Three for Cooperstown

Finally.

The writers made a small dent in the growing backlog of obviously qualified Hall of Fame candidates, electing Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez.

It was quickly noted that the writers have now chosen 12 players in four years, matching the Hall's first four years for the most selections. But it's also the first time in those four years that the majority of selectees were not first-time ballotteers.

Still, one probably should not be churlish about this year's outcome. Bagwell and Raines are in, as they should be, and the plaques will not note the delays.

And Rodriguez becomes only the second catcher ever elected on the first ballot. His election was closer than it should have been, but (again) the plaque won't mention that.

There is another wave of qualfied -- even over-qualified -- candidates slated to hit the ballot next winter, with Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Andruw Jones and -- his continuing comeback ambitions not withstanding -- Johan Santana, among others. Even with Raines and Bagwell off the backlist, it's still going to be a crowded ballot.

Hall of Fame thoughts: Catchers (Ivan Rodriguez)

Jorge Posada, subject of Tuesday's post, isn't the only catcher debuting on the writers ballot this year. He isn't even the best catcher debuting on the writers ballot.

That distinction belongs to Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez, a genuine challenger to Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra as the greatest backstop in major league history.

By the numbers, by his career accomplishments, Rodriguez deserves first-ballot entry, even by the reluctant-to-honor-catchers standards of the BBWAA. He has a rare set of credentials for a catcher: a brilliant peak and longevity, both an outstanding hitter and a gifted defensive catcher.

But ... steroids.

Rodriguez never tested positive, never was suspended. He was named by Jose Canseco as a fellow 'roider, and he did drop a lot of weight when testing began, the kind of circumstantial evidence that delayed Mike Piazza's election and has held back Jeff Bagwell.

My basic stance on this: I draw a line at the beginning of testing. Before that, performance-enhancing drugs were officially illegal, but nobody bothered trying to enforce that ban. If anything, the culture of the sport -- nurtured, no matter what they say now, by the likes of Bud Selig and Tony LaRussa --  encouraged players to do whatever they could to improve.

If Pudge was using in, say, 2003 and quit when the game got serious about changing the culture, that's fine by me.

More free agent catchers

Pudge Rodriguez, on the downside of a brilliant career,
is looking for a catching job.

The free agent season officially opened Thursday morning. Earlier this week I posted a piece on three free agent catchers I thought looked particularly intriguing as the backup to Joe Mauer -- Jose Morales, Chris Snyder and Ryan Doumit.

It wasn't a comprehensive list of free agent catchers, not was it intended to be. It was three guys who weren't all that old who appeared to have different strengths and different flaws (and when you're talking about No. 2 catchers, you're talking about guys with flaws.)

There are some other possibilities out there -- in particular, the over-the-hill gang.

I will skip Ramon Hernandez, who is a Type A free agent and thus would cost the Twins a draft pick if the Reds offer arbitration. Hernandez should be seeking a regular job somewhere, as will A.J. Pierzynski. So might Rod Barajas, who has gotten some mention in the metro media as a possible Twins target.

Kelly Shoppach is just a bit older than Doumit and Snyder. Decent enough defensive catcher, some long ball pop, has been under .200 each of the past two years. Is he an upgrade on Drew Butera? Probably.

Then there are the really old farts -- Pudge Rodriguez and Jason Veritek.

Rodriguez turns 40 later this month. He isn't the great player he used to be, and he's hanging on in hopes of becoming the first catcher to 3,000 hits (he's 156 short). He's still got defensive chops, he hits better than Butera, and his son is an outfielder in the Twins farm system, which may hold a certain appeal for him.

Veritek turns 40 in April. The Boston icon has been a definite part-timer the past two seasons, and the Bosox may decide that it's time to turn the page on his era. Veritek has a sour history with the Twins, who took him in the first round of the 1993 draft (21st overall) but didn't get him signed. He instead went back to Georgia Tech for his senior season.

There are other possibilities, but really: Matt Treanor? Gerald Laird? Might as well stick with the minimum wage Butera and hope Joe Mauer stays healthy.

I like Doumit because he can do the most things. He can hit enough to justify using at DH or first base or right field. But he may also be the most costly, for the very same reasons, and money matters.

The Catcher Project: Ivan Rodriguez

Born: 11-27-71

Career: 1991-present

Hall of Fame: Not eligible

Career highlights: AL MVP 1999. Regular catcher for two World Series teams, one of which won the title. Fourteen All-Star teams, 13 Gold Gloves. Holds career record for games caught.

Career slash line: .299/.336/.471

See his stats here

Games caught after age 30 season: 862 and counting. Age in last season as regular catcher: 37 and counting. Win shares after age 30 season: 109 and counting. Win shares after age 33 season: 28 and counting.

This may be a guideline of how much teams value defensive tools behind the plate: Pudge Rodriguez is pretty close to useless as a hitter now (his adjusted OPS hasn't been close to league average since 2006), but the Washington Nationals gave him a two-year contract at $3 million a year.

Rodriguez was worked fairly hard as a young player — 134 games caught at age 21, 127 at 23, 146 at 24, 143 at 25, 139 at 26, 141 at 27. Then the workload eased for a few years — 87, 106, 100 — and when he left Texas as a free agent after his age 30 season, there was little demand for his services. There was a sense that he was pretty much shot.

Not quite. His game revived in Florida and Detroit for three years. Now the bat has quieted, and he's now in the nomad phase of his career — two teams in 2008, two more in 2009, a fifth team this season. He is apparently driven by the desire to be the first catcher to get 3,000 hits — he has 2,711 — and he's still got the glove and the arm to get significant playing time.

But his bat hasn't deserved the PT since he was 34.

Why Pudge won't budge

Ivan Rodriguez is clearly in the nomad stage of his career. He was traded in midseason last year (Detroit to Yankees), after which he went deep into spring training before finding a team to sign with (Houston). And he was traded again this week, this time to his original team, the Texas Rangers.

If you take Pudge's career at face value, he has a real strong case for the title of greatest catcher ever. A lifetime .300 hitter with more than 300 home runs; 13 Gold Gloves; an MVP Award (1999); 14 All-Star teams ...

But this isn't so much about where he ranks among the all time greats, but about what he is now — which is a backup.

Consider this paragraph from the Fort Worth paper's game story from Wednesday's game with the Twins:

Despite (Rodriguez's) exploits Wednesday, Taylor Teagarden is still the No. 1 catcher. Rodriguez will be back on the bench for today’s series finale. (Manager Ron) Washington started him with Kevin Millwood because Millwood calls his own pitches and is a veteran.

What an indictment. Pudge has caught more than 2,200 major league games — more than anybody in history. Teagarden is a rookie with 51 games caught. But the Rangers trust Teagarden's calls more.

Rodriguez is not the first great catcher to decide it's worth it to hang on as a No. 2. Gary Carter stuck around for four years as a reserve, Ted Simmons for three years. I suspect the writers held their hang-around years against them when the Hall of Fame balloting rolled around for each (Carter eventually got in, Simmons not).

I wonder if Rodriguez has his eye on what would be a unique accomplishment: 3,000 hits. Nobody who spent the bulk of his career as a catcher ever reached that milestone. (Craig Biggio was a catcher for four seasons at the start of his career, 428 games total.) Pudge needs 310 hits to get there. It won't be easy, but he's "only" 37.

A hard-used 37.