Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a great start.
We are at the midway mark of winter, and even though the Super Bowl has yet to be played, exhibition baseball games are less than three weeks away. Along those lines, I thought I would look back at an interview I recorded with Mickey Mantle.
On June 6, 1980 Mantle came to Winsted, CT to be the guest speaker at a sports dinner. This was back in the day, when athletes past and present spoke at events such as these. Part of the reason was to be close to the fans but the big reason was to make money. Athletes and ex-athletes were not paid what they make today.
Consider the context of when the interview was recorded, if you chose to listen. Mantle’s close friend was Billy Martin, who had the baseball world talking with the outstanding job he was doing as manager of the Oakland Athletics. At this point he had already had two tours as manager of the Yankees. In the interview, I talked to Mantle about Martin and other baseball-related items, including whether Mantle missed being directly involved in the game. Click here to listen.
Sorry, Mr. Brady, but I disagree
Tom Brady’s father told Chad Finn of the Boston Globe last week that Bill Belichick ran a “military system,” as coach of the Patriots. “Bill is a great, great, great coach, but his interpersonal skills are horrible,” said Brady Sr.
No big revelation there, but here is where I have a disagreement with Brady Sr. and it has to do with Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. Although Brady Sr. praises Mahomes, he was quick to tell Finn, Mahomes doesn’t have the QB competitors that his son “Tommy” had. “When Tommy was coming through, you had Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger around. Now, when you want to win, Mahomes is the only guy. Who is really on his level?”
I understand Brady Sr. trying to defend his son, where no defense is needed, but to suggest Mahomes has no QB competition is baseless. I dare say the NFL is filled with outstanding QBs capable of competing with Mahomes such as: Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Matt Stafford, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff, Derek Carr, Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield and a healthy Aaron Rodgers. I am sure I have missed a few.
There is no denying Brady the QB is the GOAT with seven Super Bowl titles. If the Chiefs win on Sunday, Mahomes will have won three titles and he is only 28.
The field of very good QBs now in the NFL is right up there with when Brady played, regardless of Brady Sr.’s analysis.
Does Jorge Posada belong in baseball’s Hall of Fame?
First, do not interpret this as a criticism of the newest Hall of Fame entrant Joe Mauer. He is deserving of Cooperstown. I had the chance to broadcast his games and interview him, when he was a catcher for the Minnesota Twins’ then-AA affiliate New Britain. However, Peter Abraham, who is the lead baseball correspondent for the Boston Globe, wrote in his Sunday notes column, Posada has similar numbers to Mauer, yet the retired New York Yankees catcher garnered just 3.8 percent of the votes, when he became Hall of Fame eligible in 2017 and quickly was removed from the ballot.
To wit: Mauer played in 1,829 games, starting 885 games as a catcher. Posada played 1,829 games, starting 1,450 games behind the dish. Mauer had a .827 OPS to Posada’s .848 OPS. Mauer’s WAR (Wins Above Replacement) was 55.2 to Posada’s 42.7. Mauer slugged 143 home runs and was a six-time All-Star, while Posada belted 275 home runs and made the All-Star team five times. Yes, Mauer was a three-time batting champ and was an excellent defensive catcher, though his work behind the plate was cut short by injuries. Posada, although suspect defensively, had a potent bat and obviously played in more post-season games than Mauer, 125-10. Posada also had solid post-season numbers and has four World Series rings to none for Mauer.
The point is Mauer received 293 votes in his first year on the ballot, while Posada garnered 17. As Abraham mentioned, timing is everything and Posada had to contend with Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Pudge Rodriguez, among the eventual 10 Hall of Famers who were on that 2017 ballot.
Perhaps, as Abraham suggests, Posada gets another look, if his name is considered by the eras committee.
Nothing like a sunset
Finally, I leave you with a picture of a sunset this Saturday past. Like you, I have taken many sunset photos over the years, with either a DSLR camera or, as in this case my iPhone. The sunset caught the fancy of many, who took pictures and posted them on social media. Here is mine. Enjoy.
That is it for this week’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support and please feel free to share the newsletter with others, as I look to grow by subscriber base.
DAN LOVALLO