Live look at @frustratedfan.bsky.social!

THAT MASCOT HAS NO PANTS @batogato.bsky.social @gheorghetheblog.bsky.social

Oh shit @batogato.bsky.social @gheorghetheblog.bsky.social. Oh shit.

Hello @kschwenky.bsky.social!

Fortunately, I am impervious to pain, so the last 10 days doesn't move me at all.

Why thanks Rob! I appreciate this pure display of friendship! (Goddamn college basketball)

Damnit I came here to post this!

NINE HUNDRED?!

Mets got a Tobias, @frustratedfan.bsky.social!

Carlos Beltran on trying not to think too much about his HOF chance the last few weeks: "Let me tell you, my wife Jessica, she spent hours and time trying to basically stay in contact with the Hall of Fame baseball tracker." CC: @notmrtibbs.com @tonycal.bsky.social @shutthedore.bsky.social

What a day for Yankees legends Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones @frustratedfan.bsky.social!!!!

No. That never impacted me one way or the other. The previous three years, I thought he was just shy b/c his peak was just a shade less than Jones' peak. But the better WAR, bigger counting stats, etc. got me to dig deeper.

I was previously a Jones but not a Beltran guy b/c I thought Jones' peak was better. But how can I credit Jones for his peak and not punish him for his RAPID decline while punishing Beltran for being a very solid player for several years beyond his peak?

Minutes away from the HOF results so here's the stat I discovered during research that cemented my Carlos Beltran vote: Andruw Jones (1933 hits/7599 ABs) had 792 fewer hits & 2169 fewer ABs than Beltran (2725 hits/9768 ABs). Beltran was the equivalent of a .365 hitter over the ABs Jones didn’t get.

If you've read this far, I thank you and look forward to your feedback. And thank you to @notmrtibbs.com, @shutthedore.bsky.social & @tonycal.bsky.social for making this time of year so much more fun than it already was w/the HOF tracker. It's so cool and such an honor to be a part of this.

Poison - Cry Tough YouTube video by poisonVEVO

And that my friends is how I became the first HOF voter to fill out a ballot to Poison's "Cry Tough."

Life ain't no easy ride
At least that's what I'm told
Sometimes the rainbow, baby
Is better than the pot of gold

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOzd...

It also meant so much to fill out my ballot out next to a pic of my late Mom, who inspires all of us everyday. This is not the most noble goal anyone has ever achieved, but it's mine and I can't believe it happened.

I filled it out at my Dad's house, at the kitchen table where I once read The Hartford Courant (whose main baseball writer back then, Jack O'Connell, is the BBWAA secretary). It meant so much to share the moment w/my Dad, long my best friend & biggest supporter, as well as my wife, daughter & sis.

But I began getting back into the business with the TSX wire service in 2011 and I got into the BBWAA following the 2015 season. Ten uneventful years of American life later, I'm casting my first HOF ballot.

Long story short, I've written about baseball most of my adult life but never at a daily newspaper, which was a requirement for BBWAA membership until dot-coms began being invited in 2007. In 2008, I lost my job at a hybrid dotcom/print pub and figured my career was over.

I've wanted to vote for the HOF since January '88, when I read Jim Bunning missed election by four votes when nine empty ballots were cast. It sounded like such an honor and I knew I'd never cast an empty ballot. (Though I am also not usually a full ballot guy...I contain multitudes)

I am grateful beyond words to share my first Baseball HOF ballot, which is the realization of a goal 38 years in the making. I imagine most don't care about my back story, so I'll post the ballot here for @notmrtibbs.com, his awesome crew & the rest of you...and then thread some of my back story!

Santos L. Halper, @frustratedfan.bsky.social!!

Ha! The soundtrack to our times, unfortunately.

*dusts this off to say hi to @frustratedfan.bsky.social after Cairo Santos L. Halper redeems himself and saves the day for the Bears*

Haha I saw that and thought of you! They pretty much were the difference.

That was awesome! Did a triple take as soon as I saw the last name on the board outside the locker room. Your nephews look like your son!

@kschwenky.bsky.social: Did I just see your nephew and his family on George to the Rescue?!

It feels like I’m watching nothing at all…nothing at all…nothing at all