We talk about the signings and trades that have been made this week in baseball.

Here I go over the guys missed on the HoF Vet ballot this year.

The Case for Whitaker

He was a star 2B for the Detroit Tigers his entire career, spanning 1977-1995. His .276 average, 2369 hits, and 244 homers don’t look impressive on their own, but they’re only part of a larger skill set. Whitaker had a great batting eye, taking 1197 walks and bumping his OBP up to a very respectable .363. And while he wasn’t a slugger, he had solid doubles power, adding 420 of them to his totals and bumping his slugging percentage up to .426. All in all, that makes for a .789 OPS and a 117 OPS+. When he retired, he was also #4 on HR leaders at 2B, only surpassed by Joe Gordon, Joe Morgan, Rogers Hornsby, all hall of famers at the time.

On top of that, his OPS+ never went below the league average of 100 after 1980, which shows remarkable consistency with the bat. On top of providing a lot of offense at a tough position, he was a really good fielder there, as well! WAR has him in the top-25 all-time defensively at second. He even managed three Gold Gloves. Whitaker is very likely one of the twenty best hitters and fielders all-time at his position; that should be enough for Cooperstown.

The case for Tommy John.

If you think you recognize this name, that's because he was the first pitcher to get the Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery that now bears his name. His career numbers are "respectable" with a couple standouts but with the caveat that is was more of a "compiler" than a overwhelming pitcher. His 61.5 WAR is good, but not what you would expect from the loft Hall standards for starting pitchers.  He didn't get the sacred 300 wins, only won 20+ games 3 seasons out of 26... oh did I not mention this guy pitched for 26 seasons?

That's right, he had surprising longevity, compiling 4710.1 innings good for 11th on the liveball era for innings pitched, and the only other pitchers with 4500+ innings not in Cooperstown right now are Roger Clemens and Jim Kaat. Back in the day , that was probably written off as part of his eponymous surgery, but given that so few people since has matched him, it’s probably just as much that he was extremely durable, especially given how he pitched til 46 on a rebuilt ligament.

He wasn't an overpowering pitcher, but he did compile 2245 K's, limited HR's with only a 0.6 HR/9, and an above average ERA+ of 111. He also had an extremely long, albeit not steep, peak, posting solid season numbers from 1965 all the way until 1984 when his numbers and analytics start to fall off. I normally prefer players who had better peaks to players who "compiled" as it were, but I think Tommy did enough to join the Hall.

The Case for Thurmon Munson

Saving the best for last, we come to Thurman Munson. Thurman Monson was the catcher for the New York Yankees from 1969-1979. His is a tragic case, as he passed away in the middle of the 1979 season due to a plane accident. He was only 32 years old. Even with his career cut short, he is 12th all time on the JAWS ranking for catchers, with every catcher above him already in the hall, save for Joe Mauer who only just retired last season. In his 11 seasons, he managed 1558 hits, 113 HR, a .292 BA, and an 116 OPS+. He was also great on defence, saving 32 runs defensively over his career. He made the all star squad 7 times, took home the 1976 AL MVP, and was the 1970 RoY. So why isn't he in the hall?

He played at an unfortunate time. Not only was he not the best catcher in baseball, but he wasn't even the best catcher in his league. His career started at the same time as Johnny Bench,  and Carlton Fisk, while the mid 70's saw the emergence of Gary Carter. Remember how I said he was 12th all-time according to JAWS? He shared his career with the top 3 all-time (until Ivan Rodriguez). To have half the career and still be that good is amazing.

DECEMBER 2

1804

Napoleon crowned emperor Link to full episode on this

1823

During his annual address to Congress, President James Monroe proclaims a new U.S. foreign policy initiative that becomes known as the “Monroe Doctrine."

1859

Militant abolitionist John Brown is executed on charges of treason, murder and insurrection.

1917

A formal ceasefire is proclaimed throughout the battle zone between Russia and the Central Powers.

1954

The U.S. Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Senator Joseph R. McCarthy for conduct unbecoming of a senator. 

DECEMBER 3

1912

Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro sign an armistice with Turkey, ending the first Balkan War.

DECEMBER 4

1783

On December 4, 1783, future President George Washington, then commanding general of the Continental Army, summons his military officers to Fraunces Tavern in New York City to inform them that he will be resigning his commission and returning to civilian life.

1942

In Warsaw, a group of Polish Christians put their own lives at risk when they set up the Council for the Assistance of the Jews. 

1952

Heavy smog begins to hover over London, England, on December 4, 1952. It persists for five days, leading to the deaths of at least 4,000 people.

1992

President George H.W. Bush orders 28,000 U.S. troops to Somalia, a war-torn East African nation where rival warlords were preventing the distribution of humanitarian aid to thousands of starving Somalis.

DECEMBER 5

1872

The Dei Gratia, a small British brig under Captain David Morehouse, spots the Mary Celeste, an American vessel, sailing erratically but at full sail near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was seaworthy, its stores and supplies were untouched, but not a soul was onboard.

1945

At 2:10 p.m., five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base. They never returned.

1964

The first Medal of Honor awarded to a U.S. serviceman for action in Vietnam is presented to Capt. Roger Donlon of Saugerties, New York, for his heroic action earlier in the year.

1978

In an effort to prop up an unpopular pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union signs a “friendship treaty” with the Afghan government agreeing to provide economic and military assistance. 

2013

Nelson Mandela, the former activist who overcame a nearly three-decade prison stint to become president of South Africa, passes away after years of struggling with health issues. He was 95.

DECEMBER 6

1884

in Washington, D.C., workers place a nine-inch aluminum pyramid atop a tower of white marble, completing the construction of an impressive monument to the city’s namesake and the nation’s first president, George Washington.

1921

The Irish Free State, comprising four-fifths of Ireland, is declared, ending a five-year Irish struggle for independence from Britain. 

We talk about some of the free agent signings that have been done so far.

Overview

In Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Napoleon I, the first Frenchman to hold the title of emperor in a thousand years. Pope Pius VII handed Napoleon the crown that the 35-year-old conqueror of Europe placed on his own head.

The Corsican-born Napoleon, one of the greatest military strategists in history, rapidly rose in the ranks of the French Revolutionary Army during the late 1790s. By 1799, France was at war with most of Europe, and Napoleon returned home from his Egyptian campaign to take over the reigns of the French government and save his nation from collapse. After becoming first consul in February 1800, he reorganized his armies and defeated Austria. In 1802, he established the Napoleonic Code, a new system of French law, and in 1804 he established the French empire. By 1807, Napoleon’s empire stretched from the River Elbe in the north, down through Italy in the south, and from the Pyrenees to the Dalmatian coast.

Beginning in 1812, Napoleon began to encounter the first significant defeats of his military career, suffering through a disastrous invasion of Russia, losing Spain to the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula War, and enduring total defeat against an allied force by 1814. Exiled to the island of Elba, he escaped to France in early 1815 and raised a new Grand Army that enjoyed temporary success before its crushing defeat at Waterloo against an allied force under Wellington on June 18, 1815.

Napoleon was subsequently exiled to the island of Saint Helena off the coast of Africa, where he lived under house arrest with a few followers. In May 1821, he died, most likely of stomach cancer. He was only 51 years old. In 1840, his body was returned to Paris, and a magnificent funeral was held. Napoleon’s body was conveyed through the Arc de Triomphe and entombed under the dome of the Invalides.

The French Civil Code

The French Civil Code was enacted on March 21, 1804. The Code represents a comprehensive reformation and codification of the French civil law and was considered by Napoleon himself to be one of his most significant achievements. Nowadays it remains a strong legal, sociological and cultural landmark for the French nation. And in spite of some revisions that were introduced later, the Napoleonic code is still very applicable in the French Republic and Law today.

Was Napoleon a force for good, or evil?

Napoleon had a vision for Europe and he succeeded in making that vision a reality, at least for a while. Whether he was a saviour of the people or a war-mad megalomaniac might simply be down to the loudest propaganda. Whatever else, he was an enigma, and someone who will continue to fascinate, inspire and disgust down the generations.

I decide to talk about baseball again, and the 2020 Hall of Fame ballot. Who I think will stay on the ballot, who falls off, and who gets in as well as some opinions on the players.

Still working on my Facebook page, Facebook is a royal pain to navigate!

Just a quick update, today's episode is taking a bit longer to write than I expected, sorry for the delay. Episode should be out later today or tomorrow.

Just wanted to let you all know I will be taking a brief hiatus from doing the podcast; I will return on Nov 25th.

Why the hiatus?

1. I plan on restructuring and reorganizing the daily history podcast to have more content and delve into greater depth.

2. I plan on expanding into different topics. I always wanted this to be a variety podcast, and I think I am ready to start. You can expect to see "one off" episodes as well as a series on the history of the World Series this winter.

3. I want to focus on growing my social media presence, and I have virtually no experience with any social platform. So I will become active on my twitter and create a facebook page, and maybe even a YouTube channel.

Hope you all enjoy your holiday and we look forward to seeing you all on Nov 25th!

Just a quick update, letting you all know I will be on a brief hiatus until after the Thanksgiving Holiday. New Episodes starting November 25th.

Why the Hiatus?

1. I want to restructure the current This Date in History episodes to be a bit longer, give some more context to the events, etc

2. I want to plan out episodes outside of the daily history podcast that covers current events, news, historical events that fall outside of the daily history podcast, baseball, etc.

3. Growing media and completing a website for the podcast.

4. Learning how to better spread my podcast. I pretty much have stumbled into doing podcasts and honestly don't know very much about what I am doing from a logistical point of view.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday and we will see you on the 25th!

1528

The Spanish conquistador Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca is shipwrecked on a low sandy island off the coast of Texas. Starving, dehydrated, and desperate, he is the first European to set foot on the soil of the future Lone Star state.

1917

Led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin, leftist revolutionaries launch a nearly bloodless coup d’État against Russia’s ineffectual Provisional Government.

1962

The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution condemning South Africa’s racist apartheid policies and calling on all its members to end economic and military relations with the country.

1985

The Palace of Justice siege was an attack on the Supreme Court of Colombia, in which members of the M-19 Marxist guerrilla group took over the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, Colombia, and held the Supreme Court hostage, intending to hold a trial against President Belisario Betancur.