Bregman signs with the Cubs

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

It feels like we had more stars in the '70s, with less results.

Other teams had more than "more stars," too.

Look at that Reds team!

The Yanks of the mid to late 70's.

[moonslav59]

6 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

He's had one half of a good season for his entire career. Not sure what to expect of him going forward. 

I'm curious why some recent short sample sizes mean a lot to you but others are highly questionable. I'm not busting your you-know-what, but we gave up Early for this guy, and counting his first few years is often not a good way to judge how good someone is.

I'm not saying I have no doubts on Mead. I had some with early, too. His 75 OPS+ before 2026 is scary, but it was just 445 ABs. His 285 PAs in 2026 is not far away from the total (142 OPS+.) The guy could have hit .200 over the 160 B difference and still have a very nice OPS+.

He's no Schwarber. I doubt he'll be KMarte. He should, however, be a major boost over the .673 OPS we had this year at 2B. I'm also hopeful AR will greatly improve our .627 Catcher OPS. If we can gain 100 points at both positions, it's the same as upgrading one slot by 200 points. Like DH from .761 to .961.

[notin]

4 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

True, since those years were decades before the All-Star Game was invented (though a lot of ringer teams barnstormed every offseason).

He also said "HOFers and near-HOFers." All those champs you listed had rosters full of guys who were near-HOFers...

... depending on where they sat in the dugout, they were always near Cy Young, Tris Speaker or George Herman Ruth.

Rosters full of near HOFers?

1903 had two Hall of Famers (Cy Young, Jimmy Collins) and no one I’d consider a “near HOFer”.  I suppose some might argue Buck Freeman, but calling him a near HOFer is like calling Milwaukee “near Boston”.

1912 was a little better.  Speaker and Hooper for HOF. Near HOFer certainly with Smoky Joe Wood.  I could argue against the largely mediocre Eddie Cicotte as being close, but he went and got himself banned anyway, rendering his (lack of) qualifications moot.

Ruth came along in 1914.

But really, nearly every Sox team ever has had at least one HOF or near HOF talent.  Heck they had a Hall of Famer playing LF every year from 1939 to 1989.  
 

Even the lowly 2020 team had Devers as their best bet.  And he certainly could go, but if he misses I think at minimum he qualifies as a “near HOF”.   And this 2026 team has a lot of players with TBD in their future, but also a surefire lock in Aroldis Chapman. 
 

I am not sure what the record is for Hall of Famers on one Sox team, but I think it’s 4 in 1978 with Rice, Fisk, Yaz and Eckersley.  It should be five with the egregious omission of Dwight Evans…

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, notin said:

Rosters full of near HOFers?

1903 had two Hall of Famers (Cy Young, Jimmy Collins) and no one I’d consider a “near HOFer”.  I suppose some might argue Buck Freeman, but calling him a near HOFer is like calling Milwaukee “near Boston”.

1912 was a little better.  Speaker and Hooper for HOF. Near HOFer certainly with Smoky Joe Wood.  I could argue against the largely mediocre Eddie Cicotte as being close, but he went and got himself banned anyway, rendering his (lack of) qualifications moot.

Ruth came along in 1914.

But really, nearly every Sox team ever has had at least one HOF or near HOF talent.  Heck they had a Hall of Famer playing LF every year from 1939 to 1989.  
 

Even the lowly 2020 team had Devers as their best bet.  And he certainly could go, but if he misses I think at minimum he qualifies as a “near HOF”.   And this 2026 team has a lot of players with TBD in their future, but also a surefire lock in Aroldis Chapman. 
 

I am not sure what the record is for Hall of Famers on one Sox team, but I think it’s 4 in 1978 with Rice, Fisk, Yaz and Eckersley.  It should be five with the egregious omission of Dwight Evans…

4 in 1973: Aparicio, Cepeda, Fisk and Yaz

4 in 1974: Marichal, Rice, Fisk and Yaz

3 in 1975: Rice, Fisk and Yaz

4 in 1976-1977: Jenkins, Rice, Fisk and Yaz

4 in 1978-1979: Eckersley, Rice, Fisk and Yaz

5 in 1980: Tony Perez, Eckersley, Rice, Fisk and Yaz