Roberto Alomar, pioneering stat guy to be inducted into Hall of Fame - MLB

No, not the one in Cooperstown, because the people that run and vote for it are too addle-minded to do such manifestly smart things. It’s the Canadian one doing the good work:

Former Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Roberto Alomar will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame this summer. Alomar missed out on induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., by eight votes earlier this month. He was selected for the Canadian version on Thursday. The 12-time All-Star will be enshrined in St. Marys, Ontario, along with longtime reliever Paul Quantrill, former Minnesota Twins owner Calvin Griffith and statistical guru Allan Roth.

The thousand injuries of the National Baseball Hall of Fame I have borne the best I could, but now that the one north of the border is wise enough to induct (a) one of the best second basemen of all time; and (b) the first full-time stat guy to ever be employed by a team, I’m just going to give up on Cooperstown and throw my support behind the one in St. Mary’s, Ontario.

And while I’m happy to see Alomar honored, it’s Roth’s induction that really makes me happy. For those who have never heard of him, Roth was hired by Branch Rickey in 1947 to keep stats for the Dodgers’ top farm team, the Montreal Royals, and later went on to Brooklyn and Los Angeles, retiring in the mid 60s. While surely some players and coaches identified and appreciated the importance of OBP and platoon advantages before him, Roth championed them in the Dodgers front office, helping turn a simple observation into an important part of a winning organizational philosophy.

Why couldn’t Alomar make it into Cooperstown in his first year? What are the odds that we’ll ever see Bill James in the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Why shouldn’t I start stumping for Paul Quantrill? The answers to these questions will probably shape how I feel about the Hall of Fame for some time.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A bill introduced in the Nevada Legislature would give the Oakland Athletics up to $380 million for a potential 30,000 seat, $1.5 billion retractable roof stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

The bulk of the public funding would come from $180 million in transferable tax credits from the state and $120 million in county bonds, which can vary based on interest rate returns. Clark County also would contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

The A’s have been looking for a home to replace Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. The team had sought to build a stadium in Fremont, San Jose and finally the Oakland waterfront, all ideas that never materialized.

The plan in the Nevada Legislature won’t directly raise taxes. It can move forward with a simply majority vote in the Senate and Assembly. Lawmakers have a little more than a week to consider the proposal before they adjourn June 5, though it could be voted on if a special session is called.

The Athletics have agreed to use land on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort sits. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has said he is disappointed the team didn’t negotiate with Oakland as a “true partner.”

Las Vegas would be the fourth home for a franchise that started as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901-54. It would become the smallest TV market in Major League Baseball and the smallest market to be home to three major professional sports franchises.

The team and Las Vegas are hoping to draw from the nearly 40 million tourists who visit the city annually to help fill the stadium. The 30,000-seat capacity would make it the smallest MLB stadium.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said a vote on the Oakland Athletics’ prospective move to Las Vegas could take place when owners meet June 13-15 in New York.

The plan faces an uncertain path in the Nevada Legislature. Democratic leaders said financing bills, including for the A’s, may not go through if Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoes the five budget bills, which he has threatened to do as many of his priorities have stalled or faded in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Under the bill, the Clark County Board of Commissioners would create a homelessness prevention and assistance fund along the stadium’s area in coordination with MLB and the Nevada Resort Association. There, they would manage funds for services, including emergency rental and utility assistance, job training, rehabilitation and counseling services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The lease agreement with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority would be up for renewal after 30 years.

Nevada’s legislative leadership is reviewing the proposal, Democratic state Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager said in a statement.

“No commitment will be made until we have both evaluated the official proposal and received input from interested parties, including impacted community members,” Yeager said.