With the Phillies taking part in what would become a down-to-the-wire divisional race, McCarver was signed on September 1, 1980 to return as a player. He would serve as a veteran voice in the clubhouse, a lefty pinch-hit bat, and emergency insurance at first base and catcher.
Scott Rolen deserves enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame
Rolen has a career bWAR of 70.1, which is higher than Tony Gwynn, Eddie Murray, Ivan Rodriguez, Carlton Fisk, Edgar Martinez, Ryne Sandberg, Roberto Alomar, Craig Biggio, Andre Dawson, and other position players of recent decades.
Memo Luna and those baseball lost in 2021
I would venture that almost none of you, certainly very few, know about the career of one Memo Luna. That career was the shortest of anyone lost to us in 2021, less than one inning of one contest in 1954.
My IBWAA 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot
While I'm a Philadelphia Phillies fan and that team is the subject of the majority of my baseball writing, that my vote went to four players who performed with that team is merely coincidental.
MLB flashback: Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Eckersley won 197 games and saved 390 over 24 seasons. The righty pitched in 1,071 games and threw 3,285.2 innings with 2,401 strikeouts. At the time of his retirement, Eck had appeared in more games than any pitcher in MLB history.
MATT VEASEY 