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Stray Baseball Thoughts: HOF Bans Lifted, Turner Making Progress, Javy Catching Fire

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanMay 14, 2025

I had a few different topics knocking around in what’s left of my brain, so I decided to conglomerate them rather than subjecting everyone to three separate posts. Maybe this will keep me on task as well. The Cubs enter Wednesday’s action with a chance to sweep the Marlins and keep the red-hot Redbirds out of first place. Winners of nine straight, the Cardinals are just 1.5 games back and have a doubleheader against the Phillies after being rained out on Tuesday.

The Cubs have won all seven (true) home series openers, but they’re 1-5 in the final games of those same sets. Their only win was in the two-gamer against the Dodgers, in case you were trying to count back through them. Carrying the momentum from their walk-off into the last game against the Marlins is crucial. We’ll get to that dramatic comeback and its unlikely hero in a bit, but let’s first turn to the biggest Hall of Fame news we’ve heard in quite some time.

Pet Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson Bans Lifted

As first reported by Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN, commissioner Rob Manfred has removed Rose, Jackson, and other deceased players from MLB’s permanently ineligible list. How this will impact Hall of Fame voting is a little murky because Cooperstown operates independently, but this sweeping decision seemingly opens the door for the induction of at least two blacklisted players.

Attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov had been working for nearly 10 years to have Rose reinstated, and it appears his efforts applied to 14 other players, a coach, and an owner

“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote. “Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.

“Therefore, I have concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.”

This is a polarizing topic and I’m sure there would be blowback regardless of the stance I chose, but I really don’t see how this is all that controversial. I mean, these guys are all dead — Cross them off, then! — and can’t celebrate this reversal. The only people being hurt by their exclusion were their family members, so I see no harm whatsoever in removing the ban.

Beyond that, I find it exceedingly disingenuous for a league that has wholly embraced gambling to have upheld the pariah status of these individuals for so long. While I can appreciate the difference between betting on your own team when sports betting was not legal and what we’ve got now, MLB has corporate partnerships with several gambling entities. Lineups have to go through Vegas before they can be released publicly, regional sports networks carry online gambling site naming rights, and Wrigley Field has its own sportsbook.

Besides, we’re really only talking about two of them being real possibilities for the Hall. Based on how the voting process currently works, Rose and Jackson can now be considered by the Historical Overview Committee, which creates an eight-name ballot for the Classic Baseball Era Committee to vote on in December of 2027. They would need 12 votes from the 16-member panel for enshrinement with the 2028 class.

Per ESPN, here’s a full list of the individuals whose bans were lifted and their transgressions:

  • Pete Rose (Ben on baseball)
  • Joe Jackson (1919 Black Sox scandal)
  • Buck Weaver (Black Sox)
  • Eddie Cicotte (Black Sox)
  • Lefty Williams (Black Sox)
  • Happy Felsch (Black Sox)
  • Fred McMullin (Black Sox)
  • Swede Risberg (Black Sox)
  • Chick Gandil (Black Sox)
  • Joe Gedeon (Had “guilty knowledge” of gambling activity in 1919)
  • Gene Paulette (Banned in 1920 for associating with gamblers in 1919)
  • Benny Kauff (Banned in 1921 despite his acquittal on auto theft charge. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis deemed him “no longer a fit companion for other ballplayers.”)
  • Lee Magee (Banned in 1921 over his disputed back salary elicited evidence of his gambling involvement)
  • Shufflin’ Phil Douglas (New York Giants player banned after threatening his manager)
  • Jimmy O’Connell, Giants player banned in 1924 after offering a bribe to another player)
  • Cozy Dolan (Giants coach involved in the O’Connell incident)
  • William Cox (Phillies’ owner, banned and forced to sell the team in 1943 for betting on baseball)

Javier Báez is back

El Mago went from the hottest ticket in town to one of the worst hitters in baseball, and it got to the point where the Tigers were considering the possibility of eating the remaining three years and $70 million or so of his contract. After MVP-level seasons in 2018 and ’19, he fell off a cliff in 2020 and was traded to the Mets the following season. A solid rebound in that ’21 campaign netted him the big deal in Detroit, but his performance went down the tubes.

During an injury-plagued ’24 campaign, Javy slashed .184/.221/.294 with a 43 wRC+ and -0.7 fWAR over just 289 plate appearances. His defense at short was worse than ever by a wide margin and it seemed as though he might be a lost cause. Not willing to simply flush their money away, the Tigers kept him on the left side of the infield for the first few weeks of the season.

Over 59 plate appearances flipping between short and third, Báez slashed .268/.305/.321 with no homers and an 80 wRC+ that was indicative of the lack of power. Then, similar to what the Pirates have done with Oneil Cruz, the Tigers figured they’d try Báez in center. Since moving to the outfield, he’s slashing .365/.403/.683 with five homers and a 208 wRC+ over 67 PAs.

That line includes Tuesday night’s game against the Red Sox in which he blasted a pair of three-run homers, the second of which walked it off.

I’m sure some people will read into this erroneously and think I’m saying the Cubs never should have traded Javy. On the contrary, I think it was a good move. This is just a matter of maintaining a soft spot for former Cubs greats who are still playing elsewhere. It’s good to see Báez doing well and I hope the Tigers make some noise in the postseason.

Justin Turner might be a decent bench player after all

There were a lot of thoughts about Turner being the odd man out with Moisés Ballesteros coming up, but that never made much sense. Not that Turner has been productive, of course, it’s just that the rookie should only be around for a short while and there’s value in having a veteran around to show young guys the ropes. The problem with Turner is that he’s no longer an everyday player, yet he was being forced into that role. To make matters worse, Craig Counsell kept batting him high in the order.

Turner’s best suited to be a pinch hitter at this point, which he can be when the Cubs are fully healthy and clicking. Getting Matt Shaw right again and having a regular third baseman would help to solidify the one spot in the lineup that has been lacking thus far, setting Turner up for limited situational deployment. That’s what he was doing Tuesday night when he came in to bat for Nicky Lopez in the 7th.

Turner walked and then manned third base uneventfully for two innings before getting another chance at the plate with runners at the corners and one out. After missing on a slider low and away, he got just enough of another breaking ball to dump it into shallow left for a game-winning double. It was only 76.2 mph off the bat, but the placement couldn’t have been better.

“Felt close for a while now,” Turner told reporters after the game. “Just haven’t really clicked, so I feel like the at-bats have been competitive, just not finishing with good results…At-bats are going a lot longer than they should because I should be moving pitches forward that I’m fouling off right now. Felt good to move one forward and be a big part of that W.”

Turner has never been a bat-speed monster and it’s evident that his offensive prowess has eroded a great deal now that he’s past 40, but maybe situational usage can help him find a new gear. His big swing was clocked at 68.1 mph, well above his 65.1 mph average for the season. That average is up over half a tick from where it was three weeks ago, putting it right in line with last year. If the Cubs can get Turner to fight off Father Time for a few months, he should be a solid bench presence for them.

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanMay 14, 2025
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