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.

10 Years After Bettie Page's Death

An Irving Klaw photo of Bettie Page (date unknown)

It's been 10 years now since Bettie Page's death. Perhaps the most impactful model of all-time, Bettie's work continues to influence the industry to this day, including in photo shoots by Dita Von Teese, Katy Perry, Madonna, Beyonce, and more. Her status as a pop culture icon is nearly unrivaled.

Like many rock stars who died at an early age and kept their "forever young" image, Bettie's image never aged after she disappeared from the modeling world after working for less than 10 years.

It astonished Bettie to find out that a revival of the popularity of her work surged in the late 70s, 20 years after she quit modeling. She was unaware that many artists were using her images for inspiration of their work and that Dave Stevens' Rocketeer featured a love interest based on Bettie's image. Books and magazines would be released utilizing her images and it was until 1993 before Bettie began to earn royalties for use of her image.

Eventually, Bettie would reemerge occasionally at private Hollywood parties, but any images of her past her mid-thirties are rare to come by. 

On December 12, 2008, Bettie passed away, accounts of the cause conflicting with each other.

A Large, Lonely Universe

Photo of moon by Daniel Millhouse

Are we alone?

It's a question that man has asked for centuries. Whether or not alien-life exists or has existed at some point in the universe's history. Some people claim to be one hundred percent sure they know the answer while others are waiting for proof one way or another.

If we aren't, the consequences of finding this out can change mankind as we know it and how we view ourselves and our place in the universe. Politics, religion, military, science, and pop culture are just some of the things that would affected.

The thing is...what if we are alone?

I don't mean alone as in the only life in our solar system or galaxy. I mean in our universe; past, present, and the future. What if life on Earth was just some accident?

Throw out religion out of the equation for a second, not trying to demean it in anyway. Think about how large our universe is. The uncountable amount of stars, let alone the sheer number of planets and moons that have plenty of room to play home to various types of species we could only dream of.

If there is no other life in the universe, the universe is truly a lonely place. What's the point of a universe, especially one so large, if there is no other life to share it with? Yes, one species may play the monster to another species and try to destroy it, pillage the other species' planet, or enslave it, but ultimately, the existence of life on one planet alone feels empty.

The hope should be that there is other living species out there, even if we find that it has gone extinct or is not nearly as intelligent as we hoped for. It almost seems pointless to live in a universe so large, alone.

Hopefully, near-future NASA projects give us an idea if any life may have existed or possibly exists within our solar system, whether it's revealed by a rover on Mars or drilling into the ice of Enceladus to determine if life is alive in the ocean that is speculated to be underneath the surface.

If no other life exists in the universe and something catastrophic wipes out life on Earth, the universe would be a lonely and pointless place.

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.

R.I.P. Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan Gone at 46

A screencap of Dolores O'Riordan in the movie Click

A new year begins and the list of entertainers that pass away begins again. Last year seemed like a bad year for those who really made an impact on the world. This year is starting out rough as well. 

With a new year at foot, the entertainer that passed away today that once touched the world in a big way was a complete shock. Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of the Cranberries, passed away at the age of 46.

The Irish songstress was one of the prominent voices of those who grew up in the '90s. Songs such as "Zombie", "Dreams", "When You're Gone", and perhaps the Cranberries' biggest hit, "Linger", were all songs that O'Riordan's voice took to a whole new level.

Although not as great as the first concert of the same name, Woodstock '94 featured some special performances. One that could be argued as the make or break performance and perhaps the most notable of the whole event was when the Cranberries performed "Dreams". For the '90s generation, the song seemed to captured the spirit of the youth for the entire decade. Not only was their performance spot on, but the fans began to sing along so loud that O'Riordan stopped singing and let them take the lead.

Not only was she prominently known for her fronting a plantinum-selling band, but she also had a budding solo career and had even was asked to sing for the Pope.

And for the movie junkies, "Linger" not only was the featured song of the Adam Sandler movie Click, but also gave O'Riordan a chance to make a cameo in the film.

It has yet to be determine what the cause of O'Riordan's death is, but it's shame to have occurred at such a young age. She was in middle of recording a new album and had a long life still ahead of her. She suffered from back problems and was one of the few celebrities that was open about their bi-polarism.