Photo courtesy of TSN Archives/Icon SMI

I decided to profile Hall of Famer Addie Joss, who was enshrined by the Veteran’s Committee in 1978.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI 

The Numbers
Played 1902-1910 (9 Seasons)
286 Games
260 Starts
160 Wins - 97 Losses
.623 Winning Percentage (58th All-time)
1.89 ERA [2.68 League Average] (2nd All-time)
142 Adjusted ERA (10th All-time)
0.968 WHIP (1st All-time)
920 Strikeouts
234 Complete Games
45 Shutouts
5 Saves
2 No-hitters
1 Perfect Game

Four 20 Win Seasons
Five sub-2.00 ERA Seasons (1.16 in 1908)

Awards

Top Ten Finishes
Wins - 6 Times (Led league in 1907)
ERA - 8 Times (Led league in 1904 & 1908)
WHIP - 8 Times Led league in 1903 & 1908)
Winning % - 5 Times
Strikeouts - Twice
Games - Twice
Starts - Twice
Complete Games - 6 Times
Shutouts - 7 Times (Led league in 1902)
Saves - 3 Times
Adjusted ERA - 8 Times (Led league in 1908) 
Perfect Game

Hall of Fame Yardsticks:
Black Ink: Pitching - 19 (101) (Average HOFer ˜ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 143 (102) (Average HOFer ˜ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 47.0 (42) (Average HOFer ˜ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 89.0 (124) (Likely HOFer > 100)

Addie didn’t pitch long, but he sure was dominant.  He has the best WHIP, second best ERA, and 10th best Adjusted ERA (compared to the league average) of all-time.  He strung together four consecutive twenty-win seasons.  His career was cut short by arm troubles in 1910 and his death of tubercular meningitis in 1911.  He didn’t meet the ten-year minimum to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but the VC overlooked that for Addie.  I say they did the right thing.

 References
Baseball-reference.com
BR Bullpen

Past Chronicles
Roberto Alomar
Richie Ashburn*
Harold Baines
Albert Belle
Pete Browning
Jim Bunning *
Bert Byleven
Joe Carter
Orlando Cepeda*
Rocky Colavito
Dave Concepcion
David Cone
Larry Corcoran
Mike Cuellar
George Davis*
Andre Dawson
Larry Doby*
Bobby Doerr
Jimmie Dykes (Player/Manager)
Dwight Evans
Rick Ferrell*
Chuck Finley
Steve Finley
Nellie Fox*
John Franco
Gary Gaetti
Steve Garvey
Luis Gonzalez
Dwight Gooden
Mark Grace
Bobby Grich
Charlie Grimm (Player/Manager)
Ron Guidry
Keith Hernandez
Orel Hershiser
Whitey Herzog (Manager)
Gil Hodges
Ralph Houk (Manager)
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Travis Jackson
Tommy John
Jim Kaat
George Kell*
Tom Kelly (Manager)
Chuck Klein*
Jerry Koosman
Barry Larkin
Tony Lazzeri*
Mickey Lolich
Ernie Lombardi*
Fred Lynn
Sherry Magee
Roger Maris
Billy Martin (Player/Manager)
Dennis Martinez
Edgar Martinez
Bobby Matthews
Don Mattingly
Gene Mauch (Manager)
Bill Mazeroski*
Fred McGriff
Mark McGwire
Bid McPhee
Johnny Mize
Paul Molitor*
Jack Morris
Tony Mullane
Dale Murphy
Graig Nettles
Hal Newhouser*
Lefty O’Doul
Tony Oliva
Al Oliver
Buck O’Neill & Minnie Minoso
Dave Parker
Wes Parker
Lance Parrish
Boog Powell
Tim Raines
Willie Randolph
Pee Wee Reese
Jim Rice
Phil Rizzuto*
Brooks Robinson*
Pete Ro$e
Jimmy Ryan
Ron Santo
Curt Schilling
Red Schoendienst* (Player/Manager)
Ted Simmons
Enos Slaughter
Lee Smith
Rusty Staub
Dave Stieb
Harry Stovey
Alan Trammell
George Van Haltren
Arky Vaughan*
Mo Vaughn
Bobby Veach
Frank Viola
Lou Whitaker
Bernie Williams
Vic Willis*
Maury Wills 
Hack Wilson*
 
* Signifies actual Hall of Famer

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David Funk, a good friend and writer of the Fantasy Sports Network blog, put together a ranking of the Independent Defenses.  He was kind enough allow me to post his breakdown on my site to pass the great information on to you.  This is very useful info as you gear up for the college football season, especially if you play the Sporting News College Football Salary Cap game.

“Okay, I’m going to provide some info about the Independent team defenses. I’m not going to rank them because they play too different of schedules, and are obviously not affiliated with a conference. What I will do is provide a brief preview for the current three teams that are available to pick from in fantasy games. Western Kentucky’s switch to D-1A while moving to the Sun Belt Conference won’t be complete until 2009 so they won’t be available to pick this year. The Sporting News game doesn’t allow owners to pick teams from D-1AA or lower, nor do they allow D-1A schools to gain points against them either. Just something to be aware of. Now onto my fantasy college football Independent team defenses preview…..”

Army(Starters returning: 3)
Defensive end Victor Ugenyi and tackle Ted Bentler return up front. End Nick Emmons has made 11 starts, too. Middle linebacker Frank Scappaticci returns, and the team is counting on John Plumstead to provide relief on the outside. The secondary is entirely new, and is the team’s biggest concern on that side of the ball. The unit ranked 117th in rush defense, and that has to improve for 2008 with the offense still in transition.

Navy(Starters returning: 7 )
The Midshipmen ranked 106th in pass defense a year ago, and three cornerbacks in the secondary with Rashawn King, Ketric Buffin, and Blake Carter have started. Noseguard Nate Frazier is back as is end Michael Walsh. Clint Sovie will start at inside linebacker in their 3-4 scheme. The linebacking corps has Ram Vela and Tony Haberer who have started before which says something about their depth at the position.

Notre Dame(Starters returning: 5)
Nosetackle Ian Williams will start full-time this year after a productive campaign as backup last year. Maurice Crum Jr is back, and the team is high on new starters at outside linebacker in Brian Smith and Kerry Neal. The secondary is returns three starters as free safety David Bruton as well as corners Darrin Walls and Terrail Lambert coming back. The team ranked 39th in defense a year ago, and second overall in pass defense.

Overall analysis: There is alot of inexperience between Army and Notre Dame while Navy returns a veteran unit. Army’s biggest concern is in the secondary, and their ineffectiveness in stopping the run a year ago. No matter how much experience they have, Navy has to improve with not letting teams pass at will on them. Notre Dame’s strength is on defense, and a new attacking style could prove to be helpful for fantasy owners considering them for the coming season. All three teams have defiencies on each side of the ball, and that could have a lasting effect on their fantasy numbers for the season. Notre Dame is the best option out of this group, and an improving offense should mean that side of the ball won’t see a dropoff from a year ago

Great info.  Be sure to check all of David’s posts at the Fantasy Sports Network (http://fantasysportsnetwork.blogspot.com/).

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Photo courtesy of TSN Archives/Icon SMI

I decided to profile Hall of Famer Hack Wilson, who was enshrined by the Veteran’s Committee in 1979.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI 

The Numbers
Played 1923-1934 (12 Seasons)
1348 Games
4760 At Bats
.307 Batting Average 
884 Runs
1461 Hits
2593 Total Bases
266 Doubles
67 Triples
244 HRs
1063 RBI
674 Walks 
79 SBs

Five  .300 Seasons
Three 100 Run Seasons
One 200 Hit Season
Six 30 Double Seasons
Two 10 Triple Seasons
Four 30 HR Seasons (56 in 1930)
Six 100 RBI Seasons (MLB record 191 in 1930)