Justin Verlander traded to Astros

[insidethewrapper]

2 NO-hitters, Rookie of the Year Award, MVP and Cy Young Award Winner. He is currently ranked as the 5th best pitcher in baseball by Bill James (behind Sale, Kluber, Scherzer and Kershaw ). I think he is headed for the HOF unless something drastically happens.

[Gnep31]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

2 NO-hitters, Rookie of the Year Award, MVP and Cy Young Award Winner. He is currently ranked as the 5th best pitcher in baseball by Bill James (behind Sale, Kluber, Scherzer and Kershaw ). I think he is headed for the HOF unless something drastically happens.

I second this. If not first ballot HOF then shortly there after.

Over the past 10+ yrs there probably isn't a better or more consistent pitcher.

Every time JV takes the mound it is must see TV. (Thanks Rod Allen) He still has no hit stuff and with the new motivation on the Astros I would not be surprised if he gets one or two more no no's.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Gnep31

Over the past 10+ yrs there probably isn't a better or more consistent pitcher.

I think Clayton Kershaw might dispute this.

[JollyElm]

Take it to be somewhat lighthearted, but I feel the call to the Hall should be moderated for both MLB pitchers and NFL running backs. For everyone who plays fantasy football, you know what I'm talking about. Some guys are just ridiculously talented and run wild for a few years, but the wear and tear always catches up with them, because it is, in fact, a very violent game. Think about the RB's you absolutely coveted in drafts just a couple of years ago. How many of those players were still even on your radar in this year's draft? (Do yourself a favor and look at pre-draft RB rankings at a fantasy site from a few years back. You'll constantly be saying, "Holy cow! I completely forgot about him!!"). It's almost as if the HOF should judge these guys based on something like a 5 year window, because there's always a fresh-legged new guy nipping at their heels every new season and they eventually get replaced.

Where RB's have leg and knee problems, pitchers suffer extreme wear and tear to their arms. Sure, some people can pitch forever (Nolan frickin' Ryan), but most others run out of steam at some point. It would be great if pitchers, dominating pitchers, could somehow be judged on a much smaller timeframe to see how great they truly were in their prime. Everyone loves Sandy Koufax, but he'd probably be looked at somewhat differently if he was able to continue playing and started a precipitous downward decline at some point, you know? All due, extreme, respect to Mr. Koufax.