JETER GETS THE CALL. HE'S GOING TO THE HALL. THAT RHYMES

We'll treat this like a news story, because to be honest I don't care about Derek Jeter getting into the Hall of Fame unanimously. It doesn't matter to me. I have too many things in life to worry about than 1 dude's vote that didn't go Jeter's way to make him unanimous. You think Jeter cares about that? Nope. I don't either.  Bottom line for me is we knew he was getting in... today was the big day and he's going. Outstanding!

NBC Sports writes:

"The Hall of Fame announced their Class of 2020 on Tuesday night. Two players got in. Former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who was one vote shy of being a unanimous selection, and former Montreal Expos and Colorado Rockies outfielder Larry Walker, who just squeaked in with 76.6 percent of the vote in his final year on the ballot."

One guy who I thought would get in was Curt Schilling. I mean, I can't stand the guy, but I respect him.  He should have gotten the call. And to be honest, I think Larry Walker was a pretty damn good player, but he's not Hall of Fame worthy.

But it's clear to me that these writers just don't want known PEDs players in... and so, that's why guys like Bonds and Clemens haven't gotten the call yet. And you know what? They will eventually... but it's my opinion it won't be for a long, long time. Remember, Bonds Pirate years were amazing.

Anyway... congrats to the big guy... Derek Jeter. I am so happy for you. I watched you play and loved you. I'm so happy you made it brother. Congrats.

OPINIONS, FACTS & TRUTH

I'm a baseball writer, I cover baseball. I follow politics and social justice issues in our country but I don't comment or write about them. It just so happens, this week these worlds collided. I didn't create that I simply reported a story. I referenced a story by Newsday HERE. The focal point of the story was Derek Jeter yet some focused on Curt Schilling.

Look, it's old news. We all know Curt Schilling was fired from ESPN back in 2016 for "controversial" and "inappropriate" conduct he put out into the universe through social media. Some called it inappropriate, I called it racist. Call it what you want, it was still inappropriate and that's why Schilling was fired.

So was what he said racist? Let's take a close look at it. What is racism?

According to dictionary.com racism is defined as:

1. "A belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human racial groups determine cultural or individual achievement, usually  involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to dominate others or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others."
2. "A policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination."
3. "Hatred or intolerance of another race or other races."

Now let's look at his tweets and Facebook posts that have been published in numerous media outlets, and some even deleted after the fact.

So what do we have here? Intolerant posts comparing Muslims to Nazis, gender intolerance, and controversial tweets about the LGBTQ community HERE. I won't post that one, it may be a little too controversial but you can click the link and see for yourself if you want. Oh and why don't we hang journalists while we are at it? Do those include the baseball writers you WANT to vote you into the Hall of Fame? It fits the racism definition above.

And if Schilling hadn't already been accused of posting racist content why would he and his family be defending it in the New York Times? Find that HERE. It's out there. I didn't just make it up.

Life is about choices. Sometimes choices have big consequences like being fired from a job. 

Think before you tweet or post on other social media sites, because even when you delete it....it's not forgotten. You can't take it back. It lives on in cyberspace. Schilling was a good pitcher but he has

a character flaw is why he hasn't been voted into Cooperstown yet. The tweets and Facebook posts don't lie....

These are the facts, and nothing but the facts. Do with them as you wish.

This is the last time we mix politics and baseball on these pages.  But it was necessary for us here at BYB to explain it when some went after us for attacking their beloved Schilling. Facts don't lie. We reported the facts...again.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj

HALL OF FAME 2020 COULD BE A ONE-MAN SHOW

I don't understand how some people can say baseball is boring. There's so much strategy and I love how things can change in a game faster than you can blink. All of the walk off home runs or the unbelievable plays and the pitchers duels keep me interested. Then there's also just the human interest side of it. We all have our favorite players, Mariano Rivera was mine. I loved watching him play and I loved watching him get inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend. But have we just seen the most interesting Hall of Fame class for years to come?

It's been fun to watch all of these new names be added to Cooperstown recently. In the last 6 years, the Hall has been working overtime making new bronze plaques for their 29 new additions. That's more guys added to the Hall in the last decade without including the 17 Negro Leaguers that were inducted back in 2006. So, can the trend continue?

It doesn't look likely. According to baseball reference HERE the 2020 potential Hall of Fame Ballots there could be fewer bronze plaques being made not only for next season, but for a few years to come. Looking ahead to next year's first year eligible players include: Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett, Eric Chavez, Alfonso Soriano, Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko and Derek Jeter.

The biggest name on the list goes without saying, and that's Derek Jeter. The rest of the guys on the list for the first time were all good players, but even media outlets like Newsday are wondering.....could Derek Jeter be the only one inducted into Cooperstown next year? Could it be unanimous? Rivera was the first to get a unanimous vote, could Jeter be the second?

The first year ballots are not as exciting as recent years so that theoretically opens the door for players returning to the ballot to possibly earn extra votes. But would they get enough votes? The player with the highest votes from last year is Mr. Controversial Curt Schilling with 64.7% of the votes. After some stupid and racist comments back in 2015 and 2016 that hurt his votes he has won back a surprising number of votes the last couple of years which has inched him closer to the needed 75% to be voted in.

So whether you like Schilling or not, the smaller pool of eligible players may help him get voted into Cooperstown. His eventual election into Hall of Fame looks like it is getting more likely. He may not get in next year, but he may get in by 2021 which is his ninth year on the ballot.

The upcoming first year players through 2023 look pretty uninteresting compared to recent years. We could see very small classes for the foreseeable future. Is Jeter the only inductee next season? It will be interesting to see how many votes Jeter does get, and if anyone else shares the stage with him.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj