Two interesting Hall of Fame cases: Ichiro Suzuki and Joey Votto

It’s Tuesday, which means my latest edition of “Cooperstown Chances” is out for Sporting News. I also realize I forgot to share last week’s column here, so I’m going to drop two links.

First, I wrote about Ichiro Suzuki, who isn’t the “real” hit king now but will be an easy Hall of Famer five years after he retires. I didn’t spend too much time focusing on this in my piece. The real thrust of what I wrote about: a few better players will be lucky to draw 1/10th the votes that Ichiro does.

Meanwhile, I wrote last week about Joey Votto, who ranks as one of the better first basemen in baseball history through his first nine seasons. However, it’s critical Votto continue to rebound from his slump this season if he wants to keep his Hall of Fame hopes alive.

As always, feedback’s welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Two tragic figures: Billy Martin and Benny Kauff

I have two new articles out today, and while I didn’t plan the scheduling, they correspond a little. I wrote about two of the more tragic figures in baseball history, even if the tragedy in each case might have been partly of their doing.

First, for Sporting News, I wrote about Billy Martin’s Hall of Fame case. It’s been 26 years since Martin died in a friend’s drunk driving accident, and I explored if his Hall of Fame window might be closing. The thought: Martin, who’s been a candidate at least six times, might still have a shot, but he’s going to have competition yet again this fall with Jim Leyland newly eligible.

Then for The National Pastime Museum, I wrote about Benny Kauff. Many baseball history fans might know the story of Kauff’s banning, how Kenesaw Mountain Landis made an example of him after his 1921 acquittal for allegedly participating in a car theft ring. What might not be as well known: Kauff’s life after banning, which included numerous arrests, a short playing career, and, finally, redemption. I had fun researching this one.

As always, thanks for reading.

A month’s worth of columns– and why I haven’t been updating

My apologies.

I’ve been busy with various writing obligations and just realized I’ve neglected to post here since April 26. It’s sometimes hard to prioritize this site since, to be blunt, I don’t make any money at it and couldn’t earn anywhere close to a living even if I allowed advertising and pulled out all the stops. There simply isn’t enough interest in baseball history.

If I had a day job or was retired or financially dependent on another person, I might write frequently here. I think most baseball history bloggers fall into one of those three categories. But I’ve been making a living since October as a freelance writer and editor, which has meant focusing on paid work. I know in a given week how much money I need to make and what work I’ll need to do to make it. Most weeks, it’s a hustle.

At some point, I’d like to carve out an hour or two a day to write regularly here. I’m not there yet, though.

That said, here’s a month worth of Sporting News columns:

Again, my apologies. I’ll try to get back to posting links to my columns as I write them.