the most trustworthy when it comes to reporting his earnings from baseball card show signings? No. Once again, this shouldn't preclude him from the Hall of Fame, nor should his standoffs with the press. If standing off with the press should count against you, then Donald Trump should have never been the President of the United States.

6. Fred McGriff - The Crime Dog was one of the few power hitters of his generation to not be accused of juicing. He hit 493 homers and received votes for MVP in 8 different seasons. Despite also having 2,490 career hits, McGriff seems to slipped under the shadow of other first baseman that played at the same time as him. What's even more tragic is that this is McGriff's ninth season on the ballot and he's never received over 24 percent of the vote.

7. Billy Wagner - The most dominant left-handed closer of all-time, hands down. He had 422 career saves, a 2.31 career ERA, a career WHIP of less than 1, and a career strikeouts-per-9-innings of 11.9. Only John Franco has more career saves as a lefty, but he wasn't as dominating as Wagner.

8. Mike Mussina - Other than his rookie year, Mussina was a double digit winner in every season he ever played, retiring after winning 20 games in his last season. Mussina won 270 wins overall and had 2,813 career strikeouts. He was a top six candidate for the Cy Young Award 8 times in his career, but Mussina never placed better than second. He had also won 7 Gold Gloves during his career. Mussina was the ace for the Yankees and Orioles during his career and is worthy of hall consideration.

9. Gary Sheffield - The nephew of Dwight Gooden, Sheffield hit 509 career homers and drove in 1,676 RBI's. Sporting a .292 career batting average, Sheffield won five Silver Sluggers and was the cleanup hitter on the Florida Marlins team that defeated the Cleveland Indians in the World Series in 1997. Sheffield was also in the top 10 in MVP votes 6 times in his career. Sheffield also played at least 300 games at third base, left field, right field, and designated hitter. This will be Sheffield's fourth attempt at being voted in.

10. Michael Young - That's right, Michael Young. A career .300 hitter who collected 200 or more hits in a season 6 times, made 7 all-star games, and was a star at second base, shortstop, and third base during his career. No, he was never a major power guy, but he was the guy that got on base so his teammates could drive in the runs.

Pros and Cons: A Look at this Year's Hall of Fame Vote

Logo is of the National Baseball Hall of Fame located in Cooperstown

This year's Hall of Fame vote results were a bit unusual to say the least.

While it was expected that Mariano Rivera be a lock to get in on the first ballot, it was surprising to find out that he's the first player in Major League Baseball history to receive 100 percent of the vote. Legends haven't received that many votes. Willie Mays? Nope. Hank Aaron? Nope. How about someone more recent such as Ken Griffey Jr.? Nope. Mickey Mantle, Rickey Henderson, Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench? All nopes. I'm not saying Mariano Rivera didn't deserve it. Quite the opposite, in fact. I just don't think he should have been the first player to receive 100 percent of the vote.

I'm glad that Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina also got in. They deserved it and were some of the more dominant pitchers of their era.

Edgar Martinez should have been considered more of a fringe vote. He never accomplished any of the goals that used to get hitters automatically into the hall. He was less than stellar on defense, being one of the main reasons he was a designated hitter for the majority of his career. He hit just over 300 homers, he had a .312 career batting average, and he had 2,247 hits. All good numbers, but not necessarily hall-worthy.

Martinez was never the best hitter on his team at any given time. And there were times where he wasn't even the second best hitter on the team.

You can make the case that some voters voted for him (over 85 percent of them) because it was his tenth and final year of eligibility, but then why not vote for Fred McGriff? He hit 493 homers in his career, and had a .284 career batting average. He also had over 200 more career hits, almost 300 more career R.B.I.'s, more runs scored, and even more career stolen bases than Edgar Martinez. McGriff played the field at first base and he was the rare hitter of his generation that was not accused of using performance enhancing drugs. So how did McGriff receive less than 40 percent of the vote?

Also snubbed, were the obvious and expected: Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. They received the most votes they ever had and still have three more years to make it, but still, their being snubbed every year is ridiculous. Some of the writers say its because they believe the two used P.E.D.'s, but then voted for players such as Mike Piazza and others that haven't gotten in such as Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa. That's just a personal vendetta then.

It's atrocious that Billy Wagner and his 422 career saves and being the most dominant lefty reliever in baseball history didn't get in, especially, in a year that Mariano Rivera, the most dominant righty got in.

Andy Petite received less than 10 percent of the votes while a player such as Omar Vizquel, who was never a dominant player and a constant number nine hitter in his career received nearly 43 percent of the votes.

Michael Young, Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada, and Roy Oswalt also all fell off the ballot. It was ridiculous that Placido Polanco, a player with just over a thousand career hits, received any votes, let alone votes from writers who did not vote for Bonds, Clemens, Wagner, McGriff, or any other more deserving players.

While we're on topic, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), needs to reshuffle who is eligible to vote. There are 425 total eligible writers. According to ESPN, 232 of them released their ballots publicly including 60 who did not vote for Bonds and Clemens. Only six of the 60 are full-time baseball writers. Many of the 60 cover other sports, one writes on digital marketing, and one writes for the American Heart Association. Really? If being a professional writer who likes baseball qualifies you to vote for the hall of fame, then sign me up, too.

The lack of quality writers voting for the baseball hall of fame is possibly one of the main reasons why they votes have been screwy for the past decade or so. Get a real mixture of full-time baseball writers, current and of the past. Not someone who writes for a golfing magazine. Not someone who writes articles for CNET. It wouldn't hurt to allow some announcers to vote too. I would trust a vote by Vin Scully or Bob Uecker.

Next year's first-time eligible players will only saturate the votes as well. Derek Jeter, Paul Konerko, Alfonso Soriano, Cliff Lee, and Jason Giambi are just some of the names who are on the 2020 ballot. Jeter will be a shoe-in, but who knows about the others.

2018 Major League Baseball Millhouse Awards

Mike Trout - Photo taken by Daniel Millhouse

Before all the awards are announced and I fall too far behind the media outlets, I give you the 2018 Major League Baseball Millhouse Awards. As a bonus, I give you a comparison of my pre-season compared to what actually happened.

American League:

MVP: J.D. Martinez...Admittedly, I did not see Martinez being in competition for a possible triple crown in the American League. He had the power, but I did not foresee his average being so high.

Runners Up: 2. Mookie Betts, 3. Jose Altuve, 4. Mike Trout, 5. Francisco Lindor.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Manny Machado, 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. Francisco Lindor, 5. Mookie Betts...Looking at my preseason predictions, I didn't do so bad. Aaron Judge's injury knocked him out of contention. Being traded to the Dodgers took out Machado's chances.

Cy Young: Blake Snell...Definitely didn't see him challenging for the Cy Young Award, especially pitching for Tampa Ray. In any other season Verlander would have been the front runner.

Runners Up: 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Gerrit Cole, 4. Edwin Diaz, 5. Corey Kluber.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Corey Kluber, 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Chris Sale, 4. Luis Severino, 5. Gerrit Cole...I was pretty spot on with Verlander, Kluber, and Cole. Severino would probably be the sixth or seventh place guy if I went that deep. 

Rookie of the Year: Miguel Andujar...Just missed hitting .300 with 30 homers and he plays in one of the toughest cities for a rookie to start their career in. To top it off, Andujar wasn't the top projected Yankee rookie prior to the season.

Runners Up: 2. Shohei Ohtani, 3. Gleyber Torres, 4. Joey Wendle, 5. Daniel Palka.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Gleyber Torres, 2. Willy Adames, 3. Joey Wendle...This was definitely the year of impact rookies. Gleyber Torres's stats would have won a Rookie of the Year award in most seasons. Adames did well, but didn't play a full enough season. Ohtani, as predicted, ended up hurting himself while pitching.

Fireman of the Year: Edwin Diaz...I would not have predicted that he would be even one of the top five closers, let alone a top 10. I was wrong 57 saves later.

Runners Up: 2. Blake Treinen, 3. Aroldis Chapman, 4. Craig Kimbrell, 5. Jose Leclerc 

Manager of the Year: 1. Bob Melvin...He got so much out of the lowest payroll in baseball.

Runners Up: 2. AJ Hinch, 3. Kevin Cash, 4. Alex Cora, 5. Aaron Boone

Most Improved Player: Whit Merrifield...He hit .304, stole 45 bases, scored 88 runs, and hit 12 homers. And no one noticed.

Silver Sluggers: C - Yan Gomes, 1B - Edwin Encarnacion, 2B - Jose Altuve, 3B - Alex Bregman, SS - Francisco Lindor, OF - Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Khris Davis , DH - J.D. Martinez

League Review: The majority of my runners up predictions came true. The award winner for each category came out of nowhere. I think anyone would be lying if they said that they saw Ian Snell being in contention of the Cy Young. I believe Mookie Betts is the front runner to win with the baseball writers, but how can you write off a hitter who almost won the triple crown? As far as Andujar possibly winning the Rookie of the Year, I would have thought his teammate was the more likely candidate to win the award. 

As far as the American League standings, I did fairly well if you take a look at my preseason predictions. The Mariners were a surprise and the A's doing as well as they did was also a surprise. But I did have the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, and Indians all going to the playoffs. 

National League:

MVP: Christian Yellich...I had in in my preseason top five and drafted him in my fantasy leagues. He even did better than expected, taking a triple crown race to the final game of the season. He hit .326, 36 homers, 110 RBI's, and stole 22 bases. 

Runners Up: 2. Nolan Arenado, 3. Javy Baez, 4. Trevor Story, 5. Max Scherzer.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Nolan Arenado, 2. Paul Goldschmidt, 3. Bryce Harper, 4. Christian Yellich, 5. Max Scherzer...Goldschmidt would probably be sixth if I went that deep. He still had a great season. Bryce Harper fell off from a batting average standpoint, dropping his MVP candidacy. Yellich's homers surprised me and Trevor Story challenging his teammate, Arenado, for best player on the Rockies was a bit surprising too.

Cy Young: Max Scherzer...This is the closest race for an award this season. It was a coin flip between deGrom and Scherzer, but I felt Scherzer edges him out because of his dominance. He had 300 strike outs exactly, leading the league. Scherzer also led the league in wins on a team that underachieved, led the league in WHIP, and was third in ERA. 

Runners Up: 2. Jacob deGrom, 3. Aaron Nola, 4. Kyle Freeland, 5. Miles Mikolas.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Max Scherzer, 2. Clayton Kershaw, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Aaron Nola, 5. Robbie Ray...It really didn't surprise me that Kershaw ended up having injuries that knocked him out of the top five. Scherzer, deGrom, and Nola still remained in the top five at the end of the season. A Rockies pitcher (Freeland) was the pleasant surprise and one that I cheer about. I tend to secretly root for Rockies pitchers, although, I'm not a big fan of theirs. I just want someone to succeed in pitching in the Colorado air.

Rookie of the Year: Ronald Acuna Jr...This was the preseason favorite prediction for so many news outlets and it looks like he lived up to the hype. I just didn't foresee that a 19-year-old would challenge him so closely.

Runners Up: 2. Juan Soto, 3. Harrison Bader, 4. Franmil Reyes, 5. Jorge Alfaro.

Preseason Predictions: 1. Lewis Brinson, 2. Ronald Acuna Jr., 3. Jorge Alfaro...Being a fan of the Lake Elsinore Storm, I was happy that alumnus, Franmil Reyes, did so well in his time in the Majors.

Fireman of the Year: Raisel Iglesias...Some may argue about this choice, but he still managed to rack up 30 saves on a team that performed horribly. He had a 2.38 ERA and had a 1.07 WHIP. 

Runners Up: 2. Josh Bader (yes, I know he's not a full-time closer), 3. Felipe Vazquez, 4. Sean Doolittle, 5. Kenley Jansen.

Manager of the Year: Craig Counsell...Look how far he took a team that still needed a little help in their starting pitcher before being considered a contender for the National League title winner.

Runners Up: 2. Brian Snitker, 3. Bud Black, 4. Joe Madden, 5. Mike Schildt

Most Improved Player: David Peralta...He hit 30 homers, nearly hit .300, and had 87 RBI's, all while in the shadow of his teammate, Paul Goldschmidt. Max Muncy is a close second, hitting 35 homers after not even playing in the majors in 2017.

Silver Sluggers: C - J.T. Realmuto, 1B - Jesus Aguilar, 2B - Scooter Gennett, 3B - Nolan Arenado, SS - Trevor Story, OF - Christian Yellich, David Peralta, Charlie Blackmon

League Review: The National League had some surprises for the season. A 19-year-old who played like a veteran, several Rockies players vying for awards (Story and Freeland), Christian Yellich nearly winning the triple crown (where did that power come from?), and the Atlanta Braves youngsters playing like veterans and earning a playoff spot. It should be noted that my preseason prediction blog posting even featured a photo I took of Christian Yellich while he was a Marlin. Oh, just in case Yellich was so bored that he came across my season predictions while surfing the internet on a sleepless night, I apologize for the typo (I accidentally referred to him as Christina Yellich, which was by total error on my part since I'm a fan of his and not trying to stir up controversy like Jim Rome - see Jim "Chris" Everett footage on YouTube). 

The Retirement of a Legend: Ichiro Suzuki

Photo of Ichiro Suzuki by Daniel Millhouse

A legend retired today.

To some, Ichiro Suzuki was a good hitter but not scary. They would be wrong. Yes, he only won the MVP Award once (2001), but he was perhaps the best overall hitter for several years during his peak.

He had 3,089 hits in his Major League Baseball career and that's after he had 1,287 hits in Japan. During his rookie year, he hit .350 with 242 hits, 56 stolen bases, and won the Rookie of the Year, the MVP, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger Award.

By 2004, Ichiro broke the single season hits record in the MLB by tallying up 262 of them. He only hit .372 that season.

Some would dispute that Ichiro wasn't "great" because he didn't hit with massive power. Ichiro held back though. Like Rickey Henderson before him, Ichiro had the ability to hit with more power than he showed, but he refused to sacrifice his batting average and on base percentage to do so.

Not only was he a great hitter, but he was a great fielder. Few had an arm in the outfield like he did and even fewer covered as much ground. This is why he won 10 Gold Gloves and could have easily won a few more.

Perhaps the only thing missing in Ichiro's otherwise complete career was a winning the World Series. He had made it twice to the American League Championship Series, once with the Mariners in 2001 but falling to the Yankees, and again in 2012, this time with the Yankees as they lost to the Tigers. It wasn't for the lack of trying. He hit .346 in his postseason career.

Ichiro should be a sure bet for Cooperstown when his time comes. His career in America came to a close with over 3,000 hits, 500 stolen bases, a career average over .300, nine batting titles, and 1,420 runs scored. He's already a member of The Golden Players Club (the Japanese baseball hall of fame) and five years from now, he will be ready to be a first-ballot pick for the Major League Baseball one.

2018 Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions

Christian Yellich joins the Brewers to form the strongest outfield in the MLB in 2018; photo by Daniel Millhouse

It's that time of year again! The Millhouse predictions for the 2018 Major League Baseball season.

American League:

AL East: 1. New York Yankees, 2. Boston Red Sox, 3. Baltimore Orioles, 4. Toronto Blue Jay's, 5. Tampa Bay DEVIL Ray's...The Yankees have bounced back from rebuilding mode to top of the class. With the addition of Judge's doppelganger, Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees feature immense power and feature one of the best bullpens in baseball.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians 2. Minnesota Twins 3. Chicago White Sox, 4. Detroit Tigers, 5. Kansas City Royals...it shouldn't be a surprise that the Indians should take the Central. What should be noted is that the Royals have fallen so far within such a short amount of time.

AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Texas Rangers, 3. Oakland A's, 4. ANAHEIM Angels, 5. Seattle Mariners...It looks like the Astros have gotten even better than they were last year. They bolstered their starting staff with Gerrit Cole and with the addition of Justin Verlander last season. Their young players have a little more experience under their belts, as well. 

AL Award Winners

MVP: 1. Manny Machado, 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. Francisco Lindor, 5. Mookie Betts....Machado is already in the conversation of being one of the best players in baseball. Thrown in the fact that it's a contract year and he's playing shortstop and he should be a front runner for the MVP. 

Cy Young: 1. Corey Kluber, 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Chris Sale, 4. Luis Severino, 5. Gerrit Cole...Kluber is the odds on favorite. He's in his prime and he plays for a winning team, which the voters love.

Rookie of the Year: 1. Gleyber Torres 2. Willy Adames, 3. Joey Wendle...There is no clear front runner. Some will ask where is Shohei Ohtani? He could be a winner as long as he has a solid season at hitting or pitching, but I'm not counting on his arm holding up a complete season.

National League:

NL East: 1. Washington Nationals, 2. Philadelphia Phillies, 3. Atlanta Braves, 4. New York Mets, 5. Miami Marlins...The Nationals should take this division. The Marlins are in full rebuilding mode, the Braves have a ton of young talent that is a year or two from developing into star players, and the Phillies are climbing but are not quite not there. The Mets don't have the offense, though their pitching could jump them up a spot or two if it holds up.

NL Central: 1. Chicago Cubs, 2. Milwaukee Brewers, 3. St. Louis Cardinals, 4. Pittsburgh Pirates, 5. Cincinnati Reds...This may be the toughest division in baseball this season. The Cubs are strong again, but the Brewers had an extremely strong off-season to the point that Ryan Braun is no longer considered a full-time starter. With the additions of Christina Yellich and Lorenzo Cain, the Brewers could be a season away from being the top dog in the Central.

NL West: 1. Arizona Diamondbacks, 2. Los Angeles Dodgers of Silver Lake, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. San Francisco Giants, 5. San Diego Padres...The Diamondbacks have slowly improved each season, putting together a formidable roster that could challenge for the league title. The Dodgers will make a run for the title as well, but may not have enough to hold off the Diamondbacks.

MVP: 1. Nolan Arenado, 2. Paul Goldschmidt, 3. Bryce Harper, 4. Christin Yellich, 5. Max Scherzer...Mike Schmidt praised Arenado as possibly being one of the best third basemen of all-time. He not only can hit, but is also the best fielding third baseman in the National League.

Cy Young: 1. Max Scherzer, 2. Clayton Kershaw, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Aaron Nola, 5. Robbie Ray...Scherzer and Kershaw are arguably the top two pitchers in all of baseball. Scherzer gets the edge as he is less injury prone and is more likely to be a voter favorite because he pitches for the Nats.

Rookie of the Year: 1. Lewis Brinson, 2. Ronald Acuna Jr., 3. Jorge Alfaro... Everyone is predicting Acuna to win this award, but Brinson is being overlooked. Acuna will start the season on the minors and Brinson will have a better chance to play the whole season as he plays for the Marlins.

Playoffs:

AL: Wildcards - Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox; League Winner - Houston Astros...It may be a repeat of last year's ALCS of Astros versus Yankees.

NL: Wildcards - Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers of Silver Lake; League Winner - Washington Nationals...The Nationals felt the sting of losing in the NLCS last year when they should have gone on to their first World Series. This roster is too strong not to make at least one World Series run.

World Series: Houston Astros over Washington Nationals in six games.

2018 Millhouse Baseball Hall of Fame Vote

Vladimir Guerrero swings at a pitch that bounced before hitting it for a double

Another year goes by and the Baseball Writers Association of America nears another vote for the Major League Hall of Fame. The new class features a couple of possible future hall of famers, but it's those who still are eligible from previous seasons that may demand more attention.

The new class of players that are first-time eligible include Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Scott Rolen, Andruw Jones, Johan Santana, Jamie Moyer, Johnny Damon, Omar Vizquel, and more. Players from previous years that are still eligible include Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mike Mussina, Manny Ramirez, Larry Walker, and more.

Despite the many choices, the BBWAA seems to be able to only agree on one or two players for the last several years despite each member possessing the ability to vote for up to 10 former players. 

I may not be a member of the BBWAA, but I give to you my votes for this year's ballot. Hopefully, other BBWAA members will act rationally and forget their biases against players that they did not like personally or want to accuse of using performance-enhancing drugs with no proof.

1. Trevor Hoffman - Hoffman retired as the all-time saves leader, yet has been passed over twice so far. He received 74 percent of the vote last year. With 601 saves and a career ERA of 2.87, it seems beyond belief on how the BBWAA has passed him over, especially in an ERA when relief pitching has become predominant.

2. Vladimir Guerrero - Passed over last season, Vladimir Guerrero spent his career as one of the more feared hitters in the MLB. He hit 449 homers, had 181 stolen bases, a .318 batting average, and a cannon for an arm. Sure, he swung at everything, but he also hit everything. It is feasible that Guerrero is the last former Montreal Expo to be inducted to the hall if he is voted in.

3. Roger Clemens - Arguably one of the greatest pitchers of all-time is now up for his sixth go-around. 354 wins, a career ERA of 3.12, and 4,672 strikeouts. He's won 7 Cy Young Awards, an MVP award, is 9th all-time in wins, and 3rd all-time in strikeouts. His fastball inspired the nickname, Rocket. Accused of taking performance enhancing drugs, the biggest argument that voters are writing about is not the pharmaceutical help the claim he had, but the fact that they just thought he was an ass of a human being. There's nothing in the rules saying that attitude is a determining factor for the hall. The articles of late cite Roger Clemens cheating on his wife with country music star, Mindy McCready and incidents like his toe-to-toe confrontation with Mike Piazza. If that is enough not to be inducted to the hall of fame, then players like Ty Cobb should be booted out as he may have killed two people and attacked a handicapped spectator during a game. Is Clemens an angel? No. Is he a hall of famer? Yes.

4. Barry Bonds - The other legend the BBWAA is holding a grudge against, Bonds is arguably one of the best hitters of all-time. He has the most homers of all-time with 762; 514 stolen bases; 1,996 RBI's (fifth of all-time); the most walks taken at 2,558; and the most intentional walks ever issued at 688. He also holds the single season record in homers with 73. He has won 7 MVP's, 8 Gold Gloves, and 12 Silver Sluggers. If other players such as Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell can be inducted to the hall of fame despite the accusations of performance enhancing drugs, Bonds should be eligible as well. No one seems to hold the admitted use of "greenies" by Hank Aaron and Willie Mays against them, so it even seems more unfair that Bonds should be held out of the hall for the accusations against him.

5. Fred McGriff - Silent in terms of headlines, McGriff was a scary hitter to face. He hit 493 homers, had a .284 career batting average, and drove in 1,550 career RBI's. Even though he played first base at the same time as Jeff Bagwell, Will Clark, John Kruk, Will Grace, and Andres Galarraga, McGriff still won three Silver Sluggers. If McGriff played in any other generation, he would be considered a hall of famer. What's even better, he's one of the few power hitters not accused of taking any PED's. 

6. Mike Mussina - Other than his rookie year, Mussina was a double digit winner in every season he ever played, retiring after winning 20 games in his last season. Mussina won 270 wins overall and had 2,813 career strikeouts. He was a top six candidate for the Cy Young Award 8 times in his career, but Mussina never placed better than second. He had also won 7 Gold Gloves during his career. Mussina was the ace for the Yankees and Orioles during his career and is worthy of hall consideration.

7. Billy Wagner - Able to reach 100 MPH on the radar, Wagner is sixth all-time in career saves with 422. That is only two less than the all-time lefty saves leader, John Franco. Wagner dominated as a closer and was one of the most feared relievers of all-time. His career ERA is 2.31, his career WHIP is 0.998, and a career strikeouts-per-9-innings of 11.9. Not once in Wagner's career did he ever have an ERA over 3.00 in a full season. 

8. Chipper Jones - This should be proof that the BBWAA should be able to vote for a player to make it to the hall, even if they don't like them. I'm not a fan of Chipper, but he is hall of fame worthy and he receives one of my 10 votes. Jones hit 468 career homers, had a career batting average of .303, and an on base percentage of .401. He also had 1,623 career RBI's. Jones won the MVP award in 1999 and led the National League with a .364 batting average in 2008. Like McGriff, Jones played at the same time as other top level third basemen such as Scott Rolen, Matt Williams, Robin Ventura, Ken Caminiti, and David Wright. This caused him not to get as much attention as being a star player at his position. 

9. Jim Thome - A power hitter who finished his career with 612 homers, in 22 seasons Thome never won an MVP award and only won one Silver Slugger. Despite being known for his power, Thome also only led the league once in homers. Still, Thome drove in 1,699 career RBI's and is 7th all-time in walks taken. He was often the left-handed power hitter that protected other all-stars such as Manny Ramirez, Ryan Howard, Paul Konerko, and more. 

10. Gary Sheffield - The nephew of Dwight Gooden, Sheffield hit 509 career homers and drove in 1,676 RBI's. Sporting a .292 career batting average, Sheffield won five Silver Sluggers and was the cleanup hitter on the Florida Marlins team that defeated the Cleveland Indians in the World Series in 1997. Sheffield was also in the top 10 in MVP votes 6 times in his career. Sheffield also played at least 300 games at third base, left field, right field, and designated hitter. This will be Sheffield's fourth attempt at being voted in.

2017 Millhouse Major League Baseball Awards

Photo by Daniel Millhouse; AJ Pollock, Jake Lamb, and Paul Goldschmidt

The World Series is all tied up and it looks like it will be a promising end to the 2017 season. For those who remember the 2017 Millhouse MLB predictions, I had the Houston Astros winning it all. Looks like I could be right. With that said, let's take a look at the Millhouse award-winning players for the 2017 season.

American League:

MVP - Aaron Judge: In fairness, this was an extremely close vote for me. On any given day, Jose Altuve could have been the MVP. For me, Judge wins this by a hair. He led the American League in home runs, breaking the rookie record in the process. He led the league in runs scored, was second in RBI's, hit .284, had the highest on-base percentage among players who played over 120 games, and even had nine stolen bases. Judge even played above average defense.

Trust me, this was a hard vote for me. Altuve led the league in batting average, hit 24 homers, 81 RBI's, and was third in the league in stolen bases.

Also, if Mike Trout had been able to play a complete season, he may have made this a three-way tie for the MVP race.

Cy Young - Corey Kluber: At the mid-season point, it looked like Chris Sale would take this award. Unfortunately for Sale, his ERA went north of three after the all-star break and Kluber became the favorite. An 18-4 record with an ERA of 2.25. He also only allowed hitters a batting average of .193 and combined this with a WHIP of 0.87. 

Rookie of the Year - Aaron Judge: This should be a no-brainer since he won my MVP award. Although in any other season, Andrew Benintendi, Matt Olsen, and Trey Mancini would have been favorites in the race.

Manager of the Year - Paul Molitor: While A.J. Hinch would seem like the favorite on the surface, Molitor did more with less. The Twins weren't even thought to be in the hunt for a playoff spot before the season started. They ended up taking second place in the Central, only losing out to the Indians. The Twins organization even traded away players before the trade deadline and they still made a race for the playoffs.

Fireman of the Year - Craig Kimbrel: He had 12 fewer saves than the AL leader, Alex Colome, but Kimbrel had a 0.68 WHIP, allowed a .140 batting average, and had 126 strikeouts in 69 innings.

Breakout Player - Marwin Gonzalez: On the verge of being pushed out of the roster, Gonzalez became a super-utility player. He can play almost every position except catcher and pitcher. He also found himself hittin 23 homers with over a .300 batting average.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher - Gary Sanchez; 1B - Jose Abreu; 2B - Jose Altuve; 3B - Jose Ramirez; SS - Francisco Lindor; OF - Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, George Springer; DH - Nelson Cruz

The Aces: Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Luis Severino, Dallas Keuchel, Ervin Santana

National League:

MVP - Giancarlo Stanton: Aaron Judge's national league counterpart, Giancarlo "Don't call me Mike" Stanton hit 59 homers while hitting .281. He also scored 123 runs and drove in 132 RBI's. Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado put up a good race too, but Stanton was by and far the best hitter this season in the National League.

Cy Young - Matt Scherzer: Edging out Clayton Kershaw, Scherzer had a better WHIP, stuck out more hitters, and his batting average against was lower than the Dodgers' ace. Scherzer was second in the league with a 2.51 ERA and had a record of 16-6.

Rookie of the Year - Cody Bellinger: Judge wasn't the only rookie breaking a rookie record for homers. Bellinger broke the National League rookie record for homers with 39. 

Manager of the Year - Torey Lovullo: Lovullo led the Diamondbacks to 93 wins, giving the Dodgers a run for their money at one point. Not a team that should have made the playoffs, Lovullo managed to get the best out of his players that were ready to break out. Paul Goldschmidt was joined by Jake Lamb, AJ Pollock, and David Peralta, in giving opposing pitchers problems.

Fireman of the Year - Kenley Jensen: He converted 41 of his 42 save opportunities, had a 0.75 WHIP, and allowed hitters a .177 ERA. Jensen edged out Cory Knebel of the Brewers who had similar numbers and more strikeouts. 

Breakout Player - Scooter Gennett: A good hitting second baseman who showed potential for being a .300 hitter, Gennett hit 27 homers, something no one foresaw.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher - Wilson Contreras; 1B - Paul Goldschmidt; 2B - Scooter Gennett; 3B - Nolan Arenado; SS - Zach Cozart; OF - Giancarlo Stanton, Marcel Ozuna, Charlie Blackmon; Pitcher - Madison Bumgarner

The Aces: Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, Stephen Strasburg

Millhouse Awards: MLB First Half Awards

Mike Trout photo by Daniel Millhouse

Another season goes by seemingly faster than ever before. It didn't seem that long ago when people just knew the Milwaukee Brewers and the Colorado Rockies were going to be bad and that the Chicago Cubs would be awesome again thanks to the arms of Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. Then the season began and everything we knew turned upside down.

Mike Trout and Adrian Gonzalez both went down with injuries and in their places, two rookies, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger rose and took their respective leagues by storm.

So, I now give to you the Millhouse first half of the season awards for Major League Baseball.

American League:
MVP: Aaron Judge - It should be no surprise that the rookie right fielder for the Yankees has taken the MLB by surprise. He's only a few big hits from leading the MLB in the triple crown categories, runs scored, and even has a bit of unexpected speed to boot. Judge broke the Yankees rookie homerun record set by Joe DiMaggio within the first half of the season. He also just won the homerun derby without breaking a sweat. Judge may give Mike Trout future competition for the American League MVP on a yearly basis.
Cy Young: Chris Sale - This was a close call between Sale and Jason Vargas. The edge goes to Sale because even though he has one less win than Vargas and is second to Vargas' first place hold on ERA, Sale has 100 strikeouts more and a better WHIP as well. The Chicago White Sox better hope that Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech turn out to be stars or their trade of Sale to the Boston Red Sox might look very one-sided.
Rookie of the Year: Aaron Judge - This also shouldn't be a surprise. There hasn't been a rookie hitter that has made this much of an impact on their team in years.
Fireman of the Year: Brandon Kintzler - This one is a surprise, especially since so many people thought the Minnesota Twins would be a flop this season. Kintzler wasn't even originally thought to be the Twins main closer during Spring Training. Second in the AL in saves, Kintzler has a better ERA and WHIP than the Rays' Alex Colome.
AL All-Star Team: C - Salvador Perez; 1B - Justin Smoak; 2B - Jose Altuve; 3B - Jose Ramirez; SS - Carlos Correa; OF - Aaron Judge, George Springer, Avisail Garcia; DH - Nelson Cruz; SP - Jason Vargas, Chris Sale, Lance McCullers Jr, Corey Kluber, and Ervin Santana; RP - Brandon Kintzler

National League:
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt - He goes out and proves he's the best first baseman in the MLB everyday without a whole lot of fanfare. Goldy is ninth in the league in batting average and homers, but he also leads the league in runs scored, is eighth in stolen bases, and is second in the league for on base percentage. Goldy may not get as much press as Bryce Harper or Kris Bryant, but he has quietly had the most solid season so far in the National League.
Cy Young: Max Scherzer - Some may make the argument that Clayton Kershaw deserves this award, but they'd be wrong. While Kershaw has four more wins than Scherzer, the Nationals ace leads the league in ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts. He's been consistently more dominant than Kershaw has been this season.
Rookie of the Year: Cody Bellinger is the clear runaway for this award. Not even originally supposed to be a starter this season, Bellinger has made the most of his playing time after Adrian Gonzalez went down. What has been even more surprising is the power that Bellinger has shown. There doesn't appear to be another rookie in the National League that could challenge Bellinger for the overall season award.
Fireman of the Year: Greg Holland - Taking a flyer on Holland's comeback, the Rockies have been rewarded with Holland's 28 saves in the first half of the season. This is on top of his 1.62 ERA and a stellar WHIP.
NL All-Star Team: C - Buster Posey; 1B - Paul Goldschmidt; 2B - Daniel Murphy; 3B - Nolan Arenado; SS - Zack Cosart; OF - Bryce Harper, Marcell Ozuna, Charlie Blackmon; SP - Maz Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Gio Gonzalez, and Robbie Ray; RP - Greg Holland

Extra Innings

Photo by Daniel Millhouse of Seattle Mariners infield

Unlike many other sports, Major League Baseball has never settled for a tie game in regulation or postseason play. It's just not done. It's not baseball and it's not American. Baseball fans do not accept ties like fans of soccer, hockey, and even NFL football after a quarter of overtime.

With the Yankees versus the Cubs game that aired on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball going 18 innings, there was discussion amongst even the broadcasters that the MLB should not allow games to go so long.

Suggestions have been made in recent years to prevent baseball games from going past 12 innings. The MLB also tested the idea of putting runners on first and second with no outs beginning in the 11th inning of a game. This was done during the World Baseball Classic this year to hasten the end of a game.

In the Nippon Professional Baseball League (Japan), the KBO League (Korea), and the Chinese Professional Baseball League, all games are to be considered a draw if there is no winner after 12 innings. In postseason play, this extends to fifteen innings. What's worse is that the games have a time limit of three and a half hours. While their games are fun to watch, there's still the feeling of being let down when one of their games ends in a tie.

For those that remember, the 2002 MLB All-Star game ended in a tie, causing outrage amongst the fans that paid hundreds of dollars to be at the game and amongst those watching on television who were hoping to watch the best players in the game play.

The thing is that games going into extra innings contain even more drama as the game goes on. Every error, every base hit, every ball, could cost or earn a team a win. Why limit this drama with a time limit? Or an innings limit?

Let's use the Yankees versus Cubs game as example. Going 18 innings deep, we got to see the MLB record for strikeouts in a single game be broken.

Relief pitcher Chasen Shreve got a chance to bat for the first time in his professional career.

Pitchers Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, and John Lackey were used as pitch-hitters after the Cubs ran out of healthy position players to play.

Kyle Schwarber diving over the brick wall and into the stands to catch a ball in the 12th inning.

Cubs players developed new forms of rally motivators beyond the "rally caps". This included rally helmets, sprinkling the field with gum and sunflower seeds, players wearing catchers masks, and eventually players wearing helmets backwards.

The umpires running out of baseballs, causing the Cubs equipment manager to open up a new box of baseballs.

Is this normal? No, obviously not. What it is though is a storied moment for the fans and players alike. It's a moment that people will remember for years to come, unlike a game that last nine innings and may be one of many that a fan or player is part of. It gives the game character and that feeling that anything can happen.

Is a game that ends in a tie or comes to an end due to time limits as memorable as an 18 inning game? Of course not.

Leave baseball the way it is and stop trying to change it. Baseball is not a game that should be "clocked" or limited. There should be no ties. Baseball is a game that should have clear winner at the end of the day and should not leave the fan feeling gypped when a game ends in a tie.

2017 Millhouse MLB Predictions

Former Lake Elsinore Storm player, Hunter Renfroe, looks to take the NL Rookie of the Year.

Photo by Daniel Millhouse

A new season is nearing and it's that time of the year again for the Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions. Often half-right, but still worth checking out, some of these predictions give me bragging rights for the following season and in some cases for life.

American League:
AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Texas Rangers, 3. Seattle Mariners, 4. ANAHEIM Angels, 5. Oakland A's. The Astros will continue to gain momentum as they have for the past few years. Remember when Sports Illustrated had that cover that proclaimed the Astros the 2017 World Series champs in 2014? Well, they were far off. The Astros will win the division while teams like the A's will wonder where they went wrong.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians, 2. Kansas City Royals, 3. Detroit Tigers, 4. Chicago White Sox, 5. Minnesota Twins. The Indians will come out strong as their pitching staff will help guide them along with their new additions such as Edwin Encarnacion. At the start of the off-season, the Tigers had potential to leap-frog past the Royals and contend with the Indians, but they didn't do a whole lot to grow their team. Instead, the Tigers' veterans are just another year older and a little bit more frail.

AL East: 1. Boston Red Sox, 2. Toronto Blue Jays, 3. New York Yankees, 4. Baltimore Orioles, 5. Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays. If the Red Sox can stay healthy and play at least an average level of defense, then they could bounce back and take the East. They could see some competition from the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers have a roster that could potentially take the division, but this is probably too dependent on their veterans staying healthy (they already have an injury to Didi Gregorius) and for their youngsters to prove themselves.

Wildcard Teams: Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays

League Champion: Houston Astros

AL Awards: MVP - Manny Machado; Cy Young - Chris Sale; Rookie of the Year - Aaron Judge; Manager of the Year - A.J. Hinch; Fireman of the Year (closer) - Craig Kimbrel

Silver Sluggers - Catcher: Gary Sanchez; 1B: Miguel Cabrera; 2B: Jose Altuve; 3B: Manny Machado; SS: Carlos Correa; OF: Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Kris Davis; DH: Nelson Cruz

Most Interesting Stories for the AL:
1. Will the Houston Astros live up to Sports Illustrated's 2014 prediction that they will be the 2017 World Series champs?
2. If the White Sox don't win this year, will we see players such as David Robertson, Jose Quintana, and even Jose Abreu on the move?
3. If the Angels don't win, will Mike Sciosca finally be on the hot seat?

National League:
NL West: 1. San Francisco Giants, 2. Los Angeles Dodgers, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. San Diego Padres, 5. Arizona Diamondbacks. In what is perhaps the weakest division in Major League baseball, the Giants and Dodgers will be like kings. The Giants will outlast the Dodgers as they are better coached and have a better pitching staff, but a team to watch this year even though they'll have a losing record is the San Diego Padres. They will have some fun players to watch and may be the equivalent of the 2014 Houston Astros.

NL Central: 1. Chicago Cubs, 2. St. Louis Cardinals, 3. Pittsburgh Pirates, 4. Milwaukee Brewers, 5. Cincinnati Reds. Short of a season full of injuries, the Cubs are basically a lock to win the division. The Pirates should be a team to watch because they can sneak up on the Cards and possibly contend for a Wildcard spot if their younger players step up this season. The Brewers have some nice pieces in place as well, but not enough to be a contender this year.

NL East: 1. Washington Nationals, 2. New York Mets, 3. Philadelphia Phillies, 4. Miami Marlins, 5. Atlanta Braves. The Nationals will take this division, led by their pitching and the bat of Harper. The Phillies will be a surprise with their "no-name" roster, but not enough to capture a Wildcard spot. Injuries will plague the Marlins once again.

Wildcard Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals

League Champion: Washington Nationals

NL Awards: MVP - Paul Goldschmidt; Cy Young - Matt Scherzer; Rookie of the Year - Hunter Renfroe; Manager of the Year - Dusty Baker; Fireman of the Year - Greg Holland

Silver Sluggers - Catcher: Buster Posey, 1B: Paul Goldschmidt; 2B: Jonathan Villar; 3B: Nolan Arenado; SS: Corey Seager; OF: Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Giancarlo Stanton; P: Madison Bumgarner

Most Interesting Stories for the NL:
1. How much of a hybrid will the San Diego Padres' Christian Bethancourt be? Brought up as a catcher, he's also expected to pitch and even play some outfield this season.
2. Can the Nationals finally live up to expectations? With their youngsters finally getting some experience under their belts, Harper, Turner, and Scherzer look to attempt to take the team to their first World Series.
3. Can the Chicago Cubs repeat what they did last season?

World Series Champions: Houston Astros. In a battle of two teams looking for their first World Series win, the Astros will defeat the Nationals in six games. The Astros pitching staff is built for the playoffs and their younger players are more seasoned now. The difference between the two teams will be the bullpen pitching.